Since we are all reborn, let’s arrest the senior!

The morning sunlight filtered through the sheer curtains, casting dappled light and shadow on the bedroom floor.

Jiang Yun slowly woke up. Lu Mingze was still fast asleep beside her, his eyelashes casting a faint shadow under his eyes, his breathing even and long.

She gazed at him quietly, a gentle smile unconsciously appearing on her lips, and reached out to gently smooth the fine lines between his brows.

Suddenly, a "ding" sound came from the kitchen. Jiang Yun tiptoed out of bed, put on a light coat, and followed the sound.

Lu Mingze was wearing an apron covered in bear prints, busily fiddling around in front of the oven. A few unruly strands of hair stuck up at the ends of his head, and there was a little flour on the tip of his nose. He looked quite adorable.

"You're awake!" Lu Mingze turned around with a bright smile when he heard the noise. "Try our newly developed caramel apple muffins. We added cinnamon powder. The inspiration came from the way you were drooling over the samples at the baking expo last time."

He carefully carried the baking tray out. The muffins on the tray had an enticing caramel color, and the apple slices on top were slightly curled up. The sweet aroma instantly filled the entire kitchen.

Jiang Yun tiptoed and tasted the small sample he offered. The crispy outer shell encased the soft interior, and the spiciness of cinnamon and the sweetness of apple blended on her tongue.

"Your skills have improved, Master Lu." She smiled and lightly touched his nose with her cream-covered fingertip, but he took the opportunity to suck her fingertip clean, making her ears turn red. She gently patted his chest and said, "You're being naughty again."

After breakfast, Jiang Yun nestled by the bay window, revising the invitation to the Rose Garden party, her colored pencils scratching on the paper. Lu Mingze, holding a tablet, leaned over and suddenly shoved the screen in front of her: "Found a super interesting event!" The page displayed promotional images of a handmade pottery studio, showing clay spinning on a potter's wheel, exquisite pottery firing in a kiln, and heartwarming photos of couples collaborating on a piece.

"How about we go do this this weekend?"

He held up his tablet, saying, "Last time at the market, I saw you staring intently at the pottery, and I heard that you can engrave your name on handmade pottery. Let's make a pair of cups and use them to drink coffee every day." As he spoke, his eyes were full of anticipation, and he reached out to gently hold her hand.

Jiang Yun put down her colored pencils, her fingertips tracing the newly sprouted stubble on his chin: "Is Lu indirectly requesting couple-themed merchandise?"

Despite saying that, her eyes were full of smiles. She took out her phone to check the reservations when Lu Mingze suddenly wrapped his arms around her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder: "Choose the double package, I want Teacher Jiang to teach me personally." His warm breath sprayed on her ear, making her feel slightly ticklish, and she nodded with a smile.

On a sunny weekend morning, with a gentle breeze, Jiang Yun and Lu Mingze drove to their pottery studio.

Throughout the journey, Lu Mingze was in high spirits, constantly expressing his anticipation for the pottery experience, and frequently turning to look at Jiang Yun with eyes full of affection. Jiang Yun listened quietly, a gentle smile always on her lips.

Upon arriving at the studio and opening the door, a fresh, earthy scent wafted out.

The studio is filled with pottery semi-finished products of various shapes. Sunlight streams through the large glass windows, falling on the long table covered with clay, creating a warm and tranquil atmosphere.

The teacher, wearing an indigo apron, warmly greeted them and gave a brief explanation of the basic process and precautions for pottery making before letting them begin.

Jiang Yun sat down in front of the potter's wheel to demonstrate.

She placed a piece of clay steadily in the center of the turntable, turned on the switch, and the clay slowly rotated with the turntable.

She dipped her hands in water and gently placed them on the clay. As the potter's wheel turned, the clay gradually took shape in her hands, forming a rounded cup body and an exquisite rim. Every movement was elegant and fluid, as if she were creating a fine work of art.

Lu Mingze sat down close to her, watching her movements intently, but his palms were sweating involuntarily, wetting the clay.

“Don’t be nervous,” Jiang Yun held his hand and gently pressed the clay with him, “feel its resilience, just like” she paused, her ears turning slightly red, “just like how you stubbornly try to twist Christmas lights into the shape of a heart every time.”

He was amused, and his tense shoulders relaxed. But as soon as he tried to shape it, the clay became crooked and unruly, with lumps protruding here and there, and eventually collapsing into a puddle.

"It seems I'm just not cut out with mud." He hung his head in frustration, his face full of annoyance.

Jiang Yun wasn't in a hurry. She placed new clay on the turntable and said gently, "Let's try again. This time, I'll help you secure the bottom." Their hands overlapped on the clay, and as the turntable spun, their warm breaths mingled together.

