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

"You even choose your clothes in advance just to see if it will rain tomorrow?"

Chen Mo turned his head away from his desk and adjusted his glasses.

"Standard Dating Behavior Pattern #32: The Outfit Rehearsal the Night Before the Date. Trigger Condition—The date's aesthetic evaluation is weighted more heavily than one's own comfort. In layman's terms—What he wears doesn't matter, what matters is what your girlfriend thinks looks good."

Li Chen closed the wardrobe door.

"I won't be there tomorrow. You'll have to eat by yourselves."

"You've abandoned us again." Wang Qiang sat up in bed. "You said you'd treat us to Haidilao last time, and you still haven't kept your promise."

"We'll talk about it when we get back."

"You always say you'll talk about it when you get back."

Li Chen's phone lit up.

News about Yan Xi.

[Yan Xi: What time do we depart?]

[Li Chen: I'll be downstairs at 10 PM.]

[Yan Xi: 9:30.]

Li Chen glanced at the message.

She moved the time forward by half an hour.

[Li Chen: Okay. 9:30.]

[Yan Xi: Go to bed early. Don't be late tomorrow.]

[Li Chen: No.]

Seven seconds.

[Yan Xi: Goodnight.]

[Li Chen: Goodnight.]

He locked the screen.

Wang Qiang leaned down from the upper bunk.

"What did your sister-in-law say?"

"Let me go to sleep early."

"Then why don't you go to sleep?"

Li Chen placed his phone next to his pillow.

"She's asleep."

"Your eyes are open."

Li Chen closed his eyes.

It opened its eyes again after three seconds.

He picked up his phone and scrolled to his chat history with Yan Xi.

Slide up from the bottom.

Stop on that road—

[Yan Xi: One is enough.]

He stared at it for five seconds.

Then lock the screen.

Close your eyes.

This time, it didn't open its eyes again.

……

Saturday morning at 8:15.

Li Chen's alarm clock rang.

He turned over and sat up, his movements clean and efficient.

Wash up. Three minutes.

I changed my clothes. I wore a windbreaker, black trousers, and a white inner layer.

He stood in front of the mirror for two seconds. Then he reached out and pulled the zipper down a centimeter.

That's too deliberate.

They pulled it back.

The backpack contained a folding umbrella, a thermos, a power bank, tissues, and a small jar of throat lozenges—Yan Xi's throat gets dry easily, so she wouldn't remember to bring them herself.

8:40.

He passed by the convenience store downstairs and went inside.

I scanned the refrigerated display cases in front of the shelves.

I took a bottle of hot milk and a bottle of room temperature mineral water.

After thinking for a moment, I grabbed a bag of seaweed and almonds.

She picked it up at the supermarket last time, looked at it for three seconds, and then put it down.

The reason she put it down was that there were only two weeks left on the shelf life—her bottom line for food shelf life is more than a month.

Li Chen flipped the packaging over.

The production date is five days ago. Shelf life is six months.

He put it in the shopping basket.

The bill has been settled.

At 9:10, he stood downstairs at the girls' dormitory.

I arrived twenty minutes early.

There weren't many people on campus. It was Saturday morning, and most people were still asleep.

He found a plane tree to lean against and put his hands in his pockets.

The sky was grayish-white, with thick clouds. A wind blew from the east, carrying a hint of moisture.

He looked up at the sky.

9:20.

My phone vibrated.

[Yan Xi: You've arrived?]

[Li Chen: Downstairs.]

[Yan Xi: I see you.]

Li Chen looked up at the building.

Fourth floor. Window at the end of the corridor.

A figure stood behind the glass.

He couldn't see the face clearly, but he recognized the outline.

Her long black hair was loose. Her right hand rested on the window frame.

I stood there for two seconds.

The figure disappeared.

Five minutes later.

The dormitory door was pushed open.

Yan Xi came out.

She wore a khaki trench coat over a beige turtleneck sweater, black trousers, and white canvas shoes. Her hair was tied in a low ponytail, with a phoenix hairpin tucked behind her ear.

She was carrying a canvas bag.

Li Chen's gaze shifted from her canvas shoes to the fabric of her trench coat.

It's waterproof.

His lips twitched slightly.

Yan Xi walked up to him and looked him up and down for two seconds.

"Windproof jacket".

"water proof."

"I know. You said yesterday that it might rain."

She glanced down at her trench coat.

"It crashed."

"No collision. You look good."

Yan Xi's gaze fell on the umbrella handle peeking out of the side pocket of his backpack.

"One."

"Um."

She didn't say anything more.

Turned around and left.

Li Chen followed.

Two steps later, Yan Xi's right hand emerged from the trench coat pocket.

Spread your five fingers.

Li Chen reacted in 0.3 seconds.

He took her hand.

Their fingers intertwined.

Her hands were cold.

"Not wearing gloves?"

"I forgot."

He put the two people's clasped hands into the pockets of his windbreaker.

"Let's go."

"Where to?"

"Let's talk after we get in the car."

"Aren't you going to tell me?"

You'll know when you get there.

Yan Xi pressed her thumb against his palm.

"It's very suspenseful."

"I learned it from you."

The two walked side by side through the campus toward the parking lot outside the east gate.

Yan Xi's canvas shoes made a soft rustling sound as she stepped on the fallen leaves.

Li Chen's pace was half a beat slower than usual.

I agree with her.

……

The car drove south along Linjiang Avenue.

Li Chen sat in the passenger seat. Yan Xi drove.

He offered to drive it himself, but was refused. His reason was, "It's my car, I'm in charge."

Porsches have a low chassis, so the car shudders slightly when going over speed bumps.

The navigation system indicates the destination will be in 42 minutes.

Yan Xi's gaze fell on the navigation screen.

"Nanshan Art Village?"

"Um."

How do you know about this place?

Li Chen did not answer immediately.

Last week, while browsing through architectural journals in the library, he came across a report about the renovation of old factory buildings in the Linjiang Nanshan area.

The accompanying photo shows an exhibition hall built with red bricks and steel structure, with a bamboo forest visible through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

The third name listed in the author's signature column is Yan Xi.

That was a field research project she participated in during her sophomore year of college.

She didn't mention it.

He didn't ask either.

"I saw a report about it," Li Chen said calmly. "I think you might want to go back and take a look."

Yan Xi's fingers tightened on the steering wheel for a moment.

"You read that article."

"Um."

"That article was published as an appendix in the 47th issue of Architectural Review. 300 copies were printed. The school library only received two copies, which were placed in the very back row of the periodicals reading room."

Her voice paused for a moment.

How deep did you go?

"Seventh row, third floor."

Yan Xi took her right hand off the steering wheel and reached towards the passenger seat.

Her fingers pinched Li Chen's earlobe.

I twisted it gently.

"Someone like you would be called a Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) in ancient times."

"What would you call it if you put it next to you?"

Yan Xi withdrew her hand.

"That's called being nosy."

When she said those three words, the corners of her mouth curved into a smile.

The car was parked at the entrance of Nanshan Art Village.

A stone-paved road extends from the parking lot, with renovated old factory buildings on both sides.

Red brick exterior walls, wrought iron window frames, and ivy climbing from the base of the walls to the second-floor window sills.