On the way to sending Liang Xiao back, Lu Ze kept raising his eyes to observe the tops of their heads, trying to figure out who was taller.
His hair was fluffier than Liang Xiao’s, but Liang Xiao’s shoe soles looked thicker.
While waiting for the subway, Liang Xiao finally turned to him and asked, “Is there something on my head?”
“No,” Lu Ze replied with a grin, stepping closer to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him. He looked at their reflections in the glass panel. “I just want to see who’s taller.”
Liang Xiao straightened up and let him compare. “About the same.”
Lu Ze clicked his tongue. “Why does it look like we’re exactly the same height? Are you 185 cm too?”
“Maybe,” Liang Xiao said. “Haven’t measured in a while.”
The subway wasn’t crowded, and there were plenty of empty seats. The two of them sat down next to each other. Lu Ze tilted his head up to look at the row of station names above and suddenly asked, “By the way, Xiao-ge, which college are you from?”
“Not a very good college,” Liang Xiao replied.
That answer clearly meant he didn’t want to share, and Lu Ze didn’t press further. He had only asked on a whim anyway and wasn’t particularly curious about which college Liang Xiao attended.
Instead, he pulled out his phone and said, “Let’s play another round of cards. Winning this afternoon felt amazing.”
Liang Xiao took out his phone as well. As Lu Ze sent him an invite, he added, “I feel like my luck improves whenever I play with you.”
“Does it? Probably just your imagination,” Liang Xiao said, holding his phone with one hand and looking down at it. “My luck’s always been pretty bad.”
Lu Ze chuckled and clicked his tongue. “Then it must be because your skills are too good.”
They played a few rounds on the subway, but it wasn’t as smooth as earlier in the afternoon when they kept winning. In one game where they were about to win, Liang Xiao accidentally played a bomb card too early.
Lu Ze nudged him with his elbow. “What’s this? Is hand tremor contagious now?”
Liang Xiao replied calmly, “Maybe. We’re almost there.”
“Yeah, let’s stop playing.”
Lu Ze exited the game and scrolled through his social media feed. He noticed that Xu Jingjing had posted another video of someone else’s dog in her Moments feed.
Grinning, he tapped on the video. A little white dog flashed across the screen at lightning speed before diving headfirst into a bush ahead. It got stuck there and didn’t dare move, letting out two pitiful whimpers while looking utterly wronged. The camera shook violently afterward—it was clear that Xu Jingjing was laughing hard behind the lens.
Lu Ze burst out laughing immediately. Liang Xiao turned his head to look at him as Lu Ze held up his phone while still chuckling. “Look at this—probably another silly dog from one of her neighbors…”
After watching the video, Liang Xiao gave a faint smile—so faint that Lu Ze suspected he wasn’t actually amused but was just humoring him out of politeness.
Lu Ze replayed the video several more times and kept laughing as he said, “Is it that my sense of humor is too low or yours is too high? Why is it that whenever I’m with you, I’m always the only one laughing like an idiot…”
“I have a high threshold for humor,” Liang Xiao replied evenly. “But it is pretty cute.”
Lu Ze left a comment on Xu Jingjing’s post: [Whose dog is this? Haven’t seen it before.]
Xu Jingjing responded instantly: [It’s Uncle Liu’s! They just got it less than a month ago—cute, right?]
Lu Ze replied with one word: [Silly.]
He put his phone away, still smiling. “I wouldn’t say my sense of humor is that low, but you’re so aloof and always manage to make me laugh. It makes me look a bit silly by comparison.”
“I wasn’t trying to make you laugh…” Liang Xiao replied, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness.
“Yes, yes,” Lu Ze said, suppressing another laugh. “You weren’t doing it on purpose—you just happen to hit my funny bone…”
When they stepped out of the subway station, the evening breeze swept in, slipping straight down Lu Ze’s collar and into his clothes. He quickly zipped his jacket all the way up, while Liang Xiao still had his jacket open.
Lu Ze rubbed his arms. “The temperature really dropped. How are you not cold at all?”
“I’m resistant to the cold,” Liang Xiao replied, extending his hand. “Give me the bag. Are you still planning to walk me home?”
That was definitely not happening—Lu Ze wasn’t close enough with him for that. Otherwise, he might’ve actually considered hanging out at Liang Xiao’s place for a bit.
He handed the bag over and pulled out his phone to check the time. “It’s still kind of early. If I go back now, those two will definitely bombard me with questions… How about you come with me to get a new screen protector? Didn’t I tell you I dropped my phone? The tempered glass cracked.”
After he said that, Liang Xiao stayed silent for a moment. Lu Ze looked up and noticed that Liang Xiao seemed distracted, staring off into space as if lost in thought.
Lu Ze waved a hand in front of him and snapped his fingers. “Xiao-ge? What’s got you zoning out?”
Liang Xiao snapped back to attention at the sound of the snap. “Let’s go—there’s a place in the mall up ahead that does screen protectors.”
