For a while after that, the newspaper office wasn't too busy, so Zhou Wan found time to take driving lessons.
She had never been afraid of exams since childhood, but surprisingly failed the third subject of the driving test once, only passing on the second attempt before finally getting her license.
When she came out, Lu Xixiao was already there to pick her up.
"Passed?" he asked.
"Yeah," Zhou Wan said. "I messed up on the first attempt and thought I'd have to take it again—scared me to death."
Lu Xixiao laughed.
Zhou Wan turned her head and asked, "Did you have to take it twice back then?"
"No." He raised an eyebrow.
Of course—Lu Xixiao had raced cars before.
Getting a driver's license was far too easy for him.
"Do you still race cars now?"
"Not anymore," Lu Xixiao said casually. "Shall we eat out tonight? To celebrate you getting your license."
Zhou Wan smiled. "Sure."
Lu Xixiao picked a restaurant.
He had always been particular about food, and the restaurants he chose were always delicious.
Zhou Wan took a bite of fish with her chopsticks, nibbling on the tips, and asked Lu Xixiao, "Do you want to have some wine?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"You can have a little," Zhou Wan said. "Now that I can drive, you won't need to call a designated driver after drinking. I can take you home."
Lu Xixiao chuckled lightly and gestured for the waiter to bring a bottle of wine.
In recent years, aside from occasional business dinners and gatherings, Lu Xixiao hadn't drunk much.
After the meal, Zhou Wan drove back.
She was driving Lu Xixiao's car, which was naturally much more advanced than the ones at the driving school. Although she had seen Lu Xixiao drive it many times and roughly knew the functions of the various buttons, sitting in the driver's seat for the first time still made her a bit nervous.
"It's too late to be scared now," Lu Xixiao said with a laugh. "I've already had a drink."
"I'm afraid I'll crash."
Lu Xixiao was unfazed. "So what if you crash? Crashing is part of learning to drive."
"Repairing this car would be expensive, wouldn't it?"
"Wanwan," he reminded her with a smile, "your boyfriend is quite wealthy now."
"..."
Even so, Zhou Wan maintained a speed of 30 km/h all the way back, crawling slowly along the wide road.
Fortunately, the emblem on Lu Xixiao's car acted like a talisman—other vehicles consciously gave way, leaving Zhou Wan plenty of room to maneuver.
She drove home with extreme caution, tense the entire way, and only let out a long sigh of relief after parking the car, feeling her right calf aching from the strain.
Lu Xixiao looked at her, amused. "Tired from driving?"
"Let's just call a designated driver next time."
Lu Xixiao laughed. "Then what was the point of learning to drive?"
Zhou Wan thought for a moment. "Once I practice a bit more and get more comfortable, I can drive you around."
"Alright." Lu Xixiao nodded and reached over. "Let me massage it for you."
He suddenly leaned in, his presence enveloping her. In the dimly lit underground garage, Lu Xixiao carried a warm aura and a faint scent of alcohol.
His hand slid down, gently massaging her calf, before he leaned in and kissed her lips.
Zhou Wan loved the feeling of kissing him—it felt intimate.
She tilted her head back slightly, cooperating to make it more comfortable for him.
Sensing her movement, Lu Xixiao smiled, then suddenly seemed to remember something. He paused, pulling back slightly without touching her lips.
Zhou Wan opened her eyes, her eyelashes fluttering, and let out a soft, questioning "Hmm?"
"I've been drinking."Lu Xixiao's lips brushed lightly against hers. "Will kissing you like this make you allergic?"
"..."
It was just a negligible amount of alcohol.
Zhou Wan was about to say "no" when she heard him murmur hoarsely to himself, "Then let's change locations."
The scorching heat traveled downward.
Past her chin, her neck, and further down.
It was the tail end of summer, and Zhou Wan only wore a thin short-sleeved shirt. He tugged her collar downward before the car's air conditioning could cool her skin, replaced instead by an even more searing heat.
Zhou Wan's eyes widened involuntarily as she let out a whimper, pushing against Lu Xixiao's shoulders. "Lu Xixiao, someone might see..."
