The courier stood in front of Xiao An’s single apartment, typing the order information into his handheld device with a confused expression.
“The recipient lives upstairs from you,” the courier repeated, worried that he might be misunderstanding something.
“I know,” Xiao An replied, pointing at the screen. “My address should be No. 7 Middle School, and the name… just write An An.”
After a moment’s thought, he added, “Don’t click on the delivery right away, wait until this evening.”
The courier hesitated for a second before muttering, “Internet… internet scam.”
Xiao An didn’t argue, feeling guilty.
He really hadn’t expected Wall’s friend to live upstairs from him. What a small world.
The handmade cookies were neatly packed. The courier handed him the bill and said, “The shipping fee is ten yuan.”
This was probably the shortest delivery the courier had ever handled.
Xiao An scanned the QR code and paid. The courier then added, “Are you going out? I have another delivery upstairs. Why don’t you just take it down yourself?”
The apartment building didn’t have a courier locker yet, so packages were always piled in a corner of the lobby like a street stall.
It was Monday, and Xiao An was heading out for class. He carefully took the cookies and sneaked downstairs.
When he reached the first-floor lobby and saw no one around, he placed the cookies in a corner where they wouldn’t be easily jostled or damaged.
As he stood up and turned around, he saw the security guard on duty cracking melon seeds and watching him.
“Going to school so early?” the guard asked.
“Ah.” Xiao An nodded, feeling slightly embarrassed.
He walked a short distance but couldn’t shake off his guilt. Turning back, he leaned on the edge of the security guard’s desk, looked him in the eye, and said sincerely, “Don’t tell anyone that I put it there.”
“Ah?” The security guard glanced at the pile of packages and replied, “…Ah, okay, don’t worry.”
“Thanks.” Relieved, Xiao An headed to the basement to get his car.
He was conflicted. Should he wait for Wall to pick up the delivery after the courier marked it as delivered? It felt a little strange. If he really wanted to meet Wall, wouldn’t it be better to arrange a formal meeting in the future?
Xiao An couldn’t help but feel anxious. Once he redeemed the event rewards and dissolved the master-disciple bond with Wall, he would have to return the Xixizi account to Pan Xi as promised.
Lately, he’d been thinking about creating a new account but hadn’t figured out how to explain it to Wall.
It was complicated. He hadn’t planned to get too close to Wall initially and had lied about a lot of things. But now that he wanted to deepen their connection, he knew he’d have to come clean eventually.
Xiao An pinched the bridge of his nose, forcing himself to set a deadline. He started the car and slowly drove out.
—
Students are perpetually sleepy, whether in junior high, high school, or even college.
The weather in late November was perfect—not too cold, not too hot, the ideal time for a nap.
On Mondays, He Yuan’s schedule was packed with professional courses. That afternoon, he had a long class on architectural design. The professor had assigned group work for a mountain homestay design project. Five minutes after the professor left, the entire class was dozing off.
“Change your name. Calling me Brother Xu is too stiff,” Xu Zhaoyuan said, grinning as he sent a voice message.
While recording, he tilted his phone and smiled so widely that it looked like his face might split in half.
He Yuan, sketching on a perspective board, glanced over at his roommate and thought, ‘He’s definitely in love.’
Last weekend, Xu Zhaoyuan had successfully hit it off with Jingjing at a party. Now they were a young, giddy couple from different schools. A few words from her were enough to make him laugh like an idiot.
“Hey… I’m in class. Why are you being like this all of a sudden…” Xu Zhaoyuan’s face turned bright red as he recorded another message.
After pocketing his phone, he kept grinning uncontrollably. He Yuan regretted teaming up with him and tapped the table to signal him to get back to work.
“Hahaha… it’s nothing,” Xu Zhaoyuan said, unable to contain his excitement. “I asked Jingjing to call me something else, and she called me ‘brother.’”
“Yeah.” He Yuan gave him a ‘so what?’ look.
“When she calls me brother, my heart just melts.” Seeing He Yuan remain unfazed, Xu Zhaoyuan added, “You’ll understand when you experience it.”
“I’ve experienced it,” He Yuan said.
“Who?” Xu Zhaoyuan looked shocked. He knew He Yuan didn’t have siblings.
Xixizi.
He Yuan pressed his lips together and went back to sketching.
“If someone calls you like that, they probably like you,” Xu Zhaoyuan said earnestly.
Based on his understanding of his roommate for three years, He Yuan, who was obsessed with architecture, would most likely not notice someone liking him unless they confessed outright.
“He did say he liked me,” He Yuan said after some thought.
That was when Xixizi learned he was a construction worker who could drive an excavator.
“Fuck,” Xu Zhaoyuan was stunned. “The day before yesterday, I told everyone you were fine. So you were out there sweet-talking someone who called you ‘brother’ that night?”
Living under the same roof, Xu Zhaoyuan hadn’t even realized his roommate was dealing with this kind of situation.
“That’s another person,” He Yuan clarified.
Wait… there were two people?
“…” Xu Zhaoyuan stared at him, frozen, before finally patting He Yuan on the shoulder. “You’ve grown up. Dad feels so relieved.”
“Stop messing around and get to work,” He Yuan replied, annoyed. “I have to head to my sister’s place after class.”
“What are you even going to your sister’s place for—”
“He Yuan.” The professor appeared suddenly behind the classroom door, cutting off the conversation and startling the half-asleep students. “Come help me.”
—
It was almost dark when Xiao An, wearing a white hat, settled into the coffee shop across from his apartment building.
With his sharp vision, 5.1 in both eyes, he could just make out the express box with the cookies he’d prepared, sitting by the floor-to-ceiling glass window in the lobby of the apartment building.
He stirred his coffee absentmindedly, watching people come and go. The longer he waited, the more he felt like a creep.
Was Wall still at work?
Xiao An pulled out his phone and sent a message.
An An: Brother, did you get the package? QwQ [Little Yellow Bird Flutters Its Wings.jpg]
After a moment, his phone vibrated twice.
Wall: No.
Wall: The foreman’s making me stay late.*l
An An: That’s too much. Isn’t this overtime? [Little Yellow Bird Stamps Its Feet.jpg]
Xiao An puffed up his cheeks in frustration. Just then, a Porsche pulled up outside the window, parking at the apartment building’s entrance.
A middle-aged man climbed out of the driver’s seat and opened the back door with an air of exaggerated politeness.
High heels clicked against the pavement as a slender woman in a professional suit stepped out. Even from the side, her beauty was striking.
Xiao An stared for a moment out of habit, only to see the man drape an arm over her shoulder. She flinched away, clearly uncomfortable, but the man persisted, leaning in as if to force a kiss.
Broad daylight—was this guy serious?
Xiao An bolted from the coffee shop, crossing the street toward them.
Before he could act, the woman stepped down sharply on the man’s foot with her high heel. In one smooth motion, she twisted his arm back and delivered a solid punch to his stomach.
The man crumpled to the ground, clutching his abdomen. Xiao An awkwardly froze mid-step, his outstretched hand now unnecessary.
Too… too strong.
The woman turned to face him, noticing his presence.
Xiao An blinked. She looked familiar.
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