Wen Yuzhi's gaze drifted, nostalgia and longing in his eyes. "I was young back then and didn't know any better. I thought love mattered more than my life. Looking back now, I was such an idiot. I can't blame Yan for avoiding me. If someone like that were pursuing me, I'd run for the hills too."
Lai Jiangtian instantly broke into a relieved smile, finally releasing the tension he'd carried all evening. He'd been afraid Wen Yuzhi would be as obsessive as he'd been in high school, but now it seemed he'd moved on.
He beamed. "I'm so glad you see it that way! Let me tell you, Yan still has that same icy face."
Wen Yuzhi's eyes were gentle, his voice soft and soothing. "Haha, I made peace with it ages ago. Now I think back on what I did back then and find it funny. You said Yan still has that icy face? I can just picture it. Enough to freeze you to death."
"Exactly! Enough to freeze you to death!"
Yin Xian watched Wen Yuzhi from beside them. Seeing how composed he was and how gently he spoke, he thought perhaps Wen Yuzhi really had moved on.
After all, the way he was now could be incredibly deceptive.
Lai Jiangtian loved to talk, and once he let his guard down, he had even less control over his mouth. "Hey, what have you been doing all this time? We haven't heard anything from you. All we knew was that you were over in Little Han."
Wen Yuzhi frowned, looking exasperated. "Me? I was teaching in Little Han. You know there are fewer and fewer children there. I really couldn't keep my job, so I came back."
Wen Yuzhi took a sip of tea. It had gone cold, and his brows shifted slightly.
"Teaching's good. There really aren't many kids anymore, though. Hahaha, are you going to keep teaching now that you're back?"
"No. I'm planning to give myself some time off and get some rest. What about you guys? What are you all doing?"
Lai Jiangtian swallowed a mouthful of green bamboo shoots. "Oh, I just laze around, run the company and stuff. Song Jing'an, the one who loved fighting the most, is now the chief of police. Can you believe that?"
"What?! He's the chief now? Talk about a complete turnaround!"
"Right? That's what I thought too. Yin Xian is a therapist now, with his own practice. As for Yan, you've probably heard a bit about him. His name alone scares people stiff! Lu Mingwen teaches at a university. He just got back from abroad last month. Apparently... he was dragged back to inherit the family business."
At the mention of Lu Mingwen's name, Wen Yuzhi visibly paused.
Then he returned to normal. "Everyone's doing pretty well. It's been ten years. So much has changed."
"I wouldn't go that far. The one thing that hasn't changed is that we're all still single!"
"Hahahaha!"
"Pfft!!!!" Hearing that they were all still single, Yin Xian involuntarily spat out a huge mouthful of rice.
He choked and kept coughing. "Cough, cough, cough!!!! What's wrong with you, Lai Jiangtian?"
Lai Jiangtian looked innocent. "What? Did I say something wrong? Isn't it true? Don't tell me you're seeing someone?"
At that, Lai Jiangtian rolled his eyes, both at his friends and at himself. "We're all thirty, and who knows what we do all day or what keeps us so busy? None of us knows how to get into a relationship. Let's see who in our group stops being single first. I'll give him ten percent of my company's shares!"
Yin Xian looked at him as though he were an idiot. "Your company's really hit the jackpot having you."
"Hahaha, you're all still so funny." Wen Yuzhi covered his mouth as he laughed, then added with seeming casualness, "In that case, Yan won't have a chance. He'll probably be the last one to find someone."
Lai Jiangtian looked certain. "Absolutely!"
Wen Yuzhi stopped worrying about the two figures he'd just seen embracing. Even if there was something between them, so what? No one could compete with him.
Xia Shule grew sleepy as soon as he was full. His only wish now was to hurry back to the Yan Residence and get a good, long sleep.
"Lele."
"Hmm...?" Xia Shule answered drowsily.
Yan Zhiyi helped the sleepy Xia Shule up and drew him into his arms, then said gently, "Don't sleep yet. You'll feel uncomfortable if you go to sleep right after eating. Shall we go for a walk?"
"No, I want to sleep."
Yan Zhiyi rested his warm hand on Xia Shule's belly and rubbed it in circles. "Look, your tummy's all round. You'll feel uncomfortable if you fall asleep."
Xia Shule wasn't happy, but his belly really did feel tight and full. After an inward struggle, he reluctantly gave in.
"Fine, but only ten minutes. Any longer and I'll be upset!!"
"Okay. Let's go." Yan Zhiyi wrapped his large hand around Xia Shule's smaller one and led him outside.
Night had fallen, and the towering buildings glowed with lights of every kind. This was the busiest street in Jingjiang, filled with traffic and bustling crowds.
The two of them wove through the crowd, each person playing a part amid the city's lights.
The warmth of everyday life flowed through their joined hands. As they talked in soft voices, happiness welled up from the bottom of Yan Zhiyi's heart.
This was the first time in his life he'd experienced happiness.
Xia Shule had given him so many firsts. Sometimes he wondered whether he was a freak, whether he simply didn't belong in this world.
Only after meeting Xia Shule did he learn that wasn't true. His little one never held back his love or kindness.
Everything he'd once longed for but never received, Xia Shule gave him so easily.
"It's time to start preparing the invitations. Lele, would you like to write a few yourself?"
Xia Shule perked up at once. He wanted to write the invitations for his family and friends himself! That would make it feel more special. "Yes! I want to write them for Mom and Dad, Xiang Lin, Chen Jin, and the others!"
No longer quite so sleepy, Xia Shule let go of Yan Zhiyi's hand and ran ahead, then looked back at him. "Shall we write them when we get home tonight? Their invitations have to be different from everyone else's!"
Yan Zhiyi stepped forward and pulled Xia Shule back, holding his little hand firmly again. "Of course. Let's go home!"
Chatting and laughing, they walked all the way back to the Quiet Silence Residence. Xia Shule bounded over to the car like a little rabbit, then opened his phone and started searching for simple little designs that beginners could draw.
Yan Zhiyi started the car and drove toward the Yan Residence.
By the roadside, Wen Yuzhi got a lungful of exhaust fumes. Even after ten years apart, he knew the profile that had just flashed past belonged to Yan Zhiyi.
The view behind the bamboo grove had been rather blurry, but the profile he'd just seen was clear and sharply defined.
He'd been so close, so close to coming face-to-face with Yan Zhiyi.
Wen Yuzhi hadn't seen Xia Shule get into the car first. Believing Yan Zhiyi had left alone, he was still feeling smug.
Yan Zhiyi really was just playing around with that man.
Lai Jiangtian jogged out behind him. "Yuzhi, why did you suddenly walk so fast? Neither of us could keep up. Is something wrong?"
"Nothing. I just saw someone I know."
"Oh, I see." Lai Jiangtian scratched his head. "I was wondering how you'd disappeared the moment I turned around."
Yin Xian noticed the faint traces of guilt seeping through Wen Yuzhi's expression. He hid them very well. Anyone else would never have known whether he was telling the truth.
Everything about tonight was strange. From a therapist's perspective, Wen Yuzhi certainly seemed much more stable.
But... his words, his every move, lacked sincerity.
Yin Xian remained skeptical about tonight.