Shen Xingruo didn’t end up taking the five hundred bucks that Liu Xingyan offered. She sat alone on the high-speed rail back to Xingcheng because she had lost her ID card.
Luckily, they discovered it in time. They retraced their steps along the restaurant, calmly blaming each other along the way.
Liu Xingyan remarked, “Are you absent-minded? How could you lose your ID card?”
Shen Xingruo retorted, “It must be at the hotel. If you hadn’t been dragging me around, I wouldn’t have lost it.”
“Miss, do you have psychic powers now? How do you know that?” Liu Xingyan quipped.
“Shut up. I don’t feel like arguing with you,” Shen Xingruo snapped.
Liu Xingyan was about to say something else when his phone suddenly rang. It was Pei Yue calling.
“Liu Xingyan, where are you? Fell into a hole in the restroom?” Pei Yue joked.
“…I’ll be right there,” he replied.
He glanced at Shen Xingruo and elaborated on his response, “I’m heading back to Xingcheng right away.”
“What?!” Pei Yue exclaimed.
Shen Xingruo also glanced at him.
He continued, “Xu Chengzhou broke his leg and is in the hospital. His family isn’t there, so I’m going to check on him. I’m almost at the high-speed rail station.”
Meanwhile, at a small internet café in Xingcheng, Xu Chengzhou suddenly sneezed. He rubbed his nose, feeling puzzled. The gaming competition was intense, and he quickly got back into the action.
Pei Yue had been ready to scold Liu Xingyan, but for that reason, she couldn’t say much. She just reminded him to stay safe on the road and to return to school after visiting Xu Chengzhou.
After Liu Xingyan hung up, Shen Xingruo asked, “What are you up to?”
Liu Xingyan casually replied, “Miss Shen Cinderella, don’t you have common sense? You can get a temporary ID at the high-speed rail station.”
“I need to stop by home first,” Shen Xingruo said.
“Are you going to vandalize your dad’s house on his wedding night?” Liu Xingyan teased.
“…Shut up.”
As Shen Xingruo walked ahead, she suddenly stopped, turned back, and asked, “What did you call me, Shen Cinderella?”
Liu Xingyan tilted his head, chuckled, and then obeyed her “shut up” command, raising a finger to his lips in a playful “shushing” motion, with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
He stood a couple of meters away from Shen Xingru. The midday sun cast a golden sheen on his hair, outlining his silhouette against the backlight, creating a play of light and shadow.
For a moment, Shen Xingruo was momentarily stunned.
Shen Xingru’s home was in a courtyard-style residential area on the outskirts of Huize. It was developed by Jinsheng, a long-time friend, so naturally, Liu Shan had reserved the best unit for Shen Guangyao.
The ancient, intricately carved redwood gate swung open, revealing a spacious courtyard bathed in the early spring sunlight. Lush foliage and fragrant flowers adorned the courtyard, with a gentle breeze from the nearby lake causing the flower buds to tremble lightly.
In one corner pavilion, there was an easel set up. Shen Guangyao loved sitting there to paint when the afternoon sun was just right.
Everything was both beautiful and familiar, but unfortunately, it no longer belonged to her. Shen Xingruo stood in the yard for a moment before making her way inside.
Her household registration was in Xingcheng, so it was convenient for her to replace her ID card there, but she needed to come back for her household registration book. She ignored the “Xi” characters posted on the living room windows and headed straight for Shen Guangyao’s study.
Liu Xingyan, being tactful, didn’t follow her inside but waited in the living room. Although the house had the scent of new occupants, traces of Shen Xingruo were everywhere: pink slippers, trophies, and certificates on the bookshelf, crystal piano ornaments, and prominently displayed in the living room’s photo wall, the largest and central photo was of Shen Xingruo herself.
In the photo, she appeared much younger than she was now, probably around eleven or twelve, yet her beauty and elegance were already striking. She wore a white spaghetti strap dress, seated gracefully at a grand piano, her long, soft hair cascading over her shoulders, adorned with a small crystal crown.
