While the internet was in such an uproar, Lian Shaozi was in the courtyard’s rattan chair, drinking tea while making those strategic phone calls. Long Qi, carrying extra chocolate mousse, was sent by her instructions to deliver it to Si Bolin’s house next door. After ringing the doorbell, she leaned against the gate, scrolling through her phone while waiting.

Aunt Wu said the family next door had gone on a trip, leaving only Si Bolin to house-sit. Si Bolin didn’t like takeout and was picky about food, so for the past few days, Lian Shaozi had Aunt Wu pack a portion of the meals they made and send them over.

It was now eleven at night. The evening breeze was cool. She hadn’t changed clothes yet, only adding a slouching leather jacket over her dress. She’d swapped her high heels for flat Martin boots. The cake box was tucked between her left arm and waist. With the subtle movements of scrolling her phone, the bracelet on her wrist and the earrings dangling from her earlobes jingled. Before long, hearing the sound of the iron gate opening, she put away her phone and looked up. But just as her body steadied, her entire neck stiffened. The wind was blowing, hair tips lifting. Dong Xi’s hand had just closed Si Bolin’s front courtyard gate. The door lock clicked. In her lowered left hand she carried a lunch bag. Black hair, plain dress, standing in the night wind, also looking at Long Qi.

……

Her ankles suddenly felt somewhat numb.

How had these two become familiar, and why was she coming out of Si Bolin’s house at this hour—two questions flashed through her mind like lightning. Tongue-tied, unable to speak, after a completely silent and awkward five seconds, the first words were actually spoken by Dong Xi. Her gaze moved to the cake box by Long Qi’s arm, glanced at it, then shook her own lunch bag slightly, minimal amplitude: “My family pickled some drunken crab. They asked me to bring some to Si Bolin.”

……It was crab-eating season.

Nodding, Long Qi said: “I’m also bringing him something.”

Dong Xi lowered her head and took out another lunch box from the bag, handing it over: “Perfect timing. This box is for Jin Yiken.”

Gently accepting it.

“He’s been abroad for classes recently.”

“I know. You eat it.”

Long Qi immediately looked instinctively at the cake she’d brought. Dong Xi said: “Your family’s auntie sent over cake this evening. I already ate some.”

“……I see.”

The conversation hesitated and stopped. The two stood under the night lights. The wind was too gentle, emotions too invested. Both seemed to be racking their brains while trying not to show it, thinking of the next topic, to the point that they didn’t hear the lazy shuffling footsteps inside the gate. When Si Bolin appeared between the two with his hands in his pockets, he was gnawing on a pear. Through the iron gate, who knows how long he’d been observing them. Having observed enough, he finally spoke one flat line: “YO.”

Long Qi’s shoulders jerked.

Glaring daggers at him, Dong Xi didn’t glance sideways, her steps naturally moving backward: “I’m heading back.”

“Okay.”

“Thank you for the crab.” Si Bolin said from inside the iron gate, his voice lazy.

And the moment Dong Xi’s front foot left the corner of the passage, Long Qi immediately jabbed the iron gate with her elbow: “Are you raised on a hundred families’ charity?”

Si Bolin looked at her while gnawing his pear, unmoved by all winds: “Why so guilty?”

“Who’s guilty?”

“Thief’s heart, guilty.”

He emphasized the last word loudly, insufferable to death. The joke about cuckolding Jin Yiken would never pass with him. Long Qi lifted the cake box: “Chocolate mousse. If you don’t open the door, I’m throwing it away.”

Click—the lock immediately responded. The iron gate automatically popped out. Long Qi gave him a fierce glare, pulling the door to enter. Si Bolin’s shoulder leaned against the wall: “It’s just me alone at home today. A single man and woman—is it appropriate for you to come in? My brother is still breathing in London.”

“Si Bolin, your obvious cover-up is said for whose benefit? Making it seem like you’ve treated me as a woman before. Move aside. I have something to ask.”

“Ask from standing here.” He took another bite of pear.

Long Qi tucked the lunch box Dong Xi gave her between her arm and waist: “Fine. I’m just particularly curious about one thing. Your sister, Yan Wenjing……”

“Not discussing.”

Direct interruption. Si Bolin’s eyes looked at that lunch box.

“How come your box is bigger than mine.”

“Bigger what?” She looked down.

This meddlesome person reached over to unwrap it. Her reaction was also quick, sliding the box around to her lower back: “What are you doing? This is for me.”

“For you or for Jin Yiken?”

“What’s the difference?”

“If it’s for Jin Yiken, you wouldn’t be curious why Dong Xi’s lunch for him has an extra layer. If it’s for you, I need to check for my brother what good things Dong Xi sent you that requires an extra layer.”

“Nonsense. You petty miser just want to check if she gave you less food.”

“Let me see, let me see.”

