In August Dunhuang, the days were still scorching hot, but the nights quietly carried a hint of early autumn coolness.

Sensen was on summer vacation, and Fan Mingsu’s tricycle still appeared in the old streets and alleys of the small city every morning and evening.

Sometimes the person riding would switch to Sensen.

The young man pedaled the tricycle, carrying Grandpa and Grandma Fan, not feeling the weight at all.

He remembered how in the past, when Grandpa carried him, he would always say he was too light and needed to eat well to grow.

In the morning alley, sunlight drew golden threads through the air.

The blue sky, treetops, and eaves all seemed tinged with life’s original brightness and vitality.

But before Sensen’s eyes was only a gray, anxious haze.

Grandpa Guan looked at the sunlight dancing playfully on Fan Mingsu’s hair and suddenly broke into a smile.

“Qingqing.”

His aged voice carried a trace of shy surprise.

Fan Mingsu was startled, then laughed and patted Grandpa Guan’s shoulder.

“Look carefully, I’m Old Fan, not your Qingqing.”

Grandpa Guan stared at Fan Mingsu in confusion for a long while before seeming to wake from a dream.

“It’s Old Fan, not Qingqing…”

He smiled, murmuring to himself.

Back home, Chen Xi had already prepared breakfast.

She steamed an egg custard for Grandpa Guan and fed it to him spoonful by spoonful.

While eating, Sensen casually asked, “Sis, is Big Brother Qin Lie going to the VR facility today?”

Chen Xi’s hand holding the spoon paused, and she said with studied nonchalance, “I don’t know.”

Sensen took a big bite of his steamed bun and mumbled, “What’s Big Brother Qin Lie busy with? He doesn’t go to the VR facility anymore.”

Chen Xi pulled out a tissue and gently wiped the soup from Grandpa Guan’s chin.

She said casually, “Just eat your food, don’t worry about so much.”

Sensen picked up his large bowl and took a sip of egg soup, but his peripheral vision slyly swept over Chen Xi’s face.

He thought Big Brother Qin Lie and Sister Chen Xi were probably having some kind of disagreement.

After breakfast, Chen Xi mounted her motorcycle and was about to leave when her phone suddenly buzzed.

She took out her phone for a look and couldn’t help but pause slightly.

Speaking of the devil.

Qin Lie had sent a video with no other words.

Chen Xi put one foot on the ground, straddling her motorcycle, and clicked on the video Qin Lie had sent.

It was a high-energy video segment from Tunnel version 3.0.

Chen Xi watched the characters she had designed appear one by one in the video and unconsciously smiled softly.

She felt these characters were each more brilliant than the last, so brilliant they hardly seemed like something she had drawn herself.

The more she watched, the more unfamiliar they seemed.

Yet that person’s presence, just from a single message, came flooding back – so familiar it made her feel somewhat dazed.

After watching the video, Chen Xi looked down and sent Qin Lie a message.

“When will 3.0 go online?”

Qin Lie replied instantly: “Still a few months.”

Chen Xi typed, “Busy with this lately?”

Her fingertip paused, then she deleted the line.

Changed it to: “Keep it up.”

She stared at the screen, waiting for a while, but didn’t see Qin Lie’s reply.

So she put away her phone, started her motorcycle, and sped to the shop.

There wasn’t much work in the morning. Near noon, when Chen Xi saw that Qin Zhan still hadn’t come, she asked Liu Boyang, “Where’s Qin Zhan?”

Liu Boyang was bent over checking a car’s engine. Hearing this, he turned to look at Chen Xi.

“I don’t know either. Didn’t he tell you he wasn’t coming this morning?”

Chen Xi shook her head and took out her phone to call Qin Zhan. The signal connected, but no one answered.

Chen Xi suddenly felt a bit worried, so she called Lin Fang.

“Hello, Chen Xi.”

Lin Fang’s voice came through the phone, heavy with nasal congestion, as if she had just been crying.

Chen Xi quickly asked, “What’s wrong, Fangfang?”

On the other end, Lin Fang sniffled lightly, “Nothing.”

Chen Xi was still worried and asked, “Where’s Qin Zhan?”

Lin Fang: “At the hospital.”

Chen Xi’s heart tightened, and she quickly asked, “What happened?”

Lin Fang sighed softly.

She said, “Last night he had a conflict with his family and made his mother so angry her high blood pressure acted up.”

Chen Xi didn’t need to ask what the conflict was about – she already knew.

