He Chao using "high score" as an excuse was just a pretext; what the Class Three students really wanted was to use this as a reason to go out and have fun. After being cooped up at home since the holiday started, they were practically getting sick of it, and actually missed the lively atmosphere of the classroom.

So a few of them agreed on a time, set it for the day after tomorrow, and planned to get together.

Ethan Young didn’t have anything else going on these days, so he had no objections to the time they finally decided on.

When Ethan Young told Ms. Miller he was going out, she was in the storage room organizing things.

Grace Miller was wearing a white wool sweater, had just come out of the kitchen, still had an apron tied around her waist, and was standing on tiptoe rummaging through a storage basket. “What is it?”

Ethan Young said, “I’m going out for a bit, I won’t be home for dinner.”

“Where are you going?” Grace Miller pulled an old photo album out of the basket, set it aside, and turned her head to look at him. “I told you to read more, have you done any reading these days? I don’t even know what you’re doing holed up in your room all day.”

The storage room was full of old things.

Three years ago, when they moved from Heishui Street, there were a lot of things they didn’t need but couldn’t bear to throw away, so they put them all in this room. Ethan Young stared at the old photo album in Ms. Miller’s hands, remembering how, when they first arrived, he used to come to this storage room a lot.

He couldn’t get used to it, not at all.

Jack Cooper had shouted at him with red eyes, “Get out, this is my house!” He wandered around and around, and finally ended up in this room, sitting on the floor with his back against the door, staring blankly at the old things covered in a layer of white cloth.

Sometimes he would flip through old stuff, finding the test paper Big Ray had asked him to forge Ray's Mom’s signature on, or the “classmate book” Belle had written for him before leaving.

— Boss Young, hope you’re happy every day!

Ethan Young paused before saying, “Class reunion.”

Grace Miller had always supported these kinds of class activities, wishing Ethan Young would go out and interact with people more, which was better than staying home all day doing who knows what.

She asked which classmates would be there, then reminded him about safety: “Don’t stay out too late, get along with your classmates, if there’s a conflict, calm down and think it through. You’re grown up now, try to solve problems more maturely, don’t just—”

Ethan Young had his hands in his pockets and replied with an “Oh.”

It was obvious he wasn’t really listening. Grace Miller sighed and didn’t continue.

Grace Miller had originally wanted to look for some old things, vaguely remembering that she’d written a string of bank passwords in an account book, but after searching for a long time and not finding it, she ended up finding Ethan Young’s childhood photo album instead.

After Ethan Young left, she looked down and opened the album. The first photo was of Ethan Young just after he was born.

All wrinkled up, lying in a crib.

In the lower right corner of the photo, written neatly in black pen: March 14th, 2 a.m.

Grace Miller stared at it for a while, unconsciously forgetting that there was soup simmering in the kitchen, flipping through the album page by page until she’d gone through the whole thing.

After she finished, she was about to put the album back when she accidentally bumped into a hard cardboard box underneath.

The box was filled with old elementary and middle school textbooks. The name ‘Ethan Young’ was written beautifully on the covers, and there were several test papers tucked inside.

Grace Miller got lost in thought, not even hearing the maid knocking on the door to call her.

Ethan Young’s grades used to be pretty good, but the teaching quality at Heishui Middle School was just too poor—people from Heishui Street basically turned middle school into a vocational school, with tattoos, smoking, drinking, and dyed hair, not missing a single thing.

There were hardly any students who actually studied. Every time she went to pick up Ethan Young at the school gate, she’d see him coming out surrounded by kids who didn’t even carry backpacks, cigarettes between their fingers.

She’d thought countless times about taking him away from there sooner, giving him a better environment to live in.

Grace Miller’s gaze seemed to pass through the textbooks, back to those days.

She was lost in thought for a while, then sighed and put the file bag back in order.

Ethan Young left the subway station and walked a bit, not quite remembering which way to go. When he pulled out his phone to check the map, he saw a text from Henry Howard.

Where are you?

Yijiang North Road.

Henry Howard replied quickly: I’ll come find you.

When the Class Three group was deciding on a place to eat, they’d even pulled up a map of City A, had everyone mark their locations, then connected the dots in a messy web and picked a spot that was more or less central for everyone, making the final call:

Here it is, brothers, this place called Entertainment Street. None of us have been there, no idea if it’s any fun.

