Lu Xun was a strong swimmer. He quickly pulled two more girls from the water. Qian Wei thought to herself that she’d really misjudged him — far from being a coward clinging to his own survival, he was braver than anyone. The only shame was that the person Lu Xun most needed to save, Mo Zixin, had already been rescued by someone else by the time he’d come for Qian Wei. Even though he went on to save several more people from the water, there was no longer any chance for him to play the hero for Mo Zixin.

“Qian Wei, are you okay?”

Qian Wei looked up and found Qian Chuan and Liu Shiyun standing before her, both dripping wet.

Qian Chuan looked nervous, pinching at Qian Wei’s arms and hands here and there, and only relaxed once he confirmed she really was fine. “Thank god you’re okay.” After checking on Qian Wei, he went over to Mo Zixin and asked how she was doing, then turned and jumped back into the water to join Lu Xun in rescuing more people.

Once Liu Shiyun was safe, her mood settled, and she nudged Qian Wei’s arm, wiggling her eyebrows. “Look at Mo Zixin, she seems pretty down.”

Qian Wei had her eyes fixed entirely on Qian Chuan and Lu Xun still in the water, worried something might happen to them, and responded absently. “What?”

“Qian Chuan couldn’t get to her in time because of me, and Lu Xun, who was actually pretty close to her, didn’t go save her either — instead he came and saved you.” Liu Shiyun sounded puzzled. “Doesn’t Lu Xun like her? What’s going on? Qian Chuan may have missed his chance to play the hero, but at least once he got to shore he went over to check on her. What’s up with Lu Xun? I saw him go straight back to rescuing people the moment he got out — he didn’t even go check on Mo Zixin.”

“Maybe Lu Xun just didn’t see her, and he was in such a rush to save people that he didn’t have time to check on her first.”

Liu Shiyun rubbed her chin. “Lu Xun really is dense, then. Or, could it be he doesn’t like Mo Zixin’s type after all — maybe he likes your type instead?”

“Mo Zixin’s league is up here,” Qian Wei said, gesturing above her own head. “My league is down here.” She gestured near her feet. “You think Lu Xun’s blind?”

Even as she said this, Qian Wei couldn’t help a small, rare flicker of hope rising inside her — could Lu Xun really have suddenly noticed something good about her? But… that couldn’t be right. If Lu Xun could appreciate someone with her personality, why hadn’t he shown any sign of it during all those years they’d worked together in her past life? Not to mention that he’d clearly been in love with Mo Zixin — after all, in her previous life, Qian Wei had personally witnessed the miserable scene of him confessing and being rejected by her…

A man like Lu Xun was simply too dazzling. So outstanding that it created a sense of distance in Qian Wei — she could only admire him from afar, never daring to get too close. Just imagining “domineering Lu Xun falls for me” gave her a faint sense of guilt, as if she were committing some kind of crime…

While thinking all this, Qian Wei stole a glance at Mo Zixin nearby. She sat on the ground like a mermaid, her long hair, thick as seaweed, hanging wet at her sides. Her features were still lovely, though her face looked pale — probably from the shock. Liu Shiyun was right; her usually captivating dark eyes now looked like dust-dimmed jewels, tinged with a hint of gloom and loss. Just as Qian Wei looked her way, Mo Zixin happened to look back at her, staring at Qian Wei with an unreadable expression.

“Does anyone know CPR? Quick, come save Wang Chenggang!”

The shout snapped Qian Wei out of her thoughts. She jumped up. “I know CPR!”

Just as she was about to run over to Wang Chenggang, a wet hand grabbed her from behind. Qian Wei turned to find it was Lu Xun — he’d just finished rescuing the last person in the water, a thin blanket draped over him, provided by the forest park staff who’d rushed to the scene upon hearing what happened. He tossed one to Qian Wei, then frowned. “Sit down and dry off.”

“But Wang Chenggang needs CPR right now!”

“I’ll do it.”

Lu Xun had made several trips back and forth saving people; even with his good stamina, he was clearly a bit winded and drained by now. Qian Wei thought about it and decided she should go instead. “You should rest. I trained in first aid at the school clinic, I’ll be absolutely fine, trust me on this.”

