That day, he worked the afternoon shift. The patisserie closed at nine. Gu Pan rode his bicycle to the fountain in front of the community center, arriving nearly at twenty-past nine.

　　Gu Pan deliberately paused for a moment. The sound of the water was incredibly pleasing to the ears, and the mist was very refreshing. If it weren't for the warning sign saying "Beware of Electricity," he would have almost wanted to reach into the water and enjoy a good splash.

　　While the monkey grasps the moon's reflection in vain, he thinks he can grasp hope.

　　This joy didn't solely come from the sea salt cheesecake from "Be Sweet" once again achieving great sales success. It was also a continuation of the excitement he had been feeling for the past few days.

　　After all, the early August that Xu Shuping had mentioned had arrived.

　　Gu Pan practically stepped into his front door at the sound of his phone ringing.

　　Li Danxia's weekend calls had been rescheduled to the evening. This was indeed a challenge for someone who always prioritized delaying aging and conserving energy to ensure dominance at the mahjong table over everything else.

　　"Son, you're not asleep, are you?"

　　"..." Gu Pan was used to waiting for what came next. The reiteration of family teachings was always of paramount importance. So he kept silent and waited.

　　"I guess you young people don't sleep this early, right? Answer me!" Li Danxia wanted every one of her sentences to be acknowledged. Distance couldn't be an excuse to undermine her authority.

　　"Uh, not yet." Gu Pan answered as he pulled out the exercise mat from the closet.

　　The mat was dark green, and if you had enough imagination, it could be a lawn at dawn or dusk.

　　Gu Pan spread it out on the living room floor, placing dumbbells next to it. His exercise routine had expanded from solely lifting dumbbells to include push-ups and sit-ups.

　　"What are you doing? Why do I hear you panting?" Li Danxia's confusion shone through her tone.

　　"Nothing!" Gu Pan did not want to reveal to Li Danxia the change in his attitude toward life. This was his choice, concerning people unrelated to her. "I just moved something."

　　"Did you buy something again? New furniture?"

　　"No... just... anyway, it's not."

　　"Son, I've never seen what your place looks like in person. I only saw the pictures provided by the real estate agent when choosing the house. You, too, never took many pictures for me to look at. Let's do this, start a video call, take me on a tour around the house, and introduce it to me." Li Danxia still had the energy to keep a close watch on her son's life in the late hours, a clear departure from the norm. She urged, "Come on, start the video call!"

　　As soon as Li Danxia finished speaking, a video call invitation came through. Gu Pan quickly rolled over and stood up, throwing all items that could possibly be deemed "abnormal" into the closet one by one.

　　The video call connected.

　　At first, Li Danxia's face was very close to the screen, as though it was not a screen, but a window. If she strained hard enough, she could peek into all the secrets outside the window. But then she realized that her face was distorted in the camera, her facial features out of proportion, which created a terrifying effect in the night. Only then did she willingly pull her arm back and lean away, accepting her son's living conditions from a normal and comfortable distance.

　　The first stop on the late-night tour of the Green Field residential complex was the kitchen. Rarely used, the stove was free of grease, just some unnoticeable dust. A quick sweep of the camera revealed the resident's good cleaning habits.

　　The second stop was the bathroom. Li Danxia questioned the presence of a white hair-drying cap with red spots hanging on the wall hook, feeling it was not something that should be in a shared apartment of two men, as Gu Pan had described. Gu Pan explained that his roommate had long hair and unusual hobbies.

　　After a brief pause in the living room, the camera pointed toward Gu Pan's bedroom.

　　Despite being over 18 years old, Gu Pan's mother still insisted on delving into his private space. Gu Pan's resistance proved futile. His defeat was due to his inability to counter Li Danxia's argument that whoever pays the rent has the right to know every detail of the space. For a moment, he thought of Su Chiyuan and how a lawyer who deals with aviation lawsuits might argue on behalf of a client in such a situation.

　　Under the instructions, Gu Pan slowly and passionately showcased his personal space: the walls with abstract oil paintings left by previous tenants, the bedside with two books, and a pair of headphones... The camera continued to pan, moving to the bookshelf, scanning from the top shelf down.

　　Just as Gu Pan was about to point the camera toward his desk, another female voice sounded from his phone. "Wait, slow down, what's that?"

