Yun Li took a photo, tucked the cardholder into her pocket, and started the car. She drove around the neighborhood a few times. It was her first time driving this model, and the feeling of pressing the accelerator was completely different from her previous driving experiences.
Yun Li didn’t recognize car brands, but based on just a few minutes behind the wheel, she could tell this was a mid-to-high-end vehicle.
She had always thought Fu Shize came from a well-off family, but Xia Congsheng had mentioned his parents were both professors at West Science and Technology University. Her perception of his financial background had been limited to the idea of a modest scholar’s upbringing.
As soon as she stepped inside, she received a message from Fu Shize saying he had arrived in Yihe.
Yun Li cropped the photo of the cardholder to show only the portrait and sent it to Fu Shize: [This person seems kinda good-looking.]
Fu Shize: [Mhm.]
She sent a photo of herself: [What about this one?]
When Fu Shize received the message, he could easily picture her deliberately fishing for compliments on the other end. In the photo, she was holding Dui Dui, who had slipped halfway down, looking up at the camera with a smile. He saved the photo locally and typed two words: [Good-looking.]
Before they could exchange more words, Yun Li received a new friend request. The profile picture was an oil-painting-style landscape of mountains and sea, and the sender had left a note: Yin Yucheng.
Her first instinct was—Yun Ye must have caused trouble again.
After accepting the request, Yun Li stared at their chat interface, torn over whether she should greet him first. Greeting him would mean committing to further conversation…
Yin Yucheng didn’t give her the chance: [Hi, Yun Li. This is Yin Yucheng. Yun Yi received a New Year’s postcard from your brother these past couple days.]
He also attached a screenshot of part of the postcard’s contents: [Yun Ye will be visiting his sister in Nanwu this winter break, and then, as a representative of our Class 15, he’ll meet you ^^]
He even added his own commentary: [Your brother’s pretty smooth with girls.]
[Kinda jealous.]
"……"
Yun Li was speechless. Last time, they had both criticized Yin Yucheng for snooping on the postcard, yet Yun Ye still had the audacity to blatantly write about coming to Nanwu to see Yin Yunyi.
She was more concerned about Yun Ye’s brain.
How was he supposed to date anyone with that kind of thinking?
Yin Yucheng got straight to the point: [Before they meet, would you be free to talk in person sometime? I’m not in Nanwu right now, but I’ll let you know when I’m back.]
It didn’t sound like he was giving her much room to refuse.
After all, their family’s pig was trying to dig up the other side’s cabbage.
Yun Li sighed and replied with a single "Okay."
She switched back to her chat with Fu Shize, but he hadn’t sent any new messages. During her afternoon class, Yun Li checked her phone several times, intentionally or not, but still saw nothing from him.
It wasn’t that her life wasn’t fulfilling. Her classes weren’t easy—on the contrary, the formulas and diagrams were quite complex. After class, she still had to buy groceries and cook. In the evening, she had homework to finish. And there were still videos she hadn’t edited.
Yun Li kept her days packed.
But seeing the last message timestamped hours ago gave her a sense of… dispensability, a vague feeling of loss.
She wanted to monopolize his world.
Without hesitation, Yun Li sent him a meaningless sticker—three bears of different colors standing neatly in two rows, their expressions blank.
Fu Shize didn’t reply. An hour later, she sent another sticker—the same three bears, just rearranged.
A while later, her phone buzzed.
[In a meeting.]
Eager for his attention, Yun Li would occasionally spam Fu Shize with stickers—all of which she had scavenged online. Whenever he had time, he’d reply with a few words.After returning to her apartment from evening classes, Yun Li took the initiative to make a video call. Within seconds, Fu Shize answered, his face appearing on the screen against what looked like a hotel room backdrop. He pushed aside a half-opened takeout bag.
Having just returned to the hotel after work, he looked tired but still focused his attention on the camera.
"You're having dinner really late," Yun Li remarked, knowing he had stomach issues. She suggested, "After you return to Nanwu, we could have dinner together."
Fu Shize: "Mm. When?"
Yun Li thought for a moment: "If I'm free, I could cook for you."
"If you're willing, I could cook for you every day." After saying this, she seemed to realize she was being too forward and quickly added, as if to save face, "Though it might be a bit of a loss for me—but you are my boyfriend."
"So, what do you think? Would that be okay?"
Fu Shize listened patiently to her rambling, her expression as serious as if they were discussing state secrets. He set his phone on the edge of the sink and casually replied, "Mm."
This way, they could see each other every day.
Not bad.
Fu Shize washed his hands and returned to the table, moving the phone farther away so the takeout box could fit into the frame. He unwrapped the food and began eating slowly, his gaze no longer returning to the camera.
His relaxed demeanor put Yun Li at ease, and she brought up how Tang Lin had mentioned Fu Zhengchu winning the basketball tournament earlier that day. Naturally, she asked, "How's your stamina?"
"......"
After a long pause, Fu Shize replied, "No need to worry."
The person on the screen looked innocently into the camera, seemingly oblivious to any underlying meaning in the question. Fu Shize chuckled, opened the soup container, glanced up at her briefly, then lowered his eyes again.
As if he found her exasperating.
Just a few exchanged glances, yet Yun Li's heart raced wildly. She shifted onto the bed, resting her face against the pillow, and asked, "My classmate saw you today and told me you're good-looking. Next time, can I just tell her you're my boyfriend?"
Fu Shize looked up, wiping the corner of his mouth with a tissue. "Otherwise?" He set his chopsticks down and leaned back in his chair. "Friends?"
