The winter break arrived with a biting chill, but the "Group of Seven" WhatsApp group was heating up. Zhang Wei had coordinated a meetup at our old high school's neighborhood—a nostalgic dinner at the same boba shop where our "Seven Stars" era had shattered.
Zhang Wei: First reunion since the Great Dispersion! I've booked the big table. No excuses. Even the 'Robot' is coming down from the North.
My heart skipped a beat. Li Yan was coming back.
Su Lan: I'm bringing my laptop. If the conversation gets boring, I'm coding. Xiao Xing, are you coming alone?
I looked at Hao Ran, who was currently helping me pack my bags at the dorm. He had been a constant warmth in my life for months—the boy who cheered for me at karate tournaments and brought me coffee during finals.
"You should come," I said, looking up at him. "My friends... they're a lot. But I want them to meet you."
"The legendary 'Group of Seven'?" Hao Ran grinned, leaning against the doorframe. "I've heard stories. Especially about a certain Chess Prince who thinks he's a compiler."
"He's just an old rival," I said, a bit too quickly. "Nothing more."
The Arrival
The boba shop smelled exactly the same—sweet syrup and teenage dreams. Su Lan, Jia Yi, and Mei Ling were already there, looking more "adult" in their university coats, but still laughing with that familiar mischievous energy. Lin Chen was sketching on a tablet now instead of a notebook.
"Xiao Xing!" Mei Ling squealed, hugging me. Then her eyes widened as she looked behind me. "And... the Lantern Festival Hero?"
"This is Hao Ran," I introduced him, feeling a strange pride. "Hao Ran, this is the squad."
The introductions were going well—Hao Ran's charm was an instant hit—until the bell above the door chimed. The cold air rushed in, and the shop went silent.
Li Yan walked in.
He looked different. The boy in the school uniform was gone. In his place was a man in a structured charcoal overcoat, his hair swept back, his gaze even more analytical and distant. He looked like he belonged in a high-rise boardroom, not a sticky-floored cafe.
But he wasn't alone.
Walking beside him was a girl with porcelain skin and a soft, elegant aura—the kind of girl who looked like she'd never had a hair out of place in her life. She was holding a textbook on Advanced Neural Networks.
"Everyone," Li Yan said, his voice a low, cool baritone that made my skin prickle. "This is Ying Yue. My research partner from the National University."
"Hi everyone," she said, her voice like silk. "Li Yan speaks so much about his 'rival' from high school. I simply had to meet the girl who keeps him up until 3 AM debugging code."
The table went dead silent. Su Lan raised an eyebrow, her "IDGAF" energy simmering into "Protective Bestie" mode. Zhang Wei looked like he wanted to hide under the table.
"I'm Xiao Xing," I said, my voice steady, though my fingers were digging into my palms. I stepped closer to Hao Ran. "And this is my boyfriend, Hao Ran."
Li Yan's eyes shifted to Hao Ran. For a split second, the "Cold Prince" mask cracked. His gaze was sharp, like a grandmaster surveying a board after an unexpected move.
"The karate captain," Li Yan said, his voice flat. "I hope your defense is better than your choice in hydrangeas."
Hao Ran didn't flinch. He stepped forward, offering a hand. "And I hope your research is more interesting than your social skills, Li Yan. Xiao Xing tells me you're a genius with numbers, but a bit slow with... people."
The tension in the room was so thick you could have cut it with a karate chop. We sat down, but the "Seven Stars" harmony was gone. It was a battlefield.
Li Yan sat directly opposite me. Every time Hao Ran leaned in to whisper something to me, I could feel Li Yan's eyes on us. But he spent the whole time discussing "Neural Networks" with Ying Yue, looking like the perfect, intellectual couple.
"You okay?" Hao Ran whispered, squeezing my hand under the table.
"Fine," I said, forcing a smile.
But then, my phone buzzed. It was a GitHub notification. We were sitting three feet apart, and he was using a coding platform to talk to me.
User L_Y_ChessMaster has invited you to a private repository: 'Project_Closure'.
I opened it. There was no code. Just a single image file titled memory_dump.png. When I clicked it, it was a scanned photo of our 90% Board Exam results from graduation day—the one where we tied for first place.
Underneath the image, a new comment appeared in real-time:
L_Y_ChessMaster: Ties are meant to be broken, Xiao Xing. Your new 'partner' is a variable I didn't calculate. But variables can be deleted.
I looked up. Li Yan was staring at me over the rim of his tea, his expression unreadable, while Ying Yue laughed at something Lin Chen said.
The "slow-burn" wasn't just burning anymore. It was a war.