Early in the morning, Zhu Yun packed her luggage and loaded the car.

“Are you sure you don’t need us to take you?” Her mother offered again. “Let me have the driver take you both.”

“No need.” Wang Yuxuan patted his chest reassuringly. “Don’t worry, Auntie Liu. I’ve been driving for years — I guarantee I’ll get Zhu Yun there safely.”

Wang Yuxuan went to sort out the boot. Her mother drew Zhu Yun aside and said quietly: “Don’t fall asleep on the road. Keep an eye on things — the driving conditions overseas and at home are different.”

“Mm.”

“Once you’re there, you handle booking the accommodation. Leave the driving to him. When you go out, don’t let him pay for things.”

“Alright.”

“And another thing —”

“I know, I know, I know everything. Don’t worry, I’ll take proper care of everything. We’re off.”

Zhu Yun extracted herself from her mother and ducked into the car.

As the car pulled out of the courtyard, she let out a long breath.

Wang Yuxuan grinned and pressed the accelerator, announcing in a booming voice: “Ladies and gentlemen, what you are about to witness is DreamWorks’ classic film, The Island — escape edition.”

Zhu Yun gave him a sideways look.

Wang Yuxuan snickered. “Alright, navigate for me.”

“Follow this road straight and get on the highway.”

Wang Yuxuan was a talker through and through — he chattered the entire journey without stopping, until Zhu Yun was yawning continuously.

She rested her head against the car window and took out her phone.

No missed calls. No unread messages.

She had told Li Xun several days ago that she would be returning today. They had kept in touch during the New Year holiday, but before long Li Xun had taken on another project, and his messages had become sparse.

That afternoon, they arrived at the university without trouble. The break was not yet over, and the campus was deserted and quiet.

Zhu Yun climbed out with her luggage. “I’m heading in. Can you find the hotel on your own?”

Wang Yuxuan stared at her. “Seriously? You’re done with me just like that?”

That was perhaps a little unkind of her…

“How about this,” Zhu Yun said. “Tomorrow I’ll make time to take you to the sights. It’s too late today anyway, and you’ve been driving — get some rest first.”

Wang Yuxuan was twirling his car keys, just about to say something, when his gaze drifted past Zhu Yun and stopped.

He tilted his head to signal Zhu Yun to look behind her. “Hey — do you know him?”

Zhu Yun turned around, and every hair on her body stood to attention.

A certain golden-haired figure was strolling toward them in casual clothes, hands in his pockets, looking as though he had just come back from a wander. A plastic bag from the nearby convenience store hung from one wrist.

He was idly sizing up both Zhu Yun and Wang Yuxuan.

Zhu Yun thought very quickly about whether to introduce the two of them, then abandoned the idea. Going by Li Xun’s present expression, he did not appear to have the slightest interest in meeting Wang Yuxuan.

“You’re back?” Li Xun said.

“Mm.”

Li Xun said flatly: “Come on then.” He turned and headed into the campus.

Zhu Yun quickly turned back to Wang Yuxuan. “I’m going. I’ll be in touch tomorrow.”

Wang Yuxuan shrugged. “Alright. Get some rest.”

Wang Yuxuan got back in the car and started the engine. He looked up through the windscreen and watched Zhu Yun breaking into a quick stride to catch up with the man ahead.

Zhu Yun dragged her suitcase along beside Li Xun.

She stole a glance at him. He was the same as always — unhurried, at ease, moving through the world as though he owned it.

Zhu Yun cleared her throat. “So, um…”

Lazily: “So um what?”

“What’s the new project you’ve taken on?”

“An inbound and outbound inventory management system for an automotive parts company.”

“Is it difficult?”

Li Xun pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and said nothing.

Right. Pretend I didn’t ask.

“Who was that just now?” Li Xun said around his cigarette, voice slightly muffled.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Zhu Yun said: “My family’s driver.”

Li Xun’s mouth curved into a knowing smirk. “Oh?”

They arrived at the foot of her dormitory building. Li Xun made a perfunctory gesture and said: “Your Royal Highness — does the princess require someone to carry her bags?”

She wouldn’t dare impose.

“I’m fine on my own. It’s not much, it’s not heavy.”

Li Xun nodded, dropped a “come to the base when you’re settled,” and left.

The dormitory building had reopened mid-holiday. Zhu Yun was only halfway up with her suitcase when she was already panting, and had begun to deeply regret her earlier bravado.

Though honestly — what kind of person makes a polite offer and then actually doesn’t follow through.

Ren Di and Fang Shumiao had not yet returned. The windows and doors had not been shut tightly enough before they left, and a thin layer of dust had settled over everything. Zhu Yun sorted out her luggage, wiped the floor again, and then set off at a half-run to the laboratory building.

