Zhou Muyao had pursued He Lezhi for two years back then. This time, he was determined to spend more time starting over.

Everyone knew Zhou Muyao was in considerable pain after losing He Lezhi, like a punished and abandoned child. More than half the people thought He Lezhi was cruel and unforgiving, while a small minority felt Zhou Muyao deserved it.

On Zhou Muyao's birthday, a few close friends celebrated with him. Zhou Muyao's twenty-ninth birthday wish was for He Lezhi to forgive him.

That day, he drank all night until he was throwing up and delirious, using someone else's phone to call He Lezhi. He Lezhi didn't answer, and later turned his phone off.

Zhou Muyao was slumped over the sink, his whole body curled up in pain, hoarsely calling, "Lezhi."

Others comforted him, "Out with the old, in with the new."

On Zhou Muyao's birthday, He Lezhi ate a six-inch cake all by himself. His stomach full of cold cream, he felt uncomfortably sick and went out for a two-hour run.

He knew Zhou Muyao wouldn't be home on his birthday, so after his run, He Lezhi drove to his old place and packed up all his belongings.

Zhou Muyao hadn't lied before; he had indeed packed everything up for him, it wasn't a ploy to contact him. Zhou Muyao had even sorted them by category: clothes together, sports equipment together, daily necessities together. Zhou Muyao didn't like to lie; he always wanted to keep things pure, one thing at a time. Although he wanted to contact He Lezhi and have him come home, he also didn't want to inconvenience him and knew it was impossible for him to live there again, so he had packed up his things properly.

He Lezhi had often thought he was like a naive child, his mind inflexible, a bit dense at times. But he also felt that was quite good—simple and direct.

But it was precisely because he was such a simple-minded guy that He Lezhi found it even more unimaginable that while he was on the plane, he was playing games with someone else and transferring 520. He couldn't dwell on it; just thinking about it made him ache all over, as if his muscles were being ripped from his bones.

He Lezhi made several trips up and down the stairs by himself, loading all the boxes into his car and taking them away.

The moment he carried out the last box and closed the door, He Lezhi thought, 'This is it then, happy birthday.'

He Lezhi still hadn't found a place, mainly because he found it troublesome. An agent scheduled viewings for him, but he only went once. The few places he saw were unlivable, and the apartments near his company were too old. After that, he couldn't be bothered to look again.

Now that all his things were packed, he couldn't just keep them in his car every day. He had no choice but to start looking for an apartment.

He Lezhi mockingly felt like a snail now, with his car as his shell, carrying all his worldly possessions.

He still owed Han Fangchi a meal. He Lezhi kept this in mind and called Han Fangchi before the weekend.

Han Fangchi picked up and asked him, "What are your orders?"

"Wanna get dinner tomorrow?" He Lezhi asked with a smile.

"Sure," Han Fangchi answered readily. "Send me the address."

He Lezhi chose a place not far from Han Fangchi's home. Han Fangchi didn't even drive; he walked over.

When he arrived, he ran into He Lezhi parking at the entrance. Han Fangchi stood to the side and waited for a bit. After He Lezhi got out of the car and greeted him, he realized he had forgotten his phone.

He opened the car door to get his phone, and Han Fangchi saw the boxes on his passenger seat. "What's that?" he asked.

He Lezhi leaned in to get it and said, "My shell."

Han Fangchi paused for a moment, then asked, "Still haven't decided on a place to live?"

"Too lazy to look," He Lezhi said.

Han Fangchi said, "Come stay at my place."

Hearing this absurd suggestion, He Lezhi gave him a look, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Eating a meal alone together was fairly normal for the two of them, but meeting up so formally for a meal at a restaurant felt a bit awkward for both. Back when He Lezhi and Zhou Muyao were still together, the three of them rarely arranged to eat out. It was normal to spontaneously decide to go to someone's house for a free meal; they were too familiar with each other to need formal, proper meals at a restaurant.

Therefore, after being seated, they looked at each other and saw a hint of comical dislocation in each other's eyes.

He Lezhi rinsed the bowls and plates with hot water, then leaned over to pass them to Han Fangchi, taking the ones in front of him to do the same.

