Xin Chen had known about Lu Fei's existence for a long time.

  Lufei was the senior of Xindi and Xincheng, and had always been a notable figure in his school from elementary to high school. His father wasn't the reason he drew attention to himself; after all, they attended local key schools, where most students either excelled academically or had connections or family backgrounds, whereas Lufei's family was very low-key, and not many people knew about his father.

  Lu Fei's outstanding grades are a given, he started learning violin at a young age and is also the provincial international chess champion for his age group. He is handsome and elegant, always polite and reserved, every move exuding the strict upbringing of his family. In a school with many children who are arrogant because of their wealthy background, Lu Fei is naturally a pride of his teachers.

  Boys of that age rarely notice girls who are four years younger and several grades lower, no matter how pretty they look.

  The two formally met during the summer vacation of Xin Chen's 14th year.

  When Xincheng was in the sixth grade of elementary school, his grandparents passed away one after another. Xin Kaiyu's state-owned enterprise was not doing well, and he began to resign and start a small business. He has always been a clever but playful man who can't settle down to do things. Sometimes he makes money, sometimes he loses money. When he made money, he was among the first batch of people in this city to use mobile phones. He would take his daughter and niece to the highest-end restaurants in the city for big meals and go shopping at malls; when he lost money, he would even be short on living expenses and had to accept secret help from his brother.

  Xin Chen once again, under the arrangement of her eldest uncle, went to one of the best middle schools in the city, just like her cousin. She started wearing a key around her neck for a long time and was often alone at home. During holidays, her eldest uncle would take her over to live with Xin Di, so that she wouldn't be left unattended, and could only have meals at a small restaurant nearby.

  The two sisters have always been very close, especially Xindi, who is under the strict supervision of her mother Li Xiang. After school, she returns home on time and doesn't have any particularly close friends except for Lu Fei, whom she has known since childhood. She is generous by nature and also likes Xinchen, willing to share her room, snacks, and books with her younger cousin.

  Lu Fei graduated from high school that year and was admitted to the international finance major of a local prestigious university. At this time, his father had been promoted to a key position in the province, and Xin Kai Ming was no longer his secretary after he took office as the leader of a certain district in the city, and his career was also smooth.

  Xin Di, who is about to enter high school, like most children with special talents, has a strong bias towards art and poor math scores. Although she had decided to take the art exam long ago, in order to get into a good school, her liberal arts scores also couldn't be too bad. During that vacation, her friend Lu Fei volunteered to come to her house to help her with her homework.

  Someone knocked heavily on the door, and Lu Fei went to open it. There stood a pretty girl with a ponytail at the entrance, wearing a large backpack, with a few shiny sweat drops on her forehead. She held an ice cream in her left hand, which she was about to put into her mouth, while holding another unopened ice cream in her right hand. Seeing him open the door, she couldn't help but pause for a moment, leaving a chocolate mark on her lips. Her pink tongue quickly darted out and licked away the chocolate, then she walked past him into the house, handing the unopened ice cream to Xin Di: "Di, eat it quick, it's going to melt, it's so hot!"

  Xin Di was being driven crazy by math, so he dropped his pen and picked up the pastry to devour it immediately. Xin Chen looked at Lu Fei, "Sorry, I didn't know you were here, or else I would have bought another one."

  Lu Fei had seen Xin Chen in school before, and he also knew that she was Xin Di's cousin. However, since they were a few grades apart, they hadn't spoken to each other before. The school was full of lively and pretty girls trying to catch his attention, so he didn't have much impression of her. "Thanks, I don't eat this."

  Xin Chen pouted, apparently finding the answer uninteresting. She turned to Xin Di and said: "Di zi, I'm going to the bookstore later to buy books, will you accompany me? Someone was following me just now."

  Xin Di felt that she was utterly unworthy of being a 17-year-old girl, having never experienced a boy's pursuit before, and it was really embarrassing. "Which class is the little boy from? Why don't you just tell him to get lost, what's with all this following?"

  This rough answer made Lu Fei frown, but Xin Chen shook his head, "It's not a male classmate, it's a girl, and she's quite pretty. I'm afraid it's my dad's romantic debt."

  This sentence is even more outrageous than Xinde's rudeness, but Xincheng doesn't look at him, leaning on the sofa, picking up the phone to call Xinkaiyu's cell phone, starting a conversation that makes Lu Fei even more surprised. "Dad, did you read the newspaper clipping I gave you last time? It was about a certain woman and her lover who were driven by love and hatred, and used sulfuric acid to disfigure her lover's daughter."