The entire building had probably only one room still lit — their workspace. When Zhu Yun arrived, Li Xun was stretched out in his chair, those long legs propped up, working away.

“Come here. Copy the documents and code over.”

Zhu Yun was exhausted to the bone, her throat burning. She didn’t answer him. She went first to the box in the corner and pulled out a bottle of mineral water, drinking down more than half of it in long gulps.

Li Xun looked up from the screen and said with pointed condescension: “Worn out from carrying one suitcase. How delicate.”

Zhu Yun couldn’t be bothered to rise to it.

Li Xun pushed the computer aside, draped one arm over the back of his chair, and stretched out to watch her with a smile. “What’s the matter, not speaking? That tired?”

“Not as tired as you must be.”

“Your mouth says one thing and your heart says another.”

Zhu Yun rolled her eyes where he couldn’t see.

“Get over here and do some work. Finally have someone to help out.”

“…”

She had always known that her role here — and her reason for coming back early — was to help him. But there was a difference between knowing that to yourself and having it said out loud by him. It was distinctly irritating when it came from his mouth.

Zhu Yun set down her water bottle and said with measured calm: “Term hasn’t started yet. You have no grounds to demand this of me. This is what’s called forcing overtime in bad faith.”

“Oh?” Li Xun tilted his head at her. “And what would it take to get Her Royal Highness to do any work?”

“Try being a little more civil.”

One eyebrow lifted.

Zhu Yun met him in a silent standoff.

After a moment, Li Xun set down his laptop, stood up, and walked to the back of the room. He crouched in front of one of the metal cabinets and took out a bag. Zhu Yun craned her neck with curiosity. Li Xun brought it over and set it in front of her.

A paper bag. Fairly large. Felt like it had some weight to it.

“What’s this?”

“Overtime pay.”

“…”

He said mildly: “Have a look.”

Zhu Yun opened the bag. Inside was an elegant long box.

The moment she saw the brand name on the lid, she already had a premonition. When she lifted the lid and saw what was inside, the premonition was confirmed.

Outwardly, Zhu Yun’s face was perfectly composed. Inwardly, she had detonated.

A dress!

He had bought her a dress!

When had he bought it — how long had it been sitting here? No, those questions could wait. This was the new season, wasn’t it. This brand, if she was not mistaken, was worth a very considerable sum…

Zhu Yun looked up. Li Xun was leaning against the metal cabinet, utterly serene.

“Enough?”

What was she even supposed to say to that…

“If it’s enough, come and get to work.”

The boss had offered her a way to accept gracefully. Zhu Yun stepped down from her high ground with all due propriety.

She put the dress away carefully, returned to her seat like a good girl, and Li Xun came and sat beside her, the two of them transferring files side by side.

“Why did you give me this?” Zhu Yun asked quietly.

Li Xun’s hands kept moving. He laughed softly. “A princess has to wear a dress. That’s just how it is.”

Zhu Yun felt a small tremor run through her, and something in her chest began moving in a way she could not control.

He was good at this.

He was very, very good at this.

“It’s all copied over to you. Read through the program first — anything you don’t understand, ask me.”

“…Mm.”

Zhu Yun focused her attention. She worked through until evening, going over the entire program, then looked up at Li Xun. “I’ve finished reading it through. What do you need me to do?”

“Nothing yet.”

Hmm?

You were just saying you needed someone to help.

Li Xun said without any particular tone: “Don’t you have to accompany your driver tomorrow?”

He had overheard her conversation with Wang Yuxuan?

The words left Zhu Yun’s mouth before she had thought them through. “That’s fine, I’ll send him off.”

Li Xun said nothing. Zhu Yun added: “I can start work tomorrow. I’ll send him on his way straight away.”

A few seconds of quiet passed. Then Li Xun smiled — it was light, almost breezy. “Well then, send him on his way.”

Just after eight that evening, Zhu Yun called Wang Yuxuan. He was at the hotel, slumped in front of the television with nothing to do.

“Zhu Yun! You finally remembered I exist!”

“Cousin.”

“………………”

“Cousin, I have something to tell you.”

“Stop, hold on.” Wang Yuxuan caught himself. “What are you up to?”

Zhu Yun: “Come out for dinner. My treat.”

Wang Yuxuan said with great caution: “Something is wrong. What are you after? What are you about to do to me?”

Zhu Yun was impatient and had no energy for games.

“I’m waiting at the school gate. Come quickly.”

Twenty minutes later, they met at the gate. Zhu Yun directed Wang Yuxuan to drive toward the city center, and after several turns, they pulled up in front of a high-end shopping mall.

“There’s a Western restaurant here that’s quite good. It’s on the top floor.”

Wang Yuxuan pursed his lips.

Zhu Yun: “Let’s go.”

