By the time they got home, it was already completely dark. The white sedan slowly stopped at the entrance of the courtyard.
As soon as they stepped through the gate, Master Zhou happened to walk out of the house, already dressed neatly.
“Grandpa! Grandpa Zhou!” Zhou Jingchen and Wen Xi called out at the same time.
“Going to the night shift?” Wen Zhiting greeted him.
“Yeah.”Master Zhou looked simple and honest, with a kind and gentle face. Even though he was nearing retirement age, he still seemed energetic and spirited.
He pushed his bicycle over from the corner of the wall.
“Jingchen, Grandpa’s heading to work. Finish your homework and go to bed early.”
“Okay.” Zhou Jingchen nodded seriously.
Xiang Qin quickly brought out a bag of bread and handed it to Master Zhou.
“Take this. Eat it if you get hungry during the night shift.”
Master Zhou tried to refuse, but Xiang Qin insisted on stuffing it into his arms, so he had no choice but to accept it.
“Jingchen is very well-behaved. You can rest assured while he’s staying with us,” Xiang Qin said.
Master Zhou nodded repeatedly as he pushed his bicycle out the gate.
“Of course, of course. Thank you for taking care of him.”
That night, Zhou Jingchen was taking a shower in the bathroom.
The warm steam filled the entire room. A handrail was installed on the wall—something Wen Zhiting had specially arranged for him.
Before he finished bathing, there was suddenly a loud knock knock knock on the door.
Zhou Jingchen turned off the water.
Outside the door, Wen Xi was bending slightly and stomping her feet impatiently.
“Hurry up and finish! My stomach hurts!”
Her brows were tightly furrowed. She had definitely eaten too many random snacks earlier.
Zhou Jingchen quickly rinsed off, put on his clothes, and opened the door while leaning on his crutch.
The moment the door opened, Wen Xi shoved him out and locked the latch from inside.
“You should stop eating random junk in the future,” he said toward the door.
“Get lost!” Wen Xi shouted from inside.
After drying his hair, Zhou Jingchen went to the living room to pour some water. He saw Xiang Qin and Wen Zhiting sitting by the sofa.
When they saw him come out, the couple waved him over to eat some fruit.
Zhou Jingchen sat on the sofa beside them, leaning his crutch nearby.
“Uncle, Auntie, why aren’t you resting yet?”
Wen Zhiting removed his glasses, his expression gentle.
“Not sleepy yet. Jingchen, how have you been lately? I didn’t get a chance to ask earlier.”
Xiang Qin picked up a slice of peeled peach with a fork and handed it to him.
“I’m doing well,” he said.“Uncle, I heard from Grandpa recently… is the factory not doing very well? Don’t worry too much. I read in the newspaper that many state-owned factories are facing the same difficult transition period.”
Wen Zhiting looked at him with admiration.
“If only that girl Wen Xi were half as sensible as you.”
“Older sister has her own strengths,” Zhou Jingchen replied politely, sitting upright.
Wen Zhiting rubbed his temples.
“Your aunt and I are busy with work. As for her… her studies aren’t good. If you have time, help tutor her more often. Forget No.1 High School—with those grades, if she can even get into No.2 High School, your aunt and I would be thanking the heavens.”
Zhou Jingchen nodded.
“Alright.”
When Wen Xi came out of the bathroom, she saw three pairs of eyes on the sofa staring at her at the same time.
“What?” she asked, her scalp tingling with a bad feeling.
Xiang Qin stood up and walked over.
“You’re about to take the high school entrance exam. I’ve talked with your father and Jingchen. Starting tomorrow, he’ll tutor you every evening. You don’t need to go to dance class every day anymore—twice a week is enough. For now, focus on your studies.”
Wen Xi’s mouth twitched.
Her gaze shot toward Zhou Jingchen like an arrow.
The boy pressed his lips together and avoided her eyes.
Late at night, the two of them entered the bedroom together.
As soon as the door closed, Wen Xi locked it from the inside and suddenly pounced on Zhou Jingchen, who was sitting on the edge of the bed.
She sat on his waist, pinning him down, gripping the collar of his pajamas.
“Did you tell my parents something?” she demanded coldly.
The tungsten lamp above them cast a soft glow over the room. The sweet fragrance from Wen Xi’s recent bath drifted through the air.
Her hair was wrapped in a towel and still dripping water. A droplet slid down and fell onto Zhou Jingchen’s face.
He frowned.
“Get off first.”
“No!” she said stubbornly, tightening her legs around his slim waist.
“Did you tell my parents I’m bad at studying? That’s why they made you tutor me!”
