The small tattoo shop was completely silent.

The two of them stared at each other for a moment before Lin Qingye was the first to look away. He sat down on the nearby sofa, his back slightly hunched. “You already know.”

Xu Zhinan was stunned.

Was he… acknowledging it?

She had never imagined that one day she would hear Lin Qingye admit that he liked her, and she had even said “like me a lot.”

She had liked Lin Qingye so much before.

It was the first time she had liked someone, and she didn’t know how to protect herself. She wanted to give him her whole heart, but after being hurt, she learned her lesson.

She didn’t know how to accept Lin Qingye’s response.

She suddenly thought of the moment when she first started liking Lin Qingye.

It was such a simple thing, yet she had spent three years because of it.

Shortly after their brief encounter, Xu Zhinan was still a freshman, having just entered college not long ago, with many scattered and complex small tasks assigned.

Such as visiting the university history museum, writing observation diaries, choosing locations for social practice activities, and so on.

Many activities were divided into small groups, randomly combined. Xu Zhinan wasn’t with her roommates but was grouped with three other girls from her class.

These small group activities were very much dependent on luck. If you encountered irresponsible group members, it would be very troublesome. Xu Zhinan’s luck was terrible—not a single one of her three group members was responsible.

For the social practice activity, they directly assigned the on-site visit and photography tasks to Xu Zhinan, while they handled the simple photo organization and written description parts.

Xu Zhinan had a good temper, and the selected social practice location was a historical residence with traditional charm. She was genuinely interested, so she took more than an hour of subway rides with multiple transfers to reach her destination.

She wandered around for a long time, less like completing an assignment and more like a real tourist.

Coming out of the exhibition hall, it suddenly began to pour without warning. The rain cascaded down from the old-style eaves in strings, like a beaded curtain—it would have been quite poetic if one had the leisure to appreciate it—but Xu Zhinan hadn’t brought an umbrella and couldn’t leave.

The rain continued for a long time. As evening approached, her phone died. She was trapped there.

Finally, she had no choice. If this continued, the gates outside the historical residence would close, and she would have to spend the night in this old house.

It wasn’t so bad when it was daylight, but now as darkness fell, it seemed somewhat eerie.

Xu Zhinan took her backpack off her shoulder and held it over her head. Steeling herself, she simply ran into the rain with her bag held up. Although the subway station was right next to the historical residence, the residence covered a large area, and by the time she ran to the station, she was completely soaked.

Standing at the subway entrance, Xu Zhinan patted her clothes and could squeeze water out of them. Fortunately, she was wearing dark clothes that day, so her underwear wasn’t visible through them.

Her shoes were also waterlogged. With each step, water squeezed out, which was very uncomfortable.

Xu Zhinan sighed, just about to go down into the subway station, when she suddenly heard two honks.

She instinctively looked back.

Lin Qingye was sitting in a car, rolling down the window.

He had a face that was impossible to forget.

Xu Zhinan didn’t speak. After a moment of eye contact, he got out of the car without an umbrella, jogged over, and joined her under the shelter of the subway entrance.

Standing close to each other, Lin Qingye silently looked at her for a moment, then smiled. “You look like a drowned rat.”

She tugged at her hair, somewhat sheepish. “I didn’t bring an umbrella.”

“Heading back to school?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Want a ride?”

Xu Zhinan looked up, and he repeated, pointing to the car behind him: “I’ll give you a ride.”

“Ah, my shoes are wet.” She shifted her feet a little nervously, implying that she might dirty his car.

He didn’t waste more words. His hand gently guided her back. “Come on, I’ll take you straight to your dorm. No need to get rained on anymore.”

Xu Zhinan stiffly got into the car. Because her shoes were soaked, she hardly dared to step on the car mat the entire time, shrinking into a corner. Lin Qingye took a blanket from the back seat and tossed it to her. “Dry yourself off.”

“Thank you.”

Xu Zhinan took it and wiped the raindrops from her face and body, then glanced at Lin Qingye. His face also had water on it, but he didn’t seem to mind at all.

He drove fast. The raindrops pattered loudly against the windshield. Xu Zhinan carefully said, “You can just drop me off outside the school in a bit. No need to take me to the dormitory.”

“The rain is so heavy.”

Xu Zhinan insisted, “It’s fine. I’ll just take a shower when I get back to the dorm anyway. I won’t catch a cold.”

Lin Qingye didn’t respond. At that time, Xu Zhinan obviously couldn’t notice the fleeting disappointment that crossed his face.

Then the car stopped outside a shopping mall. Xu Zhinan was momentarily puzzled as she watched him get out of the car without a word and run into the rain.

She was just wondering whether to get out and follow him when he quickly reappeared, now with an umbrella in hand. He sheltered himself as he returned to the car, closed the umbrella, shook off the water, and placed it by her feet. “Use this when you go back.”

