Throughout spring, Xie Huai was constantly on the move. Starting a construction formwork business from scratch meant dealing with numerous aspects – understanding market conditions, visiting factories, comparing prices, socializing, developing sales channels, negotiating contracts… He had to personally handle everything, sleeping only four to five hours daily.

Last year, a manufacturer of composite formwork approached Xu Dalong, hoping to use his distribution channels for long-term cooperation.

Xie Huai had urged Xu Dalong to consider their proposal, believing that recyclable eco-friendly materials would eventually replace traditional steel and wooden boards, pioneering a new green industry. However, Xu Dalong declined. Xie Huai had always felt this was a missed opportunity, so when he decided to start his business, this was his first choice.

Many factors contributed to Xie Zhisheng’s bankruptcy, but one of the most crucial reasons was that his steel mill had failed to adapt to changing trends.

In the era when Xie Zhisheng built his business, timber was scarce. Combined with the “steel replacing wood” policy encouragement, market demand for steel formwork accounted for three-quarters of the total share.

Xie Zhisheng had a deep emotional attachment to steel and stubbornly believed that traditional materials were more reliable. Even when he keenly noticed the market winds changing, he refused to alter his business model. As a result, the company had been unprofitable for several years before bankruptcy.

Xie Huai had witnessed everything during those years, from a wealthy childhood to teenage poverty. These experiences had matured him, making him resilient, perceptive to details, and bold in decision-making. These qualities enabled him to handle most difficulties, and he had one advantage over others – he wouldn’t repeat Xie Zhisheng’s mistakes.

Xie Huai’s initial capital consisted only of one million borrowed from Qiao Bo and four hundred thousand from selling the farm resort – not much for a businessman. Being young and inexperienced, large projects wouldn’t consider him, and small construction sites were reluctant to work with him. Several negotiations fell through because they worried about his lack of experience.

By late spring and early summer, Xie Huai’s progress remained stuck in developing sales channels.

He bought a used car for transportation, spending three hours daily commuting between home and factory. During the day, he ran around the workshop under the scorching sun, and at night, he dined and drank with contractors. After two months, his skin had darkened considerably.

Tonight’s drinking session had already lasted three hours. The contractor sitting across from him had previously done business with Xu Dalong, and Xie Huai had drunk with him several times.

The contractor surnamed Zhao, remembered Xie Huai and hadn’t thought long before giving him an address and time to meet after receiving his call.

When Xie Huai arrived, the private room was packed. His target sat in the main seat, surrounded by people whose faces were obscured by clouds of smoke, the room thick with choking tobacco smell.

Xie Huai placed two bottles of Maotai on the wine cabinet, greeted everyone, and sat down.

Someone exhaled smoke rings: “Manager Zhao, this young fellow looks unfamiliar.”

Zhao Jianze’s eyes peered through the swirling smoke, saying casually: “Little Xie. He used to work for Old Xu, now that Old Xu’s out of business, he’s come to me for work.”

The questioner laughed: “Manager Zhao won last week’s bid, everyone here is seeking your help. By rights, we should go in order of arrival – no favoritism allowed.”

Zhao Jianze gestured for Xie Huai to sit but didn’t mention the business he wanted to discuss.

Unable to gauge Xie Huai’s importance, they tested him with alcohol, seemingly coordinating to press drinks on him.

As soon as Xie Huai sat down, his glass was filled. He hadn’t discussed any business or eaten much food since entering, his stomach full of only alcohol.

Zhao Jianze had recently won a municipal construction project bid. Some guests came to congratulate him, others to seek favors. With Changping District’s new development, construction was everywhere. The profit from developing several buildings was substantial, and everyone wanted a piece, but the money wasn’t easy to earn.

Drunk, Zhao Jianze loosened his tie and leaned back to smoking, his eyes unfocused, smoke curling from his cigarette-holding fingers.

Meeting his gaze, Xie Huai stood to pour a drink: “Manager Zhao, about what we discussed on the phone…”

Everyone else was drunk senseless, leaving only the two of them lucid. Zhao Jianze waved him off: “Xie Huai, you want to do business with me, but do you know who I am?”

