“It wasn’t that I came back with him.” Sang Zhi’s palms were sweaty as she awkwardly explained, “Brother Jiaxu just happened to be coming to Nanwu, so we came together. Brother had been drinking, but Brother Jiaxu didn’t, so he helped send me back.”

Li Ping casually asked, “Did you drink too?”

Sang Zhi gestured with her fingers. “Just a little.”

“Don’t drink anymore.” Li Ping frowned and said, “We’ll let it go this time because your brother was there. But when you’re out by yourself, avoid drinking if you can. You need to be more careful.”

Sang Zhi obediently nodded.

After the elevator doors closed, Li Ping brought up another topic, “Zhizhi, there was a time before when I called you and you mentioned that Duan Jiaxu was sick and had surgery?”

Sang Zhi froze for a moment, then quickly remembered. “Oh, yeah. What about it? That was last year.”

“Nothing.” Li Ping’s voice was soft, “Mom just wanted to ask.”

Li Ping’s response made Sang Zhi feel uneasy. Not knowing what to say, she just nodded again and pretended to be calm. “Oh.”

The atmosphere in the enclosed elevator was somewhat tense.

Li Ping chatted with Sang Zhi as usual, without any emotional change, “Do you see each other often in Yihe?”

“Occasionally.” Sang Zhi replied in a casual tone, “We go out to eat or something.”

“Why didn’t I see him come to Nanwu before?” Li Ping asked, “Why did he suddenly come this time?”

Sang Zhi wasn’t good at lying, so she tried to muddle through, “I don’t know, I didn’t ask.”

“You too. Your brother was too drunk to take you home, so why didn’t you call your dad or me?” Li Ping’s tone was gentle as she lightly scolded, “You shouldn’t trouble others to bring you home, especially when it’s a rare gathering.”

At that moment, the elevator arrived at their floor.

Sang Zhi followed Li Ping out while explaining, “His hotel is nearby, so it was on the way.”

Li Ping responded with a simple hum.

For some reason, Sang Zhi felt that her mother was acting a bit strange. The odd atmosphere felt like pressure, making Sang Zhi almost want to confess. Her heart raced, and she cautiously asked, “Mom, is something wrong?”

“It’s nothing.” Li Ping smiled as she took out the keys to unlock the door. “Go take a shower, you smell like alcohol.”

Once inside the house, Li Ping went into the kitchen to continue tidying up.

Sang Rong was in the master bathroom taking a shower.

Sang Zhi thought about helping Li Ping, but as soon as she entered the kitchen, she was shooed out and told to take a shower and get some sleep. Realizing she couldn’t be of much help, she went back to her room, grabbed some clothes, and headed to the bathroom.

Reflecting on her conversation with Li Ping, Sang Zhi felt uneasy. It seemed like her mother had discovered something, but it wasn’t entirely clear. Li Ping’s reaction wasn’t quite what Sang Zhi had expected.

Was it because she kept it a secret?

Sang Zhi let out a breath, feeling as if a stone was pressing on her chest, making it hard to breathe. She hesitated whether to subtly bring up the matter with Li Ping in the next couple of days.

It didn’t seem like it would be that hard to talk about.

Lost in thought, Sang Zhi wasn’t sure how long she had been in the shower. When she finally finished and came out, the living room lights were off, leaving only the light outside the bathroom on.

In the dim light, Sang Zhi went to the living room and poured herself a glass of water. As she passed by the master bedroom, she overheard Li Ping and Sang Rong talking, but she couldn’t make out the words through the closed door.

Sang Zhi returned to her room.

She sat on the carpet beside her bed and picked up her phone from the desk. Seeing a message from Duan Jiaxu, she opened it and replied, 【I’m home. Just finished taking a shower.】

After thinking for a moment, Sang Zhi hesitated before typing, 【I think my mom found out we’re dating.】

But before she could send it, there was a knock on the door.

Sang Zhi pressed the power button to turn off the screen, then looked up and shifted to sit on the bed. “What is it? You can come in.”

