After a phone call from Li Danxia, Gu Pan learned that the direct train from County B to City A had started operating half a month ago. His mind had been troubled recently, his perspective narrow, unable to focus on public transportation developments.

　　Gu Pan spent two hours in the pastry shop that afternoon. After asking for early leave from the manager, he rushed to the train station. Li Danxia had reminded him not to keep the young lady waiting. The luggage was heavy.

　　It was a remote place. Gu Pan had never been there. But after Li Danxia's earnest advice, he arrived there an hour before the train was expected to arrive. "Yitong is timid!" Li Danxia said.

　　In another day, all major schools in City A would start their new term. Lu Yitong was trying rail transportation this time. She called Aunt Danxia the night before her departure. Auntie said, the train station is remote. Lu Yitong thought, well, of course, the train station is remote.

　　When Gu Pan entered Lu Yitong's sight, he was looking in a certain direction. The girl was dragging her suitcase closer and closer, the sound of the wheels rolling drowned in the ambient noise, he was oblivious.

　　His hair was different from the last time they met, he had changed his hairstyle. No longer like a Japanese boy, soft, floating, fluffy. Along with it, his shoulder shape had also changed. The white T-shirt was no longer a weak cover, it clung to his body line like a graceful lover. Wrapped like this, wrapped...

　　Lu Yitong felt a thumping in her chest, taking shy but not timid steps forward. She saw that Gu Pan's originally long, curled sideburns were gone, the originally few strands of hair covering the fair skin were exposed, forming a color difference with the surroundings. It lacked refinement, but this clear contrast made her heart flutter even more. What on earth had happened this month, how could she be staring at a buzz cut in the sunset, her face hot, her legs weak? Lu Yitong stomped her foot hard.

　　This slight movement had just ended when Gu Pan happened to turn around. What he saw was Lu Yitong, her teeth still biting her lip, as if trying hard to suppress some kind of out-of-control emotion.

　　"I'm sorry, let me take your luggage!" Gu Pan apologized for not being able to share the weight with Miss Lu in time. His attitude was sincere, at least worthy of his gradually toughening appearance.

　　"What were you just looking at?" Lu Yitong pushed the suitcase toward Gu Pan. "I want to see too."

　　"People," Gu Pan said as he took hold of the handle, causing a slight ripple in the curve of his upper arm.

　　The ripple of muscle contours resembled a playful male fairy, distracting Lu Yitong, who didn't immediately respond to the verbal content. She turned her face away, frowned, bit her lip, and berated herself harshly in her mind. Then she turned back and said, "Looking at people? Oh. People are the hardest to understand, right?"

　　"Should I take you back to the school dormitory or to your classmate's house?" Gu Pan took long strides, inadvertently advancing three or four meters ahead of Lu Yitong, leaving her behind.

　　Lu Yitong stood still, hoping Gu Pan would notice the abnormality and turn back to apologize, as if seeking redemption from his guilt. She enjoyed seeing Gu Pan feeling remorseful.

　　When Gu Pan, with his Japanese-style demeanor, felt remorseful, his brows and eyes were hidden behind his bangs. He kept his head down and said emotionless words. He didn't look at her, giving her the perfect opportunity to observe him.

　　With no curtain to hide behind now, the window to the soul remained unobstructed. Lu Yitong felt an exhilarating sensation as if sneaking in through a window.

　　Lu Yitong let the distance between them extend to twenty meters. But as it reached twenty-one, twenty-two... the boy kept running ahead on his own. Clearly being ignored, Lu Yitong felt a mixture of embarrassment and frustration. She hurriedly caught up, her eyes brimming with tears.

　　She wanted to make amends. She wanted to breathe life back into this wooden pole in her hands.

　　The taxi headed towards the downtown area. In the rearview mirror, Lu Yitong's innocent big eyes glanced around like a baby, occasionally scanning Gu Pan's head. She liked this boy with clearly defined roots.

