“Hey! Qian Wei! I finally found you!”

Just as Qian Wei was silently grumbling about Lu Xun, Liu Shiyun’s voice suddenly rang out. Qian Wei looked up to see Liu Shiyun running toward her, out of breath, and behind her stood Qian Chuan, his face looking rather sour.

Qian Wei looked behind Qian Chuan for a long while, but Mo Zixin was nowhere to be seen. She asked curiously, “Where’s Mo Zixin?”

Qian Chuan wore an expression like he’d just eaten something foul. “We got separated!”

“When did you get separated?”

“In the haunted house.” Qian Chuan said irritably. “Happy now?”

Qian Wei was indeed quite satisfied now, barely bothering to hide her excitement. Lu Xun hadn’t managed to spend the whole day with Mo Zixin either, but at least heaven had shown mercy and made sure Qian Chuan hadn’t succeeded either—this was excellent news. Qian Chuan had no advantage now, and his plan for alone time with Mo Zixin had failed too.

To confirm, Qian Wei pressed further: “So after that, you never ran into Mo Zixin again, and you’ve been with Liu Shiyun this whole time?”

Qian Chuan turned his head away, reluctantly confirming this fact with clear displeasure.

Qian Wei laughed loudly and threw an arm around Liu Shiyun. “You really are my best friend, ha ha ha ha.”

Qian Chuan snorted coldly. “She’s your best friend, all right—she uses the exact same tactics to torment me as you do.” He raised his arm, revealing several bruise-colored finger marks on it. “This is from her pinching me!” He glanced sideways at Liu Shiyun. “Aren’t you supposed to be the legendary ‘Fearless Liu’ from ten villages around? Then why did you spend the whole haunted house screaming and clinging to me? Fine, if you’re going to cling to me, could you at least not pinch me while you’re at it? You and Qian Wei are both law students—look at this, does this count as a minor injury? Does this count as intentional assault? You two are breaking the law you studied!”

“Pfft, you’re the one guilty of assault. This is authentic Thai massage technique I learned—I didn’t even charge you for it, lucky you.” Liu Shiyun rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “What more do you want?”

Qian Chuan was furious. “How can you be like this! Taking advantage and acting all innocent! Is this what your law school teaches you—how to twist right and wrong?”

Liu Shiyun rolled her eyes again. “Qian Chuan, let me tell you, I’m already being pretty polite to you today. It’s only because you’re Qian Wei’s little brother.”

Qian Wei quickly fanned the flames. “Please don’t hold back on my account! Feel free to be as rude to him as you like!”

Because of Qian Wei, Liu Shiyun had always known Qian Chuan, but their relationship had never gone beyond mere acquaintance—even in her previous life, after all those years, Liu Shiyun and Qian Chuan had never gotten particularly close, though the two of them had always been friendly enough, nodding and smiling whenever they crossed paths. Qian Wei never expected that in this reborn life, the two of them would end up butting heads like this.

Liu Shiyun rolled up her sleeves, looking ready to go all out now that she had Qian Wei’s blessing. “What do you mean twisting right and wrong—this is called wit. Do you have the intelligence and brain for that?” Liu Shiyun laughed. “Oh right, I forgot, you’re from the sports science school. Of course you don’t. All your nutrients must be going to your limbs—your brain probably wouldn’t even be good enough to use as hotpot ingredients, they’d think it was a waste of the broth.”

Qian Chuan sputtered with rage: “You… you…”

Fortunately, it was nearly evening by now, close to the time everyone was supposed to regroup, and before long, the rest of the group started trickling back one by one. Qian Chuan, sharp-eyed as ever, immediately spotted Mo Zixin walking over from not far away. He instantly dropped Liu Shiyun, abandoning the fight, quickly adjusted his mood, put on his sunny smile again, and prepared to step forward to meet her.

Unfortunately, a beauty like Mo Zixin, even after getting separated from Qian Chuan, was never going to end up alone. At her side now walked a tall young man, the two of them chatting and laughing. Qian Chuan immediately felt a sense of crisis welling up. The young man beside Mo Zixin was clearly interested in her too, his eyes wary as he watched Qian Chuan, positioning himself in a way that seemed designed to keep Qian Chuan from getting close.

