Oh no! I've only been a freshman and I've already been targeted by a mean upperclassman.

Yan Xi's fingers tightened on her knee.

"Li Chen... is rather reserved."

"Reserved? Him?"

Shen Ruolan's laughter came through the receiver. "When he was little, he got into a fight in kindergarten and his parents were called in. He came home and argued with his dad for an hour. Is that what you call being reserved?"

Yan Xi's lips twitched involuntarily.

"Auntie, did he get into fights when he was little?"

"Hit him! He was fighting with the neighbor's kid over the swing and pushed him off."

"Then the child cried, but he just stood on the swing and wouldn't get off, saying, 'It's his own fault for not standing properly.'"

Yan Xi couldn't help but laugh.

The voice was very soft, but the person on the other end of the phone caught it.

"Xiao Xi, you smiled? That sounds beautiful!"

Shen Ruolan's tone became even warmer. "See? I told you, chatting with you is definitely more fun than talking to that brat!"

Yan Xi's shoulders relaxed a little at some point.

"Auntie, you..."

"Calling her 'Auntie' is too formal."

Shen Ruolan interrupted her. "You and Chenchen are together now, just call me Aunt Shen, or..."

She paused for a moment, her tone slightly tentative.

"If you're willing, you can call me Mom."

Yan Xi's breath hitched for a second.

Leng Qingge stared wide-eyed at the bed opposite her.

"Aunt Shen." Yan Xi's voice steadied.

"Call her Aunt Shen first."

"Okay, okay, no rush."

Shen Ruolan showed no embarrassment whatsoever, her tone as gentle as a spring breeze. "Xiao Xi, have you had dinner?"

"have eaten."

"What did you eat?"

"Hand-pulled noodles made by Li Chen."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

"He did it?"

"Yes, we went to Nanxi Ancient Town on New Year's Day, and he cooked it in the inn's kitchen."

"He can even make hand-pulled noodles?"

Shen Ruolan's voice rose half an octave. "This child finds even cooking instant noodles too much trouble at home!"

Yan Xi was stunned for a moment.

"He's a great cook."

"Delicious?" Shen Ruolan seemed to have heard something unbelievable. "I'll have to ask him about it later..."

"Aunt Shen," Yan Xi's voice suddenly became more serious. "He learned it for me."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.

Then came Shen Ruolan's laughter.

This time, the laughter wasn't as loud as before, but it had a warmer touch.

"This child..." she sighed, without finishing her sentence.

Yan Xi sat at her desk, her hands off her knees.

"Aunt Shen, what is Li Chen like in your family?"

This question made Shen Ruolan pause for a moment.

"At home... I'm lazy."

She showed no mercy. "He doesn't fold his clothes, doesn't tidy his room, and spends all his time playing games and reading. He's unresponsive to anything I say."

"If his dad says two words to him, he can glare back with three words."

Yan Xi could picture Li Chen wearing an apron and chopping vegetables in the inn's kitchen.

"But," Shen Ruolan's tone changed.

"He's a good kid, very thoughtful."

"He remembers what fruits I like to eat, and he always brings back a bag of them whenever he goes out, without me ever having to remind him."

"On his dad's birthday, he secretly ordered a cake and wrote a card, even though his handwriting was so bad it looked like a dog's scratch."

Yan Xi's fingertip unconsciously traced a line on the table.

"He's not very good at expressing himself."

Shen Ruolan said, "But he did more than he said; you should know that better than I do."

Yan Xi did not answer.

But something seemed to be stuck in her throat.

"Xiao Xi".

"Um."

"I won't ask about your family situation, nor will I ask about your future plans," Shen Ruolan's voice softened. "I just want to tell you one thing."

"Please speak."

"Chenchen has never been interested in any girl since he was a child."

"You're the first one."

Yan Xi's fingers tightened slightly as she gripped her phone.

"A month ago, when he was on the phone with his grandfather to make a music box, his dad overheard him and came back to tell me that the kid's voice was so serious that I had never heard it before."

"So no matter what kind of person you are, as long as Chenchen has chosen you, we, as parents, will stand behind you."

Yan Xi's eyes welled up with tears.

She took a deep breath and suppressed the heat.

"Thank you, Aunt Shen."

"What are you thanking me for?"

Shen Ruolan's tone returned to its lighthearted tone. "If you ever find him annoying, just call and complain, and I'll deal with him."

Yan Xi chuckled softly.

"He's not bothered."

"It's not a problem now, but you'll understand later."

"Men are like dogs when they're pursuing someone, but once they get them..."

"Aunt Shen," Yan Xi interrupted her.

Her voice wasn't loud, but it was clear.

"He won't."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

Shen Ruolan let out a soft nasal sound, as if she had been touched by something.

"Okay," she said.

The two chatted for another ten minutes or so.

Shen Ruolan asked her if she was used to the food at school, if she had enough clothes for winter, and if she had any allergies.

Yan Xi answered each question one by one, her voice becoming more and more natural as she began to carefully choose her words.

Just before hanging up, Shen Ruolan said her last words.

"Xiao Xi, when are you free to come over for dinner, Auntie...?"

She changed how she addressed me.

"Auntie's braised pork ribs are tastier than Chenchen's."

Yan Xi gripped her phone, staring at a small patch of light on the table.

"it is good."

The phone hangs up.

The dormitory was quiet for a few seconds.

Leng Qingge had already taken off both earphones, sat cross-legged on the bed, rested her chin on her hands, and looked like she had just finished watching an entire season of a variety show.

"You cried?"

"no."

Your eyes are red.

Yan Xi picked up the cup on the table and took a sip of water.

"The lights are too bright."

Leng Qingge rolled her eyes but didn't expose her.

Yan Xi put down her cup and turned on her phone.

Li Chen's message was already waiting there.

[Li Chen: How is it?]

Yan Xi stared at these three words for a long time.

Delete it and rewrite it.

Delete it again, then rewrite it.

The last sentence sent was a single sentence.

[Yan Xi: Your mom said you pushed someone off the swing when you were little.]

Three seconds later.

[Li Chen: ...She told you this?]

[Yan Xi: You always say you're lazy at home, that you don't tidy your room or fold your clothes.]

[Li Chen: That was before! Things have changed now!]

[Yan Xi: Really?]

[Li Chen: Really, I changed it for you.]

Yan Xi stared at the screen.

My fingers hovered over the keyboard for a few seconds.

[Yan Xi: Your mom told me to come over for dinner sometime.]

[Li Chen: What did you say?]

Yan Xi: I said okay.

There was no immediate reply from the other end.

Ten seconds passed.

[Li Chen: Xi Xi.]

Yan Xi: Mm.

[Li Chen: Thank you.]

Yan Xi looked at these three words.

She wanted to say "Thank you for nothing," "It's only right," and many other light-hearted words to dissipate this burden.

But she didn't type a single word.

Because she knew the weight of those two words.

He wasn't thanking her for answering the phone.

He was thanking her for being willing to enter his life.

Step into that ordinary, homey home with a lazy son, a talkative mother, and a father who eavesdrops on phone calls.

Yan Xi locked the screen.

She placed her phone next to her pillow and lay down on her side.

Leng Qingge's breathing across from him had become long and even.

Yan Xi reached out and touched the phoenix hairpin beside her pillow in the darkness.

The cool, silvery touch felt against my fingertips.

She closed her eyes.

The phone screen lit up one last time in the darkness.

[Li Chen: Goodnight, girlfriend.]

Yan Xi did not reply.

But she tightened her grip on the phoenix hairpin.