Zhou Wan arrived home just as the rain stopped, though she was already drenched from head to toe.
Several neighbors chatting under a garden tree outside the residential complex exclaimed, "Oh dear, Wanwan! Did you fall into a river?!"
Zhou Wan smiled. "I didn't bring an umbrella."
"You should've waited for the rain to stop," one woman scolded, then cursed the wretched weather before handing over a brown paper bag from the table. "Take this back to share with your grandma."
Inside the bag were still-warm mung bean cakes.
Zhou Wan tried to decline, but the woman insisted, pushing them into her hands. "They're still hot—eat them soon. They won't taste as good once they cool down."
This was an old neighborhood, nearly thirty years old, where residents were ordinary folks who knew each other well, exchanging greetings whenever they crossed paths.
Naturally, everyone knew about Zhou Wan's family circumstances. Since her father Zhou Jun had been warmhearted during his lifetime, the neighbors now often helped out where they could, a way of repaying his kindness.
Zhou Wan thanked them and headed inside.
Behind her, the women sighed and gossiped—
"Such a pitiful child. I heard her grades are excellent too. If Old Zhou were still alive, she could've grown up carefree."
"Blame that mother of hers—an ungrateful wretch, utterly shameless! Pah!"
"Scolding her won't change anything. She's flown up the branch and become a phoenix now—nearly forty and latched onto some wealthy family."
"You think the rich are fools? It's all for show. I doubt any wealthy man would be stupid enough to legally marry a woman like her." The woman's tone dripped with disdain. "Besides, the Lu family's son isn't someone to trifle with."
"What do you mean?"
"Don't you get it? The Lu family has only one son. All that fortune will go to him eventually. Only an idiot would let his father marry some poor woman."
...
The hallway light was broken.
Zhou Wan felt her way upstairs in the dark, fumbling with the key before finally unlocking the door.
"Grandma."
"Yes?" The white-haired old woman was in the kitchen, her smile gentle. "Wanwan, you're back."
Zhou Wan dropped her backpack on the table and hurried into the kitchen. "Grandma, I told you to rest early."
"I made you wontons." Grandma patted her hand affectionately. "Look, they're ready—all floating to the top."
"I'll serve them." Zhou Wan brought out a bowl, filled it with wontons, and carried it to the table.
She retrieved medicine from her backpack and poured a glass of warm water. "Take your medicine first."
"Alright."
Zhou Wan sat down to eat her wontons while watching her grandmother take the pills. She noticed the old woman constantly scratching her skin.
"Is it itching again?" Zhou Wan asked.
Itchy, dry skin was one of the symptoms of uremia.
This manifested particularly severely in her grandmother.
Her arms were already dry, now scratched until white flakes of skin peeled away, covered in dense red bumps.
Zhou Wan quickly finished her last wonton and fetched the medicated ointment.
"I can apply it myself," Grandma said. "You should rest—you have school tomorrow."
"I'll go to bed after putting this on for you."
Zhou Wan spread the cool ointment over her grandmother's arms, bending carefully to rub it in before blowing gently on the skin. "Does it still itch?"
"Not anymore." Grandma smiled. "Go wash your hands and get some sleep."
Zhou Wan knew that if the ointment were truly that effective, her grandmother wouldn't have suffered through sleepless nights from itching, her arms scratched raw in several places.
Only one lamp was lit in the bedroom.Zhou Wan took out her homework. She had been busy with part-time work and hospital visits over the weekend, leaving some papers unfinished.
As she wrote, the scene from the street earlier resurfaced in her mind.
Her grandmother’s coughing echoed from the next room—deep, rasping coughs that seemed to tear from the depths of her lungs, each one heavy as if trying to expel her very organs.
The air carried the damp, musty smell unique to rainy days.
A sudden, dark thought forced its way into Zhou Wan’s mind—
What if she could prevent Guo Xiangling from getting married?
No, more than that—make her leave the Lu family, strip her of that life of luxury.
She had betrayed Father, abandoned her, turned a blind eye to Grandma’s suffering—how could she live in comfort, free from guilt?
Zhou Wan held hatred for Guo Xiangling.
On ordinary days, it lay dormant. But in exhausted, late hours, that hatred coiled around her heart like venomous vines from the abyss, shrouded in darkness.
