The surroundings were pitch black, with only the car lights behind casting a warm yellow-white glow.
The bright light shone on him, so much so that Xia Xinghe could barely keep his eyes open, yet in this contrast between light and dark, Bai Qingzhou’s voice remained perfectly clear.
Xia Xinghe was indeed afraid of the dark. He had a bit of night blindness—not a serious condition, but once the sun went down, he couldn’t see the road clearly.
As a child, he was timid and didn’t dare be alone at night. But his parents often had evening classes, so every night he would curl up in a corner and wait for them to come home. Later, when he grew up and could handle being alone, he still hated the night.
When they had first gotten together, he had casually mentioned this to Bai Qingzhou. But afterwards, it was usually Bai Qingzhou who came home late, and Xia Xinghe would leave the light on for him. So many years had passed that Xia Xinghe never expected Bai Qingzhou would remember such a casual remark.
Suddenly, he remembered that moment in the airport when he’d looked back—and saw Bai Qingzhou standing quietly in the crowd, saying nothing, just watching his figure as he walked away.
Had Bai Qingzhou always been silently standing behind him like that, watching him?
Yanmai’s words echoed in his ears. A bold thought began forming in his mind, but it scared him too much to follow through.
Everything around him fell quiet again. Xia Xinghe stood frozen in place for a long time. Bai Qingzhou honked the horn and asked, “Why aren’t you going up?”
Xia Xinghe snapped out of it and quickly replied, “I’m going now,” then hurriedly ran up the stairs.
His footsteps thudded against the steps, echoing in sync with the pounding of his heart. The two sounds tangled together, stirring up a restless energy. Xia Xinghe practically sprinted into the house.
The long-constrained cocoon had been pierced open ever so slightly, and the long-suppressed emotions inside turned into fluttering butterflies. Unsteady, their wings not yet fully spread, but already perched on the highest branch, their antennae raised—without even looking, he could feel their presence.
After entering the house, Xia Xinghe didn’t even bother changing his shoes. He put down his things and went straight to the balcony.
Outside the thick glass, that silver-white car stayed parked downstairs for a long time before slowly reversing and driving away.
Xia Xinghe rested one hand on the glass, his gaze following the car as it gradually disappeared into the distance. The headlights illuminated the road, and the butterfly on the branch seemed to follow the light and fly off after it.
…..
After that night, something quietly began to shift between them.
Bai Qingzhou would often initiate conversations with Xia Xinghe. Though the topics were often strange or random, he would occasionally ask him to hang out—always using Bamboo as an excuse.
The two of them would take Bamboo to the nearby park to play, to let it run free, to bathe and groom it. Later, a young staff member at the pet store came over and shyly asked them, “Um… are you two a couple?”
Bai Qingzhou said “no,” but then suddenly gave a soft laugh and said something in a low voice.
Xia Xinghe didn’t catch what he said, but he saw the young clerk blush and give Bai Qingzhou a little fist-pump cheer.
After Lunar New Year came spring, and everything in sight was full of life.
Tender green buds sprouted from bare branches. Pink bauhinias and yellow wintersweet covered the ground overnight.
In early April, Qiu Guiyue called and asked Xia Xinghe when he planned to come home. Xia Xinghe opened his mouth to reply, but hesitated.
“Maybe… I’ll wait a little longer.”
His voice was a bit uncertain.
Qiu Guiyue chuckled and asked, “Still haven’t made up your mind, huh?”
Xia Xinghe fell silent. After a long time, he finally said, “Mm.”
He had actually already begun looking into selling his house and transferring his household registration. But lately, he’d been going out with Bai Qingzhou a lot, and everything had been pushed back bit by bit. Maybe it was only when he was about to leave that he realized how attached he was. For the first time, Xia Xinghe realized there were so many things in Liaohu that tugged at his heart.
He missed the air here. He missed the rain.
He missed the city’s lights that never went out, no matter how late it got—and he missed… someone in this city.
Even if he still refused to admit it, it felt like the scales in his heart were slowly tipping toward the side where Bai Qingzhou was.
“It’s not urgent,” Qiu Guiyue said. “It’s just that your dad and I went to check out a new housing development nearby a few days ago. It’s quite nice—close to home and peaceful. There’s even a little park nearby. It’d be good for writing or going for walks.”
She continued, “There aren’t many ready-to-move-in units left. If you decide to come back, your dad and I will go talk to the agent and ask them to reserve one for you.”
Qiu Guiyue’s voice was exceptionally gentle through the phone. Xia Xinghe moved his lips, and finally said, “Okay.”
His parents were too kind, too gentle—so much so that he didn’t know how to speak his mind. The responsibility of being their son weighed heavily on him, making him feel even more indebted.
After hanging up, Xia Xinghe collapsed into the soft sofa, picked up a dog-shaped plushie nearby, and held it up in front of his face. The dog had an exaggerated frown and looked quite a bit like Bai Qingzhou.
Bai Qingzhou had given it to him a few days ago. It started when the two were walking Bamboo and Xia Xinghe had pointed at the plushie in a store window and said, “Look at that dog—its expression looks just like yours!”
At the time, Bai Qingzhou had looked at him with disdain and asked, “How does it look like me?” But the next day, awkwardly, he bought it and gave it to him—saying it was a thank-you gift for walking Bamboo together that day.
Xia Xinghe had laughed and accepted the plushie. But as he hugged it, a strange, hard-to-define emotion stirred quietly in his heart.
Why would Bai Qingzhou give him a plushie that looked so much like himself?
Xia Xinghe was afraid he was just being delusional—but he couldn’t stop himself from guessing over and over in his heart.