After hanging up, Chen Xi sighed softly.

Liu Boyang had overheard most of it and looked equally helpless.

Chen Xi left Liu Boyang to watch the shop and rode her motorcycle to the city hospital.

As soon as she entered the cardiovascular inpatient department, she saw Lin Fang leaning against the corridor wall in a daze.

Chen Xi carried a bag of fruit and quickly walked to Lin Fang.

She asked softly, “How is she?”

Lin Fang looked up at Chen Xi, her eyes red.

She smiled bitterly and nodded toward a nearby ward, “She’s inside.”

Chen Xi stepped toward the ward but stopped after just one step, turning back to look at Lin Fang.

She had probably been up all night, her face somewhat pale, standing alone at the ward entrance, looking so lonely.

Looking at her, Chen Xi felt a pang of sadness.

But Lin Fang seemed to understand Chen Xi’s compassion and forced out a carefree smile.

She waved at Chen Xi, “It’s fine, go in. Don’t worry about me.”

Chen Xi looked at Lin Fang, not knowing what to say.

After hesitating a moment, she said softly, “Wait for me.”

She didn’t know what she was asking Lin Fang to wait for.

She just felt that saying this made Lin Fang seem less alone.

Lin Fang smiled at her and nodded gently.

Chen Xi entered the ward and saw Qin Zhan sitting by the bed, dejected like a frost-beaten cabbage.

Qin Zhan’s mother lay on the bed with her eyes closed, one hand firmly gripping Qin Zhan’s arm, her face wearing a sulky expression.

On the other side of the bed sat a middle-aged man who looked like he should be Qin Zhan’s father.

Chen Xi’s footsteps were like a small stone breaking the suffocating stillness of the ward.

Qin Zhan suddenly looked up at Chen Xi, his eyes brightening, then anxiously glanced toward the door.

Chen Xi nodded at him lightly, using her eyes to indicate that Lin Fang was still there.

The expression on Qin Zhan’s face became even more troubled.

Qin Zhan’s mother heard the commotion, opened her eyes to see it was Chen Xi, and quickly smiled in greeting.

“You’re Chen Xi, right?”

Chen Xi placed the fruit on the floor by the bed and nodded, “Yes.”

Qin Zhan’s mother released Qin Zhan and said to him irritably, “What are you standing there for? Get a chair.”

Then she smiled at Chen Xi again.

“Look at you, making a special trip in this heat.”

Chen Xi walked to the bedside and smiled, “You’re too kind, Auntie.”

Qin Zhan’s mother looked delighted, grabbed Chen Xi’s hand, and looked toward Qin Zhan’s father.

“Old Qin, this is Chen Xi, who’s been doing business with Little Zhan.”

“Last time I went to her shop and made a scene, even mistook her for that woman.”

In the time it took to say those two sentences, Qin Zhan had already slipped to the doorway.

Qin Zhan’s mother spotted him immediately and exploded with anger, shouting at him, “Come back here!”

After shouting, she collapsed back onto her pillow and dramatically groaned a few times.

Seeing this, Qin Zhan had no choice but to change direction and bring Chen Xi a chair.

Chen Xi sat down, glanced at the distracted Qin Zhan, then turned to ask Qin Zhan’s mother with concern, “What happened to Auntie?”

Qin Zhan’s mother was eager to pour out her heart’s troubles to the whole world.

She said with a cold laugh, “What else could it be? That troublemaker made me so angry.”

Before Chen Xi could speak, Qin Zhan’s mother asked, “You all know about him and Lin Fang, right?”

Chen Xi nodded.

Qin Zhan’s mother: “You young people are impulsive, and I couldn’t stop him no matter how I tried. Fine, I won’t stop him anymore. If he wants to date that woman, let him. Out of sight, out of mind.”

Chen Xi pressed her lips together, thinking there was nothing wrong with what she said.

But then Qin Zhan’s mother changed her tone and angrily shouted toward the door, “If he wants to mess around, fine. She’s getting old anyway and can’t afford to wait, but our Little Zhan is still young. He can find anyone he wants later.”

Hearing this, Qin Zhan jumped up in agitation, “Mom, how can you talk like that?”

Qin Zhan’s mother immediately retorted, “How can you act so recklessly?”

Qin Zhan: “I’ve told you so many times – I’m not being reckless. I’ve made up my mind about her.”

Qin Zhan’s mother didn’t look at Qin Zhan but instead looked calmly at Chen Xi.

