Li Xiaoqiang was still chatting with A’Li when, from the corner of his eye, he spotted Xie Ci walking in through the rolling shutter door.

He was completely soaked through, still dripping with water. His expression looked terrible.

Li Xiaoqiang checked the time—a full half hour. He grumbled internally, then watched as Xie Ci strode directly toward him.

He extended his hand. “Give me the car keys.”

Li Xiaoqiang let out a confused sound, not understanding, unable to resist scrutinizing Xie Ci’s expression.

“Xu You’s.” He frowned, too lazy to say another word.

“You drive the car in.” Xie Ci had just finished ordering A’Li when, less than half a minute later, he changed his mind.

“Forget it, don’t touch it.”

He irritably ran his hand through his hair, ran upstairs to change out of his wet clothes. After cleaning himself up, he went to grab an umbrella and headed out to retrieve Xu You’s car parked on the street.

Never had they seen him so particular—the group exchanged bewildered glances.

A buddy came over to inquire with the informed Li Xiaoqiang, “That Audi outside, is that Brother Ci’s…?”

The sentence trailed off halfway. Li Xiaoqiang nodded vigorously like a bobblehead, and then everyone understood.

That ordinary, low-key black Audi slowly drove in. It stopped in the very center of the repair shop, completely out of place next to the row of top-tier sports cars parked alongside it.

The engine shut off. Xie Ci leaned back in the passenger seat for a long time without getting out. He just sat there in a daze, lost in thought.

Finally, Li Xiaoqiang couldn’t stand it anymore and opened the car door, preparing to call out to him.

The car carried a fragrance of soap mixed with jasmine.

A woman’s scent.

Before he could say anything, Xie Ci’s eyes shot over. His brows knitted together. “Fuck off. Move your hand, don’t touch it.”

Who pissed you off? Look at that temper.

Li Xiaoqiang’s hand froze on the car door. “Fine, fine, fine—I won’t touch it, okay?”

Later, when Xie Ci started repairing the car, someone tried to help, only to be immediately pushed aside.

A’Li came over too. Standing to one side, he said in shock, “Bro, you’re actually doing it yourself? But can you even fix this kind of minor problem properly?”

People crowded around him, purely to watch the spectacle.

Others tried to help too.

Xie Ci turned his head to look at them. “Don’t you have any sense? None of you fucking touch it!”

The crowd: “……”

Look how precious you’re treating it.

—

“I watched for quite a while just now.” Zhang Lili turned the steering wheel, changing lanes. This was a highway entrance—she didn’t dare be careless and turned on the turn signal.

Xu You sat in the passenger seat, quietly gazing out the window, not responding.

Seeing her completely soaked, still dripping with water, her clothes clinging tightly to her body, Zhang Lili worried she’d catch a cold. She turned on the air conditioning and glanced at the rearview mirror. “You should change your clothes.”

Xu You took a moment to react. “Oh, right, my clothes are still in the car.”

“Are you leaving your car at that shop to be repaired? What about the things inside?”

“…We’ll see.” Xu You wearily rubbed her forehead. “I’ll just buy a set when we get to X City later.” She was utterly exhausted right now, really too lazy to go back and face him.

“Why didn’t you go back to your car to get your things before leaving?” Zhang Lili’s gaze drifted over her. “Are you planning to go on this business trip with just your phone?”

“…….”

Seeing her silence, Zhang Lili sensed something was off. She thought back to the scene she’d just witnessed.

That man had stood with Xu You in the rain for so long—clearly their relationship wasn’t simple. Zhang Lili was a girl with a strong love of gossip, so she pressed curiously, “That man just now, what’s your relationship with him?”

“High school classmate.”

“Just classmates, that simple? I don’t believe it.” She obviously didn’t buy it.

Xu You looked at the torrential rain outside the window, momentarily dazed, but quickly covered it up.

“When I went down to pick you up, I got a close look at him. He’s actually quite handsome. What kind of classmate is he to you?” Zhang Lili seemed very interested in Xie Ci.

Not knowing why she’d suddenly gotten so curious, Xu You could only deflect: “High school classmate.”

“What kind of person is he?”

“Not a good one.” Xu You paused, turning her face toward the side window. “Back in our school, he and a group of others strutted around everywhere. Fighting, causing trouble—he had a hand in all of it.”

“A bad boy, huh? Those are always popular with young girls, aren’t they?” Zhang Lili thought back to her own girlhood’s rosy fantasies. She smiled and shook her head, sighing. “Why didn’t I meet such a handsome delinquent in my high school?”

Xu You neither confirmed nor denied it, saying nothing.

And then they stopped discussing the topic.

In the end, Zhang Lili still drove her back to the repair shop. That Audi couldn’t be driven on the road, so it had to stay there. Without greeting anyone, Xu You simply gathered her basic belongings and got into Zhang Lili’s car to leave.

