When Xu Zhinan was 16, she experienced a fire.

That day, she was home alone as her mother had gone grocery shopping. After finishing her homework, she went to her bedroom for a nap.

In her dream, she heard her father’s voice, hoarse and desperate, accompanied by coughing, repeatedly calling her name.

Xu Zhinan opened her eyes from the dream and realized that everything around her was hot, a heat completely beyond normal temperature, as if she were inside an oven.

“Dad!” she called out.

Xu Zhinan got out of bed. The floor was also scalding hot, so she hurriedly put on her slippers and ran toward the bedroom door.

“Don’t open the door, Ah Nan!” Xu Yuanwen shouted.

At the same time, Xu Zhinan touched the doorknob but quickly withdrew her hand from the burn, unable to grip it at all.

“What’s happening, Dad?”

“There’s a fire outside.” Xu Yuanwen’s voice seemed to come and go. “Don’t be afraid, Ah Nan. Dad will be there right away. Just wait one more minute.”

Xu Zhinan followed what she had learned at school. She tore off the bedsheet and soaked it in water.

Outside, crackling sounds continued as if the fire was breaking things, chaotic and irregular, like objects constantly falling.

Xu Yuanwen, worried she might be scared, kept calling her name from outside to comfort her. He finally broke through layers of fire to reach Xu Zhinan’s bedroom door.

He turned the handle while simultaneously pulling the wet cloth he had draped over himself to cover Xu Zhinan’s head.

As flames rushed in, Xu Yuanwen held her tightly in his arms. Xu Zhinan also had the freshly soaked bedsheet, which kept the engulfing flames at bay.

Xu Yuanwen protected Xu Zhinan closely and finally managed to bring her out through the layers of fire.

But they had spent too long inside, and Xu Zhinan had inhaled too much hot smoke. As soon as they got out, she became weak from oxygen deprivation and fainted.

Xu’s mother had just returned at this time. On her way back after shopping, she heard neighbors shouting that her house was on fire. She rushed back anxiously, fortunately seeing her husband carrying their daughter out.

She took Xu Zhinan from Xu Yuanwen’s arms and asked anxiously, “What happened?”

“She should be fine. Let Ah Nan lie down first. I’ll get some water.”

A neighbor quickly brought a bowl of water from home. “Hurry, hurry! I’ve already called the fire department and ambulance. Don’t worry, everything will be fine.”

Xu’s mother gave Xu Zhinan some water. Not long after, someone shouted, “Oh no! The fire has spread!”

The living room window hadn’t been closed, and the curtains caught fire, drifting into another household not far across. The fire gradually spread.

“Old Mrs. Chen should be home alone now. At this time, she might be taking a nap! What should we do? Oh my, why hasn’t the fire truck arrived yet?”

Xu Yuanwen wiped his dirty face and, without a second thought, immediately rushed into that household.

When Xu Zhinan woke up again, she was in the hospital. Her mother sat beside her bed, both eyes swollen red from crying.

Soon after, Fang Houyu entered, his eyes also rimmed with red. He stood by her bed and asked gently, “Ah Nan, do you have any thoughts about who might have deliberately set this fire? Have you encountered any strange people or events recently?”

Xu Zhinan was startled. “Deliberate arson?”

“Yes, it’s been confirmed as intentional.”

Xu Zhinan had just woken up, her thoughts unclear, but no matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t think of any clues, so she shook her head.

Fang Houyu sighed softly. “Alright, you rest for now.”

“Uncle Fang, why didn’t my dad come with you?”

Fang Houyu paused, exchanging a glance with Xu’s mother, who had already covered her mouth and begun crying again. She didn’t want to be like this in front of Xu Zhinan, but simply couldn’t hold back.

“Ah Nan,” Fang Houyu began carefully.

Xu Zhinan suddenly felt a very bad premonition.

Then, Fang Houyu told her slowly that her father had passed away.

She had only fainted for a moment from smoke inhalation, but in that brief time, she woke to learn that she would never have a father again.

Xu Yuanwen died while trying to rescue Old Mrs. Chen, but not because of saving her.

