Author Archives: Thandar

Lin Wu was a science student, and he fit the common impression people had of science students: calm, composed, highly logical, good at analysis. Beyond that, though, he was more stubborn than most, and more inclined to trust his own judgment.

He ran through the memories in his head, then tapped apologetically on the front seat. “Sorry, I need to get out here.”

“Now?” The taxi driver was clearly unwilling, but Lin Wu had already ridden five kilometers, which still counted as a decent fare.

Lin Wu paid and got out. Crossing the street from the sidewalk, he walked up to the internet café. The door was open now, and everything inside had already been hauled away. A man who looked like he was in charge was directing workers as they knocked apart wooden cabinets and shelving. Lin Wu took in the surroundings and could confirm that this was the very site of the fire. According to the information he had seen yesterday, it should already have been converted into a convenience store.

“Looking for someone?” the man asked in confusion when he saw Lin Wu standing at the entrance.

“This internet café looks like it has some age to it. Has it been here many years?” Lin Wu asked with a smile. Whether sincere or not, years of deliberate practice had made him sound very earnest when he smiled and spoke.

“Twenty-one years. Opened in ’03.” Seeing that Lin Wu looked pleasant enough, the man answered casually.

“You’re the owner?”

“One of them. The café used to do pretty well. Not anymore.” The man had been in the business for many years, and his tone carried a trace of reminiscence.

Seeing that the man looked to be in his early forties, Lin Wu chose his words carefully. “Did there used to be a fire here?”

“How did you know?” The man was startled.

“I went to school nearby back then. I remember there being a fire in this area, but I wasn’t sure if it was here.”

“That would’ve been in ’04. The second floor caught fire because of a water boiler. Burned up a lot of machines.”

“It didn’t turn into anything serious?”

“No. One of the customers spotted it early, right when the fire started. They evacuated in time, so it didn’t turn into a major disaster. Quite a few people got scraped up, though.”

“Was it someone here using the computers?” Lin Wu had found the point where his memory diverged.

“I heard it was a high school student. This café was originally opened by my uncle with borrowed money. After the incident, he got hit with a big fine and had to renovate, so my family bought in as shareholders. I never really knew what else to do, so I just kept running the place all these years…” The more the man spoke, the more absorbed in memory he became.

“You’re closing it down now?” Lin Wu asked, looking inside.

“Yeah. The city’s replanning the area. This whole stretch is going to be turned into a food street…”

Even after leaving, Lin Wu still felt unsettled. The first thing he did after returning to the hotel was dig out the old phone. Yesterday’s chat history was still there. The other number still could not be reached, and messages still could not be sent.

He looked at the last message he had sent:

[Forwarded: September 5, 2004, 23:25…]

He had edited that message himself based on the news article. It was now eleven in the morning. He opened his laptop and searched again: September 5, 2004…

The results related to the news he had seen yesterday were gone. In their place was a forum thread:

[Another fire safety lecture! I even missed my TV drama because of it!]

It was a student complaining that the school’s fire safety lecture had run long, causing them to miss their evening drama. The post clearly stated that the lecture had been held because Xingchen Internet Café caught fire on September 5, and it even included photos taken in passing. Besides that, there were also official news reports from the time covering the fire.

The location of the fire was the same as in his memory, but its severity was not. The citywide fire safety lectures had happened, but only as a brief measure with more noise than substance. They lasted only half a day, not the full month of tension and alarm he remembered.

Lin Wu closed his eyes.

He realized he had no memory of the world after the fire had changed.

……

While Lin Wu was sorting through the matter of the fire, back in 2004, in a high-end hospital room at Xuhu Central Hospital, Qin Weidong lay half-reclined in bed with his right arm in a sling. Standing beside him was a burly middle-aged man with a large frame. He wore a white dress shirt under a black suit jacket and was currently speaking on a large mobile phone.

It was very formal attire, but the man carried a natural air of the underworld about him. Even a proper suit somehow looked less proper on him.

On the phone, he was talking about coal mines, workplace safety, and the like. Translated on Hololo novels. Qin Weidong was used to it. With his other hand he played on his phone, first checking his messages, and then, seeing there was nothing new, opening Tetris instead.

After three rounds, the man finally hung up and turned toward him. “Cutting class, cutting class, always cutting class! You think you’re in school just to skip it? Can’t you let people worry a little less…”

Qin Weidong was already annoyed and corrected him. “Didn’t cut class. I went after evening study hall.”

“Climbing over the wall and sneaking out of school is the same thing!”

“Yeah, yeah, next time I won’t climb the wall.” Qin Weidong answered casually.

Seeing the thick-skinned expression on his face, Qin Jianzhang’s head began to ache from anger. “School’s only been in session one week, and your teachers have already called me three times. Forget being late and fighting, forget sneaking out, but when other people skip class to go online, they come out fine. How is it that only you end up in the hospital from it? Even your truancy has to be different from everyone else’s…”

Qin Jianzhang normally lived out in the county and had only arrived in Xuhu the night before. He had a meeting today and had originally planned to speak to his son afterward about the fight at school. But before he had even gotten fully awake, he received a call from the school saying Qin Weidong had gotten into a fight and been hospitalized, bleeding.

He had been so alarmed he threw on clothes and rushed straight over.

Qin Weidong had indeed bled, but it was only an arm injury. A sling for a week would do. Still worried his son might have lasting issues, Qin Jianzhang had forced him into a three-day hospital stay.

After listening to all that, Qin Weidong lifted his head and corrected him unhappily. “I wasn’t fighting. I was helping people.”

The moment he thought back to what happened last night, his feelings turned complicated again.

After the staff room caught fire, he had immediately shouted for the network admin, then gone looking for a fire extinguisher. There was a whole row of them in the café, but they were all just for show, there to pass inspections, and none of them worked. The fire in the staff room spread too quickly and soon reached the doorway.

The network admin had frozen in fright.

Remembering the content of the message, Qin Weidong decisively gave up on trying to put out the fire and instead started pounding on the doors of the private rooms one by one. After that, he ran downstairs shouting. Maybe it was the look on his face, or maybe the thick smoke already pouring down from the second floor, but the others quickly understood and rushed for the exit.

There had been more than fifty people on the first floor. In the panic, someone soon fell.

By then, all the customers from upstairs had also come charging down, and the whole first floor turned into a crush of bodies. The smoke grew so thick that people could barely see.

It was in the middle of that chaos that he saw the yellow-haired kid sprawled on the ground.

At first he had not wanted to bother. But that kid had, at least, tried to strike up a conversation with him earlier. So just as he was about to pass by, he veered aside, grabbed the kid off the floor with one hand, and used his size advantage to force his way toward the exit.

The fire had spread with terrifying speed, but because it was discovered in time and the firefighters arrived quickly, the whole thing ended as more fright than harm. Aside from a few customers getting minor scrapes while fleeing, no real disaster came of it.

Ordinarily, once everyone escaped, they would either demand compensation from the café or go home shaken.

The trouble was that half of them were middle school students.

When the firefighters saw so many little kids, they immediately contacted the police. The injured were sent to the hospital, the uninjured were taken back to the station, and the whole thing turned into utter chaos.

Qin Weidong was among the injured.

He had slammed into a sheet-metal door while carrying someone out, and his arm had been cut in two places.

The police took him to the hospital and contacted the school. Somehow, by the time the story reached Qin Jianzhang, it had turned into him getting hospitalized for fighting.

He had lived seventeen years, and the one time he finally acted with courage, it still got reported as a fight. It was infuriating.

“Your teachers are something else, can’t even get the facts straight, judging with prejudice!” Qin Jianzhang was clearly unhappy that his son had been wrongly accused of fighting. After venting for a bit, he looked at Qin Weidong. “This kind of thing can’t happen again. If you don’t want to stay in the dorm, then commute. That villa on the east side has been empty. I’ll get you a driver to take you to and from school. It’s not far.”

His expectations for Qin Weidong’s academics were extremely low. He himself wasn’t cut out for studying, so it was only natural his son wasn’t either. He had only one goal: don’t get into trouble. Once Qin Weidong went abroad, got some kind of degree, and came back, it would be enough for him to live happily as a rich second-generation heir.

“We’ll see,” Qin Weidong said. He actually liked living on campus. Noticing how formally Qin Jianzhang was dressed today, he asked, “Aren’t you going to your meeting?”

“I am!” Qin Jianzhang snorted. As a mine owner, he had a municipal safety meeting to attend regarding enterprise production. If he lingered any longer, he’d be late.

He picked up his briefcase and was about to leave when he paused. “You have enough money?”

“Yeah.” He hadn’t spent much lately; there was still plenty left on his card.

“Eat what you want, drink what you want. Money’s meant to be spent!” Qin Jianzhang felt bad about his son being injured. After leaving, he thought for a moment and made a call to his assistant.

Back in the hospital room, Qin Weidong was halfway through a game when a notification popped up.

A deposit: 100,000 yuan.

Qin Jianzhang clearly had no sense of a high schooler’s spending habits. When he transferred money, he did it on a whim.

With the game interrupted, Qin Weidong lost interest. His attention drifted back to the fire message from the night before.

Aside from getting his wound treated, he had been thinking about it all day. Who had sent it? How had they predicted the exact time of the fire?

He had asked the firefighters. The fire had likely been caused by a water boiler.

The boiler had been used by the network admin. He had simply been trying to boil some water because he was thirsty. Judging by his reaction afterward, he genuinely hadn’t expected it to start a fire…

Before Qin Jianzhang arrived, Qin Weidong had borrowed a nurse’s phone to try calling. Just like with Hu Wei’s phone, the number was not in service, and messages couldn’t be sent.

Qin Weidong hated thinking too much.

Right now, he felt like his brain was about to burn out.

He put down his phone. Translated on Hololo novels. Just then, Hu Wei slipped into the room carrying a takeout meal. “Did your dad leave?” Hu Wei had met Qin Jianzhang twice and was a little afraid of him, so he had slipped out before Qin Jianzhang arrived.

“Yeah.” Qin Weidong hadn’t eaten much since last night. Without caring how the food tasted, he grabbed his chopsticks and started eating quickly.

Once he felt full, he asked, “You’re not going to class?”

All the underage students who weren’t injured had been taken to the police station the night before. Hu Wei had told the officer he needed to take care of an injured friend and had come to the hospital with him.

“I’m not going. The homeroom teacher said I can come back after I finish writing a self-criticism.” Thinking about the fire still made Hu Wei uneasy. “Brother Qin, if I hadn’t gone to the store, I might’ve ended up injured like you!”

He had been sitting deep inside. Based on what others described, he probably would have tripped while running and fallen hard. Just thinking about it felt dangerous.

“You’re lucky,” Qin Weidong said casually, then asked, “The number you gave me yesterday was the admin’s number, right?”

“Yeah.” Hu Wei didn’t understand why Qin Weidong was so hung up on it. Since he lived in the dorm, his family checked his call and message records every month. He didn’t dare use his own number to reserve computers, so he had asked Qin Weidong to send the message.

“There was something wrong with that number?” Hu Wei asked.

“Nothing major.” Qin Weidong thought for a moment, then continued, “Xiao Liu gave it to you?”

“Yeah.”

“Call him again. Confirm it.”

Qin Weidong didn’t like overthinking, but once he started, he had to get to the bottom of things.

“Alright.” Hu Wei dialed Xiao Liu, then half a minute later looked at Qin Weidong apologetically. “The number Xiao Liu gave me was correct… I just read it wrong when I told you.”

The number Xiao Liu gave ended in 0223, but Hu Wei had read it as 1223. That was how the whole mix-up happened.

“That number… is out of service?” Hu Wei remembered Qin Weidong had tried calling it using his phone the day before.

“Something like that…” Qin Weidong had already expected this after thinking it through all night. Now that it was confirmed the number wasn’t the admin’s, a new question emerged:

Who had he been texting?

……

In the hotel in Xuhu in 2024, Lin Wu had been organizing information about the 2004 fire. In truth, there wasn’t much to organize. Aside from a brief half-day of fire safety lectures, the fire was like countless others across the country: no deaths, nothing particularly unusual.

At ten that night, Lin Wu changed into his sleepwear, made a cup of coffee, and turned on both the old phone and his laptop.

On the phone were not only the chat records from last night, but also the messages he had sent during the day. Ever since returning from the internet café, he had been sending messages every half hour. Just like before, all of them had failed to send.

On the computer was the demolition news about Xingchen Internet Café. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Lin Wu was a physics professor, yet he had never encountered a problem as baffling as this.

As he thought it over, the time on the computer ticked from 10:00 to 10:12. Just as he was about to shut it down and rest, his mind suddenly went blank, as if a bell had rung somewhere.

Five seconds later, Lin Wu stared blankly at the screen.

There were now two sets of memories in his mind.

The first: on September 5, 2004, a devastating fire broke out at Xingchen Internet Café, killing 22 people and severely injuring 39.

The second: no one died at Xingchen Internet Café. That memory felt like a dream known only to him.

The two memories existed like two separate films. He could clearly distinguish between them, without interference. This was beyond anything his knowledge of physics could explain.

At that moment, the old phone lit up with a message notification.

Lin Wu stared at it for half a second, then opened it.

Unknown number: Are you there?

It was the same number from last night.

Timestamp: September 6, 2004, 22:15.

✧˖°.──⋆⭒˚.⋆💌⋆⭒˚.⋆──✧˖°.

“Wang Gao’ang’s been running his mouth, saying he’ll beat us up every time he sees us. No idea who it was that got beaten like a dog last time…” In the taxi in 2004, Hu Wei rambled on about what had been happening these past few days.

There were three high schools in their area: Xuhu No. 1 High School, Lide High School, and the Xuhu Vocational Education Center. Xuhu No. 1 was the best high school in the city, and the students there looked down on others. They had little to do with that side.

Lide’s college admission rate wasn’t as high as No. 1, but its facilities were better, and it had many specialty students and students planning to go abroad. The students there were basically divided into two types: good students, and those who got in through money and connections. Hu Wei and Qin Weidong belonged to the second group. Hu Wei’s family had pinned all their hopes on him and scraped together money to get him in as a sports student, while Qin Weidong had paid a hefty school selection fee and planned to go abroad after graduation.

Qin Weidong was one of the troublemakers at school. Listening to Hu Wei go on from Wang Gao’ang to the group fight the other day, he said dully, “The school’s been cracking down hard lately. Let’s not stir up trouble for now.” He had just been called in by the homeroom teacher that afternoon over a fight, and he felt completely drained.

“Right, right, we’ll study hard! Violence doesn’t solve anything!” Hu Wei immediately changed his tone.

Qin Weidong barely lifted his eyelids, not in the mood to banter.

The scenery outside the taxi window slid by quickly, and soon they arrived at the internet café. It was a two-story place with about 120 computers. Since it was Wednesday, there weren’t many people, and plenty of machines were free when they walked in.

“We texted earlier to reserve machines. Why didn’t anyone respond?” Hu Wei knocked lazily on the counter.

The cashier was a girl in her early twenties, watching a Korean drama. She glanced up. “Who did you text? I didn’t get anything.”

“Zhou Ping, the tall skinny guy from before!”

“The network admin took leave today. He probably didn’t see it. It’s quiet today anyway. You guys opening machines or not?” she asked directly.

“Two private rooms.”

“No private rooms left. Only the main hall.”

“Then the hall it is.”

After chatting a bit more, Hu Wei bought two cans of cola and went back outside to find Qin Weidong. “Brother Qin, all set. Machines 32 and 33!”

It was stuffy inside the café, so Qin Weidong had been standing at the entrance getting some air. Translated on Hololo novels. Seeing Hu Wei return, he casually opened his wallet, pulled out five hundred yuan, and handed it over. “Use this for the computer fees. If it runs out, we’ll talk later.”

“Thanks, boss! I’ll keep a record and give it to you later!” Hu Wei took the money smoothly, clearly not the first time.

“Whatever.” Qin Weidong didn’t care about small amounts of money. When he went out with friends, he rarely fussed over these things and wasn’t used to letting others pay.

