Due to her extended stay at the animal rescue center, Lin Xiche often found herself covered in fur and sometimes with an odor. After returning home, it became a habit for her to take a shower first, wash her clothes, and then return to her room.
At this moment, Lin Xigeng was sitting in her room on the floor with an open suitcase beside her, methodically placing items inside.
Lin Xigeng had received her acceptance letter last week, unsurprisingly getting admitted to the psychology department at S University, along with a matriculation notice requiring her to report by August 15th.
Due to the military training, freshmen had to report half a month earlier than other grades.
With both her parents absent from Xicheng, there was no way they could accompany her. Additionally, being the only daughter, Lin Xiche was not comfortable with the idea of her traveling alone.
She had planned it in advance.
When Xufang returned, she would ask him to accompany her to send Lin Xigeng to school.
Lin Xiche used a towel to dry her hair, sitting on the bed and observing her.
“It’s only the 6th today, and you’re not going until the 14th. Why are you in such a hurry to pack?”
“I’m just putting away the things I won’t need but have to take with me for now,” Lin Xigeng replied meticulously, raising her eyes to look at Lin Xiche as she organized her belongings. “Otherwise, I might forget to bring them. Don’t give me that look; if it weren’t for me helping you pack, you’d probably forget half of your things.”
Lin Xiche glanced into her suitcase.
Lin Xigeng seemed more meticulous than herself, using a pink suitcase filled with her preferred shampoo and shower gel, all of which had been purchased through a friend’s help. She had three makeup bags, body lotion, perfume, and various odds and ends.
A 24-inch suitcase, with most of it filled with clothes, even including bedding. Lin Xigeng would need at least two suitcases to bring everything.
Lin Xiche’s own freshman registration at the university had been around the same time.
Back then, her parents had been entirely focused on her younger brother, Lin Deng, thinking that since the boy from the Xu family had also been admitted to S University, the two of them could keep each other company. So, they hadn’t considered sending her off.
Normally, Xu’s parents would have definitely personally driven him to the university.
However, for some reason, Xu Fang absolutely refused to let them do that, claiming they were grown-ups now and it was embarrassing to have their parents send them to school, making a fuss about it.
So, the result was that the two of them had gone together.
The distance from Xicheng to Yuangang wasn’t too far; it was about an hour’s ride on the high-speed train, with a transfer in the middle to the subway, and then they could directly reach S University.
Lin Xiche had brought one suitcase, but Xu Fang hadn’t brought anything. He was too lazy to pack or carry anything along the way, thinking that having money was enough.
However, with Lin Xiche in tow, her suitcase had been carried by Xu Fang the entire way.
At the school gate, senior students would come to take them to the designated reporting location, which varied by major. After reporting, they could then proceed to the assigned dormitory to drop off their luggage.
Xu Fang had come to find her after completing his registration.
Due to the vast size of the campus, they were afraid of getting lost, so a senior student had personally escorted them.
After Lin Xiche was settled into her dormitory, the senior student politely asked if Xu Fang wanted to go to his dormitory as well.
Xu Fang hadn’t planned to leave yet, so he thanked the senior student and politely declined.
Once the senior student had left, he sat down in Lin Xiche’s chair, put his feet up on the floor, leaned back in the chair, and lazily directed her to organize her belongings.
Watching her carefully place the items she had brought with her, Xu Fang scanned the room with a critical eye and soon stood up to leave.
Xu Fang’s absence wasn’t long.
About ten minutes later, Lin Xiche saw him return with bags in hand, presumably from the campus supermarket. There was a set of bedding, a bucket, a basin with laundry detergent, toothbrushes, towels, and more.
He had bought everything they might need for daily life that wasn’t too private.
After confirming that she didn’t need anything else, Xu Fang finally left for good.
Lin Xiche still had a suitcase with her, while Xu Fang had brought almost nothing. Yet, he helped her purchase everything they needed before returning to pack his own things. It occurred to Lin Xiche that sometimes, Xu Fang seemed to treat her like a daughter.
On the day Xu Fang returned, his flight arrived at 7 PM.
Lin Xiche went to the animal rescue center as usual, planning to go directly to the airport from there when it was time. While cleaning the cat enclosures, she overheard some volunteers discussing something.
They said that Yu Ni had broken up with her boyfriend, the one she had been planning to marry.
