The two of them strolled along, chatting idly, neither paying much attention to the road. Just as they reached a fork, an old man on an electric scooter shot past and stirred up a tremendous gust of wind, startling Ning Sui.

Xie Yichen reacted swiftly and grabbed her arm. But the shawl in Ning Sui’s hands slipped to the ground. She bent to pick it up, only to notice that one section had caught a smear of dust. She gave it a few regretful pats.

She lifted her lashes to say something, and then found herself looking straight into Xie Yichen’s deep, pitch-black eyes.

Ning Sui blinked slowly. His brow ridge was well-defined and cleanly arched, with a faint youthful spirit tucked beneath it. The contours around his eyes were also handsome and sharp — it was only when his lashes dipped that a rare, unselfconscious gentleness would show through.

Ning Sui tilted her head up. “Xie Yichen.”

“Hmm?”

She said softly, “Do you feel even just a tiny bit happier now?”

His gaze stalled for a moment, his expression turning slightly pensive.

The two of them stood face to face at close range, both losing their rhythm at exactly the same instant.

The sky above Dali was pellucid and sapphire blue. An unnamed wind swept through, and the surrounding leaves rustled and swayed as though playing some melodious tune.

Just then, an electric three-wheeler came barreling toward them from the opposite direction, honking loudly and continuously as it charged ahead, shattering the wordless, knowing stillness between them.

Xie Yichen was the first to move his lashes. “Get on.”

His tone was as languid as always. Ning Sui also clenched her fingertips lightly. “Oh.”

They stood at the roadside, waved a hand, and the driver pulled over right on cue. The vehicle was packed full — only the last two seats in the back row were left empty. They paid by scanning the code, and in less than ten minutes the driver dropped them back at the stretch of main street where the guesthouse was located.

When Ning Sui swiped her card and pushed the door open, Hu Ke’er was not in the room. She walked around, went and knocked on the door next door, and after a few seconds, sure enough, Hu Ke’er’s voice rang out: “Who is it?”

Ning Sui: “Me.”

The two of them had been sitting cross-legged on the sofa playing video games. Hu Ke’er hurried over and opened the door for her. “Darling, you’re back! How was the old town?”

“Pretty good.” Ning Sui didn’t step inside and asked instead, “Where’s Shen Qing?”

“He heard you were out and I think he went to go chat with Zhang Yuge and the others.” Hu Ke’er rattled off the latest news in one breath. “Zhang Yuge just made a group chat — I can see about ten people in it: our four plus six from their side. They’re saying we should all have dinner together tonight.”

“That person in the group named ‘Kuge Lin’ is super active. He’s already organized a restaurant spot right beside Erhai Lake. We can head straight there later.”

Ning Sui took a glance. The restaurant was actually still on the south side, not far from the Sun Palace. Because there were too many of them for a single electric vehicle run, Lin Shuyu suggested they split up, with their six going ahead first to scout it out.

The time was set for six-thirty. Hu Ke’er, who had late-stage procrastination, started putting on her makeup only half an hour before — like a dying person suddenly jolting up in bed.

Hu Ke’er knew that Ning Sui generally didn’t bother much with such things, since she was beautiful even without makeup, so she focused entirely on her own reflection, dabbing and blending away without paying her any mind.

Ning Sui’s complexion was clear and fair, her skin delicate and fine-textured. Her most beautiful feature was still those peach-blossom eyes — bright and captivating, naturally curved at the corners, crystalline and clean, giving her a quality that felt pure and quietly sweet.

While Hu Ke’er did her makeup, Ning Sui sat on the sofa beside her and scrolled through WeChat for a bit.

She tapped open Xie Yichen’s chat window.

Suisui Sui: [Transfer ¥288.00] Suisui Sui: [This is for the scarf and the entrance tickets. Thank you~ (cat bouncing ball.jpg)]

Xie Yichen replied: [No need. Don’t worry about it.]