The next moment, the door opened from the outside.

It was Li Ping.

She came in and sat on the edge of the bed, her expression a bit serious as if she had been contemplating something. “Zhizhi, I need to ask you something.”

Sang Zhi put down her phone. “Hmm?”

Li Ping asked, “Be honest with Mom, are you dating Duan Jiaxu?”

Sang Zhi licked her lips, her expression hesitant.

The two of them stared at each other in silence for a moment before Sang Zhi, in a last-ditch effort, blurted out, “Huh?”

“What ‘huh’?” Li Ping said, “Do you think Mom doesn’t know what you’re thinking? Suddenly taking out things that have been stored away for years, smiling at your phone all the time, and suddenly wanting to go out for a barbecue with your brother.”

“……”

Li Ping asked, “How long have you been dating?”

Sang Zhi unconsciously sat up straight, her voice small, “Not long.”

“Is that why you didn’t come home during the summer?”

“No.” Sang Zhi replied stiffly, “I just wanted to find an internship after hearing about it from my roommate, to keep myself busy. If I came home, I’d just be sitting around doing nothing.”

The smile on Li Ping’s face faded as she asked, “Were you staying at his place or in the dorms during the summer?”

“……” Sang Zhi felt nervous and stammered, “The dorms! Bother knows…… I didn’t stay at his place. When Brother came to Yihe last time, he saw it too.”

“Mom isn’t trying to interfere with your life.” Li Ping sighed. “I just want you to protect yourself. After all, in matters like these, girls are more likely to get hurt, and you’re much younger than he is.”

Sang Zhi’s voice was soft, “I know.”

“How far have you two gone?”

“Nothing like that.” Sang Zhi replied awkwardly, finding it hard to say, “We haven’t……”

Li Ping looked at her, hesitating.

“Mom, you’ve met Brother Jiaxu many times, haven’t you?” Sang Zhi spoke up for Duan Jiaxu, “You know he’s not a bad person and he’s very good to me. You don’t need to worry.”

“Zhizhi.” Li Ping gently stroked her hair, speaking seriously, “I just talked to your dad about this. Honestly, we both don’t agree with you being together.”

This statement was extremely unexpected for Sang Zhi. She looked up, feeling at a loss. “Why?”

Li Ping asked, “Did Duan Jiaxu ever tell you about his family?”

Sang Zhi nodded. “Yes, why?”

“I’ve mentioned this to you before. When your brother was in his freshman year, Duan Jiaxu borrowed 30,000 yuan from him. Your brother didn’t have that much money, so he had to ask your dad. But that wasn’t a small amount, so we asked for the reason.”

“……”

“We have a general understanding of his family’s situation.” Li Ping continued, “I don’t mean to emphasize family background too much. I’ve met the boy and I know he’s a good kid. Because of that 30,000 yuan, he’s always been kind to our family. Even when he came to tutor you, the money I gave him, he left it on the coffee table on the last day.”

Sang Zhi was stunned for a moment, unsure of what to say.

“When you were younger, I know that he took good care of you. I had no issue with your brother being friends with him or you seeing him as a brother.” Li Ping sighed again and continued slowly, “But if he’s going to be your partner, I really—”

Sang Zhi became anxious, interrupting her, “Mom, you can’t think that way.”

“I don’t know much about his current situation, but I heard that his father is still in a vegetative state, right?” Li Ping said, “And that the victim’s relatives keep causing trouble?”

Sang Zhi honestly replied, “Not often.”

“Have you ever encountered it?”

Sang Zhi was silent for a few seconds. “No.”

Her response made Li Ping instantly understand. She took a deep breath and said calmly, “Zhizhi, I know what happened in his family isn’t his fault, and I feel sorry for him. It might sound selfish, but I really don’t want my daughter to live through such a difficult situation with him.”

“……” Sang Zhi’s throat tightened and she earnestly said, “I don’t find it difficult. He’s always been good to me and I’m really happy being with him.”

