Wen Ci brought the bouquet of lisianthus home.
Zhou Wu seemed to have put some thought into choosing the flowers. He had not bought one of those enormous, exaggerated bouquets, but rather a small, graceful bunch—beautiful and delicate, just the right size to fit inside Wen Ci’s white canvas bag.
September was approaching, and the weather was gradually turning cooler.
The storm had arrived quickly and left just as fast. By the time Zhou Wu dropped her off at the alley, the rain had already stopped and the sky had cleared.
After going home and showering, Wen Ci sat down for dinner.
Halfway through the meal, Mother Wen pressed the back of her hand against Wen Ci’s forehead.
After confirming her temperature, she asked in confusion, “I thought you might have gotten sick after being caught in the rain this afternoon, but you don’t have a fever. Why is your face so red?”
Wen Ci hesitated. The corners of her lips had already begun curving upwards without her noticing.
“Maybe I’m a little hot.”
Her smile was different from the polite expression she usually wore. Seeing it, Mother Wen could not help smiling too.
“What happened today? Why are you so happy?”
“Nothing.” Wen Ci put down her chopsticks. “Mum, I’m full. I’m going upstairs.”
Not wanting to appear too obvious, Wen Ci deliberately made her steps lighter and slower than usual as she went upstairs.
The moment she entered her bedroom and closed the door, she walked to the bed and threw herself down onto it.
The pink tip of one ear peeked out from beneath her dishevelled black hair. Wen Ci buried her face in the pillow, listening to the loud pounding of her heart.
This was frightening.
Terrifying.
How had this happened?
Was it really all right for her to remain this excited for so long?
Wen Ci felt so exhilarated that she was practically giving off smoke.
Before she could suffocate herself against the pillow, the ringing of a WeChat call saved her life.
Wen Ci propped her phone against the headboard, revealing only her eyes and nose from behind the pillow as she answered.
On the other end, Dou Yiqing wore a headband, one foot propped on her chair. There were dark circles beneath her eyes, and her face looked exhausted. She had already entered work mode ahead of schedule.
“Why didn’t you reply to my messages this afternoon? That gossip was so explosive, and I had no one to discuss it with. I ended up going to Qin Yun, and he made me furious again…”
As she spoke, she looked up and noticed Wen Ci’s flushed face and obviously abnormal state. She asked the same question as Mother Wen.
“Do you have a fever?”
“No.” Wen Ci’s voice came from inside the pillow, quiet and muffled. “Sorry, I forgot to reply. I was doing something else at the time.”
“What were you doing? Did you go to the library again?”
Previously, Wen Ci had not told Dou Yiqing that Zhou Wu was her casual partner because she had not known how long their arrangement would last. That sort of thing also counted as part of Zhou Wu’s privacy.
Since her feelings were destined to go nowhere, it was enough for her alone to know about them.
But now, Wen Ci felt as though she could no longer keep it inside.
She desperately wanted to share it with Dou Yiqing.
“Mm.”
Wen Ci blinked and moved her face closer to the phone, as though the two of them were currently tucked beneath the same blanket. In a quiet, rapid voice, she told her,
“Yiqing, Zhou Wu confessed to me.”
“What?”
Dou Yiqing froze.
Wen Ci was about to repeat herself when Dou Yiqing snapped the laptop shut in front of her with a sharp *clap*.
“What?!”
…
“Then what did you say?”
Dou Yiqing had relocated from her desk to her bed. Sitting cross-legged with a cushion hugged against her chest, she listened to Wen Ci recount everything before pressing for an answer.
Wen Ci thought back.
She could not even remember how long she had stood there blankly. She had felt as though she were floating, and for one moment, she had even wondered whether the Zhou Wu in front of her was an illusion.
It was not until Mother Wen called to urge her home for dinner that she had finally recovered and said, “Okay.”
Remembering how Zhou Wu’s shoulders had shaken with laughter after hearing her answer, before he solemnly replied, “Thank you,” Wen Ci could no longer bear it and buried her face in the pillow again.
“Why did I say ‘okay’? I’m so strange.”
Dou Yiqing comforted her.
“It’s already impressive that you didn’t say ‘received,’ babe.”
“…”
“But when exactly did you start liking Zhou Wu?” Dou Yiqing pressed again. “I remember that during Truth or Dare, you said it was in our first year of high school…”
Wen Ci quietly acknowledged it.
“I was talking about Zhou Wu.”
“???”
Dou Yiqing’s confusion nearly burst through the phone screen.
She even began doubting herself. She and Wen Ci had practically spent every day together in high school, yet she had never noticed anything.
Wen Ci had truly known how to hide it.
After taking a moment to recover, Dou Yiqing asked, “So what are you planning to do now?”
“I don’t know.”
