Before six o’clock, the chirping of birds mingled with the ebb and flow of conversation sometimes loud, sometimes faint pouring into the room with the first rays of light.
Wen Wanbing’s sleep had been fitful; she had woken several times throughout the night, caught in that Limbo between sleep and wakefulness. She drifted through the flickering gates of memory: sometimes a freezing winter with falling snow, sometimes sunshine that felt warm yet cut like a blade, sometimes a darkness so thick she couldn’t see her hand, and sometimes a whiteness that infinitely magnified her loneliness.
Finally, at the boundary of light and shadow, there was a wisp of grey smoke. In that swirling mist, Fu Junxue’s profile, a cigarette between her lips, appeared and vanished.
Beautiful, yet ethereal and unattainable.
Wen Xing woke up, letting out a dazed “Mm.” Clutching her beloved Doraemon, she rolled over and rubbed her face against the orange cat’s soft fur. The cat lifted its head with a look of utter resignation, swatting the air twice with its paws but never actually touching the child.
Fearing the little one would crush the cat, Wen Wanbing sat up and gently pulled Wen Xing back by her collar, tucking her into her arms. “How did Xingxing sleep? We’re going to the island to camp after breakfast. There will be the ocean, the beach, forests and rocks, tents, barbecue, and a bonfire.”
Wen Xing couldn’t fully grasp these concepts. She knit her brows, turned, and pointed at the orange cat: “Pig-pig. Wolf.”
As her fair, small finger pointed toward the nearby German Shepherd, the dog’s ears twitched. It stood up, padded to the door, listened for a moment, and sat down obediently. Moments later, footsteps approached. Two knocks sounded at the door. Wen Wanbing’s heart skipped a beat, lodging itself in her throat.
“Miss Wen, are you up?” It was Qi Yue’s voice.
Not Fu Junxue.
Her heart plummeted into a bottomless pit; the hollow sense of lack in her chest didn’t diminish, but rather intensified. Wen Wanbing took a breath, opened the door, and forced a polite smile. “I’m up. We’ll wash up in a moment.”
“Great. The UV rays are pretty strong, so remember to wear sunscreen and a sun-protection shirt. Don’t get burned,” Qi Yue said with a wink. “Your ‘Teacher Jun’ specifically asked me to remind you.”
Wen Wanbing froze. She felt as if her heart and her emotions had become a yo-yo, with the string held firmly by Fu Junxue. Because of her, she was suspended one moment and drowning the next.
Based on the “friendship index” list, those with fewer than five stars likely didn’t know Fu Junxue’s true profession. Fu Junxue probably introduced her as a girlfriend to this circle of friends, which explained Qi Yue’s teasing.
The realization of being introduced to friends made Wen Wanbing even more bashful. She lowered her head, letting her long hair spill over her shoulders and face to hide the heat rising in her ears and cheeks from Qi Yue’s gossiping eyes.
Qi Yue remembered Fu Junxue’s instructions: The “kid” (Wen Wanbing) blushes easily and can’t handle much teasing; if you tease her into ignoring people, I’ll have to deal with you. Qi Yue lowered her head to pat the dog, hiding her urge to laugh as she clipped on its harness. “Once you’re ready, head downstairs. We board at 6:40. We’ll eat breakfast on the boat to see how everyone handles the movement—you don’t want to get seasick and vomit. We reach the island at nine.”
Wen Wanbing nodded. “Okay,” she said, trying to sound casual. “Where is Fu Junxue?”
“No idea. Haven’t seen her since early morning, but she’ll definitely be back before the boat leaves.” Qi Yue stood up. “I’m going to take Chief for a quick walk. Could you help get Pepper’s ‘pig’ onto the boat later?”
“Sure.”
After Qi Yue left, Wen Wanbing checked her phone. Fu Junxue hadn’t messaged or posted anything. Their conversation had ended poorly the night before; she wasn’t sure if they were officially “fighting.” After a long hesitation, she sent a dry message: 【Morning】.
After washing up, Wen Wanbing headed down the last few stairs, carrying Wen Xing in one arm and a suitcase in the other—with Wen Xing clutching the cat. She ran right into Pepper, who was dragging a folded tent toward the pier.
“Ah, Little Xingxing is so cute today!” Pepper smiled at the Doraemon fisherman hat on Wen Xing’s head, which featured a little bamboo copter. “Does this come in adult sizes?”
“It does. Do you want one?” Wen Wanbing set Wen Xing down to hold her hand instead.
“Yes, yes, yes!” Pepper nodded vigorously.
“I’ll send the link to Fu Junxue later.” Wen Wanbing paused, looking past Pepper. She saw Meng Xuran in a qipao, holding a stylish parasol and slowly dragging a suitcase.
“Great, send it to her and tell her to send it to me.” Pepper didn’t stay, moving with a brisk pace.
Wen Wanbing turned to Meng Xuran. “Have you seen Fu Junxue?”
Meng Xuran stopped, twirled her parasol half a turn, and held it still. “She’s already on the boat.”
Wen Wanbing’s eyes dimmed slightly. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Meng Xuran walked a few steps, then turned back to see her still standing there. “Board early so you can eat early. Let’s go.”
Wen Wanbing snapped out of it. “Right.”
Once on board, Wen Xing became uneasy with the new environment, so Wen Wanbing carried her again. In the cabin, the German Shepherd was already lying down. Seeing Wen Xing, it wagged its tail happily and circled her. Feeling the child relax, Wen Wanbing exhaled a small sigh of relief.
