Just because I wrote "Zhu Xian," the school beauty sent me razor blades.

The morning in the ancient town arrives very gently.

The fog hadn't completely dissipated, the bluestone pavement was still damp, the signs on both sides of the old street weren't fully lit yet, and the air was filled with the warm, cozy scent of osmanthus and cooking oil, full of life and warmth.

Gu Zhiwan held the osmanthus cake she had just bought, her eyes shining, and bent down to take a bite.

Lin Yuan raised his hand and subtly brushed a stray strand of hair from her cheek behind her ear.

Gu Zhiwan paused for a moment, then looked up at him.

"The fur got on the cake," Lin Yuan said in a flat tone, already looking down at the menu.

Gu Zhiwan stared at his profile for two seconds. "Were you doing that on purpose just now?"

"What did you mean by 'deliberately'?"

"The kind of thing where you deliberately pretend to be very comfortable with it."

Lin Yuan flipped through a page of the menu, a slight smile playing on his lips. "You're overthinking it. How about adding a bowl of tofu pudding?"

Gu Zhiwan didn't speak, but quietly brushed a strand of hair behind her ear back down, raised her head, and waited.

Lin Yuan put down the menu, glanced at her, sighed, and then raised his hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, his fingers gently brushing the tip of her ear.

Gu Zhiwan's ears turned red instantly. She cleared her throat, lowered her head to bite into the osmanthus cake, and tried her best to act as if nothing had happened.

The shop owner chuckled and joined in, saying, "Hey, the young couple looks really good. Is this your first time visiting our ancient town?"

"Yes, this is my first time." Gu Zhiwan looked up and thanked her generously. "Your osmanthus cake is delicious."

"Come again if you like it, and bring your family next time." The owner smiled and took the order before going inside, giving them one last look before leaving.

After the boss had walked away, Gu Zhiwan turned her head and glared at Lin Yuan: "You still say you didn't do it on purpose?"

"What did I say?" Lin Yuan picked up his water glass, took a sip, and his eyes crinkled into a smile. "I said whether or not tofu pudding should be added."

"Lin Yuan."

"Um?"

Gu Zhiwan looked at his self-righteous profile, took a bite of osmanthus cake, and said nothing more.

Sweet.

After breakfast, the two walked along the river. There were few tourists in the depths of the ancient town. Moss covered both sides of the stone bridge, and awning boats were moored on the shore. The boatmen were dozing off against the awnings, and the bamboo poles swayed gently in the water.

Gu Zhiwan dragged Lin Yuan to take a boat, her reasoning quite convincing: "The view of the ancient town on the water is completely different from that on the shore; the photos will definitely turn out beautifully. Let's go!"

Lin Yuan did not refuse and boarded the ship.

The boatman poled his boat away from the bank, and the river widened. Willows swayed in the water, and the white walls and black tiles on both banks were reflected in the green water, making even the sky seem softer.

Gu Zhiwan's eyes lit up, and she immediately leaned against the gunwale, raised her phone, and started snapping away, taking pictures of the reflection, the egrets, and the stone bridge. She got more and more into it, and before she knew it, she was leaning over the edge of the boat.

Lin Yuan watched for two seconds, then casually placed his hand on her back.

Gu Zhiwan didn't even turn her head: "I'm fine, I'm steady."

"Hmm." Lin Yuan didn't withdraw his hand.

Gu Zhiwan glanced at him sideways, said nothing, turned back to continue taking pictures, and unconsciously leaned her back towards his palm.

"Does this angle look good?" She turned her phone screen towards him to show him.

Lin Yuan glanced down and said, "Not bad. Move it a little to the left and bring in that willow tree."

"Oh—I see?"

"right."

The shutter clicked several times in a row. Gu Zhiwan put her phone away with satisfaction, turned back and smiled at him: "You have pretty good taste."

"Having taken photos for so many years, I know a little bit about it."

"Then you'll be in charge of choosing images for me today."

"OK."

Less than two minutes into the shoot, a gust of wind swept in, and her long, wine-red hair flew everywhere, covering her face.

"Oh no," she muttered, rummaging through her hair and wrinkling her nose. "My look is completely ruined. I should have known better than to come out with my hair down."

Lin Yuan didn't speak. He took out a portable wooden comb from his pocket and gently pressed his fingertips against the top of her hair to keep it steady.

Gu Zhiwan paused for a second, then looked at the comb, then at him, suppressing a laugh. "You actually bring a comb with you when you go out? A grown man carrying something like that around, aren't you ashamed?"

"I'm afraid some beautiful lady will go out and have a wild time, and her hair will become a bird's nest, and she'll blame me for not reminding her."

He slowly straightened a strand of hair.

Gu Zhiwan obediently quieted down, poking his forearm with her fingertip. "Who's blaming you? I was perfectly elegant."

"Hmm, so elegant it's like her hair is all over her face."

"Lin Yuan!"

