Lu Xixiao had never posted on his social media feed all these years. He lacked the desire to confide or share, and couldn't be bothered to document his life. Even during those lonely years abroad, he never posted anything.
If we're talking about the posts he actually made, it was seven years ago—the first and only time.
Back then, he hadn't known Zhou Wan for long.
Once, he happened to see her crying. Lu Xixiao didn't know what came over him, but he offered to take her out to have some fun.
That was the first time he brought Zhou Wan to Huang Ping's place, and also the first time he brought a girl there.
It was very late when they returned, the streets empty and quiet. Zhou Wan thought taking a taxi was too expensive and suggested they ride shared electric scooters back. Lu Xixiao had never ridden one before, and for some reason, he wasn't willing to try. He said he'd sit on the back of hers.
So he sat behind Zhou Wan, and at a red light, he casually took a photo of her back and posted it on his feed—no caption.
In the photo, Zhou Wan was wearing a yellow helmet with a comical antenna on top.
Around them were empty, deserted streets, the red light counting down.
It looked like a scene from a movie.
Later, when they broke up, Lu Xixiao initially wanted to delete that post, but in the end, he couldn't bring himself to do it. Instead, he set his entire feed to private.
It wasn't until today that he made it public again.
There were only two posts, both related to Zhou Wan.
...
Lu Xixiao was usually very busy with work. After returning home, he sat in the living room dealing with emails and documents. By the time he finished and picked up his phone, that post had already received many likes and comments.
His old high school friends quickly liked and commented, mostly teasing and joking around.
Meanwhile, business partners and employees expressed their congratulations, though they were all somewhat puzzled and surprised to see their boss suddenly announcing a relationship.
Lu Xixiao skimmed through them briefly and refreshed the page.
At the very top was a post Zhou Wan had made just three minutes ago.
The same photo and caption as his.
Lu Xixiao was taken aback for a moment, then curled his lips into a light chuckle.
...
Zhou Wan was different from Lu Xixiao. He had only glanced roughly at the comments without replying to any, but Zhou Wan responded to each one carefully, sincerely replying "Thank you" to everyone who wished her well.
Their old dorm group chat was in an uproar.
All three of them had witnessed how, throughout their four years of university, Zhou Wan had rejected one suitor after another. Even Jiang Yan, who was now so successful and impressive, had been turned down by her countless times.
Now, she had suddenly announced a relationship, and the photo showed a handsome man they had never seen before. How could they not be shocked?
Zhou Wan held her phone, unable to suppress the smile in her eyes as she explained to them that he was her boyfriend from high school.
When Lu Xixiao came out of the shower, he saw her beaming.
He walked over to the bed and reached out to take her phone.
Zhou Wan’s phone was basically just a communication tool—she had no secrets on it. She wasn’t in a hurry to take it back, blinking slowly as she asked, "What’s wrong?"
Lu Xixiao openly scanned through her WeChat contacts. Just as he was about to return it, a message suddenly popped up.
[Hu Shouxun: Senior, do you really have a boyfriend now?]
The name looked like a guy's.
Lu Xixiao raised an eyebrow and typed leisurely.
[Zhou Wan: Yes, I do.]
[Hu Shouxun: But you told me before that you didn’t want to date, which is why you rejected me. I was even planning to work at the newspaper you're at after I graduate. How did this happen so suddenly [cry][cry][cry]]
[Zhou Wan: We’re getting married soon.][Zhou Wan: Don't even think about it.]
Zhou Wan sat on the bed, tilting her head back to watch him type.
She thought he was probably using her phone to look up some information, until Lu Xixiao handed the phone back to her.
When she looked down, she nearly saw stars.
What in the world... was all this?
Before Zhou Wan could even argue with him, Lu Xixiao had already played the victim, letting out a cold snort: "Zhou Wan, you sure have a lot of boyfriends."
"...This is just a junior from my school days."
He nodded, his tone dripping with sarcasm: "Oh, a junior."
"..."
Zhou Wan didn't have time to deal with him right now, wanting to immediately recall the message. But the chat box already showed "The other party is typing...", meaning it had been seen—too late to recall.