“…Just one?” Xu Zhinan asked. “Will you get wet when you go back later?”

His car didn’t seem to have an umbrella in it.

Lin Qingye seemed not to have considered this question. He paused briefly, then smiled casually. “I forgot. It’s fine, you use it.”

Xu Zhinan couldn’t help but laugh at him, a gentle smile revealing her small white teeth and dimples.

Lin Qingye looked at her a moment longer before turning his gaze away and continuing to drive toward the school.

He didn’t insist on taking her back to her dormitory anymore. After all, he had already bought an umbrella. Following her wishes, he stopped the car at the south gate of the school, which was closer to Xu Zhinan’s dormitory area.

He had given in to her, but now Xu Zhinan encountered a problem.

Her canvas shoes had been soaked for too long. When she got out of the car, she suddenly found they were coming apart badly and couldn’t be worn anymore.

Lin Qingye noticed she wasn’t moving and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“My shoes.” Xu Zhinan sighed, feeling that her luck today was truly terrible. “They’re broken.”

Lin Qingye leaned forward to look and laughed out loud, not sparing her feelings at all.

He took the umbrella and got out of the car, circled to the passenger side, handed the umbrella to Xu Zhinan, then turned his back to her and crouched down. “Climb on.”

Xu Zhinan didn’t understand at first. “Huh?”

“Climb on,” he repeated. “How will you get back like this? You can’t even walk.”

As he turned his head, raindrops fell from his black eyelashes. Xu Zhinan belatedly, hastily extended the umbrella forward to shield his face.

“I’m pretty heavy,” she still hesitated about letting him carry her.

Lin Qingye looked her up and down—thin arms and legs, not sure where the weight was supposed to be. “Alright, let me try and see if I can carry you.”

It was raining, and there weren’t many people at the school gate, just the security guard on duty.

The world was very quiet.

It wasn’t good to let him keep crouching in front of her. Xu Zhinan looked at her broken shoes, thanked him again, put her arms around his shoulders, and carefully climbed onto his back.

When her chest touched his back, Xu Zhinan realized something was wrong.

She had been soaked earlier, running to the subway station. Summer clothes were already thin, and her underwear was wet as well. Earlier in the car, she hadn’t been comfortable drying her chest area in front of him.

Now, as her front and back pressed together, she could even feel water being squeezed out of the fabric.

Xu Zhinan blushed and unconsciously held her chest in, backing away a little.

Lin Qingye noticed and smirked, adjusting his grip on her thighs as he stood up, then bounced her up once.

With the momentum, she pressed tightly against his back.

Xu Zhinan’s face instantly turned red. She slowly inched backward until there was a small gap between them, finally breathing a sigh of relief.

She lay on his back, one arm around his shoulder, the other holding the umbrella.

The umbrella wasn’t large. She held it over his head, completely covering him, not letting him get wet, while the water running down the umbrella spokes all fell on her back.

Lin Qingye noticed and bounced her up again, releasing one hand to grip her wrist that held the umbrella, pushing it back.

Making sure she was well covered.

“This way, you’ll get rained on,” Xu Zhinan said.

“It’s fine. Just take care of yourself and don’t catch a cold.”

The school was very quiet on this rainy day, and it was getting late. Xu Zhinan held the umbrella low, covering half her face, so she didn’t have to worry about being recognized by others.

She could smell the faint tobacco scent on Lin Qingye, dampened by the rain, transformed into a strangely crisp and distant fragrance.

Perhaps her feelings at this moment weren’t quite appropriate.

But Xu Zhinan indeed thought of how it felt to be carried by her father when she was little.

As Lin Qingye got closer to the dormitory, Xu Zhinan became anxious. She pressed on his shoulder with some force. “That’s good, you can put me down here.”

“There’s no one,” he replied concisely, seeing through her concern.

“There might be people further ahead.”

“There won’t be any.”

“…” Xu Zhinan’s shoes were broken, and she couldn’t get away.

He added, “Just hold the umbrella lower, and no one will see you.”

Xu Zhinan quickly lowered the umbrella. Fortunately, there was nobody on the path they took. Lin Qingye set her down under the eaves at the entrance to the dormitory area.

Xu Zhinan returned the umbrella to him. As she looked up, she suddenly noticed a patch of skin exposed at the edge of his collar, probably reddened from her pressing against it earlier.

“Ah.”

Xu Zhinan started to reach out but stopped halfway, her hand suspended in the air before slowly withdrawing.

Lin Qingye lowered his eyes to look, gave a faint smile, and casually adjusted his collar without saying anything.

“Thank you for bringing me back today,” Xu Zhinan thanked him again.

He raised his chin slightly. “Go on in.”

“Mm.”

