Summer, 2016.
Xiao Zhan had been having a terrible day.
First, there was a traffic jam in the morning. Although traffic in City B was always bad — it almost seemed like the worse it got, the more invigorated it made people — today was something else. Xiao Zhan had dragged himself out of bed early, thinking he'd get to the office ahead of schedule to catch up on some work. But then, there was a sudden road repair up ahead. Not only did he not arrive early, he ended up being half an hour late.
The manager greeted him with a suspiciously kind smile, so good-natured it instantly set off alarm bells in Xiao Zhan's mind. He didn't even have time to wonder what was behind that sly grin before he found out.
They wanted him to take on a garbage project. Their team was small, less than ten people in total, and the manager had asked around — no one was willing to do it. Anything that involved the audit team was a guaranteed disaster. It was common knowledge: if an audit went smoothly, well, that was expected. But if it uncovered any irregularities, whoever was on the project would be held responsible. Thankless work that no one wanted to touch. And since Xiao Zhan had been late because of the traffic jam, it landed on him.
Protests were useless.
Frustrated, Xiao Zhan went downstairs to Starbucks to get a coffee, only to find that the points on his membership card had reset to zero. He'd been saving points for half a month to redeem a member-exclusive Nitro Cold Brew, and just when he was ready to treat himself, his points balance was a very clean, very eye-catching 0.
Fuming, he shot a text to Jiang Cheng: "Did you use my Starbucks points?!"
While he was waiting in line, Jiang Cheng replied casually: "I redeemed a latte."
Xiao Zhan's nearly about to spat out blood on the spot, but there was nothing he could do except swipe his card and pay.
After buying the coffee and getting back to his seat at the office, he reached into his pocket — only to realize he'd left his phone downstairs.
Letting out a long sigh, Xiao Zhan glanced out at the overcast sky. No choice but to head back down and fetch it. Since it was almost lunchtime by then, he decided to grab lunch too and bring it back to the office. Luckily, he found his phone without incident (if he'd lost his phone on top of everything else, that really would've been beyond bad luck — it would've been absurd). He got in line at a barbecue skewer stall, and with nothing better to do, started scrolling through his social media feed.
He scrolled past a few posts and then came across one that Nie Huaisang had just posted earlier that morning. A simple caption: "Picking up an old friend from the airport 😊."
Below it was a photo.
Nie Huaisang looked just the same as always — casual clothes, easygoing smile. Xiao Zhan had seen him a few months back. Next to him stood a tall, slender, clean-cut young man, wearing a simple black leather jacket, light jeans, and a pair of Yeezy sneakers. The boy's eyes crinkled as he smiled, bright and clear.
It was a smile Xiao Zhan knew all too well. Anyone would have to do a double take and say, Wow, he really looks like you.
That's when Xiao Zhan realized — Mo Ran was back.
He hesitated, his thumb hovering over the like button, before withdrawing it without clicking. His mind wandered. Nie Huaisang and Mo Ran's photo wasn't a selfie — so who had taken it for them at the airport?
The question flashed through his mind and was gone. Xiao Zhan bought his lunch and went back to the office. There were several valuation reports on small enterprises he had to finish before the end of the month, so he could make time to deal with the audit team.
When you're busy, you tend to lose track of time.
By the time he got a phone call from Jiang Cheng, it was nearly quitting time.
Jiang Cheng called to say he'd be working overtime and wouldn't be coming home for dinner. As usual, it devolved into a complaint session about his boss. Jiang Cheng's boss was an old man about to retire, known for being strict and rigid. Jiang Cheng had always looked down on him and would jump at any opportunity to rant to Xiao Zhan.
Which suited Xiao Zhan just fine — he needed to vent too. Just thinking about the audit team's project was giving him a migraine.
So the two of them commiserated over the phone, trying to seek some mutual comfort. But instead of feeling better, their conversation only made them more annoyed. Jiang Cheng was practically on a roll by the end. Xiao Zhan glanced at the time and sighed.
"Maybe just be careful what you say around him — after all, he is your boss," he tried, attempting a compromise.
Jiang Cheng was clearly unimpressed. "If he wants respect, he'd better be smart enough to earn it. Why should I respect someone just because they're my boss?"
Because he's the boss, and you're not.
Because there aren't many bosses in this world who are both smart and decent.
