"Boss Young," Ethan Young hadn’t even gotten a good look before Ray Jones’s call came in. "I saw the game we played over the summer when I updated my games today—damn, it’s back?"

Big Ray’s phone is full of games, updating automatically every day. Probably too many to keep track of, so Quiz Masters Clash just got mixed in there. When he got the update complete notification, it startled him too.

Ethan Young replied ambiguously, "Yeah."

Ray Jones, wearing slippers, sat on a plastic stool at a barbecue stand, the grill right behind him, thick smoke and the smell of grilled meat drifting on the wind. He fished a cigarette out of his pocket, lit it, and said, "This time I got into the game lobby—even with zero points, I can get in."

Ethan Young: "Really."

Ray Jones added, "And there are ranks, you know, like bronze and stuff."

Ethan Young had just glanced at it earlier, vaguely remembered that the rank next to his user avatar was something like The Champion, so he casually asked, "So what’s your rank?"

Ray Jones: "Me? Stubborn Scrap Iron."

""

"Pretty awesome, right? After all these years of gaming, I only knew about bronze, never thought there was Scrap Iron. Learned something new."

Ethan Young chuckled and asked, "You’re at the stand?"

"Yeah." Halfway through the sentence, Ray's Mom bent over to drag a box of ingredients, annoyed that Big Ray was in the way, then stood up and kicked him, nearly knocking him off the stool.

Lately, the weather’s been getting colder bit by bit, and prepping ingredients takes a lot of effort. When things get busy, it’s easy to get irritated. Normally she thinks her son is great in every way, but at times like this, he just gets on her nerves: "Get out of my way."

Ray Jones was helpless against his intermittently menopausal mom. Just as he was about to move aside, Ray's Mom wiped her hands and asked, "Who are you talking to? Xiao Yu?"

"Let me talk to him," before Big Ray could answer, Ray's Mom snatched the phone away without asking, "You go on."

Ray's Mom’s tone with Ethan Young was incredibly warm; Ray Jones felt like the Boss Young on the other end of the line was her real son.

Henry Howard came in just as Ethan Young was sitting on the bed, eyes lowered, talking on the phone.

Ethan Young had just showered, wearing a sweater. The color was cool-toned, but the fabric looked soft, making him seem softer too, even his voice was gentle: "Mm, I know."

Ray's Mom had a loud voice; even when speaking calmly, her volume never dropped: "Last time you came back, Ray’s dad and I weren’t home, so we didn’t get to see you. When’s your next break? Come stay a few days—"

Ethan Young was still wearing his school pants, loose-fitting, with a gray stripe down the side, cuffs rolled up twice to show his ankle.

Hearing movement at the door, Ethan Young finally looked up and mouthed to Henry Howard: Close the door.

Ray's Mom was just talking about the new mahjong tournament in the neighborhood.

Ethan Young didn’t do so well in Heishui Street, but Aunt May and the others still liked to take him out to mess with people. Sometimes, when playing cards with new partners and losing badly, they’d call Ethan Young over to help out for a couple rounds and win some back.

Henry Howard closed the door and squeezed onto the bed with Ethan Young, waiting for him to finish the call.

As Ethan Young listened, Henry Howard suddenly leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

Ethan Young: "What are you doing?"

Ray's Mom stopped mid-sentence, hearing that out of nowhere: "What?"

Henry Howard finished messing around, smiled, and scooted to the right, leaning against the headboard, not bothering him anymore.

The desk was right next to them. While Ethan Young was on the phone, Henry Howard idly flipped through what was there. Besides a Rubik’s cube, there were a few books, one titled "Improve Your Bad Temper, Face Life Calmly".

Henry Howard opened it. On the title page were seven characters: Boss Young, happy birthday.

"This a birthday present?" When Ethan Young hung up, Henry Howard held up the book. "Who gave it to you? Pretty thoughtful."

Ethan Young glanced at it: "That guy from the station."

Ray Jones had even wrapped the book, tying a gaudy red ribbon around it in a bow.

Thinking of this, Ethan Young smiled again and added, "Almost broke his legs."

Henry Howard thought, "Yeah, right, break his legs."

