That night, Cen Jin didn't sleep well and woke from a dream a little after six.
She rolled over, stretching out her arm to hug the person beside her, but only felt an empty space. Her heart sank as she realized Li Wu was no longer in the room.
Cen Jin quickly got out of bed to look for him.
The hallway was dark, with only a bit of warm light filtering in from the direction of the living room.
Following the light, Cen Jin found Li Wu in the kitchen. He was sitting at the dining table under a single pendant light, his head bowed as he wrote in fits and starts, looking as focused as if he were answering an exam.
He was completely oblivious to Cen Jin, who had been watching him for a long time from a dark corner at the end of the hall.
Wearing her slippers, Cen Jin tiptoed over to him. He still didn't notice, his brows tightly furrowed.
It wasn't until her long, slender shadow fell across the densely written page that Li Wu abruptly looked up and hastily covered the notebook.
Cen Jin didn't try to grab it, only asking, "What are you doing? Catching up on homework?"
The young man pressed his elbow on the cover, his attempt to hide it only making it more obvious. "No."
"Then what?"
Li Wu thought for a moment and decided not to hide it from her. "I'm afraid I won't be able to speak when I see your aunt and uncle, so I wanted to sort out my thoughts first."
Cen Jin couldn't help but laugh. "Are you writing a thesis? You even drafted an outline."
Li Wu rubbed the back of his head with his hand, a little abashed. "Not really."
Fine, fortune favors the prepared. Cen Jin brushed his hair, like stroking a patch of grassy turf. "Do you need my advice?"
"No, if you advise me, it'll be like cheating," Li Wu said, standing up. He still kept a protective hand on his outline, as if afraid Cen Jin would launch a surprise attack. "I made porridge. I'll go get you a bowl."
Cen Jin didn't insist. "I haven't brushed my teeth yet."
"Brush them after you eat."
"Alright."
With that, she turned and walked toward the kitchen counter. Li Wu followed, and as soon as he was close, his arms wrapped around her waist, sticking to her every step of the way.
Dragging a big clinger behind her, Cen Jin's steps were no longer smooth. The third time she bumped into Li Wu's shin, she threw a punch at his abdomen, telling him to move.
It was like an ant's tickle. Li Wu didn't budge an inch, instead holding her even tighter. He leaned in close to her ear and asked, "Have your aunt and uncle contacted you?"
Cen Jin stopped in front of the rice cooker and tilted her head. "I haven't checked my phone yet."
"Check it," he urged.
Cen Jin smiled. "What, are you nervous?"
"Yeah." He had no idea what to expect.
Li Wu sought her advice. "How are you not nervous?"
Cen Jin was perfectly composed. "I am nervous."
"I can't tell at all."
"What's done is done." Cen Jin picked up a bowl. "We can only let nature take its course."
Li Wu was on pins and needles. "Hurry up and turn on your phone to see."
Cen Jin scoffed. "Weren't you so brave just a few hours ago? What happened to that reckless, ready-to-live-and-die-with-me spirit?"
"I'm afraid they'll worry if they can't find you."
Cen Jin sniffed the aroma of the multigrain porridge. "Didn't my dad exchange numbers with you? Did he call you?"
Li Wu scratched his head. "That's the thing. He didn't."
The complete and utter calm made him even more frantic. He would rather Cen Jin's parents state their position immediately so he could tackle it head-on.
Cen Jin also found it strange, so she took her phone out of her pocket. The moment she pressed the side button, the young man behind her whipped his head away, wanting to look but not daring to.
Cen Jin glanced at him. "Do you know what you look like right now?"
Li Wu looked back, his face full of curiosity. "What?"
"Like when I was a kid and had to get my blood drawn at the hospital. I didn't dare look at the needle, just like you."
"If it were just that, I wouldn't be afraid."
The young man looked to the heavens and let out a long sigh, as if awaiting judgment from fate. The next moment, he stared straight back at Cen Jin's lit-up screen, ready to face the music.
A few seconds later, the two of them stared at each other.
Cen Jin's phone was equally quiet. There wasn't even a text notification for missed calls while her phone was off.
Puzzled, Cen Jin opened WeChat.
Her chat list was bustling, her social life having reached an all-time peak overnight. There were close contacts and casual acquaintances. Some offered sincere congratulations, while others used blessings as a cover for prying into her private life.
