The colored lights in the room changed automatically. They had just been casting a dim, hazy, and rather romantic glow, but now shifted into a softer, cooler white light — and with that, the faint, unnamed atmosphere that had been hovering between the two of them gradually returned to normal.
They were still looking at each other, but in this cleaner light, all emotions were quietly buried.
Xie Yichen slipped his hands back into his pockets and answered her question directly: “Five percent — three to four million.”
“That much?” Ning Sui’s attention was immediately captured.
“Yeah. My dad didn’t want to invest, but I lent it anyway.”
Xie Yichen understood. Xie Zhenlin had been burned once in his youth by going into business with a relative, which made him extremely cautious about any requests to borrow money. On top of that, Du Junnian’s company was only worth tens of millions, while their own family’s group was worth over ten billion — it was a drop in the ocean.
For a small enterprise like this — one that might or might not survive the market’s brutal filtering — it was entirely predictable that Xie Zhenlin would say no.
Ning Sui’s eyes went wide: “You actually have that kind of money?”
Xie Yichen said: “I have a fund in my name.”
“……”
She’d heard plenty of talk about how wealthy his family was during that trip they’d taken together, but she hadn’t had a particularly concrete sense of it until now. At last, it hit her — this really was a young man born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
A few million would probably be more than enough to buy her family’s apartment in the school district. Quite something.
Ning Sui quietly sat with the thought for a moment, then couldn’t help asking: “Does Uncle know about this?”
Xie Yichen shrugged with ease: “Not yet.”
He’d probably blow up when he found out. But there was nothing to be done about it now.
“Don’t look at me like that — I’m not as flush as you might think.”
He raised an eyebrow and smiled a little. “That was basically all the liquid funds I have in my account.”
And it wasn’t even truly his money to begin with.
Xie Zhenlin and Qiu Ruoyun had simply placed it in his name temporarily.
Everything else was either tied up in investments or in real estate — all under his parents’ oversight, and he couldn’t touch a single yuan of it.
If Du Junnian decided it wasn’t enough, he’d have to figure out how to scrape together a bit more.
Ning Sui processed all of this for a moment: “So… are you and your cousin especially close?”
“We spent a lot of time together as kids and have kept in touch ever since.” Xie Yichen said. “But the reason I lent him the money isn’t just because we have a good relationship.”
Ning Sui: “How do you mean?”
“First, I took a serious look at his company. The business model is viable and genuinely innovative. I see this not only as helping him, but as a venture investment on my own part. I want to test my own judgment.”
“Second, I’ve observed that he makes charitable donations every year for children born with congenital illnesses. The amounts aren’t comparable to those of major corporations, but within his means, it’s a meaningful contribution. So I trust his character — I believe he’ll work hard to build his company and create a positive impact for society.”
“And lastly — this money isn’t something I urgently need right now, but for him, it comes at exactly the right moment.”
Xie Yichen’s voice was low and measured. His eyes were clear and sharp. Even in the dimness they seemed to carry a quiet light, and his meaning was unmistakable.
Even if the money never came back to him, he was at peace with that. He wouldn’t regret it — because he was acting in accordance with what his own heart told him to do, and he had already prepared himself for every possible outcome.
Ning Sui’s lashes trembled softly. She didn’t quite know what to say, but from the bottom of her heart she genuinely admired him — a decision this significant, and he had just made it.
Whether you called it helping someone out of the goodness of his heart, or treating it as an investment opportunity, very few people would have the resolve to do the same.
Ning Sui had always felt that Xie Yichen carried a kind of invincible youthful spirit — sharp, unstoppable.
But that sharpness and audacity weren’t recklessness. It was a passionate conviction arrived at through careful deliberation — much like his name, which seemed to carry warmth by its very nature.
Ning Sui felt that Xie Yichen was real, and warm, and made you want to draw closer — made you want to reach out and touch.
Like stumbling across a roaring bonfire on a winter’s night, and instinctively stretching out your hands toward the heat.
She stopped herself before her thoughts could go any further, and her drifting mind had only just settled — when the overhead lights came on.
Immediately after, a speaker in some unknown corner of the room crackled to life with an utterly aggrieved voice: “How long are you two going to keep whispering sweet nothings? Could you give a heads-up? This shopkeeper has been holding a dramatic pose for quite some time, waiting for the grand entrance! Are you coming in or not?!”
Ning Sui: “……”
Xie Yichen: “……”
They finally pushed open the door. A mysterious figure wearing a cloak and a black eye mask stood at the entrance to welcome them — presumably the shopkeeper who had just spoken.
He had a flashy five-colored parrot feather stuck in his hat, and his voice lilted upward with theatrical flair: “At last! Esteemed guests, welcome to our Worry-Free General Store. All merchandise may be browsed and purchased at your leisure — may your troubles find their cure. Should any item fail to satisfy after purchase——”
Ning Sui ventured: “Can we get a discount?”
