Time stretched on, or perhaps it didn’t.

Jin Zhao stared straight at him, as if she had briefly lost the ability to think.

She heard Luo Heng suddenly let out what seemed like a mischievous “Hey—,” and Si Tian had also spotted her, calling out in surprise from afar, “Zhao-zhao—.” Yet none of these sounds seemed to reach her ears; they were still far away, not yet close, when Meng Yanxi had already taken her by the hand and led her out, casually pulling the private room door shut behind them.

The corridor was quiet, the lighting soft. The heavy private room door cut off the noise and prying looks inside, and at the same time abruptly amplified the sound of her heartbeat.

Meng Yanxi held her hand and strode down the dim corridor.

She followed him passively, not knowing where he was taking her, yet afraid they wouldn’t make it in time.

“Meng Yanxi, I have something to say to you.” For no clear reason, anxious, she blurted it out.

“I know.”

The man’s voice was very low, sounding steady, but his footsteps were quick.

This was an old foreign-style mansion club. The corridor was not long; at the end stood a pair of double doors inlaid with walnut wood and brass.

Meng Yanxi pushed the door open. Outside was an enclosed terrace, with a marble floor and balcony railings.

The November wind carried a chill. Beyond the terrace, the plane trees had already taken on the yellow of late autumn, but the red roses and bougainvillea planted on the terrace were still vivid and eye-catching, impeccably maintained. In the center sat a set of light-gray outdoor sofas with matching cushions, and beside them stood a copper floor lamp.

Meng Yanxi seemed very familiar with the place. He lifted his hand and pressed something on the wall; the floor lamp suddenly lit up, its orange-red glow casting a warm hue over this small world.

“What do you want to say to me? Sit down and say it.”

His eyes were very dark; when he lowered his gaze to look at her, they appeared especially deep.

All of a sudden, Jin Zhao found herself unable to sit down, and unable to speak.

She had come running here on a surge of solitary courage. In her head she had imagined all kinds of chaotic scenes, like the noisy clamor inside the private room just now—her arrival would either add even more confusion to that din, or fail to affect it at all. But she seemed to have forgotten the most important point: Meng Yanxi himself had never been chaotic. From his youth onward, he had always been at ease, in control of the whole situation.

In an instant he had found her such a quiet, atmospheric place. That made her very nervous. She had originally been overheated all over, her head a little muddled too. After being cooled by the night wind like this, she seemed to calm down somewhat, and those words she had planned to blurt out while riding the rush now showed signs of being swallowed back.

If she sat down, she really wouldn’t be able to say them.

She stared at that set of exquisitely textured sofas, and in her mind had already conjured the image of herself sitting there with Meng Yanxi, speaking in an all-businesslike manner about donations.

Meng Yanxi seemed to sense her awkwardness as well, though he probably had no idea that the donation speech in her head wasn’t even meant to persuade him to donate to the school, but to donate to her—which would have been even more awkward.

He didn’t speak. He walked straight to the balcony, leaned back against the railing, and looked at her, one long leg slightly bent, his posture relaxed and unrestrained.

Behind him, Yunsheng Tower stood across the river, the light show on its outer walls shifting in dazzling patterns.

The two of them just looked at each other from neither too near nor too far away, neither speaking.

After a long while, Jin Zhao finally stepped toward him, stopped in front of him, and lifted her face to look at him.

She had always been a gentle, roundabout person; even adding him on WeChat required using a thank-you letter as an excuse. On the way here she had prepared a long speech, planning to start from that brief intersection back in high school, then talk about the past she had heard that afternoon from Teacher Xiao Feng…

But when this moment truly arrived, when she was standing so close, looking into Meng Yanxi’s deep-set eyes, the drafts filling her mind suddenly lost all trace, and her mouth seemed to have a will of its own.

“You said last time, if I wanted to find someone to date, I could look for you. Does that still count?”

She asked softly, her hands hanging at her sides, unconsciously clenched tight.

Meng Yanxi’s brow twitched slightly, his gaze darkening further.

The wind stirred the flowers and leaves on the balcony, rustling softly; in the air drifted the cool fragrance of roses blooming at night.

“Who do you want to look for?” he asked hoarsely.

Jin Zhao pressed her tongue against a single word.

The gaze falling from above was scorching, as if carrying a searing heat. Before she could even say it, Jin Zhao grew shy, and quickly looked away.

She stared at the river behind him and suddenly said, her face flushed, “Our school is very strict about teacher ethics. Every meeting talks about prohibiting teachers from dating college students.”

The man raised an eyebrow. “You want to date a college student?”

“No, of course not.”

Jin Zhao lifted her eyes to look at him. To increase her credibility, she gave herself a completely unmodest evaluation: “Although my professional rank is relatively low, and I’m just a lecturer, when it comes to teacher ethics, I’m far ahead of the pack.”

“Far ahead of the pack.”

For some reason, those words seemed to hit his funny bone. Meng Yanxi suddenly tilted his head slightly and let out a very soft laugh.

Jin Zhao: “Yes. My main problem is…”

Jin Zhao looked up at his eyes and fell silent for a moment.

The man in front of her also seemed to become exceptionally patient, leaning back against the balcony railing, lowering his gaze to watch her, his pitch-black eyes filled with quiet.

“What is it?” he asked softly.

Jin Zhao’s long, curled eyelashes trembled once, like a butterfly’s wings, suddenly fluttering.

She finally spoke: “I don’t know if it’s okay to date a college student’s older brother?”

“Whoosh—”

A gust of wind suddenly blew in from the river, rustling the plane tree leaves below with a loud swish.

The wind, carrying moisture from the water, blew over Meng Yanxi’s body, already full of heat. He felt no chill at all; instead, it felt exactly like midsummer. All he felt was that reckless, all-consuming intensity.