Amidst the flood of messages, Cen Jin spotted her father's WeChat at a glance. He had only sent a simple invitation, his tone gentle:
"Jin Jin, are you free to have lunch with Dad tomorrow? Just the two of us." There was even a small smiley face at the end.
The time was 12:43 AM.
Cen Jin's nose tingled. Her dad had always maintained a healthy routine, usually going to bed before eleven. It seemed he had suffered from insomnia last night, all because of his willful, impulsive daughter.
But he hadn't lashed out with furious questions right away.
Cen Jin then checked the likes and comments and saw that her dad had even liked the photo of her and Li Wu.
She stared at her father's small profile picture, her eyes welling up. Then she turned to look at the silent Li Wu, her voice slightly choked. "Hey."
Li Wu, who had witnessed the whole thing, slowly let go of her and stood up straight, not saying a word.
Cen Jin sniffled. "You don't mind if I have lunch alone with my dad, do you?"
Li Wu shook his head.
His suddenly solemn expression was adorable. Cen Jin broke into a teary smile and pinched his chin a couple of times. "Why so serious all of a sudden?"
Li Wu said, "Reply to your uncle first."
"Oh." Cen Jin lowered her gaze and typed back: Of course, that's okay.
Before she could put her phone down, a new message came in: Don't tell little Wu. I'm afraid he'll overthink it and assume I'm going to talk bad about him to you.
Cen Jin: "..."
Li Wu: "..."
Cen Jin smiled faintly and typed the word "I won't."
Just as she was about to send it, Li Wu stopped her. "Add one more sentence."
"What?"
"He won't think that."
Cen Jin chuckled and did as he said.
She then asked her dad: Are you still up or did you just wake up?
Cen's Father replied: Just got up.
Cen Jin knew they were both lying to each other, but she didn't expose it. This was the tacit understanding between father and daughter for thirty years.
Cen Jin asked: How's Mom?
Cen's Father said: Don't worry about her. You have Dad.
One answer, two meanings. Cen Jin's eyes filled with tears again.
Li Wu, also present, was overcome with a wave of emotions that were hard to put into words. All he could do was hug Cen Jin from behind again, gently resting his cheek against her hair, using physical tenderness to soothe them both.
After exchanging good mornings with her father, Cen Jin placed her phone back on the counter and nestled against his chest, not wanting to move. "Well? Do you feel a little more at ease?"
Li Wu said softly, "No."
"Even this isn't enough?"
"I feel like I'm too lacking, not even one-thousandth as good as your uncle." But it wasn't pressure; it was motivation. Li Wu vowed, "I'm going to make your uncle my role model and learn how to treat you well."
Cen Jin's eyes curved into crescents as she smiled. "You'd better not. There won't be anyone who can compare to my dad in eight hundred lifetimes."
Li Wu said, "I'm a fast learner. I'll strive to get as close as possible."
Cen Jin stopped bickering with him. "Alright, I'll be waiting to see."
...
Her father's intentions were relatively clear, so Cen Jin decided to stand by for now. She told Li Wu to go back to school for his classes, while she went to work at the company as usual.
The moment she appeared, she was greeted by the expected jeers from her colleagues.
Cen Jin sat down at her desk with a faint smile, taking all the teasing and banter in stride.
Lù Qíqí zipped over like the wind and sat down next to her, whispering, "I've finally been waiting for this day."
Cen Jin shot her a sideways glance. "Which day? The day I'm no longer single?"
"The day you went public, of course," Lù Qíqí said with a click of her tongue. "You don't really think no one could tell you were dating, do you? It was so obvious."
Cen Jin ran a hand through her hair, a little unnaturally. "Then why didn't you guys call me out on it?"
Lù Qíqí said, "Because it was inconvenient."
Cen Jin raised an eyebrow. "How was it inconvenient?"
"We were afraid asking would make you uncomfortable? I don't know how to say it," Lù Qíqí puffed up her cheeks, then let out a sharp exhale, as if she had been holding it in for a long time. "Yuan Zhen and the others and I have known about your relationship with your boyfriend for a while now."
"Huh?" Cen Jin was slightly dazed, her brow furrowing.
Lù Qíqí leaned back in her chair. "Don't you know what a big mouth your ex-husband's wife has? Someone at the company heard from her a long time ago that you were dating a college student, and that he was a poor student you used to sponsor."
Cen Jin's eyes widened in utter astonishment.