The cheese roll was something she could reciprocate by treating him to a drink another time — give-and-take. But three hundred yuan was a lot, and accepting it without protest would feel like taking advantage of someone. Ning Sui wasn’t used to that. She liked having things settled clearly; otherwise her mind never felt at rest.

Ning Sui’s lashes lowered slightly: [Just accept it.]

She had been worried the same thing would happen as with the movie ticket last time, but to her surprise, the other side was quiet for a moment and then cleanly, neatly clicked to receive the transfer.

By the time they rushed over to the restaurant, they were already ten minutes late. Lin Shuyu had reserved a private dining room with a large round table. Xie Yichen was seated between Zhang Yuge and Lin Shuyu, followed in order by Sun Hao, Zou Xiao, and Zhao Yingyao.

Shen Qing was the first to walk in and sat down next to Zhang Yuge.

On their side, Ning Sui and Hu Ke’er sat in the middle; Xu Zhou, as the last one in, ended up with Zhao Yingyao right on his left.

The moment Hu Ke’er sat down, she noticed that the two girls across from her had both done what appeared to be effortless “no-makeup makeup,” looking plain and simple at first glance, but refined in the details. She gave a quiet internal tsk. Of course. With someone like Xie Yichen around — the kind of guy you’d scour the streets with a lantern for and never find — who in their right mind would actually go bare-faced? Everyone except Ning Sui, who was clearly missing a few screws.

Lin Shuyu was an enthusiastic warmth-starter. The moment he saw the two girls arrive, his eyes lit up. He had basically mentally matched faces to descriptions based on what Zhang Yuge had told him.

He thought Ning Sui was genuinely beautiful — and different from Luo Qiongxue, too. She wasn’t the aloof, cold type. Her eyes were lovely, vivid and luminous, as though they could speak all on their own.

Lin Shuyu snuck a few glances at Ning Sui, but didn’t dare be too obvious about it. He opened the beer that had already been ordered, poured a round for everyone, and adopted the manner of a gracious host. “Now that everyone’s here, let’s kick things off!”

After the first round, everyone introduced themselves in turn.

Since Xie Yichen and Zhang Yuge both already knew the people on either side, they were skipped.

When it came to Shen Qing’s turn, as soon as he finished, Zhao Yingyao laughed: “Ah, Shen Qing, you studied abroad — you must be quite the scholar.”

Since Shen Qing was a year older than the rest of them, Hu Ke’er and the others addressed him as “older brother,” and Zhao Yingyao, having picked up on it after a few exchanges, followed suit with easy familiarity.

Shen Qing responded swiftly. He clasped his hands together with a bow and smiled. “Oh, I wouldn’t dare — not with Tsinghua and Peking University students all around the table, including the top scorer in the province. Please don’t flatter a humble person like me.”

Ning Sui felt that he and Xie Yichen represented what the best-mannered boys looked like — just with very different styles. Coming from Shen Qing’s mouth, those slick, self-deprecating lines were still warm and polite. He had an excellent sense of propriety and a mature bearing, so mature in fact that Ning Sui found it somewhat difficult to picture him laughing freely and unreservedly.

That thought made her glance toward Xie Yichen. The evening air had turned a touch cool; he’d thrown a windbreaker jacket over his short-sleeved shirt and was now lounging indolently against the back of his chair, half-listening to the boisterous chatter around him.

As if sensing her watching, Xie Yichen looked up, followed the line of her gaze, and raised one eyebrow slightly.

The meaning was clear: What?

Something fluttered quietly inside Ning Sui’s chest.

About two seconds passed — not long enough for the feeling to fully register — and then he looked away again.

Once everyone had finished their introductions, Lin Shuyu finally found the opening he’d been waiting for to strike up a conversation with her. He said enthusiastically, “I heard from Octopus Paddle that we got exactly the same score on the college entrance exam — both 685.”

Ning Sui was still slightly muddled, turning over what “Octopus Paddle” could possibly mean, before she gave a rueful laugh and nodded. “Is that so? That’s quite a coincidence.”

Lin Shuyu’s face lit up. He topped up the drinks as he cheerfully replied: “It really is — it’s fate!”