They quickly returned inside. Their seats were in a corner on the first floor, far from the entrance, relatively quiet.

Hu Wei sat down and immediately launched Counter-Strike. Qin Weidong placed his phone on the desk, planning to find a few sci-fi movies to watch. But the moment he set it down, a message tone rang out.

He was using the latest Motorola phone, and the message tone sounded especially crisp in the café.

“Who’s that?” Hu Wei asked curiously.

“No idea.” Qin Weidong assumed it was from Qin Jianzhang, probably nagging him again about fighting and not studying. Thinking this, he opened the message—

But it wasn’t Qin Jianzhang.

It was the number for the café’s network admin.

Unknown number: 【Didn’t Xingchen Internet Café shut down twenty years ago?】

Qin Weidong: ???

He turned to Hu Wei. “The number you gave me earlier, that’s the admin’s number?”

“Yeah. I just asked. He took leave today, that’s why he didn’t reply in time. But it’s quiet today anyway, no need to reserve machines…”

At that moment, the game finished loading, and Hu Wei quickly immersed himself in it.

Qin Weidong stared at the message, then casually replied: “Oh? When did it shut down? How come I didn’t know?”

Xingchen had opened just last year. He figured the admin must have had some conflict with the owner and was just talking nonsense out of boredom.

After sending it, Qin Weidong felt like he was wasting his time. He was about to look for a movie when the phone lit up again:

【Forwarded: September 5, 2004, 23:25 — A major fire broke out at Xingchen Internet Café on Yueyang Road in Xuhu City, causing 22 deaths and 39 injuries. The fire was caused by improper use of electrical equipment by staff…】

“Getting creative now?” Qin Weidong frowned deeply. He found it tasteless. If the employee had a problem with the boss, then curse the boss. What did it have to do with the people just there to use the computers? There were over seventy people in the café right now. That message basically cursed most of them.

Already in a bad mood these past few days, Qin Weidong didn’t bother replying anymore and simply called the number.

“Beep. The number you have dialed is not in service. Please check and try again.”

Qin Weidong: …Blocked me???

“What’s wrong, Brother Qin?” Hu Wei leaned over, noticing him staring at his phone.

“Let me use your phone.”

“Sure!” Hu Wei pulled out his phone, confused.

Qin Weidong dialed again. Same result. Number not in service.

He tried sending messages from both phones. Both failed to send.

“Who’s texting you?” Hu Wei asked, remembering Qin Weidong hadn’t said.

“The admin from before…” Qin Weidong felt that everything about this was strange. He glanced at the computer’s clock: 22:32.

There were still fifty-three minutes until the time of the fire mentioned in the message.

……

In the hotel in Xuhu in 2024, Lin Wu also found the message odd. After thinking it over, he guessed it might be a bug with the telecom provider, perhaps old messages being delayed and delivered now, or just some random prank.

As for why he had replied…

Lin Wu looked at his laptop screen. The fire report he had searched earlier was still displayed.

That fire had been so severe that their school had held a full month of fire safety lectures because of it. It was one of the few memories from his final year of high school that could be called relatively uneventful.

……

Back in 2004, at Xingchen Internet Café, Qin Weidong was still thinking about the messages when he suddenly felt two gazes on his back, followed by an obvious attempt at conversation.

“Is that a foreign movie?”

Qin Weidong turned around. Translated on Hololo novels. It was two middle school students. They wore oversized camouflage clothes, had streaks of dyed yellow hair, and smelled faintly of smoke. At a glance, they were clearly troublemakers.

“Yeah,” Qin Weidong replied casually.

Seeing that Qin Weidong also seemed like someone from “the same circle,” they took out a pack of cigarettes and tried to strike up a conversation. “What are you watching? Looks pretty good.”

Qin Weidong tapped the title on the screen. “If you want to watch, go open a machine yourself.”

They wanted to keep talking, but seeing the impatience on his face, they wisely left.

“Brother Qin, looks like you’re pretty popular with the younger kids,” Hu Wei joked after they were gone.

“They’re too young. Don’t know anything.”

Qin Weidong was the school bully at Lide. From his looks and demeanor alone, he seemed like someone who both caused trouble and could handle it. Many younger students liked to latch onto him, calling him “brother,” and some even asked whether he had a girlfriend. Standing next to him made them feel important.

Qin Weidong didn’t like that kind of atmosphere. He wasn’t bored enough to go looking for trouble.

It was now 10:40. Qin Weidong took a sip of cola and glanced around the café. “Why are there so many middle schoolers here?”

“The middle schools in the district have been doing military training these past few days. Probably the supervision’s a bit looser,” Hu Wei said.

“Mm.”

Qin Weidong glanced around roughly. There were more than seventy people in the internet café tonight, and about half of them were middle school students in camouflage uniforms. The café was clearly violating regulations, but he himself was underage, so he had no real standing to criticize it.

He finished the rest of his cola, then thought again about the message. If a fire really broke out here, more than half the people would be gone…

Irritated, Qin Weidong stood up.

“What’s wrong?” Hu Wei was startled.

“Nothing. I’m just going to take a look around.” Normally, Qin Weidong wouldn’t have paid any attention to a prank message like this, but the number had been out of service and still able to send texts. The more he thought about it, the stranger it felt.

It was now 22:50. Qin Weidong walked from the first floor to the second, then back down again. There weren’t many people staying overnight tonight, so he focused mainly on things like computer outlets and refrigerator plugs, while recalling the content of the message:

[The fire was caused by improper use of electrical equipment by staff…]

The message didn’t specify what equipment. He looked around, but everything seemed normal. Nothing stood out as a problem.

Qin Weidong wandered over to the counter.

The cashier had just poured hot water into a cup of instant noodles.

He stood to the side, watching.

The cashier was happily watching her Korean drama, but sensing his gaze, she looked up in confusion. “What is it?”

“Eating instant noodles?” Qin Weidong asked.

“Yeah.”

“Go ahead,” he said, tilting his chin.

Feeling slightly uncomfortable, the cashier started eating.

Qin Weidong stood there for seven minutes, making sure she finished without anything like noodle broth spilling onto the keyboard and causing a fire. Only then did he return to his seat, expressionless.

“What’s going on with you?” Hu Wei asked, completely baffled by Qin Weidong’s pacing.

“Nothing.” Qin Weidong felt like he was being overly suspicious, but the message still felt off.

23:15. There were ten minutes left until the fire mentioned in the message.

He thought about dragging Hu Wei to a nearby convenience store. That way, whether there was a fire or not, at least the two of them would be safe. But looking at all the middle school students in the café, if a fire really broke out, more than half of them would be doomed—

He couldn’t exactly stand up and shout that there was going to be a fire.

Even he felt like he’d look like an idiot.

“Did your dad call you or something?” Hu Wei asked, noticing how distracted Qin Weidong had been all night.

“Something like that,” Qin Weidong replied vaguely, then looked at his screen. “You finished that round?”

“Just did.” Hu Wei was about to start another.

“Don’t start yet. Go to the convenience store up front and buy me a chocolate bar and two cans of Red Bull.” Qin Weidong took out a hundred yuan.

“They sell stuff here…” Hu Wei started toward the counter.

“The chocolate here tastes bad. Go to the one up front. Hazelnut flavor.” The store up ahead was about 800 meters away. A round trip, plus shopping time, would take about fifteen minutes.

“Alright!”

Hu Wei often ran errands for Qin Weidong, so he didn’t mind. He happily headed out, though he didn’t take the hundred yuan from the table. Qin Weidong didn’t say anything and simply put the money away. As long as neither of them let the other take a loss, that was enough.

After Hu Wei left, Qin Weidong went over the messages again. Still uneasy, he muttered a curse and headed upstairs. If this really was a prank, he was determined to find that network admin and beat him up.

The second floor was the same size as the first, but without a front desk. Instead, there were five private rooms and two staff rooms.

Just like before, he focused on the outlets and plugs. Only one staff member was on duty upstairs, sitting in the hall playing games, while the other customers were inside private rooms. There were fewer people upstairs, so Qin Weidong’s footsteps echoed loudly.

He checked carefully. Just when he thought he would come up empty-handed again, he suddenly caught a faint smell of something burning.

It was coming from the staff room.

Through the crack in the door, he could see flames rapidly spreading.

……

“Hazelnut chocolate bar, two cans of Red Bull…” At Jia Jia Supermarket, 800 meters away from Xingchen, Hu Wei finished buying what Qin Weidong had asked for. Remembering that Qin hadn’t eaten dinner, he also picked up two cups of instant noodles and a couple of sausages.

After paying and stepping out of the store, he suddenly noticed a fire in the distance.

At first he didn’t think much of it. But two seconds later, it hit him—

The place on fire… was the internet café?!

……

“Thank you for your help. You’ve really assisted a lot these past few days.”

“No trouble at all. Your initial paperwork is already done. You’ll just need to sign a relocation agreement later. That should take about a week.”

On the morning of September 6, after completing the demolition procedures, Lin Wu left the municipal office building. The sun was shining brightly, and his mood felt a little lighter as well. He stood by the roadside for a moment, then casually hailed a taxi.

“Where to?” the driver asked.

After giving the hotel address, Lin Wu added, “Take Yueyang Road.”

Both Yueyang Road and Government Avenue led to the hotel, but Yueyang Road was a bit longer. Perhaps because of the strange message he had received the night before, and with nothing urgent to do, he wanted to pass by the area where he used to go to school.

“Sure thing!” The driver clearly liked passengers who asked for a longer route, and his tone became noticeably more enthusiastic.

The scenery slid past outside the window, and Lin Wu’s thoughts drifted back to the fire.

In his memory, most of the victims had been nearby students, many of them middle schoolers undergoing military training. After the incident, the entire city tightened regulations on internet cafés, and the person in charge had reportedly been sentenced to many years in prison.

Lin Wu let his thoughts wander until, as they passed a storefront, he suddenly froze. “Wait!”

“What’s wrong?” The driver quickly pulled over.

“That internet café… it’s still there?” Lin Wu stared blankly across the street.

“Which one?” the driver followed his gaze.

“Xingchen Internet Café.” Lin Wu felt that something had gone wrong. He had specifically looked up the fire the day before. After the incident, the café had shut down and, after several changes, had become a small roadside shop.

“It’s always been there. Old place, been around twenty years. I think it’s about to be demolished soon,” the driver said. Having driven all over the area for years, he knew the layout well.

“Twenty years…”

Lin Wu tried hard to recall.

In his memory, that internet café had been gone.

✧˖°.──⋆⭒˚.⋆💌⋆⭒˚.⋆──✧˖°.

Lin Wu handled Wang Manshan’s funeral arrangements according to the same process as before.

When many of the colleagues who had attended Hao Shuqin’s funeral learned that something had happened to Wang Manshan as well, all they could do was sigh in dismay. Beyond that, quite a few also envied Lin Wu for inheriting a house. But envy was envy. Everyone still felt that the two families had suffered far too much.

After the funeral, quite a few people wanted to use the occasion to get closer to Lin Wu, but after some brief polite exchanges, he did not continue the conversation. Over the years he had become gentler than he had been in high school, but deep down he was still a loner. Back then, he had been unable to fit into the collective. Now, he simply disliked having anyone get close.

“How are things at home? If there’s still a lot to deal with, you can come back to school later.” On August 31, Lin Wu had hired someone to clean out Wang Manshan’s home, and during that time he received a call from a university administrator.

“The funeral has been taken care of. There are still some personal matters left.” The personal matters Lin Wu referred to were the demolition procedures. The houses in Section Three had now officially been marked for demolition, but there were still matters such as measurements of the property and signing the compensation agreement. It would probably take another half month to finish everything.

“You still haven’t used up the annual leave from the past few years, so there’s no rush to come back. Come back whenever you’ve finished handling things!” the administrator said cheerfully. The high-temperature superconductivity project under Lin Wu’s charge had just caused a major stir in academic circles, and he was now one of the university’s prized stars. The administrator was not calling to hurry him back, but was sincerely concerned about his life.

“Thank you.” Lin Wu smiled.

After he hung up, the cleaning staff sorted out a large pile of odds and ends. “Mr. Lin, should we keep these things or throw them away?” Most of them were everyday items such as clothes and ornaments, all very lived-in and domestic.

Lin Wu looked them over carefully and said, “Keep the clothes and decorations. Throw out the greens and bean sprouts and anything else that’ll spoil easily.”

“Got it!” Lin Wu had paid well for the cleaning service, so everyone worked with great care.

An hour later, Wang Manshan’s home looked completely renewed. The clothes had been folded neatly into the wardrobe, the other belongings stored away in plastic bins, and the entire place was bright and spotless, without the slightest trace of clutter.

“Mr. Lin, should we cover everything now?” one of the cleaners asked, taking out a stack of dust covers.

“Go ahead,” Lin Wu said.

With a swish, the dust covers were spread over the sofas and cabinets. Wang Manshan had left the apartment to him. Lin Wu could not bear to rent it out, nor did he have any intention of selling it. After thinking it over, he decided to leave the question of the apartment for later.

After leaving Wang Manshan’s place, Lin Wu went to the family compound in Section Three. The houses there had been built in 1980, with two households to a staircase landing and both households sharing one toilet. Following his memory, Lin Wu arrived downstairs at his old building. His family had lived in Building 26, Unit 1, on the third floor. The stairwell was dark and dim, carrying the musty smell that came with too many years. Now all the old steel factory residents had moved away, and the building was occupied by migrant workers from out of town.

Lin Wu soon reached the third floor and took out his key.

The rusted iron door creaked open, revealing the inside: a passageway of about five square meters, cluttered with miscellaneous items and kitchenware. At the end of it were two rooms, one where he had slept, the other where his parents had lived. The entire home measured thirty-six square meters. It was where he had lived from birth through high school.

The room smelled too strongly, so Lin Wu opened the hallway window.

He had actually come back a few times after graduating from high school, but with no one left at home, and with both his studies and social life centered elsewhere, he had returned less and less often. Even when he passed through Xuhu, he would only stop by to visit Hao Shuqin and then leave. Thinking about it carefully, he realized he had not come back in seven years.

Lin Wu opened all the windows, and then received a call from the demolition office.

“I’m at the house now. You can come over. Yes, Building 26, Unit 1…”

The compound had already begun scheduling property measurements. Lin Wu had originally made his appointment for the twenty-seventh, but after Wang Manshan’s death, he had postponed it until today.

It was now three in the afternoon. After hanging up, Lin Wu waited inside the house. At 3:20, the measuring team arrived.

“We were just at Building Seven, and it took a little longer than expected,” they said apologetically as soon as they entered. There were three of them, and since they had arranged to come at three, they felt bad about being late.

“It’s fine. I only just got here myself.” Lin Wu opened a plastic bag nearby and took out three bottles of mineral water. He had bought them on the way over.

“Thank you!” The three were a little surprised by the gesture, but after being busy all day, they really were thirsty. They gulped down the water and then began measuring with their instruments. Strictly speaking, though, it was more of a formality. All the apartments in Section Three followed the same layout, and the property deeds were there as well.

“Property prices have dropped lately, but Section Three and Section One are part of the same family compound, so you should probably get the same rate as Section One…” the team leader chatted with Lin Wu during a break in the measurements.

“The government’s treating us pretty well,” Lin Wu replied with a smile. Though he said that, he did not really care how much compensation he would receive. It was enough for the process to proceed as it should.

The two chatted for a while when a voice came from the other bedroom: “There’s a box here. Looks pretty nice, maybe even like an antique…”

“What box?” Lin Wu and the team leader both went over.

“This one!” The staff member pulled out a square wooden box from under the bed, about thirty centimeters by thirty centimeters. The room was about fifteen square meters, and because the space was so cramped, the bed had been pushed right up against the wall. He had moved it slightly to get an accurate measurement, and only then found the box wedged in the gap underneath.

“Rosewood, maybe?” The team leader took it, examined it back and forth, then handed it to Lin Wu.

“Probably…” Lin Wu froze for a moment. Looking at the pattern on the box, he recognized it as Luo Xiaorong’s keepsake box.

