She kept losing and never gained anything.

Shen Zhiyi was getting tired from walking. She did not usually exercise, and she sat while she worked.

S University's campus was so large that it took almost twenty minutes to walk from the art classroom to the gate. They could usually take the campus shuttle, but they had just missed it and could only walk.

Before she had caught her breath, Chi Ye reached back to open the car door and tilted his head, gesturing for her to get in. Shen Zhiyi climbed inside, but he pushed his luck and leaned in, reaching across her to pull the seat belt over and buckle it.

"See? Where could you find anyone more gentlemanly than me? I even buckle your seat belt for you."

[There he goes again.]

Chi Ye had already gleaned something from her thoughts earlier, and now he no longer minded at all. If he had any concerns, they were about Shen Zhiyi's mind and mental state.

What exactly made her keep thinking such wild things? Last time, the doctor had suggested seeing a psychologist. He decided he had to arrange it once they got back.

If Shen Zhiyi would not talk, there was nothing wrong with him talking a little more. It was just talking, after all. He was good at that.

"The Housekeeper made his new dishes today. You're coming home so late, but he's still waiting. See? Doesn't this show how important it is to send a message?

"You can message us to let us know whether you'll be home early or late.

"If you're coming home early, the Housekeeper can start preparing earlier. If you're coming home late, he can let things cook slowly while he waits.

"That way, the food will be at its best as soon as you get home. So, Shen Zhiyi, do you understand what I mean?"

Chi Ye glanced at her, then returned his gaze to the traffic ahead, tapping lightly with his index finger. When he looked sideways again, Shen Zhiyi's head had already tilted to one side, her eyes closed in sleep.

A smile curved his lips. The car wove through the traffic before coming to a smooth stop in the Villa's underground parking garage.

He did not turn on the car's interior light. By the light in the garage, his gaze settled on the person still sleeping with her eyes closed.

Her hair covered half her face, leaving only a small part of her profile exposed. There was little color in it, and even her lips were pale. She was not all that peaceful in sleep; a faint, elusive sadness always lingered around her.

She was sad. She was not very happy when she was awake, but even in her dreams, she still could not be all right.

What flowed through him was a fine, relentless pain, like pinpricks. In Shen Zhiyi, he had seen a sense of deathly stillness in a person for the first time.

She seemed never to be happy. People were given many emotions when they were born, then lost some things and gained others as they grew. Only Shen Zhiyi kept losing, until she discarded herself.

Shen Zhiyi stirred and opened her eyes in some discomfort. She turned her head and met Chi Ye's gaze.

Chi Ye smiled slightly, his low voice sounding in the confined car.

"I was just wondering when you'd wake up. Time to eat, Shen Zhiyi."

[Why is he smiling?]

Shen Zhiyi unbuckled her seat belt, then looked back at him in puzzlement. He was still smiling. She opened the door and got out, with Chi Ye following close behind.

The elevator slowly ascended. Chi Ye had his head lowered, looking at something on the phone in his hand. She studied him for a moment, then calmly looked away.

The Housekeeper had prepared dinner long ago. As the two emerged from the elevator, he immediately greeted them before hurrying back to the kitchen for bowls and chopsticks.

He was very confident today; these were his new dishes, after all. Once all the food had been brought out, the Housekeeper stood to one side and said with a beaming smile,

"This is the first time I've ever seen the young master smile so happily."

No matter how many times Chi Ye heard that, it still made his teeth ache. He gave the Housekeeper a look that was hard to describe and said through gritted teeth,

"Could you stop watching those brain-dead TV dramas!"

The Housekeeper replied fearlessly, "No can do. I'm Madam Ye's TV-watching buddy. This is also the first time the young master has been so worked up."

The Housekeeper usually sat down to eat with the two of them, but today he felt particularly like a head steward and had to stand there and play the part.

"Housekeeper, aren't you eating?" Chi Ye asked.

The Housekeeper smiled faintly.

"This is the first time the young master has invited me to eat with him, but I'm merely a servant. I cannot sit with the young master."

Chi Ye pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek. He could barely take it anymore. Did the man hear what he was saying? So the person sitting at the dining table eating the day before yesterday had not been him?

What did he mean, he could not sit and eat with the young master? He had never considered that when eating with the old man. Was he being snide with him now?

Chi Ye decided to ignore this drama queen of a Housekeeper and looked toward Shen Zhiyi, signaling for her to talk him around.

Shen Zhiyi looked at the Housekeeper, blinked lightly, and said,

"Housekeeper, sit down and eat. Thank you for cooking today. The food is very good."

The Housekeeper's smile grew more genuine. He immediately dropped the act, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

"Miss Shen is the one who knows how to care about people, unlike our young master. Ah." He shook his head. Chi Ye could guess everything he left unsaid.

Chi Ye scoffed.

"If you're going to be so dramatic, go back to the Old Residence tomorrow. The old man probably needs your company."

At that, the Housekeeper immediately became serious. It had taken so many members of the Chi Family to finally persuade Chi Ye to let someone come and look after him.

The Housekeeper did not want to be packed off to the Old Residence without completing his task, even if the old master was the one paying his salary.

"You must be joking, young master. Let's eat, let's eat."

For an entire week, Shen Zhiyi spent all her time in S University's art classroom. Liu Muyan was a beginner, so she worked a little slowly.

Shen Zhiyi had obtained her card back when she worked as a teaching assistant for her advisor. Even though she was no longer at the university, the card still allowed her to come and go freely.

Liu Muyan was not the only one in the art classroom; several of her classmates were there too. Everyone was focused on their own artwork, however, making the classroom unusually harmonious.

Quite a few people recognized Shen Zhiyi, the senior student their teachers so often mentioned. Her artwork hung at the back of the classroom as a reference.

The university's Collection Hall also housed one of her works. Later, however, this senior had not pursued that path, choosing instead to study woodcut art.

It was Yan Song's third day observing Shen Zhiyi. She still barely spoke, spending most of her time quietly watching Liu Muyan work, then warning her before she was about to make a mistake.

Her gaze rarely focused, and it was unfocused even when she looked at people.

She liked sitting by the windowsill, looking outside from time to time. Her profile was beautiful, and the wind would lift her lovely hair as it blew past.

Yan Song seemed to have found his Muse. Whenever he looked at Shen Zhiyi, inspiration came in abundance. She was like a deity fallen to the mortal world, neither sorrowful nor joyful.

He thought that the next time they met, he would definitely greet her and try to get to know her.

Liu Muyan was doing the final work, sanding it before brushing on oil, then finding a frame to mount it in.

The Ely Chief seemed to have come alive. As the light fell across it, its velvety texture seemed within reach. Yan Song walked over to the window.

He was a little nervous, rubbing his hands awkwardly at his sides. His gaze first fell outside the window, wanting to see what was so special about the scenery she looked at every day.

London plane trees covered almost the entire campus, their green branches and leaves heralding the arrival of high summer. He thought that perhaps saying hello at a moment like this might earn a different answer.