Leaving Yun Li's place, it was nearly one o'clock. Fu Shize stood at the door and nodded at her. Yun Li hesitated for a moment before walking up to him, reluctantly holding his hand a little longer. Noticing his bare neck, she took a scarf from the coat rack, stood on tiptoe, and wrapped it around him.
By now, she was no longer as awkward performing this gesture. Fu Shize stared at her focused eyes and unconsciously brushed his fingers against her cheek.
After standing outside for those few dozen seconds, his fingers had already turned cold.
Yun Li reminded him, "Let me know when you get home."
South River Garden was about half an hour's drive from Seven Mile Fragrant Capital. By the time he got back, it would be close to two. He thought for a moment. "You should sleep first."
Yun Li insisted, "No. I'll wait for you."
She was a night owl by nature, so losing or gaining that extra half-hour wouldn’t make much difference.
Someone waiting for him to come home—even if they weren’t physically together—gave him a peculiar feeling. The last time this had happened, Fu Shize couldn’t even remember.
His parents worked at West Science and Technology University, and he had grown up in Nanwu living with his grandparents. Later, when their health took a sharp decline, he was left alone in South River Garden.
Fu Shize got into the car and rolled down the window. Taking out a cigarette from the pack, he realized that he had spent most of the past few days with Yun Li—so much so that the same pack had lasted unusually long.
Lighting the cigarette, he could see the glow from her window. Leaning against the car window, he occasionally caught glimpses of her moving shadows inside. Tilting his head, he tracked those flickers until they disappeared from view for a while.
He snapped out of it.
Shaking off the ash, Fu Shize started the car. Not far from Seven Mile Fragrant Capital, after crossing two intersections, he slowed down.
Up ahead, the blue-haired guy Yun Li had encountered before seemed heavily drunk, clearly under the influence. At the moment, he was hugging a tree by the street, wailing like a banshee, while the burly man beside him laughed hysterically, recording the scene on his phone.
The blue-haired guy, Cen Hefeng, was Xu Qingsong’s cousin. Since childhood, he had spent his days drinking and carousing with his rowdy friends. Though not a bad person, his drunken antics had caused plenty of trouble.
The two had crossed paths before. Half a year ago, during those times Fu Shize had been dead drunk, the blue-haired guy had dutifully delivered him to Xu Qingsong’s place instead of sending him home.
Fu Shize pulled over to the side. The burly man had already contacted him earlier and made way. Fu Shize nudged the blue-haired guy, who squinted blearily before recognizing him and mumbled, "Bro, bro, don’t push me every time, man."
"Where is he?" Fu Shize cut straight to the point.
Reeking of alcohol and swaying unsteadily, the blue-haired guy tried to lunge at Fu Shize, who sidestepped without hesitation. The drunkard ended up collapsing onto the burly man but still managed to slur, "Playing street mahjong in the back alley."
The burly man added some context: "That street has surveillance. They were already caught once, but they changed their story to drunken theft and settled with the victim right away—got released immediately."
"Ze-ge, why’re you looking for this guy? Did he mess with someone you know?"
Fu Shize: "..."
The back alley was the first entertainment street in the area, packed with bars, mahjong, and other leisure activities. Without wasting words, Fu Shize headed straight for it.
The burly man tried to stop him. "Ze-ge, don’t go. Your uncle and aunt will blame us later."
Fu Shize shot him a glance and ignored him.Dragging Blue Hair along, the burly man hurried to catch up. The back street was bustling with activity. Fu Shize walked deeper into the crowd, where many were playing mahjong outdoors. His gaze fixed on a table near the edge, where a sleek silver-white gift bag sat, printed with the word "Aroma."
Blue Hair followed his line of sight and hiccuped. "That's the guy."
Fu Shize approached and stopped beside the man, who was drawing a tile and suddenly exclaimed, "Self-draw!" But no one around responded, their eyes instead locked on the figure beside him.
The man turned his head to see Fu Shize opening the gift bag, revealing only a few red bills inside. Fu Shize shook the bag twice, letting the money flutter onto the table.
The stares of the onlookers didn’t faze him. He glanced around before locking his cold gaze onto the man before him.
The oppressive atmosphere thickened as the man lit a cigarette, but Fu Shize remained motionless, his stare unrelenting.
The man, unnerved by the icy indifference, had no desire for another trip to the police station after tonight’s incident. He muttered, "What’s the deal…?"
Fu Shize: "Where’s the stuff inside?"
Someone whispered something to the man, who then hesitantly got up and rummaged through a nearby drawer, pulling out a transparent green scent diffuser. He handed it over.
The gel-like substance held a white heart at its center, emitting a grassy, citrusy fragrance. Fu Shize placed it back into the bag and left without another word.
The burly man followed Fu Shize. For over a year now, Fu Shize had frequented this place, though the man couldn’t fathom why this so-called "top student" had ended up mingling here.
Fu Shize always seemed indifferent, but when provoked, he retaliated without hesitation, unafraid of consequences.
After getting into the car, Fu Shize ignored the two in the back and drove straight to South River Garden. It was already 2 a.m., and Yun Li had sent several messages asking if he was stuck in traffic.
After replying, he returned home and lit the scent diffuser. Without turning on the lights, the room was illuminated only by the flickering flame, the fragrance slowly filling the air.
Placing the diffuser by the bedside, he sat on the bed as his phone screen lit up. He had intended to send her a goodnight message, but his gaze lingered on the lock screen, unwilling to look away.
