In the room, the curtains danced in the wind. They billowed and swayed like waves of green, rising and falling rhythmically. Their agitated knocking against the walls made a clamorous sound.

Leng Yang walked into the room, didn't answer my question, just smiled and walked to the window, closing it, then turned and said: "The night wind is cool."

I looked at him with a skeptical eye, eyebrows raised in question. "You couldn't just be here to close the window, could you?"

Leng Yang shook his head and whispered, "Of course not, I came to sleep."

My confused expression: "So, did you walk into the wrong room?"

Leng Yang shook his head again, walked up to me sitting on the bed and said, "Just like when we were little, I'm here to sleep with you!"

"An?!" I seemed startled, staring at him seriously: "What did you say? Did I hear that right!"

"No, I don't want to clean the guest room."

"Grandpa will have everything ready for you this afternoon, so you can just go to sleep!"

Leng Yang looked at me with a cute and innocent expression, "I like this bed, it has memories."

My speechless expression stared at him, "This is my bed."

Leng Yang argued, "This also belongs to my childhood. When I was a child, you said this was also my bed."

I feel like the person in front of me is being unreasonable. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

Leng Yang pitifully acted cute and said, "When I was little, I could sleep. Why can't I now? You can't lie, especially to me."

My disgusted look was about to chase him away the next second, "I'll go sleep in the guest room."

Leng Yang immediately grabbed me, "No way, I stayed here to take care of you. What if you turn over in your sleep and bleed from your wound!"

Then what are you saying? What's the point of all this?

Leng Yang pouted, "Isn't this reminiscing about childhood? It's been so long since we slept together, I'm kind of looking forward to it."

"What are you looking forward to! I'm looking forward to you kicking me off the bed."

"Well, it was you who kicked me off the bed."

"Damn it, if you hadn't pushed me off the bed, I would have kicked you."

"Then you shouldn't have kicked me so hard!"

"It's your own fault. Who told you to sleep so much and move around? Sometimes you wriggle like a worm, it makes me sick."

Leng Yang immediately covered my mouth, "Quiet down, I don't want to lose face!"

I pushed his hand away, got into bed, and burrowed under the covers, saying, "Okay, I'm going to sleep. Turn off the lights."

Leng Yang smiled then pretended to grumble, "Again like this, why did Grandpa Tan put the light switch by the door! It's so far from the bed!"

"I don't know! Maybe the wire isn't long enough!"

"That's a ridiculous reason."

I looked at the ceiling, "Not necessarily!"

"Um!" Leng Yang turned off the light and said, "You guys didn't even turn on a lamp for me. I didn't bring my phone!"

I quickly turned on my flashlight and saw Leng Yang standing by the door, proudly waving his phone in his hand. I was furious and immediately switched off the light.

Leng Yang fumbled a few steps to the bed and then quickly burrowed into the covers. As he pulled back the quilt and sheets, a blast of cold air rushed in, sweeping across half of my body without warning. I moved away slightly.

Lying in bed, I wasn't sure if Leng Yang was asleep. For a long while, I didn't close my eyes at all and couldn't fall asleep. I just stared at the ceiling, thinking.

Perhaps it's the brilliance of the eyes, with gemstones sparkling in our pupils that bring us a thousand shades of colorful hues. All in all, even under the faintest glimmer, my pupils are shimmering brightly.

Leng Yang looked at my face, his features blurred, but the whites of his eyes were particularly noticeable. Leng Yang said calmly: "Aren't you afraid that a ghost face will appear if you stare at the ceiling?"

As soon as I imagined that scene, I was so frightened that I quickly closed my eyes. Then I came to my senses and excitedly asked, "Are you still awake too?"

Leng Yang walked closer and whispered, "I don't know why I can't sleep. Maybe I want you to fall asleep first! I'm afraid you'll move your foot."

"Hmm." I replied curtly.

Leng Yang propped his right hand under his head and said, "Just an 'mm'?"

"What else? Should I thank you?"

"That's not necessary."

I tilted my head slightly and looked at Leng Yang, who was lying on his arm. His hand just happened to be pointing at me. I turned back, "Leng Yang, I feel like my grandfather loves me so much!"

Leng Yang blinked his eyes, "Of course, it's always been this way. Don't even mention you, I feel that Grandpa Qin treats me like his own grandson."

"Yeah, seeing him holding that hot glass bottle with his bare hands today, my feelings are quite mixed."

Leng Yang leaned over and said to me, "That's right, so don't underestimate Grandpa Qin's love for you! He loves you more than you can ever imagine."

"Mm." I nodded, Leng Yang gently stroked my hair and said softly, "Alright, go to sleep." Then he lay back down.

