The renovation crew and the designer were on site early.

They'd already cleared out everything old and hung a banner on one wall of the living room that read A Lucky Start to the Work.

Xu Ye had farther to come, so he didn't get there until nearly ten.

But the first swing of the hammer had been set for ten past ten, for the good luck of a perfect ten.

"Mr. Xu, it's almost time. When the moment comes, we'll all shout A lucky start! together, then you take a swing at the wall, and that makes it official."

"Sure. I'll come by whenever I have time. The design's already settled anyway. You've got to keep an eye on the site for me."

"Don't worry. We'll make sure you're happy with it."

Xu Ye and Chen Qingqing spent most of the morning at the house going over details with the designer, mostly questions about their daily habits. Chen Qingqing had lots of requests. The bathroom vanity had to have lights. The closets in the walk-in needed light strips too. Girls are just more thorough about these things than guys…

When you're on your own, home is wherever your parents are.

But once you have someone you love, you want a home that belongs completely to the two of you.

When they went to lunch, Chen Qingqing was still dreaming about the life she and Xu Ye would have once the reno was done and they moved in. Her little face was all smiles the whole time. Xu Ye happily played along, his eyes caught on her dimples. He couldn't seem to look away.

"Oh, right, there's something I forgot to tell you."

"What?"

"I think Jiang Yu's about to start dating someone too."

Xu Ye pressed her. "What's the story?"

Chen Qingqing shook her head. "I don't know the details. He's a year ahead of us, at your cousin's school. Zhang Ruowei saw his picture on Jiang Yu's phone and said he's pretty good-looking. But none of us have met him, so we don't know what he's like."

"The…