Early the next morning, Ruan Mian woke from a long-missed peaceful sleep. The furnishings around her were familiar and comforting, and she could even hear the rooster crowing from her uncle’s house next door.

She rubbed her messy hair, got up, dressed, and walked out of the bedroom.

In the spacious courtyard, the dilapidated grape arbor in the corner had been reduced to a good place for drying New Year goods in the cold winter. The cured meat and sausages glistened enticingly in the sunlight with an appetizing sheen.

Ruan Mian stood under the corridor eaves, squinting and yawning, her whole body radiating a relaxation she hadn’t felt in ages.

On the other side in the kitchen, Zhou Xiujun came out wiping her apron with her hands. She was just about to call Ruan Mian to wake up when she saw her standing not far away and said with a smile, “You’re awake.”

Ruan Mian hummed in acknowledgment and walked down from the corridor eaves. Catching the faint fragrance wafting from the kitchen, her eyes lit up. “It smells so good.”

“Only your nose is that sharp.” Zhou Xiujun said as she walked inside, “Your aunt sent over an old hen early this morning. I stewed half of it and saved the other half to make braised chicken for your lunch.”

Ruan Mian raised her hand to squeeze the old lady’s shoulder and said with a smile, “Then I’ll go thank Aunt later.”

“Alright.” Zhou Xiujun lifted the pot lid and turned back to ask her, “Have you washed your face? We’ll eat breakfast in a bit, and after breakfast we’ll go to the market to buy groceries.”

“Okay.” Ruan Mian turned and walked out.

Zhou Xiujun remembered something and turned her head to shout, “I put your toothbrush and towel on the rack for you.”

Ruan Mian said without looking back, “Got it.”

The old lady smiled and shook her head, put down the pot lid in her hand, used a cloth to wipe the water off the stove, then sat down by the opening to continue adding firewood and stoking the fire.

After breakfast, the grandmother and granddaughter locked the door and set out from home carrying a bamboo basket.

Xiping was divided into north and south. South Xiping had fewer households, while North Xiping had more households and was the town center, with places like the market, larger comprehensive supermarkets, hospitals, and so on all located in the northern part of Xiping.

The old lady walked briskly, so the two of them didn’t ride bikes and walked across the long bridge connecting the two parts of Xiping, chatting and laughing along the way.

When they reached the market, Zhou Xiujun adopted the momentum of buying New Year goods, purchasing meat and fish in large quantities, practically wanting to move the entire stall back home.

After spending nearly half an hour wandering around and shopping inside, when they came out, Ruan Mian planned to go to the nearby supermarket to buy something for her aunt’s son, her cousin Ruan Jun.

Zhou Xiujun stored the large and small bags in her hands with an old acquaintance who had a stall nearby, and went into the supermarket with Ruan Mian. “Speaking of Ruan Jun, your aunt brought the chicken over this morning and asked me to ask if you have time during winter break. She wants you to tutor Ruan Jun.”

Ruan Mian put two bags of potato chips in the cart. “Sure, what grade is Ruan Jun in now?”

“Already in eighth grade. Every time he ranks last in his class. Your aunt is worried sick. She’s beaten him and scolded him, but nothing works. Every few days he skips class and runs to internet cafes.”

Ruan Mian hesitated a bit. “Given his situation, if I tutor him, will he even come?”

Zhou Xiujun laughed. “He wouldn’t dare not come. If you agree to tutor him, your uncle would break his legs and still send him over.”

“…Oh.”

Since tutoring had been mentioned, Ruan Mian simply bought three tutoring books and a stack of practice notebooks for this cousin at the supermarket, and also bought some nutritional supplements for her uncle and aunt.

When they came out of the supermarket, it was almost eleven o’clock. Zhou Xiujun went to retrieve the stored groceries while Ruan Mian carried the pile of things she’d just bought and waited for her by the roadside.

The temperature had risen these past few days. At noon, the sun was bright and warm. Ruan Mian piled the items by her feet and lowered her head to look at her phone.