Meeting his gaze, Yun Li recalled how, on their way back from the guesthouse that day, he hadn’t hesitated in front of Xu Qingsong and Fu Zhengchu. To be precise, Fu Shize had never really cared about others' opinions.
Maybe she was the one overthinking things.
"Friends is fine too," he answered calmly, as if talking to himself. "Say whatever you want. Don’t hold back because of me."
By the time he finished eating, half an hour had passed. Yun Li browsed E-Station for a while, where a trending topic featured a replay of past snowy landscapes in Nanwu’s suburbs. She stared at it for a long time—after all, as a true southerner, she’d never seen snow before.
Fu Shize got up to clean up. Yun Li noticed his white dress shirt tucked into his trousers, the loose fabric and cinched waistline swaying slightly in the frame, giving her a fleeting glimpse of his waist.
"......"
His voice came through: "It’s going to snow in Nanwu in a couple of days."
Snapping out of it, Yun Li saw his face had returned close to the screen. "Going to take out the trash," he said.
Then he briefly disappeared from view.She checked her phone and saw that heavy snow was forecast for Nanwu in the coming days. Having never seen snow before, Yun Li was thrilled by the news. When Fu Shize returned to his seat, she excitedly talked to him about how they could film videos and the themes they could explore. Though he wasn’t well-versed in video production, he listened attentively, his gaze fixed calmly on the camera.
“—But there’s one problem.”
Fu Shize tilted his head slightly. “What?”
She brought up something completely unrelated to video-making: “It feels like we don’t chat often enough.”
“…”
Fu Shize glanced at her a few times.
Yun Li seemed to have tossed out the remark on a whim, quickly shifting the topic to Yun Ye. She rambled on about gift-giving and his plans to visit Nanwu during winter break, slipping back into her chatty, sisterly mode.
Fu Shize occasionally responded with a word or two, but otherwise, he simply listened quietly, his eyes downcast.
Yun Li didn’t even realize how much she’d been talking until she laughed in frustration. “I feel like I’m just Yun Ye’s errand girl. He’s so straightforward—doesn’t he worry about scaring the girl off?”
The moment the words left her mouth, Fu Shize shot her a look.
It dawned on Yun Li belatedly that Yun Ye’s approach wasn’t all that different from hers. In fact—she’d been even more direct. It was as if she’d just indirectly called herself out.
Just as she was scrambling to backtrack, Fu Shize suddenly said, “He’s like you.” After a pause, he added, “I doubt any girl would want to turn him down.”
“Well, my brother might be a little annoying sometimes, but he’s still pretty cute.” Yun Li took the opportunity to praise Yun Ye. “He doesn’t know I’m in a relationship yet. If he finds out, he’ll probably beg me for a red envelope.”
Fu Shize tilted his head slightly.
“Or he might beg you.”
“…”
Having witnessed the siblings’ dynamic firsthand back in West Fuling—along with the forbidden fruit they’d sneaked a taste of—Fu Shize remarked casually, “When we go back, help me stock up on some strawberries.”
After Yun Li agreed, Fu Shize asked offhandedly, “What’s her brother’s name?”
She hesitated before answering truthfully, “Yin Yucheng.”
“…”
Noticing his sudden silence, Yun Li asked, “Am I not allowed to meet other guys alone?”
Without batting an eye, he lied through his teeth. “It’s fine.”
Only later did Yun Li realize what he’d really meant—It’s fine, as long as I’m there too.
The next day, Yun Li headed to work after getting ready. With the busiest season over, the office had become so idle that she could practically grow mold. Every day, she’d see Qin Haifeng, a senior employee, playing Fight the Landlord at his desk.
The storage compartment in the break room still held the coffee beans Fu Shize had bought—they’d already gone through one and a half bags. Yun Li brewed herself a cup, inhaling the rich aroma.
Though bitter at first sip, she could now detect the chocolatey notes in the flavor.
He’d chosen chocolate because of her.
The thought struck her uncontrollably—perhaps Fu Shize had been paying attention to her far earlier than she’d imagined.
She hadn’t been idle at her desk for long before Fang Yuning assigned her to assist with recruitment interviews. As someone who’d always dreaded interviews, her first reaction to the task was sheer dread. Yun Li spent most of her energy learning how to conduct interviews properly.
Despite being busy, she found herself receiving messages from Fu Shize every hour or so—something that had never happened before.
Awake.
Had breakfast.
Meeting someone.
Had lunch.
Meeting someone.
Back at the hotel.Each message was concise, just a few words, yet they came more than twice as frequently as before. Yun Li could only reply when she had a spare moment, but that didn't slow his messaging pace.
Last night, she had casually mentioned something—he did care about what she said, even if he didn’t show it.
Feeling a bit bold, Yun Li forwarded a Q&A from a platform to him: ["Why does my boyfriend never use emojis in texts? Is he pretending to be aloof?"] After sending it offhandedly, Fang Yuning assigned her to act as an NPC at the experience center. Today, a large group of high school students happened to visit the VR experience hall.
She hurried over and only checked her phone an hour or two later.
The notification bar showed that Fu Shize had replied with an emoji.
He must have seen the Q&A she forwarded. Before this, his replies had always been purely text. When she tapped to open it, her fingers froze.
It was that emoji she had accidentally sent—the one with the words "Be my wife" written on it. The clenched fist now pointed at her, sending her heart rate skyrocketing.
She pressed the side button to turn off the screen and clutched the phone tightly to her chest, unable to contain the overwhelming emotions surging inside her.
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