In the darkness, only the sound of the night wind rustling through the leaves could be heard.

The rise and fall of breaths seemed as light as mist. At this close distance, Chen Qing Wu felt her heartbeat falter.

She was already stiff and immobile, yet she instinctively didn’t want to pull away.

All she could clearly sense was her heart sinking bit by bit.

It felt as if it no longer belonged to her.

Finally, Meng Fu Yuan stepped back first, lowering his eyes and immediately reaching for his glasses on the steps.

Thus, she couldn’t see his eyes, which had always been hidden behind the lenses.

She remembered Meng Fu Yuan starting to wear glasses in his second year of high school.

One day, when the Meng family came over for dinner, the last boy to enter the house gave her a slight sense of unfamiliarity. Looking closely, she saw a pair of thin-framed glasses on his nose.

That day, she had quietly approached him and asked softly, “Brother Yuan, why are you wearing glasses?”

The sixteen-year-old boy coldly replied, “I’m nearsighted.”

It seemed from that day on, Meng Fu Yuan had gained a bit of distance. Compared to “brother,” he began to seem more like an adult.

“Qing Wu, you should go up first,” Meng Fu Yuan said softly.

Chen Qing Wu snapped back to reality. “And you?”

“I’ll go up in a bit,” he said, his voice returning to its usual calm. “If you run into anyone, just say I sent you down.”

After all, his affection was currently a one-sided matter. There was no need to drag her into the pressures of public opinion.

After hesitating for a moment, Chen Qing Wu got up. “Then make sure to go back and rest soon. I can see you from upstairs.”

“Alright.” He chuckled softly, appreciating her somewhat childish yet stubborn concern.

Chen Qing Wu tiptoed back upstairs without making a sound.

She closed the bedroom door and walked to the window, peeking out to see Meng Fu Yuan standing up.

Watching him disappear around the corner of the building, she finally lay back on her bed.

A moment later, she heard the faint sound of a door opening and closing upstairs.

Chen Qing Wu picked up her phone and sent a message: Sleep early. Good night.

Meng Fu Yuan: Good night.

The scent of flowers filled her dreams that night.

***

The next day passed peacefully.

Since Meng Fu Yuan was leaving for the airport after lunch, everyone stayed in the villa in the morning to pass the time.

In the afternoon, Meng Fu Yuan came downstairs with his suitcase, ready to leave.

Everyone accompanied him to the door.

Meng Chengyong took his suitcase, preparing to escort him to the hotel entrance to catch his ride.

Qi Lin reminded, “Let us know when you arrive safely.”

Meng Fu Yuan nodded.

He turned around, his gaze briefly passing over Chen Qing Wu without stopping.

After Meng Fu Yuan and Meng Chengyong left through the front gate, everyone returned inside.

Meng Qi Ran approached Chen Qing Wu, “Want to go out and do some water activities?”

“Not really. I want to go back to my room and take a nap first.”

Meng Qi Ran didn’t insist and said, “Call me when you wake up. I’ll be at the villa.”

“Don’t worry about me. Go have fun.”

But Meng Qi Ran seemed determined.

Not in the mood to argue, Chen Qing Wu casually agreed and went upstairs to her room.

It seemed as if, in an instant, this vacation had lost its charm.

She lay on her bed and took out her phone.

There was a recent message from Meng Fu Yuan: Have fun. I’ll message you when I take off and land.

It seemed like an explanation for deliberately avoiding eye contact with her during his goodbye.

Feeling a rush of emotions, she replied: Safe travels.

The next two days passed in a state of boredom. On the sixth, everyone headed to the airport.

Chen Qing Wu and Meng Qi Ran returned to East City, while the four parents went back to South City.

On the plane, during the boring wait for takeoff, Chen Qing Wu scrolled through her Moments on WeChat.

Suddenly inspired, she paused and went to her chat list, opened Meng Fu Yuan’s profile picture, and saved it. She uploaded it to a search engine’s image search.

The result was the title of a movie she had heard of but never seen.

She typed the movie name into the search bar, which took her to its page.

As she was reading, Meng Qi Ran turned to her and asked if she was cold and needed a blanket.

Without showing any reaction, she locked her phone screen and smiled, saying, “Sure.”

***

After arriving in East City, Chen Qing Wu took a nap before unpacking her suitcase. She declined Meng Qi Ran’s invitation to dinner, claiming she was too tired and wanted to rest early.

Meng Qi Ran, who lived nearby, often came over after she moved to East City. Sometimes they had dinner together; other times, he simply kept her company.

It seemed to indicate his willingness to endure the mundane aspects of her world.

She refused every time, but he rarely took no for an answer, stubbornly sticking to his plans.

After unpacking, she put her dirty clothes in the washing machine.

After showering, she lay on the sofa and, without realizing it, picked up her phone.

Her last conversation with Meng Fu Yuan had been that afternoon when he told her to rest well after reaching his studio.

She slid down the sofa, her head resting on the armrest.

Feeling more conflicted than ever.

Like someone playing with fire, now realizing the danger as it approached.

She couldn’t imagine the consequences of letting this faint desire grow. Could she really handle the outcome?

However, the contradiction was clear: while part of her set up barriers, another part couldn’t help but want to peek beyond them.

Her finger hovered over his profile picture, and she subconsciously clicked, wanting to check his Moments.

