Chapter 1

Friend Request

At 11 p.m., Zhou Zhou walked out of the building and took her phone from the pocket of her trench coat to return her mother’s call.

It was early autumn—neither hot nor cold. Even though it was nearly midnight, the night breeze felt pleasantly cool against her skin.

She did a quick mental calculation. By the time she reached the subway station, the last train would have already left. So she didn’t rush and planned to make the call and then take a cab home.

“Mom, I was working late. I just got off.”

Her mother, Tao Cai, replied on the other end, “Why are you getting off work so late again? Have you had dinner?”

“I ate at the cafeteria. I’ll take a cab home, so don’t worry.”

She didn’t live with her parents. The city was too big—her parents lived in the old district, and her workplace was too far. The commute took over an hour each way, changing subway lines. Fortunately, she had been working for several years and didn’t have extravagant spending habits. After returning to H City, she used her savings for a down payment on a small second-hand apartment near her office. Now, her commute was only four or five subway stops—much more convenient.

She added, “Didn’t I message you earlier to tell you and Dad to go to bed? I’ll come home tomorrow night—it’s Friday.”

“We stay up late, it’s fine. It’s Yuanyuan who wanted to ask if you’re coming tomorrow.”

Yuanyuan was her sister’s six-year-old daughter. Zhou Zhou quickly asked, “Yuanyuan’s still awake?”

Staying up late wasn’t good for a child’s development.

“She’s already asleep. I was waiting for your call.”

Zhou Zhou explained, “I had some documents due tonight and was busy the whole time. I’m getting a cab now, so you should go to bed too.”

Tao Cai sighed on the other end, “You came back, but it’s still this busy.”

Sensing the helplessness and concern in her mother’s voice, Zhou Zhou tried to reassure her, “It’s just a busy period. Things are much better than before.”

In previous years, when she was working overseas, things had been even more hectic. Sometimes it took days just to call home. Now that she was back, though still busy and rarely home before 8 p.m., she felt much better. She could go home every weekend for two days. No matter how hectic things got, she still managed to visit home once a week. Unlike the past few years—she sometimes didn’t make it back even once a year.

Still, it was a bit of a shame—her beloved German language probably wouldn’t have any real use anymore.

As a wave of disappointment briefly washed over her, her father’s trembling figure, her mother’s graying hair, and the sound of her niece Yuanyuan crying out for her mother all flashed through her mind. She quickly closed her eyes to shake off the sadness.

Her sister was gone. Her parents were aging. Yuanyuan was still so young. This family—she had to carry it now.

“You should sleep soon, Mom. I’m getting in a cab now.” Not wanting her mother to worry, she used calling a cab as an excuse to hang up the WeChat call.

After hanging up, she sighed and used her phone to order a ride.

While waiting for the car, she checked the electricity, water, and gas bills for her parents’ house. Everything still had balance. She then mentally reviewed what household supplies needed restocking—kitchen paper, laundry detergent—probably running low. She quickly placed some online orders.

By the time she was done, she heard the driver say, “We’re here. WeChat or Alipay?” and realized she had already arrived at her building.

After finishing up various things at home, she saw another message from Tao Cai: “Your dad wants to know if you’re free on Sunday. He wants you to go with him to pick out a car.”

She checked the time—it was already midnight—so she decided to reply in the morning.

Her father, Zhou Feng, had been driving his current car for twelve years. It was plagued with issues and had broken down multiple times. Not long ago, she had gone with him to check out some cars. There were two models he liked, but the price had held him back, so they didn’t make a purchase at the time.

Now, with her mother asking, Zhou Zhou figured her father had probably made up his mind. She recalled the prices of the two models and opened her mobile banking app to check the balances in two accounts. She had a general sense of what she could afford.

Her mortgage was over 3,000 yuan a month, but her housing fund covered it. She ate all her meals in the office cafeteria, and besides occasionally buying clothes, she didn’t have many expenses, so she was still able to save.

If her dad didn’t have enough for the car, she could pitch in.

She was born and raised in H City. Her parents had run a small goods business, raised two daughters, and even managed to buy an apartment and two storefronts. Their situation wasn’t luxurious but not bad either.

But now her parents were old, and they had to raise a child. Yuanyuan would be starting school soon—there would be even more expenses.

The two cars her father had considered were gasoline-powered. With the recent rise of electric vehicles, gas cars had dropped in price. Zhou Feng had been shopping around for half a year—most likely hesitating because of money.

After her sister’s fatal accident, the insurance payout and compensation from the responsible party had all been set aside for Yuanyuan. That money absolutely couldn’t be touched. Her parents probably had just enough to buy the car, but since she didn’t have much use for her own savings, Zhou Zhou figured she might as well use it to help her father.

If they bought a better car, Yuanyuan would ride more comfortably too.

At that moment, her phone lit up with a new WeChat notification:

You have a new friend request.

It was 12:30 a.m.—who would be adding her now?

She opened it and saw that the request message simply read:

Cheng Yanran.