Chapter 21

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No matter how severe the storm, the weather often clears up as if in an instant. Early the next morning, Liu Cheng and Sun Chen received a notification from the airport about their rescheduled flight time.

This time, the return flight went off without a hitch, and after landing, Liu Cheng took the still-groggy Sun Chen back home.

They took a taxi, and when they arrived downstairs, Liu Cheng made sure not to let the driver wait. He figured that he would most likely leave after seeing Sun Chen to his door, but he couldn’t resist preparing for the possibility that Sun Chen might invite him in with a casual, “Would you like to come in for a cup of tea?” Okay, maybe it wasn’t so casual—Liu Cheng was eagerly hoping for it.

Liu Cheng accompanied Sun Chen up to his apartment in the elevator. Sun Chen fumbled for his keys for a bit before finally finding them in an inner pocket of his backpack. As he opened the door, he turned to Liu Cheng and actually asked, “Do you want to come in for a bit?”

Of course, Liu Cheng wanted to. He nodded and opened his mouth to reply—before he could say anything, the door swung open from the inside.

It wasn’t Sun Chen who opened the door; someone else did from the inside.

“I knew I heard the sound of keys,” said the man standing on the other side of the door.

Liu Cheng recognized this man. He had seen him that day in the lobby of the TV station. This was the man who had introduced himself as Chen Xi. Sun Chen had quickly come downstairs to meet him, and even more quickly, had flashed a completely unguarded, genuine smile at him.

“Xiao Chenchen, is this your friend?” Chen Xi asked as he saw Liu Cheng, giving him a friendly smile. Compared to Liu Cheng knowing him, it was obvious that Chen Xi had never heard Sun Chen mention Liu Cheng before.

The body that had been eager to step into the apartment froze at the doorway.

Sun Chen immediately corrected Chen Xi’s form of address, “I told you, I’ve grown up. Stop calling me that.” Liu Cheng had never heard him speak so casually, let alone in a tone that carried a hint of playful complaint. Then, Sun Chen glanced at Liu Cheng again and introduced him to Chen Xi, without any unnecessary explanations. When he introduced Chen Xi to Liu Cheng, however, he had plenty to say: “This is Chen Xi, the friend I mentioned before. The only friend I had as a child. He’s been in the UK all this time and just recently came back to the country.”

Liu Cheng couldn’t help but think about how Sun Chen had also studied in the UK. Although they hadn’t met during that time, they had been so close even after being apart.

And now, they had reunited.

…Were they even living together?

Liu Cheng didn’t know why he suddenly felt like a child who had done something wrong, fidgeting awkwardly. Nearly stumbling over his words, he said, “I just realized I have something to do, so I’ll have to leave now.”

“Thanks for bringing Xiao Chenchen home,” Chen Xi said. The tone was natural, as if he were someone close to Sun Chen, thanking an outsider on Sun Chen’s behalf.

With Liu Cheng’s usual temperament, he wouldn’t have given someone like Chen Xi—who he found unbearably annoying—a friendly face. However, because Chen Xi was Sun Chen’s friend—or more accurately, not just a “friend”—Liu Cheng forced himself to swallow all his animosity and tried to keep his cool. He gave Chen Xi a slight nod and simply said, “I’ll be going now.” Without even glancing at Sun Chen’s expression, Liu Cheng turned and left, practically fleeing like a defeated soldier.

It was hard for Liu Cheng to hail a cab. He was desperate to get to a certain place, so of course, fate seemed to conspire against him, making him wait for ages before an empty taxi appeared. He didn’t even know the exact address of where he wanted to go, so he asked the driver.

Fortunately, the experienced driver knew exactly where the local police station was located near Liu Cheng’s residence. Unfortunately, the chatty driver wouldn’t stop trying to make conversation.

“What are you going to the police station for? You’re not turning yourself in, are you?” The driver laughed at his own joke.

Liu Cheng wasn’t in the mood to chat. “I just killed two people,” he said, hoping to end the conversation.

But perhaps he didn’t look like a murderer because the driver just took it as a joke and continued with the banter, “Sir, we drivers are good at reading people. Someone of your status wouldn’t get your hands dirty even if you did kill someone, right?”

If you’re so good at reading people, how can you not tell that I don’t want to talk right now?

Liu Cheng kept his face cold and stayed silent. The driver, realizing he wasn’t getting any response, awkwardly fell quiet.

When they arrived at the police station, the older driver helpfully but unnecessarily commented, “Young people these days act like it’s the end of the world when they go through a breakup. But give it some time, and it’ll be nothing.”

Liu Cheng tipped the driver generously, but he didn’t take his words to heart.

In fact, Liu Cheng used to think that love was just a game, something you could forget about in an instant. He never understood how it could be dramatized to the point of feeling like the end of the world. But only after experiencing it himself did he understand what it really meant. The end of the world didn’t need cataclysmic events; it didn’t require fire or brimstone—just the realization that there’s a hole inside you that will never be filled. You stop looking at the sunrise, the stars, and you stop seeing any hope in the world.

The world hadn’t ended; he had simply reached the end of his world.

