When Huan’er awoke the next day at noon, she looked at the person still sleeping beside her, feeling a sudden tenderness in her heart. In the deep night that had just passed, they had completed a transformation ritual together. The position was perfect, the rhythm was perfect, the sensation was perfect—everything couldn’t have been better.

Feeling thirsty, she put on clothes and walked barefoot to get water from the refrigerator. While drinking and returning to bed, as she lifted the covers, she noticed a red stain on the white T-shirt beneath. The bloodstain had already dried, a tiny spot that surely wouldn’t wash out. It was a mark of farewell.

Jing Qichi awoke at some point and lay in bed, pulling her hand without speaking, as if knowing her thoughts. Huan’er shifted her gaze away and put down the water bottle, burrowing back into his embrace. “How about I compensate you for the shirt? Can’t just take advantage.”

The young man laughed, pinching her cheek as he lectured, “You think my services are worth just a shirt?”

Huan’er giggled, “Free market—competition is fierce.”

“Competing for positions, huh?” Jing Qichi used some strength to place her on top of himself, his gaze bright and alert. “Should I demonstrate my skills now?”

Huan’er felt the man’s morning physiological response and immediately surrendered, “No need, no need. From now on I’ll only call your number.”

He quickly kissed her mouth, but feeling it wasn’t enough, his fingers threaded through her long hair as his tongue explored deeper.

“Hey!” Huan’er struggled down from atop him, wrapping herself in the blanket like a caterpillar.

Jing Qichi’s phone rang. He answered it, holding the phone between his ear and shoulder while getting dressed and responding, “Yeah, what a coincidence, Huan’er and I just ran into a big group of senior brothers right when we went in.”

Seeing Huan’er look over, he mouthed the caller’s name—Da Lin.

“Me? I’m going back on the 4th,” Jing Qichi said, his eyes suddenly lighting up. “Xiao Tao is back too?”

Huan’er moved a little closer to hear the voice on the other end: “Yeah, both Xiao Tao and Chen Feng are here. Come over this afternoon—it’s nice weather today, and it’s rare to have so many people together.”

Jing Qichi pressed his lips together but still told him, “Never mind, you guys play.”

Da Lin, Xiao Tao, and Chen Feng—were all former main players from the Computer Science Department team. It was obvious what these people were organizing.

“Don’t be like that,” Da Lin wouldn’t give up. “Well then, give me Huan’er’s number, and I’ll ask for leave on your behalf. I have to see just how unreasonable this Chen Huan’er of yours is.”

Jing Qichi put on an innocent face as he turned on speakerphone, firmly taking the stance of selling out his brother: “He said that not me.”

Da Lin, still clueless, continued on the other end, “Just send me Huan’er’s number now. Look, I’ll have Xiao Tao make the call, saying that your buddy got in a car accident and is at the university hospital—I can sort this out for you in a minute.”

Oh? Do they even have strategies planned out?

Huan’er secretly formulated a plan, pretending to ask casually, “Who got in a car accident?”

Jing Qichi held back his laughter and played along, “Oh, Da Lin.”

“The university hospital, right?” Huan’er deliberately spoke toward the phone, “You don’t need to go—you’ll just be in the way. I’ll go, it’s convenient since I have a senior sister to contact there.”

On the other end, Da Lin heard everything clearly and suddenly realized that the university hospital was indeed the home base of the medical school students.

He’d run straight into the trap.

Still unaware that he’d been outmaneuvered, he genuinely worried that Chen Huan’er would show up alone and drag some senior sister around the hospital looking for the injured Mr. Lin, which would make him a troublemaker disrupting social order and wasting public resources.

“Qichi, stop her quick!” Da Lin panicked, “Tell her I’m fine, just minor injuries…” Halfway through his words, he realized something. “Wait, you two are together?”

“Yes,” Jing Qichi couldn’t handle it anymore and told the truth, “Lin, I’ve got you on speakerphone…”

“You little punk!” Da Lin jumped in anger.

Huan’er grabbed the phone, her words full of classmate concern and care, “Where were you injured in the accident? What did the doctor say? Do you need amputation?”

“A joke, just a fun little joke,” Da Lin fawned ingratiatingly. “How have you been? Haven’t seen you in ages, let’s have a meal together sometime.”

Huan’er retorted, “No thanks, after all, I’m not very reasonable.”

“Come on, don’t be like that.” Da Lin still had soccer on his mind and quickly made his request: “Huan’er, Qichi only stays for a day or two each time he comes, he wants to be with you, and we feel bad asking him to join us. This short holiday, be generous and let him have half a day of freedom. After the game, we’ll return him to you with arms and legs intact.”

Huan’er was helpless—she had never stopped him in the first place.

“This guy won’t come out because he’s afraid you’ll be unhappy.” Da Lin suggested, “Why don’t you come too? Xiao Tao rarely comes home, I’ll treat everyone to dinner in the evening, and afterward, we can go get some barbecue skewers.”

Huan’er stood at the bathroom door watching the person in question. This guy’s face-washing technique was truly rough and simple, water splashing directly onto the makeup mirror, the area around the sink all wet. Back then, Mama Jing would always complain about how he treated washing up like going to war, and that careless nature hadn’t changed a bit.

“Someone bring him a pair of shoes,” Huan’er said.

“No problem!” Da Lin agreed immediately, “Qichi should be the same size as me…”

Huan’er answered, “Size 43.”

“Alright, I’ll bring them!” Da Lin was overjoyed, “Sister-in-law… or should I say little sister-in-law, never mind, we’ll drink tonight.”