"Is your mom doing well?" Han Fangchi asked.

"She's good. Her life is very regular, she takes classes and practices yoga every day," He Lezhi replied.

"She hasn't gone out to have fun?"

"She has classes recently, she'll have time after this period." Thinking of He Qi, He Lezhi smiled and said, "Besides, she's afraid of getting a tan, so she generally doesn't go out in the summer."

Han Fangchi also smiled, probably remembering how He Qi would immediately put on a face mask and neck mask after being in the sun.

After they got used to the initial sense of dislocation, eating together no longer felt awkward.

Both of them had big appetites, but they couldn't finish all the food in the end. The two divided the task, each finishing a portion.

"I told you we ordered too much." Han Fangchi put the beef into his bowl to eat, mixed it with a spoon, and said.

"I didn't know it would be this much," He Lezhi said.

"I told you," Han Fangchi said.

He Lezhi ladled a bowl of soup for him, placed it by his side, pushed it a little closer, and said, "Eat up, eat up."

They still avoided talking about Zhou Muyao. Not once did either of them try to bring him up. Whenever the conversation veered close to Zhou Muyao, to a point where continuing would inevitably lead to him, one of them would naturally change the subject.

Having eaten and drunk their fill, the two leaned back in their chairs to rest.

"Are you busy in the coming days?" Han Fangchi asked.

"It's alright, not too busy." He Lezhi unconsciously spun the cup in his hand, chatting with a smile.

He Lezhi was seated on the side facing the light. The sunlight slanted down on him. He was wearing a light-colored shirt and a white T-shirt, with glasses. When he spoke with a smile like this, he appeared very gentle, matching the impression he gave others.

Compared to Zhou Muyao's wretched state, He Lezhi was much calmer. It seemed as if these eight years had left no mark on him. Unlike Zhou Muyao, who was acting like he was at death's door, He Lezhi's normalcy was almost cruel.

"You should find an apartment first. What's the deal with always carrying your shell on your back?" Han Fangchi told him. "Or you could just come stay at my place."

He Lezhi laughed out loud, pushing the cup forward with the finger he was playing with. "That's even less of a solution."

"What's wrong with it," Han Fangchi said lightly.

He Lezhi stopped talking, just lowering his eyes and smiling.

Whenever he was like this, he was completely intractable—smiling on the outside, but stubborn on the inside. Han Fangchi didn't try to persuade him further.

He Lezhi took a few days to settle on a place to live. The boxes in his car could finally be moved out.

His former landlord asked him on WeChat if he was renewing the lease, as the next quarter's rent was due if he continued to stay.

He Lezhi forwarded Zhou Muyao's WeChat contact to him.

The boss's friend opened a high-end restaurant. Two days before Valentine's Day, everyone in the company was given a coupon for a couple's set meal, with no expiration date. He Lezhi didn't go to get his.

HR personally delivered it to him and left it on his desk.

He Lezhi expressed his thanks. His colleague said with a smile, "The boss asked me to bring it to you."

It was common knowledge in the company that He Lezhi had been in a stable relationship with his partner for many years, because he always made a point of celebrating Valentine's Day. If it wasn't on a weekend, he would definitely take the day off.

This year's Qixi Festival was on a Wednesday. The colleague added, "The boss also said that Engineer He doesn't need to request leave if he doesn't come in on Wednesday."

He Lezhi couldn't help but laugh. "Thank my boss for his consideration," he said.

On Wednesday, He Lezhi didn't go to work. His colleagues were used to it, saying that while Engineer He usually seemed very zen, he was super into rituals when it came to his relationship.

Another colleague said that Engineer He was quite the romantic, and that's how you should handle a long-distance relationship.

They didn't know Engineer He's partner was a man, nor did they know that he was now single.

On that Wednesday, He Lezhi spent the day like a normal weekend: he woke up early for a run, cleaned his apartment, ate alone, and watched an old movie at home.

Zhou Muyao sent him a message, asking where he was and that he wanted to meet.

He Lezhi didn't reply.

That night, Zhou Muyao updated his Moments with a photo of a bouquet of roses. The caption read: The tenth year of loving you.