But he still kept it safe all this time.

The kid looks tough, but he’s not really like that.

After saying this, Ethan Young stopped smiling and tossed his phone aside.

Ray's Mom had rambled on about all sorts of things earlier. Ray Jones hadn’t managed to get the phone back, and when the voices on the call suddenly stopped, he realized he actually felt a little lost.

It was the same kind of loss as those first days after moving out of Heishui Street—waking up every morning, instinctively wanting to go to Wayne's Mom’s for breakfast, only to realize he’d never hear the street vendors outside the window again.

Thinking about it made Ethan Young irritable.

Normally, he’d just curse and be done with it, but Henry Howard was sitting right there.

This idiot was reading that "Face Life Calmly" book, even reading out interesting lines to him: "Kid, have you even read this book? I think it’s pretty useful—breadth of mind determines capacity, level of insight determines success. You should study more, instead of always picking fights with my family and getting handsy with me."

Henry Howard swallowed the words "domestic violence".

Ethan Young opened his mouth and called him, "Bro Henry."

Henry Howard stopped reading halfway.

Ethan Young didn’t know what to say. Talking about this stuff felt melodramatic, and he wasn’t used to confiding in people. As soon as he started, he regretted it.

So the two of them just looked at each other for a while, then Ethan Young said, "It’s nothing, just calling you."

He never called him "哥" for no reason. Henry Howard remembered the first time was at Luke Carter’s birthday party, and after calling him that, he went back and said, "You’re asking for it."

Henry Howard: "Nothing, my ass."

Honestly, it was all trivial stuff.

Missing a time that’s gone, missing those noisy, shrewd, vulgar voices of C City.

As Ethan Young spoke, one foot dangled off the bed, bare, touching the floor.

A little cold.

"Then think about something else," Henry Howard laughed, "like the present and future you have with your Bro Henry."

Henry Howard was completely serious when he said this, none of his usual laziness, his eyes reflecting Ethan Young’s image.

So serious that Ethan Young crashed right into it, caught off guard.

On impulse, Ethan Young leaned over and kissed Henry Howard on the lips, thinking, Why bother being sentimental? Might as well just do it.

The moment they touched, all thoughts vanished.

Henry Howard was afraid of hurting him again, so he held back at first, until Ethan Young hooked his tongue and touched his.

And that wasn’t all.

At some point, Ethan Young’s hand had slipped under his waistband. The school pants were already loose, so once untied, his hand slid right in.

Ethan Young’s fingers were a bit cold, knuckles slightly bent. When he first touched that thing, the heat startled him and he paused, not daring to move.

Henry Howard cursed, reaching down as well: "Are you trying to kill me?"

It was almost lights-out, and the dorm building’s whistle started blowing outside.

By the time they were both done, the dorm was pitch black, only their rapid breathing tangled together in the dark.

Ethan Young fumbled around the head of the bed for tissues, finally finding them after a while.

Henry Howard took them, planning to help clean up, but before he could touch him, Ethan Young nearly kicked him off the bed: "Don’t touch."

Henry Howard caught his breath, then asked, "Want to sleep together?"

Ethan Young shot back, "You think you can sleep with a stick poking up?"

""

Fair point.

The bed was too small—if they slept together, they’d have to be pressed up against each other.

Ethan Young sat up and reached to turn on the rechargeable desk lamp at the head of the bed.

By the light, Henry Howard saw the kid’s sweater had ridden up above his stomach, exposing half his waist. Further down, his school pants were still loose from earlier.

Watching, Henry Howard couldn’t help but lean down and kiss Ethan Young again: "Guess I’ll head back, then."

Ethan Young: "Get lost."

That classic "pull up your pants and deny everything" attitude.

Henry Howard laughed and let go of him.

Henry Howard left, but the smell lingered in the air for a long time.

Besides the desk lamp, Ethan Young noticed his phone, which he’d tossed on the bed earlier, was also lit up.

Messages were popping up one after another.

Thinking it was Henry Howard sending more nonsense, Ethan Young pulled the phone over, unlocked it, and saw a dozen or so private messages from the game.

""

Dear valued user, hello. We are the organizers of Quiz Masters Clash.