That night when Lu Yixin came home, Liu Miqing was, for once, losing her temper at her husband, Lu Boyuan.

“You told me you found Fang Yongnian a partner, didn’t you?”

When Liu Miqing saw Lu Yixin return, she lowered her voice, went back into the room, and shut the door.

Before closing it, she even made a “don’t eavesdrop” gesture toward Lu Yixin.

Lu Yixin, who was still taking off her shoes at the entrance and already being disliked: “……”

Liu Miqing had her reasons to be angry.

She was not the kind of mother who liked to use parental authority on her daughter.

There had never been solid proof about Fang Yongnian’s situation, and regarding his character, she actually trusted her own eyes more.

So when she heard her husband say that he had found Fang Yongnian a girl he could somewhat get along with, she had felt relieved. At least this way, she could justifiably tell Lu Yixin not to cause trouble for Fang Yongnian anymore.

But today, her husband accidentally let something slip. He said he had asked some older acquaintances to persuade Fang Yongnian to join the project, but all had failed.

And the blind date he introduced only met Fang Yongnian once; she didn’t even take a sip of water before she directly refused.

Afterward, the young lady even complained to Lu Boyuan, asking why he had introduced her to a disabled person.

“This lie of yours is too easy to expose. When Yixin finds out and starts making a fuss, I won’t even have the standing to scold her.”

Liu Miqing muttered under her breath, her words fast and anxious, angry and flustered.

On the other end of the call, Lu Boyuan gave a bitter laugh.

Their family’s parenting style was really too open, his wife was actually worried about not having the “standing” to lecture their child.

“I’ll be back in a couple of days,” he said simply, taking all the blame on himself. “If that girl throws a tantrum, tell her to come straight to me.”

Truly too open, almost lawless at this point.

“How can you be like this?” Liu Miqing felt a headache coming on.

Her daughter was already eighteen, supposedly at the age to reason with, yet Lu Boyuan still insisted on using parental authority to forcibly suppress her.

Lu Yixin was her daughter. If she could be suppressed by force, that would be strange indeed.

“This time when I come back, I’ll tie Fang Yongnian up if I have to and drag him back to the project team,” Lu Boyuan said through gritted teeth. “Once that girl can’t find him, she’ll calm down.”

He had pulled every string he could, asked so many elders for help, and yet that guy hadn’t even nodded once.

It wasn’t as if he meant to harm him.

He only wanted to give him another chance. A chance to admit his mistake and start over.

Utterly ungrateful.

If he heard that girl shouting about marrying Fang Yongnian again, he’d break her legs!

୨୧ ⏔⏔⏔⏔♡⏔⏔⏔⏔ ୨୧

Lu Boyuan came back soon after.

By the time he returned, Lu Yixin still hadn’t figured out why her mother and Fang Yongnian were acting strange, nor had she had the chance to ask her mother why she made up such an odd lie.

She had been rather busy lately. The school was about to hold a parent meeting, and the teachers needed to confirm every student’s college entrance exam intentions in advance.

She was in a panic because she still hadn’t figured out what she wanted to do in the future.

If she told the teacher that her dream was to become Fang Yongnian’s wife, she’d probably end up hanging from the school flagpole as a public example, courtesy of her father.

“How about I study biochemistry too, and take the entrance exam for the university Fang Yongnian went to?”

Her eyes lit up.

Walking the same path Fang Yongnian once did, it even sounded romantic when she thought about it.

“You won’t get in.” Zheng Ranran smacked her dream straight into the dirt.

“……”

Lu Yixin, long used to being struck down, pouted and quickly accepted this fact, then turned her attention to Zheng Ranran. “What about you? What university do you plan to apply to?”

“I want to go to Anting City.” Zheng Ranran flipped another page of her workbook.

“You’re going to find your dad?” Lu Yixin reacted immediately.