“You’re still young and you two haven’t been together for long.” Li Ping added, “Moreover, you’re still in college while he’s been working for several years. The people and things you each deal with are different, and it’s easy for conflicts to arise.”

“But—”

“Zhizhi, Mom aren’t saying these words to make you unhappy.”

“……”

Li Ping stood up and said, “I don’t approve, but I won’t stop you. You need to think carefully. Maybe this seems far off to you now since you’re just dating.”

Sang Zhi replied softly, “I’ve thought about it.”

“I’m not asking you to find someone rich.” Li Ping added, “I just hope you find someone who treats you well, someone you like, and someone right for you.”

Sang Zhi had genuinely never considered that her parents might disapprove.

They had always doted on her, and as long as her requests weren’t too excessive, they rarely objected. This included her choice to attend Yihe University and her decision not to come home during the summer break.

Moreover, they knew Duan Jiaxu.

They were aware of his family situation and knew what kind of person he was.

Sang Zhi didn’t understand Li Ping’s concerns. Was it just because of his family’s situation and his current financial condition?

But she truly didn’t think it was a big issue.

It wasn’t as if life couldn’t go on if one didn’t own a house.

Feeling a bit agitated, Sang Zhi got up and turned off the light. She crawled under the covers, picked up her phone which she had ignored for quite a while, and found that Duan Jiaxu had already sent her several messages.

【Duan Jiaxu: Are you free tomorrow?】

A few minutes later, another message came, 【Are you asleep?】

After another minute, 【Little Friend really can sleep a lot [Sad]】

Seeing the silly emoji he sent, Sang Zhi’s bad mood inexplicably lifted a bit. She deleted the words she had typed in the input box, thought for a moment, then burrowed further into the covers and put on her earphones to call him.

Duan Jiaxu immediately answered, “Still awake?”

Sang Zhi responded with a soft hum, hesitating whether to tell him what had just happened.

Duan Jiaxu chuckled lightly and said, “What were you doing just now? Ignoring me?”

“I was talking with my mom for a bit.” Sang Zhi whispered, as if sharing a secret, “I didn’t check my phone.”

“Are you getting ready to sleep now?” Duan Jiaxu asked. “I feel like young people these days can stay up late, but why do you live like an old man?”

Sang Zhi frowned. “Early to bed and early to rise is good for your health.”

Duan Jiaxu obediently replied, “Mm, got it.”

As she recalled Li Ping’s earlier words, Sang Zhi felt unsettled. She hadn’t paid attention to what Duan Jiaxu said next, mindlessly agreeing with him.

Noticing something was off, Duan Jiaxu quickly asked, “Are you sleepy?”

Sang Zhi snapped out of it. “Huh?”

“If you’re sleepy, just hang up.” Duan Jiaxu said gently, “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

Sang Zhi’s biological clock had indeed kicked in and she was starting to feel drowsy. Almost instinctively, she followed his words and asked, “Brother Jiaxu, can I ask you something?”

Duan Jiaxu paused for a moment, then laughed. “Mm?”

“When I was younger,” Sang Zhi, feeling suffocated from staying under the covers for too long, popped her head out, “when we first met, you were really nice to me. Why was that?”

Duan Jiaxu seemed to have trouble recalling. “Was I nice to you back then?”

“Yeah, really nice.” Sang Zhi thought seriously and muttered, “Even if you add up Brother Qian Fei, Brother Junwen, oh, and my brother, they weren’t as nice to me as you were.”

“Maybe you were also nice to me back then?” Duan Jiaxu’s voice carried a hint of amusement through the phone, “Or maybe I’m just naturally a nice person.”

Thinking about how he hadn’t taken the tutoring fee, Sang Zhi fell silent for a few seconds, then softly replied, “Mm.”

“And another thing,” Duan Jiaxu paused before finishing his thought, “I don’t think I ever told you this, but when my mom was sick, your family lent me 30,000 yuan.”

“……”

“I always thought your parents were good people.” Duan Jiaxu continued, seemingly unbothered by the topic. His voice carried a smile, “So I figured I should be nicer to you.”

