Lu Xun’s gaze was intent and unwavering. “I want another taste.”

The words had barely left his mouth when, true to form, Lu Xun leaned down again and gave Qian Wei a second kiss.

Qian Wei was kissed until her head spun. She felt that ever since they’d started dating, she could hardly manage to have a normal conversation with Lu Xun anymore — they’d be talking, and then somehow end up kissing. It was honestly a headache. And yet, savoring that particular headache, she found it carried a certain sweetness. Not bad at all, she thought.

“How’s your foot? Does it still hurt?”

“Mm, a little.”

Lu Xun’s expression turned self-reproachful. “It’s my fault. If I’d pulled you away sooner, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”

Qian Wei tilted her head back. “Kiss me again, and it won’t hurt anymore.”

Lu Xun, as always, was quick to comply. He pulled her close and kissed the tip of her nose and her earlobe.

Even though they’d had a small falling-out, everything that needed to be said between them had now been said, and both their hearts felt clear and open — as though a sudden downpour had passed and the haze had been swept away, leaving the sky blue and bright again. Sitting there now, hand in hand with Lu Xun, legs swinging, Qian Wei felt that even the air she breathed tasted sweet.

She had always been someone who was terribly afraid of pain, and yet this one time, she felt that even though her foot had been pricked, if it meant she could dump out every scrap of insecurity and self-doubt she’d carried about love and toss it straight into the trash, emptying herself of it completely — then even if her foot had been stung into a honeycomb, it would still have been worth it.

As if in sympathy with the moment, the rain outside had stopped. The sun reappeared, hanging lazily in the sky, and the damp cold left behind by the winter rain slowly began to lift.

“Let’s go.”

Lu Xun stood and crouched slightly in front of Qian Wei. “Climb on, I’ll carry you.”

Lu Xun’s back was broad and warm. Qian Wei lay against it, breathing in nothing but the scent of him. She buried her face against his back and watched him make his way steadily past one puddle after another.

Given how many consultations the morning legal-outreach event had drawn, losing two pairs of hands for the afternoon would leave the rest of their classmates stretched thin, so naturally Qian Wei and Lu Xun needed to get back and help.

Lu Xun was tall with long legs and walked quickly. Before long, Qian Wei spotted the legal-outreach banner strung up at the entrance to Lotus Community.

Lu Xun seemed to draw attention wherever he went — his striking looks and bearing were enough that even before the two of them had fully reached the consultation table, several sharp-eyed classmates had already noticed them. From a distance, Qian Wei couldn’t hear what they were whispering to each other, but soon enough, one by one, many of the students began glancing up from their consultations to look over at her and Lu Xun.

Lu Xun was always polite, restrained, and a little distant — aloofness was practically his trademark. Not even the girls, let alone the guys, had ever seen him being so helpful as to carry an injured female classmate on his back.

Curled against Lu Xun’s back, Qian Wei felt she’d really picked a far-too-conspicuous way to travel.

“Why don’t you put me down?” Qian Wei said, a little bashful. “It’s just a few more steps, I can walk myself. Everyone staring at me is kind of embarrassing.”

By then the two of them had already reached the entrance to Lotus Community. Lu Xun seemed to take her suggestion to heart and finally stopped, setting her down.

“Lu Xun! You’re finally back! Come save us!” Liu Shiyun’s sharp eyes caught sight of him at once, and her face lit up like she’d spotted a savior as she waved at Qian Wei and Lu Xun. “Qian Wei, perfect timing too — soldier on despite your injury! There’ve been even more people this afternoon than this morning…”

Because of Liu Shiyun’s booming shout, the rest of the students instinctively looked over at Qian Wei and Lu Xun as well, drawing what amounted to everyone’s attention.

Qian Wei thought, thank goodness she was already down off Lu Xun’s back…

Mo Zixin had of course also noticed Lu Xun. She bit her lip and stepped forward, her face full of concern. “Lu Xun, your injury—”

But before Mo Zixin could finish her question, before even a second had passed on Qian Wei’s relief, Lu Xun gave Qian Wei another dose of that searchlight-focused sensation.

He pulled her close, gently cupped her cheek with one hand, and — right there, in full view of every classmate present — kissed her.

In that instant, Qian Wei felt all the blood rush straight to her face. It was as though a powerful explosive had gone off inside her skull, blasting every last shred of reason and thought into rubble. With so many people watching, Lu Xun showed no intention whatsoever of keeping the kiss brief or restrained; there was something commanding in the way he breathed, as he kissed her deep and unhurried.

It was a kiss that declared ownership. Lu Xun feared no one’s eyes.

For that moment, the world seemed to stop entirely.

By the time Lu Xun finally let her go, Qian Wei felt as though an entire century had passed.

Her face was faintly flushed. Lu Xun brushed her cheek with his hand. “It was my fault you felt insecure before. It’s better if I’m the one to make this public.” He touched the tip of his nose lightly to hers and said softly, “This way, there’s nothing left for you to be afraid of. Even if we break up someday, it’ll be me getting dumped by you — there’s no other possibility.” At that, he blinked. “Though I doubt I’ll be giving you the chance.”

Having done all that, Lu Xun remained utterly composed, without a ripple of disturbance, while Qian Wei was so flustered she barely knew what to do with herself. She’d always known their relationship would come out into the open eventually, but she’d never imagined Lu Xun would be so brazen about how he did it.