"No they won't. Can't see from outside."
"..."
The temperature in the car kept rising.
In the end, after straightening Zhou Wan's clothes, he pulled out a tissue and meticulously wiped his fingers, his voice slightly hoarse as he muttered to himself, "Need to keep some condoms in the car next time."
"..."
They hadn't gone all the way, yet it felt like they'd done everything.
Zhou Wan's face burned with heat, further inflamed by his words. She directly pulled open the car door, her legs still weak. Barely managing to stand, she slammed the door shut with a "bang" and headed toward the elevator.
Watching her reaction, Lu Xixiao couldn't help but laugh aloud. He followed her out of the car, calling after her, "Wanwan."
She didn't stop walking.
Lu Xixiao caught up and wrapped his arm around her neck, pulling her into his embrace. "Angry?"
Zhou Wan refused to look at him. "Don't talk to me."
"Really angry, huh." Lu Xixiao leaned in to kiss her cheek. "I just couldn't help myself for a moment. I was wrong."
Though apologizing, he sounded utterly insincere.
Zhou Wan ultimately couldn't bring herself to truly stay angry with him, though she still felt awkward and didn't want to recall what had just happened. Her face flushed repeatedly. While her steps slowed, she still didn't want to speak to him.
"Really ignoring me?"
Lu Xixiao wrapped his arms around her waist and said seriously, "I think you lied to me before."
Hearing this, Zhou Wan finally looked up at him. "About what?"
"You said you've liked me since freshman year of high school." Lu Xixiao shamelessly counted on his fingers. "That's eight or nine years of liking me, yet you're still giving me the cold shoulder."
He was back to his old tricks, falsely accusing her and making up nonsense.
Zhou Wan pouted. "Who told you to act like that?"
"Just wanted to reward you for working so hard to drive me back." He drawled lazily, his tone teasing and mischievous. "Wasn't it comfortable?"
"It wasn't."
"Then why did you..."
Zhou Wan stopped walking, cutting off what he was about to say. "Lu Xixiao!"
His laughter vibrated through his chest, his narrow eyes curving slightly. "Yeah?"
"If you keep this up, tonight I'll—"
"You'll what?"
"I'll sleep on the sofa."
"..."
He'd seen girls get angry and make their boyfriends sleep on the sofa, but never one threatening to sleep there herself.
Teasing Zhou Wan was truly entertaining. Lu Xixiao had enjoyed teasing her back in their school days, and even after all these years, it remained just as fun.
"Alright." Lu Xixiao nodded. "Then let's try it on the sofa."
"..."
Zhou Wan had been tolerating him all this time, holding back again and again, but now she truly couldn't take it anymore.
How could someone be this infuriating?
His mind contained nothing but dirty thoughts all day long.
"Lu Xixiao." Her face flushed as she spoke with utmost seriousness.
"Hmm?""From now until tomorrow night, let's not speak at all."
"......"
In the following period, both Zhou Wan and Lu Xixiao were very busy with work.
Zhou Wan had now become the most representative interview host at the newspaper, frequently appearing on camera, and occasionally being assigned to television station events as well.
She continuously received numerous offers from other newspapers or TV stations, but Zhou Wan declined them all.
She wasn't particularly career-driven by nature, thoroughly enjoyed her current work content and environment, and got along exceptionally well with her colleagues, so she couldn't be bothered to change to a new setting.
The editor-in-chief valued her highly and had even raised her salary several times.
By early October, during the National Day holiday, they finally got seven days off.
Zhou Wan and Lu Xixiao had bought plane tickets in advance and decided to travel.
This was their first long-distance trip together. Zhou Wan felt both anticipation and excitement, packing her luggage early and waking up at dawn the next day to go to the airport with Lu Xixiao.
Once seated on the plane, Lu Xixiao turned to look at her: "So happy?"
"Yeah." Zhou Wan's eyes curved into crescents, sparkling. "It's been a long time since I traveled, and it's with you."
