"Xiao Hei doesn't have to go back to Beijing anymore?" someone asked.

Zhou Muyao answered, beaming, "I just have to report to headquarters periodically! I don't have to go normally!"

"You must be over the moon," another person bumped his back with their shoulder. "Having you at home every day must be driving Lezhi crazy."

"How is that possible," Zhou Muyao said smugly, half-lying on the sofa with one leg crossed over the other knee. "He can't get enough of me."

"Does it kill you not to brag?" Xiao Yao, who was sitting on another sofa playing with his phone, mocked him. "Lezhi just got with you early on and can't shake you off now. Just making do with a silly son."

Zhou Muyao swung his leg and said gleefully, "Go on and be jealous. You all envy me."

The groom getting married tomorrow was one of their friends. He had gathered them together in advance, getting them a suite to stay in, so he could just come to this room whenever he needed someone for a task.

Zhou Muyao was wearing a black T-shirt, cargo pants, and sneakers. He was tall, exercised regularly, and had broad shoulders. When he wasn't talking, he looked like a pretty cool guy.

But the moment he opened his mouth, he gave himself away. His personality wasn't cool at all; it was a bit childish, and sometimes even goofy.

But he loved to have fun and had a good personality, so he was quite popular, and everyone was fond of him. Back in school, he was the youngest and a sweet-talker, so others loved to include him. He was a great friend—innocent and extremely loyal. So even though he had been away for the past few years and didn't come back often, no one had grown distant from him; they were all still very close.

He Lezhi hadn't been in touch with his friends much these past few years, rarely meeting up with people privately outside of group dinners. As people grow up, their personalities change. He was more introverted now than before and would sometimes avoid lively gatherings. Over time, if Zhou Muyao wasn't around, people wouldn't always make a special point of inviting him.

"Why isn't my brother here yet?" Zhou Muyao asked.

"Fangchi?" someone said. "He's working overtime. I asked this morning, and he said he had an emergency surgery. He'll be here in a bit."

"Oh, okay." Zhou Muyao held his phone up high, lounging there playing a bubble shooter game.

The words had barely left his mouth when someone pushed the door open and came in.

"Who's looking for me?"

"Doctor Han is here?" a friend at the door exclaimed.

Han Fangchi walked in, sat down next to Zhou Muyao, and asked him, "What did you want me for?"

Zhou Muyao grinned, scooted over, and rested his head on his shoulder. "I missed you. Mwah."

Zhou Muyao and Han Fangchi were neighbors as children and were also distantly related. When he was young, Zhou Muyao could never remember their exact relationship, only knowing that they were related somehow. It wasn't until he grew up that he figured it out: their grandmas were cousins. Such distant relatives didn't really keep in touch, but the two of them had grown up together as close childhood friends, and Zhou Muyao had been following Han Fangchi around calling him 'brother' since he was little.

Han Fangchi was two years older than Zhou Muyao and was now an associate chief physician at the Dental Hospital.

"Lezhi didn't come?" Han Fangchi asked casually.

"He's not home. On a business trip," Zhou Muyao said.

Han Fangchi nodded. Zhou Muyao asked him, "I heard you're dating someone?"

"Who did you hear that from?" Han Fangchi asked.

Zhou Muyao lifted his chin toward the other side of the room, pointing at the slouching Xiao Yao.

Han Fangchi looked across at him. "You saw?"

"I guessed," Xiao Yao said with a grin. "Every time anyone looks for you, you say you're working overtime."

"Am I dating you?" Han Fangchi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not dating you. I'm not gay," Xiao Yao shook his head. "You should just go back to working overtime."

Han Fangchi couldn't be bothered with him.

In this group of friends, everyone was straight except for He Lezhi and Zhou Muyao, this one couple. Han Fangchi had dated a girl before. His last relationship lasted for over two years with a very gentle girl. Their relationship was stable, and everyone thought they would get married, but they ended up breaking up amicably. He had been single ever since. No matter who asked why they broke up, he wouldn't say a word; he was very tight-lipped.

People were always thinking about setting him up with a girlfriend; after all, high-quality men were rare these days. Han Fangchi was classically handsome, had a good job and family background, and was a nice person, though he could be a bit methodical and perhaps not very romantic at times.

