Li Weiyi did not sleep well that night.

Sometimes she heard sounds, someone walking around not far away; sometimes she dreamed of Xu Yi sitting by her bedside, stroking her face, the two of them exchanging a few words as usual; sometimes she dreamed of Zhang Jingchan standing in the ruin-like small villa, his back lonely. Just as she wanted to reach out and embrace him, she looked down and discovered she had grown a man’s large hands and feet, even sprouted a beard. Cheng Ruiyan appeared from nowhere, pinning her down and forcing a deep French kiss, just like what Zhang Jingchan had done to her…

Li Weiyi cursed in her dream.

The next morning, Li Weiyi woke with dark circles under her eyes. Looking at the daylight outside the window, her heart was still full of frustration and an impulse to just give up.

A knock sounded at the door.

Li Weiyi opened it. Zhang Jingchan wore a black coat with a black sweater underneath, all in black, yet this made him appear even more refined and coldly austere. He glanced at her: “Ready?”

Li Weiyi nodded, picked up the small backpack she had hastily brought yesterday, and followed him out.

The two arrived at the inn’s dining room, which was actually just a room of about thirty square meters. Probably because business was poor, there wasn’t a single person inside, not even a server. A few empty tables, a few serving plates held boiled eggs, corn, and a plate of vegetables that didn’t look very hot. Next to them was a rice noodle station. The pot was indeed heating, with dried rice noodles and meat sauce available, but no one to cook.

Li Weiyi searched inside and outside the room but couldn’t find a server. She asked Zhang Jingchan: “What should we do?”

Zhang Jingchan removed his coat and draped it over the chair back, rolling up his sleeves to his elbows. He said: “Cook it ourselves. We’ll leave after eating.” He walked to the faucet to wash his hands. Li Weiyi followed, finding it quite novel, though she still asked sincerely: “Can you do it, President Zhang?”

Zhang Jingchan’s movements paused.

Li Weiyi immediately realized she had said the wrong thing.

Men.

He continued washing his hands carefully, answering without lifting his head: “Whether I can or not, you’ll know once you try.”

Li Weiyi’s face flushed red. She fell silent, just watching his subsequent actions.

The room was utterly quiet, the air cool and fresh, sunlight scattered about. Only at the pot’s opening did steam gently rise. Li Weiyi had eaten rice noodles many times but had never seriously watched someone prepare them.

Zhang Jingchan gripped the wooden slotted spoon, picked up a large chopstick-full of rice noodles and placed them in it, holding it with one hand and gently swirling it in the hot water. He lowered his eyes, his other hand bracing against the counter, his back slightly arched, as if the surface beneath his hand were his old executive desk.

Fine dust particles danced in a shaft of light between them.

Neither spoke, neither looked at the other. Both stared at the rice noodles in the slotted spoon.

After a minute or two, Zhang Jingchan poured the rice noodles into a bowl, ladled sauce over them, and held it out to her with one hand.

Li Weiyi was still staring at the rice noodles as she reached out with both hands: “Thank you.” Who knew Zhang Jingchan would shift his hand to the side, and she grasped at empty air. Surprised, she looked up and met his eyes directly. Amid the faint light and steam, those eyes were profoundly dark and deep. Li Weiyi felt something in her heart tremble. She snatched the rice noodles from his hand and turned away.

She found an empty table to sit at, took two pairs of disposable chopsticks, and buried her head as she began eating. After a while, Zhang Jingchan came over carrying another bowl of noodles. Without lifting her head, Li Weiyi handed over the chopsticks. She didn’t know if it was her imagination, but when Zhang Jingchan took the chopsticks, his fingertips lightly brushed her fingers. She retracted her hand like lightning.

She felt she could hardly bear it anymore. Would this person ever stop? Ever stop? Yet after silently complaining for a long time, she didn’t dare raise her head even slightly toward him.

“Is it good?” Zhang Jingchan asked.

It was actually mediocre. Li Weiyi answered: “Not bad.”

“First time cooking,” he said. “If you like eating it, I’ll make it again in the future.”

Li Weiyi didn’t make a sound. After eating a few bites, she finally couldn’t hold back. Under the table, her foot kicked him a few times. She said: “Zhang Jingchan, you really are too much. Stop being so cloying. During this period, I guarantee I’ll stay obediently under your watch and conduct myself properly, alright?”

The person across from her finally let out a very soft laugh, said nothing more, and lowered his head to eat his noodles.

As Li Weiyi ate, she too smiled with upturned lips.

The stagnant, oppressive atmosphere that had lingered between them these past two days invisibly dissipated quite a bit.

After finishing their noodles and walking out of the dining room, they saw a person standing under a tree smoking, with a BMW parked beside him that Li Weiyi knew all too well.

The BMW faced directly toward the dining room’s wide-open window, with a clear view of everything inside.

Li Weiyi froze, feeling even her scalp begin to tingle. She didn’t know how long Xu Yi had been there, much less whether he had seen all the scenes of her and Zhang Jingchan together just now.

Zhang Jingchan also saw Xu Yi. He glanced at Li Weiyi and noticed her face instantly flush red, her expression alarmed. Zhang Jingchan immediately stepped forward, standing almost pressed against her, keeping her within the span of his arm, then looked up at Xu Yi.

Xu Yi extinguished his cigarette butt and tossed it aside, striding over. He looked only at Li Weiyi, as if Zhang Jingchan weren’t even there. His face wore its usual calm and gentle expression as he smiled and said: “Xiaoyi, why is your face so red? I knew you came to Chen City. I was worried, so I came to pick you up. Have you finished eating? Get in the car with me.”

Li Weiyi immediately understood—he had seen her interactions with Zhang Jingchan.

After all these years, she knew him very well. This person had deep thoughts, was unflappable, always wore a gentle smile, and rarely lost his temper. But when he truly got angry, all the company executives would tremble. The way he looked now, his emotions must be suppressed to the extreme. Li Weiyi’s instinct told her she was in trouble.

She remained silent.

Seeing no response from her, Xu Yi reached out to take her hand. Zhang Jingchan’s form shifted slightly, but Li Weiyi had already dodged his hand. Xu Yi grasped at empty air, his expression freezing for an instant.

“Xiaoyi, be good,” he said slowly. “Come home with me.”

An uncontrollable pain spread from the depths of Li Weiyi’s heart. Her eyes and nose instantly stung. Looking at Xu Yi, she felt an extremely strong impulse to return to his embrace, so he wouldn’t feel the slightest bit sad, the slightest bit hurt.

Li Weiyi’s hands, hanging at her sides, slowly clenched tightly. She knew that everything was this body’s emotional response. The memories were vivid and present, struggling to extinguish her reason.

Li Weiyi opened her mouth, her voice hoarse, but her words were directed at Zhang Jingchan: “Can you step aside? I need to talk to him for a few moments.”

Zhang Jingchan stood with both hands in his coat pockets, upright as a solitary pine. Their gazes crossed. He saw the pleading in her eyes. The line of Zhang Jingchan’s profile tightened as he said softly: “Don’t forget what you just said.”

Li Weiyi made no sound.

He spoke three more words slowly, his voice even lower, barely audible. Li Weiyi heard them clearly, her heart trembling.

He said to her: Don’t leave.

Zhang Jingchan turned and walked a dozen or so steps away, but still watched this direction.

Li Weiyi turned around somewhat absently and looked at Xu Yi, asking: “How did you find this place?”