Chapter 1

The school bell had rung a while ago. While the classrooms and hallways of the Qinxin Building were filled with a clamorous din, the classroom of Class 5, Grade 11 remained in an eerie silence. The physics teacher was still dragging out the lesson to go over the test papers.

Xu Xieyi sat in the third row, by the window. She glanced down at her watch; there were only ten minutes left until the next class. Her deskmate was busy copying notes from the board, but Xu was distracted. She caught a glimpse of the warm, white spring light outside and the vast expanse of green leaves swaying in the breeze. She didn't even notice the pencil marks from her test paper staining her forearm.

When the teacher finally left, the classroom erupted in sighs of relief, but for Xu Xieyi, the tension had only just begun. She bit her lip in hesitation, clutched her phone, and slipped out of the classroom to a deserted corner of the corridor.

Her finger hovered over the contact on the screen, but she couldn't bring herself to press the call button. After several attempts, her palms were cold with sweat. A group of boys from her class, heading to the restroom for a smoke, walked by and spotted her. Xu Xieyi turned away, hunching her shoulders instinctively. She could feel their intrigued gazes like thorns on her back. Since hitting puberty, her figure had developed noticeably, and she was often the subject of lewd whispers and prying eyes from the troublemakers in class. It was truly aggravating.

As if suddenly finding her courage, she held her breath, steeled herself, and firmly dialed the contact on her phone: "Lin Sheng."

***

After the rhinoplasty procedure, the operating room was filled with the faint scent of disinfectant as the nurse cleaned the station. Lin Sheng stepped out of the changing room, having swapped his scrubs for his regular clothes.

"Dr. Lin!" The nurse straightened up immediately, looking nervous.

Lin Sheng adjusted his shirt cuffs, gave her a cursory glance, and nodded. Once he was out of sight, the nurse finally released the breath she had been holding. Clutching the kit of surgical instruments to her chest, she murmured toward the doorway, "A top-tier returnee from abroad—his poise is just incredible..." She sighed, feeling a sense of inferiority. But it wasn't too painful; after all, most of the women in the hospital who secretly pined for Dr. Lin felt the same way. It was just a quiet, unrequited crush, with no expectation of ever obtaining him—or even the courage to admit they liked him. Best to just indulge in one's own fantasies.

Millan Plastic Surgery Hospital was an eight-story standalone building. Lin Sheng was in his private lounge. He had barely pushed the door open when his phone rang.

"Hitting the High Street bar tonight, Young Master Lin? There’ll be plenty of hot girls." It was Chu Yuefei, a childhood friend from the residential compound.

Lin Sheng tossed his white coat onto the sofa, standing in just his shirt and black trousers. "Anything else?"

"There is." The other man paused deliberately to build suspense, then laughed, "I specifically brought a bottle of French dry red for you."

Lin Sheng smiled, loosening his shirt collar. The air of rigor and refinement was ruffled, though fortunately, no one else was there to see him like this. "See you in half an hour."

He hung up, and just as he reached for his cigarette case, the phone buzzed on the table again. Assuming it was Chu Yuefei with something else to add, he picked it up, only to find an unfamiliar number.

"Hello?" He held the phone to his ear, but the other end was silent. "Who is this?"

There was a muffled, noisy background, but no one spoke. He glanced at the number again and was about to hang up when a girl’s voice suddenly came through: "Brother Lin, hello."

It was a very unfamiliar, clean, and innocent voice.

***

"I'm Xu Xieyi."

Lin Sheng stood by the window, listening to the girl explain the reason for her call, while still trying to place her name and identity. In some areas, his memory was extraordinary, but women's names were certainly not one of them.

"...Also, is this surgery expensive? I don't have much money."

Hearing this, Lin Sheng snapped back to reality. "It’s fine. Why don't you come to the hospital now, and I’ll take a look at your condition."

The girl seemed troubled. She hesitated for a moment before asking tentatively, "Can it be tonight?" She added, "I still have one more class before school lets out."

"School lets out." Hearing the phrase, Lin Sheng’s long brows arched slightly as he exhaled a puff of smoke. His slender fingers, pale and icy from constant scrubbing and sterilization, had faint blue veins winding across the back of his hands. He raised an eyebrow. "You're still in school?"

"Yes."

Lin Sheng pondered for a moment, then said, "Alright, come over after your class. I'll wait for you."

After hanging up, Lin Sheng called Chu Yuefei directly to say he would be late. Chu Yuefei sounded intrigued, clearly misinterpreting the situation. "Heh, I knew it. How could Young Master Lin ever be alone?"

As gray mist swirled around him, Lin Sheng’s smile was lazy. "It’s a serious matter, don't talk nonsense."

Chu Yuefei clearly didn't believe him. "Fine, fine. So, is it Winnie or Yolanda? Oh, wait, you like them mature and sensible, so it must be... CC?"

Lin Sheng was speechless, recalling that simple, straightforward voice on the phone. "Stop guessing. It really is a serious matter."

"What kind of serious matter?" Chu Yuefei’s curiosity was piqued.

Lin Sheng flicked the ash into the tray—the white cylinder of the cigarette looked like a young girl’s tender, fair skin held between his fingers. He replied with a touch of nonchalance: "Having a heart-to-heart with a neighbor's little sister. Is that serious enough?"

