TF01 101

For more than a week straight, there had been no contact whatsoever between Shi Yi and Ying Ming. At some point, Shi Yi’s phone was shut off completely. Ying Ming couldn’t get through. Just as his patience was about to snap, Ou Yang unexpectedly showed up, clearly at the end of his rope.

“Where the hell is Shi Yi? Tell him to get his ass out here!”

Ying Ming hadn’t slept all night. Early in the morning, the sound of someone pounding on his door startled him awake. When he opened it, Ou Yang was standing there, face full of fury.

He blinked in confusion. “What’s going on?”

In his memory, Ou Yang had always been calm and mild-mannered, easy to talk to, especially considering how close he was to Shi Yi. What the hell had happened to make him show up like this at the crack of dawn?

Ou Yang’s expression was awful. Whatever had happened clearly hit him hard. “A whole week of radio silence is bad enough, but then he sends me some bullshit email saying he’s shutting down the company? And he won’t even pick up the damn phone!”

“Shutting down the company?” Ying Ming frowned. “When did he send that?”

“Yesterday!”

The message was so barebones it could have been a sticky note. No explanation, no reason. Just one line saying the company was being dissolved, and that any legal issues would be handled through the proper channels.

Because of what had happened with Shi Yi’s family, the company had already been dealing with one crisis after another. Ou Yang was barely holding things together on his own. He hadn’t complained, knowing Shi Yi’s situation, but the last thing he expected was to open his inbox after a long night and find that kind of message. Anyone would lose it. And not being able to reach Shi Yi at all just made it worse. Even if Ou Yang had wanted to sit down and talk calmly, that option was long gone.

He wouldn’t have come to find Ying Ming like this unless he was truly desperate.

Ying Ming stood there frowning in silence for a long time before finally grabbing his jacket and closing the door. “Shi Yi’s at home. You know the way, right?”

“Of course.”

The two of them drove in silence all the way to Shi Yi’s place. Ou Yang was already familiar with the Shi family and had no trouble getting in. Ying Ming stayed in the car, waiting. About twenty minutes later, Shi Yi finally came out with him.

He looked like hell.

It didn’t look like someone who’d been holed up at home for a week. It looked more like someone who had been living on the streets.

He looked completely out of it, worn down and disheveled. His beard was unshaven, and he was still wearing the same clothes from the day he and Ying Ming had split. When he spotted Ying Ming’s car, he ran a hand through his hair in frustration, let out a long sigh, and got in anyway. “This isn’t the place to talk. Let’s go to Ying Ming’s.”

His voice was low, the words dragged out slow and heavy.

Ying Ming watched him through the rearview mirror as he leaned back and closed his eyes. A weight sank hard in his chest.

But in the end, he didn’t say anything. Ou Yang, too, seemed stunned by the state Shi Yi was in. All the anger he’d come in with had nowhere to go. The tension between the three of them stayed thick the whole drive back to Ying Ming’s place. When they got there, Shi Yi didn’t go inside. He stood at the doorway and turned to Ou Yang.

“Go ahead. Whatever you want to ask, ask.”

The moment he spoke, Ou Yang’s face changed. “What do you mean, ‘whatever I want to ask’? Don’t you think it’s your job to give me an explanation?”

“I already made myself clear. I want to shut down the company.”

“Why?”

Back when they graduated, it was Shi Yi who had been fired up about starting the company. At the time, even Ou Yang thought the idea didn’t have much of a future. Construction materials weren’t something you could just casually break into. But because they trusted Shi Yi, everyone had thrown themselves into it. And now he wanted to call it quits just like that. Did he really see them as nothing?

Shi Yi’s face didn’t change. He could see Ou Yang’s anger but seemed numb to it. “I’m going to take the civil service exam.”

“What did you just say?” Ou Yang’s voice spiked.

“I said I’m taking the civil service exam.”

Just eight words. Flat. Emotionless.

“Bullshit!” Ou Yang finally exploded. “Shi Yi, are you out of your damn mind? Do you have any idea how many people are tied up in this company? Never mind the fact that we’ve still got multiple projects underway. If you breach contract now, the damages alone could bankrupt you! And what about all the people working under us? We poached a lot of them from other companies because they believed in you. What now? All that trust was for nothing? You think you can walk away from all the debts and obligations just like that? People are still working overtime cleaning up your mess while you stand here talking about shutting everything down like it’s nothing!”

Shi Yi didn’t explain himself. He just stood there and listened.

Seeing him like that only made Ou Yang angrier. “Back when we graduated, you were the one who pulled me into starting this company with you. And now you’re ending it just like that, did you even ask what I thought? We’ve known each other for years, but I never realized you were this quick to fold when things got tough. So all that talk about ambition, all those big dreams, was that all just for show? Just something to say for fun?” He grabbed Shi Yi by the collar, his brow furrowed so tightly it looked like it could snap. “Shi Yi, if you’re a man, then deal with the shit in front of you. You don’t get to duck your head and call it done. This company is your responsibility. You can’t just walk away from it because you feel like it.”

Seeing Shi Yi like this didn’t sit well with Ou Yang either. He knew why Shi Yi was doing it, but he couldn’t agree with it. This wasn’t something the brother he had known all these years would ever do.

But Shi Yi still didn’t respond to anything Ou Yang said.