The shopkeeper swept his cloak back with practiced style: “Please endure in silence. Thank you.”
“……”
The two of them browsed the shop with considerable interest. Fortunately, this person did not trail behind them — that alone eased much of the pressure.
The shop was, if you got down to it, really just a general store — but the items on offer were genuinely peculiar, and every single one was unique. Each piece had a price tag beside it with a detailed description of its function.
There were odd-flavored jelly beans, for instance — the collection included flavors like sunshine, watermelon, ocean waves, dog fur, and 2B pencil graphite.
There were also flaky fried dumplings made with taro paste filling, wands crafted from chocolate, and deep-red vampire drinks served in IV-drip style containers.
Beyond the edibles, there were all manner of practical — or not-so-practical — objects. Many were secondhand items.
A gourd-shaped wine flask. A toad-carved scholar’s walnut. A miniature Chinese pavilion in precise detail. A lovely enamel European-style dinner bell. A Bluetooth speaker shaped uncannily like a pair of giant headphones. A toilet-shaped mug. And there were butterfly stickers designed to be worn on the arm, their wings perpetually flapping — apparently meant to distract children from the pain of hospital injections.
Ning Sui’s eyes lit up — every single item seemed fascinating, and she wanted to take them all home. But one glance at the price tags quietly talked her out of it.
Even a tiny peanut-shaped paperweight cost three or four hundred yuan. Clearly this shopkeeper was a collector who had set up a shop on a whim, more as an exhibition than a business venture. He wasn’t in this to make money.
There was also an anglerfish-inspired wool felt hat in the shop — similar to the ones worn by the Teletubbies — with a little glowing ball sticking up from the top. Ning Sui tried it on in front of the vintage hanging mirror on the wall. The result was hilariously adorable; with every movement, the ball swayed back and forth above her head.
Xie Yichen, standing beside her, couldn’t help laughing. The little ball kept bobbing before his eyes and he felt a slight itch of temptation — so he reached out and gave it a casual squeeze.
Without warning, the ball exploded into a sea-urchin shape and let out a bright, childlike voice: “Makka Pakka Akka Wakka Mikka Makka Moo, mm!”
Ning Sui flung the hat off in reflex, stumbling back in a startled jolt.
But she’d reacted too dramatically — and went straight into Xie Yichen’s chest.
He instinctively reached up and caught her by the waist.
It happened in an instant. Ning Sui felt his scorching palm make contact with the soft curve of her waist, and the sensation shot through her like an electric current, sparking a rush of heat in her chest. She even forgot to breathe.
Xie Yichen was looking down at her. Ning Sui didn’t know what he was looking at — she only tilted her head up, and made a small, quiet swallowing motion.
The distance was too close. Close enough to count every dark, dense eyelash, dense as raven feathers.
Xie Yichen’s gaze had gone somewhat deep and dark. He hadn’t said anything yet, when Ning Sui pushed away and stepped back, and in a muffled, soft little voice that came out all at once: “Why are you so hard.”
“……”
A silence seemed to settle over the air, as though scorched dry.
In the dim light, the two of them looked at each other, expressions unreadable.
The nearby display shelf had been bumped in all the commotion, and like a domino effect, the odd assortment of snacks tumbled off it one after another and scattered across the floor.
The shopkeeper — perhaps napping somewhere — didn’t come to check on the noise.
It was Xie Yichen who spoke first, his voice low enough that no emotion could be detected: “——Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.”
Ning Sui lowered her head and averted her eyes, surveying the wreckage of chocolates and candies covering the floor. She swallowed and asked weakly: “What do we… do about this?”
Xie Yichen hadn’t expected things to get this bad, and when it came down to it, he was really the one to blame. He coughed quietly, stooped down and resigned himself to his fate, reaching to right the toppled shelf: “Let’s sort it first. Whatever’s broken, I’ll go explain to the owner.”
Xie Yichen kept his gaze lowered, and Ning Sui crouched down beside him. The two of them spent some time feeling around on the floor, placing the items that were still intact back onto the shelf, and collecting the broken ones into a separate shopping basket.
The floor was a bit grimy, and the space wasn’t particularly wide, and there was a faint, clean scent of agarwood drifting in the air — all of which created a strangely guilty sort of feeling.
Ning Sui sorted through the snacks with her fingers, her mind vaguely drifting, thinking that it would be best if the shopkeeper hadn’t noticed and they could quietly clean up this mess without anyone being the wiser.
“……”
The surrounding silence felt almost too complete.
She happened to spot a bag of QQ gummies in Xie Yichen’s hand — green ones — so she started up a conversation: “The green grape flavor is really good.”
Xie Yichen paused briefly, picked up the bag and looked at it: “Should I get a bag then?”