When He Lezhi saw it, his gaze lingered for a moment. He suddenly felt like laughing, and even wanted to give it a 'like'.

But it was just a thought. He couldn't quite describe the feeling in his heart. It was probably empty, and a little ironic.

Life returned to tranquility. The company, his apartment, and He Qi's house—a three-point line. Besides this, He Lezhi had almost no other activities.

"Xiao Hei said the lease was renewed. He moved out and wants you to move back in," He Qi relayed.

He Lezhi hummed in acknowledgment, indicating he had heard.

He Qi added, "I've looked at a few apartments. Go check them out when you have time and tell me which one you like."

He Lezhi nodded. "Mm, mm."

"Stop being so half-hearted," He Qi said as she passed by, tapping him on the forehead. "Humoring me like that."

So He Lezhi just smiled and said, "We'll see. It's too much trouble."

He Qi was at a loss with him and didn't want to force him either.

He Lezhi was lying on the table, his cheek pillowed on his arm. He Qi tugged his ear and said, "Don't always run over to my place on weekends. Go out and have some fun with your friends."

Lying there, He Lezhi said slowly, "Too lazy to move."

"I don't think you're too lazy to move," He Qi exposed him bluntly. "You've run out of friends, haven't you?"

"It can't be that bad!" He Lezhi sat up abruptly, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"Those friends of yours... I bet most of them scattered after you and Xiao Hei broke up." He Qi glanced at him and said, "Usually, you won't go out when people ask you. Now, no one asks you."

For a moment, He Lezhi actually didn't know how to refute that.

"You try to make it sound nice, saying you're 'too lazy to move'." He Qi placed the freshly squeezed kiwi juice in front of him and sat down opposite him.

He Lezhi sat there, speechless, but also feeling an urge to laugh. Subjectively, he didn't want to go out, that was one thing. Objectively, it was also a fact that no one was asking him out.

He Qi chided him like a child who had been left out. "No one wants to play with you, so you can only come home to mommy."

"It's not that bad, not that bad..." He Lezhi was mid-sentence when his phone started vibrating.

He Lezhi took out his phone and glanced at it. When he answered, he hadn't yet suppressed his smile, and his voice was tinged with amusement, "Fangchi, what's up?"

"What are you doing that's making you so happy?" Han Fangchi asked from the other end of the line.

"Chatting with my mom," He Lezhi replied.

"At your mom's place?" Han Fangchi said. "Say hi to her for me."

He Lezhi turned his head to look at He Qi. "Fangchi says hi."

"Okay, okay," He Qi said. "Come over and hang out when you're free."

Han Fangchi heard her, acknowledged her, and then continued speaking to He Lezhi, "Do you have plans for tomorrow?"

He Lezhi asked, "What's up?"

Han Fangchi: "Want to go hiking?"

He Lezhi: "With who?"

Han Fangchi: "Me, and some others you don't know."

He Lezhi had just been roasted by He Qi and was at a loss for words. Han Fangchi's timely call was so coincidental it was almost funny. Han Fangchi was like a small savior. So, without much thought, He Lezhi glanced at He Qi and agreed with a smile, "I'll go."

Han Fangchi named a place and added, "We won't be back tomorrow night, so bring a change of clothes."

He Lezhi let out a "Hoh," "We're going that far?"

Han Fangchi asked, "Is that okay with you?"

"No problem," He Lezhi said.

"Then I'll pick you up tomorrow morning. Send me your location." Han Fangchi paused, then asked, "Or will you come find me?"

He Lezhi thought for a moment and said, "I'll send you my location."

"Alright," Han Fangchi said. "I'll be at your place around six."

After hanging up, He Lezhi looked at He Qi and deliberately waved his phone.

He Qi played along and praised him, "Impressive, so many friends."

He Lezhi downed the rest of his juice in one gulp and stood up.

It was already completely dark outside. He Qi asked, "Where are you going?"

He Lezhi said, "Home."

"Didn't you say you weren't going back tonight?"

As he walked, He Lezhi lifted his chin slightly and said with a smile, "Going home to get my gear. I'm going out to have fun with friends tomorrow."