That was the quietest corner of the library in the afternoon.

Warm sunlight poured in through the gleaming windows, filling the air with a golden shimmer.

Caught in Lu Rangchen’s gaze like this, Yunque was momentarily disoriented.

Like a traveler who had wandered alone through a desert for a very long time and suddenly glimpsed an oasis — the first instinct was to wonder whether what lay before her was real, or a mirage.

— Had he come here specifically for her, or was it merely coincidence?

Lu Rangchen, however, gave her no time to think it over.

Seeing that she hadn’t said a word, he raised his gaze slightly, his voice low and gently warm. “What’s wrong — why aren’t you saying anything?”

The hushed air was steeped in suggestion by his resonant voice.

Yunque suddenly realized that she didn’t need to say a single thing — she had already lost the upper hand.

A flicker of discomfort passed through her eyes. On instinct, she drew her hand back.

Lu Rangchen wasn’t deliberately teasing her this time, and he let go naturally.

The warm imprint from his fingertips faded and vanished, leaving only a vague, faint ache drifting through her heart.

Lu Rangchen glanced at the sliced raspberry cake on the table and, feigning ignorance, asked: “Who’s this for?”

“For you.”

Yunque pressed her lips lightly together, keeping her voice deliberately soft and low. “I didn’t know what you liked, so I picked a piece at random.”

Lu Rangchen raised an eyebrow with exaggerated solemnity — somewhere between mocking and pleased — and laughed in an unhurried way. “Didn’t expect I’d rate this kind of treatment.”

Yunque: “……”

In a breath of a voice, she said, “Don’t take the gift and then act ungrateful.”

The bad-boy curve at the corner of Lu Rangchen’s mouth deepened.

Yunque didn’t feel like engaging with him and picked up the tray from the table, turning to leave.

This time Lu Rangchen didn’t stop her.

It was, after all, a library — voices had to be kept low, and there was nothing that could be said and properly expanded on.

Back at the counter, the substitute student worker, who had been watching the two of them with avid curiosity for a while now, came over to ask Yunque what was going on.

The flush on her cheeks hadn’t faded yet. Even if Yunque tried to lie, the holes would be obvious. “A friend — came here to cause trouble.”

The student worker didn’t buy a word of it, pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, and clicked her tongue. “Who are you trying to fool — even a fool can see that guy is into you.”

The words were almost the same as what she had said earlier about Zhao Qijia, but with the main character switched to Lu Rangchen, the weight of them was entirely different.

Yunque said nothing, quietly wiping down her equipment, her mind already far off track.

The student worker, never one to let a spectacle pass her by, added: “Now I understand why you looked so unbothered by the other guy earlier — with a big stunner like this one around, even a blind person would know who to pick.”

“Though, what a shame — that poor guy is going to end up laying the groundwork for someone else.”

“……”

Yunque flicked some of the water from her freshly rinsed hands at the girl.

The student worker yelped, pressing her voice down in protest. “I just cleaned my glasses.”

Yunque couldn’t help but laugh.

Out of nowhere, the phone on the table buzzed.

It was Lu Rangchen.

The small drum in Yunque’s chest gave a sudden beat, and she held her breath for a second.

No matter what the moment, facing the prospect of the person she liked reaching out to her seemed to be something she could never manage to be completely calm about.

She tapped it open to find a photo — the sliced raspberry cake she had brought him, already half-eaten by Lu Rangchen.

Yunque, for once taking the initiative: 【Is it good?】

Lu Rangchen replied instantly: 【Good.】

A few seconds later, he added: 【Good thing — I hadn’t eaten breakfast yet.】

Reading those two lines, Yunque felt an inexplicable warmth settle over her.

She glanced at the time.

It was almost one o’clock, and he still hadn’t eaten. She said: 【There are sandwiches for sale over here, though they’re not very good.】

Lu Rangchen: 【It’s fine — I’ll go get something after.】

Yunque hesitated for a few seconds, couldn’t resist asking: 【How are you even here — didn’t you go back to Nancheng?】

Lu Rangchen: 【Can’t I come find you?】

Yunque: 【……】

Her heart rate rose and fell in silence.