Henry Howard arrived early, chatted with Luke Carter and the others at the meeting spot for a while, but kept looking down at his phone. When he got a reply, he finally took the stick out of his mouth and tossed it in the trash, stood up and said, “I’m going to pick up Lao Xie.”

Luke Carter and the others were searching for fun things to do nearby on their phones, huddled together in a small coffee shop to keep warm. When they heard this, they didn’t even look up: “Yeah, yeah, go pick up your Lao Xie.”

Logan Wright: “Don’t forget to come back and pay for us.”

Wanda: “Don’t forget your brothers just because you’ve got Lao Xie.”

The words ‘your Lao Xie’ were clearly very pleasing to hear. Henry Howard laughed as he pushed open the door: “Am I that kind of person?”

Everyone was probably getting ready for the New Year, so the street was crowded. Several clothing stores by the road were playing music, all different styles, mixed with a random “Everything 20% off” from somewhere.

Ethan Young had only walked a few steps when he saw Henry Howard coming from the other side.

Today, he was wearing an overcoat, his figure standing out, easy to spot in the crowd.

Then Henry Howard’s lips curled up bit by bit, and when his gaze landed on Ethan Young, even his eyes seemed to light up. He opened his arms and said, “How about a hug?”

There were a lot of people around, and this guy was so attention-grabbing that passersby kept glancing their way.

Ethan Young couldn’t do something so over-the-top. He’d have to be out of his mind to go up and hug him, so he just lifted his foot and kicked at him: “Get lost.”

Ethan Young didn’t actually kick him, just made a show of it from a distance, then walked right past his boyfriend without mercy.

Henry Howard laughed and followed behind him: “Kid, you’re so cruel. Doesn’t your conscience hurt?”

The cruel kid walked a couple of steps, then slowed down, reached his hand back, and quietly took Henry Howard’s hand.

Ethan Young’s fingers were cold, like ice, but that chill slowly started to burn on the back of his hand.

People hurried up and down the street.

With the Spring Festival approaching, the whole shopping street was decorated with lanterns and streamers, and the shop windows were covered with Spring Festival couplets. All you could see was red, and the white mist of people’s breath in the cold air.

The two of them walked hand in hand for a while.

Halfway there, Ethan Young noticed that the other was walking slower and slower, but didn’t say anything, just casually asked, “Are Haozi and the others here yet?”

“They’ve been here a while,” Henry Howard squeezed his hand tighter, “When I got there, the PE rep was already on his fourth cup of coffee.”

Logan Wright could always eat a lot, and when there was a big meal, he’d make sure to leave extra room for himself. Ethan Young couldn’t help but laugh, “Did he skip dinner yesterday?”

Henry Howard: “I think this time he not only skipped dinner, he probably didn’t even drink water.”

“”

The coffee shop was just ahead. As they walked, Henry Howard suddenly stopped. Ethan Young was about to ask “What’s up?” when his boyfriend said seriously, “How about we just forget about them?”

When Logan Wright ordered his fifth cup of coffee, he had no idea that the righteously indignant Bro Henry who’d said “Am I that kind of person?” was actually planning to ditch them.

Quinn Shaw and the girls arrived late. There wasn’t enough room at the table, so they had to sit in the back. A few girls gathered together, chatting: “I think this one’s nice, looks like fun.”

Logan Wright was happily drinking his coffee, and said to Luke Carter as he sipped, “This coffee is really good, rich and mellow. But how come Bro Henry isn’t back yet? He’s supposed to pay.”

------------

86. Chapter Eighty-Six

Logan Wright was sitting by the window, his coffee already finished, when he saw two familiar figures walking across the street.

Ethan Young was in front, a dark gray scarf wrapped around his neck, only half his face showing.

The two of them were holding hands quite naturally, fingers interlaced. When they got closer, Ethan Young finally stopped and looked down, signaling for Henry Howard to let go.

“Had enough of holding hands?”

“”

No. Not enough.

Henry Howard hadn’t even noticed where they’d walked to, his mind full of the person beside him. Only when he heard that did he see the “Coffee House” sign in front of him, coughed lightly, and muttered under his breath that this street was way too damn short.

Inside the coffee house.