At 3 a.m., the landmines in front of the station

And occasional responses and listening.

[Shouldn't that satisfy her?]

Su Che thought to himself.

An Qing sent me a cat emoji asking for petting, along with an energetic "Okay~!"

Without realizing it, the corners of my mouth curled up.

-

……

"Hey, what are you grinning about?"

Yuan Xiao stared at her cheap teammate beside her, scrutinizing him with a furrowed brow. "You seem quite happy."

"Huh? Is there?"

An Qing walked through the supermarket with a shopping basket slung over her arm, her face beaming with hope for what lay ahead.

"Tell me the truth, you don't actually have a girlfriend, do you? If you have a boyfriend, we're breaking up right now."

Yuan Xiao followed the girl like a shadow, muttering under his breath:

"I don't allow my teammates to be happier than me. It's the norm for us to all feel emo and cry together, otherwise I can't stand it."

"??"

Hearing her explosive remarks, An Qing couldn't help but confirm in her heart once again, "She really is an incurable landmine woman..."

In short, just don't force yourself to eat with her.

"Haha, you're overthinking it. Where would I get a boyfriend? You can see from my empty house that I live alone. There's no sign of a man at all."

She smiled.

"Ok?"

Although Yuan Xiao is short, she is exceptionally sensitive:

"That's true, but the way you look right now is like you're about to go on a date with a guy. You better not be lying to me."

"Of course I'm not lying to you. I'd be a kitten if I were lying to you."

An Qing hummed a little tune, picked up a leafy green and put it in the basket, then walked towards the green peppers and meat.

"..."

Yuan Xiao remained behind her, unwilling to stray more than three meters away.

Although I had just forcibly followed An Qing to "her house," there was hardly anything left inside. It was completely empty before she moved out, and all her belongings had been packed up.

"I'm asking you, where will you live when your lease expires?"

Yuan Xiao seemed to remember something and suddenly spoke up.

"If you really have nowhere to go, you can stay at my house. My house is quite big, how about it?"

"…ha?"

An Qing was both amused and exasperated. "But we've only known each other for one day... Is it reasonable for you to invite me to your place like this?"

"Of course it makes sense!"

Yuan Xiao nodded affirmatively, "We're already future teammates, and I've been to your house, so you can just stay at my place. It's practically the same as staying in the rehearsal room. My house is on the first floor, with a basement, so it's no problem."

"..."

An Qing felt that while the child was stubborn, he also possessed an absurd naiveté.

Even if she can be unguarded with outsiders, she is not the same way with herself.

"No, no, I have a place to stay, and I'm very happy with my new home. There's really no need for you to trouble yourself."

"Tell me where you live. I'd like to come and see you, okay?"

I guarantee your new rented place won't be as comfortable as mine. I can give you an entire floor, over 100 square meters, to use!

"..."

An Qing wasn't sure if the child was exaggerating, but considering that she had previously mentioned planning to spend 20 yuan on male escorts, she wasn't surprised by anything Yuan Xiao said.

"Really, no need. Anyway, I'm leaving after buying groceries. I've already spent a lot of time cleaning up today, and I haven't even had a chance to draw... I still need to finish my 100-day celebration illustrations..."

Oh right, we can keep in touch by phone then.

A necessary sense of distance is essential.

Although the child was straightforward, An Qing didn't want that boundary to be broken so soon after they met.

And this,

It was learned from the fatal mistakes I made.

Everyone should remain rational, respect the social distancing others desire, and refrain from crossing boundaries without permission, as this may cause discomfort to others.

These lessons learned have become An Qing's highest-level guiding principle for the rest of her life.

Specifically, it means that you will never take the initiative to contact people you shouldn't.

"Huh? Why are you being so stubborn? We're teammates now, why are you being so polite with me..."

Yuan Xiao's willfulness seems to be of a generous nature, and it appears to be innate, the kind of magnanimity that comes from growing up in a wealthy family.

"Alright, alright, what I mean is, if you have nowhere to go, you can come to my house anytime. I always welcome my teammates to stay here."

After all, property prices in Tianhai are extremely high, and this is the city center. I just want to provide you with as much convenience as possible.

"Of course, it's okay if you don't want to, it's fine."

Her eyes gleamed as she spoke grand and righteous words, while inwardly she was thinking—

Anyway, I'll eventually track you down to your house and see what's going on. Hmph.

……

……

Chapter 21 One move to subdue the little thing

Without landmines, one cannot follow.

Just like no human being can eat or drink.

However, there is one special case.

That is, if the person you are tracking is extremely skilled at tracking, even to the point of mastering it...

Consequently, her counter-tracking ability would be impeccable.

For example, this time,

An Qing stopped after taking a few steps.

They discovered the little creature that had been following them from behind a utility pole about 50 meters away after they said goodbye.

She didn't go over to stop her, but shook her head helplessly and quickened her pace.

Walk around the city's alleys three times—

15 minutes,

They completely left Yuan Xiao behind.

"!!!"

The child looked completely bewildered, shocked and astonished.

I don't understand why An Qing looks so soft and sweet.

It's actually quite practical.

This investigation ended in failure, but that's alright.

The green hills remain unchanged and the clear waters flow on forever; once you've become teammates, you can't sever this bond.

"Hmph, I'll stick to you! I want to play with you for the rest of my life, you can forget about leaving me behind!"

Yuan Xiao left, grumbling and cursing.

Towards "Night Listening",

I decided to get my bag back.

-

……

Crossing the path,

Walking in a familiar direction makes it difficult to focus your gaze.

Passersby looked like ghosts; you'd get stared at as you brushed past them.

Yuan Xiao did not respond.

As dusk settled, it was unclear whether twilight had passed or if rain was about to fall again.

Yuan Xiao had long lost track of the passage of time; she simply numbly pulled out her phone and habitually glanced at the 99+ messages in her message list.

-

[Dad: Daughter, don't open the door recently. Debt collectors might come knocking on our door. Just pretend you're not home.]

My house might get sealed off soon, but that's okay. Just jump out the window when you go out. Anyway, it's on the first floor. Oh, and try to go out in the middle of the night.

[Class teacher Zhang: Yuanxiao, you haven't finished your homework again, have you? You came in second to last in this monthly exam. You're either late for class or leave early. The other students are all well-behaved, but you wear makeup, smoke, and dye your hair. Tell me, do you even want to be good anymore?]

I asked your parents to come over last time, why didn't you respond? If I don't see your parents by Monday, don't bother coming.

Yuan Xiao frowned.

He replied with lightning-fast typing:

"My dad is dead."