Key

The celebration was simple: at the popular dessert shop behind the school. Xu Yi loudly ordered a whole bunch of things, Lu Fanxing and he fought over the last piece of mango, while Zhou Yu quietly ate his matcha red bean shaved ice, occasionally casting a disapproving glance at Xu Yi when he got too noisy.

Shixu and Yunxi sat side by side by the window, sharing a huge strawberry shaved ice. Shixu ate very little, spending most of the time watching Yunxi savor the shaved ice like a contented little hamster, a gentle smile unconsciously playing on her lips.

For him, these ordinary yet warm daily routines are "rare events" that need to be highlighted and encrypted in the database, and are a valuable cache to resist the erosion of despair.

“Oh, right, Shi Xu,” Lu Fanxing swallowed the mango in her mouth, then suddenly remembered something and said, “It’s my birthday next Saturday. I’m having a small party at home. You guys have to come!” Her gaze swept over Shi Xu, Zhou Yu, and Xu Yi, and finally looked longingly at Yun Xi.

Yunxi was somewhat surprised, then smiled and nodded: "Okay, I'll definitely be there."

Xu Yi immediately raised his hand: "I'll go if there's food!"

Zhou Yu adjusted his glasses, which was taken as tacit agreement.

All eyes were on Shi Xu. He had never liked such lively occasions. In his risk assessment, large gatherings were considered high-risk environments with too many "uncontrollable variables."

Yunxi also turned her head to look at him, her eyes filled with a hint of expectation.

Shi Xu met her gaze, paused for two seconds, and nodded: "Okay." He conducted a quick risk-reward assessment: potential environmental risks < the emotional fluctuations and subsequent impacts that might cause her disappointment. He chose the option with higher priority.

Lu Fanxing cheered happily.

The atmosphere was pleasant when Yunxi's phone rang. She took it out and saw it was her grandmother calling. She mouthed "sorry" to everyone and went outside to a quieter spot to answer the call.

"grandmother?"

"My dear," Grandma's kind voice came through the receiver, "I hope I didn't disturb your class?"

"No, Grandma, I just got out of school. Why are you calling at this hour?"

“It’s nothing, it’s just that you asked about the riverside when I was little, and about that quiet little boy,” Grandma said with a smile. “I was cleaning out the old house these past few days, and I actually found some things.” “Riverside” and “little boy”—these two keywords instantly raised the alert level. His attention completely shifted from the gathering to the phone call.

Yunxi's heart skipped a beat, and she gripped her phone tightly: "What did you find?"

“There are some old photos, and… a little notebook your mother used to keep, in which she seems to have jotted down some things about you when you were little. I looked at it, and it seemed to mention that little boy a few times, saying something like ‘Big brother is unhappy again today,’ ‘I want to make him laugh’ or something like that… The handwriting is a bit blurry, so I can’t see it very clearly.” “Big brother”—this exclusive term, like an ancient activation code, instantly pierced through the layers of psychological defense reinforced by time.

Brother Xiaoxu!

Yunxi almost stopped breathing. Although she had already confirmed it with the passage of time, hearing her grandmother say the name herself and seeing the written evidence from the past still stirred her heart with a wonderful sense of connection that transcended time and space.

"Grandma! Can you send me those things so I can take a look?" she asked eagerly.

"Sure, I'll send it to you tomorrow." Grandma readily agreed, and then rambled on for a few more minutes about taking care of herself before hanging up.

Yunxi stood there, holding his scalding phone, his emotions churning. His mother's little notebook…did it contain more details about the passage of time, details he himself might have forgotten? She longed for sweet reassurance, while he was wary of unknown fragments of the past that could overturn his existing understanding.

She turned and went back into the store, her expression still somewhat dazed.

"What's wrong? Who called?" Shi Xu keenly noticed her unusual behavior and asked in a low voice. His voice sounded calm, but his internal systems were working at high speed, analyzing all possibilities.

Yunxi hesitated, looking into his concerned eyes. She hadn't received the photos and notebook yet, and she didn't want to give him uncertain hope, or… touch upon details he might not want to recall. Her act of concealment, intended to protect him, inadvertently exacerbated his unease. The unknown is always the most dangerous.

“It’s my maternal grandmother,” she said, choosing part of the fact. “She said she found some photos of me when I was little and wanted to send them to me.”

Shi Xu's eyes flickered almost imperceptibly, and his fingers tightened slightly around the spoon. He nodded, not pressing further, but Yun Xi could sense that he seemed to have guessed something as well. He was almost certain that it wasn't just a "photograph." The timing of Grandma's call and Yun Xi's reaction pointed too clearly.

He didn't ask, perhaps out of fear of the answer, or perhaps because he wasn't ready to face more echoes from the past. He wasn't afraid of the memories themselves, but rather whether these "echoes" would become the trigger for a new tragedy. Every detail of the past could potentially have an undiscovered connection to the subsequent point of death.

After the dessert party, everyone went home.

On the way, time was even more silent than usual. As they approached the neighborhood, he suddenly spoke: "How is your grandmother...?" This was a probe, an attempt to gather more information about his "source."

"Yes, it's fine." Yunxi nodded, turning her head to look at him. "Why are you suddenly asking this?"

"It's nothing." Shi Xu looked away, his voice low. "It's just that... it's been a long time since anyone called me 'Xiao Xu' like she did." This was a signal he was actively releasing, an extremely vulnerable emotional trigger. He was telling her that he had heard her and was deeply moved.

His tone carried a deep longing and a hint of barely perceptible melancholy. This address was linked to the few warm memories he had of his mother when she was still alive, and it also marked the distant origin from which all the tragedies had yet to begin.

Yunxi's heart softened instantly. She remembered her grandmother's natural "Little Xu Brother" on the phone, Shi Xu's father's cold "Shi Xu," and how, after his mother's death, perhaps no one had ever called him that affectionately again.

She stopped, took his hand, looked intently into his eyes, and whispered, "From now on, can I call you Xiaoxu too?"

Shi Xu froze, his pupils dilating slightly, as if struck by this sudden, overly intimate suggestion. It wasn't just a change in address; it was her attempt to access the most primal, vulnerable part of his personality. He looked into Yun Xi's clear, sincere eyes, where there was no mockery or pity, only a warm desire to be close to him.

A surge of heat unexpectedly welled up in his eyes. He awkwardly turned his face away, his Adam's apple bobbing violently. After several seconds, he managed a barely audible, hoarse "Mmm." He had given his permission. This meant he had granted her the highest level of trust, allowing her to touch that original self, wrapped in layers of code and protective mechanisms.

It was just a simple address, but it was like a key that unlocked a long-sealed, tender corner of his heart.

As the sun set, he gazed at the gentle profile of the girl beside him and, for the first time, felt that his heavy past was bathed in a warm glow because of her presence. This light temporarily overshadowed his fear of the potential dangers posed by the unknown package.

The package Grandma is about to send is like a gift from the depths of time, waiting to be opened. And inside are not just old photos and yellowed notes, but also a piece of their very first bond, sealed away by the dust of time.