Old Mrs. Chen wasn’t even at home that day; she had gone to the local senior activity center to play mahjong.

But when Xu Yuanwen was found, he hadn’t died from the fire. He had been stabbed in the abdomen with a knife—he was murdered.

After a thorough search for traces of the killer, the police only found from a damaged surveillance camera that the killer had a tattoo made of flames and a snake on their arm.

This matched the known characteristics of the kidnapping case perpetrator that Xu Yuanwen had been investigating.

At the time, Xu Yuanwen had made some progress in his investigation. This was a revenge killing.

Xu Zhinan had never told this story to anyone before.

It wasn’t because she was unwilling to tell it, but because she simply couldn’t retell this past story completely. She couldn’t even think about it in detail without crying.

Just like now, after telling this story to Lin Qingye, she was already in tears, crying uncontrollably.

Lin Qingye had never seen Xu Zhinan cry like this before.

Most of the time, in his eyes, Xu Zhinan was like a little sun, the embodiment of all positive attributes—warm, kind, earnest, attentive, gentle, and wonderful. He always saw her smiling.

This was the first time he had seen her cry like this.

The young girl cried so hard her shoulders trembled, broken and helpless.

For the first time, Lin Qingye felt powerless.

In this moment, besides watching Xu Zhinan cry, there was nothing useful he could do.

And yet he had hurt someone like Xu Zhinan before.

Lin Qingye clenched his jaw, silently watching her, and then reopened his arms, embracing her again.

“Ah Nan,” he stroked her hair. “It’s okay.”

Xu Zhinan might not have heard him, as she continued crying.

Lin Qingye simply let her cry.

His clothes were soaked with her tears. Xu Zhinan finally emerged from her emotions and pulled away from his embrace. Seeing the large wet spot on his clothes from her tears, she suddenly felt embarrassed.

“Let me wash it for you,” she said, her voice still thick with unresolved grief.

“It’s fine,” Lin Qingye said, lowering his head to look at her eyes. “Done crying?”

“…Mm.”

Lin Qingye took a tissue and wiped her face clean, then threw it in the trash.

“I’ll go wash my face,” Xu Zhinan got up and went to the bathroom.

Seeing her condition, he knew she hadn’t eaten dinner. Lin Qingye ordered takeout.

It arrived shortly after. There were no customers in the tattoo shop tonight, so they ate dinner together.

Xu Zhinan’s mood had stabilized, but her eyes were still red from crying and wouldn’t fade for a while. She looked like a rabbit.

Lin Qingye was worried about her, but he had some musical equipment at his studio that he needed to get.

Fortunately, it wasn’t far, just a few steps away.

Lin Qingye put his mask and hat back on, returned to his studio briefly, and when he came back, he found Xu Zhinan asleep at the table, probably exhausted from crying earlier.

He smiled, standing at the table watching her for a while.

A strand of hair had fallen across her face. Lin Qingye reached out to tuck it behind her ear, but suddenly felt her skin was burning hot and dry.

He paused, then raised his hand to her forehead, which was equally hot.

He wondered if she had suddenly developed a fever after hearing the news related to her father’s murder.

“Ah Nan,” he said softly.

Xu Zhinan rubbed her face against her arm, her eyes still closed.

“You have a fever. I’m taking you to the hospital.”

She still didn’t respond, as if his voice had disturbed her peaceful dream; her brow even furrowed slightly.

Lin Qingye looked around, took her coat from the rack, wrapped it around her securely, zipped it up, and then lifted her, cradling her knees.

Since winning “I Come for Music,” his popularity had risen again, making it impractical to go to a crowded public hospital. He took Xu Zhinan directly to a private clinic where he knew someone.

“38.1 degrees,” the doctor glanced at the thermometer, then at Xu Zhinan. “This temperature isn’t that high, but why does she look so uncomfortable? Seeing her when you came in, I thought she was already delirious with fever.”

Lin Qingye said, “Just give her an injection first.”

The doctor settled Xu Zhinan in a private room, hooked up an IV, and turned to Lin Qingye. “You don’t visit for hundreds of years. I thought now that you’ve become a big star, you’d visit even less. Who’s this girl? She must have some power to bring you here.”

