Since she was on the evening shift today, Lin Jingwen didn’t need to wake up early. She comfortably slept until 7:30 before getting up. She was used to rising early—even if she wanted to sleep in, once it reached that hour she was wide awake and couldn’t stay in bed any longer.
After washing up, with plenty of time to spare, Lin Jingwen cooked some millet porridge and kneaded dough, planning to make scallion pancakes. She couldn’t eat noodles with fried eggs every single day.
While kneading the dough, Lin Jingwen heard noises outside. It sounded like someone was moving in across the hall—going back and forth carrying things.
In those days, people often said: *distant relatives aren’t as good as close neighbors.*
Neighbors living side by side would lend a hand if someone had trouble.
Of course, if there were gossip—like a couple quarreling—neighbors would also gather to watch the drama.
Hearing the commotion, Lin Jingwen hesitated, then added a bit more flour, deciding to make extra scallion pancakes. Once they were ready, she would bring some over to the new neighbors, see what kind of family they were, how many people lived there, and whether they could get along.
This decision marked a new change for Lin Jingwen. She had never been the proactive type—never took the initiative to meet strangers or start conversations. She preferred to keep everything bottled up inside.
Even when she needed help, she felt ashamed to ask, overthinking until she couldn’t bring herself to speak.
After marriage, her life revolved entirely around Li Anping, Li Dongle, and the rest of her in‑laws. She didn’t even have a single close friend she could confide in!
But after awakening from her nightmare, Lin Jingwen felt as though she had already lived through everything—there was nothing left to fear. Now she carried a new openness and clarity about life, along with a fierce determination not to be afraid of anything. She only wanted to live more comfortably, make her life more exciting, try new things, and meet new friends.
For example, she was willing to spend money to rent a good apartment so she could live well; she would also refuse her manager’s demands for overtime. She even brought gifts again to visit Old Madam Yang, strengthening their bond and asking for her help—like when she began planning for her own future.
In short, Lin Jingwen wanted to improve herself, to broaden the path ahead.
As the saying goes: *a smiling face is hard to strike, and when you accept someone’s food, you soften toward them.* Bringing scallion pancakes to the neighbors, she surely wouldn’t be turned away.
If the family across the hall turned out to be decent, she could build a relationship with them. As a divorced single woman, she might someday need a helping hand.
And perhaps, once they settled in, they would come over to greet her too.
If she didn’t present herself openly, once people learned she was divorced, they might think she was hiding out of shame, whispering behind her back.
So it was better to take the initiative.
If she met them and found they weren’t suitable to associate with, she could simply avoid them later.
In the end, outside the home, it was better to make friends than enemies.
Half an hour later, Lin Jingwen finished the scallion pancakes, cut them into triangular pieces, and arranged them neatly on a plate. She opened her door, carrying the plate out, only to find the movers had already left and the door across the hall was shut.
*Knock, knock, knock.*
Lin Jingwen knocked, expecting perhaps a middle‑aged woman or an aunt to answer. Hearing the click of the door opening, she quickly put on a warm smile. But to her surprise, it was a young man who opened the door.
She quickly sized him up: tall and slim, fair‑skinned, wearing glasses and a wristwatch, dressed in a white shirt under a blue sweater—his clothes didn’t look cheap. He was also quite handsome, with a refined, scholarly air—clearly a cultured man.
Though surprised that the neighbor was a young man, Lin Jingwen smiled graciously and said: “Hello, I live across the hall. My surname is Lin. I heard the noise of you moving in, and I just made some scallion pancakes. I thought I’d bring some over, say hello, and get acquainted.”
“Thank you.” Qiu Ze glanced at her friendly smile, then at the golden, fragrant scallion pancakes on the plate. He took the plate and said in a cool tone: “My name is Qiu Ze. Miss Lin, please wait a moment.”
With that, Qiu Ze carried the plate back inside.
Lin Jingwen was momentarily stunned by his use of *Miss Lin*, then broke into a grin, very pleased with the title.
