The moon hung low over the sea, its cold light spilling across the surface, making the waves shimmer.
Teng Yuan leaned against the balcony, lighting a cigarette. The ember glowed faintly in the night. He wore only a robe, the collar loose. The sea breeze carried a salty scent as it blew in, ruffling his hair. In the blurred darkness, he lifted his hand and looked at the ring on his ring finger.
“You’re smoking again?” Qu Qingchen’s voice came from behind. Without waiting for a response, he took the half-smoked cigarette away. “Didn’t you say you’d quit smoking and drinking? So you could spend more years with me?”
“It’s just half a cigarette,” Teng Yuan replied helplessly. He reached out to touch Qu Qingchen’s face but ended up brushing against his still-wet hair instead. “Dr. Qu, go dry your hair. Do you want to catch a cold?”
They went back inside. Teng Yuan got the hair dryer and began drying Qu Qingchen’s hair. Strands slipped through his fingers, the hum of the dryer filling the silence as they quietly soaked in the warmth of their post-intimacy moment.
“All done.” Teng Yuan gave his hair a final tousle and unplugged the dryer.
Qu Qingchen’s gaze grew complicated. He grabbed Teng Yuan’s wrist and gently stroked it.
“You don’t seem very happy.” He couldn’t shake the feeling that Teng Yuan had been a little off tonight, weighed down by some quiet melancholy. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m not unhappy. Just… a little emotional,” Teng Yuan sighed. “I never thought I’d get married. Never imagined I’d have a wedding. Everything I have now… it’s all beyond what I ever expected.”
Before being with Qu Qingchen, Teng Yuan had dated girls. Unlike Bai Xizhou, who was naturally into men, Teng Yuan used to like women.
Teng Yuan first met Qu Qingchen at Bai Xizhou’s house. He had come over to hang out with Bai Xizhou and happened to see Qu Qingchen washing his hands at the backyard faucet.
Qu Qingchen was only six years old then, just about shoulder-high to Teng Yuan. His face was soft and fair—so pinchable that anyone would be tempted. His eyes were bright and alert, watching Teng Yuan like a wary kitten.
Looking back, Teng Yuan was certain: the moment he saw Qu Qingchen, his original intentions shifted.
He nimbly hopped into the backyard and walked over, smiling. Qu Qingchen pressed his lips together and took a step back, putting distance between them.
“Why can’t you use the front door like a normal person?” Before Teng Yuan could speak, Bai Xizhou appeared, cutting in with a shout.
He emerged from inside holding a medical kit. The moment Qu Qingchen saw him, he ran over and hid behind him.
“Who’s that? Your little brother? He’s so cute.” Teng Yuan’s gaze remained fixed on Qu Qingchen, completely ignoring Bai Xizhou’s question. “Hello, little brother. I’m Teng Yuan, Xizhou’s friend. You can call me ‘gege’ too.”
He was still just a kid himself, but he was oddly insistent on getting Qu Qingchen to call him “gege” (older brother).
“He’s not my brother. He’s the son of my parents’ friends. His name’s Qu Qingchen,” Bai Xizhou said, guiding the boy over and opening the first aid kit to treat his wounds.
That’s when Teng Yuan noticed the scrapes on Qingchen’s palm and forearm.
“What happened? Who bullied you? Was it Bai Xizhou? Tell me and I’ll beat him up,” Teng Yuan said, rolling up his sleeves like he meant it.
“No one bullied me. I fell on my own,” little Qingchen mumbled in a soft, slightly sticky voice that sounded like he was pouting. “Thank you, gege.”
Bai Xizhou closed the kit and patted Qu Qingchen’s head with a smile. “You’re welcome.” But Teng Yuan was frustrated—why would Qingchen only call Bai Xizhou “gege”? They were the same age!
Later, since both families had some business together, Qingchen became a regular visitor at Bai’s home. To build a bond with the “little brother,” Teng Yuan also started showing up more often. But Qingchen always seemed cold and indifferent toward him.
Still, he was a kid, and kids liked to play. When Teng Yuan invited him out to play, he agreed.
They went to a nearby park with slides, trampolines, and a sandpit. Teng Yuan bought two ice creams and handed one to Qingchen—only to pull it back at the last second.
“You can’t have my ice cream for free,” he said with a sly look. “Call me gege and I’ll give you both.”
Qingchen didn’t understand why Teng Yuan was so fixated on that word, but he really wanted both ice creams.
