Chen Xi never could have imagined that her employment would begin just one hour after sitting on the street eating jianbing guozi with Leng Ran.

She had originally taken a taxi to the creative cuisine restaurant she’d arranged to meet Qin Lie at, ready to celebrate properly.

But before she could even order, Leng Ran’s assistant called, asking her to come to the studio for a meeting.

Chen Xi hung up the phone and looked at Qin Lie sitting across from her with shock.

She said incredulously, “Leng Ran wants me to go to a meeting right now.”

Qin Lie smiled and extended his hand to Chen Xi.

“Welcome to the crazy workplace.”

Chen Xi seriously shook hands with Qin Lie and said with a smile, “Who’s afraid of whom?”

Qin Lie drove Chen Xi to the Tangdou Film Industry building.

Chen Xi jumped out of the car with her canvas bag on her back, excitedly waving at Qin Lie.

“You go home first. If it gets late, I’ll just take a taxi back.”

Qin Lie smiled and nodded, watching Chen Xi walk away with light steps, as if invisible wings had spread behind her.

Bright, flamboyant, carrying a kind of wildness that outsiders couldn’t see through.

Even in Beijing, this prosperous and unfamiliar city, Chen Xi was forever that bright and wild Dunhuang woman.

He smiled as he rolled up the car window, warmth filling his heart. He picked up his phone and dialed.

“Hello, Xiao Tang, call those people from this afternoon. We’ll continue the meeting in half an hour.”

Above them were scattered a few stars, both heading toward the brilliant dreams in their hearts.

Chen Xi got home close to midnight. Qin Lie sent her a WeChat message saying he’d be back in half an hour.

Chen Xi took a shower and collapsed exhaustedly on the bed.

She had a bellyful of interesting things she wanted to tell Qin Lie, forcing herself to keep her heavy eyelids open as she waited for him.

But drowsiness was like a large hand waiting by the pillow, pulling her into bottomless deep sleep with one grasp.

Chen Xi slept until the alarm went off.

She drowsily turned over and naturally burrowed into Qin Lie’s embrace.

She stubbornly lingered in bed for a little while amid the annoying alarm music.

Qin Lie’s voice, carrying a trace of hoarseness, reached her ears: “What time do you go to the studio?”

Chen Xi buried her face in his warm neck, lazily humming, “Eight o’clock.”

Qin Lie glanced at the time, smiled helplessly, and suppressed certain thoughts.

He patted Chen Xi’s back. “Time to get up. Morning traffic.”

Chen Xi nuzzled against Qin Lie’s chest, then, in the blink of an eye, sat up with sharp alertness.

From washing up to eating breakfast to getting in the car, Chen Xi raced against time to tell Qin Lie about yesterday’s bizarre interview experience.

After listening with a smile, Qin Lie asked Chen Xi, “Did the onboarding go smoothly last night?”

Chen Xi said admiringly, “Leng Ran is a tough character who keeps a pack of wolves under her.”

“I barged in sideways, completely overturning the original designs. The design team had big opinions and treated me coldly.”

“The team leader was bluntly sarcastic, saying I was hired through connections.”

She paused and looked at Qin Lie. “Guess what Leng Ran said?”

Qin Lie cooperatively raised an eyebrow. “What did she say?”

Chen Xi: “She leaned back in her chair and said arrogantly, ‘That’s right, Chen Xi is exactly a connection hire.'”

Qin Lie looked at Chen Xi with some surprise.

Chen Xi: “I thought right then, this woman is someone I’m sticking with.”

“Leng Ran said, ‘Chen Xi is someone I hired through connections. If you’re not convinced, draw something better than hers. If you can’t, then cooperate with her properly.”

Chen Xi finished her vivid account and laughed.

Qin Lie couldn’t help but laugh too.

When the car reached the Tangdou Film Industry building, Qin Lie seemed to casually ask Chen Xi, “Are you scared?”

Strange workplace, complex interpersonal relationships, explosive work pressure.

Chen Xi suddenly leaned over and kissed Qin Lie’s cheek.

“What do you think I’ve ever been afraid of?”

