When old friends met again after a long separation, it was always an exciting affair. Coincidentally, they were also bidding farewell to the first year after leaving university. Everyone had encountered some changes, resulting in lively conversations laced with a hint of tipsiness that carried on far and long. When the group pushed open the glass front doors of the restaurant, there were already very few people out on the streets. Those who drank alcohol had all drank quite a bit. While it was not to the extent that they had lost self-control, there were some who were still talking vaguely about this and that, their words interspersed with meaningless body language. They were leaning against each other, no one was talking about leaving.

In the chaos, a girl suddenly called out, "It's snowing!" Xu Tangcheng had been looking down at his feet; now, he lifted his head but his vision was lagging a step behind. Before his eyes looked up, a droplet of snow landed on the tip of his nose. It was truly freezing to the touch and he let out a noise of surprise.

He tried to refocus his drink-muddled eyes to look at the droplet of snow, yet what he saw was something else.

The teenager on the bike was standing under the bare tree. On the outside of his school uniform, he was wearing a very familiar black down jacket. He was the one standing still and staring quietly; yet, it was the flowing lights of the moving cars behind him that became a quiet background to him.

The snow on the tip of his nose melted into water, trickling down. It was rather ticklish. Xu Tangcheng smiled and brought his hand up to brush his nose, then waved at the person under the tree.

Behind him, the noise of the ongoing discussion suddenly grew louder. Someone had done something embarrassing and everyone was laughing, loud and unrestrained like when they were young. All sorts of weird nicknames were flying around. And yet, amidst the hubbub, Xu Tangcheng was only quietly looking at the teenager cycling towards him. But before the other person got near, someone suddenly tugged at Xu Tangcheng's arm. Wan Zhi said something to him from beside him but his surroundings were too noisy, too chaotic, and he didn't hear her clearly.

"Sorry?"

For the sake of hearing her clearly, Xu Tangcheng lowered his head, moving his head closer to her. Wan Zhi stared blankly at his side profile that was suddenly enlarged right before her eyes. For a moment, her words were stuck and she forgot to speak.

Xu Tangcheng waited for a long while but still didn't hear what he wanted to hear. He turned his head to look at her and smiled. "Why aren't you speaking?"

The girl in the white down jacket blushed slightly.

"I said, I was worried that you guys would get drunk so I drove here. Why don't I send you back?"

In Yi Zhe's eyes, the position of these two people at this moment were too intimate. They looked like they were whispering, saying words only meant for the other's ears. Yi Zhe could see the corner of Xu Tangcheng's lips stretching back and perhaps he only needed this one corner for his mind to fill in the rest with Xu Tangcheng's current expression.

The bike again rolled forward a short distance. Yi Zhe stepped one foot on the steps and called out, "Tangcheng-ge."

Xu Tangcheng's reflexes right now were slow in the first place. He was just preparing to reply to Wan Zhi when he was interrupted by Yi Zhe calling him. He turned around and when he saw clearly that it was Yi Zhe, his smile grew wider. Without saying anything, he directly draped an arm around Yi Zhe's shoulders.

Yi Zhe's neck shrank back a little; Xu Tangcheng's hand was playfully pinching his neck, cold fingers pressing on his skin. It was like being licked by the black cat, the ticklish feeling reaching his heart.

"You said just now… that you'll send me back?" Xu Tangcheng again turned towards Wan Zhi. As before, his smile was dazed and confused. "No need, I live very near."

"It's snowing, it's very cold. And right now, you're…" Wan Zhi looked at Xu Tangcheng swaying and stumbling. "Can you walk?"

"Why can't I? I didn't drink a lot. My house is right ahead. See," Xu Tangcheng pointed to the left. "Just right behind that…"

The more he wanted to see clearly the corner of his house that could be seen, the more Xu Tangcheng's extended finger wanted to move a step forward. But his line of sight was in midair the whole time and he completely forgot that there was still one more step under his feet.

"Ah!"

Wan Zhi's cry of alarm had yet to steady and her outstretched arm was still hanging loosely in midair when Yi Zhe already shifted to stand at an angle. catching Xu Tangcheng with his arms and holding him up with his body. His bike only shook slightly.

"See, and you're still saying that you didn't drink a lot." Wan Zhi also came down the steps. She patted Xu Tangcheng and persuaded him in a coaxing tone, "I'll get my car and send you home."

Xu Tangcheng's entire weight was pressing on Yi Zhe's body. He seemed to be completely unaware of how close he had come to falling down just now and was focusing all his attention on Yi Zhe's neck. His hand stroked the short hairs there unceasingly, as though he loved them so much he couldn't bear to part with them.

They were rather pricklish.