This solved a mystery I had in my heart, but other questions remained unspoken. Gathering my courage, I carefully asked: “Leng Yang, you’re so excellent, why don’t you have a girlfriend?”

Leng Yang's slight drowsiness was startled away, "Huh? Why did you suddenly ask that?"

I'm a little awkward, I awkwardly touched my bangs and slowly said: "It's okay! I'm just curious why you are so excellent, but you don't have a relationship. There must be many girls chasing after you!"

Leng Yang smiled coldly, resting his left hand on his head, "In your eyes, am I really that excellent?"

"Well. So why not!"

Leng Yang said seriously, "I don't know! From a young age, the knowledge I was instilled by teachers and parents was to avoid early love."

I sighed wistfully: "So obedient? But we're all college students now, not early love, right?"

Leng Yang shook his head: "It's not that, but we are still students after all! I just think that students should put studying first. Before, it didn't matter, even though we're in college, but I feel like people who aren't mentally mature enough are too likely to fall into early love."

"Well. So your mind isn't mature enough right now!"

"Come on! You finally got into college, enjoy yourself first. Wouldn't it be great to have a passionate love affair in college to commemorate your youth?"

After hearing this, I feel very much in agreement.

"Cold Yang continued, "Graduation season is breakup season. Even if some relationships remain, let them stay in the memories. At least she's still at her best. Anyway! I don't have any thoughts about dating right now, so I won't force these troubles upon myself. There are no regrets left unspoken, only the most beautiful memories."

I looked at him, "So, what happens to those who like each other but end up missing out in the end?"

Leng Yang said softly, "It's okay if you missed it! Maybe they weren't meant to last anyway."

"No way! Those from school to wedding dress! Their love is so enviable!"

Leng Yang seemed to be asked, "This... If that's really the case, then it depends on whether they can make it to the end! If they pass the test of time, then it would indeed be beautiful."

I smiled, "That sounds wonderful!"

Leng Yang sneered, "I think there are very few people like that! Those who want to take postgraduate entrance exams after graduation, 'The first step to get on shore is to eliminate the object of your affection'—such an object of affection is not worth it at all."

I whispered, "But he loved deeply! Even if it ended in a breakup, at least he was brave once."

Leng Yang couldn't understand and said: "If you don't end up together in the end, it's better not to have been together in the first place."

I also became confused and questioned him, "Why do you think that?"

Leng Yang said seriously: "I don't believe in love, especially the kind that lacks material support when you are young."

I don't understand, I looked at him, "Why?"

Leng Yang turned his head to meet my gaze and said softly, "Maybe I've heard too many words that harden the heart like cement!"

I feel like he's putting on a brave face. I put my hand on his arm in comfort, "Although I don't understand your thoughts, I hope you still have some fantasy about pure love! Because there will be people who are kind to you without any benefit and love you unconditionally."

Leng Yang pulled out his left hand and stroked my hair, saying: "Okay, I understand."

I added, "But you must feel like it's not possible right now because we are still students."

"Well. I understand, go to sleep."

Leng Yang drew his hands back, perhaps numb, he leaned to the side with his back facing me. I felt a slight chill blow between us, and I hurriedly pulled the blanket to the middle, forming a wall that kept both of us warm.

After hearing Leng Yang's words, my heart was a jumble of emotions. My thoughts were racing, and although my eyes felt dry and sore, I couldn't sleep even with them closed. His words kept replaying in my mind, every word clear as day, stirring my heart.

A cold, even breathing reached my ears. I didn't have the heart to listen closely; my mind was numb.

"Lán Yáng is such a good child. I've been causing him so much trouble all this time. Thank goodness I didn't break the window paper. Since he's studying so hard, how could I possibly disturb him?"

Turning around, facing Leng Yang's back, I was momentarily overcome with emotion and my eyes welled up. "OS: 'Leng Yang, what have you been through? Why don't you believe in love? I apologize, I was shameless. I kept wanting your response, I was wrong. You're right, we're carrying the expectations of our families, how could I bear to make my family sad? Although they never put pressure on me, I should be more mature. Haha, I was being too sentimental, I shouldn't have forced this ridiculous burden upon you. It's good that we can still be good friends. So tell me, why don't you believe in love? Okay, until someone changes your mind, I'll wait for you. Before that, I hope you don't discover my silly thoughts.'"

Wiping away my tears quietly, I forced a smile and watched his back. oS: "Thank you, I understand. I will suppress my feelings and won't overstep boundaries. We will be friends, classmates, and brothers. As for anything else, I won't think about it anymore. Good brother, I'll be waiting for you!"

"Waiting for you..." A tear rolled down my cheek, landing right on the corner of my mouth. As if possessed, I actually licked it with my tongue. I mocked myself inwardly: Am I not sad enough? Why is it still salty instead of bitter?

