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

"Carve it," Yan Xi said.

"What should I carve?"

"Her mark is 'Xi'. Mine is 'Chen'," Li Chen said.

"That's outrageous," Yan Xi interrupted him. "Her 'Ke' is 'Chen'. Your 'Ke' is 'Xi'."

Li Chen was stunned for a second.

Then I understood.

His name was engraved on the bottom of her cup holder. Her name was engraved on the bottom of his cup holder.

Every time I pick up the cup, I see the other person's words.

"Right now," Yan Xi said to her master.

The tone left no room for negotiation.

The craftsman scribbled on a piece of paper. "A pair of custom-made silver cup holders, lost-wax casting, hammered finish without polishing, engraved on the bottom. Approximately ten days to produce. Mail or self-pickup?"

"I'll mail it," Yan Xi said, giving an address.

Linjiang University.

Li Chen recognized the address—it was the address of the Cainiao Station in his dormitory building.

It's not hers.

is his.

She planned to have it delivered to him by courier.

"Deposit or full payment?"

Before Yan Xi could speak, Li Chen opened his phone.

Yan Xi pressed his hand down.

"I'm here."

"I paid for it last time at Master Liu's place in Nanxi Ancient Town."

"This time it's not Nanxi Ancient Town." Yan Xi's hand didn't loosen. "I found this shop, I planned the route, and I ordered the items. The right to pay follows the right to make the decision."

Her logic is always half a second faster than his.

Li Chen put his phone away.

Yan Xi scanned the QR code and paid the full amount.

The deliveryman handed her the receipt. Yan Xi took it, glanced at it, folded it, and put it in her bag.

"You keep the receipts too?" Li Chen asked.

"These things can't be replaced once they're lost." Yan Xi zipped up her bag. "I'll keep these things safe for you since you can't take care of them yourself."

Li Chen did not refute.

Because she's right.

He really couldn't keep it safe.

Since enrolling in school, he has lost his express delivery pickup code three times and his cafeteria meal card twice.

Every time, it was Yan Xi who helped him find it or reissue it for him.

She wasn't trying to steal his thunder.

She was filling in his void.

Yan Xi walked ahead as they came out of the studio.

Li Chen watched her retreating figure. Her camel coat shone with a warm hue in the winter sunlight. A phoenix hairpin swayed gently in her hair with each step.

Her left hand was hanging down.

empty.

wait for him.

Li Chen walked up.

He reached his hand into her coat pocket.

Yan Xi didn't say anything.

Fingers clasped together.

The two walked out of the alley, and Li Chen's phone vibrated four times. He took it out with his other hand.

Group 302.

[Wang Qiang: Does anyone know if Brother Chen is still alive? He hasn't replied to my messages for four hours.]

[Chen Mo: Based on his past behavior patterns, a silence lasting more than three hours could have two possibilities: either he's taking an exam, or he's having intense interaction with Yan Xi. Today is clearly not an exam.]

[Zhao Zixuan: So it's the second one.]

[Chen Mo: 99.7% probability. The remaining 0.3% is due to the phone running out of battery.]

Li Chen types with one hand.

[Li Chen: Alive. Shopping.]

[Wang Qiang: You, Li Chen, actually said you were shopping???]

[Li Chen: She led the way.]

[Wang Qiang: Where's my sister-in-law? What did she buy? Did she buy my osmanthus cake?]

[Li Chen: I bought them. Walnut shortbread is also available. Jujube paste cake is also available.]

The group was silent for five seconds.

[Chen Mo: He himself mentioned three varieties. Osmanthus cake corresponds to Wang Qiang, walnut shortbread to me, and jujube paste cake to Zhao Zixuan and Leng Qingge. Note—the selection wasn't done by Li Chen, but by Yan Xi. She memorized the snack preferences of everyone in 302 and matched them one by one.]

[Wang Qiang: Sister-in-law...]

[Zhao Zixuan: Can I call you Mom?]

