Chapter 1: A-Jiu, Don’t Overthink It

The Start of Summer had just arrived, yet the sun that had barely peeked out was soon pressed back down by a dense layer of dark clouds.

Wen Jiu had just stepped out of the cake shop, holding a cake she’d made herself. Seeing the ominously dark sky overhead, she frowned slightly.

She pulled out her phone and called the contact pinned at the top—Jian Yue.

The moment the call connected, a not-unfamiliar voice came through the receiver.

“Hello, are you looking for Ah Yue?”

Ah Yue?

Such an intimate form of address.

Wen Jiu knew exactly who was on the other end of the line—Lin, a junior from Jian Yue’s current project team and the reigning campus belle of Jing University.

Pretty face, sure. But not much going on upstairs.

She let out a light scoff. “First of all, if I’m not mistaken, Jian Yue should have me marked in his contacts. Second, Miss Lin, don’t you think it’s a bit rude to answer someone else’s phone?”

“Ah!” On the other end of the line, Lin Anlan let out a startled cry, her mouth slightly agape. She glanced nervously at the young man who had just stepped out of a meeting, her eyes quickly reddening.

“Ah Yue,” she choked out tearfully, “it was a call from Senior Wen. I was afraid she’d hang up before you answered, so I picked it up for you without asking.”

“I didn’t expect…” Lin Anlan lowered her gaze, eyes brimming with tears. “I’ve made Senior Wen upset again.”

A beauty in tears—several of the nearby boys hurried over, fumbling to comfort the fragile junior girl.

But Jian Yue only looked at her steadily for a moment before stepping forward to take his phone back, casually offering a bit of reassurance:
“A-Jiu’s not that petty. Don’t overthink it.”

With that, he turned and walked off with his phone.

Seeing this, the grievance Lin Anlan had been pretending to feel suddenly became all the more real.

She bit her lip as tears rolled down her cheeks one by one, making the rest of the project team feel even more distressed on her behalf.

Noticing the commotion behind him, Jian Yue frowned and looked back.

“Jian Yue!” Wen Jiu, growing impatient at his silence, urged sharply, “I’m talking to you—didn’t you hear me?”

“I heard you.” Jian Yue rubbed his brow, sighing softly. “I’ll come pick you up right away.”

Outside the window, the wind had already begun to howl, as if the heavy rain was just seconds away from pouring down.

Thinking that Wen Jiu had probably just picked up the birthday cake she made for him, Jian Yue’s expression softened.

“You knew it was about to rain. Why didn’t you let the driver go instead? Aren’t you afraid of catching a cold?”

“I designed the cake myself. Of course I had to pick it up in person,” Wen Jiu replied proudly, raising her brow. “It looks amazing!”

“If it’s our A-Jiu’s design, of course it looks amazing.” Jian Yue chuckled, agreeing with her indulgently. Just imagining her smiling eyes on the other end of the call sent a wave of warmth through his chest.

“The wind’s picking up—go back inside the shop for now. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Okay~” Wen Jiu turned to head back toward the cake shop. But just as she moved, the thought of what had happened earlier crept back into her mind, and her relaxed expression tightened again.

“Why was your phone with Lin Anlan just now?”

At the mention of this, Jian Yue’s gaze darkened slightly. He finally offered an explanation: “We were all in a meeting just now. Everyone left their phones outside. Lin Anlan happened to be nearby.”

“Oh? Out of all the phones there, she just happened to answer mine?” Wen Jiu’s lips curved into a faint, ambiguous smile.

“A-Yue, don’t you think that’s a little too convenient?”

Wen Jiu had always called Jian Yue by his full name—this sudden use of “A-Yue” was clearly mimicking Lin Anlan.

Realizing that the person on the other end was getting jealous, a trace of helpless amusement surfaced in Jian Yue’s eyes.

“Lin Anlan might be a little scheming, but she’s not a bad person at heart,” he said gently, coaxing her in a soft voice, “A-Jiu, don’t overthink it.”

Overthink it?

Wen Jiu didn’t think she was overthinking at all.

