“Huh? What a coincidence?” Li Zhi’s voice was somewhat loud. The lazy cat that had been napping on the side was awakened. He reached out to smooth its fur and said again: “Really didn’t expect that.”

Chen Yi’s reaction to this kind of coincidence was ordinary. He leaned forward to scoop the cat into his arms, his well-defined fingers resting on the cat’s back, slowly stroking. The veins on the back of his hand appeared and disappeared with his movements. After a long while, he asked: “How do you know Ruan Mian?”

“You don’t remember?” Li Zhi looked at him with an expression like he’d seen a ghost.

Chen Yi’s hand stroking the cat paused. He looked up to meet Li Zhi’s face, thought for a few seconds, then followed his words to ask: “Don’t remember what?”

“We’ve met Ruan Mian before. That time you came to the internet cafe to eat barbecue, she got lost and walked to the internet cafe entrance, and even mistook me for the skewer vendor.”

Chen Yi had eaten barbecue at Li Zhi’s family’s internet cafe many times during summer vacation. With so many people coming and going every day, he had no impression of this memory at all.

Li Zhi couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “With that terrible memory of yours, I really doubt whether you got first place in your grade by bribing your school teachers.”

In the end, they were just unimportant people. Chen Yi didn’t bother to dredge up these memories that had long left no impression. Using a careless tone, he hit back with cutting accuracy: “Well, you remember it, so how come I haven’t seen you get first place in your grade?”

“…”

After eating, Li Zhi went back to watch the store. Chen Yi went along with him to buy things. Before leaving, the auntie at home asked him to bring back a few packages of salt.

Coming out from Pingjiang Manor and turning a corner, they reached West Pingjiang Alley. The night breeze was cool and refreshing. The various colored shops on both sides of the road were brightly lit.

The young man’s figure was draped in a layer of flashy light and shadow.

Walking into the alley was like entering another world—pots, pans, household trivialities. The warm-toned light added several touches of everyday life to this ordinary evening.

Li Zhi reopened the door. His dad had taken his grandfather to visit relatives in the countryside and wouldn’t return until tomorrow. The store was pitch black inside, still the same as it was before they left.

Chen Yi walked in and reached up to feel for the switch on the wall and pressed it.

With a “click,” the tungsten filament of the light bulb flickered twice in the darkness before connecting to the current. The light was bright and quickly attracted many flying insects.

Li Zhi walked to the counter and reminded: “The salt is on the bottom of the third shelf.”

“No rush.” Chen Yi walked to the corner to get a reclining chair, opened it up and placed it beside the counter. He lay down, crossed his fingers and placed them on his stomach, closed his eyes and asked: “When is Uncle Li coming back?”

“If nothing unexpected happens, tomorrow.” Li Zhi took out the coins from the drawer and stuck them together in groups of ten, casually asking: “How come Uncle and Auntie aren’t home today?”

“My mom’s troupe has a performance. My dad went to support her.” Chen Yi’s mother was a dancer. When she was young, she was a pillar performer in the army song and dance troupe. Over ten years ago, she was transferred to Pingcheng Grand Theater following her husband’s work relocation. Now she was a first-rate national-level performer, second to none.

After chatting for a while, Li Zhi felt thirsty. He walked out from the counter to the kitchen behind to pour water, asking Chen Yi whether he wanted tea or plain water.

Chen Yi had his head pillowed on the small cushion that came with the bamboo reclining chair, his phone held in front of his face. The screen’s bright light illuminated his face as he shook his head: “No need, I’m not thirsty.”

“Then keep an eye on the store.”

“Mm.”

At this time, everyone was rushing home to eat dinner. Bicycles rang their bells as they passed by the supermarket entrance, occasionally accompanied by the roar of a few motorcycles.

Ruan Mian had slept for a while after getting home in the afternoon. When she woke up, she went downstairs to shower. Coming out of the bathroom with wet hair, she ran into Zhao Shutang who had just returned from outside.

