In her most despairing moments, Jiang Ruoqiao had sometimes thought about giving up on the account entirely — since someone might get it suspended one day anyway.

But in the end, she couldn’t bring herself to let it go.

Even if the account had not been started with entirely pure intentions, even if she thought carefully before replying to every comment. After two years, she had genuine affection for it. This was something she had poured herself into, and even if it was built on uncertain ground, even if it was something that some people could erase with a single word.

In the past few months, Jiang Ruoqiao’s personal account had seen a rapid surge in followers, and the inquiries about advertising partnerships had grown more frequent, including from major brands. But Jiang Ruoqiao felt uninspired, and simply couldn’t work up any enthusiasm for it. She was particular about nearly everything, and when it came to taking on advertisements, she would first need to look into the brand and even its spokesperson — any past controversies, any inadvertently tone-deaf statements. Then she would need to personally test the product for a period of time, not wanting anyone to accuse her of accepting money for subpar products. And since a large portion of her followers were students, and she was a student herself, she understood perfectly well that most people were working with tight budgets. By the time she got through all of that, the opportunity would have long since passed…

She was busier than a stray dog lately, with absolutely no time to go through any of that — and she couldn’t help thinking: Jiang Ruoqiao, Jiang Ruoqiao, you’re never going to make your fortune in this lifetime.

But Jiang Ruoqiao, who was never going to make her fortune in this lifetime, still lived her life with as much effort and care as ever.

She decided to send Grandfather and Grandmother home to Xi Shi.

The climate in Xi Shi was completely different from Jing Shi’s, and the two elders had grown accustomed to life in their hometown. For Grandmother’s health, Jiang Ruoqiao booked the return tickets. Grandfather and Grandmother did grumble a little, but agreed in the end — they had been away a long time, and everyone was thinking of home. As they say, even a golden nest or a silver nest is no match for your own humble home. And Jing Shi was such an expensive city — the larger rental places cost a fortune, and the cheaper ones were cramped, nowhere near as comfortable as their own house.

Jiang Ruoqiao asked for two days off from school.

Once she’d taken them home and cleaned the house from top to bottom inside and out, she went to stand before her father’s grave.

Jiang Ruoqiao’s father had died in the line of duty.

Even she had never quite managed to understand it — how could a father who had been talking about taking her to the amusement park just the day before be covered with a white sheet the very next day? Her father had died when she was very young, and if not for looking at photos regularly, she would have a hard time remembering what he looked like. In Jiang Ruoqiao’s memory, her parents had loved each other — but they’d also argued, mostly over her father’s work. After her father passed away, her mother had grown visibly thinner, and the adults around them often said that if it hadn’t been for her, her mother might have followed him.

At one time, Jiang Ruoqiao had resented her mother for it.

But now she had truly made her peace with it. Everyone has their own life to live. As Grandmother had said, her parents’ time as husband and wife had run its course — when it was over, it was over. And the mother-daughter bond between her and her mother had always been shallow; you couldn’t force what wasn’t there. As long as both of them lived well from here on, that was enough.

Jiang Ruoqiao brushed the dust from the tombstone.

The photo on it showed her father in his uniform.

She wasn’t in the habit of saying things out loud. She spoke only in her heart: Dad, I’ll probably bring my child to see you during the New Year. He looks so much like I did when I was little.

—

Jiang Ruoqiao needed to get back to school and hadn’t stayed at home long before buying a return ticket.

Lu Siyan, when he found out, absolutely insisted on being taken to the train station to meet Mom.

Lu Yicheng had his own reasons for wanting to go, but put on a show of hesitation and let Lu Siyan pester him for a little while before finally nodding.

The temperature had dropped sharply overnight. Yesterday it had been warm enough for a single layer; today required a jacket. Heading out the door, Lu Yicheng handed his phone to Lu Siyan, and the mother and son started a video call. Lu Yicheng noticed she was still wearing just a blouse. He thought back — when he’d seen her off at the station a few days ago, she hadn’t seemed to be carrying much luggage…

Lu Siyan said in surprise, “Mom, aren’t you cold?”

Jiang Ruoqiao shook her head slightly. “I’m alright. Why — is it really cold in Jing Shi?”

Lu Siyan tugged at the drawstring of his hooded sweatshirt. “Look — I have to wear this much today, and the wind outside is so strong!”

Jiang Ruoqiao: “I miscalculated. Forgot to check the weather in Jing Shi before leaving.”

“But then won’t Mom get cold?” Lu Siyan asked, a little anxious.

“It’s fine — I have clothes in the dorm. At most I’ll just be cold for a few hours. I can manage.” Jiang Ruoqiao was certainly used to it — she’d worn hanfu spring outfits in the dead of cold weather for photoshoots, always a full season out of step, filming summer looks in spring and autumn looks in summer…

Lu Yicheng had taken in every word of this exchange.

The station area was lively. With time still to spare, Lu Yicheng took Lu Siyan to a nearby shopping mall.

Lu Siyan was slightly confused. “Aren’t we here to pick up Mom? Why are we going shopping?”

Lu Yicheng let out a quiet breath. “I checked — she still won’t be arriving for about an hour and a half. I need to buy something.”

“Oh, alright then.” Lu Siyan made a point of adding, “Just don’t be late.”