It felt as though some secret were on the verge of breaking through the surface.

Yunque’s fingertips tightened slightly. She wanted to say “only an idiot would fall for that,” but on reflection — Lu Rangchen had been able to say her name when placing the order, which meant he had known she was here from the very start.

She could only ask him again: 【How did you know I was working here?】

The message sat sent for quite a while without a reply.

Yunque couldn’t help but look up, her gaze going back there against her will.

Lu Rangchen was still in his seat, but at some point two girls had gathered around him. Judging by their expressions alone, it was clear — someone was trying to get his number again.

Just like before.

He had no intention of giving it. He wore a carelessly good-natured expression, turned them down with a light touch of polished dismissal.

The girls were somewhat embarrassed.

But with nothing they could say, they could only leave, slightly deflated.

The moment the two of them walked away, Lu Rangchen’s line of sight was clear again, and he looked straight across at Yunque without deviating by a single degree, his expression hovering somewhere between a smile and not.

Being caught, Yunque’s face went briefly awkward, and she turned away stiffly.

But her phone lit up in the very next second —

Lu Rangchen: 【Relax. Didn’t give it.】

The conversation had reached a point that far exceeded the boundaries of ordinary friendship — as if he had brought it all out into the open and was quite openly making her feel his hold over her.

Yunque pressed her lips together and looked at the message for two seconds, then deliberately didn’t respond, face warm.

As it happened, a few more orders came in at the counter.

The student worker’s shift was ending too, and Yunque suddenly found herself swamped.

By the time she had a free moment to look at her phone again, Lu Rangchen’s message had been sitting there for quite a while.

Lu Rangchen: 【What time do you get off?】

Yunque replied: 【Seven in the evening.】

Lu Rangchen said: 【I’ll go back and shower, then come pick you up when you’re off.】

Yunque: “……”

Only then did she remember Zhao Qijia was still in the library.

After thinking about it, she could only say: 【I have something on after work.】

Lu Rangchen: 【What?】

Yunque: 【Dinner with a friend.】

At this point in the conversation, it seemed unnecessary to probe further.

And yet Lu Rangchen asked: 【Is it Zhao Qijia again?】

It was like an arrow to the chest.

Yunque couldn’t quite say what she was afraid of — she just didn’t dare admit it. 【No.】

Lu Rangchen: 【Alright.】

Lu Rangchen: 【Heading out then.】

Having sent those two messages, Lu Rangchen picked up his jacket, got to his feet, and before leaving through the back door, deliberately looked in the direction of Yunque’s counter.

The girl was wearing a pale blue shirt dress, her hair tied in a low ponytail, standing neat and upright behind the café counter with the look of someone diligently getting on with her work — the kind of sight that made anyone who walked by stop for a second look.

As if sensing his gaze.

Yunque also looked toward him, a matching instinct drawing her eyes to his.

Their gazes met.

Lu Rangchen gave her a worldly, devil-may-care curve of his lips, mouthed something to her without a sound, and turned to walk away.

Not until his figure had disappeared through the back door.

Did Yunque finally work out what he had said.

He had said, “See you tomorrow.”

That day, after leaving the library.

Lu Rangchen first found somewhere to eat, and only then went back to the dormitory.

The dormitory had been arranged by the class advisor before the National Holiday — he shared a not-very-large three-person room with two other boys from the class.

Though they hadn’t known each other long, the three of them got on well, and there had been two days when Lu Rangchen went to class and came back for meals with them.

The other two — one from Xinjiang, one from Harbin — had neither gone home for the holiday, and only Lu Rangchen had left, only to turn around and come back the very next day.

His return surprised both of them the most.

The one called Yang Tao, who was their class president, knew a little of the story, and laughed, teasing Lu Rangchen: “Don’t tell me you were afraid someone was going to take your crystal and came back early.”

Hearing that, Qu Song, who was in video-game mode, perked up immediately and sat bolt upright on the bed. “What crystal — are we doing a group queue?”

“Group queue my foot,” Yang Tao laughed. “I meant a girl.”

Lu Rangchen had just come out after a shower and walked right into the two of them going at it. He had no interest in engaging and leaned back in his desk chair to reply to Cheng Liru’s messages.

