“Is this alright?”

Ruan Mian signed her name beside those two bold, sweeping characters. As she lifted her pen, she realized something felt slightly off: both signatures, in terms of stroke and style, were almost identical.

This was not strange at all, considering she had spent the past few months practicing by imitating his handwriting.

However, she could not quite capture his air of unbridled arrogance; her version leaned more toward a delicate refinement.

Qi Yan naturally noticed this as well. He gave a slight smile and pushed the other copy over with two fingers. “Sign this one too.”

She followed his instructions obediently.

Looking at the “fifty percent” modification on the contract, just as she had wished, Ruan Mian felt a surge of joy. She could not help but look at it again and again. With those few thin sheets of paper pressed against her chest, her thoughts drifted toward a very distant future.

A future involving him.

A future she had never looked forward to so intensely.

She looked at him again and murmured softly, “A while ago, I took the individual exams for A-Mei and Qing-Mei. The results should be… quite good.”

She did not know why she suddenly felt like telling him these things.

Simply to overcome the problem of her hand shaking when she held a brush, she had spent nearly a month. She had felt discouraged and disappointed, but in her hardest moments, the mere thought of him—the thought that he would return—filled her with strength.

Miraculously, every time she closed her eyes and thought of him before putting pen to paper, her heart would quickly find peace. Later, as she slowly entered the right state of mind, his silhouette became more and more deeply etched into her heart.

It was likely because she had a mental knot from that earthquake, and he, the person who had shared life and death with her, was the one who could untie it.

As long as she thought of him, she no longer felt afraid.

She had now formed a habit.

The small wooden box under her bed was filled with sketches of him. Over the past six months, every night after she finished her practice and was exhausted to the extreme, she would recall his silhouette and draw him, stroke by stroke.

“Was it very hard?”

Those four words, spoken in a faint tone, struck heavily in Ruan Mian’s heart. She smiled. “A little, but it was also very happy.”

Another girl studying with her at the studio had also gone to take the exams for these two schools. But two days ago, Ruan Mian saw her complaining in the WeChat group that her family only cared about whether she could get into one of them, and they even argued over which school she should choose.

Meanwhile, this person cared more about whether she was tired.

Ruan Mian twirled her pen, the ripples of emotion in her heart overflowing.

“Which school do you want to go to?”

He always managed to find the key point in her words quickly.

“I’m leaning toward A-Mei.”

Qi Yan had already swiped his phone open and sent a message to his assistant: Compile a set of information for the Academy of Arts at Z University.

“Actually, A-Mei’s required academic scores for admission are a bit higher, but it’s located in a coastal city. I like places with the sea.”

It was a very “Ruan Mian-esque” answer; he did not find it surprising at all.

Ruan Mian added, “The test center was located in City A at the time. That night, I shared a room with another girl. She said she had never been to such a distant place alone before. She even had nightmares in the middle of the night and secretly hid under the quilt to cry.”

“What about you?”

“What?” She did not quite understand.

“Did you also secretly cry?”

“…No.”

She looked up and saw his eyes full of mirth. That gentle gaze seemed to pierce through to the depths of her soul. Ruan Mian’s heart instantly turned soft. “Alright, I secretly cried once.”

It was also on that night, but she had not cried out of sadness.

Actually, there was another reason she chose A-Mei. That night, she also had a dream. She dreamed of him, but unlike all her previous dreams, this time he did not leave her with a silhouette that could not be found; instead, he walked toward her.

At that moment, she felt that City A was likely a city where one could get what they wished for.

The light rain stopped at some unknown point, and twilight quietly descended.

“Let’s go. I’ll take you home.”

This time, he did not drive, but walked with her from the back gate toward her house.

After the barren silence of a long winter, the grass on the ground only held a faint tint of green. Because of the thin rain that had just fallen, when the wind blew gently, droplets of water rolled off the leaves.

Behind them was the blue lake, and ahead was the green-filled woods. It was dusk again, and Ruan Mian instinctively thought of a poem she had learned long ago:

The light on the water is shimmering and fine, the sunny weather is just right; the mountain colors are misty and empty, and the rain is also strange.

