When he arrived at the hot spring, there was something already bathing there.

  It was Li Chenyuan.

  He was sitting idly and staring at the stars, seeming to be lost deep in thought.

  In such a peaceful position, his expression was almost beautifully serene--so far from the usual harsh and judgmental expression he usually wore!

  Qiu Yunru cleared his throat to announce his presence and greeted him.

  "Li-shidi, why are you out so late?"

  Li Chenyuan's voice was thoughtful, too. "I have many things to think about."

  "Oh?"

  Qiu Yunru wasn't the type of person to press someone for information if they didn't want to share it. Thus, if someone said something vague like 'I have many things to think about', he wouldn't poke and prod them for more information and would instead let them share if they intended to.

  By chance, it seemed Li Chenyuan was in a generous mood with his thoughts tonight.

  "Shixiong...can I call you Qiu-ge?"

  "Oh...ah..."

  Qiu Yunru considered this, feeling a little flustered as he finished folding his robes by the springside.

  "That term is a little...ah, familiar, isn't it?" He said awkwardly.

  "Oh." Li Chenyuan's face fell. "I see."

  Upon seeing this expression, Qiu Yunru couldn't bear to deny him. It wasn't as if it was a huge request, was it? "Qiu-ge", It was a little familiar, but seeing as this kid came from a noble family and it still acknowledged his elder status, would it really be too bad?

  Qiu Yunru coughed, slipping into the spring. "I suppose it's all right. You can call me Qiu-ge. But it's still good to remember seniority, so you should still refer to me as 'Qiu-shixiong' at important events."

  Li Chenyuan nodded, a flush rising to his cheeks. "Yes, Qiu-ge."

  Awkwardly, Qiu Yunru waded into the water a little bit and began to wash himself. The silence stretched on. Since it was late at night, Qiu Yunru's mind was a little slow, and he couldn't think of something to say. Even though he didn't have a tiredness stat, he was still used to sleeping at this time, and he'd just had a weird mental experience! What's more, since Li Chenyuan wasn't talkative, no words were spoken at all. Qiu Yunru tried to ignore the awkwardness, coughing occasionally.

  Finally, Li Chenyuan spoke. Again, his voice was thoughtful, as though he had been considering something for a long time.

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  "Qiu-ge..."

  "What is it...?"

  "Do you consider yourself to have friends?"

  Puzzled by this sudden question that he had barely considered himself, Qiu Yunru took a long moment to answer.

  "I suppose I would consider some sect sisters and brothers here my friends. Fang Hai, Pan Fa, Lei Ruolan, Fu Jia...Since we interact often and look out for each other, I suppose we're friends."

  What a strange thought! He had never meant to make a single friend in this world, but he supposed it was inevitable to need to make some connections on the journal to immortality, wasn't it? He'd never thought he was the type of person who really needed friends, but it was true that without people to look out for and people who looked out for him, life would be more difficult. Even experiencing a small problem might be arduous without someone to talk to a little about it!

  Behind him, Li Chenyuan's expression was displeased.

  "Qiu-ge has many friends," He said bitterly. "Am I not among them?"

  Qiu Yunru startled.

  What was this icy-cold tone?

  Did Li Chenyuan...consider him a friend? Was that why he had asked for a more familiar term of endearment?

  If that was the case, then hadn't he just basically stated cruelly, "This person is my friend, this person is my friend, but I don't care about you!"

  "Does Li-shidi consider me a friend? If so, I will gladly consider him one too. I didn't want to overstep, since I've been mentoring Li-shidi--"

  "It's fine," Li Chenyuan snapped. "I'd rather not be your friend."

  An arrow pierced Qiu Yunru's heart, and it deflated with a squeak of pitiful air.

  What was this cold-warm-cold-warm attitude?! Did he want to be his friend, or not? Did Li Chenyuan simply hate him? Giving up and deciding he was too tired to worry about such things, Qiu Yunru poured some water onto his own head and sighed.

  "All right. Whatever Li-shidi wants."

  There was another long, awkward silence. Qiu Yunru finished bathing and went to go and get the new robes he had laid out next to his old ones.

  "Qiu-ge."

  "What is it?" Qiu Yunru stifled a yawn as he dried himself off and pulled his robes back on. He always tried not to yawn in front of others, especially in this life. Even if it only deducted half a Reputation Point to be a little unseemly and yawn openly, every point counted!

  "What do you think about people who don't want their partners to have friends?"

  Qiu Yunru frowned. "...Romantic partners?"

  "Yes."

  Qiu Yunru wiped his face, pondering. He had certainly heard of this thing often--men not wanting their girlfriends to have guy friends, and vice versa, in his past life. Who knew what this kid was thinking to land on this topic now?

  "I think that if a man tells a woman to not have male friends--"

  "Any friends," Li Chenyuan clarified seriously. "Male friends or female friends. No friends."

  Qiu Yunru blinked, even more bewildered. What a strange question! He stifled another yawn, thinking:

  "I suppose I think that's a poor and unhealthy way to have a relationship. You can't rely on only one person, or things may become easily toxic, and you will forget how to survive on your own. Everyone should try to have friends and be happy that their partner has friends. In the end, only a person who is selfish and cruel would ask someone to give up all friendship for their sake."

  Qiu Yunru had always been the type to have level opinions on these kinds of things, so the words flowed like water. Meanwhile, Li Chenyuan's face seemed to clear a little bit. His expression had been bitter and dark a moment before, but it suddenly lightened, and his eyes seemed to grow clearer reflecting the moonlight like two pools of ink.

  "I see. Qiu-ge is wise."

  Qiu Yunru shrugged sleepily. "This shixiong is flattered, but I really don't think that's it. I really think that's just how it goes. All right...Good night, Li-shidi..." He stumbled off, his head aching a little bit from before.

  Li Chenyuan watched him go, his expression no longer thoughtful. His elegant eyebrows drew down with determination, and he soon climbed out of the water and pulled his own robes on.

  "Unhealthy relationship..." He muttered to himself as he tied his sash loosely. "Healthy relationship...?"