　　At the sound of the voice, Gu Pan's hand shook involuntarily, causing the camera to shift. The voice was somewhat familiar, but it wasn't easy to recognize through the phone.

　　Before her son could speak, Li Danxia brought this other female into the frame: "Son, Yitong is here. Her mother sent over some watermelon and peaches, they're freshly stocked in their supermarket..."

　　Li Danxia told Gu Pan that the girl had arrived in the afternoon and had been helping out since she arrived. She served water to the guests at the mahjong table, and even helped to clean Gu Pan's room. Attempts to stop her were to no avail. Seeing that it was getting late, she had Yitong stay for dinner, where the girl even cooked a dish following an online recipe.

　　Gu Pan didn't know how to respond, only managing to utter a few "Uh-huh"s.

　　"After dinner, it was already late, so I asked Yitong to stay the night. She's like family, right Yitong?" Li Danxia's two dark eyebrows raised in a kind and motherly expression.

　　"Huh? Oh, yes, Auntie." Lu Yitong was caught off guard by Li Danxia's sudden question, but her smile remained, showing no stiffness.

　　""I love this about her, she's so straightforward, with no unnecessary formalities. It's like she's part of the family, isn't it, Yitong?" Li Danxia's two dark eyebrows raised in a kind and motherly expression. Oh, Yitong, what were you saying? Telling Gu Pan to slow down, wait... what did you want to know?" One sign of Li Danxia's fondness for someone was her habit of revisiting a topic that was already closed, helping that person to fulfill their wish.

　　"It's just the paper-wrapped item on his bookshelf, it looks quite exquisite... Auntie, I hope my curiosity won't upset Gu Pan?" Lu Yitong's voice was timid, as delicate as a willow in the wind.

　　"Upset? Of course not, I guarantee my son won't be upset!" Li Danxia comforted Lu Yitong, pulling the girl into her embrace. "Don't worry, if I ask him to open it, he has to open it."

　　"Ah..." Gu Pan knew that showing hesitation would only further provoke his mother's curiosity, making it impossible to curb her prying eyes. Nevertheless, he couldn't resist expressing his hesitation, even though it was just a word.

　　"Stop dragging your feet, son. Open it and let Yitong see! Besides, your mom wants to see too." Li Danxia's rarely soft voice made the atmosphere strangely eerie, leaving Gu Pan defenseless.

　　Reluctantly, he carefully untied the ribbon, reached into the bag, and quickly swept the camera over it. "It's nothing, just a piece of cloth. A gift."

　　He believed he wasn't lying, although he was vague about the ownership of the gift. He was relieved that it was indeed very late, which gave him a good reason to promptly end the tour of his bedroom amidst Lu Yitong's continuous yawns.

　　However, Li Danxia was still alert. The reason she could leave the mahjong table without feeling sleepy was due to a strong motivation. Her desire to spy in the other bedroom was evidently stronger than Lu Yitong's.

　　She wondered about the kind of man her son was sharing the apartment with. At first, she was the one who rented the entire apartment, but was the other half of the rent really being transferred to her son's account every month?

　　"Son, remember, you agreed to split the rent, so you can't pay his share, understand? Money matters should not be taken lightly! Use the money he transfers to you as pocket money..."

　　Fortunately, Li Danxia ultimately respected the privacy of an "outsider" and didn't demand to intrude.

　　Half an hour remained until midnight.

　　Gu Pan spread out his exercise mat. He did two more sets than usual, pushing himself to the point of exhaustion, and collapsing on the floor. He had never been so ruthless towards himself. In his 18 years of life, whether in his studies or in social interactions, which he was not adept at, he had never experienced the thrill of pushing boundaries.

　　Gu Pan gasped heavily, sprawling out. He didn't care whether this posture was the most scientifically relaxing way or not.

　　The "dark green lawn" mat embraced this sweaty young man's most comfortable and relaxed body. The elliptical frosted ceiling light, installed according to the landlord's aesthetics, stared back at Gu Pan. As pleasure and fatigue intertwined, Gu Pan's wide-open eyes gradually lost focus under the incandescent light, despite his best efforts to concentrate.

　　The frosted white oval, in his eyes, was a face. It had a pointed forehead, and a pointed chin, and was bald, looking so weird that it made him laugh. He took out an imaginary pen and, like he used to draw on eggs as a child, added slanted bangs and dotted facial features. When he outlined the mouth, he intentionally drew smiling lips.