She quickly replied.
[Zhou Wan: Sorry, my boyfriend sent that using my phone just now.]
[Zhou Wan: Thank you for your affection and care, but I told you from the start—don't waste your time on me. I won't develop feelings for you. Your future career choices are important too, and I hope you'll consider them seriously instead of making rash decisions for my sake.]
After sending the replies, Zhou Wan set her phone aside and looked up at Lu Xixiao again.
"..."
His face had grown even darker.
Thinking he might not have seen what she typed, Zhou Wan raised her phone to show him.
Lu Xixiao only glanced at it before sneering: "You're willing to send him such a long message."
"..."
After all these years, Lu Xixiao's habit of irrationally accusing her whenever he got jealous hadn't changed one bit.
Zhou Wan studied him for a moment, finding him somewhat adorable like this. She felt like laughing but didn't dare, so she pressed her lips together to suppress her amusement.
After some thought, she tried to placate him by putting herself in his shoes.
"There's nothing between us. He just confessed to me once before," Zhou Wan said, not forgetting to compliment him, "You've encountered situations like this too. You're so wonderful—far more people have liked you than me."
"Don't lump me in the same category as you." Lu Xixiao pinched her cheek: "I've never sent anyone more than ten words in a chat."
"..."
Zhou Wan let him pinch her, unable to resist muttering quietly: "But you had so many girlfriends back then, and I've never dated anyone else."
When she brought up the past, Lu Xixiao still showed no remorse, pinching her harder as he threatened: "Say that again."
Zhou Wan fell silent.
Lu Xixiao let out a light scoff, leaning down to nip her lips: "Stop pretending to be well-behaved."
"..."
Lu Xixiao brushed his thumb over her lips: "Have many people pursued you over the years?"
"No, not many," Zhou Wan said immediately.
Zhou Wan had grown increasingly beautiful over the years, her aura cool yet softened by southern gentleness—undeniably attractive. Lu Xixiao knew perfectly well that many men would naturally be drawn to her, but it still made him uncomfortable.
His possessiveness toward Zhou Wan bordered on pathological; he couldn't even stand others glancing at her for too long.
"I really want to hide you away," Lu Xixiao murmured against the corner of her mouth, "Where only I can see you."
Zhou Wan laughed.
Lu Xixiao pinched her nose and scolded lightly: "Heartless."
He climbed into bed too, pulling Zhou Wan into his arms but not doing anything more—ultimately, he cherished her too much to risk actually making her sick.
Zhou Wan's colleagues had also left comments one after another, with Ji Jie being the most exaggerated, typing five full rows of "Ahhhhh."Zhou Wan replied to each message one by one, while Lu Xixiao watched her from beside.
As she prepared to exit, her fingertip accidentally brushed against the profile picture and entered it.
Zhou Wan’s social media feed was set to show posts from the past year, and today’s post was the first she had made in that time. But now, Lu Xixiao saw the one before it.
Posted four winters ago, it was a picture of a snowy scene.
The caption read: [Lu Xixiao, Happy New Year. It’s snowing again.]
Visible only to herself.
Lu Xixiao froze for a moment, his gaze fixed on the screen. He frowned slightly and asked, “What is this?”
Zhou Wan let out a soft “Ah” and said, “This…” She paused, then spoke softly, “This was my first winter after coming to City B. It was also the first time I’d seen such heavy snow since the last time we watched the snow together.”
The first semester of her freshman year had ended.
Winter break had arrived.
All her roommates had gone home, but Zhou Wan stayed behind in the dormitory. With nowhere else to go, she decided to remain at the university, focusing on her studies and internships.
She kept herself extremely busy. Aside from her internship and part-time job, she spent all her time in the library, refusing to let herself get distracted, moving forward with single-minded determination. This way, she could think of Lu Xixiao a little less.
Until New Year’s Eve.
That day, heavy snow fell, and the campus was exceptionally quiet—so quiet that she could almost hear the sound of each snowflake landing.