Luo Xiaorong, Lin Wu’s “mentally ill” mother.

“This box is really well preserved. You should put it away carefully. It might even sell for quite a bit.” Over this period they had seen many people digging out old belongings from the past. Some were valuable, some were not, but many were full of the memories of their era.

“Thank you. If it weren’t for you, I might never have found this box,” Lin Wu said sincerely as he put it away. He had cleaned this room before, but it must have been tucked too far underneath. He had never found it.

“What’s there to thank us for? Even if we hadn’t found it, you’d have had to clear the place out before demolition anyway.” The team leader waved it off, unwilling to take credit.

After the measuring team left, Lin Wu opened the box.

Luo Xiaorong had suffered from an intellectual disability, with the mental capacity of a child between three and seven years old. Translated on Hololo novels. While she was alive, she liked things like paper stars and dolls. When Lin Wu opened the box, he found some folded paper stars, a folded sheet of drawing paper, a mobile phone, and a charger.

He unfolded the drawing paper.

On it were three stick figures, two adults holding the hand of one child. All three were smiling. Behind them were trees drawn in colored marker, and a bright red sun. The drawing was very childish, but it also looked very warm.

Lin Wu’s gaze shifted to the lower right corner of the paper:

Happy Birthday, Wuwu!

The line was crooked and uneven, as if it had been traced by copying something.

Lin Wu went still. He picked up the phone and saw that there was a “Happy Birthday” sticker on the back.

Luo Xiaorong had died on December 15, 2004. Lin Wu’s birthday was December 23. This had been the birthday gift she had prepared for him.

He turned the phone on. There was a SIM card inside, and the last four digits of the number were 1223.

It was not some rare or lucky number. It was his birthday.

In a sudden flash, Lin Wu remembered that before Luo Xiaorong’s accident, she had often come home carrying a huge basin full of beads to string together. They were beads from the bead-curtain shop at the entrance to the compound. Back then he had thought she was just fooling around. Now, looking back, he realized she had been saving money to buy him a phone.

At seven that evening, Lin Wu returned to the hotel full of troubled thoughts, the box from the old house held in his arms.

He had already tried it. The phone still worked normally, but the SIM card had long since been deactivated.

That was perfectly natural. After all, twenty years had passed. There was no way that card could still be in service. It had probably passed through several different owners in the meantime.

After plugging the phone in to charge, Lin Wu lay on the bed, staring blankly.

By 2004, mobile phones had already begun to become popular. He did not know why Luo Xiaorong had bought him one, nor could he imagine what it had been like for someone with an intellectual disability to save up money bit by bit, then go from shop to shop choosing a phone number…

Lin Wu closed his eyes. He realized that he could no longer clearly remember what Luo Xiaorong looked like.

In the following week, aside from handling the demolition procedures, Lin Wu spent the rest of his time wandering around Xuhu. It was a small, unremarkable city, but after years of urban development, it now had many high-rise buildings. Much of what he remembered had already changed.

He walked through every street and alley of Xuhu, and the city in his memories seemed to drift farther and farther away.

On the night of September 5, thunder roared and lightning flashed. Lin Wu was in his hotel room organizing work materials. The demolition procedures were almost complete now. Once he signed two more compensation documents, he could head back. He had already contacted his colleagues at Jianghe over the past couple of days. Everything at the university was normal, nothing to worry about.

Just as he was thinking about which train ticket to buy, an abrupt sound suddenly rang out in the room—

Ding ding.

It was a sound full of nostalgia, like the text message tone from when mobile phones had first become widespread.

Lin Wu looked around and only then noticed a phone plugged into the bedside outlet. It was the one he had brought from the old house. Since he had no need for that socket, he had ignored it these past few days.

Now the black-and-white screen was lit.

Puzzled, Lin Wu walked over.

He unlocked the phone.

A single unread message appeared:

【Yueyang Road Xingchen Internet Café. Help me reserve two computers. I’ll be there at 10:30!】

A flash of lightning illuminated the room, making the message glaringly clear.

Lin Wu froze, his gaze shifting to the timestamp:

September 5, 2004, 22:12.

……

At 10:15 p.m. on September 5, 2004, at the south corner of Lide High School in Xuhu, Hu Wei flipped down from the three-meter-high wall like a nimble monkey.

He was 1.8 meters tall but weighed only 120 jin, his body thin as a pole, which was why many classmates called him “Monkey Hu.”

After landing and dusting himself off, he grinned at Qin Weidong, who was waiting by the wall. “Brother Qin, did you book the computers? I’ve been practicing my aim these past few days. I’m definitely going to rack up kills tonight!”

Qin Weidong was seventeen, about 1.89 meters tall, a head taller than Hu Wei. Broad-shouldered and narrow-waisted, with sharp, rugged features, he was currently playing Tetris. Hearing this, he frowned and switched back to his messages. “Can’t get through on the phone. No reply to texts either. Are you sure that’s the manager’s number?”

“I’m sure! Xiao Liu used to book machines through him,” Hu Wei said. Both he and Qin Weidong were third-year boarding students at Lide High School. Their school was located in the eastern district of Xuhu, near two general high schools and one vocational school. Internet cafés had just become popular, and many students would sneak out on weekends or even overnight to go online.

It was Wednesday, and they had planned to go play Counter-Strike at the nearby Xingchen Internet Café.

“No reply.” Qin Weidong was the top dog at Lide High. Just after the semester started, he had already been involved in two group fights with students from the nearby vocational school. Translated on Hololo novels. He had been scolded by the homeroom teacher that afternoon and honestly had no interest in going out.

“Probably a lot of people online right now. He didn’t see it. We can just go directly!” Hu Wei could see the impatience in Qin Weidong’s eyes and was afraid he might call it off.

“Let’s go.” Qin Weidong really didn’t want to go, but since they had already come out, he didn’t feel like ruining the mood.

“Should we take a taxi or walk?” Hu Wei immediately asked, eager to please. The ride would cost six yuan, and he would rather save that money for drinks.

“Taxi.” Qin Weidong raised his hand and hailed one without hesitation. Though he was a boarding student, he received ten thousand yuan a month in allowance and had a credit card with a limit of five hundred thousand. Among high schoolers, that was an enormous sum.

“Thanks, boss!” Hu Wei knew Qin Weidong’s family owned mines. He didn’t know exactly how wealthy they were, but the fact that they had a personal driver already put them in a completely different class from ordinary people.

After the two of them got into the back seat of the taxi, Qin Weidong checked his phone again. The message screen was still blank. There was nothing.

At the same time, in a hotel in Xuhu in 2024, Lin Wu was also frowning at his phone.

The screen still displayed the message from earlier. After reading it, two thoughts came to him.

First: this phone can still receive messages?

Second: the Xingchen Internet Café on Yueyang Road had been shut down twenty years ago after a major fire.

Lin Wu remembered it clearly because he had been a senior in high school at the time, studying just two streets away.

The fire at Xingchen Internet Café had resulted in twenty-two deaths and thirty-nine severe injuries. It had caused a major stir locally, and for an entire month afterward, their school had held fire safety lectures. The fire had occurred at 11:25 p.m. on September 5, 2004.

Looking at the message, Lin Wu felt something was off. He used the old phone to dial the number. Both his phone and the other number were out of service.

He stared again at the timestamp on the message:

September 5, 2004, 22:12.

So…

a deactivated number had sent a message to another deactivated number?

Lin Wu felt like he had stepped into something unreal.

✧˖°.──⋆⭒˚.⋆💌⋆⭒˚.⋆──✧˖°.

【Yueyang Road Xingchen Internet Café, help me reserve two computers. I’ll be there at 10:30!】

【Didn’t Xingchen Internet Café shut down twenty years ago?】

【Oh? When did it shut down? How come I didn’t know?】

【Forwarded: September 5, 2004, 23:25 — A major fire broke out at Xingchen Internet Café in Xuhu City, causing 22 deaths and 39 injuries…】

……

On the evening of September 6, 2024, in a luxury hotel in downtown Xuhu, Lin Wu sat at the desk in his room, dressed in light brown pajamas, his expression serious.

In front of him were two electronic devices.

One was a black-and-white screen mobile phone produced in 2004, 11 centimeters long and 5 centimeters wide. A sticker was affixed to the back cover, and the phone looked almost brand new. The SMS interface was lit up, displaying a series of text messages exchanged the previous night.

Lin Wu studied it carefully for a while, then turned to the other device: a brand-new business laptop from 2024.

The search bar on the computer was open, showing a local news article:

[On August 26, the municipal government decided to demolish twelve internet cafés on Yueyang Road, including Changkong, Xingchen, and Feiyue. The former sites will be redeveloped into a food street…]

Ten photos accompanied the article. One of them showed a signboard photographed at the entrance by municipal workers. It had a distinctly old-fashioned design, and the two characters “Xingchen” were clearly visible.

Lin Wu closed his eyes.

He felt as if there were two separate memories in his mind.

The first: on September 5, 2004, a devastating fire broke out at Xingchen Internet Café, killing 22 people and injuring 39.

The second: no one died at Xingchen Internet Café. His memory of it was like a dream known only to himself…

……

Twenty days earlier.

Teacher Hao had committed suicide.

Lin Wu had just finished attending an academic seminar when he received the news. It was late August, the sunlight over Jianghe bright and clear. Around him were scholars and experts who had attended the conference, some discussing its content, others exchanging pleasantries and networking. Everyone wore the relaxed expression of having just completed something significant.

The atmosphere was so pleasant that when Lin Wu took the call, he felt momentarily disoriented.

It was as if his soul and body had separated. His soul was bewildered, while his body calmly asked, “When did it happen?”

“This morning at five. She jumped. They couldn’t save her. We’ve contacted the funeral home. They’ll send someone this afternoon.” Wang Manshan’s voice carried the exhaustion of someone utterly drained.

Lin Wu made a decisive choice. “I’m coming back now.”

“Will it affect your work?”

“No. I’ll check high-speed rail tickets. I can be there by seven at the latest.”

After hanging up, Lin Wu felt his right hand trembling. He didn’t bother with anything else. After briefly informing his colleagues of an emergency, he rushed back to the hotel to pack, then hurried to the train station.

Lin Wu was thirty-seven years old. His life had been full of twists and hardship.

His father was disabled, and his mother had moderate intellectual impairment. Compared to other families, his home life had always been somewhat abnormal. His father had worked at the Xuhu Steel Plant, supporting the family of three on a meager salary. Wang Manshan had been his father’s coworker, and Wang’s wife, Hao Shuqin, was a schoolteacher. The two families were closer than most.

When Lin Wu was in his first year of high school, his father died of illness. By then he was already half-grown, forced to attend school while caring for his mother. During that time, Wang Manshan’s family helped him greatly.

Though Lin Wu had not been good at expressing himself when he was young, he remembered everything.

Wang Manshan and Hao Shuqin had one daughter, Wang Jiahui, two years younger than Lin Wu. Back then, she used to follow him around, calling him “Brother Lin.” In her senior year of high school, she became involved in a serial murder case. She survived, but fell into a vegetative state. A month later, Lin Wu’s mother was killed in a traffic accident while crossing the street.

These two events dealt devastating blows to both families.

At the time, Lin Wu was about to take the college entrance exam. He lived in a daze, day after day. Wang Manshan and Hao Shuqin were overwhelmed with their daughter’s condition, yet they did not abandon Lin Wu. While caring for Wang Jiahui, they also paid close attention to Lin Wu’s mental state.

Under these successive blows, Lin Wu forced himself forward and ultimately became the top science student of his year.

Now he was a professor in the Department of Physics at Jianghe University. With age and experience came clarity, and he had come to deeply understand the kindness Wang Manshan’s family had shown him. Back then, he had been like someone standing lost at the edge of a cliff. It was that family who had pulled him back.

In recent years, he had come to regard them as his own family.

In a daze, Lin Wu thought of Wang Jiahui.

She had been a gentle and sensible girl, only in her first year of high school when the incident occurred. It was a series of murders targeting high school girls. Between 2004 and 2007, the killer committed five crimes. Of the five victims, only the second and third survived.

The second survivor moved quickly to another province. Wang Jiahui was the third victim. Though she survived, her brain suffered severe damage, leaving her in a vegetative state. Wang Manshan and Hao Shuqin cared for her year after year, until six months ago, when she died from complications caused by her long-term condition.

“We were mentally prepared. Huihui endured for so many years. In a way, this was a release.” When Lin Wu received the news, he had returned to Xuhu. At the time, Hao Shuqin, her hair graying and eyes swollen, had instead comforted him.

Worried they might not withstand the pain of losing their only child, Lin Wu had called them every week over the past six months. Most of the calls were answered by Hao Shuqin. She would talk about what she had eaten, whether the fish at the market was fresh, her tone calm, betraying nothing unusual.

Lin Wu thought they had made it through.

He never expected Hao Shuqin to suddenly take her own life. It came like a violent storm, completely without warning.

Outside the train window, the scenery sped past. For the first time, Lin Wu felt time move unbearably slowly.

At 6:50, he arrived at the Xuhu Funeral Home.

Before retirement, Wang Manshan had been a steel factory worker, and Hao Shuqin a high school teacher. Both were well liked. When Lin Wu arrived, the farewell hall was filled with relatives, friends, and colleagues who had come to pay their respects.

Wang Manshan, wearing a black jacket, looked haggard as he received guests. Already short in stature, he seemed to have aged years in just six months.

“Uncle Wang!” Lin Wu stepped forward after steadying himself.

“You’re here?” Wang Manshan’s eyes were bloodshot, his voice hoarse. He looked at Lin Wu, as if wanting to say something, but in the end he simply pulled him into a tight embrace. “Your Aunt Hao is gone.”

“This morning she said she couldn’t sleep and wanted to go for a walk. Before she left, she asked what I wanted to eat. I said two scallion buns and some soy milk. She said the buns at the entrance of the neighborhood sell out quickly, and if they were gone, she’d get fennel ones instead. I never thought… after she left, she would never come back. I checked the surveillance. She went up there alone… stayed on the rooftop for half an hour…”

Wang Manshan kept replaying the moments before Hao Shuqin’s death. Not even he could accept that his wife was gone.

“Aunt Hao must have had a moment of despair. Please don’t dwell on it too much. You have to take care of your health…” Lin Wu’s eyes reddened. With Teacher Hao gone, he was deeply worried about Wang Manshan.

“Is this Lin Wu?”

“Lin Haiming’s son.”

“He’s grown up so much.”

………

As they spoke, quite a few workers from the steel factory recognized Lin Wu. Back when everyone lived in the same compound, their impression of him had been that he studied well, was small and skinny, gloomy, and kept to himself. In the little they remembered, Lin Wu was always carrying his schoolbag home with his head lowered. He had no real friends and was often out in the yard washing clothes for his family.

The young Lin Wu had been far too easy to overlook.

Now, though, he had come straight from the seminar venue and was still wearing the expensive suit he had worn for the conference. His hair was slightly disheveled from hurrying, but his skin was pale, his features sharp and well-formed, and his bearing calm and restrained. At a glance, he looked like an elite professional.

“Is that really Lin Haiming’s son?” Lin Haiming had been lame, and his wife had been mentally ill. No one had expected their child to grow up like this.

“I heard he’s a professor at Jianghe University…” someone said, sharing what they knew about Lin Wu.

“Jianghe!” the others murmured among themselves.

Jianghe University was one of the top two universities in the country. For Lin Wu to be a professor there, he had to be outstanding even among the outstanding. Once they learned what he did, some people wanted to go over and strike up a connection, but Lin Wu kept too much distance about him. From the moment he arrived, he had spoken only to Wang Manshan, and the occasion was not appropriate anyway. After thinking it over, none of them dared step forward.

Lin Wu paid no attention to what the others were thinking. He did his best to comfort Wang Manshan, and once the man had calmed somewhat, he went to the ice coffin in the farewell hall.

Hao Shuqin had died by jumping from a building. The mortician had arranged her appearance, but after such a fall, her features no longer had the vitality they had in life. Lin Wu took one look and could not bear to look again.

