After taking Xu Zhinan back to her dormitory, Lin Qingye walked alone toward his studio.

On the way, he received another phone call, this time from the band’s female bassist, Ji Yan.

“Hey, Captain, where are you?” Ji Yan asked.

Lin Qingye put a cigarette between his lips: “What’s up?”

Ji Yan: “Why did you leave so early today? We bought some late-night snacks and we’re at the studio now. Are you coming?”

“On my way back.”

“Alright, we’ll wait for you.”

When he returned to the studio and opened the door, Lin Qingye was nearly hit by a pillow thrown by Shi Si. He caught it and threw it back: “What are you doing?”

Shi Si yelped: “Captain, you’re finally back! We tried to find you to drink earlier, but couldn’t find you. Where did you go? So mysterious.”

At the barbecue stall earlier, seeing Xu Zhinan eager to return to her dormitory, Lin Qingye hadn’t eaten much. He kicked a chair aside, sat down at the table, poured himself a beer, gulped down half of it, and said nonchalantly: “Took someone back to the dorm. Where’s Guan Chi?”

“He’s about to get married, so he went home to be with his wife.” Shi Si paused, then suddenly realized something, raising his eyebrows teasingly: “You took Pingchuan’s Light back?”

Lin Qingye gave a half-smile: “Yeah.”

“As expected of our captain.” Shi Si picked up a beer bottle and clinked it against Lin Qingye’s. “But that Xu Zhinan is beautiful, so pure, completely different from those heavily made-up women.”

Just as he finished speaking, Ji Yan kicked him from the side: “Who the fuck are you insulting?!”

Shi Si was startled, then laughed: “Who would dare mock the great beauty Ji Yan? Don’t take it personally and blame me again!”

Ji Yan snorted coldly, giving him a sideways glance.

Lin Qingye took out his phone, just as a low battery notification popped up. He got up and walked back to the bedroom, plugged it in to charge, and opened the message lying in WeChat—

Nan: Qingye Ge, there’s a final exam for Modern History next week. Don’t forget to attend.

Lin Qingye glanced at it, checked the time, didn’t reply, turned off the screen again, placed it face down on the bedside table, and walked back out.

“By the way, Captain,” Shi Si called out, holding a beer bottle, “Guan Chi just asked me to apologize to you.”

Lin Qingye raised an eyebrow, took out his cigarette pack and tossed it on the table, then leaned back in his chair: “What for?”

Shi Si waved his hand: “Oh, it’s about him getting married. He feels like a traitor now.”

Guan Chi was the band’s drummer, but his family had always opposed his “unproductive” activities and had been arranging blind dates for him, hoping he would return to a normal family life.

Later, he met his current girlfriend. His father had fallen seriously ill, and it seemed inappropriate to continue being so reckless. So he had requested to leave the band.

Although it was called the Locust Tree Band, in reality, only Lin Qingye represented the band—they were all his fans.

The other three members’ family backgrounds were far inferior to Lin Qingye’s. As they grew older, they had to consider practical matters more. Not just Guan Chi—before long, Shi Si and Ji Yan wouldn’t be able to continue either, which led to the idea of disbanding.

Lin Qingye showed no particular reaction: “Getting married is good.”

Ji Yan: “Captain, you can always find us for anything in the future.”

Shi Si agreed: “That’s right, that’s right.”

After so many years together in the band, they had developed a good relationship, and the three were indeed very grateful to Lin Qingye.

Back when Lin Qingye won the award, there were countless opportunities, but they were all for him. Lin Qingye had rejected them all for the sake of the band.

The three chatted for a while.

Staying up late was routine for them, and they didn’t feel tired. Shi Si and Ji Yan became even more animated as they talked. By the time they left, it was already two in the morning.

Lin Qingye didn’t bother returning to his apartment and decided to sleep at the studio. After washing up, he sat back on the bed and unlocked his phone, which opened directly to his chat with Xu Zhinan—he had turned off the phone earlier without exiting the chat.

He remembered how Xu Zhinan had tried to fight off sleep earlier and smiled, still not replying.

Early the next morning, Xu Zhinan was awakened by a phone call. She squinted at the caller ID.

In the dormitory, Zhao Qian and Jiang Yue were still asleep. She quietly got up, put on a jacket, and gently pushed open the balcony door to go outside before answering: “Hello, Mom.”