With people coming and going around her, she was suddenly patted on the shoulder from behind.

Ruan Mian turned her head and saw Li Zhi and Chen Yi standing there dressed like twin brothers. She was completely stunned.

Li Zhi laughed. “I thought it looked like you from far away, and it really is you. What are you doing here?”

Ruan Mian put away her phone and also reined in her surprise. “My grandmother’s house is here. What are you two doing here?”

“What a coincidence, my grandmother’s house is also here.” Li Zhi turned back to look at Chen Yi. “He drove me back and is staying here for a few days.”

Ruan Mian hadn’t expected that the people she’d said she’d see next year just the day before yesterday would suddenly appear today. She nodded at him with feigned composure, her hand in her pocket continuously rubbing against her phone, trying to ease the nervous tension that kept surging up.

Li Zhi saw her laden with bags. “What’s all this?”

“I came out with my grandmother to buy some New Year goods. She went to get other things, so I’m waiting for her here.” Ruan Mian took her hand out of her pocket and inconspicuously wiped the sweat from her palm on her coat.

Li Zhi and Chen Yi had come out for other matters as well. After chatting with Ruan Mian for just a few sentences, Li Zhi said, “I’ll contact you later. We have to go now.”

Ruan Mian nodded. “Okay.”

In the bustling street with people coming and going, Ruan Mian watched the two of them walking side by side until they disappeared from view, only then withdrawing her gaze.

At lunch, Zhou Xiujun invited the uncle’s family from next door. Ruan Mian helped set out the bowls and chopsticks. Her cousin Ruan Jun came over and said, “Sis, did you run into something good today? You’re so happy.”

Ruan Mian’s hand holding the chopsticks paused. “Am I?”

“Yes.” Ruan Jun gestured on his face with his hand. “Your mouth was almost stretched to here just now.”

“…You’re exaggerating.” Ruan Mian continued what she was doing. “By the way, your parents want me to tutor you. When do you want to start?”

“In my next life.”

“…?”

Ruan Jun looked distressed. “I don’t want to be tutored at all. Sis, tell my parents, with my grades, tutoring won’t help anyway.”

“Who says it won’t help? As long as you want to learn, it’s never too late.” Ruan Mian made a snap decision. “Then let’s start tomorrow.”

“Sis…”

“Your place or mine?”

Ruan Jun sighed. “…Let’s do it here.”

Ruan Mian laughed. “Starting at nine in the morning. Don’t be late.”

“Okay.”

After lunch, Ruan Mian went back to her room to rest. Before long, Ruan Jun came in carrying this semester’s report card and winter break homework.

“Go get yourself a stool.” Ruan Mian glanced at his report card—out of seven subjects, not one passing grade, and two were even zero scores. “…”

Ruan Jun, who had moved in with a stool, saw her surprised expression and rubbed his nose, sitting down at a distance. “Sis, can I really still catch up?”

Ruan Mian turned back to look at him. “Before I saw your grades, I thought you could catch up.”

Ruan Jun: “…”

“What’s with the zero scores? Even if you guessed C for all the multiple choice questions, you’d get one or two right, wouldn’t you?”

“I did choose all C. Who knew our school’s grading teachers have a rule that you can’t write the same answer for all multiple choice questions.”

Ruan Mian had a headache. Before she could say anything, the QQ hanging on her computer flashed twice with a new message.

[Li Zhi]: Are you there?

Ruan Mian was stunned for two seconds. She put down the report card and typed a few words in reply.

[Ruan Mian]: Yes, what’s up?

[Li Zhi]: Are you free tomorrow? Chen Yi and I are planning to climb Xishan. If you’re free, come with us.

Xishan was Xiping Town’s only and most representative scenic spot. The mountain wasn’t high, but it housed a temple with hundreds of years of history at the top. Every year, many people came here specifically to climb the mountain and pray for blessings, especially during holidays.

While Ruan Mian was hesitating, Ruan Jun had already dragged his chair over and glanced at the computer screen. He said excitedly, “Sis, you should go, and take me with you too, okay?”

