The guesthouse had been chosen precisely for its open view — from their position, they had a direct sightline to Erhai Lake, in the most pristine shade of blue.

Blue sky, white clouds, and soft sunlight reflecting gently off the surface. The tide murmured and swayed. The two of them stood facing each other like this, close enough that the distance between them was hardly anything at all.

Xie Yichen was wearing a dark-colored T-shirt, the hem catching a clean arc in the breeze. He turned his head to look at the rolling waves nearby. Ning Sui watched as that prominent feature moved once more in a way that caught the eye — and then, from those quietly reserved lips, came a few words: “The bike is out of gas.”

Ning Sui: “Oh. I see.”

Lin Shuyu had ridden it too much yesterday, and it had conveniently just given out.

Xie Yichen looked down at her: “You wanted to see the Sun Palace?”

Ning Sui nodded honestly: “Yes. There’s something about it — a particular kind of solemn beauty. But Xu Zhou and Ke’er don’t seem very interested, so we didn’t put it on our itinerary.”

Xie Yichen looked at her for a moment, then unhurriedly shifted his gaze away: “Fifteen minutes, then?”

“Hm?” Ning Sui couldn’t quite follow his train of thought.

“I’ll go get ready. Meet in the courtyard in fifteen minutes.” Xie Yichen narrowed his eyes slightly and tilted his head upward. “The sun is strong today. Don’t forget to bring an umbrella.”

Ning Sui’s lashes fluttered: “Oh.”

The pebbles on the ground were smooth and round, laid out in a sunflower pattern radiating outward from a center point. Her gaze drifted down to them automatically. She stared at the pattern for a long moment, finding it oddly familiar but unable to quite place why.

Just before he left, Xie Yichen called out in an upward lilt — a good-natured pointer in passing: “Don’t keep staring. It’s the Fibonacci sequence.”

“…”

— Did he have the ability to read minds?

Ning Sui counted the stones, and sure enough.

Genuinely surprised, and then curious, she bent her head to study the pattern more carefully.

Xie Yichen watched her with her head bowed in that little-chick-pecking-at-the-ground way, and was amused. “Sunflowers do follow the Fibonacci sequence in their radial arrangement.”

Ning Sui suddenly looked up, visibly delighted: “How did you know that?”

Xie Yichen fell into step beside her heading toward the east suite, his tone casual: “Looked it up once when I was bored.”

In the period after his guaranteed university placement had come through, he had a bit of time on his hands and had read a great deal — mainly encyclopedic surveys and history — picking up all sorts of random, quirky knowledge along the way.

Ning Sui asked: “Are there other examples in nature besides sunflowers?”

When she was curious about something, her eyes had a brightness to them. Xie Yichen glanced at her: “I remember daisies, pineapples, pine cones — things like that. And the spiral length of a nautilus shell follows it too.”

“Nautilus shells as well?” Ning Sui turned this over in her mind, and something seemed to occur to her. She asked tentatively: “Then, do you think… a nautilus’s droppings would also follow the Fibonacci sequence? Since they’d follow the spiral of the shell.”

“…”

Fifteen minutes later, the two of them had gathered their things simply and headed out.

The temperature was slightly warm. Ning Sui was still wearing the knee-length, light green dress from before.

As she walked out holding the strap of her tote bag, she could already see Xie Yichen standing in the courtyard, umbrella open, waiting for her.

It was the large umbrella engraved with the words National Training Team — big enough to comfortably shelter two people.

“Where’s your umbrella?” He looked at her empty hands.

Ning Sui paused. “I forgot.”

The forward-thinking parents had already formed a WeChat group for Jing University families, and were chatting away enthusiastically about the new student orientation leadership program. Xia Fanghui had just done an impromptu check-in, pulling Ning Sui aside to talk about what the parents in the group were discussing: the university encouraged high-achieving incoming students to sign up as volunteer guides on registration day, helping new students complete various procedures. These volunteers were called “Student Leaders,” and those who applied were asked to arrive a week early for training, attending various lectures. The rumor was that it also gave them an advantage when running for class committee positions later.

That last point had enormous appeal to Xia Fanghui. She insisted this was an opportunity not to be missed.

As it happened, Ning Sui had already made a prior arrangement with her high school math teacher, Yu Zhiguo, wanting to get a head start on understanding what university-level mathematics would cover — she had heard that the math department was full of national competition students, and the difficulty curve would spike dramatically.

