She fell asleep, her long eyelashes casting shadows on her fair cheeks.

Her fingers, slender and soft, released the pen, stretching out in front of him.

The strand of hair that had fallen beside her cheek was tucked behind her ear.

He quietly watched her, his gaze lingering on her cheek, pausing his hand, no longer flipping through the pages of the book.

The shadow on the table slowly shifted.

…

Lu Nian woke up abruptly, realizing that she had fallen asleep.

Qin Si seemed to be reading a book beside her.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” Lu Nian rubbed her eyes.

“Forcing yourself to stay awake isn’t efficient,” he replied without looking up. “You might as well just sleep.”

“You’re sitting here.” Lu Nian grumbled. “How can I sleep? Who knows what I’ll look like when I sleep.”

She was afraid of drooling or something else embarrassing in front of him.

After her short nap, she rubbed her eyes and yawned. Her eyes looked even more watery and shining.

Unconsciously, she licked her lips, which seemed especially moist today.

The young man’s fingers tightened, and after a while, he pushed away the book in front of him and stood up.

“Huh?” Lu Nian asked.

“I’m going out,” he said, turning his back to her. “You go ahead and sleep.”

Lu Nian, “…”

She had only made a joke. Why did he leave like that? But she couldn’t sleep comfortably here anyway.

He had already left through the door.

Lu Nian had no choice but to get up and return to her own bedroom.

After all, it was more comfortable to sleep in bed.

Just an hour of sleep.

She set an alarm.

Qin Si was in the corridor, feeling unexpectedly awake, his mind clear.

He looked at the familiar plants outside.

From here, he could see the Xu family’s small building opposite and the attic where he had once lived.

Crouching in that dark attic, he had peeked at her countless times, watching her walk lightly in the corridor, the light scattering around her.

Every glance seemed to increase his pain.

He had never thought that he would have the chance to step in there formally in the future.

Yet, their distance was still so far.

Lu Yang didn’t know when he appeared in the corridor.

He watched the young man’s slender figure and turned to leave, but Qin Si had already seen him.

“I need to talk to you,” he said.

Lu Yang stopped in his tracks.

Qin Si continued, “About Lin Junrun’s matter, it was you, wasn’t it?”

Lu Yang was taken aback, trying to recall what incident Qin Si was referring to.

It should be about the incident when Lu Nian was attacked in her first year of high school, and he had Lin Junrun pretend to be Qin Si.

Lu Yang didn’t know how Qin Si found out about it.

He braced himself and said, “You agreed to it yourself.

Besides, Nian Nian insisted on knowing who it was. What else could I do? I had to find someone else to help cover up the lie.”

Lu Yang didn’t understand why he suddenly brought up that matter after so long.

He could only understand it as regret on Qin Si’s part, wanting to use that incident again to gain favor with Nian Nian.

He warned, “Don’t daydream. Even if Nian Nian finds out, at most, she’ll just thank you. Do you see anything special between her and Lin Junrun?”

“Moreover, Nian Nian’s future is already set.” He continued, “The Lu family and the Zhao family have already made arrangements.”

Otherwise, when Lu Nian had her coming-of-age ceremony, the Zhao brothers were all invited, and their names were at the top of the guest list.

He didn’t know which son of the Zhao family it would be in the future, but he could be sure that Qin Si had absolutely no chance, not even a chance to meet her.

The young man remained silent, his expression unchanged, as he calmly asked, “So?”

Lu Yang was completely unprepared for this reaction. His face turned pale. “So, give up. You two are impossible.”

“Don’t be too pleased just because Uncle asked you to tutor her once.”

The young man lowered his eyes, his voice calm and cold. “Just having the chance to be close to her is enough for me. I don’t care about anything else.”

Lu Yang felt that he was crazy.

Looking at this handsome young man with a calm expression, he felt a chill from the bottom of his heart.

He was certain that Qin Si was not aware of the incident with the post.

