After getting off the bus, Ruan Yu followed Teng Yi into the Hua Fu residential complex. They walked one behind the other without conversing. When they reached the villa’s entrance, Ruan Yu heard that familiar piano melody again, drifting from some unknown direction, sometimes near, sometimes far.

As she looked around trying to locate the source, Teng Yi suddenly stopped in front of her. Ruan Yu couldn’t brake in time and bumped into his back with a “thump.” Her nose brushed against his jacket, and the faint soap fragrance from his clothes overwhelmed her senses.

She quickly stepped back.

Teng Yi turned around to find her rubbing her forehead.

“Did that hurt?” he asked.

Ruan Yu shook her head, though inwardly wondering how his body could be so solid.

His gaze shifted from her to the jasmine plant by the door: “It’s blooming.”

The soft comment was almost drowned out by the piano music.

After speaking, Teng Yi went inside.

Ruan Yu remained standing there, looking at the emerald new leaves sprouting from the jasmine branches and that delicate white flower. She took out her water bottle from her bag and crouched down to water the plant.

For the past two weeks, her first task every day upon arriving was to water these once-withered branches. Watching it slowly reclaim signs of life gave her a sense of achievement. Of course, what made her even happier was that Teng Yi had noticed the first white flower that bloomed today.

She reached out a finger and gently touched the small flower.

Keep going, she said to it in her heart.

When Ruan Yu entered the house, Teng Yi was no longer in the living room.

She closed the door and went upstairs.

Teng Hao’s door was slightly ajar, and it opened with Ruan Yu’s light knock.

She walked in to find Teng Hao sitting on the bed, fiddling with a gift bag. Upon seeing her enter, he hurriedly hid the bag under his bedding.

“What are you looking at?” Teng Hao said irritably.

“What are you hiding?” Ruan Yu sat down at the desk after pulling out the chair. “I saw it already, it must be a gift for a girl.”

“How is that any of your business?”

Teng Hao got off the bed with a red face, anxiously tucking the bedding in again.

This was the first time Ruan Yu had seen Teng Hao like this, and she couldn’t help teasing him further: “You’re not having puppy love, are you?”

“Don’t talk nonsense,” he grew angry from embarrassment. “Keep talking like that, and I’ll get my mom to fire you.”

“On what grounds? Because I discovered your puppy love?”

“Shut up!” Teng Hao raised his voice, aggressively approaching her. “Since when does giving a gift equal puppy love? Look at you, obviously never been in love before.”

Ruan Yu’s attempt at teasing backfired, exposing her secret. She fell silent.

Seeing her quietness, Teng Hao knew he had guessed correctly. He felt triumphant at this reversal, his expression changing from flustered to smug.

“Haha, so you have never been in love? How come? You’re in university now, don’t you even have someone you like?”

Ruan Yu’s thoughts wavered for a moment.

Before she could answer, Teng Hao suddenly called out “Brother.”

Ruan Yu looked up to see Teng Yi standing in the doorway, though she wasn’t sure when he had appeared. He had changed his clothes – a black T-shirt, black pants, and even his slippers were black.

Looking at him like this, he seemed much leaner.

Ruan Yu’s gaze met Teng Yi’s, and she quickly looked away, feeling inexplicably guilty.

She wondered if Teng Yi had heard their previous conversation.