It was still dark when Wen Ning returned from the Jade Void Palace.
The instant he landed, his legs went weak, and he dumped himself straight into bed.
He lay there without moving for a long while.
"Mount Li."
He rolled over, buried his face in his pillow, and muttered a curse.
The next morning, his phone alarm woke him. It took three rounds of ringing before he reached for it and switched it off. He decided to head back to his hometown today to find Tu Shan Qingqing. That was what he got for not asking for her contact information yesterday.
His hometown wasn't far away, so Wen Ning simply took flight.
His mother was watering the vegetables in the yard when he arrived. She froze at the sight of him, then looked him up and down.
"Why did you come home without saying anything? Look at you, you've lost weight again. Eating takeout every day, are you?"
Wen Ning heard the concern in his mother's words.
"I don't think so. I've actually gained weight. Maybe it's just because I haven't been sleeping well lately."
His mother asked no more questions. She went inside and cooked him a bowl of noodles, tucking two poached eggs into the bottom before bringing it out.
After finishing the noodles, Wen Ning told his mother he was going out for a walk, then vanished.
He went to The One Bar again.
There weren't many people during the day, and the door stood ajar. When Wen Ning pushed it open and stepped inside,
Tu Shan Qingqing was sitting at the bar.
Wen Ning walked over, pulled out the chair opposite her, and sat down.
Tu Shan Qingqing looked up at him, the corners of her mouth lifting as if she had expected him all