Outside, the sun was blazing. Light streamed through a gap in the curtains, and Cheng Wanyue rubbed her eyes, saying she was a bit hungry.

Qing Hang found a clean set of clothes. Standing beside the bed, he helped her dress first.

“What are you planning to wear tonight?”

“Anything is fine. It’ll be dark, no one will see anyway.”

“Which shoes will you wear?”

“The ones from yesterday, they’re comfortable.”

Most of Cheng Wanyue’s shoes looked good but weren’t comfortable to wear. Usually, if she was going out and had to walk a lot, she would wear just a few pairs most often.

“The heels are too high. Standing for a long time will be tiring.”

“Then I’ll wear sandals.”

“There will be many people. Your shoes might be gone before you even squeeze through the crowd.”

“Should we buy some sneakers? But it’s so hot outside, I don’t want to go out.”

Qing Hang said, “I bought some. Let me bring them for you to try.”

Cheng Wanyue watched as Qing Hang went to the living room. Earlier, while he was showering, she had been busy finding a suitable vase for the hydrangeas and hadn’t noticed the two shoe boxes.

Her memories about sneakers weren’t particularly pleasant.

In the past, she had given many gifts to Qing Hang. Even when she casually tore a piece of paper from her notebook, scribbled a few words, and tossed it to him, he would keep it for a long time. The only thing he had refused to accept was that pair of shoes.

Sentiments had no distinction between precious and humble, but items did have price differences.

After being rejected, she had angrily thrown the shoes into a pile of rubbish. That day, as Qing Hang watched her walking away, he instinctively wanted to chase after her, but his grandfather suddenly experienced severe stomach pain. He couldn’t leave through that door and had no time to think about those shoes. Later, he went back to pick them up and clean them.

That day, he didn’t chase after her, and she never went looking for him again.

In their senior year of high school, they were in different classes. His chances of seeing her at school were slim, and she was always surrounded by many people. They didn’t speak for a month.

After the early admission exams ended, Qing Hang waited for her by the sports field several weekend afternoons, but she never acknowledged him, not even sparing him a glance. She continued to laugh and joke with different boys as usual.

A basketball hit the backboard and rolled to his feet.

That athletic boy had his arm draped over her shoulder, calling to him from a distance, asking him to throw the ball back.

With the basketball, she would continue to playfully struggle with the athletic boy over it, so Qing Hang didn’t throw the ball back, nor did he let others help.

He thought to himself: I’ll wait one last time.

On the other side of the court, the atmosphere was lively, with whistles and cheers rising and falling. The wind blew through the dense leaves, a small black dog was wagging its tail, and Building No. 3 was just opposite, but the sun was about to set.

The final wait still yielded no result, and the ping-pong paddle that had been hidden in his desk was also thrown into the trash can.

…

Qing Hang half-squatted by the bed, opening the shoe box.

Her toes curled slightly as he held her ankle, preventing her left foot from retracting.

“Put on socks first,” he said, lowering his head to kiss her calf. “This is my first time buying women’s shoes. I wasn’t sure whether to choose half a size larger or smaller.”

She didn’t speak.

Qing Hang tied the shoelaces. “Try walking in them. If they rub, you don’t have to wear them.”

She still didn’t speak.

“Wanyue,” Qing Hang’s nose tip brushed against her forehead. “Are you still angry?”

Cheng Wanyue looked at those white sneakers, her vision slightly blurred. “I didn’t think you lacked brand-name shoes, nor was I competing with classmates. I just wanted you to wear the same shoes as me. The New Year money from Second Aunt would have been spent on other things anyway, but shoes can be worn for a long time. Zhou Yuzhou and Cheng Yanqing both wanted them, but I didn’t give them any. I only gave them to you, and you refused.”

What mattered to her was the feeling when giving the gift, not the gift itself.

Whether it was an expensive pair of shoes or a worthless little note that was rejected, it meant the same to her.

Qing Hang said softly, “I handled it incorrectly then. It was my fault.”

Cheng Wanyue turned her head away. “It was indeed your fault. I wasn’t wrong.”

“Mm,” Qing Hang hooked his finger with hers. “Do you forgive me?”

She softly hummed, her expression prideful. “That depends on your performance.”

Qing Hang prepared a sumptuous lunch. After eating her fill, Cheng Wanyue’s mood improved. The shoes fit her perfectly and didn’t rub.

She slept until after six in the evening before getting up for dinner. Waiting time always passed slowly. She had slept for a long time during the day and wasn’t sleepy at all, so she also selected the clothes she would wear when going out that night. Qing Hang would wear white, she would wear black—the opposite of their shoe colors.

Huo Zhi needed to adjust to the time difference, so her schedule was similar to Cheng Wanyue’s.

Cheng Yanqing decided to drive back to Nanjing and had already put her bridesmaid dress in the car, planning to set off tomorrow afternoon.

Qing Hang had been invited to give a lecture at his alma mater. The time had been decided long ago, and he couldn’t request leave in advance. He could only go on the 5th.

Cheng Wanyue showed Qing Hang photos of Meiqiu. While scrolling through the album, they came across Zhou Yu and Cheng Yuzhou’s wedding photos. They looked at them for a long time. She thought it was very late, but it was only eight o’clock.

“I can’t sleep, I can’t sleep, I just can’t sleep,” she tossed and turned on the bed, touching and kissing him, her hands not behaving. “Can you show me more of your ‘performance’?”

Qing Hang opened his eyes, pinning down her restless hands and feet before she could make her move. “If you have no energy to go out later, don’t blame me.”

“I do have energy! Don’t underestimate me,” Cheng Wanyue reached into the drawer with one hand, feeling for protection. “If you’re the one who gets drained, with weak legs and sore waist, unable to get hard, then don’t blame me.”

The festive atmosphere was strong, and she was a bit excited.

She couldn’t sleep, and Qing Hang was even more awake. Whenever he slept with her, he only gradually became sleepy after she had fallen asleep.

Cheng Wanyue’s hand holding the protection was pressed into the pillow by Qing Hang. Her first bite landed on his chest, where the teeth marks hadn’t yet faded. Her bent knee also rubbed against him. Although he had more self-control now than before, even through a layer of fabric, he could feel the changes inside.

In the past, she would lean on his shoulder to read comics, and he would get hard.

She still remembered one New Year’s Day when, after eating, everyone found excuses to slip away, leaving only her and Qing Hang in the room. She lay on the sofa watching the evening program, with one foot resting on his leg, feeling something hard press against her, thinking it was his belt.

He said he wasn’t wearing a belt.

She was stunned for a moment, and after realizing what it was, she glanced down at him, a glint of amusement never leaving her eyes afterward. She locked the door, jumped onto him, and he held her waist to steady her, kissing her deeply before she could tease him.

That was Cheng Yuzhou’s room. He only kissed her then, but after returning home, he couldn’t sleep the entire night.

“We still have six hours before we need to leave,” Qing Hang’s hand slipped under the edge of her underwear, finding the soft entrance. “Try me.”

When had she not been the first to call for a stop?

Cheng Wanyue raised her leg to hook around his waist. “Fine, I’ll try. Let’s see if you can manage without taking a break in the middle. Use all of these.”

There were too many ways to make him release without penetration.

“Qing Hang,” when she spoke, her warm breath blew into his ear, and his kisses became more forceful.

She smiled as she kissed his Adam’s apple. “Want to try something new?”