For Yu Shixuan, registering the company anywhere would be the same. Her desire to operate here was purely because of me.

But I still refused. Perhaps when the project officially started, I could bring Mr. Wang’s company in as a subcontractor—after all, it was a major local project.

But entrepreneurship—I’d never even considered it in my entire life.

Too troublesome.

I’d need to buy business premises, buy equipment, hire employees, provide them with social insurance and housing funds, and oh right, there was also accounting… just thinking about it gave me a headache.

The key point was, once I lost money, it would all be gone.

All these years of work would be completely wasted.

Yu Shixuan didn’t say anything, reverting to her icy poker face. She still needed to meet with the president of Nanbei University, so she temporarily stayed at my place.

My grandmother found her quite disagreeable—a princess who was constantly cold and did no work whatsoever didn’t meet the old lady’s approval. Plus, she kept muttering in my ear: “How are you supposed to find a partner with such a beautiful girl around you!”

I said: “Didn’t you always say I’m the most beautiful in the world? Real gold fears no fire.”

Grandma urgently swatted at me: “Ancestor! But you can’t go looking for the True Fire of Samadhi either!”

She was worried about Zhou Ting.

Zhou Ting was the only blind date I continued seeing. Grandma had become obsessed with my marriage situation—she’d often smash bowls and plates over minor things, crying and making scenes, which wasn’t good for her health.

Since Zhou Ting appeared, her condition had stabilized considerably. Zhou Ting was an honest young man from a wealthy family—she genuinely liked him.

As for whether Zhou Ting would fall for Yu Shixuan, I didn’t know and didn’t care.

Anyway, the princess herself hadn’t said she disliked him, so the three of us often went out together.

My hometown was a fourth-tier city with no real tourist attractions. I could only take Yu Shixuan mountain climbing.

In winter, the mountain was bare, with some old accumulated snow. Along the entire mountain path, there were only the three of us.

Being a guy, Zhou Ting climbed quickly. When we reached winding spots, he’d extend his hand to pull us both up.

“What’s the point of climbing this, may I ask?” Yu Shixuan was unhappy the entire time, saying with a straight face: “Does S City not have mountains?”

“It might seem boring while climbing, but when you reach the summit, wow, the scenery—you can even see the ocean.”

Yu Shixuan looked at me with the kind of gaze one reserves for idiots.

Sorry, I forgot she grew up by the sea.

I racked my brains thinking, finally squeezing out a sentence: “Oh right, there’s a temple at the summit, extremely efficacious. On New Year’s Day, we all come here to burn incense.”

After saying it, I suddenly froze—this was my second time at this mountain.

The first time was with Cheng Xia.

Back then, he was still a vibrant young man, standing in the morning light, casually saying: “Of course we won’t separate! You wasted a wish.”

He didn’t know I hadn’t actually made that wish to “be with him forever.”

Just as he didn’t know that we would ultimately become tired, bored adults, then get lost in the sea of humanity.

Was this the price of lying before the Bodhisattva?

I felt an indescribable discomfort, very faint. I didn’t know the ancients had given it a name: when things remain but people have changed.

Yu Shixuan had already walked to the temple entrance, saying: “Who knows if this deity is efficacious or not…”

“Shut your mouth!” I quickly said: “You can disbelieve, but don’t speak nonsense.”

She rolled her eyes at me, scanning the QR code for incense money, 888.8 yuan.

Then, palms pressed together, eyes closed, she recited: “If you’re efficacious, please bless Ren Dongxue, give her all the good things.”

Under the sunlight, her skin was pure and clean as jade.

I was stunned for a moment.

I casually picked up incense sticks and prayed: “Also bless Yu Shixuan, success in her business venture, so that money and destiny… are all grasped in her own hands in the future.” She’d been manipulated by her father, bullied by that scumbag teacher, dated a boyfriend on death row.

We had completely different origins and destinies.

Yet we’d arrived at the same destination by different routes—drifting helplessly on fate’s crest.

This seemed like a girl’s destiny.

At that moment, Zhou Ting came over, saying: “There’s an old monk selling water in the back. What do you two want to drink?”

I jumped up anxiously: “Are you crazy! You dare buy water at a tourist spot!”

After descending the mountain, we’d originally planned to eat Northeastern cuisine, but Yu Shixuan didn’t like oily food. Zhou Ting drove from place to place searching until he finally barely found a light, elegant private kitchen restaurant.

In the afternoon, I wanted to take her to actually see Vegetable Market Street. Although demolition wasn’t complete yet, at least she’d have some idea.

“But I heard it’s quite run-down,” she said, frowning.

“It is quite run-down,” I said. “But that’s where I grew up.”