But Lu Xun didn’t let go of her hand. He walked straight toward where Wang Chenggang lay, without even turning his head, and Qian Wei could only hear his flat, even tone.

“It’s not appropriate for a girl to give a boy CPR.”

Qian Wei stood dumbstruck for a moment before it registered — Lu Xun was already crouched over Wang Chenggang, performing CPR. Internally, Qian Wei grumbled — what kind of bias was this? CPR was meant to save lives; who thinks about propriety between men and women in a moment like that??? And besides, Qian Wei herself didn’t mind as a girl — why should Lu Xun mind on her behalf??

Fortunately, Lu Xun’s technique was solid, and soon enough, Wang Chenggang, lying on the ground, coughed up a mouthful of water and regained consciousness. With that, everyone did a headcount and found that all the passengers had made it safely to shore. The park staff had also arrived by now to handle the aftermath, apologizing repeatedly, while a few student representatives chattered away, negotiating compensation with the park. Lu Xun didn’t join in the commotion — he walked straight toward Qian Wei instead.

Even though he’d just saved her, Lu Xun’s demeanor was still somewhat awkward, his expression composed but tinged with a deliberate air of distance and coolness. He walked up to Qian Wei and nudged her foot with his own. “How are you doing?”

Qian Wei was sitting on the ground resting, and had to tilt her head back to look up at him. He stood with his back to the light, but even so, Qian Wei felt his face seemed to glow white. She wasn’t good at recognizing or remembering faces, but no matter what, Lu Xun’s face was always vivid and clear in her mind — his slightly furrowed brow, his lips pressed into their reserved line, his high, elegant nose bridge.

Qian Wei blinked, gathering her scattered thoughts. “I’m fine.” For the first time, she felt a bit shy in front of Lu Xun. “Thank you for today.”

Lu Xun’s eyes rested on her, calm and steady. He often had no particular expression, and yet sometimes the most seemingly indifferent look held the most feeling — for all his cool aloofness, Lu Xun had, in stark contrast, a pair of eyes that always seemed to look at people with warmth.

“Then hurry up and go take a hot shower, change your clothes, and drink something warm. Don’t catch a cold.”

Qian Wei brushed off her seat and stood up, then leaned in close to Lu Xun and lowered her voice. “By the way, thanks for the concern, but shouldn’t you go check on Mo Zixin?”

Lu Xun glanced over at Mo Zixin, not far off — surrounded now not just by Qian Chuan but also by the guy who’d rescued her earlier. Being beautiful, Mo Zixin always attracted plenty of male attention wherever she went.

“She doesn’t look short on concern.” Lu Xun tucked his hands into his pockets. “I’m not one for crowds.”

Could it be he was jealous, seeing so many admirers around Mo Zixin?

“Girls never mind too much concern, just like nobody minds too much money. But I have a question — when you fell in the water, you were closer to her, and she even called your name directly asking for help. Why didn’t you save her? Why did you come save me instead?” Qian Wei looked puzzled. “I’m grateful you saved me, of course, but you really missed a prime hero-moment there. Not very smart of you.”

Lu Xun curled his lip. “So saving you was my mistake?”

Qian Wei rubbed her hands together. “I’m grateful, of course, but I’m just thinking of things from your perspective. You not saving me, I wouldn’t hold it against you, but you saving me instead of Mo Zixin makes me feel a bit guilty on your behalf, doesn’t it?”

“If I hadn’t saved Mo Zixin, someone else would have. If I hadn’t saved you, would you still be standing here alive, chattering away in front of me?” Lu Xun’s tone was as infuriating as ever. “Look at her — does she lack for concern right now? No. What about you? She fell where most people were clustered together — right after she called for help, I saw a guy already swimming toward her. You fell where no one was around; if no one had come for you, you’d have been swept who-knows-where downstream by now. If I don’t go to her, she’ll be fine. But you — if I hadn’t come, you’d be in real trouble right now.”

