Both the people inside and outside the door froze in surprise.
Before either side could greet the other, Xu Huaishi let out an extremely suggestive "Wow," which instantly made Ruan Yu feel awkward. The "Auntie" that had been on the tip of her tongue was swallowed back down.
Tao Rong, however, smiled and eased her discomfort, saying, "Hello, I'm Huaisong's mother. Is Huaisong home?"
Ruan Yu returned the smile. "I remember you, Auntie. He had an urgent matter and went back to San Francisco—he probably just missed you."
"An urgent matter?" Tao Rong's expression shifted slightly. "Did something go wrong at work?"
"No..." Realizing it wasn't ideal to keep standing like this, Ruan Yu stepped aside and said, "Please come in and have a seat, both of you."
She ushered them to the sofa and invited them to set down their bags.
Tao Rong explained, "We didn't tell him in advance because we were afraid he'd drive all the way back to Suzhou just to stop us from making the trip. That's why we came unannounced."
Ruan Yu noticed that Tao Rong spoke with a hint of deference, as if she, as Xu Huaisong's mother, felt less close to him than the woman who happened to be in his apartment.
After so many years apart, there seemed to be some distance between mother and son.
Ruan Yu quickly explained on Xu Huaisong's behalf: "He was actually thinking of visiting you in Suzhou soon—he even bought gifts for the occasion." She pointed to the stack of gift boxes in the living room. "He just hadn't decided whether to go tomorrow or the day after, so he hadn't mentioned it yet."
Tao Rong glanced at the gifts from afar and smiled faintly. "This child..."
Seeing them sitting idly, Ruan Yu stood up. "Let me make you some tea."
As she busied herself at the kitchen counter, she heard footsteps behind her. Turning around, she saw Tao Rong approach somewhat awkwardly, lowering her voice to ask hesitantly, "Did something happen to his father in San Francisco?"
Ruan Yu had already been unsure whether it was appropriate to share the truth, given her limited knowledge of Xu Huaisong's current family situation. Now, sensing that Tao Rong didn’t want Xu Huaishi to overhear, she gave a slight nod and whispered, "It seems like an old illness flared up again."
Xu Huaishi, who had been playing on her phone, caught the faint murmur and turned around, grumbling, "Mom, what are you whispering to Sister about?"
Tao Rong shot her a reproachful look.
Ruan Yu smoothly changed the subject. "Since you've come all this way, maybe we should call Huaisong."
"No need," Tao Rong waved her hand. "He must be driving in a hurry right now—let's not bother him. We'll be leaving soon anyway." She glanced at Ruan Yu’s hands as she opened the tea leaves and added, "Don’t trouble yourself with the tea."
Ruan Yu didn’t insist. Instead, she poured a glass of plain water and handed it to Tao Rong, noticing her distracted expression. Softly, she added, "Please don’t worry too much."
Tao Rong, realizing her concern had been noticed, managed a small smile. After a moment, she composed herself and asked, "Are you and Huaisong getting along well?"
Ruan Yu choked slightly, knowing that under these circumstances, it would be hard for any parent not to misunderstand. As she hesitated over how to explain, Tao Rong seemed to misinterpret her silence and quickly added, "If there’s anything about him that bothers you, please be patient. He’s never been in a relationship before, so there might be things he doesn’t understand."
Ruan Yu blinked in surprise and blurted out without thinking, "He’s never dated anyone all these years?"Mentioning this, Tao Rong seemed to relax a little and opened up more: "As far as I know, no. It's not easy for Chinese to practice law in the U.S. Without proving one's capability, discrimination is often inevitable. Especially after what happened to his father, he had to rely entirely on himself, pouring all his energy into his career. How could he have the mind to date?"
Ruan Yu responded with a soft "Mm." But at this moment, what occupied her thoughts wasn't the long-curious topic of Xu Huaisong's romantic history.
Her heart felt a sour, indescribable ache.
Yet Tao Rong continued, unintentionally pouring salt on the wound: "Actually, Huaisong has some flaws in his personality." She quickly added, as if afraid of alarming Ruan Yu, "Not pathological flaws, of course."
Ruan Yu tilted her head slightly: "Oh?"
Tao Rong sighed with a smile: "Did he tell you about his father and me?"
Ruan Yu nodded.