Tired, my eyelids kept drooping involuntarily. I had no energy to keep them open. The figure in front of me grew smaller and smaller until it disappeared. Then, I fell asleep...

Perhaps it was the tiredness of the day and the late sleep last night, I slept soundly for a long time. Perhaps it was because of the presence of people around me, neither nightmares nor good dreams came to me. Maybe they were all reluctant to wake me up!

At 8 o'clock in the morning, Leng Yang heard Grandpa Qin opening the door. He slowly opened his eyes and a face of infinite cuteness was reflected before him. Leng Yang looked at the person in front of him with doting and thought: "He is still as cute as when he was a child."

Just as I was about to get up, I found him holding my arm tightly. When I looked up, he smiled awkwardly. oS: "No wonder you're holding onto my arm so tightly, it turns out you were afraid of being squeezed off the bed by me!"

Leng Yang awkwardly watched the scene before him. He scratched his head with his left hand, trying to hide his embarrassment. I pitifully found myself squeezed onto the edge of the bed, my body leaning sideways, straight as a board, not even daring to bend my legs. I held onto Leng Yang's arm tightly, fearing that I would fall off the bed the next second. Leng Yang gently held my hands, perhaps his arms were already numb and had red marks from being gripped so tightly.

Leng Yang discovered that I was holding on tightly, in order to save his arm, Leng Yang shrank his legs inward. I immediately followed suit as if I were awake. In fact, I had been kicking him all night trying to get him closer, but he didn't budge. I couldn't bear to kick him, so I endured again and again. As long as he moved in a little, I would follow crazily, which is why I didn't fall off the bed.

Leng Yang looked at my careful movements, his heart was full of self-blame: "Didn't I change? How can I still like to crowd people! Almost pushed him down. This careful look, probably didn't sleep all night."

Feeling the spaciousness, I slowly loosened my hands. Leng Yang took the opportunity to withdraw his hands, afraid that I would wake up, and quickly grabbed the panda plush toy next to me and held it for me.

Leng Yang got out of bed quietly, standing by the bed and pressing his arm. He lifted his sleeve and saw that it was indeed red all around, with a circle formed like an embrace, and there were thumbprints from being pressed. Leng Yang took out his phone and took a picture of it, whispering softly: "Look, I won't laugh at you!"

He glanced at me sleeping soundly and then left. Grandpa came in from the yard just as Leng Yang was there, so Grandpa happily said, "Leng Yang, wake up."

Leng Yang replied with a smile, "Hmm. What are you doing, Grandpa Qin?"

Grandpa was displaying a wooden ladle in his hand. Its color was a mixture of white and yellow, tinged with the ceremonial feel of time. Leng Yang quickly asked, "Grandfather Qin, is this the wooden ladle we used to drink water from when we were little? It looks kind of like it."

"That's right! But later, when I bought a new ladle, I used it to feed the chickens corn."

Lěng Yáng excitedly stepped forward, and his grandfather handed him something. Lěng Yáng picked it up with a beaming face: "It's still the same weight!"

"Of course," Grandpa smiled, "If Old Love hadn't sunk to the bottom, I wouldn't have been willing to change this lovely gourd!"

"Haha, Grandpa Qin, you're going to scoop corn to feed the chickens, aren't you! I'll do it!"

"Well, let me show you how fat the chickens I raised for you are."

"Who are we raising? When?"

Grandpa realized something was off and immediately changed his tune, saying: "It's pretty much raised for you guys, since it was originally going to be fed until it grew up and then killed for him to eat. Now that you're here, it's for you to eat."

Láng Yáng and his grandfather came to the courtyard. They walked along the wall to the far right where there was a wooden house built with planks. Thick straw extended out from it, and next to it was an open space, quite large in area, fenced off with wooden stakes and netting. It seemed like the place where the chicks frolicked during the day.

Grandpa opened the wooden door, Leng Yang following closely behind. Grandpa turned back and beckoned, "Yangyang, close the door, or the chickens will run out to eat my vegetables."

"Got it!" Leng Yang pushed the door back into the frame and then secured it with a line tied to a stake. It was a simple fix.

Leng Yang followed his grandfather's steps. Soon, the grandfather turned around and was astonished. He anxiously said: "Oh my! I forgot to tell you to change your shoes. Wearing such white shoes into the chicken coop is a disaster."

Leng Yang lowered his head and stared at his shoes. The sides of his shoes were covered in black mud, the pigment seeping into the white fabric relentlessly. The patches of black dirt on the shoelaces seemed to be displaying a grand scheme, sporadically staining the laces. Despite his grandfather's astonishment, Leng Yang remained calm and said, "I forgot. It's nothing, just wash it clean. Besides, I brought quite a few pairs of shoes."