  Xin Kaiyu burst out laughing, "Take a good look, it's impressive. Women can be terrifying when they're being stubborn. Chenzi, don't be such a fool."

  "Still coming to teach me, I told you a thousand times not to mess with that kind of woman, I'm afraid of being splashed with sulfuric acid."

  "Am I that kind of foolish man?"

  "It shouldn't be, but today I went back to get my clothes, and from the moment I left home, there was a woman following me. When I walked, she walked, when I stopped, she stopped. It's so strange, haven't you had a recent breakup with someone?"

  Xin Kaiyu became a little vigilant and thought for a moment, "For the next two days, don't go out alone, just stay at Uncle's house, I'll be back in three days."

  "I still have reference books that I haven't bought yet, am I supposed to be stuck at home?" Xincheng pouted and said, "Dad, can you hurry up?"

  "Alright alright, I'll try to arrive early, okay? Chenzi, you mustn't run around randomly, be careful."

  Xin Di had long been accustomed to the tone of conversation between her father and daughter, but she was also very interested in the content. She had a childlike curiosity about her uncle's rich private life, and as soon as Xin Chen hung up the phone, she asked: "Is it really your old lover who is following you, Uncle Chen?"

  "I've never seen that woman before, I don't know her." Xincheng shrugged his shoulders, completely nonchalant. "Wait till my dad gets back and he'll know."

  "Let's go out and take a look." Xindi's life had always been calm, but now her curiosity was piqued. "We can bring an umbrella and keep a distance, it should be fine."

  Lu didn't entirely disapprove of this aimless wandering, but he also knew that he couldn't dissuade Xindi from her whims, nor could he bear to let the two girls face what he considered to be a nonexistent old flame and sulfuric acid on their own, so he had no choice but to follow them out.

  Outside, the sun was shining brightly. In the courtyard, the two acacia trees were in full bloom, with half-red and half-white flowers blooming profusely. Xincheng stopped in his tracks, looked up at the acacia flowers, "It smells so good, can you smell it, Dizi?"

  As soon as she said that, Lu Fei noticed that there was indeed a faint fragrance in the air, but Xin Di was now thinking of the mysterious woman and urged her: "It's not the first time you've seen this flower, hurry up, maybe she's already left."

  Out of the yard, without Xincheng's guidance, Lu Fei and Xin Di also saw that under the shade of a tree across the road stood a woman in a cheongsam, staring unapologetically at this side.

  Xin Di first analyzed her outfit and came to the conclusion: white half-high-heeled sandals with yellow straps, a flowing knee-length dress made of what should be silk, tailored to perfection, complementing the woman's slender figure and fair skin. Even though she was wearing sunglasses, it could be seen that she was beautiful, a real beauty, it seemed that her brother-in-law had good taste.

  Xin Chen glanced over but didn't look closely, pulling Xin Di's hand to signal her to walk. The three of them walked towards the bookstore, while the woman followed behind them.

  After turning another corner, the road was not certain, and Xin Chen did not make a mistake. The woman was indeed following them openly. He didn't want to continue like this inexplicably, gesturing for the two girls to stand aside, turned around and waited. That woman hurried up, almost colliding with him. He calmly sized her up, "May I ask what you are following us for?"

  She was shocked and immediately looked at Xin Chen behind him. Xin Di hastily called out: "Lu Fei, retreat a bit!"

  Lu Fei didn't move, the woman in front of him was slender and only carried a small white leather bag, obviously not capable of carrying sulfuric acid or anything similar. Her gaze passed over Lu Fei and directly looked at Xin Chen.

  "Xin Chen, I want to talk to you."

  Xin Chen didn't find it strange that she called out his name, but just smiled and shook his head. "I don't get involved in your adults' business, if you want to talk go talk to my dad, he'll be back from his trip soon, and don't follow me around again."

  The woman furrowed her brow. "I don't want to see your dad, Xin Chen." She took off her sunglasses and gazed at Xin Chen with a faint smile. "I just want to see you."

  Xin Chen was about to speak when Xin Di suddenly grabbed her hand. She had been drawing portraits since elementary school and had drawn countless sketches of people, so she was very sensitive to details. At a glance, she saw that the woman in front of her was probably around 30 years old, with a beautiful and elegant appearance. More importantly, she and Xin Chen shared a subtle resemblance in their features. Overall, Xin Chen's eyebrows and eyes looked like her father Xin Kaiyu's, with two black eyebrows giving her delicate face a bit of an English flavor. However, she and the woman in front of her had the same beautiful nose, hairline, and eyes, and more importantly, when they smiled, the dimple on their left cheek was in exactly the same position. Xin Di was startled by his own discovery, and his heart began to beat faster.

