Pei Zhengdu ate a few cookies to tide himself over. With no intention of eating more, he put the box away and stood up.
"Anywhere you want to go?"
Xie Zhou shook his head. He didn't know much about what was out there, but as long as he was with Pei Zhengdu, anywhere would do.
Pei Zhengdu winked at him, his alluring eyes as warm and bright as ever. "Want to go to the aquarium?"
Xie Zhou looked blankly at him. "There's an aquarium nearby?"
Pei Zhengdu reached out and gently poked his forehead. "Little Xie Zhou, you've been here so long. Have you just been sitting at home growing mushrooms?"
Xie Zhou felt a little embarrassed. Pei Zhengdu had a fair, gentle-looking face, but anyone who knew him knew he could be a bit of a smartass.
Pei Zhengdu used to poke his forehead like this too, calling him Little Xie Zhou.
But he had never poked hard, and Xie Zhou had only ever grinned foolishly along with him, never getting angry.
In that moment, Xie Zhou felt as though he could see the old Pei Zhengdu again, as if all those years apart had never existed.
Seeing his goofy expression, Pei Zhengdu sighed helplessly. "Come on. I booked tickets."
Xie Zhou followed close behind him. Only when Pei Zhengdu couldn't see him did he dare openly gaze at his back.
Pei Zhengdu had grown a little taller since before. Branches reaching out from the lush greenery brushed over his head, dense yet fresh.
Xie Zhou lowered his eyes to the half-finished sour plum juice in his hand.
He remembered a shop outside their school that sold sour plum juice. It was especially popular in summer, and plenty of students bought drinks there. Xie Zhou loved it too, but