Fu Shize said, “The car is parked at the apartment. You can use it during this time.”
As the daughter of a driving school owner, Yun Li understood well the rule of not lending cars or women. Fu Shize’s willingness to let her drive his car showed either great trust in her or a readiness to bear any losses she might cause.
Touched by his gesture, Yun Li put the keys in her bag. Unable to think of how to repay him, she offered the most feasible idea: “Then when you return, I can pick you up.”
Fu Shize replied, “No need. Xu Qingsong will pick me up.”
When his lips parted to form the word “no,” Yun Li felt a chill down her spine. She glanced at him, noting how he refused as calmly and matter-of-factly as he had when she was pursuing him.
Was his tone as flat as usual?
Facing Fu Shize, Yun Li didn’t dare show her displeasure. She just pursed her lips and said, “Alright.”
Her expression, like she was holding back frustration she dared not express, made it seem as if he had bullied her. Fu Shize, not understanding, asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Yun Li adjusted her backpack, standing on tiptoe to look around, feigning indifference. “I just remembered how you always said ‘no need’ when I was pursuing you before.”
Unexpectedly facing this delayed reckoning, Fu Shize inwardly laughed. “Then what should I do?”
Yun Li said, “Well…”
As class time approached, more people entered the classroom. His striking looks and aura drew attention, making her the focus of interest by association. Recalling their experience of being secretly photographed at the café, Yun Li felt uncomfortable and couldn’t finish her sentence.
Fu Shize surveyed the surroundings and led her to the stairwell.
The classroom was on the first floor, and the stairway leading to the basement was lit only by natural light from the first floor, reducing visibility. His hand was slightly cool at first but began to warm up after holding hers for a while.
New to their relationship, both were quite shy when together. They hadn’t walked very close on their way here, their hands barely brushing when crossing streets. Yun Li hadn’t expected hand-holding to feel like this—palms warm and slightly sticky with perspiration.
As if to retaliate for his earlier refusal, Yun Li rubbed her thumb against his palm. Feeling his grip tighten slightly before relaxing again, she felt an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.
Pulling her to the entrance of the basement stairwell, Fu Shize stopped and, ignoring her earlier gesture, asked softly, “Can you tell me now?”
Yun Li’s first reaction was that she couldn’t say it. She only opened up slightly to her family and close friends, freely expressing her thoughts and opinions. With Fu Shize, she still felt instinctively timid.
Fu Shize seemed to see through everything. He squeezed her palm gently and patiently repeated, “What should I do then?”
This repetition gave Yun Li courage. She thought for a moment and said, “Now that we’re dating, you can’t refuse me anymore.” After making her request, she still sought his opinion: “Do you think that’s okay?”
Fu Shize was taken aback but quickly agreed, “Mm.” He asked thoughtfully, “Do we need to settle past accounts too?”
Thinking carefully, he had indeed refused her quite a few times.
Yun Li tilted her head: “If we don’t settle accounts, I feel like I’m at a disadvantage…” Unsure of his intention in asking this, she countered, “Do you have any suggestions?”
Fu Shize offered a conventional suggestion: “Then you can refuse me a few times to feel better.” He mimicked her earlier question: “Do you think that’s okay?”
“…”
How could she possibly agree? Yun Li longed for him to make more invitations that she could accept.
Knowing he said this on purpose and unable to outmaneuver him, Yun Li shook her head: “Never mind then.”
Fu Shize, regardless of whether this was the expected answer, added, “If you don’t agree, you’ll have to accept being at a disadvantage.”
Yun Li, believing she liked him more, didn’t struggle: “I’ll accept the disadvantage then.”
She truly seemed to harbor no resentment.
Fu Shize stared at her for several seconds before saying meaningfully, “So, why don’t you agree?”
He pulled Yun Li a little closer.
Always being teased by him in these situations, Yun Li expressed slight dissatisfaction: “You already know why.”
“I want to hear you say it,” Fu Shize’s voice lowered.
The atmosphere now resembled that of Christmas Eve. He naturally drew closer, and they could hear each other’s heartbeats. Yun Li knew she was completely in his grasp, but she was willing. Her lips moved slightly, and after a moment she said, “I can’t bear to refuse you.”
Hearing this, Fu Shize chuckled softly: “Then you can come pick me up.” He stroked her face with his knuckle, adding, “It’ll be nice to see you first thing.”
The stairwell was dim, its square tiles symbolizing the solemnity of the campus, contrasting with the current romantic atmosphere, creating a sense of forbidden fruit.
“But maybe,” his fingertip traced her palm slowly, his tone casual, “that was your intention in offering to pick me up.”
Listening to his words, Yun Li felt her face growing warmer.
“I’m just fulfilling my girlfriend’s duties,” Yun Li’s heart raced at his words, while his expression remained calm, his dark eyes concealing all thoughts.
Both were in their first relationship, but Fu Shize was more adept. Determined not to be outdone, Yun Li recalled something she had thought about all night: “Then shouldn’t you also fulfill your boyfriend’s duties?”
“?”
Fu Shize continued caressing her palm: “What duties?”
Yun Li swallowed and looked directly at him: “Hug your girlfriend.”
“…”
Fu Shize leaned against the wall, looking at her for a few seconds without moving. The basement’s tiles were pearl white, the walls gray. His face looked like a painting abruptly carved into the wallpaper, his mixed-race features reminiscent of the Middle Ages. He curved his lips, his eyes dark: “You come to hug me.”
