She tossed and turned, and the last image that floated through her mind before falling asleep was of Ethan Young as a child, carelessly tossing his award certificates onto the table.

What kind of award was it?

Back then, she was too busy, rushing between several jobs without a break.

"What number do you have in mind, tell me," Grace Miller asked him calmly, "What number is in your heart?"

After Grace Miller finished speaking, she didn't even know what she was doubting, probably just hadn't slept well these past few nights. She raised her hand to rub her brow, then waved her hand and said, "Alright, go upstairs, don't just stand here getting in the way."

Ethan Young held a glass cup, and after going upstairs, sat in front of the computer for a long time. The foreign language professor in the video was talking about some grammar C sentence structure, but he didn't take in a single word.

"Kid, what are you up to?"

It wasn't until he got a call from Henry Howard that Ethan Young snapped back to reality, lowered his head and took a couple sips of water, and mumbled a response.

Henry Howard had just gotten out of a taxi, standing by the window to pay, casually stuffing the change into his pocket. "Drinking milk?"

"Drinking water."

Hearing that the kid wasn't drinking milk, Henry Howard thought to himself, what a pity.

"Can't you think of something else? That kind of thinking is dangerous," Ethan Young put down his glass, glanced at the date in the bottom right corner of the computer screen, remembered that Henry Howard had an appointment this weekend, and asked, "Have you met up yet?"

"No, just got out of the car."

Henry Howard found the agreed place—actually, there was no need to look. Back in middle school, the three of them used to come here all the time, it was just a small noodle shop near the school.

In his memory, it was a tiny, old shop. The walls were stained black and shiny with years of oil smoke.

Back in middle school, they didn't have much pocket money. After school, they'd be so hungry they couldn't stand it, often pooling together two or three yuan each to buy a bowl of noodles to fill their stomachs.

"The boss lady still remembers me, gave me a plate of side dishes," Henry Howard picked an empty seat and sat down, resting his elbow on the table as he spoke, "Next time I'll bring you here."

Henry Howard's tone was perfectly normal as he spoke, but for some reason, Ethan Young felt that this idiot's mind must be a mess right now.

Henry Howard really was a bit at a loss.

He didn't know when the noodle shop had been renovated. The menu still had familiar dishes, but also some new ones added over the years. After speaking, Henry Howard stared at the words 'spicy sauce noodles' on the menu for a while, let out a silent sigh, and looked out the window.

Ethan Young didn't say much, just told him to call if anything happened.

Ethan Young was barefoot, curled up in the big computer chair. Before hanging up, he added, "No smoking."

Henry Howard said, "Okay."

Ethan Young half-heartedly finished watching the teaching video, checked his phone before bed, and saw the class group chat was buzzing nonstop. Quinn Shaw wanted to watch a horror movie but was too scared to watch alone, so she was looking for someone to watch with her in the group. In the end, the group chat was filled with "Ah!!!!".

But there was no movement from Henry Howard at all. After thinking about it, Ethan Young turned off silent mode before going to sleep.

When he got another call from Henry Howard, it was already close to midnight.

If this had been before, Ethan Young would have definitely refused the call, blocked the number, and thrown his phone in one go.

He guessed Henry Howard should be home by now, but when he picked up, he heard faint car horns in the background: "Where are you?"

Henry Howard didn't answer.

It wasn't until Ethan Young asked for the third time, almost out of patience, that Henry Howard finally called his name.

Henry Howard's voice carried a hint of drunkenness, sounding a bit irrational, but when he said his name, he was especially earnest, the syllables lingering.

"Ethan Young."

Henry Howard called his name several times in a row. The low, hoarse voice was full of complicated emotions, mixing with the background noise.

"Bro," Ethan Young was wide awake now. He got up; the air conditioner had long been off, and the chill seeped in through the thin fabric. "Did you drink?"

Henry Howard was squatting by the street, face buried in his hands. He hadn't felt anything at first, just wanted to call and let him know he was safe, but as soon as he heard Ethan Young's voice, the alcohol hit him, and he couldn't help but want to call out to him.

