Although puzzled, Jiang Ruoqiao replied to the message: 【Lu Yicheng, this is Jiang Ruoqiao. What is it?】

Had Lu Yicheng not identified himself, Jiang Ruoqiao would have simply deleted any such text.

The thing was, even though Jiang Ruoqiao and Lu Yicheng weren’t close at all, she knew that Lu Yicheng had a very good reputation among their peers. Her boyfriend shared a dormitory with him, and the two of them were on good terms, so she had interacted with Lu Yicheng on a few occasions. He genuinely seemed like a decent person.

Lu Yicheng’s name came up quite often in her own dormitory as well.

Everyone who got into A’Da had been a top student in high school. The elite universities competed every year to recruit top-scoring students from each province, and A’Da had established a freshman scholarship for provincial top scorers — one that essentially covered four full years of tuition. Getting into a prestigious university was already impressive enough, but being exempted from tuition on top of that placed you in an entirely different tier of academic achievement. Lu Yicheng had been that year’s top-scoring science student.

Brilliant people always seem to radiate a certain glow.

All the more so when Lu Yicheng’s looks and bearing were as exceptional as they were.

In Jiang Ruoqiao’s view, even if a guy fell somewhat short in the looks department, as long as he was sufficiently clean-cut, that counted in his favor.

And Lu Yicheng was very clean-cut.

Not just in the sense of his clothes, shoes, hair, and fingernails — but in his energy.

Some boys hadn’t even turned twenty yet and already had an oily, grimy aura about them. Not clean or refreshing in the slightest.

Lu Yicheng was the opposite — clean and refreshing. He also had a wonderful way with people, warm and approachable, and remained humble even while collecting scholarship after scholarship year after year. Even someone as discerning and exacting as Jiang Ruoqiao couldn’t help but silently acknowledge: except for the lack of money, he was practically perfect.

Though Jiang Ruoqiao’s definition of “lacking money” was rather broad.

In reality, students who made it into A’Da generally didn’t end up struggling financially as long as they put in a little effort. The tutoring market was especially favorable for university students, and even more so for high-achieving students from prestigious schools. She had heard from her boyfriend that Lu Yicheng earned a substantial income just from tutoring every month — the other two roommates would come to him to borrow money when they ran short.

A lot of people became academically lax after starting university — even Jiang Ruoqiao and her crowd had skipped a class or two.

Lu Yicheng never engaged in such behavior. Even for elective courses where attendance wasn’t taken — the kind most people skipped without a second thought — he never missed a single session.

It was precisely because of this diligent and hardworking nature that, from what Jiang Ruoqiao had heard, several talented seniors who had started their own companies were actively inviting Lu Yicheng to work part-time with them, offering very attractive compensation.

In short, anyone could see that Lu Yicheng was a stock of limitless future potential.

……

Lu Yicheng replied almost instantly: 【Are you currently in Jing Shi?】

Strange.

Jiang Ruoqiao dunked her fried dough stick into her soy milk before responding: 【No. What is it?】

Apart from her boyfriend Jiang Yan, Jiang Ruoqiao had no connection to Lu Yicheng whatsoever. They were in different departments and different social circles. Even with Jiang Ruoqiao’s vivid imagination, she couldn’t guess what Lu Yicheng could possibly want from her.

Lu Yicheng: 【If it’s convenient for you, could you come to Jing Shi?】

Jiang Ruoqiao: “……”

Was there something between the two of them that couldn’t be said over the phone or by text?

Making it all sound so mysterious.

Before Jiang Ruoqiao could reply, Lu Yicheng followed up with characteristic seriousness:

【It may seem a bit abrupt, but this is something I must tell you in person. If it’s convenient for you, you can give me your ID number and I’ll buy your ticket and book your hotel. If it’s not convenient, I’ll come to you instead. It really is an important matter.】

Jiang Ruoqiao was genuinely curious now.

Perhaps it was Lu Yicheng’s reputation. Perhaps it was that she had always had a decent impression of him. Whatever the reason, she didn’t immediately refuse this bizarre request — instead, she weighed it. The new semester wasn’t far off. Rather than waiting and returning with everyone else during the chaotic back-to-school rush — crowded and sweltering — she might as well head back early.

The dream she’d had might have had some influence too.

In the dream, she watched Jiang Yan behave like something rotten — first carrying on with another woman, then outrageously demanding that she beg him.

The contrast was jarring.

Jiang Ruoqiao had long since grown out of the habit of looking up dream interpretations on Zhou Gong the morning after a strange dream.

For the person she was now, even if her boyfriend actually cheated on her, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. There was no need to feel pain or hesitation over something like that — it would be entirely superfluous. Think about it: when you have trash in your house, you just throw it out. No one feels sentimental about kitchen scraps.

Going back to Jing Shi now wasn’t a bad idea.

Just the other day, the shop owner she had been collaborating with had asked if she could come back early to shoot.

And by a stroke of coincidence, a photo of hers had been posted online some time ago, which had attracted quite a bit of attention on Weibo at the time. During that period, she had been contacted by all sorts of people — photographers, live streaming platforms, people wanting her to become an internet celebrity — it was endless. After filtering out the unreliable ones, she had noticed a message from the owner of a Hanfu shop. The gist of it was that the owner felt her look and temperament were a perfect fit for Hanfu modeling, and she was hoping for a long-term collaboration.

Plenty of people had approached Jiang Ruoqiao to model for shops before.

She had turned all of them down.

She had a certain… reluctance when it came to modeling. It mostly stemmed from something that happened back in high school, when a set of old photos of some celebrities had been posted online so people could analyze whether they’d had work done. Jiang Ruoqiao had looked at those photos at the time and felt utterly disillusioned — not because of the faces, but because she hadn’t expected those celebrities to look so tacky back then!