“It’s okay, don’t bother.” Ning Sui hesitated, then withdrew her gaze. After a moment: “I haven’t bought them in a long time.”
She couldn’t quite pinpoint when she had stopped buying them — just as she used to pick candy by color when she was little, and then at some point, one day, she simply stopped, with the quiet sense that those were things that belonged to childhood.
Xie Yichen kept his head down, tidying the items on the floor, his voice unhurried and relaxed: “So apart from these gummies, you also like cheese, coconut, and kiwi juice — what else do you like?”
He really did have an excellent memory.
Ning Sui counted on her fingers: “Avocado yogurt. Banana. Onsen eggs. Spinach noodles.”
Xie Yichen glanced at her sidelong, then drew his conclusion at a leisurely pace: “So you’re mostly into green, soft things.”
“……”
That was accurate, but somehow it sounded strange.
Ning Sui choked slightly and turned the question back on him: “And what else do you like besides cheese?”
Xie Yichen said: “Nothing too sweet — pizza, pasta, hot pot. Things that feel lively and warm to eat.”
“Oh, so you like brown, flowing things.”
“……”
Returning the favor, are we.
Xie Yichen looked at her with a meaningful expression. Ning Sui kept her face carefully neutral and stood up, basket in hand.
Just beside them was a display case, and as she glanced at it without particular purpose, her eye was suddenly caught by a pumpkin carriage inside.
The items locked away in the display case were more exquisite and precious. The carriage was not large — smaller than the palm of a hand — but closely resembled the one from Cinderella. It was made of metal, and the door could open and close freely. Every detail was complete: the wheels, the fringe, the curtains, the seat.
The enamel finish was done in flowing pinks and purples, though it didn’t read as garish — it was somehow dreamlike, with a lustrous splendor that felt just right.
Through the clean pane of glass, she could see it glittering brilliantly under the display light.
It bore no price tag, which was unusual. Its name simply read: “My Princess.”
Ning Sui leaned close to study it carefully, her lashes almost brushing the glass. Xie Yichen noticed her interest, and said in a low, measured voice, basket in hand: “Why don’t you wait here a moment, and I’ll go talk to the owner?”
She blinked: “Okay.”
Ning Sui waited where she was and took the chance to admire the beautiful treasures in the display case.
Midway through, Xia Fanghui called, asking when she’d be home.
Before dinner, Ning Sui had told her she’d be getting together with some classmates. She kept to the same story now, her voice calm and natural: “We’re still out walking around, but we should be done soon.”
The moment she put down her phone, she saw Xie Yichen walking back from the counter, a shopping bag now in hand.
The shopkeeper had been reasonable — selling them everything they’d damaged at a thirty-percent discount.
Time was getting on, and they did one final loop through the not-quite-small, not-quite-large store. Passing the display case again, Ning Sui’s footsteps slowed almost imperceptibly, and she cast a few lingering glances sideways as they went by.
The two of them walked out of the arts alley and headed in the direction of Ning Sui’s home.
It was only a ten-or-so-minute walk. Xie Yichen strolled at a lazy, unhurried pace. Ning Sui focused on carefully stepping on the shadows on the ground as she walked, and asked: “Xie Yichen, when are you heading to Beijing?”
“Still not sure.”
He had to go to his father’s company next week — there would probably be things to hand off to him, and he didn’t know how long it would take. Xie Yichen said: “Might depend on how things look.”
He turned to look at her: “What about you?”
Ning Sui raised her lashes, her eyes catching a faint glimmer in the glow of the streetlamps: “I’m participating in that new student volunteer activity, so I’ll probably head over before mid-month.”
Xie Yichen responded with a casual “mhm,” about to say something more, when his phone rang.
Ning Sui discreetly glanced at the screen — it was Sun Xiaozhen.
Xie Yichen hands in his pockets, he took the call with unhurried ease. From a distance, Ning Sui couldn’t make out what was being said, but she could gather from his replies that it was about the robot again.
The other person seemed to have had a new idea and was speaking in an upbeat tone, saying they could try to get part of the work done while still in Huai’an.
The road from the commercial street to her home was lined with all kinds of shops — bubble tea, food stalls, hair salons and more.
At around nine or ten at night, a young shop promoter was still enthusiastically drumming up business on the street. When he spotted Ning Sui and Xie Yichen passing by, his eyes lit up.
The handsome guy was on a phone call, so he redirected his focus toward the pretty girl and launched straight into his sales pitch: “Hey there, would you like to check out our cold perm? It adds volume at the crown and makes you look even better!”
Ning Sui politely declined: “Thank you, but no.”
The promoter seemed to take this as playful reluctance and kept doggedly following along, making his observations: “You go to the No. 4 High School, right?”
