The housekeeper was hanging laundry on the balcony when she suddenly let out an “oh” of surprise. “Miss Lin, the fridge has been empty for days now, haven’t seen little Zhou in a while — when’s he coming by again?”

Lin Shuang leaned in the corner smoking, watching the empty alley below, exhaled a puff of smoke. “Probably won’t be coming anymore.”

“Why not?”

Lin Shuang’s eyes curved into crescents, cigarette between her lips, teasing. “Maybe I scared him off.”

The housekeeper had worked here long enough now to be familiar with Lin Shuang, and thought the young woman was quite independent — living alone, and when she’d hurt her arm, only friends and a boyfriend had come by to look after her. She’d meant to chat a bit more. “Did you two have a falling out? Little Zhou seemed like a good person, young people these days…”

Lin Shuang listened absently, finished her cigarette, and went back into her room.

In any case, that day Zhou Zheng had walked away without looking back — no call, and he’d never appeared before Lin Shuang again.

Thank goodness for the convenience of modern society — everything could be solved without ever leaving the house, everything delivered right to the door, and even for body care needs, there was the salon’s Tony and the beauty parlor’s enthusiastic service.

Her shoulder was gradually recovering, the range of motion in her arm much greater now — small tasks like dressing herself and wringing out a towel she could manage on her own, going out was easier too, and occasionally she’d drop by Miao Cai’s shop to sit and chat.

“Why are you so dressed up today? Not even wearing the sling anymore?” Miao Cai worked on her nails. “Where are you off to?”

“Meeting my mother.” She flexed her right hand slightly. “Not too painful anymore, as long as I don’t put strain on it. I’ll put the sling back on when I get home.”

Lin Shuang found the medical sling unsightly and rarely wore it out. Fu Min hadn’t seen Lin Shuang in a long while and had originally wanted to come by her apartment, but Lin Shuang had arranged to meet outside, accompanying Fu Min to run some errands and grab a meal.

When mother and daughter met, Fu Min looked somewhat haggard. Seeing Lin Shuang: “Why have you gotten so thin?”

“It’s just hot out, I sweat a lot, not much appetite.”

“You still need to eat properly, take care of yourself.” Fu Min told her. “Watch your health.”

“I know.” Lin Shuang looked her over too, and noticed a streak of white at Fu Min’s temple, standing out starkly. “Your gray’s showing — why haven’t you dyed it again?”

“Been busy lately, haven’t had the time.”

The two found a restaurant to eat at. Fu Min had never been much of a nagger, but this time she was unusually quiet, corners of her mouth drooping, making conversation with Lin Shuang only reluctantly.

Fu Min noticed her switching hands while eating, using her left to pick up food with force, her right arm hanging still the whole time, and asked, “What’s wrong with that arm of yours?”

“Nothing.”

“How is it nothing, you can’t use that hand at all, let me see.”

“It’s really nothing.” Lin Shuang insisted. “Twisted it by accident.”

“How’d you twist it? Does it hurt?”

“Just slept on it wrong. Doesn’t really hurt.” Lin Shuang lifted her arm slightly, tone casual. “Just a small injury, the hand can move, just a bit sore.”

She reassured Fu Min: “I saw a doctor, the doctor said it’s fine too, I’ve got a few patches on it, it’ll heal in a couple days, don’t worry.”

Fu Min, seeing her calm demeanor, relaxed a little, then sighed. “You live alone, be careful. Better to have someone around to look after you. It’s just me holding down the hardware store, I’m genuinely too busy, can’t look after you properly.”

“Anything going on at home?” Lin Shuang looked at her mother. “You don’t seem in the best mood.”

“Fought with your Uncle Qi.” Fu Min’s expression dimmed, pressing her lips together, a hint of resentment between her brows. “It’s Qi Ling again — I don’t know what’s gotten into that kid’s temper, senior year now and he’s only gotten more prickly. His mother’s side has had their own storm too, and your Uncle Qi’s worn himself ragged managing it all — years of energy poured into that boy, and even Qi Shan’s been shortchanged because of it. A few days ago, his homeroom teacher caught him sneaking a smoke, he talked back to the teacher in the office, and back at the dorm he got into it with a classmate — the two of them got into a fight, bruised the other kid’s knee.”

“Just a minor injury, hard to say whose fault it really was, but of all times for this to happen, the other family took the kid straight to the hospital, demanding police involvement and compensation. His grades weren’t great to begin with, and now the school’s issued a notice too, saying they’ll give him a demerit, put him on probation, and move him to a different class in the parallel track.”

The parallel classes were what people called the “backward” classes — poor academic atmosphere, teachers who didn’t really bother, where plenty of students weren’t even preparing for the college entrance exam, just aiming to get a high school diploma and be done with it.