  "Who are you?" Lu Fei asked coldly, "If you don't make it clear, none of us will talk to you, and we'll call the police."

  "I am your mother, Xin Chen."

  The next moment of silence, Lu Fei and Xin Di were stunned, while Xin Chen just looked her up and down, surprisingly calm.

  Xin Di was not clear about Xin Chen's life experience, her illegitimate status and unclear mother were taboo topics that Xin Kai Ming couple did not want to mention to anyone. However, although Xin Di had never seen his aunt, he also knew that Xin Chen could not have been born without a mother.

  She was worried that her younger cousin would be stimulated, so she quickly said: "Auntie, please confirm with my uncle first, no one will like to meet a stranger on the road who claims to be their own mother."

  That woman didn't pay attention to her, but instead faced Xin Chen and said: "Xin Chen, you are 14 years old this year, your birthday is January 24th, it was snowing lightly on the day you were born, the temperature was very low, your birth weight was 3.1 kg, your blood type is AB, there is a red mole on the sole of your right foot, your father's name is Xin Kaiyu, he should be 33 years old this year..."

  "That's enough." Xincheng's sharp voice cut her off, his hand still in Xindi's, Xindi could feel him tightening his grip on his own hand, both palms were sweaty, but they both stubbornly refused to let go. "What do you want to do? Act out a family reunion drama on the street?"

  "I just can't let you go, I want to see you, Xin Chen, please understand me."

  "Let's wait until my dad comes back before we talk about it. You've already given up on me for 14 years, waiting a few more days won't make a difference."

  "But I don't have much time left, I've been here for three days and only just found your place, and I've been waiting for two whole days. To be honest, I had almost given up hope, but then I saw you come home today. Tonight I'll be leaving here to go to Beijing, and then on to Austria, and probably won't be coming back again." The woman said directly to Xin Chen, "Please come and sit with me for a bit, I won't hurt you."

  "So you're here to bid me farewell?" Xincheng smiled, her laughter like the gentle tinkling of a silver bell, radiant and resplendent in the sunlight. "No need for that, if we're going to part ways, let's do it cleanly and without any loose ends, no point in leaving everyone worried."

  "Are you blaming me or don't you believe me? Xincheng, I have an unavoidable bitter circumstance..."

  "I believe you, and I'm a big girl now with no benefits. I don't blame you either, but sorry, the word 'mom' doesn't mean much to me. Since I didn't have a mom for the first 14 years and I was fine, I think it's better this way." She squeezed Xindi's hand again, "Let's go, Di."

  Xin Chen walked into the bookstore without looking back, and first went to flip through comic books, one after another, picking them up and flipping through them briefly before putting them down. Lu Fei hinted at Xin Di, who could only say: "Chenzi, where are the reference books you want to buy?"

  She blankly raised her head, her small face expressionless, and her usually lively eyes were a bit dull. "Reference book? Oh, I'll look for it."

  The two of them only saw her slowly walking between the bookshelves, almost in a trance-like state, her fingers brushing against the spines of the upright books one by one, without stopping.

  Xin Di couldn't bear it anymore, went over and grabbed her hand, "Chen Zi, tell me the title of the book, I'll help you find it."

  Xin De quickly found the book she wanted and then carefully asked her: "Want to read other books? I'll buy them for you."

  She shook her head, "Let's go home."

  The three of them returned by the same route, and the woman was still standing under the tree shade in her original position. With her sunglasses back on, her face showed no expression, while Xin Chen walked straight past her without even a glance.

  After going home, Xin Chen was about to enter the bedroom when he suddenly stopped in his tracks, turned around and looked at them, saying softly but firmly: "Don't tell anyone about this, okay?"

  At that moment, there was no childishness on her face, and a pair of eyes were as deep as a well. Lu Fei and Xin Di nodded silently, Lu Fei naturally didn't say anything, while Xin Di hadn't even mentioned it to his parents.

  Until Lu Fei finished telling Xindi about her homework, Xin Chen didn't come out of the bedroom. They exchanged glances, both feeling a little helpless and worried. Two normally big kids from two families, facing the situation where their mother suddenly appeared after disappearing for fourteen years, had no idea how to comfort the little girl in the bedroom.