Sitting in her dorm room, watching the snow outside the window, Zhou Wan suddenly missed Lu Xixiao intensely. She longed to return to that New Year’s Eve in the past, when they had dashed through the bustling train station and caught the last train to see the snow.
“Actually, back when we took the train together to see the snow, I posted something on my social media that night. It was also set to ‘visible only to myself.’ Later, I lost my phone, couldn’t recover my account, and everything was gone.”
Lu Xixiao asked, “What did you post?”
“I took a photo of the snow and captioned it—”
Zhou Wan paused, unwilling to keep anything from him any longer. She glanced at him and said softly, “I really, really liked you. Lu Xixiao, Happy New Year.”
And so, during her first winter in City B, on that New Year’s Eve, Zhou Wan sat alone by the window, tears falling one after another. She posted a similar message to her social media, identical to the past one, except for the line “I really, really liked you.”
At that time, she felt she was utterly unworthy of liking Lu Xixiao.
Lu Xixiao’s Adam’s apple bobbed sharply. “So, you did like me, right?”
Never expecting Lu Xixiao to react this way, Zhou Wan blinked at him in a daze.
Lu Xixiao gripped her shoulders, his expression unusually serious. Staring into her eyes, he pressed stubbornly, “Wanwan, did you like me back then?”
In that moment, he seemed like an obstinate teenager, asking the same question over and over, desperate to hear the answer he longed for.
But this was Lu Xixiao—the one who always seemed so effortlessly composed in matters of the heart.
“Mm,” Zhou Wan grasped his hand and replied earnestly, “I love you.”
Lu Xixiao was visibly stunned.
He was like a puppy who had received more rewards than expected. After a moment of stunned silence, he pulled Zhou Wan tightly into his arms, still unable to believe it. “Say it again.”
Holding his hand, Zhou Wan patiently and sincerely repeated, “I love you, Lu Xixiao.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
Zhou Wan couldn’t help but laugh, though she was also a bit puzzled. “Aren’t we already together? Of course, I love you.”
Lu Xixiao buried his face in the crook of her neck, squeezing his eyes shut tightly, and said nothing.Actually, at the beginning of their relationship, Lu Xixiao was very certain about Zhou Wan's feelings. Having dated numerous girlfriends and witnessed all kinds of affection, he could see through people's hearts with remarkable clarity.
But later, when he discovered it was all a facade, he couldn't help but constantly doubt—whether Zhou Wan's kindness toward him was fake, and even her affection for him was insincere.
He let out a soft sigh, suppressing the hoarseness in his voice: "You have to love me for the rest of your life."
"Mm." Zhou Wan gently patted his back to comfort him. "You're the only one I could ever love in this lifetime."
The next day.
By the time they woke up, it was already nine in the morning.
With an afternoon flight scheduled, Zhou Wan got up to pack her luggage. But as soon as she sat up, Lu Xixiao wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her back, followed by a kiss landing on her neck.
"Still feeling uncomfortable?"
"What?"
Lu Xixiao lightly nudged his hips. "You know what."
"..."
Zhou Wan's face grew warm. "I still need to pack. We might miss the flight."
Lu Xixiao raised an eyebrow and said modestly, "The flight is still hours away. I won't take that long."
"..."
And so, after all the dawdling and a nap afterward, by the time Zhou Wan woke up again, it was already afternoon—they had completely missed their flight.
Lu Xixiao rescheduled the flight for the evening. After dinner, they leisurely took a taxi to the airport.
He was thoroughly satisfied, feeling completely at ease.
Zhou Wan, on the other hand, felt as if her body had been taken apart and reassembled—exhausted and covered in marks. She had to wear a jacket, pulling the collar up to her chin to cover them, and felt drowsy the entire way.
After getting out of the taxi, Lu Xixiao held her hand as they walked toward the airport. Seeing how tired she was, he asked amusedly, "Want me to carry you?"
Zhou Wan shook her head. "Lu Xixiao."
"Hmm?"
"I don't think we can keep going on like this."
He raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"
"Just—" Zhou Wan glanced at him, her face flushing slightly again. "Just... like what happened earlier today."
