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

There was a four-second silence in the group.

[Wang Qiang: Aa ...

[Chen Mo: The romantic relationship has officially entered the "family system integration" stage. This is the core argument of Chapter Seven of my thesis. Thanks to Li Chen for providing the real-time sample.]

[Zhao Zixuan: Chen Mo, can't you even speak like a human being? Congratulations.]

[Wang Qiang: Long live sister-in-law!!! Li Chen, remember to buy some gifts!! Make a good impression on your parents!!]

Li Chen locked the screen.

Yan Xi closed her eyes again.

But her hand reached out again and covered the back of his hand.

Five fingers loosely resting on each other.

Just like before I went to sleep last night.

The ferry engine made a deep, rhythmic sound.

Li Chen didn't look at his phone, nor did he look at the sea.

He looked at the hand she had placed on the back of his hand.

There was a faint ink mark on the ring finger.

My nails are cut very short.

The skin on the inside of the wrist is half a shade lighter than the back of the hand.

His thumb gently pressed down.

It rested on her knuckles.

When the boat reached the shore, Yan Xi opened her eyes.

"arrive?"

"arrive."

"I'm not dizzy."

"Um."

"Seasickness patches are helpful."

"Um."

"Your piece was wasted."

Li Chen touched the back of his ear.

The seasickness patch is still on.

"No waste. You told me to put them on."

Yan Xi stood up.

She tugged at his hand.

"Let's go. Let's get the car."

It takes five minutes to get from the dock to the parking lot.

Yan Xi got into the driver's seat. Li Chen sat in the passenger seat.

"You said you wanted to sit in the passenger seat and see my profile."

"I've changed my mind now."

Why?

Yan Xi started the car. She shifted gears. She glanced at him.

"Because I have to drive the way to your house. If you're too nervous, you'll speed."

Li Chen opened his mouth.

No rebuttal came out.

The Porsche drove onto the highway.

Navigation shows: Destination - Beijing.

Estimated arrival time: 7:40 PM.

Yan Xi placed her right hand on the gear shift lever.

Li Chen's left hand covered it.

She didn't dodge.

My phone vibrated again in my pocket.

He glanced at it.

His dad.

[Li Mohan: Your mom dug up all your childhood photos. The one of you chasing chickens. I've hidden it well. Don't worry.]

Three seconds later.

[Li Mohan: The other bedwetting case is also hidden.]

Li Chen stared at the screen.

Yan Xi glanced over out of the corner of her eye.

"What did your dad say?"

"It's nothing."

Your ears are red.

Li Chen locked the screen.

I stuffed my phone into the deepest pocket of my coat.

Yan Xi's lips curved slightly. She didn't ask any further questions.

The scenery outside the car window changed from the coastline to a plain.

The plains turned into hills.

The hills have been transformed into protective forests along both sides of the highway.

Li Chen, in the passenger seat, looked out the window.

Then I looked at the remaining mileage on the navigation screen, which was constantly decreasing.

312 kilometers.

His hand unconsciously tightened its grip on Yan Xi's hand, which was resting on the gear shift lever.

Yan Xi pressed her thumb on the web between his thumb and forefinger.

"take it easy."

Those were the words he had just said to her on the ship.

It was returned intact.

It was already dark when the Porsche exited the highway and entered the Beijing Ring Expressway.

Li Chen's phone had been ringing non-stop since he entered the city.

Shen Ruolan sends a message every ten minutes.

[Shen Ruolan: Where are we?]

[Shen Ruolan: The ribs are steamed. I tried three pieces of pumpkin and chose the softest one.]

[Shen Ruolan: Your dad has changed three shirts. The one he's wearing now is the one I picked out. Don't laugh at him.]

[Shen Ruolan: Is the heating in the house enough? I'll have your dad turn on the electric blanket in the guest room too.]

[Shen Ruolan: I've removed all the scallions, garlic, and cilantro. I checked the soup your dad made; it's fine.]

Li Chen replied one by one.

[Li Chen: We're on the Fourth Ring Road. Twenty minutes.]

He switched to group 302. There were 109 unread messages. He scrolled to the last one.

【陈默：根据京城实时路况推算，厉辰将在19:38至19:45之间到家。建议302全体成员在此期间保持静默，不要干扰他的情绪状态。】

[Wang Qiang: When did I ever interfere with him?]

[Chen Mo: Data from the past seven days shows that you sent an average of one meaningless message every 2.7 hours. Today you sent fourteen.]

[Wang Qiang: That's called caring!!!]

Li Chen locked the screen.

Yan Xi slowed her car down from 120 to 80, then to 60. She entered the auxiliary road outside the residential area.

"Turn left ahead."

"I saw it."

"The second intersection—"

"The navigation is available."

Li Chen shut up. His right leg was trembling slightly.

Yan Xi stopped the car in front of a red light.

She glanced at him sideways.

Your legs are shaking.

"no."

"Your knee vibrates at a frequency of approximately three hertz per second."

Li Chen pressed his hand against his knee.

"I'm thinking about parking spaces."

"You have two assigned parking spaces on the B2 level of your building. Your mom mentioned them when you talked to her on the phone before. They are 037 and 038."

Li Chen turned to look at her.

"You're writing this down?"

"You keep track of my running pace. That's fair."

The light turned green. Yan Xi stepped on the gas.

The car turned into the residential area.

Familiar landscape lights, neatly trimmed holly bushes.

Li Chen's heart was racing.

He could feel that Yan Xi's breathing was a little shallower than before.

The entrance to the underground parking garage. The turnstile automatically raised after scanning the license plate. Yan Xi steadily reversed the car into parking space number 037.

The engine is turned off.

The two people sat in the car. Neither of them moved.

The underground parking garage was quiet. The only sound was the slight clicking of the engine cooling down.

"We've arrived," Li Chen said.

"Um."

There was silence for another three seconds.

"Li Chen".

"Um."

"Is my lipstick color right?"

Li Chen turned his head.

The basement lights were a cold white, shining on her face.

The lipstick color is a dark mauve shade.

She doesn't usually apply makeup.

"just."

"Where's your hair?"

"The phoenix hairpin is two millimeters off. Let me help you—"

He reached out his hand.

Touch the end of the phoenix hairpin with your fingertips and gently push it straight.

He brushed his fingertips across her earlobe.

Yan Xi's ears turned red.

"Let's go." She pushed open the car door.

Li Chen took out two backpacks and two boxes of fruit he had bought at the service area from the trunk.

Yan Xi stood at the elevator entrance waiting for him.

The elevator doors opened.

Li Chen pressed the button for the seventeenth floor.

The elevator goes up.

The numbers jump layer by layer.

Yan Xi reached out her hand.

Hook your little finger around his little finger.

"Your palms are sweaty," she said.

"The heating is too strong."

"There's no heating in the basement."

Li Chen remained silent.