Gao Jiyi sent Tao Ranran away and returned to the private room, only to see everyone putting on their coats. “You’re all leaving already? I might as well have gone to play with the young lady.”

The elevator descended.

Fang Langdie suddenly remembered something and tried to lighten the atmosphere. “Hey, Zhouzi, do you keep golf clubs in your car?”

Zhao Pingjin’s expression remained unpleasant, but he still responded with a “Mmm, why?”

Fang Langdie said, “Hurry and lend them to me. Tomorrow, Qingqing’s grandparents are coming to see her. The old man loves to play a few rounds, and I don’t know how else to entertain him, so I’ll accompany him to practice. You know I don’t care for that stuff—my golf bag has been gathering dust in the garage for ages.”

Zhao Pingjin nodded. “Then go ahead and take them yourself in a bit.”

Gao Jiyi, completely unfazed by what had happened earlier, chimed in teasingly, “Second Brother, Zhouzhou’s clubs are good, original American versions. You’ll impress your in-laws.”

The group went down to the underground parking lot. Gao Jiyi waved and left in his car. Zhao Pingjin’s black Audi that he drove in Beijing was parked nearby. He opened the trunk and pulled out the golf bag.

Fang Langdie took it. “Thanks.”

He and Qingqing got in their car and left.

Zhao Pingjin directly pressed the remote control button.

Xi Tang had been standing beside them the whole time. She stared fixedly at Zhao Pingjin’s car trunk, looking to the deepest part where there was a white storage box. The box was transparent, stuffed with various odds and ends, and on top was a small brown teddy bear, tightly sealed by the lid, its face squashed flat.

The trunk was slowly closing.

Xi Tang suddenly shouted, “Wait!”

She lunged forward directly.

“Huang Xi Tang!” Zhao Pingjin broke into a cold sweat, rushing over to firmly hold the trunk up with his hand while quickly pressing the remote control. His voice changed with anger: “Are you fucking crazy?”

Xi Tang didn’t hear him at all; she had already climbed inside.

She was petite, and Zhao Pingjin’s car was large with plenty of space in the back. Xi Tang knelt inside, grabbed the white box, and anxiously tried to pry it open for a while but couldn’t manage to open it.

Zhao Pingjin said nothing, quietly watching everything and carefully observing her expression. The corners of his mouth slowly curled up, revealing a hint of a malicious smile.

Xi Tang anxiously asked, “Is this my little bear?”

Zhao Pingjin stood outside the car with his arms folded across his chest, composed: “What if it is?”

Xi Tang urgently said, “Can you open it for me?”

She tugged at it forcefully but still couldn’t pry it open, growing so anxious she was about to cry.

Zhao Pingjin took two steps closer, reached out, and lightly flipped a latch on the side. It opened with a click.

Xi Tang flipped open the lid, pulled out the teddy bear, and examined it carefully for a while before hugging it tightly.

Xi Tang hugged it and tried to climb out.

Zhao Pingjin said, “Stop.”

Xi Tang’s face still showed the joy of reunion, and she looked at him somewhat bewilderedly.

Zhao Pingjin’s face was serious: “Put it back.”

Xi Tang hugged it tightly: “This is my teddy bear.”

Zhao Pingjin calmly stated, “This piece of junk is mine. You’re taking it from my car, Miss Huang.”

Xi Tang shook her head stubbornly: “This is mine.”

Zhao Pingjin said, “Do you have any proof?”

Xi Tang opened her mouth, thought for a long time, and could only squeeze out two words: “It’s mine.”

“Put it back,” Zhao Pingjin ordered.

“I won’t.” Standing her ground till the end.

“You want it?” Zhao Pingjin’s tone was enticing.

“Mm-hmm.” Nodding desperately.

“Call me Brother Zhouzhou.”

“Brother Zhouzhou.”

“Say something nice.”

“I…” Xi Tang was momentarily stumped, her eyes reddening, tears almost flowing out.

Zhao Pingjin sighed: “You’ve been so stupid from childhood till now.”

Xi Tang knelt in front of the box, rummaging through the things inside. She found her college textbooks, character profiles she had written, props from her graduation performance, her costumes, a whole stack of photos, various ticket stubs… the box was full of her belongings. These things had been in their home in Jiayuan, and later it was Ni Kailun who had packed up her room. At that time, she wasn’t in a clear state of mind, knowing she could never return to Beijing in this lifetime. Before going under anesthesia on the operating table, she had told Ni Kailun, “I leave everything to you to handle…” According to what Ni Kailun later told her, all the valuable items from the house had been cleared out and sold, the worthless things were thrown away, and the house was listed with a real estate agency and sold a week later. She had always thought these things had disappeared from this world forever.