Wang Yuxuan looked up toward the upper floors and clicked his tongue appreciatively. “You could have told me we were coming somewhere like this. I’d have changed my clothes.”

“Things are less formal here. Get out of the car.”

They went in through the main entrance. The lobby was bathed in grand, sweeping light. This was a higher-end establishment, and the first two floors were stocked entirely with imported goods.

“The import tariffs on all of this, though.” As they walked, Wang Yuxuan pointed at a shop. “That brand is half the price back where I am.”

Zhu Yun glanced over. “Is the quality good?”

Wang Yuxuan laughed. “I wouldn’t know. I don’t smoke.”

Up to the top floor, the Western restaurant was right there as they stepped out of the lift. The dinner hour had already passed and it was not very full. A server led them to their seats, and Zhu Yun passed the menu to Wang Yuxuan. “You choose.”

Wang Yuxuan: “Don’t hold back, then.”

“Please, go ahead.”

They had barely finished ordering and the server had barely walked away when Zhu Yun said: “Right — I won’t be able to take you out tomorrow.”

Wang Yuxuan paused. “What?”

“After dinner, head back and rest well. I’ve found a guide for you — go and explore on your own tomorrow.”

“So this is where it was all leading.” Wang Yuxuan folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. “I knew you couldn’t be this generous for no reason, let alone actually offering to pay for dinner.”

Zhu Yun explained: “Something urgent has come up at school. Otherwise I wouldn’t have come back this early.”

Wang Yuxuan spread his napkin and tucked it into his collar, then muttered under his breath: “I think someone’s attention is not entirely on the matter at hand.”

Zhu Yun elected to become selectively deaf.

The server brought out the first course. Wang Yuxuan said: “So who was the golden-haired one?”

“A menace.”

“…Are we capable of having a normal conversation today or not?”

Zhu Yun cleared her throat. “Eat.”

Wang Yuxuan didn’t move. He kept his eyes on Zhu Yun.

“What are you looking at me for?”

Wang Yuxuan shook his head slowly. “I think I need to get to know you all over again.”

Zhu Yun made to rise from her seat. Wang Yuxuan immediately made a defensive gesture. She looked at him in bafflement. “I’m just stepping out for a moment. You start.”

“Where are you going?”

Zhu Yun didn’t answer. Ten minutes later she returned. Wang Yuxuan looked her up and down and remarked with what appeared to be genuine feeling: “It really is true — the quieter the person, the more alarming they are when they finally rebel.”

Zhu Yun bent her head over her soup. Wang Yuxuan offered her sincere counsel: “Zhu Yun, these days young women all go for looks first. You really shouldn’t fall into that trap.”

“…”

He picked up his fork and pointed it more or less in his own direction, then added: “And Auntie’s preference is the sort of clean-cut, unblemished, spotlessly proper young man.”

Zhu Yun could not help looking up at him. “Are you out of your mind?”

“You can take the first two points as the ravings of a lunatic,” Wang Yuxuan said, leaning closer and meeting her eyes steadily. “But the next thing I’m saying in all seriousness… That golden-haired one — I don’t think he’s stable.”

Zhu Yun’s soup spoon stilled. “What do you mean?”

“First impression: he has real presence, but his sense of self is overwhelming — he has no restraint. He’s not right for you. You won’t be able to change him, and in the end you’ll be the one who gets hurt.”

A brief silence settled.

Zhu Yun said quietly: “Where is your mind going…”

Wang Yuxuan: “Zhu Yun, I know you too well.”

At those words, she suddenly smiled.

She looked up, and in that instant her expression carried a flash of something so sly and luminous that it made Wang Yuxuan blink. Her skin was soft and pale, smooth as fresh tofu; her eyes were a deep, dense black; her lips, flushed warm from the hot soup she had just been drinking, were a vivid red — and in the light of the fine restaurant, she was, without any particular effort, strikingly beautiful.

Without realizing it, she had borrowed Li Xun’s loose, unhurried way of speaking.

“Clearly, not well enough.”

“Zhu Yun…”

Zhu Yun placed Wang Yuxuan’s soup spoon into his bowl. “Eat. It’s gone cold.”

The topic was put to rest. A silence settled over the table.

Beneath the tablecloth, Zhu Yun’s hand held a small box. She had bought it while she was briefly out — a lighter, priced at the full tariff-inflated rate.

It didn’t mean anything. It was simply a return gift. The dress had been expensive, and her mother had raised her from childhood never to accept something of value without giving something back.

A mental eraser formed automatically in Zhu Yun’s mind, and it set to work gradually rubbing out everything Wang Yuxuan had just said. By the end of the meal, the only thing left in her head was the question of how, exactly, she was going to find a way to hand the lighter over.