They had agreed to go for a haircut together but Yi Zhe ended up missing the appointment.

In the afternoon, he had just tidied himself up and was preparing to leave the house when someone pounded madly on the door. He jumped out of his skin and was walking towards the door with a frown when, a few steps away, Xiang Xiyi opened her bedroom door with her hair messy and face unwashed. Her pajamas draped loosely on her body and the dark circles under her eyes were scarily large.

"Open the door after seven minutes." Xiang Xiyi parted her cracked lips. "Just try and open it even one minute earlier, I'll make you die."

Yi Zhe came to a stop.

Xiang Xiyi had always been someone who walked the talk. Her "make you die" naturally did not mean literal death but she could use various ways to make you feel that you would rather be dead. During the period of time when Yi Zhe was at his most rebellious and aggressive, he had tried challenging Xiang Xiyi who had said such words. In the end, Xiang Xiyi forced him to become just like her, hurling verbal abuse without pause or rest. Even to unrelated people, he was very cold and indifferent. For no reason, he would say unpleasant and hurtful words, all the things that could cause the most pain to the other person. By the time he cleared his mind, he finally understood what Xiang Xiyi's "death" was: she used the behaviour that Yi Zhe hated the most to influence Yi Zhe into doing the exact same hated thing without him realising it. Seeing each other day and night, their shared blood tying them together—all these things muddled together into a mess, and by using this method that changed him silently and imperceptibly, she backed Yi Zhe into a corner with no escape.

Since then, he no longer wanted to fight with a mad person.

There were still three minutes to the time he had agreed with Xu Tangcheng.

Yi Zhe looked at the front door that was still being pounded out of its frame and suddenly felt like he couldn't breathe. He took out his phone to send a message to Xu Tangcheng, telling him that something had come up and that he shouldn't leave the house.

Very quickly, Xu Tangcheng replied with an okay. Then, he asked: Do you need help?

This level of noise was likely audible not only to Xu Tangcheng's family, but also to the entire building. Recalling how Zhou Hui had cheerfully given him red bean soup to drink just yesterday, Yi Zhe couldn't help but think of what she would be grumbling in her house right now, and wondered if she would peek through the peephole to watch the farce going on outside her door.

Xiang Xiyi's bedroom door opened again. She seemed to have transformed into a different person. It was also due to her influence that Yi Zhe had for a very long time assumed that all girls were like Xiang Xiyi and could, in seven minutes, put on a face of beautiful makeup, change their entire outfit, fully equip themselves and change their appearance completely.

Ignoring Yi Zhe on the sofa, Xiang Xiyi strode to the door on her sky-high heels and opened it.

In Yi Zhe's memories, there had never been an end to Xiang Xiyi's disastrous romantic affairs and it had always been her who cut them off unilaterally, always her who did wrong by the other party. It was much better now. Back during the time when Xiang Xiyi was newly divorced, a man would come knocking nearly every three to five days to act out all kinds of "I can't lose you" drama. Some went for the heart-stirring way while others, like today's, took the violent route.

Yi Zhe heard her snort a laugh, her posture the very picture of disdain. "Why, a downtrodden dog is wagging his tail at me and begging for pity? Don't you feel ashamed?"

When it came to mocking people, Yi Zhe believed that no one could defeat Xiang Xiyi. Hence, he quietly listened to Xiang Xiyi at the door slowly unleash all her firepower, every word escalating from the last, and even felt some pity for that man who was mocked until he was worth nothing.

Until he heard a sharp, crisp sound.

Yi Zhe was momentarily stunned. He looked towards the door. Xiang Xiyi's face was turned to the side, her long hair falling forward. He couldn't see clearly what her face was like.

Without even thinking, out of pure instinct, Yi Zhe quickly sprang forward, charged to the door, and pulled Xiang Xiyi behind him.

At the same time, the front door of the opposite unit opened. Xu Tangcheng was holding his phone and looking at the tumult at the door with a calm face.

Yi Zhe lowered his tightly gripped fists. Xiang Xiyi regained her wits and immediately pushed him aside and stomped one feet on the man's leg. The heel of her shoe was sharp; the man immediately shouted out loud, his face changing colour from the pain.

"Piece of trash, you dare hit me?" Xiang Xiyi raised her leg, wanting to stomp on him again but Yi Zhe dragged her back by her waist.

Behind the man, Xu Tangcheng spoke unhurriedly. "The police station is right opposite the neighbourhood. It's been so many years, everyone knows each other…"

He glanced at Yi Zhe and asked in a mild voice, "Should I call the police?"

The man was obviously not the ruthless do-or-die type. Under the assault of Xiang Xiyi's verbal abuse and kicking, his neck flushed red from pain and anger, and he very quickly deflated.

"Fuck. Just you wait and see, bitch."

"Sure I'll wait. Motherfucker, coward, I'll wait for you to piss and look at your own reflection and see for yourself how much of a son of a bitch you are!"

