Like a fox spirit reborn, Han Wenwen sat silently, staring at the grass in the flowerbed. She watched a bug crawling slowly along a leaf.

But today, her nine invisible tails were swaying a little slower than usual.

Lin Zhengran watched this little fox for a moment before walking over slowly. “Wenwen?”

Hearing his voice, Little Fox perked up and jumped to her feet. “Brother Zhengran, you’re here?!”

Lin Zhengran smiled. “Yeah, I’m here to go with you to your place in the small town to help pack. But you’re here early.”

“I came early to wait for you, of course!” Han Wenwen skipped over to him and wrapped her arm around his. “Brother Zhengran looks so handsome today. Let’s go catch the bus.”

“No rush. Let’s grab some breakfast first. What do you feel like eating?”

“Still have to eat breakfast? Hmm… How about fried chicken?”

“Fried chicken in the morning?”

Han Wenwen leaned on his shoulder and whined playfully, “Why not? I just really want it, okay~ Let’s go, let’s go.”

They arrived at a nearby breakfast shop, where Lin Zhengran and Han Wenwen each ordered their meal.

Lin Zhengran got a bowl of millet porridge and two big steamed buns.

Han Wenwen went for a fried chicken leg and some porridge as well.

Altogether, her meal looked even more substantial than his—about on par with Little He Qing’s appetite.

The two foodie besties were alike. One had curves up front, the other had curves in the back. Plenty of provisions from their homeland, so to speak.

Han Wenwen sat next to Lin Zhengran, happily gnawing on her chicken leg.

Her face lit up with joy.

As Lin Zhengran sipped his soup, he took a long glance at his Little Fox.

Noticing his gaze, Han Wenwen asked curiously, “What’s up, Brother Zhengran? Why are you sneaking peeks at me?”

“You’re right next to me—how’s that sneaking? I’m looking openly and proudly.”

Han Wenwen leaned closer on his shoulder and clung to his arm, releasing a soft fragrance.

Then she put down the chicken leg—which now seemed to have lost some of its flavor—and drank a big gulp of millet porridge.

She looked the same as usual on the outside, but Lin Zhengran knew this fox all too well. She had already shown him every part of herself, inside and out.

When it was just the two of them, Han Wenwen was never this quiet during meals.

“What happened?” Lin Zhengran asked.

Han Wenwen cast him a sultry glance with her beautiful fox eyes and swallowed the porridge. “What do you mean, what happened? Nothing happened. Nothing at all.”

She then handed him the half-full bowl of millet porridge with a meaningful smile. “I can’t finish this—help me out, Brother Zhengran.”

Lin Zhengran took the bowl. There were traces of her lipstick on the rim—this little fox had clearly dabbed on some color before leaving the dorm this morning, all on purpose.

Playing along, Lin Zhengran pushed his own untouched porridge toward her. “You’re barely eating today. Why don’t you finish mine instead? I’ll drink yours.”

Han Wenwen looked at his bowl and smiled from the heart. “Brother Zhengran’s leftovers, huh? Then I still have a bit of an appetite.”

Like they were sharing a couple’s toast, the two picked up each other’s porridge and sipped.

Lin Zhengran even deliberately drank from the spot where her lipstick had marked the bowl. The faint sweetness mixed with the plain porridge gave it a strangely unique flavor.

After finishing, he said, “We’re alone together today. Is there really something you can’t tell me? Are you keeping secrets from me?”

Han Wenwen paused with his porridge in hand. Her eyes shifted slightly beneath her long lashes, and her grip on his arm tightened a little.

She drained the rest of the bowl in one go, then leaned against him, tired.

Chewing the porridge and staring into the distance, she suddenly forced a smile. “There’s no secrets between Wenwen and Brother Zhengran~ At most, I was just keeping a little something to myself. I was going to wait until we got back to the small town to talk about it, thinking maybe…”

…maybe if they got a little intimate, she could forget all about it.

But clearly, that wasn’t going to happen now.

She changed her tone, voice turning cold. “I really don’t understand. Why are there people in the world who hesitate and waver so much—it’s so annoying. If you’ve made a decision, don’t regret it. If you’ve already left, then stay gone.”

“Just never speak again, go live your own life. Why come back now and ask to see me? What good can that possibly do besides making me miserable?”

Hearing that, Lin Zhengran basically pieced together the truth. There was only one person who could make Han Wenwen this emotional.

“It’s about your mom?”

Han Wenwen nodded against his shoulder.

“That woman apparently has some terminal illness—I didn’t even ask for details. She looks like she’s dying. After disappearing all these years, she suddenly got my uncle to contact me, saying she wants to see me. I honestly have no idea what she’s thinking. Total lunatic.”

She pulled out her phone and handed it to Lin Zhengran.

He took the phone, typed in her birthday as the password, and unlocked it.

Opening her WeChat, he saw the photos her uncle had sent and their chat history.

Now he fully understood everything.

From the messages, it was clear how much suppressed anger Han Wenwen had toward her biological mother.

“So, Wenwen’s answer is you won’t see her.”

“Yeah.” Han Wenwen looked at him, confused. “Do you think I should go? See that heartless woman?”

Lin Zhengran looked into her eyes, returned the phone, and gently patted her head with a smile.

“I won’t interfere in your choice. If you don’t want to see her, then we won’t. We’ll act like none of this ever happened and just go about our day. She doesn’t matter.”

Han Wenwen smiled too.

“Exactly! Why should I go just because she wants me to? Why does she get to dump me and then show up again like nothing happened? Am I some toy she can toss around? I have feelings too!!”

She realized she was getting worked up and noticed some people nearby glancing over. She also didn’t want to lose control like this in front of Brother Zhengran.

Trying to calm herself down, she picked up the leftover chicken leg and took a bite.

But the fried chicken, which usually tasted amazing, just didn’t hit the spot today.

After eating two-thirds, she gave up and turned to Zhengran with a smile. “Brother Zhengran~ Did you get enough to eat? There’s a third of this leg left. It’s all yours.”

After breakfast, Lin Zhengran and Han Wenwen got in a cab to head to the small town.

During the ride, Little Fox leaned against Lin Zhengran’s shoulder, quietly watching the scenery outside the window.

Lin Zhengran said, “This morning, Little He Qing called me before I left. She said you didn’t seem in a great mood and asked if something was wrong. She was a little worried about you. I texted her back after breakfast and said everything’s fine.”

Han Wenwen smiled in surprise. “Xiao Qingqing actually noticed? I thought I’d hidden it well. I don’t really like letting anyone but Brother Zhengran see me like that.”

Lin Zhengran gently stroked her long hair.

She held his arm with one hand, and their fingers were interlocked with the other, staring blankly out the window.

“Brother Zhengran.”

“Mm?”

“Why does the world have to be full of things that make people feel bad?”

“Because everyone dislikes different things. When they all mix together, that’s when things feel awful. The way to stay happy is to stop focusing on the things you hate. Focus more on what you like, and you’ll feel better. Isn’t that easy to understand?”

Han Wenwen looked up at him seriously, then burst into laughter. She covered her mouth, eyes twinkling. “Brother Zhengran always knows how to answer Wenwen’s questions.”

Then she kissed him on the cheek shyly and whispered, “I love you~”