Lu Mingze could clearly feel the warmth of Jiang Yun's palm, and his tense mood gradually calmed down.

Under Jiang Yun's guidance, Lu Mingze finally made a barely decent cup. Although it was crooked and the body of the cup was uneven, a bright smile appeared on his face.

During the carving process, Lu Mingze mysteriously sent Jiang Yun away to choose the glaze color. When she returned, she found "J&L 2025" crookedly engraved on the cup, with a picture of a bear wearing glasses and a rabbit holding a rose next to it—the cartoon images of the two of them.

"Although it's a bit ugly,"

He scratched his head, his ears turning bright red. "But it's one of a kind in the whole world." Jiang Yun looked at the cute pattern on the cup, her heart filled with emotion. She tiptoed and gave him a light kiss on the lips. When choosing the glaze color, the cobalt blue pigment in the glaze tray accidentally smudged onto his shirt collar, looking like a deliberately blurred decoration. She smiled and reached out to wipe it off, but Lu Mingze grabbed her and pulled her into his arms.

The pottery firing process takes a week, and Lu Mingze would repeat it several times a day during the waiting period.

One late night, Jiang Yun was working on design drawings in her study, the desk lamp casting her shadow on the table. Lu Mingze quietly entered, carrying a laptop. On the screen were various pottery repair tutorials: "What if it cracks? I've learned repair methods, so even if it becomes shattered pieces, I can piece it back together into an inlay."

Jiang Yun turned and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her forehead against his chest: "It won't break, just like our relationship." Moonlight streamed through the blinds, casting stripes on the floor. His fingers unconsciously stroked the top of her hair. The dim light from the computer screen reflected their overlapping shadows, a scene of tranquility and beauty.

The day they picked up the finished product, the sun shone exceptionally brightly. The two arrived at the studio early, their hearts pounding in their chests as they pushed open the door.

The two cups were perfectly intact the moment the box was opened.

Although Lu Mingze's works are still irregular, they have a warm luster after being fired at high temperatures, and the cartoon patterns are made more vivid by the glaze.

"Perfect than I imagined."

Jiang Yun placed the cup upside down in his palm, saying, "From now on, we'll use these to drink love-filled coffee every morning."

Lu Mingze suddenly pressed her against the entryway cabinet, their noses touching: "I want to drink it now, but," his lips brushed against her ear, "I want to drink the one Teacher Jiang personally feeds me."

Jiang Yun blushed, gently nudged him, but still turned and walked into the kitchen.

Soon, the hum of the coffee machine filled the kitchen, and the rich aroma of coffee wafted through the air. She poured the brewed coffee into two cups, and Lu Mingze wrapped his arms around her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. The two of them clinked the cups together, making a crisp sound.

Sunlight streamed through the cup, casting a gentle glow on the table, much like their love, which slowly brewed its sweetest flavor in the ordinary days.

In the days that followed, every morning, these two cups, which carried their love, would appear on the dining table.

Sometimes, Lu Mingze would secretly put a candy in Jiang Yun's cup to surprise her; other times, Jiang Yun would draw cute patterns in the cup with coffee to make Lu Mingze happy.

On a leisurely afternoon, the two sat on the bay window, looking through photos of pottery making they had taken before.

In the photos, Lu Mingze clumsily manipulates the clay, while Jiang Yun patiently guides him; each picture is filled with warmth. Lu Mingze suddenly puts down the photos and looks at Jiang Yun earnestly: "That pottery experience is one of my most unforgettable memories."

Jiang Yun leaned on his shoulder and said with a smile, "Actually, what's important isn't how perfect the pottery is, but the process we go through together."

Lu Mingze hugged her tighter and kissed her forehead: "In the future, we will try more things together and create more beautiful memories."

The light autumn rain tapped against the glass of the studio. Lu Mingze held a celadon teacup, his fingertips tracing the delicate crackle patterns on the cup's surface.

This is a new work by Lin Yanqiu. The tea soup gleams with an amber light under the glaze, and the rising steam blurs the sign on the display stand that reads "Lin Yanqiu Solo Exhibition".

"Mr. Lu has a unique understanding of the kiln transformation of Jun ware." Lin Yanqiu's voice came from behind, carrying the soft and gentle tone characteristic of women from Jiangnan.

She wore a moon-white silk cheongsam, with celadon beads adorning the buttons, and the sandalwood scent from her hair wafted out faintly with her movements.

As Lu Mingze turned around, he saw her bending over to adjust the display stand, the pearl pendant behind her ear shimmering with a soft light.