Even when Ou Yang yanked him by the collar, he only frowned and took a small step back. His voice was flat, detached. “If you really don’t want to shut it down, I can hand over the company to you through legal channels. All the shares, I’ll give them to you. I don’t want a single cent.” Then he added, “If you want to pursue compensation, just have your lawyer send the notice.”

Ou Yang froze. For a long time, he couldn’t say a word. Then he shoved Shi Yi back hard. His fists clenched for ages, but in the end, he didn’t throw a punch. “Shi Yi, you’ve really let me down.”

He shook his head in frustration and turned to leave.

Once he was far enough away, Ying Ming finally looked up at Shi Yi. “Come inside. We should talk too.”

Shi Yi stiffened. After a long hesitation, he finally followed him in. He didn’t sit down, he just stood there, keeping his distance. His face was blank.

Smoke Ring padded over and circled his feet twice, but when he noticed he wasn’t reacting, he gave up and wandered off.

Ying Ming lit a cigarette and took slow drags from it. A long time passed before he spoke. “How’s your family?”

The man standing across from him lowered his gaze slightly. “They’re fine.”

“And you?”

“I’m fine too.”

His answer came fast, but the tone of it made Ying Ming’s chest flare with frustration. He looked at Shi Yi. “If you’re fine, then why are you shutting the company down?”

“I told you. I’m going to take the civil service exam.”

“Why are you trying to take the civil service exam now? Didn’t you always say you didn’t want to go down that road? You fought with your family over it for years. And now, out of nowhere, you’ve changed your mind? Are you seriously thinking about going through with it?”

The more Ying Ming spoke, the faster his words came. The cigarette between his fingers was nearly bent from how tightly he was holding it. The tension between them was like steel wire pulled taut—ready to snap at any second.

Compared to Ying Ming’s agitation, Shi Yi seemed like he wasn’t even part of the conversation. He only furrowed his brow slightly, as if it had nothing to do with him. “Just because I didn’t want to before doesn’t mean I don’t want to now.”

The way he said it felt all too familiar to Ying Ming. He paused for a second. “So you’ve made up your mind?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you have any other plans?”

After that question, Shi Yi looked at him with a dark expression. His lips parted, like he was going to say something, but nothing came out. Ying Ming seemed to pick up on it. He clenched his fist, then stood up. “Forget it. Let’s eat something first. I haven’t had a bite since Ou Yang came banging on my door this morning.”

Still biting the cigarette, he turned and walked into the kitchen. Shi Yi stayed outside, watching the doorway. One of them in the room, the other just beyond it.

Ying Ming stood in the kitchen without moving for a long time. He leaned against the counter, staring at the pile of bowls and plates in front of him, silently smoking.

When one cigarette burned down to the end, he lit another.

The air in the apartment was thick with cold tension, the kind that crept under your skin. Ying Ming finished three cigarettes before finally starting to boil some water. Shi Yi had been living like hell these past few days, but Ying Ming hadn’t fared much better either. There was barely anything in the house. He rummaged through the cabinets for a while and finally found a pack of noodles, dumped them into the pot, and watched them boil with his fourth cigarette clenched between his teeth. The water kept bubbling over until the noodles were nearly falling apart. Only then did he turn off the heat.

He set the bowl on the dining table and called out to Shi Yi.

Shi Yi was still standing there, hadn’t moved an inch. He finally looked up at the sound of his name. “Go ahead and eat first. We’ll talk after.”

He had more to say. And today, he was going to say it no matter what.

Ying Ming felt a strange emptiness in his chest, like something was flowing over the surface of his heart again and again but never quite settling. That kind of restlessness made him feel like he was going to lose control. He forced himself to hold back the anger welling up, and tried again. “I already ate. Just have a little.”

He had literally just said he hadn’t eaten and that’s why he made the noodles. Now he was backtracking, and even he knew how ridiculous it sounded.

After a couple more drags on his cigarette, he let out a deep breath. “Shi Yi, whatever you want to talk about, do it after dinner. Don’t keep looking like that. It’s hard enough without having to see you like this.”

Shi Yi hesitated for a long time, then finally gave in He walked over to the table and sat down. Under Ying Ming’s gaze, he picked up his chopsticks and took a couple of bites. The noodles were completely overcooked, soft and soggy like paste. Ying Ming probably hadn’t added any seasoning either. There was no flavor at all. It was honestly awful, but Shi Yi didn’t stop. He just kept eating slowly. Ying Ming sat across from him, smoking. The space between them was barely the width of an arm.

When the bowl was nearly empty, Shi Yi suddenly looked up and said, “I’m going to move back home.”

The man across from him froze for a second, then let out a soft “mm.”

“With Auntie the way she is now, it’s right for you to be with her.”

Ying Ming wasn’t even sure if he was saying it to Shi Yi or trying to convince himself. He took another drag from his cigarette. His eyes were restless, flickering with barely contained frustration.

Shi Yi took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Ying Ming…”

He looked at the man across from him who still refused to meet his eyes, and slowly, said the words that had been weighing on both of them for a long time.

“You and I… let’s break up.”

Ying Ming’s hand, still holding the cigarette, went completely still.

Then, very slowly, he closed his eyes.

“Promise me… No matter how bad things get between us in the future, even if it feels like we can’t go on, don’t ever bring up breaking up so casually. If there’s a problem, we can work it out. No matter how serious it is, there’s always a solution. Even if you’re furious, don’t just decide to walk away.”

“Okay..”