Zhang Yuge sat beside him watching from a safe distance. He’d more or less figured out Lin Shuyu’s feelings, though it seemed natural enough — this guy, for all that people called him “Kuge Lin,” just had a thing for the bright-and-vivid type. The more distance she maintained, the more interested he got. There was a definite masochistic streak there.

His gaze drifted to his side once more — the one person whose thoughts he still couldn’t read at all remained, as ever, this particular individual.

Across the table, Zhao Yingyao jumped in with easy familiarity: “Wow, Suisui, you’re so impressive — which university did you apply to? What are you planning to study?”

Ning Sui answered, “Mathematics at Peking University.”

The other girl let out an exaggerated exclamation. “So basically everyone at this table is either from the top two universities in China or an American Ivy League school. I’m barely qualified to eat a few peanuts here.”

Zhao Yingyao was also planning to study abroad, but her school’s ranking was fairly average. Zou Xiao was heading to a regular provincial university as well and was already at a certain distance from the others — hearing those words, a faint unpleasant expression crossed her face. It felt like a glaring reminder of exactly how wide the gap between her and Xie Yichen really was.

So she spoke up: “Mathematics — Xie Yichen should be pretty familiar with that, right?”

Ning Sui glanced at her. Zou Xiao assumed she didn’t know, so she tilted her head playfully and explained in the tone of someone in the know: “He competed in math competitions before — and even won a gold medal at the CMO. Sometimes the teachers even asked him to cover problem-solving sessions for the class.”

Ning Sui replied, “That’s impressive.”

Xie Yichen, who had been knitting his brow slightly, about to say something, glanced at her again instead.

Across two people’s distance, her expression was still fairly sincere — at the very least, she was giving Zou Xiao considerable face, pretending to be hearing this for the first time.

“Right.” Zou Xiao seemed to warm to the subject even more. She had noticed that Xie Yichen had made eye contact with this Ning Sui a few times, and she pressed on regardless of Sun Hao sitting right beside her. “So the elite class would always have lights on late at night — the teacher sometimes had things to take care of at home and would ask Xie Yichen to help manage everyone for a bit. During breaks, a lot of students from other classes would also come to him for help with problems. If there were too many people they’d sometimes all go out together for late-night snacks after school.”

Ning Sui asked curiously: “You’re allowed to leave school at night?”

Zou Xiao smiled. “Of course — our Gao Hua isn’t that strict. You can order takeout whenever you want. Unlike your school, where everything is tightly sealed and you have to sign in before leaving.”

With one sentence, she sent undercurrents rippling across all four corners of the table — demonstrating her knowledge of Xie Yichen while casually and entirely without self-awareness taking a swipe at No. 4 Middle School.

Lin Shuyu and Zhang Yuge both thought the same thing: well, so much for the brief spell of restraint — right back to her old ways. Truly, wildfire does not burn it out; spring wind brings it back again.

Sun Hao’s eyes dimmed slightly. He lowered his head and said nothing.

Xu Zhou and Hu Ke’er were thoroughly bewildered, unable to say exactly why, but somehow vaguely uncomfortable.

Just as the atmosphere in the private room was growing slightly awkward, a server knocked at the door right on cue and saved the scene.

The dishes they’d ordered arrived one by one. Amid the clinking of plates and bowls, Xie Yichen spoke up in a mild tone, his smile carrying a touch of offhand irreverence: “No. 4 Middle School sounds pretty good to me. Our school is just too lax — let all sorts of people in. The boys’ dorm keeps getting robbed because of it.”

At Gao Hua, the girls’ dormitory and the boys’ dormitory were separated by one entire teaching building. The girls’ dorm was on the hillside, the boys’ dorm near the school gate, so it was actually the latter that saw incidents more frequently.

Zhang Yuge, the moment he heard that, had a nerve struck. He shot up with righteous indignation: “Exactly! Last time, some rotten, no-good idiot — didn’t take a single computer — went and stole my—” He stopped himself mid-sentence, forced out two words: “Clothes.”

