Shu Nian remained silent, staring at Wang Lin Xi. Seeing his serious expression, eyes shining brightly, seemingly not joking, she didn’t know how to respond to his words.

Wang Lin Xi pressed: “Will it work?”

Shu Nian felt too embarrassed to make this request to Xie Ru He, but also didn’t want to disappoint Wang Lin Xi, so she could only hint tactfully: “It wouldn’t help anyway, it would come off when you shower.”

“I have a permanent marker.” Wang Lin Xi got up, pulled a marker from the pen holder, “And when I shower, I just need to avoid rubbing it, then it won’t come off.”

“…”

After speaking, Wang Lin Xi sat back down on the floor, excitedly counting the albums, shamelessly saying: “Sis, I have twelve albums here, can your boyfriend sign each one for me?”

Shu Nian pressed her lips together and said with difficulty: “I’ll ask him later.”

“Sis.” Wang Lin Xi thought for a moment, suddenly remembering something, “Since you brought your boyfriend home, does that mean you’re planning to get married?”

Hearing this, Shu Nian’s face warmed: “Not yet.”

Wang Lin Xi tilted his head and asked: “But will you get married?”

Shu Nian was stunned, her mouth opening and closing, unable to give a definite answer. Before she could speak, she suddenly noticed the album Wang Lin Xi was holding against his chest. It was currently at the top position.

It was Xie Ru He’s first album, “Wu Nian” [My Thoughts].

The style was somewhat depressing, with an overall dark-toned cover. A young girl stood in the center, wearing a white dress and white shoes, holding a bouquet, her face blurred. Around her flew dozens of black and white cranes, entwining her like vines.

Like evil breeding in darkness.

Shu Nian’s gaze paused, and she instinctively picked it up to look.

Wang Lin Xi followed her gaze and action, explaining with a grin: “This is A He’s first album, a friend gave it to me! A birthday gift! You can’t buy it anymore.”

Shu Nian stroked the crane flock on the cover with her fingertips, murmuring: “Wu Nian…”

Wu Nian.

When she first saw this name, she thought it meant “that which I think of.” But now seeing it again, her perspective was different.

She felt it probably had a very literal meaning, a very straightforward meaning.

Wang Lin Xi asked curiously: “What’s wrong?”

Shu Nian returned the album to him, saying as if in a trance: “If nothing unexpected happens, we probably will.”

“Huh? What?”

Shu Nian came back to herself, reaching out to pat Wang Lin Xi’s head without speaking. Then, she lowered her eyes to look at her phone, feeling like she’d been in the room for too long.

And suddenly, she wanted to see Xie Ru He.

Shu Nian stood up, just about to leave.

At that moment, someone knocked on the door three times. The next instant, the door was pushed open, and Wang Hao poked his head in, asking kindly: “What are you two siblings chatting about?”

Wang Lin Xi looked up at the sound, puzzled: “You have to know what children are talking about too?”

Wang Hao walked in, directing Wang Lin Xi: “Go buy me a pack of cigarettes.”

“Ah! Smoking again!” Wang Lin Xi wailed, “I don’t want to go out…”

Wang Hao added: “I’ll give you fifty yuan.”

Wang Lin Xi immediately scrambled up: “Got it!”

“Sis,” Wang Lin Xi turned back, “Is there anything you want to eat? I’ll buy it for you.”

Shu Nian also stood up: “I’ll go with you.”

Wang Hao rubbed his nose, looking honest and approachable, seeming somewhat guilty and uncomfortable: “Nian Nian, just let him go, Uncle has a few words he wants to say to you.”

Shu Nian stopped her movement, obediently sitting back down, her manner nervous: “Okay.”

Wang Hao sat on Wang Lin Xi’s bed, then took a red envelope from his pocket: “I heard from your mom earlier, you overheard Uncle arguing with your mom.”

“…”

“I’m the kind of person who speaks without thinking,” Wang Hao said. “It wasn’t intentional. At that time, our family’s financial situation wasn’t good, I was under a lot of pressure, and I was always arguing with my mom. Now when I try to remember, I can’t even recall what I said back then, I never meant to hurt you. That was Uncle’s fault, Uncle wants to apologize to you, I’m sorry.”

Shu Nian didn’t know how to react, saying softly: “It’s okay…”

Wang Hao pushed the red envelope into her hand: “You were hurt by it.”

Shu Nian didn’t know whether to accept it or not: “I understand, you don’t need to give me this…”

“Just take it,” Wang Hao wasn’t used to doing this kind of thing, awkwardly standing up, “Consider it pocket money from Uncle, take it, it’s not much.”

After several seconds of reluctance.

Shu Nian finally accepted it: “Thank you, Uncle.”

Wang Hao breathed a sigh of relief: “Let’s go out then, we’ve been in the room too long. Your mom was just saying it’s been a long time since she’s seen you, and she wants to talk with you too.”

Shu Nian clutched the red envelope, lowering her head to put it in her pocket: “Okay.”

Returning to the living room, Shu Nian sat back down beside Xie Ru He. She looked up, noticing a faint redness around Deng Qing Yu’s eyes, but she seemed to be in a good mood as if a stone weighing on her heart had finally been lifted.

She didn’t know what they had been talking about.

Feeling thirsty, Shu Nian picked up the cup in front of her and took a sip of water.

Deng Qing Yu smiled: “What did Little Xi tell you? You were chatting for so long.”

Hearing this, Shu Nian suddenly remembered Wang Lin Xi’s strange request, then glanced in Xie Ru He’s direction, her expression somewhat hesitant.

Xie Ru He touched her water cup, adding some hot water: “What is it?”

