Because he wanted to complete his PhD classes in the first year, Xu Tangcheng selected a lot of subjects for this term. The consequence of being busy with schoolwork was that while he had gone home at least once a week in the past, after coming back this time, he had to stay obediently at school for over a month. It was only when it was nearly Xu Tangxi's birthday that he finally skipped a class and went home. He bought a cake and also purposely took a detour and drove to the cake shop next to No. 1 High School to buy the type of candle that Xu Tangxi liked.

Walking along the flower-lined street to the cake shop, Xu Tangcheng suddenly saw a boy in school uniform jump down from a high wall. The boy bent his knees as he landed, his body swaying a little before he stood up. Then, he lowered his head and brushed off the dirt that had rubbed onto his sleeves.

Without warning, the boy looked up and met Xu Tangcheng's gaze.

The uniform for senior high Year 3 students. A familiar face.

Xu Tangcheng removed the cigarette he had just put in his mouth and looked at him with a smile that was not quite a smile, then glanced at the wall with a raised eyebrow.

"I…" Yi Zhe muttered indistinctly. When he saw the look on Xu Tangcheng's face, he drew in a vexed breath. "My stomach hurts, I'm going to buy some medicine."

He had just finished speaking when a school bag flew over and smashed unceremoniously on his shoulder.

"Fuck…"

Xu Tangcheng snorted a laugh. His hand that was holding the cigarette shook lightly.

Yi Zhe bit his lip and looked down. Under Xu Tangcheng's gaze, he felt even more that he was unbearably dumb. All he wanted in his heart was to leave this embarrassing scene as quickly as possible.

"I'll be leaving now, Tangcheng-ge."

He threw out this line, then quickly picked up his bag, shouldered the straps and strode over to the side of the road. He hailed a cab and fled.

Xu Tangcheng watched his hastily retreating back and shook his head with a light laugh, speechless.

Why was he running away? It wasn't like he said anything.

He walked forward a few steps, then looked up at the spot where Yi Zhe had jumped down from just now. It was really not at all low. At the very least, if it were him, he would be afraid of breaking his legs.

No. 1 had self-study sessions at night. Xu Tangcheng had sent Xu Tangxi a text message telling her to ask her teacher for permission to leave early and saying that he would pick her up before the night self-study. Xu Tangxi came out running, her bag on her back. When they reached home and she saw the large cake and the table full of food, she was even happier.

The family chatted until ten at night. Xu Tangxi said that senior high school life was very interesting, the classes weren't really hard and that she had made a lot of new friends. Before she went to bed, Xu Tangxi furtively shuffled over to Xu Tangcheng and asked him, one finger held up, if she could have another small slice.

Xu Tangcheng cut a very small slice for her himself and carried it over to Xu Tangxi. Xu Tangxi reluctantly accepted this little bit of cake and also didn't forget to grumble about Xu Tangcheng's incredible knife skills.

As she ate, she saw Xu Tangcheng cut another slice, a large one.

"What time does Year 3 finish their night self-study?"

Xu Tangxi tilted her head and thought for a while. "9.50, I think. Year 1 and Year 2's day students can leave at 9.20. Those staying at the school dorms and those in Year 3 have to attend one more short self-study session until 9.50."

Xu Tangcheng nodded. He carefully placed that large slice of cake on a clean paper plate and stuck the fork in an empty spot.

"Take this over to Yi Zhe." He passed the cake to Xu Tangxi. He looked up at the wall clock and said to himself, "He should be back by now."

Xu Tangxi carried the cake in her hand and scampered over to knock on the opposite door but even after a long while, there was no response. She pressed her ear to the door. It was all quiet inside, without the slightest noise.

"No one in?" She muttered to herself and prepared to go back. Right then, she heard the sound of the metal door at the corridor being opened. She shifted a couple of steps and waited quietly there for a while. As she expected, she saw Yi Zhe.

But she was shocked out of her skin.

As he walked up, Yi Zhe tugged at the bandage around his arm, thinking that this girl Zhao Weifan was really unreliable. His perfectly fine arm had been bandaged by her until it resembled a large white pork shoulder, and it was even a pork shoulder with a butterfly bow on it.

"Yi Zhe-gege." Xu Tangxi's eyes widened. She called out to him in a soft voice. "Are you okay?"

Yi Zhe looked up. The first thing he saw was the strawberry cake bathed in the gentle glow of the yellow light.

This was the first time he used this type of small fork to eat cake. In the past, when he celebrated other people's birthdays, he either did not eat the cake or only took a small token bite. This time, he looked at the slice of cake seriously for a while. Then, using his uninjured left hand to hold the small fork, he finished the cake one clumsy forkful at a time. He also scraped the plate clean of the cream that had smeared on it and carefully made out the word embossed on it.