Wen Ci hugged the pillow tightly and asked for her friend’s opinion.
“How should I answer him? ‘Okay,’ ‘you can,’ or ‘I’m willing’?”
Dou Yiqing: “…”
So she simply did not know how to accept?
“‘I’m willing’ is what you say to a marriage proposal,” Dou Yiqing said speechlessly.
“Oh.”
Wen Ci’s eyelashes were fluttering so quickly they could have stirred a breeze.
“Oh, oh…”
She already looked completely in love.
Dou Yiqing sighed and spoke seriously.
“If you want my opinion, I don’t think you should agree immediately. Think carefully first and observe him for a while.”
“Observe what?” asked Wen Ci, an absolute novice when it came to romance.
Dou Yiqing had been in two relationships since university, so she had at least some experience.
“Things like his family background and character… Although Zhou Wu seems like a decent person based on how he’s acted recently, you’ve only spent a short time together. You weren’t close in high school either, so you can’t be certain yet.
“As for his family, all we know is that they’re extremely wealthy. You’re dating with marriage in mind, right? Then of course you need to understand his family situation first. I feel like wealthy families always have complicated relationships.
“Besides, Zhou Wu is rich and handsome. There are probably plenty of women around him—this isn’t me making rumours, okay? Qin Yun is exactly like that. What if he only wants to play around with you and dumps you after two months?”
She continued,
“Taking ten thousand steps back, didn’t he say he wants to pursue you? Then let him pursue you for a while and see how it goes. Being pursued feels amazing.”
As they spoke, a message notification appeared at the top of Wen Ci’s screen.
Zhou Wu had sent her a photograph of Yeye.
The pitiful, chubby Samoyed had once again been dragged out for a night run. He was sitting stubbornly in front of the same convenience shop where Wen Ci had previously bought him a sausage, refusing to move. Zhou Wu had pulled the leash completely taut.
**Zhou Wu:** I think you need to take responsibility. Every time he passes this place now, he refuses to move for several minutes.
Wen Ci smiled.
For the first time, her apology was not particularly sincere.
**Wen Ci:** Sorry.
**Zhou Wu:** Going to the library tomorrow?
**Wen Ci:** Mm. There’s renovation work nearby and it’s a little noisy, so I’ll probably be going there to prepare lessons for the next few days.
**Zhou Wu:** Got it.
**Zhou Wu:** Goodnight.
Did “got it” mean that he would come?
It seemed so.
Dou Yiqing had been talking continuously on the video call. When she noticed Wen Ci holding her phone and smiling foolishly, she immediately sensed something was wrong.
“What are you doing? Are you listening to me?”
Like a student caught daydreaming in class, Wen Ci instantly straightened her back.
“I am.”
Dou Yiqing genuinely adopted a teacher’s manner.
“What did I just say?”
“You told me to observe him, consider everything carefully and not agree too quickly.”
Wen Ci saluted her, imitating one of the students in her own class.
“Received. Thank you for your valuable advice, Teacher Dou.”
“…”
After ending the call, Dou Yiqing held her phone and stared at the ceiling.
Why did it feel as though Wen Ci had become even more adorable lately?
After putting down the phone, Wen Ci washed up and instinctively walked towards the bed to sleep.
When she reached the headboard, however, she changed direction and went over to her desk instead.
The pristine, elegant lisianthus had been carefully placed inside a vase.
Wen Ci occasionally bought flowers for herself, so Mother Wen had not asked any questions when she saw her bring them home.
Wen Ci lowered her head and moved closer, breathing in their fresh, clean and delicate fragrance.
…
By the time Wen Ci arrived at the library, Zhou Wu was already seated in yesterday’s spot.
He wore a fresh, clean white T-shirt, his sitting posture as lazy as ever. A black backpack occupied the seat beside him. His book was propped between his lap and the desk, and he appeared to be the most relaxed person in the entire area.
A girl stood beside him.
She wore a small dress and had her hair tied into two braids. Bent slightly at the waist, she appeared to be asking Zhou Wu for his contact details.
Libraries were among the places where people were most likely to be approached.
Wen Ci was often hit on, especially when she was reading postgraduate examination books. Male students would come over and ask whether she was also a “comrade-in-arms” preparing for the exam and whether they should add each other as friends so they could work hard towards passing together.
That was even more true for Zhou Wu.
He had attracted attention all his life.
Even now, with his shoulders lowered and his posture careless, he was still the sort of person one noticed immediately upon entering.
Zhou Wu looked up.
After listening to the girl, he raised his phone.
Wen Ci assumed he intended to exchange contact information with her.
Instead, the girl glanced down at his screen, smiled, placed her own phone back into her pocket and said goodbye.
Zhou Wu lifted a hand in farewell.
As he turned his gaze, his eyes met Wen Ci’s.
