Cheng Wanyue wasn’t the type to hide things. If she had established a romantic relationship with someone, she would definitely bring him to meet Cheng Yanqing formally. Winning him over meant winning over eighty percent of her family.

So the current situation could at most be considered an ambiguous relationship.

“Sending WeChat messages so early in the morning, quite clingy, isn’t he? Younger than you?”

Qing Hang’s birthday was November 7th, the day of the Beginning of Winter solar term. Both Cheng Wanyue and Cheng Yanqing were born on July 18th, but Qing Hang was born a year earlier.

Cheng Wanyue put away her phone. “Slightly older.”

Cheng Yanqing hadn’t initially taken it too seriously. A slightly older guy might be more mature. But somehow, he suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

In recent years, Cheng Wanyue had been too obedient. After the college entrance exam, she hadn’t come to Beijing or gone to Nanjing, but had stayed dutifully by her parents’ side, attending a very ordinary school.

Far from the emperor’s reach—her parents couldn’t watch over her, and she could easily go through a second rebellious phase.

“How much is ‘slightly’?” Cheng Yanqing looked at her with a complex expression. “Don’t tell me your ‘slightly’ starts at ten years.”

Cheng Wanyue waggled one finger. “You’re still too conservative. Be bolder, try to guess higher.”

Cheng Yanqing immediately realized she was joking. “You wouldn’t dare, or I’ll break your legs!”

He would be staying in Beijing for another half year and would eventually meet Qing Hang. Although they’d been out of touch for a long time and things felt somewhat unfamiliar, there wasn’t any major rift between them. After all, they had spent almost every day together during those three years of high school.

Cheng Wanyue knew that over the years, besides repaying his debt, Qing Hang would also regularly call Cheng Guo’an and extend the appropriate greetings during holidays and festivals.

She remembered one Spring Festival when their entire family was celebrating in Nanjing. Qing Hang had followed his advisor to Nanjing for an academic conference and had visited Cheng Yuzhou’s home to pay his New Year respects to Cheng Guo’an. But she hadn’t been home that day. She couldn’t remember exactly what she had gone out to do, but she had missed him.

Spring was almost over when she finally heard about this from Cheng Guo’an.

That day, Qing Hang had stayed for lunch and chatted a lot with the Cheng family. He remembered that Cheng Guo’an suffered from migraines, that Yang Huimin had stomach problems, that Grandma Cheng had rheumatism and the rainy, damp, cold winters were difficult for her. He even remembered which sports star Cheng Yanqing liked. But he hadn’t asked about her at all.

Not a single word.

Just like when he left Baicheng, he had said goodbye to everyone except her.

Cheng Guo’an had even sighed about how they used to be inseparable, but as they grew up, relationships faded, and with everyone scattered across the country, it was hard to gather together again.

…

Monday morning, Cheng Yanqing went to the airport with a suitcase full of his girlfriend’s favorite foods. He would be gone for about a week.

Which meant Cheng Wanyue would be living alone for a week.

Besides playing in the band, she had other work as well, occasionally taking photos for magazines and studios. Last night, a photographer she regularly collaborated with had contacted her to schedule a September shoot for the cover and several insert images for a youth magazine. This kind of job usually took only two or three days to complete.

Her Weibo account had about seventy or eighty thousand followers. She usually just posted photos or videos of herself playing drums on the street, occasionally singing. Since coming to Beijing, she had only posted once after getting off the plane.

On her way to the hospital for her follow-up visit, she changed her Weibo profile picture to the black moon image that Qing Hang used for his WeChat avatar.

It was the same doctor as last time. Cheng Wanyue casually asked which floor the neurosurgery department was on, and the doctor directly told her which office in the inpatient building Qing Hang was in.

The appointment had been made by Qing Hang, and he had also brought her here last time.

Not surprising.

Cheng Wanyue had just stepped out of the elevator when she saw Qing Hang. He was signing something at the nurses’ station, wearing a white coat and glasses, his profile looking somewhat cold. She didn’t approach him but sat down on a chair in the hallway.

Qing Hang was instructing the nurse about patient precautions. As he was speaking, he felt a gaze with a strong presence.

He turned his head to look.

Despite the many people coming and going in the hallway, he could spot her at a glance. She neither avoided nor dodged his gaze, but instead smiled at him.

Qing Hang maintained his composure and continued discussing details with the nurse. Cheng Wanyue just watched him like this—his eyes, nose bridge, lips, chin, Adam’s apple, hands. The white coat suited him well.

After waiting for about ten minutes, he finally walked in her direction.

“I thought you weren’t free?”

“I wasn’t free,” Cheng Wanyue looked up with a smile. “But after careful consideration, I decided that health is more important. Other matters can wait.”

“What did the doctor say?”

“I couldn’t understand. If you want to know, go ask him yourself.”

Qing Hang was all too familiar with her little games. The mark on her lip was still faintly visible. Even without looking at her, he would think of what happened that night.

“Why did you repeat the year?”

Her Moments were full of pictures of her family, without a single photo from campus.

“Because I missed the enrollment date due to something, so I just took a break. After resting for a few years, I missed school, so I took the exam again,” Cheng Wanyue summarized those years very simply in just a few sentences. She stood up. “I still owe you a meal, but not today. Next time.”

