Qing Ye sat at the foot of the bed next to Meng Ruihang, quietly listening as he explained the situation to He Leling. He said he had only vaguely sensed that He Leling seemed to have special feelings for him, but since she was Qing Ye’s friend and they naturally spent time together, he hadn’t thought much of it.

It wasn’t until Qing Ye’s family troubles forced her to leave Beijing that He Leling finally gathered her courage to confess. He had been troubled by this and, afraid of Qing Ye’s misunderstanding, hadn’t mentioned it to her at all.

Moreover, the day after He Leling’s birthday, when he clarified things with her, she attempted suicide at home. Her family even confronted Meng Ruihang about it. He was now completely overwhelmed.

With the college entrance exam approaching and everyone under pressure, he had been forcing himself to reply to He Leling’s recent messages, fearing she might attempt suicide again if her emotions became unstable.

Qing Ye was shocked to hear about He Leling’s suicide attempt over Meng Ruihang. Back when she was still in Beijing, the three of them often hung out together at the library and went for meals. If He Leling had harbored such feelings then, how had she managed?

Later, Qing Ye concluded that someone who had suppressed their feelings for too long might have suddenly burst forth, especially during such a crucial period, leading to an emotional breakdown.

Qing Ye could understand why Meng Ruihang hadn’t told her. Stuck in this remote place, even if he had told her, she couldn’t have done anything except worry more. Like now, knowing about it made her heart heavy. She almost wished the two would just get together – at least that would be better than one party attempting suicide. What a mess.

Qing Ye checked the time – past nine. She stood up and said to Meng Ruihang: “It’s getting late, I should head back. I’ll come see you tomorrow morning. What time works for you?”

“How about ten? Get some extra sleep.”

Sleeping in was a luxury for her now, but she didn’t say anything.

Meng Ruihang walked her downstairs. Still pondering He Leling’s suicide attempt, Qing Ye casually asked while standing by the road: “So what are you going to do now?”

Meng Ruihang turned to face her seriously: “Her family came to plead with me, asking me not to upset her before the college entrance exam. They want to gradually provide her with psychological counseling after this period passes.

So… that’s how things stand for now.”

Qing Ye remained silent, but she understood their current situation. Perhaps Jesse hadn’t misunderstood – whether due to He Leling’s family’s request or Meng Ruihang’s fear of her doing something drastic, they were indeed maintaining this ambiguous relationship.

Qing Ye lowered her eyes and suddenly said: “If that’s the case, you shouldn’t contact me for a while, and don’t let her know you came to see me. We don’t want to trigger her again.”

Meng Ruihang’s brows furrowed: “Once this period passes, we’ll go to Canada. We won’t have to worry about anyone here anymore.”

Qing Ye suddenly smiled lightly: “You go your way, I’ll go mine.”

Across the street, Xing Wu took a final drag of his cigarette, watching Qing Ye chatting and laughing with that guy, showing no signs of leaving. He finally honked his horn twice.

Qing Ye turned her head as a spark cut through the night sky. Xing Wu tossed away his cigarette and rode his motorcycle straight toward them.

Qing Ye awkwardly stepped back, clasping her hands behind her. Meng Ruihang sensitively noticed Qing Ye’s sudden distance and turned to look at Xing Wu.

Wearing a black leather jacket, Xing Wu came to an abrupt stop in front of them. He met Meng Ruihang’s gaze with a cold glance, then looked at Qing Ye, who said in surprise: “Why are you here?”

“Taking you home.” The four words carried steady authority.

Meng Ruihang looked at Qing Ye questioningly: “He is?”

Qing Ye introduced him: “Xing Wu… um, I’m staying at his place.”

Meng Ruihang immediately understood, holding his collar with one hand while extending the other to Xing Wu: “You must be Qing Ye’s relative? Hello, I’m Meng Ruihang.”

Xing Wu glanced down at the extended hand without moving. Qing Ye cleared her throat, and only then did Xing Wu briefly tap his palm in greeting.