Ruan Mian was clear that Zhao Shutang didn’t think much of her, but so far, she hadn’t seen this person actually do anything out of line to her. At most, she treated her like a stranger under the same roof. So as long as Zhao Shutang didn’t cross her bottom line, Ruan Mian basically wouldn’t take the initiative to engage with her.

The two passed each other in the living room with tacit understanding.

Ruan Mian had eaten dinner early and was somewhat hungry now. Drying her hair, she went to the kitchen. Aside from watermelon and leftovers, there was nothing else in the refrigerator.

She shuffled in slippers upstairs to change out of her pajamas, took some pocket money and went out.

The Zhao family home was in the deepest part of the alley. Walking outward, you could see the bustle. Ruan Mian ran into Duan Ying halfway, who was taking Zhao Shuyang out visiting neighbors. She stopped and called out “Grandma.”

The surrounding conversation voices quieted down. Duan Ying patted the sunflower seed shells off her legs and looked up at her. “Going out so late?”

“Yes, going to the supermarket ahead to buy something.” Ruan Mian said.

Hearing about going to the supermarket, Zhao Shuyang, who had been squatting on the ground playing marbles, immediately stood up and ran to Ruan Mian, yelling: “I want to go too.”

Duan Ying scolded him: “What are you going for!”

Hearing this, Zhao Shuyang immediately pursed his lips and started whining. Ruan Mian patted his head and said with a smile: “It’s fine. The supermarket is just ahead. I’ll take him with me.”

“Spoiling him.” Though she said this, Duan Ying ultimately relented. “Don’t buy him whatever he wants.”

“I understand.”

The seated people watched the siblings walk away. They resumed cracking sunflower seeds, but the gossip changed from whose son and daughter-in-law were unfilial and kicked the old father out of the house to Ruan Mian.

An auntie wearing a light shirt asked: “Is that the daughter Dawei’s new wife brought? She seems quite well-behaved, knows to greet people.”

Duan Ying kept her eyes down and patted the dust on her pants legs, saying: “Well-behaved what? These are all elders, yet she didn’t greet a single one.”

Several women exchanged glances, echoed with a few words, and turned the conversation away.

Li Family Supermarket was just around the corner. Ruan Mian held Zhao Shuyang’s hand as they walked over. There were two steps at the entrance. Zhao Shuyang let go of her hand and climbed up using both hands and feet.

The lights were on in the store. Only when Ruan Mian got closer did she see someone lying by the counter. The glass counter over a meter wide blocked the upper body but couldn’t hide the lower body.

Two legs, straight and slender, spread out carelessly. Between the pant cuffs and shoe openings was a section of delicate, beautiful ankle with sharply defined ankle bones.

She thought it was Li Zhi and called out: “Li Zhi.”

“Li Zhi isn’t here.” Hearing the voice, the person lying down answered while sitting up. His entire face was suddenly exposed under the light, and suddenly exposed before Ruan Mian’s eyes.

He stood up from the reclining chair. Because of his height, his eyelids drooped slightly downward, as if not at all surprised to see Ruan Mian here. “Take whatever you want to buy yourself.”

Ruan Mian was completely stunned, her head frozen along with her. After quite a while, she remembered to speak, but by that time Chen Yi had already lain back down.

She had missed the opportunity. To speak up rashly now would seem somewhat abrupt and awkward, so she could only be led by Zhao Shuyang toward the shelves.

The shock of suddenly seeing Chen Yi here was too great. Ruan Mian had completely thrown Duan Ying’s instructions to the back of her mind, letting Zhao Shuyang take quite a few things, which led to discovering at checkout that she didn’t have enough money.

Li Family Supermarket at that time was different from ordinary convenience stores—it had a specialized cash register machine. Items were scanned in one by one.

Ruan Mian clutched the few bills, her face red with nervousness, her palms breaking out in a layer of sweat. “I’m sorry, can I return some things? I didn’t bring enough money today.”

“Sure.” Chen Yi pressed a few keys and cleared all the products entered into the machine. “See what you want to return.”

“Oh.” Ruan Mian removed nearly a third of the things on the table. “That’s good.”

Chen Yi glanced at the remaining items on the table and took out a few more before starting to scan the codes again. Throughout the entire process, Ruan Mian never lifted her head. Her gaze remained fixed on his hands.

