After Ling Xuan left, Zhong Ziang didn’t go. He had someone else to meet.
Fifteen minutes later, Jiang Fuyue pushed the door open and sat across from him.
Zhong Ziang called over the waiter: “One iced Americano, one mango mille crêpe.”
He remembered everything she liked.
Jiang Fuyue: “Thanks.”
Zhong Ziang was silent for a moment. “…I’m leaving tomorrow.”
“Mm, I know.”
When Jiang Fuyue first heard he was enlisting, she had been surprised—someone like Zhong Ziang, a super-rich second-generation, didn’t need to suffer like that.
But faintly, she guessed why.
“My uncle told you, right?” The boy pulled at the corner of his lips, his gaze calm.
Jiang Fuyue didn’t beat around the bush. She nodded openly: “Mm.”
His lips tightened, eyes fixed on her face: “Do you… like him?”
Jiang Fuyue was briefly startled, colliding with the stubborn fire in his eyes. She answered softly: “If I didn’t like him, I wouldn’t be with him.”
That answer didn’t surprise Zhong Ziang.
She wasn’t someone who would ever wrong herself—if she refused, it meant she didn’t like him; if she agreed, then it meant she did.
But “like” didn’t equal “love.”
At least when she said those words, her eyes were calm, her expression utterly rational.
Zhong Ziang let out a light breath, then suddenly curved his lips into a smile: “Actually, my uncle—he’s got so many flaws!”
Jiang Fuyue: “?”
“Ahem… first, he’s stubborn, emotionally dense, doesn’t like to talk. Second, no sense of romance, doesn’t know how to coax a girl, total research nerd. Finally, that cold face of his—barely ever smiles. If he hugs you, you’d probably freeze into a popsicle, do you believe it?”
He ticked them off on his fingers one by one, roasting his uncle with true sincerity and without restraint.
Halfway through, Jiang Fuyue raised an eyebrow, her gaze shifting past him, her smile meaningful.
Zhong Ziang still looked ready to keep rattling on: “Let me tell you, that was just a general overview. The details would take three days and nights! Like his last blind date—”
Suddenly, a cold voice sounded right behind him: “So in your eyes, I have that many flaws?”
Zhong Ziang’s back went stiff, his smile froze.
He didn’t dare turn his head.
Xie Dingyuan strode straight over, stopping at Jiang Fuyue’s side. His cold gaze bore down on the boy, expressionless: “Why’d you stop talking?”
“……”
“Three days and three nights?”
Zhong Ziang shot to his feet. The chair legs scraped across the floor with a screech.
He didn’t look at Xie Dingyuan, only hurriedly tossed to Jiang Fuyue: “My flight’s at ten tomorrow morning.”
Then bolted faster than a rabbit.
Xie Dingyuan: “……”
Jiang Fuyue couldn’t hold back anymore. She burst out laughing: “Hahaha… no wonder you two are uncle and nephew, you act exactly the same?”
“Who’s like him? I’m not, I didn’t, I don’t.” Triple denial.
“Then who was it that messaged me before I left the house, saying Zhong Ziang has a bad temper, is stubborn, disrespectful, and unreliable?”
“……”
“Oh, and who told me to send the meeting address, then showed up uninvited?”
Xie Dingyuan: “……” As long as I stay silent, then it couldn’t possibly have been me.
Jiang Fuyue happily finished the mango mille crêpe with her coffee.
“…Is it really that tasty?”
“It is. Zhong Ziang ordered all the things I like.”
His lips tightened again, silent.
She teased him on purpose: “Want to eat something? Come on, my treat.”
“…Not hungry.” He was already full on indignation.
Jiang Fuyue didn’t press. She took a napkin, wiped her lips unhurriedly. “Just now Zhong Ziang said you went on a blind date?”
His expression stiffened: “Don’t listen to his nonsense.”
“So did you or didn’t you?” Her smile brimmed with mischief.
Though unsure of her intent, Xie Dingyuan never thought of lying: “…I did. But only once. I rejected her right away.”
“Why so anxious?” Jiang Fuyue lifted her eyes, still smiling, “I didn’t say I blamed you.”
“……”
“Anyway, you’re almost thirty, blind dates are normal.” She blinked. “Why reject? Was she not pretty enough? Not hot enough? IQ too low?”
“…None of those.”
“Then why?”
“Because—” His Adam’s apple bobbed, voice low and deep as their eyes locked. “At that time, my head was full of you.”
