On the balcony.
Jiang Yun thought calmly for a moment and said: “Even if Yu Ting is ‘sick,’ Grandma won’t let you leave during the New Year holidays. On the second and third days, there are family gatherings that no one can miss, even my dad postponed business to come back overnight. You can’t leave.”
Shen Shi’s eyes darkened but he said nothing.
Jiang Yun sighed, “Let me think of a way to help you.”
….
Fifth day of the New Year.
Five days flew by.
Half the villas in the neighborhood were empty. An Yu was still in Hebei, Grandma An’s funeral was no quick matter. Under the grief, Mother An had fainted at the mourning hall. Even though An Yu was usually carefree, he was shaken by the situation and stayed in the hospital daily.
Ye Ran deliberately didn’t disturb him these past two days, only messaging to ask how things were.
An Yu replied by phone, his voice full of fatigue: “The doctor said my mom is exhausted and told her to relax and avoid emotional extremes.”
Ye Ran listened helplessly. How was Mother An supposed to relax under these circumstances? “I’ll go to Hebei to see Auntie in a couple of days.”
“Don’t bother. It’s a mess here right now. My aunt… well, you know, she’s fighting over the house Grandma left behind.”
The An family had some savings, comparable but slightly below Ye’s. Both families had grown wealthy early on and as long as they kept progressing steadily, they could live comfortably. The An family gave Grandma An a large sum every year. When children can’t be physically present to care for parents, money usually makes up for it.
Grandma An only had one old house, and the money Mother An gave her was saved to be spent on An Yu.
But now the situation was so chaotic that even An Yu was at a loss for words.
“Didn’t take you out today?” After a while, An Yu asked Ye Ran.
“No, he took a call in the morning and left.”
“What the h*ll,” An Yu got angry, “he’s not leaving you home alone again, is he? During New Year, I really can’t stand your dad.”
Ye Ran was used to it and knew An Yu was just standing up for him:
“It’s okay. If he leaves, I’ll come to your place.”
“That’s right,” An Yu’s tone softened, “Before I left, I stuffed a lot of snacks in the fridge. If you want to eat, help yourself. Alright, gotta go, my aunt is here, and I have to deal with her.”
Their call lasted no more than three minutes.
After hanging up, Ye Ran sat on the sofa and thought about the perishable fruits An Yu mentioned. He planned to visit the An house to check.
If the fruit wasn’t spoiled, he’d leave it be; if close to going bad, he’d bring it home and finish it quickly.
He put on his coat. A small note fell from the coffee table.
It was written by Father Ye before leaving earlier— “Ranran, I won’t be back for lunch. Eat something out yourself. Money is under the table.”
Under the table was 200 yuan.
Ye Ran didn’t take the money. He put on his black down jacket and braved the cold wind and light snow as he stepped out.
A few days ago, Beijing had cleared up. The sun wasn’t strong, but the weather was clear, perfect for visiting relatives or taking a walk.
But that morning, snow began to fall again. Snowflakes, like drifting willow catkins, were swept along by the cold wind, and within just a few hours, a thick layer had piled up along the roadside.
Ye Ran wrapped his scarf snugly around his neck and walked to the An family’s house in the east district. As soon as he opened the door, a wave of floral fragrance greeted him.
Mother An and An Yu, had a refined taste and liked anything with strong, rich scents. Ye Ran took a light sniff, changed neatly into house slippers, and went into the kitchen. He took out the fruits in the fridge: mangoes, apples, and pears, their skins already blackening, put them in a bag, and then went around the house checking the water and electricity. After confirming everything was fine, he left the An household.
On the way back, he threw away the spoiled fruit. The rest were still edible, and he strolled home leisurely with the bag in hand.
When he was about a hundred meters from his house, he saw a familiar figure.
A woman stepped down from a BMW parked by the road. She wore delicate, elegant makeup and a white coat. Her hair, clearly well-maintained, fell smoothly over her shoulders. She looked strikingly youthful, nothing like someone already in her forties.
Ye Ran’s steps slowed. His fingers tightened unconsciously around the plastic bag.
The woman also saw him. In the cold wind, the pearls on her necklace gleamed brightly. She smiled, warm yet distant. “Ranran.”
Ye Ran lowered his eyes, a rush of thoughts flooding his mind. At last, he lifted his head and said calmly, “Auntie.”
***
The café was crowded.
Soft chatter floated through the air.
A cup of rich coffee was set down before them, steam gently curling upward.
