Chapter 51 The Way Home

"Looking for you."

"Looking for me, then?"

He Chuan paused, perhaps thinking deeply. After a long pause, he pulled a gadget from his pocket and handed it to him.

A brand new phone.

"You just got out, so this wouldn't be inconvenient."

Feng Ran fiddled with it. The phone had a new SIM card installed and social media accounts registered, but He Chuan was the only one in his address book.

"You talk like you just got out of jail... Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Feng Ran couldn't help but feel bad about sending him away.

He stayed overnight at the internet cafe and the next day, he headed for the bank, then the station.

He Chuan didn't ask where they were going, but just followed them, buying tickets together so they could sit together.

He offered to pay back, but he refused, saying there was no rush.

Feng Ran began to have a headache. Why did Chen Zhi leave, and now here's this guy? Are both brothers so unique?

It was five o'clock in the afternoon when they arrived at the Provincial Normal University. Feng Ran stood at the school gate, searching for Feng Qing among the crowds.

Half an hour passed, but nothing happened.

He Chuan asked, "Why didn't you come in?"

"There's a curfew."

"Why didn't you call?"

Feng Ran said, embarrassed, "I can't remember my sister's number."

He Chuan looked at him like he was stupid. Feng Ran emphasized, "I'm just trying it out today. If I can't wait, I'll go to the internet cafe tomorrow and find Ren He using my gaming account, and then..."

"No need." He Chuan pulled out his phone and flipped through it. "Here."

Feng Ran lost his composure. "How did you get her number? No, why didn't you tell me?"

"I added her before," He Chuan said.

There was no time to ask more questions. The call was quickly connected. Feng Qing said she had just picked up a package near the school gate and quickly ran out. He Chuan tactfully stepped into a corner.

Feng Qing couldn't suppress the surprise on her face. She ran over, her mouth half open, staring at him, speechless.

Feng Ran smiled, and like countless times they'd met, he reached out and flicked her head, saying, "Have you had dinner?"

"You...you've lost weight, brother." Feng Qing opened her mouth, tears streaming down her face.

Feng Ran frantically pulled out a tissue and said, "That's great! Looks like my weight loss is paying off. Don't cry, we should be setting off fireworks to celebrate. I'm your brother, and I've made a killing! Half a million in six months. Isn't that impressive? Want it? How about giving you half?"

Feng Qing burst into laughter, slapped him, and called him out on his nonsense.

The haze that had been gripping him for over six months finally dissipated with that slap. Feng Ran breathed a sigh of relief, suddenly remembering business. "Where do you want to eat?"

Feng Qing had many questions of her own. They looked at a map and settled on a restaurant.

Just before leaving, Feng Ran remembered He Chuan was also on the trip. He looked around, but he had vanished.

Feng Qing reported on various people's situations: Ren He, who was still working as a photographer while continuing to play in a band; their mother, who still had contact with the Shen family; the last time they met, she'd dined at the same table with Shen Zhi's aunt; Shen Yuan, who had met her and treated her with considerable courtesy... and so on.

Finally, she explained that she had already received a recommendation for admission last year and had been offered a place at a university in Beijing, so she didn't need to take the exam again. But Feng Ran was busy at the time and thought he could discuss it in person later, but he never got the chance.

As the last person to receive the news, Feng Ran was deeply dissatisfied. "It's fine if you can't tell me, but why didn't Ren He tell me either?"

Feng Qing consoled him, "It's okay. I said I wanted to tell you in person." She hesitated for a moment. "Brother, are you still leaving this time?"

He couldn't give a firm answer. "Not yet. I'm going home first."

Unsatisfied with this answer, Feng Qing said, "Can't you just not leave? While you were away, Brother Ren He always gave me living expenses. He also helped me sort out some things."

"I'll go and thank him specially."

He thought Feng Qing would say nothing more, but she slowly shook her head. "We all know you have something to hide, but disappearing for six months...no one can accept it." Feng

Ran could only say, "He's sick."

"So you'll go back to see him."

Feng Ran was helpless. "I can't guarantee it, but I promise I won't disappear like this for no reason."

At this point, Feng Qing was speechless.

