The hug had just ended when Gu Zhuoyan's phone rang. Zhuang Fanxin inevitably saw the caller ID again and deduced that "Gu Shibo" should be Gu Zhuoyan's father.

He took a step back and said, "You should get the phone. I'm going home."

Gu Zhuoyan wanted to say something to make him stay. The stars and moon were so beautiful, and the atmosphere had been built up to be so clingy and sweet, but it was a pity that Gu Shibo was dead set on ruining his moment. He didn't answer it. "Then I'll walk you downstairs."

Zhuang Fanxin said, "No need, hurry and answer your phone." He turned to go back to the bedroom, pausing for a moment when he reached the glass door. "Don't fight with your dad."

Gu Zhuoyan obediently said, "Got it."

Zhuang Fanxin grabbed his schoolbag and left. Going downstairs, he greeted Xue Maochen in the living room, walked out the main door of the Xue Family residence, and only stopped when he was under a dim yellow streetlight outside. The tension in his body lingered for a long time.

When Gu Zhuoyan had asked him for a hug, his heart had beaten a little fast. After getting closer and hugging him, it beat even faster. By the time Gu Zhuoyan hugged him back, it was beating even faster than when he got beaten up yesterday.

The phone was still ringing. Gu Zhuoyan pressed the call button to answer, already anticipating why Gu Shibo was calling. "Hello?" he started, not calling him 'Dad' out of defiance.

Gu Shibo got straight to the point: "Did you get into a fight at school?"

Parents all over the world were like this, asking the obvious. Gu Zhuoyan admitted it without trying to hide anything, leaning against the railing, his mind unable to stop replaying the feeling of hugging Zhuang Fanxin.

"You were restless at home, causing such an embarrassing incident, and now you go over there and stir up trouble again?" Gu Shibo said over the phone. "I warned you not to mess around, did you just turn a deaf ear?"

Gu Zhuoyan said, "Wasn't 'messing around' specifically referring to being gay? I didn't think it included fighting."

Gu Shibo cursed at him, "Stop playing the fool with me!"

It was hard to get a real spark of argument going over the phone. Gu Shibo took a few deep breaths to suppress his anger and said, almost compromisingly, "Using your fists to solve problems is the most childish thing to do. You're about to become an adult, you should be more mature."

Gu Zhuoyan lowered his head and smelled the medicinal scent on his collar, which Zhuang Fanxin had transferred onto him. The memory was quite pleasant, so he uncharacteristically promised, "It won't happen again."

The other end of the line went quiet. Gu Shibo was stunned for five or six seconds, completely not expecting Gu Zhuoyan to suddenly become so compliant. He cleared his throat to move on. "Keep this from your grandpa, don't let him worry. By the way, how badly did you beat the other person?"

Gu Zhuoyan said, "Don't worry about it. I was injured too, anyway."

Gu Shibo was slightly taken aback. "You were injured too?" After the shock, a layer of displeasure washed over him. "You've practiced fencing for so many years, and I also taught you Taekwondo, how could you..."

Gu Zhuoyan retorted, "How could I what? What about me?"

"Stop talking back to me. In the future, if you're not absolutely sure you can win, just behave yourself." Gu Shibo was very busy and couldn't find anything nice to say anyway. "We'll talk about the rest when you come back at the end of the month."

The call ended. Gu Zhuoyan touched the bruise on his face. It was necessary for him to get a little injured, otherwise the other party would look like the victim. Besides, taking this punch had made Zhuang Fanxin feel distressed and pained for him, and wasn't asking for a hug a success?

He also thought, 'Zhuang Fanxin likes me, so he probably felt pretty good hugging me too!'

To avoid worrying Xue Maochen, Gu Zhuoyan didn't go downstairs all night, having his dinner in the study. He shut himself in and crammed practice questions all night. At dawn, when the sun rose and the birds chirped, he took a shower and went to his bedroom to sleep.

Zhuang Fanxin went out to the art studio. The painting he had been working on last week was finished, and he had to hand in his homework today. It was still early, so he repeated last week's routine and leaned by the window, unsure if he would see Gu Zhuoyan and Gu Baoyan again.

Pei Zhi arrived. "What happened to your face?"

"I accidentally scraped it." Zhuang Fanxin leaned next to him. "What date are we buying our plane tickets for?"

The two of them were facing the ACC Competition and it was about time to buy plane tickets. Pei Zhi was already in his third year of high school and wanted to leave as late as possible so as not to miss class. He said, "How about next Saturday? I'll attend one more week of classes."