But Xia Fanghui felt the Student Leader program was more important. So Ning Sui had listened to her talk for a long time, and then hurried to pack and rush out the door.

Ning Sui asked: “Should I go back upstairs and get one?”

Xie Yichen glanced at her, sighed: “No need. Come here.”

Ning Sui stilled for a moment, then moved over and tucked herself under his umbrella.

What greeted her eyes first was his hand holding the umbrella above them.

Long, well-defined fingers. The tendons along the back of his hand even and clean.

Ning Sui looked for a few seconds, then averted her gaze. “I heard they have an electric bus here — runs every twenty minutes.”

“Yes. We’ll head toward South Harbor first. If we spot the bus, we’ll take it.”

Xie Yichen’s style was more or less consistent — plain tees, athletic hoodies, utility jackets — but across all kinds of colors. They sat loosely on him, giving him a casually untethered air.

The two of them stepped onto the main street. It was two or three in the afternoon, the peak of the sun’s intensity. The paving stones on the ground had been worn smooth and bright by passing wheels and soles.

There weren’t too many people out yet. The shops on either side were quaintly decorated but full of varied, eye-catching wares — jewelry, tea and antiques, embroidery, local specialties, and bars not yet open for business.

Ning Sui loved stepping from one whole stone slab to the next, like the hopscotch she used to play as a child — deliberately avoiding the moss-filled cracks. Her steps were light and bouncy. Though she kept her head down to watch the ground, her pace had a kind of easy lightness to it.

The sunshine was brilliant, but beneath the shade of the umbrella it wasn’t oppressive at all. It was exactly the kind of warmth-in-quiet that Ning Sui had always been drawn to.

Everything around her felt lazy and gentle. She asked: “Xie Yichen, what do you usually like to do?”

He walked alongside her, the umbrella effortlessly tracking her pace: “In my free time?”

“Mm.”

Xie Yichen thought for a moment, and listed a few things casually: “Basketball. Cycling. Traveling. When I have free time now, I tinker with coding and robotics.”

Ning Sui latched onto a keyword: “Traveling? Where have you been?”

Xie Yichen had many interests. From a young age, Xie Zhenlin had always told him that the most important thing in life was to savor the journey, and that the richer your experiences, the more warmth your life would have. So he had always embraced this philosophy — wandering and stopping, wanting to see just how vast the world was.

He had traveled across most of Europe, to the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Africa, the UAE, and throughout Asia — Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, and beyond.

“Internationally, I used to pick a different place every holiday. Within China, I mostly seek out natural scenery. I’m particularly fond of Sichuan and Ningxia.”

“Did you always go with your parents?”

“No.” Xie Yichen paused. “Sometimes with classmates. Sometimes by myself.”

Because Xia Fanghui was always warning her about how unsafe it was for a girl to go out alone, Ning Sui instinctively asked: “By yourself? Weren’t you afraid?”

“Afraid of what?” He cast her a slow, sidelong look, and then with a faint, almost-smile: “Oh — afraid of getting swept away by someone, you mean?”

“…”

That had a slightly suggestive ring to it.

Ning Sui was quiet for a beat, but since the topic had already been raised, she cautiously followed his lead: “So when you offered six hundred and sixty yuan without hesitation that day — was it possibly because…”

“?”

Xie Yichen’s jaw tightened slightly. His dark eyes fixed on her directly: “What are you thinking.”

Ning Sui prudently dropped the subject.

The tip of her shoe grazed a thread of fine green grass growing between the stone cracks. The thought from a moment ago circled back in her mind involuntarily.

— Why does he travel alone?

Ning Sui supposed that someone who was in the habit of traveling solo probably felt it gave them more freedom.

She had seen something online before: after his results were released, he hadn’t given any interviews, but journalists had dug up little pieces of information through various channels. His family was apparently very comfortable — his parents were prominent figures in a new internet company that hadn’t listed yet but was already valued at tens of billions of yuan.

By all accounts, his parents were also open-minded people — which made perfect sense that they would raise someone as free-spirited and unrestrained as him.

Ning Sui snuck a glance at his left arm. Ahead on the street, there was a stall selling baked sesame rolls, their fragrant aroma drifting over. A few tourists were eagerly waiting in line. At this moment, Xie Yichen spoke up: “And what about you — what do you usually like to do?”

