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

Li Chen picked up a piece of pork rib and put it in his mouth.

Sweet.

Just like I remember.

Yan Xi's foot bumped against his foot under the table.

It wasn't stepping on him. It was putting it on. The toe of his shoe pressed against his ankle.

Just like that night on the island.

Li Chen glanced at her.

She was eating her third pork rib. Her expression was very serious.

His phone vibrated in his pocket. He didn't look at it.

No need to look.

No one, no matter who they are, can compare to this table.

After finishing their meal, Shen Ruolan cleared the table. Li Mohan went to wash the dishes.

Yan Xi stood up to help, but Shen Ruolan stopped her.

"I told you, the cooks don't wash the dishes. You eat, so you don't have to wash them either. Nobody does anything today, except your uncle."

Li Mohan had no objections in the kitchen.

Yan Xi walked onto the balcony. The afternoon sun of Beijing streamed through the glass. She stood by the window and tapped the window frame with her finger.

Li Chen followed.

"What are you looking at?"

"The window frame's weatherstripping is worn out. I recommend replacing it."

Li Chen leaned against the balcony door frame.

"You started inspecting the house on your very first day at my place."

Yan Xi turned to look at him. Sunlight shone on her face. The silver light of the phoenix hairpin flickered in her hair.

"The insulation layer on your heating pipes is one centimeter thinner. The hinges on the front door need oiling. The lock on the guest room window is loose and won't close properly."

"You finished your checkup last night."

"Habit."

Li Chen looked at her.

"Come to my house," he said. "The first thing is to make breakfast. The second thing is to inspect the house."

"And the third thing?"

Yan Xi's phone vibrated in her pocket. She didn't look at it.

"The third thing." Li Chen took a step forward and stood in front of her.

He took the tube of hand cream out of his pocket. He unscrewed the cap. He squeezed out a little. He took her right hand. He slowly spread it along the lines of her knuckles.

"When you were cutting the pumpkin yesterday, your left middle finger was pressed by the back of the knife. There's a shallow mark on the edge of your nail."

Yan Xi looked down at her fingers.

The mark was so shallow that it was almost invisible.

"You saw it in the kitchen this morning."

"Um."

Yan Xi's fingers curled slightly in his palm.

Outside the balcony, a sparrow landed on the railing.

The sound of Li Mohan washing dishes came from the kitchen.

"Li Chen".

"Um."

"Your dad's spare ribs."

"Um."

I want to eat it again next year.

Li Chen screwed the cap back on the hand cream and placed it in her hand.

"It happens every year."

……

3 PM.

Shen Ruolan sat in the living room scrolling through her phone. She wasn't looking at WeChat, but rather her photo album.

She is organizing photos.

Li Chen and Yan Xi sat on the balcony. Yan Xi was sketching the skyline outside the window in her sketchbook. Li Chen leaned against her and watched her draw.

Li Mohan was in his study. The door was ajar. The sound of drawers being rummaged through came from inside.

Shen Ruolan looked up and glanced in the direction of the study.

"Old Li, what are you looking for?"

"I wasn't looking for anything."

The sound of rummaging through the drawers grew louder.

Shen Ruolan stood up and walked to the study door.

Li Mohan was squatting in front of the bottom drawer of the bookcase, clutching a small red box in his hand.

What are you flipping through?

Li Mohan turned around. His expression was complicated.

"That thing your mother left for Chenchen. I put it here yesterday."

Shen Ruolan's gaze fell on the small red box.

"Are you going to take it out now?"

"It's not that I want to take it. It's just... in case she sees it and asks about it. I need to be prepared."

Who would bother going through the bottom drawer of your bookshelf?

"She inspected the room."

Shen Ruolan was silent for two seconds. Then she reached out and took the box from his hand.

"Take it back. It's too early."

"I know too early. I am—"

"What are you?"

Li Mohan squatted there. He rubbed his knee with his thumb.

"I just wanted to make sure it was still there."

Shen Ruolan put the box back in the drawer and closed it.

"Yes. I'm not going anywhere."

She turned and walked out of the study.

On the balcony, Yan Xi had already sketched a third of the skyline in her sketchbook. The lines were clean and crisp.

Li Chen's phone vibrated.

Group 302.

[Wang Qiang: Li Chen!! Was your dad's pork ribs delicious?!]

Li Chen glanced at it.

[Li Chen: It's delicious.]

[Wang Qiang: Did you take any photos?!]

Li Chen scrolled up. He had forgotten to take pictures during lunch.

