Since that day, Bai Fanlu’s once solitary life had gained an additional presence.

That person appeared more punctually than the rising and setting sun, checking in morning and night. Starting with online messages, it eventually escalated to in-person meetings every few days, successfully disrupting Bai Fanlu’s previously straightforward routine into a chaotic wave.

“Xiao Lu, the weather’s great today. Want to go for a walk?”

“Xiao Lu, have you had lunch? I’m nearby doing some research; how about we eat together?”

Or sometimes just a simple greeting: “Xiao Lu, what are you up to?”

Despite knowing each other for almost a month now, Bai Fanlu still didn’t know Fuyun Mobai’s real name. And every time Fuyun called him “Xiao Lu” in such a familiar, chatty way, Bai Fanlu rarely had a reason to call him by name either.

Thanks to Fuyun Mobai’s relentless persistence, Bai Fanlu ended up reluctantly accepting the post-production role for both drama series. However, the first part of the radio drama had yet to begin production due to the fact that they hadn’t found a suitable voice actor for the main character. When Bai Fanlu reviewed the cast list, he realized that the voice actor for his character was still marked as “TBD,” whereas Yun Zhan had long been confirmed as Jun Zhao.

Bai Xiaolu: “The planner says you passed on the tenth candidate today?”

Fuyun Mobai: “Nothing compares to the clouds of Mount Wu.”

Bai Xiaolu: “…”

Fuyun Mobai: “Are you going on a trip tomorrow?”

Bai Xiaolu: “How do you know?”

Fuyun Mobai: “There’s a suitcase behind your bed, and it’s pretty big.”

Bai Fanlu suddenly remembered that Fuyun Mobai had coaxed him into a video call earlier. He had minimized the video window while browsing the web, and somehow they ended up chatting through text instead—he’d completely forgotten the video was still on.

Feeling as though his privacy had been invaded, Bai Fanlu promptly hung up the call.

Fuyun Mobai: “Are you mad?”

Bai Fanlu remained silent, ignoring him.

Fuyun Mobai: “I only saw you change into your pajamas, nothing else.”

Bai Xiaolu: “We’re both guys, what’s there to see?”

Fuyun Mobai: “You’re adorable, you know that? Did you forget what kind of novels I write?”

Bai Fanlu’s face flushed, and he shot back an emoji of a bunny angrily pulling out a carrot and smacking someone with it. Fuyun Mobai was getting more and more shameless.

The next morning, however, Bai Fanlu found Fuyun Mobai waiting downstairs with breakfast in hand.

With swift precision, Fuyun Mobai shoved the breakfast into Bai Fanlu’s hands, grabbed his suitcase, threw it into the car’s trunk, and opened the passenger door with a grand gesture. The entire sequence was executed flawlessly.

“I’ll drive you. Where to? The airport or the train station?”

Bai Fanlu gave in, defeated. “Train station.”

After a two-hour train ride and another hour on the bus, Bai Fanlu finally arrived at his destination—the place he visited at least once every quarter.

The once small-town welfare home had since expanded into a proper children’s welfare institution.

The elderly headmistress, who had been like a grandmother to them, had retired years ago. The current headmistress, a younger woman, already knew Bai Fanlu was coming and was waiting at the gate.

“Big Brother!”

The woman, Zhang Xiaoling, was also once a child at the welfare home and was two years younger than Bai Fanlu.

Once inside her office, Bai Fanlu unpacked his suitcase, which was filled with clothes, toys, snacks, and gifts for the children. There were thirteen kids at the home now, and he had prepared something special for each of them, labeling everything with their names.

“You already transferred money over. Why bring so much stuff? It’s heavy!”

“These are different. The kids will be thrilled to see them!”

Bai Fanlu beamed as he laid everything out on the desk, explaining each item with pride.

The children were currently in extracurricular activities, so Bai Fanlu planned to surprise them later in the evening when they gathered for games.

That night, the activity room was filled with laughter. The kids chattered excitedly around Bai Fanlu. Zhang Xiaoling stepped outside to take a phone call.

“Xiao Liu? Yeah, Big Brother’s here… You’re not coming until after he leaves again?… Fine, I understand. He said he’s staying for three days and leaving the morning after tomorrow… Alright, alright. Don’t worry about it… Bye.”

Zhang Xiaoling hung up and looked through the window. Inside, Bai Fanlu was playing tag with the kids.

He was blindfolded, pretending to be disoriented and bumping into tables and chairs, making the children laugh hysterically.

Zhang Xiaoling sighed. “I don’t understand Xiao Liu. He was so attached to Big Brother when they were kids.”

Three days passed quickly, and it was time to say goodbye.

Bai Fanlu found himself surrounded by a group of tearful children, hugging and kissing each one before reluctantly leaving.