It dawned on Qian Wei — this guy really was quite moving, in his own way. Even with his own small romantic interests at heart, when it truly mattered, he still had the bigger picture.

Still, Qian Wei made one last attempt at protest. “Qian Chuan came to check on me first! And in the water, he was planning to save me too! I had people looking out for me too!” She pointed at Lu Xun. “And aren’t you here checking on me right now?”

Lu Xun smirked. “Don’t read too much into it. I’m just here doing my good deed for the day.” He tilted his head and added, twisting the knife, “Like going to teach in the mountains.”

“…”

Qian Wei tried, cautiously, “But Lu Xun, I feel like what you’re doing right now — in other people’s eyes — might make it look like you don’t like Mo Zixin, and instead like you like me… I know you’re just doing a good deed, but that’s not how other people will see it. I don’t want you to have any regrets later…”

“Why are you so wordy?” Lu Xun sounded a little irritated. “I don’t like anyone.”

“…” Alright, alright, there it was — flustered and defensive again.

“Next time, worry more about yourself. You don’t need to think things through on my behalf.” Lu Xun glanced at her. “You were at the bow — you’d drift farther than anyone if you fell in. Even if rescuers were there, they’d naturally go for the people clustered at the stern first. By the time they got to saving the people at the stern and finally came for you, it would probably have been too late.” He glanced at her once more. “After all, not everyone happens to have someone like me around, doing their good deed for the day.”

This time, Qian Wei didn’t argue back. She was a little surprised — she hadn’t realized that in such a dangerous moment, Lu Xun had still been thinking things through so thoroughly. In the past, when Lu Xun had worked her to the bone with overtime, she’d cursed him behind his back plenty as a capitalist bloodsucker — but right now, she felt a pang of guilt. Even though Lu Xun was a textbook exploitative capitalist, she decided she’d stop cursing him from now on! In this moment, she genuinely wanted to repay the favor and help him solve his long-standing single problem. This little incident had surely cost him major points with Mo Zixin — it looked like she really needed to think hard about how to help him win back her favor!

After the farcical rafting accident, everyone had turned into drenched cats. Though somewhat downcast, at this age, there was also a kind of post-disaster elation and excitement, and rather than feeling their trip ruined, the incident had actually brought everyone closer together. The boys walked in twos and threes with arms slung over each other’s shoulders, the girls clustered together gossiping, everyone heading back toward the tree house to change into dry clothes.

Liu Shiyun, for some reason, had started bickering with Qian Chuan again, so Qian Wei found herself alone. Lu Xun was walking not far off, and it was right then that Mo Zixin came up beside Qian Wei. The ends of her long hair were still a bit damp, making her look like a water lily fresh out of the pond, her eyes soft and hazy, like some flower that only bloomed at night.

“Qian Wei, are you and Lu Xun together?”

Qian Wei had never expected such a direct question from Mo Zixin. She froze for three seconds before hurriedly waving her hands to deny it. “No, no, no, nothing like that. Lu Xun and I are just plain old classmates!”

Even though this was the kind of topic girls usually discussed quietly, Mo Zixin didn’t seem to mind Lu Xun overhearing at all, not bothering to lower her voice. At Qian Wei’s answer, she blinked innocently. “But I feel like you like Lu Xun.” As she said this, she glanced pointedly at Lu Xun.

How could Qian Wei let the future boss’s lady suspect her of coveting the future boss?! She immediately protested with great agitation. “I don’t like Lu Xun!”

Perhaps Mo Zixin’s misunderstanding was simply too awkward — Lu Xun looked visibly flustered, and Qian Wei could tell, from the angle she was watching, that his walk had suddenly gone stiff.

“And of course Lu Xun doesn’t like me either!” Qian Wei added, racking her brain to come up with an answer that would satisfy both Mo Zixin and Lu Xun. “Lu Xun likes the quiet, gentle, smart, exceptionally outstanding type of girl. I’m loud, bad-tempered, average intelligence — just an ordinary face in the crowd. There’s no way he’d like me.”