Since Zhou Jun passed away, Zhou Wan hadn't taken a proper vacation.
She was still young back then, and now her memories had blurred, to the point where she couldn't even clearly recall the places she'd visited.
Lu Xixiao paused for a moment, then took her hand: "From now on, we'll travel together every year."
"Okay." She smiled.
...
Their chosen destination was a small southern city, a coastal tourist town with blue skies, white clouds, and exceptionally beautiful scenery. The sun wasn't too harsh that day, and the breeze carried just the right amount of warmth.
After dropping their luggage at the hotel, they went out to find food.
They headed to the snack street highly recommended online, strolled from one end to the other, ate quite a bit, and filled their stomachs.
"Want to go to the beach?" Lu Xixiao asked.
"Yeah."
It was just evening, with the sunset sinking.
Warm orange sunlight painted the horizon. Looking out over the sea into the distance, a huge sun hung mid-air, half-obscured by mist and clouds, creating a scene as dreamy as something from a comic book.
The beach was crowded with couples and families of three.
Lu Xixiao wore casual white top and black pants, his figure tall and relaxed. The sunset cast on his profile, sharp and striking, as if he'd returned to his youthful days.
Watching him, Zhou Wan's heartbeat quickened slightly, and she picked up her phone to take a picture of him.
Hearing the shutter sound, he turned his head and raised an eyebrow: "What's up?"
Zhou Wan showed him the photo.
Lu Xixiao smiled, opened his phone's front camera, and took a selfie with Zhou Wan.
The background of the photo was the sand and sea.
The light had dimmed further, showing a misty purple hue between dusk and night.
Zhou Wan inexplicably thought of the blue sea in California.
"Lu Xixiao," she said softly, looking at him, "Can we say we've seen the ocean together now?"
"Yeah."
He understood what she was thinking, his voice gentle. "We have decades ahead of us. We'll see all the scenery together. Those years we were apart don't matter—we'll make up for them all."
Zhou Wan blinked slowly.
Because of his words, the small void in her heart seemed to be filled again, and the slight melancholy she'd felt moments earlier vanished completely.
The sky grew darker.
As they prepared to leave the beach, they noticed a crowd gathered on a bridge not far away.
"Want to go check it out?" Lu Xixiao asked.
"Yeah."Approaching closer, they noticed the words "Lovers' Bridge" carved on a stone at one end of the bridge.
Many couples had gathered there, with countless locks and heart-shaped wooden cards hanging densely on the iron netting of the bridge.
Such attractions could be found in many places.
On ordinary days, people might dismiss them as gullibility traps or nonsense. But when you truly have someone you love and visit such a place together, you can’t help but indulge in what you once considered foolish acts.
Zhou Wan and Lu Xixiao also bought a lock and two wooden cards.
Zhou Wan picked up a pen, thought for a moment, and wrote on her card: "August 15, 2013, Lu Xixiao, Beautiful dream come true."
On that summer day of August 15, 2013, she had seen Lu Xixiao for the first time. She had thought it would remain a dream known only to her, never imagining that one day her beautiful dream would actually come true.
Lu Xixiao threaded both cards through the lock’s ring, passing them through and securing them.
Zhou Wan crouched down, turning on her phone’s flashlight to see what Lu Xixiao had written.
His handwriting was fluid, slightly cursive, yet each stroke was deliberate and forceful, with clear, sharp edges.
—Zhou Wan, spend every year and every day with me from now on.
Zhou Wan’s eyes welled up with warmth.
Then, a soft splash echoed—the sound of something falling into the water.
She looked up and saw Lu Xixiao tossing the key into the sea.
He glanced down at her, his pupils illuminated by the dim yellow light, his expression gentle yet resolute: "No one can ever open this lock again."
Zhou Wan swallowed softly and replied earnestly, "Okay."
Lu Xixiao looked into her eyes and instantly understood which statement her "okay" was answering.
—Zhou Wan, spend every year and every day with me from now on.
—Okay.
The reply she had once been too afraid to give, she had finally offered now.
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