Neither of them moved first, but eventually Lin Qingye was the one to leave, opening the umbrella again and walking into the pouring rain.

His silhouette looked carefree, his shoulders broad, and the pleasant scent on him didn’t dissolve in the rain, seemingly lingering in her nose.

Xu Zhinan’s fingertips still retained the warmth from his body.

She didn’t know why, but her heart was beating faster.

Later, when Xu Zhinan thought of Lin Qingye, she always felt that he seemed not to treat her badly.

Like that rainy day, when he would get wet himself to make sure she was protected.

He never lost his temper with her, nor did he take out any anger he received from the outside world on her. When he spoke to her, it was always with a casual smile and teasing manner.

Ultimately, Xu Zhinan had never seen him treat other girls this way.

So she wondered if she might be special, if perhaps this was just how he was.

But sometimes Xu Zhinan would feel sad, thinking that maybe she was just someone he casually liked for a moment.

And now, she knew Lin Qingye’s secret—that he had known her long before, and had even beaten up Su Zheng because he had bullied her.

She found it hard to understand what Lin Qingye’s feelings for her had been back then.

But no matter how entangled the past misunderstandings were, they were separated now.

“Why did you come here?” she asked.

“To say thank you.” Lin Qingye tilted his head slightly. “For the video clarification.”

“No need. It was also related to my father. I would have helped clarify for anyone.”

The current Xu Zhinan was different from before, trying her best with every sentence to distance herself from him.

Lin Qingye sat on the low sofa. The shop’s light cast his pupils in a lighter shade, a faint amber color. He looked up at Xu Zhinan for a moment. “A’Nan.”

Xu Zhinan didn’t respond, just looked at him.

“What would it take for you to forgive me?” His voice was soft.

“Is my forgiveness that important to you?”

“Of course it is.” He smiled somewhat desolately, honestly revealing his long-buried secret for the first time. “I like you so much.”

“…”

Xu Zhinan lowered her head and continued organizing her backpack. After a while, she said, “But I don’t want to like you anymore.”

Because his pride had been hurt by Xu Zhinan’s unintentional words before, Lin Qingye had never been able to understand his feelings for her.

And later, although in others’ eyes, Xu Zhinan was the one whose feelings had been toyed with, in Lin Qingye’s heart, he had an indescribable desire to conquer her. Perhaps it was because when he first saw her, it was like looking up at something unattainable—she was like a high and mighty benefactor. No matter how their relationship changed later, that first glance had already taken deep root in his heart.

But now, Xu Zhinan calmly said, “But I don’t want to like you anymore.”

Besides panic, what he felt more was heartache.

He had struggled with his obsession and never seriously considered Xu Zhinan’s feelings.

“And I’ve never felt that you particularly liked me,” Xu Zhinan said.

“A’Nan,” he called softly. “I was 17 when I first saw you.”

At 17, Lin Qingye had just formed a band a year earlier. He hadn’t won a Golden Melody Award yet and was still unknown, studying at the notoriously chaotic Seventh High School. His relationship with his parents was terrible. Apart from his face, there truly wasn’t much to boast about at that time.

And what about Xu Zhinan then?

She attended the best high school in the province, had excellent grades and a gentle personality, was surrounded by many outstanding friends, took everything seriously, and always seemed carefree and happy.

Lin Qingye had once overheard her talking to a friend about her goals; she said she wanted to get into Pingchuan University.

He had also seen her father picking her up after school, Xu Zhinan linking arms with her father, chatting and laughing.

“Seventeen,” Xu Zhinan repeated softly, calculating in her mind. She was 16 then, in her first year of high school.

“Where did you see me?”

“The commercial pedestrian street, at the 7-11.”

Lin Qingye only briefly told her about the circumstances of that day.

But for Xu Zhinan, it was just an ordinary day, and she had no recollection of it whatsoever.

Lin Qingye didn’t elaborate further, as that day wasn’t particularly pleasant for him.

“Because of my relationship with my parents, I probably never learned how to treat someone properly from childhood.”

Xu Zhinan recalled what Ji Yan had mentioned to her before, that Lin Qingye’s relationship with his parents seemed very strained.

“What happened with you and your parents?” After a pause, she added, “It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it.”

“Then let’s not talk about it,” he replied quickly, smiling and saying lightly, “I’m afraid you’ll think I’m playing for sympathy.”

“…”

Xu Zhinan knew Lin Qingye’s family was influential and thought perhaps it was some complicated family feud from a world she couldn’t understand. Occasionally, she would hear Gu Congwang mention gossip and secrets about his uncles and aunts.

She lowered her head but suddenly noticed something peeking out from Lin Qingye’s trouser leg—wrapped in brown paper with what seemed to be writing on it.

Lin Qingye noticed her gaze, looked down as well, and slightly furrowed his brow—it was what that female fortune teller had given him last time; he’d forgotten to take it out.