Si Bolin stepped out of his house, walking toward her all the way, reaching behind her waist, forcing her entire body to retreat backward. At that moment the villa door inside the courtyard opened. The vague silhouette of a girl could be seen. Long Qi’s eyes were sharp—amidst the chaos she tilted her forehead to look. Si Bolin also heard this sound and turned to look at his house door. But immediately after, Long Qi’s eyes were covered by his palm. Her entire head was damn well encircled by his arm, hairstyle messed up. She grabbed his collar and yelled: “Psycho! Didn’t you say you were the only one at home……”

“I’ll reply to you about my sister later on the phone.”

He stopped grabbing for the lunch. The cake box in her hands was smoothly taken by him. When he released his arm, her entire person did a fancy spin in the passage, steadying herself by holding the stone wall. Over there Si Bolin closed the gate and entered the yard. At that moment, three capital letters filled her heart: “F-M-D.” When she returned to the iron gate, he’d already pulled that girl’s hand and entered the house. She didn’t catch even a single glance, angry to death. She forcefully fished out her phone from her pocket, rattling off a complaint to Jin Yiken. While the information was still hot, she also opened Shu Meng’s chat box and rattled off another round. Shu Meng exploded into a gossip flower over there, replying to her with several messages.

Standing at the gate for quite a while, before leaving she still looked up at the upstairs window a few times, reluctantly heading home. Later remembering Dong Xi’s lunch with the extra layer, she opened it while walking. The first layer was pickled drunken crab, very fragrant. Opening the second layer to look, her steps paused slightly. She stopped in the passage.

The second layer was steaming hot braised lion’s head meatballs.

……

As her chest rose and fell slightly, her phone beeped.

Pulling back her thoughts—it wasn’t Shu Meng whom she’d been chatting with, but the class group from school. Ge Yinling, as class monitor, had posted a notice in the group about next week’s off-campus social practice activity.

An activity conducted in groups of ten. The task was to film a micro-movie with a self-proposed theme, choosing any filming location around the city. Accommodation expenses would be covered by the school. The filming results would count toward credits.

Long Qi had no idea this was happening before, while classmates had already formed groups during these past days. Team rosters had all been submitted one by one, making her obviously left out alone. The advisor AT-ed her in the group, reminding her that although work was busy, she should value her studies and confirm a group as soon as possible.

Where was there a group for her to confirm?

If forming a one-person group were allowed, she could borrow a few people from Lao Ping and assemble a small crew complete with director, screenwriter, and actors. But now it was about cooperating with classmates, helping each other. She’d just publicly stated she might be HIV-infected. No matter how tolerant and understanding the public opinion direction outside was, when it came to these day-and-night classmates, once it related to their own safety and interests, they would avoid what should be avoided, dodge what should be dodged. Not one person in the group acknowledged the advisor. She fished out a women’s cigarette she’d sneakily taken from Lian Shaozi’s cigarette box from her jacket pocket, lit it, took a drag, lowered her hand to flick ash, smoke dispersing into her long hair with the wind.

Another message sounded in the group.

The advisor asked in the group: which team is still short of people?

She laughed with a “heh.”

Just about to type, another vibration. Fu Yu’ao: Our group.

Her thumb paused on the keyboard. She flicked the second ash.

No one in the group responded. The atmosphere was stiff. But she estimated everyone was simultaneously taking screenshots and sending them to their own small groups to gossip privately. She didn’t speak, scrolling up through Fu Yu’ao’s team roster.

Fu Yu’ao,

Ji Junwei,

Gu Lixi,

Wu Yishan,

Dai Maobo,

Nalin,

Ge Yinling……

……

Taking a breath, she paced in the passage, running a hand through her hair. Before long, her phone vibrated again.

The advisor AT-ed team leader Ge Yinling, asking her opinion.

What opinion even needed asking? Long Qi scrolled up again, looking for other teams short of people. After scrolling just a bit, the phone vibrated. Because new information appeared, the chat box automatically bounced back to the latest record. Ge Yinling, who hadn’t spoken after posting the notice, now actually replied: Agreed.

What were these two people up to?

She typed: I don’t agree.

Sent it into the group with a snap. A full five minutes, one cigarette smoked through, no one in the group responded. By the sixth minute, the advisor knocked on her private chat box, sending her rosters of several other full groups: They’re all full, Long Qi.

The meaning was very clear.

Irritated, she pulled out a second cigarette from her pocket. As she lit it, Jin Yiken’s house gate opened with a click. Lian Shaozi came out. This startled her greatly. Her hand shook, both lighter and cigarette jumped. She grabbed them and hid them behind her, pinching out the just-lit cigarette with two fingers. Lian Shaozi had already changed into home wear. Hearing the sound, she looked over: “I thought you’d gotten lost.”

“No, Auntie…… I was replying to class messages.” She handed over the lunch Dong Xi sent. “The neighbor sent drunken crab.”

Lian Shaozi accepted the lunch box with a glance: “Number 10 residence, the Dong family.”

“Mm.”

