The youth’s words struck like a hammer blow. Cen Jin was stunned on the spot, her head buzzing like boiling water, making her entire face burn hot.

She was speechless, her hand pressed against the bedding, motionless, unable to process the intense impact of Li Wu’s words.

The other end was also silent, seemingly patiently awaiting her storm.

In a moment, Cen Jin regained her senses, trying her utmost to sound composed: “Is there still room for negotiation? You don’t need to repay me so early.”

Li Wu said: “I signed the contract yesterday afternoon. The admissions officer even took me for a tour of F University.”

Cen Jin’s heart seized: “Did you ask me?”

Li Wu said: “You didn’t come home. I thought you didn’t want to know.”

Cen Jin’s pupils dilated in disbelief: “What do you mean? Are you deliberately trying to oppose me now? I tell you to go east so you must go west? Do you know what you’re doing, using your future to blackmail and revenge against me? Do you think this will make me feel guilty? Or that it will move me? When you could go to a better school, why insist on staying here?”

Li Wu seemed to have anticipated her reaction, his voice remaining flat: “It’s my own choice. It has nothing to do with you.”

Cen Jin rested her hand on her head, glancing sideways at the tightly drawn curtains, feeling like that window herself—completely blocked off, thoroughly losing the ability to argue.

Finally, she could only make threats: “Fine, I’ll tell you clearly—no matter where you are, I don’t want to see you again.”

Li Wu said: “Don’t worry, I’m leaving immediately. After that, you won’t have to inconvenience yourself by staying outside anymore.”

Cen Jin was stunned: “Where are you going?”

Li Wu didn’t answer, only speaking methodically: “I’ve put all the expense accounts for food, clothing, housing, and transportation since coming to Yi Middle School on the study room table. You can check when you return. For the things you bought me, I’ve included all the ones I know the prices of, plus the thirty thousand for my aunt. I don’t know if a hundred thousand is enough to cover it all—if it’s not enough, tell me how much more I owe, and I’ll find a way to repay it completely this summer.”

His itemized accounting stabbed at Cen Jin’s heart. The woman’s eyes unconsciously reddened, laughing in extreme anger: “Fine, I understand.”

Cen Jin didn’t know how much effort it took to make these six words sound weightless.

The youth was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke solemnly, as if making a final farewell: “Sister, thank you for taking care of me this past year and more.”

It was this “Sister”—these two words—that suddenly brought tears to Cen Jin’s eyes.

She held her phone, saying nothing, maintaining her rigid posture as tears flowed freely down her face.

A teardrop fell onto the pure white bedding, seeping into a small dark stain.

Only then did Cen Jin seem to wake up, wiping away the wetness on her chin before hanging up.

Cen Jin hadn’t felt this way for a long time—terrible, chaotic, helpless, like being locked in a room in complete disarray. She sat on a wooden chair in the center, looking around at the scattered objects, completely unsure how to begin. Thankfully Li Wu had tidied everything up for her, methodically checking and organizing, putting things back in their places, clean and clear.

No need to manage anymore.

How nice.

She should feel fortunate and relieved, but Cen Jin felt a small gap open in her heart, a cold wind rushing in continuously, difficult to repair.

Cen Jin checked out of the hotel covered in goosebumps and walked out.

Today was her day off. Worried about running into Li Wu while he was still packing, Cen Jin didn’t return to her own house but instead went to her parents.

As soon as she entered, she saw her mother feeding fish by the rockery in the courtyard. The latter glimpsed her daughter with some surprise but immediately broke into a smile: “Why did you come back?”

Cen Jin put away her parasol, her small face returning to the sunlight, suddenly white enough to dazzle. She also smiled: “It’s my day off, so I wanted to come see Mom.”

“I think you just wanted to come to see your old dad,” Cen’s mother tossed all the fish food in her hand at once, golden-red koi immediately gathering to fight over it. Mother Cen looked away and examined Cen Jin, “What’s wrong, not in a good mood?”

Cen Jin admitted defeat: “Mom, how are you like an emotional radar?”

Mother Cen glanced at her: “You’re smiling without any energy as if we forced you to come back.”

Cen Jin wrapped both arms around her mother’s, speaking coquettishly: “Not at all, I’m just tired from work, and haven’t rested well.”

After speaking, she leaned her head on her mother’s shoulder. Mother Cen raised a finger, pushing back in disgust a couple of times, but couldn’t push her away. She simply let her be, her smile growing even deeper.

Mother and daughter walked together through the carved wooden doors.