Ignoring Xie Huai’s raised glass: “Two months ago, you made my cousin stand in the wind all night at the bridge. When I heard your name, I couldn’t believe it. I remembered the young man beside Xu Dalong as mature, thorough, and skilled at price negotiations. Never expected such impulsiveness.”

Xie Huai quieted: “Manager Zhao called me here for something else?”

Zhao Jianze: “Young people’s hot tempers are understandable, but making someone sick went too far. If I overlooked the past and did business with you, I couldn’t face Jin Song. Besides, now that you know I’m Jin Song’s cousin, even if we sealed the deal, wouldn’t you have misgivings?”

Xie Huai set down his glass, expression indifferent. Zhao Jianze glanced at the empty bottles before him.

Half a bottle of white liquor, seven or eight beers.

After three hours of forced drinking, though not visibly drunk, Xie Huai’s eyes were becoming unfocused.

Zhao Jianze opened a bottle of red wine and pushed it toward Xie Huai: “Personal grudges aside, I admire you young man, otherwise, I wouldn’t have called you here today. Here’s the deal – finish this bottle, and I’ll forget the past completely. We can start fresh and discuss cooperation.”

Xie Huai didn’t move.

“Let me be blunt – you’re not the only one making composite material boards. There are many more experienced people with better connections. You’re just a rookie – without Xu Dalong’s reputation, why should I do business with you?”

“I have options, but you…” He smiled. “You need this opportunity, don’t you?”

Zhao Jianze swirled the wine bottle, sneering: “If you want to do business with me, Zhao Jianze, this is just earning the right to qualify.”

At three in the morning, the lights were dim.

Xie Huai collapsed on the sofa upon entering, his neck and shirt stained with red wine, his chest heaving from alcohol sickness.

He stared at the bright chandelier, his eyes showing both drunkenness and partial clarity. After a while, he covered his eyes to block the harsh light, his mind foggy.

It had been long since he’d drunk like this. The last time he was this drunk, Xia Xia had been there when Xu Dalong brought him home, wiping his face and helping him undress. Now he was alone, the room unspeakably empty.

He wanted to call Xia Xia but feared waking her, staring at her photo on his locked screen for a long time as if it could substitute for her presence.

His stomach burned like fire. He went to the bathroom and vomited violently into the toilet.

Whether Zhao Jianze’s drinks were meant for reconciliation or deliberate difficulty, he had drunk them all.

Zhao Jianze was right – in the past, he would have laughed it off, but now he wasn’t alone. He needed this opportunity. If one drinking session could secure a deal, he couldn’t walk away.

But until the end of the dinner, Zhao Jianze never mentioned business.

Though drunk, Xie Huai was almost certain Zhao Jianze had played him.

With a splitting headache, Xie Huai took hangover medicine and lay in bed, the cold sheets chilling his skin. He hugged a pillow, pretending it was Xia Xia, but it lacked her soft, smooth touch and soon became damp with his sweat. The half-drunk state was most torturous – Xie Huai drifted between sleep and wakefulness, suffering until dawn.

Under the blazing sun.

Spring cherry blossoms had fallen to mere remnants, while jacaranda trees bloomed overnight. Stray cats lazed in the sunny grass, sparrows hopped between tree trunks chirping, and students with textbooks and laptops hurried fresh-faced along various paths to classes or self-study.

The square before South University’s assembly hall was filled with company recruitment booths, graduating students crowding around collecting company profiles and forms.

Xia Xia had heard about today’s job fair last week. She woke early to skip class and blend in with the senior students, inquiring about salaries and requirements for desired positions.

The sun was exceptionally harsh. Though the job fair was outdoors, even wearing a hat couldn’t save Xia Xia from getting sunburned cheeks.

She spent the morning browsing half the booths, then sat on a bench at the square’s edge to review the materials she’d collected.

Many companies had positions for sociology majors, but fresh graduate salaries weren’t high – starting at 3,000, with possible raises only after six months. Intern wages were even lower at 2,000 monthly, less than what Xia Xia had earned as a tutor.

