The linen curtains let in just a sliver of morning light, leaving the room still shrouded in darkness.

Chen Xi lay in bed, listening to the steady breathing of the man beside her pillow.

She listened quietly for a while, then gently got up and climbed out of bed.

She picked up the clothes from the floor and tiptoed out of the bedroom.

Chen Xi got dressed and walked to the study.

She found a roll of transparent tape from the drawer and carefully pieced together the torn transfer application from the desk.

Chen Xi put on her shoes and looked back at the living room behind her.

The clivia they had bought together at the flower market had sprouted buds and was about to bloom.

On the coffee table were two sketches she had drawn halfway.

Next to the sofa stood a floor lamp with a white shade that she had painted with mottled colors.

The throw pillow had coffee stains she had spilled that wouldn’t wash out.

Chen Xi turned around, opened the front door, and walked out.

She gently closed the door, leaving a part of herself forever behind that door.

The partition wall between the repair shop and the VR hall had been fixed.

Chen Xi took Qin Zhan’s suggestion and had the renovation team paint the partition wall with a cinnabar-colored base coat.

There were no other decorations—it was left empty, waiting for when she had time to create a large mural on the wall.

Qin Zhan was at the site today supervising the renovation.

He hadn’t seen Chen Xi all day, and in the evening, Liu Boyang arrived.

“Where’s Sister Xi? Have you seen her?”

Qin Zhan asked Liu Boyang.

Liu Boyang took off his coat and hung it up, changed into painting clothes, and said to Qin Zhan, “My sister can’t come today.”

Qin Zhan asked, “Why can’t she come?”

Liu Boyang climbed up the scaffolding and said casually, “She’s seeing off Brother Yuning.”

Qin Zhan looked puzzled, “Seeing off Brother Yuning? Where is Brother Yuning going?”

Liu Boyang replied, “Beijing.”

Qin Zhan asked, “What’s Brother Yuning going to Beijing for? How long?”

Liu Boyang bent down to open the paint can and said casually, “Work transfer. He’s not coming back.”

The roller in Qin Zhan’s hand clattered to the ground, his face filled with horror.

“Is Sister Xi going to Beijing too? What about our repair shop?”

Liu Boyang smiled, not knowing whether to be happy or sad, “My sister isn’t leaving. She’s not going anywhere.”

The setting sun streamed through the clean glass walls, casting light on the quiet departure lounge.

The flight to Beijing was about to finish boarding.

“Go ahead.”

Chen Xi smiled and gently smoothed the collar of Bai Yuning’s polo shirt.

Bai Yuning nodded, glanced back at the boarding gate, then turned to look at Chen Xi again.

He couldn’t help but reach out and touch Chen Xi’s hair.

“Take care of yourself.”

His voice was warm, “Keep me updated about Grandma’s condition anytime.”

Chen Xi nodded.

Bai Yuning said, “You can live in the house. I’ll explain our situation to my parents.”

Chen Xi’s nose stung with tears, and she nodded while holding back her tears.

Bai Yuning slowly withdrew his hand that had been stroking her hair and forced a smile for Chen Xi.

“I’m leaving.”

He turned and walked toward the boarding gate.

Bai Yuning took two steps, couldn’t help but look back at Chen Xi, “Go back now, drive slowly on the road.”

Chen Xi nodded, too sad to speak.

Bai Yuning turned and walked toward the boarding gate when suddenly he heard an apology from behind.

The voice wasn’t loud, but it was heavy enough to make breathing difficult.

Bai Yuning stopped, worked to compose his expression before turning around, and smiled gently at Chen Xi.

“Chen Xi, it’s not your fault. Don’t blame yourself.”

Looking at Chen Xi’s red eyes, he wanted to go over and hug her again. After hesitating for a moment, he held back.

He said, “I still can’t understand why in the happiness I hoped for, you weren’t happy.”

“But someday, I’ll be okay.”

“Chen Xi, goodbye.”

Coming out of the airport.

Chen Xi rode her motorcycle to the desert.

She silently climbed up a small dune by herself and sat down facing the setting sun.

Every time Chen Xi saw the scene of a desert sunset, she felt that under nature’s magnificent beauty, human joys and sorrows seemed insignificantly small, not worth mentioning.

But she didn’t feel that way at this moment.

The afterglow of the setting sun dyed the entire view red, yet she was so sad that everything looked pale to her eyes.

Chen Xi suddenly buried her head in her arms and burst into tears.

The west wind carried fine sand, flowing murmuringly past her feet.

