“Shen Shi” hadn’t expected to see Ye Ran again so soon.
After telling the Dou family’s old master what he wanted, the doting grandfather immediately sent an assistant to purchase a place at Lakeside Mansion. The process of buying and handing over the keys would take at least a week. He wasn’t in a rush, he’d just stroll around the area in the meantime.
It was a little past eight in the evening.
The night breeze was soft; willow branches swayed.
Not far from Lakeside Mansion, Spring Lake was lively: flower boats gliding across the lake speckled with lights, children laughing, adults cooling off, a scene of calm and peace.
“Shen Shi” was dressed simply in sportswear, unhurriedly following the person in front of him, watching Ye Ran stand by the roadside, torn and hesitant, staring at his flip-flops.
Black flip-flops, the kind favored by elderly grandpas on evening walks.
That night, Ye Ran had snuck downstairs under the pretense of picking up a delivery, just to grab a bowl of spicy noodles from a street stall by Spring Lake. Afraid that Shen Shi might suspect his motives, he hadn’t changed clothes, still in a loose white T-shirt, knee-length shorts, and those same old flip-flops.
Those flip-flops had been with him nearly two years, the soles soft, the straps loose, and each step had that “walking-on-clouds” feeling.
Ye Ran loved them. They’d been his go-to shoes for evening strolls.
But now…
One of the straps had snapped.
Right at the “Y” part. Ye Ran blinked awkwardly and didn’t dare move.
The lingering summer heat still clung to the air.
A faint breeze carried warmth as it brushed past him.
After a moment’s silence, he awkwardly tiptoed and eased himself onto a bench by the roadside.
Even after just a few steps, a thin sheen of sweat had formed on his nose. His clean, almond-shaped eyes were clear as if washed with water. Quietly, he sent a message to Shen Shi, then gazed blankly at the lake.
Five minutes later, he suddenly heard meowing.
Ye Ran looked down, a few kittens had padded out from under the willows in the distance.
Leading them was a small calico, its amber eyes soft yet sharp, mewing up at him.
Ye Ran was puzzled until the kittens gathered under the bench from all directions that was when he realized he’d sat in their territory.
The calico wasn’t being affectionate, it was issuing a warning.
Ye Ran: “……”
Sorry… but I really can’t move right now, quq.
He sighed and just then, a voice came from behind him.
“Senior Ye Ran…?”
Startled, Ye Ran turned around.
The night was dark; the streetlamp was half-hidden by willow branches, letting only thin strands of light through.
The newcomer was dressed in black sportswear, carrying a shopping bag, speaking casually as he crouched down in front of Ye Ran and glanced at the kittens. “Out for a walk?”
Ye Ran stared at him blankly. “Uh… yeah.”
The young man opened the bag and took out a pouch of cat food and several disposable bowls. His fingers were long, pale, and well-shaped. Ye Ran’s gaze lingered on them for a few seconds, struck by a faint sense of familiarity.
Click.
The cat food was torn open and poured evenly into the bowls. The calico, moments ago all vigilance, gave a soft “meow,” leading the kittens closer. Each found its spot and began to eat.
After a few bites, the calico nudged into another bowl, shoving aside a smaller kitten. The poor thing mewed weakly twice before moving toward its sibling’s bowl.
The fluffy little scene made Ye Ran smile despite himself.
The boy in front of him also laughed softly and reached out to stroke the calico’s head and as he lifted his hand, Ye Ran froze again.
At the base of the boy’s thumb was a faint mole, resting over his slender knuckle.
It looked… very familiar.
Just last night, under this same hand, he and Shen Shi had been arm wrestling.
Shen had lost and taken him out for a midnight snack.
“Senior, why are you sitting here alone?” the boy asked casually.
Ye Ran snapped back to himself. “…Oh. My shoe broke. I can’t walk.”
“Your shoe broke?”
Ye Ran nodded. “…Yeah.”
“Shen Shi” lowered his gaze. Ye Ran’s shorts stopped just at the knees. Two slim, pale legs stretched out before him, smooth and fair, faint blue veins tracing gently beneath the skin like flowered vines.
