Don't ask me where I come from. My hometown is far away. Why do I wander? Wandering far away. Wandering! ...

A dessert shop on the street was playing the old song "Olive Tree," released over forty years ago. The lyrics resonated with Zhuang Zi'ang, who felt like a homeless wanderer himself. Neither his father's nor his mother's place could be called home; they were merely places to stay.

He didn't want to go back to his mother's two-bedroom apartment and face the lonely night alone. Fortunately, he still had a friend he could rely on.

"Son, I've run away from home. Can you take me in for the night?" Zhuang Zi'ang called Li Huangxuan.

"Of course, I'll come down and get you," Li Huangxuan readily agreed.

Zhuang Zi'ang smiled. This "son" was not raised in vain. If he were no longer in this world, Li Huangxuan would probably be very sad.

"What happened to you?"

Downstairs in the apartment complex, Li Huangxuan saw Zhuang Zi'ang's face covered in blood and was filled with concern.

"It's nothing, just a bit of a heatstroke," Zhuang Zi'ang replied casually.

"You need to take care of yourself. I'm still counting on you to take care of me in my old age," Li Huangxuan joked. True friends feel uncomfortable if they don't get a verbal jab in. In more modern terms, they were each other's "adopted father".

Zhuang Zi'ang was in a somber mood and didn't respond to his joke.

Li Huangxuan's home was a place Zhuang Zi'ang had visited many times before, each time with a sense of envy. His friend's parents were loving, and the home was filled with warmth and laughter. It was a stark contrast to his own home, where he could only retreat to his room and face four cold walls.

"Mom, Zhuang Zi'ang is sleeping over tonight. He hasn't had dinner yet," Li Huangxuan called out to his mother, Fan Ling, as soon as he entered the apartment.

"He hasn't eaten this late? I'll make him some noodles," Fan Ling replied from the kitchen.

"Thank you, Auntie," Zhuang Zi'ang said, his nose stinging at the sound of her gentle voice. If only he had such a gentle mother! Xu Hui was always so busy making a living that she had little energy left to nurture their mother-son relationship.

Li Huangxuan's father, Li Tianyun, came out and saw the blood around Zhuang Zi'ang's nose and mouth. He looked alarmed and asked with concern what had happened. He told his son to get some ice and called Zhuang Zi'ang over. "Come here, let me put some ice on it to prevent further bleeding."

"Thank you, Uncle," Zhuang Zi'ang bowed.

Li Tianyun applied ice to Zhuang Zi'ang's forehead and the back of his neck, then patiently cleaned the blood with a wet towel, sighing with concern. "You kids need to take care of yourselves at school. If you're not feeling well, tell your teachers and parents. Don't try to tough it out on your own."

This sentence caused Zhuang Zi'ang to break down completely. He had such a huge problem, and he could only bear it alone, with no one to rely on. Just now, facing his indifferent father, Zhuang Zi'ang had managed to hold back his tears. But now, seeing Li Huangxuan's kind parents, he could no longer hold back. Tears streamed down his face, and his body shook with sobs.

Li Tianyun pulled him into a hug. "There, there, don't cry."

Leaning on his uncle's warm embrace, Zhuang Zi'ang tried to control his emotions. He repeated to himself over and over, A real man doesn't easily shed tears. I can't cry, I can't cry...

"Xiao Zhuang, come and eat your noodles!" Fan Ling called out softly.

Two fried eggs were placed on top of the steaming noodles. Li Huangxuan's family knew about Zhuang Zi'ang's family situation. To avoid making him feel sad, they were very considerate and didn't ask any probing questions. Instead, they chatted with him about everyday things at school.

"Our Huangxuan is so lucky to have you as a friend."

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"Yeah, how are you so amazing? How do you always get first place?"

"If you were our son, we would be so happy."

...

Zhuang Zi'ang looked up. "Auntie, are you serious? Do you really wish you had a son like me?"

"Of course! Parents would be proud to have a son like you," Fan Ling replied without hesitation.

"Ahem..." Li Tianyun coughed twice, giving his wife a look.