Ye Ran sat silently across from the woman. It had been almost five years since they last met, yet Little Aunt Ye looked nearly the same as before.
“Ranran,” she said softly, “I know this visit is sudden, I didn’t want to bother you. But I heard from your grandfather that you and your father went back to the hometown for New Year’s Eve. Why didn’t you let us know beforehand? If I’d known, I would have gone back too.”
Ye Ran kept his gaze lowered. Little Aunt Ye studied him carefully.
Compared to five years ago, Ye Ran had changed a lot.
Back then, he was just a quiet, steady middle-schooler, mature for his age, with a calmness other boys didn’t have. That year, his grandmother had suddenly “come to her senses” and caused a scene at the Ye household, demanding to take him away. Everyone was exhausted, and even Little Aunt Ye had felt her mother’s behavior was too much.
But Ye Ran, without saying a word, had stood by his father’s decision. When his grandmother came again, he helped his father shut the door in her face.
After that, his grandmother became much quieter. Still, to avoid suspicion, her and the eldest aunt had not met with Ye Ran or his father for the past five years.
Now, Ye Ran was still quiet and gentle, yet there was something different about him.
Something freer, perhaps a bit more like a boy his age.
Not at all like something that rough man, Ye Ran’s father, could have raised.
Little Aunt Ye composed herself, smiling. “I really shouldn’t have come today, but your eldest aunt suddenly had something come up, so I brought her red envelope along with mine.”
She took two thick red envelopes from her bag, clearly heavy.
Ye Ran glanced at them and said politely, “Thank you, Little Aunt, thank Eldest Aunt too. But I can’t accept them.”
Little Aunt Ye sighed softly but didn’t press him. “Next time you and your father come back home, please let us know. Everyone made mistakes back then… Ranran, your grandmother’s getting old. Sometimes the things she says aren’t what she really means. I hope you can try to understand her.”
A choking tightness slowly built in his chest.
Ye Ran closed his eyes briefly, suppressing the lump in his throat and drawing in a deep breath.
His fingers trembled so badly he couldn’t even lift the coffee cup.
Little Aunt Ye hesitated, then spoke gently, as though choosing her words carefully. “Your mother wouldn’t want to see you and your grandmother at odds like this, would she?”
The words struck like a bell right beside his ear.
Ye Ran felt his eardrums quake, a dull pain spreading from them to his heart. He wanted to hold himself together, to stay calm but the first image that flashed in his mind was Shen Shi’s face, that usual calm, careless expression that seemed to hold the whole world lightly.
Ye Ran’s lips moved, his mind blank, and he heard his own voice say—
“If my mom were still here, she wouldn’t blame me.”
Before him, Little Aunt Ye’s perfect smile cracked faintly.
All these years, everyone including his grandmother had thought that the whole incident was mutual fault. They had all been waiting for him to be the first to bow his head, to soften, to return to the family home and chat about “the past” as though it were a harmless joke.
The hurtful words, the hurtful actions, everyone assumed time would heal them. As the younger generation, he wasn’t allowed to hold grudges. Even if the elders had been wrong, he wasn’t supposed to resent them.
And indeed, he hadn’t resented them. But that was precisely why, all these years, no one had ever apologized.
Only his father, in silence, had stayed by his side each New Year’s, holding their ground in Beijing, never bowing to anyone.
Even when An Yu mentioned his father, he’d only complain that he was rarely home, never attended Ye Ran’s school events, rarely accompanied him. But he’d never once questioned his father’s stance on that matter.
As he put it: “If I’d been there back then, I’d have rammed straight into that old lady myself.”
Hearing that, Ye Ran had felt a sudden, freeing clarity.
He exhaled slowly, stood up, and without looking at Little Aunt Ye again, said evenly, “I’ll be going.”
The noise of the café faded behind him.
Before him, only a sky full of swirling, icy snow.
…
On the way back to the villa, the snow grew heavier.
Dark clouds sank low over the horizon, and thick, feathery snow began to pour down.
Ye Ran walked with his head lowered into the wind and snow. Flakes landed on his soft black hair, half-melting, half-clinging.
His eyes, reddened by the cold, glistened faintly with moisture. Before long, the dampness spread to his lashes, melting tiny, delicate snowflakes one by one.
Ye Ran’s mind was blank as he followed the familiar route home, step by weary step.
He felt so tired. If only he could be home already, he could sleep straight until nightfall.
The cold wind crept in through his collar and sleeves, seeping into his whole body. He slowly pulled his collar tighter, his fingers red from the chill. It took him a while to remember that he could put his hands in his pockets.
