Always Home

The dinner gathering ended, and Jing Qichi was surrounded by the group as he walked the law school girl back to her dorm.

"Today," he told her on the way, "the team misunderstood. They thought the one shouting loudly was my friend. Oh, you've seen her—the one standing next to me earlier."

This was the main reason he agreed to escort her back. Jing Qichi just wanted to clarify the facts.

"Oh." The girl immediately seemed a little disappointed. "Have you known each other long?"

"Yeah."

"But..." She stopped walking. "Just friends?"

Jing Qichi paused as well, hesitating over how to answer.

If he had to define their current relationship, he and Chen Huan'er were indeed just friends. Even though he had already started thinking about how to end that status.

Because he was increasingly—and intensely—aware that only Chen Huan'er could break him out of one deadlock after another. She was irreplaceable in his life.

Couples walked past them hand in hand, and even the evening breeze carried a faint sweetness. The law school girl had had a bit to drink, and the boy before her stood silently under the streetlamp, their shadows close and intimate—everything was just right. Suddenly, she had a bold idea, and in the next second, she acted on it—

She grabbed Jing Qichi's arm, using it as leverage to rise onto her tiptoes. Almost—her nose even brushed against his cheek.

But Jing Qichi dodged.

Quickly, decisively, without any room for negotiation, he turned his head away, avoiding the kiss she offered.

Then he took half a step to the side, putting distance between them. "I like someone else," Jing Qichi said.

Bolstered by alcohol, the girl suddenly grew stubborn. "But you don't have a girlfriend right now."

Jing Qichi ignored the question, adjusting the strap of his bag. "I should head back."

"Hey," she tugged at him, unwilling to concede. "Do you even know my name?"

The only contact information they had exchanged was phone numbers, and every time she called, Jing Qichi would start with the same line— Hello, who is this?

She just wanted an answer.

"Sorry." Jing Qichi shook his head after speaking.

Only Qiu Yang was in the dorm. Hearing the door open, he turned around, his face covered in a sheet mask.

He peeled it off, crumpled it into a ball, and used the remaining essence to wipe his neck as he said, "The others went to an internet café for an all-nighter. You going?"

"No." Jing Qichi dropped his bag and collapsed onto Qiu Yang's bed in a starfish sprawl. Before the other could complain, he abruptly sat up again, urgently rummaging through his gear bag. Finally, he found what Huan'er had given him—a pair of protective gear.

"Could you at least wash up before sitting on my bed? Bottom bunkers like me get the short end of the stick." Qiu Yang was the type to speak his mind—once he got it off his chest, he forgot about it. Just like now, he happily plopped down next to Jing Qichi with his laptop, completely disregarding his earlier grievance. "I checked out your little website. My advice? Sell it."The "shabby little website" he mentioned was actually the Notes Alliance established by Jing Qichi last summer. After the initial trading frenzy died down, Qi Chi revamped the site by adding a forum feature. His first task was to have Song Cong contribute a comprehensive article on study methodologies. The article's click rate skyrocketed after being circulated by academic directors from various Tianhe schools, and Song Cong used his real-name account to answer questions. This cycle led to a surge in registered users, directly boosting the forum's overall activity. They targeted Tianhe middle school students as their primary user base while maintaining a functional focus. During winter break, Qi Chi studied several similar websites and revamped the platform again to follow trends by adding an overseas studies section, incorporating informational links like volunteer recruitment for major competitions and junior observer positions at international organizations. The Notes Alliance had now evolved into a comprehensive interactive platform.

Though still in its early stages, Qi Chi already felt overwhelmed—Song Cong's academic workload was heavy, and no matter how brilliant his mind was, he couldn't spare much energy for another project. As for himself, things were manageable now, but the reality was that his specialized coursework would increase, requiring deeper theoretical study—a fact he couldn't ignore. So last month, when the head of an independent educational institution in Tianhe reached out through the backend expressing interest in purchasing the site, Qi Chi began considering it.

As for why he sought Qiu Yang's opinion—he had only recently learned that Qiu Yang, the least discipline-conforming student in their department, had a background in computer competitions. Though he'd dropped out midway and never mentioned it, Qiu Yang was far from just a pretty face. Someone who could win scholarships while obsessing over skincare and outfits clearly had real skills.