Lin Shuyu beside him was working strenuously to hold back laughter. He knew full well what had actually been stolen.

Zhang Yuge had lost five pairs of red underwear in one go. Because he rarely washed anything, wearing each pair for three or four days and letting them pile up in the dirty laundry basket — on top of that, the next morning he had nothing to wear, couldn’t stomach putting on dirty ones, and ended up going to class commando under his outer pants. During the break, a few brothers grabbed him and gave him an “aruban” — slammed him into a tree and then a utility pole.

The earth-shaking, ghost-crying wail Zhang Yuge had let out that day had stayed in Lin Shuyu’s memory ever since.

“Are you sure those,” Xie Yichen paused deliberately, and said with leisurely slowness, “‘clothes’ were actually stolen?”

Zhang Yuge looked baffled. “What do you mean?”

“Would a thief bother with something like that?” Lin Shuyu couldn’t hold it anymore and burst out laughing. “Last time Yichen went to the dorm supervisor’s office — spotted it right away in the storage box.”

He turned to Xie Yichen, playing along: “You’re sure you weren’t seeing things?”

Xie Yichen: “That color was auspicious enough, hard to mistake for anything else.”

Zhang Yuge was flabbergasted. No longer caring that there were girls present, he let out a national expletive: “What?! Wang Li had improper thoughts about me?! No wonder she always singles me out for demerits—”

Lin Shuyu hadn’t expected his mind to work like that either. That dorm supervisor was certainly long-winded and a chronic nag, but she was nowhere near depraved enough to steal a male high-schooler’s underwear. He nearly toppled sideways off his chair, borderline breathless: “Ha — it’s because the wind blew them off the balcony! They ended up, pitifully and tragically, hanging from the shrubbery at the base of the dorm building. Supervisor Wang picked them up and put them in lost and found, but nobody ever came to claim them. And by the way — you deserved those demerits.”

Obviously. Who on earth would report a lost pair of underwear?

Zhang Yuge gave two dry coughs. Lin Shuyu looked at him like a parent gazing at a child of limited intelligence, then turned and bowed his hands to everyone present: “Forgive the spectacle, forgive the spectacle.”

The atmosphere revived itself completely. Everyone topped up their drinks, and as they ate, conversation turned to funny stories from each person’s school — late-night chats, dragging each other out of bed for eight-in-the-morning classes, secretly using phones while hiding from the dorm supervisor. The discussion around the table became blazingly lively.

In truth, among all those present, Shen Qing was probably the only one who didn’t have much experience with that kind of dormitory life back in China.

He was seated right next to Ning Sui, unable to participate much in the ongoing topic, and kept quietly listening with a smile. So Ning Sui, while everyone else was talking, leaned over and asked him: “Are the dorms abroad also four people to a room like that?”

Shen Qing looked up, his gaze warm behind his glasses. “Ours are suite-style — everyone has their own individual bedroom. Some rooms have three people, some four.”

“That’s so nice.”

Shen Qing smiled and shook his head. “Honestly, I find everything you’re all describing kind of appealing.”

Ning Sui smiled too. “Just finding joy in the suffering.”

In front of her sat a bottle of beer. Everyone else had thrown caution to the wind and was drinking straight from the bottle, but hers was still nearly full.

Xia Fanghui had never approved of Ning Sui drinking. On the day of the graduation ceremony, when Ning Deyan poured wine for her and Hu Ke’er, Xia Fanghui had stopped them with all manner of meaningful looks. At any rate, Ning Sui had long since lost count of how many times Xia Fanghui had whispered in her ear: alcohol is no good, especially in front of men — don’t touch a single drop; just say you’re allergic.

Ning Sui had asked: what if it’s classmates? Even friends?

Xia Fanghui had said, without any room for negotiation: no. You know a face, not a heart.

Now Ning Sui held the beer bottle, lashes drooping as she peered into it. Bubbles rose and floated, and a crisp, cool scent wafted faintly toward her.

