The mini-bus left packed; they waited for the next amid crowds. No shoving, just stand.
Shen Zhixiao said Wen Heng and his boyfriend moved off-campus—no hassle. Breakfast out, drive in, plenty of time. Qiu Sui envied it.
“Let’s move off-campus too, baby.” While waiting, Shen Zhixiao nuzzled his head, murmuring suddenly.
Qiu Sui “Ah?”-ed blankly, then looked up: “The apartment’s kinda far from school.”
Shen Zhixiao smiled lightly, shaking his head warmly: “Not there—the Old Western House nearby.”
“I had it cleaned up. The gym on the first floor’s moved to the third. We can live there.”
His hand on Qiu Sui’s waist pinched gently through the thick jacket, expression earnest and hopeful as he requested softly: “Let’s cohabitate off-campus. No more shuttle hassle for classes.”
Qiu Sui’s heart stirred; he bit his lip thoughtfully, then “Mm,”-ed in agreement: “I’ll cover utilities then. You found the place.” Even if it was Shen Zhixiao’s.
In relationships, contributing felt rewarding—like weekends at the apartment, where Qiu Sui paid for groceries.
Shen Zhixiao loved him staying over; Qiu Sui loved buying things for them to share. It was love, regardless of amount.
Shen Zhixiao knew his habits, not arguing, yielding sweetly: “Okay, baby.”
Qiu Sui caught on then—his chilled cheeks flushed hot. He clapped a hand over Shen Zhixiao’s mouth, mindful of surroundings, whispering fiercely: “We’re outside! No calling me that!”
The Alpha was clearly doing it on purpose, his chest rumbling with low, muffled laughs that made Qiu Sui’s palm burn hot against his breath.
Qiu Sui couldn’t help but elbow Shen Zhixiao’s waist in annoyance. But through the thick down jacket, it felt like a kitten scratching an itch—utterly powerless.
Though the Old Western House was already cleaned up and ready for them to move in with just their bags, Qiu Sui still dragged his feet until the weekend. It wasn’t until Sunday afternoon that he packed his suitcase and moved in with Shen Zhixiao.
The Old Western House spanned over a hundred square meters indoors, plus a seventy-square-meter garden. The garden had been freshly swept and decorated, now adorned with new potted plants and flowers.
That evening, Qiu Sui stood on the second-floor balcony looking down, finding the garden view quite comfortable.
After winter set in, night fell quickly. Qiu Sui hadn’t lingered long on the balcony before visibility dropped outside. He headed back inside, where Shen Zhixiao was in the first-floor kitchen chopping vegetables for dinner.
Qiu Sui descended the spiral staircase slowly, gripping the railing. From the stairs, he could already see Shen Zhixiao’s back in the half-open kitchen.
It was just an ordinary, everyday scene, yet a flicker of daze stirred inexplicably in his heart. It feels like we’ve been living this warm life together for ages, and we’ll keep going like this—simple and tender—right up until the end of our days.
Qiu Sui fluttered his lashes slowly, snapped back by the message notification in his pocket. He tore his gaze from Shen Zhixiao, a faint, involuntary smile still tugging at his lips, and pulled out his phone. It was a message from Qiao Keren.
The guy had sent a barrage of punching emojis. Qiu Sui replied while Qiao Keren kept spamming.
Qiu Sui: What’s up?
Qiao Keren: cat punch.jpg
Qiao Keren accidentally sent an extra one before typing away with rapid clacks, getting straight to the point: Dare I ask if you still remember the photo album by Daming Lake?
Qiu Sui stared in surprise—he’d completely forgotten.
After the National Day holiday ended and school resumed, he’d been too caught up tangling with Shen Zhixiao to remember delivering the album to Qiao Keren. Qiao Keren hadn’t reminded him either, and with every day spent dating Shen Zhixiao, it had slipped his mind entirely.
Qiao Keren hadn’t remembered either, until Qiu Shun asked him about the album today. That’s when he realized Qiu Sui still had it.
Now it was mid-December, with winter break looming in late January. At this point, he might as well wait for break and head straight to Qiu Sui’s house to see it!
Qiao Keren wasn’t in a rush, but Qiu Shun wanted to flip through it.
Qiu Shun had assumed the album was already with Qiao Keren. When he went to grab it today and learned it was still with Qiu Sui, Qiao Keren launched a message bombardment.