“We might be colleagues in the future.” The young man lowered his eyes, a faint, indifferent smile playing at the corner of his lips.

Lu Yang had always detested this smile of his, cold and mocking, as if he was looking at you but didn’t see you at all.

This person was mad to the core.

He gradually understood.

Qin Si was getting close to Lu Nian, doing all these things, just for the Lu family, for revenge.

That’s why he didn’t care about those things.

“Do you still want to enter the Lu family?” Lu Yang trembled with anger. “Do you want to get close to Nian Nian by dirty means and then meddle in the Lu family? Let me tell you, don’t even think about it.”

Every time he saw Lu Yang stomping his feet, he found it ridiculous.

“I’m not interested,” he said in a cold tone.

Outside the window, the garden was lush, filled with the verdant freshness and heat of summer.

Lu Nian had already woken up.

She got up, almost wanting to go out in her pajamas, but the icy cold touch of the door handle instantly woke her up.

Oh my god, she almost went out to meet Qin Si like this.

She quickly changed her clothes and went out. Her hair was still loose on her shoulders, and her sleepy face looked even paler.

The afternoon tutoring continued smoothly.

During the break, knowing that Qin Si wouldn’t chat with her anyway, Lu Nian wanted to listen to some music to relax. She looked around for her earphones.

“Maybe Miao Miao put it away?” She muttered to herself, unable to find them.

The young man’s gaze fell on her bookshelf.

In the first row, second column, hanging conspicuously, was a pair of pure black earphones.

Lu Nian noticed his gaze and followed it, saying, “Those belong to Ya Yuan, not me.”

It wasn’t hers.

When Zhao Ya Yuan came to her house for her birthday, she forgot to take them with her and left them in the living room.

Later, when Lu Nian called the Zhao family, Zhao Ting Yuan said that Zhao Ya Yuan was not in Ancheng, she had gone on a trip and wouldn’t be back for a while.

He wasn’t at home either.

So the earphones had been lying around the Lu family’s house all this time.

Afraid of forgetting to return them, she deliberately brought them to her study, where they were more noticeable, just waiting for him to come home so she could have someone send them over.

His expression remained cold, lips pressed tightly together, saying nothing.

After a while, seeing that she was still searching, the young man’s voice sounded bored and icy, “It’s almost break time. Either stop listening or use your boyfriend’s earphones.”

It took Lu Nian a moment to realize what he was saying. “He’s not my boyfriend. I don’t have a boyfriend,” she said irritably. “I’m not like you. I’m not that shameless.”

She rarely interacted with boys, and because she didn’t have any brothers, she even deliberately kept her distance from Lu Yang, never showing any intimate gestures.

The young man’s expression didn’t soften.

So what if he wasn’t? He had deceived Lu Yang.

He was clearly jealous to the point of madness.

The terrifying possessiveness, those crazy desires, had been forcibly suppressed by him for years, seemingly becoming a habit.

Nanqiao was basically isolated from the world.

The planes only flew to the nearby Nanbin City, and the only transportation between the two cities was by car.

Once in Nanqiao Mountain, there were no cars at all, only motorcycles or walking.

People like Zhao Ya Yuan were particularly eye-catching when they appeared in Nanqiao Town.

With a valuable leisure T-shirt, headphones hanging around his neck, and a pair of dark red type sports shoes, plus that incredibly beautiful face, he was rarely seen here.

But his face was very ugly, looking like he was not to be trifled with, so very few people dared to approach him.

At the border between Nanqiao Town and Nanqiao Mountain, there was a standalone courtyard surrounded by a fence.

Zhao Ya Yuan pushed open the courtyard door, and the little dog inside barked at him a few times.

It remembered Zhao Ya Yuan’s scent, so it just sniffed around him and wagged its tail.

“Wang Cai? Or whatever your name is.” The young man rummaged through his pocket, took out a biscuit, tore open the packaging, and threw it to the dog.