Xu’s mother paused: “Did I wake you up? Why are you getting up so late today?”

“I went to bed late last night.” Xu Zhinan leaned against the railing, rubbing her eyes. “Mom, did you need something?”

“Not really. I was just wondering if you wanted to come home today.” Xu’s mother quickly added, “But you’re about to have exams now, right? If you’re busy, just stay at school and study well.”

Xu Zhinan smiled, her voice soft and coquettish: “I was planning to come see you today. I’ll come home soon, Mom.”

After hanging up, Xu Zhinan yawned again, finally overcoming her drowsiness. She forced her eyes open and checked WeChat.

Her chat with Lin Qingye still showed the message she had sent in the early hours of the morning.

He still hadn’t replied to her.

Xu Zhinan puffed her cheeks, her black eyelashes lowering, casting an arc-shaped shadow on her eyes in the sunlight. Then she slowly exhaled and put away her phone.

She opened the balcony door to go back inside. Jiang Yue was just climbing down from her bed and was startled to see her, asking in a hushed voice: “Why are you up so early?”

“My mom called me,” Xu Zhinan said softly. “Are you going to the library?”

Jiang Yue sighed: “Yeah, I have to be the most diligent kid, or how else will I get into the Art Academy for graduate school?”

Zhao Qian was still sleeping, so the two didn’t chat much. After taking their toothbrushes to the bathroom, Jiang Yue asked: “Nan, your grades are so good, haven’t you thought about furthering your studies?”

“Not really. I don’t particularly like theoretical stuff.”

“That makes sense.” Jiang Yue nodded. “So you’ll just keep running your tattoo shop in the future?”

“Probably. I quite enjoy it.”

“That’s good too. I see many top senior students opening their studios after graduation, which is pretty similar to what you’re doing now.” Jiang Yue remarked, “That’s nice—you don’t even have to worry about finding a job later.”

Xu Zhinan was in the art design program, and running a tattoo shop required her to draw many design sketches for customers, which was somewhat related to her major.

When the two left together, Zhao Qian was still in a foggy sleep. Jiang Yue headed to the library, while Xu Zhinan went to the east gate to catch the subway. They parted ways at the fork in the road.

When Xu Zhinan first entered college as a freshman, she attracted much attention at the welcome party and was crowned the campus beauty “Pingchuan’s Light.” Many school activities invited her, an art student, to host, and because of her good temperament and character, she made many friends.

On her way to the subway station, many people greeted her.

Her home was far from school. Pingchuan University was located in a university town in the suburbs, while Xu Zhinan’s home was on the other side of Yan City.

After transferring twice, she could arrive home just in time for lunch.

“Mom.” As soon as Xu Zhinan opened the door, she smelled the aroma of cooking.

Xu’s mother came out from the kitchen wearing an apron: “Nan is back! Wait a bit, the food will be ready soon. Have you been busy lately?”

“It’s okay, not too busy.”

Xu Zhinan was about to go help in the kitchen when a female customer from her tattoo shop suddenly sent her a message with a picture of a Samoyed dog.

Xu Zhinan had saved only the surname in her contacts.

[Chen: This is my Lucky. I want to get a tattoo of it on my arm. Nan, can you design one for me?]

Xu Zhinan took a sip of water and replied: How big do you want it?

[Chen: Not too big. My arm is only so thick. About 10cm long is fine, and make it cute.]

[Xu Zhinan: Sure, just give me a general idea of your design requirements, and then we can schedule a time for you to come to the shop.]

[Chen: Can you do it quickly? I’ve booked a photographer for next week and just had this idea on impulse. I want to take photos with my Lucky tattooed on me.]

[Xu Zhinan: A tattoo like this needs a week to heal.]

Xu Zhinan frowned slightly and then replied.

[Xu Zhinan: How about I design the image for you first, and if you’re satisfied, we can do the tattoo this afternoon. Would that work?]

[Chen: Perfect! Love you!]

[Chen: Sending you a little heart JPG.]

Since she had taken on this last-minute job, after finishing lunch, she took out her drawing pad and began to sketch.

Nan’s professional course grades were excellent, and designing such patterns was well within her capabilities. She quickly drew a cute Samoyed and sent it to Ms. Chen.

[Chen: Wooooow my Lucky is so cute!!]