———pr


In the end, Sang Zhi still couldn’t bring herself to tell Duan Jiaxu that her parents weren’t fully supportive of their relationship.

But after thinking about it all night, Sang Zhi didn’t see it as a big problem. She believed that if she praised Duan Jiaxu more in front of Li Ping and acted cute in front of Sang Rong, things would probably work out fine.

The next morning, Sang Rong had a few more words with Sang Zhi, and then the topic wasn’t brought up again. Li Ping indeed didn’t strongly oppose it either. When Sang Zhi asked to go out, although she didn’t explicitly say it was to meet Duan Jiaxu, Li Ping didn’t stop her, only reminding her, as usual, to come home early.

Sang Zhi never brought it up with Duan Jiaxu either.

Duan Jiaxu had mentioned once whether he should visit and greet Sang Rong and Li Ping, but since Li Ping had just said those things, Sang Zhi felt it wasn’t the best time. She was afraid that if he knew, he’d be upset, so she declined.

The holiday passed like that.

Finding it troublesome to go back and forth, and since Sang Zhi didn’t have much luggage, she didn’t ask Sang Yan to see her off. On the seventh day, at noon, she and Duan Jiaxu took the shuttle bus and headed straight to the airport.

After passing security, they waited in the departure lounge.

Sang Zhi hadn’t taken a nap and was feeling a bit sleepy. Bored, she opened a previously downloaded escape room game to play. She wasn’t very good at games and sometimes got stuck on a level for a long time.

Duan Jiaxu watched her play from the side, occasionally giving her hints.

For one level, it took several of his hints before Sang Zhi could finally clear it. After playing a few levels, she suddenly put down her phone, inexplicably losing her temper. “I’m not playing anymore.”

Duan Jiaxu found it amusing. “What’s wrong?”

“Have you played this game before?” Sang Zhi tossed the phone onto his lap, displeased. “It’s too weird. I haven’t even clicked on the next scene and you already know where the clues are.”

Duan Jiaxu picked up her phone, lazily saying, “This game was developed by my company.”

“……”

Sang Zhi hadn’t paid much attention to these things and not knowing what games he had worked on made her feel a bit guilty. She glanced at him and quietly took her phone back. “Then don’t say anything.”

Duan Jiaxu raised an eyebrow but didn’t say more.

A few minutes later, Duan Jiaxu spoke again, but this time it wasn’t about the game. Casually, he said, “By the way, your brother called me yesterday.”

Sang Zhi looked up. “What for?”

“He only said one sentence,” Duan Jiaxu draped his hand over the back of her seat and slowly repeated, “’I’ve ruined my sister’s life.’”

“……”

“Then he hung up.”

Sang Zhi was baffled. “Ignore him.”

Duan Jiaxu chuckled softly, then lowered his head to continue watching her progress in the game. “Did you use to play games?”

“Not really.” Sang Zhi answered honestly, “I wasn’t very interested.”

“Then that online friend you had,” Duan Jiaxu seemed thoughtful, “how did you meet him?”

“……”

“At your age, it’s probably……” As he spoke, Duan Jiaxu turned to look at her, his expression half-smiling, “a marriage partner in a game?”

Sang Zhi couldn’t think of any other way she might have met someone, so she vaguely responded with a hum.

Duan Jiaxu asked, “Which game?”

“……”

When will he ever stop digging into everything?

Sang Zhi reluctantly mentioned a game she had played before, “MapleStory.”

Duan Jiaxu lazily replied, “Oh.”

The conversation lapsed into silence.

Sang Zhi continued playing until the boarding announcement came over the loudspeakers.

At the same time, Duan Jiaxu, sitting beside her, casually said two words, “Which day……”

Sang Zhi stood up and looked at him. “Huh?”

Duan Jiaxu’s long eyelashes lifted and his eyes met hers. Abandoning his usual playful demeanor, he finished his sentence, “When would you finalize the divorce?”

“……”