“…Gege.”
And just like that, for two ice creams, Qu Qingchen called him “gege” for the first time.
It didn’t feel bad. He got his treat, and Teng Yuan looked overjoyed.
From then on, whenever Qingchen’s parents couldn’t pick him up, it was always either Bai Xizhou or Teng Yuan. Sometimes Bai had other things to do, but Teng Yuan never missed a day.
He genuinely liked the kid.
On the way home from school, he’d buy Qingchen snacks—especially the ones his parents wouldn’t let him eat. He’d even remind him to rinse his mouth afterward so he wouldn’t get caught.
His own allowance wasn’t much, but he spent most of it on treats for Qingchen.
Maybe it was the snacks, maybe it was the persistence—but slowly, Qingchen warmed up. The word “gege” slipped off his tongue more and more easily.
When his parents weren’t home, Teng Yuan would even bring him over to stay the night. They’d share a bed, watching the latest animated films under the covers at night.
Even Bai Xizhou had to admit: Teng Yuan was really good with kids.
Later, they ended up in different high schools. Qingchen went to a boarding school and only returned once every two or three weeks. Teng Yuan’s school was worse—one break a month.
Among the three of them, Qingchen was the freest. He sometimes visited their schools and brought snacks along.
One weekend, while extra classes were happening, Teng Yuan suddenly got a message from his homeroom teacher saying his “younger brother” was waiting at the school gate. He was so dazed from studying he didn’t even register who that meant.
Until he got to the gate—and there was Qingchen, in uniform.
He was in his growth spurt. In just a few months, he had grown to be Teng Yuan’s height, maybe even taller. Holding a bag of snacks, he waved when he saw Teng Yuan, still carrying that youthful grin.
“What are you doing here?” Teng Yuan walked over to talk through the gate. “Came just to see me?”
Qingchen stared at him but didn’t reply. Then he looked away.
“I didn’t come just for you. I already saw Xizhou ge, and I was just stopping by.” His voice was cracking with puberty, a little raspy. “These snacks are just leftovers from what he didn’t want.”
Teng Yuan just stared. No one else might know the truth, but he did. Xizhou had gone home yesterday. Qingchen was lying—and not even bothering with a good excuse.
“Gege…” Qingchen suddenly said, clutching his shirt hem nervously. “Auntie said you’re applying to universities outside of town. Is that true? Are you really going to leave Xincheng?”
“Why are you asking that all of a sudden?” Teng Yuan opened a pack of finger biscuits. “If everything goes well, yeah. I really like that school.”
“Can’t you stay in Xincheng for college? I don’t want to stop seeing you,” Qingchen said bluntly. “I want someone to bring me things too during high school.”
But Teng Yuan had never considered that. Sure, he could stay, but he already had his dream school in mind. He had worked hard for it. He couldn’t just give it up—not even for a little brother he loved so dearly.
“When you go to college, I’ll already be graduating. We can meet whenever we want then,” he said gently, but it was still a rejection.
“Not even for me?” Qingchen’s voice rose, hand slapping the iron gate loudly. “Gege, can’t you stay?”
But all he got was another refusal.
Back then, Qingchen didn’t understand the importance of college. He just wanted Teng Yuan to stay—just a little closer.
But after the exams, Teng Yuan still applied to an out-of-town university.
It wasn’t until much later, when he looked back, that Teng Yuan realized something wasn’t right about that day.
Qingchen rarely expressed his feelings so openly, but Teng Yuan had assumed it was normal dependence—they were close, after all. He hadn’t realized how out of character that moment was.
Only after Qu Qingchen confessed did Teng Yuan understand—that this feeling had taken root long ago, quietly waiting for the moment it would sprout.
“I called him, but he didn’t pick up.” Qu Qingchen’s eyes dimmed.
He now had the look of a grown-up—much more mature. His height was already about the same as Bai Xizhou’s. Since entering high school, Qu Qingchen had changed a lot. His brows and eyes had relaxed, his handsomeness began to shine through—but he had also become more and more quiet and withdrawn.
“He’ll come back during the winter or summer holidays.” Seeing the gloom on his face, Bai Xizhou could only pat his shoulder as a form of comfort. “You’ll see him then, it won’t be too late.”
That’s what he said—but no one would’ve expected that when Teng Yuan came home that year he brought his girlfriend with him.
