At home.

The TV was playing a music video—apparently, it was a live concert version of Xu Wei's "Once Upon a Time You." It had a very long prelude, the drumbeats slowly, bit by bit, drawing people into a mysterious mood.

Brother Nan had just finished her takeaway. She sat on the sofa, leaning back, with her legs crossed, one foot idly tracing circles in the air.

Her eyes were half-closed, and she looked extremely content.

Zhou Li thought that in this moment, she resembled an ancient, good-for-nothing young master, enjoying the leisure of the afternoon.

She was only missing a maid and a lackey.

And a birdcage.

Right, and she should have been chewing on a toothpick or some straw or foxtail grass.

Zhou Li quietly walked over, bending low so as not to block Brother Nan's view of the TV. He pulled open the coffee table drawer, took out a small bottle of toothpicks, and grabbed one.

"Brother Nan, here."

"Eh? How did you know I was looking for a toothpick?" Brother Nan took the toothpick and held it in her mouth.

Zhou Li just looked at her, silent.

Brother Nan's dangling foot continued to sway, and she idly chewed on the toothpick, making it waggle. As the song began, she seemed to hum along vaguely, completely immersed in her own world.

"Brother Nan." Zhou Li then handed her two walnuts.

"Wh-what?" Brother Nan didn't react immediately, looking at him strangely. "Peel them yourself!"

"Hold them in your hand and roll them around." Zhou Li showed her how, then gently pried open her hand and placed the walnuts in it.

"???"

Although Brother Nan was puzzled, the walnuts were already in her hand, so she very naturally began to roll them, continuing to lie back and listen to the song.

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye—

Zhou Li was quietly observing her from the side, a smile clearly hidden on his face. When her gaze swept over him, he quickly wiped the smile from his face and stared fixedly at the TV.

"What are you up to?" Brother Nan was confused.

"What?"

"Playing dumb! Spit it out!" Brother Nan's speech was muffled because of the toothpick and carried a cheeky tone.

"Ah?"

"..."

「Three o'clock in the afternoon.」

They had packed up everything.

Zhou Li closed the door, a sudden wave of reluctance washing over him.

For the past ten days, he had been living with Brother Nan—they had teased each other, cooked, washed dishes, chatted in bed, and even stolen a kiss when Huai Xu went out to bully the little demons in the neighborhood.

It would probably be over a month before he could return.

Putting on a mask, Zhou Li pulled his suitcase, upon which Lord Dumpling was perched, trying desperately to maintain balance.

"Let's drive back first, drop off our things, then come back and ride the bikes to school," Brother Nan said as she pressed the elevator button. She then fished a bamboo dragonfly and a small rubber duck out of her backpack.

"Look! I bought these for you!"

"This..."

"You can attach this bamboo dragonfly to your helmet, and it will spin when you ride. Find a spot on your bike for the little yellow duck," Brother Nan said, her eyes crinkling into beautiful crescents. "It'll be so cute!"

"Should I take the bamboo dragonfly and you take the rubber duck?" Zhou Li asked.

"No, both are for you."

"Do you have two as well?"

"No, I only bought them for you."

"Why?"

"I don't want this stuff," Brother Nan's lip curled. "I don't think these cutesy things suit me."

"???"

"What's with that expression? Don't you want them?"

"No..."

"That's more like it! I'll install them for you later!"

"Okay."

Some devices had been installed at the school gate, guarded by many security personnel. Since today was the last day for returning to school, not many students were arriving this afternoon, so there were no lines.

Show your campus card, get your temperature checked, enter the school.

Entering the dormitory also required a temperature check.

After putting away his luggage and Tuanzi in the dorm, Zhou Li went out again with Brother Nan to ride their bikes back from the residential complex.

The sun was quite strong today, making one feel scorching hot. Fortunately, there was always a breeze here, which was quite refreshing. The wind blew Brother Nan's hair across her face, some strands flying into her eyes and mouth.

The road here was wide, lined with blooming flowers. They walked at a brisk pace, chatting casually.

"How many of your dorm mates are back?"

"Besides me, just Liu Zhengming."

"Oh, the quiet one."

"What about yours?"

"All of them are back."

"Lively."

"Want to have dinner together tonight?"

"I'll ask Liu Zhengming."

"Okay."

Suddenly, his phone buzzed. Zhou Li took it out to look.

Zhou Qianqian: Students who have returned to school, please meet at the usual place at 7 p.m. tonight. No absences will be excused for any reason. @All Members

Zhou Li silently put his phone away.

