My cousin-in-law helped me achieve my ambitions.

He jolted awake, becoming mostly conscious, and quickly answered the call, lowering his voice, his tone slightly hoarse from being woken up: "Hello, Dr. Hou..."

"Don't call me Dr. Hou, just call me brother-in-law. Or Brother Hou is fine," Dr. Hou replied with a smile.

"Brother-in-law!"

"Hmm! That's more like it." On the other end of the phone, Dr. Hou, Mingjuan's husband, chuckled, his voice as refined as ever, carrying the deliberate slowness characteristic of a scholar: "Su Ming, I'm sorry to call you so late. I'm planning to go fishing at a small river at the foot of Jixi Mountain tomorrow morning, leaving at six o'clock. Didn't you say you wanted to come with me last time? I was just wondering if you're free tomorrow morning?"

Without a second thought, Su Ming immediately replied, "Yes, I'm free. I have tomorrow off, I'm very free."

Dr. Hou laughed again, his tone slightly teasing: "Su Ming, I'm planning to leave at six o'clock tomorrow morning, so you'd better think carefully before you answer me. Can you get to my place at six o'clock? Don't young people all like to sleep in?"

Upon hearing that he had to be there by six o'clock, Su Ming's head buzzed, and he inwardly groaned. This Dr. Hou must be incredibly bored; couldn't he just sleep in on a weekend morning? Getting to his place by six meant he'd have to get up at five. He glanced at the drowsy Lin Shumei beside him, then at the time on his phone—almost midnight. He wouldn't get more than a few hours of sleep anyway. He really didn't want to go, but thinking of Mingjuan's husband's powerful connections, and who had paved the way for his arcade, he gritted his teeth and smiled, replying, "Okay, tomorrow it is. I'll be there before six. Brother Hou, you wait for me, I won't be late."

Dr. Hou smiled with satisfaction: "Alright, then I'll wait for you. Go to bed early, don't come to see me with dark circles under your eyes tomorrow."

Hanging up the phone, Su Ming put it back on the bedside table and let out a long sigh. Lin Shumei was already half awake. She turned over, draped her arm over Su Ming's chest, and groggily raised her head to look at him in the light of the bedside lamp. She hugged his neck and kissed him, her voice tinged with sleepiness and a hint of coquettishness: "Leaving so early tomorrow morning, aren't you going to stay with me?"

Su Ming made a face, reached out and brushed the stray hairs from her forehead behind her ear, and said helplessly, "I have an important meeting to attend tomorrow, so I'll spend more time with Sister Lin later. Anyway, you're not leaving tomorrow, we have plenty of time."

Lin Shumei wrapped her arms around his neck, kissed him again, snuggled closer to him, and asked softly, "I want to know, who is it? Is it more important than me? Leaving before dawn on the weekend, more eager than going to work."

Su Ming smiled, put his arm around her shoulder, rested his chin on the top of her head, and explained earnestly, "You're my woman, of course I'm not as important as you. But the person I'm going to see tomorrow morning is very likely to become my benefactor—no, I should say, he already is. The reason I can run an arcade is entirely because of this connection. He's a benefactor I can't afford to offend. If he says six, I have to be at six; I can't make him wait for me."

Upon hearing this, the coquettishness in Lin Shumei's eyes slowly faded, replaced by understanding and approval. She smiled charmingly, kissed him again, her lips lingering on his lips for a moment, then nodded and said, "It's nothing, Sister Lin was just sighing. You and I have plenty of time to meet, one more day won't make a difference. You go and do your thing, hold onto the relationships you should, we have a long future ahead of us."

Su Ming smiled and kissed her back, his lips lingering on her forehead for a while. They smiled at each other, then readjusted their positions, lying face to face with their legs intertwined. They chatted idly for a while, exchanging sweet nothings. Lin Shumei asked how his exam preparation was going on Monday, and Su Ming said it should be fine. Lin Shumei said she would personally pick him up to get his car after he got his driver's license, and Su Ming agreed. Lin Shumei then said she would make room for him in a cabinet in his office to store his things when he became a manager, and Su Ming laughed, saying the cabinet would have to be big, otherwise it wouldn't be able to hold all the things she gave him. As they chatted, their voices grew softer and their breathing more even, and they embraced, falling asleep again without realizing it.

The next morning, Su Ming was awakened by a piercing alarm clock. He opened his eyes abruptly, reached for his phone, and saw that it was exactly five o'clock. It was still dark outside, a sliver of dim light filtering through the curtains. The city was so quiet in the early morning that the occasional bird call could be heard in the distance. He rubbed his eyes, yawned, and quietly moved Lin Shumei's arm away from his chest, then got out of bed.

While washing up, he splashed cold water on his face a few times, forcing himself to wake up. The person in the mirror had messy hair and a few bloodshot eyes, but still looked quite energetic. After brushing his teeth and washing his face, he changed into the new clothes Lin Shumei had bought him last night, straightened his collar in front of the mirror, and felt much more refreshed. He quietly packed his backpack and was about to leave when he turned around and saw Lin Shumei already up, wrapped in a white hotel bathrobe, barefoot on the carpet, looking at him sleepily.

She walked over, didn't say anything, reached out and hugged his waist, pressed her face against his chest, and held him for a while. Then she tiptoed and gently kissed his lips, straightened his collar, her voice still a little hoarse, but incredibly gentle: "Be careful on the road, text me when you get there."

Feeling the beauty's tenderness, Su Ming felt a warm current surge in his heart. His feet seemed glued to the carpet, and he was reluctant to leave. He lowered his head and kissed her forehead hard, took a deep breath, and finally released her. He turned around, pushed open the door, and strode towards the elevator.

He left the hotel, hailed a taxi, and went straight to where he had parked his motorcycle the day before. The brand-new Honda still sat forlornly against a utility pole, its seat damp with dew. He hopped on, turned the key, and the engine sputtered loudly in the empty morning streets. He put on his helmet, twisted the throttle, and the motorcycle shot off, weaving through the still-sleeping streets, past the newly set breakfast stalls at the market entrance, and through the misty alleyways, heading straight for Mingjuan's home.

At six o'clock sharp, he arrived at Mingjuan's building on time. Before he even turned off his motorcycle, he saw Dr. Hou already waiting at the building entrance. He had changed into his new outfit: beige quick-drying pants, a military green sun-protective shirt, a wide-brimmed fisherman's hat, wading shoes, a bulging fishing tackle bag on his back, and a folding chair and a long fishing rod bag in his hands. He looked incredibly energetic, a stark contrast to his usual well-dressed and refined appearance; he looked more like a professional angler.

Dr. Hou saw Su Ming chug into the yard on his motorcycle, glanced at his watch, and smiled: "Six o'clock sharp, not a minute late. Good for a young man to be punctual."

He walked up to Su Ming, patted him on the shoulder, looked him up and down, and nodded. "Come on, get in. My car is parked up ahead. Lock your motorcycle here and ride with me. The mountain roads in Jixi are difficult to travel. Your motorcycle will probably fall apart halfway there."