"Like what earlier today?"
"..."
Seeing that Zhou Wan was about to get angry, Lu Xixiao decided to quit while he was ahead. "Oh, that. Why not?"
"I have to work tomorrow. If this keeps up, I won't have any energy. Besides, it's going to get hot soon, and you're leaving marks all over me. I won't be able to go to work like this." Zhou Wan tried to reason with him.
"Then from now on, I'll focus on other places, like..."
Lu Xixiao leaned down, whispered two words into Zhou Wan's ear, and curled his lips into a smile. "How about that?"
"..."
Ever since they officially got together, he had become as mischievous as possible.
Zhou Wan had never been able to outtalk him, and now, flushed and flustered by his teasing, she simply ignored him and quickened her pace into the airport.
"Wanwan." He called out from behind.
Zhou Wan didn't stop, continuing forward.
Lu Xixiao jogged to catch up with her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her into his embrace. "Are you angry now?"
Zhou Wan pouted slightly and said coldly, "No."
Lu Xixiao chuckled again. "Didn't you say you love me?"
His tone lifted, as if boasting.
Not wanting to provoke her further, Lu Xixiao ruffled her hair and conceded, "Alright, I'm sorry."
The next day, Zhou Wan returned to work at the newspaper office.
Her colleagues had all seen the post she shared on social media the day before and teased her, saying that while everyone else was working, she was the only one taking time off to be in love.
Zhou Wan felt a bit embarrassed. In the afternoon, she ordered coffee for her colleagues as a way to make up for it.Just after the coffee had been distributed, Uncle Ye walked in. "Zhou Wan, come with me for a bit."
"What's up?"
"Ji Jie has diarrhea and probably can't make it. The two interns aren't very experienced yet. Are you free? If so, come with me."
"Alright."
Zhou Wan immediately grabbed her equipment bag, notepad, and pen, heading downstairs. It wasn't until she got into the car that she learned today's fieldwork was to attend Jiang Yan's patent bidding conference. She heard many companies would be there.
Zhou Wan paused for a moment, took out her phone, and sent Lu Xixiao a message in advance, informing him about the situation.
[6: I'll be there too.]
Zhou Wan was taken aback. [Are you also going to bid?]
[6: No, I have some other matters to take care of. Just dropping by.]
When the car arrived at the convention center, Zhou Wan and Uncle Ye got out together.
The parking lot was already filled with many luxury cars, suggesting today's event was quite significant.
By the time Zhou Wan entered the hall, Lu Xixiao hadn't arrived yet.
Perhaps Jiang Yan had specially arranged a green channel for them, as their interview spot was excellent—front row, near the center. Zhou Wan set up the camera, checked it once to make sure everything was in order.
With some free time for the moment, Zhou Wan sat in her chair and chatted with Lu Xixiao, asking if he had arrived yet.
[6: Traffic jam, I'll be a bit late.]
[Zhou Wan: Oh, is it serious?]
[6: It's fine. I sent someone else ahead, they've already arrived.]
While they were chatting, Jiang Yan's voice suddenly came from beside her. "Zhou Wan."
She turned around and saw him dressed in a sharp suit. She smiled politely. "Congratulations."
Jiang Yan didn't linger to chat further, giving a slight bow. "I'll go prepare now. If you need an interview after it's over, just let me know."
"Alright," Zhou Wan said. "Thank you."
Jiang Yan jogged over, ascending the stage via the side steps. Behind him was a large screen displaying slides introducing the technology.
Soon, the bidding conference began.
The lights in the entire hall dimmed, and the host welcomed Jiang Yan to the stage to begin his presentation.
Standing on stage, Jiang Yan showed no signs of nervousness. Calm and composed, he began his explanation with clear logic. As the slides progressed, he said, "Next, I'll use a video to demonstrate the specific application results."
He moved his cursor to the video plugin and clicked.
Suddenly, a sharp, piercing sound came from the speakers—a harsh screech.
Instead of the expected video, the screen flickered a few times before displaying several bold red characters: "Jiang Yan Plagiarized."
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