Hao Shuqin’s funeral was scheduled for a week later. During that week, Lin Wu stayed by Wang Manshan’s side as family and accompanied him through every step of the process. During that time, Wang Manshan went out alone twice. Lin Wu was worried, but despite his concern, he did not press the issue under Wang Manshan’s repeated insistence.

A week later, everyone went to the Dongshan Cemetery in Xuhu. Hao Shuqin’s grave was right beside Wang Jiahui’s. Both headstones used their ID photos from when they were alive. In the photographs, their brows and eyes were gentle. At a glance, they looked exactly like a mild and cultivated mother and daughter.

Standing before the gravestones, Lin Wu burned some spirit money and once again realized that Teacher Hao was truly gone.

At seven in the evening, Lin Wu escorted Wang Manshan back home.

Wang Manshan’s apartment had been obtained through relocation compensation after demolition. When they first moved there, it had been because the building had an elevator, which would make it easier to take Wang Jiahui up and down. Who could have expected that in less than two years, Wang Jiahui and Hao Shuqin would both die one after the other? The spacious new apartment looked bleak and empty.

After seeing everyone else off, Wang Manshan took out a bottle of baijiu and two small liquor cups. Pouring Lin Wu a drink, he asked, “What do you plan to do from here on?”

“The work on my end at the university is wrapped up, and I don’t have much going on lately. I plan to handle the demolition paperwork for the old house, and once that’s done, I’ll take you back to Jianghe with me.” Lin Wu and Wang Manshan had lived in the same steelworkers’ family compound, one in Section One and the other in Section Three. The houses in Section One had been demolished earlier, and now the policy had finally come down for Section Three as well. Lin Wu intended to finish the paperwork, then bring Wang Manshan back to Jianghe.

He had a 120-square-meter apartment there, enough room for the two of them. They had already discussed it over the past few days. Otherwise, Lin Wu could not rest easy leaving Wang Manshan here alone.

“There’s no rush about going to Jianghe.” Wang Manshan took a sip of baijiu, then, in a tone almost like casual heart-to-heart conversation, asked, “How have you been these past few years in Jianghe?”

“Pretty well. My colleagues and the university administration are both good to me. The teaching load isn’t heavy. The students there are eager to learn and very polite…” Lin Wu did not usually drink much, but he could drink, and as he sipped, he talked about work.

Hao Shuqin had been gentle; Wang Manshan steady and composed. When Hao Shuqin was still alive, the two of them rarely sat face-to-face like this and talked. Now they drank together and spoke openly, as though the baijiu might drive away the gloom that had hung over them for so long.

With the alcohol taking effect, Wang Manshan asked Lin Wu many questions about his work. At the end, he looked at him with aching pity. “You’ve suffered a lot all these years.” With Lin Wu’s family circumstances, it could not have been easy for him to achieve what he had.

“It wasn’t that hard. If it hadn’t been for you and Aunt Hao back then, I never would have been able to sit for the college entrance exam in peace.” Lin Wu’s memories of high school had already blurred, but one thing was clear: without Wang Manshan and Hao Shuqin, he would never have been able to study in peace.

“We didn’t really do much. We only paid your first year’s tuition, and you paid it back in your second year.” Wang Manshan waved it off, then took out a bank card wrapped in a cloth pouch from his pocket. “This is all the money you’ve sent us over the years. We never used it. Your Aunt Hao saved it up for your wedding. Now she’s gone without a word. I thought it over, and it’s better if you take it back…”

After he had started working, Lin Wu had sent them money every year. Altogether, it had come to nearly three hundred thousand yuan.

“I don’t need it!” Lin Wu froze when he saw the bank card.

“If I’m telling you to take it, then take it. I have a pension. I don’t need this much money!” Wang Manshan stuffed the card directly into Lin Wu’s pocket, then clapped him hard on the shoulder. “What’s past is past. You’re still young. From now on, you have to live happily, truly live!”

“Not just me. You have to live happily too,” Lin Wu corrected him.

“Mhm. I’ll live happily too.” Wang Manshan gave a vague response, his mind already growing a little unfocused. As if recalling the past, he said, “Your Aunt Hao and I always regretted it. We kept thinking, if only we’d gone to pick Huihui up from school, or transferred her to another school, or never signed her up for evening study hall, maybe none of this would have happened…

“She was only fifteen when it happened. Your Aunt Hao and I always hoped Huihui would wake up, but twenty years passed, and even when she died, she never woke up… If we could choose again, it would have been fine for the two of us to trade our lives for hers. She was only fifteen when it happened. Only fifteen…”

By the end, Wang Manshan’s voice was thick with sobs.

Lin Wu drank his baijiu, his vision blurred by tears. He remembered that when Wang Jiahui had first become a victim, some people had urged them to have another child. They had refused. Many said they were foolish.

But were they really foolish?

They were only waiting for a miracle.

A miracle is called a miracle precisely because it is so hard for it to happen in real life. They had waited twenty years and never received theirs.

After Hao Shuqin’s sudden death, many of her personal belongings were still in the house, and it was inconvenient for Lin Wu to stay there. During this time, he had been living in a hotel. That day, he and Wang Manshan talked about many things. Lin Wu had already made up his mind to finish the housing demolition paperwork as soon as possible and take Wang Manshan to Jianghe at the earliest chance.

Wang Manshan also spoke of his hopes for the life ahead.

Just as Lin Wu began to think the two of them might finally emerge from the darkness, early the next morning he received a call from the police station.

Wang Manshan had killed himself.

He had jumped into the river at three in the morning, and this suicide had been planned well in advance.

Before his death, he had written a suicide note, notarized his estate, and even repaid all the ceremonial gift money he had received over the years…

Wang Manshan and Hao Shuqin had both been wage earners, but Wang Jiahui’s medical treatment had left them struggling financially for years. Their most valuable asset was a ninety-square-meter apartment. They had no close relatives, so Wang Manshan left the apartment to Lin Wu, while the one hundred thousand yuan in his bank account was donated to a charitable organization for patients in vegetative states. The will had already been notarized.

Lin Wu looked at the notarization date.

August 19, the day after Hao Shuqin’s death.

Even while making funeral arrangements, Wang Manshan had never planned to keep living.

Lin Wu cried then, cried until his heart felt torn apart.

He saw the final words Wang Manshan had left for him:

Live well. Live happily.

Everyone knows they ought to live well.

But for someone trapped in the depths of despair, living well is far too hard.

✧˖°.──⋆⭒˚.⋆💌⋆⭒˚.⋆──✧˖°.

“Not that much of a pity,” Shao Ye said. He still didn’t really like that outfit.

“Then what will you wear?” Xi Guanming asked with concern.

Shao Ye scratched his head. “A wizard robe, probably. Our class monitor said the other witches will wear white, and I’ll wear black.”

“Not bad,” Xi Guanming said with a smile. “Then leave that outfit with me for now.”

Shao Ye nodded, not finding anything strange about that. As he was about to leave, he noticed Xi Guanming still sitting there reading and asked one more question, “President, aren’t you going to class today?”

“I’ll go in a bit,” Xi Guanming replied.

When Shao Ye arrived at the classroom, the bell hadn’t rung yet. The class monitor was complaining with the others about the notice the school had issued that morning. Translated on Hololo novels. They all suspected the neighboring class got jealous of their brilliant idea and secretly reported them to the administration.

Shao Ye listened for a couple of sentences without much interest, pulled out his English textbook, and after reading half a page, started yawning. He rested his head on the desk, eyelids drooping, and fell asleep again.

His schedule was packed today. For the upcoming sports meet, Shao Ye had signed up for three events: sprinting, relay, and shot put. During the only PE class in the afternoon, he needed to finalize the relay order with his classmates and get some guidance from the teacher on his shot put technique to see if he could improve. At night, he still had to go to the gym’s empty classroom to rehearse the play.

And not just today. Until the arts festival and sports meet were over, his life would be this full every day.

Shao Ye was playing a taciturn, sinister, vengeful yet deeply devoted-in-love witch. He didn’t have many lines. Aside from delivering a curse at the princess’s birthday banquet, he had a mid-plot Shakespearean-style romantic confession with the princess, after which he fell into a deep sleep.

The latter half of the story focused on the princess’s growth arc. Shao Ye just had to lie on stage pretending to sleep until the princess found her true love. Then, controlled by students backstage, a patch of green grass would sprout from his head, and his role would be over. The props team would then wheel him off the stage on a cart.

Shao Ye’s acting couldn’t be described as brilliant—it could only be described as complete garbage. His best acting came when he was lying on stage pretending to sleep. The class monitor objectively commented that it was truly a loss to the world of roasting that Shao Ye hadn’t entered the entertainment industry.

The girl playing the princess initially felt a bit guilty about the witch’s ending, but after rehearsing two scenes with Shao Ye, she no longer felt that way.

Not adding a couple more shovelfuls of dirt to his grave was already her kindness.

When the curse took effect and the witch collapsed, the relief on the princess’s face didn’t look like acting at all, making it hard not to suspect the whole thing was her scheme.

Despite all the stumbling, they managed to rehearse the entire play. Students from the neighboring class sneaked over to scout them out, only to end up laughing themselves into collapse at the sight of the grass-growing witch.

On Friday evening, Shao Ye skipped class early and went to the oak grove in the north of the campus. Si Xu and the others hadn’t arrived yet. To prevent the three of them from denying the outcome after the fight, he hung several cameras on the branches to record everything. If they later went back on their word and kept bothering Jiang Yan, he would release the footage and let them “shine” in front of the entire school.

When Si Xu and the other two arrived and saw Shao Ye jogging in place with an eager expression, they all showed the exact same look of confusion.

Seeing him reminded Si Xu of the frustration he’d been bottling up recently. He asked coldly, “What are you doing here? Don’t you know we’ve claimed this place tonight?”

Shao Ye replied righteously, “To fight with you guys.”

Zong Xingze frowned and asked, “Did Xi Guanming send you?”

“No,” Shao Ye said.

The president didn’t even know about this yet. He wanted to give him a big surprise.

Because Shao Ye had been sticking close to Jiang Yan recently, Jin Feng had some understanding of him and asked, “So are you also trying to pursue Jiang Yan?”

Shao Ye looked at him like he was crazy. “I’m not.”

“Then what exactly are you doing here!” Si Xu snapped.

“To fight, obviously. Didn’t we agree that whoever wins, the others have to stop pursuing Jiang Yan?”

Who agreed to that?!

Si Xu couldn’t help swearing. “And you’re still saying Xi Guanming didn’t send you!”

Shao Ye answered honestly, “He really didn’t.”

Unfortunately, none of the three seemed to believe him. Zong Xingze thoughtfully took out his phone and sent a message, while Jin Feng’s gaze carried a hint of caution.

Si Xu sneered. “Don’t think just because you’re Xi Guanming’s guy that I won’t touch you. Even if Xi Guanming were here today, I’d still beat you!”

Shao Ye impatiently urged, “Why so much nonsense? Are you fighting or not? I still have rehearsal later!”

“You’re asking for death!” Si Xu was the first to charge.

Zong Xingze and Jin Feng exchanged a glance and joined the fray. Without needing to say it, all three chose to target Shao Ye first. Only by knocking this idiot out could they settle things among themselves.

Unfortunately, the outcome didn’t quite match their expectations. Although they had all learned combat, whether in strength or technique, they were inferior to Shao Ye. Especially Zong Xingze, who barely exerted himself at all and mostly just coasted.

Shao Ye had expected a one-versus-three fight to take longer and had even considered asking the class monitor for leave that night. He hadn’t expected to deal with them so easily.

“Remember this. Stay away from Jiang Yan from now on. Don’t make our president unhappy. If you make him unhappy, you make me unhappy. And then—hmph—I’ll make you regret it,” Shao Ye declared, tossing out what he thought was a very cool threat before running excitedly all the way from the oak grove to the office building.

He pushed open the office door and called out, “President! President!”

Xi Guanming looked up from a pile of books. Seeing Shao Ye grinning brightly at the doorway, covered in leaves and dirt as if he had just rolled around somewhere, he removed his glasses and asked, “What are you doing here? Don’t you have rehearsal later?”

Shao Ye rushed straight to the desk, his face full of excitement. “President, I have huge good news for you!”

Xi Guanming hadn’t yet realized the gravity of the situation. Translated on Hololo novels. With his fingers interlaced before his chest and a faint smile on his face, he asked curiously, “What good news?”

Shao Ye immediately said, “I just fought Si Xu, Zong Xingze, and Jin Feng in the oak grove. I won.”

Xi Guanming: “……”

The smile on his face gradually froze. He looked at Shao Ye and didn’t speak for a long while.

Shao Ye bared his white teeth, eyes sparkling as he looked at Xi Guanming, clearly waiting for praise.

The office fell into silence. Autumn wind slipped in through the half-open window, rustling the broad leaves of a potted plant on the sill. Their elongated shadows stretched all the way to Xi Guanming’s wrist. After waiting for Shao Ye to continue and hearing nothing, he finally asked, “Let me guess… does this good news come with some bad news as well?”

“Bad news?” Shao Ye thought about it carefully, then said uncertainly, “If there is bad news… Zong Xingze ran off halfway through the fight, and I didn’t catch him. Does that count?”

Xi Guanming took a deep breath, raised a hand to his forehead, and said softly, “…That’s pretty bad.”

Shao Ye didn’t quite understand what was bad about it, but since the president said it was bad, there must be a problem. So he suggested quietly, “Then, President, should I go find him and beat him up again?”

Xi Guanming lowered his hand. “First tell me, how did you end up fighting them?”

Shao Ye then recounted everything in detail. It started with the agreement Si Xu and the others made at the dance, and in the end, all three of them were defeated by Shao Ye.

“They definitely won’t dare to bother Jiang Yan again. I even have a video here. President, do you want to see it?” Shao Ye asked eagerly, rubbing his hands together.

As he listened, Xi Guanming was also searching for something on his phone. When Shao Ye finished speaking, he put the phone down, screen facing the table.

He lifted his head and carefully looked over Shao Ye’s face. His eyes were bright, his nose high, and he was still smiling. Xi Guanming couldn’t find even the slightest trace of lingering fear on that face. He stood up, walked around the desk, and came to stand in front of Shao Ye.

“Shao Ye,” he called.

His expression was serious, his voice low, and his gaze fixed directly on Shao Ye. His eyes were so deep they seemed like a bottomless well.

The air in the room seemed to freeze along with his steps. Even the leaves of the plant by the window curled slightly. Under his gaze, Shao Ye couldn’t help but feel nervous, his voice dropping. “What’s wrong, President?”

Xi Guanming reached out and gently brushed away half a fallen leaf from Shao Ye’s left shoulder. Translated on Hololo novels. His fingers slid down, beginning to straighten his collar, and he asked unhurriedly, “You really don’t listen, do you? Didn’t I tell you not to get involved in Jiang Yan’s matters again? What kind of punishment do you think you deserve?”

“I still have to be punished?” Shao Ye’s cheerful face immediately crumpled. That didn’t seem right. He had created such a good opportunity for the president. Shouldn’t he be praised instead?

He asked cautiously, “President, are you not happy?”

Why?

Xi Guanming didn’t answer. His slender fingers toyed with the buttons of Shao Ye’s shirt. Through the gaps between the buttons, the honey-colored skin beneath could be seen.

He said slowly, “Shao Ye, with this, you’ve offended Si Xu, Zong Xingze, and Jin Feng all at once. Are you planning not to stay at the academy anymore?”

“No,” Shao Ye said.

“Then how did you dare?” Xi Guanming asked, lifting one of his shirt buttons with his finger.

Without hesitation, Shao Ye replied, “I knew you’d protect me.”

Xi Guanming paused. He hadn’t expected such an answer from Shao Ye.

No attempt to hide it at all.

Xi Guanming laughed.

That somewhat cold and gloomy face seemed to return to spring in an instant.

He didn’t want to admit that he was pleased by such a bold and foolish statement, but at that moment, a sense of joy and satisfaction flooded his chest.