He seemed a little embarrassed too and curled his toes slightly.
Five clean, round toes rested on the pure black insole, small and delicate like flower buds. Around his right ankle was a string of agate beads, reddish-brown against his pale, smooth skin like red plum blossoms blooming in snow.
“Shen Shi” suddenly froze mid-breath. It took almost a full minute before his stiff movements returned to normal, though his eyes kept drifting, almost imperceptibly, to Ye Ran’s slender ankle. His throat moved in a silent swallow.
He seemed to understand, a little, regarding that other “his” twisted tastes.
Ye Ran, however, noticed nothing. He looked at him curiously, frowned, and asked, “You are…?”
“Dou Ran,” said Shen Shi flatly, not even lifting his eyes.
As if unaware that Ye Ran had gone quiet, he went on, “Senior, do you want me to walk you back?”
Ye Ran snapped back to himself, emotions tumbling inside. His gaze as if acting on its own swept over Dou Ran’s face once more. As the forum had said, this Dou Ran was indeed good-looking; his brows, eyes, even his bone structure resembled Shen Shi’s somewhat.
But that resemblance made Ye Ran’s skin crawl.
He suspected… this Dou Ran was secretly imitating Shen Shi.
A copycat!
Just a moment ago, he had been feeling a bit grateful since this person had stepped in to help but now that goodwill vanished completely. His expression cooled. “No need,” he said lightly. “Someone’s coming to pick me up.”
“Someone?”
“Shen Shi” gave a faint smile, his tone casual and subtly teasing. “Senior Shen Shi… perhaps?”
“Mm.” Ye Ran nodded stiffly.
And speak of the devil, his phone rang in his pocket.
He pulled it out. It was a video call from Shen Shi.
Didi.
The call connected.
The view on the other end shook slightly, and Shen Shi’s voice came through: “Baby, where are you?”
Caught off guard by the sudden endearment, Ye Ran’s ears flushed red. Dou Ran, meanwhile, still stood there watching him, unbothered, as if leisurely enjoying the show.
“I’m on the walkway by Spring Lake,” Ye Ran said softly, edging a little farther away, his voice unconsciously gentle. “I’m hanging up, okay?”
Shen Shi chuckled. “Show me your shoes, how’d they break?”
That made Ye Ran feel a pang of loss. The flip-flops had been with him for two years, he’d grown attached. But just like that, they’d given out. He turned the camera toward his right foot, the one with the anklet, the two pale toes pinching the broken strap to show him.
“Look.”
On the other end, Shen Shi was silent for a moment, then said, “Mm. I’ll fix them when you get back.”
“They can still be fixed?” Ye Ran said, surprised and delighted.
“We’ll see if 502 glue works. But even if it does, don’t wear them out again, they’ll just break.”
Hearing that the shoes could be saved, Ye Ran was perfectly content. Turning the camera back to his face, he smiled, soft parentheses at his cheeks, bright eyes gleaming. “Okay. Got it.”
“And the package?” Shen Shi’s voice was mild, but there was amusement underneath. He was walking along a sidewalk; the screen shook slightly, his jawline smooth and sharp. “Weren’t you out picking up a package? How’d you end up there?”
Ye Ran immediately tucked away his smile and blinked, at a loss for words.
Shen Shi sounded even more amused. “Baby, sneaking snacks behind my back?”
“I’m not!” Ye Ran protested, righteous and indignant. “Street food’s not clean. You should eat less of it.”
Shen Shi laughed. “So what’d you eat tonight?”
“Takoyaki.”
“The truth.”
Ye Ran, honest now: “Hot and sour noodles.”
Shen Shi: “…”
He slowed his pace, staring at Ye Ran’s guilty, smiling face on the screen, and sighed. “Got it.”
Ye Ran’s eyes curved up as he tried to coax him. “Yours still tastes better anyway.”
Shen Shi gave him a long look, drawling, “So what if it does? Doesn’t mean anyone likes me more for it.”