This business trip wasn’t long, and the distance wasn’t far either.

They had an appointment with the boss of an information technology company in Hecheng to do a feature column report on the theme of entrepreneurship. The boss was born in the 1990s—after graduation, he’d worked hard on his own and single-handedly brought this company into the market.

That evening at the hotel, Xu You sat at her computer organizing materials.

Keywords… employment, career choice, entrepreneurship.

“This man Li Chao is quite inspiring.” Zhang Lili held a cup of water, leaning against the wall behind her to comment.

“Not only inspiring, he seems to be a good man too, very good to his current wife.” Zhang Lili finished supplementing, thought for a moment, then said meaningfully, “Xu You, would you say this counts as standard equipment for a successful man?”

“Don’t know.”

Xu You focused on her work.

“That kind of man who’s been through life’s trials and has determination.” Zhang Lili’s voice lowered. “Sigh… doing our line of work, we see a lot, and only then do we realize that good men really aren’t rare—we just haven’t met them ourselves.”

“……”

The record-keeping reached its final stage. Xu You typed out the last line.

【Do the right thing, then do things right.】

Then closed the computer.

She’d been caught in the rain today and had run into Xie Ci—body and mind felt like they’d been through a catastrophe.

When the hot water from the showerhead poured down from above, she closed her eyes. Memories surged up along with it, instantly drowning her thoughts.

What she’d thought of in that instant.

Was what she’d seen today—that plain, simple ring on his ring finger.

After a busy afternoon, both were exhausted and went to bed early.

The lamps on both sides of the nightstand were turned off. The hallway light in front of the bathroom was still on, but both were too lazy to bother with it.

Zhang Lili couldn’t sleep. She lay there playing with her phone for a while, then suddenly turned to ask, “By the way, Xu You, are you asleep yet?”

“What is it?”

So she couldn’t sleep either. Zhang Lili put away her phone and complained irritably, “Just now that blind date of mine immediately wanted to video chat. He kept bragging about how rich his family is, how much money they have. I’m so annoyed.”

“……”

“But my parents really like him. Sigh.”

Zhang Lili was from Shanghai. Her family elders had very conservative thinking—they didn’t want her to marry outside the city, just find a Shanghai man to settle down with. Zhang Lili had been instilled with this mindset since childhood, so when looking for boyfriends, she first considered whether the other person was from Shanghai and whether their family owned an apartment in the city center.

So despite being young, ever since starting work, she’d been constantly pressured into blind dates, changing prospects every few days.

“Xu You, don’t your parents pressure you to get married?” Zhang Lili asked curiously. “I notice you don’t seem to be dating anyone either.”

Xu You smiled. “My parents don’t pressure me.”

“But you should at least find a boyfriend. Think about it—you’re a girl, living alone out here. Isn’t it hard?”

“It’s fine. I think being alone is pretty good—very free.”

Zhang Lili studied the person beside her in the dim yellow light.

Actually, Xu You’s appearance gave people a soft first impression—not stunningly beautiful by any means. But after getting to know her, you’d discover that this young woman had a genuinely good personality and didn’t compromise easily. Moreover, she took everything very seriously.

As for Zhang Lili herself, she was a typical “little woman.” She just wanted to hide behind a man, act cute, and be at ease.

“You want freedom? Why don’t you just shave your head and go to a nunnery, spend the rest of your life with the Buddha and oil lamps.”

Xu You said seriously, “That actually sounds pretty good.”

“By the way.” Zhang Lili suddenly remembered. “That repair shop I went to with you today—I forgot to ask, how did you end up taking your car to that kind of place for repairs?”

How had the topic circled back to this?

Xu You coughed, trying to simplify things. “I went to the 4S dealership to get my car fixed. That shop owner is my high school classmate—he’s the one who took me there.”

“The one who was just with you?”

“No.”

Zhang Lili didn’t hide her amazed tone. “To casually take you to that kind of place, your high school classmate must be a rich second-generation who really knows his cars, right?”

Zhang Lili had done work investigations related to this area before and could tell at a glance. Although that repair shop’s location was somewhat shabby, the cars casually parked there were all new and classic supercars rarely seen even at top domestic auto shows. Some car bodies even bore the logo stickers of famous clubs.

Her best friend’s husband was also in that circle. So Zhang Lili had some understanding. Actually, in many outsiders’ eyes, supercars were just tools for rich kids to show off and pick up girls. Many supercar clubs were all about eating, drinking, playing around, and burning through money. But many people genuinely loved cars—most were there because of their passion, enjoying the thrill of racing on the track.

So they were generally willing to spend heavily on car modifications.

That place just now was clearly not somewhere ordinary people would go.

These topics Zhang Lili discussed held little appeal for Xu You—she couldn’t really understand them anyway.