[Li Chen: No.]

Yan Xi leaned over and glanced at his phone screen.

"I bought him four boxes of Wang Qiang's osmanthus cake. Two boxes of walnut shortbread are enough. Three boxes of jujube paste cake—one for Zhao Zixuan, and two for Leng Qingge to share."

She wasn't talking to Li Chen.

She spoke to everyone in group 302 through Li Chen's phone screen.

Li Chen forwarded the original text of this message.

The group chat fell silent again.

Then Wang Qiang sent a kneeling emoji.

Yan Xi withdrew her gaze.

They walked out of the alley. Yan Xi headed towards the parking spot.

"Go back?" Li Chen asked.

Yan Xi opened the car door.

"go back."

She got into the driver's seat and waited for Li Chen to get into the passenger seat before starting the car.

The heater was turned on. The temperature remained the same as when I arrived.

But Yan Xi turned the air vent two notches toward Li Chen.

Li Chen looked at the angle of the air vent.

He didn't say anything.

The car drove out of the alley. There were no new locations on the navigation.

All four points have been visited.

Pastries. Stationery. Clothing. Silverware.

The first three are for other people, and the last one is for the two of them.

Her route arrangement was not random.

From the periphery to the core.

From friends to each other.

Her logic has always been this: finish the unimportant things first, and leave time for the most important things at the end.

Li Chen leaned back in his chair, looking at her profile.

Sunlight streamed in through the windshield.

There was a faint shadow at the corner of her eye. That was because last night, before cooking the fish, she had been looking too closely at the screen while confirming the steaming details with her grandfather on her phone.

He hadn't had a chance to tell her yet.

"What are you looking at?" Yan Xi asked.

"You were too close to the screen when you sent the message last night."

Yan Xi's hand paused on the steering wheel for a moment.

How did you know?

"You have a half-millimeter-long dark shadow under your right eye. It's a result of prolonged close-range exposure to blue light from the screen."

Yan Xi remained silent for two seconds.

Then she reached out her right hand and patted Li Chen's thigh.

The effect was not significant.

But the meaning is very clear.

"Don't overthink my keen observation."

"I can't do it."

Yan Xi didn't reply.

But her ears turned red.

Li Chen sat in the passenger seat, his hands in his pockets. In his left pocket were the new gloves she had bought, and in his right pocket, he felt her warmth.

The car's music system automatically played a song. The volume was very low.

Yan Xi reached out and turned the volume up one notch.

It's not because it sounds good.

It was because she didn't want Li Chen to hear her heartbeat.

Li Chen knew.

But he won't say it.

He turned his gaze to the window.

In Beijing's winter, the sky is an unbelievably blue.

My phone vibrated again. It wasn't group 302.

It was posted by Yan Xi.

She was driving with one hand and sending messages with the other.

[Yan Xi: The receipt for the cup holder is in my bag.]

[Yan Xi: You are not allowed to lose any of the cup holders.]

[Yan Xi: If I lose it, I'll have my craftsman make another one.]

[Yan Xi: Then I'll punish you again.]

Li Chen looked at the last one.

"What punishment?" he asked.

Yan Xi looked at the road ahead.

You'll find out then.

Li Chen didn't ask any more questions.

He closed his eyes, feeling the warm air blowing from the vents, carrying the warmth of the air circulating inside the car, and that faint scent of her that he had been smelling all day.

It's not perfume.

It's the finish note of laundry detergent.

He remembered the brand.

Red bottle. 400ml. "Iris and White Musk".

It's the bottle Shen Ruolan used to wash the bed sheets in the guest rooms.

Yan Xi smelled of his house.

Li Chen's right hand touched the new gloves in his pocket.

A trace of her fingertip's warmth remained on the touchscreen.

His phone screen was still lit.

The last message stopped there.

[Yan Xi: Then I'll punish you again.]

He still doesn't know "what the punishment is".

But he knew—no matter what the punishment was, he wouldn't lose the cup holder.