We ordinary people also need to fall in love.

As he finished writing the last sheet of paper, Li Mubai put down his pen, carefully folded the paper, and placed it into the small brown box.

The box is made of wood, and the lid makes a slight clicking sound when closed, like a treasure chest.

He took out his phone, glanced at the time, and saw it was noon on July 19th.

The cicadas chirped noisily outside the window, and the sunlight made the vegetation outside lush and green.

"Can I come out tomorrow?"

After typing these words on the keyboard, click send and wait quietly.

The message "The other party is typing" flashed a few times on the screen, then disappeared, and then flashed again a few seconds later. Li Mubai stared at those words, his heart beating faster involuntarily.

Yan Shu: "I'll give it a try."

Li Bubai: "Okay, if you can't come out, then I'll come find you."

Xie Shu's lips curled up slightly. She put down her phone and glanced at her empty room.

The study connects to the bedroom, with a whole wall of bookshelves extending from the floor to the ceiling, filled with all kinds of books, including literature, history, art, and many original foreign language editions.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling window is a small balcony with several potted plants, their leaves glossy in the afternoon light.

This was originally a residence that everyone envied—spacious, bright, and fully equipped—but at this moment, in Xie Shu's eyes, it was like a luxurious prison.

Sitting at her desk, an unfinished book lay open in front of her, but her gaze wasn't on the pages; it was on the trees outside the window, the leaves motionless, not even bothering to blow in the wind.

A soft knock sounded on the door.

"Xiao Shu, it's time to rest and have lunch." Xu Ting's voice came through the door.

Xie Shu got up and walked out of the room. The corridor was quite long, and there were several oil paintings hanging on the walls, all of which Xu Ting had bought at auction.

The table was long, but only two people were sitting at it.

She glanced at today's lunch: steamed cod, matsutake chicken soup, and stir-fried asparagus.

Xie Shu sat down and ate her meal silently without saying a word. She picked up a small piece of fish with her chopsticks, chewed it slowly, and kept her eyes down, without making any contact with the person opposite her.

Xu Ting didn't say anything either; the only sound on the table was the crisp sound of bamboo chopsticks hitting ceramic bowls.

Xie Shu has always had a small appetite, and she herself can't say whether this is innate or cultivated.

Xu Ting started controlling the types and amounts of food she ate when she was very young, with less oil, less salt, less sugar, and a strict ratio of protein and carbohydrates. She even had rules about what kind of fruit she ate.

It's said to be for health and body shape, but Xie Shu sometimes feels that if she can't even decide what to eat, then whose body is this?

Xie Shu finished eating quickly, put down his chopsticks, got up, pushed his chair back to its original position, and didn't say a word to his mother the whole time.

Xu Ting wasn't annoyed. She ate her meal slowly and then calmly put down her bowl. She had a housekeeper at home, so she never had to worry about chores like washing dishes, wiping tables, and cleaning the kitchen.

After washing her hands, Xu Ting returned to the tea room and brewed a pot of this year's new tea.

While sipping her tea, she took out her phone, opened Apple's Find My app, and glanced at Xie Shu's phone location. The small blue dot was quietly staying in the room, without moving.

She put down her phone with relief, picked up a book she hadn't finished reading, and continued flipping through it.

A moment later, her phone vibrated again. Xu Ting frowned slightly, picked it up, and saw that it was a message from Xie Zhiqiang.

"I'm going on a business trip today and will be back the day after tomorrow. Take good care of Xiaoshu. I've also prepared her seventeenth birthday present, which is on the table in the tea room."

After staring at the screen for a few seconds, Xu Ting scoffed inwardly. She didn't even come back for her daughter's birthday, yet she claimed to love her daughter.

She looked away from her phone and turned to a corner of the table, where a lifetime book purchase card for a national chain bookstore lay quietly.

He then looked at the gift he had prepared: a Stradivarius violin in a dark brown leather case lined with burgundy velvet.

"My own is still better," Xu Ting picked up her teacup and gently blew away the foam...

As the last rays of the sun disappeared on the horizon, the streetlights in the old neighborhood lit up one by one.

Unfortunately, Li Mubai's room faces a stream outside the community, so no streetlights can shine in, and the room gets dark very quickly after dark.

Li Mubai got up, turned on the room light, returned to his seat, and opened tomorrow's homework. There were only two big questions left on the math test, and he hadn't finished the cloze test in English either.

Li Mubai plans to finish tomorrow's homework in advance so that he can have a whole day free tomorrow.

He suddenly looked up, his gaze falling on the gift placed on the corner of the table. He wondered if Xie Shu would like it...

He put a lot of thought and effort into preparing this gift, killing many brain cells in the process.

If a letter wasn't written well, if there were any typos, or if it didn't look good, he would tear it up and rewrite it.

His gaze shifted and he saw the sunflower painting that Chen Qiuhe had given him.

Should we name her Chen Qiuhe?

He hesitated, but then his phone suddenly rang.

Ding dong.

Li Mubai tensed up reflexively, picked up his phone and saw that it wasn't Xie Shu, but Chen Qiuhe. He breathed a sigh of relief.

Qinghe: "Tomorrow is Xie Shu's birthday, do you guys want to come to the cake shop?"

Li Mubai stared at the message, pondered for a long time, and did not give a reply.

Qinghe: "You can come in the morning. We'll have a three-person time in the morning, and then you can have a two-person time in the afternoon."

Chen Qiuhe probably thought he was hesitating, so she immediately added another sentence.

The whole "three-person world" and "two-person world" thing makes their relationship sound so complicated, leaving Li Mubai speechless.

Li Bubai: "It depends on whether Xie Shu can go out."

Qinghe: "What! You're not allowed? Then let's storm into Xie Shu's house! You should know where Xie Shu's house is, right?"

Li Mubai smiled; Chen Qiuhe was still the most audacious.

Li Bubai: "I've been there. The villa is surrounded by bodyguards inside and out. You can't beat them."

Qinghe: "Forget it then, we'll just be punching bags for others if we go up there."

A few seconds later, Chen Qiuhe seemed to suddenly remember something and sent another message.

Qinghe: "You actually went to Xie Shu's house! Have you already met each other's parents?"

As you can see, he has met Xie Shu's father, but he probably hasn't formally met Xie Shu's mother yet.

Li Bubai: Not yet, you're not old enough to meet your parents yet. Focus on your studies first. You did very well on your final exams, maybe you'll be in the top ten in the future.

Qinghe: "Hehe, it's all thanks to your help. Xie Shu taught me math and English, and you taught me Chinese and history. I feel like I'm incredibly strong."

Qinghe: "Bye then, I have to do my homework now. If Xie Shu can come tomorrow, remember to let me know so I can prepare in advance. If he can't come, you must let me know too."

Li Bubai: "Okay."

Li Mubai put down his phone and chatted with Chen Qiuhe for a while. His tense mood eased a little, and he breathed a sigh of relief before picking up his pen again.