Lu Muchi was dumbstruck. His lips moved several times, but he could not get out a single syllable.
His reaction was more or less what Yan Heqing had expected. In the original novel, Lu Muchi had imprisoned him for a year precisely to prevent him and Lin Fengzhi from acknowledging each other as brothers.
Yan Heqing reached out, pressed his index finger against Lu Muchi's right shoulder, and gave a gentle push. Lu Muchi staggered back a few steps.
Then Yan Heqing switched on the light.
At the sudden brightness, Lu Muchi instinctively closed his eyes. When he opened them again, Yan Heqing was looking at him.
"Have you heard this name?" Yan Heqing enunciated every word. "He seems to attend T University."
"I'm going to see him tomorrow."
Every word from Yan Heqing set off an explosion in Lu Muchi's head, leaving his ears ringing. His face went pale, and he could not refute a single word.
Escape.
Lu Muchi's first instinct was to run. More disheveled than he had ever been, he shoved Yan Heqing aside, opened the door, and fled.
His panicked footsteps triggered the motion-sensor lights. They lit up floor by floor, then went dark floor by floor.
Yan Heqing took out the broom and dustpan again and swept the doorway thoroughly.
Then he calmly closed the door.
After emptying the cigarette butt into the trash, he took off his jacket and went into the bathroom.
In the small mirror, two fresh bruises marked his neck.
He turned on the tap. Hot water took some time to travel from the kitchen, so the water was still bone-chillingly cold. Yan Heqing did not mind. He lowered his head, cupped a handful of water, and rubbed his neck over and over.
The water gradually warmed. Yan Heqing pulled down a towel, dried his face and neck, turned off the tap, and looked up again.
Steam had fogged the mirror, obscuring his face.
Yan Heqing extended his index finger and lightly drew a check mark on the fogged surface.
The plan had succeeded.
Lu Muchi sped all the way to a deserted street, then slammed on the brakes and stopped in the middle of the road.
He was much calmer now, but it was no use. Yan Heqing had found Lin Fengzhi. It was something he had never imagined.
On the very day he discovered the relationship between Yan Heqing and Lin Fengzhi, he had contacted the orphanage and told them not to let anyone look through the adoption records from that year.
Could they have run into each other by chance, and Yan Heqing recognized Lin Fengzhi?
Their features were indeed similar.
Tomorrow-
Lu Muchi frowned, his expression grim. Yan Heqing was going to see Lin Fengzhi tomorrow.
Once they acknowledge each other, I...
Bang.
Lu Muchi slammed his fist into the steering wheel.
He could not very well see Yan Heqing again for the time being!
A surge of vexation rose in Lu Muchi, one he did not understand himself.
After finishing the housework, Yan Heqing studied biology coursework ahead of time, as usual.
At eleven, he drank a glass of warm milk and went to bed.
Yan Heqing had never slept particularly well. Back when he lived with the Yan Family, Yan Feng often wet the bed at night, and still did even now. Yan Heqing would often be called up to change and wash the sheets.
When Yan Heqing was little, he did not even dare fall asleep.
Once, he slept too deeply and failed to hear Yan Feng crying in the middle of the night. Yan Shengbing dragged him out from under the covers and gave him a vicious beating.
"Are your ears just for show? You can't even hear your little brother crying! You might as well get rid of them!" Every slap Yan Shengbing delivered landed on Yan Heqing's ears.
There was a buzzing and a slightly sticky sensation. Yan Heqing could not hear anything clearly.
After that, Yan Heqing's hearing remained muffled for a month. He could not make out sounds clearly.
The fear of losing his hearing left Yan Heqing afraid to sleep during that time, and two large, purplish dark circles often hung beneath his eyes.
After moving out, Yan Heqing's sleep gradually improved. Although he occasionally suffered from insomnia, most nights he could sleep straight through until morning.
That night, Yan Heqing slept especially well. When he opened his eyes, flecks of sunlight shone through the window. The sun had actually come out.
It was the first time since winter began.
Yan Heqing got up and weighed himself first: 109 jin. He had put on a little flesh lately, gaining seven jin.
He was still far too thin.
For breakfast, he cooked a large bowl of noodles and made a point of adding two fried eggs.
After forcing himself to finish it, Yan Heqing tied up the trash and carried it downstairs.
He threw the trash into the bin, then strolled to the security office to collect his vase and succulents.
After thanking the guard, Yan Heqing carried everything home, transferred the wintersweet branches he had hydrated into the vase, and set it on the coffee table.
He placed the pots of succulents on the small kitchen windowsill so he could see a few touches of green while cooking.
With that done, it was time to study again.
He studied until past twelve, almost one, then went into the kitchen and made a simple meal of one meat dish and one vegetable dish.
After lunch, he cleaned the kitchen and left at two sharp.
Lin Fengzhi had three classes on Wednesday afternoons, finishing at 5:10.
T University's photography department had a building of its own. Yan Heqing did not go inside, but waited quietly at the entrance.
Students came and went from time to time. With his straight posture and outstanding bearing, Yan Heqing drew occasional glances.
A boy carrying a soccer ball ran over. After glancing at Yan Heqing two or three times, he called tentatively, "Fengzhi?"
Yan Heqing did not react. Puzzled, the boy scratched his head and walked into the building, muttering.
On the third floor, the boy came face-to-face with Lin Fengzhi. He went up to him excitedly. "Fengzhi! I just ran into..."
Lin Fengzhi was distracted, the brilliant smile he usually wore absent from his face. He did not notice the boy at all and walked straight past him.
The boy stopped in confusion, his face full of bewilderment. What's going on today?
First, he had run into someone who looked very much like Lin Fengzhi. Then Lin Fengzhi, who was always so lively and energetic, looked as dejected as if he had lost several million...
The boy wore a jacket on top but still had his soccer shorts on below. A gust of wind made him shiver with cold. He shook his head, stopped thinking about it, and ran toward the classroom with the ball in his arms.
Lin Fengzhi's mind was still full of the fact that Lu Lin did not remember him.
But I've been to the Lu Family's home several times...
At Grandpa Lu's birthday banquet, I ran too fast and fell, and Lu Lin even helped me up...
How could he not remember me?
Was it because I was fifteen then, and my looks have changed as I've grown? Or-