Her crying was torn apart by the wind, some distant, some near.

She remembered it was also early summer then.

At that time, Grandma was wearing a hospital gown, having completed the last examination before surgery, sitting cross-legged on the hospital bed, chatting and laughing with people in the same room.

But Chen Xi was so nervous she couldn’t sit still, finding an excuse to run downstairs from the inpatient department.

She hid in a secluded place, pulled out a cigarette, but the lighter in her hand wouldn’t light no matter what.

Her hands were shaking badly.

A white figure appeared in front of her.

Chen Xi’s gaze followed the clean white coat upward and saw Grandma’s lead surgeon.

“Dr. Bai…”

She took the cigarette from her mouth and looked at him with worry.

Bai Yuning smiled at her and said gently, “Don’t worry.”

Those three simple words were the warmest, most reliable, most comforting words Chen Xi had ever heard in her life.

She stared blankly at Bai Yuning and heard her own heart pounding.

It was in that instant that she fell in love with Bai Yuning.

Just as Bai Yuning had promised, the surgery was very successful.

Chen Xi took care of Grandma at the hospital.

Every morning, Bai Yuning would come for rounds, and when Chen Xi saw him, her eyes would light up.

Wherever he went in the ward, Chen Xi’s gaze would follow.

When he occasionally passed by the ward door, Chen Xi’s sixth sense would become super sharp, and she could always make eye contact with him in a fleeting glance.

Grandma was about to be discharged.

On her way to the hospital, Chen Xi ran into Huzi Zhang and bought several yogurt sweet rice puddings.

Just as she walked into the internal medicine inpatient department corridor, she saw Bai Yuning walking toward her, his white coat having an indescribable charm.

Chen Xi pulled out a yogurt sweet rice pudding and handed it to him.

Without knowing what she was thinking, she blurted out, “Want to eat together?”

Bai Yuning stopped and smiled at her, “Sure.”

The two of them strolled to a small balcony at the end of the corridor.

Chen Xi watched him take a bite and asked with a smile, “How is it? Isn’t this the best sweet rice pudding you’ve ever had?”

Bai Yuning smiled and nodded.

Chen Xi turned to look at the tree-lined path below.

If she looked at Bai Yuning one more time, she worried she might pounce on him.

After eating two bites, Bai Yuning suddenly asked her, “Do you like apricot juice?”

Chen Xi nodded.

Bai Yuning said, “I know a place that has the best.”

Chen Xi turned to look at him, “Oh? Where?”

Bai Yuning replied, “I’ll take you there after work.”

After Bai Yuning got off work, he took Chen Xi to that small shop selling apricot juice.

The place wasn’t far, so they walked there.

On the way back.

Chen Xi walked half the way in silence, sucking on her straw.

Finally, she couldn’t help herself and tugged at Bai Yuning’s hand.

In an instant, he gripped her hand back.

The night breeze was gentle, and Chen Xi’s lips curved into a sweet smile.

Neither of them confessed first—it seemed like, without any formal beginning, they just naturally got together.

Just like now, neither of them said breakup first.

They just naturally ended it.

On the other side of the dune.

Qin Lie lay facing the sky, helplessly exhaling smoke.

Hiding here, even his ears couldn’t find peace.

His house had a cleaning service three times a week, but his mother still came uninvited every few days.

This evening, Qin Lie’s mother came again, organizing the house without permission while nagging endlessly.

“Lie, people get all sorts of problems when they’re idle.”

“Your father and I suffered for half our lives, thinking manual labor was the most tiring. Now that we’re retired, we have money, plus what you’ve given us over the years—quite a lot.”

“Your father and I are among the most enviable people among our relatives, even in Dunhuang.”

Qin Lie stared at his computer screen without responding.

Qin Lie’s mother continued, “But Lie, when your father and I became idle, we realized life was most boring then, spending all day lost in wild thoughts.”

“Now we think that earning money through wind and rain to support the family was happiness before.”

“Living with a purpose for the family’s good, having direction every day. Now we don’t even have direction.”

Qin Lie’s mother kept saying what she felt needed to be said, regardless of whether Qin Lie was listening.

“Mom’s not forcing you to marry. Mom’s afraid you’ll have problems from being too idle.”

“Find something to do, anything. The more idle people are, the easier it is to overthink. Once you get busy, life will naturally become easier.”

Qin Lie found an excuse to come out and find some peace.

After finishing one cigarette, the crying behind him still hadn’t stopped.

Qin Lie stood up helplessly, brushed the sand off himself, and walked step by step down the dune.