  Lu Fei bid farewell to the Xindi family and left, subconsciously taking another look at the two osmanthus trees in the courtyard. He appreciated the elegant landscape of lotus, plum blossoms, and winter jasmine. This kind of gorgeous flower was not his taste, but smelling the faint fragrance in the air and looking at their majestic appearance under the sunlight, he couldn't help but admit that they were indeed beautiful.

  He walked out of the courtyard, and saw that the strange woman was still standing on the opposite side of the road. He hesitated for a moment, then walked over to her. For a while, he didn't know how to address this woman who should be called "Auntie" according to seniority, but looked young enough to only be considered an older sister. "Please don't stand here anymore, it's really troubling Xincheng. Even if you go abroad, you can still find a way to contact her later. Suddenly recognizing each other and then saying you want to leave forever, how can she possibly accept that?"

  She nodded, "I know it's ridiculous for me to come this time, and maybe it's not good for Xin Chen either. But I couldn't control this thought. I should leave, but suddenly I lost my strength. Thinking of going to Beijing, then to Europe, the long road ahead is simply a bit desperate. Are you Xin Chen's friend?"

  She spoke in a soft and gentle Mandarin, with a tone of voice that was surprisingly similar to Xin Chen's, making Lu Fei marvel at the mysterious power of heredity. "I am a friend of her cousin Xin Di, so I'm also considered her friend."

  "Will you do me a favor?" She opened her white handbag, took out an envelope, "Inside is the address where I will be settling in Austria. If Xincheng is willing to contact me one day, please give it to her. Tell her that even if I move, I'll ask someone to forward my mail."

  Lu didn't hesitate, she looked at him with pleading eyes, the deep sorrow hidden in those beautiful eyes moved him. He took over the envelope, "For now, Xin Chen probably won't want it, I'll find a suitable opportunity to give it to her, but as for other things, I can't guarantee."

  "I will no longer go against her wishes and disturb her, but if one day she has the same thoughts as me, wanting to understand more about the other end of her bloodline, I'll be there waiting."

  After getting to know Xin Chen, Lu Fei learned about her background and had advised her, but her response was always a shake of the head, refusing to discuss that woman who appeared and disappeared hastily on a summer afternoon, let alone accept the envelope.

  The white envelope has not been opened until now, and it is still kept by Lu Fei. He brought the envelope to live in major cities such as San Francisco, New York, Beijing, and always put it neatly in a file folder.

  That summer vacation, Xincheng seemed to have encountered no unusual situation at all. She did her homework as usual, listened to Hong Kong and Taiwan pop songs on the Walkman with earphones, watched TV, read fashion magazines that Xindi secretly bought back from her mother, sometimes acted as a model for Xindi's sketching practice, or learned to paint with her, without showing any difference.

  The summer vacation has passed almost half, Lu Fei insisted on coming over several times a week to give Xin Di extra lessons. Occasionally, he also taught Xin Chen some lessons, but Xin Chen was even more careless about learning than Xin Di, and had a lot of fallacies. "I know it's like this, why do I need to know why it's like this?"

  Such a nonchalant attitude, letting go is not without helplessness. Xin Di burst out laughing beside him, thinking that Xin Chen's tone was exactly like his father, Xin Kaiyu.

  Two sisters spent their leisure time painting, but Xindi's paintings were fashion design drafts. She asked her sister Lushi, who was studying in the UK, to buy a set of original English fashion drawing techniques for her, which she hid under a pile of reference books in her bedroom and took out to study whenever she had time. When she encountered unfamiliar English words, she would look them up in the dictionary or ask Lushi. Lushi sighed as he helped translate for her, "If you devoted one-third of this effort to math, your grades would improve by at least 40%."

  Xin Di completely ignored his advice, she only told Lu Fei about her intention to study fashion design and asked him not to tell anyone else. "My dad will probably be fine, at most he'll just be surprised, but my mom will definitely freak out when she hears about it. She's always thinking that I should be painting those intricate flowers and birds, or at least oil paintings, as long as they're elegant."

  Lu Fei couldn't help but look at Xin Chen, who was drawing cartoon characters with gusto. She had to admit that Xin Di was still striving for her ideals, whereas Xin Chen's mind was only preoccupied with having fun. Xin Di didn't have high expectations of Xin Chen and even proudly boasted while looking at the childish cartoon drawings: "Look, with just one guidance from me, you can already draw something that looks like a real drawing! It seems our family members indeed all have artistic talent!"

  Xin Chen laughed carefree and worry-free, Lu Fei almost thought that the girl in front of him was shallow and happy, without any worries.