“With those grades, you still have the heart to go out and play?”

“That’s a personal attack.” Ruan Jun said, “Doesn’t that temple’s blessing prayers work really well? Can’t I go pray too?”

Ruan Mian ignored him and replied to Li Zhi’s message.

[Ruan Mian]: Sure, can I bring my little brother?

[Li Zhi]: The one from last time? Is he big enough to climb that far?

[Ruan Mian]: No, a different one.

[Li Zhi]: That works then. Let’s agree in advance—if he can’t walk anymore, none of us will carry him. [/mischievous/]

[Ruan Mian]: Then I’ll make him roll back even if I have to.

[Li Zhi]: Hahahaha, it’s settled then. Tomorrow morning at nine, we’ll meet at the place where we ran into each other today.

[Ruan Mian]: [/OK/]

The next morning, before Ruan Mian had even gotten up, Ruan Jun had already packed up with his backpack and was knocking on the door. “Sis! Sis! What time is it already! Why aren’t you up yet!”

Ruan Mian, still in the middle of a dream, was awakened by the noise. She fumbled for her phone on the bedside and looked at it—it was only just past seven-thirty, still an hour and a half before the agreed-upon nine o’clock.

Her temples throbbed a few times. She threw off the covers, got out of bed, and yanked the door open. “Ruan Jun! What’s wrong with you? What time is it?”

The boy lowered his flags and licked his lips, saying, “I was afraid you’d oversleep. Look! I even brought you breakfast—century egg and lean pork congee, your favorite.”

There were no places selling congee nearby. The nearest stall was in northern Xiping. Ruan Mian’s anger immediately dissipated. She closed the door and said, “I’ll change clothes. You eat first.”

Footsteps gradually faded away outside the door. Ruan Mian saw the report card pressed under the corner of the desk and laughed helplessly.

After the siblings finished getting ready and eating breakfast, it was only just past eight o’clock, still early before the appointed time. Ruan Mian took out a middle school English vocabulary book from inside the room and tossed it to Ruan Jun. “Memorize this. Tonight when we get back, I’ll test you on the words from the first page.”

“…” Ruan Jun suddenly regretted coming over so early.

The remaining time passed in a flash as the boy stumbled through reading words. Close to nine o’clock, Ruan Mian said goodbye to Zhou Xiujun and left with Ruan Jun.

After crossing the bridge, Ruan Mian saw a black six-seater business van parked at the place where she’d run into Li Zhi and the others yesterday. The car doors were wide open, and Chen Yi sat inside chatting with Li Zhi, who stood outside the car.

The two were still dressed like twin brothers—black down jackets, dark blue jeans, even the same black and white shoes.

Chen Yi spotted Ruan Mian before Li Zhi did. He stood up from inside the car and said in a calm voice, “You’re here.”

Li Zhi turned around and waved at Ruan Mian. “Morning, did you eat breakfast?”

“Yes.” Ruan Mian gave the three of them a simple introduction of their relationship. “This is my little brother Ruan Jun. These are my friends from Pingcheng—Brother Li Zhi and—”

She suddenly paused, but the time was very short, only a second or two, not easily noticeable in the noisy surrounding environment. “—and Brother Chen Yi.”

Ruan Jun was sweet-tongued and not shy with strangers. He smiled and called them Brother Li Zhi and Brother Chen Yi.

Li Zhi smiled and ruffled Ruan Jun’s hair. The four of them got in the car. No one noticed Ruan Mian’s two-second pause, or what it really meant.

Xishan was half an hour’s drive from Xiping Town. The further they drove toward the foot of the mountain, the more cars they encountered on the road. Eventually, they were stuck halfway there in traffic.

Chen Yi rolled down the car window. The cold mountain air rushed through the gap, mixing with the warm air inside the car, though the difference wasn’t obvious.

Li Zhi was chatting with Ruan Jun, and inevitably they talked about final exam results, successfully making Ruan Jun withdraw into himself.

