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

Two changes of clothes. Toothbrush. Charging cable. Power bank. Folding umbrella. Car phone holder. A pack of tissues. A box of throat lozenges.

He pulled a thick scarf from the bottom of the wardrobe. It wasn't the one Yan Xi had given him before. It was his own.

He thought for a moment, then put it back.

Yan Xi's scarf was folded next to the pillow. He picked it up and put it in the side pocket of his backpack.

My phone vibrated.

Group 302.

[Wang Qiang: Wait, wait, wait. You're leaving tomorrow? What about celebrating tonight???]

[Zhao Zixuan: I've already booked a private room at Wangjiang Tower. I can't cancel it.]

[Li Chen: You guys go. I'll pack my things tonight.]

[Wang Qiang: You're not even celebrating with us???]

[Li Chen: I'll come back to invite you.]

[Chen Mo: Sample #214. Decision-making pattern analysis: When there is a time conflict between 'roommate social needs' and 'road trip preparations,' Li Chen's probability of choosing the latter is 100%. No anomalies. Consistent with the overall trend this semester.]

[Zhao Zixuan: Speak like a human being!]

Chen Mo: He's not going. You'll get used to it.

Li Chen threw his phone onto the bed.

He crouched down to inspect the backpack. Zippers. Shoulder straps. Waterproofing.

Confirm each item one by one.

9:28 PM.

He picked up his phone.

This time, I didn't wait until 9:30.

The call was made.

Two sounds.

"Um."

Yan Xi's voice.

"Have you packed your luggage?"

"Hmm. A backpack."

"Me too."

"What else did you bring?"

Sunscreen. Sunglasses. Power bank. Snacks.

"What snacks?"

"Seaweed and almonds".

Li Chen gripped his phone tightly.

"Anything else?"

"A bag of beef jerky. When you tear open a bag of beef jerky in the cafeteria, you smell it first. You only smell what you like."

Li Chen leaned against the headboard.

The sound of the wind outside the corridor window seeped into the crack of the half-open door.

"Yan Xi".

"Um."

"There will be a sea tomorrow."

three seconds.

"I know. You wrote it on the first page of your walkthrough."

"Have you finished reading?"

"Forty-seven pages. I read them all."

Which part do you like the most?

There was a seven-second silence on Yan Xi's end.

"The last line."

Li Chen's fingers traced the edge of the phone case.

"That line was added on short notice."

"I know. The spacing between the characters is 0.5 millimeters wider than before. You hesitated about whether to delete it."

"No hesitation."

"Your typing speed has slowed down. I checked the sending time and the number of words. It's twelve words less per minute than you usually do."

Li Chen closed his eyes briefly.

"You even count typing speed?"

"I have all your baseline data."

"When did it start?"

Four seconds.

"It all started when you peeled my first tea egg in the cafeteria."

Room 302 was quiet. The three roommates had gone out. Wangjiang Tower.

Li Chen sat alone in the darkness. The light from his phone screen shone on his face.

"Tomorrow at seven o'clock."

"Seven o'clock."

"Good night."

Goodnight, Li Chen.

"Um?"

"You'll be in charge of navigation on the road."

"I know. You already said that."

"What I mean is—"

She paused for a moment.

"You point, I'll drive."

The phone hangs up.

Li Chen sat there holding his phone for twelve seconds.

He set his alarm for 5:50.

Then close your eyes.

The scarf that carried her scent lay beside my pillow.

5:50.

The alarm clock rang.

Li Chen opened his eyes. It was still dark.

Wang Qiang's snoring came from the upper bunk. Zhao Zixuan turned over. Chen Mo, with the blanket over his head, remained motionless.

He got up. He didn't turn on the light.

Wash up. Change clothes. Dark gray windbreaker. The one Yan Xi complimented.

I checked the backpack a second time.

Cell phone. Power bank. Portable stand. Tissues. Throat lozenges. Seaweed and almond snacks—something to add on the go. Scarf in the side pocket.

6:15.

He walked out of the dormitory building.

It was late December in Linjiang. The sky was a steely gray. The temperature was minus two degrees Celsius. My breath condensed into white mist in front of me.

He walked to the school gate.

The convenience store was already open. He went in and bought two cups of hot soy milk, an egg pancake, and a plain sandwich.

The sandwich was Yan Xi's. When she was rushing early in the morning, she would only eat things that she could hold with one hand.

6:42.

My phone vibrated.

[Yan Xi: Let's go.]

Li Chen stood under the sycamore tree at the school gate, holding a breakfast bag in his hand.

He glanced left and right.

6:48.

The Porsche's headlights lit up from the intersection outside the east gate.

High beam. Low beam. Switched between them.

The car stopped in front of him.

Yan Xi sat in the driver's seat. She wore a black turtleneck sweater and her hair was tied in a low ponytail. A phoenix hairpin was pinned to her right side.

She rolled down the car window.

Cold air rushed into the car.

"Get in the car."

Li Chen opened the passenger door. He put his backpack on the back seat and placed the breakfast bag on the center console.

Fasten your seatbelt.

"Sandwich. Plain. Yours."

Yan Xi glanced at the paper bag. She didn't take it immediately.

She glanced at him first.

from head to foot.

"Windproof jacket".

"Um."

"I wore this last time too."

"You said it was alright."

Yan Xi's gaze lingered on his face for two seconds.

"Didn't sleep much?"

"I slept for five and a half hours."

You usually sleep in seven beds.

"I set my alarm too early last night."

Yan Xi shifted gears and stepped on the gas. The Porsche smoothly drove out of the east gate of Linjiang University.

In the rearview mirror, the iron fence at the school gate looked smaller and smaller.

Li Chen brought up the navigation on his phone and set the first destination.

"The first stretch of highway is 120 kilometers. It's estimated to take one hour and forty minutes. The first service area is at kilometer 63. Should we stop?"

"Keep going. The tank's full."

"The second service area, at kilometer 97, is a good place to rest for ten minutes and stretch your back—"

"Li Chen".

"Um."

"Give me the sandwich first."

He pulled the sandwich from the paper bag, tore open the wrapper, and handed it to her within her right-hand reach.

Yan Xi took it with one hand and took a bite.

"Is the bread overbaked?"

"Heated. In the convenience store microwave. Thirty seconds. You don't like cold bread."

Yan Xi chewed twice and swallowed.

"and yours?"

"Egg pancake. I've had two bites."

"When did you eat it?"

"While I'm waiting for you."

"You ate standing outside?"

"Um."

Yan Xi tapped the steering wheel with her right index finger.

"Minus two degrees Celsius."

"A windproof jacket is windproof."

"Your hands are not protected from the wind."

Li Chen glanced at his hands. His fingertips were indeed a little red.

Yan Xi extended her right hand. She didn't look at him. Her palm was facing upwards, open.

Li Chen's hand covered it.

Her palms were warm. The car heater had been on for a while.

She squeezed his fingers briefly. Not hard. For three seconds. Then she pulled away.

"Gloves."

"I didn't bring it."

"Check your backpack. The left pocket in the back seat."

Li Chen turned around. He touched a paper bag in the spot she had mentioned.

turn on.

A pair of dark gray leather gloves. New. Still wrapped in the store's packaging paper.

He took it out.

"When did you buy it?"

"Yesterday afternoon."