In the end it was Jiang Meilin who called Xu Ye and Qingqing downstairs.

“If you talk nonsense in the group chat again, I’m having Zhang Ruowei kick you out.”

“I didn’t say anything nonsensical. Your roommates were the ones going off.”

“You started it.”

“Sure, sure. My fault again.”

“It was your fault.”

They came downstairs laughing, easy with each other. Chen Hansong watched from where he stood — and the moment Qingqing spotted her father, the smile on her face locked up, and then dissolved entirely.

Xu Ye was aware that Chen Hansong had strong objections to him. He wasn’t particularly bothered.

Qingqing lived with Jiang Meilin now.

Chen Hansong and Jiang Meilin were divorced.

As long as Jiang Meilin and Qingqing didn’t take issue with him, Chen Hansong’s objections were, frankly, irrelevant.

“Xiao Xu, wash your hands and come sit down.”

“Thanks, Auntie~”

The four of them settled around the dining table — Jiang Meilin and Chen Hansong on one side, Xu Ye and Qingqing on the other. Xu Ye served himself and ate without ceremony. Last time he’d been here for a meal, he’d been vaguely nervous. This time, he was the picture of composure.

“Auntie, this sweet-and-sour pork tenderloin is incredible.”

“And this soup — the broth is so clear and rich.”

“The braised pork isn’t fatty at all. You must have let it go a long time.”

Jiang Meilin smiled. “I put a whole bottle of beer in with it. The liquid cooks all the way into the meat. Can you cook, Xu Ye?”

“I can manage, but nowhere near your level, Auntie.”

She beamed. “Then eat plenty. We don’t have big appetites in this house.”

“Happy to.”

Chen Hansong watched his ex-wife light up from two sentences of flattery and found himself quietly contemptuous. And while he was at it — how was it that when he showed up alone, dinner was julienned potato with ginger, but for this little scoundrel there was sweet-and-sour pork, braised pork belly, and a whole sea bass soup?

He was at least her ex-husband. What exactly did this kid count as?

Jiang Meilin caught the look on his face and said plainly, “What are you staring at? If you don’t like the food, you can leave.”

Chen Hansong took a slow breath and went back to his rice.

Noticing Qingqing had barely touched her plate, Jiang Meilin used her own chopsticks to add a few pieces of pork tenderloin and two pieces of braised pork to her bowl. Qingqing had never liked fatty braised pork — without thinking about it, she picked the pieces right back up and transferred them to Xu Ye’s bowl. Xu Ye, equally without thinking, picked up his chopsticks and ate them the moment they landed. The exchange was smooth and automatic, clearly not the first time something like this had happened between them.

Xu Ye hadn’t even registered it.

Chen Hansong and Jiang Meilin were staring.

Qingqing seemed to process what she’d just done a beat later. Her face went pink. She dropped her gaze and busied herself with her food, as though nothing had happened.

Once Xu Ye had finished eating, Qingqing immediately turned to Jiang Meilin and held out her hand. “Mom, car keys.”

Jiang Meilin handed them over. Qingqing passed them to Xu Ye.

“Let’s go.”

“I literally just finished eating. Can I let my food settle for a minute?”

“Are you coming or not?” She looked at him, and there was something just short of a threat in her voice.

“Coming, coming.” On his way out, Xu Ye turned back toward Jiang Meilin. “Auntie, I’ll have her home by seven tonight.”

“Drive safely.”

“Will do.”

The two of them were gone.

Jiang Meilin began clearing the table. Chen Hansong sat in his chair, stewing in silence. She could see it, but chose to ignore it.

Once the dishes were all in the dishwasher and the table had been wiped down, Chen Hansong finally couldn’t hold it anymore. “Are they actually together?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know? Jiang Meilin, did you not see your daughter just now? Does she talk that much when it’s just the two of us? Does she give us her leftovers? And she blushed — she actually blushed!”

“I saw it. What’s wrong with that? She’s happy when she’s with Xu Ye. That’s enough. I’ve already noticed how much she’s changed since she started university. That’s a good thing.”

“I don’t like this Xu Ye.”

“Your daughter likes him. That’s what matters. What does it matter whether you do?”

“You—!”

…

They saw Lost in Hong Kong [TL: 心花怒放 — “Heart Blooms,” the actual title, but the film is widely known in English as Lost in Hong Kong as it was part of the same comedic road-trip franchise; a 2014 comedy directed by and starring Xu Zheng alongside Huang Bo and Yuan Quan — it became the highest-grossing Chinese domestic film of National Holiday that year, so Xu Ye’s recollection is accurate] at the cinema — a road-trip comedy — that afternoon.

Unless Xu Ye was misremembering, this one had topped the National Holiday box office for its year.

Watching it a second time didn’t hold much appeal for him, but Qingqing watched it with genuine attention. Xu Ye, disinterested in the film, occupied himself with other things — checking his phone, drinking his Coke, working through the popcorn, and occasionally stealing a glance at Qingqing’s legs.

The time passed quickly enough.

They came out at only a little past three. Xu Ye checked the hour. “Where to?”

Qingqing shook her head. No particular ideas.

“Bubble tea place to sit for a bit?”

“Everywhere’s going to be packed today.”

He walked to the glass railing and looked down at the tea shop below. Wall-to-wall people. He dropped the idea.

Qingqing had found a bench nearby and sat down. With no better plan in mind, Xu Ye sat down next to her.

A long silence.

Then Qingqing said, without warning, “Haven’t you looked enough?”

Xu Ye’s expression betrayed him. “Looked at… what?”

“You were staring at my legs the entire time during the movie. And you’re still looking now.”

Xu Ye gave up any pretense of innocence. “You actually noticed.”

“You have no shame.”

“Looking doesn’t cost either of us anything,” he said mildly. “I’m not touching.”

She let out a small, pointed sound. “I’m never wearing a skirt when I go out with you again.”

“I don’t mind. You look good in anything.”

“Is that something you’ve said to other people before?”

“Absolutely not.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Xu Ye took her hand and pressed it flat against his chest, over his heart. “Ask the question again. If my heart rate goes up, I’m lying. If it doesn’t, I’m telling the truth.”

The moment her hand touched his chest, she felt his heartbeat — steady, solid. She was about to pull back when Xu Ye said suddenly, “High school classmate.”

At the bend in the corridor, Liu Qian had flattened herself against the wall and was pointing her phone in their direction.

He’d only caught it when he’d happened to glance that way.

He could see her trying to hide. He let it go, pretended not to have noticed.

“There’s someone at the corner down there photographing us with their phone. She’s a high school classmate of mine. Don’t look over yet — don’t let her know we’ve seen her.”

“…What?”

“There’s a girl from high school who had her eye on me. The one with the phone is her best friend. Can you help me put on a little show?”

“What kind of show?”

“Play my girlfriend.”

(End of Chapter 88)