Han Fangchi had never let anyone set him up. When you're single for a long time, you get used to it. Besides, he wasn't particularly looking forward to starting a family of his own.

"Oh, right, brother," Zhou Muyao remembered and asked, "How much are the apartments in your complex now? Did the price go up?"

Han Fangchi said, "I don't know. You want to buy one?"

Zhou Muyao nodded. "I'm thinking of buying a place. Your complex is close to Lezhi's workplace, and this way we can live closer to each other, hehe."

Xiao Yao chimed in from across the room, "Really? If you two are buying a place there, I'll get one too. Then I'll have a place to eat."

Han Fangchi said, "I'll ask around when I get back."

Xiao Yao said, "Let me know after you ask."

"Are you a copycat!" Zhou Muyao shot a glance across the room. "Who wants to live in the same complex as you!"

"It's not for you, so don't flatter yourself, thanks," Xiao Yao said with disdain. "I'm doing it for Lezhi."

"Lezhi would be even less willing to deal with you," Zhou Muyao said.

It was true that He Lezhi didn't hang out much these days; he was either working overtime or exercising. Xiao Yao hadn't seen him in a while and asked, "What's Lezhi been busy with?"

"Business trips, reviewing blueprints, revising blueprints," Zhou Muyao said. "Just work stuff."

"I don't remember him working this hard back in school," Xiao Yao said with a laugh.

A short while later, the two of them started bickering again. Han Fangchi found them too noisy and went to sit by himself in a corner.

He Lezhi returned that afternoon. He went home, took a shower, changed his clothes, and by the time he arrived, it was evening, just in time for dinner.

He ran into Mingyang, the groom-to-be, at the hotel entrance. He Lezhi chatted with him downstairs for a few minutes, and Mingyang told him that Xiao Hei and the others were in private room 305.

When He Lezhi went up, he could hear how noisy it was inside, even through the door.

He pushed open the door. Inside, they were making some kind of joke about Zhou Muyao. Zhou Muyao was frowning and looked like he was about to lose his temper.

Someone with sharp eyes spotted He Lezhi and shouted, "Lezhi's here!"

Zhou Muyao whipped his head around, saw He Lezhi, and shot to his feet. "Lezhi!"

Everyone else quieted down at once and greeted He Lezhi.

"You didn't tell me you were coming back today," Zhou Muyao blinked. "Didn't I say I'd pick you up from the airport when you got back?"

He Lezhi smiled and said, "It's a hassle. It's just a matter of calling a car."

Zhou Muyao shooed the person next to him away and had He Lezhi sit down.

The topic they were just discussing came to an abrupt halt with He Lezhi's arrival. He Lezhi figured it couldn't have been anything good. A few of them had been mischievous since childhood and had no filter when they joked around. He couldn't be bothered to be curious.

"Where's Fangchi?" He Lezhi asked.

"Got called away by the hospital," someone next to him said.

Almost everyone was here today, except for Han Fangchi. However, Zhou Muyao seemed subtly out of it all evening. He would occasionally zone out, and when He Lezhi spoke to him, he acted as if he couldn't hear clearly.

"Drank too much?" He Lezhi asked him quietly.

"Huh?" Zhou Muyao leaned in slightly. "What did you say?"

He Lezhi said, "I was asking if you drank too much."

"No." Zhou Muyao shook his head, observing He Lezhi's expression. "I didn't drink much. Do you want something to eat? I'll have them make it for you."

"No need, I ate on the plane." He Lezhi touched his forehead. It wasn't too warm, so he didn't press the matter.

He Lezhi wasn't very rowdy back in school either, but he was definitely more cheerful than he was now. Plus, having just returned from a business trip and a long flight, he was truly a bit tired, which made him even less talkative. He just sat there quietly, listening to the others drink and chat.

Occasionally, someone would strike up a conversation with him, and He Lezhi would chat for a bit. Zhou Muyao, sitting next to him, was also unusually quiet, unlike his usual boisterous self when he drank.

"Xiao Hei is so well-behaved today," someone commented after a while of drinking.

A friend who was clearly drunk added, "Xiao Hei got scared."

He Lezhi smiled and said, "What did you guys do to scare him?"

"What could we do? It was the firecrackers," another person chimed in. "We were just playing with some earlier."

"He got scared the moment you walked in," the drunk one joked. "He's only afraid of you. He's not afraid of anything else."

