That weekend, Qin Zhiwei and Shen Xinyi spent two days looking at apartments. They finally settled on a third-floor unit in an older complex. The landlord had split what was originally a 120-square-meter apartment into two separate 60-square-meter units that didn't connect. Since it was an older complex, the rent was fairly cheap. There were a lot of universities around, so plenty of other college students rented in the complex too, and everything you needed was close by.

The only thing Qin Zhiwei hadn't expected was that the landlord wanted two months' deposit plus one month's rent up front. That meant a big chunk of money right at the start. If Xu Ye hadn't sent him that twenty thousand ahead of time, he'd have had to tighten his belt.

After they signed the lease that weekend afternoon, Qin Zhiwei and Shen Xinyi went on a big supermarket run. The place already had most of the basics except bedding. Qin Zhiwei bought lots of oil, salt, soy sauce and vinegar, since he was planning to cook for himself.

They were short on time, though, so there was no way to move in that week. Qin Zhiwei wasn't in a hurry. He planned to move their things over bit by bit from Monday to Friday, so they could move in the following weekend.

Before heading back from the Conservatory, Xu Ye went to see the apartment too. When he thought about how Qin Zhiwei was about to start a life together with Shen Xinyi, it really got to him.

He thought about before. He thought about now.

Xu Ye said it out loud before he knew it. "We're all about to live the life we used to dream of."

After Major Snow, the weather got colder and colder.

Even in thick clothes, the cold wind whistled right up your sleeves. The AC at the office ran all day, and even Li Tongwen would borrow Zhang Xinzhou's or Xu Ye's car to drive to the cafeteria at lunch.

Since the Tastien deal, the company had made a few small investments here and there.…