Ye Ran was caught off guard then laughed quietly, the corners of his narrow, upturned eyes bending into arcs, starlight flickering within. Gazing softly at Shen Shi, he raised a finger. “I really know I was wrong.”
“Wrong how?” Shen Shi asked lazily.
“I won’t eat street food again.”
“Wrong,” Shen Shi corrected. “It’s not that you can’t eat it, you just have to bring me along next time.”
Ye Ran laughed again, for a long while, before finally nodding seriously. “Okay, Older Broher Shen Shi.”
The mock sternness on Shen Shi’s face cracked; his eyes filled with laughter, warm as he looked at him. “I’m almost there. Still hungry? I’ll heat you some milk when we get back.”
“Okay,” Ye Ran said, swinging his legs, his dark hair tousled by the wind. His gaze and expression were pure, simple, the kind that comes from being deeply loved. “Add some honey.”
They talked for a while longer about dinner, about plans for tomorrow, then about a movie coming out at the end of the month.
The conversation meandered on for nearly ten minutes before they finally hung up.
Even after the call ended, the smile hadn’t faded from Ye Ran’s face. He turned and was startled to find that Dou Ran was still there.
The young man stood beneath the shadow of a willow tree, his features striking and well-defined.
His eyes, long and narrow like a phoenix’s, were dark as ink calm, detached. A cigarette rested between his fingers, unlit, and he tapped it lightly, as if he might snap it in half at any moment.
Ye Ran froze, then finally found his voice. “Uh… you smoke?”
“Yeah.” The boy named Dou Ran smiled faintly, his voice low and lazy. He lifted his gaze, meeting Ye Ran’s eyes with a shadowed look. “Senior, you don’t like people who smoke?”
Ye Ran frowned slightly and shook his head honestly. “It’s not that I don’t like it, but… smoking is bad for your health.”
“Got it.”
“Shen Shi” gave a short laugh, crushed the cigarette between his fingers, and tossed it into a nearby trash bin.
Straightening up, his presence suddenly felt even more familiar to Ye Ran. Before Ye Ran could react, he lifted a hand in casual farewell and walked off unhurriedly in the other direction.
“I’m going, senior.”
Ye Ran watched his figure gradually fade into the darkness. “…Oh. Goodbye.”
“Goodbye.”
“Shen Shi” didn’t look back, his gaze unfocused as he stared ahead.
On the sidewalk, a tall, slender figure was striding toward him, a man dressed in the same white T-shirt and black shorts as Ye Ran. His posture was upright and elegant, his temperament cool and composed. As they passed each other, his expression didn’t flicker in the slightest.
“Shen Shi” slowly came to a stop in the shadows where the light couldn’t reach. He turned his head slightly, looking back with an indifferent expression.
Behind him, carried softly by the wind, came Ye Ran’s gentle voice: “Shen Shi… I’m here.”
“Little Hei’s broken,” he said.
The man walking toward him let out a quiet laugh.
He bent down, his back broad and warm, his voice low as his hands braced on either side of Ye Ran. “Poor Little Hei. I’ll fix it when we get home.”
Ye Ran smiled too, his arms lifting lightly, willow-like, to hook around the man’s lean shoulders. “Let’s go home!”
“Okay,” the man said, carrying him on his back. “Let’s go home.”
——
Eleven o’clock that night.
The world was silent.
“Shen Shi” sat idly on a bench by Spring Lake. The calico cat curled at his feet suddenly stirred from its nap, lifting its lids and mewing softly.
A pale, slender hand reached down and rubbed its head.
Following the direction it called toward, “Shen Shi” looked up and saw a figure standing quietly in the moonlight, silver light flowing over his body like water.
Gradually, the man’s features came into focus, sharp and handsome, poised between youth and adulthood, his presence edged with chill precision.
Seeing he’d been noticed, he didn’t move.
Shen Shi’s expression remained utterly calm.
Step by step, he walked out of the darkness, expressionless, and looked straight at the “himself” before him. His voice was low and cold:
“Who are you?”
