Dongzhou's winter cold was damp and bone-deep.
Just after she finished her last exam, Pu Yu's phone vibrated.
It was a WeChat message from Yuan Su.
There was no text, just a photo.
The background was the familiar break room at the auto repair shop, with a patch of paint peeling up at the corner of the table. An open foam takeout container sat on it, holding braised eggplant and sliced potatoes, with a half-empty bottle of water beside it.
It was an entirely ordinary dinner.
Yet Pu Yu stared at the photo for a long time.
Her fingers unconsciously zoomed in on the screen, then zoomed in again.
There was so much oil in the container, a bright red layer floating on top. Yuan Su couldn't stand the greasy, heavily salted food from little eateries like this. In the past, he would rather have boiled himself a bowl of plain noodles than touch a cheap takeout meal that looked greasy enough to turn his stomach.
The only advantage of these little fast-food places was probably their cheap prices and generous portions.
Something seemed to give Pu Yu's heart a faint sting.
She typed a line: [Was business good at the shop today? Any progress on that contract dispute?]
A full ten minutes passed before he replied: [Business is good. Lots of work at the end of the year. It's being dealt with. Won't be long.]
Pu Yu put down her phone, the light in her eyes slowly fading.
"Won't be long." Those were the words Yuan Su had used most often over the past two weeks.
But she knew Yuan Su. If it really wouldn't be long, he would have told her the specific steps involved and planned when they would see each other during winter break, instead of