A very high-sounding question.

If they were old friends reuniting after a long separation, there might still be meaning in asking such a thing.

But they were not.

They were a pair of lovers who had once loved deeply — who, when they parted, felt as though flesh were being torn from bone, as painful as a knife’s cut.

From anyone’s perspective, it was Lu Rangchen who had been hurt.

Yunque was the one who had done the wounding — and yet here she was, coming back afterward to ask him, in high-minded fashion, whether it hurt.

It was genuinely rather ironic and rather laughable.

Yet in that moment, she just wanted to ask. She wanted to ask with a kind of feverish desperation.

Lu Rangchen hadn’t expected her to ask him this either.

As for whether he was doing well or not — from the outside it was fairly obvious. She might well have heard, back in those years, that he had fallen into a long period of listlessness over her, and had stopped playing tennis.

His relationship with the Cheng family had gradually grown distant too.

He had insisted on striking out on his own, and the early days of starting his business had been enormously difficult — but he had clenched his teeth and pushed through it all.

But these things — he had no wish to speak of them.

Even less did he want to express them in front of her.

Collecting himself, he only gave a light laugh — a laugh that sounded like release, like indifference — and said in that carelessly rakish way of his, “Of course I’m doing just fine.”

His long, thick lashes lowered, veiling emotions of unclear depth. Lu Rangchen casually tossed the used drip materials into the trash bin.

“……”

Indeed — what could he possibly have to be unhappy about.

He was a golden child, adored by all. Whatever kind of life he wanted came easily to him. Whatever kind of woman he wanted, he could have. What was she worth, really? What was so insurmountable about her?

Her fingertips curled slightly inward.

Yunque lowered her eyelids and said nothing more.

It was Lu Rangchen who raised his gaze, studied her with a look of meaningful scrutiny, and then tossed the question back to her.

He said, “And you? Have you been doing well?”

But the moment it left his mouth he regretted it. He already knew how she’d answer. She was so adept at gilding things over — even if she were doing terribly, she wouldn’t tell the truth.

Sure enough. Yunque didn’t even look at Lu Rangchen’s eyes. She just kept her gaze lowered, massaging the needle mark on the back of her hand, and said, “Doing just fine.”

That voice was light and airy.

Yet falling on the heart, it was like being soaked through by rain.

Silence spread between the two of them like water bleeding into cloth. Just at that moment, Lu Rangchen caught sight of Yunque’s feet resting on the floorboards — bare.

Still those same clean, fair, soft, and rounded toes, carrying the barest hint of an infant-like tender pink.

His throat moved for no clear reason.

Lu Rangchen suppressed some emotion, shifted his gaze, and caught sight of the cream-white slippers to one side. He paused for a moment, then bent down, picked them up, and moved them to rest in front of her feet.

Yunque noticed from the corner of her eye. She was silent for a beat, then lifted her gaze to look at him.

But Lu Rangchen avoided her eyes, dropped a single line — “Let’s eat, the food is ready” — and turned away.

Two simple dishes.

One steamed fish, one stir-fried romaine lettuce, paired with a bowl of plain white rice, a pair of long chopsticks. Arranged just like that on the clean white surface of the table, there was a kind of inexpressible coolness to it.

Yunque sat at the dining table, tipped her head back to look at Lu Rangchen, and said, “What about yours?”

Lu Rangchen gave her a sidelong glance.

As though caught in some brief inner struggle, yet resigned to the inevitable, he went to the kitchen and brought out another set of bowl and chopsticks, sat across from her, and watched Yunque take a small bite of the fish with her chopsticks.

Lu Rangchen asked her, “Is it alright?”

Yunque shook her head and said, “The taste hasn’t changed.”

Hearing this, Lu Rangchen’s brow subtly eased. Only then did he pick up his own chopsticks and taste a bite himself.

His manner of eating was still just as elegant as ever.

Refined when refinement was called for, relaxed when ease was called for.

Whether it was the line of his jaw as he chewed, or the movement of his throat as it worked — it was exactly as she remembered, down to the finest detail.

Yunque felt an inexplicable sense of unreality.

She truly hadn’t imagined that the two of them would still have a day like this.

She sniffled, the warmth rising in her eyes. Lowering her gaze, she said, “I can’t finish this. You eat more.”

Lu Rangchen had been about to say he had no appetite.