At first glance, Meng Ruihang thought Xing Wu didn’t look like a good person – crew cut with a rebellious stripe in his sideburns, and cold, sharp eyes. He shot Qing Ye a surprised look.

Qing Ye said to him: “Well, I’m going.”

She then climbed onto the motorcycle and got settled. Just as she was about to say goodbye to Meng Ruihang, Xing Wu suddenly accelerated, startling her. She instinctively wrapped her arms around his waist, exclaiming: “Slow down!”

Xing Wu replied coldly: “Can’t.”

Qing Ye shifted back slightly, clutching his clothes, and said: “He just arrived today, I only took him to dinner.”

“You’re good at returning evil with kindness.”

“About that incident before, I might have misunderstood. Well, not exactly misunderstood, but it’s complicated.”

She then told Xing Wu about He Leling. Xing Wu was riding incredibly fast, with the cold wind rushing into Qing Ye’s collar, causing her to curl up behind him.

Soon they reached the intersection in front of Xuan Dao, but instead of continuing forward, Xing Wu suddenly braked and got off the motorcycle. Qing Ye followed, looking at him in confusion. He simply said: “I’m buying cigarettes.”

He then walked straight into a small store in the alley. The temperature difference was particularly stark on this late autumn night. Qing Ye rubbed her hands while waiting at the alley entrance. Xing Wu bought his cigarettes and walked toward her, stopping a few steps from the alley entrance. He lit a cigarette, his tall figure casting a long shadow in the narrow alley. His features, half-lit and half-shadowed, carried an intense pressure as he stared at Qing Ye and suddenly asked in a low voice: “What are your plans?”

Qing Ye replied, puzzled: “What do you mean, what are my plans?”

Xing Wu’s deep eyes emanated an unavoidable intensity as they fixed on Qing Ye: “Now that the misunderstanding is cleared up and he’s come looking for you, what are your plans?”

Qing Ye stared at him for a few seconds, and then suddenly her lips curled into a subtle smile as she walked toward him step by step. Standing before him, she looked at him playfully: “What do you think my plans should be? Accept his long-distance affection and be with him?”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Xing Wu suddenly threw away his cigarette. Qing Ye only felt a dark shadow descends, her head held in his hand as warm lips covered hers. His tongue invaded while she was completely defenseless, dominating her breath, plundering her alluring softness, conquering her remaining will, and breaking through her final defenses. The faint nicotine scent numbed her thoughts, leaving her mind instantly blank.

In the dim alley, Qing Ye’s cheeks flushed with an enticing red, making her even more beautiful. Xing Wu, seeing her dazed expression, deepened the kiss.

At that moment, Qing Ye was stunned. She had climbed snow mountains, ridden helicopters, and gone bungee jumping, but no extreme sport had ever made her heart race and breath catch like this. Though she hadn’t been drinking, she felt intoxicated.

Xing Wu’s gaze swept across her heart, causing her to tremble. His breath was scorching, burning every nerve. Qing Ye felt dizzy, her legs weak – what was happening?

So when Xing Wu released her, she nearly lost her balance, clutching her chest. Xing Wu steadied her waist, and she looked up at him in shock. He quickly averted his gaze and strode toward the alley entrance, mounting his motorcycle and telling her: “I’m going to Shun Yi.”

Then he turned around and was gone, leaving Qing Ye staring dumbfounded as he disappeared like a whirlwind, coming and going without a trace.

Qing Ye thought Xing Wu was truly the world’s most genuine jerk. Just one inexplicable kiss, then leaving without a word, and now she couldn’t sleep.

It was her first kiss! Her first kiss! Who has such an inexplicable first kiss?

Qing Ye was still cursing him as a jerk even after lying in bed. Trying to recall how her first kiss felt, she found her mind was still blank, only able to remember Xing Wu’s dark, burning eyes, and then… nothing after that.

