Grandma didn’t wake up until noon the next day. When she opened her eyes, Zhou Wan was sitting by her side, working on practice problems.
“Wanwan,” she called out weakly, her voice hoarse.
“Grandma.” Zhou Wan immediately stood up and approached her. “Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”
Grandma glanced around the room. “Why am I in the hospital?”
“Last night, you suddenly had arrhythmia and difficulty breathing. You just had surgery, and you’ll need to stay in the hospital for observation for a while before you can be discharged.”
“Stay in the hospital?” Grandma grasped her hand. “There’s no need for that. Grandma is fine, Wanwan. Staying in the hospital costs too much money.”
Zhou Wan replied, “I’ve already paid for half a month’s hospital stay, Grandma. Please don’t worry about it. Just take this opportunity to recover fully.”
“Half a month? How did you get that much money?”
“Well,” Zhou Wan paused, then told the truth, “a classmate lent me some money. I’ll pay him back once I have the funds.”
Grandma felt a pang of guilt, both for her granddaughter having to work so hard to earn money and for her own frail health. But what was done was done, and dwelling on it would only upset Zhou Wan further.
She sighed silently. “Then you must thank that classmate properly. Is it the girl you’re close with?”
“No, it’s—”
Before she could finish, the hospital room door opened with two knocks. “Zhou Wan.”
Lu Xixiao stood at the doorway.
Today, he had swapped his usual all-black attire for a white top and jeans, looking clean and fresh.
“Lu Xixiao.” Zhou Wan blinked, feeling as though it weren’t real. “Why are you here?”
He lifted the bag in his hand. “I was passing by.”
Inside was breakfast.
“Wanwan, who is this?”
Zhou Wan explained, “Grandma, this is my classmate, Lu Xixiao. He’s the one who helped pay the medical fees yesterday.”
“I see.” Grandma smiled warmly at Lu Xixiao. “Thank you. My health isn’t good, and I’m always troubling our Wanwan. It’s a good thing you were there yesterday. I’m sorry for the trouble.”
Lu Xixiao smiled. “It’s no trouble. I happened to be at the arcade where she works yesterday.”
His demeanor now was entirely different from before.
He seemed as gentle as a spring breeze, with no trace of the troublemaker who got into fights. Instead, he looked like a sunny, upright senior from a well-off family.
Zhou Wan called the doctor in to reexamine Grandma. Only after confirming that all her vitals were normal did she finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Lu Xixiao had brought a bowl of red date porridge for Grandma and a serving of crab roe buns for Zhou Wan.
He didn’t stay long, leaving after a call from Jiang Fan, as if he had genuinely just dropped by on his way and brought the food along.
After finishing her porridge, Grandma looked at Zhou Wan with a smile. “Wanwan, was that boy the deskmate of yours who gets such good grades?”
Grandma had heard Zhou Wan mention Jiang Yan a few times—how he always ranked first in exams, that they were deskmates and got along well, and that they would soon participate in a physics competition together.
“No, he’s not in our class.” Zhou Wan told the truth. “I met him because he’s been to the arcade a few times to play games.”
“I see. That young man is quite handsome, isn’t he?”
Zhou Wan was peeling an apple. At her grandmother’s words, she looked up and smiled. “A lot of girls at our school like him.”
“What about you?”
“Huh?” Zhou Wan was taken aback. “Grandma, what are you talking about?”Grandma smiled. "What's wrong with that? It's perfectly normal to have someone you like at your age. Back in my day, we married early—I was already married to your grandpa by your age."
"No, we're just friends," Zhou Wan said.
Grandma tapped her forehead. "You just haven't realized it yet."
But were she and Lu Xixiao really friends?
Their relationship wasn't particularly close, but it didn't seem distant either.
They'd eaten noodles together a few times. Last night, he had stayed with her for a long time, and today he even brought her breakfast.
But Lu Xixiao stood out too much in a crowd—so much so that becoming his friend seemed to require his explicit acknowledgment.
Zhou Wan wasn't sure if Lu Xixiao considered her a friend.
After all, no one else knew they were acquainted, and they never greeted each other when they met at school.
No friendship existed in such a state.
Moreover, her initial approach to Lu Xixiao hadn't been pure.
Friendship shouldn't be tarnished.