Feng Ran watched his sister, her eyes cast down in thought, feeling a pang of pain.

At this point, he didn't know what his future held. Of course he wanted to leave Chen Zhi completely, but would Chen Zhi agree to his wishes?

He could never have anything to do with any of his exes, but what about Chen Zhi?

Before leaving, at the police station door, he would never forget the resolute look in Chen Zhi's eyes.

After parting with Feng Qing, He Chuan suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Feng Ran was used to it and said, "Tomorrow, I'm going to help my sister send her luggage. She has a lot of stuff in the dormitory after four years, and she has to pack six big bags. Her roommates have all left school, so it will take about half an hour."

He Chuan nodded.

"Are you going?" Feng Ran tried, "Just consider it as helping me?"

He Chuan paused, but still nodded.

Feng Ran already had a rough guess in his mind.

With money in his pocket, he didn't need to spend the night in the Internet cafe, so he booked two rooms in a chain hotel and asked He Chuan to rest.

It was a dreamless night.

The next day, He Chuan caught a cold and put on a mask and a baseball cap when he went out. Feng Ran repeatedly emphasized that if he was not feeling well, he could just wait in the hotel, and he really couldn't persuade him.

Feng Ran handed a cigarette to the security guard at the door, and the two of them were successfully brought into the campus by Feng Qing.

Feng Qing asked, "Is this your friend?"

Feng Ran was amused by his drooping head and said, "Well, just call him Boss He."

He quickly checked the luggage without any effort. Then he took Feng Qing to the station.

Feng Qing was about to go on a one-month graduation trip with her friends. Before leaving, she simply thanked He Chuan, put on her travel bag, and left excitedly.

Feng Ran stood outside the window of the station and waved at her until the shadow merged into the crowd.

He turned his head and habitually took out a cigarette, looked at He Chuan, and put it back.

He thought for a moment and said, "I guess I won't have a fixed place to go for the next month or two. Are you sure you want to continue following me?" He

Chuan snorted.

He half-jokingly said, "Why, do you want to be my personal bodyguard? I don't have any salary to pay you."

He Chuan didn't say anything. He moved closer and said, "Do you really have a cold?"

He Chuan raised his hand and pushed his chest.

Feng Ran retreated as if nothing had happened. He Chuan's face turned to the side, his expression obscured by the brim of his hat and mask.

So Feng Ran shifted his gaze and observed him more closely. He Chuan's ears and neck flushed red, and he slowly turned his head and coughed.

Feng Ran felt uncomfortable if he didn't act like a slut. Wherever He Chuan turned, he would go, tirelessly, like a sunflower chasing the sun.

After a few rounds, He Chuan could no longer bear it and lowered his head. His skin burned an annoying red, as if it had been burned by a branding iron.

If this continued, he would be beaten, Feng Ran thought.

"I plan to go back to my hometown." He said seriously, "How about sending you back first?"

He Chuan didn't respond, neither nodding nor shaking his head.

"Then it's settled."

"No," He Chuan refused in a muffled voice, "straight back to your home."

"You want to go too?"

"Yeah."

"What are you going for? To open your silver shop over there? There's no need."

This was a clear way of getting him out.

"...Only three days."

Feng Ran was speechless. The words didn't make it clear, but he understood.

Only three days, only three days since he left Shen Zhi, and only three days since He Chuan followed him.

He said in a negotiating tone: "It doesn't seem right that you always follow me."

As they were facing each other vaguely, the setting sun gradually emerged. It was a cloudy day, and the dim sunlight was painted with a layer of dull gray, a color that no one would notice and had no artistic conception, a bit like a spoiled salted duck egg yolk. The clouds had no outline and no boundaries, covering the entire sky.

The train station was bustling with people, and the noisy voices and footsteps were like a chaotic accompaniment. Feng Ran hummed a tuneless song in it.

"I've been looking for you for seven months and five days." He Chuan said, "In Haishi." He

didn't go anywhere else. He knew that Feng Ran would definitely go find Zhuang Min.

"Is it right?" He said softly.

Feng Ran was defeated in the end, and sighed: "You, you."

What should he do?