It was nearly five o’clock, and the sky had completely brightened when they finally thought about sleeping. They lingered reluctantly, embracing in the hallway for a while before returning to their respective rooms.

But neither could sleep.

Cen Jin sat against the headboard, scrolling through every chat record with Li Wu, including their first photo together from 2017. As her gaze fell on the cold, stubborn face of that small young boy in the photo, Cen Jin’s heartfelt both guilty and sweet, and she covered half her face, unable to stop smiling.

She then found their 2020 instant photo. By then, he was already much taller than her, his features showing more angles and edges, but his temperament was still youthful, his expression still reserved, like an outstanding but unaware young pine tree.

Mmm~

How could this kid be so handsome?

Cen Jin’s cheeks wouldn’t relax, her eyes curved as she looked for quite a while before deciding to put down her phone and calm her thoughts to properly cultivate sleepiness.

Just as she was about to turn off the screen, a WeChat notification popped up.

Cen Jin tilted her head and opened it – it was from her newly pinned contact from tonight.

Li Wu: Are you asleep?

Cen Jin curved her lips: Yes.

The other side was probably smiling too, pausing before saying: Oh.

Li Wu: What should I do? I can’t sleep.

Cen Jin pressed her lips together hard: Then just lay there.

Li Wu: I miss you.

Cen Jin’s heart tingled numbingly, softly, from these three words of sweet talk, but she still played tough: We’re barely ten meters apart, is this necessary?

Li Wu: Yes.

Cen Jin ran her fingers through her hair tips twice, then replied: Now that you mention it, I might miss you a little too.

The other side suggested: Let’s go hug in the hallway again.

Cen Jin laughed: You’re crazy. Go to sleep. If you can’t sleep, just rest with your eyes closed.

Li Wu: I really can’t sleep.

Cen Jin replied: Don’t you need to go to the lab tomorrow?

The atmosphere from the other side seemed to drop suddenly: Yes.

Cen Jin asked: What time?

Li Wu: Before 9 AM. I already skipped once today.

Cen Jin was speechless: You only have three hours left to rest, why aren’t you hurrying to sleep?

Li Wu replied: It’s too hard.

Cen Jin: Close your eyes, don’t think about anything, and you’ll fall asleep.

Li Wu pushed his luck: Jiejie, let’s go out and hug for a bit. I’ll sleep after that.

That form of address was like a cheat code; Cen Jin immediately surrendered. She stared at the message for a few seconds before helplessly compromising: Fine.

After replying, she put down her phone, slipped on her slippers, and walked to the door, patting her cheeks twice along the way, trying to keep her expression composed, not wanting to look too deliriously happy or show any overly silly girlish behavior.

As soon as she opened the door, Cen Jin’s arm was gripped tightly, and she was pulled into an embrace.

She almost cried out.

The young man’s chest was warm and solid. Cen Jin’s startled jump was instantly smoothed away as she let Li Wu hold her, unable to resist wrapping her arms tightly around his waist: “Did you teleport here? Do you have some superpower you’re hiding from me?”

He made an “mm” sound in agreement.

Cen Jin looked up, chin resting against his chest, and grabbed his chin, turning it arrogantly from side to side, examining him: “I feel like you were already waiting at the door, all prepared.”

Li Wu smiled back at her: “Really just got here.”

Cen Jin snorted coldly: “I don’t believe you.”

Being stared at so directly, Li Wu couldn’t take it anymore. He removed Cen Jin’s hand from his chin and leaned down to peck her once.

Cen Jin froze, her lips gleaming like syrup: “Weren’t we just supposed to hug for a bit?”

Li Wu wasn’t satisfied, saying nothing as he lowered his head again for another quick kiss.

His kisses were extremely light and soft; each one brushed against Cen Jin’s heart like down feathers. He kept gazing at her lovingly, his beautiful dark eyes like little hooks. Cen Jin felt stirred, her mind heating up as she pulled him closer, offering herself up.

Her fingers ran through his hair roots as their lips pressed together inseparably, reluctant to part.

As she was gradually backed against the wall by the young man, a long-lurking image suddenly floated up in Cen Jin’s hazy mind. Her heart fluttered as her hand went to explore.

Li Wu’s breathing grew heavy as he called out suppressedly: “Jiejie…”

The feeling was better than Cen Jin had imagined, so clear and distinct even through clothing. She wholeheartedly traced with her fingertips, silently praising, feeling his strength and youth.

The young man’s breathing grew increasingly urgent and deep as he desperately sucked in his stomach, trying to avoid her control, but it was useless. The woman’s hand was like a tight net, completely ensnaring him.

