After finishing their meal, there were a total of seven people at the table, and surprisingly, everyone except Lian Jun had passed out from drinking.

The first to get drunk was Li Jiuzheng. He had chugged too much white wine at once and ended up passing out. The second to get drunk was Rong Zhouzhong. He had also been drinking with Li Jiuzheng and fell asleep on the table shortly after Li Jiuzheng passed out.

Next were Shi Weichong and Fei Yujing. They had been chatting and eating, unknowingly drinking quite a bit. The remaining two seemed to be seriously eating.

Shi Jin and Xiang Aoting were chatting happily about ingredients. Shi Jin was in high spirits and insisted on having Xiang Aoting taste the wine. They took a sip of this wine and a sip of that wine, and before Lian Jun realized something was wrong, they were already slumped in their chairs, feeling dizzy.

As Lian Jun pulled Shi Jin into his arms, who was slurring and talking nonsense while leaning on the chair, he gently touched his face and called out his name.

Number One walked in from outside the dining room and waited quietly for instructions.

"Take them to the guest room and let Uncle Long check on them. Don't let them drink too much and remember to give them hangover medicine," Lian Jun ordered, then he lifted Shi Jin, who was not completely drunk yet, and headed towards the room.

Number One responded with a yes and took out his phone to call for help.

As they walked out of the dining room, Shi Jin briefly regained his clarity and looked back at his messy brothers sitting at the table. "They deliberately got themselves drunk," he whispered, not knowing who he was speaking to. "That way, even if they wake up tomorrow and realize it was all for nothing, they can fool themselves into thinking it was just a dream... cunning and cowardly bastards."

Lian Jun also glanced at the group of brothers and silently agreed with his boyfriend's observation - their timing for getting drunk was too synchronized, it must have been intentional.

"They're all cowards," Shi Jin turned his head back and leaned against Lian Jun. "I am too... but I have you, Lian Jun. Don't leave me, I'll die without you."

Lian Jun also looked away, holding his hand tightly and kissing his forehead. He continued to lead him forward, saying, "No, I won't leave you. I'll always be by your side."

"Great," said Shi Jin as he leaned his weight onto him and rubbed his shoulder. After a moment of silence, he suddenly spoke up, "Lian Jun, my name is Shi Jin."

Lian Jun turned his head to look at him.

"My father's name is Shi Lei, and my mother's name is Lan Xiao. They live in a town called Huaiyang and run a small supermarket. I was adopted by them since birth... My dad is a kind-hearted man, sensitive and soft-hearted. My mom is a bit more forceful, but she's actually a softie at heart... They're really good people, and they'll definitely like you."

Lian Jun's steps suddenly came to a halt as he stared at him in shock. "I actually have a really old-fashioned nickname, Dazhuang*, given to me by my mom. She said that kids with old-fashioned names grow up better. Until I started elementary school, I thought my name was Shi Dazhuang. But then my dad, in order to get me used to my real name, actually changed the name of our family's supermarket to Jin Jin Supermarket. They're really cute, aren't they? That's my parents...completely different from Shi Xingrui."

*T/N: Dazhuang means big and strong.

Lian Jun's fingers trembled as he pulled him close into his embrace.

Shi Jin leaned into his embrace and affectionately rubbed against him, saying, "Don't worry, I'm not schizophrenic or suffering from delusions. Everything I said is true, those are all things I've experienced...trust me, okay? I'm not crazy."

"I believe you," said Lian Jun with a reassuring pat on his back. "I know you're not crazy, you're fine, I know."

Shi Jin hugged him back, seeming both drunk and sober at the same time. "I knew you would say that, you're always so good... Actually, it doesn't matter if you don't believe me. I'm just a drunkard now, saying anything is not surprising. Just forget it after you hear it..."

Lian Jun tightened his arms around him even more.

The two of them hugged quietly for a while, then continued walking towards the room.

Perhaps the alcohol had gone to his head, but Shi Jin's words began to become disjointed and incoherent. "I'm actually the same age as you... I'm really a police officer, I'm not lying to you, I've been doing it for many years... If you count carefully, I've already died twice...

"My memories were all fuzzy, people like Shi Weichong, Li Jiuzheng, and Shi Xingrui, I don't remember any of them, they're all strangers, just names written in ink in a book, without any meaning... It's really strange, my parents didn't really want me to become a police officer back then, they said it was too hard, but I still insisted on going to the police academy..."

Finally, the two arrived at the room. Lian Jun helped Shi Jin into the bathroom, stripped off his clothes, settled him into the bathtub, and used the showerhead to wash away the smell of alcohol all over his body. Shi Jin stared at the water column pouring down, and his eyes seemed to clear up.

"I remember now. I was calling for help, begging for someone to save me. The pain and resentment were too much. Being raised in a sheltered environment, how could I bear it... Wait, was that me? No, it couldn't be me... I am Shi Jin, not this Shi Jin. It can't be this Shi Jin..."

Lian Jun's hand holding the showerhead tightened slowly, his knuckles turning white.

