Cheng Che returned to Qin Lie's place after his run. When he pushed open the door, he saw Qin Lie already sitting at the table.
On the table were two cups of soy milk and a bag of steamed buns.
Qin Lie wore an old T-shirt, his hair a mess. He had clearly only just gotten up.
He held a bun in one hand and was frowning at his phone.
"You're up this early?"
Cheng Che draped his towel over his shoulder, a little surprised.
Qin Lie looked up at him and put down his phone.
"It's all those calls from yesterday. They couldn't get through to your phone, so they all called me."
"Who?"
"Sports companies. A whole bunch of them. Tennis agents, sports marketing firms, and a few brands I'd never even heard of, saying they wanted you as their spokesperson." Qin Lie took a bite of his bun and chewed twice. "I told them what you said. You're going to Peking University, and your parents won't agree to you going pro."
"What did they say?"
"They went quiet." Qin Lie chuckled. "Then they hung up."
Cheng Che smiled, took off his jacket, and headed toward the bathroom.
"In any country, people who are really good at studying are hard to deal with."
"Yeah." Qin Lie took another bite of his bun and spoke indistinctly. "Those companies hate your type most. Good at studying and good at tennis. They want to sign you, but they're afraid you'll stop playing after you finish school. They don't want to sign you, but they can't bear to let that talent go. They're probably cursing you behind your back right now. Why do you have to be good at everything?"
Cheng Che turned on the hot water. Water poured over his head, and steam rose to fill the entire bathroom.
He first used the [Perfect Hair Quality Shampoo], then picked up his newly acquired bottle of [Perfect Skin Quality Body Wash], squeezed out a dollop, and rubbed it over his body.
He couldn't help grumbling inwardly:
What lazy bum designed these items? Every name starts with "Perfect." What, did they run out of vocabulary?
Still, grumbling aside, the body wash really did have a nice texture.
It felt cool against his skin, with a fine lather. After he rinsed it off, a very faint fragrance lingered on his skin. He couldn't say what it smelled like-clean and pleasant.
He lowered his head to look at his body.
His 70 points of charm had already made his complexion fairly pale.
But tennis practice and running had previously tanned him a little wheat-colored, and his skin texture hadn't been particularly good either.
Most people were like that. Even natural beauty couldn't stand up to close scrutiny.
Yan Ruanning's cool, fair skin really was a special gift from heaven.
He rubbed his arm, feeling as though his skin really was a little smoother than before.
It might also have been his imagination.
After his shower, Cheng Che dug out his "best clothes."
A black T-shirt with no real design, just a reasonably decent cut.
A pair of dark casual pants and clean white shoes.
He looked at himself in the mirror.
The outfit was nothing special.
Cheng Che sighed.
He really didn't know much about fashion. He had grown up wearing school uniforms and sportswear. Ask him to put together an outfit now, and he genuinely had no idea how.
Forget it.
When you look good, anything works.
He pushed open the door.
Qin Lie was standing in the living room with his soy milk. Seeing him come out, he looked him up and down, raised an eyebrow, and said:
"Dressed like that, are you going to play tennis or going on a blind date?"
"To play tennis." Cheng Che picked up his phone.
"Like hell I believe you." Qin Lie finished his soy milk. "Remember to send me a message, and don't come back too late. I'm still your temporary guardian."
"Got it." Cheng Che reached the door and looked back. "Old Qin, why are you acting like a fussy old mother today?"
Qin Lie glared at him.
"Get lost already. Once you get your license and drive out, you'll be charming everyone on the road to death."
Cheng Che smiled and closed the door.
Downstairs, he booked a ride.
Before getting in, he pulled up his mask and lowered the brim of his cap.
He was a little more careful when going out now.
Being stared at the whole way through the high-speed rail station last time was an experience he only needed once.
The car merged into Hang City's traffic, and he opened his phone.
Yan Ruanning had sent him a message.
[Yan Ruanning: I have to feed chickens today. Why did I come on a variety show like this?]
Cheng Che couldn't help smiling at the message.
Even he, someone who had grown up in the countryside, had never fed chickens. He had planted peanuts with his grandfather as a child, but feeding chickens was something he really had never done.
He typed.
[Cheng Che: Work hard. I'm off to play tennis.]
He sent it.
Meanwhile, at the Mushroom House on the outskirts of Hang City.
Yan Ruanning lay on her stomach in bed, looking at the reply, a little annoyed.
Yesterday, she had happily taken time off, bought a ticket, sat in a corner of the stands, watched Cheng Che win his match, and even waved hello to him.
Everything had been going so well.
Then the director called that evening, saying this season of "Life Slowed Down" had added livestreaming, and everyone had to be there that night to rehearse the proceedings.
She could only cancel her celebratory dinner with Cheng Che at the last minute and rush back overnight.
"Why is my life so miserable?"
She let out a quiet wail and rolled over.
Xiao Zhou's voice came from the doorway. "Ruanning, time to get up. Teacher Huang's breakfast is getting cold."
Yan Ruanning climbed out of bed, leisurely washed up, changed, and went outside.
In the courtyard, Teacher Huang was busy at the stove in an apron.