He sighed helplessly.
“With your grades, do I even need to say anything?”
Her lips pouted like cherries.
“I’d rather dance than study.”
“Then tell your parents that.”
“You did that on purpose, didn’t you? You know I’d never dare say that in front of them… Zhou Jingchen, I’ll kill you!”
She grabbed his neck, making exaggerated threatening sounds as if trying to strangle him.
After two seconds, seeing that he didn’t resist, she suddenly released him.
It wasn’t fun.
She climbed off him and kicked his leg lightly.
“Answer me, little dog. Do you remember who picked you up from the snow?”
“Grandpa,” he replied, lying back with his hands behind his head.
Wen Xi angrily kicked him again.
“I found you first! If I hadn’t found you, you would’ve frozen to death in the snow! I’m your lifesaver!”
The boy smiled slightly, his tone indulgent.
“Yes. Thank you, my lifesaver.”
“You’re my little dog, remember that! Even after five years, ten years, twenty years—you’ll still be my dog. You must listen to me. I have absolute authority. Only I can control you—you can’t control me. I can ride on your head, but you’re not allowed to disobey me. Anything you do must have my permission. And you’re not allowed to team up with my parents to hide things from me.”
“I know,” he said, gazing at her with dark, calm eyes.
“My little princess. I know.”
“Tutoring is fine,” she said, “but you’re not allowed to force me to study.”
“I won’t force you. But…”He paused before continuing,
“Your mom said that in a month she’ll check the tutoring results. If your grades don’t improve, she’ll confiscate all your pocket money, suspend your dance classes, and make you study until midnight every night.”
That last part was completely made up by him.
Wen Xi cried out miserably, “Aooo!”
She covered her face for a moment, silently suffering before quickly accepting reality.
Grumbling angrily, she climbed off his bed, pulled the curtain separating their beds, and went back to her own bed to sleep.
Outside the window, the night sky was faintly tinted gray-blue.
The insects and birds of the summer night had grown quiet. Only the rustling of the elm leaves could be heard as the wind slipped through the half-open window, bringing a cool hint of dampness.
Zhou Jingchen lay curled under a thin blanket, a faint sheen of sweat on his forehead. His eyelashes trembled slightly.
In his dream, he was not in a classroom or school like usual.
Instead, he was at a performance stage, strangely with only himself as the audience.
A girl wearing a red dress danced a striptease barefoot.
But he couldn’t see her face clearly.
It seemed covered by a veil—vague and blurred.
Her figure was graceful, with a pale neck and supple limbs.
First she removed the red outer dress in front of him.
Then she spun and removed another colorful layer, leaving only a dudou covering her upper body.
Zhou Jingchen wanted to step forward and lift her veil to see who she was.
But his steps felt light and unsteady, as if walking on cotton.
The dancing girl turned around, her back facing him.
Her pale neck and smooth back looked like polished jade.
She smiled at him with curved brows, her eyes shaped like crescents, teasing him subtly with every movement.
On the web of her left hand was a small light-brown mole, making her look even more alluring.
When her fingertips brushed lightly across the back of Zhou Jingchen’s hand, the boy suddenly shuddered.
The touch was soft, yet it felt like an electric current shooting through his arm into his chest.
His heart suddenly began pounding violently against his ribs.
Then Zhou Jingchen caught a sweet, creamy fragrance in the air.
The sunlight seemed thick and sticky, and the scent was rich and intoxicating—like milk candy.
Especially when she came close.
The sweet scent drifted into his breath again and again, irresistibly pleasant.
Her slender arms wrapped around his neck.
He could feel her warm breath brushing against his ear and neck, ticklish and intimate.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew.
The girl’s veil fell to the ground.
A pair of familiar beautiful eyes met his gaze, smiling with a playful hint of reproach.
Zhou Jingchen’s heart raced wildly.
A sudden rush of emotion spread from his chest to every part of his body, mixed with confusion and a strange tingling feeling.
Instinctively, he clenched the blanket tightly, his fingertips turning pale.
Heat surged through his body like a tide before slowly fading.
Outside the window, a bird suddenly cried out sharply.
The boy abruptly opened his eyes.
His chest was still heaving, and his body was damp with sweat.
The morning light had already filled the room, illuminating the wrinkles on the blanket.
Zhou Jingchen froze for a few seconds before realizing what had happened.
His face flushed red, even the tips of his ears burning hot.
The images from the dream still lingered in his mind—every frame unbelievably clear.
Flustered, he grabbed a pillow and buried his face into it.
His heart was still pounding, filled with the shy confusion unique to a teenage boy.