Zhao Yayuan said, “Well, I hope we can cooperate pleasantly in the future.”

Each to their own.

“Forget it, I’ll call her later,” Zhao Yayuan lazily remarked. “This silly girl sleeps all day long. I’ll invite her to my house to play later. There are too many people here, it’s too stuffy, and they interfere too much.”

Miao Miao arranged things in the kitchen and felt a bit uneasy, so she hurried back to check.

Zhao Yayuan had already left, and the bedroom door was tightly closed, leaving only Qin Si.

Miao Miao breathed a sigh of relief and expressed her gratitude. “Thank you for your help.”

She didn’t want to offend Zhao Yayuan, but she also didn’t want him to disturb Lu Nian like that.

“Are you staying for dinner?” she asked.

“Are you going to wait a bit longer…” Miao Miao hesitated. “Lu Nian might wake up soon.”

Qin Si shook his head. “I’m done with what I came for.”

Wasn’t he here to see Lu Nian? Miao Miao felt a little puzzled.

Could it be that he really only came to see Lu Zhihong?

He had already turned and left.

His thin lips were tightly pressed together, and his slender fingers hanging at his side had turned white from exertion.

The door was tightly closed.

Lu Nian was still asleep, holding onto Lu Jue, completely unaware.

As the night deepened, the room was warmed by the heater, feeling as warm as spring, with no hint of the winter cold.

Suddenly sensing the chill, she shivered slightly but didn’t wake up.

Wrapped in a thick cotton quilt, the girl’s face was rosy from sleep, her lips slightly pursed, seeming to still be in a restless dream.

With her frail physique, wrapped in such a cocoon-like quilt, she appeared even more delicate, like a tiny bundle.

Her neck was slender, and the exposed skin was porcelain-white.

After a while, a breath carrying the cold night wind approached.

A gentle touch brushed against her lips.

Very light, the movement was devout yet tender.

…

A spark ignited at the slightest touch, even though it was just a gentle brush.

The restrained gasp was forcibly suppressed, and the night covered everything.

The sensation had already disappeared.

Lu Nian seemed entangled in her dreams. She finally woke up, rubbing her eyes and sitting up in bed, but she found nothing unusual in the room.

The room was quiet, everything was as usual.

During this period, her poor health made her dream more frequently.

She pursed her lips and called out to Miao Miao, “Miao Miao, did you just come in?”

Miao Miao turned on the night light and shook her head. “No, did you have another dream?”

She drew the curtains and closed the window tightly. “Nian Nian, don’t lean against the window so often in the future. It’s cold outside, and if you catch a cold, you’ll get a headache again.”

Lu Nian’s face turned slightly red. “…I don’t often lean there to look.”

She was now fully awake, moved by her own words.

The first thing she did was curse Qin Si in her heart a thousand times over.

But the unresolved knot remained.

Soon after, the short winter vacation came to an end, and the third year of high school began.

Days passed by busily, and after the first monthly exam, Lu Nian finally scored over 130 in math for the first time.

As a result, her overall ranking rose to an unprecedented level, although it quickly dropped again after the second exam.

Time flew by, and she devoted herself entirely to her studies, spending much less time on drawing.

So, on that day, when she happened to log in to Shanghai Rabbit, she unexpectedly saw a call for submissions.

And it was from a company, not a private commission.

Lu Nian followed up with a call.

“We’re in charge of the planning for the ‘Star Strike’ mobile game,” the voice on the other end said.

“Next month, our company wants to launch a new event and needs bosters.

We saw your work online and thought it was very suitable.

Would you be willing to take on the task of designing the posters for the upcoming event?”

Lu Nian was pleasantly surprised.

But then, she felt uneasy. “I’m sorry, I only have two months left before the college entrance exam. Can this project wait until after I finish the exam?”

The other side fell silent for a moment and then apologized, “In that case, we might not be able to catch up with this project.”

Lu Nian knew she was asking for the impossible. “Thank you for liking my draft.”

The payment offered by the other side was really high, and she genuinely liked Lu Jue, willing to draw drafts for him.

However, the call didn’t end there. They continued, “We’ve also seen the fan art you’ve drawn, all very excellent.

However, they’ve all been published before. If you have any unpublished drafts of ‘Star Strike,’ could you send them to us? If there are suitable ones, we can use them in other promotional channels.”

Lu Nian’s eyes lit up, “I have some.”

She immediately found the drafts, nervously packed them, and sent them over.

The other side replied with a confirmation.

Now Lu Nian didn’t feel like drawing anymore, she put away her drawing tablet and let out a long sigh.

But at least there was some hope.

Only one month left until the college entrance exam.

“Do you not want to go abroad?” Lu Zhihong talked to her once.

Lu Nian lowered her head, “Hmm.”

ipThis was the first time she had voiced her choice to Lu Zhihong.