Qian Wei felt like she was walking on cotton candy — every step uncertain, sinking and floating — while all around her hung that same sweet, milky scent the cotton candy gave off. She had no memory at all of how she made it back to the consultation table under the weight of everyone’s shocked, varied stares. All she knew was that by the time she came to her senses, she was already sitting properly at the table, and Lu Xun had already returned to his seat on the other side, back to fielding questions from the people seeking consultation.

“Qian Wei…” Liu Shiyun stared at her, wide-eyed. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

Qian Wei covered her still-warm face. “Huh?”

“I want to check if my eyes are playing tricks on me.” Liu Shiyun looked utterly bewildered. “Is the sun too strong today or something? I just had this sudden spell of dizziness, and I could’ve sworn I saw you and Lu Xun kissing… Do I need to see an ophthalmologist? Or maybe a psychiatrist???”

“Oh — yeah, you did see that.”

Liu Shiyun: “Huh???”

Qian Wei cleared her throat and said, with feigned composure, “Your eyes are fine, you didn’t imagine it.”

Perhaps swayed by Qian Wei’s calm demeanor, Liu Shiyun let out an unthinking “Oh,” as if nothing were amiss — then, a full minute later, seemed to finally register what had just been said and let out an “Ah!”

“Wait!!! Qian Wei!!!! You and Lu Xun are together?! Lu Xun’s girlfriend is you?!” A parade of expressions — admiration, awe, shock — flickered across Liu Shiyun’s face. She followed the principle of “important things must be said three times” to perfection, crying out: “Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my GOD!!”

Even that didn’t seem to fully capture how thrown she was. She kept glancing back and forth between Qian Wei and Lu Xun for a good while before she finally seemed to absorb the fact.

Once she’d accepted this new reality, Liu Shiyun seemed to find it rather thrilling. She lowered her voice and leaned in close to Qian Wei’s ear. “So tell me, Qian Wei, how exactly did you land Lu Xun? Was it really all those breakfasts and fruit you brought him, plus the compliments? Lu Xun actually falls for that kind of thing?? Slow and steady plus a little flattery??”

Qian Wei had finally calmed down. She glanced at Liu Shiyun and answered with mock seriousness, “First of all, persistence.”

Liu Shiyun was eager to learn. “And what else? Any other special techniques? Half the school’s been persistently chasing Lu Xun — there was even some beauty from the Auditing program at the finance university next door who used to sit in on our law school lectures every day just to run into him. And look how that turned out — Lu Xun didn’t even glance her way!”

“And also — jealousy.”

Liu Shiyun: “???”

Qian Wei smiled faintly. “Don’t you remember? Didn’t you once tell me, on good authority, that Lu Xun’s girlfriend was some jealous, shrewish woman?”

“…” Liu Shiyun looked ready to cry. “From now on, I swear I’ll be a good, upstanding citizen — no listening to rumors, no spreading rumors, abiding by the law, striving for the advancement of China’s legal system!”

“Oh, wait a minute — didn’t you also say back then that if I managed to land Lu Xun, I could make you call me ‘Daddy’?”

“Qian Wei, have I ever told you something?” Liu Shiyun deflected with heartfelt sincerity. “Being your friend has always been such an honor for me. You’re gentle and considerate, sensible yet warm, beautiful and clever, sincere and unaffected…”

Qian Wei shook her head. “No. Not negotiable.”

Liu Shiyun said, crestfallen, “Ugh, fine — Daddy!”

Qian Wei patted her on the head, finally feeling the satisfaction of a liberated serf breaking into song. “Good girl.”

There were plenty of people seeking consultation that afternoon, and soon both Liu Shiyun and Qian Wei were swept up in the work, with no time left to chat. About half an hour later, the earlier rush seemed to ease, and the group finally found a moment to grab some water.

That was when the crowd that had been too busy to gossip earlier suddenly swept their attention back onto Qian Wei — especially the other girls who’d come along that day. If gazes were physical things, Qian Wei felt certain her clothes would already have holes burned through them.

Envious looks, puzzled looks, suspicious looks, shocked looks, jealous looks, probing looks — all of it mixed together. Qian Wei had braced herself for this, but only now did she truly understand: being Lu Xun’s girlfriend really did require a heart of steel.

Liu Shiyun poked Qian Wei’s arm. “Hey, did you see Mo Zixin’s face when Lu Xun kissed you in front of everyone?” she said, lowering her voice. “She looked like someone had hit pause on her — completely frozen, didn’t move an inch. After Lu Xun let you go, I noticed her body still hadn’t moved, but her fingers were trembling…” Liu Shiyun rubbed her chin. “Honestly, she looked like she’d just been slapped in public.”

Qian Wei had no idea what Mo Zixin’s reaction had actually been in that moment. Because of Lu Xun, she’d unconsciously been paying too much attention to Mo Zixin before — but now, none of it mattered anymore. She simply didn’t care about her any longer.

Mo Zixin had disappeared right after Lu Xun kissed Qian Wei in front of everyone. Qian Wei had helped a few more residents with their questions before she saw Mo Zixin walking back from somewhere in the distance. Her face still wore that same delicate, fragile look, but her complexion was ashen and pale.

Back at the community clinic, right after learning that Mo Zixin had staged the whole scene behind Lu Xun’s confession, Qian Wei had been overcome with impulse — in that moment, she’d even wanted to march up to Mo Zixin and demand to know, to her face, why she’d lied. But now, Qian Wei no longer felt the need.

There was no need to confront anyone. Living her own life well was the greatest punishment she could deliver. Given this second chance, all she wanted was to hold tightly to Lu Xun’s hand and waste not a single moment of it.