The line stretched ten meters out of the store. The two girls at the end of the line had already moved under the eaves of the neighboring snack shop, playing with their phones and chatting.

　　The day's highest temperature was 35 degrees Celsius. It was now half-past ten in the morning, yet the patrons' enthusiasm outside "BeSweet" bakery remained undiminished. Gu Pan made a rough count; in one hour, he had sliced and bagged as many as thirty pastries.

　　Ten minutes later.

　　"Take a break." Li Sansan from behind the cash register gave Gu Pan a smile. The busy peak period had just passed.

　　Gu Pan removed his disposable gloves, allowing his fingers a moment to breathe. He had been working for a week now. In the past hour, for the first time as a clerk, he had witnessed a flood of customers.

　　"These past few days, the sea salt cheese has been selling like crazy," Li Shanshan murmured to herself. "Never have I hoped so much to hang up the 'Sold Out' sign as today. I haven't even had time to use the restroom..."

　　"Do other places not sell sea salt cheese?" Gu Pan whispered in response.

　　"They do, but ours is particularly popular." There was a hint of pride in Li Shanshan's fatigue.

　　"Why so? Is it due to good marketing, or...?"

　　"Marketing is part of it, but the main reason is because it tastes good. You know what..." Li Shanshan leaned in towards Gu Pan, gesturing for him to do the same, and whispered, "We have a secret recipe."

　　This chatty coworker told Gu Pan that she had stealthily observed the pastry chef's operations, studying how he added ingredients, the proportions he used, and how he controlled the baking time... She had secretly noted all of these.

　　"Why are you noting these down?" Gu Pan, mimicking her cautious demeanor asked as if the walls had ears.

　　"What if I decide to open my own shop in the future? Hehe..." Li Shanshan's eyes curved into crescents, as if the dream bakery, which was clearly far off in the horizon, had already been chosen, decorated, and staffed by her, and was just waiting for the grand opening... "With this secret recipe, how can I not make a fortune?"

　　"Does using this secret recipe make a big difference? If the process is controlled differently, will the taste vary significantly?"

　　"Of course. Otherwise, why would ours sell so well?" Li Shanshan tilted her head, nodding rhythmically, her mouth puffed out like a goldfish blowing bubbles.

　　"Oh—"

　　"You know what? I've tried it at home using a domestic oven. The practical experience proved, it works." Li Shanshan had lowered her voice to almost a whisper, "Do you have an oven at home?"

　　"At home... um."

　　Gu Pan asked her for a copy of the "secret recipe", even though he didn't have an oven.

　　When he got home, he handwrote a copy on a sticky note. His handwriting was neat.

　　Before sunset, Gu Pan walked down a narrow path, going as far as not too far from Ling Hanlu's building. Holding onto his obsession with her balcony, he moved closer with every step, struggling against the obstruction of the branches and leaves of the soapberry tree above... The sight he longed for seemed not to have appeared yet.

　　He was ready to turn around and leave with a hint of disappointment when a woman's strained call made him stop immediately. "Young man, come quickly and help!"

　　Gu Pan stood still, unsure if he was the one being addressed. But seeing the cardboard box she was holding slipping from her grasp, he didn't hesitate and rushed to help.

　　"Give it to me!" The young man stretched out his arms.

　　"Oh, thank goodness I ran into you. If it had fallen, it would've been a disaster! The roads here are so narrow, cars can't get through..." The woman panted.

　　"Sister, which floor are you going to?" (Note: When helping strangers in China, it is a sign of respect to call someone "sister" when someone is similar to you, and it is a sign of respect to call someone "aunt" when someone is much older than you.)

　　"Sister, sister... oh, the fifth floor. Room 502. Thank you, handsome boy!"

　　"No problem." Gu Pan's intense interest in this apartment number was hidden in his energetic quick steps.

　　As the elevator door opened, Gu Pan headed straight for that familiar door. The woman followed behind, seeming more like a first-time visitor. Gu Pan put down the box, decisively opened the second layer of the shoe cabinet, and accurately took out the slippers. Seeing this, the woman couldn't help but feel suspicious. But then the young man stepped aside, standing obediently, as if waiting for her to open the door.

　　The woman had assumed the young man would leave immediately after helping her carry the box. She didn't expect this situation. She stood alertly in place. "Um... young man, thank you!" She expressed her gratitude, accompanying it with a palm-up gesture.

　　Only then did Gu Pan realize the woman's polite intention of "seeing him off". He felt embarrassed about his series of seemingly foolish actions just now. He knew that it was not only foolish but also absent-minded.

　　"Oh, oh, you're welcome!" Gu Pan turned towards the elevator to leave, but halfway there, he turned back, "Sister, are you by any chance related to Teacher Ling Hanlu..."

　　"Ah, so you do know the people here! Oh, I'm sorry. I was rude just now..." The woman had a look of regret in her eyes.

　　"I understand, it's about safety."

　　The woman started to input the password: "I'm Hanlu's colleague."