Cheng Liru hadn’t known he’d come back — it was only when she didn’t see him the next morning that she understood what had happened.

Probably the menopause hitting, but her temper was something else. She called Lu Rangchen and gave him a thorough telling-off.

She hadn’t let up even after the flight. Messages came left and right, either calling him reckless or calling him ungrateful.

Lu Rangchen was only now getting around to reading them.

By the end, he felt quite helpless, and could only call Lin Zhi.

As Cheng Liru’s goddaughter, and as the person the elders all referred to as Lu Rangchen’s “fiancée,” Lin Zhi carried considerable weight with Cheng Liru. There were times when Lu Rangchen couldn’t manage the woman himself and would call Lin Zhi to handle it — Lin Zhi could smooth things over in two or three sentences and have her laughing.

Lin Zhi was a few years older than Lu Rangchen. She liked to have fun, but was a sharp person. Once she understood the situation and learned that Lu Rangchen had made an impulsive trip from Nancheng back to school for some girl, she was thoroughly amused at his expense.

She spoke in that slow, unhurried way of hers — the most aggravating version of herself — “You deserve it, honestly. The fact that you chose Jingda was already enough to infuriate your mom, and now you pull this stunt too. I can’t really help you — I can try to say a few soothing things at best.”

“Do you have to be this annoying.”

Lu Rangchen snorted softly. “I’m not asking you to help — just say a few comforting words to her.”

Lin Zhi made a sound of agreement. “I’ll call her in a bit. But as a token of appreciation, you owe me a meal — it just so happens I’ve been dumped too and need some company.”

Lu Rangchen was so amused he nearly choked. “You, getting dumped?”

Lin Zhi: “This time I was even the one who got broken up with!”

She was righteously indignant — though you couldn’t detect the slightest trace of heartbreak.

Lu Rangchen was too lazy to listen to her carry on, and even lazier to go seeking her out. He simply told Lin Zhi to come to his campus, and they’d grab something near the school to eat.

To his surprise, this particular spoiled young miss was quite delighted by the idea, saying that was perfect — she was hoping to scout around for a university boy who might be to her taste.

So it was decided.

Lu Rangchen rested in the dormitory until seven in the evening, then went to meet Lin Zhi at the school gate.

Lin Zhi was in her usual flamboyant style — even for a barbecue she showed up in a vintage-cut dress, big waves, and stiletto heels, and the moment she settled into her seat, more than a few heads turned.

To be fair, Lin Zhi was stunning.

The kind of stunning that was exquisitely refined, refined to an almost unsettling degree, and came with a powerful, sharp-edged magnetism.

But that kind of beauty had never caught Lu Rangchen’s eye.

The two of them had grown up together, and Lu Rangchen had only ever seen her as an older sister — especially after Lu Zhitao passed away.

Lin Zhi, on the other hand, often joked that she was raising Lu Rangchen to eventually devour him whole.

Lu Rangchen had never taken her seriously.

And Lin Zhi had never showed any sign of actually putting this “grand ambition” into practice. But whenever she had something going on emotionally, she would find Lu Rangchen to talk.

Just like now — Lin Zhi animatedly told Lu Rangchen exactly how her twenty-eighth boyfriend had dumped her.

It hadn’t been due to any emotional collapse, either.

It was that Lin Zhi had been quietly getting a little too close to another wealthy young man who had recently been pursuing her, and her boyfriend had found out.

Lin Zhi sighed. “I mean, my ex — he was great in every way, good in that department too — he was just way too hopelessly romantic for his own good, and petty on top of it. The moment I so much as got close to another guy he couldn’t stand it. This time he got so worked up he told me it was over, right then and there. I ask you — is he sick in the head? It’s not like I slept with the other guy. I was just having a working dinner. We didn’t even touch hands!”

At the height of her emotion, she banged her palm on the table.

The black obsidian bracelet on her wrist — identical to Lu Rangchen’s — clacked with each strike.

Lu Rangchen let out an amused scoff. “So you had it coming, didn’t you?”