“！” Just like that—suddenly flustered, suddenly stirred.
…
The next day, despite a certain someone’s resentful gaze, Jiang Fuyue still went to the airport.
When Zhong Ziang left yesterday, he’d “casually” left his flight time—obviously hoping she’d come see him off.
Sure enough, seeing her, his whole face lit up.
“You came just to send me off?”
“Mm.” She raised a hand, patted his shoulder. “Safe travels.”
“When the army gives me leave, if you’re in the capital too, let’s eat together—I’ll treat.”
“Okay.”
“Then… I’m going…”
“Goodbye.”
The boy walked a few steps, then suddenly ran back, hugged her tightly, then let go in a flash: “Jiang Fuyue, I’m going to become someone really good!”
She blinked, then smiled warmly: “Then I’ll be waiting to see just how good.”
You will see—
Zhong Ziang swore silently to himself.
Then, without looking back, he disappeared into security.
Only when his figure was gone did Jiang Fuyue turn and leave.
…
On the plane, Zhong Ziang closed his eyes, trying to sleep.
But his mind filled only with memories of Jiang Fuyue—classrooms, sports fields, school gates, back alleys…
A faint melancholy wrapped around him.
Why did it have to be Xie Dingyuan? If it were anyone else, he would have stolen her away without hesitation.
But Xie Dingyuan…
Fine. He had to admit—right now, he couldn’t win.
“Sir, your seat is here.” The flight attendant’s sweet voice.
Without opening his eyes, he felt someone sit down beside him.
At ten sharp, the plane took off.
When he finally woke, the attendants were serving meals.
“This is the menu, please choose.”
The same words repeated to the seat next to him.
Zhong Ziang picked a few things, then handed the menu to his neighbor, glancing sideways—
And froze.
“…Why is it you?!”
Yici’s lips twitched: “I should be asking that. Did you put a tracker on me?”
“Pfft, you? As if.”
Yici clicked his tongue: “That’s not fair. After all, we did once share a bed, bro—mmph!”
“Shut up! Watch yourself in public!” Zhong Ziang’s veins popped, muttering curses through gritted teeth.
The flight attendant, embarrassed, tried to mediate: “Um… would you like to order first?”
Yici didn’t even look: “Same as him.”
“Sorry, there’s only one tuna sushi left.”
Zhong Ziang smirked, triumphant: “It’s mine, mine, mine. You don’t get any! Serves you right.”
Yici beamed: “That’s easy. Just give me his.”
Zhong Ziang: “Are you insane? Why should I?”
“Because we did share a bed, bro—mmph!”
“Shut it!”
“So, tuna? Yes or no?”
“…Fine!” Zhong Ziang’s fists cracked, but there was nothing he could do.
Yici smiled at the stewardess: “Then please give me the last tuna. As for him—just throw him whatever. If it’s edible, it’s fine.”
The stewardess’s eyes darted between the two handsome boys, her look growing meaningful: “…Alright, please wait.”
The moment she turned away, her eyes lit up: Mom! I just witnessed a CP moment! kswl!
Soon, the food arrived.
Yici deliberately waved the tuna in front of Zhong Ziang: “Looks fresh. Smells good. Let me taste… ah, delicious! So good!”
Zhong Ziang: “……” Idiot.
“Hey, want a bite?”
Zhong Ziang snorted, turned to stare at the blue sky and clouds outside.
“Really not? I don’t even like tuna that much. Shame to waste it…” Yici sighed, sneaking glances.
Zhong Ziang whipped around, glaring: “Can you be human?!”
Yici rubbed his nose, slid the tuna onto his tray: “I only took one bite. Still clean.”
Zhong Ziang glanced, scoffed: “Take it away.”
“Throwing it out then.”
“……”
In the end, Zhong Ziang ate it.
Well—just because he really wanted tuna.
Afterwards, the trash was cleared.
As he leaned back to nap, he suddenly asked: “What are you going to the capital for?”
“Physical exam.”
“！”
“Why’re you looking at me like that?”
“…Physical exam?!”
Yici lifted his chin proudly: “Yup. Enlistment physical. Hehe—I’m joining the army.”
Zhong Ziang: “……” Don’t tell me… this coincidental?
Yici blinked: “Didn’t you just arrive in Linhuai from the capital two days ago? Why are you going back already?”
“Oh. Physical exam.”
Yici: “?”
Zhong Ziang gave a cold laugh: “Sorry, I’m enlisting too.”
“！”
….
Mid-August. The height of summer.