After thinking about it, Ning Sui realized: “I don’t think there’s anything I particularly love.”

She paused and added: “But there’s not really anything I particularly dislike either.”

Everything seemed fine. Nothing she could complain about.

Though thinking back to when she was very young, she had been a child with quite firm preferences of her own — she would even pick a color when blowing bubblegum.

As she grew older, that gradually faded. She stopped caring. Because Xia Fanghui would arrange every small, inconsequential detail down to the last thing, there hadn’t really been much space left for her to make choices of her own.

“Do you like mathematics?” Xie Yichen asked suddenly.

“Oh, that one I do like.”

“From the very beginning?” He tilted his head to look at her.

Ning Sui thought about it: “At first it was just an interest. But then my mother insisted I study for the math competition. I actually resisted at first — I didn’t want to go to the classes at all.”

“What made you go in the end?”

“I didn’t want to,” Ning Sui said, sighing. “And then she bought me a new phone and a tablet and an MP4 player.”

“…”

“I thought — fine, it’s just math competition training. My hair is still mostly intact.”

“…”

Xie Yichen laughed: “You have quite the resilient outlook.”

Even his laugh was pleasant to hear. A quiet sound from the back of his throat, low and slightly husky in a natural way.

Ning Sui slowed her step slightly, and said with serene composure: “Well, of course. How else would you get by in this life without a little acceptance?”

That was simply her nature. If she couldn’t escape something, she’d try to make peace with it — at least make things easier on herself. In the most cynical reading, it was a kind of passivity. But from another angle, it might also be a form of wisdom.

After all, life was long. Nothing could always go your way.

If you couldn’t change the world, the only thing left was to change yourself.

“I learned to genuinely enjoy mathematics as I went along — there’s something about it that makes you want to keep exploring.”

They happened to be passing the bakery stall. Ning Sui had been eyeing it for some time. She wanted to try one, but felt like a single portion was too much — and Xia Fanghui had always been particular about not buying food from street vendors, calling it unhygienic.

The queue had thinned out by now. She was still standing there looking longingly when the person beside her suddenly passed his umbrella over to her: “Hold this for me.”

He went up and bought a box.

Inside were ten pieces. He took one out first and tried it, then unhurriedly held the box out to her: “Want some?”

Ning Sui lifted her gaze slightly, thinking that since it was offered, she was happy to accept: “Thank you.”

The sesame rolls were still warm. She bit into one — the outside crisp and yielding, the inside rich with melted cheese, dusted with fine flakes of seaweed. She ate slowly, in small bites, finishing the whole piece.

Xie Yichen glanced at her sideways: “Good?”

Ning Sui wiped the corner of her mouth: “Quite good.”

“Mm.” He took the umbrella back, lazily pushed the bag toward her, and said: “Hold this for a bit — no free hands.”

“…Oh.”

The two of them walked forward side by side. Ahead were a fruit stall, a dessert shop, and a vendor selling yak jerky. Ning Sui was just about to ask why Xie Yichen had only eaten one sesame roll and stopped — and then she watched him reach into the bag and take another one.

It really was irresistibly fragrant. Ning Sui watched his movements with full attention, and then politely asked: “May I have another one?”

Xie Yichen curved his lips: “Help yourself.”

She wasn’t sure what fortune had guided them, but they hadn’t come across the electric bus the entire walk. Ning Sui wandered along looking at the shops on both sides, and with something in hand, almost automatically started eating — one piece, then another.

By the time she noticed, there was almost nothing left in the box. Only crumbs.

Xie Yichen happened to glance over at exactly that moment. Ning Sui looked up with a slightly guilty expression and pressed her lips together: “About that…”

“Mm?”

“Would you like me to transfer you the money?”

“What?” Xie Yichen gave a small blink.

“I mean — most of these were eaten by me.” The heat had left a faint flush on her cheeks. “How much did you pay? I’ll send it to you.”

“No need.” By his expression, he seemed to find this entirely unnecessary.

Up ahead was South Harbor pier. The small island out on Erhai Lake was already visible in the distance, and a boat was sounding its horn as it came into dock.

Ning Sui thought she had seen it was around thirty-something yuan. She felt Xie Yichen had probably enjoyed them too, and still felt a little guilty about it.

She was on the verge of saying something when Xie Yichen looked over again.