　　As Gu Pan gazed at the gradually familiar streets and landmarks, he felt his heart grow heavier with every meter the wheels rolled. Just a few minutes ago, he had promised Lu Yitong to take her to his apartment.

　　Lu Yitong had just said, "Aunt Danxia packed some things for me and they're buried deep in the suitcase. We'll need to go through them one by one at your place..." Gu Pan found himself unable to refute.

　　Entering the residential compound, the building, and the apartment, Lu Yitong's lips twitched incessantly. It wasn't a smile, but rather a suppression of exuberance, sometimes joy needs to be restrained.

　　After entering the apartment, Lu Yitong didn't immediately open the suitcase. Instead, she widened her innocent eyes and wandered around. She wanted both Gu Pan and herself to believe that the purpose of this trip was truly related to inspecting the interior decoration.

　　"Don't rush, Aunt Danxia's things are in the suitcase and they won't run away," Lu Yitong comforted Gu Pan, who was still guarding the luggage.

　　"Okay, take your time," Gu Pan said as he saw Lu Yitong's excitement, feeling that it would be too cruel to stop her abruptly. He then went into the kitchen to get some water. "Are you thirsty? I only have purified water here."

　　"A little bit. Hey, what's this?" Lu Yitong looked at a roll of dark green fabric leaning against the wall in the living room.

　　Gu Pan came out with a bottle of water and handed it to Lu Yitong. He glanced at the rolled-up lawn, pondering how to respond without triggering further discussion or activating Lu Yitong's terrifying politeness.

　　"Oh, it's..."

　　"Is it a blanket for exercise?" Lu Yitong interrupted.

　　"Yes," Gu Pan replied, keeping his words as concise as possible.

　　"I'm sorry, if I hadn't mentioned last time about you not exercising much, I wouldn't have pressured you. Please don't be mad at me, Brother Gu Pan!"

　　"It's not because of you..." Gu Pan wanted to tell her that any change or effort he made came from elsewhere.

　　"I know I tend to blurt things out without thinking. So, how do you exercise? Come on, show me! I'll help you lay out the blanket, don't be shy!" she said eagerly, already busy unfolding it.

　　Gu Pan felt like punching the wall with all his might, blood dripping, even smelling the iron scent. Conversing with this linguistic genius with impeccable logic was simply too damn stimulating!

　　Reluctantly, Gu Pan demonstrated a few abdominal exercises, while Lu Yitong squatted beside him like an enthusiastic fan, her eyes filled with admiration for Gu Pan's slender and firm legs and forearms, as well as his occasionally moving Adam's apple. She had no spare attention to focus on the suitcase lying by the door.

　　Gu Pan glanced at the wall clock, which Lu Yitong noticed.

　　"It's okay, help yourself to anything. I don't mind," Lu Yitong generously offered, smoothly transitioning into the late-night snack segment as a unique way of entertaining guests.

　　After finishing the instant noodles, Lu Yitong glanced at the clock again, her mouth twitching with unrestrained joy. With a hint of frustration in her voice, she furrowed her eyebrows and said, "It's all my fault, I didn't pay attention to the time. Now, I won't be able to get back into the dorm!"

　　"The hotel downstairs..."

　　"You're right, some budget hotels really don't have good hygiene conditions. I know you're worried about me going there," Lu Yitong interrupted.

　　"Actually..." Gu Pan's nostrils began to emit steam.

　　"Mm, actually, it's okay if I just sleep on the floor in your room," Lu Yitong interjected.

　　"You've misunderstood..."

　　"I understand. Really, I do. By the way, why hasn't your roommate come back so late?"

　　"He's not coming back tonight," Gu Pan's head started to smoke. "What do you want to do?"

　　"Oh—let's quickly tidy up and make the floor bed!"

　　Lu Yitong's outstanding initiative put Gu Pan to shame. She skillfully opened the storage space, as if she were a prophet. In less than ten minutes, she had built a nest right next to the big bed. It was truly impressive.