“Everyone in this car—the brother next to you is the top student in your sister’s school, first place in every major and minor exam. Your sister and I have never fallen out of the top one hundred in our grade.” Li Zhi smiled. “What’s going on with you being last place?”

Ruan Jun: “…”

Li Zhi spared no effort in attacking the kid’s self-confidence. “Getting zero from being absent is one thing, but going to take the exam and still getting zero—that’s a bit hard to justify, isn’t it?”

Ruan Jun didn’t respond to Li Zhi and complained quietly to Ruan Mian, “Sis, what’s with your friend? He keeps stepping on my wounds.”

Chen Yi, sitting nearby, picked up the conversation. “Then work harder so you don’t have any wounds for people to step on.”

Seeing him join in, Ruan Jun moved closer and asked, “Are you really first place in your school’s grade every time?”

“Mm.”

“How do you study?”

Chen Yi turned his head to look at him and said earnestly, “Just study casually.”

The simple and innocent little Ruan suffered another critical hit: “…”

With Ruan Jun’s presence throughout the journey, there was much more laughter in the car. Even the driver in the front row laughed along several times.

During this season, there were especially many people coming to climb the mountain and pray for blessings. After Ruan Mian’s group got out of the car, they followed the lively crowd walking up the mountain.

Pine and cypress trees stood tall among the mountains, green even in winter. Sunlight penetrated through the clouds and scattered on the undulating mountain peaks, filling everything with vigorous vitality.

Xishan Temple was at the mountain top. Before getting close, thick incense smoke drifted out from within the temple. In front was a hundred-step staircase, symbolizing that the hundred difficulties of the mortal world would all disappear the moment one crossed the threshold, bringing blessings, protection, peace, and smooth fortune thereafter.

The temple was crowded with people and wreathed in smoke. Ruan Mian knelt on the prayer cushion before the Buddha, hands clasped together, her expression devout and solemn.

…

Buddha above, this faithful follower Ruan Mian makes these wishes before you.

First wish: May my father far away in the west be safe and sound, with everything going smoothly.

Second wish: May my grandmother live to be a hundred, and may my mother be happy and fulfilled.

Third wish—

Ruan Mian secretly opened her eyes and turned her head to look at the boy kneeling beside her. A beam of sunlight from outside the temple fell in, landing precisely behind the two of them.

Fleeting light and passing shadows—all things are feelings. Ruan Mian closed her eyes again.

Third wish—

May I see him year after year.

—

**Author’s Note:** These two days won’t be too angsty.

Also, about updates—tomorrow (Thursday) there won’t be an update. The day after tomorrow (Friday) at ten PM there will be a double update. This Mei You Ren Xiang Ni – Chapter also has red envelopes, which will be sent together on Friday evening.

Also recommending a story, thanks for your support.

“Falling Again” by Fan Qingyi

When other female celebrities were having scandals with young fresh meat idols, Qiao Xi secretly fell in love with an online friend she met through the internet.

The online friend lived overseas permanently and had an elite profession.

Later, at a cast dinner, while others sang and drank, Best Actor Liang was secretly playing with his phone, a smile always hanging at the corners of his lips.

Qiao Xi accidentally glanced over and saw that the chat contact on his phone screen was herself.

Qiao Xi: “…”

Living overseas permanently?

Elite profession?

Ha.

In the entertainment industry full of beautiful women, Liang Yan had an online romance.

So when the whole internet was spreading rumors about him and Qiao Xi, he used an interview opportunity to state that his ideal type wasn’t someone in the industry.

Everything he said was distancing himself from his relationship with Qiao Xi.

Later, the two collaborated again for a second time, and rumors arose once more.

At an interview event, Qiao Xi said with a smile that she would focus on her career, then left Best Actor Liang behind as she walked away arm-in-arm with the male supporting actor from the cast.

That evening, Best Actor Liang pinned a post on Weibo.

[Ideal type: @Qiao Xi V]

Qiao Xi herself… posted a screenshot of Best Actor Liang dying miserably in the drama?