His lashes were slightly lowered, his dark eyes holding a quiet light. His voice was low: “Then buy me a drink.”

Ning Sui quietly let out an inward breath of relief and nodded, relieved: “Alright.”

She pointed at the nearest drink shop ahead: “Is that place okay?”

Xie Yichen: “Sure.”

Preparation took a few minutes, and there were seats inside. Only one table was occupied — a couple who appeared to be in a relationship — so Ning Sui walked in. Xie Yichen followed behind her, and the two of them found seats at a corner table, one after the other.

The space wasn’t particularly large, so Ning Sui could hear the couple clearly debating whether a certain hotpot chain had been founded by Brazilian slaves, which then spiraled into a dispute over whether beef tripe or pickled fish was the most iconic dish.

“…”

There was no air conditioning inside. The warm air drifted in from outside, heavy and humid. Xie Yichen ordered a lime green tea. Ning Sui ordered an iced glutinous rice milk tea for herself and paid through the mini program.

The couple continued to argue without reaching any conclusion. While Ning Sui was playing on her phone, she suddenly felt a tightening low in her abdomen, accompanied by a faint, cramping ache. She immediately remembered — her period was due to arrive around these days.

“…”

The problem was, she hadn’t brought anything with her. And she was wearing a light-colored dress.

That wasn’t a good sign. If it went on long enough, it might seep through to the outer fabric.

Ning Sui’s expression stiffened slightly. She glanced at Xie Yichen with a trace of nervousness. And then — as if by some coincidence of timing — the staff called out their order number at that very moment, notifying them to pick up at the front counter.

Ning Sui looked up: “Xie Yichen.”

He had already risen to his feet, his gaze dropping to her: “Mm?”

Her lashes fluttered. She asked, calmly: “Did you bring any extra clothes?”

The question was rather pointless, of course — it was sweltering outside, and he was wearing nothing more than a plain short-sleeved shirt, phone shoved in his pocket, not even a bag.

Xie Yichen looked at her: “What’s wrong?”

“I feel a bit cold.” Ning Sui said something she knew wasn’t entirely true.

“…”

Not quite sure how to explain the awkward situation, she deliberated over her wording, cast another glance at him, and said in a slow, drawn-out tone, very carefully: “Or — if you think it’s too hot — could you take off what you’re wearing and lend it to me?”

Xie Yichen: “?”

The two looked at each other. Ning Sui kept her lashes lowered and bit her lip lightly, then settled for the more practical option and asked earnestly: “Then — could you go ask the counter for a few sheets of tissue paper for me?”

Xie Yichen’s gaze rested on her for a moment, then he picked up his phone and turned to leave at once: “Sure.”

Since the counter faced outward, Ning Sui couldn’t see him from where she was sitting.

She only felt the low, flowing discomfort continuing to slowly make itself known. She rubbed her temple, wondering — should she ask the girl at the next table if she could borrow a sanitary pad?

She had no idea whether the girl would have one.

That said, the emotional atmosphere at that table had become rather charged.

“I was just thinking — why have you been so obsessed with tripe lately? Wait, now I remember — isn’t that what that girl Xiao Li at your office also loves? I see you now — inviting me all the way to Dali was just an excuse to sleep with me, you had absolutely zero intention of getting back together. Not one bit of sincerity, you absolute scoundrel, and now I think about it, I shouldn’t have put that streaming membership on your account last night, sobbing—”

Ning Sui: “…”

Never mind.

Xie Yichen had been gone about seven or eight minutes. Ning Sui was just thinking of calling him when she saw him stride back in, a bag in hand. But it didn’t appear to be the drinks.

Xie Yichen stopped at the table, breathing slightly faster, as though he had just been running. The tips of his ears were faintly pink. A light sheen of sweat had formed at his hairline, and the dark strands of hair were a little disheveled.

He set the items in front of Ning Sui and tilted his chin toward them, his voice quiet: “Here.”

“What is this?” Ning Sui was momentarily startled.

“Didn’t you say you were cold?” Xie Yichen eased back into his seat, knees relaxed open.

She picked up the bag and set it on her lap, looking inside. He averted his gaze without making it obvious, his Adam’s apple shifting slightly.

Inside the bag was a newly bought dark-colored shawl — a local ethnic style from the town.

Ning Sui reached her hand in, and in the next moment, her fingers found two thin daily-use sanitary pads tucked inside the soft folds of fabric.