Always Home

The next day, Huan'er woke up at noon. Looking at the person still sound asleep beside her, her heart softened instantly.

In the depths of the night that had just passed, they had completed a rite of passage together.

The position was good, the rhythm was good, the sensations were good—everything couldn’t have been better.

Her mouth was dry. She slipped on some clothes and padded barefoot to the fridge for water. Drinking as she went, she returned to bed. When she lifted the blanket, she noticed a smear of red on the white T-shirt beneath her.

The blood had already dried, a small stain that would never wash out.

It was the mark of a farewell.

Jing Qichi had woken up at some point. Lying in bed, he tugged at her hand, as if understanding her thoughts without needing words.

Huan'er averted her gaze, set down the water bottle, and burrowed back into his arms. "How about I buy you a new one? Can't just freeload like this."

The boy burst out laughing, pinching her cheek in mock reprimand. "My services are only worth a T-shirt?"

Huan'er giggled. "Free market—competition’s fierce."

"Competition for the job, huh?" Jing Qichi exerted a bit of force, pulling her on top of him, his eyes bright and intense. "Want me to prove myself now?"

Huan'er felt the unmistakable morning reaction against her and immediately surrendered. "No, no, I’ll call your number exclusively from now on."

He quickly kissed her lips, then decided it wasn’t enough, threading his fingers through her hair as his tongue slipped in.

"Hey!" Huan'er squirmed free, wrapping herself in the blanket like a cocoon.

Jing Qichi’s phone rang. He answered, wedging it between his ear and shoulder as he dressed. "Yeah, total coincidence. Huan'er and I just walked in and ran into a whole group of seniors."

Noticing Huan'er’s gaze, he mouthed the caller’s name—Da Lin.

"Me? I’m heading back on the fourth." Jing Qichi’s eyes suddenly lit up. "Xiao Tao’s back too?"

Huan'er leaned in slightly, catching the voice on the other end. "Yeah, Xiao Tao and Chen Feng are both here. Come over this afternoon. The weather’s great, and it’s rare to have so many of us together."

Jing Qichi pressed his lips together but still replied, "Nah, you guys have fun."

Da Lin, Xiao Tao, Chen Feng—these were all former key players from the computer science department’s team. It wasn’t hard to guess what they were planning.

"Come on," Da Lin persisted. "Just give me Huan'er’s number, and I’ll get you a pass. I gotta see for myself how unreasonable this Chen Huan'er of yours is."

Jing Qichi put on an innocent face and switched to speakerphone, firmly throwing his friend under the bus. "His words, not mine."

Da Lin, oblivious, continued, "Just send me Huan'er’s number now. Here’s the plan—I’ll have Xiao Tao call, say a buddy got in a car accident and is at the campus hospital. Easy fix, done in minutes."

Oh? There was even a strategy in place?

Huan'er quietly hatched a scheme of her own. Feigning nonchalance, she called out, "Who got in a car accident?"

Jing Qichi stifled a laugh and played along. "Oh, Da Lin."

"The campus hospital, right?" Huan'er deliberately raised her voice toward the phone. "You don’t need to go—you’d just get in the way. I’ll head over. I’ve got a senior there, so it’ll be easy to coordinate."

Da Lin heard every word and suddenly realized—the campus hospital was practically the home turf of medical students.

He’d walked right into a trap.

Still unaware he’d been outmaneuvered, he now genuinely feared that Chen Huan'er would show up alone, dragging some senior around to search the hospital for the supposedly injured Mr. Lin. That would make him a public nuisance, guilty of wasting resources and disrupting order."Qi Chi, stop her quick," Da Lin urged anxiously. "Just tell her I'm fine, it's just a minor scrape..." Halfway through, he suddenly realized, "Wait, are you two together?"

"Yeah," Jing Qichi admitted helplessly. "Lin, I've got you on speaker..."

"You bastard!" Da Lin exploded in anger.

Huan'er snatched the phone, her tone full of genuine concern between classmates. "Where were you hurt in the accident? What did the doctor say? Will amputation be necessary?"

"Just kidding, just a fun little joke," Da Lin fawned ingratiatingly. "How've you been? Haven't seen you in ages. Let's grab dinner sometime."

Huan'er shot back, "No thanks, since I'm not exactly the understanding type."

"Come on now," Da Lin, still thinking about the soccer game, quickly made his pitch. "Huan'er, Qi Chi only gets to visit for a day or two each time. He wants to spend time with you, and we feel bad calling him away. This holiday break, could you be magnanimous and give him half a day off? After the game, we'll return him to you safe and sound, not a scratch on him."

Huan'er sighed in resignation. She'd never stopped him from going in the first place.

"This guy won't come out because he's afraid you'll be upset," Da Lin suggested. "Why don't you come along too? Xiao Tao's back home for once. My treat for dinner, then we'll hit the skewers."

Huan'er stood by the bathroom door observing the person in question. His face-washing technique could only be described as brutally efficient—water droplets splattered directly onto the mirror, the entire sink area left soaking wet. Jing's Mother used to complain that his morning routine was like waging war; that carefree nature of his hadn't changed one bit.

"Someone should bring him shoes," Huan'er remarked.

"No problem!" Da Lin eagerly agreed. "Qi Chi probably wears the same size as me..."

"Size 43," Huan'er answered.

"Got it, I'll bring them!" Da Lin was overjoyed. "Sis-in-law... or should I say little sis-in-law, never mind. Drinks tonight."

