Not far from the residential complex was a food street, lined with all kinds of restaurants and snack stalls, open from dusk until one in the morning.
There was a beef noodle shop in the middle of the street that Lin Qin and her roommates frequented. The weather was pleasant, so the owner had set up four small wooden tables outside, with QR codes pasted on the corners of the tables—scan to order.
Meng Jingnian pulled a stool over to set down his backpack, took out his phone, scanned the QR code, and handed it to Lin Qin across the table. "Order whatever you want."
The phone had no case, a dark gray body, thin and light in the hand, giving little sense of security, as if it might slip and fall at any moment. It was a model from two years ago, yet it had few scratches—perhaps because, like the man himself, he didn't use his phone very often.
Lin Qin ordered her usual—a bowl of beef noodles with extra vegetables—and asked, "Do you want a bit too?"
"I can't eat any more." Meng Jingnian took the phone back and placed the order.
Lin Qin glanced around. "Wait for me a moment. I'll go grab a milk tea over there—do you want one? My treat."
Meng Jingnian smiled. "Drinking that this late, I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep at all tonight."
"They have non-tea-based options too."
"No need. You go ahead and have yours."
Lin Qin nodded, picked up her phone, and headed to a milk tea shop not far away.
There was lemon water on the table. Meng Jingnian took a disposable paper cup, poured a little over half, took a sip, and casually looked around. He hadn't been back in nearly two years, and the shops had changed who knows how many times. The milk tea shop where Lin Qin was buying—he remembered it used to be a Hong Kong-style dim sum place.
The milk tea shop was a chain brand with uniform décor. Above the counter was a backlit menu board, its pale, clean light falling on Lin Qin's face as she looked up at it. Her normally pallid skin seemed to glow faintly under the illumination.
By the pickup area, a young man was staring at her, unblinking.
She clearly couldn't have been unaware. She suddenly turned her head and stared right back at him. Within two seconds, the man awkwardly looked away.
Meng Jingnian's lips curved slightly upward.
After a while, Lin Qin came back. What she held wasn't milk tea, but something like a strawberry slush. She pressed her thumb over the straw opening, deftly pierced it into the cup, and took a sip as she sat down.
"Eating something icy this late—be careful your stomach doesn't get upset."
"It won't."
Meng Jingnian said nothing more.
One thing Lin Qin really liked about him was that he almost never interfered with anything she or Meng Luodi did, as long as it wasn't truly illegal or a threat to personal safety.
Even if she said she wanted to run a marathon in the middle of the night, he'd only say it might not be safe at that hour—but if she insisted, he'd ride a bicycle, slowly trailing behind her as her security detail.
—She'd never tried it, but she figured he'd be exactly like that.
The beef noodles arrived.
Lin Qin picked up her chopsticks and took a couple of bites. Feeling hot, she took off her jacket and draped it over the backpack beside her.
She glanced across at Meng Jingnian. He had one arm propped on the table, occasionally lifting the disposable cup for a sip.
Lin Qin checked again and again, making sure there wasn't a trace of impatience in his demeanor, before she felt at ease. Making someone wait with nothing to eat or drink was a bit rude, after all. Only Meng Jingnian wouldn't mind—even though he was usually so busy, treasuring every moment like gold.
"Last time, there was a question you never answered."
"Hm?"
"I asked you whether Hamburg was fun."
Meng Jingnian thought for a moment but couldn't quite recall when she'd asked. "I don't travel much either. There's a world's largest model railway exhibition over there—Jiang Cheng and I went once. It was fairly interesting."
Lin Qin's chopsticks paused.
She bit down on a pea that hadn't fully rehydrated, and it gave her teeth a hard knock.
She lowered her gaze and focused on her noodles, saying nothing more.
This should have been a topic that could carry a good while of conversation—it wasn't like her to just drop it without a follow-up. Meng Jingnian found her sudden silence somewhat odd, so he replayed his own answer, wondering if there was something inappropriate about it.
He paused briefly, squinting slightly as he looked at Lin Qin's face.
She was looking down. From his line of sight, he could just see her eyelashes, dark as crow feathers. Her forehead and the tip of her nose were slightly damp with sweat from the steaming food, and a touch of color had risen to her pale cheeks. Her fluffy hair was bathed in a soft, pale golden halo under the light.
He silently withdrew his gaze, picked up the paper cup, took a sip of lemon water, and looked elsewhere.
He was about to start another topic—maybe asking how preparations for her competition project were going—when a male voice suddenly came from behind: "Lin Qin!"
Lin Qin looked up, and Meng Jingnian turned to look as well.
A young man was waving as he walked over. He was handsome, tall and lean, wearing a black leather jacket, black tapered pants, and work boots—an outfit perfectly suited for riding a motorcycle.
This man had a very flamboyant aura. As he walked over and saw a stool on one side of the table, he sat down directly. His gaze landed briefly on Meng Jingnian's face, but he didn't greet him—instead, he looked straight at Lin Qin, lifted his chin slightly, and said with a smile, "What have you been busy with lately? Why won't you come out when I ask you a few times?"
"Classes."
"You're already first in your grade and you're still going to class?" he said in a joking tone, as if trying to make Lin Qin laugh. "Even if you keep studying, there's no one ahead of you to catch up to."
Lin Qin only asked flatly, "Is there something you need from me?"