“You’ve really worked hard these past six months,” Lu Zhihong said.

“An Da, alright,” he said.

“Ting Yuan is also at An Da,”

Lu Zhihong said, “With your current grades and considering your future professional development, staying in the country, An Da is the best choice. If you don’t get accepted, Dad will arrange for you to go abroad.”

Lu Nian lowered her eyes, “Okay, thank you, Dad.”

She understood that this was probably the best choice she could fight for.

Staying in An Cheng.

If she showed any desire to leave, other places were fine, but if she wanted to go to the city where Qin Si was…

Lu Zhihong was very astute, she dared not show any hint of her attitude in this regard.

But if in An Cheng.

After all, Qin Si’s family was here, An Cheng was economically developed, and after Qin Si graduated, it was very likely that he would come back to develop in An Cheng.

At least, it was fighting on familiar ground.

Lu Nian suddenly felt exhausted.

She could only continue to work hard.

And Qin Si had been silent for so long.

That night, she was exhausted from studying, unable to solve any problems.

The constant pressure over the years had almost driven her to the brink of collapse.

Feeling unbearable, she suddenly harbored a strange resentment, her nose tingling.

She crumpled up the draft paper and threw it directly into the waste bin.

Her phone lay nearby, and finally unable to resist, she picked it up, dialing a number that had been collecting dust for who knows how long.

It was three in the morning.

She didn’t expect Qin Si to answer the call.

She just wanted to call, driven by a lack of consideration and a purely venting emotion.

Maybe waking him up, making him irritable, they might even have another argument the next day.

After all, they had had many arguments since they were young.

Every time they met, they would argue.

What she didn’t expect was that after a busy tone, the call was actually picked up quickly.

After nearly half a year apart, she heard the familiar voice on the other end.

After almost half a year apart, the voice was familiar yet strange, “Hello?”

It seemed a bit lower than she remembered, still deep but tinged with a hint of fatigue and hoarseness.

She was stunned, for a moment not knowing what to say.

There was silence on her end, only the faint sound of the girl’s breathing, as light as a feather brushing by.

He held the phone a bit further away, “… What’s up?”

His voice didn’t sound deliberately lowered.

Lu Nian finally squeezed out a sentence, “… It’s so late, aren’t you afraid of waking up your roommate?”

He said, “I’m not in the dorm.”

Three in the morning, not in the dorm.

???

Lu Nian’s tone was flat, monotone, “… Then, aren’t you afraid of waking up your girlfriend sleeping next to you?”

Indeed, university life could be decadent, he had obviously immersed himself in it.

Like a fish in water.

There was a long silence on the other end.

Lu Nian felt frustrated and suddenly a bit aggrieved.

She just wanted to hang up the phone.

If it were in person, she would fiercely scold him, scold him for being shameless.

He finally said, “I’m working.”

Those three words were said lightly.

The computer screen was still lit up, numbers flashing, data still being processed. And he had to return to school tomorrow for a ten o’clock class.

There was a sticky note on the table next to him, detailing what he had to do tonight, densely packed, with more than half crossed out.

There were also emails waiting for replies, a pile of things that needed to be dealt with.

He dozed off for a moment at his desk.

When he heard the ringtone, he woke up immediately and answered the phone.

At night, looking down from the tall buildings, the bustling city of the daytime was mostly silent, appearing particularly lonely.

Lu Nian was stunned.

She felt uncomfortable inside. “It’s this late?”

Was it still about money? Tuition fees were manageable, but living expenses were not a small expense after all… she thought.

She didn’t want him to be so hardworking, but Qin Si’s pride was always too strong. He would never accept this kind of help from her.

“I’m not short on money,” he said succinctly, obviously knowing what she was thinking.

It was for something else.

Something he wanted.

Lu Nian said, “…Oh.”

She originally wanted to ask if she was disturbing his work, but when she thought that he had been silent for most of the past year, and didn’t even contact her during Chinese New Year, she became angry and didn’t want to ask anymore.

She decided to just maintain the call without saying anything.

She thought he would hang up when he got impatient.

But he didn’t hang up either.

She could hear the faint breathing of the girl on the other end, the soft rustling of fabric, as if she had gotten out of bed, had a sip of water, and then climbed back in, as light as a deer.

She should still be sleeping on that bed.

Just like that night.

…

His Adam’s apple moved, a slender hand covered his eyes, the corners of his eyes were already tinged with a faint redness, but his left hand involuntarily pressed the record button.

It was like opening Pandora’s box.

In the year since he left her, things had escalated.

“I only have one month left before the college entrance exam,” Lu Nian muttered, “I might not, might not be going abroad.”

After all, she had said some harsh words to him before, saying she would go far away in front of him.

She curled up on the bed, her little toes curled up because of nervousness, her voice soft and trembling slightly.

So, it meant that they would still have the chance to meet in the future.