Lin Qingye didn’t answer his teasing questions. “When will she wake up?”

“Let her sleep. The examination showed no other problems. This is the first time I’ve seen someone faint from a 38-degree fever. She’s too delicate. You’ll have your work cut out for you in the future.”

“Alright, let her sleep. You can go now.”

“Hey—”

Lin Qingye pushed him to the door and promptly closed the room door.

Without the chatter, the room became quiet again. Moonlight streamed in through the gap in the curtains.

Lin Qingye sat by the bed, silently watching Xu Zhinan’s sleeping face, his brow slightly furrowed in thought.

When Xu Zhinan woke again, the room was dark with no lights on.

Looking to the side, she saw Lin Qingye had fallen asleep while sitting, moonlight casting a shadow across his face, cutting across his high bridge of nose, his features refined and handsome.

Xu Zhinan was still disoriented, staring at him for a long time, then noticed the needle mark on the back of her hand as awareness slowly returned.

She sluggishly sat up in bed, wanting to use the bathroom.

Lin Qingye was a light sleeper and opened his eyes at the slightest movement.

“Awake?” His voice carried the huskiness of someone just waking up.

“Mm.” Xu Zhinan asked, “What happened to me?”

“You had a fever, 38.1 degrees. No other problems. This is my friend’s private clinic. Just rest easy.”

Because of the fever, Xu Zhinan’s neck was also damp with sweat. She raised her hand to wipe it and swung her legs off the bed.

“Where are you going?”

“Bathroom.”

Lin Qingye stood up, picking up the IV bag.

Xu Zhinan stood in front of him, not moving her feet, just staring at him fixedly.

“What’s wrong?”

“Are you going to follow me into the bathroom?”

Lin Qingye paused, finally realizing it was indeed inappropriate. He was still groggy from sleep.

After a moment of staring at each other, he said, “I’ll take it in for you, then turn my back.”

“…”

Even if he couldn’t see, it still wouldn’t work.

Using the bathroom with Lin Qingye nearby was too strange.

“No,” Xu Zhinan frowned.

“Let me take it in for you first.”

Lin Qingye went into the bathroom with her, placed the IV bag in a gap on a nearby rack, secured it, and said, “Call me when you’re done.”

“Mm.”

Coming out of the bathroom, Xu Zhinan lay back on the bed. Having sweated, her body felt uncomfortable, and she couldn’t fall back asleep.

Lin Qingye didn’t sleep either. He had originally thought Xu Zhinan would sleep until dawn and had planned to make do for the night here. Now that she was awake, they left half an hour later after finishing the IV.

It was very late, and there wasn’t even a single car on the road.

Yan City rarely looked this deserted.

Lin Qingye checked the time. “Back to the dorm or home?”

At this hour, going back to the dorm would surely wake up Zhao Qian and the others.

But if she went home, Xu Zhinan didn’t know how to explain everything that had happened to her mother, especially since she had never come home this late before.

Seeing her hesitation, Lin Qingye added, “Or we could go to my place.”

Xu Zhinan still shook her head.

After shaking her head, she felt that constantly refusing wasn’t good, so she added, “I don’t know where to go.”

“Is your head still dizzy?” Lin Qingye asked.

“Not anymore.” She touched her forehead. “The fever has probably gone down.”

Lin Qingye also touched her forehead, confirming it wasn’t hot anymore. He bent down, looking her in the eyes, and said, “Then how about I take you somewhere fun?”

“What place is open for fun this late?”

Lin Qingye laughed softly. “Anywhere you want to go.”

Shi Si was woken up in the middle of his sleep by Lin Qingye’s call.

Lin Qingye parked the car outside an old apartment building. Shi Si stood outside in his pajamas as Lin Qingye got out and walked over.

“Captain, why do you want to go there so late?” Shi Si asked with a yawn, pulling a key ring from his pocket and handing it over.

“Something came up.”

Shi Si yawned so hard his eyes watered, catching a glimpse of Xu Zhinan in Lin Qingye’s car.

Now that Lin Qingye was easily recognized on the streets, was he planning a middle-of-the-night date instead of sleeping?