But when he raised his eyes, he saw Yunque’s slightly flushed nose tip and the corners of her eyes, turning pink.

Like an arm being twisted behind his back, Lu Rangchen suddenly let out a helpless, half-amused laugh at that moment.

He lifted his chin slightly and said, “Look at what time it is.”

“……”

Only then did Yunque slowly lift her gaze to the clock hanging on the wall. Three in the afternoon.

At this hour, Lu Rangchen must certainly have already eaten.

And yet even so, he was still willing to sit down and keep her company for a while.

Just thinking of this made Yunque’s heart jump involuntarily — and then, as though suddenly struck by something, she said, “Don’t you have work today?”

Lu Rangchen lowered his gaze, carefully picking the bones from a good piece of fish. Once done, he casually deposited it into her bowl, his voice unhurried as he said, “I’m the boss.”

The words were said entirely without airs — completely unaffected, yet thoroughly captivating, his tone carrying that languid drawl that was entirely his own, sensual and irresistible.

Yunque stared at that piece of fish, and for a brief moment, lost herself.

It was Lu Rangchen who stared at her and said, “Are you taking these two days off?”

Yunque came back to herself, nodded, and said, “The school gave me leave — they were worried I was too ill.”

At the mention of “illness.”

Lu Rangchen couldn’t help but furrow his brow.

Her health had never been good. She used to catch colds at the drop of a hat. That she’d gotten this sick was genuinely serious. And then he thought of that day in the wonton shop, when he’d overheard the conversation between Xu Linda and her — Yunque had told Xu Linda she’d once suffered through a serious illness.

He didn’t know what kind of illness it had been.

It seemed he had no standing to ask, either.

So the words circled around before reaching his lips and dissolved.

Lu Rangchen let his gaze drift over her, then said, as though in passing, “You’re this ill — how come that man from the other day didn’t come look after you?”

Having said this, his gaze didn’t shift away either. He kept it fixed directly on her, as though waiting for some answer.

Yunque felt a flutter at the very tip of her heart under his stare, and said, “He and I aren’t that kind of relationship.”

Lu Rangchen heard this, leaned back slightly without any visible change of expression — neither believing nor disbelieving.

Yunque pressed her lips together and added, “He’s the landlord of this apartment. Also a colleague at the school.”

Lu Rangchen’s expression between his brows loosened slightly. Then he casually said, “Is he also a teacher like Deng Jiao?”

“No.”

Yunque said, “He teaches math in a different class.”

She paused for a moment, then thought of something. “How did you know I was sick?”

Yunque looked at Lu Rangchen with a direct gaze, as though she absolutely needed an answer from him.

Lu Rangchen didn’t evade the question either. He said, “Living upstairs and downstairs from each other — knowing a few things isn’t that strange, is it?”

“……”

“And didn’t you find out I was ill through Deng Jiao as well?”

There was nothing more to conceal at this point.

There was no need to lay everything out on the table — both of them already understood. The undercurrents of emotion beneath the surface, the glances that seemed to mean something and yet nothing — both had their own sense of it in their hearts.

Only at the moment, it seemed the two of them could get no further than this.

Yunque didn’t know whether his unwillingness to let go was genuine, or simply his way of reciprocating that little bit of care she’d shown him.

The two of them were like separated by some barrier lodged between them. Looking through it seemed clear enough — yet neither could actually get closer.

And it was just then.

Lu Rangchen received a phone call.

He picked it up casually, and was immediately subjected to a scolding.

Still that same arrogant, overbearing tone from so many years ago — seething and hot-tempered. Yunque recognized it the moment she heard it: Lin Zhi.

Being this close, Yunque could hear clearly everything Lin Zhi was saying.

She demanded to know where Lu Rangchen was, whether he’d gone to find that woman, and pressed him on whether he’d forgotten all that had happened in the past with his mother. She berated Lu Rangchen for being heartless and ungrateful, for being unable to tell people from dogs.

The uglier Lin Zhi’s words became, the more tightly Lu Rangchen’s brow knotted.

Eventually, he couldn’t take any more of it and snapped back at her. He said, “Lin Zhi, are you ever going to stop? Didn’t I say I’d be right back?”

That one outburst silenced Lin Zhi entirely.

And with it, silenced the person across from him as well.

The call ended.