Xiao Zhan answered in his head but didn't say it out loud.
After hanging up, Xiao Zhan went back to finishing his report. By the time he completed the draft and shut his laptop, it was time to head home and make dinner. He'd long since grown tired of the takeout options near the office, and preferred bringing his own lunch now and then.
He packed up, stood up, and that's when he noticed the storm outside — rain streaming down the windows, the sky heavy with clouds.
He hadn't brought an umbrella.
Was it even scientifically possible for one person to be this unlucky?
Xiao Zhan ordered a ride through Didi, setting the pickup location to his office building entrance.
When he got downstairs, the wind and rain were howling. Huddled in the building's lobby, trying to spot his ride on the street, his phone rang again.
It was his mother.
Xiao Zhan hesitated. Based on how his day was going, he had a bad feeling about this call too. But he wasn't the kind of person to ignore calls from his parents. After two seconds of indecision, he picked up.
"Hey, Mom — what's up?"
The next twenty seconds were filled with the sounds of his parents sobbing and shouting incoherently. Xiao Zhan had to strain to make out the gist of what they were saying. Something about... getting into trouble, owing a huge amount of money?
See?
Of course it was bad news.
Xiao Zhan did his best to calm them down, jumped in his Didi, and changed the destination to his parents' house.
When he arrived, the moment the door opened, both his parents each grabbed one of his arms and burst into tears.
At least face to face, he could watch their lips to help piece things together.
Turned out his parents had fallen for a scam — they'd been conned into becoming guarantors for a shady company and had lost XXX million yuan. The so-called company's partners had long since taken the money and run, and now debt collectors were coming after his parents.
Worse still — and frankly beyond words — it wasn't even a legitimate financial institution. It was an illegal private lending operation, basically a loan shark outfit.
Xiao Zhan had always known his relationship with his parents was average at best, but still — they'd spent their entire savings on this scam without so much as mentioning it to him first? And now, not only was all their money gone, but they also owed a huge debt, looking at him with tearful eyes, practically pleading: Son... what now?
At this point, it wasn't just bad luck — this was verging on the surreal.
Xiao Zhan was on the verge of a breakdown. He and Jiang Cheng had just scraped together the down payment on a new apartment. They weren't exactly penniless, but they certainly didn't have the kind of spare cash needed to pay off a loan shark. Not XXX million, not XX million, not even X million.
While Xiao Zhan was panicking, his mother wiped her tears and said tentatively:
"How about you ask the Jiang family? XXX million probably isn't much for them."
Xiao Zhan instantly bristled at that suggestion. Before he could even frown and refuse, his father's face darkened.
"What kind of thing are you saying? What do you take our son for? No matter what, we can't let Zhan Zhan go ask Fengmian for money!"
His mother's eyes and nose were red. "Then what do you want to do? I told you not to trust those people, but you never listen to me! Now we've lost everything — how do we pay it back?"
His father remained stone-faced. "Even if we can't pay it back, we're not sending our son begging to the Jiang family. Zhan Zhan's a man — not some girl."
"XXX million is nothing to the Jiang family. If those loan sharks come knocking, how do you plan to deal with them?"
Just as the situation was about to explode into a full-blown family meltdown, Xiao Zhan quickly stepped in.
"Enough. Both of you, stop. Give me the contact info for the loan company — I'll set up a meeting. We need to at least go over the contract before we figure anything out."
His parents always fought when the topic of Xiao Zhan and Jiang Cheng came up. Some things never changed. Xiao Zhan was utterly exhausted, preferring even to deal with debt collectors over hearing them bicker.
The old couple, genuinely terrified, repeatedly urged their son to be careful, suggesting he bring Jiang Cheng along or hire a bodyguard just in case. Finally, they handed him the debt collector's business card.
Xiao Zhan glanced down at the name of the company:
Yunshen Credit.
He clenched his fist.
***
After nightfall, both Wang Yibo and Mo Ran were wide awake, still suffering from jet lag.
Nie Huaisang was a night owl too, so he simply dragged his two old friends out for dinner, and then to their "old spot" for drinks. It was a modest-sized bar — despite being located in a bustling area of B City, its entrance was small and inconspicuous, frequented mostly by regulars. Back when Wang Yibo and Mo Ran were still in the country, their little group would always come here to drink at night.