“Your Uncle Qi’s been begging the other family to let it go, running back and forth so many times, everyone at home’s on edge.” Fu Min looked at Lin Shuang, asking carefully, “Shuangshuang, do you know any teachers at the school who could help out? Never mind anything else — at least that school demerit… if it goes on his record, that’ll be real trouble.”

Lin Shuang lowered her eyes, her voice flat. “I’ll ask around.”

She thought about it for quite a while, then called Zhou Zheng.

Lin Shuang half-expected the call wouldn’t even go through anymore. She waited a moment, silently counting the ringing tones — and then suddenly heard the man’s voice.

She startled slightly, called out his name on reflex. He answered evenly.

Then neither of them said anything.

Zhou Zheng waited for her to speak.

Lin Shuang stubbed out her cigarette, exhaled softly, her tone light. “There’s something — could I ask you a favor?”

For once, an unheard-of use of the word “ask” from her.

“What is it?”

She briefly explained Qi Ling’s situation to Zhou Zheng. “If it takes money to smooth things over with the school, that’s fine too, I’ll cover it, whatever it takes.”

“I’ll ask around.”

“Thanks. I’ll wait to hear from you.”

“Okay.” Zhou Zheng hung up.

Zhou Zheng made a trip to the disciplinary office. Once the matter was resolved, he didn’t message Lin Shuang back but called Qi Xiong directly. After Fu Min found out, she called Lin Shuang: “The injured student’s family got some compensation, the school demerit’s been dropped, and Qi Ling’s been moved to a new class — into the one Teacher Zhou teaches.”

“Shuangshuang, your Uncle Qi says he really wants to thank you properly. When you’re free, come over for dinner? Your Uncle Qi’s cooking for you this time.” Fu Min’s voice sounded noticeably lighter.

“Sure.” She agreed with a smile.

Lin Shuang mulled it over, then reached out to Zhou Zheng once more.

Zhou Zheng knew what she wanted to say and spoke first. “It wasn’t a big deal, there weren’t that many strings to pull at the school, no money needed. Both sides were at fault in the fight, and his smoking demerit didn’t get reported up the chain. The new class he’s in — the homeroom teacher there is an old teacher of mine, a very generous, responsible veteran teacher — he’s willing to take Qi Ling into his class, but it’s only provisional. If his behavior doesn’t improve, he’ll still be moved out.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Zhou Zheng’s tone was a touch distant.

She lingered on the phone for a long time, unsure how to thank him properly. Before Lin Shuang could say much more, Zhou Zheng was about to hang up.

Before ending the call, he remembered something. “Day after tomorrow, three in the afternoon, hospital follow-up, don’t forget. Medical record and insurance card are in the pill box.”

Ever since the injury, it had been Zhou Zheng running back and forth to the hospital, taking her for regular checkups. Lin Shuang hadn’t kept track of any of this, hadn’t even remembered the appointment dates.

“Got it.” She pressed her lips together, asked with a smile, “You’re not coming with me?”

“I have something to take care of.” His tone was even. “Go on your own.”

“Sure.” Her tone was light.

Lin Shuang went to the follow-up alone. Same head physician as before — seeing her, he asked with a smile, “No little Teacher Zhou with you today?”

“No, he’s got something going on today.” Lin Shuang smiled. “Almost healed up anyway, doesn’t need him tagging along.”

“Position’s healing nicely, no need to keep the sling on all the time. Do a bit of recovery exercise daily, avoid strenuous activity — let it grow back gradually. If it still hurts down the line, come back and get it checked. If there’s no discomfort, one more follow-up in two months should do it.”

Lin Shuang let out a breath of relief. A month and more of enduring it, finally coming to an end.

Beiquan High School had officially started its term. The bubble tea shop was already busy, and with Nana and Kevin unable to keep up on their own, if she didn’t get back out there soon, they’d need to hire another employee.

The day she went back to work, Nana and Kevin were both thrilled, pulling Lin Shuang into a warm embrace for a good while. “Business hasn’t been as good without the boss lady around.”

Every day without her had been one less bit of scenery, the shop quieter, days a little duller, and plenty of regulars had come by to gossip, worried Lin Shuang might never come back.

Now that she was back, quite a few people came by the shop to check in on her, chatting about this and that, genuinely livelier than usual.

When Zhang Fan and Xie Xiaomeng showed up together, Lin Shuang was still mildly surprised, raising an eyebrow.

“The boss lady’s finally back, arm’s better then? We were starting to worry if you’d never come back.” Zhang Fan grinned. “If you’d stayed away any longer, this shop would’ve gone under.”

“You jinx.” Lin Shuang scolded him, glancing at Xie Xiaomeng beside him, smiling. “Good news, huh?”

“Formally introducing — my girlfriend, Beiquan High’s very own goddess, Teacher Xie.” Zhang Fan announced proudly. “The long march has finally reached its end, a ray of light on the horizon at last.”

