For a long time after entering university, Tao Zhi often wondered if there would come a day when she would run into him somewhere on that vast campus.

Just like how she’d met Lin Suyan — at some time, some place — the meeting had happened naturally and without warning.

Girls were probably all like this: imagining countless times in their minds what it would be like if they ran into the ex-boyfriend who had dumped them.

Would they brush past each other indifferently, walk away cleanly and decisively, or rush up and slap him ten times in the face, or perhaps greet him calmly, like an old friend.

But when the encounter really happened, greetings were exchanged — yet in truth, it wasn’t that calm at all.

Nearly seven years had passed. The boy who had once filled her whole heart and eyes had become so blurred and unfamiliar that even his face seemed strange. The red ember of the cigarette between his fingers burned quietly, scorching her fragile and taut nerves.

Tao Zhi wanted to leave.

Just as she was wondering whether to go through the motions and say goodbye or to simply turn around and walk away, the wooden sliding door behind him was pulled open again with a whoosh.

Li Shuangjiang’s loud voice filled the quiet little balcony:

“Boss! You’ve been standing out here for an hour! If you don’t come back, we’ll finish all the sashimi—”

He stopped halfway through, finally noticing there was another person on the balcony. When he clearly saw who it was, he froze for a moment.

His mouth was still open, and after quite a while, he finally came to his senses.

“Huai-ge!” he shouted.

Tao Zhi was so startled she flinched.

Li Shuangjiang rushed onto the balcony. The tiny space was only separated by a long red lantern hanging between them. He lifted the lantern aside and threw himself at Jiang Qihuai, pulling him into a hug.

“I’m gonna cry, you bastard!” The man, well over one-eighty in height, had red eyes as he slapped Jiang Qihuai hard on the back. “How many years has it been! Couldn’t reach you at all—what, you went and disappeared from the face of the earth?”

His voice was so loud that nearly everyone in the private room heard it. Zhao Mingqi and Jiang Zhengxun, who had rushed over right after work, heard him howling the moment they entered.

One by one, people poked their heads out from inside. Zhao Mingqi’s eyes widened. “Holy shit!”

He smacked Jiang Zhengxun hard on the back and could only repeat, “Holy shit?!”

The hand Jiang Qihuai held the cigarette with extended slightly. He smiled faintly and patted Li Shuangjiang on the arm with the other hand.

Li Shuangjiang let go, rubbed his nose, and asked, “Here with a friend?”

Jiang Qihuai gave a low “mm,” paused, and added, “Was just about to leave.”

Li Shuangjiang nodded, then asked, “Got any plans later?”

A bad feeling rose in Tao Zhi’s chest.

Before Jiang Qihuai could reply, Li Shuangjiang went on, “If not, come have a few drinks? It’s just Zhao Mingqi and the rest of us — all old friends.”

The bad feeling came true.

Don’t come, don’t come, don’t come…

Tao Zhi lowered her eyes, not looking at him, silently chanting in her heart.

The next second, Jiang Qihuai stubbed out his cigarette, tossed it into the nearby trash can, and said mildly, “Sure.”

Tao Zhi: “……”

It’s been so many years! Could you not act so familiar right away?

Be a little cold and distant, please!

When Jiang Qihuai returned to the private room, everyone inside was in high spirits, eating and drinking noisily.

Cheng Yi was holding a wine glass, lamenting the unfairness of life.

“Lin-mei has a boyfriend, Chief Editor Gu has a girl he likes, and that idiot Old Lu probably even has a kid on the way—what about me!” Cheng Yi slammed the table in frustration. “Where’s my adorable little partner?! I’m almost thirty already!”

“You’d still be like this even at eighty,” Lu Jiaheng said without looking up, busy texting on his phone beside him. “Didn’t you just ask the waitress for her number ten minutes ago? You think you deserve to have a partner?”

Cheng Yi pointed at him. “Wasn’t this just like you back when your phone was full of girls’ numbers?”

“Don’t talk nonsense, you’ll get someone killed,” Lu Jiaheng corrected him with great seriousness. “Besides, back then they were the ones asking for my number.”