Hanging up, Huan'er walked to the sink and unwrapped a new toothbrush, squeezing toothpaste as she said, "Change into shorts."

Jing Qichi finished drying his face and stood beside her. "Is it hot today?" Noticing his phone nearby, he grinned. "Finished checking on the patient?"

"I'm coming with you later," Huan'er mumbled through a mouthful of foam. "Can't let someone else always claim sideline water duty."

Jing Qichi understood immediately.

He hadn't refused Da Lin because he didn't want to go, but because their time together was too precious—he wanted every single minute reserved just for her.

Huan'er rinsed and spat, meeting his gaze in the mirror. "Haven't watched you play in ages. I'll inspect whether your skills have deteriorated."

"Impossible," Jing Qichi wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. "Me, AKA the king of the pitch."

They were both trying to understand each other. Maybe their methods were a bit clumsy, not earth-shattering grand gestures, but trying was indeed the starting point of all beginnings.

Try doing it that way—only by trying would they know what worked.

"Conceited jerk," Huan'er laughed, squirming free. "I need to shower. Go change your pants."

Jing Qichi teased her, "You tell me to take off my pants while you shower? Making special requests now?"

Huan'er's face instantly burned crimson as she pushed him out the door. "Jing Qichi, you dog!"

The guy chuckled as he closed the door, then suddenly shouted, "Oh no, I don't have shoes!"

"Da Lin's bringing them," Huan'er called back from inside.The door swung open again, and Jing Qichi, covering one eye with his hand, sidled up to her before planting a quick, fierce kiss on Huan'er's cheek. He then hastily retreated, declaring, "I didn't see anything."

Adorable. Until now, Chen Huan'er had never known a man could be this adorable.

Corgis, Akitas, Chihuahuas, Samoyeds—he was even cuter than dogs.

What had started as a casual kickabout without even a referee had drawn an increasing crowd of onlookers. Amid the surrounding chatter, Huan'er learned the reason—someone had tweeted about "Little Jing from the Computer School" returning to campus, with the location tagged as the sports field. Students—mostly female, of course—had flocked to catch a glimpse of the graduating senior's true appearance.

"Didn't you see the promo video on Huandao's official Weibo? It even made it to the trending list."

"That number nine—he's even hotter in person than in the video."

"The senior has a girlfriend—he confirmed it himself. Rumor has it she's from our school too."

Huan'er overheard the voices nearby and unconsciously straightened her posture. But aside from herself, no one noticed this small gesture brimming with pride and vanity.

Yes, as the male lead's girlfriend, she was definitely feeling a little smug right now.

Jing Qichi dribbled past half the field, weaving through three defenders before taking a shot that ricocheted off the crossbar. The round football bounced out of bounds, and the protagonist shook his head in frustration.

"It's fine, there's still the corner kick," Huan'er shouted toward the field.

He glanced over, waving only at her.

Standing on the sidelines, Chen Huan'er instantly became the center of attention. She didn’t need to hear the whispers to know what they were discussing.

Because Jing Qichi had transformed from a football novice into a full-blown fan girl's dream, and what better time to flaunt her obscure knowledge than now?

She had to assert her claim, of course.

No need for a grand announcement declaring, "I'm his girlfriend." The smarter approach was to fend off any eager or unintentional admirers with unspoken understanding—our eyes are only on each other, so don’t even think about it."

Xiao Tao, exhausted, left the game early. Huan'er handed him a bottle of water, and he plopped down beside her.

A teammate threw in the ball from the sideline, and after a few quick passes with Da Lin, he lofted it high. Jing Qichi backpedaled, judging the trajectory, and before it could land, he volleyed it with brute force, sending the ball tearing through the goalkeeper's defense.

"Great shot!" Xiao Tao cheered.

The crowd erupted in gasps, and one male spectator couldn’t help but cup his hands around his mouth to shout, "Incredible!"

As the excitement died down slightly, Xiao Tao couldn’t resist asking Huan'er, "Why didn’t Qi Chi go pro?"

"He never told you?"

Xiao Tao shook his head. "From the moment we started school, everyone could tell. He only said he used to be a Special Enrollment Student for football. Later, during intercollegiate matches, the university team specifically requested him and made him a starter every game. When have the sports majors ever deferred to someone from another department? We asked him, and he just said his skills weren’t good enough. But everyone knows that’s not true."

That dream of going pro had left a gaping hole in the young Jing Qichi's heart, and everything tied to it had deepened that void beyond measure. Huan'er knew he had been trying to fill it—with endless time, with a stronger version of himself, with the fleeting peace earned through giving and effort. It was a personal reconciliation Jing Qichi could never explain to anyone.

Huan'er smiled at Xiao Tao. "He's doing really well now, isn’t he?"

"That’s true." Xiao Tao, who worked at another renowned company in the industry, chuckled. "This guy’s become Huandao’s poster boy now. My boss said for this year’s campus recruitment, we’d have to send our most presentable employees just to compete."Huan'er said smugly, "An egg hitting a rock—don't even think about it."

"Qi Chi won't be moving anytime soon. Staying at AILab means boundless prospects for him." Xiao Tao looked at her. "You should head north after graduation too. He's been waiting for you like counting stars and moons."

Huan'er's heart tightened.

He had his dreams, and she had her own convictions. Between them lay a long distance.

A real, physical distance—eleven hundred kilometers.