Jiang Fuyue: “You gave a peach, I return a plum—no need to thank me.”
“Change into slippers first.” The man bent down and took out a pair of slippers from the cabinet, unwrapping them right in front of her. “New. Never worn.”
Once Jiang Fuyue changed shoes, Xie Dingyuan carried the insulated container in one hand and held her hand with the other, leading her into the living room.
“Hey, I can walk on my own. No need to hold my hand.”
The man turned his head and met her teasing gaze. Confirming she wasn’t actually annoyed, he paused—he had intended to let go, but instead tightened his grip.
“Holding your hand isn’t because you can’t walk.”
“Then what for?” Jiang Fuyue raised a brow. Under the light, her beautiful, almond-shaped eyes shimmered with light—playful yet spirited, innocent yet bold.
Everything about her was just… utterly endearing.
“Because I’m afraid you’ll leave.”
If I hold you, you can’t walk away.
Jiang Fuyue pressed her lips together. “Can’t you talk properly?”
Xie Dingyuan immediately stood up straight. “Do I not look serious enough? Then I’ll say it again—I’m holding you because I’m afraid you’ll leave, so—”
“I got it!” Jiang Fuyue cut him off. “Um… you eat first, or the food will get soggy.”
She looked calm, but the blush behind her ears had already bloomed like tiny pink flowers on snow.
As Xie Dingyuan opened the lid, the aroma and steam hit him all at once. Even with his strong self-control, he couldn’t help but swallow involuntarily.
He picked up his chopsticks, dipped a dumpling in sauce, and took a bite.
Jiang Fuyue asked, “How is it?”
“Delicious!”
It wasn’t just a polite compliment—the sudden gleam in his eyes made the sincerity unmistakable.
“You didn’t have dinner?”
“…The housekeeper happened to be off today.”
Zhong Ziang had also been summoned back to the capital by his father to keep the old lady company.
So this big villa… only had him alone.
That actually sounded a bit pitiful…
Thirty minutes later, the insulated container was empty. Not a single dumpling remained.
Only then did Xie Dingyuan put down his chopsticks, satisfied.
“Thank you.”
Jiang Fuyue: “I’ll leave the container, I’m heading home now.”
“Wait—” the man stood up.
“What? Something else?”
“Ahem… You’re already here, can’t you stay a bit longer?”
Jiang Fuyue raised an eyebrow. “Stay and do what?”
The man hesitated for a second. “I want to show you something good.”
With that, he tugged her upstairs.
Soon, they entered a study—the very room where Jiang Fuyue had seen lights shining from outside earlier.
The floor gleamed. The desk was wide and spacious, but everything on it was immaculately arranged, almost like an assembly line.
Bookshelves were built into three bare walls, filled with categorized books—ranging from astronomy to geography, literature to art, domestic and foreign. With just a glance, Jiang Fuyue spotted books across over twenty disciplines.
Some were even rare collector’s editions.
If you wanted to define “good stuff,” these books—placed in the right hands—were priceless.
And Jiang Fuyue happened to be one of those people.
Her eyes were drawn to a philosophy book on the left shelf, and she instinctively walked toward it. But after two steps, she felt a tug on her arm.
Turned out, he had never let go of her hand.
Jiang Fuyue walked forward, and of course, that pulled on him.
She gave him a look: How long are you planning to hold on?
Only then did Xie Dingyuan slowly release her. Judging by his expression, he seemed… slightly reluctant, even wistful.
He stepped forward and pulled the book from the shelf. “This one?”
Jiang Fuyue raised a brow and took it. She murmured, “How did you know?”
“I just bought it from a collector recently. I’ve been reading it too.” Then he leaned in close, speaking by her ear, “Actually, we’re quite alike. What you like, I’m also interested in. What catches your eye… rarely misses mine.”
“And so?” Jiang Fuyue suddenly turned her head, her nose brushing his. Their eyes met at close range.
Xie Dingyuan froze.
His body tensed. His breathing slowed.
Her familiar scent entered his nose. In that instant, his mind went blank, dizzy, and lost.
Her lashes were long. As she blinked, they fluttered like little fans.
Her pupils were a deep, perfect black, catching the light—clear and pure.
She was smiling. Her lips curved up, her beautiful eyes crinkled into crescents.
Every breath from her clutched at his heart.
Xie Dingyuan blurted out, “So… we’re meant for each other.”
