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

Shen Ruolan stood in the entryway.

He was carrying an insulated bag.

"Eat on the way. Pork rib rice. Her portion had half a spoonful less soy sauce."

Li Chen took it. There was a note on the insulated bag, written in Shen Ruolan's handwriting.

"Her ribs: Less soy sauce, cut the meat into small pieces. Yours: Normal. The rice is all soft. Two pairs of chopsticks, four wet wipes."

Four wet wipes. Two for each of the two people. His mother had calculated that after wiping their hands, they would also need to wipe their mouths.

"Mom, we—"

Did you bring your scarf?

"I brought it."

"Hers has been washed and is folded in the left compartment of your suitcase. Don't let it get wrinkled."

Li Chen glanced down at his suitcase.

When he was tidying up last night, Yan Xi's scarf was placed in the right-side compartment.

His mother has reorganized it.

Li Mohan came out of the bedroom.

The shirt was changed, but the top button at the collar was not fastened.

This is his usual routine at home—he only buttones it to the top when Yan Xi is present.

"Take the Jinglin Expressway, not the coastal one, because of road construction."

"I've checked."

"You checked last week's traffic conditions. A new diversion point was added in the Linjiang section yesterday." Li Mohan took out his phone. "I'll send it to you."

Li Chen's phone vibrated.

Li Mohan sent a screenshot. The traffic information was marked in great detail, even circling the locations of service areas.

We circled three service areas, with an interval of about an hour and a half between them.

His dad calculated how many times they would need to stop the car.

"dad--"

"Let's go, let's go." Li Mohan waved his hand, turned around and walked towards the living room. "Don't speed on the way."

The figure moved quickly from behind.

Shen Ruolan glanced at Li Chen and lowered her voice.

"Your dad didn't go to sleep until 2 a.m. last night."

Why?

"He was checking today's weather and road conditions. After he finished, he got up and checked your car's tire pressure data again."

Li Chen gripped the handle of the insulated bag tightly.

He didn't tell me.

"When did he tell you that?" Shen Ruolan patted his shoulder. "Go on. Yan Xi is waiting for you downstairs."

Li Chen carried his suitcase out the door.

He glanced at his phone in the elevator.

[Yan Xi: The car is ready. You have two minutes.]

It was sent three minutes ago.

He quickened his pace.

As I exited the building, the Porsche was parked downstairs.

The engine was making a low rumble.

With the car window half open, Yan Xi sat in the driver's seat, one hand resting on the steering wheel.

Camel-colored coat. Phoenix hairpin.

She wore light makeup today. Her eyelashes were curled a little more than usual. Her lips were a warmer color.

Li Chen walked over.

Yan Xi glanced at him. Her gaze slid from his face to his collar.

"The third button on your coat is buttoned crooked."

Li Chen looked down. He couldn't figure it out.

Yan Xi unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car.

She walked up to him, reached out with both hands, and unbuttoned and buttoned the third button again.

She pressed her fingertips against his chest for a second.

"Your mother is watching from the window."

Li Chen looked up. The curtains in the fourth-floor living room moved slightly.

Yan Xi didn't look up. She went around to the trunk and opened the lid.

"Put your luggage here. Your suitcase is on the left."

Why is it on the left?

"My suitcase is on the right, and since the center of gravity is on the right, it will be more stable for you to sit on the passenger side."

Li Chen put the luggage inside.

He noticed an extra brown paper bag in the trunk. It had no label.

"What is this?"

Yan Xi closed the trunk.

"Let's talk after we get in the car."

The two got into the car. While Li Chen was fastening his seatbelt, Yan Xi had already shifted gears.

The car slowly drove out of the residential area.

Li Chen glanced back. The curtains in the fourth-floor window were slightly ajar.

Two figures.

One is tall and the other is short.

He didn't say anything. Yan Xi didn't look in the rearview mirror either. But her right hand moved off the steering wheel for two seconds and landed on the back of his hand, which was resting on the center armrest.

I pressed it.

Then take it back.

Continue driving.

My phone vibrated.

[Shen Ruolan: Let Mom know you arrived safely. Don't take off your scarf, it's getting colder today.]

[Shen Ruolan: That brown paper bag was for Yan Xi, don't touch it.]

Li Chen glanced at Yan Xi.

"My mom said the paper bag is for you."

"I know," Yan Xi said calmly. "My aunt gave it to me last night. She told me to open it on the way."

"What's inside?"

"Your mom said you can't touch it."

Li Chen put down his phone.

The car entered the Beijing-Linyi Expressway.

The navigation system estimated the journey time at four hours and twenty minutes, fifteen minutes longer than his travel guide predicted.

"Diversion point," Yan Xi said.

She also saw the screenshots that Li Mohan posted.

Li Chen leaned back in his seat. The car's heater was set at a comfortable 23 degrees Celsius. It felt just right to him.