Fan Ling realized she had misspoken and touched a sore spot for Zhuang Zi'ang. Such an outstanding son, yet treated like a ping-pong ball, batted back and forth between his parents.

After finishing the noodles, Li Huangxuan took Zhuang Zi'ang to his bedroom. He had his eye on the delicate strawberry cake from the moment he saw it.

"Dude, you brought a gift! I won't be polite then." Li Huangxuan excitedly cut the small cake in half and handed a piece to Zhuang Zi'ang.

Zhuang Zi'ang felt a pang of guilt. He wanted to say that the cake wasn't originally for him, but he couldn't bring himself to say it.

Suddenly, he felt something cold on his cheek. Li Huangxuan had smeared a dollop of cream on him, laughing loudly. "What are you daydreaming about?"

"You dare to ambush me!" Zhuang Zi'ang retaliated, grabbing his piece of cake and smearing it on Li Huangxuan's face.

Li Huangxuan dodged, laughing heartily. The two chased each other around the room like two playful children.

Zhuang Zi'ang's inner stress was momentarily released. Only with Li Huangxuan could he forget that he was supposed to be a grown-up, that he was supposed to be understanding.

After they tired themselves out, they lay sprawled on the bed.

Panting, Li Huangxuan asked, "Dude, where did you run off to this afternoon?"

"I didn't want to go to class, so I went fishing by the river," Zhuang Zi'ang answered truthfully.

"What? The goody-two-shoes Zhuang Zi'ang skipped class?" Li Huangxuan found it hard to believe.

"Yeah, I've been a good kid for over a decade. I'm a little tired of it," Zhuang Zi'ang said meaningfully. Then he added, "I met a girl under the ginkgo trees on the sports field. She's even prettier than Lin Mushi. We hung out all day."

"You're dreaming. There's no girl in our school prettier than Lin Mushi," Li Huangxuan said skeptically.

Hearing Li Huangxuan's doubt, Zhuang Zi'ang was stunned. It was like a splash of cold water, waking him up. If Lin Mushi was the school beauty, and there was a girl named Su Yudiel who was even prettier, how could he have never heard of her?

Could her name be fake too? Or maybe she wasn't from their school?

Seeing that Zhuang Zi'ang was silent, Li Huangxuan asked again, "Which class is that girl in?"

Zhuang Zi'ang stammered, "She said she's in Class 23."

"What a load of bull," Li Huangxuan shook his head, convinced that Zhuang Zi'ang was hallucinating. He took out his phone and waved it. "It's still early. Want to play a round?"

Zhuang Zi'ang frowned. "Aren't you afraid I'll drag you down?"

"Just play support. Watch me carry you," Li Huangxuan said confidently.

"My only support hero is a fish."

As a model student, Zhuang Zi'ang rarely played games, so he was pretty bad. But he had already skipped class today, so playing a game wasn't a big deal.

"TiMi!"

They both opened up Honor of Kings.

Li Huangxuan was Diamond III, and Zhuang Zi'ang was Platinum IV, so they could barely queue together.

"Fish" is another name for the support hero Zhuang Zhou. As one of the heroes known for being easy to "mix" with (meaning to play without much skill and still win), it's suitable for newbies to use to climb the ranks.

"A bunch of people fighting in someone's dream. Is that fun?"

Li Huangxuan and Zhuang Zi'ang began their joyful duo queue journey.

"Hey, why is your Zhuang Zhou using Purify?"

"To remove debuffs. Can't I?"

"Ult, use your ult! Why aren't you using your ult when Lu Bu jumps in?"

"Sorry, I have Purify for myself. I forgot about you guys."

First game, a narrow defeat.

Second game, a close loss.

Third game, carried to defeat.

...

They played until Li Huangxuan dropped to Diamond IV and Zhuang Zi'ang dropped to Gold I, and they could no longer queue together.

"Your Zhuang Zhou is really good. Don't play it next time," Li Huangxuan threw his phone aside.

"Oh!" Zhuang Zi'ang thought he was being praised.

It was getting late. Time for bed!

The real world is too harsh. It's better to dream. Everything is possible in dreams.

The beautiful long sleep deserves a song. La la la la la...