Tan Jin woke up to find his brother wasn’t in the room.

There were sounds in the living room. Shuffling in his slippers, rubbing his sleepy eyes, he walked outside.

As he pushed open the door, Tan Jin heard his brother speaking.

“Before I went to college, what you said to me—do you still remember?”

Instantly more than half awake, he quickened his pace toward downstairs.

In those few steps, Tan Jin’s mind became increasingly clear. When he walked into the living room, their conversation had already progressed to Tan Ziheng’s confession—”You asked me to wait for you, so I’m still waiting for you.”

Lin Shilan had her back to him—he couldn’t see her expression.

Tan Ziheng first caught sight of Tan Jin by the stairs.

He wasn’t flustered, openly showing his younger brother a smile.

That composed attitude completely failed to earn the spectator’s respect and instead provoked the opposite effect.

Heavy footsteps rang out. Tan Jin walked with devilish steps, appearing beside them.

Lin Shilan slowly turned her head…

One wave had not settled when another rose.

She hadn’t yet responded to what Tan Ziheng had thrown out when a wild dog broke loose and suddenly intruded into this awkward situation, adding fuel to the fire of her confusion.

Behind her stood a man with a distinctively styled nest of bedhead hair.

His expression was cold, with prominent eye discharge at the corners of his eyes.

“I’m hungry. Come out with me to buy breakfast.” He spoke to her without preamble.

Her wrist was grasped by Tan Jin as he pulled Lin Shilan up from the sofa.

He dragged her straight toward the front door.

“Tan, Tan Jin,” in her haste, Lin Shilan couldn’t even speak smoothly: “How can we go out still wearing pajamas? And we didn’t bring any money.”

“Wait here.”

In a few seconds, he entered his own room, grabbed his wallet, came back, and again seized her wrist, taking her outside.

“I also need to eat breakfast. I’ll drive you both, I’ll go with you…” Tan Ziheng was still speaking to them.

“BANG—”

Right in front of him, Tan Jin slammed the door heavily, cutting off the second half of his sentence.

The sound of the door closing was so loud it seemed to make the entire building shake.

Lin Shilan froze in place.

Outside the building, the rain had stopped at some point.

On a summer day like this, once outdoors, the sticky heat competed to cling to the skin, impossible to shake off.

Her throat felt hot and dry, her heart like a boiler burned dry.

Her back instantly broke out in a thin layer of sweat. She stared at his somber eyes, her mood rapidly deteriorating.

Something was spiraling out of control at breakneck speed.

“Wait! Your brother was still talking—is there such a rush to go out?”

“We can’t buy breakfast wearing pajamas. We didn’t even change our shoes.”

Lin Shilan felt like she was talking to a block of wood.

Tan Jin pulled her downstairs, not saying a word.

His strength was too great, completely devoid of reason.

She wanted to break free; he wouldn’t let go.

“Tan Jin.”

Lin Shilan called out loudly to him.

She knew.

Just like that day when he quietly replaced the bandage on her forehead.

She knew he minded.

His brother had expressed his feelings to her, and he had heard.

But in these many failed rainy seasons, the precious lesson Lin Shilan had learned was: impulsive escape solved nothing. Once upon a time, she had also childishly chosen to flee, wanting to close her eyes and muddle through the days. Only after so many repeated mistakes did she understand that the things she needed to face could never be avoided.

Tan Ziheng’s words had pulled Lin Shilan back to her naive girlhood. For a very long period, her heart had truly harbored feelings of admiration for him.

She thought all that was already in the past for them both.

That Tan Ziheng had perceived her feelings and was waiting for her left Lin Shilan profoundly shaken. As for how to respond to him—that required Lin Shilan to handle herself. What problem could be solved by Tan Jin getting involved and dragging her away?

So she tried to end this reckless flight…

“You don’t need to get angry at Tan Ziheng. My conversation with him isn’t finished yet. That’s between him and me—I should be the one to resolve it.”

Tan Jin didn’t respond.

He dragged her along, charging forward on his own. In the blink of an eye, they had already reached the entrance to the residential complex.

Here, people came and went—all neighbors who knew them.

Every person they passed subjected them to scrutinizing stares.

A girl in boys’ pajamas, a boy also in pajamas, both wearing house slippers—their too-casual dress made them look like they’d been kicked out by family. His hand gripped hers tightly, his expression serious.

People watched the spectacle, and from their expressions it was clear they were imagining some sordid plot.

“Tan Jin!”

Lin Shilan stopped walking, refusing to go further.

“Calm down!”

“Everyone is watching us like we’re a joke! Can we please not keep going!”

Finally, he had a somewhat different reaction.

Tan Jin stood still. He didn’t turn around, his voice muffled.

“Lin Shilan, why care about the people in this world? Anyway, when the rainy season ends you’ll go back. They’re not from your world—they have nothing to do with you.”

He gripped her hand tighter.

“Can’t you be like me? From the moment I came here, I’ve treated them all as NPCs. They’re tools for me to experience the world. To me, only you are real.”