***

It was Friday, so there was no evening study session. When the final bell rang, Xu Xieyi declined her deskmate’s invitation to go shopping, packed her bag, and left the classroom alone.

The road outside the school was jammed, and a long queue of students had formed at the bus stop. The wind blowing in was thick with dust and the smell of gasoline. After an agonizing wait, the 306 bus finally crawled into view.

Xu Xieyi boarded through the front door, swiped her student card, and went to the back to check the route map. Her eyes landed on the "Jiugong Bridge (Millan Plastic Surgery Hospital)" stop, and her heart began to race. Thinking back to the deep, calm voice on the phone, the whole situation felt surreal.

She gripped the handrail, swaying with the bus, and vaguely recalled the man in the white short-sleeved shirt from her childhood. It must have been the summer she was eight. Her family had lived in a high-end villa complex in Ze'an County. The vacant villa next door had been bought by a family named Lin from Xindu, who used it as a summer retreat.

Amidst the heatwaves and the chirping of cicadas, she had met a man—or perhaps he should be called a boy—who drove a camouflaged military-style Jeep. The vehicle was rugged, but the boy was refined, always dressed in a white short-sleeved shirt and pitch-black trousers. He often smoked alone under the creeping ivy, looking so quiet that it left a gentle impression on her. He would look down, flicking his lighter, ignoring anyone who passed by.

She had once curiously inspected the cigarette butts he left behind; the filters were clean, and the air held a faint fragrance mixed with the bitter scent of tobacco. Many older girls had secret crushes on him. Thanks to living next door, she often helped them deliver love letters to him, though he never seemed to care. Once, however, she had caught him in a corner, holding a beautiful woman’s chin and pinning her against the wall to kiss her. She had hidden in the shadows watching, her face burning with a secret, heart-pounding shyness. She didn't understand much back then, just feeling it was terribly embarrassing and not daring to make a sound.

Now, years later, all she could remember was his clean, short hair, his occasional gentle smile, and the way he would toss the love letters into the trash before crouching down to pinch her cheeks and take her to eat KFC. In her memory, he was a kind and generous older brother.

However, her memories of him were short-lived. He had only come that one summer; later, she heard he had gone abroad to study, and she never saw him again.

The traffic was heavy, and the bus stopped and started. Xu Xieyi worried about how to bring up the surgery. With only such sparse, distant contact from so many years ago, if she couldn't present a clear reason, he might not be willing to help. She felt deflated, only to suddenly realize someone nearby was staring at her chest.

It was the boy sitting next to her.

Xu Xieyi’s mind went blank. She quickly pulled on her loose school jacket to cover herself. The boy finally shifted his gaze away. Xu Xieyi bit her lip, feeling deeply annoyed.

***

Millan was a long-established plastic surgery hospital in Xindu. At this hour, the lobby was empty. Xu Xieyi walked in, and the receptionist greeted her immediately, leading her upstairs after a brief exchange. In the elevator, the nurse kept eyeing her school uniform and backpack. The surgeon the chairman had hired with a high salary from abroad was the center of attention in the hospital.

When they reached the lounge, Xu Xieyi followed the nurse in, catching the faint, pleasant scent of clean air wafting from the room.

"Dr. Lin, she's here." The nurse knocked lightly. Xu Xieyi peered inside. Against a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city’s nightscape, a man stood with his back to her, smoking. He was tall, dressed in a crisp shirt and dress trousers. He turned to look at them. His eyes were pitch-black, full of a lazy, languid brilliance.

Xu Xieyi’s heart tightened, and she lowered her head.

"Right, thank you for your trouble," he said.

The nurse politely declined and backed out, leaving Xu Xieyi standing exposed at the door. Lin Sheng scanned the young girl, his gaze lingering on her backpack and uniform. They stared at each other for a brief moment.

All the mental preparation Xu Xieyi had done on the way vanished into thin air. "Hello, Brother Lin," she greeted, stiff and polite.

Lin Sheng gave her a cursory look, stopped staring, and casually snuffed out his cigarette in the tray. "Come in."

Xu Xieyi braced herself and stepped inside, swallowing hard, wondering what to do. The man before her, tall and rigorous, could not be reconciled with the gently smiling youth in her memory. She began to breathe carefully.

"Sit." Lin Sheng gestured toward the sofa with a casual wave of his hand; the watch on his wrist caught a flash of light.

"Okay."

Xu Xieyi took off her backpack and held it on her lap, sitting primly and watching Lin Sheng’s movements. He picked up a glass and looked up. "What would you like to drink?"

"Hm?"

Seeing her lost look, Lin Sheng remembered that she was just a middle school student, unlike the women in his social circle who were so particular about their regimens. He reined in his aura and gave a gentle smile. "Rose tea, do you like that?"

Xu Xieyi placed her hands on her knees. "That's fine."

Lin Sheng went to the water dispenser to prepare the tea. Hot water poured into the glass with a cloud of steam, and the room was filled with the faint sound of splashing. Xu Xieyi sat on the sofa, secretly observing his profile. He wore a light blue shirt and navy trousers; his hair was neat and clean, with a slight dampness as if it had been styled.

He was a very handsome and well-groomed young man. A seventeen-year-old girl couldn't fully appreciate this