Over time, they'd even gotten too lazy to remember the bar's actual name (...); whenever someone mentioned going for drinks, it was automatically assumed to be at the "old spot."
Since it was a weekday, there weren't many people at the bar at this hour. A singer on stage was performing bits and pieces of American R&B. The three of them settled into a corner booth, ordered beers — the same spot and the same drinks they used to prefer.
Nie Huaisang leaned back, his eyes darting around before he sighed.
"Wang Yibo, you're something else. All those years in the U.S., you didn't keep in touch with anyone. I only kept up with Mo Ran here — if I wanted to know how you were doing, I had to ask through him. Is this how you treat your friends?"
Wang Yibo's tone was calm and even.
"What's there to keep up with? Same old story — school, graduation, job."
Mo Ran chuckled.
"Listen to him, making it sound so easy. He was on a full scholarship, had a job lined up with Goldman Sachs before he even graduated. Worked there for just a year and already got promoted to a manager position. If he hadn't come back, give it another couple of years and Goldman's investment banking division would've had a young general manager."
Nie Huaisang had never doubted Wang Yibo's capabilities — even back in college, he'd been top of their class.
He raised an eyebrow.
"You had it so good overseas, what made you want to come back? Really feeling patriotic all of a sudden?"
Mo Ran grinned but didn't chime in. Surprisingly, Wang Yibo actually smiled at that — his features delicate and well-defined, skin pale as porcelain, a sharp jawline. When he smiled, faint dimples appeared at the corners of his lips.
Wang Yibo smiled and said,
"My family has a mine. Came back to inherit the family business."
He spoke with a faint, amused tone, but his voice remained as flat as always. Nie Huaisang wasn't sure if he was joking or serious — after all, back when they were in school, no one had ever heard of Wang Yibo having any kind of family background. In their circle, aside from Fang Tianze, the only other heir apparent was Jiang Cheng. Nie Huaisang had always thought Wang Yibo was just a hardworking, ambitious kid from a humble background.
Mo Ran lifted his beer glass.
"I really did come back for the motherland. Company reassigned me back to B City."
Nie Huaisang whistled.
"Come back, man — the country's developing at lightning speed these days."
From there, the conversation naturally drifted to domestic development, B City's finance scene over the past few years, comparisons with overseas opportunities, the pros and cons of coming back — and eventually, to updates about the people they knew.
Nie Huaisang, true to form, was the group's gossipmonger. He got all worked up mid-sentence, a mouthful of beer barely swallowed.
"Hey, that new apartment complex in the city center's real nice. A few months back I went with Jiang Cheng and Xiao Zhan to check it out — but the damn developer's so greedy, they—"
The song on stage came to an end, and the sudden quiet made Nie Huaisang snap to attention, cutting himself off mid-sentence.
Wang Yibo hadn't said much the entire time, just quietly sipping his beer. In the dim bar lighting, his features looked sharp and clean, his skin still glowing pale. Nie Huaisang started feeling unsure, sneaking a glance at Wang Yibo — sure enough, his expression seemed a little darker.
For a moment, the three of them sat in heavy silence.
It didn't last long. Wang Yibo finally spoke, looking at Nie Huaisang.
"Those two still together?"
Nie Huaisang could only answer truthfully.
"Yeah, still together. Bought a place too."
Wang Yibo nodded, setting down his beer.
"That's good."
Nie Huaisang awkwardly turned to Mo Ran, signalling him with his eyes. Mo Ran caught the cue and swiftly steered the conversation in another direction. Wang Yibo's demeanour stayed the same — not exactly happy, but not visibly upset either. Nie Huaisang couldn't help thinking that even back when they were all in school, Wang Yibo had always been like this. Except for a few particular people and moments, he kept everything flat and indifferent.
His personality hadn't changed much, but Nie Huaisang could tell — whether it was Wang Yibo, Mo Ran, or even himself — none of them were the same people they used to be.
After all, it had been years.
Nie Huaisang smacked his forehead.
"Damn, I knew I was forgetting something — forgot to toast you guys! Come on, come on—"
He raised his glass.
"Welcome home, you two. Now that you're back, don't be strangers — especially you, Wang Yibo!"
The three of them clinked their beer glasses together, and at Nie Huaisang's insistence, held their arms in midair long enough for him to snap a photo of the toast.
Nie Huaisang grinned.