By the time they rode their bicycles back, Zhou Li's helmet sported a bamboo dragonfly, and a little yellow duck was perched on his handlebars. Brother Nan, for a change, wasn't riding ahead but was leisurely pedaling behind him, eyeing him with a smile.

"Zhou Li, you look so well-behaved!"

"So cute!"

"This is hilarious!"

"You have to remember, your big bro gave these to you. If any girl tries to use this as an excuse to hit on you, you have to give her my number."

"..."

Zhou Li ignored it all.

He was, however, a little worried the little yellow duck might get stolen.

「Six fifty-nine.」

Brother Nan led Zhou Li into the large classroom, arriving just in time.

Usually, these kinds of general meetings involved several classes from the entire grade. Today, however, it was split, with only their two classes present. Moreover, everyone in the classroom wore masks and sat sparsely. Zhou Li glanced around; about eighty percent of the students seemed to have returned.

Zhou Qianqian stood on the podium. With a mask on, her normally broad face looked somewhat attractive, with only her eyes visible.

Zhou Li silently followed Brother Nan, his gaze sweeping over the classmates in the room.

He wasn't a particularly sociable person, and the previous semester had only lasted a few months. It had been several months since he'd last seen them, so the masked faces of his classmates seemed somewhat unfamiliar.

However, everyone recognized the two of them and greeted them warmly, their enthusiasm palpable.

"Hi, Brother Nan!"

"Brother Nan, good to see you!"

"Goddess!"

"Handsome Zhou, you finally made it! I thought you'd changed your mind and weren't coming!"

"Wow, Brother Nan, I missed you!"

"Brother Nan..."

"President Zhou..."

Mingled with familiar voices were some strange nicknames Zhou Li had never heard before.

The two of them sat in the back.

Just then, the bell rang.

Zhou Qianqian cleared her throat. "I'll start with the roll call..."

...

The content of the speech was mostly the usual platitudes. Zhou Qianqian kept it brief, also covering some precautions for the current period, reminding everyone to wear masks even at school and to avoid gathering in dorm rooms, and so on.

At 7:40 p.m., the meeting adjourned.

In June, Chunming probably wouldn't get dark until around 8:30 p.m. It was still quite light outside, but a strong wind had picked up.

It felt like rain was coming.

Zhou Li and Brother Nan had made plans to visit the flea market together.

Since the fourth-year students were about to leave school and the new students had also arrived, the flea market had been quickly organized. This allowed graduating students to pass on items they no longer needed and couldn't take with them to juniors who could use them. In this process, perhaps the passing on of a legacy was more important than making money—not that much money could be made anyway.

Brother Nan's roommates were joining them.

Zhou Li stood in the corridor and said to Brother Nan, "I'm going to the restroom. Wait for me."

"Be quick."

"Okay."

A draft blew through the corridor, ruffling Zhou Li's hair, pressing his clothes against his body, and sending leaves rustling to the ground.

When he returned, only Baozi and Cotton Swab were still waiting for him in the corridor. Just as he was about to ask, Baozi turned to him and then gestured with his chin in a certain direction.

"There, your girlfriend."

Zhou Li looked over, puzzled.

A tall figure was moving by the flower bed.

The strong wind sent fallen leaves swirling. She stood in the center of a vortex of leaves, slowly and earnestly performing a set of Tai Chi. As her hands and feet moved, it was as if she were drawing invisible currents of air, causing the leaves to spiral tightly around her.

Many people had gathered to watch.

Some were even holding up their phones, recording.

Zhou Li was speechless.

Baozi's calm voice sounded beside him, "Aren't you going to get your girlfriend? Someone's going to try and hit on her if you wait. These dorky-but-pretty girls are the most popular."

Zhou Li felt a metaphorical dark cloud form over his head.

Soon, Brother Nan, who was thoroughly enjoying herself, spotted Zhou Li approaching. She raised an eyebrow. "Zhou Li, you're here! Take this!"

Then, with a WHOOSH!, she thrust a palm at Zhou Li.

Zhou Li remained unmoved.

Brother Nan paused, then thrust out another palm.

Zhou Li still didn't react.

Brother Nan stopped, scratching her head as she stood there. After a moment of thought, she took a deep breath and began to channel her energy again.

Before she could finish, Zhou Li grabbed her hand and pulled her away.

She didn't resist, merely grumbling as he led her off, "What's the hurry? I wasn't done having fun! I was even going to ask you to film a short video for me to post on TikTok. Let's play a bit more, come on, let's do it together..."

Zhou Li kept his head down, walking forward in silence.

He could feel the gazes of the onlookers on him and Brother Nan. Surprisingly, there didn't seem to be much mockery in their eyes; instead, it looked more like envy.