In the end, Zhu Yun never went to meet that physics researcher.

She stayed home for three days, arguing for three days. Her mother had tried every approach possible, had said every harsh word imaginable, and was absolutely determined not to allow Zhu Yun to be with Li Xun.

“Don’t talk to me about his ideals and ambitions. A wild child with no father and no mother, who spent six years rotting in prison — it doesn’t matter how capable he is, it’s useless. He and our family are simply not from the same world!”

Zhu Yun had nothing left to persuade her with, nothing left to say. She found that the more she spoke up for Li Xun, the more her mother’s resentment toward him grew. Her mother seemed to believe that her daughter’s defiance was entirely this “wild child’s” doing.

On the evening of the third day, Li Xun called and told Zhu Yun that he had finished the electronic medical records system she hadn’t been able to complete.

He only spoke with her about the upcoming system migration — nothing else. But Zhu Yun could tell from his voice that he wanted her to come back soon.

After three days of arguments, Zhu Yun’s head was spinning. Not wanting to trigger another round before she left, she fell back on her old trick — planning to slip away quietly after her parents had gone to sleep.

That night Zhu Yun packed her things, brought her bag downstairs first, then crept back up to the second-floor Buddhist shrine. To the right of the shrine was a storage wall. Zhu Yun carefully slid it open; lying in the first compartment was a small red booklet. She tucked the household registration book into her pocket and turned around — only to find the Buddha statue in the red wooden shrine gazing at her serenely.

Her grandmother had brought it from out of town many years ago, and it had been enshrined in the home for as long as Zhu Yun could remember.

The shrine was filled with the thick scent of sandalwood. Looking at the Buddha’s long, narrow eyes, Zhu Yun suddenly felt a pang of sorrow.

She said to the Buddha: “I’m probably about to do something very unfilial.”

The Buddha watched her in silence.

“I don’t know if what I’m doing is right or wrong,” Zhu Yun said. “But I have to do it. I can’t go back on my word again.”

The Buddha continued to watch her in silence.

Zhu Yun murmured: “Please bless my parents with good health. Please bless Li Xun with good health too. And if there is any karmic retribution to be paid — let it all fall on me.”

When she finished speaking, she turned and walked away.

She drove through the night to get back to her apartment. The next morning her mother called. Weighed down by guilt, Zhu Yun silently bore her mother’s anger, accepting every criticism without complaint, and ignoring every demand.

“Zhu Yun, you’ve lost your mind again! If you still think of me as your mother, you’ll come home right now!”

It was the first time Zhu Yun had ever heard her mother issue a command in such a shrill, desperate voice. She hadn’t slept all night, and her palm could barely find the strength to hold the phone.

Her mother hadn’t yet realized she’d taken the household registration book. Zhu Yun said quietly: “Mom, let’s wait until we’ve both calmed down before we talk.”

Her mother: “Calm down? After all this, you’re telling me to calm down? How can you be so thoughtless? Everything I taught you from the time you were small was wasted!”

Her mother’s voice was so piercing that Zhu Yun felt as if her eardrums were about to be punctured. She had no choice but to hold the phone slightly away from her ear.

Neither of them could convince the other.

The one-sided accusations and criticisms grew harder and harder for Zhu Yun to bear. She hung up first, then went to the bathroom to shower. The water streamed down over her, and Zhu Yun breathed deeply.

By the time she came out, her phone had gone quiet. She glanced at it — her mother had called three times. Zhu Yun turned the phone off.

She tidied up quickly and went to the office. Dong Siyang’s renovation project was progressing well; the workers were busily installing the electrical wiring with great enthusiasm. Dong Siyang wasn’t on site — the person supervising in his place was Zhang Fang, who spotted Zhu Yun from a distance and called out to her excitedly.

“Team Leader Zhu!”

Zhu Yun walked closer, and Zhang Fang’s expression shifted.

“Oh — you look terrible. Those dark circles are as bad as a panda’s. Didn’t Director Dong say you went home for a vacation?”

Zhu Yun asked: “Where are they?”

Zhang Fang: “They’re in a meeting at the courier company.”

Zhu Yun: “The courier company?”

Zhang Fang replied proudly: “That’s right! Director Dong commandeered the place — started out in the lobby, then moved into their manager’s office!”

Zhu Yun: “……”

Zhang Fang said with concern: “Are you okay? Are you getting a cold? Your voice sounds hoarse too.”

Zhu Yun waved him off.

She went to the courier company to find Li Xun. A few employees in the lobby were sorting things; Zhu Yun walked inside. The door to the manager’s office was open a crack. Peering through from the side, she could only see Dong Siyang’s crossed legs propped up.

Zhu Yun took several deep breaths, then knocked on the door.

Dong Siyang: “Who is it?”

He really had made himself at home.

Zhu Yun pushed open the door. At a glance, the office wasn’t much better than the lobby — a jumbled mess of things piled everywhere. Li Xun was seated on the long sofa nearby, a laptop in his lap, an ashtray beside him crammed full of cigarette butts. When he saw Zhu Yun, he froze for a few seconds — then his brow furrowed.

Dong Siyang: “Did you just come back from a battlefield?”

Zhu Yun: “More or less.”

Dong Siyang let out an amused snort, glanced at Li Xun, and said: “The meeting’s mostly wrapped up. You two head out if you have things to deal with.”