The girl blinked, then burst into laughter. “Pfft—”
“…What’s funny?” he asked, puzzled.
“You sound like a Chihan*.”
* stalker
Chihan?
Another unfamiliar term. But he couldn’t exactly whip out his phone to look it up.
He was flustered.
Jiang Fuyue, however, stepped back and turned around, flipping through the book in her hands.
Xie Dingyuan scratched his head, looking rather clumsy and confused.
The book was in the original German.
Jiang Fuyue’s eyes scanned the text, but her mind was elsewhere.
Her thoughts kept drifting to that moment just now—how close they’d been, how he’d looked at her with such naked affection and obsession.
When did that start?
After a trip to the snowy mountains? A hospital stay? How had things changed like this after she came back?
She was so deep in thought that she didn’t notice until Xie Dingyuan called her—
“What did you say?”
“Do you want to see the stars? Originally, the sky over Tianluo Mountain is beautiful, but… well, even from here, it’s not bad.”
As he spoke, the ceiling above opened up, and the entire outward-facing wall turned transparent like glass.
The starry sky unfolded right before their eyes.
Jiang Fuyue was stunned.
“Beautiful?”
She nodded dazedly.
The next second, he pulled her by the wrist, and they both fell onto a soft rug.
Xie Dingyuan handed her something like VR goggles—but much lighter.
“Put them on. The view’s even better.”
Jiang Fuyue accepted them and, with his help, put them on.
His warm palm brushed her soft hair aside, gently pushing it back. His fingertips grazed her neck, sending a shiver through her.
Her breath quickened.
Something unfamiliar was stirring in her chest, making her heart beat faster.
Uncontrollable. Overwhelming. It left her momentarily at a loss.
“All set,” the man said in a low voice. “Can you see clearly?”
“…A little blurry.”
“The button on the left adjusts the focus. Try it.”
Jiang Fuyue followed his instructions. A few seconds later: “…So beautiful.”
Before her eyes was a magnified night sky, stars twinkling in the dark canvas, flickering gently.
Xie Dingyuan: “The right button lets you move the view.”
Jiang Fuyue used both hands to adjust. Her smile grew wider.
“How is it?”
“…Kind of like a 4D panorama. How is this even possible?”
Xie Dingyuan lay back, hands behind his head, gazing at the stars with the naked eye. “It’s TRQ tech. You could think of it as an upgrade from 4D—more realistic than VR, and even allows people with visual impairments to generate mental images.”
Jiang Fuyue took off the glasses. “Even for the completely blind?!”
“Yes.”
“If this tech spreads, then…”
It would be a miracle for the blind!
Xie Dingyuan shook his head. “The equipment costs too much, and the technology is still immature. Large-scale application is hard for now.”
“But… aren’t you working toward that?”
He paused.
Their eyes met. In Jiang Fuyue’s gaze, he saw something akin to admiration—or, he dared hope, maybe even… appreciation? Worship?
Xie Dingyuan’s chest burned. “Yes. The future belongs to technology, and technology should belong to humanity. Its value isn’t in changing nature, or the world—but in changing ourselves.”
Jiang Fuyue gently brushed the book in her hand and smiled up at him. “You mean a transformation from our understanding of the objective world to a reshaping of our subjective world, right?”
His gaze burned. Twin flames lit up in his eyes, ready to consume everything in their path.
She gets it!
She understood his words, his work, his lifelong beliefs and aspirations!
At that moment, Xie Dingyuan was ecstatic.
What luck, that fate had brought him to Jiang Fuyue.
She saw the fire in his eyes, the ambition and dreams buried in his words.
For the first time, Jiang Fuyue realized that his arrogance, his aloofness, his disregard for others… didn’t come from nowhere.
Because—
He was that flower blooming high on a cliff—beautiful and untouchable.
Those at the foot of the cliff only saw his beauty, never understanding his solitude.
Over time, he stopped expressing himself. He became that cold, unreachable flower.
So, when they first met, his instinct was to wound her.
Xie Dingyuan: “I’m sorry…” I didn’t know you’d be the one person in my life who understood me best.
And I never imagined… that the one who understood me most would also become the one I love—deeply, to the core.
“Jiang Fuyue, no one will ever be like you again…” No one will ever move my heart so much it aches, yet still so clearly, so persistently.
Mature love is about aligned values and resonating souls~