“Mm.” Zheng Ranran nodded, speaking softly, gently, almost breezily. “I’ll apply for the most expensive major, go to Anting City, eat his food, use his money, bully his son, and ruin his life.”

Lu Yixin: “……”

She knew it, Zheng Ranran had never been a well-behaved child.

“Then how about I apply to Anting City too?” Lu Yixin suddenly had a new goal. “I’ll help you eat his food, use his money, bully his son, and ruin his life.”

Zheng Ranran looked up, pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, patted Lu Yixin’s shoulder, and reminded her in a tone almost full of pity, “You’re not his daughter. Why would he support you…”

Lu Yixin deflated, slumping over the desk, cheeks puffed as she blew out a sigh.

“I wonder if Fang Yongnian will stay in Hecheng forever. If he’s always here, then I’ll just go to college here.” This time, Lu Yixin’s voice carried a hint of guilt.

Sure enough, Zheng Ranran gave her just one glance and said nothing.

Lu Yixin wiggled closer, scooting her chair until she was pressed against Zheng Ranran.

“There’s no good university in Hecheng. If you turn into a love-brained fool, I’ll cut ties with you,” Zheng Ranran said, completely unmoved.

“Ah…” Lu Yixin sighed so hard it was as if her lungs would burst. “Then what should I do? I have no sense of mission, no dream, I’m just a salted fish!”

“You can ask your idol.” Zheng Ranran offered a suggestion, hoping to chase away the clingy, flopping salted fish beside her.

Lu Yixin stopped flopping. Resting her chin on her desk, she suddenly went as quiet as a chick.

Zheng Ranran finally had the peace to finish calculating the last problem’s answer and felt quite satisfied with her method of diverting the topic.

After that night, Lu Yixin brought up Fang Yongnian far less often, and whenever she did, her face looked constipated.

“I… don’t dare.” After a while, Lu Yixin whispered timidly, her baby-round face pressed against the desk, full of worry.

That night had been far too embarrassing.

Every time she thought about it, she wished she could pull out her own intestines and use them as a rope to hang herself.

“But…” She lifted her head. “Choosing college preferences should count as serious business, right?”

Zheng Ranran nodded.

Lu Yixin’s eyes lit up instantly, and she straightened her back, finally finding a reason to convince herself. It was fine to call Fang Yongnian for something serious! It was fine to consult her idol about what she should do in the future!

There were still ten minutes left before evening self-study ended, and as if blessed by divine aid, Lu Yixin displayed extraordinary focus, finishing all her remaining homework in one go.

Beside her, Zheng Ranran bit on her pen thoughtfully.

Sometimes, she couldn’t help but feel that Lu Yixin’s feelings for Fang Yongnian had already gone far beyond mere idol admiration and affection.

But…

Zheng Ranran lowered her head and continued doing her homework.

She decided not to tell her for now. After all, the college entrance exam was almost here.

She could joke every day about wishing them “a hundred years of harmony,” but the truth was, those two would never have such a future.

From a worldly point of view, they were a generation apart. No matter how perfect Fang Yongnian seemed in Lu Yixin’s eyes, in the end, he was still just a disabled uncle with a prosthetic limb.

No one would bless that kind of love.

The days spent at school were the farthest from worldly judgment.

Within school walls, students could think and speak freely, unrestrained by reality.

Lu Yixin was a smart person—once she left school, she would understand.

After she got into university, she would be exposed to a wider world.

Even if, by then, she still thought Fang Yongnian was perfect, that perfection would belong only to her girlhood years.

Zheng Ranran watched as Lu Yixin packed her schoolbag in record time, her ponytail swinging back and forth, stray strands of hair falling across her face.

She smiled and reached out to rub her best friend’s head.

She liked Lu Yixin—liked her for being so transparent, for having emotions that were so clear and easy to read.

Lu Yixin had a kind of magic that could make people smile. Watching her charge through life headfirst made one feel that living was, after all, a beautiful thing.

