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

I answered the phone after it rang twice.

"dad."

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

"Who gave you permission to call?"

"Nobody let me. The noodles were cooked and I was waiting. I just grabbed this on the spot."

There was another three seconds of silence.

"What are the conditions like on the island?"

"It's alright. It's a guesthouse. A stone house."

"Where's the heating?"

"There's no central heating. We have electric blankets."

"Is the blanket thick?"

"thick."

Li Mohan's tone softened slightly, but he immediately snapped back to his usual tense manner.

"Your mother has been nagging you all day. If you had even a shred of conscience—"

"dad."

"Um?"

How long did you sit on the sofa yesterday?

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

Li Chen took the pot off the stove and scooped the noodles into a bowl.

"Mom said you brewed eight pots of tea. The teapots are all empty."

"Who said that? I watched some TV—"

"There are marks from your fingers rubbing on the leather of the left armrest of the sofa in the living room."

"When you're thinking, you rub the same spot on the armrest repeatedly with your right thumb."

A very soft inhale came from the other end of the phone.

"When did you start observing?"

"When I was in high school."

Li Mohan remained silent for nearly ten seconds.

Li Chen poured the noodle soup into another bowl.

"dad."

"explain."

"Wait for me to come back. I'll bring her with me."

There was no sound on the other end of the phone.

"Your dad didn't say anything." It was his mother's voice. It came from a distance. She was probably standing on the other side of the living room. "He's wiping his eyes."

"I didn't." Li Mohan's voice trailed off.

Li Chen heard his mother say something in a low voice. Then Li Mohan coughed.

"Okay. We'll talk about it when we get back. Don't... don't make the girl feel bad. It's windy on the island."

"understood."

"Hang up."

"Um."

"Wait a moment--"

Li Chen's hand stopped on the screen.

Li Mohan's voice was very low, as if he was afraid someone would hear him.

"Your mom prepared two red envelopes. One for you, and one for her. Remember to remind her to take them out when you get back. Don't let her forget."

"understood."

The phone hangs up.

Li Chen stared at the screen for three seconds in a daze.

He switched to group 302.

[Li Chen: My dad just called me. He talked for five minutes. I almost cried.]

Four seconds.

[Wang Qiang: Your dad?? That Boss Li who changes eight pots of tea a day and whose noodles are thicker than a city wall?? He almost cried???]

[Chen Mo: Fathers often need a "rational outlet" to express their emotions. "Your mom told me to ask" is a classic example of emotional compensation. Essentially, it means: I miss you, but I can't say it.]

[Zhao Zixuan: Chen Mo, you should go participate in Qipa Talk. You'll win for sure.]

Li Chen locked the screen.

Footsteps echoed down the stairs.

Yan Xi came down.

She was still wearing her pajamas, but her hair was already tied up. A phoenix hairpin was inserted on her right side.

She went into the kitchen.

I glanced at the two bowls of noodles and two eggs on the stove. Then I glanced at the sweet potatoes in the iron pot.

"What time did you get up?"

"Six o'clock."

"I woke up at 5:50."

Li Chen's hand paused on the bowl for a moment.

"You've been awake the whole time?"

"The mattress springs made a popping sound when you got up. The frequency is different from when you turn over. It's the amplitude of the vibration as you get up and move away."

"Then why don't you come down?"

Yan Xi walked over to him and picked up her chopsticks.

"I'm listening to you cook."

She lowered her head and smelled the noodles.

"You chopped the cabbage a little slower than last night. That's because you were thinking about something while you were chopping."

"What are you thinking about?"

"Do you want to call your dad or not?"

Li Chen looked at her.

"You heard everything upstairs?"

"The soundproofing is substandard. I've already said that."

Yan Xi picked up the bowl of noodles and sat down at the stone table in the courtyard.

Li Chen also brought out his own bowl. The sweet potatoes were still simmering in the iron pot.

Two people are eating noodles facing each other.

The sea breeze was cooler this morning than last night. A sliver of sun peeked through the clouds and shone on the edge of the stone table.

"Li Chen".

"Um."

"Tell your dad to take me with him when he goes back."

"Um."

"You didn't ask me beforehand."

Li Chen looked up.

Yan Xi placed her chopsticks on the bowl. Her gaze was calm.