"So cold. Can't I look for you without a reason?"
Lin Qin said nothing and continued eating her noodles on her own.
The young man stared at her, propped his arm on the table, and leaned slightly closer to her. "I said the wrong thing last time—how about I apologize to you properly? Also, don't listen to their nonsense. That girl at the bar last time really wasn't my ex-girlfriend…" His tone was very coaxing.
"That doesn't seem to have anything to do with me."
"Just saying that out of anger." Seeing that Lin Qin seemed far more interested in that bowl of noodles than in him, he reached out a bit petulantly, intending to move the bowl aside.
"Classmate." Meng Jingnian extended his arm to block him.
The young man turned his face and sized up Meng Jingnian. "You are?"
"…Lin Qin's maternal uncle."
"Oh! So you're Dean Meng's—" The young man immediately smiled and said, "My apologies. At the city talent team building symposium last time, my father met Dean Meng."
"Vice Dean," Meng Jingnian corrected. He rarely showed displeasure in front of outsiders; instead, at times like this, his expression became even more inscrutable. "May I ask how to address you?"
"Sooner or later." The young man smiled. "My name is Chi Yi."
Meng Jingnian had a good idea now. Among the provincial leadership, there was only one person with the surname Chi.
"You're having a late-night snack here?" Chi Yi said with a smile. "Let's go somewhere quieter—my treat."
"I'm almost done eating," Lin Qin said.
"How about getting something to drink? It's still early. I promise I'll get you back before your dorm lights go out."
"I don't want to go."
Chi Yi leaned forward a little, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness. "Still angry? I really didn't mean it last time. How about I call them over to explain to you? Count it yourself—how long have you been ignoring me?"
"I'm not ignoring you. I've already said what I needed to say very clearly."
"Classmate Chi, Lin Qin just finished a photo shoot this afternoon and she's quite tired. Let her go back and rest first. She has an early class tomorrow." Meng Jingnian spoke up. His tone was very gentle, yet somehow it compelled obedience.
Chi Yi looked at Lin Qin for a moment. "Fine. I'll come find you alone next time. Don't sulk by yourself—I can explain everything…"
Just then, his phone rang once. He looked down, hung up first, then turned to Meng Jingnian with a smile. "Teacher Meng, next time I'll treat you and Lin Qin to a meal."
With that, he nodded at Lin Qin, said "Get some rest early," and got up to leave.
A third of the noodles remained, but Lin Qin had lost her appetite entirely. She set down her chopsticks, picked up the strawberry slush, and took a few big gulps.
Meng Jingnian silently observed Lin Qin.
Based on their conversation, Lin Qin and this Chi fellow were clearly not simply friends.
He had heard of Chi Yi's name before—young, with no shortage of scandals. The people he'd dated ranged from internet celebrities to minor stars, too many to count. Families like theirs all played around until a certain age, then had their families arrange a marriage with someone of matching status. Chi Yi was only twenty-five this year; settling down was still far off for him.
He wasn't particularly interested in prying into others' privacy, but back then when Lin Qin told him she'd fallen for someone impossible, his first reaction was still to ask—who?
She had only shaken her head, refusing to reveal a word, as if it were a deeply guarded secret.
He hadn't expected that question to find its answer unexpectedly tonight.
What kind of person could be called "impossible"?
Nothing more than a mismatch in family standing.
Chi Yi's personality and family were far from a good match.
Meng Jingnian glanced at Lin Qin again.
Her listless mood clearly showed she'd suffered no small amount of grievance because of this young Master Chi's fickleness.
Lin Qin fished a small pack of wet wipes from her bag, pulled one out, wiped her face and hands, and tossed it into the nearby trash can.
"Done eating?"
Lin Qin nodded.
"Let's go, I'll walk you back to school." On his phone, Meng Jingnian had already paid when placing the order. He stood up, handed Lin Qin her coat, and still picked up her backpack.
The strawberry slush wasn't finished, but half of it had already melted, its texture ruined. Lin Qin glanced at it, left it there, and didn't take it.
She draped the coat over her arm, walked alongside Meng Jingnian, and headed toward the school gate.
The good mood she'd had earlier—when she'd run into Meng Jingnian at the subway station and walked back to school together—was now completely gone.
Because of Jiang Cheng, whom Meng Jingnian mentioned so naturally, and also because of Chi Yi—he wasn't a bad person, and he had never gone against her wishes, but he was just too self-opinionated. She had refused him eight hundred times, yet he remained impervious, thinking she was hesitant to agree out of fear of his past behavior. He thus swore to her that he would turn over a new leaf, asking her to supervise him and promising never to break his vow.
In the silence, they had already arrived at the school gate.
Lin Qin stopped in her tracks and reached out to take her backpack. "…Thank you. Uncle, you should go back and rest early—you've been busy all day."
Meng Jingnian smiled and said, "Alright."
Passing the stone engraved with the school's name and stepping through the main gate, Lin Qin glanced back.
In the night breeze, the figure in white shirt and black trousers hurried away.
Spring had already arrived, yet in her heart lingered the rain and mist from two years ago, stubbornly refusing to clear.
Meng Jingnian walked for fifteen minutes before returning to his residence.
He washed up first.
He cupped a handful of water over his face and habitually pressed out some facial cleanser.
It turned into foam upon contact with water, its fragrance faint and elusive.
He was lost in thought for a moment.