Snow and wind blurred the world before him, everything a blinding white chaos.
As he neared his house, he thought he saw a shadowy figure ahead. His gaze turned dazed and unfocused.
…A hallucination, maybe.
He thought quietly to himself. He’d been video calling Shen Shi every day lately except for yesterday. Missing one day, and now he was seeing his illusion?
His messy heartbeat steadied all at once.
Keeping his same slow pace, Ye Ran lowered his eyes and continued walking forward.
But the closer he got to the house, the clearer and taller that dark silhouette became.
His eyelid twitched sharply. His heart, numbed by the cold, began to regain warmth, thudding faster and faster. He quickened his pace unconsciously, eyes fixed ahead, breath coming heavier, each exhale a puff of white mist.
The next second, that shadow seemed to decide something and turned to face him—
Amid the swirling snow, Shen Shi stood there, wearing a simple down jacket. His eyes were pitch-black and cold, his hair and shoulders dusted with snow. He hadn’t driven here; deep footprints trailed behind his shoes.
“Shen Shi…?” Ye Ran stood frozen, words stuck in his throat. Then, as if his body moved before his mind, he broke into a run.
…
He ran fast.
The wind slashed past him like knives, the scenery flipping in his vision as he sprinted forward.
That still figure suddenly took two steps forward and caught him firmly in his arms.
“Mm.” He heard Shen Shi’s low, tired voice. “It’s me.”
Shen Shi’s body carried the chill of having waited long in the cold. His sharp, pale features looked as if they’d been carved from stone. Calm, but filled with unconcealed worry.
Ye Ran crashed into his embrace. The world went quiet around him; joy and confusion tangled in his chest, leaving him speechless. He didn’t even know what to say or ask.
Shen Shi seemed to sense his mood.
He simply held him tighter, spreading his large down jacket around him, wrapping him inside. His body was warm, his chest broad and steady. Even the sound of his heartbeat was deep and solid like something that could quiet all storms.
“What happened?” Shen Shi’s voice came softer, his breath warm against Ye Ran’s face. His tone was low and hoarse. “Someone bullied you?”
Ye Ran stayed still, eyes lowered. His lashes were heavy with moisture, like soaked crow feathers drooping low. The breath he’d been holding in his chest seemed to slowly disperse, leaving only faint confusion.
A few seconds later, Shen Shi lifted his chin from his embrace, wiping the tears from his face. Only then did Ye Ran realize he’d been crying without noticing.
Shen Shi looked down at him, eyes dark and steady.
The folds of his eyelids were deep, his pupils pure black: cold and detached. When his long, cool fingers brushed away Ye Ran’s tears, the fatigue in his eyes vanished, replaced only by a quiet, icy chill.
“Baby,” he asked, voice unreadable, “what happened?”
***
Ye Ran pushed open the front door.
The house was filled with warmth. Shen Shi followed half a step behind him, lifting his gaze slightly to take in the layout of the place.
He’d come here before, always by car, and had never entered directly out of courtesy.
But this time it was sudden. Jiang Yun had gone straight from the airport to a hotel downtown to catch up on sleep, and though Shen Shi was tired too, something about Ye Ran’s recent behavior had felt off. So, he came here first.
The Ye home was cozy, its furnishings clearly aged but well cared for.
A photo sat on the coffee table, a family of three. Ye Ran looked about five or six, cradled between his handsome father and beautiful mother. All three smiled brightly at the camera.
Shen Shi paused, a shadow passing silently through his heart.
…A normal family’s photos would change over time, but the Ye family’s had stopped at that age. The reason could only be heavy, either divorce, or loss.
He watched Ye Ran’s back as he walked toward the kitchen, quietly reining in all his presence.
The woman in the photo faced his direction. Her smile was radiant and free-spirited, her arms encircling young Ye Ran carefully, as though holding a treasure.
The man beside them held them both with a gentle embrace. His face was serious, but the rare smile he wore made the tenderness in his eyes nearly overflow.
Shen Shi’s eyes lowered slightly, a faint ache spreading through his chest.
When Ye Ran came out of the kitchen, he held a canister of tea leaves and a kettle of freshly boiled water.
“Want some tea?” His tone had mostly calmed; now only the quiet happiness of seeing Shen Shi remained. “We have black and green tea. Which do you want?”
At the sound of his voice, Shen Shi looked up, expression unreadable but composed. “Green tea.”
“Perfect, I brought that one.”
Ye Ran smiled as he tore open a packet and poured the leaves into a cup.
