Li Xiaoyi didn’t reveal much emotion in front of Lin Shuang, giving the two of them a slight nod before leaving dejectedly.

Lin Shuang and Zhou Zheng still stood at the school gate, both watching his retreating figure.

“Why didn’t you say anything to me.” Lin Shuang frowned.

Zhou Zheng didn’t respond, rolling up his sleeves, asking gently: “Why did you come?”

“Zhang Fan said you were playing ball with someone, told me to come take a look.” Her tone wasn’t so gentle. “What did you two talk about?”

“Just chatted about some things, work and stuff.” He lowered his head to check the time, his expression calm. “I’ve got a meeting to go to. Let’s talk when we’re back home—I don’t have evening study duty tonight, want to head home together?”

She gave a muffled “mm,” turned around, and went back to the milk tea shop.

Lin Shuang’s temper wasn’t the best—when she was in a bad mood, she needed patient coaxing too.

Coincidentally, Zhou Zheng’s mood wasn’t particularly pleasant either.

And this matter couldn’t be coaxed away.

Li Xiaoyi hadn’t gone far. He stopped in front of the rice noodle soup shop outside the school.

This shop—he and Lin Shuang had eaten there for three whole years.

“Boss, one bowl of beef rice noodles, extra spicy, and a cold soy milk.”

“Coming right up.”

It wasn’t mealtime, so the shop was empty. Li Xiaoyi sat in his old seat, his long legs cramping the narrow space, his eyes drooping in a daze.

The owner noticed his expensive clothing, yet oddly he was cradling an old basketball, looking somewhat forlorn. He glanced at him a couple more times, then suddenly exclaimed.

“Aren’t you…” the owner chuckled. “You look familiar. Did you used to come here often?”

“I ate here for three years, considered myself an old regular. Back then I often came with classmates to support the place.” He smiled. “It’s been so many years, I’m sure the owner doesn’t remember me.”

“Of course I know you. Though I get a lot of students eating here, the familiar faces that came every day, I remember some of them.” The owner laughed. “You’re tall, and your face is memorable. Back then you often carried a basketball too, along with that basketball team crowd, always coming early the moment class ended to grab seats. All of you tall guys filled up my whole shop. And the milk tea shop owner, you two came together, always liked sitting in the seat you’re in now.”

“Good memory, boss.” Li Xiaoyi praised him, then asked with a smile: “The milk tea shop owner… does she come eat here often?”

“She’s a regular of my shop now.” The owner gave him a meaningful look. “Later she started coming with Teacher Zhou, and Teacher Zhang and the others too.”

Back then it had been obvious at a glance that these two kids were in an early relationship—the owner had a particularly deep impression of this couple. At high school graduation, the last time the two came, they’d even had a proper chat with the owner.

“The fried egg’s on the house.” The owner enthusiastically brought over the noodles. “Still the same old taste, give it a try.”

At Li Xiaoyi’s first bite, the scalding heat and spiciness drilled into his throat, and along with it, his nose and chest filled with a sour, burning sensation.

The mistakes he’d made when young, and the entirely avoidable missed chances—he’d originally thought, what’s done is done, everyone moves forward, the feelings had already settled in his heart over the years. But in this sudden chance encounter, he realized: after all these years, he still couldn’t let go.

Was there even the slightest possibility that she could forgive him?

He wasn’t hungry, yet he still slowly finished the entire bowl of noodles.

After finishing the noodles, Li Xiaoyi called Lin Shuang.

At their first meeting, none of the three had exchanged contact information. Lin Shuang and Zhou Zheng’s numbers, he’d obtained only after a long, roundabout effort.

Lin Shuang looked at the unfamiliar number on her phone, thinking for a long while.

She had a hunch about who this number belonged to.

The phone rang persistently. Nana and Kevin, hearing the ringtone, snuck glances at the boss lady, their eyes especially curious.

Come to think of it, ever since that day Li Xiaoyi had come to the milk tea shop, the boss lady’s mood had been a bit strange.

In the end, Lin Shuang answered the call.

The man’s voice on the phone carried a slight nasal tone: “It’s me.”

Lin Shuang said nothing.

“Just now, playing ball with Zhou Zheng, I originally wanted to smoke a cigarette, and remembered… your lighter’s still with me. Let me bring it back to you.” He sniffed, his tone dejected. “I’m at the rice noodle soup shop, haven’t gone far.”

“This shop hasn’t changed a bit.” He murmured softly. “The owner even gave me a fried egg.”

“Bring it over then, I’ll wait for you at the entrance.” She did have a few words she wanted to say to him.

Lin Shuang watched him walk over step by step, cradling the ball, his posture just as it had been before.

Li Xiaoyi, seeing Lin Shuang, curled his mouth into a smile, reaching out to hand her the silver lighter: “Thanks.”

She took the lighter, asking him calmly: “When are you leaving? Leaving Beiquan?”

“In a while. I’ll be packing some things up at home… planning to take them with me…” he asked her hesitantly, “I still have a lot of your things at my place… do you want them? Even just to keep as mementos.”

“No need, just throw them away directly.” Lin Shuang stared at him. “I don’t mean anything else by it, I just hope that whatever the reason, there’s no need to be in contact again going forward—not with me, and not with Zhou Zheng.”

She added: “He’s my boyfriend. I don’t want you to see him.”

Li Xiaoyi’s expression turned somewhat grave: “Your relationship… is it good? You… really like him?”

“Yes.”