"No need…"

"Don't say no need. Just wait for me here." After saying that, Wan Zhi looked at Yi Zhe and asked softly, "Did you come to pick him up? Then, why don't you stay with him here and wait a bit while I drive my car over?"

Yi Zhe had a vague impression of Wan Zhi. Previously, at the train station, he had seen this girl too and she had also been standing next to Xu Tangcheng then. There were so many inebriated people but this girl was only insisting on sending Xu Tangcheng home.

"No need. I'll send him home."

His struggle lasted only an instant. The words he wanted to say since just now when he saw Wan Zhi and Xu Tangcheng standing so close to each other finally came out of his mouth.

"But…" Wan Zhi hesitated. She looked at the bike Yi Zhe had rode there and fell into silence.

Yi Zhe held Xu Tangcheng in his arms without saying a word, letting Xu Tangcheng examine his hair as he wished. Neither of them spoke, making Wan Zhi feel rather awkward. She didn't know what to do. Fortunately, right then, one of the more clear-headed guys came over and broke the deadlock.

"What about Tangcheng?" The guy looked at Wan Zhi and patted Xu Tangcheng on the back. "Hey hey, what about you? Are you going back with your younger brother or should Wan Zhi send you back?"

Xu Tangcheng's hand stopped moving. His eyes squinted and he turned his head.

"Mm?"

For some unknown reason, the three of them were actually waiting for a drunk person to make a decision.

"Just let Wan Zhi send you back. Your younger brother still has to ride his bike and probably can't manage you. Is that all right?"

"Oh." Perhaps the guy's "Is that all right?" was really too loud and finally made Xu Tangcheng reply. "Send…"

"I'll send you back." Yi Zhe suddenly spoke up, cutting off the rest of Xu Tangcheng's sentence.

Xu Tangcheng looked at this person who was the nearest to him. The moment their eyes met, he saw him open his mouth again and say, "I'll send you back."

Perhaps it was because he had been playing with that person's hair for too long and when you've been having fun at someone's expense, it's hard to refuse them; Xu Tangcheng stared at him for a while, then let out a sudden laugh.

"Yeah, he'll take me home. You guys go ahead and leave first." He turned around and after saying those words, he also waved at them. "Go back and get a good rest!"

Wan Zhi's mouth twitched but she did not make a sound. Yi Zhe already had one arm around Xu Tangcheng's waist to support him and had gotten down from his bike. One of Xu Tangcheng's arms was still wrapped around his neck and draping on his shoulder, making him unable to completely stand up straight. Yi Zhe had no choice but to bend his waist and lean towards Xu Tangcheng, his other hand holding the bike's handlebar as they walked ahead.

Less than two steps later, Xu Tangcheng's legs suddenly weakened and he fell forward. Yi Zhe hastily pulled harder with his arm and stopped him from falling. Xu Tangcheng draped on his body, his hand still refusing to leave his neck.

This position was too uncomfortable. Yi Zhe was worried that he could not hold up this inebriated person well with just one hand. He looked around and changed directions, taking Xu Tangcheng with him. But who would have guessed that even when he was drunk until his mind was scrambled, Xu Tangcheng's sense of direction was still very good. Seeing that Yi Zhe was going the wrong way, he tugged him back with force. "Wrong, this way."

"I'm parking my bike."

When Xu Tangcheng was being stubborn, his strength was quite large. Yi Zhe had no choice but to stop and explain to him. "I'm parking my bike here. We'll walk back."

"Bike?" Xu Tangcheng tilted his head and looked at the red mountain bike. A few seconds later, he shook his head hard and waved his hand at Yi Zhe as he said, "No bike."

After saying that, Xu Tangcheng's head suddenly started to fall downwards. Yi Zhe reacted very quickly; right before Xu Tangcheng's head crashed against the bike, he tugged him back and directly pulled the swaying Xu Tangcheng into his arms. He thought that Xu Tangcheng was feeling uncomfortable and wanted to puke but unexpectedly, Xu Tangcheng was just stubbornly insisting on crouching down, and was even pulling Yi Zhe along.

"Down here." Xu Tangcheng saw that he was not cooperating. His head at an angle, he looked up and ordered.

Yi Zhe didn't know what Xu Tangcheng was up to but he silently crouched down along with him. His hand that was holding the bike upright shifted to the crossbar.

Xu Tangcheng pointed at the crossbar. "It's slanted."

Yi Zhe didn't understand. He also didn't speak.

"See it?" Since he did not get an answer, Xu Tangcheng's hand that was placed on his neck swatted him a couple of times. He was a little forceful, the smacks rang out clearly.

"See what?"

"It's slanted. Can't sit properly."

Understanding dawned all of a sudden.

"That's why I'm not sitting on your bike. It's tiring."