　　"Oh, hello, teacher! Is Teacher Ling away on a long trip?"

　　"Yes, she's abroad for an exchange." While she was talking, the lock had already opened, and the woman entered the house, "It's been quite a few days, I was worried the plants at her place would dry out, so she asked me to come water them."

　　"Oh—" Gu Pan picked up the cardboard box and placed it inside the door. As soon as the bottom of the box touched the ground, he swiftly scanned the living room, the sofa, the places where he had stood a few days ago. He took a deep breath, the neutral scent of the home, in his nostrils, rippled into a woman's gentle and kind aura. But these two characteristics were not something one could smell!

　　The young boy stared with his round, clear deer-like eyes. His body was outside, hesitating between staying and leaving. The woman saw this, a little puzzled, but mostly sympathetic. A maternal glow emanated from her heart. Her voice unconsciously seeped with laughter: "Don't just stand in the doorframe, come in and lend a hand! If you have the time... I have to rush home, my two kids are waiting for me!"

　　"Okay!" Gu Pan briskly entered the house.

　　The woman watered the plants and handed the task of unpacking the box to Gu Pan. "You go to the kitchen, take out the old oven, and put the new one in."

　　"Oven... Did Teacher Ling buy a new one?" Gu Pan had a brief moment of wild joy, feeling as if he was in tune with Ling Hanlu. He put one hand in his pocket and touched the piece of paper with the "secret recipe" written on it.

　　"No, it's from my house. It's brand new, never been used. I came to water the plants today, so I brought it along. This house of Hanlu's needs some new things... Ah, never mind."

　　"Oh—"

　　Compared to the new one, Ling Hanlu's original oven was indeed in a sorry state. It wasn't so much due to frequent use, but rather it seemed to have suffered some physical damage. However, the damaged appliance had been well cared for. It was clean, despite its evident scars.

　　"How is it, any issues with the plug or anything?" The woman saw that Gu Pan had already positioned the oven and had even turned off the power supply that Ling Hanlu had forgotten to cut off before her trip. The boy's safety consciousness made her nod approvingly.

　　"No problem. What should we do with the old one?" Gu Pan asked.

　　"Just leave it on the balcony. Hanlu will deal with it when she comes back."

　　"When is Teacher Ling coming back?" The young man's eyes filled with irrepressible anticipation as he asked about Ling Hanlu's return date.

　　"I guess it should be in early August."

　　"Oh, August... early August..." Upon hearing it, Gu Pan started silently doing the math, counting down the days.

　　Leaning against his bed, with a slight sideways glance, he could see the top of the soapberry tree. The greenery of the entire community, except for some specifics, was uniformly planned, with the same type of large trees scattered everywhere. This time, Gu Pan paid attention to the layout of Ling Hanlu's house, which had one less bedroom than his. But the room she lived in was basically the same as his bedroom. It was also connected to the balcony and had a good view of the tree. Even such a tiny similarity was a cause for him to rejoice.

　　He didn't turn on the lights. In the dark, he could focus more on recalling the details that happened in room 502 that afternoon.

　　The woman who introduced herself as Xu Shuping brought a brand-new oven to "boost" Ling Hanlu's "antiquated" living conditions. This "antique," Gu Pan wasn't sure if it referred to anything other than the appliance.

　　He was asked about his identity. He vaguely replied, "student," "living nearby," "just passing by on a walk." At that moment, Xu Shuping's eyes sparkled with a certain intelligence, but it was different from the young girls he knew like Yu Yan and Lu Yitong. It was a kind of savvy and cunning that he had felt from his elders. He didn't know what Xu Shuping's nod and smile meant.

　　When he was about to leave, he pasted the "secret recipe" that he had planned to stick on the refrigerator door onto a corner of the dining table. Fearing that the adhesive wasn't strong enough, he pressed on it hard. Xu Shuping glanced at it, just a glance. She didn't say a word, yet it felt as if she had seen through everything.

　　Gu Pan looked at his phone, it was 10 p.m. He still had an hour before his usual bedtime. The scattered images, the excitement of "returning to the old place," and the "hurt" that always lingered in his heart... He wanted to find someone to analyze and relieve them.

　　"Mr. Su, I really want to see someone. But I know it's a mistake." Gu Pan quickly typed out this sentence but hesitated again and again before sending it. He felt that the word "mistake" at the end really couldn't reach the deepest feelings in his heart. After weighing it, he changed it to, "sin."

　　"I'm not sure if you're overusing the word 'sin,' because you've never provided objective facts as a basis for judgment. Okay, let's assume it's true, then find a way to stop it."

　　"Mr. Su, isn't betrayal also a sin?"

　　Obviously, Gu Pan's sense of sin was multi-directional and complicated, because it was tangled in time like a web due to its complexity and difficulty to untangle. This web, dense and sharp, had tormented the young man to the point where Su Chiyuan could no longer ignore it. He had to lend a hand.

　　"Gu, let's go for a walk sometime!"