His whole body burned as he could no longer focus on kissing. His forehead dropped to her neck, his hair tips brushing her ear as he endured the unbearable yet comfortable sensation.

Cen Jin’s neck hollow was soaked with the young man’s heavy, humid breathing, almost condensing into droplets.

How could he be so pure?

A surge of guilt at corrupting a young man washed over her. Cen Jin withdrew her hand, took a deep breath, and turned her nose toward him, pressing against his nearly bleeding ear as she enunciated each word: “Go. To. Sleep. Properly.”

Li Wu immediately straightened up and fled back to his room without looking back.

Silly boy.

Cen Jin stood in place, smiling faintly, looking down at her hand before making a crisp about-face and leisurely returning to her bedroom.

—

Perhaps because of the previous night’s emotional rollercoaster and late bedtime, even the alarm couldn’t wake Cen Jin.

When she next opened her eyes, it was already noon. Cen Jin sat up straight, holding her phone in both hands, still somewhat dazed.

The woman who had just turned thirty blinked her eyes, savoring last night’s moments before opening WeChat.

Two messages from her little boyfriend jumped into view, both sent around eight o’clock.

Li Wu: I’m heading back to school first.

Li Wu: There’s porridge in the rice cooker, just reheat the fried egg before eating.

The morning – no, afternoon – air seemed to carry a sweetness. Cen Jin smiled, typing into the chat box:

[Hmph, you didn’t even wake me up?]

As the cursor blinked, she got goosebumps from how cheesy that “hmph” was. Her heart cringed, and she quickly cleared it, directly calling him instead.

He answered quickly. Before he spoke, his vibrant, clear laughter spread over, blooming like spring in Cen Jin’s eardrums.

“Hello―” she articulated the word very clearly, with a slightly rising tone at the end.

“Mm.”

Cen Jin pretended to be angry, speaking coolly: “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

He replied: “Wanted to let you sleep more.”

His voice was clear: “Have you eaten breakfast?”

Cen Jin said: “Still in bed.”

Her little boyfriend transformed into a thoughtful, caring little daddy: “Hurry up and eat, don’t let your stomach go hungry.”

Cen Jin laughed once: “What about you, have you had lunch?”

Li Wu replied: “About to.”

Cen Jin: “Still in the lab?”

Li Wu said: “Mm, going out to eat in a bit.”

“Just you alone?”

“There are two senior brothers and one senior is—” his reflexes caught up, and he immediately corrected himself: “Could be just me alone.”

Cen Jin smiled in understanding.

“Take me along,” she suddenly softened her tone: “I want to have lunch with a junior student at school too.”

A low laugh came from the other end: “I’ll finish around 4 PM and head home. It takes at least half an hour to come to school; I’m worried driving will tire you out.”

Cen Jin squeezed out four hard words: “I want to come.”

Li Wu couldn’t ask for more: “Then come, I’ll wait for you.”

“You can drive me back tonight.”

“Huh?”

“What ‘huh’?” She switched back to her stern teacher mode seamlessly: “Getting a driver’s license without practical experience is pointless. You’re driving.”

“Oh…”

…

Putting his phone back in his pocket, Li Wu stood against the wall by the door, watching the azure sky for a while. After confirming his smile value had dropped below 60% in his brain and wasn’t so obvious anymore, he returned to the lab and sat down to continue programming and analyzing data.

After a while, he wanted to smile again, so he had to lower his head slightly, rubbing his eyebrow with the back of his hand, trying to hide it.

Seeing him smiling to himself all morning and frequently taking out his phone for glances, one senior brother perceptively asked with a smile: “Li Wu, are you in love? Is that it?”

“Huh?” He looked up, then curved his lips and nodded: “Mm.”

Another senior sister froze, exclaiming: “That’s so sudden!”

It was sudden. This handsome junior was usually very cold, barely having any personal interactions with them. All attempts to deepen relationships had been futile; they couldn’t imagine him being in love.

She grew curious: “Is she from our school?”

Li Wu shook his head: “No,” then thinking it sounded too absolute, amended his answer: “She used to be.”

“Huh?” The senior brother also paused.

Li Wu thought for a moment, looking up at them both: “You might have seen her.”

“Really?”

“Who is it?”

The whole lab stirred with curiosity.

“That time at the east gate, when she brought me something,” he wanted to announce this news to the whole world – the woman he loved most had become his girlfriend: “Remember?”

A few seconds of silence.

“Holy shit?!”