Su Jianqiu sat beside the bamboo table shelling beans, while Liang Shihua played with the dog.
The camera crew were already at their respective positions. Although it was a rehearsal, not a single part of the proceedings was missing.
"Ruanning's here. Come sit." Teacher Huang handed her a bowl of congee. "Today's scallion pancakes are fresh out of the pan."
Yan Ruanning sat down, took a pancake, and had a couple of bites.
"Pretty good, right?" Su Jianqiu asked with a smile.
"Mm." Yan Ruanning nodded.
"You seem off today." Liang Shihua leaned closer. "You've been distracted ever since you got up."
"Have I?" Yan Ruanning stuffed the pancake into her mouth. "No, maybe I just didn't sleep well."
Sitting across from her, Su Jianqiu shelled beans while taking in Yan Ruanning's expression.
She already had a guess.
Su Jianqiu was thirty this year and had spent over a decade in the industry. She had seen everything.
Yan Ruanning was normally so carefree. She never sat spacing out in the courtyard just because she "hadn't slept well."
She had even specifically taken time off these past two days, saying she was going to "gather inspiration"-and the "inspiration" she was gathering was at a tennis match.
That college entrance exam Zhuangyuan from Caiyun Province had been wildly popular online lately.
Although Su Jianqiu hadn't watched the match livestream, she had come across him in trending searches.
He really was good-looking, she admitted.
So what was Yan Ruanning's relationship with this kid?
A romance with a younger guy?
The corners of Su Jianqiu's mouth couldn't help lifting.
She was starting to ship this story.
"Come on, time to feed the chickens." Liang Shihua clapped her hands and stood up.
The three of them walked over to the chicken coop.
The so-called chicken coop was actually a wooden shed in a corner of the courtyard, with a small enclosure fenced off with bamboo. Seven or eight native-breed chickens were kept inside.
Teacher Huang brought over a bucket of feed and handed it to Liang Shihua.
"The chicken feed is already mixed. Don't throw it too hard. Spread it evenly."
Liang Shihua took the bucket, grabbed a handful of feed, and scattered it.
The chickens flapped over, clucking, and the scene remained fairly manageable.
Then it was Yan Ruanning's turn.
Copying Liang Shihua, she grabbed a handful of feed and tossed it forward.
She was quite strong, and the feed scattered far and wide.
Several chickens were startled by the flying feed and suddenly began flapping. One big rooster took flight outright, beating its wings as it charged straight at her.
"Aah!"
Yan Ruanning screamed and jumped backward. Her foot slipped, and her whole body toppled back.
Su Jianqiu reacted swiftly and caught her.
"Careful!" She grabbed Yan Ruanning's arm. "Are you okay?"
Yan Ruanning steadied herself and patted her chest, still shaken.
The rooster landed not far away, tilted its head at her, gave a cluck, then lowered its head to peck at the feed again.
Beside her, Liang Shihua laughed so hard she couldn't straighten up. "Ruanning, you make feeding chickens look like going to war."
"How was I supposed to know it would fly?" Yan Ruanning looked aggrieved.
"You threw that feed like you were threshing grain. It would've been strange if the chickens hadn't flown." Su Jianqiu laughed too.
Yan Ruanning brushed the dust off her clothes, looked at her shoes, which had been stepped on and dirtied, and sighed.
Suddenly, she didn't want to film the show anymore.
She wanted to go to the tennis court.
There was someone there who stood quietly behind the baseline, serving balls as though it were art. Much nicer to watch than feeding chickens.
After feeding the chickens, the three of them headed toward the Mushroom House.
Liang Shihua walked ahead, discussing camera positions with a cameraman.
Su Jianqiu walked beside Yan Ruanning and was just about to ask something when a voice suddenly came from outside the courtyard.
"Ruanning!"
The voice was clear and bright, riding the wind into the courtyard.
Almost everyone present turned to look at the same time.
Su Jianqiu, Liang Shihua, Teacher Huang, and the camera crew all looked over.
On the path outside the courtyard, sunlight spilled through gaps in the leaves, strewn across the ground like fragments of gold.
A boy stood there, wearing a simple black T-shirt and dark casual pants.
He was tall and slender, his back straight, his long legs casting a long shadow in the sunlight.
Looking at everyone, he broke into a smile as brilliant and dazzling as sunshine, as though all the light he couldn't keep hidden in his heart had spilled onto his face.
He raised a hand and gave a gentle wave toward the courtyard.
A breeze passed, lightly stirring the strands of hair over his forehead.
Only then did everyone get a clear look at his face.
His skin was clear, just the right shade of fair, his brows and eyes well-defined, his nose straight.
His eyes were almost too bright, as though they held pinpricks of starlight, now curved into crescents by his smile.
Sunlight passed through the branches and leaves, scattering fragments of light across the ground, falling just to either side of his shadow.
As the wind blew and the leaves swayed gently, those patches of light swayed with them, like a pair of shattered wings.
Everyone fell silent.
Su Jianqiu froze where she stood, Liang Shihua's grip slipped on her vegetable basket, and several cameramen's lenses drifted off target.
And Yan Ruanning stood where she was, her heart skipping a beat.