He recalled their last kiss of the previous year—how she had eagerly pressed her tongue against his and clung tightly to him after he spoke. He downed a full glass of cold water. His phone vibrated again, and Yun Li finally remembered to ask: [You still haven’t told me your New Year’s wish!]
Yun Li fell asleep before receiving Fu Shize’s goodnight. The next morning, she woke to his wish: [My wish is for you to be well.]
The drowsiness of dawn vanished at those words. She leaped out of bed and threw open the curtains. As sunlight streamed in, she noticed the snow had almost completely melted.
The end of the semester flew by. Fu Shize frequently visited her apartment to tutor her, often cooking for her as well. Unlike most people she knew, he only needed to glance at a recipe once, relying entirely on memory—and his memory never failed.
A few weeks later, Yun Li stepped on the scale and found she had gained five pounds.
Not long after the robbery incident, news broke that the robber had been arrested. With his prior offenses, he was facing at least seven or eight years in prison.
Fu Shize spent more and more time with her—driving her to and from work, staying until she fell asleep at night, and spending nearly every weekend together.After finishing the last exam, Yun Li had no intention of going home yet because of Fu Shize's presence. She just wanted to delay her return to West Fuling as much as possible.
Remembering that her roommate Tang Lin had mentioned the High Climb Outdoor Club's routes before, Yun Li found their official account. The stargazing camping trip was scheduled for a week later, so she signed up for herself and Fu Shize.
The camping site was in the suburbs of Nanwu City, with temperatures around zero degrees Celsius.
Having never participated in such outdoor activities before, Yun Li wasn’t entirely sure what equipment was needed. She added the consultation WeChat account listed in the post and was surprised to see a familiar profile picture—it was Fu Zhengchu.
Feeling slightly awkward, she still sent a message: [Beep, your uncle and I are planning to join the stargazing camping trip.]
Fu Zhengchu: [!]
Fu Zhengchu: [Got it!]
Yun Li replied with a "hehe" emoji.
He quickly got back to business: [This trip involves outdoor camping, so you’ll need a tent and sleeping bags. My uncle probably has those at home, so you don’t need to bring yours. Couples usually share one.]
Fu Shize already had a tent and sleeping bags at South River Garden, so only Yun Li’s personal gear was missing.
They agreed to meet on Saturday at Nanwu’s largest outdoor equipment store. After getting out of the car, Fu Shize took Yun Li’s hand. As they passed the tent section in the store, Yun Li remembered Fu Zhengchu’s words and turned to ask him, "Are we sharing a tent?"
Fu Shize: "Mhm."
He seemed indifferent about it.
Which meant they would be sleeping in the same tent that night. But so far, the closest they had gotten was lying together on the same couch.
Their relationship had grown much more intimate, but it hadn’t gone beyond kissing. Yun Li’s face warmed up as she followed him to the next section.
The adjacent area was for sleeping bags. Her eyes immediately landed on the promotional family and couple sleeping bags. The couple version had a connected interior. Imagining the scenario, Yun Li’s momentarily eased nerves tensed up again. Unable to resist, she asked, "What do you usually wear to sleep?"
Fu Shize: "..."
Fu Shize: "Nothing."
Yun Li: "..."
Her mind wandered, and her cheeks flushed. Noticing her lingering gaze on the sleeping bags, Fu Shize guessed her thoughts and said helplessly, "Two sleeping bags."
So it was her mind that was full of indecent thoughts.
Feeling embarrassed, Yun Li let out a soft "oh" and leaned in to examine the couple sleeping bag more closely. The idea of two bodies nestled inside did seem rather cozy.
Seeing her hesitate, Fu Shize glanced at her: "Want to buy one?"
Yun Li: "..."
Fu Shize: "Should we get one?"
Yun Li: "..."
She immediately turned and walked toward the hiking shoes section. Not done teasing her, Fu Shize traced circles on her palm and pulled her aside.
Seeing him move closer regardless of their surroundings, Yun Li stepped back and bumped into a shelf. Glancing around, she pressed a hand against his chest and whispered shyly, "There are people..."
Fu Shize cooperatively looked around: "Don’t see any."
Yun Li: "..."
The store’s cold white lighting accentuated his sharp, cool features, but the affection in his eyes was unmistakable. Yun Li had no idea how he could say such things with that composed face. Resigned, she let go of her hand, allowing him to hold it.
He kissed the corner of her lips, and Yun Li felt a tingling sensation, her heart anticipating more—
"Uncle?"Fu Zhengchu's sudden voice made both of them freeze. Yun Li's first instinct was to find a way to escape, as if she had never been there in the first place.
She had already retreated to the corner with no more space to back away, so she could only lift her eyes and glare at him reproachfully.
"Uncle, it really is you! I saw your and Lili-jie's registration info. Are you here to buy equipment?" Fu Zhengchu's voice was already right in front of them. Yun Li found herself facing that familiar chest, which conveniently blocked her from view.
"You didn’t reply to my messages on WeChat. Even after getting into a relationship, you haven’t changed at all." Fu Zhengchu patted Fu Shize on the shoulder.
Fu Shize turned around and asked flatly, "How should I change?"
Fu Zhengchu: "..."
When he spotted the person behind Fu Shize, Fu Zhengchu dropped his teasing tone and reassured Yun Li, "Lili-jie, you don’t have to blush. Dating is a completely normal thing."
Yun Li: "..."
Yun Li changed the subject. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, I brought some people to shop." He pointed not far away, where a group had just turned the corner. Among them was her roommate Tang Lin, who hadn’t noticed Yun Li yet and headed straight for Fu Zhengchu.
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