She pushed open the door and got out, gently tapping the car window.

The dark glass slowly lowered. Chen Xi leaned on the car window and smiled brilliantly at Qin Lie.

“Qin Lie, in this world, except for death, I’m not afraid of anything.”

After saying this, she waved at Qin Lie and walked gracefully toward the office building.

Last night, sitting around with dozens of unfriendly strangers.

She had felt some anxiety initially, but Leng Ran had shown her this team’s survival rule.

Just be strong.

The cool autumn morning breeze ruffled her hair, and golden sunlight lay beneath her feet.

Chen Xi carried her sketchbook in her canvas bag, her steps confident.

She was past the age of seeking praise and recognition. What she wanted to do, she would focus wholeheartedly on doing.

This confidence and composure came partly from the deepest part of her heart, that eternally present oasis.

That was her hometown, her family, and friends—she already had everything.

In this strange city, her heart remained full, never lonely.

Time passed silently for nearly two months.

Beijing, once bright with autumn colors, had lost all its leaves, taking on the same desolate coldness as Dunhuang.

This day was a Friday evening. Chen Xi rarely got home before ten o’clock.

As soon as she entered, Chen Xi smelled the aroma floating from the kitchen.

The range hood hummed—a sound that had never appeared in this home before.

Chen Xi stood at the kitchen doorway, leaning in to look inside.

Qin Lie wore a short-sleeved T-shirt, holding the flat-bottom pan they’d bought at the supermarket last time, frying steak.

His phone was propped on a stand nearby, playing a steak-cooking tutorial.

Chen Xi changed her shoes and wandered into the kitchen, smiling as she poked Qin Lie’s appetizing rear.

“How did you get home earlier than me today?”

She leaned against the counter, casually picking up a green pea and eating it.

Qin Lie was caught off guard by the female rogue’s advances, his dark eyes calmly glancing at Chen Xi.

“No work tonight. Showing off my skills for you.”

He flipped the steak with a small spatula, then picked up fresh basil and placed it in the pan.

The rich aroma of the steak instantly mixed with the basil’s special fragrance.

Chen Xi said enviously, “Being a boss is great—you can leave work whenever you say so.”

As she spoke, she habitually rubbed her stiff neck.

These months, she’d drawn more than she had in the previous six months combined.

Qin Lie smiled bitterly.

“It’s just not busy lately. When it gets busy, bosses can’t leave work either.”

Chen Xi said with mixed emotions, “You call this not busy?”

Qin Lie smiled. “When I was doing the tunnel project, I lived directly at the company. There was no difference between work and off-work hours. Getting two or three hours of sleep a day was considered good.”

Chen Xi simply couldn’t understand workaholics’ psychological logic.

She muttered, “Be careful of sudden death. Who are you making all that money for?”

Qin Lie: “Back then, I seemed not to need sleep. Even working to death didn’t matter.”

Chen Xi hugged his muscular neck and asked with a smile, “What about now?”

Qin Lie plated the sizzling steak, glanced at Chen Xi sideways, and said with a smile, “Now I have a wife, so I don’t worry about having no one to spend the money if I die suddenly.”

Chen Xi lifted her eyelids to look at him. “Who’s your wife?”

Qin Lie looked at Chen Xi and suddenly said, “Let’s find time to get our marriage certificate.”

He still held the spatula, covered in cooking smells, never having imagined he would propose to a girl this way.

But he said it so naturally, like moonlight falling on a windowsill, roses topped with morning dew.

He said he wanted her whole life.

Chen Xi was stunned for a moment, then suddenly smiled.

“Okay, when we both have free time.”

Yes, so natural.

Like how people expect love while living, and how they’ll have white hair when old.

She also wanted his whole life.

The two carried the steak to the coffee table. Qin Lie brought several cans of beer from the refrigerator.

Chen Xi leaned against the sofa, sitting cross-legged on the floor.

Chen Xi said casually, “I want to get our certificate in Dunhuang.”

Qin Lie smiled and nodded. “Mm, okay.”

Chen Xi cut a piece of steak and ate it, her eyes brightening.

“Delicious.”