"We had our differences before he started middle school. It affected his upbringing to some extent, so it's inevitable that he developed a somewhat hesitant side. Sometimes, he might seem indecisive, but that's often because he cares too much. I hope you can understand—it's our fault, his father's and mine."
Ruan Yu gently patted Tao Rong's hand in reassurance: "I understand. Don't worry."
After chatting a while longer, Ruan Yu's phone rang.
It was Liu Mao, asking if she was still at the hotel.
"Yes."
"Then wait there. Chen Hui will arrive soon—Huaisong asked him to take you home."
Ruan Yu hesitated: "It's the holidays. No need to trouble Chen Hui. I can get back myself. Just tell—" She paused mid-sentence, glancing at Tao Rong before moving the phone away. "Auntie, how did you get here?"
"By high-speed rail."
"And the return trip?"
"Oh, right." Tao Rong turned to Xu Huaishi on the sofa. "Huaishi, check if we can reschedule our return tickets for an earlier time."
There was no need to check. Given the holiday rush, rescheduling was impossible unless they were willing to stand all the way back.
Ruan Yu brought the phone back to her ear: "Alright, we’ll trouble Chen Hui then. Send him over."
Chen Hui arrived at the hotel shortly after. Ruan Yu thanked him repeatedly and saw Tao Rong, who insisted on not staying for dinner, downstairs.
Xu Huaishi had been fidgeting the whole way. At the car, she tugged at Tao Rong’s sleeve: "Mom... Since I’m already here, can I stay a couple of days?"
"How could I leave you alone in Hangzhou? Come back with me. Visit again when your brother’s around."
Pouting, Xu Huaishi got into the car but turned back to give Ruan Yu a pleading look.
Catching her silent plea, Ruan Yu stepped forward: "Auntie, if Huaishi wants to stay, I can take care of her."
Unlike Tao Rong, weighed down by worries, Xu Huaishi—unaware of her father’s situation—was delighted to stay.
But when Ruan Yu asked where she wanted to go, she shook her head: "It’s too hot, and the tourist spots are packed. I just want to chat with you. Let’s go back upstairs or to your place."
So she was a homebody too.
After some thought, Ruan Yu called her parents, explaining she had something come up and would visit another day. Then she asked, "So, your brother’s place or mine?"
"How far is your place from here?""It's about a half-hour drive without traffic."
"Traffic's definitely gonna be bad! Forget it, I'm sick of sitting in cars."
In the end, the two of them gave up and returned to the room the same way they came.
Xu Huaishi dropped her backpack off her shoulder and pulled out a stack of blank exam papers, complaining pitifully, "Sis, you don’t need to take care of me. I’ve got homework to keep me company. You can go do your own thing."
Ruan Yu chuckled.
Xu Huaishi probably also mistakenly thought she was living with Xu Huaisong, not realizing there was nothing for her to do here.
What could she do? After standing around aimlessly for a while, she remembered the orange cat and opened the bedroom door—sure enough, it was curled up inside.
She picked up the cat and brought it out. When Xu Huaishi saw it, she gasped in surprise, "Wow, my brother’s really changed! He used to hate dealing with cat and dog fur!"
Ruan Yu froze.
Hadn’t Xu Huaisong liked cats back in high school?
Xu Huaishi excitedly ran over to play with the cat and asked, "What’s its name?"
"Right now, it only has an English name. How about we give it a Chinese name to fit in here?"
"Then you pick one, sis! My brother told me you’re a writer—you must be super cultured."
How cultured could a cat name be?
Ruan Yu came up with one on the spot: "Let’s make it rhyme with 'Tiffany'—how about Pipi? Hmm... Xu Pipi?"
"Great, great! It’ll share my last name!"
Ruan Yu smirked but didn’t correct her with the line "It’s your brother’s last name" to avoid hurting her feelings. Unexpectedly, "speak of the devil"—the next second, Xu Huaisong called.
She immediately asked, "How’s your dad doing?"
"Still in the emergency room," Xu Huaisong reassured her. "He’ll be fine."
She murmured a soft "Mm" and said, "Focus on driving, don’t talk on the phone."
"Chen Hui told me you and Huaishi are at my place now?"
"Yeah, the two of us combined are over forty years old—no need to worry about us."