Xu You’s face pressed against the pillow, her eyes closed for a while.

She was truly exhausted.

Seeing she was asleep, Zhang Lili fell silent after a bit.

That night she dreamed again. Xu You dreamed she was walking around campus. She looked around anxiously, her heart beating fast.

In a flash, she was back in the classroom, lying on her desk with her school uniform draped over her. The ceiling fan overhead spun lazily. Golden sunlight spilled before her eyes, light rippling in the blue water cup.

A boy called her name with a smile, a nostalgically mischievous grin at the corner of his mouth.

But he hadn’t appeared in so long—she could no longer see clearly or remember what he looked like.

—

The next day they returned to Shencheng.

Xu You wasn’t feeling well physically. She copied the materials to Zhang Lili and called in to request leave. She’d written several backup drafts and sent them to the editor-in-chief’s email.

As soon as she got home, the dining table was covered with instant noodle cups. Knowing You Lele wouldn’t eat properly, she sighed helplessly and opened the living room windows to air things out. After tidying up casually, she went to shower, then collapsed into bed and slept like the dead.

When she woke up again, it was already dark outside. The room had grown dim, like an old, unclear silent film.

You Lele wasn’t home.

The rain in Shencheng had been continuous these past few days. The light drizzle that had been falling outside seemed to have stopped now. It was so quiet you could hear the honking of cars driving past on the roadside.

Xu You got out of bed and sat for a while. She randomly picked out a loose white top from the wardrobe to put on, casually threw on a black knit cardigan.

She tied her hair carelessly behind her head. Taking her phone, wallet, and keys, she went downstairs to eat.

It had just rained—the ground was still very wet. The air was cool and refreshing. Night draped hazily all around.

Xu You lived on the edge of the first ring road. The greening in this area was quite good, developed with a slightly classical aesthetic. Red lanterns hung between trees every few steps. The breeze carried a moist earthiness.

Xu You found a small restaurant and sat down, casually ordering a small bowl of wontons.

Halfway through eating, she suddenly remembered something. Xu You picked up her phone from the side and sent You Lele a WeChat message.

【Where’s my car?】

You Lele’s side showed ‘typing’ for quite a while. Then she just called directly.

“Hello? You’re back?”

Xu You used her chopsticks to wind up some noodles, hummed in acknowledgment, and asked, “I asked you to pick up the car for me—did you forget?”

“No, I went.” You Lele raised her voice. “You don’t even know—when I got there, they absolutely refused to give me the car. Said you were an important customer and had to pick it up in person. It really pissed me off.”

Xu You’s movements paused as she heard the other side say, “Then I saw they were a bunch of men, pretty intimidating, so I didn’t want to argue further. Also, how did you end up taking your car to that godforsaken place for repairs? And what ‘important customer’—it seemed completely unreliable to me.”

“…..” Xu You had a headache. She set her chopsticks on the bowl.

“I have to pick it up myself?”

“Yeah, that’s what they told me. I was baffled too. I’ve seriously never seen such an unreasonable repair shop before.” After saying this, You Lele added, “Really, I really didn’t forget—they just wouldn’t give it to me.”

Xu You rubbed her temples. “Fine, I understand.”

You Lele asked, “I’m coming back late today—going to Huinan with Pengpeng and the others to go clubbing. You coming?”

“No, I still have work tomorrow.” Xu You refused.

“I knew it. I just asked casually anyway. Even when you’re not working, you wouldn’t go.”

Xu You said a couple more sentences then hung up. She needed the car tomorrow. After considering for quite a while, she still called Li Xiaoqiang.

The restaurant was somewhat noisy. She paid the owner and went outside to make the call.

Cars flowed like water around her.

“Xu You?!” When Li Xiaoqiang received her call, his voice clearly lifted with delight.

Xu You hesitated for a few seconds, responded, and said, “It’s me.”

“What’s up?”

“My car…”

“Oh, oh, your car was already fixed yesterday.”

“When can I come get it?”

Li Xiaoqiang: “You don’t need to come. Just give us an address and we’ll have someone deliver it to you.”

“That’s not necessary.” Xu You politely declined. “That would be too much trouble for you all. I can just come get it myself.”

“Xu You, let’s be honest—are you still bothered by Xie Ci?” Li Xiaoqiang asked cautiously.

After all, the two weren’t very familiar, so it wasn’t appropriate to discuss such private matters. Most importantly, Xu You really felt exhausted and didn’t want to say much. She stopped under a tree, her eyes naturally lowering. “Things between us are all in the past. He already has a girlfriend, and I have my own life. As for the rest, let’s just let nature take its course.”

Li Xiaoqiang was completely confused: “What girlfriend? Who told you that? Xie Ci hasn’t had even a female fly around him these past few years. How did he suddenly get a girlfriend?”

Xu You’s heart skipped a beat.