Henry Howard had thought this wouldn't be so easy to get over.

But when he really stood up and walked forward, got up close, he found it wasn't as hard as he'd imagined.

When they met, Ray Jr. came up and punched him right away. After the punch, he asked, "Well? Feel better now?"

That punch was no joke, almost all his strength behind it. Henry Howard was stunned for a second, his back against the wall, then wiped his mouth and tasted a bit of blood.

Felix Carter hadn't changed much, just a bit fatter, dressed more maturely, less like a student compared to his peers.

--"The past is the past, let it go."

--"Bro Chao, last time you came to see me, I said it wasn't your fault. Now I want to correct myself, I don't blame you. I wanted to tell you that in person."

Ray Jr.'s words kept echoing in his ears.

There was a weight he couldn't describe pressing on his chest, but with every breath, it felt like everything was getting lighter.

That feeling of losing his balance passed in a flash.

Henry Howard looked at the traffic on the street in front of him, the headlights piercing the night, making his eyes ache.

"No," Henry Howard managed a word, then choked up. He blinked, his eyes slightly red, "Just had a little."

Your damn tongue is already twisted and you call that just a little.

Ethan Young was a bit anxious and annoyed, pulling on his clothes as he asked, "Where are you now?"

Henry Howard was still near the school.

A few hours ago, the three of them had met up. Not much was said, but they drank bottle after bottle.

Jay Ray drank the most.

Back then, Jay Ray wasn't directly involved, and Ray Jr. left in a hurry, so a lot of things couldn't be asked, and he could only imagine the worst. He grabbed Henry Howard's collar and punched him, pinning him to the ground and beating him so badly the school almost called an ambulance: "Was it you? Shifting the blame—"

Henry Howard didn't explain or fight back, even secretly wishing he'd hit harder.

Harder.

After that, Jay Ray didn't go back to school, went straight to vocational school. Whether he prepared for exams or not didn't matter. He didn't want to know anything about this "former friend" anymore.

The next time they met was at a small restaurant near the electronics competition.

Jay Ray was too angry to think about why this guy was at No. 2 High, and only after he got back did he ask around and found out not only was the school different, even the grade didn't match.

Not only had he been held back a year, he was now attending the most ordinary high school in city A.

Ray Jr. couldn't really hold his liquor, but over the years had gotten used to it at various banquets, and downed a bottle in a few gulps: "I just forgot, running around out of town all the time. You and Bro Henry haven't seen each other in years?"

"We have," Henry Howard was drinking hard too. He leaned back and put the empty bottle on the table, "A few months ago, we caught up."

Jay Ray: "Caught up my ass, you call punching each other catching up?"

""

By the end, the three of them felt like they'd gone back to those old days.

Ethan Young memorized the location, worried about Henry Howard being out drinking alone so late, grabbed a jacket and put it on, only realizing after getting in the car that he'd forgotten his phone.

He'd left in such a hurry that when he put on his jacket, his phone got tossed onto the bed, and he just walked out the door.

Henry Howard squatted by the street for a while, the alcohol wearing off a bit.

There weren't many people coming and going on the street. A group of people, whistling, came out of the restaurant across the street, arms around each other, clearly drunk, and a few girls among them.

Even though it was already dark, the streetlights made it easy to see what was happening across the street. The girls shoved each other, "Hey, hey, look at that guy over there."

The boy was squatting, but he looked tall, his jacket unzipped, head down so his face couldn't be seen, but his figure and aura stood out.

Henry Howard didn't expect to run into salespeople this late at night. At this hour?

He looked up at the group in front of him, about to say "Not scanning your code," when someone grabbed him roughly by the back of his collar and yanked him up.

"He has a boyfriend."

Ethan Young's face didn't look good, all irritation between his brows. Seeing they were still stunned, he repeated, "He. Has. A. Boyfriend."

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

89. Chapter Eighty-Nine

"How much did you drink?"

"Five or six bottles?"

"You're something else," Ethan Young frowned, only letting go after those people left, "Told you not to smoke, so now you drink instead, trying out new ways?"

Henry Howard looked at him, saying nothing.