Lu Yicheng and Lu Siyan lingered outside the entrance to a women’s clothing store. The two of them — tall father and small son — were both quite striking in appearance, and had already caught the attention of a sales assistant, who smiled brightly and called out, “Handsome, looking for something for your girlfriend? Come and take a look — new arrivals are in, buy three pieces and get ten percent off.”

Ten percent off only at three pieces.

Lu Yicheng gave the store a look.

He hesitated, but in the end took Lu Siyan’s hand and stepped inside. Lu Siyan said in surprise, “Are you buying clothes for Little Qiao?”

In matters of names and addresses, Lu Siyan was very practiced — whenever there were others present who might be paying attention, he would never say “Dad” or “Mom.”

Lu Yicheng neither confirmed nor denied it, and simply said: “Help me pick something too.”

The sales assistant came over enthusiastically. “Handsome, what kind of clothes are you looking to get your girlfriend — a dress, trousers, or an outer layer?”

Lu Yicheng thought for a moment. “An outer layer.”

“Right this way — these are all the new autumn arrivals, just came in.” The assistant launched into her introduction.

It was overwhelming — a women’s clothing store had so many options, and in the sales assistant’s telling, practically every single item was a fresh new arrival. This was a challenge for both Lu Yicheng and Lu Siyan. Lu Siyan was only five — he couldn’t even pick his own clothes, let alone pick something for Mom. And Lu Yicheng, aside from buying cotton trousers and boots for his grandmother once, had never bought anything for any other woman in his life. His experience in this department was exactly zero.

In the end, Lu Yicheng carefully scrolled through her social media moments and checked her other accounts.

After confirming her preferences and general style, he finally settled on a knit cardigan.

It was a pinkish-white color — pink carrying white, white carrying pink.

All in all, Lu Siyan said it looked nice, and Lu Yicheng thought it was alright too.

The sales assistant was helpful enough to mention, somewhat diplomatically, “This kind of color is quite tricky on people, to be honest — it looks really beautiful on someone with very fair skin.”

Lu Yicheng replied without thinking: “She’s very fair.”

She really was.

The sales assistant beamed. “Well then, your girlfriend must be quite a beauty.”

Lu Yicheng was just about to say: she’s not my girlfriend…

But the sales assistant wasn’t about to wait around for him to finish awkwardly correcting her. She turned, clothes in hand, and made her way cheerfully to the register, calling out across the floor, “Handsome — cash or scan to pay?”

Lu Yicheng: “Scan.”

“Handsome, are you sure you don’t want to pick up two more pieces? Buy three and get ten percent off,” she offered.

Lu Yicheng: “I’m sure.”

No discount at all — it was, after all, a new arrival.

Four hundred and fifty-eight yuan.

He had no idea whether that counted as cheap or expensive for women’s clothing.

He really had no frame of reference at all.

He took the bag and led Lu Siyan toward the train station.

Two major roads separated them from it. The walk took over twenty minutes.

Jiang Ruoqiao stepped off the train in her blouse, dragging her suitcase along with the flow of the crowd toward the exit. Lu Yicheng was tall enough to have the advantage — he spotted her immediately and waved at her with effort. Jiang Ruoqiao saw him, paused for a moment, then broke into a smile and quickened her pace toward him.

It had only been two or three days, really, but she had missed Lu Siyan. She hugged him and kissed him several times before finally letting go.

Lu Siyan, buzzing with excitement, grabbed Jiang Ruoqiao’s hand and said, “Little Qiao, Dad bought you something!”

Jiang Ruoqiao looked over at Lu Yicheng then, and noticed he was holding a paper shopping bag. From the logo on the bag, it appeared to be a women’s clothing brand.

“You bought clothes?” Jiang Ruoqiao asked.

Lu Yicheng felt a small wave of relief wash over him — she’d recognized the brand just from the bag. That meant she knew the brand, which meant he hadn’t been cheated. Good.

He held out the paper bag to her without saying anything.

Jiang Ruoqiao took out the cardigan and looked at him in genuine surprise. “You really did buy this for me.”

Lu Siyan hugged Jiang Ruoqiao around the waist. “Yep! The wind is so strong today, Little Qiao shouldn’t catch a cold.”

Jiang Ruoqiao’s first instinct was to check the tag inside the garment.

Lu Yicheng: “…”

He had actually thought about cutting the tag off, but was worried that if the size was wrong she wouldn’t be able to exchange it.

Jiang Ruoqiao looked at the price and then looked up at him. “Lu Yicheng.”

She said his name.

“Do I look like a fool to you?”

Lu Yicheng: “…No.”

Jiang Ruoqiao glared at him. “Eighty-five yuan — go find me another one for eighty-five yuan!”

Telling that kind of lie was outright disrespecting her intelligence!

This was obviously a brand-new item. From the cut, from the feel of the fabric — he had clearly paid full price.

Even if he’d said two hundred, three hundred, she’d have gone along with it. But no — he’d gone straight to eighty-five, which was nothing short of insulting her ability to think.

Eighty-five yuan — if he could really find one for eighty-five yuan, she’d be happy to give him the money and send him off to get it!

Lu Yicheng looked at her, voice earnest: “Alright.”

He’d get another one.

Jiang Ruoqiao: “?”