Chapter 55: This Person Looks Just Like Someone You Knew as a Kid…

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, the semester was drawing to a close.

Huai’an City had fully settled into winter. The trees that once bristled with dense foliage now stood stark and bare, and a thin layer of ice even formed on the river’s surface in the mornings.

Early that morning, Ning Shuang flung open the door in a rush to dash out, but Ji Huaizhi called after him from behind. “Senior, you forgot your scarf.”

Ning Shuang had no choice but to stop. He bent his head to button his coat while Ji Huaizhi stepped up close and wrapped the scarf around his neck. Ning Shuang had emphasized the issue of what to call him before—Ji Huaizhi refused to go along with his family and use “Little Shuang,” so Ning Shuang just let him keep calling him “Senior.”

Less than a minute later, they were both ready to go.

“I’m off to school! Remember to eat breakfast. I won’t be home for lunch, so just come back after your classes,” Ning Shuang called over his shoulder as he slung his backpack on and jogged away.

Ji Huaizhi leaned against the doorframe and nodded gently. “Okay, I got it.”

“See you!” With that, Ning Shuang ran off.

Ning Shuang had an early class that day. Ji Huaizhi usually woke him up on time, but the two of them had stayed up past two in the morning fooling around the night before. With the cold weather and the heater running at home, Ning Shuang had overslept.

He didn’t wake up until seven-thirty, wolfed down some breakfast in a hurry, and bolted out the door.

Including today, the two of them had been together for three months now. The weather in Huai’an City was frigid, and the school’s winter break started earlier than most places. There were only about two weeks left before vacation.

Some year groups had already started wrapping up their classes one by one.

Today’s class was the final for a non-major elective, and Ning Shuang absolutely couldn’t be late or skip it. Most importantly, he was part of the group responsible for the presentation, so even if he was running behind, he had to make it to the classroom.

He got lucky and caught the next bus. By the time he reached the classroom, roll call was just two minutes away.

Lu Yuyang had saved him a seat. He looked up to see Ning Shuang panting as he rushed over and pulled a carton of hot milk from his own backpack to hand over. “I thought you weren’t coming to class.”

Ning Shuang was gasping for breath. He shot back without thinking, “No way. I’m supposed to give the presentation—how could I drop the ball at a time like this?”

He took the milk from Lu Yuyang and drank it down naturally.

“No breakfast?”

“I ate some, but not much. I woke up at almost seven-forty and only shoveled in those couple bites because I felt bad that Ji Huaizhi got up so early to make it for me.” As he spoke, Ning Shuang rummaged in his backpack for his USB drive.

“Whoa, your boyfriend made you breakfast himself? Ning Shuang, you lucky dog.” Lu Yuyang teased him with a grin.

Then he watched as Ning Shuang pulled an insulated lunchbox out of his bag.

“?” Ning Shuang stared at it in confusion too.

Lu Yuyang asked, “Your… lunch?”

Ning Shuang popped open the lid. Inside was a steaming bento—vegetables and meat neatly portioned atop a bed of rice. It looked downright appetizing.

He didn’t need to guess who had packed it. Ning Shuang snapped a photo with his phone and sent a voice message to Ji Huaizhi. “Is this my lunch?”

Ji Huaizhi replied almost immediately: 【I didn’t wake you up on time this morning, so you barely ate any breakfast. I put this bento in your bag— it’ll still be hot after class. Think of it as breakfast.】

Ning Shuang showed his phone to Lu Yuyang.

“Love bento,” Lu Yuyang said, snapping his fingers appreciatively.

A flush crept into Ning Shuang’s cheeks—whether from the cold wind outside or because Lu Yuyang’s words had hit home, he wasn’t sure.

“Aw, man.” Mortified, he snapped the lid back on, stowed the box in his bag again, and muttered, “Yeah, whatever. Just that.”

Lu Yuyang propped his cheek on one hand and smiled slyly. “Looks like you two are really close.”

