Xia Xiaolan had indeed called home at precisely the calculated time.

On her first night in a foreign country, Xia Xiaolan thought she wouldn’t sleep well, but perhaps due to exhaustion from travel, she slept dreamlessly until six the next morning.

After washing her face, she heard movement downstairs – Professor Wen and his wife were already up.

“Good morning!”

“Hi, don’t you need to sleep longer?”

Young people were so energetic – seemed like they didn’t even need to adjust to jet lag!

“No, thank you, Aunt Hu. I’m used to getting up early.”

Getting up after enough sleep – staying in bed was a waste of life. Hu Ying smiled: “Then you and Mannie have something in common.”

Wen Mannie was also up, already dressed in workout clothes, apparently preparing for a morning run.

Xia Xiaolan was tempted but remembered about reporting her safe arrival. “Aunt Hu, could I use the phone?”

“Calling home, right? We knew you would. Don’t delay – your family is waiting to hear you’re safe.”

Hu Ying was planning to take Professor Wen out for a walk, thoughtfully giving Xiaolan privacy.

Making international calls was complicated then, requiring multiple transfers.

By the time the call finally connected to Tang Hongen’s private line, considerable time had passed. The phone was answered almost instantly:

“Xiaolan?”

Xia Xiaolan was even more surprised, “Zhou Cheng, is that you?”

Having not heard Zhou Cheng’s voice for so long, Xia Xiaolan wasn’t entirely certain.

“Yes, it’s me…”

Zhou Cheng had countless things to say, but they all got stuck in his throat.

Xia Xiaolan felt the same way.

She was surprised Zhou Cheng answered – she hadn’t expected to connect with him so soon after arriving in America, thinking he would remain “unreachable.” Then it occurred to her: was Zhou Cheng at Tang Hongen’s house because he wanted to be the first to receive her call?

Could she interpret this to mean that on the day she left, Zhou Cheng had wanted to be there but couldn’t make it?

“Zhou Cheng, are you hiding something from me?”

“Xiaolan, whether it helps or not, let me first say I’m sorry – for not making it to see you off, for not being in touch lately. So many things happened on your end that I didn’t know about, and I couldn’t help when you needed me.”

If Liu Fen hadn’t been present, Zhou Cheng would have said even more emotional words.

Xia Xiaolan could hear his restraint.

Was she disappointed?

Of course, she had felt disappointment.

Xia Xiaolan wasn’t expecting Zhou Cheng to handle everything, but with matters like the rumors about her and Tang Yuanyue, she had wanted to clear things up with Zhou Cheng immediately.

If Zhou Cheng had just shown his face when she was leaving, Xia Xiaolan could have openly displayed their affection.

She could have shown Han Jin just how outstanding Zhou Cheng was – how could there be anything between her and Chen Qing?

Xia Xiaolan had never had the slightest interest in Chen Qing. Han Jin was jealous for no reason, almost pathologically so – and Chen Qing wasn’t much better, why did he have to tell his girlfriend about his past crush?

That disappointment and hurt had been fermenting in Xia Xiaolan’s heart, and Zhou Cheng’s words brought it all to the surface.

Once it emerged, it couldn’t be contained.

Xia Xiaolan didn’t want to talk to Zhou Cheng anymore. “Where’s my mom? She’s next to you, right? Let me talk to her.”

Zhou Cheng reluctantly handed the receiver to Liu Fen.

Liu Fen was anxious too. Hearing Xia Xiaolan’s voice, she couldn’t help crying, though she tried to hide it from her daughter, letting tears fall silently. Xiaolan had never been so far from her – across an ocean.

“Mom, are you crying? No, no, no – I’m doing great here. The journey was very smooth. I’m staying at Professor Wen’s house – he’s Professor Mao’s friend. They’re all so nice, and Professor Wen’s daughter even picked me up at the airport yesterday…”

Xia Xiaolan spoke, and Liu Fen responded with soft acknowledgments.

Zhou Cheng listened anxiously, unable to take the receiver from Liu Fen, just straining to hear.

People away from home always share good news, not bad.

Filtering out the padding in Xiaolan’s words, perhaps seventy or eighty percent of her situation in America was truly as described.

Professor Wen being Professor Mao’s friend and inviting Xiaolan to stay was what most reassured Liu Fen and Zhou Cheng.

A young, beautiful girl living alone in a foreign country would be unsafe – staying with Professor Wen’s family was perfect! With safety assured, other concerns seemed minor.

International calls were very expensive. Even though the Wen family had thoughtfully given Xiaolan privacy, she couldn’t spend too long on their phone. After reporting her safe arrival and leaving Professor Wen’s address and phone number, Liu Fen felt they had barely spoken before Xiaolan ended the call:

“If all goes well, I’ll complete the paperwork today. I’ll call Beijing again – I promise to contact you once a week!”

Liu Fen made a sound of acknowledgment, and the line went dead.

Xiaolan hung up without speaking to Zhou Cheng again.

Liu Fen wasn’t foolish – when it was this obvious, how could she miss that her daughter was angry?

But she dared not meddle in young people’s affairs. After replacing the receiver, she gave Zhou Cheng an awkward smile:

“Xiaolan just arrived in America, she’s very busy, and she’s using someone else’s phone.”

Zhou Cheng was relieved knowing Xiaolan had arrived safely.

As for her anger… it was understandable. The road to victory in love was still long – Zhou Cheng had much work ahead.

“Aunt Liu, I understand! Could I copy down the contact information?”

Liu Fen told him to go ahead.

Zhou Cheng not only copied the phone number and address but also committed them to memory.

Paper notes could be lost, but his memory wouldn’t fail.

Was Xiaolan unwilling to talk to him, or did she not know what to say?

Thinking back, whenever he and Xiaolan had met before, she had always been eager to share. Though they couldn’t meet often, he had always known what was happening in her life.

Only these past two months, when events had piled up, things had changed. Her anger wasn’t the issue – Zhou Cheng worried their relationship had grown distant.

After dating for two years, what if his wife-to-be suddenly stopped liking him?

Zhou Cheng felt this was a serious problem.

He couldn’t please everyone.

Love was singular – it couldn’t be divided or split. He had given it all to Xia Xiaolan; others would inevitably be disappointed.

Jiang Yan – Tang Hongen called it an emotional debt, so Zhou Cheng would just have to remain indebted.

If he followed Jiang Yan’s parents’ demands, how could he live with himself?

Tang Hongen returned home after seven, missing Xiaolan’s call. When Liu Fen mentioned the children might be quarreling, Tang Hongen slowly swallowed his food:

“Let them quarrel. I don’t think Xiaolan will suffer long – she has new studies and a new life in America to adapt to. Zhou Cheng will be the one suffering. He needs to figure out how to balance romance and career… This year with Xiaolan abroad will be a major test of their relationship.”

If both hearts remain steadfast, no distance can separate them.

What was the distance? Some relationships couldn’t be separated even by life and death.

If a year abroad could end it, that would just be bringing underlying conflicts to the surface sooner – proving they weren’t meant to be in the first place!