He could see, through the window, the plane coming in, landing gently on the pavement, and rolling to a stop. The doors opened. It was too far away to see any faces, but a dark shape moved in the doorway—a man in a suit, Xiaokai guessed as he stood. He summoned one of the chauffeurs and had them drive him over to the airstrip. Inside the car, he tried to prepare himself for this unknown guest—what should he say? How friendly should he be—or should he be more businesslike? Or perhaps he should be a mixture of the two, a nice balance. That was always safe. He could adjust according to whatever their reaction was.

His car door opened before he could reach the handle. The chauffeur, he thought, but when he looked up he saw a familiar face that made his stomach drop to his knees. The man in front of him was tall—taller than him, and slender, and the suit he had on couldn’t be more than half of what Xiaokai’s cost but he wore it as if it was four times that. Long legs, ink-black hair to his shoulders, big round blue sunglasses, and a mouth that was all too familiar—a mouth Xiaokai saw in the mirror every morning.

That mouth smiled at him. “Xiao-Xiao!3 Long time no see!”

It took everything in Liu Xiaokai’s arsenal not to scowl back at him—to snap at him, even, to demand he drop the familiarity, but he forced that all down, swung his legs out of the car, and stood to face the man in front of him.

“Xingyu.” He bowed, slightly, and then straightened up half a second later. “Xiao-Xiao is usually a name reserved for my friends.” This was meant to be an insult, but Liu Xingyu just laughed in return, his head thrown back, his shoulders shaking.

“Didi4 then?” His smile had grown wider. Now that Xiaokai was standing next to him, he felt…short. He hadn’t felt short in a while, even next to people who were physically taller than him. But Xingyu was physically taller, and he was more relaxed, and he was more handsome, and he was smarter, and Xiaokai felt like a child again.

He took a deep breath. “Xiao-Xiao it is,” he said. “I didn’t realize you were coming back to the country.”

“It was only decided a week ago.” Xingyu took off his sunglasses, wiped them on his shirt, and put them back on. It was a habit of his—and a nervous habit too, if Xiaokai remembered correctly. That pleased him. “I’m coming back to help Ba with a few things. I’m not sure how long I’ll be staying, maybe a week? But I’ll have plenty of time to hang out with you.”