There was a milk tea shop right by the hospital, and there weren't many people in line at this hour. Xiao Jinyu went over and bought two cups of taro ball grass jelly. When he walked out carrying them, he didn't see Wen Li.
He paused mid-step and swept his gaze around.
He found her quickly—she was standing by the ramp of the supermarket across the street. A young girl in a wheelchair in front of her seemed to be in some trouble, anxiously turning her wheels with a worried expression.
Wen Li walked over and asked her, "Need a hand?"
The girl looked up gratefully. "Could you help me back the wheelchair up a bit? The wheel seems to be stuck."
Xiao Jinyu was just about to walk over with the milk tea when he saw Wen Li bend down, wrap her arms around the stone bollard beside them, and lift it straight up.
Xiao Jinyu: "…"
That round roadside bollard weighed at least three hundred jin. She just hugged it with both arms and casually moved it half a meter aside.
The girl in the wheelchair was utterly dumbfounded, her mouth half-open and forgotten to close.
Wen Li helped push the wheelchair out, then even turned back to put the bollard in place—all in one smooth, efficient motion.
"Th-thank you," the girl finally found her voice.
"No worries. Next time go around it—this stretch of road is uneven, so it gets stuck easily. I'm off now."
"Okay, bye."
Wen Li gave her a smile, turned around, and saw Xiao Jinyu walking over with two cups of milk tea not far away.
She immediately raised a hand to smooth the stray hairs at her temple, her demeanor shifting back to gentle and ladylike.
He didn't just see her being that rough, did he?
Probably not.
Cars and motorcycles whizzed past on the road in an endless stream. By the time she snapped back to herself, he was already standing in front of her, handing over the hot cup.
His face wore its usual cool indifference—nothing out of the ordinary.
Wen Li took it, her fingertips brushing the cup wall. It was warm, about the same temperature as her body right now.
She quickly snapped a photo and tossed it into the group chat to show off.
Big Pear: [Guess who got treated to milk tea by her crush?]
Then, without bothering to check the group's reaction, she put her phone away.
The two walked side by side, neither speaking.
The evening sun slanted in from between the buildings, stretching two shadows across the ground, close together.
Wen Li bit her straw, her gaze quietly landing on those two overlapping shadows. It suddenly hit her—this was the first time they'd ever walked side by side like this.
Should she say something?
Wen Li started making small talk to break the silence: "Why did you buy me milk tea?"
"Weren't you in a bad mood?"
"Oh, I was a bit earlier."
"…"
Wen Li waited a few seconds. When no follow-up came, she had to continue herself: "Aren't you going to ask me why?"
He finally turned his head. "Why?"
Wen Li chewed on a taro ball. "Actually, don't judge me by how idle I seem now. I used to be someone really impressive. How do I describe it… in a certain field, among people my age, almost no one could beat me."
Xiao Jinyu said flatly, "You're still impressive now."
At the very least, it wasn't easy for most people to lift a three-hundred-jin stone bollard.
Wen Li was stunned.
Did he just compliment her?
She suddenly felt her face grow warm. She raised a hand to fan herself, her movements turning shy. "I'm not as good as I used to be. I've lost my edge."
They continued walking in silence for a stretch.
On the way, Wen Li stole several glances at him, noticing how especially handsome his profile looked in the sunset—high brow bone, straight nose bridge, a total manhwa-walking-out-of-the-pages type. How could someone hit every single one of her aesthetic preferences so perfectly?
She was so lost in staring that she nearly walked into a lamppost.
When Xiao Jinyu turned to look at her, she hastily averted her gaze and changed the subject. "Um, can I ask you a question?"
"Go ahead."
"If something is destined to be a BE, is it still worth doing?"
"BE?" He seemed not to understand.
"Like, Bad Ending."
Xiao Jinyu: "…"
BE? Breaking up? A relationship falling apart?
Competitive sports—from the moment they're born—are destined to be a BE. Not because of winning or losing, but because the ending is written from the very start. Everyone ultimately loses to time, injuries, and the years.
There's only one champion, only a few years at the peak, and retirement is everyone's finish line. Since the ending is already set, should you still fight for that uncertain result now?
Xiao Jinyu didn't answer, lost in thought about something.
After a moment.
"Did he scold you again?"
Wen Li didn't know who "he" referred to. Before she could figure it out, he had already answered: "It's not that only perfect endings are worth beginning."
Wen Li didn't quite understand, looking at him with a confused expression.