Halfway through the meal, I got up pretending to use the restroom, but actually went to pay the bill.

Zhou Ting had been both driver and mountain climber—I couldn’t let him pay again.

But when returning, I happened to hear someone talking in the private room. It was Zhou Ting.

His voice was still somewhat shy: “Um, I want to ask you something.”

Ha, juicy gossip.

I lit a cigarette, tactfully not going in.

“How much longer are you staying here?”

“Quite a while.”

“Oh, so does that mean you’ll be with her this whole time?”

“Yes.”

Yu Shixuan’s reply was very brief.

Zhou Ting was silent for a long while before saying: “Um, this afternoon, could you possibly leave for a bit?”

“Why?”

Zhou Ting mumbled, and it took me a while to understand.

He said: “I want… to be alone with Dongxue for a while, is that okay?”

Yu Shixuan laughed and asked: “Oh, so you like her?”

Zhou Ting didn’t answer, but said: “It’s just, how to put it, I don’t want things between us to be like buddies… three people is just a bit… is that okay?”

“No.”

Zhou Ting was utterly shocked: “Why! You, you don’t also like her, do you!”

Yu Shixuan sneered and said: “Mainly I just don’t like you.”

…I quickly coughed and pushed the door open.

——

That afternoon we still went to Vegetable Market Street.

The area mainly had a state-owned textile factory. When the factory was thriving, the surrounding area was lively too, with bathhouses, supermarkets, massage parlors, and the vegetable market.

Later the textile factory went under, and the place gradually declined, with only the vegetable market still operating.

Now the factory was mid-demolition and the vegetable market was gone, but some vendors still habitually set up stalls in the original locations. I searched around but couldn’t find my mom.

Since returning, I’d seen her once or twice. Apparently she’d gone to a maternity matron training center—presumably making pretty good money.

Yu Shixuan frowned the entire time, complaining about the dirty mud and water, then about unpleasant smells. Finally, she announced she’d let me take a few photos for her, then would take a taxi home to catch up on sleep.

I was amused by her clumsy acting.

Finally it was just Zhou Ting and me. While taking photos, I gave him a tour.

“I grew up around here as a kid. My dad was a security guard at the old factory. Later he was laid off, but for daily necessities, he still habitually came here to shop.”

“Over there used to be a shantytown. My grandma’s and my old house was there… half bicycle shed, half living space.”

“My mom worked at this vegetable market, selling clothes. Back then I often helped her watch the stall…”

“I know,” Zhou Ting suddenly said.

“Huh? How do you know?” I was quite surprised—I’d never told anyone about this.

“I came to see you,” he said. “In high school, I often walked around here, hoping to run into you…”

I lowered my camera and said: “I never noticed.”

He lowered his head: “Yeah, sometimes you were there, sometimes not, but you never noticed me.”

His face flushed deep red, yet he stared fixedly at me.

I said: “Then you know I… back then often helped my grandma collect recyclables?”

“I know,” he said. “You were always at that snack street behind our school. I’d give your grandma bottles from restaurants… afraid you’d overthink it, I didn’t dare tell you.”

…No wonder my grandma liked him so much.

I said: “Didn’t you find me embarrassing?”

His voice was mosquito-quiet: “Didn’t think that much… back then I just thought you were beautiful.”

I stared at him blankly—such a proper, clean face, with bright eyes. Walking down the street, he was a complete stranger. That round, chubby boy with glasses had already blurred in my memory.

I never knew that during my student days, which I considered dim and lightless, during those years when I chased after someone, lowering myself into the dust—

There was also such a person who had watched me.

Just then, a delivery scooter came charging through recklessly. Zhou Ting pulled my arm and I fell directly against him.

In that instant, I heard his rapid heartbeat and his trembling words: “I don’t mean anything else I just don’t want us to be like buddies you don’t need to answer anything.”

Good thing—I didn’t know how to answer anyway.

I took a deep breath, changing the subject: “I… I’ll think about it. Um, right now I need to photograph this environment before dark to show the princess!”

“Okay!”

He smiled with relief, then said: “I, I’ll go buy you a bottle of water.”

After saying this, he ran off without stopping.

I don’t know why, but my heart was beating very fast too, and I kept grinning foolishly.

I could only raise my phone to take photos to distract myself.

In the lens was the warm light of sunset, street vendors sitting on the ground, and the half-demolished ruins in the distance.

I slowly moved the lens. A man appeared in the frame.

He wore an expensive cashmere coat, standing quietly by the ruins, upright and handsome, completely out of place with the surrounding vendors.

Suspecting I was hallucinating, I lowered my phone.

He was still there, in the not-quite-dark sunset, quietly watching me.

Just like our first meeting over ten years ago.

“Cheng Xia?”