He Lezhi raised his arm, placed his hand on the back of Zhou Muyao's head, and stroked it, saying with a smile, "Am I that scary?"

Zhou Muyao frowned. "Don't listen to his nonsense."

Zhou Muyao loved hanging out with his friends. In the past, at every dinner, he was always among the last rowdy group to leave. He Lezhi didn't drink much, so he would just wait for him to finish and then take him home.

Today, he hadn't had much to drink, yet before everyone was done talking, he said he wanted to go home.

He Lezhi was a bit surprised and asked him, "What's wrong?"

"My head hurts. Let's go," Zhou Muyao said.

He Lezhi became genuinely concerned and asked, "You're not feeling well?"

"Yeah, I feel awful," Zhou Muyao said with a nod.

When Zhou Muyao said he wanted to go home, surprisingly, no one tried to stop him. He Lezhi wondered in astonishment what was going on today.

"We're heading back then. Xiao Hei says he has a headache, so I'll get him to bed early," He Lezhi announced.

Anyway, they would see each other at the wedding tomorrow. The group all said their "see you tomorrows," and let them leave.

"Are you really not feeling well?" He Lezhi asked him once they were out the door.

"Yeah, I feel dizzy." Zhou Muyao didn't look well. He didn't start walking right away, but instead pulled He Lezhi into a hug, resting his chin on his shoulder.

"What's all this?" He Lezhi chuckled.

Zhou Muyao's voice sounded muffled as he said in a low voice, "I missed you."

"Shall we go home?" He Lezhi asked coaxingly.

"Yeah," Zhou Muyao nuzzled his nose against He Lezhi's neck and took a deep breath. "I need to use the restroom first."

Zhou Muyao went to the restroom, and He Lezhi went to the elevator area to wait for him.

His phone rang. It was his boss. A group of people had just finished their dinner and were about to leave, making the elevator area a bit noisy. He Lezhi, phone in hand, gestured to a nearby waiter and stepped into an empty private room next to them.

His boss asked if he was back and how the problem had been resolved. He Lezhi gave a brief summary, then said with a smile, "I'll tell you the rest when I'm in the office on Monday. I'm out right now, boss."

His boss was in his forties, with excellent resources and connections. He wasn't too old-fashioned either. He and He Lezhi had a very good relationship and didn't fuss over the superior-subordinate dynamic when they weren't working.

"Then get some good rest. I won't disturb you, Engineer He," his boss joked, then added, "Someone sent me a Yunnan ham, but I'm not a fan, so I left it in your office."

He Lezhi thanked him and said, "Don't try to bribe me like this. I'll take one more project at most this year. If I go on another business trip, my home life is going to fall apart."

His boss laughed, cursed him jokingly, and hung up.

He Lezhi put away his phone and was about to leave the private room.

Two familiar voices came from the doorway. It was his friends, heading toward the restroom. He Lezhi was just about to call out a greeting when he happened to hear his own name—

"Do you think Lezhi heard us just now?"

"Probably not. He didn't look like he did."

"You can't be sure. That's just how Lezhi is, right? He's afraid of making others feel awkward, so you can never tell what he's thinking from his face."

He Lezhi raised an eyebrow slightly and stopped in his tracks, not stepping out.

"It was noisy. He probably didn't hear clearly. But this thing with Xiao Hei is bound to come out sooner or later. He can't hide it."

"Fuck, I hope not. His world would collapse."

"Serves him fucking right. That brainless idiot."

He Lezhi leaned against the door, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. It was true that Zhou Muyao could be thoughtless at times, but he really didn't think he was capable of doing something that would make his world collapse. At most, Zhou Muyao was like a rebellious brat who might do something mischievous.

He wasn't even that curious. If something really had happened, Zhou Muyao would tell him sooner or later. This was one of Xiao Hei's good qualities: he was sincere, honest, simple, and kind. If he did something wrong, he would take the initiative to admit his mistake and ask for forgiveness.

He Lezhi pocketed his phone and walked out, just in time to see Zhou Muyao standing blankly by the elevators, looking for him. The moment he saw him, his eyes unconsciously lit up.

"Took a call," He Lezhi said.

Zhou Muyao ignored the stares of others, came over to take his hand, and said, “Let's go home, let's go home.”