At this moment, the plush toy was raised above his head. Xia Xinghe looked at the toy that bore a striking resemblance to Bai Qingzhou, and his heart involuntarily skipped a beat. Under the bright lights of the living room, he pinched the toy’s face and asked it,
“Tell me, what exactly should I do?”
Naturally, the toy with the stern face didn’t answer. In the silence, Xia Xinghe’s phone suddenly pinged.
“Dun dun, dun dun, dun dun dun~”
It was the special alert tone he had set just for Bai Qingzhou.
The cheerful ringtone eased his tangled emotions. Pushing aside his worries for the moment, Xia Xinghe curled up on the couch with the plush toy in his arms and began chatting with Bai Qingzhou, half-heartedly at first.
Unlike before, when they only contacted each other when necessary, their current conversations were more like pure, casual chatting. The topics were trivial everyday things—like Bai Qingzhou saying Bamboo had eaten too much and was hiccuping all day, or Xia Xinghe mentioning a very polite and likable child he met in the elevator… Xia Xinghe had never chatted with Bai Qingzhou like this before, and now, sharing these bits of his daily life with him brought a fulfilling sense of happiness and reality.
After chatting for a while, Xia Xinghe gradually relaxed, comfortably hugging the plush toy on the couch. The troubles he had buried deep in his heart began to surface again.
[Little Bamboo: By the way, my mom called me today. She said she saw an apartment back home and asked when I was going back.]
Xia Xinghe didn’t really know why he brought this up with Bai Qingzhou. Maybe it was to properly say goodbye… or maybe—he still had a more secret hope.
His heart beat irregularly. Before he could say more, Bai Qingzhou suddenly called.
“You’re going back?”
As soon as the call connected, Bai Qingzhou’s voice sounded a bit urgent.
Xia Xinghe had never heard that tone from him before and was momentarily stunned. Bai Qingzhou followed up quickly:
“Can you…”
“Can I what?”
Xia Xinghe held his breath.
Bai Qingzhou opened his mouth but hesitated. Finally, he blurted out stiffly:
“Can you stay a few more days?”
He asked, “Do you want to go hiking?”
That was actually Nie Xingchao’s idea—he’d said that traveling together was the perfect way to deepen a relationship. Bai Qingzhou had been unable to find a good excuse, swallowing the suggestion every time it was about to leave his lips. But now that he heard Xia Xinghe was leaving, the words finally spilled out in a moment of impulse.
“Go hiking?”
Xia Xinghe repeated, then asked, “Why bring that up all of a sudden?”
“…Mm,” Bai Qingzhou replied, then quickly shifted the blame to Nie Xingchao: “It was Nie Xingchao’s idea. He asked if I wanted to go.”
He gave a couple of awkward coughs and rushed on, “I’m just casually asking. If you don’t want to go, then forget it, I—”
“I can.”
Xia Xinghe took a deep breath and cut him off.
He quickly came to terms with it—if he really was going back home, this might be one of the last chances he had to spend time with Bai Qingzhou. He ought to cherish it.
…..
Although it was Bai Qingzhou who invited Xia Xinghe hiking, in reality, there were four people going on the trip. Nie Xingchao didn’t need explaining—he was the “initiator” Bai Qingzhou used as an excuse. Their destination also happened to be in the city where Yan Cai worked. When Xia Xinghe casually mentioned it, Yan Cai enthusiastically insisted on joining.
Xia Xinghe was a bit concerned and asked if it would interfere with his work. Yan Cai waved it off and said,
“We’ve been friends for years. You’re coming here—of course I have to show you around properly.”
Xia Xinghe felt warm inside and agreed.
Yan Cai was always enthusiastic. Determined to be the group’s guide, he booked their hotel and tickets in advance and mapped out an itinerary full of mountains, rivers, and charming old towns—absolutely something to look forward to.
The truth was, besides wanting Xia Xinghe to have fun, there was another reason for his enthusiasm: Bai Qingzhou was going, and he didn’t quite trust him.
Time flew, and the day of departure arrived. Xia Xinghe had packed early and got up at dawn. After checking in with Yan Cai, he hurried to the airport.
Bai Qingzhou and Nie Xingchao were already waiting at the airport. Just as the three of them met up, a message came from Yan Cai:
[Yan Cai Isn’t Pickled Veggies: OK. Around what time will you arrive? I’ll come pick you up.]
[Little Bamboo: Around 11:00.]
[Little Bamboo: Thanks, Yan-ge.]
[Yan Cai Isn’t Pickled Veggies: Don’t mention it.]
The journey went smoothly. The plane landed right on time. As they exited the terminal, Xia Xinghe called Yan Cai:
“Yan-ge, we’ve arrived.”
“I’ve been waiting for you,” Yan Cai replied. “Head toward baggage claim.”
Xia Xinghe nodded and started thinking about what to say when they met. With Yan Cai, he didn’t need to say much, but since Nie Xingchao and Yan Cai didn’t know each other, he’d have to introduce them properly.
Just as he was thinking this and turned around, he saw Yan Cai from a distance.
“Over here! Over here!”
Xia Xinghe smiled and waved at him. Yan Cai walked toward them. As the four of them got closer, Xia Xinghe smiled and was just about to speak when Yan Cai suddenly exclaimed—
“What the f—” He pointed at Nie Xingchao in disbelief. “Why is it you?! Your friend is Bai Qingzhou??”
Nie Xingchao also frowned: “You’re the friend Xiao Xia was talking about?”
“Liar!” Yan Cai cursed.
Nie Xingchao cleared his throat awkwardly: “…I’m not!”
Tension instantly crackled between the two, and Xia Xinghe was completely dumbfounded.