Once inside the mall, it was noticeably warmer. Lu Ze took off his jacket and draped it over his arm. “What kind of constitution do you have? You’re not afraid of the cold or the heat…”
Liang Xiao didn’t respond. Normally, he wasn’t bothered by either extreme, but today was strange—he actually felt a little cold even inside the mall.
He led Lu Ze to a shop that offered screen protector services. It only took two or three minutes for them to finish applying it. Lu Ze clearly wanted to linger longer. “Wanna walk around for a bit?”
“No,” Liang Xiao declined flatly. “I’ll head back now.”
“Alright then, I’ll wander around some more,” Lu Ze said with a smile before asking again, “You’re really not going to take any money?”
“No need.”
Lu Ze grinned at him. “Alright then—I won’t force it on you. Thanks for today! Don’t forget to eat those apples—they’re super sweet. Let’s grab a meal together next time when we both have time.”
Liang Xiao nodded slightly. “I’m off.”
“Bye-bye,” Lu Ze said.
He watched as Liang Xiao took the elevator down before turning around—only to find a girl standing behind him with a bright smile on her face.
“Hi there, handsome,” she said cheerfully. “Are you single? Can I add you on WeChat?”
Lu Ze instantly felt a headache coming on. He quickly pointed toward the direction of the elevator. “Did you see that handsome guy who just left?”
The girl blinked in confusion, unsure what he meant. “…I saw him.”
“He’s my boyfriend,” Lu Ze said.
It didn’t feel as awkward saying it anymore—he’d gotten used to throwing out the word “boyfriend.” The only issue was that this so-called “boyfriend” didn’t seem quite right tonight.
Lu Ze could tell that Liang Xiao had been unusually quiet on their way back earlier—his mood seemed colder than usual. Then again, maybe that was just how cool guys like him were: too tired after a long day to bother humoring someone like Lu Ze anymore.
Lu Ze rarely encountered someone like Liang Xiao. Most of the time, making friends was easy for him—he didn’t have to put in much effort. But the “cool guy” had a strong personality, and since Lu Ze currently needed his help, he had to take the initiative and make more of an effort.
—
It took Liang Xiao longer than usual to walk home from the mall. Only after some time did he realize that he might be sick. The further he walked, the colder he felt, and his head felt heavy while his legs grew weak.
After stepping into his home, he placed the fruits into the fridge and picked up another phone—the one he rarely used—to check his messages. There was one from Jiang Qing:
[I managed to borrow 30,000 yuan again. Should I transfer it to you so you can pay off some of your debt?]
Liang Xiao immediately called her back.
“Where did you borrow the money from?” he asked.
“A friend,” Jiang Qing replied. “Don’t worry about it—just use it to—”
“No need,” Liang Xiao interrupted her as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Return the money to your friend. You don’t need to worry about paying off the debt anymore—I’m almost done.”
Jiang Qing went silent for a moment before lighting a cigarette. Liang Xiao could hear the flick of the lighter and frowned.
“Didn’t you say you were going to quit smoking?”
“You don’t want me meddling in your life, but now you’re meddling in mine?” she retorted.
Liang Xiao stayed silent. Jiang Qing sighed and said, “You’re just a college student. No matter how many part-time jobs you take, how much can you possibly pay off? This debt is my responsibility—you don’t have to carry it all on your shoulders.”
Leaning back on the couch and closing his eyes, Liang Xiao replied softly, “Jiang Qing, whether you admit it or not, you’re still my mom.”
Jiang Qing’s voice immediately rose in volume.
“You little brat! Say that again if you dare!”
Liang Xiao let out a helpless chuckle. “There’s no one else around to hear it anyway. Calling you ‘Mom’ won’t make you any older.”
“Stop calling me that!”
After laughing for a moment, Liang Xiao started coughing lightly. Jiang Qing’s tone softened again as she asked, “What’s wrong? Are you sick?”
“Yeah, I think I might have a fever,” Liang Xiao admitted in a low voice. “Anyway, let’s not talk about this anymore. Just return the money and stop borrowing from others—I really am almost done paying it off. I’m not lying.”
Jiang Qing hesitated before saying, “…Alright, just rest well for now.”
“Mm, I’m hanging up.”
“Liang Xiao,” Jiang Qing called out again before he could end the call. “You…you haven’t done anything illegal to get this money, have you?”
“No,” Liang Xiao replied with exasperation. “I haven’t—I earned it all fair and square.”
Jiang Qing clicked her tongue in disbelief. “My son is really that capable?”
“That’s right,” Liang Xiao said with a faint smile. “Alright, I’m hanging up now—I need to take some medicine.”
“Go quickly then! Drink plenty of hot water too—don’t try to tough it out while you’re sick. Get better before going back to work.”
“Got it,” Liang Xiao murmured before ending the call.
The moment he hung up, he felt like all the strength had been drained from his body. He didn’t want to move or even drink water or take medicine; instead, he simply closed his eyes and collapsed onto the couch. Before long, he drifted off into sleep.