Even now, she remembered the day of Father’s 21st-day Death Anniversary.
Many neighbors had come to offer condolences and help, giving as much condolence money as they could.
That day, people kept asking, “Where is your mother?”
Guo Xiangling was absent the entire day.
It wasn’t until late at night.
Zhou Wan pulled back the curtain and saw a man seeing her off downstairs. They were both smiling, relaxed and chatting happily.
When Guo Xiangling returned, she went straight to the wardrobe and pulled out a suitcase, packing her clothes inside.
Zhou Wan pushed open the door to her bedroom—the room that once belonged to her parents. Standing at the doorway, she stared at her mother and asked, bewildered, where she was going.
Guo Xiangling only said, “Wanwan, I’ll be away for a few days.”
But Zhou Wan seemed to understand. She clung desperately to Guo Xiangling’s suitcase, crying and begging her not to leave.
That ten-year-old girl, having just lost her father, was terrified of her mother leaving. She humbled herself to the dust, clinging and wailing until her voice grew hoarse and her legs rubbed raw against the floor.
That was how Zhou Wan had once begged Guo Xiangling to stay.
But it didn’t stop her from leaving.
Almost unconsciously, Zhou Wan pressed her pen hard into the paper, tracing out three characters—
Guo
Xiang
Ling
What could she do to make her pay?
Then, she wrote three more characters on the paper—
Lu Xixiao.
“Wanwan.” Gu Meng turned around from the front row. “Did you finish the physics homework?”
Zhou Wan: “No, which problems are you stuck on?”
“All of them.” With homework checks coming up, Gu Meng just wanted to copy quickly. She tilted her head toward Zhou Wan’s deskmate. “Jiang Yan, Jiang Yan, did you do it?”
Jiang Yan adjusted his glasses beside her. “No. The Physics Competition is coming up soon. Teacher Hu said we only need to work on the Competition papers.”
Gu Meng pouted. “Oh.”
She turned back and went to ask someone else for their papers.
Jiang Yan asked Zhou Wan, “Are you prepared for the competition?”
Zhou Wan shook her head. “There’s still a month left, isn’t there?”
“A month goes by fast—in the blink of an eye.” Jiang Yan spun his pen. “I’m a bit nervous. If we make it to the National Competition this time, we might have a shot at getting into Huaqing University’s summer camp.”
Zhou Wan smiled at him. “You can do it. With your grades, I’m sure you will.”
Jiang Yan looked at her, surprised. “You’re not nervous?”
“I’m alright.”
“It’s too hard to get into Qinghua on raw scores now,” Jiang Yan said. “Don’t you want to test into it someday?”
Zhou Wan curved her lips slightly and said mildly, “I haven’t thought about it much. I’ll take things as they come.”Jiang Yan shook his head and said, "Zhou Wan, Huaqing University isn't something any other domestic institution can compare to. Getting into Huaqing guarantees an easier future."
Zhou Wan didn't respond, turning instead to gaze out the window.
Blue skies, white clouds—the world vast and distant.
Like the boundless possibilities of the future.
But what about her own future?
Zhou Wan couldn't picture it.
She was like a young eagle with growing wings, meant for the open skies and freedom, yet held back by an invisible tether—unable to fly far or high.
Near her home stood an old cinema, beneath which was an arcade. After school, students often gathered there to play, keeping business fairly steady.
The arcade originally belonged to a friend of Zhou Jun's. After the friend's family moved away from Pingchuan City, they entrusted Zhou Wan with looking after the place. Officially, it was a favor, but in reality, it was a pretext to support their friend's daughter, providing Zhou Wan with a monthly wage.
Every day after school, Zhou Wan would come to the arcade for her shift.
"Little boss!" A bright, pretty girl rushed over, leaning both hands on the counter as she chirped, "Give me a hundred tokens!"
Zhou Wan looked up from her homework. "For a hundred yuan, you could get a membership card. Future token purchases would be 5% off."
"Alright, then sign me up."
As Zhou Wan bent to register the card, she heard the girl turn and call out excitedly, "A Xiao!"
Zhou Wan's fingers stilled. She saw Lu Xixiao walking in their direction.