He lowered his hand, savoring Shao Ye’s words, and couldn’t help but laugh again. Then he said, “Alright. Go back to the dorm and wait for me. Before I get there, you’re not allowed to leave.”

“President, aren’t you going to punish me?” Shao Ye asked with a pitiful expression, blinking.

“Of course I will,” Xi Guanming said with a smile.

He just needed to think carefully about how to punish him in this situation.

---

Author’s note:

[Great news! The president finally can’t hold back and is going to deal with No. 6. No. 6 is definitely done for this time.]

I’ve never seen the president look this scary before.

: Gotta say, No. 6 really has a talent for getting himself into trouble, offending all of the academy’s F4 at once.

: Did you hear that, CP fans? The president said he’s going to punish No. 6!

: Even if the president doesn’t act, Si Xu and the others won’t let him off.

: I said long ago that shipping the president leads to no good end! They didn’t believe it!

: Don’t worry, CP fans don’t care whether the real people live or die. Even if No. 6 is gone, they’ll keep shipping.

: Scary.

: Why do I feel like the president is about to do something big? I just caught a glimpse of his phone screen. Let me try to reconstruct it with some tech.

: Hurry up, let me see!

: No. 6 is definitely finished. I bet my roommate 50 bucks on it. Thanks to the president.

: Did you see the survival prediction curve made by that expert? No. 6 is already dropping to the bottom.

: I told you the micro-expression expert wouldn’t be wrong.

: If nothing unexpected happens, No. 6 will be out tomorrow.

: After watching No. 6 for so long, I kind of feel reluctant.

: My reconstruction isn’t very clear, just a few words.

: Show us quickly!

: “Punishment”

: Wow!

: “Binding”

: Wow!

: “Restraint”

: Wow wow wow!

: No. 6 really can’t escape this time.

: Wait, why does this feel kind of weird?

: What’s weird about it? Those of us who kill people all the time know the president did nothing wrong.

: It says “split”… I can’t see clearly.

: “Dismemberment,” maybe? Is the president really that bloody and violent?

: He’s held back too long, maybe he’s gone crazy.

: Understandable. I’d lose it too if I were him.

: Idiot, it says “leg spreader.”

: ????

: What’s that for?

: Delete that quickly! Don’t let the CP fans see it!!!!!

: Wait, you guys who “kill people all the time” also use leg spreaders?

≽^•⩊•^≼

Next

During evening study period, Shao Ye went with his classmates to the gymnasium and found an empty classroom to rehearse their “strong female lead” version of Sleeping Beauty. A few of the girls had stayed up all night and had already drafted most of the script.

Looking at the vest and leather pants in his hands, Shao Ye muttered under his breath, “I still think this outfit isn’t very proper.”

The class monitor, who wasn’t very tall, heard him and immediately jumped up, slapping him on the shoulder. “That’s exactly the point! Your character is supposed to be an improper witch!”

The arts rep chimed in from the side, “What kind of proper witch would jump into the pit he dug himself?”

Shao Ye: “……”

Didn’t they move the pit somewhere else? That can’t all be blamed on the witch.

“Just put it on and try it,” the class monitor urged.

Shao Ye remembered what Xi Guanming had told him that afternoon in the office, that he should take the clothes back to the dorm and wash them first, so he repeated that to the class monitor.

The class monitor looked at him in surprise. “Oh? Since when are you so particular? Doesn’t sound like you.”

Shao Ye raised a hand to straighten his collar and said solemnly, “Don’t look at me with your old perspective. I’m not the same person I used to be.”

“What happened?” the surrounding classmates asked curiously.

Shao Ye lifted his chin, swept his gaze around, and said with restraint, “I’ve learned how to solve systems of linear equations.”

Classmates: “……”

The class monitor sighed and looked at him with a hint of pity. “Alright, I get it. I’ll have Xiao Huang cut down some of your longer lines later.”

Shao Ye didn’t quite understand, but he still said politely, “Thank you, class monitor.”

After reading through the script together, they made a series of edits and finalized it, then handed both the script and the costume to Shao Ye to take back and study carefully.

Shao Ye went straight to Xi Guanming’s dorm. Xi Guanming wasn’t there, so he busied himself alone. The clothes were leather and not easy to wash, so he wiped them down with wet wipes, then sat on the bed with a hair dryer, blowing the vest and pants for over half an hour until they were finally dry.

The vest had several leather straps crossing over the chest, along with a thin silver chain. The hidden clasps for the straps were all on the back, so without help, the only way to put it on was to pull it over his head. Shao Ye tried it, but the vest was too small, clinging tightly to his body. Halfway through, the straps tangled together and got stuck at his chest. He didn’t dare pull too hard in case he ripped it apart, so he ended up stuck—unable to put it on or take it off. The chain knocked against the silver buckles with a constant clinking sound, which only made him more irritated.

When Xi Guanming pushed the door open, he saw Shao Ye standing by the bed with both arms raised, twisting around in a mess. One of the straps was even looped around his neck, making it look like he was about to hang himself. Xi Guanming stood there watching him for a moment, then leaned against the door and laughed. “How did you manage to wear a perfectly good piece of clothing like that?”

Hearing his voice, Shao Ye turned his head and protested, “How is this a ‘perfectly good’ outfit?”

Xi Guanming walked over and pressed a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t move. Let me see what’s going on.”

Shao Ye froze like a wind-up puppet with a jammed mechanism. As soon as Xi Guanming spoke, he obediently stood still. After examining him front and back, Xi Guanming realized one of the straps that was supposed to cross over the chest had been pulled to the back and tangled with another strap, which was why it wouldn’t go on.

He found the hidden clasps at the back of the vest and unfastened the straps one by one. Finally, Shao Ye could breathe normally again and managed to put the vest on properly.

When he saw it in pictures, Shao Ye already thought it was revealing. Now that he was wearing it, it felt even more so—his entire chest was basically exposed. Xi Guanming gathered the straps at his back, then brought them around to the front and fastened them. Before long, all the straps were pulled tight across Shao Ye’s chest, his honey-colored muscles pressing through the crisscrossed gaps.

Xi Guanming hooked a finger under one strap and pulled it outward, then let go.

With a sharp snap, the strap bounced back against Shao Ye’s chest.

Shao Ye looked down. His firm chest rippled slightly from the impact. Xi Guanming’s gaze darkened for a moment as he said, “Sorry. My hand slipped. Did that hurt?”

It sounded loud, but it didn’t really hurt at all. Shao Ye shook his head. “It’s fine.”

“That’s good,” Xi Guanming said with a smile, continuing to adjust the straps and chain across his chest.

Shao Ye actually felt like the outfit was already fine and didn’t need further adjustment, but perhaps the president was a bit obsessive and wanted every strap evenly spaced.

Snap!

Another familiar sound of the strap hitting his chest.

Did his hand slip again? Did he oil it or something?

Before Shao Ye could figure it out, Xi Guanming had already hooked another strap, pulled it, and released.

Snap!

Crisp and clear—definitely a “good chest” sound.

Even Shao Ye, slow as he was, began to sense something slightly off. He looked at Xi Guanming in confusion. “President?”

Xi Guanming met his puzzled gaze, smiling calmly as he explained, “I just thought of something. It’s better to test the quality of these straps in advance. If something goes wrong during the performance, that wouldn’t be good.”

Shao Ye gave an “oh,” easily accepting the explanation. “President, you really think things through.”

He hadn’t considered it at all. Even something this small, and he was already planning ahead—no wonder he was the student council president.

Shao Ye looked down and counted the straps on his chest. “There are still a few left to test, right?”

Xi Guanming looked at him, a lazy, satisfied amusement spreading through his whole demeanor. He praised, “Very clever.”

Shao Ye puffed out his chest cooperatively. “President, you can use more force if you want. It doesn’t hurt anyway.”

Xi Guanming’s fingers paused on the strap. He lowered his head and laughed softly for a while before saying, “Shao Ye… you’re really cute.”

Shao Ye: “?”

In all these years, this was the first time anyone had called him cute.

Could that word really be used on him?

Well, if the president said he was cute, then he was cute.

“Then I won’t hold back.”

Xi Guanming tested the remaining straps one by one before finally withdrawing his hand at a leisurely pace and commenting, “Not bad. They’re all pretty sturdy.”

But who knew whether he was talking about the straps… or the chest?

Shao Ye didn’t think in that direction at all. Seeing that Xi Guanming seemed finished, he said, “President, I want to go look in the mirror.”

He still hadn’t seen what the outfit actually looked like on him.

“Go ahead,” Xi Guanming said.

Shao Ye went into the bathroom and stood in front of the sink, looking at himself in the mirror. The black straps were pulled tightly into his flesh, and the spots where they had snapped earlier were faintly red. But since his skin was darker, it wasn’t very noticeable. He frowned, lifted his arms a little, still not quite used to it, and couldn’t help complaining, “Isn’t this outfit a bit too small?”

Xi Guanming happened to walk over and stood behind him, looking at the reflection in the mirror. “I think it fits just right.”

“Really?” Shao Ye looked down at his chest and tugged at the straps, still finding it strange.

“It looks good like this,” Xi Guanming said.

Shao Ye didn’t really have the taste to appreciate this kind of fashion, but since the president said it looked good, it would probably help their class performance at least a little during the arts festival.

After leaving the bathroom, Shao Ye needed Xi Guanming’s help again to take off the vest. Once he changed back into his white tank top, it felt much more comfortable. After applying medicine, he lay face-down on the bed and said to Xi Guanming, “President, you can sleep without worry. With me here, that person definitely won’t dare show up tonight.”

He continued declaring, “Even if he does come, I’ll make sure he understands why flowers are so red.”

Xi Guanming sat on the bed flipping through a book, smiling but saying nothing.

Once the dorm lights were turned off, it didn’t even take ten minutes before snoring started again from the neighboring bed.

Xi Guanming got out of bed, walked over to Shao Ye’s bedside, and looked down at him sleeping soundly. He leaned down, pinched his chest once, then flicked it lightly with his finger.

Shao Ye remained lost in his dreams, mouth slightly open, long since forgetting his grand and difficult mission of catching the intruder.

After toying with him for quite a while, listening to the pattering of rain against the window, Xi Guanming murmured softly, “So dumb.”

Whether he meant how Shao Ye solved math problems that afternoon—following step by step and still getting the wrong answer—or how he could be taken advantage of without even realizing it, and even willingly offer himself up—

Someone that easy to fool would be deceived by him… and by others too, wouldn’t he?

Xi Guanming’s gaze darkened slightly. He hoped no one at the academy would be that blind.

The next morning, Shao Ye grabbed two pens and headed out for class. His textbooks were all kept in the classroom; he never brought them back to the dorm to preview or review.

For some reason, Xi Guanming was leaving later than usual today. He sat by the window reading, golden autumn sunlight falling across his upper body, giving him an air of quiet elegance. Seeing Shao Ye about to leave, he reminded him, “Don’t forget to take your costume. Don’t you have rehearsal tonight?”

Shao Ye waved his hand. “No need to bring it. Won’t be using it.”

Xi Guanming set down his book and asked, “What happened?”

Shao Ye stuffed the two pens into his pocket as he said, “Our class monitor just messaged me. She said the school released a document this morning with twenty new rules for the arts festival. One of them requires that costumes not be too revealing, so we can’t wear that one anymore.”

“Is that so?” Xi Guanming sounded as if he had no prior knowledge of it at all. There was a clear note of regret in his tone. “That’s really a pity.”

---

Author’s note:

[Breaking news—]

No. 3 has been eliminated!

: ??

: ????

: Why No. 3? Weren’t you all saying No. 6 would be the first to go?

: I bet all my points on No. 3! Why did he get eliminated? I don’t understand!

: Well… you know No. 3’s personality—he got along well with the main NPCs. He wanted to take it further, tried to cling to the president, and got used by him instead—became the trigger for another conflict and got expelled.

: What’s wrong with clinging to the president? Isn’t No. 6 doing the same?

: Who knows

: Rigged! This is definitely rigged! I’m reporting this! My points!

: Should I just bet on No. 6 at this point

: If you bet on No. 6 you’re really doomed

: If the officials find he cheated, he’s out next week; if he didn’t cheat, the president will take him out himself

: The president just sees him as a somewhat amusing toy. He’ll get bored in a couple of days. Don’t let those CP shippers brainwash you, this isn’t some pure romance story

: Remember, according to the official setting, all presidents are manifestations of the same consciousness. I was starting to think he might fall for No. 6, but after how decisively he dealt with No. 3, it’s clear—No. 6 will end up in his hands sooner or later

: That logic though?

: Did you watch No. 6’s stream? I checked—camera’s on the door again, but I heard slapping sounds. The president must’ve lost control and started whipping him, that’s why they won’t show it

: I didn’t watch closely, I don’t like No. 6. I just vaguely heard things like “don’t move,” “did that hurt,” “my hand slipped,” so I switched streams. Turns out it was that, huh. If I knew he was getting beaten, I would’ve listened longer

: Yeah! Later when No. 6 changed his tank top, I saw several red marks on his chest that weren’t there before!

: The president really couldn’t hold back anymore, even got hands-on

: And CP fans can still ship this?

: I was just casually shipping before, but somehow what you guys are saying makes it even more shippable now

≽^•⩊•^≼

Shao Ye went back to his own dorm to grab some clothes. The empty room was left with only Xi Guanming again.

He got up and walked into the bathroom, standing in front of the mirror as water rushed noisily from the tap. Xi Guanming lowered his gaze to his left hand. Between his fingers lingered a faint trace of red wine scent. For some reason, he suddenly felt like having a glass of red wine. He should prepare a bottle in advance.

Aside from the brief period when he had just enrolled and still cared a bit about his image, Shao Ye hardly ever wore proper sleepwear. In the dorm, he usually just wore a tank top and shorts, and sometimes not even the tank. But he thought he should at least be a bit presentable in front of the president, so he deliberately picked out a longer tank top with a less open neckline.

When Xi Guanming applied medicine to his back, Shao Ye swore confidently, “President, don’t worry. If that person dares to show up tonight, I’ll definitely catch him and beat him until he’s begging on the ground.”

As a result, less than ten minutes after the lights went out, Xi Guanming heard faint snoring from the bed beside him.

“Shao Ye?” he called once. As expected, there was no response.

Xi Guanming chuckled softly. What he had said earlier about not sleeping well at night wasn’t entirely a lie. He suffered from serious insomnia, rarely sleeping more than three or four hours a night, and even then he woke easily. But this had been his normal state for years.

Now that there was another person in the room, it didn’t seem much different. Besides, before this, Shao Ye had already stayed in the office building’s rest room.

After an unknown amount of time, Xi Guanming heard someone running down the hallway in leather shoes. The dance in the auditorium must have ended. He picked up his phone from the bedside and checked the time. It was already past midnight. A burst of laughter echoed from the hallway, but quickly faded. Shao Ye on the next bed let out a small sound, scratched his stomach, and continued sleeping soundly.

The phone screen went dark. Xi Guanming got out of bed and walked over to Shao Ye’s bedside. Pale moonlight draped over him. His eyes were closed, long lashes casting faint shadows. His soft lips were slightly parted. Perhaps feeling warm, he had rolled his tank top up to below his chest, and kicked the blanket aside. He lay sprawled in a loose “starfish” position, completely unguarded.

Shao Ye smacked his lips, as if tasting something delicious in a dream. Xi Guanming watched him quietly for a long time, then leaned down, his hand once again settling on Shao Ye’s chest.

If he woke up at this moment and saw him here, how would he react? Would he shout and run out of the room, or would he ask what he was doing, then obediently offer his chest again?

The latter seemed more likely. How boring. Xi Guanming thought so, yet couldn’t help the slight upward curve of his lips.

Still, no matter how much he kneaded his chest, Shao Ye slept on, completely unmoving.

Xi Guanming: “……”

And this was the one who said he’d help catch the “third person” in the room?

Even if three more people came in, he probably wouldn’t wake up.