“You patted Yuan Gege.”

Chen Qing Wu’s eyes widened in shock.

Meng Fu Yuan: ?

Chen Qing Wu: …Sorry, I clicked by mistake.

Meng Fu Yuan: Perfect timing.

Meng Fu Yuan: Have you had dinner?

Chen Qing Wu: Yes.

Meng Fu Yuan: Still have room for dessert?

Chen Qing Wu: ?

Meng Fu Yuan sent a photo of the passenger seat with a pastry shop bag on it.

Chen Qing Wu: Are you here?

Meng Fu Yuan: Ten minutes away. Is it convenient?

Chen Qing Wu: Not convenient.

Meng Fu Yuan: Cancellation not allowed.

She laughed so hard she almost dropped her phone.

The next message was a voice note: “The light’s green. If it’s inconvenient, I’ll just drop off the dessert and leave.”

She guessed he had been waiting at a traffic light.

Chen Qing Wu immediately put down her phone, went to her bedroom, and changed out of her pajamas into a tank top, jeans, and a light cardigan.

Returning to the sofa, she checked the clock on the wall, suspecting it was broken due to how slowly time seemed to pass.

Realizing that waiting was too agonizing, she got up and went to check the drying status of some unfired pottery she had left before leaving.

Finally, she heard the sound of a car approaching outside.

She washed her hands at the sink, trying to appear nonchalant despite her excitement.

A knock on the door.

She quickly said, “Come in.”

In the dim light, Meng Fu Yuan’s figure appeared, dressed in his usual white shirt and black pants, as cool as the wind through pine trees.

Suddenly, she recalled that evening when he had arrived with a bouquet of freesias.

She hadn’t thought much of it then, but now, the memory made her heart skip a beat.

Meng Fu Yuan walked straight towards her, placed the bag on the stone countertop, rolled up his sleeves, and turned on the tap to wash his hands.

Chen Qing Wu opened the bag to find lemon panna cotta.

The halved lemons, with milk custard topped with lemon zest and a small mint leaf, felt as refreshing as summer itself.

She took out a plastic spoon, scooped a spoonful, and tasted it.

“It’s delicious!”

Meng Fu Yuan said, “My assistant recommended it, saying it wasn’t too sweet.”

Chen Qing Wu paused.

She liked desserts that weren’t too sweet.

It seemed he knew everything about her.

Meng Fu Yuan turned off the tap and dried his hands with a paper towel. “I still prefer East City,” he said evenly.

“Why?”

“Because when I want to see you, I can.”

With a spoonful of panna cotta in her mouth, she paused before swallowing it, the sweet flavor spreading. She picked up the other panna cotta and asked, “…Would you like some?”

He chuckled softly, as if amused by her attempt to change the subject.

Not wanting to waste an entire panna cotta, he took a new spoon and sampled a bite from hers.

As he leaned closer, she found herself holding her breath.

His gaze lowered, and through his glasses, she could faintly see his long, dense eyelashes casting a shadow on his eyelids.

“How nearsighted are you?” she asked out of curiosity.

“Guess.”

“Three hundred?”

He shook his head.

“Four hundred?”

He shook his head again.

Putting down the panna cotta and spoon, she suddenly reached out.

His reflex was to blink.

Her fingers stopped at the bridge of his nose, just before the glasses.

He watched her without stopping her.

After a moment’s hesitation, with a breath, she took off his glasses.

Meng Qi Ran resembled Qi Lin, while Meng Fu Yuan took after Meng Chengyong.

Unlike the dark color of Qiran, Meng Fu Yuan’s iris was noticeably lighter, close to the color of amber.

As a result, there was a contradictory trait of gentleness and indifference in his eyes.

But without the glasses, he seemed more approachable.

This was a different kind of sternness, somewhat unfamiliar, causing her to lose focus for a few seconds.

She came back to her senses, holding his glasses, stepped back three to four meters, “Can you see me clearly like this?”

Meng Fu Yuan shook his head.

Chen Qing Wu moved closer by half a meter, “How about now?”

Meng Fu Yuan still shook his head.

Closer by another half meter, he shook his head again.

Chen Qing Wu muttered, unable to see clearly even this close, wondering if he was blind.

She walked directly to a distance where only an arm’s length separated them, asking, “How about now?”

Meng Fu Yuan looked at her face, very seriously, then seemed hesitant, “Barely.”

Chen Qing Wu moved her feet forward, now only ten centimeters away, “And now?”

Meng Fu Yuan slightly lowered his head, carefully examining, “Maybe a little closer.”

“Like this?” She leaned in.

When she could clearly see the iris patterns in his eyes, she suddenly realized that his gentle breath was directly on her nose.

Warm, with a hint of fresh aquatic fragrance, it gently invaded her breath, making her involuntarily stiffen for a moment, feeling a bit at a loss.

Her eyes trembled slightly, looking down, but in a panic, she also noticed his neck’s pale, jade-like skin, and just above the shirt collar, the faintly moving Adam’s apple.

As she was about to lose her breath, Chen Qing Wu quickly took a step back, placing his glasses on her own nose, “I want to see how dizzy it gets when I wear them…”

She paused.

The view outside was exceptionally clear, with no distortion.

These were plain glasses.

Meng Fu Yuan’s voice came from above, seemingly with a hint of innocent laughter, saying, “You’ve discovered my secret.”