After that day, Ping Jiapeng never came to look for Xiaxia again. A few days later, Xiaxia received a call from Li Jiamin, who wanted to terminate their tutoring contract.

After Xiaxia left that day, she knew this job wouldn’t work out, and since she was the one breaking the contract, she had mentally prepared herself for their criticism. However, Li Jiamin didn’t give her a hard time. Instead, his tone was full of apology, offering compensation for her wasted time.

Xiaxia declined.

After hanging up, Xiaxia received a text message from an unknown number:

[I told them it was my fault. Uncle won’t give you trouble.

Xiaxia, I’m not as childish as you think.]

Xiaxia marked it as read and deleted the message.

The lecture hall was packed, with the Political Theory professor showing PowerPoint slides in the front row.

Xiaxia saved a seat for Xie Huai in the last row. He arrived just one minute before class started.

Seeing him dressed formally, Xiaxia asked, “Will you have dinner with me tonight?”

As the bell rang, Xie Huai put down his backpack and, while everyone’s attention was on the podium, quickly planted a kiss on Xiaxia’s face behind his textbook.

“Let me see your phone.”

He opened Xiaxia’s WeChat and saw that his nickname [“Big Hunk”] hadn’t been changed, satisfied with a smile at the corner of his mouth: “Of course, I’ll eat with you.”

He adjusted his shirt collar: “Li Jiamin ordered some steel from Brother Xu, there’s a contract signing this afternoon, so I need to leave early. Help me sign the attendance later, and I’ll come back to pick you up. We’ll eat out.”

Xiaxia: “What’s special about today? Why suddenly decide to eat out?”

Xie Huai just smiled at her without saying anything.

He flipped through the Political Theory textbook boredly and lay on the desk: “I’ll take a nap.”

Xiaxia sat beside him, not paying attention to the lecture either, just playing with her phone.

Though Xie Huai said he would sleep, he couldn’t. He rested on his arm, observing Xiaxia.

She had her hair in a ponytail today, smoothly tucked behind her ears, with delicate and defined facial features, fair and natural.

Xie Huai leaned closer and saw Xiaxia looking at job listings.

“You’re looking for work?”

“I want to find an internship,” Xiaxia kept her voice low to avoid disturbing others, “I’m already a junior, and there’s not much point in continuing with tutoring jobs. More internship experience will make my resume look better after graduation.”

Xie Huai played with the bodhi beads on her wrist, sunlight streaming through the window making the two jade beads sparkle brilliantly.

“Don’t work after graduation, go for a master’s degree,” he said, “I can support you.”

“Wow, Brother Huai,” Xiaxia pinched his face, smiling tenderly, “How much money have you made that you dare say you’ll support me?”

Xiaxia’s wrist was very thin, and her hands were small. Xie Huai held her hand in his palm, soft and weightless. During school, Wu Li rarely asked her to do housework; Xiaxia only helped voluntarily when she returned home during holidays. She hadn’t done much manual labor, so her hands had no calluses. Her skin was thin and delicate, so white that you could see the faint blue veins.

“What will you do if you don’t study?” Xie Huai’s little finger gently hooked onto hers, “Work nine-to-five or nine-nine-six, or stay home to cook and do laundry for Brother Huai? Your parents haven’t made you do much all these years, I can’t let you suffer when you’re with me, right?”

He squeezed her palm: “Your hands are so soft, they shouldn’t get rough. Study for a few more years first, then think about work later.”

“Studying is tiring too,” Xiaxia said teasingly, “Have to read classics, write papers, and as a graduate student, you have to run errands and do projects for professors… I want to be a freeloader, will you support me?”

Xie Huai laughed: “Supporting you is no problem, but you’ll have to take good care of Brother Huai.”

His tone was suggestive, and though he didn’t continue, Xiaxia had already imagined what he meant by “taking care.” She blushed, pursed her lips, and pinched Xie Huai’s arm hard, ignoring him.