After getting permission from Jiang Da and Han Yunru, Jiang Fuyue decided to go to the Imperial Capital ahead of schedule.
Classes at Ming University didn’t start until September, so she still had a month. She had already talked to Xu Kaiqing about borrowing his lab and planned to finish her paper there within the month.
When Han Qishan heard the news, he was so happy that he spent the whole day at home humming a little tune: “Yueyue’s coming~ my little Yueyue~ clang clang clang clang~”
Han Ke said, “I think Dad’s losing it.”
Han Shen said, “Show some respect.”
Han Heng added, “Not losing it—he’s already lost it.”
Han Qishan asked, “Has Yueyue’s room been cleaned? Did you get her new clothes and shoes? If it’s not enough, open up the room next door and make it into a walk-in closet.”
Han Ting reminded him expressionlessly, “Grandpa, I live next door.”
“Oh, then move up to the third floor. Same difference.”
“……”
This house was becoming unlivable.
But the next day, he quietly spent his pocket money to add a full-length mirror to Jiang Fuyue’s room.
A masterpiece by a famous designer from Country F—one that could easily fetch a price at an auction.
For Jiang Fuyue’s arrival, the three generations of the Han family were all busy and full of joy.
But some people weren’t so happy about it.
“…Earlier? Why earlier?” Xie Dingyuan froze mid-movement, completely forgetting the research report in his hand.
Leaning against the lab bench, Jiang Fuyue faced him and said, “I told Old Xu I’d borrow his lab. It’s summer vacation—fewer people, full equipment…”
“I have a lab too. You can use mine.”
Jiang Fuyue gave him a helpless look. “You know perfectly well that a biochemistry lab has nothing to do with my research topic.”
He fell silent for a moment. “…When are you leaving?”
“The day after tomorrow.”
Xie Dingyuan clasped her hand, their fingers interlacing. “Can you delay it by a week?”
In a week, the project he was running would be wrapping up. He could hand the finishing work to Old Jin and Ding Yu, then go with her to the capital.
Jiang Fuyue shook her head. “If I leave a week later, it’ll delay my progress. I have to finish before school starts.”
Xie Dingyuan rested his forehead against her shoulder, eyes downcast, looking like a dejected big dog. “No room for negotiation?”
“I can… stay two more days?”
That was already her limit.
He suddenly looked up, smiling slightly. “Deal.”
Jiang Fuyue: “…”
Why did it feel like she’d been tricked?
He pulled her into his arms and said softly, “I read online that being apart during a passionate relationship feels like torture.”
Jiang Fuyue couldn’t help laughing. “Where did you learn that nonsense?”
“Relationship bloggers.”
“What?”
“Wanted to learn from them how to be a good boyfriend.”
“Oh?” Jiang Fuyue raised an eyebrow. “And what have you learned?”
“I learned…” His hand slid from her waist to her cheek, eyes dark and deep like aged wine that intoxicated even before it was opened. “At a moment like this, I should kiss you.”
Their gazes met; breaths intertwined; the distance between them shrank until—
“Holy cr*p! What did I just see?!” Old Bai burst in, froze, then immediately backed out, muttering, “I didn’t see anything, you two carry on, carry on…”
Old Jin, walking behind him, didn’t stop in time and stepped straight into the scene.
Too late to retreat, he covered his eyes and mumbled, “I’m air, I’m air…”
Ding Yu and Liu Guan were still coming down the hall when Old Bai blocked them, pushing them back. “Don’t go in! There’s a bomb inside!”
“Huh?”
“A pink bomb!”
“???”
Seeing their confused faces, Old Bai puckered his lips and made a loud kissing noise. “Professor and Little Yueyue… ahem! Get it?”
Ding Yu quickly nodded and stepped back. “Got it, got it. I’m not going in.”
Liu Guan, slower to catch on, looked baffled. “Professor and Little Jiang what? Also, Old Bai—you sound so weird! Hahaha… are you wearing Pinru’s pajamas or something?”
Old Bai: “…” Treasure your life; stay away from idiots.
Thirty seconds later—
Liu Guan: “Wait! You mean I just walked in on them?!”
Ding Yu scratched his face. “Uh… we can’t just never go in, right?”
Old Bai: “You first.”
Ding Yu shook his head. “Liu Guan goes.”
“Why me?”
“Because you’re handsome.”
“Because you’re cool.”
“Oh, thanks—but I’m neither.”
“……”
Just then, Old Jin waved from the doorway. “Professor says you can come in now.”