Usually, people called her Sister Lin, Sister‑in‑law Lin, Comrade Lin, Dongle’s mother, the third daughter‑in‑law, or even “Auntie Lin” by mischievous children. But no one had ever addressed her as *Miss Lin*.
That title seemed to carry a sense of dignity uniquely her own.
Qiu Ze soon returned, handed the plate back to her, and in return gave her a high‑end gift box, speaking formally: “Thank you, the scallion pancakes are delicious.”
Seeing his lips glistening with oil, Lin Jingwen knew he had truly tasted them. This was a sincere compliment, not mere politeness, and it lifted her spirits.
“A few pancakes aren’t worth much. This gift box is too valuable—you should take it back,” Lin Jingwen said, accepting only the plate but refusing the gift box. She had glanced at it: inside were imported, high‑end chocolates. A box like that must cost dozens, maybe even over a hundred yuan. Exchanging a few scallion pancakes for such an expensive gift felt wrong. If she accepted it, she would be the one left feeling indebted. Reciprocity was important, but this gift was far too unequal—it made her uncomfortable.
Qiu Ze, seeing her refusal, looked at her with puzzlement and said: “Your scallion pancakes are tastier than this chocolate. I prefer scallion pancakes. To me, I gained, and you lost.”
Lin Jingwen was stunned. Could accounts really be calculated that way?!
“Um, may I ask, Mr. Qiu—how many people live in your household? Is your wife at home?” Lin Jingwen decided to bypass this eccentric intellectual and speak with his wife instead.
“There’s only me. I’m not married, no wife,” Qiu Ze replied coolly. “Miss Lin, is there anything else?”
Lin Jingwen could only shake her head.
“Alright then, I have work to do. We’ll talk next time. Goodbye.” With that, Qiu Ze closed the door, leaving the gift box at her doorstep.
Lin Jingwen…
She looked down at the high‑end box of chocolates by her feet. With no choice, she picked it up and returned to her own apartment. Closing the door, she set the gift box aside, sat down, and while eating scallion pancakes, began to think.
Qiu Ze? Why did that name sound so familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere before?
After pondering for a while, her eyes suddenly lit up—she remembered.
In her dream, the scumbag Li Anping had mentioned that their school had recruited a prodigy, someone who had become a professor at a very young age, specializing in missile research. His name was Qiu Ze.
All the teachers at the school had scrambled to compete for the chance to be his assistant lecturer. She didn’t know how Li Anping managed it, but he was eventually chosen as Qiu Ze’s assistant.
Li Anping had even thrown a celebratory banquet for it!
Later, when Li Anping wanted to divorce her and she resisted, he blamed her—claiming her behavior had ruined his reputation, which was why Qiu Ze dismissed him and refused to keep him as an assistant.
But in reality, Qiu Ze had simply found Li Anping too slow‑witted, unable to keep up with his research, and so had let him go. Could it be that the Qiu Ze living across the hall was that very young genius professor?
Lin Jingwen thought it was highly possible—and rather astonishing.
Just for the fact that Professor Qiu dismissed the scumbag for incompetence, Lin Jingwen already considered him a truly good person—fair and impartial!
She couldn’t believe she had become neighbors with a young genius professor. Instantly, she felt as though she herself had absorbed some of that cultured aura.
After all, wasn’t the story of *Meng Mu’s three moves* all about choosing better neighbors for the sake of influence and education?
At that moment, Lin Jingwen even thought: once she saved up some money, perhaps she should enroll in night school or a correspondence university to improve her own education.
Learning more knowledge could never be a bad thing.
She immediately decided that from now on, when she knitted in the evenings, she would tune in to educational lectures on TV—listen more, learn more, and surely gain something.
Making this decision lifted her mood even further.
Indeed, being close to excellent people naturally inspired one to improve, while being surrounded by scum only dragged a person down.
After finishing her scallion pancakes, Lin Jingwen washed her hands, opened the chocolate gift box, and popped one piece into her mouth, savoring it carefully.
Comparing scallion pancakes with chocolate, she thought, well, chocolate was tastier.
She had profited!