The evening study period ended at eight-thirty. At that hour, students either stayed in the classroom to continue self-study or went straight back to the dorms; they usually didn’t linger on the roads. There was a brief crowding under the teaching building, and before long, most of the people had dispersed.

Meng Zhuxi stopped downstairs to speak with Jin Zhao. In truth, Jin Zhao didn’t say much—it was Meng Zhuxi who sensed that she seemed to have something to say, and, quick-witted and polite, stopped where she was to wait for her.

Actually, her heart was full of unease. From time to time, she guiltily glanced at the Rolls-Royce parked by the roadside across from them. She was very afraid that Meng Yanxi would suddenly do something that would make her lose face—like pushing open the Rolls-Royce’s door and, like some domineering CEO in a short drama, striding over to Jin Zhao in a greasy manner, pinning her against the wall, and then delivering a line like: Woman, you’ve successfully caught my attention.

Just imagining that scene was enough to make Meng Zhuxi feel that she would lose all face for the rest of her life.

Fortunately, right up until Jin Zhao said goodbye and left, that Rolls-Royce made no move at all. It sat quietly by the roadside, as if there were no one inside.

Through the half-lowered car window, Meng Zhuxi glanced at that handsome profile, then turned her head to look at Jin Zhao’s departing back.

The streetlights were not very bright, the night enveloped everything; no matter how good Meng Yanxi’s eyesight was, he soon could no longer see her clearly.

The front passenger door was pulled open. Before Meng Zhuxi had even gotten in, a wary voice came first: “Brother, what are you doing here?”

Meng Yanxi withdrew his gaze, turned his head, and glanced lightly at his sister. “Picking you up to go home.”

They were siblings who knew each other inside and out—what was the point of telling a lie like that? How lazy Meng Yanxi was, she knew perfectly well. Believing that he came to pick her up to go home was less believable than believing she was Qin Shi Huang.

Meng Zhuxi muttered, “I don’t go home to live on weekdays.”

Meng Yanxi said, “Second rule of the Meng family: from now on, go home every Wednesday night.”

Meng Zhuxi’s mind froze for a moment; she didn’t react and blurted out, “Second rule? Then what’s the first rule?”

Meng Yanxi swept a glance at her. “For every time you cause trouble, take two extra credits. Collect ten points and redeem them for the postgraduate entrance exam.”

Meng Zhuxi: “…” Damn mouth!

The car drove toward the west gate and caught up with Jin Zhao before the No. 3 intersection. She was walking alone on the sidewalk, holding textbooks in her arms, head tilted up to look at the bright moon in the sky, not knowing what she was thinking about, her steps very slow.

The Rolls-Royce’s windows were tightly shut. The tires rolled over the asphalt, the speed neither fast nor slow, passing by her side.

As if he hadn’t noticed her, Jin Zhao also didn’t notice him. They brushed past each other; the Rolls-Royce quickly drove to the west gate, and Jin Zhao turned right at the No. 3 intersection, heading north toward the teachers’ apartments.

Two roads, each heading in a different direction.

Silence spread through the car.

After a moment of quiet, Meng Zhuxi suddenly asked, “Brother, do you know what Teacher Jin Zhao talked about in our first class today?”

Meng Yanxi looked at the road ahead. After a few seconds, he gave a soft “Mm.” It was very light; it was impossible to tell whether it was a question or an affirmation.

Meng Zhuxi answered her own question. “She talked about Petrarch—the Petrarch from the Renaissance period. When he was twenty-three, he fell in love with a woman, and for the next twenty years, he wrote 366 love poems for her. Teacher Jin Zhao really envies that kind of grand and enduring love.”

Meng Yanxi drove without making a sound, not knowing whether he hadn’t heard or simply didn’t want to respond to her.

Meng Zhuxi turned her head, her beautiful peach-blossom eyes blinking. “Brother, can you write poetry?”

Meng Yanxi said flatly, “No.”

Meng Zhuxi was relieved. At this point, with Meng Yanxi being so smart, he should understand and know to retreat in the face of difficulty.

Unexpectedly, in the second week, Meng Yanxi appeared again.

Then the third week, the fourth week… all through October, right up until early November—every Wednesday, at the time evening classes ended, Meng Yanxi would appear punctually beneath the Third Teaching Building.

At the beginning, Meng Zhuxi was frantic. Her brother’s behavior made it obvious that he wanted to bring trouble upon someone else, and for this reason she issued him stern warnings more than once.

But later, she realized that although Meng Yanxi came every week, he never once got out of the car. He merely parked by the roadside, far from the streetlights. That spot was very dark—if she weren’t familiar with his car, even she wouldn’t have noticed him, let alone Jin Zhao, who wasn’t familiar with him at all. Jin Zhao probably hadn’t noticed him whatsoever.

She didn’t know what Meng Yanxi wanted to do.

Suiyi basically had no spring or autumn; after summer, winter arrived quickly. In early November, the weather suddenly turned cold. That evening, before class, the weather had been perfectly fine. After the evening class ended, a torrential rain suddenly poured down.