Neither of them were tea connoisseurs. Just add leaves and water, wait a moment, and it was ready to drink.
As Ye Ran moved about, Shen Shi lowered his eyes, watching every motion. After a while, he asked mildly, “What happened just now?”
Ye Ran knew there was no avoiding it.
He paused, then said quietly, “My aunt came to see me… We’re not very close.”
His aunt, his mother’s side of the family.
Shen Shi’s gaze flickered, an inkling of understanding in his tone, but his voice remained calm, steady.
“So your bad mood these days… was because of her?”
“You—” Ye Ran looked up at him, blinking. “Was it that obvious?”
A faint smile flickered in Shen Shi’s eyes. “Not obvious.”
Ye Ran was even more confused. “Then…?”
Shen Shi said calmly, “But I just knew.”
Ye Ran: “…”
He shut his mouth quietly and went back to brewing tea.
His expression was serious. He’d taken off his bulky jacket, revealing a loose gray undershirt beneath. The collar hung open slightly, and his hair, longer than usual, was tied at the nape of his neck, strands of black and white light intermingling. Somehow, there was a subtle trace of sensuality in that look.
By now, it had been nearly half a month since they last saw each other.
The faint amusement in Shen Shi’s eyes gradually faded. His gaze narrowed, his Adam’s apple shifting as if he were about to speak when out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the photo on the coffee table: Ye Ran, smiling radiantly at him.
He went quiet for two seconds, then straightened up, sitting properly—an upright, disciplined posture he hadn’t used since elementary school.
Ye Ran finished brewing the tea and sat down on the sofa. He vaguely felt something was off but didn’t think much of it. His bright eyes fixed on Shen Shi, like a cat spotting its owner, and before he could stop himself, he leaned over and rubbed lightly against him.
His soft, fluffy hair brushed under Shen Shi’s chin. Shen Shi relaxed, the corner of his lips curving faintly. He slipped an arm around Ye Ran’s waist, letting him cling and nuzzle however he wanted.
The body in his arms was slender and supple, carrying the lightness unique to someone still in their youth. Through the thin fabric of his shirt, Shen Shi could even feel the warmth and softness of his skin.
Suppressing every flicker of desire, Shen Shi lowered his head gently, pressing a tender kiss to Ye Ran’s brow.
Ye Ran trembled slightly. When he realized Shen Shi made no further moves, he opened his eyes, dark and clear as if washed with water. After a moment of blankness, he wrapped his arms loosely around Shen Shi’s neck and nestled into his embrace again, light and pliant, like a cat curling closer.
He stayed quiet, the easy smile on his face gradually fading, lashes lowering with a faint air of melancholy.
It felt like he was seeking comfort, perhaps even trying to soothe his own sadness.
Neither spoke again. They simply sat curled up together on one end of the sofa.
Shen Shi’s hand slowly stroked down Ye Ran’s back, occasionally turning his head to press a light kiss against him.
Then, glancing at the photo of the woman on the table, smiling so brightly, he sighed inwardly, an apology whispered countless times in silence.
Time ticked on.
After more than ten minutes, Ye Ran finally seemed to come out of the empty, oppressive fog that had weighed him down.
He nudged against Shen Shi’s shoulder, his voice hoarse and small. “The tea should be ready.”
Shen Shi gave a soft hum but didn’t move. “Let’s stay like this a bit longer.”
“…Fine, since you said so.” Ye Ran reluctantly agreed, then added, “Actually, I’m fine now.”
Shen Shi hummed again. This time, when he spoke, there was a hint of laughter in his voice. “It’s just that I missed you too much.”
Ye Ran’s ears flushed red. “…I missed you too.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“That’s great,” Shen Shi said slowly, leaning close to his ear, voice dropping low. “Then why…”
For some reason, his voice was so soft that only Ye Ran could hear. Ye Ran’s breath caught, his face burning. “It was my phone’s fault.”
“I see.” Shen Shi nodded. “Then I’ll get you a new one.”
Ye Ran: “No, I just bought—”
Click.
Both of them froze mid-sentence.
Ye Ran’s face went pale as he scrambled up from Shen Shi’s arms. “Did you hear that?”
Instinctively, Shen Shi’s gaze flicked toward the photo frame on the coffee table.
A few seconds later, Ye Ran tilted his head, listening closely. Faint footsteps approached the front door, steady, familiar.
Ye Ran’s whole body went rigid. Shock froze him so completely he couldn’t even react. After a long pause, he forced out the words one by one:
“My dad’s home.”