Xu Huaisong sounded amused but helpless. "Just didn’t want you to be bored. My computer password is your birthday too. And anything else in the room, feel free to use."
After hanging up, Ruan Yu finally found something to do. With his permission, she brought his computer to the living room but hesitated when entering the password.
Xu Huaisong had set her birthday as the password for both his phone and computer. So, what about that payment password? Did it have any special meaning? Could it be related to her too?
309017...
Driven by a hint of narcissism, Ruan Yu started desperately trying to connect the numbers to herself.
30—no idea.
90—nothing came to mind.
17—she actually liked this number because it was her student ID in high school.
At that thought, she suddenly froze in front of the computer.
She had been number 17 in Class 309.
Could that be what the numbers meant?
But she had never revealed such a specific detail in her novel. How had he found out?
Ruan Yu couldn’t figure it out but didn’t want to bother Xu Huaisong with such a trivial matter at a time like this, so she suppressed her curiosity for now.
As dinnertime approached, since Xu Huaishi was too lazy to go out and was busy with her papers, Ruan Yu ordered some fresh groceries to cook for her.
The aroma of food distracted Xu Huaishi, who put down her Chinese exam papers and ran to the kitchen. Watching Ruan Yu skillfully pan-sear salmon, she jumped up and down excitedly, exclaiming, "My brother must’ve hit the jackpot in eight lifetimes to end up with someone as amazing as you, sis!"
Ruan Yu, busy frying the fish, just smiled and didn’t deny it.That smile, bathed in the sunlight streaming through the window, was truly tender as water.
Xu Huaishi couldn't help but say, "Your profile is so beautiful! Can I take a little video of you for my social media?"
Ruan Yu smiled amiably, "Sure, go ahead."
Xu Huaishi recorded a side-profile video of her and posted it with the caption: "All the Zhang Manyus, Gao Yuanyuans, and Wang Zuxians at No.1 High School who've been eyeing my brother—take note! This is the only one worthy of being my future sister-in-law. Bye-bye now!"
After showing off her future sister-in-law, Xu Huaishi happily leaned on the windowsill, ready to bask in the admiration of her female classmates. But when she looked down, she spotted another delightful surprise: "Oh, sis! Come look quickly!"
Ruan Yu had just finished plating the fish. She walked over to the window and saw the hotel gardener using a high-pressure hose to water the trees. Under the sunlight, the misty spray formed a vivid rainbow in the air—as if heralding some good news.
She quickly grabbed her phone to capture the scene. She almost sent it to Xu Huaisong but hesitated, not wanting to distract him while he was driving. It wasn’t until 2:30 p.m., when she confirmed his flight had taken off, that she finally sent the message: "For you."
Knowing he wouldn’t land for over ten hours, Ruan Yu didn’t check her phone again. By evening, she was lying in bed with Xu Huaishi.
Concerned about leaving the girl alone in the hotel, Ruan Yu had decided to stay. She’d asked housekeeping to change the sheets and brought in an extra blanket.
Xu Huaishi was thrilled to be close to her, even trying to share the same blanket. She was too excited to sleep, chattering away about school gossip late into the night.
Earlier that evening, Ruan Yu had received a message from Li Shican, asking her to lunch the next day. She’d planned to prepare lunch for Xu Huaishi before heading out, but now, tangled in the girl’s enthusiastic chatter, she suspected she might sleep straight through noon.
After 1 a.m., she yawned. "Alright, enough for tonight. Let’s sleep."
Xu Huaishi, still wide awake, said, "You go ahead, sis. I’ll scroll through Weibo a bit more."
Ruan Yu hummed in agreement and turned over, drifting off—until she heard the girl sharply inhale beside her.
Startled awake, she turned back. "What’s wrong?"
Xu Huaishi clutched her phone. "I just saw an arrest warrant on Weibo. Wow, Hangzhou’s dangerous right now—there’s a murderer on the run! Good thing we didn’t go out today."
In the information age, news of crimes spread instantly online, so this wasn’t unusual. Ruan Yu yawned. "Hangzhou’s public security is generally good." With that, she fell back asleep.
Because of this, she didn’t hear Xu Huaishi’s muttered follow-up: "Huh… Why does this suspect’s ID photo look kinda familiar?"
Author’s Note: Medium-level scene—no need to worry.
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