Hearing this news, Lin Xiche found it hard to believe. She had Yu Ni’s WeChat and often saw her mentioning her boyfriend in her Moments. Even her profile picture was a photo of them together, portraying a loving couple.
Previously, Yu Ni had mentioned to Lin Xiche that she had met her boyfriend at the pet hospital where she used to work before. It had been almost seven years since then.
The man worked in a state-owned enterprise, had a gentle appearance, a mature and mild personality—everything that Yu Ni liked.
A few days ago, Yu Ni had even posted a picture on her Moments. It was of a bouquet of flowers and a ring, symbolizing the end of their seven-year-long-distance relationship.
It had only been a few days, and they were already breaking up…
One of the long-time volunteers here sighed, knowing a bit about the situation. “I heard that the station manager’s boyfriend had been urging her to quit working at this organization.”
“Why?” someone asked.
“This kind of private organization doesn’t receive government funding. Our usual expenses and everything are covered by donations from well-intentioned people, as well as through fundraisers or paid adoptions, but it’s barely enough to cover costs.”
“Then?”
“The station manager’s salary mostly goes into this.” The volunteer continued, “Her boyfriend seems to want her to go back to working at the pet hospital like before, with a stable income and not as much hardship as she faces now.”
“But she doesn’t want to?”
“That’s right. But they’re about to get married, right? Getting married costs money, and you need money for a house. And later on, when they have children, they’ll need money for everything. But right now, her monthly salary is very low, and apart from food and accommodation, she spends everything on the shelter, so she’s basically left with no income.”
“…”
“It’s somewhat practical, but it’s normal, isn’t it? Otherwise, it wouldn’t be good to get married first and then divorce later.”
On the way to the airport, Lin Xiche kept thinking about this.
She suddenly felt very heavy.
She thought that love, this thing, was even more unpredictable than the weather.
A couple who had been together for seven years and had a good relationship, had just gotten engaged a few days ago, and today they could break up and act like strangers.
This made her think of herself and Xu Fang, even though they had been together for less than a year.
But, despite that, they had grown up together since childhood, which added up to nineteen years of knowing each other. Surely, this was much more stable than a seven-year relationship…
Lin Xiche continued to daydream on the way, lost in thought until she entered the airport. The time had not yet arrived, so she waited at the arrival gate for a while, letting her thoughts wander.
Until she saw Xu Fang’s figure, and then she immediately snapped out of it, waving excitedly at him.
Xu Fang didn’t look much different from the videos, with his buzzed hair, cool and indifferent eyes, sharp facial features, and a tan complexion that added a touch of charm to him.
He dragged his suitcase over, wearing a military green short-sleeved shirt, standing in front of her.
It was quite magical.
Initially, Lin Xiche had felt a bit upset this month due to the waiting time. However, as soon as he stood in front of her, all those emotions instantly dissipated, as if they had never existed.
Xu Fang lowered his gaze to look at her. After a few seconds, he released the handle of his suitcase, wrapped his arms around her waist, and lifted her up, as if weighing her, swaying her a few times.
His actions were sudden, and Lin Xiche’s feet suddenly dangled in the air, making her feel unusually insecure. Instinctively, she grabbed onto his sleeve.
She was about to ask him what he was doing.
The next moment, Xu Fang opened his mouth, “Light.”
“You really think so?”
Lin Xiche had weighed herself in the morning, and indeed, she had lost a little weight compared to before, but not much. Mostly, she used to stay at home all the time, but lately, she had been going out every day and walking a lot, so it was normal to lose some weight.
She thought the change had nothing to do with her going to the military base with him for a month.
Lin Xiche looked at him in confusion as he seemed to be weighing her like a piece of meat, lifting her up and putting her down again, and then he did it all over again. Finally, he wore a serious expression and held her hand to lead her to a nearby barbecue restaurant for dinner.
Xu Fang didn’t seem to have much appetite; he didn’t eat a single piece of the grilled meat. Instead, he placed all of it in her bowl.
It was like feeding a pig.
After she finished eating, he ate the rest.
By the time they finished dinner, it was already around 8:30 PM.
They hailed a cab and headed straight to Xu Fang’s house.
At this moment, Xu’s parents had just changed their clothes and seemed to be going out. When they opened the door and saw Xu Fang and Lin Xiche, their eyes widened momentarily, and then they reacted, “Oh, our son came back today.”