But he remembered that Yan Xi had a habit of turning the temperature up one degree when she drove.

Not this time.

Aren't you hot?

"I've adjusted it," Yan Xi said. "You'll get sleepy if you stay in the car too long. A lower setting will help you stay awake. I'll drive, and you can help me watch the road."

She sacrificed her own comfort zone to keep him alert.

Li Chen turned the passenger seat air vent around so it would blow air down onto his legs, not onto Yan Xi's side.

Yan Xi's eyes twitched slightly.

He didn't say anything.

My phone vibrated. It was from group 302.

[Wang Qiang: Brother Chen!! Have you guys set off yet?!]

[Zhao Zixuan: Is my sister-in-law driving?]

[Chen Mo: Based on Li Chen's previous behavioral data, he tends to take the driving role during long-distance trips. There are two possibilities for Yan Xi driving this time: 1. Yan Xi requested it; 2. Li Chen's cervical spine problem hasn't fully recovered, and Yan Xi is helping him share the physical exertion. The probability ratio is 3:7.]

[Wang Qiang: To sum it up, it's just that his wife feels sorry for Chen Ge. Can't you guys speak like normal people?]

Li Chen is typing.

[Li Chen: We've set off. She's driving.]

[Wang Qiang: Brother Chen, let us know when you arrive, we'll come pick you up!]

[Li Chen: No need.]

[Wang Qiang: Where's my sister-in-law? Do we need to pick her up?]

Li Chen glanced at Yan Xi.

"Wang Qiang asked if you wanted him to pick you up."

"No need." Yan Xi changed lanes. "Just have him clean up the dorm. There was dust on your bedside table in the photo you sent last time."

Li Chen typed in the group chat.

[Li Chen: No need to answer. She wants you to wipe the bedside table.]

The group was silent for three seconds.

[Wang Qiang: ...How did she know my bedside table was dirty??]

[Chen Mo: WeChat Moments. On December 27th, Wang Qiang posted a selfie in his dorm room. In the background, there's a layer of dust on the upper left corner of Li Chen's bedside table. This is visible when the image is zoomed in. Conclusion: Yan Xi saw this photo, and her focus wasn't on Wang Qiang himself, but rather on Li Chen's living environment.]

Wang Qiang: This woman is terrifying.

[Zhao Zixuan: This is called "love me, love my dog," understand?]

Li Chen locked the screen.

The scenery outside the car window changed from the city to the fields on both sides of the highway.

The withered, yellow winter wheat fields receded one by one.

Yan Xi drives very steadily.

The vehicle speed was maintained between 117 and 120 km/h.

Her right hand was on the steering wheel at the ten o'clock position, and her left hand was resting on the door panel.

Li Chen noticed the red string on her left wrist.

The one in Shen Ruolan's red envelope.

She wore it for the first time yesterday when she took the photos. She didn't take it off today.

"What are you looking at?"

"Your red string."

Yan Xi didn't reply. But she pulled her left hand back from the door panel and placed it on the central armrest.

Her wrist was right in his line of sight.

The red string was very thin. It was tied in a tight knot. Not the kind of loose knot you wear temporarily.

This is the way I plan to wear it all the time.

Li Chen's finger touched the red rope.

Yan Xi didn't move.

"It's tied tightly," Li Chen said.

"Um."

"Aren't you afraid?"

"It doesn't hurt," Yan Xi said softly. "Your mother measured my wrist."

Li Chen's hand stopped on the red rope.

Shen Ruolan measured Yan Xi's wrist circumference. Then she cut the red string to the appropriate length beforehand and tucked it into the red envelope.

When did she take her measurements?

Yan Xi didn't explain further. Her fingertips reached out and hooked around Li Chen's little finger.

My phone vibrated.

[Shen Ruolan: Did Yan Xi wear that rope on the way?]

[Li Chen: I'm wearing it. A tight knot.]

The typing prompts on the other end stopped for a long time.

In the end, he only replied with one word.

Shen Ruolan: Okay.

Li Chen placed his phone face down on his lap.

Yan Xi's little finger was still hooked around his.

Her fingertips were rather cool.

He gripped it tighter.

The navigation system announces that there is a service area three kilometers ahead.

Yan Xi glanced at the oil level.

"There's still half a box left. Keep going."

Are you thirsty?

"I'm not thirsty."

But Li Chen unscrewed the lid of the thermos and handed it over.

Yan Xi's gaze never left the road. She opened her mouth and took a sip.

"Did you lower the temperature beforehand?"

"Change the water before leaving the house."

Yan Xi swallowed. She didn't say thank you.

She took her right hand off the steering wheel and drew a line on the inside of his wrist.

Then grip the steering wheel again.

soon.

But Li Chen's pulse skipped two beats.

She's counting again.