A sober Xu Tangcheng would never say this while the Xu Tangcheng right now didn't feel there was anything wrong even after saying it. Yi Zhe looked at him muttering to himself and shaking his head, and suddenly smiled.

"Then we won't ride it."

With some effort, Yi Zhe finally parked his bike beside the restaurant despite Xu Tangcheng's single-minded and non-stop interference. As Yi Zhe guided him back to where they were just now, he was very obstinate, his hand insisting on sticking to Yi Zhe's neck. From start to end, Yi Zhe patiently remained bending slightly at the waist. After walking for a while, the snow suddenly became heavier. Some of it slipped into Xu Tangcheng's neck and he shrank back, his mouth grumbling that it was cold.

"Cold?" Yi Zhe tilted his head to look at him and realised that his coat didn't have a hood and that his ears were already red from the cold. Almost instantly, Yi Zhe started to tug off his jacket with one hand. Xu Tangcheng sensed his movement and his gaze stopped at his chest for two seconds. Then, he suddenly gave Yi Zhe's neck a hard smack.

"Pull up the zip." As he spoke, he stopped and took hold of the bottom of Yi Zhe's jacket with both hands. The streetlights were not very bright and his mind not very clear; as a result, his hands rubbed together for a long while but he still did not manage to join the separating zipper.

"I can't do it." Xu Tangcheng right now evidently did not have his usual patience. After grumbling rather irritably, he crouched down with his hands still gripping the jacket.

"Hey." Yi Zhe tugged at his arm, wanting to stop him, but his efforts were futile.

"No, you're too tall." This zipper seemed to be at an uncomfortable height no matter what he did. Crouched down, Xu Tangcheng felt that it was even harder for him to do a good job and he struggled to stand again. Yi Zhe finally stopped letting him fuss as he wished. He tugged his jacket out of Xu Tangcheng's hands and crouched down himself. Xu Tangcheng curled his fingers in and stared at his empty hands for a couple of seconds, then started looking everywhere for what had been taken away from them.

Again it was that little street cast in dim yellow light. The street was empty of humans and there were only snowflakes drifting down unceasingly from the sky. Maybe it was too quiet; as Yi Zhe crouched there and looked at the person before him, he even felt as though time had stopped. Snow clung to Xu Tangcheng's lashes and the lashes quivered, teasing the flakes. The sight made Yi Zhe smile and he reached out furtively to brush them off. Then, he gathered his courage and cupped both his hands over Xu Tangcheng's ears. They were indeed very cold.

The sudden onset of the warmth made Xu Tangcheng close his eyes further. Then, slowly, he buried his chin in the crook of his arm.

"Tangcheng-ge?"

The soft calling of his name melted into the darkness, disappearing without a trace, without a reply.

Yi Zhe lowered his eyes and drew closer to Xu Tangcheng. At this distance, he felt as though he could even feel the warmth radiating from Xu Tangcheng's skin.

Maybe he can't hear me?

"Tangcheng-ge," Yi Zhe opened his mouth again to ask. "Why don't I carry you back?"

Xu Tangcheng's eyes were completely closed. He did not reply.

"If you don't say anything, I'll take it as a yes."

After saying that, Yi Zhe lowered his hands and took off his own jacket. The cold wind again poured into Xu Tangcheng's ears that had lost their protective cover. The cold made Xu Tangcheng move his body and he had just lifted his head when something was draped over him, warm with the heat from someone's body, and very cosy.

Yi Zhe didn't tarry. He settled his down jacket over Xu Tangcheng and pulled the hood up to cover his head properly, then turned around immediately and tugged at his arms to pull him up onto his back. Carrying someone who was practically asleep was still no easy feat. When Yi Zhe got up, his body was stiff. He kept his upper back at a steady angle the entire time, afraid that a moment of carelessness would make the person on his back fall off.

At that time, Xu Tangcheng's breathing completely enveloped the bottom of his neck, so close that Yi Zhe's entire body seemed to melt from the warmth.

A thin layer of snow had already built up on the ground but the street that the two of them passed through only bore the traces of one set of footsteps. He only had to lift his head to see the main entrance of the neighbourhood, yet Yi Zhe hoped that the snow could be heavier, the journey longer.

After passing the last crossroad, the person on his back suddenly moved. Something soft pressed against the back of his neck, like a fatal strike hitting the softest of his vital spots, and during that split second of dizziness, the traffic light turned from red to green.

It was nothing more than a change of colour, it could not be any more common and everyday. But the trajectory it set Yi Zhe's heart on was no different than that of the dazzling aurorae he would see in the future, the friction between light and shadow searing and growing and expanding until it engulfed the earth and the sky in a boundless universe.