"Gonna post this on my Moments later."
Mo Ran laughed, shaking his head.
"Only you would be this extra."
***
Xiao Zhan had arranged a meeting with the credit manager from Yunshen Bank.
For a conversation involving such a large amount of money, neither side wanted to handle it over the phone.
Still troubled by it, Xiao Zhan was waiting when Jiang Cheng finally got off work and came home. Xiao Zhan glanced at the time — it was quite late. But Jiang Cheng worked in IT as a code monkey, and everyone said programmers always worked overtime, so it was probably inevitable. Xiao Zhan reheated the food for him while Jiang Cheng set down his laptop and opened a beer, downing half of it in one go.
"I've got to work overtime again tomorrow — looks like the whole week's shot."
Xiao Zhan shot him a warning look.
"Drinking cold beer on an empty stomach is bad for you. What happened? Weren't you all pretty relaxed last week?"
Jiang Cheng huffed angrily.
"The program screwed up, what else? And our team lead's an idiot — how could it not go wrong?"
Xiao Zhan frowned.
"Are you sure it's your boss's fault?"
Jiang Cheng sat down to eat, still grumbling. He'd been holding a grudge against his current boss for a while now, but from what Xiao Zhan had gathered, no one else in the team seemed to mind the guy. If everyone else was fine with him, maybe the problem wasn't entirely on the boss's side. Xiao Zhan had tried hinting at that to Jiang Cheng before, but Jiang Cheng had always been the type who couldn't take advice and would just brush it off. After a while, Xiao Zhan didn't bother anymore.
He hadn't originally intended to tell Jiang Cheng about the debt issue with his own parents, and now, hearing Jiang Cheng endlessly complain, Xiao Zhan was in even less of a mood.
By the time they were nearly done with dinner, Jiang Cheng was still fuming, unable to understand why no one else in his team backed him up.
Xiao Zhan didn't bother cleaning up the dishes. He pushed them in Jiang Cheng's direction.
"If you're so miserable, why not just go home and run the family business?"
Jiang Cheng glared.
"That's even worse — my dad's a stubborn old bastard too."
Then what do you want? Complain about this, complain about that — the world doesn't revolve around you.
Xiao Zhan grumbled inwardly, debating whether to say it out loud. In the end, he swallowed it. He'd said it before, and Jiang Cheng wouldn't listen anyway. Plus, he hated being criticized, and if Xiao Zhan said anything now, they'd probably just end up fighting again.
On an ordinary day, maybe fine — but with so many of his own problems to deal with, Xiao Zhan wasn't about to pick a fresh argument.
After Jiang Cheng finished the dishes, he went to shower. Xiao Zhan stepped out onto the balcony to get some air.
They lived on the 23rd floor, with a broad view. B City's night skyline was a glittering expanse of lights and bustling streets. Xiao Zhan leaned against the balcony railing and lit a cigarette. Wisps of smoke drifted into the summer night as he exhaled a long breath. He'd been up since dawn, but it felt like only in this solitary moment could he finally breathe and relax.
Xiao Zhan silently smoked half a cigarette, then cleared his throat and took out his phone.
No new messages on WeChat. Out of habit, Xiao Zhan tapped into his Moments feed — and sure enough, there was another post from Nie Huaisang. The guy was always so active.
It was a photo of three hands raising big mugs of beer, the lighting dim and warm — definitely their old hangout spot. Xiao Zhan knew Nie Huaisang had picked up Mo Ran earlier that day, so taking him out for drinks that evening was expected. He gave it a glance, not intending to like or comment, and was about to scroll down.
But by some inexplicable instinct, his gaze lingered a moment longer — and unconsciously landed on one of the wrists in the photo.
The fingers holding the beer mug were long and the palm broad, but the wrist was slender and pale.
For no clear reason, it looked... familiar.
Around the wrist was an expensive watch — an Omega Constellation series, the classic diamond-studded model. Jiang Cheng had once given him a non-diamond version, which Xiao Zhan wore every day. The diamond-studded one cost a full grade higher. Xiao Zhan couldn't say exactly what about it caught his attention. Maybe it was those distinct, slender, well-proportioned fingers, the pale wrist — or maybe it was the watch.
He stared at it for a while in silence, then instead of continuing to scroll, quietly exited WeChat and locked his phone.