Heroic Rescue? Not Going.

"Boss, this feeling is really incredible."

Xie Xie walked ahead, beaming.

His steps were almost absurdly light, each one carrying the unmistakable, impossible-to-hide pride of a youth.

The evening wind tousled his short brown hair. His dark green eyes gleamed fiercely beneath the streetlamps, and the corners of his mouth were nearly stretched to his ears. With both hands in his pockets, he rolled his shoulders as he walked, turning back every few steps to glance at the people behind him, as though confirming some momentous fact.

Tang Wulin walked not far behind him. Looking at the boy, he thought, What a smug grin.

The corners of Tang Wulin's mouth curved slightly. It was a very shallow arc, like a blade sliding softly inside its sheath.

He clasped his hands behind his head and followed at an unhurried pace. Streetlamp light flowed over his black hair and shattered into flecks of gold on his shoulders. His eyes were half-lidded, as though he was looking at Xie Xie—or somewhere much farther away.

Xu Xiaoyan and Gu Yue followed close behind him.

Xu Xiaoyan clutched the hem of her clothes with both hands. Her little braids swayed gently with her steps, and her pale blue strands shimmered faintly beneath the streetlamps.

Her eyes curved into crescents, and a smile rested on her lips, but her gaze drifted around from time to time, as if confirming that she was truly there.

Gu Yue walked beside her with steady steps. Her long black hair fell behind her shoulders. The night wind occasionally lifted a few strands before letting them fall again. Her gaze rested on Tang Wulin's back, quiet—so quiet that she resembled a lake untouched by wind.

The work-study students' dormitory had indeed been improved considerably, but they still couldn't put together two