Grandfather looked at the pitiful white shoes with regret and lamented, "Can't be washed clean?"

Láng asked suspiciously, "Why?"

"Grandpa shook his head, "Don't ask, I don't know either, only that we can't return to the original white."

Leng Yang didn't care at all, he quickly caught up to his grandfather, "Grandpa Qin, why is this mud black?"

Grandfather kindly said, "Because the chicks often poop there, it becomes black soil over time!"

"Why does it turn black instead of other colors?"

Grandfather seemed to be asked, "Perhaps it's because feces are dirtier, so the choice of a color symbolizing dirt."

Leng Yang felt that Grandpa made a lot of sense and nodded in agreement: "Wow, that's amazing."

Grandfather beamed with joy and then asked, "Do you know which has a higher nutritional value, black soil or yellow soil?"

Leng Yang thought that all the nutrient soil was black, so he said: "Black."

The grandfather smiled contentedly and said, "That's right, because chickens droppings are excellent fertilizer. When they accumulate over time, they slowly ferment and become rich, nutrient-filled black soil."

As we approached the chicken trough, several roosters who had been leisurely pecking around it noticed us. They knew it was feeding time and started crowing excitedly as they ran towards us. Grandfather gestured to Leng Yang to pour in the feed.

Little Cold sprinkled the feed evenly from start to finish, watching his grandfather's satisfied smile. Soon, all the chickens around him gathered and orderly scrambled for food. Little Cold sighed with emotion, "Isn't it great to grow vegetables on this land?"

"Grandpa smiled and said, 'But planting here isn't enough to fill the gaps between your teeth! So I come over every now and then to loosen some up and sprinkle it on the seedlings.'"

Leng Yang nodded thoughtfully.

Grandpa led Leng Yang into the chicken coop shed, at the edge of the fence.

Near the chicken coop, it looked tranquil. From the doorway, all you could see was a heap of fluffy straw. Stepping inside, both sides of the walls were stacked high with firewood, covered with straw to form individual nests. You could see an old hen sitting contentedly in each nest. Our sudden arrival did not disturb them.

Leng Yang looked at the heartwarming scene before him, and at the gentle old man beside him. For a moment, he understood why some poets gave up their official careers to choose a life of seclusion in the mountains.

"Cluck cluck cluck! Cluck cluck!" A hen jumped out of the nest and onto the ground, wobbling like an old man running. She stopped in front of her grandfather and he said, “Go eat now.” The hen scurried away to her food.

Cold Yang exclaimed, "Wow, Grandpa Qin, this chicken can understand what we're saying!"

"No," Grandpa said proudly, "it's just showing off that it laid an egg."

Leng Yang still had an awestruck expression, "Amazing."

Grandfather didn't understand the children's shallow admiration and then said, "Leng Yang, please collect the eggs from the nest where that chicken was just now."

Leng Yang lowered his head and saw a white egg in the nest, but upon closer inspection, it had a pinkish hue. He picked it up and said, "It's still warm." Looking at another one that was obviously a bluish-green color, he asked, "Grandpa Qin, there's another one, should I pick it up?"

"Grandpa shook his head, “No, that’s for hatching eggs.”

Leng Yang blinked his curious big eyes, "What is an incubator egg? Oh! I know now, it's the egg that attracts hens to lay eggs."

Grandfather nodded in satisfaction, "You understand perfectly. Let's go back home. We can make dinner now. Xingyi should be awake by now!"

Leng Yang happily held the egg and said, "Alright, I'm going to tell Xing Yi about all these interesting things that happened to me."

"Grandpa said, 'What's interesting? The chicken coop?' "

Leng Yang nodded, "Hmm."

Grandpa smiled, "The two children are so alike. Back then, Xingyi was also very interested in chickens. He always wanted to feed them with me and pick up the eggs. He would tell me to rest and not let me pick up the eggs. He said picking up an egg is tiring! He just wanted to play."

Leng Yang said with a hint of worry, "If I pick up the eggs, will Xing Yi be angry?"

Grandpa smiled and shook his head. “No, nobody else could. Only you could.”

"Why only me."

"Haha, this child was so proud when he experienced this joy for the first time, saying that no one could take his job. Then I asked him, 'What about me?' You want to know what he said?"

Leng Yang curiously asked, “How should I answer?”

He said, “No, only you and Lengyang will do.” I was puzzled and asked him why. He happily told me, “Because Lengyang is a good friend! Good friends should be happy together!”

Leng Yang listened quietly.

"Later, I often asked him about this, he firmly said that he wanted to tell you all the happy things, and then share the happiness together. This child is so adorable." Grandpa said with emotion.

The cold yang next to him was touched, touched that he always remembered the vows from childhood, and thanked them for their reunion.