"When you play a game, do you refuse to enjoy the process just because you'll have to log off eventually?"
That line struck something in Wen Li.
"At the start of a story, you always hope for a perfect ending, but countless unexpected things happen along the way. As long as you took it seriously, that's enough—the outcome isn't something people can control." Xiao Jinyu looked at her and said, "And if it really can't work out… it's not your fault."
Wen Li opened her mouth, but for a long moment, no words came out.
That's true. Although the outcome would be the same, she could still have a different process—she could still experience it.
Xiao Jinyu watched her face as her expression shifted from confusion to determination, as if something had finally settled into place.
"Do you know what I'm talking about?" Wen Li asked.
"More or less," he replied. "It's all the same."
See?
This was what it meant to be a top student.
He didn't even know what she was talking about, yet he still knew how to comfort her.
Wen Li curved her lips, most of the gloom in her eyes dissipating.
Just then, her phone buzzed in her pocket.
She picked it up.
"Are you so lost in your date that you can't find your way back? Where's the crayfish you promised to bring us?"
Hearing the word "date" from Fu Qin on the other end, Wen Li guiltily glanced at the person beside her, then lowered her voice and said, "What's the rush? It's not like you'll starve to death in a few more minutes."
"We're literally starving. If you don't come back soon, I'm going to start gnawing on the bottom of the bowl."
"Alright, alright." She hung up.
Wen Li walked a couple steps forward, then noticed Xiao Jinyu had stopped. He suddenly asked her, "What were you planning to buy?"
"You heard that?"
"Sorry."
"Oh, it's nothing. I just told my roommates I'd bring them crayfish before I left, but then I ran into you, so I got delayed a bit."
Just mentioning crayfish made her feel hungry.
Her stomach started growling.
"Which place?" he asked.
"Huh?"
"Which place sells the crayfish?"
"The one on Nanshan Alley. It's not far from here."
He gave a small hum in acknowledgment.
She didn't know why he was asking, but Wen Li shamelessly pressed on anyway: "Are you going to buy them for me?"
She thought he wouldn't bother responding, but to her surprise, he actually agreed.
"Mm."
Wen Li froze, then quickly recovered and said, "No, no, I was just saying that casually. Though of course, if you're willing to come with me to buy them, I'd be pretty happy about that."
Xiao Jinyu didn't say anything.
Wen Li tilted her head to study his expression. After spending this much time with him, she'd figured out his patterns. This guy never said nice things, but as long as he didn't avoid the question or say no, that meant he was willing. Silence meant tacit consent.
"Let's go then."
Wen Li bounced ahead cheerfully.
The shop was tucked deep in Nanshan Alley. The sign was modest, but the place was lively inside.
Xiao Jinyu had originally just come along to accompany her while she bought crayfish, but somehow, she'd dragged him into sitting down inside the shop.
It was just the season for crayfish to hit the market. When it arrived, a steaming pile of bright red crustaceans filled the basin, heat carrying the spicy aroma wafting upward—it looked absolutely mouthwatering.
Wen Li didn't forget to pack an order to go, sending it off with a delivery courier to Fu Qin and the others. Then she put on her gloves and dug in with full focus: "A life without crayfish and beer is an incomplete life. Let's dig in."
Xiao Jinyu watched her, saying nothing.
She chatted with him while peeling: "Thanks for today."
"For what?"
"For comforting me."
He'd only said a few words, though. "That counts as comfort?"
"Of course. Dr. Xiao works wonders with his words—every word hits the mark. I was enlightened in an instant. I've thought it all through now, and I'm not sad anymore. How are you so amazing?"
She never held back when complimenting people—always sincere and radiant.
Xiao Jinyu lowered his eyes, the corners of his mouth pressing into a faint smile. Though it lasted only a moment, Wen Li caught it.
Xiao Jinyu was actually smiling at her.
She was momentarily dazzled by that smile. She wondered if anyone had ever told him that he looked better when he smiled—after all, he had those peach-blossom eyes that curved downward at the corners when he smiled, making him look gentle and affectionate.
But he rarely smiled. What a waste.
Wen Li picked up a big crayfish and placed it in his bowl: "Why aren't you eating? Don't like crayfish?"
"Not hungry."
"Oh. Then will you peel them for me?" She flashed a sly grin. "I'm pretty hungry."
Xiao Jinyu didn't respond, just lowered his head and slowly pulled on the plastic gloves. He peeled slowly, but his movements were nimble—cracking the shell, removing the head, revealing the intact tail meat, and placing it in her bowl.