The living, breathing people around them walked back and forth. He wasn’t swayed in the slightest by others’ sidelong glances. He didn’t lower his volume to accommodate those gossiping ears. Lin Shilan realized he truly didn’t care.

Lin Shilan had to admit his words left her at a loss for words.

After a moment of contemplation, she found her train of thought again.

“But I still think our experiences are real. After all, right now we’re living here, we have our roles here, the people here have their lives. Like, for your brother in this place, his family, the people he knows—if we just disregard his feelings and leave him behind, he’d find it baffling and wouldn’t feel good about it.”

Tan Jin laughed lightly.

“Why care about Tan Ziheng’s feelings? I advise you to wise up early—you and he have no possibility. He’s already dead in our world, and as for this current world, you surely understand… whether the people here live or die has nothing to do with us.”

Lin Shilan broke out in a forehead full of sweat: “I know there’s no possibility between him and me…” The rest of the words—she hadn’t figured out how to say them yet.

Outside the complex, pedestrians wore various expressions.

Some children played games in groups.

Elderly people enjoyed the cool under trees, leisurely fanning themselves.

They couldn’t interfere with the flood that would arrive soon, otherwise it would lead to an even greater disaster. This point Lin Shilan had learned after reading Su Ge’s book.

Tan Jin had stated it bluntly.

Thinking that everyone within her field of vision would die, Lin Shilan suddenly found it very hard to accept.

The Tan Jin beside her felt somewhat unfamiliar, somewhat frightening.

Taking advantage of her daze, he started walking again. His large hand locked around her wrist like handcuffs. He led her all the way into the breakfast shop.

Inside the shop, the strange looks became even more concentrated.

Tan Jin sat down as if no one else existed, asking Lin Shilan what she wanted to eat.

She shook her head—she really had no appetite.

He still ordered breakfast for two.

Chopsticks, spoon, bowl—he prepared everything for her one by one, setting them in front of her.

The breakfast was all served. Lin Shilan looked dejected, her shoulders drooping uncomfortably, showing no interest in the fragrant buns and porridge.

Tan Jin had an appetite.

Undisturbed by any external factors, he ate a mouthful of porridge, a mouthful of steamed bun.

Seeing that Lin Shilan truly wasn’t eating at all.

Picking up a small bun, Tan Jin deliberately touched it to her pouting mouth.

“This bun was eaten by you—it’s yours now.”

She gave him a sideways glance, full of irritation.

He covered his mouth, mischievously giggling.

Tan Jin truly had no heart or lungs.

As if they’d been getting along fine without a single argument, he still had the mood to tease her.

Lin Shilan used to think he was innocent and pure, a young man whose thoughts couldn’t be easier to understand. Now he was still like this, yet also somewhat different.

Without thoughts or concerns, consistent throughout, indifferent to everyone except Lin Shilan—this kind of “stability” had become frighteningly stable…

Propping up his chin, he gazed at her intently.

The breakfast shop was noisy with voices, yet he felt exceptionally peaceful.

This world was Tan Jin’s playground, and Lin Shilan was his only playmate here.

He looked at her, genuinely delighted.

Having a moment to relax, he noticed Lin Shilan was wearing his pajamas.

Tan Jin loved it so much.

Just seeing her wear them made his eyes crinkle with smiles…

In the end, Lin Shilan helplessly ate the small sweet bun that had touched her, as well as the fried dough stick, corn porridge, and scallion pancake that followed.

After eating, there were still some extra buns and a few fried dough sticks on the table.

After thinking, Lin Shilan asked the shop for a plastic bag to pack them up.

“It’s wasteful to throw away leftover food—let’s pack it up and take it back. Besides, your brother hasn’t eaten yet, and there’s no breakfast at home.”

Saying this, she subtly observed Tan Jin’s expression.

He didn’t object, just silently watched her from a corner of the shop.

Lin Shilan found herself rather ridiculous too—why explain so much, even checking Tan Jin’s mood?

On the way back, she deliberately kept her distance from Tan Jin.

Mainly because she didn’t want to be led by him anymore.

Carrying the plastic bag, Lin Shilan looked straight ahead, striding forward, her mind considering many things, not knowing where to start handling them.

In any case, first go back and change out of these pajamas.

Perhaps because she was walking too quickly, she suddenly felt a falling pain in her lower abdomen.

Lin Shilan had to slow down. She pressed her abdomen, trying to ease through this painful spell.

But it hurt even more severely.

An enormous force was tearing at her stomach.

Her knees were forced to bend, her vision spinning.

She looked at her hand—the breakfast in her hand was gone.

She looked ahead—the trees and pedestrians in front had disappeared.

She turned around—Tan Jin was still there.

She struggled to take a small step toward him—the road vanished.

Gritting her teeth, she called out his name—her voice scattered.

The scene before her eyes floated up, together with the summer heat, curling and steaming upward.

He ran toward her, running farther and farther away.

She stared at him, gradually becoming a tiny blue dot in her eyes.

Finally, everything in the world diffused into white.

The white of a hospital.