Haishi, August, early morning, the first light of dawn faint and hazy.
Three dark figures crouched furtively at a street corner.
The Affiliated Hospital of Haida University was located on the outskirts, where people were scarce to begin with. On top of that, the morning fog hadn’t lifted, and the neon signs along the road were missing limbs and pieces, casting the street in a sinister gloom that vaguely resembled a murder-burial scene from a movie.
Ji Cheng: [What are you doing?]
Big Lili: [Watering flowers for Second Grandma]
When she received Ji Cheng’s WeChat message, Wen Li was actually crouched in ambush with her friends.
Her right arm was still in a cast—a barbell had slipped and crushed it during the national youth competition a few months back. Her coach said she’d need at least half a year to recover, and whether she could even return to training was up in the air. But Wen Li didn’t have time to think about that right now.
Her brother had been beaten up, and she was here to get revenge for him.
“Li Jie, are you sure that bastard’s coming today?” Zhu Zhiyi crouched by the roadside, a baseball bat in his hand.
“My brother said he’s on duty today.” Wen Li flexed her uninjured left arm, her tone resolute. “Just wait.”
Xiang Kui’s face showed concern: “If a fight breaks out, what about your arm?”
Zhu Zhiyi: “What’s there to be afraid of? Our Li Jie can take him down with one hand.”
Wen Li: “Exactly. Consider it me giving him a handicap.”
They were staking out this spot mainly to wait for one person.
It all started a week ago, when Wen Li’s brother Ji Cheng got into a conflict with someone and ended up in the hospital with a swollen, bruised face. Naturally, Wen Li shared his hatred, cursing the other party a hundred times over in every way she could. But Ji Cheng’s lips were sealed tighter than a clam shell.
Even though he wouldn’t say, Wen Li had a vague idea who it was. Her brother had a sworn rival throughout his college years—a guy named Xiao Jinyu.
They were in the same major and the same dorm. In the medical department, where prodigies gathered in droves, Xiao Jinyu still managed to leave everyone in the dust, acing every course with perfect grades—it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it a dimensional reduction strike. The only one who could barely keep up with him was her brother Ji Cheng.
Ji Cheng had been excellent his whole life and had never felt such a crushing sense of defeat from anyone. To avoid falling behind, he cut out all entertainment, woke up earlier than the roosters and slept later than the dogs all 365 days a year. The moment his eyes opened, it was study time—and even then, he could barely catch the taillights of the guy ahead.
After grinding through five years of undergrad, they both got into graduate programs and both applied to Dean Wu. This year, Dean Wu only had one direct-admission PhD slot, so the two academic warriors continued their spirit of “grinding till death,” competing in papers, research, and internships.
Wen Li had originally thought this was just healthy competition—until a few days ago when Ji Cheng got beaten up.
She pressed him for answers, but he only said he fell.
Right. Fell onto someone’s fist, did he?
It had to be that Xiao Jinyu. He saw her brother catching up and threatening to take his PhD slot, so he resorted to violence!
What was even more infuriating was that Ji Cheng had actually lost the fight.
Wen Li couldn’t swallow this.
She wasn’t as good at academics as her brother, but her athletic instincts were on point, and she believed in using her fists before her brain. Sure, Ji Cheng could be annoying sometimes, but he was still her brother—how could she let someone else bully him?
She slammed the table: “Don’t worry, bro. I’ll go get revenge for you tomorrow!”
Ji Cheng tried to stop her, but she was already out the door in a whirlwind.
_
With a “ding,” the staff gate at the hospital opened.
Wen Li snapped back to attention and instinctively looked up.
A figure emerged from the morning light—black top, black pants, tall and lean.
As he drew closer, she finally got a clear look at his face. Pale skin, sharp features, naturally clean-cut good looks. But his expression was cold, standing in the morning mist like a patch of snow that hadn’t yet melted.
Wen Li felt a slight daze.
“He’s coming, he’s coming.” Xiang Kui leaned out excitedly. “He’s pretty handsome. Lili, is that him?”
Is that him?
Wen Li wasn’t entirely sure.
She’d heard plenty of Ji Cheng’s descriptions of Xiao Jinyu. “Looks like a jerk,” “Such a poser,” “Makes you angry just looking at him.” But this person in front of her—how to put it—if this counted as “posing,” then her brother’s judgment had clearly been warped by jealousy. The guy was genuinely impressive!
In the silence, the man had already walked off into the distance.
He didn’t follow the route they’d anticipated, instead turning into another alley. The morning light bathed his tall figure in a layer of pale radiance.
“Ah, why’s he going that way?” Xiang Kui anxiously tugged at Wen Li’s sleeve, asking what to do.
Wen Li didn’t answer. She was experiencing a very unfamiliar physiological reaction—heart racing, adrenaline spiking, a surge of inexplicable excitement welling up inside her.
“Damn, she’s gone.” Xiang Kui said.
“What are you standing around for? Chase him!” Zhu Zhiyi was the first to bolt out, baseball bat slung over his shoulder. “Hey, you up ahead—stop right there!”
The man slowed his pace and turned around.
Zhu Zhiyi lifted his chin: “Are you Xiao Jinyu?”
“Yes.” The answer was crisp and clean.
“Then we’ve got the right guy.” Zhu Zhiyi slapped the baseball bat against his palm, putting on a thuggish air. “Our Li Jie wants to see you. Get over here.”
Xiao Jinyu’s gaze swept past him, slowly scanning toward the back, as if searching for the “Sister Li” he’d mentioned.