"But why didn't anyone come to save me... No, Fourth Brother saved me once. He's very powerful... If I become like him, can I save myself? I tried so hard, didn't I? I fought with all my might to save myself..." Taking a deep breath, Lian Jun wiped away the tears that had welled up in the corner of his eyes and let go of the showerhead, embracing him tightly.

Shi Jin leaned against him, tilting his head to look at the mist rising in the bathroom. His eyes became clouded once again as he spoke softly, "Dad is gone, and my brothers have changed. I don't really care about money, they can take it all if they want. But how can people's hearts change so easily? Before, I would smile at them and they would smile back.

"But now, when I smile at them, they only give me cold looks, full of hatred, sarcasm, or they just stare at me with unspoken words, full of murderous intent... I can't even cry, or they'll hate me even more... I'm still me, but why does everyone treat me differently now? What did I do wrong?"

"No," Lian Jun finally spoke, his voice low and tense, "you did well, so far you've done very well."

"Did I save myself?" Shi Jin reached out and grabbed his clothes.

"You did, not only yourself, but you also saved me. You're amazing," Lian Jun replied.

Shi Jin let go of him, a relieved smile on his face. "That's good...actually, I'm a coward. When I'm not drunk, there are things I'm afraid to say..."

Lian Jun touched his back and said, "You're not a coward, you're brave, braver than anyone else."

"Really...that's great." Shi Jin's eyes had closed, a slight redness from the alcohol at the corners of his eyes. His lips moved and he murmured before falling asleep completely, "Xiao Si, don't cry, it's too noisy..."

The hand of Lian Jun, gently rubbing his back, paused for a moment before continuing. After a while, he whispered, "Goodnight, Shi Jin."

......

Shi Jin slept until noon the next day. When he woke up, Lian Jun told him that Shi Weichong and the others had already left on the earliest flight. Shi Jin was stunned for a moment, then rubbed his slightly aching head from the hangover and said, "I understand. It's the end of the year, everyone is busy."

"They left a gift for you, do you want to see it?" Lian Jun asked.

Shi Jin shook his head, then after a moment of confusion, he finally came to his senses and asked Lian Jun, "Shouldn't we be heading to the island now? You've been cooped up in this room for so long, you need to go to a warm place and breathe some fresh air."

As Lian Jun gently stroked his messy hair, he asked, "When do you want to go over there? Number Six has already prepared everything, we can go anytime."

For once, Shi Jin gave a stubborn answer, "Today, I want to leave today." After the reunion, everyone went their separate ways, and he didn't want to be left alone.

"Okay." Lian Jun leaned in and kissed him, saying, "I'll make arrangements."

......

Even Lian Jun, with the decision to leave only near noon, could only barely arrange a private jet for 11 pm that night, barely fulfilling Shi Jin's wish to leave on the same day.

"We should go rest on the plane." Lian Jun helped Shi Jin pack his luggage, and was surprised to find that half of the box was filled with textbooks. Shi Jin pretended not to notice and rubbed his slightly heavy chest, saying, "You should take a longer nap today."

"Will you accompany me?" Lian Jun put down his textbook and looked at him.

Shi Jin met his gaze and said, "Of course, I'll accompany you."

......

After waking up from their nap, Lian Jun noticed that Shi Jin became a bit restless after receiving a text message. He kept turning his head to look outside. Lian Jun moved his wheelchair closer and asked, "Do you want to go outside and build a snowman? By the time we come back next time, the snow should have melted."

Shi Jin frowned and thought for a moment before saying, "Sure, let's build a smaller one this year." The two of them arrived at the same resting room where they had stayed last year when they built a snowman. Shi Jin was bundled up tightly, as was Lian Jun. Then, holding Lian Jun's hand, they walked to the thickest corner of the snow and squatted down together, ready to make snowballs.

"You make a small one, and I'll make a big one. Then we'll put them together, and it'll be a snowman," Shi Jin explained his plan.

Lian Jun asked, "Don't you want to make one with a pattern?"

"Let's wait until next year," Shi Jin replied, smiling at him. "This year, let's stick to tradition."

Lian Jun knew that Shi Jin was concerned about his health, so he smiled and agreed, "Okay."

In the end, the two of them built a mini snowman outside, only taking less than twenty minutes. Shi Jin was very satisfied and took a photo with the snowman together with Lian Jun. Then, he hurriedly took Lian Jun back to the house to wash his hands, face, and warm up his body.

Watching Shi Jin taking care of himself so diligently, Lian Jun felt a bit heartbroken. This person was the one who should be taken care of by everyone, so he unconsciously reached out and hugged Shi Jin.

Shi Jin was puzzled and turned his head to look at him, asking, "What's wrong?"

"If you want to do something, just do it," Lian Jun said, kissing Shi Jin's ear that had turned red from the cold wind. "You don't have to worry about me. I just want to make you happy."

Shi Jin lowered his head and hugged him tightly, recalling the words that Rong Zhouzhong and Xiang Aoting had sent separately, saying that Li Jiuzheng's face looked bad and his expression was not quite right when he left in the morning, not saying anything.