Yi Zhe restrained the woman who was struggling without pause and felt powerless all over. Xiang Xiyi's arms were waving before his eyes and her body couldn't avoid hitting him repeatedly. Everything seemed to be crazy, out of control. The state of things pushed his irritation and anxiety to the peak. In the midst of the chaos, he saw Zhou Hui appear behind Xu Tangcheng, staring raptly at them. Further behind, there was someone whose hair had turned white also looking curiously in the direction of the door. That person was Xu Tangcheng's grandma. Yi Zhe recognised her.

Two doors, yet they were like two different worlds.

Yi Zhe finally could not bear this sharp contrast anymore. He lowered his head, freed a hand and slammed the door shut.

After this loud banging, Xiang Xiyi also suddenly stopped moving. She looked at Yi Zhe silently, then fought free and walked back to her room step by step. Left on his own by the door, Yi Zhe stared at her retreating back in bewilderment. He didn't know if it was a misperception on his part but when Xiang Xiyi pried his hands away just now, her pale and slender fingers seemed to be trembling.

Yi Zhe didn't contact Xu Tangcheng again. He lay by himself on his bed, half-heartedly thinking about various matters. His thoughts were rather muddled but they never came to a stop. He didn't know how long he had lay there when he heard the sound of children setting off firecrackers outside his window. Amidst the intermittent sound of the firecrackers, with the covers over him, he fell unexpectedly into a fuzzy, hazy sleep.

When he opened his eyes again, the sky was already darkening. The house was quiet and still. Yi Zhe looked at the shoe cabinet—Xiang Xiyi had gone out again.

He hadn't eaten anything the whole day and was almost weak from hunger. He went to the kitchen and again poured himself a glass of cold water, then put on a jacket and opened the door.

The sound-activated light in the corridor switched on when he opened the door. Next to the door, Xu Tangcheng was leaning against the wall, his hands in his pockets and his head lowered, lost in his thoughts.

Yi Zhe stared blankly. His hand hung in midair. He forgot about closing the door.

"Tangcheng-ge."

Xu Tangcheng lifted his head and looked at him with a smile, then waved his phone at him and said, "I couldn't contact you the whole time."

Yi Zhe fumbled in his pocket and dug out his phone. The screen was indeed filled with missed calls and message notifications. He couldn't remember when he had put his phone on silent.

"I bumped into Auntie Xiang going out just now. She said you were sleeping." A slight pause, then Xu Tangcheng continued. "I saw that the swelling on her face had already gone down. Hardly anything can be seen."

Yi Zhe didn't immediately speak. He silently locked the door, then slipped the key into his pocket.

"Whether or not the swelling has gone down, it has nothing to do with me."

There was a sense of "if it's already cracked, might as well smash it to pieces" in those words. Xu Tangcheng listened, and sighed in his heart.

Yi Zhe didn't know how long Xu Tangcheng had been waiting out here but the way Xu Tangcheng looked at him was very hard to bear. He was not a child; he didn't need so much of his sympathy or pity. In front of a person he cared about, he wanted to be big and strong, to overcome every obstacle, but everything just had to go against his wishes.

Suppressing the sour and bloated feeling surging up in his throat, Yi Zhe said softly, "I'm fine. Tangcheng-ge, you should go back."

But Xu Tangcheng remained leaning against the wall, unmoving, looking at him quietly all the while.

Under that gaze, Yi Zhe conceded defeat. He turned his head to the side.

"Are we still going to get our hair cut?" After a long while, Xu Tangcheng straightened up and smiled. He pressed on his phone to light up the screen and checked the time. "The salon should still be open now."

These two lines changed the topic, yet it made the sour and bloated feeling that had just receded come screaming back stronger than ever. The corridor was so quiet it could accommodate the sound of their breathing. From start to end, Yi Zhe kept Xu Tangcheng in the corner of his gaze.

There were unusually more people at the salon today. After entering the shop, Yi Zhe realised that they might have to wait a long while. He explained rather apologetically to Xu Tangcheng, "It's usually not so busy."

But Xu Tangcheng did not find it strange. "It'll be like this for the next few days. No cutting hair in the first month of the traditional calendar, isn't that right? Everyone is rushing to cut their hair during the twelfth month."

"Why can't we cut our hair during the first month?"

He didn't expect that Yi Zhe would be unaware of this. Xu Tangcheng thought awhile, then explained, "Actually, this is sort of like a superstition. Cutting hair in the first month, thinking of the past—si jiu. It sounds unlucky."

Yi Zhe didn't understand immediately. He turned this phrase over in his head a few times before he got the meaning. He let out a sound of comprehension, then realised that he had spent too long thinking about it. Looking at how lively the inside of the shop was, he couldn't help but wonder if he was the only one who didn't know this.

Xu Tangcheng noticed that he was once again falling into silence. He brought a hand up to hold Yi Zhe's sleeve, giving it a couple of tugs. "Let's go over there to sit and wait."