Ning Shuang nodded. “I used to think our views on relationships didn’t match up, but after spending some time together, it’s not so bad. He’s making an effort to change, and I’m adapting too.”

“You do look like you’ve been taken good care of. You’ve even rounded out a bit.”

“Really? Have I gotten fat? I swear the scale a few days ago said I’d barely gained two pounds.” Alarmed, Ning Shuang pinched the muscle on his arm.

Lu Yuyang couldn’t hold back his laughter. “The kind of ‘fat’ I mean is more of a vibe.”

“Huh?” Ning Shuang didn’t get it.

Lu Yuyang didn’t elaborate. The professor pushed open the door and walked in.

What followed was a long slog of group presentations.

When the bell rang at last, it meant the class—and the course—was over. Ning Shuang stretched lazily and walked out with Lu Yuyang. “Next one’s in the North Building Lecture Hall, right?”

“Yeah. Let’s head over.”

“So many classes. It’s the worst,” Lu Yuyang grumbled under his breath.

Ning Shuang tossed his empty milk carton in the trash and consoled him. “This one’s done now too. Just hang in there.”

“You heading back to your hometown for break?”

“Probably not. Why?”

“Just asking. What about your boyfriend? He going?”

“He says no—things are too tense with his family.” The two of them filed into the classroom and took seats in a corner.

Lu Yuyang remarked, “I wouldn’t have guessed. With his vibe, I figured his family was at least some highbrow intellectual type.”

Ning Shuang fished the bento out of his bag again, grabbed a pair of disposable chopsticks, and stood up. “I thought the same at first, but I’ve hardly ever seen him call home.”

“Go eat already. Class is about to start.” Lu Yuyang wasn’t all that curious about it. He pulled out his phone and tapped open a game.

“Oh.”

Ning Shuang turned and walked out of the classroom. He settled on a bench by the door and started in on the bento.

A refined-looking young man sat down next to him. Ning Shuang glanced over and saw that he was eating breakfast too.

This was an elective, made up of students from all over, so Ning Shuang didn’t recognize him—that was normal. He took one look and went back to focusing on his food.

Once the young man finished his steamed bun, he casually tossed the plastic bag into the nearby trash can. Then he extended a hand toward Ning Shuang. “Hey, I’m Huo Lan from Chaoxing. Senior… that okay?”

Ning Shuang paused with his chopsticks midair. Chaoxing… another branch from the Miao Frontier, from Chaoxing Village. It wasn’t far from his hometown.

He looked up, meeting the young man’s bright eyes. “You’re not from our school, are you?”

“Right. I was sent on orders to catch some people.”

“Catch who?”

“You know, those annoying types who break the clan rules. You’ve run into some of our clansmen here, right?”

“That was ages ago.” Ever since the Matchmaking Website business wrapped up, Ning Shuang hadn’t crossed paths with anything clan-related.

“That’s why I’m here on task—to screen the school for any ordinary folks who’ve been hit with gu.”

Ning Shuang closed up his bento and tilted his head at Huo Lan. “Then you should focus on your mission. Why come to me?”

“Hmm? You really don’t remember me?” Huo Lan leaned in curiously.

Ning Shuang scooted back. “Should I?”

“Age thirteen. That river between our two villages. The big fish.” Huo Lan prompted.

Ning Shuang thought back, then blurted out in shock, “It’s you! You’ve grown so much!”

As a kid, Ning Shuang had no friends to play with, so he spent his time alone by the river at the village entrance. That’s where he met Huo Lan. They’d see each other a few days every month, splashing around catching fish and swimming, until Ning Shuang came down with a serious illness. After that, his family forbade him from going to the river, forcing him to lose touch with Huo Lan.

It had been so many years—Ning Shuang had almost forgotten about him. And now here was Huo Lan, all grown up and seeking him out.

“You’ve grown up too, Ning Shuang bro.” Huo Lan’s smile narrowed his eyes into crescent moons.