Watching him, Wen Li felt almost flattered, forgetting what she'd been about to say.
"What?" he asked.
Wen Li shook her head. She just felt like Xiao Jinyu was a bit different today. Maybe it was the hot steam from the shop fogging up the air, softening the layer of aloofness that usually surrounded him, revealing something beneath that she'd never quite seen before.
"You're especially easy to talk to today—like you'll grant any wish I ask for." Wen Li asked him, "Are you this attentive to all girls?"
Xiao Jinyu paused, his tone carrying a strange hint of something almost like jealousy: "I'm not some player."
"?"
What did that have to do with being a player? Crayfish came from rivers, didn't they?
Wen Li's simple brain couldn't figure out such a complicated question. She went quiet for two seconds, then found something else to say: "Xiao Jinyu."
"Mm."
"Let me tell you, I was such a handful when I was little. My mom said if I didn't get a beating every three days, I'd be tearing the tiles off the roof. Once, I kicked a soccer ball through the neighbor's window, and I was too scared to go home, so I hid behind the flower bed until it got dark."
Xiao Jinyu didn't interrupt.
He wasn't really listening to what she was saying, actually. At some moment, he suddenly wanted to ask her.
So what was the answer she'd arrived at after thinking it through?
Was she going to break up with him?
The words reached his lips, but he didn't say them.
"When my mom found me, she gave me a good beating, then took me out for crayfish—this very place. This is the best crayfish I've ever had."
Then she asked with great enthusiasm, "Did you ever get spanked as a kid?"
He shook his head absentmindedly.
"Right, of course not. One look at you and I can tell you were a model student as a kid—good grades, well-behaved. Why would you ever get spanked?"
She seemed to have an endless supply of words, and over the course of one meal, she'd nearly spilled her entire life story of less than twenty years.
When she was just about done eating, she simply took off her gloves, propped her chin on her hands, and stared at him with a silly grin. The warm yellow light of the shop fell on her flushed face, making it seem even more vivid.
Xiao Jinyu noticed her burning gaze and looked up. "What are you looking at me for?"
"You're handsome."
"…"
"Why aren't you reacting?"
"…"
Before he could speak, she answered her own question. "Fine, you really can't argue with that."
If it weren't for his good looks, she wouldn't have been so persistent in chasing him for his WeChat, especially since he ignored her anyway.
He really was the hardest person to get along with she'd ever met.
At that thought, Wen Li silently awarded herself a bravery medal in her heart. But it wasn't completely without progress—at least he was willing to sit here with her and eat crayfish now.
"Are you drunk?"
Through her haze, she vaguely heard someone ask this. Wen Li shook her slightly dizzy head hard. "No, I'm not drunk. I can drink a hundred bottles, I&*&#%"
She really was drunk—she'd started slurring her words.
Xiao Jinyu reached out and took the beer from her hand. "Stop drinking."
Wen Li looked at him and nodded obediently. "If you say stop, I'll stop."
He got up to pay the bill, and she stayed in her seat, her eyes following him. When he came back, she immediately stood up and followed him out of the shop, matching his steps exactly, like a little animal afraid of being left behind.
The night breeze hit them in the face, carrying the damp mossy smell of the old alley and the faint scent of cooking fires in the distance.
When they reached the mouth of the alley, Xiao Jinyu stood by the roadside hailing a cab, and she stood quietly half a step behind him, neither noisy nor fussy.
Xiao Jinyu turned to look at her.
Usually so talkative and loud, she was unexpectedly well-behaved when drunk.
After half a minute of waiting, Wen Li suddenly said, "Little goldfish, I'm a bit sleepy. I'm going to sleep now. Good night."
"?" Sleep?
Before Xiao Jinyu could figure out where she planned to sleep, a pair of hands suddenly wrapped around his waist, and a warm body pressed against his back, a faint fragrance of jasmine lingering around him.
Xiao Jinyu froze completely.
"Wen Li!" he called out.
There was no response from behind, only the sound of even breathing.
She just held onto him like that, her cheek pressed against his back, as if she'd finally found a comfortable spot and was contentedly refusing to move.
Xiao Jinyu looked down at the hands around his waist—fair, delicate fingers interlaced, holding on tightly.
He swallowed hard, his ears beginning to burn. The heat spread from his ears down to his collar and neck, leaving only one thought spinning in his mind—
She smells so good.