These two were something, going to such lengths for a date!

Shi Si immediately stood at attention with newfound respect. “Alright, go ahead then.”

Lin Qingye got back in the car. After driving a short distance, they arrived at an old plaza that had been around for years—Times Square.

There was nothing on the first floor. The stairs led directly to a large hotpot restaurant on the second floor, with an arcade next to it. The third floor was a movie theater.

This was one of Yan City’s earliest entertainment venues. Now that the city center had developed, this place had declined considerably.

“Why are we here?” Xu Zhinan asked as she got out of the car.

“There’s an arcade here.”

Lin Qingye was tall with long legs. He took two steps at a time up to the second-floor arcade, unlocked the door with his key, and turned on the lights.

The plaza was completely silent, and so was the arcade. As the power came on, various game machines made a “beep” sound as they started up, lighting the place with red and green lights.

“This is Shi Si’s family’s store. He’s managing it recently,” Lin Qingye explained. “What do you want to play?”

When Xu Zhinan was young, there was an arcade like this near her home. When her father wasn’t working, he would take her to play, so she had been to such places a few times.

She looked around and pointed at the basketball machine.

Lin Qingye went to buy tokens from the machine. In the quiet night, the crisp sound of tokens colliding was clear and abrupt. He bought a large box of tokens.

“That’s too many,” Xu Zhinan said.

Lin Qingye shrugged. “We’ll save the rest then.”

He stood in front of the basketball machine, inserted two tokens, and the board opened up, releasing several basketballs. At the same time, the red numbers on the machine began counting down.

Xu Zhinan hadn’t played in a long time. She had never been good at it, mostly relying on her father’s help to get through a couple of levels.

Sure enough, after two rounds, she couldn’t even get past the first level.

Lin Qingye leaned against the side, watching her play, chuckling softly as he bent down again to insert more tokens.

“I don’t want to play anymore,” Xu Zhinan puffed out her cheeks, losing interest. “You play.”

The two tokens had already been inserted. Hearing her, Lin Qingye didn’t refuse. He walked to the machine and pressed the start button.

His basketball shooting form was very attractive.

He stood at 188 cm tall, with blue hair dyed before his final live broadcast.

His arm muscles had smooth lines, his chin slightly raised. When throwing the basketball, his wrist pressed down slightly. Every shot was precise.

Behind him was the empty arcade. This arcade had been around for years, and so had its equipment. A fan rotated slowly on the ceiling.

It was like a scene from a manga.

He broke the previous record in one go. The numbers on the small screen of the basketball machine kept jumping, accompanied by cheerful, lively music.

This was the first time Xu Zhinan realized there was such music for breaking a record.

After breaking the record, Lin Qingye slowed down. With three seconds left on the clock and one basketball in hand, he bounced it once, lazily raised his arm, and pressed his wrist.

A buzzer-beater shot as the countdown ended.

Xu Zhinan was stunned. “How come I’ve never seen you play basketball before?”

She had no idea he was so good at basketball.

“I played in high school, but not in college. Too many people.” He didn’t like being surrounded by spectators and thought it was too noisy, mostly girls. “I occasionally go to the basketball court with Guan Chi and others, but not often.”

He wasn’t particularly passionate about basketball, but during team selections, everyone wanted him as a teammate.

“Want to keep playing?”

Looking at the new high score record he had set, Xu Zhinan felt that continuing to play would only be embarrassing herself. She had lost interest and looked at the arcade machines nearby.

Having slept a bit at the hospital and just finished her IV, she was surprisingly energetic, not dizzy or sleepy.

She and Lin Qingye played most of the games in the arcade.

Despite her natural lack of gaming skills, playing with Lin Qingye was like being completely dominated; even when he was holding back, Xu Zhinan still couldn’t win.

After playing around, they still had about twenty tokens left.

He had bought way too many earlier.

“Let’s try the claw machine,” Xu Zhinan suggested.

Each claw machine contained different toys. Xu Zhinan walked around and finally settled on one filled with pumpkin toys.

The pumpkins looked like those commonly seen during Halloween, with various expressions.

