The next day, the heavy rain arrived as predicted, pounding against the ground. If Qi Yu were at home, she would have wrapped herself in a blanket and slept comfortably all day. But since she was traveling, despite the disappointment, she still enjoyed a good night’s sleep.

When she woke up, the sky was dark, covered by thick clouds. Qi Yu quickly got ready, put on a baseball cap, borrowed an umbrella from the homestay, and ventured out to find food.

Fortunately, she was in town, so there was no shortage of places to eat. Qi Yu chose a wonton shop, found a seat, and scanned the code to order.

With the rain, fewer people were out and about, and even the shop was nearly empty. As Qi Yu enjoyed her wontons filled with shepherd’s purse, she wondered what to do after finishing her meal.

Her phone chimed with a message. It was from Xu Jingqian, asking what she had eaten.

Qi Yu finished the half wonton left on her spoon, picked up her phone, and replied: Wontons.

He responded with a simple “good.”

Qi Yu wasn’t sure what he meant. Good what? Was he asking what she had eaten out of concern? Confused, she sent back a vague “mmm.”

It was only after she finished eating and looked at her phone again that she realized Xu Jingqian had asked what she was doing, not what she had eaten. She quickly corrected herself: I meant I’m at the shop eating wontons. Have you eaten? Do you want me to bring you a portion?

Xu Jingqian: Sure.

The water in the pot was boiling, so Xu Jingqian put down his phone, turned off the stove, and put the instant wontons back in the freezer.

Qi Yu brought him a portion of the shop’s signature wontons, including all the condiments, as she wasn’t sure if he had any dietary restrictions.

When Qi Yu returned, Xu Jingqian was squatting down, feeding cat treats to a small cat. She noticed that there was a cat bowl and a litter box in the corner of the courtyard, which she hadn’t seen during her two-day stay.

The small cat looked familiar; it was the calico cat that had greeted her before.

Qi Yu put away her umbrella, shook off the rainwater, and placed it back on the umbrella stand. She put the packaged wontons on the table. “Here are the wontons for you.”

“How much was it? I’ll transfer the money to you,” Xu Jingqian said, holding the cat treats.

Qi Yu waved her hand. “No need. Consider it payment for the bandages from last night.”

Xu Jingqian nodded slightly.

The heavy rain continued to pour, splashing onto the edges of the walkway. Qi Yu sat on a chair inside, watching the small calico cat eat eagerly. “Is it your cat?” she asked.

“Sort of,” Xu Jingqian replied. “It’s a stray from around here. It comes by often, so I took it in.”

“You’re quite kind-hearted.”

Xu Jingqian smiled slightly and offered her the remaining cat treats. “It’s very friendly. Do you want to feed it?”

Qi Yu shook her head. “I can’t. I’m afraid of cats.” She liked cats but preferred not to get too close. “I was bitten by a cat when I was little, so I have a bit of a phobia,” she explained.

Xu Jingqian understood and finished feeding the cat himself.

The rain intensified, driven by the wind, and splashed onto the eaves. Qi Yu pulled her legs back, but her pants were still speckled with raindrops. She stood up and returned to her room.

“Remember to eat the wontons before they get cold,” Qi Yu said to Xu Jingqian as she closed the door.

“Okay.”

A moment later, Qi Yu received a message from Xu Jingqian: Thank you.

She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but although communicating with Xu Jingqian sometimes felt like talking to a robot, in just two days, Qi Yu felt he had evolved from a cold machine into a slightly more human-like one. Even with just one word, she no longer felt it was cold.

Qi Yu laughed and changed Xu Jingqian’s contact name to: Slightly Human-like AI.

“What are you laughing at?” Yu Zhi, Qi Yu’s friend, asked curiously through a video call.

Qi Yu composed herself. “Nothing, nothing.”

With their three years of college friendship, Yu Zhi immediately sensed something was off. “Qi Yu, you’re acting weird. You’re hiding something from me.”

“How could I?” Qi Yu had told Yu Zhi about meeting an “ice block” on her first day here, and Yu Zhi had playfully criticized her.

Yu Zhi squinted, her piercing gaze making Qi Yu’s jaw drop with her next words: “You aren’t falling in love, are you?”

“I’m not,” Qi Yu retorted.

“Not falling, or not happening?” Yu Zhi asked with a sly smile.

Qi Yu was speechless.

She almost forgot that Yu Zhi was a love guru. Qi Yu insisted there was nothing happening and quickly hung up the call.

After the call, Qi Yu started to feel uneasy. She and Xu Jingqian clearly had no relationship, so why did she feel like they did? Why was she feeling guilty?

Qi Yu felt that Yu Zhi’s baseless words had messed with her head. Under the barrage of Yu Zhi’s three question marks, Qi Yu replied three times: Not falling in love! Not falling in love! Not falling in love!!!

She didn’t need to prove anything. There was nothing to prove. She didn’t need to make things worse by overexplaining.

Then Yu Zhi replied: Okay, but you really should fall in love.

Qi Yu asked: What about you, Master Yu? When are you going to make a move on Lu Chen?

Yu Zhi: In the next life.

The reason Yu Zhi was called a master was because she was always ready to give strong, decisive advice on other people’s love lives but always hit a wall when it came to her own. Even though Yu Zhi hadn’t made a move yet, she felt it was definitely a lost cause.