Perhaps she was participating in a competition or event; the background of the photo clearly showed a stage. Backlit by the spotlight, her fair skin gleamed, and the crown on her head sparkled.
Liu Xingyan, hands in pockets, stared at the photo for quite some time. He had been wrong; she wasn’t Cinderella. She was the princess herself.
In the study, Shen Xingruo adeptly moved aside a certain book on the bookshelf. Shen Guangyao always kept important items in the safe behind the hidden compartment, with the password set as Shen Xingru’s birthday.
As she entered the digits, Shen Xingruo hesitated for a rare few seconds, her hand clenched into a fist at her side, alternating between tight and loose grip. With each number input, the safe opened, and she didn’t realize until then that she had quietly released a sigh of relief.
She had often opened Shen Guangyao’s safe before because he loved to stroke her head and say, “There’s nothing important in there. Nothing is as important as my little princess.” She had enjoyed this indulgence and often placed her little treasures in his safe.
Finding her household registration book, Shen Xingruo didn’t linger. As she exited the study, she faintly heard some commotion coming from the living room.
Approaching the living room, she stumbled upon a scene where two elementary school students were facing off:
Fang Jingran: “Who are you, and how did you get in?”
Liu Xingyan: “Who are you, and how did you get in?”
Fang Jingran: “I used a key, of course.”
Liu Xingyan: “So did I.”
Shen Xingru: “…”
If they were any more foolish, they might start using the word “rebound” in their argument.
“Shen Xingru!”
“Sister Xingru!”
“Shut up, I’m not your sister.”
Ignoring Liu Xingyan, Shen Xingruo gave Fang Jingran a cold glance. Fang Jingran’s previously sparkling eyes dimmed suddenly. His adolescent face, full of childish charm, now displayed clear disappointment and a hint of desolation.
But after a moment, Fang Jingran composed himself and asked, “Xing… are you, are you here for the wedding today?”
“I’m just here to pick up some things. Don’t say anything, just pretend you didn’t see me,” Shen Xingruo replied coolly.
Fang Jingran hesitated at first, then seemed to understand something. Nodding eagerly like a pecking chick, he assured her, “Okay! I won’t tell anyone that you came back. You can trust me!”
The more he spoke, the more excited he seemed. Perhaps the thought process of a competition-oriented person was different from that of a normal person. Finally being able to help Shen Xingruo with something made him very happy, and he inexplicably felt a sense of trust.
Seeing his expression, Shen Xingruo more or less understood what he was thinking, feeling somewhat speechless for a moment.
At that moment, Liu Xingyan interjected, “Miss, you got your stuff. Are we leaving or not?”
Fang Jingran immediately jumped in, “Sister Xingru, who is he?”
Sharp-eyed, he caught sight of the household registration book in Shen Xingru’s hand and asked, “Sister, why do you have the household registration book?”
Seeing the junior high school student eager to play the role of a loving brother, Liu Xingyan suddenly became interested and teased maliciously, “I’m her boyfriend. We’re here to steal the household registration book and get married.”
“Don’t talk nonsense!”
The junior high school student was instantly embarrassed as if he were about to marry Liu Xingyan.
Unable to legally marry as a minor, Fang Jingran knew Liu Xingyan was speaking nonsense, but he couldn’t be certain about the boyfriend part and could only look expectantly at Shen Xingru. Shen Xingruo remained silent, her gaze fixed on Liu Xingyan.
Initially wearing a casual smirk, Liu Xingyan found it difficult to maintain his nonchalant expression under Shen Xingru’s unwavering stare and unconsciously straightened up a bit.
Having retrieved the household registration book, the two-headed straight to the high-speed rail station. Due to the lack of prior bookings, tickets back to Xingcheng for today were scarce. Shen Xingru’s sudden descent into poverty drastically lowered her living standards, insisting on buying second-class seats. In the end, they had to settle for the last train departing at 10:30 PM. After obtaining a temporary ID at the high-speed rail station and grabbing a quick bite to eat, the two of them idly chatted for over three hours before finally managing to board the train back to Xingcheng.
