Chen Xi had tossed and turned half the night, sleeping less than three hours before going straight to the shop after leaving the campsite.

During the music festival, business at the shop suddenly increased.

Qin Zhan and Liu Boyang both came, and the three of them were so busy all morning that their feet barely touched the ground.

At noon, during a brief respite, Chen Xi was too tired to even eat and collapsed on the sofa for a nap.

In just thirty minutes of sleep, she dreamed.

In the dream, she was sitting in a car smoking when someone walked over and yanked open the car door.

Chen Xi saw Qin Lie’s expressionless face.

A lingering sensation suddenly traveled from her thighs to her toes.

Chen Xi turned over, her cheeks burning red even in sleep.

The sound of cars came from the shop entrance again. Chen Xi forced open her heavy eyelids and saw brilliant white daylight at the shop door.

Qin Zhan ran to greet the customers at the entrance first. Chen Xi sat up, pinching her throbbing temples to clear her head.

She glanced at her phone. Yang Shan had @ed Chen Xi in their three-person group chat.

“With the kids in the car this morning, it wasn’t convenient to ask you.”

“Last night, you and Qin Lie left one after the other and didn’t come back until dawn. Come clean—did something happen?”

This was followed by a string of suggestive emojis.

Han Susu joined in the teasing, sending: “Did you two sleep together?”

Chen Xi stared at the screen for a moment, then replied with a simple “Yeah.”

Yang Shan sent a bunch of incredulous emojis.

Then asked: “What’s your relationship now?”

Chen Xi got up, dragging her aching legs toward the shop entrance.

Walking while replying: “No relationship.”

After sending the message, she shoved her phone in her pocket and didn’t look at it all afternoon.

That evening, returning home, Chen Xi forced herself through exhaustion to take a long, hot shower.

She stayed under the hot water for a long time, washing away all traces of last night’s chaos from her skin.

But those heart-stopping sensations seemed to have penetrated into her subcutaneous tissue, lingering on her body for a long time.

Wherever her hands touched, tiny electric currents would surge up.

Chen Xi closed her eyes under the rushing hot water.

In her mind appeared Qin Lie’s hard-lined face as he leaned over her, and those eyes deep as a cold pool.

No matter how intense what they were doing became, he seemed unusually calm.

Only those dark eyes, because of their focus, were almost stained with a layer of blood-red.

And those large hands gripping her waist, palms surging with hormones.

Restraint and indulgence, distance and passion.

Chen Xi couldn’t understand how these could blend so seamlessly in one person.

This was probably why she couldn’t control her descent onto the car hood.

When she collapsed onto her bed, she glanced at WeChat.

She didn’t feel like she was waiting for anyone’s message, but her unconscious action made her slightly stunned.

Chen Xi threw down her phone, turned off the lights, and closed her eyes.

She rarely obsessed over anything, and this time was no exception.

Between mature adults, maintaining silence after that kind of thing until now meant his thoughts were the same as hers.

Not wanting to confirm anything, not wanting to change anything.

Chen Xi felt relieved, falling into deep sleep almost instantly.

Outside the window, under the clear night sky, hung a bright moon.

Moonlight filled the quiet courtyard of Dr. Yang’s house.

Qin Lie sat on the steps outside Yang Guan’s door, silently smoking.

Yang Guan, beside him, was also silently puffing away.

Both their faces wore traces of absent-mindedness.

The night was getting deep when coughing sounds came from Dr. Yang’s room.

Yang Guan suddenly spoke: “Let’s go back. I’m tired.”

Qin Lie made an acknowledging sound but didn’t move from his spot.

Yang Guan suddenly smiled and asked, “What’s going on with you and Chen Xi?”

Qin Lie looked at the night sky, took a deep drag of his cigarette, but still said nothing.

Yang Guan: “You two are quite similar.”

After a while, Qin Lie made a sound from his throat.

The ending tone rose—it was a question.

Yang Guan unconsciously curved his lips again, “Yeah, quite similar.”

Qin Lie finally spoke, asking Yang Guan, “How so?”

Yang Guan: “Both pretty wild.”

Qin Lie snorted dismissively, letting out a rough laugh.

“I’m leaving.”

He stood up, stepping down from the step.

Yang Guan suddenly called out to him, “Qin Lie.”

Qin Lie stopped and turned to look at Yang Guan sitting under the corridor light.

His expression remained gentle, but his gaze was serious to the point of solemnity.