"You need to promise your dad first. Then get ready and talk to me."

Li Chen put down his chopsticks.

"I'm sorry. I should have—"

"I didn't say I wouldn't go."

Li Chen swallowed his words.

Yan Xi picked up a noodle.

"When did you learn to give your dad a way out?"

"I learned it from my mom."

"Your mom has been giving your dad a way out for over twenty years. You're quick to learn."

Li Chen watched her put the noodles in her mouth. She chewed twice and swallowed.

"You agreed?"

Yan Xi scooped the remaining cabbage from her bowl into his bowl.

"Are the sweet potatoes in the iron pot ready yet?"

Li Chen stood up and strode into the kitchen. He lifted the lid of the iron pot. The sweet potato skin was already charred, and the flesh inside was a deep orange color, steaming hot.

He put the two sweet potatoes on a plate and took them out.

Yan Xi took one and held it in her hands.

I haven't eaten yet. I'll just hold it for now.

"hot?"

"warm."

She took a small bite.

"Sweeter than the cafeteria food."

"It's the same variety. But dry-firing results in more complete saccharification than steaming."

Yan Xi took another bite.

"How long have you been studying?"

"I thought about the cooking time yesterday. Today is the first time I'm trying it."

"Success on the first try?"

"Sweet potatoes are simpler than code."

Yan Xi's gaze shifted from the sweet potato to his face.

The morning light shone on his profile. His jawline was clearly defined. There was a subtle curve at the corner of his mouth that she hadn't noticed before—not a smile, but a natural upward curve that only appears when he's relaxed.

"You're definitely most relaxed when you're cooking," she repeated what she had said last night.

Li Chen looked at her.

"And it is now."

Yan Xi tore off a small piece of the sweet potato skin and placed it on the edge of the plate.

"You just said on the phone, 'I'll bring her with me when I get back.'"

"Um."

"'She' refers to me."

"Um."

"When you mentioned me to your dad in the third person—" She rubbed her fingers between the sweet potato skins. "What tone of voice did you use?"

Li Chen thought for a moment.

"I don't know. I wasn't paying attention to my tone."

Yan Xi flicked off the sweet potato peel.

"On the way back." She stood up, carrying half a sweet potato, and headed upstairs. "You drive."

"Do you get carsick?"

"I'm not dizzy."

"Then why—"

Yan Xi turned around at the top of the stairs.

"Because the passenger can see your profile from the side."

She went upstairs.

Li Chen sat at the stone table, holding the remaining half of a sweet potato in his hand.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. It kept vibrating. (Group 302)

He didn't look at it.

He glanced down at the chest pocket of his windbreaker. A corner of a hand cream cap was sticking out.

Next to it were those gloves. There were handwritten words on the inside.

On the other side of her pocket was her hair tie. She'd been wearing it for three weeks.

There was a gray-blue scarf worth thirty yuan in the side pocket of her backpack. She said she wouldn't return it.

On her wrist was the silver bracelet she had given her on New Year's Eve. The library model was still there.

A phoenix hairpin was on her head.

He stood up. He collected the dishes. He washed the dishes.

The first rooster crowed in the yard.

The sun had fully risen. The sea had turned from gray to deep blue.

He dried the last bowl, stacked them neatly, and put them in the cupboard.

Then go upstairs.

Yan Xi was sitting on the windowsill. She had finished eating the sweet potatoes. She was looking at her phone.

Li Chen walked over.

Yan Xi turned her phone screen towards him.

News of Leng Qingge.

[Leng Qingge: Are you guys coming back today? If you don't come back soon, I'm going to go to Wang Qiang's place to get your whereabouts information.]

Yan Xi has already replied.

[Yan Xi: I'm going back tomorrow. There's one last place I need to visit today.]

Li Chen looked at the screen.

"Where?"

Yan Xi lock screen.

"It wasn't mentioned in your guide."

She jumped down from the windowsill. She walked to the table, picked up the phoenix hairpin, and, facing the front-facing camera of her phone, inserted it into the hair on the right side of her head.

Then I packed my things.

Li Chen stood still.

When did you make the travel guide?

Yan Xi zipped up her backpack.

"You think you're the only one who knows how to scrape data?"