Holiland.

The next day, dragging his "butterfly bow pork shoulder" with him, Yi Zhe rode his bike and made a complete round of the small town but could not find the cake shop called Holiland. It was only later on that he found out that Xu Tangcheng had purposely bought the cake in Beijing and brought it back.

In the past, he had always felt that it didn't make much of a difference wherever he was and whatever he did. But this small slice of cake made him suddenly realise that there might be something that was not the same.

In the year 2008, Yi Zhe would go to Beijing to attend university. The first time he bought something there would be from the Holiland that Xu Tangcheng had been to. He would buy a small slice of strawberry cake.

When Xu Tangcheng heard from Xu Tangxi that Yi Zhe was injured, he sighed in his heart and thought that when he had bumped into him earlier today, he should have just taken him away. At the very least, he could make him avoid one fight. He had always known that Yi Zhe wasn't considered a good student but he had never been in a fight himself and could not imagine the sight of Yi Zhe fighting. It was only when he saw with his own eyes Yi Zhe using an arm that was trickling blood to smash a fist on someone else's face that he suddenly realised that he could not let this boy continue on like this.

That day, one of Xu Tangcheng's friend came back from Yunnan. Coincidentally, a few schoolmates who had once hung out together were home for the weekend, so they agreed to meet up. After the meal, a few of them went over to the billiards hall nearby.

It was a weekend night and the billiards hall was exceptionally packed. The boss led them to the table they had reserved earlier. Xu Tangcheng's gaze swept around and he suddenly saw Yi Zhe.

That area had a few obviously underage students. The colour of their hair was over the top and their clothes daring. A few of them even had cigarettes in their mouths. Yi Zhe wasn't mixing in with them; instead, he was quietly sitting alone in a corner, leaning back against the seat while playing on a PSP.

However… Xu Tangcheng narrowed his eyes and looked over. This kid is actually also smoking.

Both of Yi Zhe's hands were occupied and only a vapour of smoke was slipping out from between the crack of his lips. A girl wearing black hotpants walked over, smiling widely as she reached her hand out, but right as she was about to touch Yi Zhe's cigarette, he evaded her. Yi Zhe looked up and shot her a placid look. He removed the cigarette from the corner of his mouth himself and flicked the ashes.

He even has quite the look.

Watching from the sidelines, Xu Tangcheng wasn't sure what he should think—whether to be gratified that this kid from opposite his house had a formidable aura or to be grieved that he had such a thuggish air at this tender age.

He thrusted his hands into his pockets and strolled leisurely over.

"Buddy, got a light?"

It was very noisy inside the billiards hall. Yi Zhe only barely heard what was being said and did not recognise the voice. He didn't have any opinion on the words but was extremely dissatisfied with the hand that had clapped down on his shoulder.

He freed a hand and dug out a lighter from his pants pocket impatiently. Without looking up, he passed it behind him. Unexpectedly, the person behind him did not take it and that hand also did not seem to want to let go of him at all.

GAME OVER.

He couldn't game with one hand. The little person on the screen died a disastrous death.

Yi Zhe's irritation due to the hand on his body immediately exploded. He stood up abruptly but when he saw the person behind him, he instantly lowered the battle flag and stilled the war drums, extinguishing the flames of his anger.

For a while, Yi Zhe was unable to speak. Finally, he said, "Tangcheng-ge."

The cigarette was still dangling from his mouth. When he said those three syllables, the half-smoked cigarette fell to the floor with a patter, a bitter sight.

Xu Tangcheng tilted his head lazily. Under the swaying hanging lamp, he smiled at Yi Zhe. "Do you want to hit me?"

Yi Zhe's brows furrowed. He looked rather disheartened.

"No."

He bent down and picked up the cigarette from the floor and stubbed it out on the little coffee table next to him. His long fingers pinched the cigarette between them, hesitantly rubbing it for so long that the unburned tobacco was squeezed out.

The bits of tobacco scattered all over. It was an irritating sight.

"Give me a stick. Let me see what you're smoking."

Yi Zhe didn't move immediately. He looked at the still smiling Xu Tangcheng. He couldn't quite figure out what exactly Xu Tangcheng's attitude was at the moment, whether or not the other person was upset.

A boy who had come here with him came over with his brows raised. The boy shot Xu Tangcheng a glance, then warily asked Yi Zhe whose expression did not look right. "What's going on?"