“If it were you and her…”

He paused, suddenly smiling warmly.

“I can’t think of anything better than that.”

Qin Lie looked at Yang Guan, and after a long moment, suddenly said, “Think about your affairs.”

Yang Guan was slightly stunned, then heard Qin Lie say with a hint of amusement in his voice, “Chen Xi’s classmate, Han Susu, right?”

Qin Lie slowly walked down the steps, dropping a line: “She’s braver than you.”

For the next two or three days, Chen Xi was busy from the moment she arrived at the shop, not even having time for lunch.

Just as she finished changing tires on one car, another customer came to the shop.

Chen Xi looked up to see that it was the landlord.

She smiled and greeted him, “Boss He, what’s wrong with your car?”

The property owner, Boss He smiled and said, “The tire pressure warning came on. Help me check if there’s a leak.”

Chen Xi nodded and walked to the car, using tire pressure testing equipment to check all four tires.

Boss He looked at the shop full of cars and smiled, “Business is good. How about it? This venue is a lucky location, right?”

Chen Xi nodded, “This location is perfect for opening an auto repair shop.”

As for the VR arcade, that was still a business only wealthy fools would do.

She glanced at the quiet VR arcade next door and swallowed the second half of her sentence.

Boss He followed Chen Xi’s gaze to the small door leading next door and suddenly asked, “Is Boss Qin in his shop?”

Chen Xi shook her head, staring at the tire pressure gauge in her hands, saying quietly, “Not sure.”

She hadn’t seen Qin Lie these past few days. The shop had only Xiao Min by herself, who would come over to chat from time to time.

The young girl always brought up Qin Lie within three sentences. Chen Xi didn’t want to hear about him and would always find an excuse to go busy herself elsewhere after just a few words.

Xiao Min would then eat chips and wander over to Qin Zhan or Liu Boyang to continue chatting.

Boss He opened the car door and took out a transparent document folder from the glove compartment, handing it to Chen Xi.

“This is the receipt for the renovation deposit. Keep it safe.”

Chen Xi took the folder and glanced at the receipt inside—two hundred thousand yuan.

She was confused, looking puzzled as she asked, “What renovation deposit?”

Boss He: “This is a fee we discussed later. You know about it, right?”

Chen Xi said nothing, looking at Boss He.

Boss He smiled and said, “I was originally going to find you, but Boss Qin said he’d handle the communication.”

Chen Xi: “Communicate about what?”

Boss He looked a bit surprised, “You don’t know?”

Chen Xi didn’t say whether she knew or not, directly asking, “Renovation requires a deposit too?”

Boss He smiled and said, “Of course it does. Otherwise, when you move out and I want to restore the venue to its original state, if you don’t acknowledge this fee, wouldn’t I have to pay out of my pocket?”

Chen Xi glanced at her auto repair shop, understanding that these two hundred thousand were indeed something her side should bear.

She nodded, set the receipt aside, and said nothing more.

If this extra two hundred thousand fee had been imposed at the time, she really might not have been able to grit her teeth and rent this place.

After all, the money was all pooled together by everyone helping her—she couldn’t bring herself to keep asking relatives and friends for more.

She looked up at the quiet corner door, unable to describe what she was feeling.

In the evening, a black Mercedes S450 came to the shop—a luxury car.

Chen Xi, with professional interest, took a few extra glances.

A family of three got out of the car, clearly people living very comfortable lives.

Chen Xi walked over and asked, “What’s wrong with the car?”

The man driving had a good bearing and smiled at Chen Xi, saying, “It seems to be leaking oil.”

Chen Xi pointed to the tea station, saying, “You all have some water and cool off. I’ll check the air conditioning first.”

Chen Xi got into the car, took a look at the luxurious interior, and started working.

After a while, she suddenly saw a little face, red from the heat, pressed against the car door, curiously looking into the car.

Chen Xi suddenly stopped her work and looked toward the VR arcade.

She smiled at the child and asked, “Want to see something fun?”

The little boy nodded.

Chen Xi pointed to the corner door leading to the VR arcade.

“There are all kinds of fun things in there. Go take a look.”

Hearing Chen Xi’s words, the little boy excitedly ran toward the VR arcade.

The parents resting on the sofa saw this and hurriedly followed.

Half an hour later, the little boy’s father came back with a helpless expression, “He’s gotten addicted to playing.”