But thinking of how Xing Wu had looked at her then, Qing Ye slid under her covers in embarrassment, completely hiding herself.

Then she tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep – angry one moment, embarrassed the next, then finding it amusing – various complex emotions interweaving, leaving her almost sleepless all night.

At dawn, she simply got up to work on practice problems. She had planned to see Meng Ruihang later, but he came early instead, saying he wanted to bring over those materials.

Qing Ye took him around the neighborhood, though there wasn’t much to see. All morning she was somewhat distracted. Although she tried her best to suppress thoughts of last night’s scene in the alley, they kept surfacing. Each time they did, her face would flush strangely, causing Meng Ruihang to ask twice if she wasn’t feeling well.

Meng Ruihang had to leave in the afternoon, as he only had the weekend. After walking around briefly, Qing Ye accompanied him back to Xuan Dao to get his suitcase. They happened to run into Xing Wu, who had just returned. The moment Qing Ye saw him, her face turned red, spreading to her ears – it was as if she’d seen a ghost.

Xing Wu and she exchanged a glance, and suddenly there was an inexplicable awkwardness between them, both silently averting their eyes.

When Li Lanfang heard Meng Ruihang was leaving in the afternoon, she insisted he stay for lunch before going. Qing Ye said it wasn’t necessary, but Li Lanfang, perhaps having a mental lapse, asked Qing Ye in front of Meng Ruihang while Liu Nian and Du Qiyan were in the store: “Is he your boyfriend?”

Xing Wu turned to look at her, making Qing Ye extremely uncomfortable, feeling as if she were covered in thorns. She quickly replied to Li Lanfang: “No, he’s my childhood friend.”

Li Lanfang nodded in understanding, but at that moment Xing Wu came over and said to Qing Ye: “I’ll take you both out to eat.”

Qing Ye remained silent, so Xing Wu called a car. About ten minutes later, the car arrived. Meng Ruihang and Qing Ye sat in the back, while Xing Wu sat in the front passenger seat and told the driver: “Go to Baifa in the county.”

On the way, Meng Ruihang told Qing Ye about their classmates, and she occasionally asked about how certain people were doing or which universities they planned to apply to, though her attention was focused on the person in front.

Meanwhile, Xing Wu sat in the front seat looking down at his phone without lifting his head once, so Qing Ye, while talking to Meng Ruihang, quickly sent him a message: Why are you ignoring me?

The phone in the front seat rang, and Qing Ye suddenly felt a very subtle atmosphere in the cramped space. Soon her phone vibrated, and when she looked, Xing Wu replied: You’re busy with your affairs, I won’t disturb you.

Qing Ye glanced at Meng Ruihang beside her, then suddenly sat up straight, pretending to adjust her position while deliberately bumping the front seat with her knee. This made Xing Wu look up, watching her through the rearview mirror. Qing Ye became self-conscious, a silent smile playing on her lips as she looked out the window.

To Qing Ye’s surprise, after getting out of the car, Xing Wu took them to quite an upscale restaurant. The entrance’s decoration alone exuded elegance – she hadn’t seen such a presentable restaurant since coming to this country.

She fell back to pull at Xing Wu’s sleeve, lowering her voice: “This place must be expensive, right? Any regular restaurant would do, why come to a place like this?”

Xing Wu smirked: “Your childhood friend came all this way to show his care, how could we not treat him properly?”

He strode in, asking for a private room. Qing Ye followed, speechless.

The private room was indeed elegant, with wooden windows overlooking an artificial pond. Though the lotus flowers floating on it were fake decorations, when lit up, they created an illusion of being in Jiangnan.

Qing Ye went to the restroom first, but when she returned, she found herself in an awkward situation. The private room had a long table with seats facing each other, positioned by the window to enjoy the view. However, when she entered, Xing Wu and Meng Ruihang were each sitting on opposite sides, presenting her with a multiple-choice question of where to sit.