After waiting for quite a while, there was finally an empty spot. Yi Zhe pushed Xu Tangcheng forward to get his haircut first. Before sitting down, Xu Tangcheng brushed his hand against his hair and furtively went to stand beside Yi Zhe, telling him in a soft voice, "Help me keep an eye out. Don't let him shave off all the hair at the sides of my head."

"Hmm?" Yi Zhe didn't hear him clearly. He inclined his head slightly.

Xu Tangcheng gestured at his own head. "The hair at the side. Help me watch out for the sides."

This time, Yi Zhe understood what he was saying. Even though he was not familiar with this task, he still nodded obediently at once and sat at the waiting area behind Xu Tangcheng. He watched as the barber cape was put around Xu Tangcheng, leaving only his head on the outside. The stylist combed all his stray bangs to the front and they laid damp against his forehead.

After saying a few words to the stylist, Xu Tangcheng closed his eyes and let that pair of hands tinker with his hair. The salon was very noisy and various pop songs were playing in the air. Yi Zhe watched as tuft after tuft of hair was cut from Xu Tangcheng's head, scattering to the ground; it was in this place and time and with this view that he saw clearly the peace and quietness of time, and how it slowly moved forward.

When Xu Tangcheng was nearly done, a stylist came over to call Yi Zhe to get his hair washed. Yi Zhe looked at Xu Tangcheng in front of him, then looked up and said, "I'll wait a bit more. Let someone else go first."

There had always only been people who became impatient from waiting, there had never been someone who dawdled and refused their turn when it came. The stylist found it funny and teased him a bit, then went to call another customer.

But thanks to Yi Zhe's delay, in the end, he and Xu Tangcheng had the same stylist. The hair on the sides of Xu Tangcheng's head was safe but the empty seat in the waiting area had been taken over. However, he did not mind and just remained standing near Yi Zhe.

When Xu Tangcheng was getting his own hair cut, he had closed his eyes without worry, unheeding and unminding. But when it was Yi Zhe's turn, he was a lot more excited than the person getting the cut. He circled around Yi Zhe a few times, all the while discussing with the stylist which style would look better.

"How about cutting it shorter on the back of your head? Especially the lower part, I think it'll look good if you cut it that way." Xu Tangcheng bent down beside Yi Zhe and looked at the person in the mirror and asked.

"Okay."

Yi Zhe also met his eyes in the mirror. How would he know how he should cut the hair on the back of his head for it to look good? But if Xu Tangcheng said that it looked good, then it should look good.

In the end, Yi Zhe was very satisfied with the style. He had never been so satisfied all these years. Both he and Xu Tangcheng looked in the mirror, turning to the left, then to the right. Xu Tangcheng even used his own phone to snap a few pictures of the back of Yi Zhe's head to show him. Before leaving, the two of them stood shoulder to shoulder, looking into the mirror to brush off the stray hairs on their faces. Xu Tangcheng cleaned himself up and when he turned his head, he happened to see a hair on Yi Zhe's temple.

"Don't move." He reached out and pinched the short and rather obstinate stub of hair between his fingers, then brushed it to the floor.

When they left the salon, it was already nine at night but even at this hour, there were still an endless stream of people going into the salon and there were even girls wanting to perm their hair. Xu Tangcheng told Yi Zhe that typically, in the few days before the Lunar New Year, salons would stay open until very late. On the other hand, the first month of the traditional calendar was basically a holiday for them.

Even if it was a folk custom that was passed down from some unknown time and was just for the sake of avoiding an unlucky sounding phrase, it was the first time Yi Zhe had experienced something that felt like a ritual.

"Cutting your hair can be considered as saying goodbye to the old." At an intersection, Xu Tangcheng looked at the red light in front of them and asked Yi Zhe, "Do you know what it means to say goodbye to the old?"

Yi Zhe nodded. Say goodbye to the old and welcome the new.

Yet, Xu Tangcheng didn't stop speaking. He also dug in his pocket and passed Yi Zhe a cigarette.

A stick of cigarette was pushed out of the box. He looked at Yi Zhe and suddenly let out a laugh. "I don't have soft pack Chunghwa."

This obvious teasing left Yi Zhe at a loss for words for a moment. He met the gaze of the person before him with a complicated one of his own and saw the person smile even wider.

"Say goodbye to the old. This means that no matter what kind of messy and complicated matters there were in this year, they have all been cut away just now."

The lighter lit up with a small flame. Xu Tangcheng drew close and lit a cigarette each for himself and Yi Zhe. Both of them drew in a breath. Xu Tangcheng exhaled a cloud of smoke and looked up at the sky.

Yi Zhe followed suit and raised his head.

The night sky was crow-black but in another sense, it was clear and vast, reaching high, extending far.

"Next year will be a whole new year," Xu Tangcheng said.