The little dog happily took the biscuit and barked a few times, following Zhao Ya Yuan.

Zhao Ya Yuan pushed open the door to the room.

The interior was tidy and warm, with elegant furnishings.

The air in Nanqiao Town was clean and pleasant, especially cool and refreshing in the summer.

There was a bamboo lounge chair in the living room.

In recent years, many wealthy people from the city liked to come to Nanqiao Town’s villas to escape the summer heat.

Qiu Lan had been living here alone for forty years.

Her husband died when she was thirty, and she had lived alone ever since, always feeling especially lonely.

So when Jiang Wenyin suggested bringing Zhao Ya Yuan here for a restorative stay, she readily agreed.

Over the years, she had taken care of him almost like her own child.

Qiu Lan heard the dog barking and had already walked out of the living room, only to see the young man who had already entered.

The old woman was pleasantly surprised. “Xiao Ya, you’re here so soon? I thought it would be in the afternoon.”

Zhao Ya Yuan called her “Grandma.”

“I’m back.” The young man put down his luggage and gave the old woman a bear hug, with a hint of coquettishness.

Qiu Lan smiled with narrowed eyes and rubbed his soft black hair. “Xiao Ya has grown taller this year.”

He had grown taller, and he looked very healthy, which reassured her.

She asked, “Have you been making your parents angry lately? How’s your studying? Any girls you like?”

Zhao Ya Yuan replied, “Everything’s fine. My studies have improved, my parents are still the same, and in a few years, I’ll bring you a daughter-in-law.”

Qiu Lan smiled and said, “Just watch your temper. Otherwise, which girl can stand you?”

The young man unwillingly said, “Where am I not obedient?”

Qiu Lan remembered his first few days in Nanqiao and just smiled.

He had two faces: arrogant and domineering towards those he didn’t like, without any reservations; and towards those close to him, he was used to acting spoiled and seeking affection, but deep down, he was still the lonely child from years ago.

Unable to sit still, Zhao Yayuan walked around the house and didn’t see anyone. He came out and asked Qiu Lan, “Grandma, where’s Qiuli?”

“She hasn’t come back yet,” Qiu Lan said. “She must be at school.”

“That annoying kid.” Zhao Ya Yuan sneered. “What’s there to teach?”

“Xiao Ya!” Qiu Lan sighed helplessly. “Don’t say that in front of him. It’ll hurt his feelings.”

Who didn’t know how much he cared about that group of children?

“Okay, I won’t say it.” Zhao Ya Yuan raised his hands in surrender.

It was almost lunchtime when the door opened.

A young man walked in, about the same height and age as Zhao Ya Yuan. His face was somewhat pale, but his eyes were gentle, and his facial features were as clear as a spring.

He was carrying a full bag of various ingredients.

Zhao Ya Yuan took the bag from him and looked inside. “What are you doing?”

“I bought some things on my way to town,” the young man said. “I knew you were coming home today.”

“Not able to carry it, and you still carried it. You should have called me earlier,” Zhao Ya Yuan said.

Qiu Li just smiled and didn’t say anything.

He said to Qiu Lan, “I’ll cook. Grandma, you rest.”

Zhao Ya Yuan followed him into the kitchen and suddenly asked, “Have you decided? Really not coming back with me?”

“You ask me this every year,” Qiu Li rolled up his sleeves to light the fire. “I’m very happy here. I don’t want to go anywhere.”

“Aren’t you ever resentful?” Zhao Ya Yuan asked.

Qiu Li’s eyes curved. “There’s nothing to resent. Anyway, I don’t have long to live.”

“And, I really like it here. I like Grandma, and I also like the kids in town.”

Zhao Ya Yuan didn’t like hearing him say that.

He went to help with the fire but ended up making a mess. Qiu Li had no choice but to drive him out, “Just wait outside. Don’t cause trouble.”