In front of Quanxue Hall, a group of people were excitedly discussing plans for an evening celebration. Wen Tingli, thinking of telling her father and Xiao Taozi the good news of her admission, could only say: “I can’t go out and play with you all tonight. I have to get back to the hospital first.”

“It’s almost four o’clock already—at least stay and have dinner with everyone before you go. Also, have you decided whether you’re going for education or economics?”

“Let’s discuss it slowly at Zhao Qingluo’s place tomorrow.”

Just then Director Zheng from the arts department happened to pass by, and seeing a group of students idling around together, put her hands on her hips and said: “I’m short-handed right now—come help move this stuff to the auditorium.”

The girls swarmed over laughing. Following the school’s yearly tradition, once scores came out, a grand graduation ceremony would follow shortly after, and the arts department was in charge of organizing it.

At the auditorium, everyone worked and joked around together, their crisp laughter occasionally drifting outside.

Before long, Gao Xiaowen arrived too. She usually traveled about with great fanfare, restraining herself only at school, but today, having likely just received her graduation transcript, she’d thrown caution to the wind, strutting in ahead like a showy peacock, a driver trailing behind her carrying a box of pastries.

The moment she arrived, she handed out pastries and soda to everyone, then plopped herself down on a supply crate. Spotting Wen Tingli in the crowd, she hopped down and pulled her aside: “I need to talk to you about something.”

She said with a mischievous grin: “My eldest brother was furious this morning—know why? All because of the beauty pageant business.”

It turned out that Gao Tingxin, in order to build momentum for Yifeilin’s opening, had put in a great deal of effort beforehand—not only treating several newspaper publishers to dinner, but also handing out red envelopes to a few influential big-name reporters. Yet after just one day of buzz, an out-of-nowhere Wen Tingli had stolen all the attention. That morning, when Gao Tingxin went to discuss business at his family’s money shop, he found several of his own managers huddled around reading the papers with great interest, even talking about bringing their wives and kids to check out Xinxin’s excitement.

“My brother threw a fit at those managers. This morning he called Meng Qiguang over to discuss countermeasures—guess what Meng Qiguang said? He said he’d watched your performance that night, and he’d already predicted your limelight would be stolen right then and there, because you really did perform well.”

Wen Tingli had thought Meng Qiguang had only stopped by that night on a whim, never expecting he’d actually watched her whole performance in earnest.

“My brother said at this rate, the public would only remember Xinxin Department Store’s recent buzz, and forget entirely that a fancier new Yifeilin Department Store had just opened on Xiafei Road. Once the opening goes badly, all the business afterward will run into a string of problems too. He kept pressing Meng Qiguang for a solution, but Meng Qiguang said he had no idea what to do, and my brother accused him of favoring outsiders and harboring ulterior motives.”

At this point, Gao Xiaowen glanced sidelong at Wen Tingli. “My brother, pestered beyond his patience, finally said there was a ready-made solution to break the deadlock—that Miss Zhu Zihe he’d originally been so keen on. But whether he’d actually use her would still depend on my brother himself. He also said just as Xinxin was relying on its own contestant Wen Tingli to save the day, if Yifeilin wanted to win back attention, it’d have to rely on its own contestant too. Only after hearing this from Meng Qiguang did my brother think to call Zhu Zihe.”

Wen Tingli asked warily: “So what exactly did your brother tell Miss Zhu?”

“No idea.” Gao Xiaowen shrugged. “He’s already marked me as a spy and sent me away ahead of time. But I’d guess it has something to do with Lu Shicheng. Everyone knows Lu Shicheng is on close terms with our principal, and the principal is quite fond of Zhu Zihe. If I were Zhu Zihe, I’d definitely find a way to get Lu Shicheng to come watch the finals. Attending the finals is nothing much to Lu Shicheng, but to my brother it means something entirely different—if Lu Shicheng agrees to go, my brother would dare to widely publicize that Yifeilin is about to partner with the Lu family. Then even if not many customers show up at Yifeilin that night, the businesses interested in partnering won’t get poached away either.”

