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

Yan Xi turned off the engine.

She looked at the road ahead through the windshield.

The door was not opened immediately.

Li Chen didn't urge her.

Twenty seconds later, Yan Xi opened the car door.

"Let's go."

The two walked along the stone path.

There weren't many tourists at the art village on Saturday.

A few people carrying cameras were squatting in the corner taking pictures of the rust patterns.

An orange cat was lying on a stone bench by the roadside, its tail resting on the stone surface.

Yan Xi walked slower than usual.

Her gaze lingered on the facades of each building.

Li Chen noticed that she was counting the windows.

"several?"

Yan Xi did not turn around.

"What?"

"You're counting the windows. How many are you on?"

She stopped walking.

"You even noticed that?"

"Your head tilts slightly to the right when you count things."

Yan Xi turned around and looked at him.

Four seconds.

"Seventeen. The north facade of that building has seventeen windows. When I came to conduct research as a sophomore, there were fifteen. Two skylights were added after the renovation."

She continued walking forward.

"It's a shame you're wasting your observational skills in the computer science department."

I think it's just right.

Why?

"Because the computer science department can help me write programs to store all the data I observe about you."

Yan Xi paused for a second.

She didn't reply.

But she reached out her hand.

Li Chen reached out and their hands met. Their fingers intertwined.

The two walked hand in hand into an independent exhibition hall converted from a red brick factory building.

The exhibition hall is very large. The ceiling is six meters high.

The ceiling is an exposed steel beam structure, with natural light pouring in through a strip skylight at the top.

A set of oil paintings hangs on the wall.

The style is bold and unrefined. The brushstrokes are heavy.

Yan Xi stood in front of the first painting.

The scene depicts ruins. A slender sapling grows from the gray concrete surface.

"This series of paintings was part of the residency program at last year's Nanshan Art Festival. The artist's name is Chen Wei."

Yan Xi's voice had changed. It wasn't the same tone she used when she spoke to him.

Heavier. More focused.

"He used the fresco technique to prepare the canvas. He first applied three coats of slaked lime, and then applied the next coat after each coat had dried completely. Finally, he painted directly with mineral pigments."

She released Li Chen's hand and walked closer to the painting.

The fingertip hovers two centimeters above the canvas surface.

"Look here. The gray wasn't mixed. It's the color that shows through from the lime base. He didn't use any gray pigment."

Li Chen stood half a step behind her.

He couldn't tell the difference between the lime base and the gray paint.

But he could tell Yan Xi's condition.

Her shoulders relaxed. Her breathing slowed. She turned more widely.

She was in her own territory.

"How long did you conduct research here during your sophomore year?"

"Two weeks." Yan Xi walked to the second painting. "We stayed at a guesthouse at the east end of the village. Every morning at six o'clock, we got up to measure the dimensions and draw a floor plan."

"Is two weeks enough?"

"Not enough." Her fingers traced the edge of the picture frame. "So I came back three more times on my own. My advisor said my research report was more detailed than any of the graduate students he had ever supervised."

"I've read that article."

Yan Xi turned around.

"You said you've seen it. How much have you seen?"

"Complete. Includes three CAD plan views and four sectional analysis diagrams in the appendix."

"Can you understand it?"

"I can understand CAD. But cross-sectional analysis diagrams require architectural knowledge. It took me two hours to understand the lighting angle calculation you marked in the third cross-sectional diagram."

Yan Xi narrowed her eyes slightly.

"You spend two hours reading an architectural research report?"

"You wrote it."

Three words.

Yan Xi turned back to face the painting.

A hint of pink peeked out from under her low ponytail.

"In the architecture industry, this level of information gathering is called due diligence."

"What do you call it here?"

"That's a foul."

She did not explain what rule she had broken.

The two continued walking forward.

At the far end of the exhibition hall is a floor-to-ceiling glass window. Outside the window is a bamboo grove. The sound of bamboo leaves rustling in the wind drifts into the room.

Li Chen walked to the window and looked at the two shadows reflected in the glass.

Yan Xi stood beside him.

"This window was added during the renovation. Originally, this was a solid wall."

Why change it?

"Because of the bamboo forest." Yan Xi's gaze pierced through the glass. "The designer felt it was a waste to hide the best view behind a wall."

Do you agree?

I don't completely agree.

Why?

"Some things are more valuable when they are hidden away."

Li Chen turned to look at her.

She wasn't looking at him. She was looking at the bamboo grove.

But her hand reached out.

Her fingers hooked around his ring finger.

Li Chen looked down at the two intertwined fingers.

"What you said you were hiding—"

Don't ask.

"it is good."

Two fingers were waved in front of the French windows.

As I left the exhibition hall, the sky had darkened by half a notch.

The clouds pressed down even lower.

The humidity in the air was rising. Judging by the feel of his skin, Li Chen estimated that it would be about twenty minutes before it rained.

Are you hungry?

Yan Xi glanced at her phone.

1:40 PM.

"A little."

Li Chen pulled out the packet of seaweed almonds from the side pocket of his backpack.

Yan Xi's gaze fell on the packaging.

Her finger paused in mid-air for a second.

"this--"

"There are still five months and twenty-five days left on the shelf life."

Yan Xi took it.

She tore open the seal and poured out three pills into her palm.

"When did you see me looking at this?"

"Last Wednesday. On the snack shelf on the B1 floor of MixC World. You picked it up and looked at it for three seconds."

"Then I let it go."

"You flipped it over and checked the expiration date. Then you wrinkled your nose."

Yan Xi popped an almond into her mouth.

I thought you were looking at your phone.

"I'm watching you use your phone."

Yan Xi chewed twice.

How wide is your peripheral vision?

"One hundred and eighty degrees in your direction."

She held the second almond to his lips.

Li Chen opened his mouth and took it.

"Is it tasty?"

"Um."

"From now on, this brand will be the standard."

The two walked along the stone-paved path to the other end of the art village. There were a few small shops there: a café, a craft workshop, and a used bookstore.

Li Chen stopped in front of the used bookstore.

"Shall we go in and take a look?"

Yan Xi glanced at the old picture books displayed in the shop window.

How did you know I wanted to—

"You were 0.3 seconds slower when you passed by."

Yan Xi pushed open the bookstore door.

The doorbell rang.

There was only one owner in the shop, sitting behind the counter reading a newspaper.

He looked up at them but didn't say anything.

The bookshelf is made of old wood.

The books are arranged by category.

Yan Xi walked directly to the row of architecture students.

Li Chen did not follow.

He stood in front of the literature bookshelf and randomly picked up a book.

I turned two pages.