In April, pale pink rambler roses wove a floral tapestry along the iron railings encircling the residential area.
Aoxing's return-to-work notice also landed in every employee's inbox.
It took Cen Jin a full week to readjust to the normal work rhythm. The lingering effects of the long break manifested in every aspect, especially when it came to three meals a day.
It was evident that Li Wu's home-cooked meals had spoiled her palate and appetite. No matter how she tried, the company's buffet just didn't sit right—cold and devoid of the warmth of a homemade meal.
One noon, as she poked at the standardized combination of dishes on her plate with a fork, her distaste grew. She couldn't help but open WeChat and message Li Wu, hoping to quench her thirst by thinking of plums.
Cen Jin: What did you have for lunch today? Send me a picture.
Li Wu: Noodles. Already finished.
Cen Jin: Why didn't you cook?
Li Wu: You're not home.
Cen Jin: Cooking isn't just for me. You need to eat too. Plain noodles have no nutrition.
Li Wu: ...Mm.
Cen Jin: I miss your cooking.
Li Wu: Don't you have food there?
Cen Jin sent a photo of her meal tray.
Li Wu: Looks pretty good.
Cen Jin: Can't compare to what you make.
Li Wu replied with a primitive grinning emoji, seemingly quite pleased by her praise.
Cen Jin teased: Your chatting style has the charm of my dad's [Grin][Grin]
Li Wu: Not really.
Cen Jin, left speechless, changed the subject to his school: Has your teacher notified you when classes will resume?
Li Wu said: Probably after Labor Day.
Cen Jin: Alright, hurry up and get back to school.
Li Wu: ?
Cen Jin: I can't stand seeing someone leisurely enjoying life at home while I'm working hard.
Li Wu: I attended online classes too.
His tone sounded deeply wronged, but Cen Jin brushed it off absentmindedly: Oh, oh, you've worked hard, little brother.
Li Wu: ...
Cen Jin stiffened: What does the ellipsis mean?
Li Wu: Nothing.
Cen Jin: Explain it.
Li Wu truly was a loyal fan of primitive emojis: [Smile]
Cen Jin could tolerate it no longer: Keep using emojis like that and no girl will like you.
Li Wu: Then what should I use?
Cen Jin: Don't use emojis.
Li Wu: Okay.
Cen Jin's professional habits kicked in: Please restate the specific meaning of the ellipsis.
Li Wu: Didn't know how to reply but had to reply to you.
Cen Jin detected a hint of coercion: I didn't force you.
Li Wu: It's my own habit.
Perhaps his answer was too sincere and straightforward, but Cen Jin's heart suddenly trembled, like a marble slipping away. In that slight yet abnormal sense of weightlessness, she found herself at a loss for words.
In the end, she said nothing, only replying with a seemingly flawless emoji: [Grin]
Thus ending the conversation.
Li Wu smiled, flipped his phone face down, and was about to focus entirely on his lecture notes when he paused. He turned the phone back over, opened WeChat, and savored today's chat.
During their three months together day and night, he had sensed Cen Jin gradually becoming more at ease and relaxed around him, no longer straining to maintain a certain posture or image. Though she still enjoyed verbally teasing him, it was mostly playful banter. Stripped of pretense, she was a contradictory yet perfectly self-consistent existence—mature yet naive, meticulous yet casual, possessing a soft sharpness like light seen through squinted eyes.
Li Wu imagined her for a moment, then calmed himself and focused on completing all the assignments his teacher had given for the day.
Putting away his notes, he returned to the kitchen and began rummaging around. Finally, from the top shelf of the cabinet, he retrieved a plain white thermal lunchbox.After thoroughly washing and confirming the lunchbox was undamaged, Li Wu began cleaning the ingredients, slicing and dicing them into strips and sections. After a round of frying, sautéing, simmering, and stewing, everything was ready by a little past six in the evening. He carefully packed the three dishes and one soup into the insulated container without spilling a drop.
The delivery rider he’d pre-ordered arrived just then. Li Wu tightly secured the bag and handed it over, repeatedly reminding him, "It’s for Aoxing Advertising in Jiuli Tower. Don’t deliver it to the wrong place."
At that time, Cen Jin was in a meeting, brainstorming with her colleagues. Everyone was enthusiastically tossing ideas back and forth.
Suddenly, a colleague knocked on the door and called out loudly, "Cen Jin, there’s a food delivery for you!"
Cen Jin turned around in confusion.
The account executive shouted again, "I’ll leave it on your desk!" The others in the room immediately teased her for being sneaky—while everyone else was starving and burning brainpower, she had secretly ordered food for herself.