　　His experience was limited, and he had no clear preferences for the appearance of the opposite sex. Nor would he let looks dictate his closeness or distance from them. His vocabulary to describe women was quite limited and monotonous. For example, Yu Yan's face was pale, her eyebrows light and thin. Li Danxia's face was red, her eyebrows were ironed on (he didn't understand that it was called eyebrow tattooing), and there were wrinkles between her eyebrows. Lu Yitong's skin tone was somewhere between Yu Yan's and Li Danxia's, and her bangs covered her eyebrows...

　　Only Ling Hanlu's features seemed dynamic in Gu Pan's eyes. There was her startled yet gratified look when a strange boy tugged her into a run in front of the June 1st shop window. Her youthful exuberance as she took Gu Pan back to their alma mater in County C, reminded him of the lively, intuitive little white cat that used to climb the tree branches in his grandmother's yard. And then, her lips turned upwards as she knelt on the station floor, watching over the girl having a seizure. Even though the girl might not have sensed the encouragement and care Ling Hanlu was trying to convey...

　　Gu Pan used his imagination to embellish this oval face. He endowed it with vitality and, in the process, immersed himself in a kind of deep melancholy.

　　With the arrival of early August, Gu Pan endured the torment of alternating joy and despair every day. He would text Su Chiyuan, describing the so-called "hurt" that Mr. Su always dismissed. Doing so could at least provide a sense of relief. But most of the time, he chose to exhaust himself physically. The "dark green lawn" mat couldn't provide professional advice; instead, it offered Gu Pan the most rudimentary consolation.

　　Chapter 21

　　As Ling Hanlu walked out of the airport terminal, she immediately spotted the silver sedan with its hazard lights flashing. Xu Shuping's head popped out from the driver's side window, waving at her.

　　She rolled her two suitcases, large and small, to the side of the car. Ling Hanlu didn't rush to respond to Xu Shuping. Instead, she seemed to be brewing some emotion, a hint of a smile playing on her lips as she peered into the backseat.

　　"Stop gawking! Silly!" Xu Shuping jumped out of the car and headed towards the trunk, "Hurry up and stow your things. Get in!"

　　"Where are the little ones?" Ling Hanlu asked, slightly disappointed. Xu Shuping had promised to bring their two treasures to pick her up the day before.

　　"Their grandparents came and took them out to play," Xu Shuping said, gritting her teeth as she and Ling Hanlu hoisted the large suitcase into the trunk. (gritting her teeth: The suitcase is too heavy to handle it by Shushing， so gritting her teeth.)

　　"Aw, really? I prepared a surprise for the babies!" Ling Hanlu complained, "Who knows how much effort I put into finding the perfect gifts... I was planning to surprise them..."

　　"Surprise?... They don't need a surprise."

　　"Then who does?" Ling Hanlu sat in the back seat, stretching her swollen legs after the long flight, indulging in comfort. "Xu sister, your car is so spacious, it's comfortable... So, who does need a surprise?"

　　"... Whoever needs it, knows it." A ripple of emotion flashed in Xu Shuping's eyes, only to be smoothed out by the impatient honking behind her, "Ah..."

　　"Shuping, you've changed your style in just a few days!"

　　"I don't have the luxury to change." Xu Shuping said, quickly realizing the oddity in her tone, and correcting herself. "I mean, I am who I am, how much can I change?"

　　"You're acting strange." Ling Hanlu pulled out two distinctly styled figurines from her bag. "Look, I thought I would get to see the kids dancing with joy. What a pity. They would definitely love these!"

　　"It seems you truly like my kids. How about, I give them to you?"

　　"Shuping, what's wrong with you?"

　　"Nothing, let's get you home to freshen up first."

　　Green Garden Community. Xu Shuping, pushing a large suitcase, followed behind Ling Hanlu, sighing along the way. When they were only fifty meters away from the target building, she finally couldn't suppress her complaints: "The last time I was here, it was the same. The road is so narrow that a car can't drive through."

　　"I'm sorry for the trouble!" Ling Hanlu, reminded, hurriedly quickened her pace, eager to check on the plants inside her house, those charming additions to her life under the "carrot and stick" influence of Xu Shuping.

