Gong Lang fell ill—so sick that as soon as he hugged Huo Youqing, his eyes closed, and his body started to collapse.
Huo Youqing had no choice but to call the family driver to help carry him into the house, and then he called the family doctor.
When the family doctor came downstairs, Huo Youqing was sitting at the piano, absentmindedly pressing the keys. Only when he heard footsteps did he turn around, “How is he?”
The doctor told him that if Gong Lang’s illness had gone untreated any longer, it could have developed into pneumonia. He needed to rest for several days.
After some hesitation, Huo Youqing decided not to call Gong Lang’s family.
Though Gong Lang’s family was wealthy, he wasn’t particularly favored, especially in comparison to his older brother.
Gong Lang had an older brother, known to be extremely authoritative.
Gong Lang had once been spoiled, until his brother returned from studying abroad and quickly took control, frequently disciplining him with both small and large punishments. He had also forbidden anyone in the family from indulging him.
If his brother found out that Gong Lang had stood outside all night and made himself sick, he might show up at the hospital and beat him with a belt.
The worst possibility was that his brother would come looking for Gong Lang in person.
Recalling what Gong Lang’s brother was like, Huo Youqing stopped dialing the phone. Instead, he asked the housemaid to look after Gong Lang, and he sat by the sunlit floor-to-ceiling window, flipping through sheet music, letting the melody drift from his fingertips.
Not sure how long he had been playing, but suddenly, someone hugged him from behind.
“Youyou.”
The person holding him rested their slightly heavy head on his shoulder. Without turning back, Huo Youqing continued playing. After a while, Gong Lang, the one hugging him, released him and sat down beside him. Having just recovered from his fever, Gong Lang was still exhausted, yet he stubbornly stayed by Huo Youqing’s side.
After watching Huo Youqing for so many years, Gong Lang understood his temperament all too well — a combination of aloofness and warmth. It seemed like two completely different personalities, yet somehow, they coexisted perfectly in Huo Youqing.
Finally managing to stay at Huo Youqing’s house through a little trickery, there was no way Gong Lang was leaving anytime soon.
Gong Lang carefully rested his head on Huo Youqing’s shoulder again, and after a moment, wrapped his arm around Huo Youqing’s waist. This made Huo Youqing furrow his brows. He wanted to push him away, but seeing Gong Lang’s pale lips, he refrained from doing anything.
***
Gong Lang stayed at Huo Youqing’s house for three full days.
On the fourth day, Huo Youqing kicked the person half-laying on top of him out of bed. Gong Lang, who had been kicked to the floor, good-naturedly sat on the carpet and smiled at him, “Youyou, what do you want for breakfast? I’ll make it for you.”
“You’re fully recovered,” Huo Youqing stated flatly.
Gong Lang hummed in agreement and leaned his chin on the bed, putting on a playful expression. “Thanks to you taking care of me, I’m all better, but—” Seeing that Huo Youqing was about to speak, he quickly interrupted, “I left my company’s affairs behind and drove here overnight. If my brother finds out, I’ll be half-dead when I go back. He’s going abroad next week. I just need to wait until then—by that time, his anger will have cooled down.”
“If I go to any other place he knows about, or a hotel, he’d find me in two hours. Youyou, please, let me stay for just a few more days, just a few.”
As he spoke, Gong Lang’s phone suddenly rang.
Normally, Huo Youqing wouldn’t care about Gong Lang’s calls, so he stood up to head to the bathroom. However, before he could leave, he heard the voice on the loudspeaker.
“Gong Lang, I know you’re at Huo Youqing’s place. I’m on my way. Pack your things.”
It was Gong Lang’s brother.
Ten minutes later, Huo Youqing and Gong Lang were in a car heading to a villa their high school friend had mentioned.
It wasn’t until the car had been driving for thirty minutes that Huo Youqing realized there was no reason to be so afraid of Gong Lang’s brother. He could’ve simply kicked Gong Lang out of his house.
Looking out at the increasingly unfamiliar surroundings, he decided not to say “stop the car” after all.
If it was his future self who had wronged Dai Yuan first, then it was understandable why people like Gong Lang disliked him in the future. But Gong Lang in the present hadn’t done anything wrong.
After all, they had been friends for years.
***
They had left in such a hurry that they hadn’t even brought any clothes.
Gong Lang eagerly volunteered to drive and buy some. “Get some rest,” he told Huo Youqing. “I can tell you didn’t sleep enough.”
The high school friend who had come to meet them at the villa nodded in agreement. “Yeah, Youyou, why don’t you go rest in the room while we go get some clothes.”
Without thinking much about it, Huo Youqing nodded.
The villa was built on the side of a mountain, and from the window, you could see distant clouds floating like soft cream around the peaks. Sitting on the balcony, Huo Youqing idly scrolled through his phone when a notification popped up from his social app.
[Qiu Wenfei: Are you feeling better?]