After hanging up the phone, she narrowed her eyes at the dust being swept up by the wind outside, her heart slowly sinking.

Lin Anlan had joined Jian Yue’s project team as a newcomer. As one of the rare female students in the computer science department, Wen Jiu had initially admired her.

However, ever since half a month ago—when Lin Anlan began subtly provoking her, both deliberately and otherwise—Wen Jiu’s goodwill had completely vanished.

Even so, Wen Jiu hadn’t said much about it in front of Jian Yue. She believed he was an adult, capable of making his own judgments.

If he hadn’t noticed Lin Anlan’s little tricks, perhaps it only meant Lin Anlan was careful to act out only in front of her. But now…

If these petty antics were already playing out right in front of Jian Yue and he still acted as if nothing was happening, then that was… a bit too telling.

Wen Jiu sat by the window in the cake shop, watching the rain outside rise and fall. Time slipped by, minute after minute, yet Jian Yue still hadn’t shown up.

With a loud clap of thunder, chunks of hail suddenly began to pelt down, startling passersby into panicked flight as they scrambled for cover.

Roughly ten minutes later, the hail stopped, but the pouring rain showed no sign of letting up.

Another half hour passed.

Wen Jiu took out her phone and dialed Jian Yue’s number.

Even accounting for traffic from Jing University, or detours caused by the hailstorm… by now, he should have arrived.

Yet as the ringtone played over and over again, the line still gave the same response—no answer.

An inexplicable unease rose in Wen Jiu’s chest.

What if something had happened to Jian Yue on his way to pick her up?

Staring out at the downpour, Wen Jiu grabbed her umbrella and rushed out without a second thought.

The wind wasn’t as strong as before, but the rain—whipped up by each step she took—still soaked Wen Jiu’s clothes completely through.

Occasional gusts of wind made her shrink her neck against the cold, and her drenched hair clinging to her skin felt unbearably uncomfortable.

But Wen Jiu had no time to worry about that now. She braved the rain, walking briskly in the direction of Jing University. Along the way, cars sped past occasionally—but none of them were Jian Yue’s.

Gradually, she found herself standing at the gates of Jing University.

There had been no accident. No traffic jam.

In that moment, Wen Jiu didn’t know what to feel.

Amid the faint sense of relief rose an even deeper unease.

She stared intently at the gates before her, then lifted her foot and stepped inside.

By the time Wen Jiu reached the office of Jian Yue’s project team, it was already empty. The only one left was a cleaning auntie, who looked at her in surprise—completely drenched from head to toe.

“Student Wen, are you here to see Student Jian?” the auntie frowned, her tone laced with disapproval. “They left nearly three hours ago. Didn’t he tell you?”

“In weather like this… honestly, that Jian boy—he really should’ve at least given you a heads-up.” As she scolded, the auntie waved Wen Jiu inside. “Come in quickly, I’ll pour you a cup of hot water.”

Wen Jiu didn’t move. Her mind was fixated on one sentence: “They left nearly three hours ago.”

Three hours…

Even if he couldn’t come pick her up, surely he could’ve at least answered the phone?

A rush of heat flooded her eyes. Wen Jiu tilted her head back, blinking it away, then handed the cake in her hands to the auntie who had just returned with the hot water.

“Auntie, this cake is for you.”

“Ah?” The auntie was startled and waved her hands quickly. “No, no, that’s not necessary. This cake is for Jian Yue’s birthday, right? He mentioned this morning that he was going to celebrate it with you.”

“It’s fine,” Wen Jiu shook her head. “I bought the cake. I can give it to whoever I want.”

With that, she firmly placed the cake—something she had carefully protected all the way there—into the auntie’s arms.

“Make sure to eat it all. I designed it myself—it’s really beautiful!”

“That’s wonderful,” the auntie beamed, holding the cake like a treasure. “It’s my grandson’s birthday too, and I was just upset about not being able to buy a cake because of the heavy rain. I was afraid he’d be mad at me.”

She looked at Wen Jiu with sincere gratitude. “I’ll make that little rascal eat every bite.”