She didn't deserve to be Lu Xixiao's friend.
Zhou Wan lowered her gaze, recalling what Lu Xixiao had said last night as he sat on the steps—
"Lu Xixiao, what would you do if someone betrayed you?"
"I'd destroy her."
After swapping shifts to care for her grandmother overnight, Zhou Wan went to the arcade early the next morning.
Business was good during the National Day holiday, with many couples coming to play games together.
Midway through her shift, Jiang Yan called to ask about the last problem on the Final Review Paper. Zhou Wan took a photo of her solution and sent it to him.
As the loading icon spun on the screen, the arcade door swung open and a boisterous group walked in.
"Welcome."
Zhou Wan looked up as she spoke and froze at the sight of the newcomers.
It was Lu Xixiao and his friends.
Jiang Fan was surprised to see Zhou Wan there too. With natural familiarity, he said, "Hey, what a coincidence! What are you doing here?"
Lu Xixiao glanced at him sideways and let out a faint, mocking laugh.
"Hey, A Xiao," Jiang Fan noticed his expression and immediately added, "I've already taken one for the team and reluctantly stepped aside for my bro. Your attitude isn't cool, man."
Lu Xixiao raised an eyebrow. "Did I ask you to step aside?"
"..."
Lu Xixiao walked up to the counter, pulled out his arcade membership card from his wallet, and took out several hundred-yuan bills.
The people around them stared in surprise, then erupted in teasing cheers.
"Damn, Brother Xiao, you move fast," one of the guys said. "When did you secretly get a membership card filled up behind our backs?"
These guys were always outspoken and unrestrained.
Zhou Wan couldn't handle their banter. Pressing her lips together, she quietly lowered her head and loaded the money onto the membership card.
"All set."
Lu Xixiao gave an "mm" of acknowledgment and took the card.
As the group headed toward the game machines, Zhou Wan overheard their teasing remarks.
"Gotta admit, Zhou Wan's really pretty—the more you look, the prettier she gets. So well-behaved and innocent, damn."
"Dangerous talk there. You dare covet the girl Brother Xiao has his eye on?"
"Hahaha, no way, I wouldn't dare. But is A Xiao trying something new? I always thought he wasn't into this type before."
They had never seen Lu Xixiao take any girl seriously.
Every time, it was the girls who threw themselves at him, moths drawn to a flame.
They'd seen it so often that they naturally looked down on those girls and never worried about Lu Xixiao getting angry.A group of people were playing Contra together, mashing the buttons with loud clatters, occasionally punctuated by a few curses.
After a few rounds, they switched to another arcade machine.
The arcade grew noticeably livelier.
During this time, Zhou Wan glanced up at Lu Xixiao.
He wasn't playing games, just leaning lazily against the side, looking down at his phone.
He was highly sensitive to others' gazes and lifted his eyes to meet Zhou Wan's, raising an eyebrow frankly and silently throwing out a question.
Zhou Wan shook her head slightly and lowered her head to work on her problems.
A long time passed, and the arcade gradually emptied out.
Jiang Fan walked over to Zhou Wan's desk: "Hey, little classmate."
"Huh?"
Jiang Fan leaned over to see what she was writing: "No wonder you're a top student. Are the test papers in your class different from ours?"
Zhou Wan replied gently, "They're the same. It's just that this is a competition paper."
"Competition—" Jiang Fan clicked his tongue a few times, "Chemistry?"
"..."
Zhou Wan suspected he had vision problems, "Physics."
Lu Xixiao walked over and placed a stack of arcade tickets on the table, mocking, "As if you even know what our class's test papers look like."
"..."
Jiang Fan complained, "You don't know either."
Lu Xixiao let out a light scoff, "At least I can tell it's a physics problem."
"..."
Zhou Wan proactively stepped in to ease the tension, picking up the heavy stack of tickets, "I'll go enter these numbers first."
Jiang Fan asked, "What are these for?"
Zhou Wan: "You can exchange them for gifts."
Jiang Fan looked at the prize wall behind her, "So how many points are in these?"
Zhou Wan estimated the stack in her hands, "This batch is about twenty thousand. With what's stored on the card, it's almost sixty thousand total."
"That much?" Jiang Fan said in surprise, "What can you get with that?"