Chen Xi smiled and looked up, saying, “That VR arcade has all the good stuff. It’s good for kids to experience it.”

The man nodded, “I didn’t expect to find such a high-tech VR arcade in this place. The equipment in there is all top-grade stuff. Even Beijing might not have such cutting-edge technology all in one place.”

Chen Xi continued working while casually saying, “You understand VR technology pretty well?”

The man smiled, “I work in the tech industry and have some connection to VR, so I understand some of the technology and market conditions.”

He shook his head with some regret, “Such a good VR arcade, too bad it’s in the wrong location. If it were in Beijing, there would be more people who appreciate it.”

Chen Xi smiled and continued with her work.

She thought the VR arcade next door would probably move to Beijing sooner or later.

After finishing with the music festival rush, Chen Xi left the shop to Qin Zhan and Liu Boyang and didn’t go to the shop herself that day.

Because today was Grandpa Guan’s birthday.

Although Grandma Fan never said anything—she couldn’t bear to take up young people’s time—Chen Xi knew that Fan Mingsu took Grandpa Guan’s birthday very seriously.

A while ago, Fan Mingsu had gone shopping at the mall, buying the old man a handsome casual outfit and a pair of sneakers.

Early this morning, she had kneaded dough, oiled it, and left it to rise on the kitchen counter.

The chili oil she made was so fragrant that it filled the entire alley.

Chen Xi had prepared a birthday gift for Grandpa Guan, too.

Early in the morning, she carried a small Li Guang apricot sapling into Grandpa Guan’s courtyard.

Sensen had just gotten up and run out to watch the excitement.

“Sister Chen Xi, are you going to plant a tree?”

Chen Xi nodded, carrying the sapling to the chosen spot, and said to Sensen, “Go get the shovel.”

Sensen ran to the courtyard wall, grabbed the shovel, and ran back to give it to Chen Xi, then went to find a small trowel for himself.

The two of them efficiently dug a tree pit.

Chen Xi placed the sapling in the pit, had Sensen hold it steady, and filled the soil back into the pit herself.

Grandpa Guan lifted the screen door and shuffled out from the house, looking at the two people busy in the courtyard, smiling as he said, “Planting a tree.”

Chen Xi stopped and looked at Grandpa Guan in the bright morning sunlight.

The old man was even thinner than before, nothing but skin and bones, but the light in his eyes remained sharp.

She nodded, “Yeah, planting a tree.”

Grandpa Guan smiled and nodded, “Good, planting trees is good.”

He slowly walked to the sapling.

The morning breeze blew, and the branches swayed with the wind, as if greeting the people in the courtyard.

So vibrant it made one envious.

He reached out to touch the trunk, slowly saying, “Grow well, and in a couple of years we can eat sweet apricots.”

Chen Xi suppressed the sudden surge of emotion and smiled at Grandpa Guan.

“Yeah, we’ll eat them together.”

Grandpa Guan nodded, “Looking forward to it.”

Chen Xi patted down the filled soil and looked up at the tender green branches of the small tree.

Yes, looking forward to it.

As long as a person lives, they need something to look forward to.

Fan Mingsu carried steaming longevity noodles and called over, “Captain Guan, come eat noodles.”

Grandpa Guan called back vigorously, “Coming!”

During breakfast, Sensen suddenly put down his chopsticks and pulled out a stack of test papers from his backpack, handing them to Grandpa Guan.

“Grandpa, these are my test papers.”

Grandpa Guan reached out with trembling hands to take Sensen’s papers, flipping through them page by page.

Math, Chinese, English—one hundred points, one hundred points, one hundred points…

The old man looked and murmured, “Good, good…”

His eyes moistened, his lips trembling slightly.

Sensen burrowed into Grandpa Guan’s arms, saying with a heavy nasal tone, “Grandpa, happy birthday.”

Grandpa Guan stroked his little grandson’s head, his voice unable to distinguish between crying and laughing.

“Good, happy, Grandpa is happy.”

Before leaving, Chen Xi patted Sensen’s head and reminded him, “Come home early tonight to eat birthday cake together.”

Sensen nodded and pushed his bicycle out the door.

Chen Xi leaned against the doorframe, watching Sensen mount his bike and turn out of the alley.

She suddenly felt time was passing so quickly—Sensen had the look of a big kid in the blink of an eye.

From some unknown day, he had learned to study on his own.

Probably, he had also learned what it meant to be reluctant to part.