The final checkout came to one hundred and three yuan. Chen Yi still needed to give Ruan Mian two yuan in change. He fished out two coins from the box and placed them on the table.

Ruan Mian reached out to take them. Whether from excessive nervousness or something else, the two coins seemed to have grown claws, gripping the surface tightly—she couldn’t pick them up no matter what.

The more anxious she became, the less she could pry them up.

Seeing this, Chen Yi took two more coins from the box. This time he didn’t put them on the table but held them directly in his hand to pass over. “Stop trying to pry them up. Here.”

Ruan Mian had no choice but to look up. Meeting his gaze, she forced herself not to look away and reached out her hand, saying: “Thank you.”

But Chen Yi didn’t give them directly. His fingers pinched the coins and rubbed them twice, his voice exceptionally calm. “Classmate Ruan.”

“Hm?” Ruan Mian hadn’t expected him to suddenly call her. Even a single-syllable response could convey several degrees of nervousness.

“You seem very nervous. Are you afraid of me?” As his words fell, Chen Yi released his fingers. The two coins dropped into Ruan Mian’s open palm. The coins collided, making a crisp sound.

“…No.” Ruan Mian closed her hand, her fingertips touching the coins, as if she could still feel the warmth Chen Yi had left behind just seconds ago.

“No?” Chen Yi stared at Ruan Mian’s eyes.

She pretended to be calm, but in reality, even her breathing had almost stopped. “Yes, no.”

Chen Yi didn’t respond. He reached out and picked up the two extra coins on the table with ease—a simple action that seemed to mock Ruan Mian’s lack of composure.

“Go back early.” After saying this, he put the coins back in the drawer, turned and walked to the reclining chair to lie back down. His figure was mostly hidden, his long legs this time supported on the ground.

Ruan Mian stood frozen for more than ten seconds before picking up the things and leading Zhao Shuyang out of the store. At the doorway, she looked back inside once more. The male student was still in that same position.

Zhao Shuyang was eager to go back and walked ahead, tugging at Ruan Mian’s arm.

She was pulled forward as if half her soul had been lost, unable to articulate what she was feeling—just that her chest felt stuffy, as if she couldn’t quite breathe.

That night was very cool, the moonlight serene. For the first time, Ruan Mian tasted the bitterness of her heartbeat losing control with someone’s single sentence, single action.

Not long after Ruan Mian left the store, Li Zhi came in from the backyard. He had just gone to pour water and also made a trip to the bathroom.

“Did anyone come to buy things?” he asked.

Chen Yi made an “Mm” sound and put away his phone. “Total of one hundred and three yuan. Money’s in the drawer. It’s getting late, I’m heading back first.”

“Okay.” Li Zhi put down his water glass and walked to the shelf to get him a few packages of salt. “Don’t forget this.”

Chen Yi raised his hand to catch them. His other hand reached into his pocket for money but didn’t find his wallet. Only then did he remember he had changed clothes when he went back in the evening and forgot to take out his wallet.

He grabbed a bag and put the salt in it. “Forgot to bring money. I’ll give it to you tomorrow.”

It was only a matter of a few yuan. Li Zhi thought he was making too big a deal of it. “Forget it. The meal I had at your place tonight was enough for you to buy a whole case of salt.”

“One thing is one thing.” Chen Yi walked outward, casually taking a lollipop by the door. “I’ll settle it together tomorrow.”

Li Zhi laughed and cursed: “You and your ways.”

Chen Yi came out of the store and stood at the entrance, inexplicably glancing toward the alley beside him. This was a straight alley with more than half of it being storefronts. There were quite a few people on the road—you couldn’t see the end at a glance.

He withdrew his gaze and walked forward carrying the salt, inexplicably recalling what Li Zhi had said in the afternoon. He looked back again. The supermarket entrance was lit up brightly, with moving shadows.

The light was hazy. Chen Yi didn’t think any deeper.

That night’s memory, for him, was ultimately just an inconsequential dream. Now that the dream had ended, not even fragments remained.