　　"Don't worry, they're doing well!" Xu Shuping had spent enough time with Ling Hanlu to often guess her thoughts accurately, even without words.

　　Upon pushing the door open, they were met with a mix of scents from leaves, fabric, books, and sunlight, diffused in the room due to the long closure. It filled Ling Hanlu with a sense of familiarity.

　　The hostess looked around the living room. "Shuping, did you clean up the last time you came? Otherwise, it wouldn't be this clean."

　　"Well, it wasn't dirty to begin with. Just dusted a bit," Xu Shuping replied, heading to the bathroom to wash her hands.

　　"What's that?" Ling Hanlu was drawn to a piece of paper at the corner of the dining table, moving closer. She saw a sticky note firmly attached, neatly written on it were the words, "Secret recipe for sea salt cheesecake..."

　　The handwriting was small. From ingredient proportions to temperature control, everything was meticulously marked. Ling Hanlu softly read each word and sentence aloud. When she read "The taste of the cake relates to the baker's mood, please stay cheerful", she couldn't help but burst into laughter, "Haha, Shuping, where did you learn this?"

　　Fresh from washing her hands, with water still dripping, Xu Shuping was drawn by Ling Hanlu's uproarious laughter. "What is it?"

　　"Why write a secret recipe on a note? You could have just told me directly. Haha!" Ling Hanlu handed it over, her mouth still wide open in laughter.

　　Xu Shuping took it and examined it closely. Suddenly, she looked up at Ling Hanlu's face. Her eyes seemed unfocused, but she needed to concentrate on something still to stimulate her memory. After all, as a mother of two, with numerous trivial things to handle, it was inevitable for her mental sharpness to dwindle. "Hanlu, I knew something was off when I entered the house. I remember now, a boy had been here."

　　Xu Shuping guided Ling Hanlu into the kitchen, telling her that the boy had helped that day; otherwise, the new oven would have been ruined.

　　"The secret recipe was left by him?"

　　"Yes, he left it on the table when he left. I was about to leave at that time, so I didn't come back to check. He said he was one of your students and lived in this community."

　　"My student... what does he look like?" At this point, the curiosity in Ling Hanlu's expression had diminished. It seemed she only needed Xu Shuping to provide more details for confirmation.

　　"Tall, big eyes, not very talkative. Coincidentally... strolling below your building." Xu Shuping's words carried an emphasis, catching on the most subtle nuances. Women of a certain age, if not surprisingly, tend to have a cunning mind.

　　"Oh, let me think."

　　Upon learning that the secret recipe was not written by Xu Shuping, Ling Hanlu had already largely figured out who the young man might be from their previous encounters. After hearing the brief description of his appearance, the answer was clear. But since Xu Shuping mentioned it was a "coincidence", it must have been just another act of kindness.

　　"Good deeds bring good rewards," Ling Hanlu murmured to herself. These were the words she mimicked from Gu Pan during their long journey to County C. The young man not only possessed an old-school sentimentality but also commendably put it into action. She chose to believe it.

　　At this moment, her heartfelt sense of relief was enough to overshadow her doubts about the truth behind the many "coincidences."

　　2

　　Xu Shuping booked a restaurant to welcome Ling Hanlu.

　　Before setting off, the two women made simple adjustments to their appearances in front of the vanity mirror.

　　Xu Shuping focused on her eyebrows, arching them high and extending the ends. She fashioned herself into a European beauty from the Renaissance period. Ling Hanlu just swiped on some lipstick. She glanced at Xu Shuping through the mirror and realized that under her friend's well-shaped eyebrows, her cheeks seemed much more radiant than before.

　　It was a glow from within. She wondered if this was also a coincidence.

　　The restaurant was in a bustling area of the city. They entered a small private room. Xu Shuping proposed a toast, and Ling Hanlu, as the guest, did not refuse.

　　The two women sat side by side. After barely touching the special dishes served, Xu Shuping half-collapsed onto Ling Hanlu's shoulder. Her cheeks were flushed, and she mumbled, "Fill it up, fill it up again!"

　　With Xu Shuping's head resting on her shoulder, Ling Hanlu enjoyed the welcome feast alone. Sweet and sour fish, seafood vermicelli, sesame sauce on hemp vegetables... all were Ling Hanlu's favorites. This woman understood her.