“We’re doing a special promotion right now — top up 800 and get two cold perms free, dyeing also included. I think you’d look great with a deep brown, or a coffee tone, honestly both would suit you. Perm and dye together for only 298 yuan! I’m telling you, loads of students from your school have been coming to us lately — this deal is really popular.”
Ning Sui patiently heard him out to the very end, then opened her mouth earnestly: “I’m not a student. I’ve been working for several years already.”
The promoter let out a short “oh” before quickly rallying with a smile: “That’s no problem at all — lots of office workers come to us too.”
“My profession doesn’t allow dyeing or perming.”
The promoter was undeterred: “What kind of job doesn’t allow dyeing or perming?”
Ning Sui said slowly: “I’m a hair extension cultivator.”
“……”
The lady at the fruit stall nearby was propped lazily against her display, slowly fanning herself, clearly having watched the whole exchange unfold. Once the promoter finally gave up and retreated, she called out to Ning Sui with warm enthusiasm, asking if she’d like to taste some fruit: “Fresh strawberries just in, very sweet!”
Xie Yichen had finished his call by then, just in time to hear her continue making things up: “No thank you — I actually have a side job attaching sesame seeds to strawberries. My upstream supplier has given me a lot of stock.”
“……”
They finally reached the residential complex. Ning Sui’s intention was to have him see her off at the front gate, but he had her backpack slung over his shoulder and lazily looked up at the windows above: “Which floor?”
Ning Sui: “Sixth.”
Xie Yichen said: “I’ll walk you up.”
What Ning Sui was actually worried about was running into Xia Fanghui — a young man and woman alone together, out late — she would definitely pry and ask all sorts of questions.
She pressed her lips together, hesitated briefly, and nodded anyway.
Since their floor wasn’t particularly high up, the family sometimes took the stairs and sometimes the elevator.
But because it was an older complex, the building wasn’t in the best condition. The stairwell lights cast a swaying amber glow — warm but not especially bright.
The two of them walked into the stairwell without exchanging a single word, as if it had been agreed upon. It wasn’t exactly dark, but Xie Yichen still switched on his phone’s flashlight to light the way ahead.
The rustle of fabric moved softly through the shifting light. Ning Sui climbed the stairs while craning her neck to peer above, checking whether any familiar neighbors might be coming down.
Most people took the elevator though, and rarely used the stairs. The whole way up was clear — not a single unexpected encounter.
When they were nearly at the point of stepping out of the stairwell into the corridor, Ning Sui stopped cautiously, looked left and right, and lowered her voice like a secret agent: “This far is enough.”
Xie Yichen had been following just behind her. Hearing that short, guilty little whisper, he couldn’t quite suppress the curl at the corner of his mouth.
A wicked impulse stirred. He leaned slightly forward, mimicking her hushed tone: “What?”
“I said, this far is——”
Ning Sui turned her head — and found him standing right behind her like a wall, close enough that she nearly bumped into his nose again.
“……”
She pressed her lips together and said nothing.
Xie Yichen raised an eyebrow, and leaned against the wall with composed ease: “Okay.”
He looped the shopping bag from the general store over his finger and lifted it slightly: “There’s a lot of chocolate in here — you probably don’t like it much, so I’ll take it back?”
Ning Sui gave him a look: “You don’t like sweet things either, do you?”
Xie Yichen had just started to say “yeah” when he heard her draw out her voice, pointedly: “Oh — right, you can bring it to the lab for Wen Siyuan and Sun Xiaozhen and the others. After all, you’re seeing each other three times a week from now on.”
Xie Yichen paused. He quickly realized she must have caught a key phrase from the phone call.
A beat later, he laughed: “Who said three times a week?”
Ning Sui: “?”
Wasn’t that what was said? She had clearly heard it.
Xie Yichen looked straight at her, still laughing, even his chest lightly trembling with it: “They were saying the faculty advisor washes his dog three times a week.”
“……”
That poor dog was going to come out bald.
Ning Sui lowered her head with great humility and scuffed the toe of her shoe against the floor: “Oh. I see.”
Seeing Ning Sui already clutching her bag and ready to bolt, Xie Yichen reached out and caught the strap, pulling her back at a leisurely pace: “Hold on.”
“Huh?”
The corner of his mouth curved in something between a smile and not: “Such sharp ears — were you eavesdropping on my call?”
His low, magnetic voice fell close to her ear, warm breath drifting against her skin. The amber glow of the stairwell light tinted his features, softening the edges of his gaze.
Ning Sui held her breath for just a moment, the heat of it hovering in the air. She tilted her small chin upward, doing her utmost to convey sincerity with her eyes: “……No I wasn’t.”
Her heartbeat was abnormally fast. She stalled for a moment, then calmly exhaled: “Actually I also have a side job as a signal tester for Teletubbies.”
“……”