"Anything in this row." Zhou Wan gestured with her hand, then remembering how they were on the basketball court earlier, added, "That basketball too."
"Not bad prizes," a guy next to them said, "And it's a limited edition. I remember it costs several hundred."
Zhou Wan glanced at Lu Xixiao and asked, "Do you want to exchange them?"
"No need," Lu Xixiao said.
"Don't be stingy, Xixiao."
"Getting a limited edition basketball from playing games—isn't that awesome?"
Jiang Fan asked curiously, "These points are useless if you don't exchange them. What are you saving them for?"
Lu Xixiao glanced at him.
Jiang Fan wondered, "What do you want to exchange for?"
Lu Xixiao tilted his chin toward the bicycle.
Jiang Fan grew even more puzzled, "You, who complain the racetrack is too slow—what do you need a bicycle for?"
Lu Xixiao couldn't be bothered to answer. Jiang Fan turned to Zhou Wan, "Little classmate, do you know?"
Zhou Wan paused.
Remembering how Lu Xixiao had previously asked her which prize she wanted most.
She opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Lu Xixiao lazily interjected, "Don't talk to this idiot."
Instantly, the group's teasing nearly raised the roof.
"Nice one, Xixiao!"
"Hahahaha damn, that's how it is?"
"I'm just wondering if Brother Jiang will dare to keep calling her 'little classmate' now!"
...
Zhou Wan didn't know how to react for a moment and stayed silent.
Lu Xixiao raised his hand, his cool knuckles lightly brushing her cheek. The corner of his mouth lifted in a faint, teasing smile that couldn't have been more roguish.
"Did you hear that?" he asked lazily.
Zhou Wan's long black eyelashes fluttered rapidly as she complied with his words, "I heard."
Explosive laughter erupted around them.Amidst the roaring laughter, the crowd subtly began to change their perception of Zhou Wan.
Not only was her personality and appearance different from the girls who had come before, but she also seemed to hold a slightly different place in Lu Xixiao’s eyes. In the past, Lu Xixiao had never cared about whom those girls chatted with.
But one look at Zhou Wan made it clear why.
The girl was pure and clean, her every emotion betrayed by the flutter of her eyelashes and her cautious breaths. Her delicate, petite features were flawless.
Like fine porcelain, she evoked an involuntary urge to protect her.
Just then, a few more people entered through the door.
They didn’t look like the friendly type.
“Lu Xixiao,” the one in front called out.
Everyone turned at the sound, frowning as an unspoken tension spread through the air. Jiang Fan clicked his tongue in annoyance and muttered under his breath, “Why is it them again?”
Clearly, they were not friends.
Whenever Zhou Wan had heard others mention Lu Xixiao before, it was often about him getting into another fight.
He was too flamboyant, too arrogant—traits that could both attract and provoke hatred.
And now, he stood rooted to the spot, unshakable and impervious, looking down at them with an expressionless face that radiated sheer, insolent disdain.
After a moment, he smirked. “Shall we take this outside?”
Hands in his pockets, Lu Xixiao strode out of the arcade, ignoring the hushed whispers around him.
Zhou Wan watched their retreating figures, unable to suppress a frown.
Would they fight?
Would he get hurt?
She recalled hearing Jiang Fan mention that person’s name—Luo He—during her last overheard conversation on Lu Xixiao’s phone.
It must have been the man who had just called out to Lu Xixiao. He seemed older, with no trace of a student’s demeanor, exuding the aura of a street thug, his eyes dark and violent.
An inexplicable unease stirred in Zhou Wan’s chest, making it impossible for her to focus on her test papers.
She clenched her fists, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled, trying to calm her racing heart.
In the last hour and a half before her shift ended, Zhou Wan only managed to solve two major problems.
Rubbing her tired eyes, she pressed her cold palms against her forehead to clear her mind.
After shutting down all the arcade machines, she slung her backpack over her shoulder and left.
Under the bright moon and sparse stars, the chilly autumn night wind cut through her thin clothes.
Zhou Wan shivered, tightened her coat, and walked out with her head down.
Ahead, a figure appeared in the direction of her footsteps.
“Lu Xixiao.”
He turned and let out a light chuckle. “Zhou Wan.”
Though he was smiling, his tone carried a cold edge. “You’re pretty heartless, but at least you finally came out.”