[Chen: I can’t wait to have it tattooed on me! Nan, when are you free? I can’t wait anymore!!]

So they set a time.

Unable to stay at home any longer, Xu Zhinan got up: “Mom, I need to go back to the shop.”

“Why are you leaving so early?”

“A client is coming over on short notice.” Xu Zhinan smiled. “I’ll come back to keep you company as soon as my exams are over.”

“But don’t you still have to mind the shop?” Xu’s mother patted her shoulder. “Don’t get too tired.”

“I know.”

Before leaving, Xu Zhinan walked into a small side room of the house. On a wooden table were offerings of fruits and pastries, with a black and white photograph in the center.

Wearing a police uniform, with handsome features—it was Xu’s father, who had died in the line of duty several years ago.

Xu Zhinan placed a fresh incense stick in the burner, looked at her father in the frame, and said softly: “Dad, I’ll come back to see you another day.”

When she arrived at the tattoo shop, Ms. Chen was already there.

Under the scorching sun, she had an umbrella, wearing a tank top with cargo pants, and a beautiful sleeve tattoo that had been done previously at Xu Zhinan’s shop—she was a regular customer.

“Have you been waiting long? I’m sorry I’m late.” Xu Zhinan hurried over.

Ms. Chen waved her hand: “Not really. I could have waited in the car, but I sent it for repairs.”

Xu Zhinan took out her keys to open the door and found a flyer rolled into the door handle.

She took it down and looked at it—a flyer with red and black as the main colors, with large characters reading “Tattoo Design Competition.” The event organizers had probably distributed these to all tattoo shops along the street.

She rolled the flyer back into a tube shape and unlocked the door: “Please come in with me.”

The flyer was casually tossed on the table as Xu Zhinan put on gloves and a mask: “I’ll sketch the design on your arm first.”

Ms. Chen extended her arm: “You know, I’ve found that tattoos are quite addictive. Even though I nearly cried from the pain last time, now I can’t help wanting another one. No wonder those men have tattoos all over their bodies.”

Xu Zhinan smiled and said: “Many customers at my shop are repeat clients, after all, people who choose to get tattoos are still a minority.”

She quickly finished drawing, took out the tattoo machine, completed the sterilization preparations, connected the power, and it emitted the noise of a motor starting.

Ms. Chen frowned slightly: “Oh my, hearing that sound still makes me nervous.”

“Now, please keep your hand still. I’m going to start tattooing you.”

The young girl wore a mask covering half her face. In the sunlight, fine downy hair was visible. She was quiet and focused, her black eyelashes gathered, watching as the ink-filled needle pierced the skin again and again, without even blinking.

She looked indescribably cool.

With a skilled tattoo artist, there isn’t much pain at first, but later it becomes numb and painful.

Ms. Chen wasn’t feeling much yet. After watching her for a while, she couldn’t help smiling and asking: “Nan, how did you become a tattoo artist? You don’t look like someone who would do this.”

“I learned from a master before. After entering university, I opened this shop.”

“So you learned in high school?”

“Yes. My father passed away then, and I originally wanted to earn money. I didn’t expect that I would become so interested in it later.”

Ms. Chen was startled, not expecting this backstory, and after apologizing, changed the subject: “But why don’t you have any tattoos yourself? I see other tattoo artists with big sleeve tattoos.”

“I don’t have anything I particularly want to tattoo.” Xu Zhinan smiled, her voice gentle: “I don’t want to regret it later.”

“That’s true. I heard removing tattoos is extremely painful, isn’t it?”

“Yes, much more painful than getting a tattoo.”

Such a small tattoo took relatively little time, finishing in about an hour. Xu Zhinan took off her gloves, pulled down her mask to hang it on her chin, and wrapped Ms. Chen’s arm in plastic wrap.

“You can remove the plastic wrap after three hours.”

As soon as she finished speaking, her phone screen lit up.

[Qingye Ge: Teacher Xu, can you tutor me?]

It was a reply to her message from last night.

But it was already three in the afternoon.

Ms. Chen teased, “A message from your boyfriend? You’re smiling so sweetly.”

Xu Zhinan paused, looked up at the mirror beside her, and saw her lips were upturned.

“You two must be very close. I can tell you like him.” She spoke like someone with experience.

Yes.

I do like him.

So much that receiving a long-delayed message could make her this happy.