Cen Jin threw her hands up in protest, "It wasn’t me!"
After the meeting ended, Cen Jin returned to her workstation to find only a tightly wrapped cylindrical object, with no indication of what was inside.
She unwrapped it layer by layer, finally revealing a pristine white lunchbox.
She froze for a moment, quickly guessing where it had come from, and took out her phone to check. Sure enough, there was a delivery notification message—the pickup location was her own residential complex.
A slight smile touched Cen Jin’s lips. She set her phone aside, lifted out the lunchbox, and opened the lid.
A fresh, savory aroma wafted out—a familiar scent.
"Wow, that smells amazing—what is it?" Lù Qíqí, drawn by the smell, wheeled over in her office chair.
Cen Jin didn’t answer, simply sat back down, and arranged the individual food containers in a neat row on her desk.
At the bottom layer was a soup—pork rib with winter melon, rich and creamy in color, still steaming hot.
Cen Jin raised an eyebrow slightly and searched for the utensils. The chopsticks and spoon were carefully wrapped in tissue paper. Unwrapping them, she found they were her everyday favorites.
In that moment, only one thought crossed Cen Jin’s mind, a five-word mantra: Damn, I didn’t raise him for nothing.
Lù Qíqí, like a curious hamster, sniffed around beside her, "This isn’t takeout, is it? It doesn’t look like it."
Cen Jin held up her phone to take a photo, unable to suppress her smile, "It was sent from home."
"Your family is so nice! My parents couldn’t care less about me."
"Yeah, right?"
Lù Qíqí pleaded, "Can I have a bite?"
Cen Jin hovered her hand over the food and generously offered her a chopstickful of potato and fatty beef.
"Wow!" Lù Qíqí’s eyes lit up, "It’s so delicious!"
Not satisfied, she held up her spoon and begged, "I want a sip of the soup too, please~"
"Go ahead, go ahead." Cen Jin had always been soft-hearted toward such pitiful creatures.
After Lù Qíqí floated away contentedly, Cen Jin took out her phone again and sent a message to Li Wu while scooping rice into her mouth.
She sent him the photo she had taken: Thanks to you, my dinner standards have skyrocketed tonight, and the benefits have even spread to those around me.
Li Wu asked: Is the food still warm?
Cen Jin: It’s still very hot.
Li Wu: Mm.
He added: Don’t forget to bring the lunchbox and utensils back after work.
Cen Jin: Ok.
Warmth spread through her heart, much like the heat at the bottom of the soup container: Also, thank you.
Li Wu: No need. I have to eat too.
Cen Jin smiled knowingly: Oh.
Unable to resist, she sent a head-pat emoji, rubbing and nuzzling. What an understanding, thoughtful treasure—his cuteness was going to be the death of her.
Li Wu didn’t reply immediately.
Worried that his daily efforts might interfere with his studies, Cen Jin added a reminder: Just this once. Don’t make a habit of it.
Li Wu asked: Why?
Cen Jin: Your main job is being a student, not a chef. Please focus on your primary responsibilities.He declared: "I only started cooking after finishing my homework."
Cen Jin had three new ideas a day: "What if next time's homework is so much that it takes a whole day? Would you still squeeze in time to cook? Although I'm grateful and happy, I'd still feel pressured."
Li Wu fell silent, then murmured dejectedly: "Oh."
After eating her fill, Cen Jin took the lunchbox and utensils to wash them briefly in the restroom. After tidying up, she took out a wet wipe to clean her hands before starting to edit photos.
They were the pictures of the meal Li Wu had brought.
His approach to cooking mirrored his dedication to studies - pursuing perfection. The color combinations were excellent, requiring little filter enhancement. Even posting the original photos directly on social media would garner plenty of likes and praise.
Still, Cen Jin made slight adjustments to saturation and brightness to show her appreciation before posting it with the caption: "Being nurtured in return."
Others didn't know she had adopted a child, so they couldn't decipher the meaning behind the photo and caption.
But those close to her could mostly guess, let alone the person involved.
Soon enough, Li Wu liked the post.
A while later, an unexpected WeChat message popped up.
It was from Wu Fu. Cen Jin's expression stiffened as she read his text: "Congratulations, your headphone advertisement is brilliant."
Cen Jin smirked, instinctively wanting to respond with some sarcastic remarks to assert superiority. But reason told her that would be petty and unbecoming. In the end, thousands of words condensed into just two: "Thanks."