Xie Xiaomeng, as reserved and cool as ever, shot him a sideways glance. “Behave yourself.”

She turned to Lin Shuang, her tone slightly softer. “Your hand’s recovered okay?”

Practically unheard-of — she and Lin Shuang had never really gotten along; when had there ever been such warmth between them? Lin Shuang nodded with a smile. “Much better, thanks for the concern, Teacher Xie.”

“My dad fractured a bone once too, took all kinds of supplements while recovering, and we all thought they really helped.” Xie Xiaomeng listed off a few supplement names. “You could try them too — extra nutrition never hurts.”

Lin Shuang almost felt like Xie Xiaomeng had had a change of heart, smiling continuously. “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind, buy some when I get the chance.”

More goodwill in the surrounding atmosphere, less hostility floating around — never a bad thing, especially when everyone lived in the same school district, bound to run into each other again and again, and who knew when their paths might cross once more.

The two picked up a few bubble teas and left. Zhang Fan walked Xie Xiaomeng back to her office, then doubled back to the shop, grinning at Lin Shuang.

“What are you smiling about?” Lin Shuang thought his grin looked a bit sinister.

No one else around, Zhang Fan spoke freely. “What’s going on with you and Zhou Zheng?”

Zhou Zheng looking after Lin Shuang hadn’t been mentioned to anyone else — even Xie Xiaomeng didn’t know — but he and Zhang Fan were closest, and Zhang Fan, noticing him away from school and home without explanation, had picked up on something being off.

“Ask him yourself.” Lin Shuang smiled. “Aren’t you two good friends?”

“If only he’d talk. You have no idea, he’s been like a completely different person lately.” Zhang Fan shook his head. “Last semester when you two broke up, Zhou Zheng was totally composed, like nothing had happened, laughing and joking around every day — but just recently, it’s like he’s a different man entirely, face like a brick every day. Playing ball with me, he looked like he wanted to smash me and the ball both. Ask him anything and he snaps, eyes cold as ice.”

He leaned on the counter, all gossip. “Did you provoke him? Did he suggest getting back together and you turned him down? He’s not the type to hold a grudge like this.”

Lin Shuang shrugged. “I don’t know why either, you’ll have to ask him.”

She hadn’t seen him since.

Zhang Fan glanced at her. “Anyway, I can’t figure either of you out. But I’m rooting for my buddy — Zhou Zheng’s not bad, either. Outstanding teacher, taking over as Vice Principal Ding’s successor, bright future ahead, bought a house too, started on the renovation recently. Once all these pieces line up, his market value’s gone up several tiers from before, and by then…”

Lin Shuang didn’t respond to that, asking Zhang Fan instead, “Why are you talking about me and him? What about you? When did you and Teacher Xie get together? How’d you win over the ice queen?”

“Just over the summer, and honestly I didn’t do much winning at all — she just seemed to have a change of heart, out of nowhere. Why overthink it? Enjoy the wine while it’s in front of you, at least it made for a good story.”

Lin Shuang laughed and shook her head.

The next time Zhou Zheng called Lin Shuang was one afternoon. She looked at the caller ID on her phone and picked up.

“I’m at home.” His tone was flat. “I’ve packed up everything you left here. Do you have time to come get it, or should I bring it to the bubble tea shop?”

When they’d broken up, she’d only taken part of her belongings with her — plenty of small odds and ends had been left behind too.

“I don’t want any of that stuff, you can just throw it out.” She sat on a stool in the shop, spinning around idly.

Zhou Zheng looked around him — all her newly bought hairdryer, aroma diffuser, mug, even toothbrush and toothpaste, and even perfume, makeup, a dress, pajamas.

“It’s all your stuff.” Honestly, Zhou Zheng didn’t care for how she treated her belongings this way. He couldn’t help frowning, a cold indifference settling over him, his tone hard and cold. “If you want to throw it out, come get it and toss it yourself. There’s a trash can right downstairs.”

Lin Shuang heard the coldness in his tone and her own expression tightened, saying flatly, “Fine, I’ll come by in a bit.”

She told the staff to cover for her, gripped her phone, and left the shop for Zhou Zheng’s apartment.

Zhou Zheng was busy in the kitchen, sorting out the unopened rice, flour, and seasonings at home, giving them away to neighbors.

Lin Shuang looked at the things piled all over the table and floor, the suitcase sitting in the middle of the room, and for an instant felt frozen solid, her eyes suddenly draining of light, widening as she stared at Zhou Zheng.

He kept his head down, busy with his own work, not even looking at her. “Landlord’s selling the place, and the lease is about to run out anyway. I’m moving out, giving away everything in the apartment.”

Right — she remembered now. He’d only just bought a house recently, was in the middle of renovating it — there was no way he’d be leaving Beiquan.