While handling his business at the police station, Liu Cheng realized he didn’t have all the necessary documents—he hadn’t known that changing his name required his household registration booklet and a certificate from his workplace. Normally, he could get things done with just connections. But today, he wanted to handle the name change himself. He called his secretary and asked her to bring the required documents. While waiting, a staff member guided him through writing the name change application.

“Just write down the reason you want to change your name on the application,” the staff member instructed.

Liu Cheng picked up the pen and wrote: “Chen” and “Xi” together make a day; “Chen” and “Mao Die” together make a lifetime.

He didn’t care what the household registration officer thought of his reason for the name change; he just wrote down the name he wanted.

“You really want to change your name to Liu Maodie? Have you thought about how inconvenient that name would be for your less-cultured friends?”

A surprise character made his entrance. Liu Cheng looked up in surprise at Lin Dun, who had suddenly appeared.

“Don’t be shocked that I’m here. I’m turning myself in—I just killed two watermelons.”

Is turning oneself in the new joke trend this year?

Liu Cheng silently watched as Lin Dun, uninvited, looked over his application.

“What’s gotten into you, Liu Maodie?” Lin Dun asked.

The tone, more curious than concerned and with a hint of casual indifference, made it easier for Liu Cheng to let his guard down. Over the past year, Lin Dun had been something of a guiding light in Liu Cheng’s life, an adversary who pointed the way. And recently, it was Lin Dun who had told him about Sun Chen’s return to the country. Feeling Lin Dun’s goodwill and eager to unburden himself, Liu Cheng opened up, almost without thinking: “Do you know Chen Xi?”

“I know,” Lin Dun nodded. “Sun Chen’s big brother Chen.”

That nickname was even harder for Liu Cheng to swallow than “Xiao Chenchen.” “They’re both adults; stop calling them that.”

Lin Dun looked at him with a touch of sympathy. “Come on, let’s go grab a drink.”

“After I finish the name change.”

“You’re not getting it done today. For one thing, I know the deputy chief here; if I ask him for a favor, you won’t be changing your name anytime soon.”

Liu Cheng glared at him for clearly getting in his way.

Lin Dun shrugged. “You’re not afraid of your parents getting mad, fine. But if you really change your name, what do you think Sun Chen will think?”

But if he didn’t change his name, Sun Chen might not even bother to think about him at all.

Lin Dun continued, “What Sun Chen thinks is secondary. The key is, how will Sun Chen handle not knowing what Chen Xi thinks? If you really want to make things awkward for them, then go ahead and change your name.”

Liu Cheng didn’t want to ruin things between Sun Chen and Chen Xi… Okay, he did want to, very much—but he didn’t dare. He had never known in his life that there were things in this world that couldn’t be done. This was the first time he was so afraid of making a mistake that he hesitated.

Lin Dun took the pen out of his hand. “Come on, tell me how you ran into Chen Xi, and I’ll tell you which supermarket Sun Chen usually shops at.”

“How do you know where he shops?”

“I asked. See how much better my communication with Sun Chen is than yours?”

Liu Cheng felt that Lin Dun was being unfair. “Why would I talk to Sun Chen about that?”

“If you talked about grocery shopping, you could suggest that you happen to need to stock up on supplies and ask him when he’s going. Then, you could arrange to go together.”

“But I never go grocery shopping.”

Lin Dun’s glance was either disdainful or sympathetic: “No wonder you can’t get into a relationship.”

Liu Cheng was still in a bit of a daze, his ability to take a hit wasn’t at its best, so he remained muddled in his dejection. But no matter how you sliced it, the logic was clear enough for him to realize that he deserved the criticism—

What did it matter if he went grocery shopping or not? The key was how to spend more time with Sun Chen. If it meant getting to see Sun Chen more, he’d have no problem buying a huge bundle of toilet paper and carrying it home.

“Thanks, Lin Dun.”

“If you really want to thank me, you can buy me a drink. I’ve been spending too much on online shopping lately, and my budget’s tight.”

Liu Cheng couldn’t help but glance at someone who had a wealthy partner. “Isn’t Na Feng helping out?”

“Keep dreaming. I’m the one who has to contribute to the household expenses.”

Liu Cheng was surprised. “What’s he thinking?”

Lin Dun gave him a knowing look, “You wouldn’t understand. Relationships between adults are all about equality, so Na Feng and I both contribute equally to the household.”

“How do you split the household expenses?” Liu Cheng was curious.

The question made Lin Dun hesitate for a moment, then he mumbled awkwardly, “I contribute part, and Na Feng covers the rest.”

Liu Cheng was genuinely shocked. “Can you manage?”

“At first, when I was in charge of the household expenses, we couldn’t. After that, Na Feng took over.”

Liu Cheng felt a bit like laughing at his good friend Na Feng. He could somewhat understand Na Feng’s mindset—that even though it would be easy for him to handle all the expenses himself, he still wanted to have an equal partnership with Lin Dun, even if it meant being the “household manager.”

It was actually kind of funny…

—But also, so warm.

It was like looking at the most beautiful picture in the world, filling Liu Cheng with the warmest feeling.

A thought grew increasingly clear in his mind—

He wanted to see himself and Sun Chen in that picture, as their future together.