The girl intimately linked arms with him, pouting, "I've been waiting for you forever!"
Lu Xixiao gave a slight tug at the corner of his mouth in response, seeming disinterested. He pulled out a hundred-yuan bill and placed it on the counter.
With one arm held by the girl, he used his other hand to open a cigarette case, take out a cigarette, and clamp it between his lips. Then he fished out a lighter.
Click.*
A flame leaped up, but it didn't yet touch the tobacco.
His voice was slightly hoarse, nasal, as if he hadn't fully woken up, yet casual and unhurried.
After a pause, as if remembering something, he asked, "Can we smoke here?"
Realizing he was speaking to her, Zhou Wan replied, "Yes."
She handed the card to the girl. "All set."
"So for games, I just swipe the card? No need for coins anymore?" the girl asked.
"Yeah, that's right."
The girl nodded, her eyes shining as she looked at Lu Xixiao. "A Xiao, what do you want to play?"
He exhaled a plume of smoke. "Whatever."
"Then let's play the basketball game!"
Lu Xixiao, dressed head-to-toe in sharp black, cigarette dangling from his lips, picked up a basketball with his distinct, slender fingers. He shot one after another—casually, unhurriedly, just playing around—yet every shot went in.
Gradually, a small crowd gathered behind him to watch.
The attention made Lu Xixiao's girlfriend even more pleased with herself.
"A Xiao," the girl practically glued herself to him, "later, let's play a two-player game, okay?"
"Not playing." He flicked ash into a nearby trash can.
"Come on, play with me."
"Play by yourself." Lu Xixiao picked up the game card, swiped it, and directly pressed the start button for her.
New customers arrived, and Zhou Wan registered a card for another couple. Suddenly, she heard one of the boys say, "Hey, what's going on over there? Are they arguing?"
Zhou Wan followed his gaze.
Lu Xixiao's attitude had likely upset the girl. She frowned slightly, her eyes reddening, looking both pitiful and wronged.
Meanwhile, Lu Xixiao leaned against the side, looking down at her without any particular emotion—let alone a trace of concern."Lu Xixiao, can't you put a little more effort into this relationship?" The girl complained discontentedly, "I'm always the one reaching out to you, and now you won't even play games with me. Is this any way to be in a relationship?"
"Xu Yixuan." He lowered his gaze, his tone indifferent.
Just from that single utterance, Xu Yixuan understood she couldn't put on airs around Lu Xixiao.
Lu Xixiao didn't indulge her whims.
She had pushed too far.
He stubbed out his cigarette, looking thoroughly disinterested: "Let's call it quits."
Her eyes widened: "What?"
"Break up."
Zhou Wan watched as tears welled up in Xu Yixuan's eyes. Such a vibrant, beautiful girl had become utterly disheveled and wretched before Lu Xixiao.
Surrounded by onlookers, Xu Yixuan couldn't save face. Choking back sobs, she spat out "Jerk!" before turning and running away.
This was just who Lu Xixiao was.
Actually, everyone at school knew - after all, they always saw different girls standing beside him - yet it never stopped new ones from throwing themselves at him.
No one knew what spell he cast.
After Xu Yixuan left, Lu Xixiao didn't give chase.
He went to the restroom to wash his face, emerging with water droplets still tracing the sharp lines of his jaw.
Approaching Zhou Wan, he pulled a pack of cigarettes from her counter: "How much?"
"Eighty."
Lu Xixiao scanned to pay, his gaze pausing when he glanced at Zhou Wan.
He seemed to find her somewhat familiar, casually asking: "From Yangming?"
Zhou Wan looked up: "Yeah."
Tearing open the cigarette package, he pulled out another cigarette, lit it, and raised an eyebrow through the smoke: "Name?"
"Zhou Wan."
After a pause, she added, "It's the 'Wan' from 'draw a carved bow to the full like the moon.'"
Lu Xixiao raised his eyebrows, letting out an ambiguous chuckle.
Under his laughter, Zhou Wan's face began to grow warm.
"Lu Xixiao," he said.
"I know."
He looked up.
Zhou Wan also looked up, meeting his gaze.
She'd once read in some book that making eye contact with someone twice would make them remember you.
This was the second time.
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