Xi Guanming smiled silently, picked up the blanket from the side, and draped it over Shao Ye’s stomach, then returned to his own bed. Looking at Shao Ye, still oblivious, he suddenly felt that having two beds in this room was a bit crowded.

The next morning, when Shao Ye woke up, Xi Guanming had just come out of the bathroom after a shower. Shao Ye yawned and said, “President, I didn’t hear a single thing last night. I think that person must’ve known I was here, so they didn’t dare come.”

With how deeply he slept, hearing anything would’ve been a miracle. Xi Guanming didn’t expose him, just gave a soft “Mm” and said, “Maybe.”

Shao Ye continued, “Then I’ll stay here for a few more days. Even if I can’t catch him, I’ll scare him off for good.”

Xi Guanming smiled. “Thank you for your trouble, Shao Ye.”

After washing up, Shao Ye went to class. It wasn’t until after lunch that he finally had some free time. He was just about to go find out whether anything had happened between Jiang Yan and Si Xu at the dance, but before he could, Xi Guanming summoned him to the office building to sort documents.

Xi Guanming sat behind his desk and asked, “Are you still going to the gym at night?”

Shao Ye sat on the floor, arranging documents in chronological order as instructed, sighing as he replied, “Not these days. Our whole class has evening rehearsals for Sleeping Beauty.”

“Why Sleeping Beauty?” Xi Guanming asked casually.

Shao Ye explained, “Because Cinderella has two stepsisters, Snow White has seven dwarfs, The Wild Swans has eleven brothers, and Sleeping Beauty has thirteen witches.”

The school required more than half the class to participate in the arts festival performance, so the class monitor had tried to assign as many roles as possible.

Xi Guanming picked up his gold-rimmed glasses from the desk and put them on, then commented, “Then you should be doing Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.”

Shao Ye seriously considered it, then shook his head. “…We don’t have that many people.”

“What role are you playing? The prince?” Xi Guanming asked while signing his name on a document.

“I’m playing the witch.”

Xi Guanming’s pen paused. He looked up. “Which one?”

Shao Ye made a fierce expression at him. “The most evil one.”

Not only was Xi Guanming not intimidated, he found it rather adorable. He chuckled. If that were the case, when Shao Ye went on stage, the audience would probably wonder why a witch like that even needed to curse the princess. He could just grab her outright, and the other twelve witches wouldn’t be able to stop him.

In fact, Shao Ye wasn’t even the one who cursed the princess. To make the story more original, the class monitor had completely rewritten Sleeping Beauty. The evil witch became an evil wizard, who cursed the princess at her birthday banquet so that her future lover would die at the moment they loved each other most. But by a twist of fate, the princess fell in love with the wizard instead. The wizard fell into a deep sleep, and when the other twelve witches learned of this, they happily traveled across the land to find the princess a new marriage partner. In the end, they chose a prince from afar, and from then on, the princess and the prince lived happily ever after.

After hearing the outline of the story, Shao Ye was speechless. So he was actually the Sleeping Beauty, and they weren’t even giving him a chance to be “saved.” That was way too much.

The costumes for their performance had also been decided. Most of them were fairly normal, but Shao Ye belonged to the minority—his outfit was extremely revealing. The arts committee member argued passionately that this costume fully reflected the male witch’s withdrawn and irritable personality, his out-of-place identity, and foreshadowed his tragic fate.

Shao Ye couldn’t see what kind of foreshadowing it was at all, but he was persuaded—mainly because too many people had come to convince him. Fine then. His physique was this good; letting everyone see it wouldn’t cost him anything.

After hearing this, Xi Guanming asked with interest, “What kind of outfit? Show me.”

Shao Ye handed over his phone. “I only have pictures. The actual clothes won’t be brought back until tonight.”

Xi Guanming took the phone and glanced down. The top was a black vest, somewhat like the one the Calabash Brothers wear, but with several black leather straps fastened with silver buckles across the front as decoration. The bottom was a pair of matching leather pants, along with a wizard hat.

Quite a fashionable witch. No wonder he stood out from the others. Xi Guanming’s lips curved slightly as he handed the phone back, smiling as he thoughtfully reminded him, “When you get the clothes tonight, don’t wear them right away. Take them back to your dorm and wash them first.”

“That’s not necessary, is it?” Shao Ye said. He’d probably only wear the outfit once for the arts festival and toss it afterward.

Xi Guanming, however, said seriously, “You’ll be wearing it close to your skin. It’s better to wash it.”

Seeing how much Xi Guanming cared, Shao Ye obediently nodded and gave an “oh.”

After Shao Ye finished arranging the documents, Xi Guanming somehow produced a test paper from nowhere and actually started explaining math problems to him. Shao Ye was stunned on the spot. Did being the president’s subordinate also require good grades?

“President, this…” He instinctively took a step back, trying to escape.

Xi Guanming gestured him over. “Come here. Your grades are too poor. I’ll tutor you.”

Shao Ye: “……”

It wasn’t until evening, when Xi Guanming was called away for a meeting, that Shao Ye finally escaped from that pile of math problems he couldn’t even read properly. At last, he had the chance to mingle and find out what had happened at the dance the previous night.

It turned out that Jiang Yan had attended the dance accompanied by the basketball team captain, Jin Feng. At the dance, he had gotten into a dispute with Zong Xingze and Si Xu, nearly leading to a fight. In the end, the three of them agreed to duel this Friday night in the oak grove, and the loser would have to withdraw from the competition.

Shao Ye was dumbfounded. He didn’t even have time to eat his mango pudding before slapping his thigh in shock. “Such a big deal—why didn’t anyone tell me?”

The classmate looked puzzled. What did this have to do with him? Was he planning to participate too?

Wait—who did he think he was? Did he not know his own status? How could he compare to Si Xu or Zong Xingze?

Of course Shao Ye wasn’t planning to participate himself. He asked, “Can I sign our president up too?”

“S-sign him up?” The classmate froze, then slowly said, “…Probably not.”

If that were allowed, some prankster would sign up the entire school. That would really be something to see.

“Then can someone fight in his place?” Shao Ye asked again.

The classmate: “？”

Did he think this was a ride-hailing service?

The classmate said nothing, so Shao Ye started thinking on his own. After some consideration, he decided there was probably no rule against it. Si Xu and the others hadn’t said substitutes weren’t allowed.

“Then I’ll go in his place on Friday,” Shao Ye said.

No need to tell the president—he’d just surprise him after winning.

Shao Ye happily made his decision.

Although he vaguely felt something about the logic was off. Why would they need a duel just for the right to pursue someone? Even if they won, it didn’t mean Jiang Yan would like them. And if she happened to prefer the one who lost, what then? Kill the winner?

But what did that matter? The important thing was, whatever others had, their president should have too.

Besides, something as profound as math problems would probably feel more rewarding for the president to discuss with Jiang Yan.

That afternoon in the office, every time he got a problem wrong, the president knocked him on the head. He’d practically been used as a wooden fish for the entire afternoon.

---

Author’s note:

【Honestly, watching No. 3’s stream is much more comfortable. They’re both subordinates, but some people are clearly way more capable than others】

: By “some people,” you mean?

: No. 6, who else

: What do you mean “both subordinates”! Stop forcing comparisons! Our No. 6 is a wife! (very loud)

: ……

: The president’s character is already falling apart, even the official side can’t control it. They said they’ll form a team to investigate and release results next week. I don’t even dare imagine what’ll happen to No. 6

: Judging by the president’s mental state, No. 6 might be eliminated on the spot

: Elimination would be merciful. The president will definitely torment him slowly

: Looking forward to next week’s results. I really can’t stand this perverted president anymore!!!

: When explaining problems, the president clearly looked disgusted, yet still kept teaching. He’s not perverted—he’s just being controlled by some indescribable force

: You mean the backend data got altered? What’s so “indescribable” about that? This is a school setting, not cosmic horror

: Honestly, I also think the president’s behavior today was a bit off

: That username looks familiar… are you one of their CP fans?

: Heh, it’s fallen apart so badly even the CP fans can’t ship it anymore, and the officials are still pretending

: Mm, today when No. 6 got a question wrong, the president shouldn’t have knocked his head. That’ll just make him dumber. The president shouldn’t make such a basic mistake—in that situation, a “super” would’ve been better

: ?

: ??

: ???

≽^•⩊•^≼

Thandar: Please give this novel a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on novel updates if you enjoy it so far. It’ll motivate this translator to release new chapters faster 🥲😘

Previous

Zhao Guangzong & Jiang Tangtuan (End)

After the incident with Cousin Liu, Jiang Lingyun’s deception was exposed before the Jiang family. Though his path in the examinations was not entirely blocked, his future prospects were greatly diminished.

The Jiang family had long-standing influence in official circles and was not easily fooled. A report was made to the academic authorities, and a mark was recorded against Jiang Lingyun’s character.

Even if he were to later achieve high success in the examinations, when the Ministry of Personnel investigated his background, there would be little hope of a favorable appointment.

As for how things unfolded between him and the Liu family afterward, that was another matter entirely and need not be told here.

—

Zhao Guangzong and Tangtuan were married the following year.

On the day of the wedding, when the auspicious hour arrived and Tangtuan, dressed in red, was led out by his family, Zhao Guangzong felt as if everything were still a dream.

Only after the ceremony, the toasts, and entering the bridal chamber, when he saw that person quietly seated on the bed, did it finally begin to feel real.

Zhao Guangzong gently lifted the veil. A pale, delicate face came into view.

Seeing a faint blush on Tangtuan’s cheeks, he could not help but reach out and lightly touch it.

“I put on a little rouge,” Tangtuan said softly, noticing him staring in a daze.

“You already look more than good enough. There’s no need for such things.”

Zhao Guangzong glanced at his fingertip, now faintly stained red, then back at that flawless, jade-like face, thinking that no adornment was necessary at all.

“My health isn’t very good. My complexion is usually pale. Today is a happy occasion, so I thought a bit of rouge would make me look better.”

Tangtuan added, “I didn’t trouble myself with anything else.”

Hearing this, Zhao Guangzong felt a pang of concern. “You’ve been raised so carefully since childhood. How is it that your health is still not well?”

“When I was young, I was quite mischievous,” Tangtuan said. “I tried to climb trees like my brother and fell into a pond. I had a high fever for days, which damaged my health. That’s why my body became so delicate.”

Zhao Guangzong was surprised. Ever since he had known Tangtuan, he had thought him quiet and gentle. He had not expected such a past.

Seeing his disbelief, Tangtuan explained, “My brother was punished heavily because of it. I felt terribly guilty, so afterward I learned to behave. And since my health was poor, I couldn’t be as carefree as before. Gradually, I became like this.”

Zhao Guangzong said, “If you hadn’t told me, I would never have believed you were once so lively.”

Tangtuan smiled. “What about you? Were you always this kind?”

Zhao Guangzong’s lips curved at the praise. “You think I’m kind?”

“Yes. Bright and gentle.”

Zhao Guangzong chuckled. “But when I was young, I wasn’t like this at all.”

“Did something happen?”

Zhao Guangzong poured him a cup of tea and handed it over.

“When I was young, I was actually very timid and sensitive. I lacked confidence and always thought poorly of myself.”

“Why would you think that?”

Tangtuan felt that, aside from his family background, Zhao Guangzong was in no way inferior to others.

“When I was little, my family wanted me to study for the examinations, so they arranged a tutor for me early on. But that teacher had poor character. He favored the rich and belittled the poor.”

“In that school, my family was the most ordinary. He would single me out, scold and beat me. I was too young to understand right from wrong, and after being told so often that I was useless, I began to believe it.”

Tangtuan frowned deeply. He had never imagined Zhao Guangzong had gone through such a thing.

“Such a person should never have been allowed to teach. Did he face any consequences later?”

Zhao Guangzong shook his head lightly. “My family had already gone to great lengths to arrange my studies. How could I complain? I only blamed myself for being inadequate and endured it.”

“It was when I was ten that Bei Nan came to our village. Only then did I escape that teacher.”

“Bei Nan was about my age, but far more perceptive. He saw how I was being treated and urged me to tell my parents. After I left, that teacher used his connections to prevent me from entering other schools.”

“I thought my path in the examinations was over. But Bei Nan shared his father’s notes with me, taught me, and guided me. I eventually passed the county exam and entered the county school. Things improved from there.”

“During those years, he constantly encouraged and guided me. As a child, I often felt he understood the world better than even my father.”

Speaking of Qi Bei Nan, Zhao Guangzong grew reflective. “To me, he was like a teacher, even like a father. Yet we were the same age, and became close friends.”

Tangtuan had only known that Zhao Guangzong and Qi Bei Nan were from the same hometown. He had not realized there was so much history behind it.

His brother had often praised Qi Bei Nan before. Translated on Hololo novels. Hearing this now, Tangtuan’s understanding of him deepened.

“No wonder Bao ge’er can hardly go ten sentences without mentioning Lord Qi. He truly is a remarkable person.”

Zhao Guangzong smiled. “Indeed. The two of them have been close since childhood, unchanged for over ten years.”

“You don’t know, Bei Nan used to tease me for being dull and slow-witted. But he didn’t realize that after seeing their kind of bond, I became particular myself.”

“There are not many people in this world like them. I know that, yet I was unwilling to settle.”

As he spoke, he looked at Tangtuan, then smiled with quiet gratitude.

“Fortunately, I did not wait in vain. Heaven let me meet you.”

Tangtuan’s eyes shone brightly, and he smiled along with him.

Zhao Guangzong reached out and took Tangtuan’s hand. Feeling the slight coolness of his fingertips, he held it a little tighter.

He had long wanted to do this, but after their engagement was set, he had been busy preparing for the wedding and remained in Feng County. They did not see each other often.

Even when he went to Jinling to visit, they kept strictly to propriety and never overstepped.

Now that his hand was suddenly held so tightly, Tangtuan lifted his gaze to look at Zhao Guangzong.

He had always thought this man was so proper, the sort who would never do such things. Yet now that they were alone, he showed no restraint at all.

“From now on, I will take good care of you and never let you suffer any grievance.”

Tangtuan pressed his lips together, then in turn clasped Zhao Guangzong’s warm hand.

“My parents are kind people. They will only cherish me more than you do. I won’t be wronged in the future.”

Zhao Guangzong paused slightly at that. It was true his parents liked Tangtuan, but…

“How do you know they like you more than I do?”

Tangtuan said nothing, but Zhao Guangzong would not let it go. He reached out and wrapped an arm around Tangtuan’s waist.

Though his wedding robes were layered and elaborate, he could still feel how slender the waist in his arms was.

Tangtuan had always thought Zhao Guangzong was gentle, even a bit dull. But now, being held so close, feeling his arm around his waist, he realized that without even seeming to use force, he could not break free. Only then did he feel his masculine strength.

“If you truly liked me so much, why didn’t you come earlier to propose? Instead, you waited until you were in Feng County and only spoke after we met again.”

“If we hadn’t met, would you have just let it end like that?”

Hearing this, Zhao Guangzong said, “Don’t be upset. I already liked you on my way to the capital for the examinations. But after failing the metropolitan exam, I felt I had no face to propose.”

“At the time, I didn’t know you had feelings for me either. I was afraid you would suffer if you followed me, so I never said anything.”

Tangtuan found that this matched what he had already guessed.

But hearing it from his own lips was still different.

He looked at Zhao Guangzong’s face, his strong brows and straight nose. For some reason, he seemed even more handsome than usual.

Unable to put into words the warmth and fullness in his heart, Tangtuan simply closed his eyes and leaned in slightly. His lips brushed against Zhao Guangzong’s… chin.

When Tangtuan opened his eyes and realized he had kissed his chin instead of his lips, his ears instantly flushed red.

He had never kissed anyone before. It was his first time, and he had no experience. He had meant to kiss his lips, but missed.

Zhao Guangzong froze the moment he received that kiss. It took him a long while to recover.

By then, Tangtuan had already turned his face away, ears burning.

“I feel that now that we are married… it shouldn’t just be like this.”

As if possessed, Zhao Guangzong gently turned Tangtuan’s face back toward him.