Actually, that day she had wanted to say: judging people’s hearts requires another genuine heart in return. Don’t assume that eighteen-year-olds know nothing just because they’re young. In truth, right from wrong, good from bad — there are things they understand more clearly than anyone.

She brought the bottle to her lips and tasted a small sip. Mildly bitter. After a moment, a faint sweet aftertaste of malt grain emerged — but still not exactly pleasant.

Ning Sui set the bottle back down.

From across the table, Zhao Yingyao noticed the waterline in her bottle. “Suisui, how come you’re not drinking?”

Lin Shuyu had charged too hard earlier and was a little light-headed. He now enthusiastically urged: “Right, Ning Sui, how come you’re not drinking? We’ve already gone two or three rounds — you gotta keep up with the group. Is this brand not to your taste? I can order a few other bottles — guarantee they’ll hit harder!”

Xie Yichen looked up at this moment, with a lazy smile: “Whether she drinks or not — does that concern you?”

Lin Shuyu paused and only then registered that Xie Yichen had a point. Pressuring a girl into drinking really was in poor taste. His brain hadn’t caught up yet, and after a brief pause he weakly explained: “That’s not what I meant.”

“It’s fine.” Ning Sui stepped in. “I’m a little allergic to alcohol. Sorry about that.”

If this had been Luo Qiongxue, she would have given him a straight-up eye roll. Lin Shuyu hadn’t expected Ning Sui to take it so well, actually apologizing to him in return. He could only send a sheepish apologetic look her way.

Ning Sui, however, gave him a gentle smile to indicate it was fine.

Having sat blankly and restlessly for a few minutes, Lin Shuyu pulled out his phone and added Ning Sui on WeChat through the group. He thought about tapping into Zhang Yuge’s chat window and then thought better of it.

Hu Ke’er, stomach pleasantly full, leaned over to Ning Sui at this point, whispering conspiratorially into her ear: “That Kuge Lin guy seems like he might have a thing for you.”

Ning Sui said nothing.

She saw Lin Shuyu’s friend request on her phone, accepted it, and while doing so, glanced sideways.

Zhao Yingyao had at some point struck up a conversation with Xu Zhou, apparently asking him about studying in America. Xu Zhou answered some question, and Zhao Yingyao widened her eyes in surprise and laughed, responding with a few words.

Hu Ke’er also noticed and turned in time for Xu Zhou to turn back and ask her: “The hotel just called asking how many more days we want to extend. Shen Qing said three. What do you think?”

Hu Ke’er had no objection. “Ask Suisui?”

Ning Sui nodded. “I’m fine with it.”

“I’ll book it then.” Xu Zhou took out his phone and placed the order through an app.

Because she was sitting close, Zhao Yingyao inadvertently caught the whole transaction. Seeing him power the screen off without any apparent intention of posting a payment-split request in the group, she asked, somewhat curiously: “Are you treating everyone?”

“Sometimes.”

“You’re very generous.”

Xu Zhou shrugged, unconcerned. “They’re all our own people.”

By this point dinner and drinks were winding down. The group had the feeling of old friends reuniting in a faraway land — conversation never ran out. After settling the bill, Sun Hao, who had been quiet throughout, suggested they continue chatting back at their group suite in the guesthouse, since the living room was spacious enough. Everyone agreed without hesitation.

They gathered their things and headed out. Ning Sui checked her phone as she walked while putting on her jacket.

A few new messages had popped up in the family group chat.

Ning Deyan: [Mom, when are you coming home? @Fangfang] Xia Fanghui: [In a bit.]

Ning Sui knew Xia Fanghui had been working a lot of overtime recently and sent a word of concern in the chat: [You’ve eaten dinner, right?]

Xia Fanghui: [Yes, yes.]

Meanwhile, Ning Deyan — feast-or-famine as ever — wrote: [I’ve been exhausted lately. Completely wiped, even though I haven’t been staying up late. I just can’t seem to get up in the morning. So I went to see a doctor today.]

Xia Fanghui: [?] Xia Fanghui: [What did the doctor say?]

Ning Deyan: [He told me to get up at noon.]

Ning Sui: […]