Just as she was speaking, they saw a group of classmates walking toward the auditorium.

“Miss Zhu Zihe is even prettier in person than in the papers. Don’t you all think she and Young Mr. Lu look great sitting face to face like that?”

“Shh, don’t talk nonsense.”

“What’s wrong with that? Even the principal herself seems to have that idea a bit—she just said Miss Zhu had something to show Young Mr. Lu, and specifically asked him to come by her house tonight.”

Wen Tingli listened with pricked ears, unable to help asking: “You all saw Miss Zhu Zihe?”

“She was in the principal’s office.”

“Was Young Mr. Lu there too?”

“Yes.” Several of them turned and pointed off in the distance. “But they’ve already left.”

Wen Tingli stood on tiptoe to look off into the distance. Gao Xiaowen nudged Wen Tingli’s arm meaningfully: “What did I tell you—speak of the devil.”

She added with a laugh: “This Zhu Zihe, I really didn’t misjudge her—I just love this kind of girl, sharp-minded and capable in action.”

Just then, Director Zheng called out from inside for everyone to come help. By the time everyone finished their work, Gao Xiaowen said she’d treat Director Zheng and the classmates present to dinner at the restaurant across the street. When the group came out, Yan Zhenzhen and Zhao Qingluo went looking for Wen Tingli everywhere but couldn’t find her anywhere.

Wen Tingli rushed back to Cixin Hospital in a hurry, stopping specially at the entrance to buy a basket of fruit before going in.

The moment she reached the corridor, she heard her father’s weak, hollow coughing, accompanied by an eerie wheezing sound—even in the sweltering summer heat, it carried a chilling, deathly air.

Usually, hearing that sickly sound would always make Wen Tingli’s heart sink, but this time she felt confident enough to free up a hand and pull out that transcript from her book bag.

Her father’s condition had been up and down lately, and her mood had risen and fallen along with it, but whenever his condition worsened to a certain point, it would miraculously improve again. Dr. Thompson found this puzzling, but Wen Tingli knew exactly what her father was holding on for. Today, having gotten her transcript, a thought struck her: if her father learned how well she’d done, perhaps his health would completely turn around.

She stepped into the ward, beaming.

“I’m back!”

Head Nurse Liu was instructing a young nurse on patting Wen Desheng’s back for him. Turning to see Wen Tingli’s beaming face, she smiled too: “What’s got you so happy?”

An hour later, Wen Desheng’s spirits had greatly improved—he even ate half a bowl of congee on his own initiative, and half-reclining against his pillow, discussed with Wen Tingli plans to go back to Nanjing to report the good news to the family ancestors.

Wen Tingli busied herself peeling an orange for her little sister while replying to her father: “Let’s do as you say—Zhou Sao stays in Shanghai to look after things, and you and I take Xiao Taozi on the train. Should we go buy tickets now? Oh come now, no matter how eager we are, we’ll have to wait until you can leave the hospital first. Just focus on recovering for now—once you’re well, forget Nanjing, I’ll take you all around Beiping too.”

“Xiao Taozi wants to go too!” Xiao Taozi tilted up her round head.

Wen Tingli tapped Xiao Taozi’s nose lightly: “I hear the candied haws in Beiping are delicious. How many skewers is our Xiao Taozi planning to eat once we get there?”

Xiao Taozi spread out five fingers, counted, decided it wasn’t enough, and hastily spread out her other hand too.

Wen Tingli giggled, and Wen Desheng watched all this from his pillow with a smile, his gaunt face, brimming with tenderness and hope, looking far brighter than usual.

When Dr. Thompson came by on his rounds, he seemed somewhat surprised, and told Wen Tingli and Head Nurse Liu outside: “The patient’s spirits are clearly very good. If this continues to improve, there might even be hope for a full recovery.”

Buoyed by these words, Wen Tingli felt energized through and through. Later, once her father had fallen asleep, she dug a qipao out of her clothing trunk and went to the women’s restroom to freshen up.

