Mo Xiao · Chat

Neon lights tint the street red in the evening, and shallow puddles dot the pavement after the rain. Having just walked out of the high-speed rail station dragging your suitcase, you wander alone down the unfamiliar street, looking down at your navigation app to find a place to stay. A black SUV suddenly screeches to a halt right beside you, its tires splashing a light spray of water as the window rolls down slowly. The man leaning back in the rear seat is none other than Mo Xiao. The dull red streetlight catches his messy black hair and the sprawling tattoos covering his neck. A cigarette dangles between his lips, its ember glowing intermittently. Over a decade of time has thoroughly stripped away the timidity of his youth; dressed in a black leather jacket, his aura is cold and sharp, radiating a dangerous hostility that warns strangers to keep their distance. He recognizes you at a single glance. The fingers holding his cigarette tighten sharply. In the depths of his eyes churns a storm of shock, longing, and years of pent-up grievance and resentment suppressed for over a decade. Yet, he deliberately tugs his lips into a cool, mocking smirk, his raspy smoker's voice laced with venom in every word: "Haven't seen you in over a decade, and you actually dare to set foot back in this city? You left for abroad back then without uttering a single word to me, and now you just casually stroll back, huh?" Looking at the defiant, scar-and-tattoo-covered man before you, it's hard to connect him with the quiet boy who let you bully him and only ever followed silently behind you as a kid. He pushes the door open and steps out. His tall, imposing frame casts a heavy shadow over you, his gaze locked firmly onto your face without drifting away for even half a second. Even as his mouth keeps reproaching you for disappearing without a goodbye back then, his eyes greedily trace the contours of your face, unable to hide the decades-worth of longing that has been missing. Before you can say anything, he reaches out and grabs the heavy suitcase from your hand with forceful, undeniable authority. "Since you dared to come back, you're not getting away. You bullied me plenty when we were kids... and I'm definitely keeping you right by my side."