The long fingers tucked into his trouser pocket moved slightly. He lowered his eyes and looked straight at her.

Suddenly, he turned his head aside and smiled, facing the endlessly vast river.

When he turned back again, the inky darkness in his eyes seemed to have eased.

With a half-smile, he asked, “You didn’t ask?”

Jin Zhao shook her head.

“I didn’t ask. You know, at school, a lot of things—once you ask, it’s a no.”

“A no is fine too.”

Jin Zhao bit her lip. “I won’t resign.”

Meng Yanxi nodded. “I know. I can.”

Jin Zhao: “?”

He suddenly reached out, prying open the fingers she had clenched tight from nerves, forcefully interlacing his fingers with hers.

Jin Zhao was stunned by his sudden “next step.” By reflex she drew her palm in, touching the man’s long, powerful fingers—dry and warm, with clearly defined knuckles.

She lifted her eyes and stared at him blankly, eyes wide.

There was a smile in Meng Yanxi’s eyes. The usual coolness of his peach-blossom eyes dissipated, turning tender and gentle. He leaned forward slightly, meeting her gaze.

“What I mean is, if the college student you’re talking about is my younger sister, I can immediately sever sibling ties with Meng Zhuxi.”

From that sentence onward, Jin Zhao’s mind was completely muddled that night.

At first there was excitement, joy.

She had confessed—though a little roundabout, it was already clear enough. Meng Yanxi had very obviously understood, and had given her a response right away.

Ten years of secret love suddenly saw the light of day, and the whole world took on an unreal kind of happiness.

In the season when late autumn slipped into winter, she felt as though flowers were blooming everywhere.

Later, Meng Yanxi held her hand and brought her back to Luo Heng’s birthday banquet. A group of drunk people jeered and shouted, their voices rising higher and higher, but to her it felt like fireworks exploding.

Waves of searing heat rushed straight to her cheeks.

By comparison, Meng Yanxi appeared calm and composed.

Holding her hand, he turned back and asked if she was in a hurry to go back.

She looked at his eyes, then at his lips, uncontrollably bewitched by his looks, her heart pounding wildly.

She shook her head against her conscience.

He seemed to see through her immediately and changed the question, asking whether she had class tomorrow morning.

She had no choice but to nod honestly.

He glanced at her with a half-smile, said goodbye to Luo Heng, and led her away from the bustle.

Meng Yanxi hadn’t been drinking. He drove on the way back, she sat in the passenger seat, and for a while neither of them spoke.

As the initial joy and excitement cooled a little, she began to feel uneasy again.

Like suddenly winning the jackpot—after the floating exhilaration came fear, fear that none of this was real.

Was she really Meng Yanxi’s girlfriend now? Was it an illusion? Or a dream? How could she prove it at all times?

Only then did she regret being too roundabout earlier. She had asked in a roundabout way; he had answered in a roundabout way. Although they both seemed to have reached an understanding, compared to a normal couple’s confession, it still felt not quite certain enough, leaving her with little sense of security.

Meng Yanxi suddenly spoke: “Back to school?”

She reacted half a beat later, her face hot as she said, “Mm, back to school.”

Looking ahead, Meng Yanxi asked another question: “You didn’t find another place to live?”

Jin Zhao pinched the seat belt with her fingers and said softly, “No. The school subsidy only covers half.”

Meng Yanxi fell silent for a moment, then asked, “Then the subsidy?”

Jin Zhao understood what he meant. No renting—did that mean the subsidy was saved? Dream on.

Jin Zhao said regretfully, “Then there’s no subsidy. Only teachers who don’t live on campus and submit a rental contract get the subsidy.”

Meng Yanxi nodded and didn’t say anything more.

Teacher Jin, freshly in love, had emotions that went up and down a bit. But after exchanging a few casual words with Meng Yanxi, she floated back into happiness again.

Unfortunately, joy often precedes sorrow. When they arrived at the school, she suddenly realized something terrifying—she had left her bag in the taxi!

She had been so eager to see him that she got out right after scanning the code, phone in hand, in a rush, completely unaware that her bag was still in the car.

The good news was that she had originally planned to go dancing that day, so there was nothing important in the bag—just her dance clothes and dance shoes.

The bad news was that her keys were inside.

Jin Zhao didn’t want to look stupid on the very first day of dating, so she didn’t mention it at all. Unfortunately, Meng Yanxi insisted on walking her upstairs.

How could Jin Zhao dare let him find out she’d lost her keys? She braced herself and said, “There’s really no need, it’s just a few steps.”

Meng Yanxi raised an eyebrow at her and suddenly said unhurriedly, “Don’t let me be derelict on my first day, okay?”

Because of the words “derelict,” Jin Zhao secretly felt sweet again, and on the spot lost her resolve and gave in.

In the end, she naturally brought Meng Yanxi along to the building supervisor to borrow a spare key.

Jin Zhao pretended not to notice the thoughtful look Meng Yanxi gave her and lowered her head to register.

When the building supervisor turned around to fetch the spare key, Zhou Qian happened to come over to return some insecticide.

This school was neither particularly big nor particularly small. Even though they lived in the same teacher apartment building, Zhou Qian hadn’t seen Jin Zhao again since that rainy Wednesday night. This sudden encounter tonight delighted him, and he immediately greeted her with a smile. “Teacher Jin, what a coincidence?”

Jin Zhao remembered who he was and replied with a smile, “Hello, Teacher Zhou.”

At this moment, the building supervisor brought over the spare key. Meng Yanxi took it and came to Jin Zhao’s side.

“Let’s go.”

Zhou Qian looked at the tall, long-legged, strikingly handsome man. The surprise on his face reined itself in for a split second, and he asked, “This is…?”

Meng Yanxi said, “Teacher Jin’s boyfriend.”