She wasn’t good at competitive games, but she did know some tricks for claw machines.

She had played with Zhao Qian before, and Zhao Qian was shocked by her skill. Now the row of small plush toys on her dorm bed was all won by Xu Zhinan back then.

Lin Qingye had thought Xu Zhinan was clueless about all games, but after watching for a while, he discovered she caught one every time, almost with 100% accuracy.

The young girl concentrated seriously, bending over to control the claw, the corners of her eyes still showing a hint of red from her earlier tears, her whole being particularly gentle.

With the remaining tokens, Xu Zhinan caught 10 pumpkins.

Even the toys in the claw machine visibly decreased by a layer.

Xu Zhinan then realized something was wrong. This arcade belonged to Shi Si’s family! She had taken so many toys with just a few tokens, which didn’t seem right.

She tilted her head back, looking to see if there was a way to put the pumpkins back.

“What’s wrong?”

Xu Zhinan pointed at the keyhole on top of the claw machine. “Do you have the key to this?”

“No.”

“I’ve taken too many. I want to put them back, or maybe leave them at the counter.”

Lin Qingye laughed. “No need. Why put back what you’ve won? No need to save him money.”

“But there are too many. I can’t even carry them all,” Xu Zhinan looked at the ten pumpkin toys scattered beside her.

“I’ll carry them.”

As he spoke, he bent down. Each toy had a string loop at the top. He threaded his fingers through each one, five in each hand, and lifted them.

Lin Qingye had a fierce face, yet here he was carrying ten plush toys. It looked quite funny.

Xu Zhinan laughed at the sight.

Lin Qingye had been frightened by her crying earlier, so hearing her laugh finally put him at ease. “Shall we go?”

“Mm.”

The arcade had no windows, only lights. When they went outside, they discovered it was already dawn. She had spent the whole night with Lin Qingye in the arcade.

Her first all-nighter.

Xu Zhinan’s mood had recovered from the previous night.

Last night she had been dizzy and feverish, her mind foggy, with the tattoo image floating in her mind and before her eyes.

Times Square’s path to the first floor faced east, and looking out, there was a stretch of grassland.

Recently, daylight came early. The sun was “stirring,” about to rise, casting a warm glow torn between darkness and light.

The road was quiet without pedestrians, only occasional bird calls.

“Ah Nan,” Lin Qingye called to her.

Xu Zhinan turned back. He stood two steps above her, looking at her tenderly.

Xu Zhinan’s heart settled a few degrees more, everything around her becoming blurred as she looked at Lin Qingye before her.

“Ah Nan,” he called her name again.

Xu Zhinan responded softly, “Mm.”

“Last night when I saw you crying, I was at a loss. Never in my life have I felt as helpless as I did yesterday. I didn’t know how to comfort you or what I could do for you in this situation.”

His voice was quiet and steady, like a gentle spring breeze floating to Xu Zhinan’s ears.

“I know that in the current situation, it’s difficult for you to reconsider our relationship. But I still want to say something to you as your pursuer.”

“I’ve already won the championship and am now preparing my new album. I’ll work hard to finish it quickly and become strong enough to protect you, so you won’t be hurt again.”

“No matter how this matter ends, I will stay by your side. I’ll accompany you through this journey, and in the future, I won’t let you suffer even a bit.”

“Trust me,” he stepped down one stair, standing just one step higher than her. He looked at her and smiled somewhat arrogantly. “I am Lin Qingye, after all.”

I am Lin Qingye, after all.

Xu Zhinan’s heart trembled.

Previously, she had thought countless times, he is Lin Qingye, after all.

She had once looked up to Lin Qingye, only to later learn of the trauma and inferiority in his heart.

His self-esteem had been repeatedly crushed and rebuilt. Now, finally, it was his turn to arrogantly tell her in person, I am Lin Qingye, after all.

The rising sun leaped out, pouring warm yellow light all around.

For many years to come, Xu Zhinan would forever remember this scene.

The flamboyant blue-haired youth, with dark gentle eyes, holding ten toys that didn’t match his style, the sunrise glow falling on his face—a radiant light, yet filled with boundless tenderness.