When his gaze landed on her, Wen Li’s entire body stiffened. All the harsh words she’d rehearsed in her head that morning got stuck in her throat.
His eyes were too clean—clean, without a trace of aggression.
She suddenly lost her confidence. Did he really hit someone? And that face… it would be a shame if it got damaged.
While she was still hesitating, Xiao Jinyu had already walked over. He stopped in front of her. He was much taller than her, his eyelids lowered, his gaze calm and unruffled. It was Wen Li whose eyes darted around in panic, not knowing where to look.
“What’s the matter?”
His voice was low, but pleasant to the ear.
“I—” Wen Li suddenly grew so nervous she didn’t know what to say. She paused for two seconds, then spoke hesitantly: “It’s just…”
“Behave yourself.” Zhu Zhiyi sidled over, playing the loyal sidekick with great enthusiasm: “Our Sister Li isn’t exactly a good person.”
Wen Li: “?”
Could he please stop ruining her image?
Wen Li quickly shoved Zhu Zhiyi aside and looked up at the man before her again: “It’s nothing much, I—I just…”
“…”
The moment their eyes met, Wen Li’s heartbeat completely fell into chaos. An inappropriate warmth rose to her cheeks, and the tips of her ears turned red.
Don’t be a coward. You’re here to get revenge for your brother.
But this guy is really good-looking.
No, Wen Li, get a grip.
She struggled for about three seconds.
Then she heard her own voice say: “I just wanted to ask… can I add you on WeChat?”
“Yeah, our Sister Li wants your We—” Zhu Zhiyi was in the middle of gloating when he suddenly realized something was wrong: “What? Add WeChat?”
Having blurted out the sentence in one breath, Wen Li’s bravado immediately deflated. She didn’t dare look at him anymore, frantically pulling up her WeChat QR code and holding it out to him: “You can just scan mine.”
Friend. Xiang Kui: “?”
Friend. Zhu Zhiyi: “??”
The girl’s voice was soft, nervous with a hint of anticipation she couldn’t hide.
Xiao Jinyu frowned slightly, his gaze drifting over lightly. These kids were all quite young—they looked like high schoolers. Especially the girl in front of him. Her skin was snow-white, her features soft, her big eyes clear and sparkling. She had a very obedient look about her, except her hair was a mess, with a dead leaf stuck in her bangs from who-knows-where, and her arm was even in a cast.
She reminded him of that pitiful stray cat he used to feed.
That was his first impression.
Xiao Jinyu glanced at her QR code, didn’t say much, and silently scanned it.
Holy crap.
He actually added her!
Wen Li suppressed the urge to scream internally, while fireworks were already going off in her heart.
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going,” Xiao Jinyu said.
“Okay, take care.”
Wen Li watched him leave with a proper send-off gaze. Before he left, he suddenly turned back to look at her. Though his gaze was faint, it made Wen Li’s heartbeat even more irregular.
He actually turned back to look at her—he must have been impressed by her.
Pink bubbles rose one by one in Wen Li’s heart. The eighteen years of longing and anticipation for love she’d nurtured finally became tangible in this moment.
Indeed, the brave enjoy love first.
This WeChat was worth asking for.
Mom, I’m going to fall in love.
Only after the man had walked far away did she reluctantly withdraw her gaze. She quickly looked down at her phone, ready to accept the friend request, and then stared in bewilderment at the payment notification that popped up on the screen.
[WeChat Transfer Received: 100 yuan]
Xiang Kui, who had been watching the whole thing, finally couldn’t hold back her laughter: “Hahaha, girl, you just opened your payment QR code!”
Wen Li: “…”
Wait, so did he think she was some street thug asking him for money?
That’s not it.
“Wait!” Wen Li sprinted after him. She ran so fast that a thin layer of sweat formed on her forehead, stray hairs sticking to her temples.
Xiao Jinyu cooperatively stopped, watching her pant as she pulled out her phone again, checked it back and forth three times, and then held it up in front of him.
“I wasn’t asking you for money,” Wen Li explained earnestly. “I opened the wrong code. It should be this one.”
Xiao Jinyu opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, a loud, vigorous male voice suddenly exploded from behind: “Wen Li! What are you doing here!”
Wen Li’s shoulders trembled in fright, and her phone nearly slipped from her hand.
Oh no, her brother was here!
She turned around stiffly and saw her brother striding over, his face a masterpiece of mixed emotions, roughly covering three layers: “shock,” “embarrassment,” and “I’ll deal with you when we get home.”
“Watering flowers at Second Aunt’s place, huh?” Ji Cheng said through gritted teeth.
“No, listen, let me explain—”
Ji Cheng didn’t give her a chance to explain. He grabbed her arm and dragged her away like a chicken, shooting a warning glance at Xiao Jinyu before leaving.
Xiang Kui and Zhu Zhiyi exchanged a look and, being loyal friends, chased after them.
The noisy voices disappeared around the street corner.
Xiao Jinyu stood there alone.
The senior apprentice walked out of the hospital yawning, only to see Ji Cheng with his arm around a young girl’s shoulders, walking further and further away, while the girl kept craning her neck back.
“Oho!” The senior apprentice clicked his tongue. “Ji Cheng’s dating someone? His girlfriend’s pretty cute.”
Xiao Jinyu didn’t respond.
Ji Cheng’s girlfriend?
Seemed like she was doing pretty badly, even out here begging…