The Cen family home was a detached Western-style building with pure Chinese styling. A spiral wooden staircase connected the floors, a huge cloudy mountain landscape painting hung on the high wall, all furniture was redwood and spotlessly clean implements could be seen everywhere, like a Republican-era official’s residence.

Entering the house, air conditioning hit her face. Cen Jin immediately left her mother’s side, sprawling across the sofa, letting out a breath as if finally finding relief.

Mother Cen called the house helper to get her a glass of juice. Cen Jin only said “No need” and asked if there was anything frozen.

The helper understood and went to get an ice cream from the refrigerator, handing it to Cen Jin.

Mother Cen took out her reading glasses from the gold-threaded case on the coffee table, put them on, and continued her cross-stitch endeavors.

She stitched with perfect composure while Cen Jin dug spoonful after spoonful, peaceful and quiet.

Seeing the bottom of the container approaching, Cen Jin glanced at her mother: “Where’s Dad?”

“Gone to the company.”

Cen Jin asked: “Is he busy these days?”

Mother Cen said: “When isn’t he busy?”

Cen Jin asked again: “Is he coming back for lunch?”

Mother Cen said: “He said he would. I’ll give him a call in a bit. If he knows you’re back, he’d fly home immediately even if he were abroad.”

Speaking of this, Mother Cen adjusted her glasses, asking curiously: “Why are you alone? Where’s Little Wu?”

She remembered something else and asked with wide eyes: “Aren’t the college entrance exam results out? How did he do?”

Bringing up exactly what shouldn’t be brought up, Cen Jin’s hand paused, her lips dropping before quickly lifting again: “Very well.”

“‘Very well’ should still have a score.”

Cen Jin was silent. She didn’t know the exact score, so could only speak indirectly: “He’s already signed with F University.”

“Ah? So fast?” Mother Cen was surprised: “Then his score must be very high, to be snatched up by F University right after results came out.”

Cen Jin snorted coldly: “Who knows what he’s thinking.”

Mother Cen looked at her: “Why do I see you’re not happy for him at all?”

Cen Jin replied: “How can I be happy? With scores good enough for Peking or Tsinghua, he insists on staying here.”

Mother Cen didn’t understand: “Isn’t F University very good too? You graduated from there yourself, how come you’re looking down on it now?”

“What do you know?”

Mother Cen smiled: “I don’t know. Back then when you said you wanted to study new media communications, your father thought about getting you into Renmin University, but you didn’t want to go to Beijing either, didn’t want to be far from home. How come now when someone else doesn’t want to go, you won’t let them?”

Cen Jin was speechless for two seconds: “How can he be compared to me?”

“What’s different?” Mother Cen said: “Why do you care what he chooses? As long as it’s decided, it’s fine. You’re not his birth mother—are you planning to support him for life?”

Cen Jin couldn’t argue.

Mother Cen’s eagle eyes perceived the reason: “Oh—you’re having a conflict with that child over his college choice?”

Cen Jin sighed: “I suppose.”

“Don’t have the fate to be a mother but caught the disease of being one.” Mother Cen shook her head, continuing to stitch, regretfully: “No wonder Little Wu didn’t come back with you. We only saw him once during New Year’s, and I rather miss him—he’s much more obedient than you.”

Cen Jin was furious all over, fixating on her mother’s earlier words: “Can you not be so harsh? How do you know it was my problem back then?”

“Whether it was or wasn’t can only be known after trying with others,” Mother Cen muttered softly, then raised her face: “You’ve been apart for so long, and now the child is on his way to success—haven’t thought about finding someone else? Your Third Aunt has mentioned to me several times that with your conditions, endless people are asking about you, even among those previously married.”

“Stop.” Cen Jin’s tone held a warning.

“No one catching your eye at the company now?”

Cen Jin was at her limit, covering her ears with both hands: “I’m completely disappointed in men, given up hope, just want to live well by myself for the rest of my life.”

Mother Cen looked at her from behind her glasses, finding it very interesting, letting out a dry laugh.

At noon, Father Cen returned home, overjoyed at seeing his daughter, asking after her welfare.

At the dining table, they inevitably asked about Li Wu’s college entrance exam situation. Cen Jin could only respond based on the information from that morning’s phone call.

For some reason, her parents were both very happy, only regretting that Li Wu wasn’t present.

Her father even ceremoniously opened a bottle of champagne, disregarding whether he still needed to drive to work in the afternoon.

Cen Jin could only perfunctorily clink glasses with her father, again and again, celebrating for someone who wasn’t present and had walked out of her life.