That afternoon, they all worked themselves half to death.
From that day on, the four silently vowed: whenever Jiang Fuyue was around, they’d always knock before entering the lab.
Because the professor was terrifying, and the consequences—tragic.
—
Since she’d promised to stay two more days, Jiang Fuyue didn’t rush to pack.
Xie Dingyuan was still busy with his project—at a critical stage—so naturally he couldn’t accompany her shopping, dating, or watching movies.
Most of the time, she stayed in the lab with him.
But she wasn’t idle—she coded, ran analyses, and produced data that left Lao Bai and the others in awe.
“See that? That’s what they call ‘sharpening the knife without delaying the chopping.’ Love and career, both in hand!”
“Learning from the best.”
“No wonder the professor likes her—she’s awesome!”
A single look from Xie Dingyuan sent them scattering.
The day passed from sunrise to sunset.
They didn’t talk much, each absorbed in their own work—but every time their eyes met, it felt like enough.
Old Bai murmured, “Feels like they’ve got their own world, one no one else can enter.”
Old Jin sighed, “Ah—that world is called love.”
Everyone: “……”
Ding Yu: “Anyway, they’re a great match.”
Liu Guan sighed with envy. “When will I find a girl I like as much as the professor likes her?”
Old Bai snorted. “You think there’s another Jiang Fuyue out there?”
Young, beautiful, great figure, and brilliant.
Genius girls like her don’t just grow on trees.
Even Old Bai thought to himself: I don’t even have one, and this guy dares to dream.
—
Every evening at six, Jiang Fuyue and Xie Dingyuan would leave together, bathed in the sunset glow. They’d drive out for dinner, take a walk afterward, and return home under the moonlight.
“Let’s stop here,” Jiang Fuyue said suddenly.
“But we’re not there yet—”
“It’s just a few steps. I’ll walk.”
Ever since Jiang’s younger brother almost caught them making out in the car, she didn’t dare let him park too close to home.
“What, am I that unpresentable?” he asked, mock-resentful.
“I just don’t want you scaring the kid.”
Oh, and also her parents.
At least for now—fresh out of high school and not yet in university—her parents weren’t exactly thrilled about her dating.
Not that they were strongly opposed, but they wouldn’t easily accept it either.
“When school starts and I’m officially a university student…” She leaned over and kissed the corner of his lips. “I’ll make it official then.”
A fleeting smile flashed in his eyes, gone almost instantly. His expression stayed stern. “…That’s it?”
“What else?”
He tapped his lips. “Here.”
“……”
“Well, I guess I don’t deserve a title anyway…”
The next moment, her soft lips pressed against his. His satisfied smile surfaced, and he wrapped her in his arms, deepening the kiss.
No one knew how long it lasted before they finally parted.
“I’m going,” she said.
“Mm. See you tomorrow.”
—
The day before she left for the capital, Xie Dingyuan finished work early and took her downtown.
“What are we doing here?” she asked.
He was already lining up. “Watching a movie.”
He’d specially picked a romance film called Oxygen Butterfly. Even the name sounded artistic.
Before going in, he ran to buy popcorn and handed it to her. “…They always do this in TV dramas.”
Jiang Fuyue: “……”
What could she do? Her boyfriend bought it—she could only accept it.
But half an hour into the film, the pretentious and dreary plot drove them both out of the theater.
“Leave?” he asked.
“Let’s go,” she said.
They switched to a high-IQ crime thriller instead—complex, logical, and tightly written.
The screenwriter was said to be a professor specializing in both criminal investigation and psychology, quite famous in the field.
Leaning closer, Jiang Fuyue whispered, “Who do you think the murderer is?”
Xie Dingyuan’s eyes flicked sideways. “Is there a prize if I get it right?”
“What prize do you want?”
“Stay over tonight.”
“Pfft… keep dreaming. They’ll reveal it anyway—why bother guessing?”
He looked disappointed. “Then another prize.”
“What?”
“Say you like me.”
“Deal.”
Unsurprisingly, he guessed right.
Outside the cinema, standing by the musical fountain, she stopped him.
He turned around.
As the water jets shot upward, Jiang Fuyue smiled, eyes bright as she looked into his dark gaze. Word by word, she said:
“Xie Dingyuan, I really do like you.”
A little more than I thought I would.
—
The next day, Jiang Fuyue took her luggage and set off for the Imperial Capital.
A new journey had begun.
And a new legend was about to be written…