She cut a piece of steak and brought it to Qin Lie’s mouth. “Try it.”

Qin Lie leaned down to eat the steak Chen Xi offered, saying smugly, “Cooking isn’t hard—piece of cake.”

Chen Xi patted his head with her hand, smiling. “So domestic.”

The two drank beer and ate steak, chatting casually.

Qin Lie glanced at his phone and saw that his parents were having dinner with relatives at the mutton restaurant they usually went to.

Qin Lie suddenly saw a photo and showed it to Chen Xi with a smile.

Chen Xi took the phone for a look, then looked up at Qin Lie, somewhat disbelievingly.

“Qin Zhan is there too?”

Qin Lie nodded.

Chen Xi asked with pleasant surprise, “His parents aren’t angry with him anymore?”

Qin Lie: “Not sure.”

Chen Xi quickly forwarded the photo to Qin Zhan, asking, “You’re home?”

After a while, Qin Zhan replied with one sentence.

“Fangfang kicked me back. She said no matter what, things can’t be so strained with Mom and Dad.”

“Anyway, over time, people’s hearts can be seen.”

Chen Xi looked at the phone screen, a faint smile playing at her lips.

Outside the window, the moon waxed and waned, quietly accompanying the human world.

Chen Xi picked up her beer and clinked it with Qin Lie’s, saying thoughtfully, “Qin Zhan has a home.”

Qin Lie looked at Chen Xi, not knowing why she suddenly said this.

Chen Xi seemed to be talking to herself, yet also to Qin Lie.

“As a child, being with my parents, I felt I had a home. Later, living with Grandma, as long as she was well, I felt at home.”

She turned to look at the myriad lights outside the window and suddenly stopped talking.

She wanted to say that now, with him beside her, she seemed to feel at home too.

Qin Lie looked at Chen Xi’s slightly dazed profile and couldn’t help but ruffle her hair.

“I have a home too now.”

He said silently in his heart.

Before bed that night, Yang Shan called.

Chen Xi had just finished washing up and gotten into bed. She wrapped herself in the blanket, leaning against the headboard, and answered the phone with a smile.

“Hello, Chen Xi.”

Yang Shan’s excited voice came through the phone. “Guess what?”

Chen Xi asked with a smile, “What happened? Any gossip?”

Yang Shan: “My brother went to Susu’s house for dinner today.”

Chen Xi immediately sat up straight, asking with delight, “Really? What happened? Did Uncle Han and Aunt agree on their relationship?”

Yang Shan: “Yes, they agreed. They made dumplings today and invited my brother over. They also arranged for both families to have dinner together next week.”

Chen Xi nearly jumped off the bed.

“What did Susu do? How did she win over her parents?”

Yang Shan laughed. “Why don’t you ask what my brother did?”

Chen Xi: “Others might not understand Yang Guan, but don’t you? How good he is—how could Uncle Han and Aunt not know?”

“Even though Yang Guan can’t see, he’s absolutely capable in how he conducts himself and handles things. Uncle Han and Aunt are satisfied with him.”

“They never relented because they worried Susu lacked stability—that she’d harm herself and Yang Guan too.”

Yang Shan smiled knowingly on the other end of the phone.

“Chen Xi, you got it right. Although my brother can’t see, he’s still extraordinary.”

“Susu’s parents really like my brother. They weren’t worried about him—they were worried about Susu, afraid she was acting on impulse and didn’t want to spend her life with my brother.”

“A while ago, Uncle Han went to the clinic to find my brother again and had a heart-to-heart talk with him for a long time.”

“He said his family couldn’t let Susu delay my brother. He said my brother was capable and would live well.”

“But if he got together with Susu and she was just acting on a whim, she could walk away in the end, but my brother would be miserable.”

Chen Xi asked with a smile, “So how are they reassured now?”

Yang Shan: “You don’t know—these past two months, while you’ve been away, Susu has been studying traditional Chinese medicine every day after work. She’s not as flighty as before.”

“Susu hasn’t told anyone, but she’s been steadily studying TCM, wanting to follow Yang Guan’s path and take the TCM practitioner qualification exam.”