　　Gu Pan stood at the bedroom door, torn between staying and leaving, more like a piece of wood than the door frame. In the end, he didn't stay in Lu Yitong's tenderly created haven but went to lie on the dark green lawn for the night. However, his wooden demeanor sparked Lu Yitong's competitive spirit as a skilled craftsman. What awaited him was a more rigorous refinement.

　　The next morning, Gu Pan woke up to Lu Yitong's smile.

　　Lu Yitong was squatting down, just like the previous night when she watched him doing sit-ups. However, the hunger in her eyes had diminished, replaced by a serene and silent demeanor.

　　"Awake?" she whispered softly, as if afraid to disturb Gu Pan, who had just journeyed from dreams. "I'll be going to school soon, okay?"

　　Gu Pan thought, "Does she really need my opinion for this?" But then he realized it was not seeking his opinion but rather a subtle reminder. "Oh, I'll get up right away and take you," Gu Pan said, preparing to shift and rise sideways.

　　However, his attempt to roll over was intercepted halfway by Lu Yitong. Unexpectedly, she used all her strength to press down on his shoulders, then pushed her entire upper body on top of him.

　　In the awkward and inexplicable position, Gu Pan could do nothing but laugh. In the face of Lu Yitong's bold and candid demeanor, he decided to relax and see how things unfolded.

　　"Is it funny?" Lu Yitong gritted her teeth to hold back tears, her lips trembling.

　　"A little, but don't misunderstand, I'm not laughing at you. But aren't you uncomfortable lying like this?" Gu Pan tried to hint that he was uncomfortable.

　　"Not at all. Gu Pan, I've liked you for many years. You might not believe it, but when I filled out my college applications, I made the decision after finding out about you," Lu Yitong confessed.

　　Upon hearing this, the carefree smile on Gu Pan's face faded. He wasn't deeply moved, but even so, Lu Yitong's confession, unlike her usual meticulously crafted and thoughtful expressions, at least earned his respect. "Is that so...?"

　　"Yeah. But what if we both missed our first choice and couldn't get into A City? What if we ended up in different places after four years apart? You don't know how nervous I was waiting for the acceptance letter, unable to eat or sleep. I was really afraid that after being separated by thousands of miles for four years, we'd end up going our separate ways... But luckily, fate smiled upon us, right? After graduation, let's work together here, okay? You can pursue your foreign tourism career, and I'll try to become a teacher in the school. How about it?"

　　"I'll just take you to school first! It's not early anymore!"

　　In fact, Gu Pan was eager to get up not only to cut off the conversation but also for another important reason. When Lu Yitong was pressing him down, she wasn't wearing a bra.

　　The previous night, she had been too lazy to search for a nightgown in her suitcase, so she borrowed Gu Pan's oversized T-shirt as a makeshift solution. After getting up in the morning and confirming that she didn't have bad breath, she immediately came to press down on Gu Pan.

　　On the dark green lawn, separated by two pieces of pure cotton fabric, Gu Pan's chest was tested by the soft and warm flesh of Lu Yitong.

　　As he gazed up at the sky, he remembered Ling Hanlu. Not long ago, she had experienced a similar situation on her own sofa. Gu Pan wondered, when Ling Hanlu touched his hot spot, was her heart really as calm as water? What was she thinking at that moment?

　　Yu Yan once said, "Women always speak in reverse." You have to understand their emotional language in reverse. He remembered Ling Hanlu had cursed him as a "madman." "Madman" means having a sick mind, which is equivalent to being disliked. So, what if "disliked" was interpreted in reverse?

　　After a simple breakfast, Gu Pan dropped Lu Yitong off at the Teachers College.

　　There was no elevator in the dormitory area, so he told the security guard that he was Lu Yitong's cousin and helped carry her luggage up to the fourth floor. He didn't inquire about what Li Danxia had entrusted her to bring. Lu Yitong didn't mention it either. Let's just chalk it up to forgetfulness! After all, she also forgot to ask where the big floral fabric wrapped in the paper bag on the bookshelf had gone!