Fortunately, Mo Zixin took the initiative and walked over first. “Qian Chuan, I don’t know how we got separated, but I ended up just exploring on my own after that. Oh, by the way, here’s a little souvenir I bought—I got one for you too.”

Qian Chuan took the souvenir, looking rather smug, and couldn’t resist shooting Qian Wei a triumphant look to gloat. “See, she treats me differently from everyone else. No matter how much you scheme to sabotage us, even though I didn’t get to spend today with her, I always knew I already hold a uniquely important place in her heart.”

Qian Wei chuckled. “Then take a look over there.”

Qian Chuan turned his head, only to see Mo Zixin walking over to the other classmates, handing out an identical souvenir to each and every one of them. Qian Wei and Liu Shiyun each received one too.

Qian Chuan: “…”

After finishing this round of gift-giving, Mo Zixin then walked over to Lu Xun, seemingly casually. She lowered her head, biting her lip slightly, looking a bit shy. “Lu Xun, this one’s for you.”

Though Mo Zixin’s movement had been quick, Qian Wei still caught it clearly—the wrapping on the gift she gave Lu Xun was different, and looked noticeably larger than everyone else’s. Despite Lu Xun showing Mo Zixin so little attention, in the end, she still treated him as the most special one of all.

Unfortunately, in response to this beautiful gesture of goodwill, Lu Xun showed not a shred of enthusiasm. He remained his usual cold, indifferent self, like some component with no capacity to conduct warmth, giving Mo Zixin a polite, distant nod and a brief “thank you,” as terse as if saying even two more words would cost him his life.

Qian Wei broke into a cold sweat inwardly. Sure, sometimes a bit of reserve, whether in a man or woman, could make a person more captivating—but Lu Xun, wasn’t this taking reserve a little too far!

Fortunately, Mo Zixin was quite resilient. Facing Lu Xun’s coldness, a flash of awkwardness crossed her expression before she recovered her bright smile, and she started chatting with Lu Xun about something else. Qian Wei tried to inch closer to eavesdrop, but Liu Shiyun bounced over to her side just then.

“I’m telling you, it was totally the right call for you two to skip that 4D movie. You have no idea what that thing was like—there was horseback riding in the movie, and that terrible seat kept jolting me around, I nearly got shaken sick; the character was running through the wind, and it blasted cold air right at me, I nearly caught a cold; and it even rained in the movie and sprayed water at me! Do you have any idea, I did my makeup today! My makeup got completely ruined!” Liu Shiyun described her first 4D experience with great enthusiasm, then glanced at Qian Wei and got even more worked up. “Oh my god, aren’t you being a bit childish—you actually bought such a garish lollipop.”

“This was buy-one-get-one-free, and whoever bought it didn’t want the extra one, so they gave it to me. It’s not like I bought it myself.”

Liu Shiyun rolled her eyes hugely at Qian Wei. “Oh please, you think I didn’t browse that shop myself? I saw this exact candy in that souvenir store just now, and don’t be fooled by how small it is, it’s actually pretty pricey—there’s no such buy-one-get-one-free deal at all. Go ahead and eat it, I won’t make fun of you.”

“Huh?” Qian Wei blinked. No buy-one-get-one-free deal? Then why had Lu Xun lied about that…

Unfortunately, before Qian Wei could think it over further, the event organizers started calling everyone to gather and board the bus for the next destination.

According to the itinerary, today was spent entirely at the theme park, while tomorrow was scheduled for outdoor activities at a nearby forest park. This forest park had already developed a fairly mature tourism setup, with a dedicated barbecue area as well as small treehouses that offered a camping-like experience. These treehouses were built along the mountainside, requiring a climb up a series of steps, with some as single-room suites and others as villa-style tree lodges. Tonight, Qian Wei’s group had booked several of the family-apartment-style treehouses here, and because there were so many of them, the student union organizers had reserved several treehouses connected together, with interconnecting doors inside for easy visiting back and forth in the evening.

The forest park wasn’t far from the theme park; after about ten minutes on the bus, they arrived at their destination. Qian Wei and Liu Shiyun got off the bus and heard the organizing student union members arranging the room assignments.

“Qian Wei, Liu Shiyun, Mo Zixin, Lu Xun, Wang Hao, Zhang Ming, Chen Mengmeng… you law school folks will all be together in one treehouse.”

Wang Hao, one of those named, raised his hand. “Can I room with my friend from the electronics school instead? We already agreed on this beforehand.”