Unexpectedly, just as she thought of rain, a slight coolness fell on her head. She caught it with her palm. “It’s raining.”

She took an umbrella from her bag, opened it, and moved next to him, but she was not nearly tall enough.

Qi Yan turned his head and looked. The pink floral umbrella was pitifully small, likely only enough for her alone. Furthermore, the rain was not very heavy, so he shook his head. “No need.”

“But you’ll catch a cold.”

Qi Yan felt he truly had no way to refuse that soft, clear gaze. He kept his expression calm for a moment, then took the small umbrella from her hand and held it over both of them. He measured the distance with his peripheral vision until he was certain her entire body was covered by the umbrella.

The distance between them was suddenly pulled extremely close. The back of her hand touched the fabric of his clothes. Ruan Mian turned her head to hide a smile, her heart beating frantically. She glanced at him, her two fingers lightly pinching that spot on his sleeve.

Sigh, if only this road could be a little longer.

When Ruan Mian told Jiang Chu about the contract, the other woman reacted by repeatedly stomping her feet in public, ignoring her image. While stomping, she muttered through gritted teeth several times, “Vulture, vulture, vulture…”

An hour ago, Jiang Chu had personally driven to the school to pick her up, saying she wanted to celebrate the successful conclusion of Ruan Mian’s individual art exams. They planned to go to the mall after dinner.

When they talked about this, they were in an underwear shop. The shop assistant’s gaze had been circling the two exceptionally beautiful women. Seeing the beauty Jiang Chu acting this way, the assistant’s expression looked somewhat disillusioned.

Jiang Chu stared at her with a “you’re a hopeless case” look. “Mianmian, you’re too easy to fool. Don’t you know this is equivalent to signing an indenture?”

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. “You are very talented, and you have a unique style. Becoming a famous painter in the future is a certainty. Do you know what a fifty percent cut for a single painting means?”

“It’s not what you think,” Ruan Mian pulled her to a corner and briefly explained the situation. “And I was the one who proactively asked to raise it to fifty percent.”

“I don’t care about how much profit I can get in the end. What I truly care about is… that every piece of my work in the future will be related to him.”

“Is he the sweetheart you mentioned?” Jiang Chu began to understand.

Ruan Mian briefly explained the main contents of the contract. “Actually, he’s not doing it for the money. He doesn’t lack this bit of money at all. He just wants me to accept his help with a clearer conscience.”

This point was something she had always understood in her heart.

Jiang Chu also knew a bit about Ruan Mian’s family situation. Hearing her say this, she felt that the man likely did not have impure motives after all. She sighed. “I thought you were foolishly being scammed by someone.”

“He wouldn’t lie to me.” He was the person who treated her best in this world.

“Forget it,” Jiang Chu put her arm around Ruan Mian’s shoulder and walked forward. “Anyway, he’s got you wrapped around his finger, so whether he lies or not doesn’t really matter. But why didn’t such a good thing happen to me? Knowing you’re so soft and easy to fool, I should have taken advantage of my position earlier! Truly a tactical error.”

She picked up a few sets of the brand of underwear she usually wore. “Do you want to pick some too?”

Ruan Mian nodded. “Okay.”

Recently, she felt her bras were a bit tight.

Her gaze began to search through the row of underwear in front of her.

“These styles don’t really suit you.”

“Why?” Ruan Mian looked up and saw the words “Mature Style” on the label. Her face quickly turned red.

Jiang Chu could not help but find it funny. She walked to the shelf on the other side and helped her pick out a few sets of lace underwear for girls. “Try these on.”

The two walked into the fitting room together.

Jiang Chu began taking off her jacket as if no one else were there. Ruan Mian stood in the corner, so uncomfortable that she did not know where to put her hands or feet.

Jiang Chu quickly changed into her new underwear. She looked back and saw Ruan Mian still standing there dazed. “Why aren’t you changing?”

Then she burst out laughing. “We’re all girls, what’s there to be afraid of?”

Ruan Mian turned her back to her with a red face and began to change.