Several companies Xia Xia liked were recruiting interns. She struggled over which to apply to, carefully comparing their requirements and salary conditions.

The surroundings were almost motionless from heat, the air devoid of moisture or breeze. Even the sparrows had tired of hopping, slouching sickly in the tree shadows to cool off.

Sweating profusely and pained by the glaring light, Xia Xia raised a flyer to block the sun. Looking up, she saw Xie Huai watching her from across the path outside the library.

Xie Huai walked over: “Didn’t go to class this morning?”

Having drunk too much the night before, the alcohol smell lingered despite his morning shower. He’d slept until noon, looking unwell with bloodshot eyes.

Xia Xia caught the smell of alcohol and wrinkled her nose: “Have you been drinking?”

Xie Huai didn’t answer, instead snatching the recruitment materials from her hands and shaking them: “What’s this?”

Weakened from spending the morning under the scorching sun, Xia Xia said faintly: “Can’t you see what’s written on it? I…”

Xie Huai crumpled the recruitment materials and tossed them in the trash: “I told you to pursue graduate studies. Are you deaf? Coming to a job fair – are you trying to provoke me?”

Xia Xia had spent the whole morning collecting those papers, some with HR contact information, only to have Xie Huai throw them away. Angered, she stood up to retrieve them from the trash.

Xie Huai grabbed her arm. Xia Xia shook him off, her tone sharp with anger: “What if I don’t want to do graduate studies? Do I need to report everything to you? Must I follow your plans exactly? I can be responsible for my own life – can you stop being so patriarchal and controlling?”

“I’m patriarchal?” Xie Huai’s brows furrowed deeply, his voice turning cold. “Have I forced you to do things you don’t like? You enjoy studying and want to continue – if you have to give up what you like for our relationship’s stability, have you considered how that makes me feel?”

Xia Xia pressed her lips together as Xie Huai practically shouted at her.

“Do you know what society is like? Do you know how much disdain and humiliation you’ll face out there?”

“You have to listen when others speak, drink when they pour, swallow your pride, and smile like a servant, not daring to say no.”

“I told you to wait a few years until I can provide you a stable life – why don’t you believe me? You think I can’t do it, right?” Xie Huai’s expression was stern. “If I’m so useless that my woman can’t do what she likes and has to work to support the family, what kind of man am I?”

Xia Xia stared blankly: “Why are you yelling…”

Unaware of his harshness, Xie Huai’s mind was still clouded from last night’s humiliation by Zhao Jianze. Xia Xia’s repeated attempts to find work had struck his most sensitive nerve, causing his emotions to explode uncontrollably.

How many nights had Xia Xia snuggled beside him, excitedly sharing their plans for the future?

She had mentioned multiple times how she loved university life and studying. Xia Xia didn’t really want to work – she was trying to contribute to their future. Her reasoning stemmed from his failure to give her enough security, which wounded Xie Huai’s pride.

Last night drinking with Zhao Jianze, he’d lost count of how much he drank and how many times he vomited, only to be played for a fool despite his sincerity. Just thinking about Xia Xia potentially facing similar humiliation and bullying was unbearable.

“I’m not yelling.” Xie Huai took several deep breaths, bending to retrieve the papers he’d thrown away.

Suppressing his temper, his face cold as ice, he tossed the stack back into Xia Xia’s arms: “Go if you want. I won’t stop you.”

The April downpour arrived suddenly as if the morning’s stuffiness had been building to this moment. Earlier sunshine disappeared behind dark clouds, the air quickly saturating with moisture. Plant branches perked up, coolness spreading everywhere.

Xie Huai lay on the steps before the clock tower. As the rain intensified, he remained still, quietly letting it fall on him.

The clock tower stood straight, its aged brick walls showing clear cracks filled with sand, moss growing in the crevices under spring’s alternating sun and rain.

Water quickly pooled on the ground, splashing with each step. In the small pond below the clock tower, koi fish swam about blowing bubbles.

Xie Huai closed his eyes, feeling the large raindrops painfully strike his face yet remaining motionless. He tilted his face up, letting rain flow into his mouth and drip down his angular profile.