  Until he saw her fall into a nightmare for the first time.

  That afternoon, Xīn Dí received a call from the art teacher and went to his home to pick up an exam material. Lǔ Fēi was sitting alone in the study room reading a book, when he came out to pour water to drink, he found that the TV was on, while Xīn Chén was lying asleep on the sofa.

  The water dispenser was placed on one side of the sofa, and he took a glass to get some water. Xincheng had her hands clasped together in front of her chest, with one right foot resting on the armrest of the sofa. The shape of that foot was perfect, fair and slender, with pink toenails like seashells, five small toes rounded, and a prominent red mole on the sole, which suddenly reminded him of what the woman who claimed to be her mother had said that day.

  Lu Fei was shocked by his own attention to such details and the sudden unease, downing half a glass of ice water in one gulp, turning off the TV with the remote control, just as he was about to return to his study, but saw Xin Chen open his eyes, staring blankly at the ceiling with a bewildered and painful expression.

  "What's wrong, Xin Chen?" he asked in surprise.

  Xin Chen didn't respond, but his small face suddenly twisted, covered in sweat, with pupils that seemed to have enlarged, and a pale complexion without any blood color, completely unlike his usual healthy appearance, as if he was using all his strength to struggle, but couldn't shake off the heavy burden.

  Lu Fei was greatly startled, and crouched down beside the sofa, hesitantly extending one hand to grasp hers, feeling that she was trembling with fear, her skin icy cold, looking like a small child in extreme terror.

  He hesitated again, but still reached out to hold the small body, gently patting her back. Her expression suddenly relaxed, her pupils slowly returned to normal, and she stretched out her arms to hug him, burying her forehead in his shoulder, cold sweat dripping down, instantly soaking through his T-shirt. After a while, he felt her tightly tensed body relax.

  He put her back on the sofa, still holding one of her hands, and asked softly: "Are you uncomfortable? I'll take you to the hospital now."

  "No, I just... it was like having a nightmare and then waking up to find myself unable to breathe, with no part of my body able to move." She raised her other hand to cover her eyes, speaking softly, "I don't know how this happened, but it will be okay in a little while."

  "Has it been like this before?"

  She shook her head, "It just started recently, that day was the same, lying in bed, my aunt called me from outside, I was clearly awake, could see and hear, I wanted to respond, but somehow couldn't make a sound."

  That day, Li Xiang didn't see her respond, walked in, saw her lying on the bed with her eyes open, expression strange, suddenly quite unhappy, "You're not responding at all, basic politeness should be observed, let's go out for dinner." Xin Chen couldn't argue back, could only wait until she recovered and wiped away her sweat before walking out.

  "What's your dream? Maybe it'll be fine if you say it out loud."

  "I don't remember, sometimes it feels like I'm running, but the road never seems to end and I don't know where it leads; sometimes it feels like I'm wandering around in a dark corridor, unable to find my way home." Tears seeped out from between her fingers as she covered her eyes, her voice choking with emotion. "I'm scared, really scared."

  Her small hand was still trembling in his palm, he held it tightly and said softly: "Don't be afraid, it's okay, just a dream."

  "But repeating it, it seems to be true." Her voice was anguished, he stretched out his hand and gently wiped away a tear that had rolled from the corner of her eye to her ear, then handed her a tissue, which she took and pressed randomly against her eyes.

  He squatted beside the sofa until she calmed down completely before standing up, "Let Aunt Li take you to see a doctor tomorrow."

  Xin Chen wiped the corners of his eyes with a tissue and shook his head, saying: "Do you have to see a doctor just because you had a nightmare? That's too exaggerated. Maybe it's like you said, once I say it out loud, it'll be fine."

  She quickly recovered her lively appearance. After Xindi returned, the two sisters chatted and laughed as usual, still pretending that nothing had happened.

  This road doesn't lead to the courtyard, and coincidentally, she ran into Xin Chen coming out. She first looked up at the sky with narrowed eyes, then ran under the Tilia tree, hugged the trunk and shook it hard. The flowering period was about to pass, and the ground under the tree was already covered with fallen red flowers. After her shaking, the half-wilted pompon-like flowers fell rustling, sprinkling all over her body.

  This scene left Lu Fei stunned.

  Xin Chen let go, still looking up at the tree with a lingering gaze, then shook her head and ran out, only to bump into Lu Fei. Lu Fei steadied her and plucked off the silky flower petals from her hair, "I said why these flowers fell so quickly."

  She stuck out her tongue, "I didn't do anything."