She was shocked and kept murmuring, “How did you keep all these…”

Zhao Pingjin stood by the car door, his face cold and clear, pale and thin, emotionless: “Did you think everyone is as heartless as you? Come out now, let’s go home.”

The bedroom was warm.

Xi Tang, wearing socks, lay on the carpet, happily pulling out her precious junk from the box one by one.

Earlier, when they returned home, in the underground garage, Xi Tang wanted to bring the box upstairs, but Zhao Pingjin didn’t want to deal with it: “Another day.”

Xi Tang insisted: “I’ll carry it myself.”

Zhao Pingjin tried to drag her away.

Xi Tang wouldn’t budge, standing behind the car’s rear, refusing to move.

Zhao Pingjin reluctantly opened the trunk and carried it upstairs for her.

Once inside, he took off his suit jacket and lay down on the bed, biting his lip and saying nothing more.

Xi Tang then realized his stomach was uncomfortable.

After changing him into comfortable clothes, having him drink warm water and take medicine, and warming his stomach, Zhao Pingjin kissed her forehead and lay comfortably on the bed.

Xi Tang sat on the carpet in front of the bed, turning back to look at him earnestly. She had put a deep gray chunky knit cardigan over his black shirt, making Zhao Pingjin look calm in the eyes and pale in complexion. When he wasn’t feeling well, he appeared especially docile.

Xi Tang asked, “Are you okay now?”

Zhao Pingjin leaned on the bed: “Mm, felt bad for a while, but I’m fine now.”

He watched her pull things out of the box one by one as if seeing a floor full of dust, and couldn’t help but frown: “Don’t make my room dirty.”

Xi Tang said, “Then should I go next door to play?”

Zhao Pingjin thought for a moment and said, “No, better stay here.”

Xi Tang pulled out a large stack of receipts, all from five or six years ago, some papers already somewhat yellowed. She had collected all the train tickets, boarding passes, and attraction tickets from outings with Zhao Pingjin, as well as receipts for things he had bought for her. Xi Tang quickly flipped through them, feeling her eyes begin to moisten, and hastily set them aside. There were also several packets of photos tucked into the books in the box. Xi Tang pulled them out—group photos from their performance undergraduate class. In the photos, she and Zhong Qiao hugged tightly and laughed, both with makeup done terribly.

The memories were vivid, but the person was no longer there.

She looked at them and smiled, yet secretly wiped away tears from the corners of her eyes.

Zhao Pingjin lay on the bed watching her from a distance, crying and laughing like a madwoman. The smiles were certainly not for him, so who were the tears for?

He had never opened this box either.

At that time, he was abroad. Previously, Shen Min had briefly reported to him that Huang Xi Tang had been discharged from the hospital, the medical expenses had been settled, and she was now recuperating at home. Suddenly one day, the security guard from Jiayuan called him. They had lived there for almost a year, and the security was quite familiar with him. The guard asked if their home had been burglarized, as there was a large pile of garbage at the door. He had Shen Min drive over, who only said workers were clearing things out.

Shen Min packed these things into a storage box and handed them to him upon return. When he saw it, he wanted to throw it away immediately, but as he turned, he caught sight of a flattened brown teddy bear on top of the box.

That was Huang Xi Tang’s favorite toy, which had to be placed beside her pillow when she slept. She said her mother had returned once from Shanghai when she was little and brought this back for her, telling her the teddy bear was her best friend. Her mother later raised her single-mindedly, never leaving that small county town again.

He frowned and tossed the box into the deepest part of his car trunk.

Years passed, and though he changed his main vehicle almost annually, that box remained in his trunk, never opened, never discarded.

Huang Xi Tang asked him, “Can I take my teddy bear back to the film crew?”

Zhao Pingjin leaned on the bed and answered casually, “No.”

Huang Xi Tang pouted with disappointment but didn’t dare to resist.

Zhao Pingjin asked, “Back then, did you pack up that apartment yourself?”

Xi Tang paused: “Yes.”

Zhao Pingjin stared at her steadily, his face solemn as he coldly said, “You’re lying.”