Lin Zhi was having none of it. “How did I have it coming? Imagine you really, really like a girl, and she’s been getting a little close to some other guy behind your back — okay, close, nothing actually happened — and you don’t even ask questions, you just want to break up? Does that count as actually liking someone? If you really like someone, that means loving through the pain, holding on through the pain!”

Lu Rangchen gave a derisive laugh at that.

But somehow, a second later, Yunque came to mind.

He thought of the way she would suddenly flush at the tips of her ears, and the way she was clearly flustered but tried to appear composed. Almost imperceptibly, he curved the corner of his mouth.

He drifted for a few seconds, then said with cool ease, “Stop making things up. She’s not like you.”

There was an unmistakably biased, partial undertone in his voice.

Lin Zhi gave him an utterly baffled look, disgust rising straight to the top of her head. “Lu Rangchen, don’t tell me you’re one of those people who goes absolutely stupid over whoever they like.”

Lu Rangchen shot her a sidelong glance and said nothing.

That infuriated Lin Zhi enough to turn her grief into appetite, and she ordered another thirty skewers.

Once Lu Rangchen had eaten enough, he got up to go outside for a smoke.

The barbecue place was small. He leaned against the shopfront — black cap, black leather jacket, jeans — and standing there like that, he was the kind of cool, sharp-edged, attention-drawing that reminded you of a male model. Born to collect admirers: within no time at all, a girl eating barbecue outside came over to ask for his number.

Lu Rangchen held his cigarette between two fingers, eyes downcast, fiddling with his phone. He didn’t even look up. He said directly that he had a girlfriend.

The girl’s expression immediately fell.

No further conversation — she turned on her heel and walked away.

Her friend beside her made fun of her, saying she had told her all along — someone like him obviously had a girlfriend, probably more than one — why embarrass yourself by going over?

The girl was annoyed. She let out an “ugh” and told her to shut up.

Lu Rangchen couldn’t help the slight pull at the corner of his mouth.

He had barely brought the cigarette to his lips when his gaze, from beneath the brim of his cap, caught a familiar silhouette.

Slender. Delicate. In the night, like a sprig of pale blue bloom.

He saw Yunque at the moment he did.

Yunque had just seen him too.

She was standing on the roadside outside the barbecue restaurant, watching him with faint surprise in her expression.

Between them: a paltry distance of less than five meters, close enough that anything said nearby could be heard with perfect clarity.

Including that “I have a girlfriend.”

And at precisely that moment, Lin Zhi walked out of the restaurant at the most inopportune time possible, and called out in her drawn-out, pitched-up way: “Lu Rangchen, go settle the bill for me!”

The ash from the cigarette dropped an inch.

The air seemed to freeze.

Lu Rangchen’s brow furrowed sharply, as though he had something to say — and in the next second, a figure emerged beside Yunque.

Compared to Yunque, Zhao Qijia seemed even more stunned.

He stared at Lu Rangchen in bewilderment, looked blankly for several seconds, then turned his head to Yunque. “You two…had plans?”

The question fell.

Lu Rangchen’s gaze locked hard onto Yunque, his eyes ice-cold.

As if, in this moment, only Yunque could hold his attention.

Yunque, however, only gave Lin Zhi — who was standing beside Lu Rangchen, looking baffled — a brief, detached glance.

She caught sight of the slender bracelet on the woman’s wrist — the same string of black obsidian beads as Lu Rangchen’s. The light in her eyes dimmed quietly, and she shook her head, very gently. “No plans.”

She said it in that clean, cool voice, as though she didn’t know Lu Rangchen at all — didn’t even say hello — turned around with a blank expression and walked toward the restaurant next door.

The night breeze blew cool, lifting strands of her hair.

Zhao Qijia quickly followed, though he couldn’t help glancing back at Lu Rangchen, who radiated a dangerous air in the darkness.

Sensing something was off, Lin Zhi tilted her head and looked at Lu Rangchen. “……What’s going on?”

The red tip of the cigarette smoldered, nearly burning down to his fingers.

Lu Rangchen seemed not to feel it, standing there with his jaw set, utterly still, watching the two figures dissolve into the night, his eyes slowly narrowing.

He didn’t have the faintest idea what was going on.

He only knew that he was so jealous he was about to lose his mind.