Ning Shuang was thrilled to run into his childhood playmate out here. He couldn’t help chatting more. “You heading back soon?”

“About a week,” Huo Lan nodded.

“That calls for a celebration. Dinner’s on me. You’re my only friend from back home—I won’t skimp on you!”

Huo Lan blinked, then asked curiously, “What about that girl?”

“What girl?” Ning Shuang was baffled.

Huo Lan paused deliberately for effect. “The good friend from your village you knew as a kid. You even brought her to hang out with me once. Pretty girl, but super quiet, didn’t talk much or warm up to people…”

“Have we met? I don’t remember at all.” Ning Shuang drew a total blank, even with all those details.

Huo Lan saw that he truly couldn’t remember and didn’t press him to recall. “Forget it, forget it. If you can’t remember, it just means you lost touch with her afterward. No big deal if you can’t recall.”

“But I didn’t have many friends as a kid. I shouldn’t have forgotten…” Ning Shuang was puzzled himself, since he knew Huo Lan had no reason to lie to him.

“Didn’t you get sick later on? Maybe you forgot after that.”

“…Maybe.” Ning Shuang nodded, putting the matter aside for the moment. He planned to ask his family when he got home.

“I’ve got class. Let’s add each other as friends. I’ll hit you up later about grabbing a meal.” Ning Shuang took out his phone, about to unlock it, when Huo Lan suddenly grabbed his wrist and leaned in closer. “This person…”

Ning Shuang’s lock screen wallpaper was a photo of Ji Huaizhi sleeping. Seeing Huo Lan staring at it with clear curiosity, he asked carefully, “What’s wrong?”

Huo Lan’s heart sank, but he smiled and said, “This person looks a lot like that girl you knew as a kid… Look closely—it’s like she grew up perfectly to scale.”

Ning Shuang felt a bit helpless. “But he’s a guy.”

“That’s why it’s so miraculous! To think there’s someone in the world who looks this similar. You should ask him later if he has a sister or something. Haha, maybe it was his sister you were playing with back then.”

Ning Shuang: “He’s not from our Miao Frontier.”

The implication was clear: Ji Huaizhi couldn’t possibly have a sister who’d known him.

Huo Lan laughed again, flashing a full row of gleaming white teeth. “Alright, Brother Shuang, I get it. I didn’t mean anything by it. Let’s add friends first.”

Only then did Ning Shuang pull up his friend QR code. Huo Lan scanned it, stood up, and waved goodbye to Ning Shuang. “See you next time, Brother Shuang!”

Ning Shuang stood as well and waved back. “See you.”

As the class bell rang, Ning Shuang let out a breath of relief and turned back toward the classroom.

~~~

That evening after returning home, Ji Huaizhi was in the kitchen preparing dinner.

Ning Shuang walked over to his side, craned his head forward a bit to peer at the bubbling soup in the pot, then squeezed Ji Huaizhi’s shoulder. “You’ve been working hard!”

“It’s no trouble. Go wash up—dinner will be ready soon.” Ji Huaizhi turned his head and planted a kiss on Ning Shuang’s lips.

Ning Shuang agreed, headed to the bathroom to wash his hands, and upon coming out, noticed several WeChat messages. He picked up his phone and saw they were from Huo Lan.

The other man had sent a group photo of three children. The image looked quite old, with everyone blurry. Huo Lan wrote: 【You’re the one in the middle, I’m on the left, and the girl is on the right. The photo’s just too old—her face is impossible to make out clearly anymore.】

【Huo Lan: See? I wasn’t lying. Besides me, you had that one girl playmate when you were little.】

Ning Shuang zoomed in on the photo. It showed a slender girl whose face was hard to discern, but from the vague contours, she did bear some resemblance to Ji Huaizhi—even their auras seemed somewhat similar at a glance.

Yet Ning Shuang had hardly any friends growing up. There was no way he’d completely forget a playmate he’d gotten along decently with, right?

Still perplexed, Ning Shuang dialed his family’s phone number.