Lin Shuang let out an “oh,” some color returning to her pale cheeks.

Zhou Zheng stepped past her, expression indifferent. “The curtains and table you bought — if you want them, I’ll take them down. If not, and if you don’t mind, a neighbor next door asked for them yesterday — I’ll send them over there.”

“Sure.” She wore an air of complete indifference, letting him handle it however he liked.

Zhou Zheng walked toward a long row of shopping bags on the balcony. “These are all your things — skincare, makeup, daily supplies — all sorted out, take them with you.”

He carried the bags over one by one, setting them in front of her. Lin Shuang leaned against the desk, surveying the contents.

Some of the things in the bags were newly bought, some she’d brought from her own place — quite a lot, really.

“And a few of your clothes too.” Zhou Zheng went through the closet, pulled out all her clothes, carried them to the couch, and folded them into shopping bags.

“Why bother keeping any of this, I don’t want it, just throw it out.” Lin Shuang sneered. “It’s just taking up space at home.”

He frowned, gaze cold, tone icy, biting off each word. “A lot of this is still new, still usable. Useful things are resources — you can’t just throw them away carelessly. People should have at least a basic sense of thrift. There are plenty of people who might never get to use things like this in their whole lives. You can’t waste them so casually.”

Lin Shuang looked at him — he’d never spoken to her so coldly before, never even lectured her seriously — and a wave of humiliation swept over her, more like pent-up frustration finally boiling over, and she snapped back, “I have better things now, why keep this stuff that’s not good enough, that I’m already tired of?”

“Then when you bought it in the first place, why didn’t you think about whether you already had something better? If you knew you’d end up sick of it, why buy it at all? When you get tired of something, think about its unrealized value — at the very least, things should be seen through to the end.”

“That’s just how women are, fickle, changeable — how was I supposed to know I’d get tired of it, how was I supposed to know I’d end up sick of it once I had it?”

Zhou Zheng thought she was just making excuses, his forehead tensing tight, his face shut off, ignoring her.

The air grew heavy. She leaned against the corner of the desk, watching him tidy up, and asked, “Your new place, renovations have started? Do you have the money for it? Where are you going to move to?”

“No money. Earning it myself. Student dormitory.” Zhou Zheng was sparing with his words.

Lin Shuang laughed flippantly. “You should’ve said you were short on cash — I could keep you, you know. I’ve got a spare bedroom sitting empty at home. You wash my clothes, cook for me, and I’ll give you an allowance every month, better than living in a student dorm.”

He looked up at her, his gaze cold as a frozen well. “What did you say?”

“I said I could keep you, I have the money.” She tilted her head, her expression bright and utterly unbothered.

Zhou Zheng ground his back teeth hard, his dark brows shooting up, his eyes glinting sharp as ice, and he strode over to stand right in front of her. “Say that again?”

The air in the room turned charged, tense.

A jarring smile spread across her face. “That upset over a joke? Teacher Zhou’s moral standards keep climbing higher and higher — looking down on free-of-charge fuck buddies, and now not even interested in a financial arrangement?”

He stared at her heavily, wishing he could pinch her mouth shut, or squeeze that reckless heart of hers into submission, his face furious, teeth grinding. “Lin Shuang, is this how you live your life?”

“This is exactly how I live my life! Is there a problem?” She lifted her chin, refusing to back down. “I’ve always been this way — you were by my side long enough, don’t you understand that by now?”

He was furious. “Can’t you take some responsibility for yourself? Do you have to treat yourself this way?”

“I’m not responsible? Zhou Zheng, this is my life, my attitude, and this is a matter between consenting adults — if you look down on it, so be it.” She smiled, seductive and provocative. “What, the day I said ‘fuck buddies,’ did that disgust you? Make you sick? You cut off all contact, avoided me like I had the plague, without a word of explanation.”

Lin Shuang gave a scornful laugh. “What are you pretending to be so pure and innocent for — didn’t you want to sleep with me too? When you kissed me, touched me, held me — weren’t you hard too?”

Zhou Zheng’s face turned pale with anger. “Do you think that’s all that I did — everything I did for you — was just because I wanted to sleep with you?”

She sharpened her tongue, mocking him. “Even if it wasn’t only about that, wasn’t the end result the same either way? Don’t think I don’t know — deep down you were thinking, once you got me into bed, that was success, wasn’t it? Otherwise why show me all those houses — isn’t a house for sleeping in too?”

“Of course I fucking wanted to sleep with you, how could I not want to sleep with someone I like?” His eyes reddened, his hand still gripping her belongings, and he slammed them down hard on the desk, the impact shaking the desk and her body along with it. “But I didn’t just want to sleep with you. I wanted to love you too.”

Her body suddenly went rigid, a lump catching in her throat, and she turned her face away.