Hello,

I've been friends with a man by the name of DN for about eight years ago. And for a while, we went our separate ways, but he reached out to me on social media about two years ago, and we've been talking ever since. But after having a fun discussion with him last Tuesday, he's sort of fell off the earth and I haven't heard from him in days.

Part of me thinks it's the new responsibilities he's taken on at work, but my intuition gives me the impression that he's "playing games."

I'm not sure, so I asked Yi: "Why has DN stopped communicating with me?" I got 15.4.5 >31

With these changing lines, I am getting the impression that he's shrinking back perhaps? I'm not sure! Any help would be appreciated

Why has DN stopped communicating with me? 15.4.5 > 31

15.4 is definitely a line which shows a person occupied with their work/duties. I've seen this line time and time again referring to 'going about one's own business'. So that could definitely refer to extra responsibilities at work. However... there's a certain self-centeredness about this line. I mean, it's impossible for someone to be so busy that they can't even drop a friendly line to say "hi, sorry I'm drowning in chores".

15. 5 could be taken in a few different ways. Do you and this guy live in the same town/city? The line says that he feels there's nobody in his immediate surroundings who would profit him, so he actively and forcefully expedites towards new territories. This certainly doesn't sound like his work environment (except if he's been made redundant or something, and looking for a new position).

Resulting 31, hmm... he's wooing someone? Someone who doesn't live near him? (15:5) If you two live far from each other, a possibility could be that he's thinking of a way to come and see you. Although, after two years of chatting and nothing else happening, I'd find it hard to believe that he got this sudden urge. Unfortunately it sounds to me that this guy might be off wooing someone else :-/

I see hexagram 15 as being about keeping things neither too hot nor too cold. Perhaps after your particularly fun discussion with him last week the energies now lie dormant for awhile and will resurface when the feeling between you has calmed down and you're back to your normal friendly chit-chat mode.
Hexagram 31. is an image of a mountain with a lake at it's summit. "Mountains" symbolize limits, "lakes" symbolize small openings. So this hexagram also suggests that your friendship is pleasant but there are limits.
Perhaps he didn't feel to build on the lively exchange you had last week, so he's taking a break and letting things settle back to normal. (This is not to imply he is consciously doing this - he may feel he's terribly busy or just uninspired but the energetic reason behind this is that the connection between the two of you only happens in the friendly-neutral zone, so you don't hear from him until you're on that wave length again)
Please let us know!