Shu Nian swallowed the water in her mouth and said softly: “Little Xi wants you to sign for him.”

Xie Ru He made a sound of agreement: “I’ll sign later.”

Shu Nian scratched her head: “He has twelve albums, and wants you to sign all of them.”

Xie Ru He said: “Okay.”

“And… and…”

“Hm?”

Noticing from the corner of her eye that Deng Qing Yu and Wang Hao were listening, Shu Nian already found it difficult to say and was also worried that they would scold Wang Lin Xi if they heard. She could only raise her head and lean toward Xie Ru He’s ear.

Xie Ru He lowered his head slightly.

The two were extremely close.

Shu Nian lowered her voice, her shallow breath coming out as she spoke, reddening the base of Xie Ru He’s ear: “He also wants you to sign on his stomach…”

The next moment, Xie Ru He raised his head, rubbing his ear: “Why?”

Shu Nian was somewhat embarrassed: “He wants his classmates to see it.”

Xie Ru He sat up straight, calmly saying: “I understand.”

Shu Nian’s manner was cautious: “You can refuse if you don’t want to.”

Just then, Wang Lin Xi returned with the cigarettes for Wang Hao. He put the items in front of Wang Hao, then said to Shu Nian as if they were using a code: “Sis, abs! Abs!”

“…” Shu Nian’s tone was soft, “Go get your albums.”

Wang Lin Xi let out a cheer and bounced back to the room. Shortly after, he came out carrying a large stack of albums, placing them in front of Xie Ru He, fawningly calling him: “Brother-in-law.”

Xie Ru He responded, then quickly signed all a dozen or so albums.

Wang Lin Xi stood beside him, pushing his luck with his requests.

“Could you add here, ‘TO dear Lin Xi’?”

“This one, this one! Just write ‘Happy 13th birthday to Wang Lin Xi’!”

Xie Ru He didn’t refuse, appearing exceptionally patient. To whatever Wang Lin Xi said, he would gently respond with “okay,” and then write each sentence as requested, without a trace of impatience.

Shu Nian watched from the side.

After a long while, when Xie Ru He finished signing, Wang Lin Xi slowly lifted the hem of his shirt. Perhaps because he was in front of his idol, his manner finally showed a bit of shyness: “And this…”

Xie Ru He pulled his shirt back down: “Let’s sign on your hand instead.”

Wang Lin Xi thought for a moment: “But writing on the hand comes off easily.”

Xie Ru He said: “If it comes off, I’ll write it again for you.”

Wang Lin Xi’s mouth corners turned up wildly, feeling like he’d scored VIP tickets to a concert.

“Come visit when you have time,” Xie Ru He signed his name on Wang Lin Xi’s palm, capped the pen, and said with curved lips, “Come keep your sister company more often.”

They stayed a while longer.

As it approached nine o’clock, Shu Nian felt it was getting late and suggested they leave.

The two said goodbye to Wang Hao and Deng Qing Yu, then took the elevator down. Earlier at the dinner table, both Shu Nian and Xie Ru He had drunk a little alcohol. Now neither could drive, so they simply left the car there and walked to take the subway.

The evening air was exceptionally fresh, with a hint of coolness.

Shu Nian raised her hand to touch her warm cheeks, only now feeling that the small amount of alcohol she had drunk seemed to have gone to her head. She was in a good mood, feeling like she had boundless energy.

After a while.

Shu Nian took out the red envelope from her pocket: “Uncle Wang gave me this just now.”

Xie Ru He looked at it: “A red envelope?”

“Yes.” Shu Nian sniffled and said, “He apologized to me. Because he had said before that the money spent on treating my illness was like burning it.”

“…”

“I was really upset at the time, feeling like I was a burden.” Shu Nian lowered her head, “I didn’t tell my mom that I’d heard these words, just cried by myself a few times in secret.”

Xie Ru He instinctively held her chin, lifting her head.

Her eyes were clean and clear, without a trace of moisture.

Shu Nian stared with round eyes, stunned by his gesture. The next second, her eyes curved into crescents, and she said gently: “I feel like life is getting better and better.”

Xie Ru He breathed a sigh of relief: “Yes.”

Those difficult times, those memories she didn’t want to think about again.

It seemed like they had truly completely said goodbye to her.

Shu Nian suddenly blurted out: “Teacher A He, I feel like singing.”

Hearing this, Xie Ru He lowered his eyes to look at her: “What do you want to sing?”

Shu Nian thought for a moment, then hummed a currently popular song with a smile, afterward asking: “Did I sing off-key?”

Xie Ru He was silent for a few seconds, then nodded: “Yes.”

Shu Nian quickly lowered her voice: “Then we can’t let others hear.”

“It’s okay, go ahead and sing.”

“Others will laugh at me.”

“There’s no one else around.”

“Maybe there are people around now, but we just haven’t noticed.”

Xie Ru He rubbed her head, saying with a straight face: “Then I’ll say it was me singing.”

“…”

Since he had said that, Shu Nian hesitated briefly, then continued humming the song. Soon, she remembered the album she had just seen, stopped singing, and asked: “Is your first album called ‘Wu Nian’?”

Xie Ru He’s footsteps paused: “The first one?”

“Yes.” Shu Nian hiccupped softly, “The first one.”

“No, it’s not.”

Shu Nian frowned: “It is called that.”

Xie Ru He said: “It’s not called that.”

“I looked it up before, the first one is called ‘Wu Nian’.”

“You looked up wrong.”

Shu Nian’s mouth corners drooped, asking dejectedly: “Then what’s it called?”

“It’s called,” Xie Ru He laughed softly, “My Nian Nian.”