  "You indeed didn't climb on the house to remove tiles or dig up birds' nests."

  Xin Chen didn't expect Lu Fei to chat with her and laugh together.

  "Have you been having nightmares lately?"

  Her smile suddenly disappeared, revealing a childlike worry. She hesitated for a moment and whispered: "My dad said it's nothing, just a dream, but my classmate asked her grandmother, this is called being pressed by a ghost, maybe I'm really haunted."

  "Nonsense, what ghost?" Lu Fei lightly rebuked, "Attributing things you don't understand to supernatural powers is unscientific and meaningless."

  She rolled her tongue at this serious lesson again and said, "Thank you for your standard answer."

  "Let me take you to see a doctor, his answer is more authoritative than mine."

  "No, I hate going to the hospital and smelling medicine. School starts supplementary classes tomorrow and the holiday is ending. Someone asked me out to watch a movie, I'm leaving, goodbye."

  She ran out of the yard with agility, petals falling from her body all the way. Lu Fei looked at that back and couldn't help but smile.

  Xin Di was lamenting the premature end of her vacation, she and Xin Chen were about to enter their senior year. The key middle school had strict rules, requiring seniors to start classes before the official end of summer break. As she drew sketches, she complained: "This rigid education system is unreasonable, treating us like robots."

  Behind her, the only thing she painted was Xin Chen, known as her "imperial model", with a slightly sideways face like a fresh peach, hair tied into a small bun, thick eyebrows and long eyelashes, big eyes looking forward, with a hint of mischievous smile, left cheek dimples appeared, bright and clear without any gloom, the curve of the lips was full and perfect like a small bow, exuding sweet breath.

  "He couldn't help but shake his head in admiration: 'Xiao Di, it's a pity you're not a painter.'"

  Xin Di smiled and said, "I've already made up my mind, don't try to tempt me or persuade me again."

  "What about Xiao Chen then? What does she want to be when she grows up?" Lu Fei didn't know why he suddenly asked that.

  "She said she wanted to travel the world, be at home in all four seas, and wander to distant lands." Xindi burst out laughing, clearly not taking her younger cousin's childish words seriously. She took a step back to admire the painting on the easel, "At least this one captures some of the spirit, but this little girl can't sit still, she's too hard to paint."

  Lu Fei couldn't help but think of Xin Chen shaking the wisteria tree earlier and smiled, "It's not easy to paint, not just because she can't sit still, but also because although she's already a young lady, there's still a hint of mischief in her bones, her energy is scattered all over the place, it's always a bit unpredictable, indeed difficult to capture."

  Xin Di Da was astonished, "Ah, Lu Fei, what you said is exactly what I felt but couldn't express."

  Lu Fei stared at the sketch in a daze, such a lively child was actually also entangled by nightmares, but concealed it very well, it was really unthinkable.

  It was the eve of the new semester, and Xin Chen packed his things to head home. Lu Fei also arrived that day, and the two walked out together. As Lu Fei saw Xin Chen lazily heading towards home, he suddenly had a thought, "Is there anything going on today?"

  Xin Chen shook her head, Lu Fei reached out and took over her backpack with clothes, "Let's go, I'll take you to a place."

  Xin Chen looked at him in surprise, "Where to?" Many boys were either shy or boldly asked her out on a date, but she never thought Lu Fei would be one of them.

  Lu Fei was wearing a white shirt, standing tall in front of her. The sunlight made his black hair shine with a subtle luster, and his eyes were bright and deep, looking at her warmly as he said with a smile: "You'll know when you get there, are you afraid to go?"

  Xin Chen didn't hesitate at all, tilted his head and said, "Let's go."

  He didn't want to take a detour and hailed a taxi, taking her directly to the entrance of the city's largest central hospital. She suddenly pouted and turned around to leave.

  Lu Fei was quick and agile, grabbing her hand in one swift motion, not letting her run away. "My uncle is the head of neurology here, let him take a look at you."

  She pulled her hand back forcefully, "Hey, it's just a nightmare, isn't being neurotic that scary?"

  Lu Fei was not amused. "Lacking common sense, where did this term 'nervous disorder' come from? There's only mental illness and neurosis, and neurology and psychiatry are two different things."

  She didn't make a sound and didn't move her feet.

  "It shouldn't be necessary to either get an injection or take medicine," Lu Fei said with a headache, looking at her. "Hey, you're not a kid anymore, do you have to be like this? Do you want this nightmare to haunt you forever?"

  Her hand stopped in his, and after a moment, she compromised and followed him into the hospital.