By this time, both were physically and mentally exhausted, slumping against the seatbacks as soon as they sat down and drifting off to sleep. Unfortunately, their front row was occupied by a group of high school students seemingly exempt from studying the next day, who were very restless. They had been lively and noisy since boarding, chatting, singing, and suddenly even playing games.
At this age, it seemed that many people didn’t understand that not making noise in public places was a basic virtue of citizenship. Not content with their rowdiness, they assumed that everyone else didn’t mind and tried to involve everyone in their antics.
Seeing Liu Xingyan and Shen Xingru, a male student turned around and asked, “Hey, handsome guy, beautiful girl, do you want to play with us? Each person says something they regret, and if someone can do it, you have to accept their punishment. If no one can do it, then the others have to accept your punishment!”
Liu Xingyan frowned irritably, about to retort, when Shen Xingruo unexpectedly spoke up.
“I regret that in the year 2262, there are two lunar New years, but none of you will see it.”
The air suddenly quieted. Her tone was cold. “Since you won’t see it, could you please stop being so loud? This is a high-speed train, not a marketplace.”
For the next forty minutes of the journey, the entire carriage maintained a relatively quiet atmosphere. People continued to converse normally, but nobody was as unrestrained as before.
Initially feeling very sleepy, Liu Xingyan’s antics had lessened his drowsiness. Tilting his head towards Shen Xingru, he remarked, “Miss, you are as remarkable as ever.”
Their first encounter had been on the high-speed train back to Xingcheng, where she had poured a bottle of cool mineral water over a drunk passenger’s beer belly.
Over a month later, her performance as a high-speed train disciplinarian was still exemplary.
Shen Xingruo also remembered the incident on the high-speed train, though, in her memory, there was no such person as Liu Xingyan.
They returned to Luoxing Lake very late, each retiring to their rooms to freshen up before collapsing onto their beds, quickly falling into a deep slumber. The next day was Monday.
From Monday to Friday, Shen Xingruo set her alarm clock to wake her up on time. However, her alarm was set according to the distance from her dormitory to the classroom. Waking up groggily, her first thought was to freshen up, followed by the realization that she was late in returning to school from here. Her third thought was to go back to sleep since she was already late.
She was the kind of person who couldn’t immerse herself in deep sleep once disturbed. After lying in bed for a while, she got up to wash, then knocked on the door of the adjacent room for a minute to wake up Liu Xingyan.
As they left, Liu Xingyan, still yawning, said while holding his school uniform, “Don’t worry, we’ll make it to the morning assembly. Wang Youfu won’t notice, and we can still catch the first class.”
“But the class group said the first class was replaced with Mr. Wang’s politics class,” Shen Xingruo said, standing by the French window, adjusting her school uniform collar without turning her head.
Liu Xingyan wasn’t just bad at math; his sense of time wasn’t great either. He said they could make it to the first class, but by the time they entered the teaching building, the first class was already halfway over.
Seeing Shen Xingruo remain silent with pursed lips, Liu Xingyan adopted a magnanimous demeanor and said dismissively, “Alright, you can blame it all on me later. Just say I detained you at the school gate, insisting on copying your homework and not letting you leave first.”
Shen Xingruo stopped in her tracks and scrutinized him from head to toe. Only someone with his intelligence could come up with such a lame excuse. Oh well, since he was willing to take the blame, Shen Xingruo decided to let him off the hook.
She grabbed Liu Xingyan and headed towards the bicycle parking area under the stairs, where there was no one around. From her pocket, she took out a tube of BB cream.
Liu Xingyan furrowed his brow and instinctively leaned back, asking, “What’s that? What are you planning to do?”
“Shut up,” Shen Xingruo said.
She opened the BB cream tube, squeezed a little onto the tip of her ring finger, and then leaned closer to Liu Xingyan, tilting her head slightly. Her finger covered his lips.
His lips were warm and soft, and as her finger gently rubbed back and forth, Shen Xingruo felt something was not quite right. Wanting to retract her hand, she found it even more awkward, so she just wiped it evenly on his lips with an expressionless face.