Zhou Sao came by carrying a washbasin to empty it, and seeing Wen Tingli busy at the mirror, asked in surprise: “Going out? Not eating with us?”

“I’m going to a classmate’s house. Don’t worry, I’ll definitely be back before eight-thirty.”

She tied a red velvet bow at the end of her hair, paired with a pale white qipao—looking fresh and elegant.

Just as she was checking herself over in the mirror, she accidentally met Zhou Sao’s puzzled gaze in the reflection, and hastily fled the washroom. Seeing it wasn’t too late yet, she simply hailed a rickshaw, and before getting in, bought another basket of fruit by the roadside.

Upon arriving at her destination, Wen Tingli didn’t rush to get out of the rickshaw, only leaning forward to look down the path in front of the house—one glance, and she spotted Lu Shicheng’s car. She hastily told the puller: “Sir, please stop here.”

After getting off, she carefully looked around while carrying the flower basket. Principal Zou’s front door was very quiet, the front yard planted full of tuberoses and Chinese roses. She walked straight up the steps, the rich fragrance of flowers drifting toward her on the evening breeze. She paused at the door, took a deep breath, and reached up to press the doorbell.

“All the photos are here.” Zhu Zihe handed an old photo album to Lu Shicheng.

Zou Zhiping pointed at one of the photos for Lu Shicheng: “This was taken when the three of us first started school. Your mother was only fifteen then—the most mischievous student in the whole school. You not only look like your mother, but your temperament resembles hers too.”

Zhu Zihe showed a look of astonishment. Zou Zhiping sighed wistfully: “You wouldn’t know it, seeing how quiet Shicheng is now, but as a child he wasn’t just mischievous—he was quite good at coaxing people too.”

She recalled an amusing story her late friend Xi Yue had once told her.

Once, Xi Yue was upset about something, and it happened that little Shicheng had just learned a small magic trick. Coming back into the room and seeing his mother unhappy, he pointed behind her in his babyish voice and said, “Mama, what’s that behind you?”

Xi Yue turned to look, and there was nothing there at all—she just assumed her son was being mischievous, but when she turned back, there was suddenly a flower in front of her. The child looked at his mother with utter sincerity and said, “Mama, you’re as pretty as this flower.”

Only four and a half years old, and already this good at coaxing people—Xi Yue, mentioning this story to her afterward, had positively glowed with joy the whole time she spoke of it.

Recalling this, Zou Zhiping felt a pang of sorrow in her heart, worried Lu Shicheng might feel sad hearing it, and hastily changed the subject: “Zihe, you’ve done a wonderful thing here—these photos mean a great deal to Shicheng.”

Lu Shicheng gazed silently at the photo of his mother in the album.

Zhu Zihe said with feeling: “Honestly, I was surprised myself that my mother kept these photos so completely intact. She always says Auntie Zou and Auntie Xi Yue were the best friends of her life—so this part of her memories must be precious to my mother too. I’m merely returning, on her behalf, the part of these precious memories that belongs to Mr. Lu.”

Zou Zhiping nodded approvingly: “You always know just the right thing to say, dear. Shicheng, are you listening? You and Zihe are truly family friends in the truest sense. These past few days you’ve been too busy for me to trouble you, but for this coming week I’ll be busy with graduation ceremony matters—you take my place and show Zihe a good time around Shanghai. Also, her beauty pageant right now desperately needs the support of friends—if you have time, do go and show your support.”

Zhu Zihe hooked her arm around Zou Zhiping’s neck, acting coquettish: “Don’t fuss over me like that—the competition depends on my own ability. I don’t need friends to come cheer me on for that. But Mr. Lu, this afternoon I saw the proposal you put forward for that women’s night school plan, and I found it very inspiring. As it happens, I’ve run into a bit of a personnel issue managing the art museum—I have a few questions I’d like to ask your advice on, if you can spare the time?”

