It was very late. I tossed and turned in my bed but couldn’t fall asleep. Dinner had been prepared by my second aunt, who lived just next door. There was an incredible variety of countryside dishes such as scrambled egg with garlic moss, braised chicken and so on. He Yi was very happy. She said that it was impossible to eat something like this in the city.

My thoughts were a mess as I stared at the ceiling.

Did He Yi fall asleep already?

I had no idea.

What about Lin Yixin? She must have fallen asleep by now, right?

Maybe. Or maybe she was burning the midnight oil and grinding away. She must’ve left me behind in the dust already!

……

Somehow I managed to fall asleep, and it was daybreak by the time I opened my eyes again. After I was done washing myself, I saw He Yi standing at the balcony, closing her eyes and breathing deeply. The way her breasts went up and down made my heart race a little.

“What are you doing?” I walked up to her and asked.

He Yi smiled but didn’t open her eyes. She said, “I’m inhaling the morning’s fresh air, of course. Do you think you can find such high quality air in our highly-polluted Suzhou New District?”

I nodded. “Of course not. It’s been two years since...