“…”
Yun Li doubted he had understood her words.
Or maybe he had understood and was being deliberate.
At that moment, the bell rang—the 7:55 warning bell. She came to her senses, turning away with a red face: “I need to get to class—”
But his right hand gently caught her arm, his presence pressing against her from behind. His chest touched her back, and his other arm encircled her neck, resting on her right shoulder. Before she could react, the arm around her pulled back slightly, drawing her further into his embrace.
Yun Li took several deep breaths.
His right hand slid down her arm, intertwining with her fingers.
“So being in a relationship,” Fu Shize said slowly, resting against her right shoulder, “is quite enjoyable.”
After holding the position for over a minute, Fu Shize released her, his gaze soft: “Go to class now.” Just then, his phone kept vibrating, and Yun Li reminded him: “Your phone is ringing.”
He didn’t mind answering in front of her. After pressing accept, the other party spoke for quite a while. Fu Shize remained silent throughout, only saying three things in a cold tone:
“Understood.”
“Mm.”
“No need.”
Then he hung up.
Having witnessed his entire phone call, Yun Li suddenly realized that even when he had been coldest to her before, Fu Shize had never spoken to her like that. She didn’t know the reason, but this small discovery of his unique treatment of her—even if it was just her imagination—made her happy.
At the classroom door, Yun Li entered and found a seat.
Soon after, her roommate Tang Lin sat next to her and greeted her. They had only met during winter term classes. As she took out her textbook, Tang Lin said excitedly, “Yun Li, did you see that incredibly handsome guy at the door? He was so damn good-looking.”
Yun Li paused in her movements and softly mumbled an affirmative.
“You know, that cold, reserved type? He’s exactly my ideal type. I even tried to catch his eye as he passed, but he…”
Tang Lin paused for two seconds at the crucial point, and Yun Li grew anxious: “But what?”
Tang Lin spread her hands, looking incredulous: “He completely ignored me and just walked around me.” She opened her selfie camera to check: “My makeup looks fine today, right? It’s so strange. Don’t you think?”
Not knowing what to say, Yun Li awkwardly agreed: “You look great.”
“Someone like that probably gets a lot of confessions on the confession wall, right? I’ll check for his name later and let you know if I find anything,” Tang Lin said with a smile as she opened the school forum and showed Yun Li the confession wall.
Yun Li smiled: “Okay, thanks.”
As she scrolled through the confession wall, Yun Li realized there were many confessions for Fu Zhenchu. Seeing this, Tang Lin explained: “This Fu Zhenchu is on our school’s sports team. I think they won a championship or something.” Tang Lin grinned, “They say he’s cold, pale, and handsome. I heard he’s also in the outdoor club. I’m thinking of joining their activities. Want to come?”
“Not for now…” Yun Li quickly refused, but by then Tang Lin had already shared the outdoor club’s WeChat account with her. Their latest activity was a stargazing camping trip, with ‘couples’ listed among the recommended participants.
Perhaps… it was worth considering.
During class, Yun Li debated for a while whether to text Fu Shize. If she did—it might seem like she wasn’t paying attention in class, and she needed to consider her image in front of her new boyfriend. If she didn’t—it might make their relationship seem too distant.
When she finally made up her mind, the biggest problem was not knowing what to say to Fu Shize. They had hardly ever chatted before.
After racking her brains, Yun Li sent: [Let me know when you reach Yihe, okay?]
Fu Shize: [Mm]
Fu Shize: [Does a girlfriend have any other duties?]
She thought carefully and began typing formally: [Caring for and supporting her boyfriend, communicating—]
Before she could finish, Fu Shize sent another message—
[I’d like to experience that.]
Yun Li felt her thoughts were too impure, interpreting such a proper statement in other ways. Her mind was filled with images of his cool face framed by desire-filled eyes. Recalling what had happened in the stairwell earlier, she couldn’t help but take a sip of water to calm herself.
…
Below in her WeChat was a message from Yun Ye—a photo of a postcard.
The text read: [My reply. [Happy]]
Yun Li, remembering that Yun Ye had sent the postcard on behalf of the whole class, replied: [Is it for you or Class 15, Grade 2?]
Yun Ye: [Mind your own business.]
So it was for Class 15, Grade 2.
Yun Li opened the image to look closely. The photo only showed the patterned side, which appeared to be a Christmas card.
She hadn’t expected Yin Yunyi to reply. Could it be that she hadn’t realized who had been consistently sending her letters?
After returning home, Yun Li first located Fu Shize’s car. The small car was spotless inside, with nothing in the storage compartments, looking like a new vehicle. Noticing something under the driver’s seat from the corner of her eye, she reached out to retrieve it.
It was his cardholder again.
Now his rightful girlfriend, Yun Li didn’t think much of it and began flipping through the cards. Most were bank cards.
She paused at the last few cards. There was a campus card from Xi Ke University, worn from his undergraduate days. The photo was still clear, showing a somewhat boyish appearance, smiling uninhibitedly at the camera. The doctoral student campus card was still new, closer to his current appearance, with upturned lips and bright eyes.
At the very end of the cardholder was another undergraduate campus card, faded with age. The photo was unclear, and the name was blurry.
Jiang Zhou? Jiang Yuan? Jiang Huai?
Why did he have someone else’s campus card?
Yun Li didn’t dwell on it, focusing instead on the two cards in front.