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

My phone vibrated.

It's not group 302.

[Li Mohan: Where are we?]

Li Chen glanced at the navigation.

[Li Chen: We've passed the first service area. No speeding.]

[Li Mohan: Hmm.]

Another message came in ten seconds later.

[Li Mohan: Be careful on the road. Tell Yan Xi for me.]

Li Chen showed the message to Yan Xi.

Yan Xi's lips curved slightly.

"Uncle's typing intervals are getting shorter and shorter."

"What do you mean?"

"The two messages were ten seconds apart. When he was in Beijing, the average interval between his messages was over forty seconds." Yan Xi changed lanes to overtake a large truck. "That means he has less time to hesitate."

She paused for a moment.

"I'm used to it."

Li Chen didn't reply.

When Yan Xi said "I'm used to it," she didn't mean that her dad was used to sending messages.

I've gotten used to her.

The car continued south.

The brown paper bag was in the trunk, but Li Chen didn't know what was inside.

But Yan Xi knew.

A red string with a tight knot was tied around her left wrist. Her pocket contained a family photo that she wouldn't post on social media. In her suitcase was a neatly folded scarf from Shen Ruolan.

And there was that note that said, "This is your home."

The highway was very straight. The horizon ahead was a hazy gray.

Yan Xi's phone rang.

She didn't see it.

Li Chen glanced at the screen.

Lonely Song.

[Leng Qingge: When are you finally coming back? You still haven't paid me back for the shrimp balls you owe me.]

Yan Xi turned off the screen.

Please reply to this for me.

"What did you say?"

"Tell me I'm driving. Don't rush me."

Li Chen picked up her phone. He tried to unlock it—the fingerprint wasn't correct.

Yan Xi extended her left hand. Her thumb pressed on the screen. Unlock.

Li Chen noticed something.

She changed her phone wallpaper.

Last time he saw the default wallpaper. Now it's a photo.

He didn't have time to see clearly. Yan Xi had already withdrawn her hand.

But he saw the colors in the photo.

Dark blue.

She captured a moment of him wearing a navy blue coat and set it as her wallpaper.

Li Chen lowered his head and typed. His fingers paused for a moment.

He didn't ask.

Some things don't need to be asked.

He typed a few words in Leng Qingge's chat box.

[Yan Xi: I'm driving. I'll return the shrimp paste to you later.]

After sending the message, he put his phone back on the phone holder on Yan Xi's side.

Yan Xi's gaze shifted between the rearview mirror and the front.

"You saw it?"

"What do you see?"

"wallpaper."

"I didn't see it clearly."

Yan Xi pressed down the corner of her mouth slightly.

"fraud."

Her right hand fell off the steering wheel and spread out on the center armrest.

Palms facing up.

Li Chen placed his hand on it.

Their fingers were clasped tightly together.

The navigation system shows that we are three hours and seven minutes away from Linjiang.

enough.

The estimated time from navigation jumped from three hours and seven minutes to four hours and twenty-two minutes.

The red section begins twelve kilometers ahead and extends beyond the edge of the screen.

"An accident," Yan Xi said.

Her tone remained calm. The car's speed decreased from 118 to 90, then to 60. The traffic ahead began to thicken, and brake lights flashed one after another.

Li Chen checked the traffic conditions.

"The six-lane road has been reduced to two lanes. There is a rear-end collision ahead. The estimated time to pass is one hour and forty minutes."

Yan Xi parked the car. There were cars all around, in front and behind. They didn't move.

She turned off the engine.

After the engine noise disappeared, the car suddenly became quiet. Only the low hum of the heating system remained.

Yan Xi leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes briefly.

Li Chen glanced at the time. It was 1:17 PM.

She started driving at 8:56 a.m. For over four hours, she drove without stopping.

Are you hungry?

Yan Xi did not open her eyes.

"Where's the pork rib rice your mom made?"

Li Chen reached for the insulated bag from the back seat. He unzipped it. Inside were two insulated lunch boxes, one labeled "She" and the other labeled "He".