The world grew quiet, only the thunderous sound of rain in his ears.

In the dormitory.

Xia Xia sat at her desk, water dripping from her hair.

Zhao Shanqi had also been caught in the rain and was showering with the hot water on full blast, steam seeping through the bathroom door crack.

Xia Xia had returned late, being the last to shower.

When she went to shower, the hot water was gone. Cold water sprayed from the showerhead onto her exposed skin. She shivered, emerging wrapped in a towel with her hair even wetter, as if just pulled from the water, without a trace of warmth.

Zhu Ziyu dried her hair: “Let me get you some hot water from downstairs to wash your hair, or you’ll catch a cold.”

“No need.” Xia Xia’s voice was soft as she sat with a light blue towel on her head.

Her laptop on the desk was on standby, its black screen reflecting her pale, wet, bedraggled face like a pitiful drenched puppy.

The papers Xie Huai had retrieved from the trash sat in the corner of her desk, untouched. She couldn’t stop seeing his cold expression as he left.

The feeling was indescribable, its cause unclear – just a swelling sourness in her heart, both wronged and pained.

Xia Xia closed her laptop and tiredly laid her head on the desk.

Xie Huai emerged from his shower to see Xin Pu’s hesitant gaze.

“Brother Huai.” Xin Pu worried, “Breaking up isn’t a big deal – college relationships aren’t meant to last forever. Don’t harm yourself over it.”

Xie Huai looked at him questioningly. Xin Pu said: “I saw you at the clock tower earlier. The pose was cool, but with rain that heavy, you could’ve drowned.”

Xie Huai: “…”

Xin Pu was talkative – when Xie Huai didn’t respond, he continued chattering, then after a brief silence asked: “Did you and Xia Xia really break up?”

“No.” Xie Huai said coldly.

Drying his hair, he stared ahead darkly.

After a long silence, Xie Huai suddenly swept things off the desk corner, a package of instant noodles landing at Xin Pu’s feet.

“Damn it.” His pent-up frustration burst out, brows deeply furrowed. “Are all women this stubborn?”

“She said she wanted time apart and I agreed. I wanted to make things easier for her, wanted her to stop worrying so much. But what does she do? Nothing but pressure herself. Told her a thousand times to continue studying but she won’t listen – seems like she won’t be satisfied until she drives me crazy.”

Xie Huai asked: “Is Xia Xia trying to drive me crazy?”

Xin Pu fell silent, then couldn’t help saying: “Do you want to reconcile with Xia Xia? Just go if you want – it’s not shameful.”

“Am I her dog to come when called and leave when dismissed?” Xie Huai said impatiently. “She wants to break up, then breaks up, and I’m supposed to beg for reconciliation? Why should I?”

He raised his eyebrows arrogantly, speaking without thinking: “She wants to break up? Fine. I’ll never be tied down by a woman or bow to a woman. I’d rather die alone than make the first move – we can go our separate ways and pretend not to know each other-“

He picked up the dropped instant noodles, tearing them open and crunching loudly. As he chewed, he suddenly remembered the girl’s seemingly defiant but secretly reddened eyes after he’d yelled at her on the field. His burning anger instantly extinguished, not a spark remaining.

He cursed himself a thousand times internally.

Being hungover was no excuse – he’d brought his outside frustrations home and took them out on his loved one. It was his fault.

Xie Huai forced himself to calm down and opened his phone to send Xia Xia a message.

[I shouldn’t have lost my temper at you. I’m sorry.]

He gripped his phone, eyes never leaving the screen.

Thirty minutes passed – no reply from Xia Xia.

An hour passed – no reply from Xia Xia.

The class teacher posted a notice in the group chat; Xia Xia responded “Received.”

But two hours later, she still hadn’t replied to him.

Xin Pu returned from buying a drink at the supermarket, his shoe stepping on something smooth as he opened the door.

Looking down, he saw Xie Huai’s phone lying silently on the ground, its screen cracked.

Xie Huai sat quietly in his seat, head turned to watch the light rain outside, his expression gloomy.