“I remember his family’s circumstances were quite ordinary, family’s in the countryside, parents passed away early, raised by his grandmother.”

“So what?” Lin Shuang crossed her arms. “What of it?”

Li Xiaoyi frowned, his tone bleak: “He really is a good person… he should treat you well, right?”

“I never expected you’d end up with Zhou Zheng. Seeing you two holding hands, my heart… truly felt a mix of complicated emotions.” Li Xiaoyi said dejectedly. “I thought whoever was by your side would be someone especially remarkable… never expected it to be him… back then he stood beside us, quite unremarkable…”

Li Xiaoyi truly found it hard to understand—Zhou Zheng and Lin Shuang didn’t match up by any measure of circumstance. He held no ill will toward Zhou Zheng, yet he couldn’t help feeling that Zhou Zheng had used some opportunistic means, such as leveraging his and Lin Shuang’s past history.

Lin Shuang suddenly frowned: “He already knew me before?”

Li Xiaoyi laughed bitterly. “How could he not know you? We used to bribe him all the time, to help us with our math homework. Because we were too poor to buy shoes, we even pitched in together to give him a pair of sneakers, and went out to hang out together too.”

Lin Shuang’s expression turned ugly.

After class, Zhou Zheng called Lin Shuang, but the call wouldn’t go through.

He went to the milk tea shop. Nana saw Zhou Zheng: “Boss lady went home in the afternoon?”

Nana couldn’t help adding: “Teacher Zhou… um… the boss lady exchanged a few words with that ex-boyfriend, then picked up her bag and left.” Nana slowly shook her head.

A “brace yourself” expression on her face for Zhou Zheng.

Zhou Zheng frowned and went straight home.

The house was empty. Lin Shuang hadn’t come back.

He couldn’t help pressing his fingers to his forehead, glanced at his phone, and sat on the couch without moving.

Zhou Zheng sat like that for the entire evening, thinking again and again.

Waiting for Lin Shuang to come back.

By the time Lin Shuang got home, it was already quite late. The house was dark. At first she thought no one was home, but after turning on the light, she saw Zhou Zheng sitting blankly on the couch.

“Where did you go? I called so many times and couldn’t get through.” Zhou Zheng’s voice was slightly hoarse, his expression forlorn too.

There was a hint of exhaustion about him.

“Had dinner with someone!” She entered, changing her clothes, removing her jewelry.

Zhou Zheng’s gaze fell blankly before him: “You two went out to eat?”

“Yes.” She said indifferently.

“And then?” He watched her quietly.

Lin Shuang shot him a cold glance, went to change and take a shower.

After showering, Zhou Zheng waited by the door, hands in his pockets, his expression having returned to normal: “Shuangshuang, let’s talk.”

“What do you want to talk about?” Her tone was calm too.

He took a deep breath, but the words wouldn’t come out. Instead, he reached out and tightly embraced Lin Shuang.

He wanted to kiss her, hold her.

Like they used to, together without any barrier between them.

Ever since Li Xiaoyi appeared, there hadn’t been such intimate moments again.

Zhou Zheng’s cheek brushed against Lin Shuang’s damp hair, deeply breathing in her scent, murmuring: “Shuangshuang.”

“I love you.”

A pitiful tone.

The subtext—don’t abandon me.

A string of passionate, disorderly kisses fell on Lin Shuang’s ear. She turned aside to dodge, but Zhou Zheng wouldn’t let her dodge, holding her cheek, deepening the kiss on that thin patch of skin behind her ear.

This was one of her sensitive spots—she could feel the heat of his lips and tongue, and the entangled sound of kissing was transmitted directly into her eardrum at maximum volume.

Men all had this annoying habit, all liked to resolve problems in bed.

And hoped women would let them off the hook in bed too.

Lin Shuang supported her weakening body, frowning as she pinched his arm, her tone unfriendly: “Zhou Zheng!”

Zhou Zheng directly wrapped his arm around her waist, half-dragging, half-carrying her, pushing her back into the room.

She was wearing a bathrobe, and with a light tug of the sash, warm fragrant jade was within easy reach.

Zhou Zheng laid her on the bed, leaning over to kiss her, his eyes filled with confused emotion.

He rarely had moments like this—seemingly flustered, seemingly eager for quick results, or perhaps helpless.

Lin Shuang passively received his caresses. She couldn’t help being stirred, yet in her heart she was unwilling, struggling a couple of times, panting: “Zhou Zheng, you bastard.”

Zhou Zheng lowered his head, his fluffy head pressing against her, deeply kissing her lips.

Grabbing one of her hands, he pressed it to his chest.

“Touch it.” His voice was low and hoarse, his body scorching hot.

His heart was pounding thump-thump-thump.

Lin Shuang took a deep breath and slapped the back of his head.

“Smack.”

A muffled sound, not light in force, with real sting to it.

“Had enough?”

He raised his head to look at her. Lin Shuang’s cheeks were flushed red, her eyes bright and glistening, her willow brows raised—clearly an angry expression.

She rarely wore such an expression.

Zhou Zheng suddenly came to his senses, stopping his movements, pushing himself up off Lin Shuang.

“Sorry…”

She grabbed the front of his shirt, glaring at him coldly: “Zhou Zheng, are you hiding something from me?”

“Hiding what?” Zhou Zheng’s eyes flickered, his lips pressed tight.

“You—did you have ulterior motives toward me from the very start? Harboring some hidden agenda?” Lin Shuang gritted her teeth. “You know Li Xiaoyi? Then do you know his girlfriend?”