Shen Ruolan's handwriting.

He opened "her" one first.

The ribs were cut into very small pieces. A layer of bok choy was placed on top of the rice. Chopsticks and a damp towel were tucked inside.

The temperature was just right. His mother used a vacuum-insulated lunchbox.

Li Chen broke the chopsticks apart and handed the round end to Yan Xi.

Yan Xi opened her eyes and took the chopsticks.

She picked up a piece of pork rib and put it in her mouth. She chewed it a couple of times.

"Your mom controls the amount of soy sauce better than you do."

"She's been doing it for thirty years."

"You've done that for a year, that's enough. The last time you made ribs, they were 0.3 grams too salty."

Li Chen opened his lunchbox. Normal saltiness. He picked up a piece and tasted it.

"This one is also 0.3 grams salty."

Yan Xi glanced at him.

"You can tell the difference by eating it?"

"You can taste it today."

"Why today?"

Li Chen put a piece of pork rib into her lunchbox.

"I just tasted yours. It makes a difference."

Yan Xi looked down at the piece of rib he had picked up. It was from the middle section of the rib, the meatiest part.

She didn't say anything. She ate.

The two of them ate a pork rib rice meal while stuck in traffic on the highway.

The traffic outside the window remained completely still.

Yan Xi finished the last bite of rice and put down her chopsticks. Li Chen handed her a wet wipe.

"Your mom prepared four."

"Two sheets for wiping hands, two sheets for wiping mouth."

"Did you learn that from her?"

"She learned it from my grandfather."

Yan Xi finished wiping her hands. She folded the wet wipes into a square and put them into the side pocket of the insulated bag.

The folding method is the same as Shen Ruolan's.

Li Chen noticed. He didn't say anything.

My phone vibrated. It was from group 302.

[Wang Qiang: Brother Chen!! Where are you guys?! I've wiped my bedside table three times already!!]

[Chen Mo: According to real-time traffic conditions on the Beijing-Linjiang Expressway, there is widespread congestion in the Linjiang section. They are currently stuck between Cangzhou and Dezhou. Delays are expected to be one to two hours.]

[Zhao Zixuan: Traffic jam? That's perfect for snuggling up in the car!]

[Wang Qiang: What's with the sour grapes? Chen Ge, send us your location so we can see where you guys are stuck in traffic.]

Li Chen did not send his location.

[Li Chen: It's stuck in traffic. I'm eating my mom's pork rib rice.]

[Wang Qiang: ...Can't you talk less about food in front of me?]

[Chen Mo: I suggest using the traffic jam time to let Yan Xi rest. Her fatigue threshold is approaching after driving for more than four hours.]

Li Chen locked the screen.

Chen Mo is right.

He looked at Yan Xi. She leaned back in her seat, her head slightly turned towards the car window. Her eyes were half-closed.

My eyelashes are very long. They're even more noticeable after I put on makeup today.

But there was a faint bluish tint under her eyes. She didn't sleep well last night.

Li Chen knew the reason.

She was texting him at 11:47 last night, telling him to wear a scarf. He went to sleep at 11:40. Just three minutes short.

She waited for his reply before going to sleep.

But he didn't reply.

So she didn't know how long she had been waiting.

"Take a nap if you're sleepy."

Yan Xi didn't open her eyes. "Not sleepy."

What time did you go to bed last night?

"12 o'clock."

Your screen usage history doesn't lie.

Yan Xi's lips twitched.

When did you watch it?

"When I was replying to Leng Qingge's message just now, the status bar at the top of the screen showed the battery usage. You were still using the memo app at 12:18 last night."

Yan Xi remained silent for two seconds.

"I'm tidying up the way you put your condiments in your kitchen."

Li Chen paused for a moment.

She organized the locations of the seasonings in his kitchen. She saved them in a memo. After he fell asleep.

Why memorize this?

"Next time you go, you won't need to find a cook again."