A few minutes later, they stood together in front of the mirror.

Ruan Mian’s gaze inadvertently fell on that certain spot on Jiang Chu’s chest, which was faint but quite substantial. Then she looked at her own…

Hmm. Comparison truly is the thief of joy.

“Don’t worry, you’re still young. You’ll still grow in the future.”

Jiang Chu came over to teach her. “Bend over first, reach your hand in, yes, just like that. Lift it inward, gather the side tissue, and then adjust the straps. Remember to do this every time you wear a bra; otherwise, it’s easy for them to sag in the future.”

It indeed looked more three-dimensional this way.

“Sister Chu Chu, is there any way to… to be like you…”

Jiang Chu looked at the red-faced girl. Although she was slightly slender, her figure was very well-proportioned, and her skin was white and tender, appearing to glow from within. She was still young, like a budding flower. Once she fully developed, she was bound to be incredibly charming.

She smiled with a deep meaning and lowered her voice. “Of course there is…”

Ruan Mian nearly jumped up after hearing her. “No, no, that definitely won’t work.”

Jiang Chu gave a light, nonchalant huff. “He’s taking so much profit, what’s wrong with him providing a bit of manual labor for free?”

She had heard the other party was a twenty-seven-year-old man and figured that at this age, men were full of vigor. Aren’t men all like that? Even if he was cautious of the girl’s age and didn’t cross the final line, he would surely take some advantages like touching and hugging during their kisses, right?

Ruan Mian’s ears were so red they almost bled. “I… I’m not in… that kind of relationship… with him yet…”

Jiang Chu narrowed her eyes. “Confess everything to me right now!”

After hearing the story of the young girl’s secret crush, Jiang Chu did not even have time to sigh before immediately pulling her over. “Mianmian, you must remember my words! You must hold back and not confess first, do you understand?”

Ruan Mian half-understood her words.

“The gap between you two means you are destined to be the passive one, and right now your heart and eyes are full of him; you’re already caught deep enough. Leave this kind of thing to the man…”

In the end, Jiang Chu insisted on making Ruan Mian promise before she was willing to take her home.

The next day was Sunday. Third-year students technically had a day off, but in reality, they just moved their study location from the classroom to their homes.

Qi Yan had specifically set up a small desk in the study, right opposite his own. Ruan Mian spread out an English exam paper, her gaze involuntarily falling on the hand flipping through documents.

Ever since Jiang Chu had whispered those face-reddening words in her ear yesterday, her gaze uncontrollably circled his hands, thinking…

She truly could not think about it anymore.

Ruan Mian turned on her MP3 player, preparing to start the listening section.

The man opposite her sensed her distraction. He looked up with an inquiring gaze. Just then, the sound in her earphones suddenly vanished. Ruan Mian pressed the buttons on her MP3, but it did not light up.

She leaned forward slightly, resting her hands on the desk. Her eyes flickered as she asked softly, “My MP3 ran out of power. Can you help me read the content for the listening section?”

The answer key for this exam also included the listening transcript.

He put down the document in his hand. “From the beginning?”

“Mm.”

That way, she could hear him read more content.

He held the material with two fingers. “1. Conversations…”

As expected, it was a very standard London accent. Coupled with the unique depth of his voice, she felt her ears go numb.

It sounded so good, absolutely wonderful.

Three light knocks sounded on the table.

Ruan Mian gave a slightly embarrassed cough, touched her burning ears, and lowered her head to focus on the questions.

M: …bank account?

W: …checked regularly.

Q: …?

“The speed during the exam doesn’t seem this fast,” she negotiated with him. “Can you read a bit slower?”

Qi Yan raised an eyebrow at her. “How about we start over from the beginning?”

She actually nodded. “Yes, yes, please.”

The corners of his lips curved into an imperceptible arc. “Next question…”

Ruan Mian: “…”

NOTES

[TN1] A-Mei / Qing-Mei: Refers to the Academy of Arts at Z University (A-Mei) and the Academy of Arts and Design at Tsinghua University (Qing-Mei), two of the most prestigious art institutions in China.

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