Since buses were scarce in town, he waited half an hour before one finally arrived to take him back. He sat near the front window, nodding off as the bumpy road lulled him to sleep. When he arrived at the train station to pick up his ticket, he realized that the wallet clip he used for his ID and cash was missing—it had probably been left at the welfare home.

He had taken it out last night to prepare red envelopes as an extra gift for Zhang Xiaoling, since she would’ve refused if he gave it to her outright. He had sneakily left it in her office that morning.

Bai Fanlu quickly took out his phone and rescheduled his train for the afternoon. Luckily, even though the area was remote, it wasn’t too far from the city, and there were still available tickets.

After rescheduling, he caught the next bus back to the welfare home.

He thought about calling Zhang Xiaoling ahead of time, but figuring she might be busy, he decided to head straight over—it was just a quick trip to retrieve his things.

When he arrived at the welfare home, he was surprised to see a private car parked in the empty lot beside the gate.

Was there a guest?

Bai Fanlu wondered. The welfare home occasionally received visitors from charitable organizations. He didn’t think much of it at first, but as he got closer, he began to find the car oddly familiar.

When he saw the license plate, he froze in place.

Inside the headmistress’s office, Zhang Xiaoling was staring at the mountain of items that filled half her office, looking completely exasperated.

She turned to the tall young man beside her. “You and Big Brother are so different, but when it comes to how you do things, you’re exactly the same.”

“Second Sister, you’ve summed it up perfectly.”

“But seriously, why won’t you meet Big Brother? He took care of you the most when you were kids. Are you embarrassed now that you’re grown up?”

“I’ve already met him—he just doesn’t know I’m Xiao Liu.”

“Fair enough. You do look a lot different now compared to when you were little.”

The young man chuckled softly. “Handsome, right?”

“Stop being cheeky! Oh, by the way, Big Brother asked about that donation again the other day. I’ve kept it from him, but I don’t know how much longer I can hide it…”

Bai Fanlu slowly walked out of the welfare home’s gate. The guard greeted him warmly, “Teacher Bai, back already? Leaving so soon?”

Bai Fanlu forced a smile. “I forgot something. Just came back to grab it.”

It was only after that reminder that Bai Fanlu realized he hadn’t even gone to his room to get his bag yet.

What a mess…

He reluctantly turned back.

Luckily, no one was in the guest area. He still had the key to the guest room, so he unlocked the door and went inside.

There was another suitcase in the room now, which wasn’t surprising to Bai Fanlu. The welfare home only had two guest rooms, typically split by gender.

Since he had moved out that morning, the newcomer must have been assigned this room.

Bai Fanlu walked in and found his wallet clip in the crack of the bedside table. It hadn’t been touched.

He glanced at the suitcase again.

He had retrieved what he needed and should probably leave, but…

Bai Fanlu’s thoughts raced, and he sat there for a long while.

Until he heard soft footsteps from outside. Someone was coming up the stairs—it sounded like they had just reached the first floor. The guest house had two staircases. If he wanted to avoid meeting anyone, he could take the other staircase down.

But Bai Fanlu stayed still, waiting.

He heard the sound of a key being inserted, followed by the door creaking open. Then, everything went silent.

“I’ve thought about it for a long time. At first, I was angry that you kept this from me, and I wanted to just leave…”

“But then I realized, that would be too easy for you. After all these years, don’t you think you owe me an explanation?”

Bai Fanlu spoke slowly, raising his eyes to the door.

Standing there in the doorway, backlit by the sunlight, was the tall figure of Fuyun Mobai, the famous writer, or perhaps his younger brother “Xiao Liu” from all those years ago.

Fuyun Mobai’s expression briefly showed surprise but soon relaxed. “So you found out? Alright then. Instead of making you dig around for answers, I suppose it’s better if I tell you myself.”

He walked in, placed a bag on the table, and pulled out a chair to sit across from Bai Fanlu, who was still sitting on the bed.

“After I was adopted, I went abroad for a while. When I came back to find you… you couldn’t see anymore.”

Bai Fanlu knew that not long after he left the orphanage, Xiao Liu had also been adopted. Since then, they had never seen each other again. Had he really tried to find him?

“I started earning money from writing novels, and the first bit of income I made, I sent back to Grandmother. But the doctor and hospital were arranged with the help of my adoptive father. Without his connections, I wouldn’t have been able to manage.”

Fuyun Mobai brushed the topic aside with just a few words, but Bai Fanlu could see from his flickering gaze that he didn’t want to dwell on those painful memories.

In truth, Bai Fanlu didn’t mind those things as much anymore. Still, he asked, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“If you knew it was me, would you have accepted the money?”

An anonymous donor—someone who couldn’t be traced, making it impossible to return the money—was the only way to ensure it couldn’t be refused.