Meng Zhuxi shielded her head with a book and hurried over to pull open the car door. Even over such a short distance, she was soaked quite a bit.

She pulled out some tissues and wiped herself down briefly, then suddenly noticed that Meng Yanxi’s gaze was quietly fixed ahead.

This sudden downpour trapped many students outside the teaching building. Soon, some had roommates come to pick them up; others had boyfriends or girlfriends arrive. Before long, more than half of the teachers and students lingering in front of the building had dispersed.

Jin Zhao stood outside the teaching building. She hadn’t brought an umbrella and was helpless in the face of the heavy rain.

Unwilling to give up, she stepped into the rain to try it out, then immediately scurried back in embarrassment. Ride-hailing cars couldn’t enter campus, and she had no way to call a car on her phone. She could only cling to a sliver of hope and open the weather app to see how long the rain would last—if it was going to stop soon, she would leave later.

But the weather forecast shattered her illusion.

“Teacher Jin Zhao.”

Behind her, a tall, slender young male teacher walked toward her. He had refined features; his left hand carried a briefcase, and his right hand held a folding umbrella.

Jin Zhao didn’t usually remember people very well. She hadn’t even remembered all her colleagues from the same department yet, and she looked at him with some confusion.

“Do you remember me? I’m Zhou Qian, from the School of Artificial Intelligence. We met during the autumn sports meet.”

Last month’s autumn sports meet had included events for faculty as well. Each department had to send teachers to march in formation. In theory it was voluntary, but few people volunteered, so as a newly hired young teacher, the task naturally fell to Jin Zhao. Several schools had been together at the time; they should have met.

Jin Zhao smiled politely. “Hello, Teacher Zhou.”

Zhou Qian lived up to his name—when he smiled, he looked like a gentle gentleman, and coupled with the surname Zhou, which itself sounded cultured. He glanced outside and took the initiative to suggest, “Teacher Jin, are you heading back to Teacher Apartments No. 7? Let’s go together.”

Jin Zhao glanced at the umbrella in his hand.

There was only one. If they went together, it would be unavoidable for the two of them to share an umbrella. She didn’t want to be that close to someone.

She declined with a gentle smile. “Thank you, Teacher Zhou. But there’s no need, please go ahead first.”

Zhou Qian didn’t insist and make things awkward. Instead, he generously handed the umbrella to her. “Then you use the umbrella. I’ll go back and borrow one from a student. I’m teaching a major course tonight, I’m fairly familiar with the students.”

At this hour, the students who had classes were long gone; those staying for self-study would be heading back later and would need their umbrellas too. The excuse was far too clumsy.

How could Jin Zhao bring herself to take someone else’s umbrella? She quickly said, “No, no, Teacher Zhou, you really don’t need to worry about me.”

Seeing her step back, Zhou Qian took another step forward, extending the umbrella toward her. “It’s really fine. Take it. You can return it to me later. I’m in the school’s main group chat—when it’s convenient for you, just contact me and tell me a time. I’ll come get it.”

Jin Zhao might be a bit slow at times, but with him mentioning the main group chat and contacting him, even if she were a block of wood, she understood what he meant.

But she didn’t have that intention at the moment. With no choice, she apologetically told a lie. “Really, there’s no need. My boyfriend will bring me an umbrella in a bit. Teacher Zhou, you should head back first.”

The smile on Zhou Qian’s face stiffened for a moment. “Boyfriend?”

Jin Zhao nodded with complete conviction, then deliberately looked out into the wind and rain as if waiting. By now, there was no one outside anymore—only a black sedan quietly parked by the roadside at a slanted angle ahead.

Thank him—Jin Zhao got her inspiration, and the lie flowed out effortlessly. “Yes, my boyfriend drove over. He should be here any moment now.”

Since the beauty already belonged to someone, Zhou Qian could only regret that he’d acted too slowly. Just last month he had asked around; the department head had said she was still single.

Still, he remained open and composed, smiling as he said goodbye to her, then opened his umbrella and walked alone into the rain.

“Brother, should we give Teacher Jin Zhao a ride?”

Raindrops crackled against the roof of the Rolls-Royce. Meng Yanxi watched the entire scene in silence, neither driving away nor showing any intention of getting out of the car. He leaned back against the seat, quietly watching the person standing on the steps.

The night was dark; only the lights of the teaching building’s lobby were bright. She stood right within that pool of light.

Meng Yanxi didn’t say a word.

Meng Zhuxi began to suspect her brother had been cursed. All these years, Meng Yanxi had always been a pure businessman—never rising early without profit. Yet lately, he had been waiting under the teaching building day after day. Fine, if he came, he came; even if he wanted to harm some decent girl, she couldn’t stop him. But he only parked the car by the roadside—she never saw him go up to strike up a conversation, he didn’t even get out of the car. Now that it was raining, a gift from the heavens, and he still didn’t plan to seize it.