“You’re too modest, you’re smart and outstanding too.” Mo Zixin covered her mouth and laughed, the very picture of gentle quietness — even Qian Wei, another girl, had to admit she was lovely. “Actually, I’ve always really liked girls like you — bold, willing to take responsibility, full of energy. I’ve always wanted to be friends with you.”

Should she accept the future boss’s lady’s olive branch? Of course! Win over the future boss’s woman, and isn’t that the same as winning over the future boss himself?

Qian Wei patted her chest. “Then we’re good friends now!”

Mo Zixin’s eyes lit up. “Really? That’s wonderful!” As she spoke, she came over, bird-like and a little shy, and looped her arm through Qian Wei’s. “Remember to invite me along whenever you all go out from now on.”

“No problem!”

“But — is the reason you don’t like Lu Xun because you already have a boyfriend?”

Though it was a rather private question, now that Mo Zixin was her friend, it seemed only natural for close friends to ask such things.

“No, I’m single.” Qian Wei thought about it, then added, “Just like Lu Xun.”

For some reason, Mo Zixin seemed genuinely interested in Qian Wei’s romantic life. “So do you have someone you like?”

Qian Wei shook her head. “No.”

“Are you not interested in dating in college? Focused on studying instead?”

“Dating is a matter of fate, but even if I don’t date, I’m not exactly going to focus on studying either…”

“So — so have you dated before?”

At that moment, Qian Chuan, having finished bickering with Liu Shiyun, cut in, wiggling his eyebrows. “She hasn’t. She’s not into dating men — she likes watching two men date each other. She’s obsessed with those gay romance novels. Our Qian Wei is what they call a ‘salted duck egg girl.'”

Mo Zixin looked confused. “What’s a salted duck egg girl?”

“Pure white and clean on the outside, oozing yellow filth on the inside.”

“…”

Qian Wei’s temper flared. “Qian Chuan, you little punk, itching for a beating, aren’t you? I’ll kill you!” She lunged, swinging at his arm.

Qian Chuan yelped and darted off. “Murder! Help!”

Mo Zixin couldn’t help laughing. Qian Wei felt a little embarrassed, and cleared her throat, explaining herself. “I don’t read novels anymore. Nowadays I read the Party Constitution, to strengthen my self-cultivation.”

“You’re so cute.” Mo Zixin pressed her lips together. “But they say college romance is the purest and most precious kind. My older sister never dated in college, and now that she’s graduated and working, her social circle has gotten so small she has to rely on arranged matchmaking to find someone, which is so much more calculating. She always complains to me that missing out on that youthful campus romance is her biggest regret in life. I think if there’s a chance, you really should experience love in college.”

Yes, yes, yes! So hurry up and get with Lu Xun already! Qian Wei thought to herself, sneaking a glance at Lu Xun walking beside them. At this distance, he should be able to hear her conversation with Mo Zixin clearly enough — but he kept his head down, his mood unreadable, and hadn’t said a single word since earlier.

“My cousin actually goes to our school too, a year above us, English major. If you don’t mind, would you like to meet him?” Mo Zixin said softly. “I think you two would be a great match, he likes girls with your kind of personality.” She hesitated, sounding a bit shy and awkward. “But if you feel it’s not appropriate, that’s fine too — I know this might seem a bit forward of me, it’s just that I really do like your personality, and since we’re friends now, and you’re single and not against dating, I thought why let a good match go to someone else…”

Though Qian Wei had no real interest in dating — her true passion was buying property — Mo Zixin had said all this with such sincerity, wearing an expression of such exaggerated embarrassment, as if she’d made some unreasonable demand, that Qian Wei felt like refusing would be the real crime.

“It’s fine, it’s fine, since he’s your cousin, no harm in meeting him.” Might as well count it as making another friend.

Mo Zixin’s face brightened with relief. “That’s wonderful! Qian Wei, you’re really so nice.”

Qian Wei scratched her head and laughed, and out of the corner of her eye caught sight of Lu Xun — his face had gone completely dark, as though someone owed him a fortune.

Qian Wei thought to herself, men — especially handsome ones — really could be as changeable as the weather. But well, when you’re that good-looking, I suppose you’ve earned the right to be difficult.