[Qiu Wenfei: I watered the plant you keep in the dorm.]
[Qiu Wenfei: When do you think you’ll be back?]
[Qiu Wenfei: Or should I come visit you?]
Huo Youqing didn’t reply.
After about ten minutes, another message came through from Qiu Wenfei.
[Qiu Wenfei: When you passed out, you were holding a letter. I put it on your desk, but a few days ago, that friend of yours, Gong Lang, came to the dorm and took it.]
This message made Huo Youqing pause, and just as he was about to respond, another one came in.
[Qiu Wenfei: He opened it and read it. His expression didn’t look too good.]
Huo Youqing replied: “I understand. Thank you.”
Qiu Wenfei responded almost instantly, saying no thanks were necessary, even sending a cute emoji along with it.
Gong Lang still hadn’t returned. Bored, Huo Youqing glanced at the scenery for a while before lying down and dozing off. Before long, he found himself back in the future, in his twenty-seven-year-old self’s life.
His employer had received his resignation letter but hadn’t responded directly. Instead, the manager had gotten in touch, saying that despite his resignation, he still had to report to work for another month due to his contract.
Work was work—it was just a month, after all.
Expressionless, Huo Youqing thought as he fastened his tie.
He arrived at the office early, and having spent some time in this version of the world, he had learned how to make coffee. He was in the break room, preparing his cup when a few people came in chatting.
“I heard that ‘Mr.’ will be coming by today.”
“Does that mean we’ll get to see him work?”
“Don’t get your hopes up. He’s probably just here to meet with the boss. Besides, haven’t you heard? He doesn’t film anymore. Even if he does, the set always gets cleared.”
Their conversation didn’t interest Huo Youqing. Focused on his coffee-making, he didn’t notice someone quietly laughing nearby. Eventually, a young coworker, stylishly dressed, offered to help.
“Let me help you with that.”
Looking at the colleague, Huo Youqing blinked, then stepped aside. As it was his own coffee, he watched intently. At some point, he noticed the young man’s face turning redder and redder, and unable to ignore it any longer, he asked, “Are you feeling unwell?”
The coworker quickly shook his head, his voice much quieter now. “No.”
Before Huo Youqing could say anything more, there was a knock on the break room door, and to his surprise, a familiar figure appeared.
“Excuse me, the coffee smells amazing. Can I ask what brand it is?”
A clear, resonant voice accompanied the sound of boiling water splashing into a cup. When Huo Youqing turned to look, he found himself gazing into a pair of amber eyes.
The owner of the amber eyes blinked lightly when he saw Huo Youqing.
Was it Huo Youqing’s misperception.
Huo Youqing later realized that his colleagues were talking about Dai Yuan. He also learned that Dai Yuan had once been a famous photographer and had a senior junior brother relation with Mr. Hyde, Huo Youqing’s employer.
According to his colleagues, Dai Yuan was noticeably more talented than Mr. Hyde, but he had since stopped shooting.
It made sense now that his employer knew Dai Yuan; no wonder they had mentioned him on the drive that day.
Huo Youqing didn’t even finish that day’s shift before he went straight to the employer’s agent to ask about the penalties for breaching his contract.
For both his own sake and for Dai Yuan’s, Huo Youqing felt that he shouldn’t have too much contact with people related to Dai Yuan. His employer, being Dai Yuan’s senior brother, might even seek revenge on Dai Yuan’s behalf.
There wasn’t much for Huo Youqing to pack at the company. He didn’t even need a box; he simply left empty-handed. But just as he was about to leave the company building, someone chased after him.
“Wait!”
The person who caught up blocked his path, wearing an eerie pale face with a timid, uneasy expression. “I apologize on behalf of Ah Lang and the others for what they did to you last time. I hope you can forgive them. Also, my senior brother was only angry at the time and hired you out of spite. He just told me he’s not angry anymore and wants you to come back to work. Huo Youqing, you can return to your job. My senior brother won’t deliberately mess with you because of me anymore.”
Huo Youqing stopped walking. He wanted to make things clear with Dai Yuan.
“There’s no need for apologies, from you or them. From now on, we’re strangers. Just avoid me if you see me.” He glanced at the tattoo on Dai Yuan’s neck. “That tattoo… you should be able to get it removed, right?”
Though he spoke with a calm tone, the person in front of him suddenly fell silent. The amber eyes that had shown fear and guilt moments earlier now clouded over, like a sudden shift in the weather from sunny to overcast. Under that cloud cover, it was impossible to tell whether a destructive storm was coming or just a light drizzle.
An uncomfortable feeling welled up inside Huo Youqing, prompting him to stop talking and walk away. But just as he passed by, his hand was grabbed.
The young man, standing in the bright sunlight with cold, pale fingertips, smiled softly at him. “So, you really don’t remember me.”
The last two words were mouthed silently, but Huo Youqing understood.
Dai Yuan called him “older brother”.