"First, energy—you've obviously thought of this, or you wouldn't have asked me," Qiu Yang turned the screen toward him. "Second, server expansion—it's doable, but are you footing the bill yourself later? Third, security—this theme and plugin both have vulnerabilities I checked. The maintenance workload would be huge. Most importantly, where's the profit? Just these pinned forum ads? If you don't want to run a charity forever, sell while someone's interested. I get it—it's hard to let go of something you've built, but buddy, out with the old, in with the new..."

"Alright, I'll contact them tomorrow to sell," Qi Chi replied immediately.

This reaction surprised Qiu Yang. He closed his laptop. "Thought you'd be more torn. I was ready to give you a whole pep talk."

"Thanks." Qi Chi patted his roommate's shoulder solemnly. Truthfully, he'd taken Qiu Yang's words to heart—they made perfect sense and aligned with his own thoughts. Sometimes seeking advice is just seeking confirmation.

As for the hesitation over handing over something he'd poured his energy into—Qi Chi looked at the items in the paper bag. Right now, he really had no mind to dwell on it.

In the middle of the competition, amid an intense contest where everyone only cared about results, Chen Huan'er had left alone to buy him a set of protective gear.

She'd never asked, might not even know whether he still needed it now. Perhaps all Huan'er remembered was Song Ba mentioning after his surgery that he should wear protective gear when playing soccer.

Qi Chi felt something settling gradually in his heart.

"Don't sit on my bed, it's dirty," Qiu Yang pushed him away now that the matter was resolved. "Go shower."Jing Qichi stood there dazed for a moment before pulling up a chair to sit across from him again. "Qiu Yang, there's another matter I need your advice on."

"Oh?"

"You know I have a friend named Chen Huan'er, right?"

Two girls from the neighboring dorm returned from dinner and came straight to Huan'er's room, bursting in excitedly. "Huan'er, Huan'er, major news!"

"You've been drinking fake alcohol," Huang Lu poked her head out from the top bunk. "She's in the bathroom."

One of the girls took a deep breath. "Lu, we witnessed an iconic moment..."

"Ah!" The other girl cut in urgently. "It's Xiao Jing! He kissed that girl from the law school!"

Huang Lu immediately sat up, instinctively glancing toward the bathroom before climbing down from the bunk. She made a "shush" gesture and lowered her voice. "You saw it?"

Only then did the girls realize there were others in the room wearing headphones and studying. Thinking Huang Lu was reminding them about this, they mouthed a silent "sorry" before whispering, "One hundred percent true. We were the last to leave and happened to see it. The law school girl made the first move."

"And then?"

"Who would dare keep staring? We bolted right away." The speaking girl patted her chest in mock regret. "Xiao Jing is officially off the market now."

"Enough gossiping about others." Huang Lu laughed, deftly changing the subject. "Have you sorted out your own issues yet? Don't tell me you went out as four and came back exactly the same four."

The girls giggled and teased, "Lu, you've turned this into a whole business operation."

The sound of flushing came from the bathroom. Huang Lu pushed them toward the door. "Go on, back to your own den. Don't come back without results."

By the time Huan'er came out of the bathroom, the dorm had returned to quiet. Huixin was still working at the library, and Qiu Li sat cross-legged on her bed like a Buddha statue, headphones on as she studied intensely. Huang Lu rushed toward the bathroom in her nightgown. "I'm bursting! You're such a bathroom hog."

Huan'er smiled at the scene and returned to her desk to continue reading.

After flipping through several pages, her phone buzzed with a message: "I'm on the bridge. Come down in ten minutes."

It was from Jing Qichi.

Huan'er placed the phone face down on the desk, went to the balcony to collect dried clothes, tidied her wardrobe after showering, then climbed into bed with her book.

Huixin returned just before curfew, pulling at Huan'er's blanket as soon as she entered. "Did Xiao Jing come to see you? I think I spotted him on the shuttle bus—he was pedaling back like crazy."

Huan'er sidestepped the question. "Why are you back so late today?"

"New book shipment arrived—just finished sorting." Huixin patted the bed frame. "Next time you two chat, don't lose track of time. At this rate, I don't know if he'll make it back."

"Mm," Huan'er responded, then added, "Boss, pass me my phone."

Huixin handed her the phone, rubbing her sore shoulders. "Ah, so tired."

Lights-out time arrived. The noises in the hallway faded like the final movement of a piano piece dissolving into silence.

Huixin began snoring softly. Qiu Li first said, "I should record this," then reconsidered, "Never mind, we're all exhausted. If I snore, none of you are allowed to record either."

The notice about changing majors had been posted, and she'd been intensely preparing for end-of-June exams.