She reached out and tickled his side, causing the small boat to rock gently. Lin Yuan chuckled softly, tucking his neatly combed long hair behind her ear. His fingers, calloused slightly, brushed against the warmth of her earlobe, light and precise.

Gu Zhiwan remained silent, leaning on his shoulder as she watched the white walls on both banks slowly recede into the distance, sunlight scattering into fragments of gold on the river surface, warmly illuminating the boat deck.

She thought, "I wish there were more moments like this."

The ancient town warmed up in the afternoon, and more and more tourists arrived. The two walked along the railing by the river. The sun hadn't set yet, but the sky was already turning a warm orange, and the river was covered with a layer of broken gold.

Gu Zhiwan leaned on the railing with one hand, turned her head to look at Lin Yuan's profile, thought for a moment, and said, "Honestly, you're too ruthless when you write novels. Readers send you razor blades every day, don't you feel any remorse?"

Lin Yuan turned his head and gently squeezed her hand, which was hanging by her side. "If you're soft-hearted, you can't write a story that people will remember. But..."

He paused for a moment, then said, "I promise you, I'll write a little sweet romance in my next book."

Gu Zhiwan's eyes lit up, and she immediately moved closer. "You mean it? Don't forget it so soon!"

"When have I ever lied to you?" He reached out to brush the fine sand from her shoulder. "At most, updates will be a little slower, but I'll never torture you."

"I can accept slower updates."

Gu Zhiwan leaned closer to him, satisfied, and they looked out at the river together. "But don't you dare dig any more holes or foreshadowing to make me cry. Last time, I cried so much during the Biyao scene in 'Zhu Xian' that my eyes were swollen all day."

Lin Yuan chuckled softly, his clasped fingers tightening slightly. "Okay, I'll write a non-angst novel just for you, alright?"

"That's more like it." Gu Zhiwan looked up at him, her eyes reflecting the warm, bright color of the setting sun. "It wasn't in vain that I spent the afternoon strolling through the ancient town with you."

Lin Yuan looked down at her, said nothing, but gently squeezed her hand again.

The river breeze blew her hair, and the setting sun cast long shadows that overlapped, making it difficult to distinguish one from the other.

It was already evening when we got back to the guesthouse. The river was still flowing gently outside the window, and the warm yellow lamps were on, casting a soft orange glow over the entire room.

Gu Zhiwan snuggled into Lin Yuan's arms, holding her phone and flipping through the group photos taken during the day, making comments as she scrolled through them, and frowning when she came across one.

"You made my face look so big in this photo, delete it, delete it."

"The original photo looks so natural; it's such a waste to delete it." Lin Yuan gently stroked her long hair with his palm, his chin resting on the top of her head. "I think it looks great."

Gu Zhiwan turned around and gently pinched his wrist. "Does your aesthetic sense have a built-in filter? You think everything you photograph is perfect?"

"It's a picture of you, you look good no matter how I look at you."

Gu Zhiwan paused for a moment, said nothing, and quietly saved the photo of the "big face".

The two leaned against each other, flipping through photo albums. Gu Zhiwan scrolled to a picture, tilted her head to look at it, and asked, "How about posting this on WeChat Moments?"

"Can."

"But in this picture, my eyes are a little closed."

"That's normal; the light is like that at that angle."

"Never mind then." She continued scrolling, moving to the next page. "What about this one?"

Lin Yuan glanced down at it. "This one's good, post this one."

"Really…" Gu Zhiwan stared for two seconds. "My bangs are a little messy."

"I can't tell."

"Do you say it's good no matter which one I choose?"

"I mean it when I say this one is good."

Gu Zhiwan was still skeptical, but continued scrolling down, finally reaching the picture of the person on the boat with a frown. "Delete this one. The hair is a complete mess, like a bird's nest."

"Keep it."

"Why keep it? It makes me uncomfortable."

"I think it looks good." Lin Yuan's voice was flat.

Gu Zhiwan looked up at him. He looked serious, not like he was coaxing her. She pouted, didn't delete it, and silently scrolled to the next one.

She kept going through them one by one, finding fault with everything. He would occasionally tell her to keep them, and while she complained, she didn't actually delete many. When she looked back after going through them all, she found that there were twice as many photos left as she had thought.

Gu Zhiwan stared at the photo album and counted the photos, then turned to look at Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan lowered his head, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, and remained silent.

"...You did this on purpose."

"What do you mean, intentionally?"

"Every time you say you'll keep it, I really do."

"That means you think it looks good too."

Gu Zhiwan was silent for two seconds, then leaned her head back on his shoulder and said nothing.

The sound of the river outside the window was gentle. The lamplight illuminated her profile. Her eyelashes were long, and when she looked down at her phone, she had a focused softness. Lin Yuan watched for a while, then lowered his chin and spoke very softly.

Are you sleepy?

"Not sleepy yet." She turned over and looked up at him. "Stay with me a little longer."

"good."

The table lamp was on, and the two of them leaned against each other, with the river flowing outside the window.