“It was Teacher Lin’s work that inspired me.” Lu Mingze placed the teacup back in its place, but his gaze involuntarily fell on the clay wristband on her wrist—exactly the same style he had seen in the studio last time. As Lin Yanqiu straightened up, a section of her fair ankle was revealed at the slit of her cheongsam. “There’s an exchange meeting on wood-fired kiln firing next week. Would Mr. Lu be interested?” Her fingertips, stained with celadon glaze, held out her business card. “I heard you’re quite knowledgeable about the proportions of wood ash glaze?”

In the days that followed, my phone screen would always light up late at night.

The photos Lin Yanqiu sent were either unfired bisques or flickering flames in the kiln. "This time, using the formula you mentioned, the glaze developed unexpected patterns." The accompanying picture was of a freshly fired teacup, its flowing glaze resembling a frozen sunset. When Lu Mingze replied, he subconsciously omitted overly technical terms, unaware that as Jiang Yun tidied the study, her gaze lingered longer and longer on his phone's screensaver.

On the day of the exchange meeting, the studio was filled with the aroma of burning pine wood.

Lin Yanqiu stood before the wood-fired kiln, explaining, the firelight softening the contours of her profile: "The charm of wood firing lies in its unpredictability." She picked up a piece of clay, her slender fingers gently pressing it, "Like..." Her gaze suddenly shifted to Lu Mingze in the crowd, "Like the surprise of meeting a kindred spirit."

During a break, Lu Mingze was adjusting the glaze at his workbench when Lin Yanqiu approached with a celadon cup: "Want to try my new Osmanthus Oolong tea?"

She leaned against the table, the hem of her cheongsam brushing against his trousers. "The copper oxide ratio you mentioned last time solved my problem of the glaze turning grayish." She leaned closer to examine the glaze in his hand, a strand of hair brushing against the back of his hand. "But there's still one problem."

Jiang Yun stood at the entrance of the exhibition hall, watching Lin Yanqiu gently draw circles on the back of Lu Mingze's hand with a brush dipped in glaze: "What kind of effect will this concentration produce after firing?" Lu Mingze stiffened, his ears turning red: "I...I'm not sure either."

He tried to pull his hand away, but Lin Yanqiu pressed his wrist down: "Don't move, let me try."

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows of the exhibition hall, the rain was pouring down. Jiang Yun's palms were sweaty as she gripped her phone. On the screen was a message from Lu Mingze that morning: "Something came up at the studio, I won't be home for dinner."

At that moment, she watched Lin Yanqiu pick up Lu Mingze's phone, her slender fingers swiping across the screen: "This angle is the best for photographing the glaze."

She held her phone between them, and Lu Mingze took a half step back, but she grabbed his sleeve: "Mr. Lu, are you being too formal?"

Late at night, when Lu Mingze opened the door, the living room light was still on.

Jiang Yun sat on the sofa, Lin Yanqiu's business card spread out in front of her: "Was today's exchange meeting interesting?" Her voice was calm, but it made Lu Mingze's heart skip a beat.

The phone on the coffee table suddenly vibrated, and a message from Lin Yanqiu popped up: "I had a very nice day. Shall I invite you for tea alone sometime?"

Lu Mingze's expression changed drastically, and he frantically tried to turn off his phone, but Jiang Yun beat him to it.

She stared at the screen, her nails digging deep into her palms: "So you two are already this close." She remembered how Lin Yanqiu had straightened Lu Mingze's collar during the day, and the way Lin Yanqiu looked at him when he was explaining the glaze.

"It's not what you think!" Lu Mingze grabbed her wrist. "I just..." He suddenly remembered how Jiang Yun had gently held his hand when she taught him how to throw a potter's wheel. Those late-night conversations, those subtle hints of intimacy, seemed so glaring in front of Jiang Yun's reddened eyes.

"She invited you to have tea alone?" Jiang Yun shook off his hand, her voice trembling.

She turned and went into the bedroom, leaving Lu Mingze standing there, his phone still vibrating.

She's definitely jealous.

The next morning, Lu Mingze found a note left by Jiang Yun in the entryway: "I'm going to stay at the Rose Garden for a few days."

His hand holding the note trembled uncontrollably, and he suddenly deleted all of Lin Yanqiu's contact information from his phone.

He rushed into the rain, heading straight for the rose garden, but received Lin Yanqiu's last message halfway there: "Mr. Lu, where are you?"

He stood in front of the iron gate of the rose garden, watching Jiang Yun's busy figure among the flowers.

She was wearing that beige trench coat, her hair blowing in the wind, just like when they first met.

Lu Mingze gripped the clay in his pocket—it was leftover from when he and Jiang Yun made cups together last time, and their shared fingerprints were still embedded in it.

(End of this chapter)