Zhu Zihe lowered her eyes, waiting expectantly—she assumed this was practically a sure thing. But unexpectedly, Lu Shicheng thought it over, then made as if to take out his pen from his coat pocket. A flicker crossed Zhu Zihe’s smiling eyes—if he meant to agree to stay for dinner, all he’d need to do was nod; why would he need to write anything to explain that? Just then, the doorbell suddenly rang at the front door. Zou Zhiping glanced at the Western wall clock and stood to answer it: “At this hour… who could it be?”

Before long, a voice was heard outside: “Principal Zou.”

That voice was crisp and sweet, and strangely familiar.

Lu Shicheng immediately looked up toward the door.

“Wen Tingli?” Principal Zou’s voice was full of delighted surprise. “Come in, quickly.”

“I’m here to return something,” Wen Tingli explained her reason for coming, generous and forthright. “These past few days I’ve been busy with my summer job and haven’t had the chance to visit you. Besides that, my scores came out today, and I wanted to ask your advice on which subject to major in. I didn’t send word ahead of coming—I hope you don’t mind.”

Soon, brisk footsteps sounded in the entryway, and Wen Tingli entered the room, led by Principal Zou.

Coming into the room and seeing Lu Shicheng, Wen Tingli was clearly taken aback: “Mr. Lu.”

Her surprised expression was almost seamless.

“Seems I’ve come at an inconvenient time—maybe I should—”

“Just sit, don’t mind it. Shicheng and Zihe are both easy company.” Zou Zhiping gestured toward the sofa. “I’m curious how you did, and about that comic sketch of yours too—oh, just thinking about it makes me laugh. Have you eaten yet?”

Wen Tingli looked abashed: “I—”

“Guess that’s a no.” Principal Zou suspected nothing. “Sister Liu, set another place, please.”

Wen Tingli thus “naturally” joined the dinner party. Lu Shicheng pretended not to have noticed anything, calmly lifting his water glass to take a sip. Just then, Zhu Zihe reminded Auntie Zou: “Mr. Lu doesn’t seem to be staying for dinner.”

“Shicheng? Are you leaving?” Zou Zhiping looked toward Lu Shicheng’s hand, at the unfinished writing beside it.

As Lu Shicheng had expected, Wen Tingli immediately turned her head that way—so intently focused that she even forgot she was in the middle of exchanging pleasantries with Zhu Zihe.

The room fell quiet just like that.

Lu Shicheng made a show of picking up the pen and writing a line.

【Tonight I’d like to have the steamed ribs with rice flour that you make yourself, Auntie—if it’s not too much trouble.】

Zou Zhiping laughed heartily: “So you’re placing an order with me after all. What trouble is that? I’ll go get started in the kitchen right away. You all chat for a bit—the food will be ready soon.”

Once Principal Zou had left, none of the three in the sitting room spoke up.

Needless to say for Lu Shicheng, but even the usually chatty Wen Tingli was unusually quiet.

Zhu Zihe sat composed and still, unwilling to rush into conversation before figuring out the other’s intentions.

Suddenly Principal Zou called from the kitchen: “Shicheng, come help me pick a scallion from the garden.”

Lu Shicheng stood, opened the back door, and went out; when he returned, he had a few bright green scallions in hand.

Zhu Zihe watched, dumbfounded, as Lu Shicheng carried the scallions to the kitchen, then heard Principal Zou say inside: “My water spinach is dying off—I’ve been too busy lately to tend it… good, why don’t you go pick off the bugs for me outside.”

Not long after Lu Shicheng left, Principal Zou called out from the kitchen again: “Zihe, we’re out of soy sauce. There’s a sauce shop across the street—go fetch a bottle, would you?”

Wen Tingli spoke up quickly: “I’ll go.”

With that, only Zhu Zihe was left in the sitting room.

Zhu Zihe looked out the window, then toward the kitchen. Earlier, whenever she’d met Lu Shicheng, there had always been a crowd of people around him, but now, Lu Shicheng was alone by the vegetable patch.