Their tone was as calm as if they were saying, “Oh, I think I forgot to add salt to today’s meal.”
After saying that, they left cheerfully.
Lin Xiche stood beside Xu Fang, silently watching the door close, and then asked softly, “Are you not in favor anymore?”
Xu Fang glanced at her but didn’t say anything.
The two of them went upstairs.
Lin Xiche walked ahead, and Xu Fang followed behind with his suitcase.
They entered the room, and Lin Xiche habitually sat on the recliner by the TV, picked up the remote control, turned on the TV, and then played with the game controller in front of her.
Xu Fang placed the suitcase by the door but didn’t rush to unpack.
Later, Lin Xiche heard the click of the door and the sound of it being locked.
Hearing the noise, she turned around and asked, “Why did you lock the door?”
Xu Fang walked over and sat next to her, his expression unchanged as he replied, “I usually lock the door when I’m at home.”
“No way,” Lin Xiche recalled a previous incident, “I remember coming to see you before, and one time I even saw you sleeping shirtless in just your shorts.”
“…”
“You were angry at the time, but you didn’t lock the door afterward.”
“…”
Xu Fang didn’t want to hear her talk about this. He leaned forward, about to kiss her.
But before he could, Lin Xiche suddenly stood up and quickly walked to his desk, staring at her phone.
“My phone’s out of battery.”
“…”
Lin Xiche found his charging cable, plugged it in, and when she saw a message from Lin Xigeng, she suddenly remembered something.
“Oh, by the way, Pipi, Genggeng is going to school on the 14th. Can we go together to send her?”
Xu Fang remained silent and didn’t answer.
Lin Xiche was puzzled and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Soon, Xu Fang also stood up, holding his head as if he had just remembered something. “I signed up to be the deputy platoon leader for the freshman military training.”
Lin Xiche exclaimed, unable to react at first.
“That’s right,” Xu Fang walked up to her, with one hand resting on her desk, “I also have to go on the 14th to lead the freshman military training.”
The room fell silent.
One second.
Two seconds.
Lin Xiche suddenly pushed him.
Unprepared, Xu Fang took two steps back instinctively. Then she circled around to his back and threw herself onto him, her lips close to his ear, looking extremely displeased, and shouted at the top of her lungs.
“Why do you have so many things every day!”
“…”
Xu Fang felt like he was going deaf.
Lin Xiche’s hands were hooked around his neck, and she clung to him like an octopus, entwining herself around him. “I don’t care! You can’t go this time! I don’t care!!!”
Xu Fang was afraid she would fall, so he had to support her legs and endure her shouting.
“You think it through yourself,” Xu Fang gritted his teeth and said, “Was it you who asked me to sign up for this? Think about it yourself.”
Silence fell again.
One second.
Two seconds.
Lin Xiche seemed to remember something and her voice lowered significantly, but she still vented her anger at him. “Why did you call yourself Pipi? You shouldn’t use that name anymore. You should change it.”
She somehow brought up this topic, and Xu Fang got even angrier. “I’m not calling myself that thing.”
“I want to rename you,” Lin Xiche continued to fuss behind him, showing no sign of letting up. She instructed him, “Hand me my phone; I want to change your name.”
“…” Xu Fang’s temples throbbed, and he stood still.
Xu Fang was facing the desk, about two meters away from it.
Lin Xiche was hanging on to him, pressing down on his shoulder with one hand, putting all her strength into it, and reaching out with her other hand to the phone on the desk.
There was no way she could reach it from this distance.
Seeing her persistently reaching for a minute, Xu Fang took a deep breath, feeling furious, and reluctantly walked over to her.
He even bent down to make it easier for her to reach.
Lin Xiche picked up the phone, quickly unlocked it without any hesitation, and operated it in front of him.
Xu Fang watched as she opened WeChat, clicked on their chat conversation at the top, then went into his profile and started changing the nickname she had for him.
Originally, it was “Pipi.”
She hesitated for a moment, then deleted one “Pi” and added three words: “Always Trouble.”
Xu Fang stared at it, furrowing his brows. Suddenly, this word felt unfamiliar to him. He read it in his mind, connecting the words together.
“Always Trouble…”
“…”
Leave a Reply