  Lü Fei's uncle, Xie Sizhi, was about to turn 40, wearing a white robe and frameless glasses, with an intelligent and gentle demeanor, possessing the typical temperament of a doctor. He inquired in detail about the situation of the little girl brought by his nephew, asking from what time she started having such nightmares, Xin Chen lowered her head, remained silent for a while before saying: "It was from that night when that woman came to find me."

  Lu Fei thought for a moment and told her uncle an approximate time. Only then did he realize that Xin Chen was not as carefree as she seemed on the surface, but was actually being pressured and troubled by her mother's sudden visit in this way. He decided to continue keeping the envelope, at least not mentioning it to her for now.

  Xie Siqi told them not to worry too much, and professionally explained the cause: "This nightmare is medically called sleep paralysis, which occurs when a person's brain experiences hypoxia during sleep. Sometimes, when a person wakes up from brain hypoxia, due to the lingering visual and motor disorders that last for several minutes, it can lead to a psychological illusion of struggling to wake up but not being able to wake up. Because in summer, blood vessels expand more severely, and blood pressure is lower, so the probability of occurrence in summer is higher than in other seasons."

  "Can it be avoided?" Lu Fei asked.

  "Sometimes it is related to sleeping posture, pillow being too high or heart being pressed, adjusting these can avoid nightmares."

  Xin Chen shook his head, "I've tried it, even sleeping well in bed recently will be like this."

  "If we rule out the problem of sleeping posture, it should be caused by psychological reasons. It usually occurs when under great stress, over-fatigue, irregular work and rest schedule, insomnia, anxiety. From your symptoms and frequency, it's not that serious. As long as there is no physical reason, it won't have a direct impact on health. Just relax."

  Lu Fei couldn't help but worry when she heard words like "pressure" and "anxiety" that shouldn't be associated with a girl of this age, but Xin Chen looked very happy, as if having a scientific explanation made her feel at ease. "As long as it's not some ghostly possession or something, I'm fine. I don't want to be the only one acting out a horror movie."

  Out of the hospital, Xin Chen immediately ran to the opposite side of the road. Lu Fei hadn't reacted yet when she already grabbed two unwrapped ice cream cones and ran back, handing one to him. He shook his head, but she didn't give him a choice and stuffed it into his mouth. He had no choice but to take it.

  Lu Fei was usually strict with himself and had a strong sense of self-discipline, so it was rare for him to eat while walking on the street. And what he was eating was something childish - a strawberry ice cream cone. He knew he didn't look dignified at all. But when he saw Xin Chen walking in front of him, still dressed in her summer outfit, wearing a white T-shirt and denim shorts, with her long legs striding lazily, the sunlight filtering through the trees shining on her, and when she turned around, with a smudge of cream on her lips and a bright smile on her face, Lu Fei felt an inexplicable sense of joy.

  It was on this day that Lu Fei sent Xin Chen back home and saw his living environment for the first time. He almost didn't dare to believe it, Xin Chen, who looked so bright and beautiful, actually came in and out of here every day.

  The surroundings were chaotic, with buildings that seemed to have been constructed haphazardly, clothes hung out to dry in a disorderly manner, some still dripping water. Although the sky outside was bright, the corridor was dimly lit and had already turned dark. He followed behind Xin Chen, stumbling up the stairs, occasionally bumping into piles of cluttered objects, and couldn't help but think: no wonder Xin Chen got trapped in her dream and couldn't find a way out in the dark corridor.

  Xin Chen opened the door, and Lu Fei was amazed again. In front of her was a small two-bedroom apartment, with a messy room that was no less chaotic than outside. The furniture was all old, but there was a brand-new large-screen color TV. At the entrance, there were shoes of all seasons, from sandals to boots, placed in a disorderly manner. On the faded and sagging sofa, there were piles of clothes with bright colors and various thicknesses.

  Xin Chen didn't care about the messy scene in front of him, casually throwing down his backpack, turning on the ceiling fan, and then directly opening the door and window for ventilation. He turned on the TV, pushed all the clothes on the sofa to one side, and called out to Lu Fei: "Sit down, but I haven't been home for a long time, there's nothing at home, and I forgot to buy soda on my way up just now."

  "You're a girl, isn't it a lot of trouble to tidy up your room?"

  "I often sweep," she said with a straight face.

  The room is indeed not dirty, otherwise Lu Fei's cleanliness would have made him leave early. "But it's very messy, putting the shoes in order and folding the clothes neatly in the closet will make a big difference."

