By now the train had begun to pick up speed, yet Shi Ting lay on her bunk with perfect composure. Only then did Yan Qing fully understand. “You really aren’t leaving?”

Shi Ting produced two train tickets from his breast pocket and held them up. “One must have a ticket to board.”

Yan Qing took them and looked. They were indeed tickets for this train — for the compartment right next to hers.

“How did you know which compartment I booked?”

“Is that really a problem for me?”

Yan Qing laughed. She lightly tapped the tickets against his forehead. “So you’d planned all this from the start. And you were deceiving me just now.”

Shi Ting pointed to his lips again. “If I hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have gotten this…”

Yan Qing knew she had been outmaneuvered, yet she could do nothing about it. As for the fact that he was now accompanying her on the journey, she was genuinely delighted in her heart.

“Isn’t the Military Police Directorate very busy?”

“We just closed a case. Things are a bit calmer for the next couple of days, and Zheng Yun and the others are holding down the fort — nothing should go wrong.”

“By the way, where is Jing Zhi?” Yan Qing asked, starting to look for her.

Shi Ting caught her by the hand. “She and Jin Shan are next door. Don’t worry — no one will be disturbing us.”

He suddenly sat up straight, wrapped an arm around her waist, lifted her from the wheelchair, and in one smooth motion settled her down onto the bunk. He half-reclined beside her, looking down at her from above.

“I wasn’t worried about being disturbed.” Yan Qing raised a hand to push him away, and discovered his chest was solid as iron.

“Shi Ting, please move…”

“How many days has it been since we last saw each other?” He enclosed her slender wrists in his broad palms, and his warm, steadfast breath brushed softly across the tip of her nose.

Yan Qing looked into the dark depths of his eyes and felt her heart rate quicken, her ears grow warm. She had no mental energy left to work out how many days it had been.

“Seven days and eight hours.” His lips brushed gently back and forth against her soft ones. “How do you intend to make it up to me?”

“Director Shi, you are truly shameless. Why should I be the one to make it up to you? It was you who disappeared into your work and couldn’t be found.” Yan Qing couldn’t help complaining.

“Fair enough. I admit it was my fault. And so — I’m willing to make it up to you, doubly.”

Yan Qing was speechless.

Why did she feel as though she had walked right into a trap? Even sharp-witted as she was, she kept falling for Director Shi’s schemes, one after another.

“Shi Ting, wait—”

He gave her no opportunity to argue. He kissed her, dominant and thorough, stopping up every word that might have left her mouth. All he wanted was for her lips to be filled with only his presence.

The longing of days apart poured itself into the urgency of that kiss, moving and surging between her lips, claiming every inch of ground.

Swept along by him, she couldn’t help wrapping her arms around his neck, tilting her chin upward slightly, letting the kiss deepen and grow more ardent.

In the next compartment, Jin Shan stood blocking the doorway, smiling broadly. “Miss Jing Zhi, where are you off to?”

“To find my mistress, obviously. Would I rather stay here with you?”

“Those two haven’t seen each other in days,” Jin Shan said. “At this moment they’re probably deep in heartfelt conversation. Are you sure you want to walk in and interrupt them right now?”

Jing Zhi thought about it and sat back down on the chair.

“Are you also going to Taishan?” She saw the train had departed and couldn’t help asking out of curiosity.

“The young master heard Miss Yan was going to Taishan. He was worried, so he followed along.”

“Director Shi is so thoughtful.” Jing Zhi smiled warmly.

“I can be thoughtful too, you know,” Jin Shan said. He reached into his clothing and produced a small paper packet. “I brought you some preserved plums and melon seeds. In case you feel unwell on the train, these might help.”

“Really? These are really for me?”

“Of course they are.”

Jing Zhi happily accepted them. “Thank you.”

The journey would be long, but with these plums and melon seeds, it would go much better.

“And not only snacks — there’s something to play with too.” Jin Shan produced a small wooden box as if conjuring it from thin air. “Do you know how to play chess?”

“What kind of chess?” Jing Zhi was instantly interested.

Jin Shan set up the board. “Come then. I’ll give you a three-piece head start.”

“I don’t need any head start from you.” Jing Zhi gave a short huff and picked up a piece.

As Jin Shan and Jing Zhi’s game grew more and more spirited, the train had already pulled out of Shun Cheng.

Beyond Shun Cheng stretched a vast open expanse of wilderness. The crops had already been harvested, and the ground was blanketed in a thick layer of white frost.

“Shi Ting, look over there.” Yan Qing pointed out the window. “I see pheasants in the fields — several of them.”

Where he lived in the city, wild pheasants were not exactly a rarity, but they were only to be seen in the zoo; they would never appear so casually in the farmland.

Shi Ting shook his head. “You’re going to see plenty of pheasants between here and there. Pace yourself.”

“Good thing you’re here — otherwise these hours would be terribly dull.” Yan Qing smiled and looked at him, reaching over to hook her fingers around his. “If I end up staying several days in Taishan, will you stay several days too?”

“Since I’ve come to keep you company, I intend to keep you properly.”

Yan Qing pressed her lips together. “That couldn’t be better.”

She nodded toward the next compartment. “I wonder what Jing Zhi and the others are up to.”

“Playing chess, most likely. I noticed Jin Shan was carrying a chess set when he left.”

“Tell me honestly — does Jin Shan have feelings for our Jing Zhi?” Yan Qing raised an eyebrow.

“What do you think?”