If she wanted to accomplish her mission smoothly, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The thought struck, and she resolutely refilled a glass of water for Lu Shicheng, resolutely pushed open the tall glass door, and resolutely walked down the path toward the vegetable patch.

Reaching the far end of the back garden, she immediately spotted Lu Shicheng’s silhouette—sleeves rolled up, pulling weeds in the dirt.

Her heart couldn’t help but beat a little faster.

Lu Shicheng clearly heard her footsteps, but didn’t turn around.

Only once she’d walked up and stopped behind him did he brush the dirt from his hands and stand.

In that instant, an odd feeling rose in Zhu Zihe’s heart—this man didn’t seem to mind her coming to find him, didn’t seem to mind her striking up conversation with him either; he even seemed to be expecting her arrival. It was a very subtle feeling, impossible to put into words.

Buoyed by this silent encouragement, she spoke up with a smile: “It’s hot out—have some water.”

The moment she spoke, Lu Shicheng suddenly turned to look at her.

Seeing it was her, his expression turned instantly complex—first surprise, then unmistakable disappointment.

Zhu Zihe froze, but Lu Shicheng quickly composed himself again, took the glass with a neutral expression, but didn’t drink from it.

Zhu Zihe’s thoughts were still caught on that flash of disappointment, but she soon smiled again, pointing at the vegetable patch before them: “Do you often help Auntie Zou tend her garden?”

Before she’d even finished speaking, footsteps sounded again on the path behind them, hurried, almost running into the garden.

Lu Shicheng and Zhu Zihe both turned to look at the same time.

Zhu Zihe wasn’t at all surprised that Wen Tingli would come find them here—she was only surprised at how fast she’d made it. From the Zou residence to the sauce shop and back would take at least seven or eight minutes round trip—Wen Tingli’s speed seemed practically like flying.

Zhu Zihe instinctively turned to glance at Lu Shicheng beside her—he was watching Wen Tingli come running, without blinking once.

The moment she saw the two of them, Wen Tingli deliberately slowed to a casual pace.

“Miss Zhu, Mr. Lu, what a coincidence. It was a bit stuffy inside, so I came out for a walk. Wow, Principal Zou grows so many vegetables.”

As she spoke, she walked closer to the vegetable patch, and just as she passed by Lu Shicheng, her body suddenly swayed—she reached out hastily to grab something, and by accident caught hold of Lu Shicheng’s arm.

And, as luck would have it, she also knocked into the glass in Lu Shicheng’s hand.

With a “clatter,” the glass fell to the muddy ground, the water inside spilling out all at once.

Off balance, Wen Tingli’s body kept pitching forward, about to fall flat on her face, when Lu Shicheng reached out and caught her arm, steadying her.

Zhu Zihe watched this whole scene, stunned.

If she hadn’t seen wrong, when Wen Tingli suddenly stumbled, there hadn’t been a trace of surprise on Lu Shicheng’s face.

As if he’d anticipated she would pull exactly this move.

Even with water splashed on him, he only remained perfectly composed.

Wen Tingli, looking as though still shaken, managed to steady herself in front of Lu Shicheng: “Thank you.”

Looking down and seeing the water stains on Lu Shicheng’s clothes, she hastily added: “I’m so sorry. Mr. Lu, if you don’t mind, why don’t you wipe it off with my handkerchief first?”

The vexation on Wen Tingli’s face looked so genuine, as if she really had done it by accident. As she spoke, she pulled out a handkerchief to help wipe Lu Shicheng off, but just then, Principal Zou’s voice came from the front of the house: “Children, come in and eat.”

Zhu Zihe seized the moment: “Why don’t we tidy up back inside?”

Nevertheless, Lu Shicheng still took the handkerchief from Wen Tingli’s hand and began wiping his own clothes.

Zhu Zihe, watching this whole sequence of actions between the two of them, suddenly understood what Lu Shicheng’s earlier expression had meant.