Xie Huai only accompanied Xiaxia for one Political Theory class before skipping out during the break.

Xiaxia filtered through some internship positions, planning to send out her resume via email in a few days. After class, she went back to her dorm to change clothes and messaged Xie Huai not to come back to pick her up, instead taking the bus alone to the city center.

She sat on the upper deck of the double-decker bus, the windshield tinted with sunset’s red glow. Ahead stretched a wide, flat asphalt road lined with lush jacaranda trees. Though not as beautiful as their purple spring blooms, they were still verdant green, their leaves swaying gently in the evening breeze.

Xiaxia took a short nap and woke up at dusk when the bus reached its stop.

She walked to the address Xie Huai had sent her and saw his silhouette on the second floor of the teahouse, the faint clouds on the horizon reflecting on the floor-to-ceiling windows onto his shirt back.

Xiaxia was about to go in but stopped at the entrance to check her phone.

This was a private tea room, specifically for business meetings. The minimum consumption was three hundred for just tea, not including the room fee.

Xiaxia’s foot, which had almost stepped over the threshold, pulled back.

After sitting for three hours, Xie Huai stood up with an aching back.

Xu Dalong invited him to hang out, but he smiled and declined: “Not today, Xiaxia is waiting for me for dinner.”

Outside, the sky was pitch dark. He looked back and saw Xiaxia standing under the brilliant street lights across the road, eating stinky tofu.

She held a bowl of stinky tofu in one hand, with a fried chicken cutlet hanging from her wrist, sticking out her tongue from the spiciness.

Xie Huai went downstairs, and Xiaxia waved at him, offering him the chicken cutlet: “Are you hungry? I bought this for you.”

Xie Huai was indeed hungry and devoured the chicken cutlet, then took Xiaxia to the parking lot to get the car.

The underground parking lot was dark, and as soon as they entered, Xie Huai became restless. Like any young man in the honeymoon phase, he was excited about being intimate with his lover, clumsily trying to hug and kiss Xiaxia.

Xiaxia saw the oil on his lips and pushed him away in disgust.

Xie Huai complained reluctantly: “Women are so fickle, it hasn’t been long and you’re already disgusted with me? I’m young and handsome, but you can’t even accept a little oil on my face. What will you do when you get fat in middle age? You’ll probably kick me out then?”

Seeing his childish pouting face, Xiaxia couldn’t help but laugh: “Look at how silly you are.”

She smiled sweetly: “Then don’t get fat. If you can’t even manage your figure, what use are you?”

Xie Huai didn’t start the car, and she said: “Come on, weren’t you going to take me to dinner?”

“Give me a kiss first,” Xie Huai pointed to his cheek.

Xiaxia’s face showed complete resistance.

“If you don’t kiss me, we won’t go. We can stay in the parking lot all night, I’m capable of that.”

Xiaxia had no choice. She wiped the oil from his lips and leaned in to kiss his cheek.

Satisfied, Xie Huai started the car.

Xie Huai parked in front of a countryside restaurant.

Though located in the mountains of the university town, it wasn’t particularly remote.

There were nearly ten universities nearby, no more than three kilometers by car. Compared to the bustling streets of the university town, this place was quieter.

At night, the restaurant lit up, with a bright emerald green sign hanging over the entrance.

Inside the entrance was a verdant bamboo grove with green stone tiles. The path gradually widened as you walked in, opening up to a spacious cobblestone clearing. The clearing had over ten grills, but only one had charcoal burning. Occasional cricket chirps came from the grass, and the thick tree trunks in the grove were decorated with twinkling lights, swings, and hammocks.

Further back were the kitchen, bathrooms, chess room, mahjong room, bar, and pool table – every entertainment facility you could want.

Xie Huai said: “The owner here is looking to transfer the lease, I’m thinking of renting it.”

Xiaxia was first stunned, then said: “Are you crazy? This place is in the middle of nowhere, there’s not a soul around. Who would you do business with?”