“Any news from school?”

As Lian Shaozi looked back toward the house, the topic shifted back. Long Qi inserted her hands in her pockets, following behind: “There’s an outdoor practice activity filming a micro-movie.”

“Is that so? When?”

“Next Tuesday.”

“The day after tomorrow?”

“Mm. Might not have time to do the blood test.”

“It’s fine. That’s not urgent. Waiting until you finish the practice is not too late.” Lian Shaozi walked in the courtyard passage. “Where to?”

She recalled the practice application form Ge Yinling’s group submitted. The location was a scenic mountain area in a third-tier city around the municipality: “Xunqu Mountain.”

“Then I’ll make you some food.” Entering the house, passing through the kitchen, Lian Shaozi turned her body. “Going to Xunqu Mountain requires a morning’s train ride. The shops outside use unhealthy oil, and high-speed rail meals aren’t good either. I’ll make you a lunch box, add some fruit. You eat it on the road, don’t eat outside food.”

……

……

For the first time in her life experiencing “a child with a mother is a treasure,” but incredibly, experiencing it from Jin Yiken’s mother. Instantly feeling that bastard had lived too comfortably for the past twenty years, while she, having eaten twenty years of orphan-style education from Long Ziyi, was at a loss in this moment. She was changing into slippers, her movements pausing as she looked at Lian Shaozi. Lian Shaozi stood at the kitchen door with folded arms.

“Okay…… Thank you, Auntie.”

Acknowledgment.

Very warm. So afterward she wasn’t so bothered about the grouping matter.

Not wanting to make things difficult for the advisor, she agreed privately. The advisor then posted an announcement in the group, assigning her to Ge Yinling’s team. Then she continued gossiping with Shu Meng about the Si Bolin matter. Si Bolin didn’t reply to her about Yan Wenjing. She’d anticipated this early on. He deliberately dropped that line to dismiss her, moreover, he was definitely “busy” at the moment, too lazy to deal with her.

Originally she was just curious why, after that matter between Yan Wenjing and Jin’s father, the Si and Jin families seemed to continue their relationship as if unaffected. But after spending these two days with Lian Shaozi, she understood a bit. The adult circle wasn’t like children who break up friendships when they don’t play well, or close doors when unhappy. Adults leave room, whether for themselves or for others. Like Yan Wenjing posting that Weibo leaning toward Long Qi—Long Qi’s heart was clear. That was merely benefiting from the fact that her daughter was being raised here.

After telling Jin Yiken about the practice filming activity, he had her send over the specific time and address of the activity. She sent them.

Monday she didn’t go to school, started picking up Wu’er’s script again to read. Something else happened that day—Wu Yishan sent her a screenshot of a chat record.

It was a sisters’ group of about six people, encompassing those several girls participating in the practice group. Clearly Ge Yinling’s circle. The timestamp was when the advisor spoke in the group yesterday. Turns out while Ge Yinling decisively agreed in the group to Long Qi’s participation, on the other side she was chatting with five people in the group. Several girls were all persuading Ge Yinling not to accept Long Qi, not to play the good person, not to give Fu Yu’ao an opportunity. Nalin even said why bother doing this—out of sight, out of mind for this pair of shameless couple.

Ge Yinling replied: I just want to see what they can do in front of me.

After Wu Yishan sent the screenshot, she advised Long Qi to negotiate with the advisor to switch groups, otherwise fearing it would be very awkward then.

Speaking of which, Wu Yishan was quite an interesting person.

Being in Ge Yinling’s sisters’ group, yet secretly tipping off Long Qi, whom she’d known less than a month, about these matters. Compared to Nalin, whose mouth was like it was smeared with toad juice—stinking—at least that person had a redeeming quality of clear love and hate, firm stance. The people her sisters hated were her enemies, so she couldn’t spit ivory from her dog mouth toward Long Qi. Long Qi could understand. But this girl Wu Yishan, pleasing both sides, quite skilled at being diplomatic, but Long Qi didn’t plan to befriend her deeply.

At that time it was eight at night. After dinner, she sat at the dining table in the living room looking at the script, eating Australian mango Aunt Wu cut for her. Lian Shaozi was busy in the kitchen, making some dishes that needed advance cooking, to make her lunch box tomorrow.

She didn’t reply to Wu Yishan.

She was busy showing off to Jin Yiken that his own mother was making her a lunch box.

He said he wasn’t envious. His mother used to make them for him and Jin Shaogao every day. After leaving home, he’d stuff his portion into Jin Shaogao’s bag. Long Qi asked why.

He said bringing a lunch box to school was very girly.

Steel straight man.

“Give it to me then. I love eating.”

He said no. Back then he was pursuing her. Going to find her every noon with a lunch box was Zhuo Qing’s route. Could he do something of that caliber?

She laughed so hard. After laughing, in a good mood, she fed Long Er a dental chew stick, then finally started replying to Wu Yishan. Four words.

——As they please.