Xue Gie caught up with us and gave me a big bag that felt cold to the touch. I opened it and saw that it held ice cubes that she had made. She nodded at me and returned to the stall.

Xue Gie was so thoughtful. Although she didn’t speak much, she saw everything with her eyes.

“Let’s go,” He Lei muttered to me. Walking out, he immediately went into a highly guarded state. He once again extended his hand and put it behind me. But this time, he didn’t touch my body and instead left a thin gap in between. Even so, I could feel that I was within his protection range and I was safe.

He didn’t speak to anyone on the way nor did he look at anyone. The two of us were like shuttling pedestrians. We held our heads low and did...