A phone ringtone sounded from behind.

The woman stopped crying and answered the phone after a while.

“Hello, Grandma.”

Qin Lie’s steps suddenly stopped.

This voice was too familiar.

Despite the heavy nasal tone, Qin Lie immediately recognized that the speaker was Chen Xi.

Qin Lie unconsciously stood in place, pulled out his cigarette pack, lit one, and quietly smoked.

He heard Chen Xi’s voice, with a forced cheerful tone.

“Nothing’s wrong, I wasn’t crying. My nose just got stuffy suddenly.”

“Ah, Grandpa Guan is coming back? When?”

“Ten tonight? That’s still early. Don’t worry, I’ll come back and pick you up to go together.”

Hearing Chen Xi’s footsteps, Qin Lie also walked down the dune with his cigarette.

The two gradually walked in different directions.

Chen Xi walked into the afterglow of the setting sun, Qin Lie walked into the shadow of the dune.

Qin Lie returned to his car, picked up his phone from the passenger seat, and saw missed calls from Wang Danyang.

Qin Lie called back, and the other party answered quickly.

“Hello, Danyang, what’s up?”

Qin Lie started the car and turned the steering wheel while talking on the phone.

Wang Danyang said on the other end, “Old Qin, how’s the character design progress on your end?”

Qin Lie replied, “Still need four more.”

Chen Xi had been busy with renovation these past few days and had only designed one character.

Seeing how busy she was, Qin Lie hadn’t pushed her much.

He asked Wang Danyang, “What’s wrong? The characters shouldn’t be that urgent yet, right? I gave her one month, but my actual expectation was two months to complete.”

Wang Danyang said, “It’s not that urgent yet, but there’s a comic convention in Xi’an next month. Several major domestic game development companies will showcase new characters.”

“I’m considering having one of the characters designed on your end to participate in the exhibition. It’s also to gauge market response before our Tunnel 3.0 official beta, generate some buzz, and give veteran players some benefits. What do you think?”

Qin Lie smiled, “You’re the boss. Do you need to ask me about this?”

Wang Danyang said, “I’m being serious, not joking with you.”

Qin Lie lightly pressed the accelerator, and the SUV moved slowly across the sandy ground.

“Fine.”

Wang Danyang said, “I can’t get away recently. You go to Xi’an.”

Qin Lie replied, “I can’t get away either.”

Wang Danyang said, “Old Qin, you’ve been away from Dawn for two years. You should have rested enough.”

Qin Lie said nothing and drove in silence.

Wang Danyang continued, “If you’re willing to show up at this Xi’an comic convention, it would be the best marketing and publicity for 3.0.”

After listening, Qin Lie still said nothing.

Wang Danyang was silent for a moment, then said, “Qin Lie, Auntie asked me to find you something to do.”

Qin Lie replied, “I know.”

Wang Danyang was silent again on the other end, then continued, “Qin Lie, do you remember when we first started our business?”

“You were shining all over. If it weren’t for you, I never would have taken the entrepreneurial path.”

He chuckled and continued, “My parents all wanted me to go back and take the civil service exam. I never imagined I’d have what I have now.”

Hearing the words “shining,” Qin Lie’s thoughts suddenly drifted.

His mind suddenly flashed to Chen Xi lying under the car, completely focused on tightening screws by the light of a flashlight.

And her expression when she asked about his design drafts the unmistakably brilliant in her eyes.

She had light all over her, pouring out from the depths of her eyes.

This kind of light was more dazzling than the sun.

Wang Danyang continued persuading, “When people go from high-intensity busyness to suddenly hitting pause, problems arise. Back then, if I had known…”

Qin Lie interrupted, “I’ll go.”

Wang Danyang’s voice paused, then he was suddenly overjoyed.

“Great, that’s wonderful.”

“You decide on the character for the exhibition. Time is a bit tight. After you decide, have the design department make the PV and cosplay costumes.”

Qin Lie said, “I’ll handle the PV.”

Wang Danyang replied, “That’s even better. You handle the animation team’s PV, and I’ll bring a team of cosplay models to play several classic Tunnel characters, saving the best model for your new character.”

After finishing the call with Wang Danyang, Qin Lie stepped on the accelerator.

Just as he reached the intersection ahead, he saw Chen Xi’s motorcycle get clipped by a Land Rover driving in the wrong direction.

Chen Xi braked hard, the motorcycle’s direction became unstable, and it flipped over by the roadside.

Chen Xi barely managed to stay on her feet and didn’t fall off the motorcycle.