Shi Ran readily agreed.
Shen Lizhou replied quickly, with an apologetic tone, saying he had been a bit busy lately and might need some time before they could meet. Shi Ran said it was no problem, there was no rush—she had plenty to keep her busy at the clinic anyway, and he could reach out whenever it was convenient.
After exchanging goodnights, the world fell quiet again.
She slowly let out a breath.
Moonlight poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows, spreading across the room like a silvery shoal. The light swayed gently with the movement of the curtains, much like the shimmering ripples when waves lap against the shore.
If she lived at Guanlan Tiandi, on a night like this, she would be looking at a real, breathing ocean. Waves would roll over the sand in layers, moonlight would shatter on the surging crests into countless dancing silver stars, merging with the lights of distant fishing boats, stretching all the way to the ink-black horizon.
She would fall asleep on such nights and wake to rosy dawn light flooding the entire sea. After getting up, she would brew a hot latte, sit quietly in the sunrise to clear her mind, then drive along the coastal avenue to her animal clinic, healing the little creatures in pain.
She thought, and thought.
The restlessness in Shi Ran's heart gradually calmed.
What's past is past.
Keep moving forward.
Better encounters will come.
Xiao Yan's efficiency was astonishing. She delivered the design draft the very next day, along with a construction schedule. Shi Ran made two small adjustments to the drawings, signed the contract that same day, and the clinic's renovation officially began.
Everything was progressing in tandem.
The construction site saw new changes every day. Aili called in favors to expedite the licensing process, items on the equipment procurement list were checked off one by one, and the hiring was starting to take shape.
For the front desk, Bao Chenggong recommended someone named Chen Zixuan, who had previously worked the front desk at his father's restaurant chain. She was lively and outgoing, quick and efficient at her work. Bao Chenggong said she kept several cats herself and would secretly feed leftover food from the restaurant to stray cats and dogs, which had turned the area around the restaurant into a gathering spot for strays.
When she heard about the front desk opening at an animal clinic, she immediately told Bao Chenggong how interested she was and asked him to put in a good word for her.
The nurse was recommended by Wang Lixiang—a volunteer at Shengsheng Manor named He Siming. He had previously worked as a nurse at an animal hospital, but when the owner ran off with the money, he was left unpaid for several months. Instead of rushing to find a new job, he spent his days at Shengsheng Manor.
Shi Ran remembered him.
During the free clinic days, she had seen him bustling about—a diligent young man with professional knowledge who could single-handedly lift a large dog. He had real potential.
Shi Ran interviewed both of them and was very satisfied.
Then there was Uncle Zhang, who handled the cleaning—he came to them on his own.
He was a retired property maintenance worker from the neighboring residential complex. In his spare time, he would carry an iron bucket around the area feeding stray cats. When the clinic first went up with its construction barriers, he came by every day to check on the progress. The afternoon he saw the cleaning job posting on the door, he showed up with his ID card in hand.
And just like that, a small team was formed.
The clinic's name was the hardest part. Shi Ran thought of many options but found them all too clichéd. Only later did she realize it was because Shen Lizhou's Shengsheng Manor set the bar—she unconsciously compared every name to "Shengsheng," and so nothing seemed good enough.
Shengsheng.
It always made her think of the I Ching: "To renew oneself daily is the highest virtue; to give life to life is called change." (Note)
To renew oneself every day, to shed the old and make new progress—that is the noblest virtue.
Life is ceaselessly born, grows, transforms, and continues—this is something that never stops.
Only by renewing daily can life flourish endlessly.
Shengsheng—how fitting for an animal clinic.
Little animals come here with old wounds, and here they grow new life.
Just like her.
So Shi Ran simply sought the opinions of Shen Lizhou and Wang Lixiang, and with their enthusiastic support, she named the clinic Shengsheng Clinic.
Time seemed to have been fast-forwarded by someone.
Yangfan Technology was also thriving. Cheng Zimiao was as elusive as a dragon that shows its head but never its tail, yet Shi Ran would inevitably stumble upon news headlines: "Yangfan Technology's New Generation Battery Breakthrough," "Cheng Zimiao Attends Global New Energy Summit," "E-Series Pre-Orders Reach New Heights"…
In the photos and videos, he was sharp-suited, brimming with confidence, his gaze piercing—the decisive young entrepreneur the media loved to write about.
A far cry from the man in light gray loungewear who read bedtime stories to Lulu with Shi Ran every night.
Nights were always quiet and tender, prone to moments of weakness.
Sometimes, as he read, his gaze would drift past Lulu and land on Shi Ran's face. Other times, Shi Ran would accidentally glance his way, and their eyes would suddenly meet. The world would freeze instantly, their gazes tangling like spider silk spreading in all directions, until both of them would turn away, snapping the web.
