Nothing had prepared Xiao Yi to come face to face with the four idiots from his past.
He had originally thought that he could separate the past from the current and put his feelings behind him, but it seemed that he was wrong.
Chen Qiang and Mu Yichen were the first two to walk into the apartment, unbeknown to Lee and Xiao Qiu who were huddled next to each other with their backs to the door, looking over the footage of the apartment once more, not only focusing on this hallway's footage.
Xiao Yi, however, had noticed them from the get-go and couldn't pretend to be oblivious.
As he took in their features, his heart both pounded against his chest and broke into pieces.
What had he done over the years?
Pretend to betray his friends, so they could have better futures in the esports world without worrying about his family interfering again.
Ignore Chen Qiang's parents in shame.
Ignore their pain, suffering, and heartbreak instead of focusing on how much better their future would be without him…
With all he did, with all he went through, why did each look worse than the last?
Where did the people he grew up with go?
Why…
Why did they look so broken?
Xiao Yi's breath seemed to pause as he looked at Chen Qiang and Mu Yichen, both far too thin with deep dark circles beneath their eyes and skin as pale as snow. Chen Qiang, the designated light for their team, had lost that light, with not a single smile line adorning his face and eyes, which seemed to have seen everything.
Mu Yichen's own charm, the confident smart-ass of their team, had slumped shoulders as if he'd lost all hope.
Li Hao and Tang An weren't much better, neither looking to be the gentle mother of the group or the rowdy dumb ass that got them into so much trouble.
They've lost their individual sparks…
When did this happen?
Why?
Xiao Yi had no answer to his thoughts, and he watched as the men slowly came into the apartment while seemingly searching for him, who had only been able to see them through the small crack in between Lee's and Xiao Qiu's shoulders.
The bat rolled out of his arms and he pushed himself up, his blank expression hiding any feeling he was experiencing as he locked eyes with Chen Qiang.
'Leave.'
'Why are you here?'
Xiao Qiu jumped up, slightly startled by the bang of the bat hitting the floor and followed Xiao Yi's eyes while fixing himself. "I didn't think the police would show -"
His mouth hung open like a flustered fish trying to catch air bubbles in the water, but he swiftly moved into action after regaining his thoughts, moving to stand in front of Xiao Yi who was still sitting. "You dare show your face here?"
Chen Qiang ignored the comment, completely bypassing Xiao Qiu as he walked toward Xiao Yi whilst avoiding the broken furniture on the ground. His eyes flickered with a mixture of joy and grief as he took in his old best friend.
"Hey, stop, what do you think you're doing in someone else's home?"
Xiao Yi followed his movements and when Chen Qiang was close enough, he stated. "You weren't supposed to quit."
Chen Qiang stopped.
He wasn't supposed to quit? Was Xiao Yi supposed to?
"You…"
Li Hao barged through the apartment and swiftly picked Xiao Yi up, shocking everyone present, while asserting. "We're taking him back, we have some things to talk about."
Xiao Qiu objected. "You're not taking him anywhere, what the hell?"
Xiao Qiu looked at Xiao Yi, who had frozen in shock himself, being effortlessly carried like a princess by Li Hao. He shook his head to break out of his thoughts and looked at his brother.
He wanted to know what they had to say after all these years.
He wanted to know what they'd experienced, what they felt…
Also, he wanted to know how Li Hao was strong enough to hold him without breaking a sweat.
He nodded slightly, giving the okay.