“If that were the case, it would be a lovely thing. I’ve been thinking about Murong and Jing Zhi’s futures for some time.”

“Still unmarried yourself, and already fretting over everyone else.”

Yan Qing tilted her head. “What — having second thoughts?”

“Never, never.” Shi Ting pulled her close and hastened to beg forgiveness. “I spend every day in an anxious state, terrified you’ll change your mind and not want me. If I could, I’d gladly offer myself up right now — yours in life, yours in death, for as long as I draw breath.”

“Smooth talk.” Yan Qing couldn’t hold back her smile. Then she changed the subject. “We have a long journey ahead. Why don’t we find something to do?”

Shi Ting’s eyes lit up, a depth of meaning flickering in them. “Carry on where we left off?”

“What is going on in that head of yours?” Yan Qing tapped his forehead, thoroughly exasperated. “I mean find something to pass the time.”

“I think what we were doing before is the best possible way — it passes time, banishes loneliness, strengthens the body, and deepens affection. What’s not to love?”

Yan Qing let out a helpless sigh. “You.”

Shi Ting leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Wait here — I’ll go see what other amusements Jin Shan brought along.”

After a short while, Shi Ting returned holding a game set.

“You took it from them. What are they going to play with now?”

“Jin Shan will find something.”

“I wouldn’t have thought Jin Shan looked so capable beneath that straightforward exterior.”

Shi Ting raised an eyebrow. “Capable?”

He’d only ever heard of soaking herbs!

“Let me see what kind of chess this is.” Yan Qing spread out the board, only to find it was a variety she had never seen before — not that it made much difference. Even the games she did know, like Chinese chess or Go, she didn’t actually know how to play.

Music, chess, calligraphy, and painting — for her, all of them were simply too difficult.

“I don’t know this game. How about I teach you a simple new one?”

“Go ahead.” Shi Ting settled himself on the other side of the table.

“Gomoku.” Yan Qing began sorting the pieces. “You take the black. I want the white.”

Shi Ting collected his pieces.

“The rules are simple. Whoever connects five pieces in a straight line first wins.”

“That’s all?”

“Easy to say, but not so easy to do.” Yan Qing placed her first piece. “Since you’re a beginner, I’ll give you the first round.”

“You’ll give it to me?” Shi Ting asked, not entirely sure he had heard correctly.

“Yes. I’m worried about making you cry from losing.” Yan Qing pulled a face at him.

“Very well. I gratefully accept your generosity.” Shi Ting placed his first piece.

Yan Qing looked at where he put it — a completely barren corner of the board — and suppressed a private smile. He clearly had no idea what he was doing. Who opens a game by defending the edge like that?

Yan Qing seized the opportunity and placed another piece, while Shi Ting continued setting his down in seemingly random spots, each one far from the last.

“At this rate, I’m going to win,” Yan Qing announced cheerfully, busy laying out her formation. But she was kind enough to throw him a small warning anyway.

Shi Ting’s expression remained perfectly calm, his movements unhurried and composed. “You did say you’d go easy on me. No taking it back now.”

“I remember.” Yan Qing winked mischievously.

She said she’d go easy on him, but that was not remotely what she intended. She could see her formation was nearly complete — and then, just as she was about to close it, Shi Ting, who had seemed to be wandering aimlessly around the edges, suddenly dropped a piece that blocked her path entirely.

With that single move, all her earlier groundwork was undone.

Yan Qing was immediately annoyed. “I thought you hadn’t seen it.”

Exposed, she had no choice but to try a different approach — but every formation she built always fell one crucial move short. Shi Ting might look as though he had no idea what he was doing, yet he managed every time to seal off her lines just in time.

While Yan Qing had been focused entirely on building her own attack, she hadn’t noticed that Shi Ting had formed an encirclement around her. By the time she realized she had nowhere left to place a piece, Shi Ting had already completed a double threat — whichever opening Yan Qing tried to block, she would be too late.

Seeing that she was about to lose, Yan Qing suddenly pointed out the window. “Quick, look — an alien!”

The moment Shi Ting turned toward the window, Yan Qing swiftly swapped one of her pieces.

When he turned back, Yan Qing was holding a piece up and dangling it before him. “I’m about to win. I’ve given you enough chances — this time I’m not going to hold back.”

She placed the piece down. “Five in a row. I win.”

Shi Ting smiled. “Miss Yan is remarkable indeed. I concede defeat.”

“Thank you, thank you.” Yan Qing didn’t feel even a flicker of shame. But just as she was about to gather up the pieces, she noticed that the pattern of his pieces bore a curious resemblance to a written character.

She turned the board around, and the character became clear — it was the character of her surname, Yan.

While arranging the board to spell out her family name, he had still managed to win the game — and this was his first time ever playing.

If this were the modern world, someone like that would surely be called a prodigy.

“What is it?” Shi Ting asked.

Yan Qing, thoroughly and truly defeated, clasped her hands together in a gesture of gracious concession. “I lost, fair and square. Director Shi is magnificent.”

“Lost? You were the one who won.” Shi Ting helped her gather the pieces back up. “What’s an alien?”

“Do you believe that somewhere beyond the world we live in, other forms of life might exist?”

“Naturally. The heavens are vast and the universe immeasurable — of course there would be other beings. Humanity is not the only one.”

Yan Qing couldn’t help exclaiming in admiration. “Director Shi truly has remarkable foresight.”

“And how did you come to know about it?” He lifted his gaze, looking at her with deep, searching eyes.

—