In that moment of looking away, Shi Ran thought, in a daze.
It was as if they had never divorced at all.
He was still him, she was still her, and they were still the couple they used to be.
They would argue, and they would make up.
After Lulu fell asleep, Cheng Zimiao would get up and leave the room.
Once, his hand rested on the doorknob, pausing for a few seconds. Shi Ran felt as if her heart had been pressed down too, stopping for those brief few seconds.
Fortunately, he eventually pressed down the doorknob, walked out with a straight back, and closed the door.
Shi Ran let out a breath, then closed her eyes and sank into sleep.
At the same moment, on the other side of the city, a light was switched on at Guanlan Tiandi.
Shen Lizhou had finally returned home.
He set down the large bag of medicine in his hand, tore off the plastic wristband printed with his name, bed number, and admission date, and wearily pressed his brow.
The needle mark on the inside of his wrist had not yet fully faded, and the smell of hospital disinfectant still lingered in his nose, making him feel slightly nauseated.
He poured himself a glass of iced coffee to refresh himself, then slowly walked through every corner of the house.
This was a place he had personally designed and personally renovated.
The unintentional design choices made back then, upon closer inspection now, revealed many inexplicable, unspeakable flaws.
For example.
The entryway had a wide enough corridor that wouldn't be blocked by pet carriers or strollers, and the left side was fitted with hooks covering the entire wall at varying heights—enough to hang coats and bags, and also to hold seven or eight leashes at a glance.
The floor was laid with stain-resistant, slip-proof antique tiles. He had deliberately chosen a dark gray, so even mud wouldn't be noticeable. Beside it, he had reserved space for built-in pet paw wipes and a paw-washing basin.
The south-facing floor-to-ceiling glass had no obstruction, and standing inside, one could see the endless blue sea. In the corner of the living room, he had specially left two hidden litter box compartments with silent exhaust fans so no odor would escape. There was also an integrated cat tree, with anti-slip strips on the edges of the steps to prevent old dogs and kittens from slipping.
Pushing open the door revealed a thirty-square-meter courtyard. In the corner grew a few hydrangeas and roses, and along the fence hung a row of wooden bird feeders and birdhouses. Beside them was a shallow little pool—deep enough for dogs to drink from and for birds to bathe in. The middle was left as a large expanse of lawn, enough for a dozen cats and dogs to roll around in the sun.
The windowsill in the sunroom was deliberately raised, with no security bars installed—only invisible protective railings, safe without blocking the sunlight. Inside, it could be filled with cat trees and greenery, allowing shy kittens to hide there and bask in the sun.
The walk-in closet had been re-divided, with compartments reserved specifically for white coats and surgical scrubs. The kitchen counter was built with a split-height design, and the lower cabinets had space reserved for pet food bins. The bathroom had slip-resistant tiles, and the master bath had a widened shower area with pre-installed plumbing and a floor drain for a pet bathing station…
This was a perfectly pet-friendly home, yet no pet had ever lived here.
No kittens, no puppies, no birds.
It really didn't seem like his house.
What if she asked about it?
She hated being lied to more than anything.
Shen Lizhou stood in the middle of the empty house, slowly exhaled a breath, and felt at a loss.
The moment he received Shi Ran's two-word message "arrived" without any punctuation, he had keenly sensed that she was in a bad mood.
By the time he realized it, his impulsive invitation had already been sent. Withdrawing it would have seemed even more abrupt, so he could only wait.
She agreed.
And so the agreement was set.
She was actually going to come to his home as a guest.
Just thinking about it gave him a surreal, dreamlike feeling.
Before this, Shen Lizhou had never invited anyone to his home.
The word "home" was too private for him—a completely sealed-off place that belonged only to him, a relatively safe space. Over all these years, apart from the construction workers who had come and gone during the renovation, no one had ever set foot here.
Even if it was only her.
It still made him extremely nervous.
Shen Lizhou walked into the bathroom, splashed cold water on his face, then braced himself against the edge of the sink and looked up.
Water droplets slid down his jaw, dripping onto the collar of his white T-shirt, spreading into a small dark patch of dampness.
He clenched his trembling hand.
When Shi Ran received Shen Lizhou's message, she was treating Chen Anke and the others to afternoon tea at a café, planning to take them out for dinner that evening to thank everyone for their tremendous help with Shengsheng Clinic.
"My dating blogger account has blown up," Chen Anke said proudly, showing everyone her platform dashboard. "Ever since the volunteer clinic at Shengsheng Manor got over ten thousand likes, my dating diary posts have also broken thirty thousand likes. There are countless men lining up to go on dates with me."