"None of your business." Yi Zhe pushed him away, telling him to go off and do whatever he had been doing. Now that he turned his head, he finally noticed that those few people who had been playing excitedly had stopped their game. They were all looking this way with cold eyes, like they were ready to fight at any time.

Yi Zhe felt even more defeated. He took a step forward and handed over a pack of cigarettes.

Chunghwa soft pack.

Xu Tangcheng glanced at it. This kid is quite particular.

He did not hold back and took the pack of cigarettes in his hand. He took a stick from within, then gestured at Yi Zhe. His words were concise. "Light."

This time, Yi Zhe didn't obey him. He didn't pass the lighter to Xu Tangcheng but instead, went closer himself and lit the cigarette for him.

When Xu Tangcheng lowered his eyes and inhaled, Yi Zhe was staring at his face. It was the first time that Yi Zhe could see even his eyelashes so clearly.

They were very long and very beautiful, especially when he blinked.

The whole time, Yi Zhe was unaware of how submissive he was being. It was only when Xu Tangcheng waved at him and left, taking that Chunghwa soft pack with him, that Yi Zhe, in the middle of everyone's stunned gazes, finally realised that he wasn't really behaving like a gang leader just now.

Throughout the night, Xu Tangcheng's fingers played with that pack of Chunghwa, his eyes glancing at Yi Zhe every now and then. Most of the time, Yi Zhe was gaming. Occasionally, he would go up to the billiards table and play a couple of rounds. Every time he did, there was a round of applause.

Xu Tangcheng angled his head and watched. In his heart, he wondered why, in the past, had he thought that Yi Zhe didn't have a sense of presence?

At eleven p.m., the number of people in the billiards hall had decreased instead of increasing. But the noise multiplied and drifting along with the ruckus in the air was the increasingly thick cigarette smoke. When the main door slammed open, Xu Tangcheng was bending at the waist, eyeing the last black ball on the table.

Thud. The black ball fell into the hole. Before he could clap for himself, he heard a cry of alarm. He turned around and his entire body seemed to freeze.

Yi Zhe's shoulder was full of glass shards. Two groups of people were already swiftly charging at each other, cursing the whole time.

No one knew how this round of chaos started. Everyone only knew that when they regained their senses, a few chairs had already been smashed and the place was strewn with broken beer bottles and people with rage-reddened eyes.

Xu Tangcheng watched helplessly as Yi Zhe used a hand that was dripping blood to strike someone down, then grab them by their collar and rain blows down on their face.

To Xu Tangcheng, this Yi Zhe was a stranger. Ruthless, vicious, merciless—any one of these words were far from the image of him that Xu Tangcheng had in his mind.

Xu Tangcheng immediately took a step forward but his friend beside him stopped him. He patted his friend on the shoulder and said, "My neighbour's kid is over there."

Meanwhile, the neighbour's kid was fighting until his eyes were red from rage.

He had been watching Xu Tangcheng play billiards the whole time just now and had not even heard the sound of the door being slammed open nor had he heard his companions' warnings. The beer bottle had smashed on his shoulder with him completely off guard.

Xu Tangcheng went over and grabbed Yi Zhe by the waist, wanting to pull him away, but the person in his arms kept struggling to break free. It was only when Yi Zhe's elbow hit Xu Tangcheng's eye and Xu Tangcheng hissed in pain that Yi Zhe finally realised who the person holding him was.

"What happened?" He turned around in a panic and saw that Xu Tangcheng's right eye was leaking tears. A patch of red appeared very quickly.

"I…" He couldn't speak coherently and he also did not dare touch Xu Tangcheng's eye. "Let me see."

Right at that moment, the people the boss had called arrived. A few very fierce-looking burly men hollered at the group of brats who were leaping around and smashing the tables and chairs. One of them was holding a metal truncheon and he struck it hard and shouted. "Shit! All of you fuckers stop whatever you're doing! Whoever fucking moves gets it from me!"

Holding an ice pack, Xu Tangcheng settled the issue of compensation with the boss. Then, he ignored his friend's offer to send them to the hospital to get their wounds looked at and pulled Yi Zhe into his own car. In the car, Xu Tangcheng tossed the ice pack aside and turned the ignition key.

"My house, your house or the hospital. Pick one." Xu Tangcheng looked ahead and calmly added another line. "But I don't think you or I can handle your shoulder that's full of glass shards."

From the moment he got into the car, Yi Zhe didn't even dare breathe too loudly and had only kept glancing at Xu Tangcheng's tense jaw out of the corner of his eye. Anyone who was not a fool could tell that right now, Xu Tangcheng was angry. It didn't matter how angry, at the very least, he was a little angry. This was the first time he was seeing Xu Tangcheng show this kind of anger on his face.