Li Xun closed his laptop. To Dong Siyang, he said: “Stick to the timeline we set.” He paused. “I might have more personal matters to deal with for the next little while. I’m putting more on your plate — sorry for the trouble.”

Dong Siyang: “No problem.”

Li Xun took Zhu Yun by the hand and left.

The elevator was empty. Li Xun said quietly: “Didn’t I tell you not to let things get too heated with your family?”

Zhu Yun: “It’s fine. It’ll blow over.”

Li Xun gave her a glance but said nothing more. He led her out of the business park. Zhu Yun asked where they were going — Li Xun stopped walking, seemingly undecided.

Zhu Yun: “Did you finish talking everything over with Dong Siyang?”

Li Xun: “More or less.”

Zhu Yun: “Then should we go to your place?”

Li Xun didn’t reply.

Zhu Yun tried again: “Or mine?”

Truthfully, Zhu Yun wasn’t keen on going back to her own apartment. Her mother knew that address, and she was afraid her mother might show up. If her mother ran into Li Xun right now, it would absolutely be a bloodbath — her mother would not leave him an ounce of dignity.

“You drive. We’re going somewhere else,” Li Xun said.

They got into the car. Zhu Yun asked for the address. Li Xun named a location, and Zhu Yun was taken aback.

“You want to go see Ren Di?” The neighborhood Li Xun had named was where Ren Di lived.

Li Xun shook his head. “Just drive there for now.”

Zhu Yun drove for about half an hour and arrived at Ren Di’s residential complex. The security there was as strict as ever; the guard stopped them at the entrance. Zhu Yun was about to call Ren Di when Li Xun pulled a card from his pocket. The guard checked it and waved them through.

Zhu Yun asked curiously: “What’s that?”

Li Xun: “A temporary resident pass.”

Zhu Yun: “You borrowed it from Ren Di?”

“No.” At the fountain intersection, Li Xun directed Zhu Yun to turn in a different direction and said: “I bought it.”

Zhu Yun slammed on the brakes.

“What?”

The fountain nearby gurgled and splashed. The complex was quiet in the middle of the day, the greenery lush — the dense trees absorbing every sound from outside.

Li Xun looked at her. “I bought a house. Come see if you like it.”

Zhu Yun stared at him in shock, pointing out the car window.

“You bought it here?”

Li Xun looked at her with faint disdain, as if he found her lacking in intelligence.

“Why else would I have you drive here?”

Zhu Yun’s scalp prickled. This was practically the finest residential complex in the entire city — a sprawling garden district carved out of the most prime real estate in the central district.

Zhu Yun: “How much did it cost?”

Li Xun: “What does the price matter to you?”

Zhu Yun pressed until she got an answer: “How much, exactly? I’m not comfortable with how you spend money.”

Li Xun pursed his lips, leaned back against the headrest, and said casually: “Twenty-three hundred.”

Zhu Yun nearly fainted. She grabbed the back of his seat with a white-knuckled grip and ground out: “Did you take out a loan? Or borrow money?”

Li Xun said, stone-faced: “Borrowed from a loan shark.”

Zhu Yun went blank.

Beyond the car windows, the lawn was a lush, vivid green. Li Xun watched her expression — and suddenly laughed. He reached out and rubbed the back of her neck.

“I borrowed it from Ren Di.” His voice was low and magnetic. “Though it’s not really borrowing — her band is probably going to break up soon anyway, so she invested with me early.”

Zhu Yun finally came back to her senses.

“Break up? Why is it breaking up soon?”

Li Xun gave a light laugh. “A pop band like that doing well for five or six years is already impressive. Ren Di has real ability — the rest are all just selling their looks. Especially that one girl — she was just exposed for drug use not long ago. Too much negative press. She doesn’t have long left.”

Zhu Yun asked: “Is Ren Di’s investment in you reliable?”

Li Xun countered: “Is your investment in me reliable?”

Zhu Yun raised an eyebrow.

She drove to the spot Li Xun directed. He pulled out a key and opened the door. The villa was empty inside, not yet renovated. Zhu Yun looked around with wide eyes, moved.

This was their home now.

Or rather — this was the home she and Li Xun would share.

She could almost picture what it would look like once everything was renovated and settled.

Though she still felt it was too expensive.

“We’ve barely gotten started,” she said, looking around as she walked. “We don’t need somewhere this nice right now. Something decent is enough — we can upgrade later when things are better.”

Li Xun stood in the middle of the empty space, smoking. “We’ll upgrade to something even better later.”

Zhu Yun turned to look at him. “How nice of a house do you want to live in?”

Li Xun: “Whatever you want.”

Zhu Yun teased: “We’re only just starting out and you’re already making grand promises.”

Li Xun didn’t smile. He looked at her steadily. Under his gaze, Zhu Yun’s smile slowly faded.

“You can make them too.” His voice was low, every word as steady as bedrock. “Tell me what you want — however outlandish it is, I’ll make it happen.”

Zhu Yun was momentarily stunned.

He looked at her and said softly: “Zhu Yun, I’ve never really had a concept of family. To me, marriage is just a very long love affair. I said it a long time ago — the most important thing about being together is happiness. I don’t want you to give up a lot of things just to be with me. I want you to be happy.”

“What about you?” Zhu Yun only cared about that last part, and she threw the question back at him immediately. “Are you happy being with me?”

The severity finally eased from Li Xun’s face. He tapped off his cigarette ash and smiled. “Not bad.”

Zhu Yun thought: that’s enough.