Qian Chuan seized the opportunity. “Buddy, perfect timing, let’s swap. I’ll go to the law school room, and you go be with your electronics school friend and stay with us sports science folks instead. My parents are always telling me to look after my sister no matter where we go, never leave her side. If I can’t room with my sister tonight, I’ll worry too much to sleep.”

“Sure, then you go to the law school room.”

Qian Wei watched, dumbfounded, as Qian Chuan strutted smugly over to join her group. He smiled at Mo Zixin with a sincere expression. “There are more girls than guys in your law school group, and these treehouses on the mountain aren’t like hotels—there’s no real protection outside. If anything happens in the middle of the night, having me around means I can look after you all.” As he spoke, he casually rolled up his sleeve as if by accident, showing off his muscles.

“Qian Chuan, didn’t you just say you were going to look after me every second, never leaving my side???” Qian Wei grabbed Qian Chuan and yanked him away from Mo Zixin’s side. “Well then, you’d better stay right by my side and look after me.”

Qian Chuan glared at Qian Wei but finally settled down.

Everyone went off to their assigned treehouses to drop off their luggage. The family-apartment-style treehouses had three floors each: the first floor was a spacious living room and activity area; the second floor had two bedrooms and a bathroom; the third floor had the same layout. The final arrangement had all the girls staying together on the third floor, with Qian Wei and Liu Shiyun in one room and Mo Zixin and another girl, Chen Mengmeng, in the other. The boys stayed on the second floor—Qian Chuan, holding firmly to the principle of “know thy enemy,” stuck close to Lu Xun and made sure to room with him despite the effort it took to get in his good graces, while the remaining two boys took the last room.

“Come on, come on, let’s go get ready for the barbecue outside.” The moment Liu Shiyun thought of food, her spirits immediately soared. “After the barbecue we can go see the fireflies in the forest—they’re specially introduced here, they’re gorgeous.”

The forest park had quite the business sense—near the low mountain area they’d built various treehouses for tourist accommodation, and in an open area nearby they’d set up a barbecue zone for everyone’s picnicking needs. Guests could bring their own food, but not their own drinks. The barbecue grills were rented by the hour, and there were also all sorts of miscellaneous items to buy, like charcoal, foil, and skewers. Since many people hadn’t brought enough food, they could also buy more once they got into the swing of things—which meant the park made money, tourists had a good time, and it drove up foot traffic for the forest park too, a win-win all around.

The group divided the labor clearly, with the girls washing vegetables and the boys handling the fire and grilling. Before long, along with the smoky aroma of the barbecue, the fragrance of cooking food began to drift out too.

The weather that evening was lovely; though the sun had already been covered by clouds, it still gave off some lingering warmth. The group sat scattered on the ground, the grass beneath them still holding a faint warmth, and a light breeze drifted by, carrying a fresh, crisp feeling. Qian Wei sat there watching everyone eat barbecue and chat, each young face carrying that eager, hopeful anticipation for the future.

Qian Wei suddenly thought of Bei Dao’s poetry: about the dreams they once had, of literature, of love, of journeys across the world. She couldn’t help but feel moved—how wonderful it was to be young. In this moment, she felt truly grateful that heaven had given her the chance to experience this kind of carefree, innocent youth once again. In this moment, she set aside for a while that urge to change her future, choosing instead simply to cherish this fleeting instant.

Qian Chuan and Liu Shiyun were bickering nearby, Mo Zixin was laughing, and Lu Xun still sat off to the side with that aloof, above-it-all air of his, drinking a beverage. The setting sun’s glow fell over each of them, on their bodies and faces, making them seem to glow, almost unreal. This moment, this moment would pass so quickly, but Qian Wei thought to herself: I want to hold onto it firmly. Even though in the future Qian Chuan would settle abroad and rarely come back, growing gradually more distant from her; even though Liu Shiyun, too, would become absorbed in her own career and no longer be able to share every little detail of life with her; even though Mo Zixin would vanish completely from her life; even though Lu Xun would become the boss who worked her to the bone—as long as she had the memory and warmth of this moment, Qian Wei felt, then in all the days ahead, through all the years when they’d have to shed their youthful innocence and face life alone, through all the years when they’d have to grow mature and steady, she could rely on the strength of this single moment to carry her forward.