After hanging up, Huan’er walked to the sink and opened a toothbrush package, squeezing toothpaste while saying, “You should change into shorts.”

Jing Qichi finished wiping his face and stood beside her, “Is it very hot today?” Seeing his phone next to him, he asked with a smile, “Finished checking on the patient?”

“I’ll go with you later,” Huan’er said with a mouth full of foam. “Can’t always let others claim the job of bringing water to the sidelines.”

Jing Qichi understood immediately.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to accept Da Lin’s invitation, but their time together was too precious, and he wanted it all, wanting to give every minute and second to her alone.

Huan’er gurgled and spat out water, meeting his gaze in the mirror, “Haven’t watched you play soccer in a long time, I’ll check if your skills have deteriorated.”

“How could they?” Jing Qichi embraced her waist from behind, “I’m AKA the field dominator.”

They were both trying to understand each other and though the methods might be a bit clumsy and not particularly groundbreaking, trying is indeed the starting point of all beginnings.

Try doing it that way—only by trying can you know what’s good or bad, right or wrong.

“Show-off,” Huan’er laughed and broke free, “I need to shower, go change your pants.”

Jing Qichi teased her, “You’re asking me to take off my pants while you shower, have you booked a room at reception?”

Huan’er’s face suddenly burned red as she pushed and shoved him out the door, “Jing Qichi, you’re such a dog!”

The young man closed the door with a laugh, then suddenly shouted, “Oh no, I don’t have shoes!”

“Da Lin will bring you some,” Huan’er responded loudly from inside.

The door was pushed open again, and Jing Qichi crept to her side with one hand covering his eyes, quickly kissing her cheek before hastily retreating, “I didn’t see anything.”

Cute—before this, Chen Huan’er never knew a man could be cute to this degree.

Corgi, Akita, Chihuahua, Samoyed—he was cuter than dogs!

What started as just a casual game without referees drew more and more spectators. Huan’er learned the reason from the surrounding discussions—someone had posted on Weibo that Little Jing from the Computer Science Department was back on campus, with the location tagged as the sports field. Students—mainly female students—rushed over to see the true face of the graduated senior.

“Haven’t you seen the promotional video posted by the official Huandao account? It’s trending.”

“That number nine—he’s even more handsome than in the video.”

“The senior has a girlfriend, confirmed by himself. Heard she’s from our school too.”

Hearing the voices nearby, Huan’er unconsciously puffed up her chest, but except for herself, no one noticed this small gesture full of pride and vanity.

Yes, as the protagonist’s girlfriend, at this moment she was indeed feeling a bit elated.

Jing Qichi ran with the ball past half field, dribbling past three players before taking a shot that hit the crossbar. The round soccer ball bounced out of bounds, and the protagonist shook his head in frustration.

“It’s okay, there’s still a corner kick!” Huan’er shouted toward the field.

He looked over, waving only at her.

Chen Huan’er, standing on the sidelines, suddenly became the focus of attention. She didn’t need to hear to know the topic of the surrounding whispers.

Because she had transformed from a soccer ignoramus into a thorough soccer fan, why not show off some peculiar knowledge during this occasion?

Of course, she had to declare her territory.

There was no need to announce dramatically that she was his girlfriend; the clever way was to use their tacit understanding to ward off intentional or unintentional attempts—we only have eyes for each other, so don’t even think about it.

Xiao Tao, exhausted, left the field early. Huan’er passed him a bottle of water as he sat down beside her.

A teammate threw in from the sideline, Da Lin exchanged a few passes before sending a high ball forward. Jing Qichi retreated while judging the landing point, not waiting for the ball to touch the ground before executing a volley shot. The soccer ball broke through the goalkeeper’s defense with brute force.

“Great shot!” Xiao Tao shouted.

The crowd on the sidelines also let out exclamations of surprise. Some male students couldn’t help but cup their hands like megaphones to offer praise: “Awesome!”

After the excitement died down a bit, Xiao Tao couldn’t contain his curiosity and asked Huan’er, “Why didn’t Qichi go professional?”

“He never told you?”

Xiao Tao shook his head, “Right when we started school, everyone could tell. He only said he used to be a soccer sports student. Later when the school team specifically recruited him and made him a starter every game—when had the Physical Education Department ever respected other departments?—we asked him, but he just said his skills weren’t good enough. But everyone knows whether skills are good enough or not.”

That professional dream remained a hole in young Jing Qichi’s heart, and everything it brought along made this hole so deep that the bottom couldn’t be seen. Huan’er knew he had been trying to fill it—with endless time, with an increasingly stronger self, with the slight peace of mind earned through dedication and giving. That was Jing Qichi’s self-reconciliation that he couldn’t explain to anyone.

Huan’er smiled at Xiao Tao, “He’s doing very well now too.”

“That’s true.” Xiao Tao, who worked at another well-known company in the industry, also smiled. “This guy has become Huandao’s face now. My boss says for campus recruitment this year, we need to send our company’s most presentable people to even have a chance of competing.”

Huan’er was proud, “Like an egg hitting a stone—don’t even think about it.”

“Qichi won’t be moved for now, he has unlimited potential staying in the AI Lab.” Xiao Tao looked at her, “You should head north quickly after graduation too. He’s been waiting eagerly, like counting stars and moons.”

Huan’er’s heart tightened.

He had his ideals, and she had her persistence, with a very long distance between the two.

It was a real physical distance—one thousand one hundred kilometers.