It was the posture of a hunter.

He’d been waiting for someone’s arrival, or rather, anticipating something happening.

Or perhaps, Lu Shicheng himself wasn’t even entirely sure what he was waiting for.

But it was clear that she wasn’t the person he’d been expecting to see, because the moment he’d seen her, that elusive yet undeniably captivating aura around him had vanished at once.

And now, in front of Wen Tingli, that curious magnetism of his had returned.

Lu Shicheng casually wiped off some of the water on himself, then handed the handkerchief back to Wen Tingli.

Wen Tingli naturally tilted her head up at him and said: “If there’s still a stain once it dries, I’ll wash it thoroughly for you, Mr. Lu.”

Lu Shicheng eyed her.

“I mean it,” Wen Tingli said quickly. “Mr. Lu, don’t forget my family used to run a Western tailoring shop—I know how to wash things properly.”

Lu Shicheng glanced at her again, then walked ahead first, Wen Tingli hurrying to catch up, holding the handkerchief out again as she went: “Your sleeve’s still wet, Mr. Lu, wipe it some more.”

Lu Shicheng took her handkerchief again and wiped with it.

The way the two of them interacted with each other was so natural…

For the most part, Wen Tingli enjoyed this meal very much.

The atmosphere at Principal Zou’s house was thoroughly relaxed—jokes could be made freely, food could be eaten as one pleased, requests could be made without reserve. It made her feel less like a guest at an elder’s house and more like she was hanging out at some warm, welcoming peer’s home.

After dinner, while helping Principal Zou cut watermelon, Principal Zou brought up the earlier topic again: “It’s rare for Zihe to visit—these next few days, take her around to see the sights. Don’t limit it to Shanghai proper either—take her to Suzhou, Yangzhou, and places like that too. You have both the people and the car on hand, so you’ll manage the arrangements better than I could.”

Wen Tingli nearly dropped the watermelon she was holding.

Everyone turned to look at her at once.

“It’s nothing.” Wen Tingli laughed it off. “My hand just slipped a bit.”

Inside, though, she was in despair—she was completely out of options now. If Lu Shicheng agreed to Principal Zou’s request, she’d have no way to insert herself into things anymore—she couldn’t very well tag along behind Lu Shicheng and Zhu Zihe every single day.

Zhu Zihe’s expression showed she had no objection to this proposal at all, and Lu Shicheng didn’t seem particularly resistant to Principal Zou’s suggestion either.

Her heart hung suspended in midair, her hands absently fiddling with the round watermelon, but she still couldn’t manage to cut off a single slice.

In her anxious state, she saw Lu Shicheng write a line on paper and hand it to Principal Zou.

【I really can’t spare the time these days. I’ll have Old Kuang arrange a few people to accompany Miss Zhu—he knows the customs and geography of several places well, and communication won’t be a problem either. With him accompanying her, I can guarantee Miss Zhu will have a thoroughly enjoyable time.】

Zou Zhiping shook her head with a wry smile: “Very well, we’ll do as you say then.”

Only then did Wen Tingli quietly breathe a sigh of relief.

After sitting a while longer, Lu Shicheng took his leave in due course.

Wen Tingli hastily followed to say her goodbyes too.

Outside, it was already pitch dark, the streetlamp on the corner not enough to illuminate the path underfoot. Lu Shicheng walked ahead, Wen Tingli behind. Aside from the occasional summer insect chirping from among the flowers, the whole world seemed to hold only the sound of their two sets of footsteps.

Wen Tingli looked down at the shadow ahead of her, then looked up happily to take in the surrounding scenery—it was a wonderful night. There was a certain gentle stillness in the air; ordinarily she was most afraid of walking alone at night, but tonight this stretch of road felt very safe. As she walked, the tall silhouette ahead of her came to a stop.

Lu Shicheng suddenly stopped and turned to look at her.

Wen Tingli cleared her throat nervously, smiling sweetly at him: “Do you have something to say to me, Mr. Lu?”