A young man approached from behind, apparently the owner, and said with a smile: “It’s usually very lively here, it’s only quiet today because…”

Xie Huai stopped him with a look before he could continue.

Xiaxia asked: “Because what?”

The owner smiled and changed the subject: “The ingredients are ready, and the fire is started. You can start grilling anytime. I’ll get you some drinks.”

As soon as he left, Xiaxia grabbed Xie Huai: “Brother Huai, I know you’re eager to make money, but you can’t rent this place…”

Xie Huai took the marinated meat from the owner, brushed peanut oil on the iron rack, and put pork belly and enoki mushrooms on to grill.

The charcoal was burning well, and the aroma wafted out almost instantly.

Xiaxia swallowed and whispered in his ear: “Tomorrow’s the weekend, and there’s not a single person here. Even though the owner says it’s usually busy, I feel like he’s trying to deceive you. He must not be making any money and wants to get rid of it quickly. You’ll lose money if you rent it, you hear me?”

Xie Huai grilled the meat and put it on her plate.

Xiaxia ate while talking, her mouth full but still trying to speak. Xie Huai stuffed another piece of meat in to completely stop her: “Are you done talking?”

“I’m saying this for your good!” Xiaxia waved her chopsticks, “Don’t think I’m being annoying, that owner looks so shrewd, he’s definitely not a good person…”

“It’s not that there’s no one today,” Xie Huai said, “I reserved the entire place, Brother Huai reserved it just for you, understand?”

Xiaxia: “…”

Her first thought wasn’t gratitude, wasn’t joy, nor was it to ask Xie Huai why he reserved the whole place.

Having lived half her life in poverty and never experiencing such treatment, Xiaxia didn’t even have time to be surprised. Her face turned pale as she carefully asked: “How much was it? Can we get a refund?”

Xie Huai: “…”

“No refunds,” he emphasized, “I reserved this for you, it’s just the two of us here, understand?”

Xiaxia was nearly in tears: “I get it, it must have been very expensive…”

Xie Huai: “…It was okay.”

“Why reserve the whole place for no reason?” Xiaxia chewed her meat, converting it into the cost of renting this place for one night, feeling heartbroken.

Xie Huai looked at her: “Did you forget what day it is?”

Xiaxia looked confused: “What day?”

Xie Huai completely gave up trying to communicate with her, his voice somewhat weak: “Your birthday.”

“My birthday isn’t today…” Xiaxia stopped mid-sentence, remembering something.

She was from the North, where people typically celebrated lunar calendar birthdays. She had barely celebrated her birthday growing up, with the only exception being that year in the countryside when Wu Li bought her a cake and was beaten badly by Xia Jun. She bit off half of Xia Jun’s ear, and after that, she never celebrated her birthday again.

Her only recognition of her birthday was the Gregorian date on her ID card.

Xie Huai put down his chopsticks.

“I originally wanted to invite your friends to come to play, thinking it would be more lively with more people, but then I changed my mind,” Xie Huai pouted, “You only have one birthday a year, why should I let others distract your attention? I thought for a long time about what to give you, but buying flowers or gifts seemed too ordinary.”

He honestly said: “I considered renting an entire amusement park, but I didn’t have enough money.”

“Although this place isn’t as romantic as an amusement park, it’s quite meaningful. Take a better look around, you might end up being the owner’s wife here someday.”

“That’s the non-ordinary gift,” Xie Huai walked into a nearby wooden cabin and brought out a box, “Here’s the ordinary gift.”

He opened the box: “I asked Zhu Ziyu what you liked, and she said you ran out of skincare products and haven’t bought new ones.”

“You like this brand? Zhu Ziyu said you’ve been using it for two years in college, so I bought you a box. Now you won’t have to worry about running out of skincare products.”

Xie Huai wore a gentle smile as he opened the box.

Xiaxia stared blankly at the box, which contained forty neatly arranged jars of Yumei Face Cream.