Assistant Liu dropped Su Yumian off downstairs. After thanking him, she didn’t ght up but turned into the nearby market instead.

  Twenty mier, carrying several shopping bags, she was about to head upstairs when she saw Shao proag from the su.

  The sky was already dimming, but the e-red glow of the setting sun draped over him, stretg his already tall figure even longer. His gaze was straight ahead, walking with a focused iy.

  “What a ce, we meet again.” Su Yumiaed him first.

  Shao Wenbai looked up and adjusted his gsses. “What a ce.”

  “Have you had dinner? I bought groceries—do you want to eat together?”

  Shao Wenbai instinctively wao refuse but, remembering her cooking, found himself nodding instead.

  This was his first time at Su Yumian’s home.

  In front of the baly, tulips were in full bloom. A square fish tank in the back er housed two red koi swimming leisurely. The white curtains fluttered gently in the su breeze. The cherrywood table and chairs gave off a naturally warm ambiance.

  Cozy, peaceful, beautiful.

  On the gss coffee table, study materials and exam papers were spread out. With just one gnce, he could tell that nearly all the answers, written in bk, were correct.

  “What would you like to drink?”

  “Just water.”

  Su Yumian poured him a gss of warm water.

  “Thanks.”

  “I bought a lot of groceries today, perfect for hotpot.”

  She opehe shopping bags—various vegetables, a cut of beef, a box of handmade meatballs. There were eveover beef bones from st time, just right for a light beef broth hotpot.

  “You got a multiple-choice questi.” Shao Wenbai suddenly spoke.

  Following his gaze, Su Yumian saw her test paper from this m. She immediately knew which question he was referring to. “Yeah, that one involves both biology and physics. I’m still struggling with the dynamics part.”

  “The choice of potential fun is closely reted to dynamic calcutions. Different potential funs result in different energy surfaces, whi turn affect molecur motion and internal molecur trajectories.” Shao Wenbai expined.

  Su Yumian was stunned for a moment before sinking into thought. Two seds ter, her eyes lit up. “Oh! That makes sense!”

  Shao Wenbai was slightly surprised by how quickly she grasped it. “You uand?”

  “Most of it,” Su Yumian admitted holy. “I read your researotes in the library, so I know some basic molecur dynamics principles.”

  “You could uand them?”

  “Yeah.”

  For the first time, Shao Wenbai looked a little embarrassed. “Those were from my undergrad years… uh, I had a lot of typos.”

  Pfft—

  Su Yumian couldn’t help but ugh. To be ho, there were quite a lot of typos.

  “You’re smart and have good intuition. The graduate school exam won’t be difficult for you.”

  Su Yumian’s smile brightened. “Really? Then I’ll take that as a blessing from Professor Shao.”

  —

  By the time Jiang Yihuai and g Zhou walked out of SKP, the sky was already dark.

  g Zhou g the paper bag in Jiang Yihuai’s hand—nearly seven figures’ worth of jewelry, just casually swinging in his grip. He clicked his tongue.

  Who exactly was he trying to show off to?

  The store had even offered security delivery services, but this guy ft-out refused. Too bad they hadn’t run intain on the way out. g Zhou suggested, “It’s te—let’s get dinner first?”

  Jiang Yihuai hummed disiedly. “You decide.”

  g Zhou picked a well-known private tonese restaurant nearby. They got a private room on the sed flood view, quiet atmosphere.

  When the waiter handed over the menu, g Zhou sed through the tonese dishes. There were so many options, mostly light and fresh, with lots of soups and stews. He hesitated for a while, almost overwhelmed by the choices.

  Notig that Jiang Yihuai hadn’t spoken in a while, he tried to start a versation.

  “I heard this pce is great—authentitonese cuisih a wide sele. Anything you feel like eating, Jiang-ge?”

  Jiang Yihuai didn’t really care. “You pick.”

  Since leaving the jewelry store, he had been absentmindedly pying with his lighter, clearly distracted. Just thinking about how Su Yumian had walked past him without so much as a ging as if she didn’t even know him—made his brows furrow.

  She was treating him like thin air?

  And why hadn’t she moved back yet, even after leaving Shao Yuwei’s pce?

  How long was she pnning to keep this up?

  His thoughts were a mess. He lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. g Zhou eventually ordered preserved pork and bamboo shoot soup, braised duck with peril, sweet and sour pork, and a seafood dish.

  As the dishes arrived one by ohe aroma filled the air. g Zhou, already starving, just wao dig iook a bite—yep, definitely delicious.

  Meanwhile, Jiang Yihuai barely touched his food, eating slowly and without enjoyment.

  “You’re still thinking about earlier, huh?” g Zhou ented. “I think Yumian’s just still mad. Give it some time—she’ll probably e around.”

  He paused, then added, “I mean, you… broke up with her in front of everyone. How was she supposed to save face? It’s not something she just brush off. Give it a few days, and when she’s cooled down, just apologize and make it up to her.”

  Jiang Yihuai’s expression darkened. “Who said I was thinking about her? Just eat your food.”

  “…Alright.” Yeah, sure, totally not thinking about her.

  Suddenly, his phone buzzed. Jiang Yihuai unlocked it, and a photo popped up. A woman standing slightly sideways. A man reag out, his fingers just about to touch her face.

  The image was slightly blurry, but he reized them instantly—Su Yumian and Lin Muzhou!

  His eyes turned icy cold.

  g Zhou noticed his rea and tensed. “Jiang-ge, what’s wrong?”

  Jiang Yihuai tossed his phoo the table, his face grim. “This is what you call ‘she’ll e around’? Looks like she’s got some nerve!”

  She was actually getting involved with Lin Muzhou?!

  g Zhou g the photo and winced. Lin Muzhou, that shameless bastard, was clearly taking advantage of the situation, swooping in while Yumian set.

  Jiang Yihuai let out a cold chuckle. “She really lowered her standards after leaving me—going for someone like Lin Muzhou?”

  Did she actually think he would care?

  —

  Meanwhile, Su Yumian had no idea what was happening outside her world, nor did she care. Her life was now filled with studying—monotonous, dull, but also stable and fulfilling.

  Every day was the same: from her rental apartment to the library and back. In her free time, she cooked a good meal for herself and sometimes shared it with her hardw neighbor.

  Materially, she had far less than before. But after leaving that vil, even the air smelled like freedom.

  “Mianmian, studying again?” Shao Yuwei called her like clockwork every day.

  “Yeah.” Su Yumian moved to a er, l her voice so as not to disturb others.

  “It’s Friday—let’s go out for dinner.”

  “But—”

  “No buts! Even a workhorse needs a break. Rexing a little won’t kill you. Besides, studying needs a bance of work a. Don’t lock yourself away.”

  “…Alright.”

  They arrao meet at a Japanese restaurant.