Lù Qíqí glanced toward Yuan Zhen's desk. "Ning H was the first to know, and then she secretly told us. Yuan Zhen told us not to spread it around, and especially not to go pestering you about it. She said you have a strong sense of pride and might resign and leave. She'd only just gotten her life back after you transferred to her department and didn't want to go back to how things were before."
Lù Qíqí smiled again. "We all quite like you and didn't want this to create a rift between you and everyone else."
Cen Jin's chest heaved with a long, slow breath. In that moment of relief, a smile touched her lips. "Then what were you all acting for in the comments and the group chat last night?"
"If you're going to put on a show, you have to go all the way," Lù Qíqí bared her two rows of small white teeth and grumbled, "Besides, you're clearly the better actor! We only knew you were dating someone a little unconventional. Who would have thought he was also that handsome summer intern from Meet? Yuan Zhen completely lost it when she saw the photo yesterday. She said she couldn't believe it, that she had unwittingly been a tool for your love story. She was speechless, saying you two are really good at pretending."
Cen Jin rested her cheek on her hand and pursed her lips in a smile. Finally, she asked, "Don't you guys think it's weird?"
"Gin-jie—please—" Lù Qíqí put a hand to her forehead. "We're an ad agency, not a government institution. What's so weird about it? Come shock me again when you're dating a ten-year-old."
That was true. Cen Jin deeply agreed and sighed softly. "I was overthinking it."
"You were. If you had just told us from the start, we wouldn't have had to suppress ourselves for so long."
"Thank you all for being so considerate. How about I treat you all to dinner this week?"
"Really?" Lù Qíqí's eyes lit up, and she raised her eyebrows with a grin. "Remember to bring—your present~"
Cen Jin's lips curved. "No problem."
Just as Lù Qíqí was about to leave, she stopped abruptly, turned back, and asked in a hushed voice, "Back when you first came to Aoxing, you mentioned your 'little brother' a few times. That wasn't him too, was it?"
Cen Jin thought back for a moment and nodded. "It was him."
"Damn, so it was a grooming-type relationship," Lù Qíqí pumped her fist, thoroughly impressed. "You've got skills, Jin Jin!"
The girl returned to her desk, and Cen Jin, also relieved, began to deal with her messages.
As expected, Yuan Zhen had already sent a message on WeChat, demanding an explanation: Are you even human?
Cen Jin typed out an explanation: I swear, I wasn't with him back then, and we were in a cold war over his university application choices.
Yuan Zhen: I'll believe you for now.
As a serious aficionado of younger men, Yuan Zhen's next message was about the experience: How is it? Little brothers are good, right? Little brothers are the best, right?
Cen Jin agreed: He is pretty good.
Yuan Zhen was getting ideas: Where did you sponsor this poor student little brother? I'd also like to contribute to our country's charitable causes.
Cen Jin smiled without answering, switching over to her ex-husband's WeChat. She sent a heartfelt message: Thank you, and thank your wife too.
A moment later, Wu Fu replied with a: ?
Cen Jin immediately deleted him from her friends list, hoping he would properly savor and digest this multi-layered cake of gratitude she had specially served him.
It turned out that when a person blazed a trail with a sincere heart, the entire universe would make way for her.
Feeling refreshed and invigorated, Cen Jin threw herself into her work as usual.
Just as she was smoothly communicating with a client, Yuan Zhen, not far away, suddenly let out a loud shout. It was just one word, "Fuck!"
Everyone turned to look.
Yuan Zhen scanned the room, her gaze finally landing on Cen Jin's face. She announced to everyone with a beaming smile, "The manager of Meet just messaged me on WeChat. He said Cen Jin's boyfriend is treating everyone in the company to coffee today. Anyone who wants some, please come to me to place your order."
"Whoa—"
The whole office erupted in cheers and excitement.
The boss, who had just arrived, stopped at the entrance to the workspace, completely bewildered. "What's going on? Celebrating the New Year early?"
Cen Jin sat stunned for a moment, then came to her senses and went on WeChat to interrogate Li Wu: What are you doing?
The young man played dumb: What did I do?
Cen Jin: Do you know how many people are in our company?
Li Wu: I'm a former employee. The manager is giving me a thirty percent discount.
Cen Jin: Even with a ninety percent discount, it's still a waste of money.
Li Wu: Someone in the family has to be the spendthrift. I don't want others to misunderstand you.
Cen Jin gritted her teeth: So what? I'm not done with you.
Li Wu couldn't have asked for more: Good. You'd better keep your word.
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