Xi Tang didn’t dare persist. Their apartment had been packed up by Ni Kailun. Time was tight, so Ni Kailun only packed some of her personal clothing. As for the rest, valuable items were all taken out and sold, worthless things all thrown away.

Not a single thing was kept.

She had thrown away the most precious things in her life. She felt guilty and had nothing to say.

Seeing her sudden silence, Zhao Pingjin unconsciously lowered his voice: “All right, put them away and I’ll have them disinfected before you play with them again. Those things are years old, don’t touch them anymore, they’re filthy.”

Xi Tang cleaned herself up thoroughly, climbed into bed, and lay in his arms, but they just stayed quiet. She read a script while Zhao Pingjin read a book.

After a while, Xi Tang fell asleep nestled in his arms.

Zhao Pingjin knew her work wasn’t easy. Being on a film set was a very tiring thing, especially for a long TV series, which meant working around the clock. In cold weather, they often needed to shoot outdoors, and whenever she had some free time, she spent it all with him.

He gently picked her up and laid her down beside him, covering her with the blanket.

In the morning, Zhao Pingjin woke up, his arm moving slightly, and Xi Tang woke up as well.

Xi Tang lay by his pillow, glanced at the time—just past seven—and softly asked, “Are you awake?”

Zhao Pingjin nodded.

Xi Tang climbed up. She had slept well, feeling fresh and energetic.

On the contrary, Zhao Pingjin had been feeling tired lately. As soon as he woke up, he felt dizzy and was only willing to lie lazily in bed.

Xi Tang gently turned on a night lamp.

The dim light made the bedroom feel warm and cozy.

Zhao Pingjin lay in bed wrapped in blankets, watching her get up barefoot. She had kicked off one of the pillows in her sleep; she picked it up and placed it on a nearby brocade armchair, then sat on the edge of the bed and put on a pink robe, lowering her head to tie the belt. Her black hair was somewhat disheveled but very cute and lively. She gently placed his sweater cardigan by the bed, then went into the dressing room and hung up his shirt and suit for work today. She stepped on the carpet, so soft that there wasn’t a sound. Neither of them spoke, quietly enjoying an ordinary and peaceful morning in this mundane world.

Xi Tang walked to the bedside and kissed his cheek.

Zhao Pingjin’s eyelashes lowered, and the corners of his mouth revealed a slight smile.

Xi Tang went out to make breakfast.

Zhao Pingjin felt some dizziness and closed his eyes again, hearing her moving about in the kitchen, humming a children’s song, “The pond is full, the rain has stopped, the pond is full, the rain has stopped…”

That life could have such tranquil, happy moments—Zhao Pingjin lay there for a while, feeling his nose become sour and his eyes sting. He had to raise his hand and press firmly on his temples to hold back the tears that threatened to well up.

Xi Tang finished making breakfast and came in. Zhao Pingjin had finished washing up but continued to lie in bed with the movable desk extended and his laptop open. He wore glasses as he reviewed documents.

Xi Tang leaned over to look, seeing a long list of red urgent work emails in his inbox.

Xi Tang said, “Breakfast time.”

Zhao Pingjin didn’t want to move: “It’s cold outside, don’t want to go out.”

This room was equipped with the best floor heating system, each room controlled at a constant comfortable temperature. The bedroom and the living room/kitchen were the same temperature, but Zhao Pingjin was just lazy and unwilling to get out of bed. Xi Tang looked up at his bedroom—spacious with curtains tightly drawn, a soft yellow wall lamp casting light on the brown wooden floor, and bedding emanating waves of warmth. The warm spring bed, each moment precious, made one want to dive in and sleep until the end of time.

She understood the feeling but no longer had the privilege to be willful.

Xi Tang just quietly walked over, put his shirt on him, and buttoned it one by one. Zhao Pingjin merely extended his arms for the clothing, his eyes remaining on the computer screen. Xi Tang dressed him completely, then Zhao Pingjin put his feet on her lap, and Xi Tang put on his socks: “Sir, time to get up.”

After breakfast, Zhao Pingjin was tying his tie in the bedroom’s dressing room and came out to tell her, “I’m going to Europe tomorrow, for about a week.”

Xi Tang was applying lipstick at the dressing table and casually asked when she heard this, “Business trip?”

Xi Tang knew Zhao Pingjin had never been fond of going abroad, except for work and occasional vacations; otherwise, he preferred to stay in Beijing.

Zhao Pingjin paused for a second and nodded perfunctorily.