“After work and on weekends, whenever she has time, she comes to the clinic to learn TCM from my grandfather.”

“At night she doesn’t go out to party anymore—she studies medical books every day, more seriously than we were during college entrance exams.”

Chen Xi listened with mixed emotions, never expecting that among the three of them, the most playful and unreliable girl would also find her direction for effort and determination.

Yang Shan was silent for a moment, then said with some emotion, “Chen Xi, Susu is more determined than any of us.”

Both Chen Xi and Yang Shan fell silent on either end of the phone, as if savoring something.

That was the taste of life—sweet, sour, bitter, spicy, mixed emotions.

Chen Xi suddenly asked Yang Shan, “What about you? You knew long ago, didn’t you, that Han Chao was working odd jobs outside and hiding it from you. What do you plan to do?”

Yang Shan was slightly surprised, silent for a moment before asking, “You found out?”

Chen Xi: “Yes, I ran into him once at the night market.”

Yang Shan smiled. “Did he ask you to hide it from me?”

Chen Xi: “Yes, but I told him you already knew.”

“Your favorite ramen is sold at the night market—how long has it been since you went to eat it? He’s hiding from you, you’re hiding from him—you two…”

Chen Xi didn’t know what to say and just sighed softly.

Yang Shan was quiet for a while before saying, “I’ve been picking him up after work every night. It’s been going on for a while now.”

Chen Xi made a surprised sound.

Yang Shan smiled and said softly, “Chen Xi, you probably don’t know—I’m not as decisive as you, knowing what I want and what kind of life I want.”

“When you graduated, you wanted to go to Beijing, but when Grandma’s health wasn’t good, you let it go and took the civil service exam.”

“Later, when you wanted to open a car repair shop, you quit as soon as you decided to. You always knew what you wanted.”

“I’m not as determined as Han Susu either—loving someone and throwing herself at him like a moth to flame, wholeheartedly.”

On a quiet night, the sound of Qin Lie typing came from the study.

Chen Xi leaned against the headboard, listening to Yang Shan’s calm and warm voice.

“The three of us grew up together. I haven’t lived as passionately as you two, but I understand myself.”

“I just want stability and security. When Han Chao was dating and marrying me, he always told me he’d hold up the sky of our home—I didn’t need to be so tired.”

“But when you start living together, you realize the sky of a home is too heavy. I can’t bear to let him carry it alone.”

“We’re both ordinary people. Since we got together, we’ve been honest with each other, never hiding anything.”

“Now, when he goes to work, he thinks it’s undignified and the work is tiring. He’s afraid I’ll feel sorry for him, so he started hiding things from me. This isn’t how we originally lived together—I don’t like it.”

“So one night, I left Ruirui at my mom’s and waited for Han Chao to get off work. When he saw me, he didn’t say anything, just smiled.”

“When he finished work, he bought me a fragrant grilled chicken leg. We strolled home together—I’d take a bite, he’d take a bite. It was so delicious.”

A smile played at Chen Xi’s lips.

As she listened, two streams of tears quietly rolled down her cheeks.

Yang Shan: “Hard times—no one can escape them. But I know that even in hardship, our hearts can hold sweetness.”

“That night on the road, we spoke openly.”

“I said, ‘Han Chao, we’re earning money through our hard work—there’s no shame in that. Don’t hide anymore.”

Chen Xi spoke softly, trying to suppress the emotional surge in her voice.

She just smiled and said, “That’s wonderful.”

Yang Shan also smiled on the other end of the phone.

“Chen Xi, I don’t want an incredibly wealthy life. I just want it like this now.”

“When he finishes work, he walks home together, talking and laughing.”

“When the second baby comes, the house will be more crowded and noisy, but every day will be lived with flavor.”

After hanging up, Chen Xi leaned against the headboard, slightly lost in thought.

Something surged in her heart—warmth and security from thousands of miles away.

Yang Shan always said she envied Chen Xi’s decisiveness and Han Susu’s passion.

But Chen Xi knew she had always envied Yang Shan.

In an ordinary life, she was the happiest one.