[Li Chen: I didn't take any pictures. I've finished eating.]

[Wang Qiang: !!! You won't even show me a photo!!!]

[Chen Mo: At the time, 100% of his attention was allocated to the three people at the table. Taking photos requires at least 5% of attention to be reallocated to social display needs. His system didn't have any spare bandwidth.]

[Zhao Zixuan: Translated by Chen Mo.]

[Chen Mo: Translation: He only has eyes for her and his parents. You're not even in the running.]

Li Chen locked the screen.

Yan Xi stood to the side without looking up. "Wang Qiang?"

"Um."

"Did he eat?"

"perhaps."

Yan Xi made a few strokes. Then she stopped.

"Take something back with him."

"What should I bring?"

"These are pastries your mom made. There was a box of osmanthus cakes next to the coffee table last night. She made them herself. The molds were the old-fashioned kind. She didn't buy them."

Li Chen thought for a moment. "How did you know it was my mother who did it?"

"The patterns on the surface of the pastries vary in depth. If it's machine-pressed, the depth error won't exceed 0.3 millimeters. Your mom's had an error of about one millimeter. It was handmade."

Li Chen looked at her.

"You can tell it's handmade just by the depth of the pattern on a piece of osmanthus cake."

"You figured I was hungry from the change in my running cadence."

"That's different—"

"How are they different?"

Li Chen shut up.

Yan Xi paused for a moment on her sketchbook, then continued drawing.

"Your mother's osmanthus cake. Ask me for two more pieces. For Leng Qingge."

"it is good."

She added a few more strokes.

"Your dad's safe combination is your mom's birthday."

"……Um."

What's your mom's birthday?

March 19th.

Yan Xi memorized the number, but didn't write it down.

Shen Ruolan called out from the living room, "Xiao Xi, come here for a moment."

Yan Xi put down her sketchbook, stood up, and walked into the living room.

Shen Ruolan sat on the sofa, holding a red envelope in her hand.

It's different from the one under the pillow. This one is thicker.

"Aunt."

"sit."

Yan Xi sat down next to her.

Shen Ruolan placed the red envelope in Yan Xi's hand.

"This is the official one. It's for the New Year. The one under the pillow is my secret stash. This is the legitimate one."

Yan Xi looked at the red envelope in her hand. There were no words on the cover, but she could feel that it contained more than just money. There was a hard object inside.

"Aunt--"

"Don't push me. I'll be unhappy if you do."

Yan Xi's fingers tightened slightly.

"Demolish it," Shen Ruolan said.

Yan Xi opened the red envelope. Inside was a stack of cash and a small note.

The note was written in Shen Ruolan's handwriting.

"Xiaoxi, you're here. There's one more person in this family now. Come whenever you want. This is your home."

Yan Xi looked at the note.

Her finger stopped at the edge of the note.

Shen Ruolan didn't urge her. She sat beside her and waited.

Li Chen stood at the balcony doorway. He didn't come in.

Li Mohan came out of the study and stood in the corridor. He didn't go over there.

Only Shen Ruolan and Yan Xi were in the living room.

Yan Xi folded the note and put it back in the red envelope.

"Thank you, Auntie."

Her voice was lower than usual.

Shen Ruolan reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair from Yan Xi's forehead behind her ear.

"You're welcome. Don't call me 'Auntie' anymore."

Yan Xi looked up at her.

Shen Ruolan's gaze was gentle, completely different from Li Chen's. But the underlying essence—was the same.

"There's no rush to change your address," Shen Ruolan patted the back of her hand. "Wait until you're ready."

Yan Xi lowered her head.

Her other hand clutched the red envelope. Her fingertips were white.

Li Chen looked at her back from the balcony doorway.

There was a very slight undulation in her shoulder. It wasn't breathing. It was holding back.

He didn't go over.

Sometimes you don't need him.

My phone vibrated in my pocket.

He took it out and glanced at it.

It was posted by Yan Xi.

[Yan Xi: Your mom told me to change how I address her.]

She had her back to him. She didn't even turn her head.

But while looking down, I typed this message.

Li Chen stood still.

He replied.

[Li Chen: No rush. Wait until you're ready.]

three seconds.

Yan Xi: I know.

Two more seconds passed.

[Yan Xi: But I'll keep your mom's note.]

Li Chen locked the screen.

Yan Xi put the red envelope into the inside pocket of her coat on the sofa.

The spot close to the heart.

Shen Ruolan saw it.

They didn't say anything.

He just smiled.