"Even if you don't like him, you can't do this. How could you rub salt in his wounds like that?"
"What?! When have I ever disliked him? What are you talking about? Isn't his dad a police officer in our neighborhood? He even came to our school in middle school to give a talk on drug prevention."
"Exactly. He has a little sister, too. She used to come along all the time to pick Wen Yanyu up and drop him off at school. What the hell is wrong with your memories?"
"Are you guys possessed?!"
"He was already in a bad place mentally. Even if you haven't stayed in touch, he hasn't done anything to you. Why would you say that nonsense? Do you have to make him cry? Even I can't stand watching this."
Chen Wanqiu and the boys: "Huh?!"
"What?!"
"Have you all been eating hallucinogenic mushrooms?!!"
Everyone talked over one another.
Tao Shu leaned close to Chen Jian'an and whispered, "Did you... remember, too?"
Chen Jian'an, who hadn't said a word since sitting down at the table, picked at the beef in his bowl. He said nothing, only nodding lightly.
In a room on the fourth floor.
The blackout curtains were all drawn, and only a dim night-light was on, leaving the entire space closed off and dark.
The door was shut tight.
Only the sound of crying echoed through the room.
Fu Hanchuan reclined against the headboard, one arm wrapped tightly around Wen Yanyu's back, a soft wet wipe in his other hand as he kept wiping away the tears that wouldn't stop.
Wen Yanyu curled up slightly in Fu Hanchuan's arms, like a battered little rabbit seeking shelter, clutching the man's sleeve without letting go.
Overwhelmed by emotion, he no longer thought about whether he