A loud exclamation suddenly pierced the hustle and bustle of the street, causing people to turn their heads. They saw a slightly overweight young man waving his arms wildly, emitting high-pitched shrieks, looking almost convulsing.

Some passersby instinctively reached for their phones, hesitating whether to call the mental hospital.

Chen Wen quickly slipped aside, pretending not to know him.

Fortunately, Tianhai only went wild for a moment before sobering up. He looked at Chen Wen with pleading eyes, staring so intensely that Chen Wen felt his scalp tingle, forcing him to take a step back and ask warily, "What are you trying to do?"

"Wenwen," Tianhai called out soulfully, then lunged toward Chen Wen. "I adore you."

The pedestrians all turned to look. The local customs in Davao were relatively conservative; though they didn't discriminate against same-sex affection, a man loudly confessing his love to another in public was still quite rare.

"Damn it." Chen Wen kicked him, sending him sprawling on his face. He roared, "Don't push it too far!"

"I'm just grateful to you," Tianhai argued weakly.

"I can't accept your gratitude in this manner." The sound of "Wenwen" earlier made Chen Wen shudder. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got, pointing at Tianhai's nose. "If you do that again, I'll scatter these tickets."

"No!" Tianhai panicked. "I won't next time, just give them to me. Xiao Wen, I know you're the kindest person."

Chen Wen felt goosebumps erupt all over the ground. He shoved three cards into Tianhai's hand. "I can't stand you. Stay away from me."

Tianhai clutched the three cards happily, hugging them tightly to his chest. He took a deep breath, his face radiating emotion.

Passersby watched as he stood motionless in that posture. Someone not paying attention might have mistaken him for a living statue.

After a long moment, Tianhai snapped out of his dreamlike surprise. He glanced sideways—Chen Wen had vanished. He searched around and finally spotted him sitting across the street in a cold drink shop, deeply engrossed in conversation with a girl.

"Off chasing girls again."

Tianhai shook his head with resignation. After a thought, he decided not to disturb him and pulled out his phone to call Zhong Yun.

Still no service. Where the heck was this deadbeat Ah Yun? Half the holiday was over, and there was no sign of him. Could he really have gone into seclusion, as he claimed?

On the first night of the school break, both he and Chen Wen had received a brief message from Zhong Yun: "I am going into strict solitary study, do not look for me."

Though puzzled, they hadn't thought much of it. After a few days of fun, however, they both felt something essential was missing. Only after talking it over did they realize it was because one person was absent, leading to a significant loss of enjoyment.

The three of them had been inseparable for months. Suddenly being without Zhong Yun felt profoundly unnatural.

A few days later, Tianhai couldn't hold back and called Zhong Yun, only to hear the automated message: The user you have dialed is currently unavailable.

He went to Zhong Yun's home, but no one was there; even his parents seemed to have disappeared.

Only then did Tianhai understand that Zhong Yun was serious about his seclusion. He gave up trying to find him.

If he hadn't obtained Ming Yunyu's concert tickets today, Tianhai wouldn't have bothered looking for him.

He paused, then dialed Xiao Ruo’s number. He had actually intended to call Liu Yunqi, but he didn't have her number.

"Zhong Yun?" On the video call, Xiao Ruo listened to Tianhai's question, resting her chin in her hand thoughtfully. "Before the break, he left a message saying he was going traveling."

In truth, Zhong Yun's message included another line: "I won't be contacting you at all this holiday," but Xiao Ruo was too shy to mention it.

"Is that so? Then it’s nothing urgent." Hanging up the call, Tianhai pondered, a sense of unease beginning to creep in. Zhong Yun had never vanished like this before.

He suddenly remembered the assassination attempt Zhong Yun had survived, and his heart leaped wildly. Unable to stand still any longer, he rushed across the street and pulled Chen Wen, who was animatedly chatting with the beautiful girl, aside.

"What the hell are you pulling?" Chen Wen was highly displeased that his conversation with the young woman had been so abruptly interrupted.

"Quick, give me Liu Yunqi’s number!" Tianhai was too frantic to explain, focused only on getting the contact information.

Seeing his distressed state, Chen Wen realized something critical must be happening. He stopped wasting time and pulled out his phone to dial Liu Yunqi.

"Hello." Liu Yunqi’s sweet voice answered. Perhaps out of reserve, she declined the video request, and even her voice held a formal politeness.

"Hello, classmate Liu, I'm Tianhai, Zhong Yun’s good friend," Tianhai said, taking the phone.

"It's you," the voice on the other end immediately softened. "Call me Yunqi. What can I do for you?"

Any other boy hearing Liu Yunqi speak with such casual intimacy would have been ecstatic. But Tianhai had no time for pleasantries.

"I just wanted to ask if you know where Zhong Yun is?"

"Zhong Yun?" Liu Yunqi's voice paused. "I haven't seen him. Has something happened to him?" Her speech had suddenly quickened.

"Do you know where he went?" Tianhai asked urgently.

"Before the break, Zhong Yun sent me a message saying he was going traveling and wouldn't be able to spend the holiday with me," Liu Yunqi replied succinctly, then asked, "Did something happen to him?" Her anxiety was evident in that last sentence.

Seeing that Tianhai had no intention of explaining to Liu Yunqi, Chen Wen snatched the phone and said casually, "It's nothing much. We got three tickets for Ming Yunyu's concert and wanted to ask Zhong Yun to come, but we can't reach him."

"Alright, it's fine, if Zhong Yun can't go, that’s his loss. We're all set. Goodbye." She promptly hung up.

"What's wrong with you?" Chen Wen asked, seeing Tianhai looking distressed, pulling at his hair until it was a mess. "He hasn't sent any news for over half a month. Do you remember the last time Ah Yun said he was assassinated? I’m afraid..."

Chen Wen’s heart sank, but he said calmly, "It doesn't necessarily mean something bad happened. We should try to clarify things." He considered. "Let's contact his parents first, then we’ll plan."

Meanwhile, across the street, Xiao Ruo closed her phone, fiddling with it while resting her chin in her hand, staring blankly. After a moment, she bit her lip, hesitated for a long time, and then dialed a number. "Uncle Zhao, could you possibly do me a favor? ... I need to find someone. His name is Zhong Yun..."

Simultaneously, Liu Yunqi hung up the phone and returned to her piano practice. After playing half a piece, she missed several notes in a row. She stopped, picked up her phone, and dialed another number. "Second Brother, help me find someone. His name is Zhong Yun..."