Lu Rangchen’s dark gaze shifted to Yunque.

That young woman was still quiet and gentle, her gaze lowered as she rearranged the fish and rice in her bowl with her chopsticks, frail in appearance — as though one squeeze would shatter her.

Lu Rangchen was silent for two seconds, then said, “I’m heading back.”

Yunque nodded and said okay.

Lu Rangchen’s throat worked. He stood, his gaze lingering on her — yet he didn’t move it away.

But in the end, Yunque never once looked at him again.

She only silently picked up her chopsticks and lifted two leaves of pale green lettuce, sending them to her lips, which had gone so faint they were nearly bloodless.

—

Lin Zhi had originally planned to return to the capital that same day.

But because of Yunque, she suddenly decided not to leave.

When Lu Rangchen arrived home, she was sitting on the sofa, legs crossed, arms folded, watching television. When she saw him come in, she gave him a cold sideways glance and said with biting sarcasm, “Oh, you actually know your way home — I thought you two had reignited the old flame and gone off to bed together today.”

Lu Rangchen pulled a bottle of water from the refrigerator, opened it, and took a sip, expressionless.

He set the bottle down on the table. His gaze was sharp as a blade’s edge as he swept it over Lin Zhi, and he said disdainfully, “It’s not like I’m marrying you. What are you so anxious about?”

Those words were genuinely harsh to hear.

But they were also genuinely the truth.

The Cheng family had still been trying all these years to arrange a marriage alliance with the Lin family — only Lu Rangchen had long since, through his own efforts, broken free from the Cheng family’s control.

Lin Zhi had no recourse. She had little ability of her own. If she wanted to secure a high-quality life for her future, she had no choice but to follow the family’s arrangements.

She’d thought that marrying Lu Rangchen would be fine — at least they knew each other through and through.

The result was that this mess had happened, and if the Lin and Lu families were to form a marriage alliance, she’d only be able to end up with Lu Rangchen’s unambitious cousin.

Lin Zhi was very displeased about this, but for the moment there was nothing she could do.

As for Lu Rangchen — on one hand she genuinely hoped things would go well for him and for Cheng Liru. On the other hand, she also truly did feel he was a good match — so upon hearing that he’d gotten tangled up with that Yunque again, she’d failed to hold herself together and gotten a bit too worked up.

Now, having been put down so harshly by Lu Rangchen, and drenched to the core by his words, she found herself considerably sobered.

Lin Zhi rolled her eyes repeatedly, then glared at Lu Rangchen and said, “Can you stop pouring salt in someone’s wounds? I’m still your older sister, you know.”

Lu Rangchen gave a cold laugh. “You didn’t pour salt in mine?”

“That’s different, isn’t it? I was doing it for your own good.”

Lin Zhi’s voice had climbed in volume. “Besides, even if you want to get back together — does she want to? Have you forgotten how utterly decisive she was back then? And even if you two did get back together, what then? Can you get my godmother to agree? If she doesn’t agree, won’t you two still be parting ways miserably?”

Every sentence was a needle. Every needle drew fresh blood.

Lu Rangchen was truly laughed into anger by her.

The two of them faced each other in a pointed standoff for a few seconds. Lu Rangchen’s gaze was ice-cold, and a sentence rolled from his throat.

He said, “I never expected my mother to agree, back then.”

With those words, silence fell.

Lin Zhi was immediately stunned.

In all these years, this was the first time she’d heard him say something like this.

She had always assumed that back then the two of them had simply gone through an immature romance — that as long as they weathered a period of hardship, and failed to work through it, it would simply fall apart. Yet looking at things now, it seemed the situation was nothing like what those people had said.

Those worldly shackles — Lu Rangchen had never taken them seriously.

It was the person he wanted to hold onto who had retreated.

Lin Zhi’s throat tightened, and she said, “So — what do you mean now? Are you really going to get back together with her regardless of consequences?”

She genuinely didn’t understand.

If Lu Rangchen truly had that intention, he wouldn’t have come home the moment she called — and yet he had come home, just like that, thoroughly and without hesitation.

Lu Rangchen didn’t respond immediately.

He had only just sat down on the sofa when the fat cat chose that moment to come over, jump onto his legs in one leap, and within moments began to knead and purr contentedly.

Lu Rangchen lowered his gaze and watched it, stroking its head. Suddenly he felt that Yunque was actually quite like a cat.