  Xin Chen frowned, apparently thinking he was nagging, but he had just taken her to see a doctor and relieved her of the heartache that had been plaguing her for days. She decided not to be difficult with him and quickly folded up the clothes. Her movements were neat and tidy, and soon she had put all the clothes away in the bedroom and came out, tilting her head to look at him, "Is there anything else you're not satisfied with?"

  Lu Fei was still very dissatisfied with the state of this room, but the happy smiling face of the girl in front of him was really infectious. He decided to take it slow and not ruin the atmosphere all at once.

  Two people sat in wicker chairs on the balcony, chatting. At this time, summer was approaching its end, and the weather was no longer scorching hot. As the sun set, there was a gentle breeze blowing towards them. Across from them were grey buildings, and a flock of pigeons flew around, occasionally crossing their line of sight, looking very comfortable and at ease.

  Xin Chen stretched his waist, "The new semester is about to start again, the teacher keeps nagging about the college entrance exam all day long, it's so annoying, I really don't want to go to school anymore."

  "When I'm free, I'll come and help you with your homework."

  She nodded, but it was clear she wasn't enthusiastic about it.

  "So what do you want to do, play all day?"

  "If I wasn't afraid of Grandpa getting angry, I wouldn't want to take the entrance exam for this high school at all. Going to an ordinary middle school would be just fine." Xincheng said with a lack of enthusiasm, "But I still have to do well on the exam, otherwise he'll go and pull strings again, or even help me pay the sponsorship fees. Grandpa is great in every way, but his obsession with the flute and me is just too much."

  Lu Fei knew that OCD was Xinde's private complaint about her parents' high expectations, and it seemed that Xincheng absolutely agreed with his cousin. However, he didn't think this counted as OCD; lowering one's standards and having a life without goals was what he considered unthinkable. "If you don't set a goal for yourself, aren't you just drifting through life?"

  "You're going to lecture me again." Xincheng didn't lose his enthusiasm, "The most important thing for people is to live happily. You probably found fun in studying, but I didn't, so don't use your standards to demand from me."

  "What's your hobby?"

  "A lot, wear a new set of clothes, sleep in an undisturbed daze, listen to music, watch movies, smell the fragrance of flowers, eat chocolate ice cream, drink chilled soda, and...". She turned around, looking at him seriously, "and sit with you like this chatting."

  Such trivial yet specific joy, especially when it's related to oneself, is like a subtle plucking of the heartstrings, and Lu Fei was moved, all the reasons he had prepared to explain to her were thrown aside.

  His sister, Lu, is 8 years older than him. The reason why he has always been close to Xin Di is not only because her father had been a secretary for his father for a long time and they knew each other very early on, but also because their families are similar, both having parents who are civil servants with strict personalities, and have strict family rules, speaking carefully and acting properly.

  He has always unconsciously taken his father as a model, calm and steady in his demeanor, strict in handling matters, with wisdom beyond his age. He has always felt that the hints of school girls' youthful infatuation are childish, and he politely but firmly rejects them, not intending to develop friendships with anyone beyond classmates.

  Xin Chen, the little Xin Chen without any restraints, was the first girl to be hugged by Lu Fei after he grew up. Before he even realized it, she had already walked into his heart with a bold and direct attitude.

  She frankly talked about her long-time attention to him, using a typical little girl's tone, "When I was in elementary school, I thought you looked handsome playing the violin on stage."

  Lu Fei smiled.

  "But you're also very cool, looking like you don't care about others, with a proud attitude."

  Lu Nai acknowledged that he indeed gave many people this impression.

  "But after getting familiar with you, I found out that you're not as impressive as you seemed at first."

  Lu Fei could only shake his head.

  "Play the guitar for me when you have time, okay?"

  Lu nodded in agreement.

  "You hold me and make me feel at ease."

  Ah, that hug, he certainly remembered her small body in his arms, and his heart was filled with tenderness.

  At night, Xin Chen and Lu Fei went downstairs together. Fei insisted on taking him to a small restaurant that they wouldn't normally be able to enter for dinner. "I can put it on tab here, and we'll settle up when my dad gets back from his trip."

  After dinner, he sent her upstairs again and reminded her to lock the door. He went downstairs in the dark, thinking for the first time that he was already 18 years old and would soon go to college, yet he liked a 14-year-old girl, wondering if this taste was a bit special.

  It's just a liking, nothing serious, he comforted himself. Turning back to look at the old building under the night sky, thinking of her smile like bright sunshine, he also smiled in the darkness.