Aili clicked her tongue and said, "You have good news and don't think to share it with your girls."
"Hey, don't say that. Really, don't. A few of those guys have pretty impressive credentials—they're friends of my date's. I've met them a few times before. No spark with me, but who knows, maybe they'll be your type."
Chen Anke got excited and started scrolling through her phone gallery, determined to find the photos to show everyone.
Bao Chenggong, who had just polished off two mini cakes, leaned over to join the fun: "Whoa, this one's not bad. A doctor? Aili, take a look—this really seems like your type. He's got a bit of that vibe as your ex-boyfriend…"
"Shut up. Why bring up that sore subject." Aili leaned in too. "Oh wow, he really is handsome! Nice hands too. Set up a gathering sometime and invite me along. Hey, this one's good too! Shi Ran, Shi Ran, come take a look!"
Shi Ran was just pondering how to reply to Shen Lizhou's message and wasn't particularly interested: "I've had my fill of love's bitterness."
Chen Anke strongly disagreed: "It's different, Shi Ran. Every love has a different flavor—you have to taste sweet, sour, bitter, spicy, and salty all at once. How can you only taste the bitter?"
She sidled up to Shi Ran and started enthusiastically pitching, pulling up a photo of a man in a down jacket posing at a snowy mountain summit. "This one works in private equity. Doesn't talk much, pretty steady guy."
Then she pointed to a young man smiling while holding a Shiba Inu. "See, this one's also a rich second generation—he runs a camping base. Amazing personality, a real sunny boy. And he's handsome too! How about I send your photo over so you two can get to know each other first?"
Shi Ran mumbled a few perfunctory "mm-hmms" without really listening.
She had just received a message from Shen Lizhou saying he was done with work and could come over to visit anytime.
Actually, when she'd made plans for afternoon tea and dinner with Chen Anke and the others today, Shi Ran had been mulling over whether to invite Shen Lizhou along.
After all, it was nominally to thank everyone for their help with the Sheng Sheng Clinic… and Shen Lizhou had helped her far too much.
From finding the storefront, helping with the design, to visiting the construction site a few times during the build—Xiao Yan had mentioned that—checking on progress, adjusting unreasonable layouts, even carefully fine-tuning details like the electrical and plumbing routes.
Shi Ran genuinely wanted to treat him to a meal to express her gratitude. But she also had this inexplicable feeling that if she invited Shen Lizhou to join her friends, he would definitely say yes.
But was he truly willing, or just being polite?
To be fair, Shi Ran thought her friends were really wonderful.
Aili had a sharp tongue, but she was always the first to stand up for anyone who'd been wronged;
Chen Anke seemed carefree and easygoing, but she was actually the most thoughtful and sensitive—she remembered everyone's birthdays and would deftly steer conversations away when the topic got uncomfortable;
Bao Chenggong talked a lot and loved to eat, his mouth going nonstop from morning to night, but he was extremely reliable. If anyone called him drunk in the middle of the night, he'd show up at the scene in a daze, first thing.
Most importantly, they were all sincere and kind enough—they were the close family who had accompanied her through her youth and through the lonely years abroad.
And Shen Lizhou, from high school onward, seemed to have always been alone.
Recalling this, Shi Ran realized she couldn't think of a single image of him walking side by side with anyone else.
He always seemed to sit alone in the window seat of the last row, never joining in the between-class antics, never joining any clubs. He came to school and left alone, always solitary, and sometimes he even liked to wear a mask.
But Shi Ran felt that since she and Shen Lizhou could become friends, then Shen Lizhou and her friends could definitely become friends too.
After all, they were all high school classmates.
Shi Ran mulled it over and typed out a few replies.
[SR: Great, I'm free anytime!]
[SR: I'm having afternoon tea with Chen Anke and the others right now, planning to have dinner together later. Chen Anke just mentioned the free clinic—she said your painting made her account's traffic skyrocket. And Aili, Bao Chenggong—they all said they haven't seen you in ages~]
[SR: (kitten spinning in circles)]
A very clever message. Shi Ran felt quite pleased with herself.
If he didn't want to come, he could reply, "Okay, contact me when you're free after you're done." If he wanted to come, he could reply, "Is that so? Should I come over for dinner too?"
Offense or defense, both covered.
All she had to do was wait for Shen Lizhou's reply.
Soon, her phone buzzed in her hand.
Shi Ran couldn't wait to open it.
[S: They're welcome to come along too.]
Ah. Shi Ran blinked slowly.
Was this… an invitation for everyone to come over to his place?