Some styles of clothing that seemed fashionable ten years ago looked absolutely eye-watering when you looked back at them now.

She was convinced that those celebrities wished every one of those photos would vanish from the internet entirely.

Present-day fashion was the same — it might look stunning now, but ten years from now? Would it become the kind of embarrassing documented history she’d want erased from existence? More importantly, the high-end brand shops all had professional models anyway, so they wouldn’t need someone like her.

Ancient-style Hanfu, though, was an entirely different matter. At least — it was somewhat better? After all, having watched period dramas for over twenty years, even the more prop-quality costumes didn’t strike her as outlandish now.

But the real reason Jiang Ruoqiao agreed was simply because the other party was paying very well.

She had known the shop owner for over a year now and could tell the woman was comfortably wealthy — the Hanfu shop was purely a passion project for her. The owner paid generously and without fuss, and the Hanfu she designed and made were crafted with meticulous care and artistry. Of course she said yes.

Jiang Ruoqiao replied to Lu Yicheng: 【I’ll head back to Jing Shi early. Let’s connect then.】

It was clear that Lu Yicheng didn’t want to discuss things over text, so there was no point in pressing him.

Lu Yicheng: 【Alright. Give me your ID number — do you prefer flying or taking the high-speed rail?】

Lu Yicheng actually already knew Jiang Ruoqiao’s ID number — the chubby little boy had recited it without missing a beat. But the current him had no business knowing his good friend’s girlfriend’s ID number.

Jiang Ruoqiao: 【No need, I’ll buy my own ticket.】

Lu Yicheng: 【Alright.】

Lu Yicheng’s routine had been completely disrupted lately.

His life had been thrown wildly off course.

He had inexplicably acquired a child.

Of course, he could hand the child over to the police, but that would likely set off a media frenzy — endless interviews and complications would follow, and his life would be thrown into even greater chaos. After weighing the pros and cons, he decided it was better not to involve the authorities. On his own, he had no trouble supporting himself, but adding a high-maintenance child to the equation was something he simply couldn’t handle.

It was clear that his future self was reasonably well-off financially, and this child had been raised with considerable indulgence.

The child was only five years old, and in his mind, his father had no financial worries and was more or less happy to give him whatever he wanted.

A five-year-old couldn’t perceive the precariousness of a twenty-year-old father’s situation.

He wanted Lego. He needed milk morning and night. He wanted all sorts of fruit, all kinds of picture books, toy cars and airplane models.

Even setting aside the fact that the child wasn’t particularly low-maintenance, Lu Yicheng couldn’t afford him under any circumstances.

And raising a child was about more than keeping them fed and clothed.

The child would need to attend school, for one thing.

But the child didn’t even have a household registration.

Lu Yicheng couldn’t help but reflect: no wonder so many people said that having children was something to approach with great care. No wonder there were minimum ages for marriage — at twenty years old, he had neither the time nor the means to raise a child.

Fortunately, the child was not his alone.

Fortunately, the child’s mother was someone he already knew.

Between the two of them… there should be more options available.

The child had a great many demands.

A couple of days ago, Lu Yicheng had bought him toothpaste from the supermarket, and the child didn’t like it.

Lu Yicheng had no choice but to go to an imported goods supermarket and, following the child’s specific instructions, purchase the exact toothpaste he wanted.

Over fifty yuan for a tiny 50ml tube.

At eight-ten in the morning, the child finally woke up. Perhaps it was genetic, but his hair had a natural wave to it — extraordinarily cute. Lu Yicheng had no naturally wavy genes in his family, and he figured it must have come from Jiang Ruoqiao’s side.

“Siyan, I and…” Lu Yicheng still found the words difficult to say. He paused, keeping his voice as steady as he could. “…and her have arranged to meet. But first, promise me — when you see her, you cannot do what you did when you saw me and just call her something right away.”

The child’s name was Lu Siyan.

He was clever enough to have already learned to write his own name.

Lu Siyan immediately looked displeased, his little mop of curly hair bristling as he protested, “But whyyy?! I miss her so much!”

It was evident that he was more attached to his mother.

“She’ll be frightened,” said Lu Yicheng.

A week ago, this child had launched himself like a little cannonball, charging toward him at full speed and calling out “Daddy!” at the top of his lungs.

Lu Yicheng had thought he’d seen a ghost.

Fortunately, it had been just before dawn, with hardly anyone around.

Lu Siyan found this reasoning wholly unacceptable. “Are you getting a divorce?!” he demanded.

Why else would he not be allowed to call her Mama?!

Even if they were divorced, she was still his mother!

After a week together, Lu Yicheng had formed a basic understanding of the boy. Trying to explain “time travel” to a five-year-old seemed unlikely to work — and the child might not be entirely unaware that something was off. After all, wasn’t his current father extraordinarily poor? When buying him toothpaste at the checkout, his breathing had even grown rapid and strained! And his father right now was younger-looking than usual. Even so, a child of this age couldn’t truly comprehend the strange situation he himself had landed in.

“No divorce,” Lu Yicheng said.

They weren’t even married yet.

In fact, the entire process of falling in love hadn’t happened at all.

The child visibly relaxed.

Lu Yicheng was, by nature, extremely quick-witted. No matter how tangled a problem, in his hands it was like a knotted ball of yarn that had found its thread — every difficulty capable of being unraveled. But now, he was completely at a loss.

After much deliberation, he gritted his teeth and said: “Promise me this, and I’ll take you to Kendeji this afternoon.”

Lu Siyan pressed his lips together and raised one chubby finger. “And one meal at Bishengke.”

Lu Yicheng: “……”

He finally understood what the uncle in the next apartment unit had meant when he said: having a child means working a whole day just to hand your entire paycheck straight over.

—