He reached to stuff it back in, but as soon as he moved, the small paper package fell out, landing on the ground with a very faint “plop.”

Xu Zhinan’s gaze followed downward. Thinking it might be some kind of medicinal powder, she asked, “What is this?”

Lin Qingye had just picked it up, but hearing her question, his hand paused before finally handing it over.

On it was written a line: “Take with warm water, consume in one go, break the heart demon, hasten marriage affinity, heavenly spirit, earthly spirit.”

Xu Zhinan: “…”

This superstitious nonsense seemed completely at odds with Lin Qingye’s style, so much so that she immediately glanced up at him, but his expression remained normal, as if he wasn’t embarrassed about it at all.

She lowered her eyes to scan the twenty characters again.

Being a tattoo artist, Xu Zhinan was more sensitive to this type of handwriting than most people, and quickly felt it looked familiar.

She paused, remembering: “This—isn’t this from an old lady near South Qian Lane?”

Lin Qingye hadn’t expected her to recognize it. Indeed, this little nun and the old nun must have some connection. He raised an eyebrow and gave a faint “Mm.”

Xu Zhinan frowned slightly as she opened the brown paper package. Inside was some white powder with a smell of Chinese herbs.

She folded it back neatly and asked, “How much did she sell it to you for?”

“One thousand.”

Ah.

One thousand yuan.

Xu Zhinan opened her mouth, made no sound, and then closed it again.

Just for this little package, it was so expensive.

Lin Qingye was different from Xu Zhinan. He was a pure atheist with no religious beliefs. In the past, when he saw Xu Zhinan holding Buddhist scriptures, he only thought it was absurd and amusing.

Now that she had discovered he had spent a thousand yuan to buy such a worthless thing, Lin Qingye felt somewhat embarrassed.

After a pause, he added, “She said that one must be sincere to people from beginning to end, that I must be sincere to my marriage affinity, and also said I had a heart demon. What you’re holding is supposed to get rid of the heart demon.”

Xu Zhinan asked, “Do you believe it?”

Lin Qingye naturally didn’t believe it, which was why the powder package was still in his pocket, unconsumed.

But the reason he had paid this thousand-yuan “intelligence tax” for the powder package was difficult to explain.

Perhaps it was because Xu Zhinan had rejected him again that night, and he had momentarily thought of “treating a dead horse as if it were alive.” Or perhaps it was because when he was talking to the fortune teller, he was reminded of Xu Zhinan’s shadow and their words about “great disrespect.”

But Xu Zhinan was a devout believer, and Lin Qingye didn’t want to directly say he didn’t believe.

Just as he hesitated for a moment, Xu Zhinan widened her eyes, looking somewhat incredulous, and said, “You don’t believe this, do you?”

“…” Lin Qingye’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. “No.”

His denial was very straightforward.

But Xu Zhinan didn’t believe him anymore and had a look of regret as if he had been scammed: “I don’t know if that old lady’s fortune telling is accurate or not, but all these things she sells for luck and warding off evil are just to cheat people out of their money. I heard about a man who had his fortune told by her before, and after eating what she gave him, he had diarrhea and vomiting for several days. When he went back to confront her, she wouldn’t admit to anything, and she sells everything at extremely high prices.”

“You absolutely must not eat it,” she warned again.

“…”

Lin Qingye had never expected that during their time apart, when Xu Zhinan had always avoided talking to him, her long speech now would be to persuade him not to be fooled by a fortune teller.

Probably afraid he might react badly to being scammed, Xu Zhinan reassured him: “But that old grandmother has a young grandson who’s only in elementary school. Maybe she’s trying to earn his tuition.”

“Just consider it a charitable deed,” Xu Zhinan said. “Good deeds need not be seen by people; kindness will be known by heaven.”

Hearing her speak these formal words again, Lin Qingye chuckled softly.

With his laugh, Xu Zhinan finally remembered their current relationship.

She pressed her lips together, quieting down again, and picked up her bag. “Are you leaving? I need to close the shop.”

“Mm.” Lin Qingye stood up.

The young man was tall with long legs, his posture relaxed, the hair at his temples cut very short, his facial features defined and angular, looking even more intricate with the interplay of light and shadow under the incandescent lamp.

He stood there, looking at Xu Zhinan for a while, then stepped forward.

Walking to her, he bent down, assuming a posture of an embrace.

But Xu Zhinan suddenly thought of the scene when he had come to her shop drunk last time, and instinctively backed away, avoiding his hug.

Lin Qingye’s movement paused. He didn’t force it, just smoothly placed his hands on his knees, bending down so his gaze was level with hers. “A’Nan.”

“Mm?” She responded very softly.

“Let me like you one more time.”

Lin Qingye said.