Cheng Yi slumped in defeat. When he saw Jiang Qihuai walk in, his dimmed eyes lit up again, as if a dying man had suddenly seen new life. “Director Jiang!”

Jiang Qihuai walked over to where he had been sitting earlier and bent down to pick up his coat.

Cheng Yi spread his arms wide toward him. “Ally! From now on it’s just the two of us against the world — you can’t betray me, okay!”

Jiang Qihuai leaned back a little, letting Cheng Yi’s embrace fall short. Lifting his eyelids slightly, he said, “I’m leaving first.”

“What’s the rush?” Cheng Yi asked, confused. “We just started eating.”

Jiang Qihuai walked to the door. “You guys eat.”

His hand was already on the door handle, just about to slide it open, when he turned around and looked at Lu Jiaheng. “You don’t come out.”

Lu Jiaheng raised an eyebrow. “So I’m sleeping here tonight?”

Jiang Qihuai ignored him.

With two “whoosh” sounds, the sliding door opened and shut again.

Cheng Yi stared toward the doorway, still dazed. “What did he mean by not letting you out?”

“He’s afraid I’ll be seen by someone he knows,” Lu Jiaheng said lazily as he poured himself another drink.

Cheng Yi frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Lu Jiaheng looked at him. For the first time, he felt a pang of pity for this fool. He called softly, “Old Cheng.”

Cheng Yi: “Yeah?”

“You’re about to lose that ally of yours,” Lu Jiaheng said earnestly.

Cheng Yi: “Huh??”

Tao Zhi held her chopsticks, head down, picking up the last slice of salmon sashimi.

Her eyes followed her nose, her nose followed her mouth, her mouth followed her heart — eating quietly, focused, and completely detached, as if the drunkenly laughing Zhao Mingqi and the others across the table didn’t exist at all.

Li Shuangjiang had his arm hooked around Jiang Qihuai’s neck as they clinked glasses. At times like this, Tao Zhi couldn’t help thinking that the friendship between men was truly simple and strange — no matter how many years they hadn’t met or how long they hadn’t spoken, two glasses of wine were all it took to start over again.

Back in high school, Li Shuangjiang had never seen him drunk.

After entering the workforce and enduring a few rounds of “training” from clients at the drinking table, his tolerance had clearly improved—Zhao Mingqi was already slumped over beside them, while he himself was still perfectly fine.

As for Jiang Qihuai.

Tao Zhi quietly glanced at the glass in front of him, which had just been refilled once again. From the moment he sat down until now, he hadn’t stopped drinking.

“Right, what are you doing now?” Li Shuangjiang asked.

Jiang Qihuai’s fingers held the small, delicate sake cup. “Investment.”

“Damn, then you’re loaded now,” Li Shuangjiang waved a hand. “I don’t understand that stuff at all, someday you gotta recommend a few stocks for your brother here.”

Tao Zhi lifted her eyes in mild surprise.

Jiang Qihuai didn’t seem like the kind of person who would do that kind of work. He’d always hated dealing with people, preferring to bury himself in his own tasks. She’d thought he would have gone for a research-oriented job in engineering.

Just as she looked up, her gaze met his.

Whether by coincidence or intent, when she looked at him, he happened to be looking at her too. Under the bright indoor light, his eyes were still that clear, cold shade of amber—when he looked at people, it was with that natural, effortless indifference and distance.

Tao Zhi didn’t avoid or back down. She met his gaze for a few seconds before her eyes lightly drifted away, pretending nothing had happened as she fished out a few strands of udon from the sukiyaki pot.

The sukiyaki had been simmering for too long; the broth had completely soaked into the udon noodles, filling them with a rich sweetness that coated her tongue and throat.

Even for someone like her, who loved sweet things as if her life depended on them, it was a bit too cloying.

Tao Zhi bit the tip of her tongue lightly, then poured herself a glass of lemon water and gulped it down, suppressing the overly strong salty-sweet taste.

Sure enough, some things just can’t be left to sit too long.