She blinked and replied softly, “My shift ended.”
“…”
Lu Xixiao scoffed lightly.
Zhou Wan noticed a scratch on his chin, as if from a fingernail, but no other visible injuries.
She sensed his displeasure but couldn’t understand why.
Was it because she hadn’t come out earlier, causing him to lose face in front of his friends?
She took a step forward and explained, “I thought you all had gone somewhere else, so I didn’t come out.”
He didn’t respond, remaining silent as he looked down at her from his height.
Zhou Wan gazed up at his face, trying to placate him. “Lu Xixiao, your face is injured.”
“Yeah,” he replied indifferently.
“I have band-aids inside. Let me patch you up, okay?” she whispered.
“Zhou Wan.”He suddenly leaned in close, directly raising his hand to grip the back of Zhou Wan’s neck, forcing her head up. His dark eyes fixed tightly on her, a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, as if trying to see into her heart.
“What are you pretending to be so obedient for?” he said.
Zhou Wan froze.
She was best at playing the part of the well-behaved and hiding her cleverness. Everyone said she was obedient and compliant—Lu Xixiao was the first to see through her.
But he didn’t dwell on it, quickly losing interest and too lazy to press further.
He straightened up, let out a faint scoff, and walked past Zhou Wan, heading straight into the arcade.
Zhou Wan hurried after him.
She unlocked the door again and turned on the lights.
“Lu Xixiao, wait for me a moment,” Zhou Wan said to his retreating back. “I’ll go to the back room to get a band-aid.”
He didn’t respond.
Zhou Wan rummaged through a small metal box in the back room, found a Yunnan Baiyao Band-Aid, and checked to make sure it hadn’t expired.
When she came out, Lu Xixiao was standing in front of the claw machine, maneuvering the claw.
He had been to the arcade several times, but this was the first time she’d seen him play the claw machine.
The machine emitted a pink glow, casting light on his face and outlining his sharp features. His bangs hung loosely over his forehead, his gaze calm and indifferent, his long, slender fingers gripping the joystick.
Zhou Wan was about to say that these machines were programmed with fixed odds—someone had just managed to grab two earlier, so it would probably be hard to catch anything now.
Just as she was about to speak, the claw steadily lifted the figurine.
With a soft thud, he bent down and retrieved the toy.
Zhou Wan stepped forward and handed him the band-aid.
Lu Xixiao lowered his gaze, leaned in, and brought his face closer.
Zhou Wan caught the scent of tobacco on him and held her breath for no reason, momentarily dazed.
He lifted his eyes, his gaze direct, his voice husky: “Weren’t you going to placate me?”
He seemed to know exactly what was on her mind.
Yet he never questioned why she was afraid of upsetting him or why she pretended to be obedient in front of him, always maintaining that casual, carefree demeanor.
Zhou Wan bit her lip, suppressing the trembling of her lashes, tore open the band-aid, and applied it to his chin.
Her fingertips accidentally brushed against the skin of his chin—it felt rough, like the stubble of a recently shaved beard.
“Done.”
“Let’s go, then.” He turned and walked away without another word.
…
As usual, the two of them walked along the familiar, quiet street.
There were more fallen leaves on the ground now, rustling underfoot.
“Lu Xixiao,” Zhou Wan said, “about the money you covered for me at the hospital before—can I pay you back by the end of the year? I’ll include interest based on the bank rate, is that okay?”
Lu Xixiao glanced at her and replied lightly, “No rush.”
“Thank you.”
Soon, they reached Zhou Wan’s doorstep.
“I’ll head in now,” Zhou Wan waved to him. “Thank you for walking me home.”
“Mm.”
As Zhou Wan reached the door, Lu Xixiao suddenly spoke from behind her: “Zhou Wan.”
“What is it?”
“Here.” He held up the figurine in his hand.
Zhou Wan paused for a moment, then walked back to him, took it, and held it carefully in her arms. “Thank you,” she said earnestly.
Ever since Zhou Jun passed away, Zhou Wan hadn’t had any toys or dolls.
He chuckled, a hint of mischief in his tone. “Looks like you.”
Zhou Wan lowered her head and examined it under the faint light—a pink backside.
She turned it over.
It was a Kusukobo figurine with a large face, small green bean-like eyes, red cheeks, and a flat nose.
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