Wu Fu asked: "How are things at Aoxing?"
Cen Jin replied: "Not bad."
Wu Fu said: "I saw you before the New Year, at Jiuli Building. I happened to have business there."
Cen Jin: "When?"
Wu Fu: "New Year's Eve. You were sitting by the window with that kid."
Cen Jin thought for a moment: "Oh."
Wu Fu asked: "How is he?"The combative side of Cen Jin suddenly lost control: 'Is he your biological son?""
Wu Fu: "Asking about him was just small talk."
Cen Jin: "None of your business."
Wu Fu remained calm: "I know. Relax, I only contacted you today to congratulate you."
...
After exiting the chat, Cen Jin considered deleting Wu Fu but ultimately refrained. The best dignity after separation was indifference. No matter what, she had to adhere to this principle and force herself to see it through.
The warm feeling from the comforting hot meal had been completely ruined by her ex-husband's intrusion. Cen Jin rubbed her temples and continued working overtime in low spirits.
―
By late April, spring flowers bloomed abundantly as the education bureau finally confirmed the school reopening date.
On May 6th, Yi High School students returned to campus. The long-deserted island of a school was once again filled with the forest of students, bustling with the vibrant energy it deserved.
Though students still had to wear masks during classes, the obscured lower faces gave everyone a novel feeling when looking at each other. After the first class ended, Li Wu sat upright at his desk reading. Cheng Rui came to bother him as usual, studying him for a while before asking: "Li Wu, you seem much fairer."
Li Wu glanced up: "Really?"
"Yeah," Cheng Rui pulled down his mask, pointing cheerfully at himself: "Look at me, have I gotten fairer from being covered up?"
Li Wu examined him carefully: "Doesn't seem like it."
"Damn, can't you say something nice? You're dark too, dark dark dark forever dark," he snapped in embarrassment.
Li Wu: "..."
This semester was extremely compressed, so Li Wu didn't dare slack off. He studied with great urgency, completely ignoring everything else around him.In this class now, aside from Cheng Rui, no one else had formed a deep bond with him. The main reason wasn't the incident from last semester, but their unspoken understanding that this transfer student wouldn't remain in their group for long. He was different from them—most of them had solid backing and room for mistakes in life, while his relentless drive came with extremism and obsession, leaving him no alternatives.
He was like a sudden flash of starlight, a fleeting white steed, leaving behind only a brief yet stunning afterimage.
After the final exams of the next semester, the stars shone brightly, and the white horse neighed.
Li Wu's photo and name were prominently displayed in the 17th position on the second-year honors board.
The young man's face was stern, gazing straight ahead as if already envisioning broader horizons and greater worlds.
A transfer student from an ordinary class displaying such fierce momentum was unprecedented at Yi High School. Even the typically arrogant honors class students rushed to catch a glimpse.
Li Wu had made a name for himself overnight, destined to become the talk of teachers, students, and parents over the summer, often met with exclamations of amazement.
On the day results were announced, after the crowd dispersed, Teacher Zhang called him to her office for a final farewell before his class promotion, hoping to offer him wishes for the future.
But when she actually saw Li Wu, she was so moved she nearly lost her words.
Perhaps it was because he was too composed, too worry-free—this flawlessness made him seem less like a pure child and more like an impeccable template with no room for error.
Yet when she spoke, she still used the affectionate term "child."
She said, "Child, I've been teaching for almost twenty years, and I've truly rarely, rarely encountered a student as worry-free as you. I've mentored students who made it to Tsinghua and Peking University, but for some reason, your progress seems to make me prouder than theirs, and it also makes me more reluctant to let you go."
She glanced at the bright window: "But you must keep moving forward. I'll only accompany you to this crossroads. Your world will grow larger, your paths will multiply, and there may be more hardships and obstacles ahead. But you must believe that knowledge is as impartial as sunlight—it falls on beautiful roofs and warms broken walls alike. So never stop learning, never give up on it. Learning will keep you confident and full of conviction; it will be your wings."
Teacher Zhang's eyes reddened slightly: "You were brought to me by Director Qi, and now I must return you to him. I hope this time next year, I can still be sitting here, as an old friend who always cares for you, hearing you personally tell me of your outstanding college entrance exam results."
Li Wu felt a lump in his throat. He took a deep breath, faced his mentor, and bowed deeply.
Teacher Zhang wiped her eyes and smiled as she saw him off: "Go on."
Li Wu enunciated clearly, "Thank you, teacher," before leaving the office.
It was an afternoon in July.
The sun blazed high, and the world was radiant.
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