The meal ended with everyone thoroughly satisfied. Before parting, Li Shuangjiang slung the already-unconscious Zhao Mingqi over his shoulder and asked Jiang Qihuai for his home address.

“If you dare disappear on me again this time, I’m coming to smash your door down,” he warned.

Standing nearby, Tao Zhi rolled her eyes.

What good would smashing his door do?

He’d just move house.

Everyone had been drinking, so they left their cars and took cabs instead. Fu Xiling had to go home for the weekend. Before leaving, she hesitated and said to Tao Zhi, “Maybe I could just go back tomorrow instead?”

But before she could finish, Li Shuangjiang grabbed her by the collar and pulled her away. “Let’s go! Ling-mei, Brother Li will give you a ride home!”

With one hand holding each person, he dragged them off like a monkey, leaping into the car and speeding away as if fleeing a crime scene.

By the time Tao Zhi realized what had happened, all that was left for her was the fading exhaust from the taxi—

And the presence of her ex-boyfriend, standing right beside her.

It was nearly midnight, and the temperature outside had dropped several degrees. Tao Zhi raised her hand, tugging her scarf tighter around her neck, then tucked her hands into her coat pockets.

After a brief pause, she still spoke politely. “Then, I’ll be going.”

The crimson scarf made her pale skin look almost translucent. Jiang Qihuai watched her habitual motion of pulling the scarf up to cover her chin, momentarily dazed. After a pause, he said, “It’s too late. I’ll take you back.”

The words were so familiar that the nerves Tao Zhi had been holding taut all night nearly snapped.

Some winter night, in some warm and narrow bedroom, that boy had once sat beside her—

and said those exact same words.

Tao Zhi’s fingers curled slightly inside her coat pocket. Her face betrayed no expression as she leaned against the wooden doorframe of the Japanese restaurant and said lazily, “No need. I’ve already called a car.”

Jiang Qihuai withdrew the hand he had half-raised to hail a cab, nodded, and asked smoothly,

“Is it on the way?”

Tao Zhi: “……”

Are you really Jiang Qihuai?

Show your true face already, you shameless account-stealing impostor!!

She took a deep breath, lifted her head, and called him by name.

“Jiang Qihuai.”

“I’m not the kind of person who likes to stay friends with an ex after breaking up. I’m really glad I ran into you tonight—it’s good to see you’re doing well. It’s perfectly fine for old classmates to have dinner together, but there’s no need for any extra contact.”

Her tone was steady and unhurried. “Let’s just keep a little distance, alright?”

Her words were direct and clear, even carrying a hint of self-consciousness. Not wanting him to misunderstand, Tao Zhi added, “I know you didn’t mean anything by it, but we should still avoid giving the wrong impression, don’t you think?”

Jiang Qihuai didn’t speak. He lowered his gaze and looked at her.

She leaned against the door, her fair, delicate face bathed in the warm light spilling from the restaurant. The upward slant of her eyes was striking, almost aggressive in its beauty—her gaze calm, detached.

She seemed to have changed a lot, yet somehow not at all.

The girl who once feared the cold so much she wore long johns in early autumn now wore only slim pencil pants beneath her coat, a slender line of ankle exposed.

But she still liked red scarves.

Still loved sweet things.

Still couldn’t be bothered to hide her emotions.

When she liked someone, she drew near.

When she didn’t, she pushed away—blunt and decisive.

The crunch of tires over snow broke the long silence.

A black sedan slowed to a stop by the curb, and almost at the same time, Tao Zhi’s phone rang.

She pulled out her phone to answer it, straightening as she spoke, walking toward the car without another glance at him.

At the moment they brushed past each other, someone suddenly grabbed her arm.

Her steps faltered to a halt.

The night wind swept up flakes of snow.

Jiang Qihuai stood with the light behind him, his brows and eyes hidden in shadow, unreadable. His voice was tight and hoarse.

“What if I do?”

Tao Zhi froze, unable to react for a moment. She turned her head. “What?”

Jiang Qihuai’s grip on her wrist was firm—almost harsh—but careful, like a drowning man clutching desperately at the last piece of driftwood on the sea.

“Something else,” he said quietly.