Zhuang Fanxin had no problem with that. He then worried about food and lodging. "This competition happens to be in Los Angeles. You can stay at my grandparents' house too, it'll be more convenient for us to do things together."

Pei Zhi said happily, "Then I'll bring some gifts."

The teacher arrived, and they returned to their seats for class. Zhuang Fanxin's painting received very good reviews, and his good mood made time seem to fly by. After class, he packed up his things from the studio; he wouldn't be coming for a while.

Zhuang Fanxin went home carrying his painting tube. It was just when the violin class was letting out, and he ran into Xue Maochen leading Gu Baoyan on the stairs. He greeted them, "Grandpa, are you accompanying my little sister to her music lesson today?"

Xue Maochen smiled. "Can't be helped, I'm the most idle one."

Zhuang Fanxin hitched a ride home. The SUV drove all the way to the end of the alley. The German Shepherd didn't rush out, presumably enticed by the well-cooked food. Xue Maochen asked him to stay for dinner, and he didn't refuse, as he wanted to show Gu Zhuoyan his painting anyway.

There was one person missing at the dinner table. Gu Zhuoyan hadn't gotten up yet. Zhuang Fanxin hadn't slept in since school started, so he asked Gu Baoyan, "Little sister, why is your brother sleeping so late?"

Gu Baoyan said, "He didn't sleep all night."

"Huh? Why?" Zhuang Fanxin was very surprised. Taking on five people by himself was so physically demanding, and he was injured too, yet he didn't sleep?

Gu Zhuoyan didn't sleep because he was studying. He was studying because he had to participate in a competition, and for the competition, he needed to go home. Gu Baoyan was frantically nibbling on a chicken wing at that moment. She simplified the cause and effect to the point of deletion, directly giving a completely irrelevant answer: "Because he has to go home."

Zhuang Fanxin froze. Go home? Gu Zhuoyan was going home?

He couldn't even be bothered to think about the connection between 'staying up all night' and 'going home'. His mind was just frantically rolling with the words 'going home'. It had only been half a month since school started, why was he going home? Didn't he say he would stay in Rong City for a year?

Holmes' Heart began to deduce again. Was it related to last night's phone call? Gu Zhuoyan's father called to make Gu Zhuoyan go home? Because the fight had become known throughout the school, he wasn't allowed to stay in Rong City anymore?

Zhuang Fanxin put down his chopsticks and saw Sister Hu placing a meal on a tray. He took it from her and went upstairs by himself to bring Gu Zhuoyan his food. He knocked on the bedroom door, and a response came from inside, sounding hoarse and lazy, as if he had just woken up.

Gu Zhuoyan had indeed just woken up. His short hair was messy, and he was shirtless, searching the room for the air conditioner remote. The door opened. He thought it was Sister Hu, but to his surprise, it was Zhuang Fanxin. Zhuang Fanxin stood at the doorway holding the tray, suddenly forgetful, only noticing Gu Zhuoyan's broad shoulders and abs.

He thought dazedly, 'What did he eat to grow up like this?'

Gu Zhuoyan, on the other hand, had a sense of shame. Noticing Zhuang Fanxin's gaze, he pulled on a T-shirt. Remembering he hadn't washed his face or brushed his teeth, he lowered his head and scurried into the bathroom. "Wait for me a bit..."

Zhuang Fanxin placed the food in the small living area and then sat at the table to wait.

After washing up, Gu Zhuoyan came over and sat down unceremoniously, picking up his chopsticks to eat. He had been hungry since the middle of the night and had even dreamed of eating. Right now, his eyes only saw the steak that had been slow-cooked for twelve hours.

"...I heard you're going home?" Zhuang Fanxin suddenly spoke up.

Gu Zhuoyan said vaguely, "Yeah, next week, probably."

So it was true. Zhuang Fanxin frowned, feeling inexplicably deceived. "Didn't you say you were going to stay for a year? Why are you going home so soon?"

Gu Zhuoyan paused his chewing and turned to look at Zhuang Fanxin, discerning the emotional colors in his tone and gaze: twenty percent surprise, thirty percent displeasure, and the remaining fifty percent was pure reluctance to part.

He turned back to continue eating and said, "Plans can't keep up with changes."

"Isn't this change too fast? It's practically instantaneous, isn't it?" Zhuang Fanxin was losing control of his words again. "You decorated the house and bought a bicycle, only to transfer back less than a month after transferring here. What's the deal, were you just here in Rong City on an inspection tour?"

Gu Zhuoyan nodded, feigning coolness. "I have no choice, I have to go back."