She couldn’t help but doubt herself—looking at it all, it seemed like she was the only person in the whole world who was gloomy and indignant.

But regardless, she had already completely split with this ungrateful wolf.

So let her wish him a bright future.

Cen Jin sat silently and absentmindedly, drinking alone.

―

That evening, Cen Jin returned to her place. She couldn’t be bothered to inspect and check whether any trace of Li Wu’s presence remained in the house, or judge whether he had moved out cleanly enough.

After showering, Cen Jin went to the study and looked through the account book the youth had left. After just a few pages, she was suddenly wrapped in a fine, dense sadness, as if returning to that gray cocoon. This emotion was somewhat similar to when she witnessed Wu Fu’s divorce agreement—not just because of accepting that a familiar person was completely leaving her life, but because every relationship she had invested her true heart in would ultimately end in an emotionless clearing out, without exception.

She didn’t understand why it was like this.

Was it because she wasn’t gentle enough? Wouldn’t show weakness? No longer met their expectations?

Too ridiculous.

Cen Jin exhaled sharply, pulled out the trash can from the desk drawer, pressed open the lid, and threw all the account books in with a rustle, then closed it and kicked it back—out of sight, out of mind.

That night, Cen Jin once again couldn’t sleep.

She opened her phone and found Yi Middle School’s official WeChat account’s latest post about the college entrance exam results. There, she finally learned Li Wu’s exact score and ranking.

She turned on the desk lamp, got out of bed in the dim light, and retrieved the journal from the second drawer of the chest.

This journal was specifically for recording Li Wu’s test scores after transferring to Yi Middle School.

She had planned to include it among his graduation gifts, viewing it as a badge of this stage of his life, hoping he would like it.

This was a staircase set up specially for him. She stood at the bottom watching him climb diligently, wholeheartedly ascending step by step until reaching the summit.

Unfortunately, the owner of the stairs made the most disappointing choice.

Cen Jin sat back at the foot of the bed with regret, opened the pages, and reviewed each of Li Wu’s scores since transferring to Yi Middle School, each moment of excitement they had shared.

Regrettably, the most important page that should have been recorded was still blank.

Cen Jin got up, took out a thick black marker from the pen holder, and copied down his college entrance exam total score, putting a period to it all.

―

On June 26th, Li Wu returned to school to collect materials. After separating from Cheng Rui at the corridor entrance, he walked toward Class 3(1).

Several people were already in the classroom. When his classmates saw him arrive, they all rushed forward to congratulate him.

Li Wu smiled slightly, dealing with it with no fluctuation in his eyes.

After receiving the materials from Teacher Qi behind the podium, Li Wu said a word of thanks.

Teacher Qi looked at him twice, seeming regretful: “I heard you’re going to F University?”

Li Wu nodded.

Teacher Qi clicked his tongue, meaningful but without comment, only saying: “Come to my office before you leave. Something was mailed to me for you, to pass on to you. I haven’t opened it.”

Li Wu was surprised for a moment but didn’t ask what it was, only nodded.

Li Wu went to the second-floor office, first seeing Teacher Zhang.

The youth showed his first genuine smile since getting his results, sharing with her his scores for each subject, especially the science comprehensive.

Teacher Zhang was so proud she couldn’t close her mouth. Hearing his final choice, she showed no regret, still encouraging him as she had last year: Child, go boldly forward, just don’t give up on your beliefs, don’t give up on learning.

After exchanging greetings, Li Wu walked to Teacher Qi’s desk and saw the express delivery box on it.

Glimpsing the address, the youth’s gaze paused. He directly pulled out an art knife from the pen holder nearby and hurriedly opened it.

Unwrapping layers of bubble wrap, inside was a rather high-quality notebook with a brown leather cover.

Opening the first page, Li Wu froze completely.

What met his eyes was his first monthly test results slip after coming to Yi Middle School, carefully and neatly pasted horizontally in the center of the whole page.

Above was recorded the date, and below were some analyses and encouragement for each subject’s score, brief yet precise.

He recognized whose handwriting it was.

The youth continued turning pages, his breathing becoming deep and urgent.

Later on, the comments became fewer and fewer, changing to playful, unbelievable, barely concealing excited exclamation marks, question marks, and “bravo!!”

Until the final page:

Three black, bold numbers, his college entrance exam score, written with force enough to penetrate the paper—

718.

Li Wu stared at these three numbers for a long, long time… his gaze shifted, and when it touched the bottom right corner of the page, his whole body stiffened, his heart splitting with pain.

There were two small lines:

“Your effort

I’ve repaid you too”