Tangtuan was about to ask what he meant when he saw Zhao Guangzong’s eyes fixed on his lips, as if…

A sudden softness pressed against him, and Tangtuan’s mind went completely blank.

At first, it felt as though every sense in his body had been magnified, each sensation vivid and clear.

After a while, perhaps from lack of breath, his head grew light and hazy.

When he regained some awareness, he was already lying on the bed, his wedding robes removed.

For a moment, he felt nervous and at a loss. But the gentleness of the person beside him soon calmed him.

……

Fate may be ordained by heaven, but if one does not strive for it, does not act—

Even when opportunity is given, it can still be scattered by a passing wind.

Such is the way of all things.

—End of the story.

˙✧˖°🎓 ༘⋆｡ ˚

Zhao Guangzong & Jiang Tangtuan (IV)

Recently, Jiang Lingyun noticed that among those coming and going from the Jiang residence, there was an unfamiliar young man.

Well-built, upright in bearing.

Finding it strange, he asked around.

He learned that the man’s surname was Zhao, a scholar who had recently taken an official post as county assistant in Feng County. He was said to be a friend of Young Master Jiang.

But after Young Master Jiang’s marriage, he had gone to the capital with his wife—so why was this Zhao county assistant visiting the residence so frequently when the master himself was not there?

And moreover, he was a young man of good appearance.

Jiang Lingyun began to suspect something, though upon hearing that Zhao Guangzong was only a juren who had entered official service through appointment and was now in Jinling, he felt there was no need for excessive concern.

Although Zhao Guangzong already held office, his position as a county assistant was of low rank.

A mere county assistant—who knew how many years it would take before he could climb higher? And a juren without exceptional achievement could at most rise to the level of a prefect.

Even though a prefect was not a small position and already beyond the reach of many officials, once one entered officialdom, who did not harbor ambition? Who would willingly accept such limits placed on their future so early?

If one lacked greater aspirations, that would be one thing. But the Jiang family had been officials for generations—how could they possibly choose a mere juren-appointed official as a son-in-law?

Thinking this through, he felt much more at ease.

Still, seeing that the Jiang family seemed to be considering more than one candidate, he became even more attentive than before.

He also carefully instructed his family that during this period they must be cautious in speech and conduct. As for his cousin from the Liu family, he told them to have her remain quietly at home and not go out unnecessarily.

Within a few days, Old Master Jiang summoned him to the residence, saying there was an important matter to discuss.

Jiang Lingyun had been interacting with the Jiang family for one or two years now. Translated on Hololo novels. Seeing how serious Old Master Jiang appeared, he felt a surge of anticipation.

It seemed that the matter was finally about to be settled.

Thinking of how, with the Jiang family as his in-laws, his official career would not necessarily be effortless, but would certainly become far smoother, a wave of delight rose in his heart.

“Lingyun, you have been under my guidance for quite some time now. Your learning is solid, and you are diligent and motivated. I hold you in high regard.”

Receiving the praise, Jiang Lingyun quickly said, “This student is dull and often confused in his studies. Without your guidance, I would not have been able to improve.”

Old Master Jiang, in truth, still favored Jiang Lingyun more. After all, he had taken a liking to him at first sight, and over the past two years of interaction, their rapport was naturally deeper than with Zhao Guangzong, who had only recently appeared.

Thus, when it came to questioning and testing, he first summoned Jiang Lingyun.

“You are modest. If you remain true to your original intentions, you will surely have a promising future.”

After a pause, Old Master Jiang said slowly, “I wonder whether you would be willing to become closer with the Jiang family.”

Hearing this, Jiang Lingyun could not hide his delight. As expected.

He immediately replied, “It is already my fortune to receive your favor. You have treated me with such kindness—if I may become closer with the Jiang family, I would gladly do whatever you ask.”

Seeing his ready agreement and undisguised joy, Old Master Jiang felt satisfied.

“The Jiang family is not one of crooked ways—we would never ask you to do anything improper. My wife and I have only one ge’er, Tangtuan. Whether it is myself, my wife, or his elder brother, we all cherish him deeply.”

“We must find him someone reliable to care for him. Only then can our family be at ease.”

Jiang Lingyun said, “Young Master Jiang is gentle and of fine temperament, a rare person indeed. If I were to have such a ge’er, I would treasure him and care for him with utmost devotion, never letting him suffer the slightest grievance.”

Old Master Jiang looked at him. “Can you truly do as you say?”

“If I break this vow, may my future be ruined.”

Old Master Jiang seized the moment. “Then if you are required to have only him for your entire life—no concubines, no outside companions—can you also do that?”

Jiang Lingyun had clearly not expected such a condition from the usually agreeable Jiang family. He froze.

His family’s plan had been for him to secure the Jiang family first. Once married to Jiang Tangtuan and backed by such a powerful household, everything would be settled. At that point, he would bring his cousin into the household as a secondary wife.

After all, it was normal for a man to have multiple wives and concubines. Even if he had not yet risen high in office, with his juren status, taking a concubine would not be unusual.

Even if the Jiang family were displeased, they could not stop him. And since Tangtuan would already be married to him, if they wanted him to treat him well, they would still need to support his career.

Only his cousin would be wronged, unable to become the principal wife.

But he would compensate her well.

Everything had been carefully planned—who could have expected the Jiang family to make such a demand?

Jiang Lingyun’s expression shifted slightly. Translated on Hololo novels. He knew he could not refuse outright, yet a verbal promise would not bind him.

At worst, he could later claim the Liu family’s past kindness and insist on marrying his cousin out of obligation.

He said, “When parents love their child, they plan for them far into the future. Your concern for Young Master Jiang is the care of a loving father. This student will follow your arrangements in all things.”

Old Master Jiang felt pleased. For the moment, he still found Jiang Lingyun acceptable.

But he also knew that spoken promises were the most worthless of all. He immediately raised a hand, signaling for brush, ink, and paper to be brought.

“Since you have made such assurances, I am gratified.”

He continued, “You will one day serve as an official. You must understand that words are not as reliable as written commitments. What do you think?”

Seeing the brush, ink, and the red ink for thumbprints, Jiang Lingyun was completely stunned.

He should have known that a family of officials would not be so easily deceived.

For a moment, he had no way out.

If he signed rashly, the marriage might succeed—but he would be bound never to take concubines or keep outside companions, effectively cutting off his future options.

To make his cousin a concubine was already a grievance. If she were left without status or forced to marry another, the Liu family would never agree.

If matters escalated, his reputation would be ruined, and the Jiang family would not let him off lightly either.

But if he refused, it would reveal his lack of sincerity, and the Jiang family would certainly not give Tangtuan to him.

He was being pushed into a corner.

After a brief pause, Jiang Lingyun picked up the brush.

With flowing strokes, he wrote out a vow. Seeing that he dared to write it, Old Master Jiang felt he had not misjudged him.

But when it came time to press his thumbprint, Jiang Lingyun said, “Though I sincerely mean what I have written, marriage is not something I can decide alone. Let me first record this promise. Once I return home and inform my parents, I will then press my thumbprint as a guarantee to you and the young master.”

Hearing this, Old Master Jiang showed neither anger nor approval.

He stroked his beard, looking at Jiang Lingyun with a thoughtful gaze.

Jiang Lingyun quickly added, “Filial piety comes first among all virtues. My family is poor—my parents endured much hardship to support my studies to this point. Though in my heart I fully agree with your wishes, I do not dare decide such matters on my own without consulting them.”

Old Master Jiang laughed. “Look at how anxious you are. Since you are willing to write this promise, it shows sincerity. And you are right—filial piety comes first. One must consider one’s parents.”

“You are calm and thoughtful in your decisions. That is a good quality.”

Jiang Lingyun let out a breath. “Thank you for your understanding. I will return and inform my parents at once.”

He knew he could not settle the matter hastily. He needed to stabilize the situation first, then discuss it with his parents and decide on a strategy.

Seeing that Old Master Jiang was not angered, but even somewhat understanding, he finally felt reassured.

After exchanging a few more words, Jiang Lingyun took his leave.

“Hmph. His words sound so good—willing to do anything, agree to everything. But the moment something real is required, his expression changes. I don’t think he is a suitable match at all.”

Madam Jiang had been observing from the inner chamber. Jiang Lingyun’s performance had clearly displeased her.

“Good thing A-Yuan came up with this plan. Otherwise, we would never have seen his true character.”

Old Master Jiang was clearly far more composed than Madam Jiang.

“He is a young man. To demand that he never take concubines or keep outside companions for the rest of his life is already asking much of him. That he was willing to agree is better than most. And what he said is not wrong—how could he not inform his parents?”

“We are parents ourselves. If Tangyuan had a major matter and made the decision without telling us, how would you feel?”

Madam Jiang fell silent. The reasoning was sound, yet she still felt somewhat displeased.

“Very well, defend him if you wish. Let us see what he says next.”

Two or three days passed after that, and the Jiang family still had not seen Jiang Lingyun return.

Though Old Master Jiang favored him, he would not allow himself to be kept waiting like this. Translated on Hololo novels. Since Jiang Lingyun could not promptly give an answer, then before anything was decided, he could hardly blame them for considering someone else.

The next day, he summoned Zhao Guangzong.

Tangtuan knew his father had already met with Jiang Lingyun. Now that Zhao Guangzong had come, he pleaded with Madam Jiang to let him listen to what he would say.

Madam Jiang could not refuse him. She thought that if Zhao Guangzong also proved unreliable, simply telling Tangtuan afterward might still leave him clinging to false hopes. It would be better for him to hear it himself—if there was something lacking, there would be no need for the family to say more.

So she allowed him to listen from the inner room.

Old Master Jiang asked Zhao Guangzong the same questions he had asked Jiang Lingyun.

“My Zhao family comes from a farming background, of humble status, unworthy of matching the Jiang household. Yet you, sir, are upright and without prejudice toward rank.”

Zhao Guangzong had visited the Jiang residence several times, but this was the first time Old Master Jiang had spoken so plainly. Startled, he immediately rose and said respectfully, “Even so, I still worry that I might wrong the gongzi. If I am fortunate enough to marry him, I will care for him wholeheartedly. Even if you had not raised the matter, I have no intention of taking concubines.”

Old Master Jiang, having heard Jiang Lingyun’s many vows before, expected Zhao Guangzong would also swear something similar.

But hearing that he had no such intentions from the start, he was somewhat surprised.

“You truly think this way?”

Zhao Guangzong answered respectfully, “My parents live in harmony and have never taken concubines or kept outside companions. I wish to follow their example.”

He spoke sincerely. Some might say that the Zhao family had no concubines simply because they lacked wealth.

But he had seen Qi Beinan—powerful, successful, and well-off—yet still devoted to Bao ge’er alone.

In that way, the household was peaceful, and their bond deep. He thought this was good.

Hearing this, Old Master Jiang felt a quiet satisfaction.

“And if you were required to put this into writing, would you still keep your promise?”

“Of course. Otherwise, would it not be empty words?”

From behind, Tangtuan watched as Zhao Guangzong took up the brush without hesitation, wrote the agreement, and pressed his thumbprint in red ink—all in one smooth motion.

Seeing his decisiveness, Tangtuan pressed his lips together, though the corners of his mouth still lifted.

Madam Jiang smiled softly and said, “This foolish boy is far more devoted than that one from the Jiang family.”

Old Master Jiang, however, said, “You decide so readily without consulting your parents? If they object, would that not be unfilial?”

“Jiang gongzi is from a distinguished family, gentle in temperament—a most suitable match. If such a match falls to me, how could I not show sincerity?”

“If my parents do not agree, yet I simply wish to reap the benefits, would that not be foolish?”

“Filial piety comes first, but that does not mean right and wrong should be entirely subject to one’s parents. If so, whether it is blind obedience or not, a man who stands upright should already have established himself. If I still cannot judge matters for myself or make decisions, how could I support a household?”

After saying this, Zhao Guangzong added, somewhat embarrassed, “Beyond all that, I personally hold affection for Jiang gongzi.”

“One heart can hold only one person. There is no room for another. Thus, I do not see taking him as my wife without concubines as any hardship. If my parents object over the lack of heirs through concubines, then for the one I care for, I should be the one to persuade them—not let him suffer for it.”

“For this, no matter what, I am willing to make this commitment.”

After hearing him out, Old Master Jiang looked at him deeply.

He had not expected such words.

Before, he had thought Jiang Lingyun’s hesitation was understandable. But now, comparing the two, Jiang Lingyun’s sincerity seemed lacking.

Only through comparison could one truly see the difference.

Zhao Guangzong appeared gentle, yet he was someone who could stand firm.

Such a man was one who could be relied upon for life.

“You see things clearly and have your own convictions.”

Old Master Jiang did not immediately state his decision, but when Zhao Guangzong left, he allowed Tangtuan to escort him out.

“You’ve been smiling all this while. Is there something making you happy?”

From the moment he saw Tangtuan, Zhao Guangzong’s gaze had not left him.

Tangtuan’s face flushed slightly. “I heard everything you said to Father.”

Zhao Guangzong paused. “You…”

“Then… are you willing?”

Tangtuan felt as though a small bird was fluttering in his chest.

Instead of answering directly, he gently brushed the back of Zhao Guangzong’s hand.

The meaning was clear without words.

Zhao Guangzong wanted to hold that warm, soft hand, but restrained himself within the Jiang residence.

He did not want to lose the goodwill he had just gained from Old Master Jiang.

“I only wonder whether Master Jiang and Madam will agree to our matter.”

Tangtuan said, “If they did not, why would they allow me to openly come and see you off?”

Zhao Guangzong could not help but ask, “Did you also see off Jiang juren?”

At this, Tangtuan withdrew his hand from where it touched Zhao Guangzong’s and said, “What sort of person do you take me for? Setting aside that he did not satisfy Father—even if he had, if Father told me to see him off, I would not have gone.”

Hearing this, Zhao Guangzong felt a great sense of relief and happiness.

“I knew you favored me.”

“Who says I favor you? I only listen to my family.”

Zhao Guangzong said, “If not for you standing on my side, I’m afraid Master Jiang would not even have agreed to see me.”

He knew well that Tangtuan must have played a part in it.

Jiang Tangtuan felt happy as well.

But he was also a little worried. “Nothing has been settled yet. I’m afraid he might still try to persuade Father with clever words and cause trouble.”

Zhao Guangzong replied, “Don’t worry. He won’t have another chance to talk his way through it.”

After returning home, Jiang Lingyun told his parents everything that had happened at the Jiang residence.

Upon hearing it, his father and mother were quite angered, loudly cursing the Jiang family for bullying others with their power.

“What man is expected to keep only one wife? Does the Jiang family really think their ge’er is some heavenly being?”

“This cannot be agreed to. That Jiang ge’er looks frail and sickly, hardly someone suited to bearing children. If we accept their terms, what will happen to the Jiang family line?”

“I say the Jiang family must know their own ge’er cannot bear children, which is why they’ve come up with such a scheming demand to protect him.”

Jiang Lingyun listened to his parents’ tirade, but found their words ultimately useless.

“So, does that mean we abandon the Jiang marriage altogether?”

At this, his parents fell silent.

Their anger came from the collapse of what had been a perfect plan.

But to give up the Jiang family entirely felt like cutting flesh from their own bodies.

Yet if they did not, the Liu family would be difficult to explain to.

The whole family was troubled.

After several days of consideration, Jiang Lingyun’s parents came up with a compromise.

They would go to the Jiang family and propose adding a condition to the written agreement: if Jiang gongzi did not bear a child within three years, Jiang Lingyun must still be allowed to take a concubine.

At the same time, they would go to the Liu family and promise to bring Cousin Liu into the household after three years.

Once the marriage was secured, everything else could be negotiated.

Jiang Lingyun felt the plan was not entirely proper, yet he could think of no better solution.

But just as he prepared himself and went to the Jiang residence to present his parents’ proposal, he found his cousin from the Liu family standing outside the gates, crying.

Startled, he rushed forward, intending to take her away—but before he could, several servants from the Jiang household came out and brought her inside.