You edged closer, and she’d retreat. The moment you truly stopped paying her attention, she’d come and cling to you on her own.

She would forever keep you scratching and itching with unease.

His gaze drifted into blankness for two seconds.

Lu Rangchen gave a faint self-deprecating smile and shook his head, saying, “It’s not that simple.”

“All those years, all that time — it’s not something that can just be gotten past in a word or two.”

“I, Lu Rangchen, am not that easily swayed either.”

“She crooks her finger once, and I come running — only to end up bleeding and raw again.”

Saying this, he gave a slight pull at the corner of his mouth and said, “But as for whether I’ve truly let go — I’ll tell you honestly: I haven’t.”

Because he hadn’t let go, he always found himself unable to resist drawing near her.

Unable to resist letting her draw near him.

But with someone like Yunque, you simply could not just indulge her unconditionally.

She would become spoiled and unbridled. She would think she could do whatever she pleased — making you go when she said go, stay when she said stay.

That was not what Lu Rangchen wanted.

Lin Zhi had truly never seen Lu Rangchen open up and say this many things from his heart to her before. For a moment her emotions were in complete turmoil, her mouth opening and closing repeatedly — and she genuinely didn’t know what to say to counsel him.

After thinking it over, all she could manage was: “So you actually have it all figured out. I thought you didn’t know your own mind at all.”

“……”

Lu Rangchen gave her a sidelong glance.

Lin Zhi pressed her lips together and said, “Well, whatever — as long as you’ve thought it through. Just don’t end up hurt again and drinking yourself into the hospital.”

Lu Rangchen’s expression was neither warm nor cold as he said, “I’ve thought it through.”

“I figured it out the moment I went to see her today.”

“?” Lin Zhi raised her eyebrows. “How did you figure it?”

Lu Rangchen lowered his gaze to stroke the cat’s chin. After a few silent seconds, he said, “Either we don’t reconcile — and from this life forward I never set eyes on her again, as if she never existed.”

“Or.”

He paused.

“This life — I lock it down for good.”

Lu Rangchen gave a slight, humorless smile at the corner of his mouth, his tone both quiet and unyielding, and said, “Same household registration. Even in death, she gets buried in the same plot as me.”

—

That day, after Lu Rangchen left.

Yunque finished that meal alone.

Whether it was the effect of the medicine or the effect of that meal, she didn’t know — but afterward Yunque felt much better. She also communicated with the school leadership, saying she’d come back to work the next day.

The administrator had been quite concerned about her, asking whether that was really all right.

Yunque had said over the phone, it’s fine.

After all, staying home alone held no meaning either, and would only send her thoughts running in circles.

Just like that very night — she’d taken her medicine, yet lying in bed, she still tossed and turned, her mind drifting back to countless things from the past, and to people.

She thought of her first meeting with Cheng Liru.

She thought of Lin Zhi, who had specifically come to their school to play matchmaker between her and Lu Rangchen.

She thought of her mother, beaten and wailing aloud because of her affairs as a mistress.

She thought of Ye Tian, who had fought to protect Feng Yanlai.

Looking back now, the hardest stretch of those years had not been the period when she couldn’t reach Lu Rangchen — it had been everything that befell her during the time he disappeared.

Feng Yanlai had been subjected to a wave of online attacks that spilled from the internet into real life. All kinds of people came to spectate, to seize the opportunity to vent their anger. The school was rife with rumor and gossip. And then there was Ye Tian, who had to be bailed out with money.

Yunque had felt helpless, lost, and at a complete loss for what to do.

She had never told anyone.

It was on that same day that she encountered someone from the Cheng family.

The patriarch of the Cheng Group. Cheng Liru’s father. Lu Rangchen’s maternal grandfather. Cheng Fusen.

An old man past his seventies, sitting in a black luxury car, dressed in a dark-patterned Zhongshan suit. Spirited and vigorous, seeming gentle on the surface — yet an icy, imposing aura of authority lurked beneath his demeanor, and in the sharp boldness between his brows, she saw a shadow of Lu Rangchen.

The car appeared out of nowhere and blocked Yunque’s path.

The window rolled down, and he said with a smile, “Little Yunque, I am Rangchen’s grandfather.”

“……”

“If you have time, would you be willing to have a chat with this old man?”