　　About fifteen minutes later, the hostess finally came to her senses. Her first words were, "What time is it? We need to pick up the kids!"

　　Still slightly dazed, she felt her cheek against someone's shoulder and suddenly sat up straight, eyes wide in fear. Only after confirming that the person next to her was her close friend did she relax and sigh, "Oh, it's just you!"

　　"Who else did you think it might be?" Ling Hanlu chewed on the tender squid tentacles, took a sip of her drink, and turned to face two eyebrows reminiscent of early Hollywood divas, almost bursting into laughter. "Why the retro eyebrow style? What triggered this?"

　　"Eh?... No, I need to pick up the kids... Erbao..." While subconsciously touching her eyebrows, Xu Shuping dialed a number on her phone.

　　（Note: "Erbao" is a Chinese term of endearment for the second child.)）

　　The person on the other end was the children's grandmother. The elderly woman said she would take care of Erbao for the night and told her daughter-in-law not to worry.

　　Upon hearing this, Xu Shuping couldn't suppress her joy. Her eyes lit up. "Hanlu, let's change venues after dinner!"

　　They went to a music tea lounge on the top floor of a shopping mall. It wasn't as bustling as the dining area downstairs, making it more peaceful and spacious. Xu Shuping let Ling Hanlu choose a table. From there, they had a clear view of the small stage, and their private conversation would not be disturbed.

　　They ordered a pot of bamboo leaf green tea, served in two small glass cups.

　　On one side of the stage, a young woman was playing a piano piece. It was the kind with a modern pop song base, catchy, and easy to hum along. Xu Shuping frowned as she listened.

　　"What's wrong?" Ling Hanlu noticed that Xu Shuping couldn't fully immerse herself in the conversation, sensing that her friend's unusual behavior was continuing.

　　"Sigh, after all, nothing beats Chopin and Schubert..." Xu Shuping's eyes were slightly closed, as if the tipsiness from the dinner table downstairs was creeping up on her again.

　　" Sister , you're flip-flopping between topics so fast, I can't keep up."" Ling Hanlu indicated for her drinks tea. （Xu Shuping is older than Ling Hanlu In China, when young people meet someone older than themselves, calling them sister or elder brother means respect.）

　　"Hanlu..." Xu Shuping abruptly stood up, "Wait here!"

　　Without waiting for Ling Hanlu's response, she quickly headed towards the backstage of the performance area.

　　Two minutes later, a staff member called the girl at the piano over and whispered something in her ear. The girl nodded and slipped into a small room behind the stage.

　　Shortly thereafter, another performer made a grand entrance.

　　It was Xu Shuping!

　　"Hanlu, this Nocturne in E flat major is for you. Welcome home!" After finishing her sentence, Xu Shuping's hand that had lightly touched the microphone returned to her lap, resting flat. She exhaled slowly, relaxing her shoulders. Her arms lifted slightly, and the black and white keys began to dance under her fingers.

　　Below the stage, Ling Hanlu's lips parted slightly. Her head tilted to one side. She knew she should be fully engrossed, as any speculation or assumption about anything other than the music would be disrespectful to the performer. But she couldn't dismiss from her mind Xu Shuping's retro arched eyebrows or her "one-shot" drinking at dinner, which was highly uncharacteristic of her usual alcohol tolerance. They must have jointly summoned Chopin to Xu Shuping's fingertips tonight, Ling Hanlu thought.

　　As the piece ended, applause erupted from the audience. Ling Hanlu looked around the tea lounge with not a little pride. The young people in the corner who had raised their hands high hadn't yet put them down, much like Ling Hanlu's heart that had been suspended high these past few minutes... They were deeply impressed by the performance of this "ordinary" guest.

　　" Hanlu, I was seriously on edge, you know? Could you tell? I messed up several notes, and my fingers were trembling," whispered Xushuping as she quietly returned to their table.

　　"You really scared me! Shuping, you're a hidden talent, so unexpected!" Ling Hanlu gently cupped her best friend Xushuping's face, as if trying to decipher the mystery through touch.

　　"I've been learning since childhood, nine years in total. My aunt is a university music professor," Xushuping explained before calling the waiter to refill their water.

　　"Shuping, when you sat in front of the piano just now, you looked exceptionally graceful, like you were about to take flight... seriously! I've been away for almost a month, did you find a secret hideout for training?"