Just Missing You

After graduation,

Xu Shuai and Li Longlong embarked on their own entrepreneurial journey.

They opened a badminton hall and a sports center.

After years of hard work, though business had always been lukewarm, they managed to scrape by.

Not long ago, they filmed a promotional video of their venue and posted it online, hoping to attract more customers through the internet.

Strangely, after a user with the screen name "A Ying" liked their video, it inexplicably went viral, getting pushed repeatedly by the algorithm. Now, their business was thriving.

At the end of another busy day,

the aroma of home-cooked food suddenly wafted through the air.

Without turning his head, Xu Shuai chuckled, "Lijuan, I told you, you should just rest at home."

Li Longlong, sprawled on the floor of the hall, teased, "Yeah right, look at him—grinning from ear to ear."

Wang Lijuan shot them an exasperated glance. "Are you two eating or not? If not, I’ll dump it all."

"Of course we’re eating! What a waste otherwise."

The two scrambled up and hurried over to her.

"Lijuan, your cooking keeps getting better," Li Longlong said with a smile.

Over the years, he’d relied on her plenty, and their bond was unshakable.

"You know, now that business is picking up, it’s about time you settled down. You’re almost pushing thirty," she remarked.

At the mention of this, Li Longlong only smiled faintly and stayed silent.

Ever since Huang Fei left and Long Aotian disappeared, their dorm had become the subject of unpleasant rumors.

Su Ting, unable to bear the gossip, chose to break up with him.

Since then, Li Longlong had his share of flings but never anything serious.

"Things used to be so good between all of us, didn’t they? How did we end up like this..."

Hearing this, Xu Shuai set down his chopsticks.

Yeah, the "Four Heavenly Kings" had been inseparable. Looking back now, it felt like a lifetime ago...

Just then, footsteps echoed from outside.

Li Longlong exhaled deeply and called out without looking, "Sorry, we’re closed for the day."

"So, drinks?"

The voice was faintly familiar, though time had blurred its edges.

Yet, recognition came swiftly.

All three turned toward the newcomer.

The man rubbed his nose and removed his baseball cap.

"Long time no see!"

"Huang... Huang Fei?" Eight years—long enough to fade memories.

"What’s wrong? Don’t recognize me?" Huang Fei grinned.

The next second, the two tackled him to the ground.

"You bastard! You finally decided to show up?"

"Damn it, you left without a word back then. Is that how you treat your brothers?"

Pinned beneath them, Huang Fei laughed uncontrollably, happier than he’d been in years.

If not for stumbling upon their video online, he might never have found them.

"Alright, enough roughhousing. Huang Fei, have you eaten? Let’s grab a proper meal outside," Wang Lijuan said, smiling at their reunion.

In a private room at a restaurant,

Huang Fei finally explained why he’d left: "Back then, I was stuck in a dead end. Now that I think about it, it’s kinda ridiculous..."

"Over the years, I thought about coming back, but... you know how I am."

"Next thing I knew, so much time had passed..."

He glanced at the three, hesitating before swallowing the question on his mind.

Xu Shuai and Li Longlong knew exactly what he wanted to ask.

So they told him what happened after he dropped out.

"Wait... he had depression?" Huang Fei was stunned.

Xu Shuai and Li Longlong exchanged wry smiles. "Hard to believe, right? The guy who seemed the most put-together was actually the most broken."

"Shen Mengjie leaving didn’t hurt you the most—it destroyed Long Aotian."

"After that, he quit school. No one’s heard from him since..."

Huang Fei downed his drink in one go. Years of bar-hopping had hardened his tolerance. "Did you ever try reaching out?"

"Of course. Every year. Never got a reply. Honestly, after that, I read up on depression. That shit... it can kill you."

"If Lao Ao left... it’s because he couldn’t take it anymore."

Huang Fei fell silent. After a long pause, he muttered, "Make a group chat. Let’s tell Lao Ao we’re drinking together."

"A guy like him—mature to the point of being scary—wouldn’t crack that easily. Let’s show him we’re waiting. When he comes back, I’ll let him punch me twice."

"Uh, no. You haven’t seen Lao Ao fight. One against eight? Eight minutes later, only he was standing."

Despite their jokes, they re-added Huang Fei and dragged the perpetually offline Long Aotian into the group.

These days, everyone used WeChat, but they’d kept this QQ group alive for this very reason.

The three spammed the chat with photos of their drinks, tagging Long Aotian relentlessly: "We’re all here—just missing you!"

Emotions poured out as messages piled up, up, up...

Suddenly, Li Longlong froze. "Wait... did Lao Ao just reply?"

Xu Shuai and Huang Fei sobered up instantly.

The three scrolled frantically through the chat log.

"Damn, Huang Fei, you sent way too many!"

"I wanted to make sure he saw it!"

"Look who’s talking—half these drunk selfies are yours!"

Ding—

Their phones chimed in unison, snapping them back to the latest message.

Long Aotian: "Confused? Call me 'Daddy' to clear your heads."

The three exchanged glances.

Then, in perfect sync, they typed: "Daddy."

Long Aotian: "Location."

They looked at each other again, equal parts shocked and amused. They didn’t know why they were laughing—they just were. Maybe it was pure joy...

Thirty minutes later,

a black van pulled up outside the restaurant.

The door slid open.

A simply dressed man stepped out, his face pale with exhaustion.

Behind him emerged three stunning women, their cheeks flushed, their beauty almost surreal.

They stood by his side, radiant as flowers in bloom...