Did that mean he had no say in the matter? Zhuang Fanxin's tone immediately softened. "Is it because of the fight?" He began to feel regretful. If he hadn't been injured first, things wouldn't have turned out this way. He wanted to apologize, but seeing Gu Zhuoyan slurping down his food with such relish, it seemed 'going home' was a happy accident.

That made sense. His parents and friends were all over there, so of course he'd be happy from his perspective. But... wasn't he even a little bit fond of Rong City? There were new classmates here, his grandpa, Sister Hu, the driver... and there was him.

Zhuang Fanxin said sullenly, "How can you eat with such relish?"

Gu Zhuoyan said, "I'm hungry."

Zhuang Fanxin couldn't find the right words. He stared at the halo of light on the tabletop until his eyes got dizzy, occasionally glancing at the other boy devouring his food, a lump forming in his chest. After a long while, he feigned an indifferent attitude and said, "I'm also going to the USA for a competition soon. I probably won't be able to see you off when you leave."

Gu Zhuoyan said nonchalantly, "Oh, that's fine."

Zhuang Fanxin suddenly felt a pang of sourness. He wasn't quite sure where it was sour. Chemically speaking, acid is corrosive. That little bit of unhappiness in him was corroded away, and he could no longer hold back his true feelings.

He said in a low voice, "I don't want you to go back."

Gu Zhuoyan feigned ignorance. "Why?"

Zhuang Fanxin gritted his teeth. "Because I can't bear for you to leave!"

He had been waiting for this sentence for a long time. It was so pleasant to hear. Gu Zhuoyan turned to face Zhuang Fanxin. Not telling the truth now would be a dick move. He said, "Then I'll come back after my exam."

Zhuang Fanxin's miserable expression froze. "What do you mean?"

Gu Zhuoyan explained, "I'm going back to participate in a math competition. I'll be back after the exam." Seeing that Zhuang Fanxin was still stunned, he couldn't resist reaching out to pinch the other's cheek. "Want me to bring you some local specialties from my hometown?"

Only then did Zhuang Fanxin understand. It was all a false alarm. Thinking it over, it seemed Gu Zhuoyan had deliberately misled him to get him to reveal his true feelings. He glared at Gu Zhuoyan in embarrassment, thinking he looked quite fierce.

"So you care about me that much," Gu Zhuoyan said teasingly.

Zhuang Fanxin needed a way to save face. "I'm going to the USA, and I'm not coming back."

Gu Zhuoyan quickly played along. "Don't do that, my sister and I will miss you a lot."

With that matter cleared up, Zhuang Fanxin stuffed the painting tube into Gu Zhuoyan's arms. Gu Zhuoyan pulled out the painting. The oil paints on the canvas were bright and clear. His face was both realistic and dreamlike, as if shrouded in a layer of light. He was a layman and didn't understand anything else, only having a pure sensory experience. "I didn't expect the color tone to be so light."

Zhuang Fanxin hadn't expected it either. When painted, the atmosphere was like the day Gu Zhuoyan first came to Rong City, standing in the sunlight after getting out of the car, with the silhouettes of leaves on his body. He didn't know how to explain it. "I was very happy when I was painting it."

Gu Zhuoyan asked, "Can you give it to me?"

Zhuang Fanxin agreed. "Then I'll give it to you. I wish you good results in your competition."

In the afternoon, the two of them stayed in the small living area. Gu Zhuoyan worked on math, and Zhuang Fanxin worked on art. Several hours passed, and the sunlight pouring in receded inch by inch, becoming paler.

Gu Zhuoyan finally stopped writing, lying down on the table to rest for a while, his gaze falling on Zhuang Fanxin's notebook. Zhuang Fanxin was infected by the fatigue and also lay down, turning his head to face Gu Zhuoyan.

He reached out and drew a line on Gu Zhuoyan's face with a damp, fine brush. It was royal blue, but it was coated with a layer of pale gold by the sunlight. Before he could escape after his mischief, his wrist was caught. The grip was neither too light nor too heavy, just enough to prevent him from breaking free.

Zhuang Fanxin looked into Gu Zhuoyan's eyes and moved his lips. "You haven't wished me luck in my competition yet."

Gu Zhuoyan said, "I wish you luck in your competition."

He moved his hand, gradually covering the back of Zhuang Fanxin's hand, his five fingers closing to wrap around Zhuang Fanxin's smaller hand. Dusk was rather romantic. He seized the moment and called out, "Zhuang Fanxin?"

Zhuang Fanxin was a bit dazed. "What?"

Gu Zhuoyan said, "When you come back from the competition, how about I confess?"