"Pan-fried buns aren't exactly healthy either," Zhuang Yi said lightly.
There was no reply behind him.
He turned back. "If you really don't want to eat here, there's a place up ahead you should like… It's fine."
They left the greasy alley behind and walked toward the old town. The buildings began to change, brick and stone, sloping roofs, arched windows. Chinese façades sat beside German-style structures, as if the past had been layered rather than replaced.
Xun Yuming slowed. "Is this Sanmen Town?"
Zhuang Yi gave a quiet hum. "The original archway's gone. Rebuilt old city swallowed it. We're walking on what used to be Sanshi Bridge. It's paved over now. The river underneath connects to the moat. Those buildings ahead—German era. They kept them."
"I don't recognize any of it." Xun Yuming let his gaze wander up the street. He had left in his senior year of high school. More than ten years had passed. The country had changed faster than memory could keep up. "Is this where we're eating?"
"By the river. Down there."
They descended stone steps. Beneath the bridge ran a narrow strip of shops facing the water. Willow branches swayed overhead, brushing against shoulders. Zhuang Yi pushed them aside and stopped in front of a modest restaurant with fogged glass doors.
"This one."
Inside, it was busier than it looked from outside. Waiters moved quickly between tables. No one greeted them, so Xun Yuming chose a small table in the corner.
Zhuang Yi picked up the iPad menu from the counter and handed it over. "The first two pages are decent. The rest are average."
Xun Yuming skimmed and tapped a beef rice bowl. He looked up for confirmation.
"Fine," Zhuang Yi said. After placing his own order, he added, "After dinner, go back upstairs and walk south. That's where your maternal grandfather's house used to be. You can head back from there."
"I don't live there."
This time Zhuang Yi paused. He seemed about to ask something, but a waiter arrived with side dishes, cutting off the moment.
Tempura was set down. Zhuang Yi nudged an onsen egg toward him. The small exchange was wordless, almost automatic.
When the main dishes arrived, Zhuang Yi's sake and eel rice followed. He poured two small cups and set one in front of Xun Yuming.
"Sake counts, right? Or does it have to be something stronger?"
"I don't drink." Xun Yuming flushed immediately.
Then, as if to prove something, he picked up the cup and downed it in one motion.
The burn hit his empty stomach fast.
Before he could stop himself, he asked, "Do you still hate me?"
The alcohol spread warmth too quickly. It made everything blur around the edges.
"Hate you?" Zhuang Yi smiled faintly. "You're over twenty. Still talking about love and hate. Aren't you afraid people will laugh?"
Xun Yuming stirred the beef rice without appetite. An impulse rose.
"That's still better than wearing it on your face."
Zhuang Yi blinked, briefly surprised. "Better than keeping it buried inside."
The rice lodged halfway down his throat. He swallowed with difficulty.
Dinner had been a mistake.
Old acquaintances could reminisce over a meal. Even long-lost lovers could. But exes who had parted badly had no such luxury.
He forced down a few more bites and set his spoon aside. "I'm full."
Zhuang Yi glanced at the barely touched rice. "Eat more. Every grain counts."
The corner of his mouth curved slightly.
Xun Yuming looked up and, against his own will, picked up the spoon again.
"When will my evaluation results come out?" he asked, retreating to safer ground.
"Two to three days. HR will receive them and notify you."
"Mm." His voice sounded dry. "Aunt Qin's surgery will also be in two or three days. That's already fast. Beds are scarce right now. Some patients wait six months."
"I know." Zhuang Yi poured barley tea into his cup. "I wasn't rushing you."
"Am I rushing?" Xun Yuming muttered. "I just thought… you might get impatient."
"I can wait."
He lowered his gaze to the wine in his glass. "No rush."
A spotlight hung directly above Xun Yuming. His skin, already fair, seemed almost luminous under it. The flush from alcohol colored his cheeks. A few beads of sweat clung near his temples.
Zhuang Yi looked away first.
After they paid, night had fully settled.
The river reflected scattered lights. A warm wind skimmed the surface.
Xun Yuming pressed a hand to his overfull stomach. "I haven't eaten this much in a long time."
"Where are you staying?" Zhuang Yi asked as they walked.
"Hm?" Xun Yuming turned. "Are you taking me home?"
The words slipped out before he could catch them.
Zhuang Yi paused, then spread his hands. "I didn't drive. I can walk you part of the way. But it's late. You're walking back?"
Xun Yuming had planned to. The walk would help him digest the tightness in his chest. But the suggestion hung between them.
In the end, he raised his arm and hailed a taxi.
"I live in the hospital dormitory. It's close. You should head back."
He opened the door and slid inside.
Zhuang Yi leaned down to the driver's window. "Please drive slowly. He gets carsick."
Then he stepped back.
The car pulled away.
Through the rear window, Xun Yuming saw him still standing there, tall and straight beneath the streetlight, until distance and mist blurred him into the night.
Eight years had passed faster than he had noticed.
Reunion felt like opening something long sealed. Everything rushed out at once, resentment, relief, shame, something softer he refused to name.
Back at the dormitory, he showered and changed.
9:30 PM.
He wasn't tired.
He leaned against the headboard with his laptop and pulled out Qin Xueyan's imaging again. For him, it was not a difficult surgery. For the patient, it was life-altering.
He never left such things to chance.
In sixth grade, his homeroom teacher had assigned him to give a Mother's Day speech after the Monday flag-raising ceremony. He had been class monitor. Top of his grade. At the time, he was preparing for math competitions and barely sleeping.
He wrote the speech at night and would fall asleep halfway through.
On stage the next day, facing the entire school, he realized he had never once read it aloud from start to finish.