“I’ll see you downstairs.”

“Is that alright?”

“It’s almost the end of my shift.”

During the brief wait for the elevator, patients and their families greeted Qing Hang. Cheng Wanyue had always known he could excel at whatever he did. Even at a high school in a remote county town, students from the city couldn’t outperform him.

He had tutored her for three years. By all logic, if she didn’t have intellectual issues, her academic performance should have improved at least somewhat, but it hadn’t.

During each tutoring session, she would start listening but her mind would soon wander.

Later, when she transferred to the city for her repeated year, without familiar friends around and without him patiently explaining key points over and over, she actually studied seriously. Just like when she moved from middle school to high school, she barely passed the college entrance exam.

…

Cheng Wanyue only sang one song tonight, spending the rest of her time sitting behind the drums. She finished work at nine as usual.

Zhou Heng needed to catch an 11 PM high-speed train. Since he couldn’t sleep at home anyway, he came to eat and listen to music. When Cheng Wanyue put away her drumsticks, he stood up, intending to see her home.

Meng Qi had met Cheng Yanqing. On Cheng Wanyue’s first day at work, Cheng Yanqing had prepared a surprise for her after her shift. They were fraternal twins and didn’t look alike. When Cheng Wanyue had immediately jumped on him, Meng Qi thought they were a couple, only learning later that he was her brother. Even a boyfriend might not be so attentive.

Cheng Wanyue had gone to the restroom, and Meng Qi, looking at Zhou Heng, suddenly felt he had no chance, even though he hadn’t yet begun pursuing her.

Meng Qi said, “Wanyue is so lucky. Having one brother is enviable enough, but she has two. I’ve only met Cheng Yanqing, but with him as the benchmark, the other one must be just as good.”

Zhou Heng hadn’t known Cheng Wanyue for long and didn’t know much about her. “Doesn’t she just have a twin brother? Or are they triplets?”

“The other one is her second uncle’s son, two months older than her and Cheng Yanqing. The siblings are all very close,” Meng Qi had a poor relationship with her parents and envied Cheng Wanyue’s family environment. “Girls like romance and a sense of ceremony. Her family has already given her that. A girl like her won’t easily be swayed by just a little bit of love.”

Zhou Heng caught her implication. “What do you mean by ‘swayed’? What do you mean by ‘a little bit’? I genuinely like her. Every time I’m with her, even if we just chat briefly, I feel younger, both mentally and physically, like I’m back in my student days.”

Meng Qi gave him a disdainful glance. “Stop being so self-indulgent. I advise you to give up, while you’re not in too deep. Cut your losses. Consider Xu Qian instead—you two have known each other for so many years.”

“Xu Qian and I have a purely platonic friendship. That’s impossible. Sis, help me set up a date with Wanyue.”

“Ask her yourself.”

“She won’t agree if I ask.”

“Isn’t that clear enough? Does she need to spell it out for you?”

Zhou Heng said, “I can’t give up without trying.”

Meng Qi sighed. When Cheng Wanyue approached, she asked naturally, “Wanyue, the temperature next week won’t be too high. How about we find half a day to go barbecuing?”

“Sure.”

“Zhou Heng has nothing to do. Let him take you home.”

“No need. The route home is quite safe. It would be terrible if he missed his train,” Cheng Wanyue picked up her bag. “Qi-jie, I’m leaving now.”

“Bye,” Meng Qi looked at Zhou Heng and shrugged helplessly.

Cheng Wanyue wanted to buy a late-night snack. Many small shops in the hutongs had the most authentic flavors.

It was only nine o’clock, not too late. After turning into a small alley, she became aware of footsteps behind her. She didn’t turn around but saw a shadow. The person was carrying a bottle and walked with an unsteady gait.

Cheng Wanyue kept walking while taking out her phone from her bag and dialing a number.

It connected quickly.

“Qing Hang…”

She had only called his name once, but he immediately heard that something was wrong. “What’s the matter?”

“Someone is following me. Seems like a drunk.”

“Don’t hang up. Turn on your location and head toward the main road,” Qing Hang’s expression changed, and he immediately went out. “I’ll be there soon.”

Cheng Wanyue heard the sound of a door closing. “Cheng Yanqing is out of the country. I’m afraid if this drunk follows me home, he’ll know where I live.”

“Find a well-lit place with many people and wait for me.”

“…Okay.”

Qing Hang didn’t wait for the elevator to slowly arrive; he ran down the stairs. “Keep talking. I’m listening.”

A drunk could do anything. Cheng Wanyue was genuinely a bit scared. She said many random things without any logic, not even knowing what she was saying herself.

Qing Hang was far from her, almost a forty-minute journey away.

Cheng Wanyue sat in a milk tea shop waiting for him. Turning her head, she saw him waiting for the traffic light across the street. She couldn’t make out his expression, only that he kept checking his phone. As soon as the red light ended, he quickly ran over.

Qing Hang hurriedly pushed open the glass door, startling the shop assistant.

He had no time to apologize and strode directly to Cheng Wanyue, asking breathlessly if she had been hurt by the drunk.

Cheng Wanyue shook her head, her gaze dropping to his feet.

He was still wearing slippers.