Actually, Qu Qingchen himself didn’t know when he started liking Teng Yuan. At first, in Qu Qingchen’s heart, he was just an ever-present troublemaker.
But, compared to Bai Xizhou—who treated him well, but due to his personality, always carried a hint of distance—Teng Yuan’s personality was the complete opposite.
He was warm, cheerful, loved to laugh, and was always surrounded by many people. In the beginning, Qu Qingchen disdained getting involved with him. That “gege” (older brother) he called him was also reluctant and unwilling. If not for the two ice creams, he definitely wouldn’t have said it.
Who could hold a grudge against ice cream, anyway—especially two?
But his mother always told him to get close to Bai Xizhou, because their family had business ties with the Bai family. Yet Bai Xizhou was almost always accompanied by Teng Yuan, so he had no choice but to see him every day.
Bai Xizhou and Teng Yuan were both good to him. They would secretly take him out to play, and after school they would come to pick him up. If Bai Xizhou was busy, Teng Yuan would come instead.
Actually, Qu Qingchen didn’t know how to get along with Teng Yuan. Fortunately, most of the time, it was Teng Yuan who took the initiative, which avoided awkward silences. And whatever he wanted, Teng Yuan would buy for him. But Qu Qingchen knew, Teng Yuan himself didn’t have much pocket money.
The first time he was able to interact with Teng Yuan normally was when he got sick once. At that time, he was at school, running a fever, his whole body groggy. The teacher took him to the hospital to get an IV drip. In a daze, he heard the teacher calling his home—but no one could be reached.
Qu Qingchen had forgotten to tell the teacher that his parents had gone on a business trip two days ago and hadn’t returned yet. The housemaid was off today. No one was there to take care of him.
His eyelids felt heavy, so he simply fell asleep. By the time he woke up again, he was no longer in the hospital. He was being carried on someone’s back, walking forward. There was no one around—only streetlights and a few insects flying by.
He didn’t know what time it was.
“You’re awake?” Teng Yuan’s voice was especially abrupt in the quiet night. “Feeling any better?”
“How come you’re here?” Qu Qingchen was a bit surprised. Before he fell asleep, the teacher had clearly still been anxious because they couldn’t reach his family.
“I came to pick you up from school, but you never came out. I asked around and found out you were at the hospital. I saw that you finished the IV drip but weren’t waking up, so I planned to carry you home.” Teng Yuan spoke with forced ease, even bouncing Qu Qingchen slightly up on his back. “We’re almost at your house.”
Teng Yuan smoothly delivered Qu Qingchen home. Just as he was about to leave, he was called back by Qu Qingchen, who wore a conflicted expression, as if he had something to say.
“Gege.” He rarely called Teng Yuan gege on his own—most of the time it was bought by Teng Yuan. “There’s no one at home. I’m scared.”
He bit his lip, lowered his eyes, and didn’t look at him, as if afraid that Teng Yuan would refuse. Qu Qingchen reached out and tugged at the hem of Teng Yuan’s clothes.
That night, Teng Yuan stayed over at Qu Qingchen’s house, and with a bowl of instant noodles with ham sausage, he earned a spot on the bed.
And from that day on, Qu Qingchen started calling him gege on his own. He began telling him about interesting things that happened at school. On Teng Yuan’s birthday, he even spent his own New Year’s money to buy a pair of shoes that Teng Yuan had been eyeing for a long time.
Children don’t have much sense of money, and his family was generous with expenses. He thought, since Teng Yuan was good to him, he should give back.
Teng Yuan really liked Qu Qingchen’s gift and accepted it, but still told him not to buy anything next time. Teng Yuan said, even if Qu Qingchen only gave him a greeting card, he would be very happy.
That was the first time Qu Qingchen understood that gifts didn’t have to be expensive to be meaningful.
Later, when Teng Yuan entered high school, the chances to meet decreased. In the past, it was Teng Yuan waiting for him after school. Now, it was him delivering things to Teng Yuan. Even though Teng Yuan’s school was very far, he never got tired of doing it.
He liked seeing the smile on Teng Yuan’s face when he received the snacks he brought.
So when he learned that Teng Yuan would go to university in another province, his first reaction was not wanting him to leave. He didn’t understand the meaning of university. He thought staying in their city would be the same—why did he have to leave?
He went to find Teng Yuan, and went to ask him. He thought it would be like before—after all, Teng Yuan always indulged him, But this time he didn’t.