The hand he had raised slowly lowered.
He pulled out the chair beside him for her in advance and casually placed the backpack he had used to reserve the seat on the floor.
Wen Ci sat down and glanced at it.
“Why did you bring a backpack?”
He had never even carried one when they were students.
“To hold an umbrella and a jacket.”
Zhou Wu leaned back in his chair.
“Are you going home for dinner tonight?”
Wen Ci’s movement paused as she took out her books.
“I don’t have to.”
“Then shall we eat together?”
Wen Ci nodded.
Zhou Wu picked up his phone to reserve a restaurant.
Wen Ci unintentionally glanced at the screen and froze.
Zhou Wu had changed his phone wallpaper.
It was no longer Yeye sticking out his tongue, but a familiar field of warm orange light.
Wen Ci sat within that orange glow, her cheek puffed out with food and her eyes curved in a smile.
It was the photograph Zhou Wu had taken of her while she was eating in Bincheng.
The moment Zhou Wu unlocked his phone, Wen Ci tightly grabbed his wrist.
Zhou Wu surfed, played tennis and basketball regularly, so his skin was close to a wheat colour. Wen Ci was exceptionally pale, making the contrast especially obvious whenever they touched.
“Why is your screen…”
Wen Ci stared at it blankly.
Zhou Wu raised an eyebrow and answered concisely,
“Convenient.”
Whatever the situation, all he needed to do was raise his phone.
He did not even need to speak.
“…”
The excitement she had finally managed to suppress after a night’s sleep slowly spread through her again.
Her heartbeat pounded against her skin.
Afraid he might notice, Wen Ci released his wrist.
“Then…”
It was the first time anyone had used her as their phone wallpaper, and that person was Zhou Wu. Her mind was in chaos.
“Can’t you choose another picture?”
Zhou Wu opened his photo album, selected the portraits category and handed her the phone.
He was very accommodating.
“You choose.”
Wen Ci scrolled twice and discovered that she was the only person in the portrait category of Zhou Wu’s photo album.
Almost all the pictures had been taken in Bincheng.
There was little attention to composition, and it was obvious Zhou Wu had simply photographed her whenever the impulse struck him.
In the photographs, she was by the sea, in restaurants and in the villa courtyard.
Her face could not be seen clearly in some of them. Others were so blurred that they contained double images.
Zhou Wu had not deleted any of them.
The two most recent photographs showed her from behind while she walked Yeye.
One person and one dog were crossing a stone bridge, with Yeye’s rear pressed against her calf.
Zhou Wu rested one elbow on the table, his body turned partly towards her.
He watched as Wen Ci lowered her head further and further while scrolling.
Something about the sight felt strangely familiar.
Zhou Wu searched his memory.
After a while, he asked, “Have you chosen one?”
Wen Ci was still slowly swiping through the photographs one by one.
“Not yet. I… I want to look a little longer.”
Zhou Wu gave a lazy hum.
Then he suddenly asked,
“Wen Ci, did you once hide my phone for me in high school?”
Wen Ci froze and turned to look at him.
“Once. Teacher Yu carried out a surprise inspection and came into the classroom to search for phones.”
At the time, Zhou Wu had been standing in the corridor enjoying the breeze.
He was exhausted.
When he saw Yu Binhong approaching aggressively with a black bag, he immediately understood what was happening.
As one of the students most likely to be inspected, Zhou Wu would undoubtedly be the first to be searched.
So he turned around and found the nearest student seated by the window in the front row.
He held out his phone.
“Classmate, can you hide my phone for me?”
Wen Ci had been startled.
She lifted her head and stared blankly at him.
When she did not speak, and because she looked so obedient, Zhou Wu realised that he had chosen the wrong person.
He waved his hand, intending to tell her to forget it.
Then the girl suddenly accepted his phone with both hands and nodded.
“Okay.”
A model student like Wen Ci naturally would not be searched.
Yet she had a guilty conscience.
When Yu Binhong began questioning students from the front row and asked whether she had brought a phone, Zhou Wu looked up from the back of the classroom and saw Wen Ci holding the textbook concealing his phone in both hands.
“N-no, no, no, no, I didn’t.”
…
After carefully considering every option, Wen Ci finally chose the photograph of herself feeding Yeye a sausage.
She looked up, intending to ask Zhou Wu whether it was acceptable.
Then she noticed Zhou Wu twirling a pen between his fingers, his head tilted back carelessly.
Something about his state seemed strange.
Even his ears were slightly red.
Wen Ci froze.
There were other people nearby, so she held the phone and leaned closer, asking quietly,
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I was thinking about you in high school.”
“…?”
“How did I never realise you were this cute before?”
“…”
Still completely unaware of what was happening, Wen Ci held the phone in her hands.
She did not understand, but her ears turned red along with his.
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