"No recording," Huang Lu chuckled. "It's not like we haven't heard it before."

Qiu Li didn't respond, soon breathing evenly in sleep.Huang Lu then asked Huan'er, "Just now... did you hear it in the bathroom?"

Breathing mingled with intermittent snores, crashing into the night like rising and receding tides—swift and traceless.

"Yeah," Huan'er answered honestly.

Precisely because she had heard, she deliberately ignored Jing Qichi's message for the first time.

That was why she hadn't gone downstairs, and why he had come only to leave.

"Ah," Huang Lu sighed. "I didn't want you to know because..."

"I understand."

They spent every day together, shared countless heart-to-heart night talks, and Huang Lu was naturally observant—of course she could discern Huan'er's feelings, even if Huan'er had never admitted them outright.

"Actually, I'd heard a while ago that the girl from the law school was pursuing Xiao Jing. She's quite bold, but she is pretty," Huang Lu paused. "Well, student council gossip is endless."

"Oh."

"Have you and Xiao Jing never thought about it?"

There had been that one time—a brief, careless phone call, a near-crossing of the line.

If today counted too—she didn't know why he had wanted to meet, but hearing those words from the girl next door, she instinctively believed Jing Qichi must have wanted to explain something. That would make it twice.

Twice, both ending without resolution.

Liking someone should be pure. Like purification in chemistry, filtering out all impurities layer by layer until only an uncontaminated sample remains.

But they could never achieve that purification. Jing Qichi's affection contained too much gratitude and dependence—during his hardest days, she had pulled him up, dragging him forward step by step. Because there was no one else, because he needed her, he came to like her. And Huan'er's affection carried a responsibility so heavy it nearly crushed her—waking to find him gone made her heart race, unanswered calls sent her into panic, watching him, keeping him close, terrified he might give up or something might happen. It was a weighty responsibility, one that filled her with dread just thinking about it.

The fault lay in how complicated these feelings were. Chen Huan'er wasn't clear about herself, nor about him. She even suspected Jing Qichi wasn't clear about himself either.

No more attempts.

The bond forged through growing up together was too precious—so precious that another try risked losing it. Huan'er didn't dare, and the current state of her relationship with Jing Qichi proved he didn't either.

So they would each move forward.

Someone admired and liked him now; Jing Qichi had the right to explore that. One day, she too would meet her destined person, living happily ever after. And they would still be comrades who emerged from the same Family Compound, close friends who would go all out for each other in times of need, mature adults who had once bared their hearts and could now look back on the past with calm detachment.

Huan'er thought—this was the unspoken understanding between her and Jing Qichi.

"Maybe... I did think about it."

Huang Lu was already asleep. No one responded to her answer.From that day on, Huan'er hardly ever reached out to Jing Qichi on her own. About that night, she told him the next day that she hadn't been feeling well and had gone to bed early, leaving out any other details—and Jing Qichi didn't press further. It wasn't exactly deliberate distancing; she'd still answer his calls and reply to his messages. After specialized courses began, she rarely went to the main campus, making chance encounters nearly impossible unless planned in advance. She simply regarded him the same way she did Song Cong—someone with his own joys far away, where the better the opposite-sex friendship, the more one must adhere to the increasingly clear boundaries that come with growing older. Occasionally, she'd hear news about him: he'd been chosen as the team captain for their institute's sports team, was getting close to some girl, or a disheveled candid photo of him posted by his roommate on the campus forum had sparked a wave of admiration. To these, Huan'er would most likely chuckle a couple of times, saving them up as anecdotes to share when the three of them reunited during holidays. Spring passed and came again; geese departed and returned. She explored every time-honored snack shop in the city, finished advanced mathematics and moved on to organic chemistry experiments, ranking at the top of her class and earning a spot among the academic elites. She bid farewell to Qiu Li, who transferred to finance and saw her dream come true, then welcomed new roommates, and finally grew accustomed to the city's ferry system and its long, cold, snowless winters.

Life was uneventful, without major ups or downs. As one grows older and matures, reliance on oneself far outweighs dependence on others. Favors became debts of gratitude, each transaction clearly delineated, with everyone adhering to the law of equivalent exchange—daring neither to give too much nor too little. The curtain of adulthood slowly rose, and the people onstage clumsily and anxiously learned their steps. There were too many rules, the pace too fast—sometimes forgetting others, sometimes even forgetting themselves.

If there was anything significant to mention, it was this: Chen Huan'er fell in love.