Jiang Lingyun hurried after them, trying to enter, but was stopped at the gate.

“So you’ve finally shown yourself, Jiang juren. These past few days, no one could find you. Yet your unknown cousin has come here, crying at the gate as though the Jiang family had done something shameful.”

“The master and madam have already invited her inside. You’d best not try to force your way in.”

“Steward Zhou, please grant me this favor. There must be some misunderstanding.”

“What misunderstanding? She came saying she is your betrothed cousin from your hometown—and she even brought a token as proof.”

The steward looked at Jiang Lingyun with disgust. “If there’s a misunderstanding, go settle it at the magistrate’s office.”

With that, he spat. “Ungrateful climber, shutting the gate!”

The doors were closed, leaving Jiang Lingyun outside, anxious as an ant on a hot pan, yet helpless.

No matter how he pleaded, the guards ignored him. With no choice, he had to return home to inform his parents.

—

“When he was young, his family was poor, barely able to get by. There was no money for his studies. As a child, he would cut grass and pass by a private school, listening outside the door. Unexpectedly, he had talent, and learned to read that way.”

“The teacher said he was gifted, and if he studied properly, he might have a great future. So the Jiang family borrowed money everywhere to support his education. My family is related to him, and though we are not wealthy, we could at least afford food, so my father funded his studies.”

“For over ten years we supported him. He promised to marry me as repayment for the Liu family’s kindness. We exchanged tokens, and I waited patiently for him.”

“But after he went to Jinling and passed the examination, he told me that a great family had chosen him as a son-in-law, and I could only become a concubine.”

“I was heartbroken, but what could I do? Without power or status, I could only accept it. Yet even that was not enough for him—now he refuses even to take me as a concubine and wishes to sever all ties.”

“My body and heart already belong to him. If he abandons me for a higher match, how can I go on living?”

“I have no choice but to beg you, sir, to grant me a way to live.”

Cousin Liu wept bitterly, her story deeply moving.

Hearing all this, Old Master Jiang was furious.

If she were lying, she still held a genuine token of betrothal.

No wonder Jiang Lingyun had hesitated to sign the agreement that day, speaking of consulting his parents—he had been wavering between two sides, unable to decide.

When first asked about marriage, he had answered so confidently. Who would have thought that for the sake of advancement, he would go this far?

He had seemed so modest and honest, yet his schemes ran deep.

Old Master Jiang could not help but regret his own carelessness, having trusted him at face value without investigating thoroughly.

Now it had turned into such a disgrace.

Fortunately, Tangtuan had not actually been promised to him.

“The Jiang family never intended to take him as a son-in-law. I merely respected him as a scholar. Go back and tell him—our ge’er is already betrothed. He is to mind his words and not speak nonsense again, or I will not be lenient!”

“Thank you for your mercy, sir.”

Cousin Liu kowtowed repeatedly.

—

When Jiang Tangtuan heard of the matter, he hurried back home. Madam Jiang was reclining on a couch, still recovering from anger.

“Your father, that fool—after half a lifetime as an official, he was still deceived by such a young man. What a disgrace.”

“Are Mother and Father alright?”

“It’s nothing serious,” Madam Jiang said. “Luckily, we did not promise you to him.”

After a pause, she added, “Your father has already decided—you will marry Zhao Guangzong. A letter has come from the estate in Ling County. It says the Zhao family is honest and upright. Zhao Guangzong was personally approved by your brother, and Qi tanhua has also vouched for his character. No matter what, he is far better than Jiang Lingyun.”

Tangtuan had not expected that after all this turmoil, his father would make up his mind about Guangzong.

For a moment, he did not know what to say.

He recalled Zhao Guangzong’s words that Jiang Lingyun would have no chance to argue again, and could not help but wonder—had he already known about Cousin Liu all along?

But no matter what, his wish had been fulfilled. His heart was filled with countless emotions.

Of course he was happy, but he did not quite know how to express it.

The first thing he thought of was to write a letter to Bao ge’er.

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Zhao Guangzong & Jiang Tangtuan (II)

After returning to the inn, Zhao Guangzong barely touched his evening meal.

His thoughts were still fixed on what had happened during the day.

He had never expected to encounter Tangtuan so suddenly on the street, and had been completely unprepared—appearing just as he was, without even properly tidying himself.

Nor had he expected that after meeting, they would have the chance to sit together alone and share tea.

Thinking of it, his heart filled with an indescribable sense of fullness.

In the past, he had not understood how someone like Qi Beinan, who seemed to have everything under control, could lose himself over such matters of love.

Now, seeing himself lying on the couch, unable to eat, unable to do anything else, he suspected he was no better.

He could not help but wonder—Tangtuan had accepted the box, but would he understand his feelings?

If he did not, then it could simply be taken as a small trinket from an older brother to a younger one.

But if he did understand, what would he think?

In truth, whether he understood or not, it seemed it did not matter. Translated on Hololo novels. The difference between them was like clouds and mud. Even if he understood, what could come of it?

Though he knew this, Zhao Guangzong still selfishly hoped that he would know his heart.

Perhaps they were not fated to spend a lifetime together, but at least Tangtuan would know that he was someone worthy of being cherished—that there had once been someone who held feelings for him.

Zhao Guangzong tossed and turned, unable to sleep, just like that sleepless night years ago at the post station under a bright moon.

A restlessness rose in him. Suddenly, he got up, opened the door, intending to fetch some cold tea.

As the door opened, he nearly bumped into a young man with delicate features. The man was startled for a moment, then gave him a polite bow.

Zhao Guangzong returned the greeting. The man said nothing more and went toward his own room.

Watching his departing figure—dark green robe, tall and straight—

Zhao Guangzong suddenly realized this was the scholar he had seen earlier in the alley meeting his sweetheart.

He did not find it strange. Talented young men meeting their beloveds was something he had often seen during his time at the county school.

He was only a little surprised that this man was also among the Jiang family’s acquaintances and had come to attend the wedding.

He thought no further and went to fetch a cup of cold tea. After drinking it, his mind calmed somewhat.

Listening to the night watchman strike the hours outside, he finally fell asleep.

The next day, Zhao Guangzong rose early. After washing and dressing, he changed into a well-fitted set of clothes and set out by carriage to attend the Jiang family banquet.

Guests gathered in great numbers, their carriages and sedan chairs crowding the alleyways.

Zhao Guangzong dismounted at the entrance and walked the rest of the way with his gift.

The Jiang residence was elegant and spacious, filled with guests.

Though Zhao Guangzong did not recognize a single familiar face, the Jiang family’s hospitality was thorough. With stewards and servants attending to every detail, no guest was neglected.

He found a seat among the guests when a cheerful voice called out behind him, “Brother Zhao.”

Turning around, he saw the groom himself—Jiang Tangyuan—dressed in bright red wedding robes, full of youthful vigor.

“Since we parted in the capital, it’s been quite some time. When I heard you were appointed to Feng County, I was overjoyed. I had intended to congratulate you in person, but I’ve been occupied with the wedding and haven’t had the chance to invite you properly.”

“Marriage is a major matter. I’ll be in Feng County for the time being—we’ll have plenty of chances to meet.”

Zhao Guangzong said, “Today, it is your great joy.”

“What are you looking at? You seem so absorbed.”

A young nobleman walking beside Jiang Tangtuan joked with him. Seeing that Tangtuan did not respond and instead stared in one direction for a long while, he grew curious and followed his gaze.

“Who is that? I don’t think I’ve seen him before.”

Jiang Tangtuan came back to himself, but did not wish to say much. “He must be one of my brother’s acquaintances. Zhu ge’er, you go inside and enjoy yourself. I’ll go greet the newly arrived guest.”

“Alright.”

After sending his friend away, Jiang Tangtuan straightened his robes and was about to step forward when someone blocked his path.

“Little Master Jiang.”

The man greeted him with a bow. “It’s been some time since we last met. Your complexion looks much rosier—clearly, things have been going well for you.”

Jiang Tangtuan recognized him as Jiang Lingyun, a former student of his father. He returned the greeting politely.

He was not unfamiliar with this person. After Jiang Lingyun had passed the examinations, the family had hosted a gathering for scholars and guests, where his father had become acquainted with him and, finding his writing promising, had allowed him to visit their residence.

Jiang Lingyun visited frequently, coming every few days and often bringing food to his courtyard. Especially after Jiang Tangtuan returned from the capital, his attentiveness had only increased.

Tangtuan knew well what this meant.

After discussions in the capital about arranging a marriage, his father and elder brother had hoped to find him a suitable match—even if the family background was somewhat lower, it did not matter. What mattered was that, in times of trouble, the family would stand up for him.

With Jiang Lingyun behaving this way, he had clearly caught the attention of his father and brother.

Tangtuan could not say he liked him, nor could he say he disliked him. Because of that, he treated him with courtesy and propriety.

His family had always treated him well. When it came to marriage, he would naturally follow his parents’ wishes and the arrangements of matchmakers.

If his father decided to betroth him to Jiang Lingyun, he would have no objections and would simply prepare himself for marriage.

But after meeting Zhao Guangzong yesterday, and now seeing Jiang Lingyun again today, a trace of impatience unexpectedly rose in his heart, breaking his usual calm.

In truth, he knew clearly that during their journey to the capital, he had already felt something for Zhao Guangzong—something different from what he felt toward other men.

But after Zhao Guangzong failed the exam and returned home, separated by distance and circumstance, they had no further connection.

Though his heart had once stirred, he knew they likely had no such fate, and so he could only smooth over those springtime feelings.

Even so, whenever Bao ge’er mentioned Zhao Guangzong in passing, he could not help but ask a few more questions.

He had already resolved not to think of him again. Yet yesterday they met again—and he had even received such a gift…

He had not slept well at all last night.

He had once wondered whether Zhao Guangzong might hold even the slightest affection for him, but he had not dared to hope for much. Though both of them were not lacking in looks or talent, if neither had someone in their heart, finding each other pleasing was nothing unusual.

But later, he had heard nothing from Zhao Guangzong, nor received even the smallest sign of goodwill. Inevitably, he had felt it had all been one-sided on his part.

That he had meant nothing to him.

Who would have thought—there had been a place for him in Zhao Guangzong’s heart after all?

A sense of sudden clarity and joy rose within Jiang Tangtuan, like willows parting to reveal blooming flowers. Yet at the same time, he felt a little annoyed—why had Zhao Guangzong only made it known now? If he truly had feelings, why had he not let him know earlier?

He was not one to chat idly with others, and his nature tended toward overthinking.

He had imagined countless possibilities—good and bad… even wondered whether Zhao Guangzong’s actions now had ulterior motives. But today, he cast all those thoughts aside and simply wanted to see him.

“Tangtuan?”

Jiang Lingyun had been speaking to him for quite some time—about where he had gone recently and what he had been doing, explaining why he had not visited.

He also mentioned discovering some delicious food and said he would bring some the next day after the banquet.

Though he knew Tangtuan was quiet and not lively, after such a long time without a single response, he began to feel that Tangtuan had not been listening at all.

He had felt a little guilty earlier for visiting his cousin the day before, but now, seeing Tangtuan like this, he no longer felt he had done anything wrong.

Tangtuan’s thoughts were entirely on Zhao Guangzong; he had indeed not paid much attention to what Jiang Lingyun had been saying.

Coming back to himself, he said apologetically, “I slept late last night and am not very energetic today. I hope Jiang juren will not take offense.”

“No matter, no matter.”

Jiang Lingyun said, “Your health is not very strong. Today there are many guests for your brother’s wedding, and you’ll have to help receive them. Just don’t overexert yourself.”

“Alright.”

Tangtuan gave him a polite bow. “Please excuse yourself. I’ll go greet two old acquaintances who have just arrived.”

Zhao Guangzong had only spoken briefly with Jiang Tangyuan. Though both felt they had more to say, there were too many guests to speak at length. Soon, Jiang Tangyuan would have to go out to receive the bride and could not stay.

Turning his head, Zhao Guangzong spotted Jiang Tangtuan not far away and felt a surge of joy. But before he could approach, someone else stepped in front of him first.

The two spoke for quite some time, appearing quite familiar.

A faint discomfort rose in Zhao Guangzong’s heart, but when he saw clearly who it was, that feeling faded.

It was the very scholar he had seen yesterday in the alley.

Though he too was a young talent, Zhao Guangzong had seen him meeting a young woman intimately. Naturally, he would not now mistakenly connect him with Tangtuan.

“Since you saw me, why didn’t you come over? You acted as if you hadn’t seen me at all.”

After sending Jiang Lingyun away, Tangtuan quickly searched for Zhao Guangzong again and saw him standing quietly to one side.

He had clearly seen him—yet said nothing.

Tangtuan was usually gentle and reserved, but he had a certain pride. He simply did not show it to outsiders.

Seeing Zhao Guangzong so indifferent, he felt displeased. If that were the case, why had he given him that doll yesterday?

“I saw you speaking with someone familiar. I don’t know that person, so I didn’t want to interrupt.”

Seeing Tangtuan’s displeasure, Zhao Guangzong quickly explained.

Hearing this, Tangtuan pressed his lips together. “He is one of my father’s students, named Jiang Lingyun. He is also a juren.”

Zhao Guangzong nodded. “I could tell he was a scholar from the way he spoke.”

Seeing that Zhao Guangzong did not seem to care at all about Jiang Lingyun speaking with him, Tangtuan felt another surge of displeasure.

Looking around and seeing no one nearby, he asked in a low voice, “What did you mean by giving me that doll yesterday?”

Caught off guard by such a direct question, Zhao Guangzong felt his ears grow warm.

Meeting Tangtuan’s steady gaze, he paused, then said, “If you want me to say it plainly, I would be glad to. But there are too many people here—I fear someone might overhear and harm your reputation.”

At this, Tangtuan’s face flushed slightly.

He said, “You… when are you returning to Feng County?”

“After the banquet. I’ll set out early tomorrow morning.”

“So soon…”

Tangtuan knew that, having just taken up his post, Zhao Guangzong could not linger outside for long. He then said, “Then… when will you come to Jinling again?”

Zhao Guangzong did not understand the meaning behind his words and thought he simply did not want to hear any confessions. So he answered honestly, “If it’s not for official business, I’m afraid it will be difficult to come.”

Tangtuan’s brows tightened slightly. Though it was true, hearing it said so plainly still stung.

Lowering his voice, he said with a hint of annoyance, “Then it’s fine if you don’t come at all. Better yet, don’t write to me either.”

Fortunately, Zhao Guangzong was not so foolish as to miss the meaning entirely. “I… can write to you?”

“Didn’t I just say not to?”

“I’ll write! Even if you don’t read them and burn them, I’ll still write.”

Understanding a little more of Tangtuan’s meaning, Zhao Guangzong felt a dizzying, almost unreal joy.

Suppressing it, he added, “Even without official business, I’ll come to Jinling whenever I have time.”

Tangtuan felt that if they continued speaking, his face would grow so red that others would notice.

Though he wanted to say more, he restrained himself.

Softly, he said, “When you leave, I’ll have someone from my side see you off.”

“Who is that young man Tangtuan was speaking with? He looks unfamiliar. Why were they talking for so long?”

Madam Jiang, radiant with joy on her son’s wedding day, could not help but ask while attending to her guests.

“Tangtuan is gentle by nature. Don’t let him be deceived by those scholars who slip in among the guests.”

Seeing Zhao Guangzong—tall, upright, and handsome, yet unfamiliar—she could not help but be cautious.

“I heard from the young master that he is his friend from the capital, a fellow examinee during the metropolitan exams. Though he did not pass, he has since found success and is now serving as assistant magistrate in Feng County at a young age.”

A servant replied, “He must have come specifically to attend the banquet.”

Hearing this, Madam Jiang said, “In that case, it is a proper acquaintance. Tangtuan went to the capital with his brother—it is only natural they would know each other.”

“Now that he holds office in Feng County, there may be future dealings. Go inform the master and see if he would like to meet him and exchange a few words.”

“Yes.”

˙✧˖°🎓 ༘⋆｡ ˚