"Hospital." Yi Zhe's answer came quickly.

Yi Zhe kept stealing glances at Xu Tangcheng. When their eyes happened to meet occasionally, he would lower his head guiltily. Every time he lowered his head, he would think, why was he so unlucky? He clearly hadn't been getting into fights much recently but when he did get into one, it just had to be when he bumped into Xu Tangcheng. He was caught red-handed and the fight had even been such a stimulating one. The nurse treating his wounds also had a lot to say, nagging him while cleaning his wounds, saying things like "Young people shouldn't be so impulsive," "If there happened to be accident then things would be bad," and "A few days ago, someone was brought in after being stabbed with a knife during a fight and nearly couldn't be saved, his mum was crying her heart out..."

After every line from her, Xu Tangcheng's eyebrows would furrow closer. Yi Zhe looked at the nurse's mouth opening and closing repeatedly, his heart dead as ash.

They came out of the hospital. Xu Tangcheng sat in the car and wound down the window. He dug out the soft pack Chunghwa and asked Yi Zhe. "Want one?"

Yi Zhe was just thinking of how to explain what happened today to Xu Tangcheng. His attention distracted for the moment, he automatically reached a hand out when he heard those words.

Xu Tangcheng let out a snort of laughter.

Yi Zhe quickly withdrew his hand and shook his hand. "No."

Xu Tangcheng got down from the car. He stood beside the car and smoked a stick on his own before getting into the car again.

"Your eye… Remember to apply the medicine like what the doctor said."

Yi Zhe fumbled clumsily for something to say. From his blanked-out brain, he grabbed this line that was about the same as nonsense.

"Mm."

Xu Tangcheng made a noise of assent but showed no signs of wanting to leave at all. Yi Zhe silently curled his fingers into fists, quietly waiting for him to speak.

Xu Tangcheng was indeed planning to say something but if he were to be honest, he didn't have experience in this area. Whether it was him or Xu Tangxi, they had both been obedient and sensible since young and had never caused trouble. Among his friends, there also wasn't anyone who settled problems with their fists. Thus, he had never persuaded other people to stop getting into fights all the time. Meanwhile, to him, Yi Zhe was his neighbour, his younger brother whom he frequently met since they were young. He was older than him by six years. He was neither his elder from a generation above nor was he his biological relative. They could not even be considered friends. He didn't feel he had the right to discipline Yi Zhe but he also did not want to see Yi Zhe like this again.

"Yi Zhe."

"Mm," Yi Zhe answered softly.

"Does it hurt?" Xu Tangcheng asked.

Yi Zhe shook his head. "No."

Xu Tangcheng rested his hand on the steering wheel and turned his head to look at the person beside him. It was a long while before he spoke.

"You're in Year 3 already. Don't you need to study?"

Yi Zhe didn't know what he should say. That his academic results were actually not bad? Or that he didn't like staying in school?

Xu Tangcheng didn't get an answer. He continued asking, "Have you thought of taking the exams for university?"

Yi Zhe stared blankly.

University. This was the word the Year 3 teachers spouted most frequently. When they first entered Year 3, the teachers had even made all of them write down a university they aspired to attend on a leaf-shaped sticky note and stick it on the side wall of the classroom. A large tree was stuck there, bearing the weight of the ambitions of the entire class.

Yi Zhe hadn't written anything and also did not stick anything on the wall. He had even been summoned by the class teacher over this and admonished. However, throughout the whole thing, he was just admiring the sight of a silly bird outside the office window.

"If you don't like this place, if you don't like your home, you can apply to a university that's further away. You've always been missing your dad and your younger brother, haven't you? Then, you can apply to Shanghai. If you want to know more about the various universities and the courses, I can explain them to you."

Xu Tangcheng finally released his tense expression. He looked at the silent and confused Yi Zhe, and reached a hand out to give him a couple of pats on his thigh. In a tone that invited discussion, he asked, "There's less than a year to go. Choose a field of study that you like and enter a university that you like. In the future, live the life that you like. Wouldn't that be good?"

The life that you like.

In actual fact, when Yi Zhe was sprawled on his school desk and resting, he had heard his classmates discuss universities and all those many fields of study: I want to study medicine but my parents said that it's too difficult and too tiring; I want to study finance because you can earn more money; my parents want me to study some kind of engineering because if you have technical skills, that's something other people can't take away from you…

The heated discussions other people had sometimes gave Yi Zhe an illusion—it seemed that everyone had someone looking forward to their future.