୨୧ ⏔⏔⏔⏔♡⏔⏔⏔⏔ ୨୧

After evening self-study, the road near the school was noisy.

Lu Yixin, cherishing every moment between her and Fang Yongnian, held herself back until she was under the bicycle shed near her building before finally taking out her phone.

But Fang Yongnian didn’t answer the call.

Lu Yixin tried twice. On the third attempt, she couldn’t summon the courage anymore. She pressed the call button, then immediately pressed “end.”

She bit her nails in the dim shed.

It couldn’t be because of that night. That night’s embarrassment had been hers alone. Fang Yongnian wasn’t the kind of person who would ignore her over something that small.

At this hour, he should be at the pharmacy.

Lu Yixin paced two anxious circles in the shed like a restless little animal.

It was too late, she couldn’t find a good excuse to go to the pharmacy now.

She decided to try again later.

Her heart was full of unease.

If he still didn’t answer later, she’d call Uncle Zheng.

He was a single man, and his health wasn’t that great…

Overcome by worry, she lowered her head and, at the entrance to her building, worked up the courage to dial once more.

Still no answer—but this time, she heard a familiar ringtone coming from inside her home upstairs.

Lu Yixin: “?”

What was going on?

She bounded up the stairs in a few quick steps. The front door was half open.

Evening self-study already ended quite late, and yet the house was brightly lit. The moment she opened the door, everyone in the living room turned to stare at her.

Her father had come home.

Her eyes widened.

Fang Yongnian was there too.

And so was her mother, still wearing the same clothes she had worn to work that morning.

“Dad.” Lu Yixin stepped out of her shoes, one foot stepping on the other. “Uncle Fang.”

She greeted the two people who shouldn’t have been there at this hour, then blinked meaningfully at Liu Miqing.

Liu Miqing spoke briefly and to the point: “Go back to your room first.”

Lu Yixin: “……”

The atmosphere in the living room wasn’t good.

The table was filled with dishes, yet almost no one had touched them. In front of both her father and Fang Yongnian sat wine glasses, filled to the brim—but neither had taken a sip.

“Dad, Uncle Fang can’t drink alcohol.”

Lu Yixin pretended not to hear her mother’s words and tried to squeeze further into the living room.

“Go back to your room!”

Lu Boyuan slammed his chopsticks heavily onto the table.

Lu Yixin froze, biting her lip, her eyes beginning to redden.

She hadn’t seen Lu Boyuan for nearly half a year, and the first thing he did upon seeing her was yell. And in front of Fang Yongnian, no less.

“What are you yelling at her for?”

Liu Miqing stood up, pulling Lu Yixin toward her room.

“Go back to your room first. Your dad has something to discuss with Uncle Fang.”

Liu Miqing frowned, trying to persuade her.

But the girl’s stubborn streak had risen, she stood unmoving at the entryway.

“Hurry up and go inside!” Liu Miqing’s brow tightened. “This is grown-up business. Don’t get involved.”

Lu Yixin turned her eyes toward Fang Yongnian.

After she came in, Fang Yongnian had looked at her once—just once—and then his gaze had stayed fixed on the dishes on the table.

His hair was still uncut, a bit long, falling over one eye, making it impossible to see his expression clearly.

But he didn’t look at her again.

It was as if she really was just the kid next door, and they were talking about adult matters, so she ought to excuse herself.

And although that was true—

Lu Yixin took a deep breath. When she finally went back to her room, she slammed the door shut with a loud bang.

The house went quiet.

No one scolded her for being rude, for slamming the door in front of her parents. She locked herself inside her room, shut away from the outside world.

Tears streamed down her face all at once, and she didn’t even know why she was crying.

Was it because of Lu Boyuan’s attitude?

Or because of Fang Yongnian’s distance?

Or… was it simply because she was just a child?

Her tears kept falling, harder and harder, her eyes growing more and more unfocused.

What exactly was she crying for?

Why was it that lately, she was slowly starting to not understand herself anymore…