The town looked different without school.
By the time Jian reached home, the evening sky had turned deep orange.
Scooters rattled past the narrow street outside.
Someone's radio played an old song from a neighboring house.
The smell of cooking drifted through open windows.
Ordinary things.
Things he had seen every day of his life.
Yet tonight everything felt slightly different.
Because tomorrow, Cheng Wei was coming here.
The thought followed him all the way through the front gate.
Before he could even remove his shoes—
"Ge!"
A small figure launched herself at him.
Jian nearly dropped his bag.
"Watch it."
His little sister grinned.
"You came home late."
"You say that every day."
"Because you're late every day."
Their mother looked up from the kitchen.
"Wash your hands."
"I'm home too," his sister complained.
"I know."
"You only told him."
"Because you're already eating."
His sister looked down.
Indeed.
She was already stealing food.
Jian laughed despite himself.
The house felt warm.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
The television played softly in the corner.
A fan spun overhead.
Homework sat scattered across the dining table.
His mother's voice drifted between the kitchen and living room.
Normal.
Comfortable.
Alive.
Jian suddenly remembered Wei's face.
And for a moment, a strange thought appeared.
Tomorrow.
Wei would be sitting here.
At this table.
Inside this house.
His mother called from the kitchen.
"Why are you standing there?"
Jian blinked.
Nothing.
He almost said it.
Almost.
"A classmate is coming tomorrow."
Simple.
Normal.
Yet the words stopped before reaching his mouth.
For some reason, it felt important.
Too important.
Embarrassingly important.
So instead he walked to his room.
His sister immediately followed.
"Suspicious."
Jian looked over.
"What?"
"You smiled."
"No I didn't."
"You did."
"No."
"You absolutely did."
She pointed dramatically.
"Mom, he's being weird."
"Finish your homework."
"Nobody listens to me."
The tragedy of her life continued down the hallway.
Jian closed his bedroom door.
Silence settled around him.
His books rested on the desk.
The evening sunlight faded slowly outside the window.
And once again—
his thoughts drifted toward tomorrow.
Across town, Cheng Wei unlocked the front door.
The house greeted him with silence.
Not unpleasant silence.
Just familiar silence.
The kind that waited every afternoon.
The lights in the entryway clicked on automatically.
The living room looked exactly the same as it had that morning.
Neat.
Orderly.
Untouched.
Nobody home yet.
Wei placed his books on the table.
The sound echoed softly through the room.
Then nothing.
Silence again.
The house was large.
Comfortable.
Respectable.
And somehow always empty.
Wei loosened his tie while walking upstairs.
One room.
Then another.
Everything perfectly arranged.
Everything exactly where it belonged.
Nobody waiting.
Nobody asking how school was.
Nobody arguing over television channels.
Nobody stealing food before dinner.
Just silence.
The thought appeared unexpectedly.
Jian's house would probably be noisy right now.
The realization made him smile.
A little.
Against his own will.
He dropped onto his bed.
Immediately another memory attacked him.
The library.
Wei stared at the ceiling.
Then closed his eyes.
Then opened them again.
"...No."
The room remained silent.
Wei sighed.
Unfortunately, his brain continued anyway.
The library.
The table.
The sunlight.
Jian staring.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Honestly, it had become impressive.
Wei rolled onto his side.
"You absolute disaster of a human being."
Silence.
No response.
As expected.
He stared at the wall.
Then laughed quietly.
Because the more he thought about it, the funnier it became.
"What was your plan exactly?"
The empty room remained unconvinced.
Wei continued.
"No, seriously."
He pointed at the ceiling.
"You leaned forward."
Pause.
"Then more."
Another pause.
"Then somehow decided distance was optional."
The memory returned perfectly.
Jian's expression.
The panic.
The complete system failure.
Wei buried his face in the pillow.
For a few seconds his shoulders shook.
Laughing.
Actually laughing.
If Rui ever discovered this side of him, he would never survive it.
Eventually he sat up again.
Still smiling.
"Honestly."
He shook his head.
"You had one job."
The room remained silent.
Wei narrowed his eyes slightly.
"One."
Then he pointed dramatically at absolutely nobody.
"And somehow you got interrupted by Kai."
A beat.
Then:
"Actually, that's fair."
Nobody escaped Kai.
Not even fate.
The smile lingered longer than expected.
Then slowly faded.
Because beneath the humor sat something else.
Something warmer.
Something more dangerous.
Wei lowered his gaze.
The truth was—
he had known.
Not immediately.
Not at the last second.
Earlier.
Much earlier.
The moment Jian stopped listening to the conversation.
The moment he started staring.
The moment silence became too quiet.
Wei had known.
And he hadn't moved away.
The realization settled softly in the room.
He looked toward the window.
Night had begun spreading across the town.
The house remained empty.
His parents would return later.
Maybe.
Depending on work.
Maybe after dinner.
Maybe after he was already asleep.
Normal.
Everything was normal.
Yet tomorrow wasn't.
Tomorrow he would walk into Jian's world.
Not school.
Not a classroom.
Not a library.
Home.
A place connected to old memories.
Old arguments.
Old wounds neither family discussed anymore.
Wei stared at the ceiling.
The smile had disappeared completely now.
"I really said yes."
The words sounded strange aloud.
The room offered no opinion.
Helpful as always.
Wei lay back down.
One arm covering his eyes.
"This is a terrible idea."
Silence.
A few seconds passed.
Then he laughed softly again.
Because neither of them believed that.
Not really.
The truth was much simpler.
Much more embarrassing.
He wanted to go.
Wanted to see Jian.
Wanted tomorrow to arrive.
Which was deeply inconvenient.
Wei sighed dramatically.
Then spoke to the empty room one final time.
"That thick-skulled menace is lucky he's cute."
A pause.
"...Barely."
The room remained silent.
Yet somehow it felt a little less empty than before.
Outside, the town settled slowly into night.
And in two different houses, beneath two different roofs, two boys found themselves thinking about the same thing.
Tomorrow.