At his dorm room early that morning, Jiang Xiao Shuai stirred awake before his alarm, his phone buzzing faintly beside him. The screen glowed with a name he hadn't seen in nearly a year.
Meng Tao.
"I heard you're doing well. Mind if we talk?"
Xiao Shuai didn't move for a while. Just stared. The message felt harmless on the surface, polite even but his chest tightened like old wounds were stretching open again. He locked the phone without replying, tossed it on the bed, and went to brush his teeth like nothing had happened.
But something had.
Later that afternoon on the court, Chi Cheng moved like a storm. His shots were sharp, brutal, calculated like he was venting something he didn't want to talk about. Guo Cheng Yu tossed him a towel after another aggressive dunk.
"You good?" he asked.
Chi Cheng gave a noncommittal nod. "You?"
Cheng Yu hesitated. "Xiao Shuai looked... off this morning. Said nothing, but I know that face. He's been chewing on something heavy."
"Did he get a message?" Chi Cheng asked knowingly.
Cheng Yu looked at him. "Yeah. How'd you know?"
"Because I've seen it before," Chi Cheng replied. "Meng Tao?"
"That name again." Cheng Yu's jaw clenched. "What's his deal?"
Chi Cheng let out a sharp breath. "He was controlling. Polished on the outside, toxic underneath. Always made it feel like Shuai owed him something. He never hurt him exactly, but it was the emotional kind of mess, guilt, pressure, manipulation."
Guo Cheng Yu muttered something under his breath and sat down on the bench. "No wonder the kid flinches when someone's nice to him."
Chi Cheng gave him a look. "You're not just playing anymore, are you?"
"No." Cheng Yu rubbed his face, almost irritated at himself. "I don't flirt this way unless I mean it. And the way he looks at me like he's waiting to be dropped, I hate it."
That evening, at a quiet café tucked behind the science block, Xiao Shuai sat across from Wu Suo Wei, absently stirring his untouched coffee. His usual energy was absent, dulled by something heavy.
"You okay, Xiao Shuai?" Suo Wei asked, voice gentle.
"Yeah," Jiang Xiao Shuai muttered, eyes still on his cup.
"That's a lie."
He tried to smile, but it faltered. "You're annoying."
"And you're bad at hiding things," Suo Wei said, reaching across the table to nudge his hand. "Tell me."
After a pause, Xiao Shuai's voice dropped. "Meng Tao messaged me."
Suo Wei's eyes darkened slightly. "What did he say?"
"Just... that he wanted to talk."
"Are you going to reply?"
"No." Xiao Shuai's gaze finally lifted. "I don't owe him anything anymore."
Suo Wei didn't say anything for a while, just squeezed his hand gently. "Good. Because you're not that boy anymore."
Outside, just beyond the glass, Guo Cheng Yu stood for a moment, unnoticed. He'd been passing by, hoodie zipped up and earbuds in, when he spotted the two best friends inside. Shuai was holding Suo Wei's hand gently. Not romantically, but with comfort with trust.
Cheng Yu felt something twist deep in his gut. Not jealousy. Not exactly.
He was used to flirting. Used to people leaning in, laughing, falling just a little too easily. But this wasn't that. This was Shuai trying to heal from something, slowly and Cheng Yu was scared to push too hard, scared to be just another thing he flinched from.
Still, he didn't walk away.
He waited outside until they came out. Walked quietly beside Shuai the whole way back to the dorms. Didn't ask anything. Didn't tease.
But when Xiao Shuai said, almost out of nowhere, "Thank you for staying,"
Cheng Yu just smiled softly and replied, "Always."