Qiu Sui immediately apologized profusely to both of them, promising to deliver the album that week. It was still in his dorm storage locker—he hadn’t brought it out.
Come to think of it, I haven’t shown my old photos to Shen Zhixiao yet, Qiu Sui thought while chatting on his phone. But remembering his elementary school pics with long hair, he suddenly felt too embarrassed to show Shen Zhixiao the album.
Maybe later.
…
With no classes that day, Qiu Sui didn’t tag along with Shen Zhixiao as usual. Instead, he took the album straight to Qiu Shun and Qiao Keren.
Qiao Keren let out a gleeful “hey” and barreled over like a cannonball, slamming into Qiu Sui’s shoulder and snatching the album from his hands in one swipe.
He hadn’t been that eager before, but now that it was right there, his interest piqued. He spread it open on the table and started flipping through. The first several pages were photos of Qiu Sui and Qiu Shun with long hair from their first and second grade elementary days. He cracked up at every one.
Back then, Qiu Sui’s features hadn’t fully developed yet—it was the time he looked most like Qiu Shun. With long hair, standing side by side, anyone could tell they were twins at a glance, though people often mixed up their genders.
Qiu Shun hadn’t seen the album in ages. The last time was in his first year of high school, when Qiao Keren had nagged to see it, sparking his own curiosity for a quick look.
He propped his chin beside Qiao Keren, flipping through together. Whenever Qiao Keren pointed at other people in the photos with questions, he explained.
Qiu Sui’s mission was done once he handed over the album. Now he sat across from them, sucking on a straw while chatting with Shen Zhixiao.
“Hey, isn’t this photo upside down?” Qiao Keren flipped a page and spotted a small photo stuck in backward at the bottom. He pried it out and turned it over. “Hidden here—I never noticed before…”
The photo was smaller than the others, like it wasn’t from the same batch as Qiu Sui’s prints.
Qiao Keren held up the front of the small photo, studying the faces intently. He couldn’t hold back a laugh as he pointed at the chubby kid half a head shorter than Qiu Sui. “Who’s this? Do I know him?”
Qiu Shun glanced over at the mention, his brow twitching faintly. A sealed memory flashed for an instant, but he couldn’t recall.
Seeing Qiu Shun draw a blank, Qiao Keren held the photo out to Qiu Sui—the real co-star.
Qiu Sui had just hit send on a text inviting Shen Zhixiao to join them for dinner after class when he looked up and nearly jumped at the photo.
He blinked dazedly at it, then peered closely at the chubby kid holding his hand.
The kid’s expression in the shot was smug, pudgy cheeks with brows slightly raised, eyes narrowed in disdain. He looked punchable.
Qiu Sui’s mind churned slowly. With a faint “oh” of recognition: “You don’t know him. This was from a summer camp me and Qiu Shun did in fifth grade. His name was, uh…”
He paused, thinking. Not entirely sure, he said, “Rui’an? I don’t quite remember. I think it was an English name.”
Qiao Keren barked a laugh, grinning wider. “Hahaha, a foreigner? He doesn’t look it.”
“No, not a foreigner…” Qiu Sui denied, dredging up faint memories. Stuff from when he was nine or ten felt distant now.
He’d done so many activities and training camps for competitions that things blurred together. He barely remembered most people from that camp, but this chubby kid stuck out—his temper was so prickly and stubborn. “I remember he gave me his Chinese name and contact info on a note, but I only glanced at it before losing it. Never memorized it after…”
Across from him, Qiu Shun’s memory gradually sharpened at that. The vague image resurfaced: the chubby kid rushing up to him and Qiu Sui, shoving a crumpled paper into Qiu Sui’s hand, tilting his head back with haughty words before scampering off. They’d opened that note together, and it had said…
“I actually promised to add him as a friend on my dad’s phone when I got home, but I lost the note and forgot the number,” Qiu Sui continued. His recollection was clarifying, the face in the photo sharpening, though the Chinese name on the note still eluded him.
Qiao Keren let out an “ah” and joked, “What if he wakes up in the middle of the night wondering why you never added him? Hahaha.”
As he went to slide the photo back into the album, Qiu Shun suddenly reached out and snatched it.
His gaze swept methodically over the eyes, nose bridge, and mouth. Before Qiao Keren could voice his confusion, he coldly shoved the photo back into the album.
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