“I’ve already compromised on their relationship.”

“As long as he doesn’t bring this person home, he can mess around outside however he wants. But yesterday he tried to steal the household registration book from home.”

Qin Zhan’s mother shouted at Qin Zhan, “What did you want the household registration book for?”

Qin Zhan: “Do you need to ask? To get married, of course.”

Qin Zhan’s mother: “Wait until I’m dead first.”

Qin Zhan was so angry that the veins on his temples bulged.

“Fine, fine, I’ll just go die instead.”

Qin Zhan’s father couldn’t help but scold, “You bastard, what nonsense are you talking about?”

Qin Zhan waved his hand irritably and strode out of the ward.

Outside the ward, Lin Fang leaned against the wall, looking down at her toes, her eyes already blurred with tears.

Qin Zhan grabbed her hand and headed outside.

Lin Fang stumbled along for two steps, then suddenly stopped and shook off Qin Zhan’s hand.

“Qin Zhan…”

She kept her head down, her voice calm, “Maybe we should…”

Qin Zhan turned around and shouted at Lin Fang, “Shut up!”

Lin Fang’s large eyes filled with tears, like a frightened little animal.

Her lips moved slightly, but she couldn’t say a word.

From the time they met until now, this was the first time Qin Zhan had spoken to her in such a tone. She was completely stunned.

Seeing the bewilderment and fear on Lin Fang’s face, Qin Zhan’s heart felt as if it were being cut by a knife. He quickly pulled Lin Fang into his arms, kissing her forehead repeatedly, saying gently, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I wasn’t yelling at you. Don’t cry.”

Lin Fang buried her face in Qin Zhan’s heaving chest and nodded gently.

Qin Zhan lowered his head and whispered in her ear, “If you dare say the word ‘breakup’ again, I’ll…”

Lin Fang looked up at him, her eyes red, “You’ll what?”

Qin Zhan: “I’ll become a monk.”

Lin Fang burst out laughing, burying her face in his chest, crying and laughing at the same time.

Suddenly, there were footsteps behind them. Lin Fang looked up alertly and saw a familiar figure.

She gently pushed Qin Zhan, and he followed her gaze to see Qin Lie coming with his parents.

“Uncle, Aunt.”

Qin Zhan took Lin Fang’s hand and greeted Qin Lie’s parents.

“Big brother…”

He finally called out to Qin Lie, looking at him hopefully.

All three of them remained silent and walked straight toward the ward.

Qin Lie walked last and nodded at Lin Fang.

Lin Fang smiled at Qin Lie somewhat awkwardly.

Facing Qin Zhan’s family, she always felt an inescapable sense of awkwardness.

But the man standing behind her was like a solid wall, shielding her from wind and rain, and also blocking her retreat.

So again and again, she had no choice but to stand side by side with him.

Whether it was cold stares or harsh words, none of it could match the warmth of an entire world that he gave her.

“Go in.”

She pushed Qin Zhan.

Qin Zhan shook his head, “I’m not going.”

Lin Fang: “Go. The more strained things get, the harder our situation becomes.”

Qin Zhan looked at Lin Fang hesitantly.

Lin Fang smiled at him, “I’m fine. They can’t hurt me.”

Qin Zhan hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded.

He instructed Lin Fang, “It’s almost noon. Go back and eat something, get some sleep.”

Lin Fang smiled and hummed in agreement, watching Qin Zhan enter the ward.

Chen Xi heard footsteps and turned toward the ward entrance, suddenly meeting a pair of calm eyes.

Her heart also began to race unexpectedly.

She noticed that Qin Lie seemed to have just gotten a haircut, the short, hard stubble making his features appear even more defined.

After not seeing him for a while, he seemed even more pleasing to the eye.

Chen Xi looked away and smiled at Qin Zhan’s mother, “Auntie, I’ll head back now. Take care of yourself and don’t get angry anymore.”

After saying goodbye to everyone else in the room, she got up to leave.

Just as she reached the door, she heard Qin Lie’s voice behind her.

“Chen Xi.”

Chen Xi stopped and turned to look at Qin Lie.

“Something wrong?”

She smiled and raised her eyebrows at him.

Qin Lie looked at Chen Xi silently, then, after a moment, said quietly, “Nothing.”

Chen Xi: “Then I’ll go first.”

Qin Lie hummed in acknowledgment and watched Chen Xi leave the ward in silence.