“Then why did you come back and never say anything to me?”

Fuyun Mobai looked at Bai Fanlu, his gaze lingering on his face for a couple of seconds before dropping. He gave a helpless, soft laugh.

“Because… being near you would bring you misfortune.”

“What?” Bai Fanlu didn’t understand his logic. “Why would you think that…”

But Fuyun Mobai became agitated. He clenched his teeth, his eyes reddening as he revealed a deep, hidden resentment.

“That man never wanted you at first. It was because I kept clinging to you, wanting to take you out, that he saw you and changed his mind to adopt you.”

Bai Fanlu shook his head. “How can you blame yourself for that…?”

“Why shouldn’t I blame myself!” Fuyun Mobai shouted, cutting him off. “After I heard what happened to you, I had nightmares every night. Someone told me it was all my fault—that you suffered because of me!”

“I shouldn’t have stayed close to you. I shouldn’t have had any improper thoughts about you. I could only stay far away and watch you from a distance. That way, you’d be safe…”

He spoke as he slumped over the back of the chair, burying his head in his arms, his hands gripping his hair tightly, knuckles turning white as his shoulders trembled.

“It’s all my fault you lost your sight. I nearly lost you… Do you know how scared I was, how much it hurt? How can I not blame myself—”

Suddenly, he stopped.

Bai Fanlu had wrapped his arms around him, gently patting his back.

Just like when they were kids, only now the young man in front of him was taller and stronger than he was. Bai Fanlu bent down, embracing him as he sat in the chair. He could feel the firm grip of a grown man’s arms around his waist.

Yet the face buried in his chest seemed fragile.

Bai Fanlu continued to pat him softly, his touch full of patience and warmth.

“Xiao Liu, you can’t talk about yourself like that.”

Though it was true that the man had nearly altered the course of his life, Bai Fanlu had jumped from the third floor to escape his advances. The most serious consequence had been damage to his optic nerves, which left him in darkness for ten years.

“But even if it hadn’t been me, it would have been one of our siblings. Have you thought about that? Any other child he picked would’ve been younger than me.”

Bai Fanlu was the oldest and the most aware. That heightened vigilance had helped him avoid a terrible fate.

“I was the big brother, remember? You always said the big brother was the best, that I could chase away the big bad wolf. That’s why I was able to defeat him.”

It was a narrow escape. The incident had caused a stir, exposing the man’s criminal record, which led to his imprisonment. Not long after, he died from a sudden illness, as if cursed.

“And now, I can see again. Our siblings have all grown up safely, and the welfare home is thriving. The children here are receiving even better care than we ever did. What could be more perfect than this? We should be content and happy.”

Bai Fanlu spoke gently, feeling the breath of the person in his arms. He stroked Xiao Liu’s hair soothingly.

“Isn’t that right, Xiao Liu?”

“Brother…”

Fuyun Mobai tightened his embrace around Bai Fanlu, crying like a child.

“Why are you crying? You’re too old for that,” Bai Fanlu teased, pretending to be annoyed. “If you keep crying, I won’t hug you anymore.”

At the threat, Fuyun Mobai only hugged him tighter.

“Brother, I’m sorry… I wasn’t there when you needed me the most, but I missed you… I missed you so much…”

“I know… Stop crying, you’re such a fool.”

Shouldering all the blame himself and refusing to reconnect because of this ridiculous reason—what a fool!

In the end, Bai Fanlu didn’t take the rescheduled train. When Zhang Xiaoling found out that he and Xiao Liu had reunited, she insisted they stay another night so they could properly catch up together.

That night, although they shared a room, they each slept in their own bed.

Lying down, Bai Fanlu saw Xiao Liu grinning at him like a fool, so he deliberately turned away.

A while later, when he heard the sound of Xiao Liu’s steady breathing, Bai Fanlu quietly turned back around. Xiao Liu was still facing him.

Bai Fanlu knew Xiao Liu had driven all this way just to bring more things for the kids. It had been a long journey, and now that he had finally fallen asleep, he was sleeping soundly.

The room wasn’t dark, as the curtains were left open, allowing the moonlight to illuminate the space. Bai Fanlu quietly watched Xiao Liu’s sleeping face.

According to Zhang Xiaoling, Xiao Liu had donated a significant amount of money to the welfare home over the years—probably more than half of what he’d earned from writing.

“Xiao Liu…”

Bai Fanlu thought back to his earlier suspicions. In the novel, Yun Zhan had transformed into Xiao Liu’s appearance using the ancient mirror Bu Shi Chen. Yun Zhan knew what Xiao Liu looked like as a child, knew all these little details about their past together.

Bai Fanlu had even asked Yun Zhan once why he knew so much about Xiao Liu, but Yun Zhan had said he couldn’t explain.

Bai Fanlu felt that he might finally understand why.