What are you doing here too?

The two retraced their steps, the faint scent of osmanthus still lingering along the way. For some reason, the wind seemed to be playing tricks on them, blowing cool one moment and warm the next. Shan Ye sneezed several times in a row.

Yu Chuan handed him the jacket draped over his forearm, his tone a little firm. "Put it on. How are you going to teach when we get back if you catch a cold?"

Though Shan Ye was reluctant, catching a cold would indeed be a hassle. He didn't refuse, saying quietly, "Thanks."

Seeing that he hadn't refused, Yu Chuan stepped behind him to help him put on the jacket. Shan Ye held out his arms. He had just slipped one arm into a sleeve when, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted someone standing opposite them in the distance, pushing a wheelchair.

At first, Shan Ye thought he was seeing things. The man standing there looked a little like his Fan Jin. He looked away and slipped his other arm into the jacket. Once he had it on, Yu Chuan said from behind him, "A perfect fit. Not bad."

Shan Ye straightened the front of the jacket. The man ahead hadn't moved, so Shan Ye looked again. This time, their eyes met.

His eyes widened, and he stood stunned for a full half minute.

"Fan Jin?" He found his voice again.

He hurried a few steps forward. Up close, he saw the man's cropped hair and deep-set eyes-even his clothes were exactly like the ones his Fan Jin wore. The closer he got, the more certain he became. It really was Fan Jin.

A smile spread across his face, his delight impossible to hide. "You... what are you doing here?"

Seeing how happily he was smiling, Fan Jin's lips curved slightly. "What are you doing here too?" he asked in return.

Shan Ye was so happy he didn't know what to say. He even started stammering. "I... I'm here on a team-building trip with my coworkers. We came to Osmanthus City specially."

He looked at the person in the wheelchair and suddenly remembered that Fan Jin had said he was taking his grandmother back to his hometown for a few days.

"Oh! You're his grandma." He bent down to her eye level. "Hello, Grandma. I'm Fan Jin's friend. My name is Shan Ye."

The elderly woman smiled kindly. "Hello. You're both friends of Jin's, aren't you?" She looked at the two young men before her.

Shan Ye straightened and introduced the man beside him. "This is my coworker, Yu Chuan."

Though he was speaking to her, his gaze rested on Fan Jin.

Yu Chuan smiled and nodded. "Hello." Then he looked at Fan Jin and gave him a slight nod. "I'm Yu Chuan." There was something unusual in his gaze; it was hard to tell whether it was friendly or not, but his smile never faded.

Fan Jin nodded without much expression and didn't introduce himself.

He shifted his gaze to Shan Ye's face.

Their eyes met.

Shan Ye had so much he wanted to tell him. They hadn't seen each other in so long, and all the longing that had built up was aching to spill out at once. But this definitely wasn't the right time.

Fan Jin was facing the opposite direction from him, so he must have just come up from the foot of the mountain.

"You're heading up the mountain, right?"

His grandmother said, "I'm getting old. I wanted to smell the osmanthus in my hometown."

Fan Jin looked at his grandmother and took hold of the wheelchair, ready to continue on.

Before leaving, he still said to Shan Ye, "We'll get going. See you."

Shan Ye nodded repeatedly. "Okay. See you, Fan Jin."

He stepped aside to let them head up the mountain. The slope was gentle, so Fan Jin had no trouble pushing the wheelchair. He simply walked very slowly, chatting with his grandmother as they went.

Shan Ye watched them go and didn't turn back until their figures had dwindled to a tiny dot.

The moment he turned, he met Yu Chuan's gaze and jumped. "What are you doing?"

Yu Chuan was bent forward, staring straight at him with a smile tugging at his lips. "He's the one you said you liked?"

Shan Ye admitted it readily. "Yes. He's the one I like." He walked around him and continued ahead.

Yu Chuan followed beside him and suddenly said, "Then wouldn't he have seen me helping you put on your jacket just now?"

Shan Ye stopped, his body suddenly stiffening a little. Yu Chuan was right. Fan Jin had probably seen that.

Yu Chuan continued, "He didn't react at all. Could it be that he's not interested in you?"

Shan Ye looked at him and said in all seriousness, "Then he's not interested. He'll be interested in me one day."

Yu Chuan raised an eyebrow. "Then could you be interested in me too?"

For a moment, Shan Ye was speechless. What the fuck was this romantic minefield? Yu Chuan liked me, I liked Fan Jin, and Fan Jin...

He glanced at him. "I'll just assume you're joking."

With that, he strode down the mountain. Yu Chuan quickly caught up and chattered beside him. "Come on, give me a chance. What's so great about that guy with the ice-cold face?" He had only met Fan Jin once and had already labeled him an ice face.

Shan Ye laughed. "Ice face?" Thinking about it, his Fan Jin really was like that. He could count the times he'd seen Fan Jin smile on one hand.

"All right, let's hurry down. I'm hungry."

Walking along the unfamiliar street, Shan Ye felt that even the air had become more pleasant. He studied every plant and tree along the street, every building. He couldn't help thinking that this was Fan Jin's hometown and wondering whether he'd always lived here before.

He reached the roadside and spotted a rice noodle shop. Business was booming; even the seats outside were full.

He turned to Yu Chuan. "Want to eat here?"

"Sure. I'm fine with anything."

The two entered the rice noodle shop, where one table had just been cleared. As soon as Shan Ye and Yu Chuan walked in, the proprietress came over and smilingly asked in the local dialect what they wanted to eat.

Shan Ye and Yu Chuan looked at each other. What did that mean?

He said in Mandarin, "We'll have rice noodles. Two bowls." He even held up two fingers in a V.

The proprietress smiled. "Do you want chili?" This time, she asked in slightly imperfect Mandarin.

After ordering, Shan Ye looked at his chat history with Fan Jin on his phone, his lips unconsciously curving upward. The people here were all so welcoming, with a simple, down-to-earth warmth that put him at ease. It was a case of loving everything connected to the person he loved. On his first visit to Osmanthus City, he had already fallen for it.

He thought back to their conversations. Why hadn't he ever noticed an accent when Fan Jin spoke? Could Fan Jin speak his hometown dialect?

As he thought about it, he couldn't help smiling.

Yu Chuan waved a hand in front of his face. "What are you thinking about? You're completely spaced out, grinning like a lovesick fool."

Shan Ye immediately wiped the smile off his face. "Do I look that lovesick? Do I look stupid?"

"Yes. Exceptionally stupid, at that."

Yu Chuan tapped his fingertips against the table. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Shan Ye, if you really like him, I can give you a hand."

"You? I'll be grateful if you don't make trouble for me." Shan Ye looked thoroughly unconvinced.

"I'm serious."

Seeing him suddenly turn serious, Shan Ye stopped joking too. "How would you help?"

"Don't worry about how."

Shan Ye raised an eyebrow and teased, "Not planning to like me anymore?"

Yu Chuan laughed. "I'd love to keep liking you, but seeing you like this, I know."

"Know what?"

"I know I don't stand a chance." He paused. "Because he's all you can see."

Shan Ye blinked a few times.

"So rather than force things, I'd rather help you two get together. If you're happy, I'll be happy too."