Still, she saw no sign of Fu Junxue until the boat started moving.
“Food’s ready!” Pepper called out, opening cans and cat food for the orange tabby. “General, come eat! The boat captain even gave us some dried fish!”
The orange cat jumped nimbly from Wen Xing’s arms, wagging its tail as it followed Pepper lazily.
“Pig-pig.” Wen Xing was unhappy with the cat leaving and struggled to get down.
Wen Wanbing wrapped her arms around her to keep her still, coaxing her patiently. “Pig-pig is eating. Xingxing needs to eat too. We can play together after breakfast.”
Wen Xing was restless, twisting her body to look back at the cat, her small hands waving and pressing against Wen Wanbing’s face and eyes.
Wen Wanbing could only keep soothing her while tilting her head to avoid the flailing hands. As she glanced around, she saw Fu Junxue and Meng Xuran coming out of the kitchen carrying bowls. They were chatting, and a soft smile played on Fu Junxue’s face.
The moment Fu Junxue looked her way, Wen Wanbing averted her eyes.
“Pepper, let General eat here.” Fu Junxue pointed to an empty spot next to her, near a low table intended for children to eat breakfast. She set her bowl down and called to Wen Wanbing, “Wen Zhui-zhui, come over.”
She then turned back into the kitchen. Wen Wanbing pursed her lips and carried Wen Xing over. Seeing the orange cat eating cat food right by her feet, Wen Xing became much more obedient, staring intently at the “pig” as it ate.
Before them was a bowl of noodles in a soy-sauce broth with fish slices and shrimp, topped with green scallions. It looked appetizing and smelled wonderful. Wen Wanbing picked up a spoon and began carefully skimming off the scallions.
“You don’t eat scallions?” Fu Junxue sat down opposite Wen Wanbing, having brought out two more bowls. The table was so low that no one else chose to join them.
Wen Wanbing’s hand paused. “Xingxing doesn’t eat them.”
Fu Junxue pushed one of the bowls toward Wen Wanbing. The bowl was too hot; she let out a small “Hiss” and rubbed her fingertips together.
“Pinching your earlobes helps.”
Wen Wanbing pushed the scallion-free bowl to the left and handed a pair of chopsticks to Wen Xing. Seeing the child awkwardly start to shove noodles into her mouth, she turned back to find Fu Junxue sitting quite primly, elbows on her knees, hands pinching her earlobes. Her outfit today was casual: a denim jacket draped off one shoulder, a white camisole, and low-waist joggers. Her earrings were orange-red gradient circular stones, adding a touch of sexiness that made her current action look unexpectedly cute.
Wen Wanbing looked down and twirled a mouthful of noodles.
Fu Junxue let out a light “Tsk,” staring at her intently over her chopsticks. Her gaze was direct and burning. Recalling what Meng Xuran had said, Wen Wanbing guessed, “Did you make these noodles?”
“Mm-hm.” Fu Junxue picked up some noodles, blew on them, and said, “I thought you weren’t going to talk to me today.”
“Why would you think that?” Wen Wanbing was surprised.
“Just now, when you were standing there holding Xingxing,” Fu Junxue tilted her chin toward the spot where Wen Wanbing had been standing, her tone slightly accusatory. “I looked at you, and you just turned your face away.”
“You looked at me?” Wen Wanbing was even more surprised. She explained seriously, “I was busy soothing Xingxing and didn’t notice. Besides, we said yesterday that cold wars aren’t good.”
Fu Junxue bit her chopsticks, her lips curving into a delighted smile. The smile froze for a split second, then widened further.
This was because Wen Wanbing slowly threw the blame back at her: “Shouldn’t it be me thinking you weren’t going to talk to me? You didn’t even come back to the room last night…”
Wen Wanbing stopped abruptly, realizing her tone sounded strangely odd.
“Oh~ the little wife who was left alone in the room is unhappy.” Fu Junxue’s eyes curved into a charming arc as she teased her on purpose. She watched with satisfaction as a crimson flush spread from Wen Wanbing’s collarbone to her cheeks and finally her ears, like dawn clouds ignited by the sun.
Wen Wanbing bit down on her chopsticks. Amidst Fu Junxue’s melodic laughter, she corrected her in a muffled voice: “I’m not a ‘little wife’.”
“What are you then?” Fu Junxue pressed.
Wen Wanbing thought for a moment. Biting her lip to suppress her shyness, she said with total seriousness: “I’m the girlfriend.”
Hearing her emphasize the word “girlfriend” felt different. It made her heart race.
Fu Junxue, well aware that Wen Wanbing’s logic often differed from others, asked with interest: “Is there a difference between the two?”
“A ‘little wife’ sounds like someone delicate who clings to the other person. A ‘girlfriend’ sounds more equal.” Wen Wanbing took a bite of noodles and swallowed. “But that is just my personal, sensitive interpretation.”
Fu Junxue was moved to laughter. Leaning her chin on her hand, she said, “Then… next time the girlfriend is left alone in the room, she can carry me back, pin me down, and hold me in her arms to sleep.”
This was far beyond Wen Wanbing’s understanding. She blinked and let out a soft, confused “Ah?” “Can you really do that? That doesn’t seem right.”
“Between a couple, if there’s no major conflict and it’s just a little bickering, being a bit dominant can be quite romantic. Have you learned, girlfriend?” Fu Junxue added lazily, her eyes full of mischief. “But that is just my personal preference.”