After a mixed day of ups and downs, Su Qingran went with her classmates for filming, and by the time they finished selecting and editing material, night had already fallen.

Even though Jiang Chenlin didn’t have any classes that evening, he waited for her to finish her work. The two of them grabbed a late-night snack before Jiang Chenlin dropped Su Qingran off at her studio.

Once Su Qingran had an idea, it wasn’t uncommon for her to stay up all night working on it.

Tonight, she planned to carve the rough shape of the design she’d conceived earlier.

Once she was engrossed in her work, she didn’t even notice when Jiang Chenlin said goodbye and left.

A long time passed before the quiet room was interrupted by the sound of a ringing phone.

Without putting down her carving knife, Su Qingran tilted her head to swipe the screen and answered the call. “Chenlin?”

“Have you been working non-stop? Did you drink the warm milk I made for you?” Jiang Chenlin’s voice came through, along with the sound of wind, suggesting he was still driving. “Put the carving knife down right now and stretch your neck. You don’t want to end up with a bad neck at such a young age!”

Su Qingran laughed, knowing he’d hit the mark. “Are you worried that when I get old and can’t move my neck, you’ll have to take care of a half-paralyzed old lady like me?”

Jiang Chenlin’s breathing became slightly strained in the wind, and after a brief pause, he replied, somewhat exasperated, “At least you know!”

They chatted for a while longer before Su Qingran hung up the phone, stood up, and stretched, still smiling.

Alright, she thought, I’ll take a break for my future caretaker’s sake so he won’t have to look after an old lady with neck problems.

Meanwhile, late at night in a quiet alley, Jiang Chenlin parked his car by the roadside and slowly leaned back into his seat, letting the weight of his body sink into the chair.

The car’s dashboard displayed the current time as he watched the minutes tick by.

Just before midnight, he turned on the car radio.

As the clock struck twelve, a gentle and sophisticated female voice filled the air, carrying a sense of solitude in the stillness of the night: “Good evening, listeners, and welcome to Midnight Voices. As always, we’ll start by playing a song requested by one of our regulars. I think most of you will recognize this listener. He’s been requesting songs for three years now and has never missed an episode.”

Jiang Chenlin reached into the glove compartment, pulled out a desk calendar, and used a pen to write the number “17” on today’s date before crossing it out.

Just as he did so, the radio host’s soothing voice continued, “Today, our long-time friend has requested the song ‘The Last 17 Days’…”

As the intro played, Jiang Chenlin stared at the countdown written on his calendar, his hand gripping the pen so tightly that the veins on the back of his hand bulged.

After a long while, he finally put down the calendar, closed his eyes, and sat still, as if asleep.

The next day.

Su Qingran slept until late morning at her studio. She had stayed up all night, unable to stop herself from continuing. After shaping one piece of beeswax, she couldn’t resist picking up another older piece from her personal collection and carving an excerpt from the Heart Sutra onto it.

By the time she woke up around noon, still groggy, she grabbed her phone and saw several messages from Jiang Chenlin:

“Ranran, let me know when you wake up. I just got a call saying that the engagement outfits are ready, and we can go try them on at the store.”

“Baby, did you stay up all night again? What time did you go to sleep?”

“Alright, I already know — you barely slept last night, right?”

“If you keep this up, who’s going to take care of you in the future?”

Su Qingran laughed as she replied, “You will, Mr. Caretaker!” She added a cute cat emoji rolling around playfully.

Almost as soon as she sent her message, Jiang Chenlin called.

“Awake?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Su Qingran yawned. “I think I might have dark circles under my eyes. Good thing we’re just trying on the engagement outfits today and not actually getting engaged…”

Jiang Chenlin was about to give her a light scolding when Su Qingran suddenly exclaimed, “Wait, there are only 16 days left until our engagement?!”

Her words made Jiang Chenlin’s breathing grow heavier. After a couple of seconds, he responded with a soft “Mm.”

Su Qingran didn’t notice anything unusual and said, “It’s already noon. I’ll have breakfast and lunch together, and after that, we can go try the outfits.”

Outside Su Qingran’s studio, the door of a car that had been parked all night opened, and Jiang Chenlin got out. He walked straight toward the sign that read “Ran Ke Studio.”

Over the phone, he said, “The night owl needs to open the door.”

Su Qingran paused for a moment, then understood what he meant. She quickly ran her hand through her messy hair and slipped on her slippers to open the door.

The autumn weather in Beijing was already quite chilly, and Jiang Chenlin was still wearing yesterday’s clothes. When he entered the room, he seemed to carry the cold air from outside with him, and for the first time, Su Qingran felt a strange chill emanating from him.

But once inside, he acted just as he always did. He ruffled her barely-tamed hair into a mess again, turning it into a bird’s nest. “Get dressed. I’m taking you to eat.”

Su Qingran pouted in protest, playfully pleading, “Okay, okay! I won’t stay up late anymore!”

She added silently to herself, Or at least I won’t let my caretaker catch me staying up next time.

Su Qingran was in the bathroom washing up while Jiang Chenlin wandered into her studio, looking at what she had accomplished the night before.

The smooth, oval-shaped piece of beeswax had been carved into a preliminary design of a tree and an enlightened figure. Even with just a few strokes, it reminded Jiang Chenlin of the many times he had met Pei Jingyan.

An inexplicable frustration welled up in his heart.

He stared at the piece for a long time, until his eyes fell on another item nearby—a Wushi plaque with the Heart Sutra carved into it.

Su Qingran had beautiful handwriting. When she was ten, a piece of her calligraphy had been hung up in the Su family home, and a calligraphy master had praised it, offering to take her as a student.

But Su Qingran had already become an apprentice to a master engraver by that time, so she politely declined. Over the years, she had kept in touch with that master, and her brushstrokes now had their own distinctive grace and style.

The Wushi plaque was engraved with just the text for now, and there was still some empty space, as if she intended to add something else later. Jiang Chenlin gently ran his finger over each of her strokes, and suddenly, an idea formed in his mind.

Just then, Su Qingran’s voice came from behind, “I’m ready!”

Seeing that he hadn’t moved, she skipped over to him and noticed that he was holding the Wushi plaque. She smiled and teased, “What’s this? Our dear Jiang suddenly wants to chant sutras?”

Jiang Chenlin snapped out of his thoughts and looked at her. “Ranran, when this is finished, can you give it to me?”

Su Qingran quickly snatched it back. “No way.”

She carefully placed the plaque aside, smiling playfully. “Ah Lin, this doesn’t suit your vibe. I’ll make something more fitting for you another day.”

Jiang Chenlin felt like he had been acting a bit crazy. Why had he suddenly wanted something just because Pei Jingyan had it, even though it wasn’t suitable for him? He exhaled and asked, “Alright then, what suits me?”

Su Qingran blinked at him mischievously before dashing out of the room. “Mr. Caretaker!”

Jiang Chenlin couldn’t help but laugh as he chased after her. After some playful banter, they found a restaurant to have lunch before heading to the bridal shop.

The wedding outfits had been chosen a while ago, and today they were there to check the fit and see if any alterations were needed. Each of them took their respective outfits and went to the fitting rooms.

Su Qingran had always imagined that her wedding would be in traditional Chinese style. Her mother had even commissioned a Suzhou embroidery master to begin crafting the embroidery patterns a year in advance. The work was expected to be completed by early next year.