The rescue work was even more urgent than Tao Shuran had imagined.
After scarfing down a hasty meal, once the roster was tallied, their group immediately dove into work mode.
The Clock Group and Lacquerware Group members hadn’t arrived yet, so Tao Shuran’s team had to hold the line first.
The site consisted of temporary plastic greenhouses. First, the professionals up front conducted excavations and research, then sent items back to Lin Tingzhou’s area for emergency restoration.
The weather forecast predicted heavy rain in a few days, making time feel even more pressing.
She had heard that a batch of personnel had been pulled from nearby stationed troops. When Gu Songnian told her the news, stars practically burst from his eyes.
“I asked around. Apparently, they’re pilots arranged for special weather training.”
“Oh my god, pilots? That’s too cool. My dream since childhood has been to be a pilot.”
Tao Shuran had just finished disinfecting her hands when she heard this. She froze for a moment and accidentally knocked over the hand sanitizer by the sink.
She quickly righted it and calmly withdrew her gaze.
“Last month, you said your childhood dream was to be a scientist.”
Gu Songnian mumbled, “Yeah, yeah. Who could’ve guessed I’d end up digging dirt here.”
As he spoke, a few female colleagues from the archaeological team walked by, chatting and laughing.
They gossiped about the incoming flight team, their fantasies of the profession as sweet and fluffy as cotton candy.
Tao Shuran kept her eyes lowered from start to finish, quietly focusing on her own tasks.
She neatly arranged her tools on the table one by one, then took paper and pen to log each newly arrived item.
Her expression was focused and serious, as if she had fully immersed herself.
‘It couldn’t be that coincidental.’
The instant she peeled back the backing paper, Tao Shuran thought, with the vast sea of people, it couldn’t really be him.
“I’ll handle the monitoring and analysis first. Ah-Song, you record for me.”
She quickly entered work mode, regaining her composed demeanor as she arranged everything properly.
“We’ll try to finish the first batch by tomorrow afternoon.”
In reality, the workload was much larger than Tao Shuran had anticipated.
By the time they were nearly done, it was already evening of the next day.
When she stepped out of the room, she blinked dazedly a few times.
She felt a bit disoriented, unsure of the time or day.
It seemed like they had arrived here at night, and in the blink of an eye, another night had fallen?
Tao Shuran’s head spun a little. Habitually, she broke off two pieces of chocolate from her pocket, let them melt under her tongue, and leaned against the wall to slowly regain her strength.
The outdoor work seemed to have wrapped up too. Cooking smoke rose lazily from the village, and the lights of countless homes gradually flickered on in the night.
The phone in her pocket vibrated nonstop. She answered and heard Fang Qingyi’s enthusiastic, straightforward voice on the line.
“Ranran, class is over. I’m coming to pick you up now.”
“Walk toward the front intersection.”
Tao Shuran talked on the phone while heading forward. In the distance, a clear whistle drew her attention.
Against a backdrop of blue skies and white clouds, her gaze inadvertently brushed past a queue dressed in deep black pilot uniforms.
Fang Qingyi had changed a lot compared to before.
She had slimmed down considerably, the baby fat on her cheeks gone. She no longer tilted her head back to flash eight teeth when smiling.
She seemed much more poised and generous overall, as if she had grown up in an instant.
Tao Shuran felt deeply moved. She hadn’t expected Fang Qingyi to ultimately choose this path.
“Wow, Ranran, I never imagined we’d meet here. I’ve missed you so much.”
“So, seeing me, do you feel anything? Have I gotten a lot slimmer?”
“Let me tell you, just biking to class every day takes over an hour.”
The moment she opened her mouth, Tao Shuran confirmed that Fang Qingyi was still the same Fang Qingyi.
She thought for a moment and said slowly, “You do seem slimmer, but the biggest feeling is…”
Under Fang Qingyi’s gaze of eager anticipation, Tao Shuran slowly uttered one word.
“Hungry.”
“You’ve gotten mean, Ranran. You know exactly what I wanted to hear.”
Tao Shuran looked at her helplessly, reciting the line as if from a script. “The person you’re worried about is doing great. He’s interning at the top firm in Shanghai now, a hotshot talent on the rise.”
“We squeezed in a meeting during last New Year’s. From what I observed, he eats well, sleeps well, works out regularly—overall, way better off than you with your dark circles.”
Fang Qingyi jumped up in protest. “These are mosquito bites.”
“You have no idea how vicious the mosquitoes are here.”
“Anyway—” Tao Shuran cupped her cheeks. “Take better care of yourself.”
Fang Qingyi pouted, then suddenly asked, “What about you?”
“Do you still keep in touch with Liang Yuanjing?”
The sudden mention of that name—over these years, only Fang Qingyi could bring him up so casually in front of her.
Tao Shuran’s dark lashes trembled. Then she pretended as if nothing had happened and smiled faintly.
“We lost contact ages ago.”
“After the breakup, he blocked all my contact info. We haven’t spoken since. I think he probably really hates me.”
Fang Qingyi felt quite bad hearing this.
She only remembered one time—probably right after Tao Shuran and Liang Yuanjing officially broke up—when Tao Shuran suddenly showed up at her school.
She said nothing, just hugged her and sobbed uncontrollably.
That was the first time in all these years that Tao Shuran had lost composure.
And the only time.
Every day after, she lived normally—studying, working—but Fang Qingyi could sense that the most vibrant part of her had been stripped away with Liang Yuanjing’s departure.
It was love.
The kind of love that gave the timid courage.
“Is it that everyone who fails in romance ends up unable to even be friends?”
Fang Qingyi sighed along. “Look, Fu Changpei dodges me like I’m a debt collector now.”
“Maybe. But being friends hurts too.”
Tao Shuran turned her head with a smile. “When you’re close to him, you can’t settle for just being friends.”
And so, they walked all the way to where Fang Qingyi lived.
It was an old flat-roofed house, secured with a vintage lock on the wooden door. She fished out a key from her bag, and pushing it open came with a creaky groan.
Even prepared beforehand, Tao Shuran hadn’t expected Fang Qingyi to settle so comfortably in a place like this for two years.
“Honestly, I was worried when you said you were coming alone.”
“What’s to worry about?” Fang Qingyi grinned. “It’s pretty safe here, with all sorts of training troops stationed nearby.”
“People lose their sense of self-worth after liking someone too long. Doing something meaningful is pretty good.”
Tao Shuran nodded, finding the words quite right.
The evening draft was a bit chilly. She rubbed her arms and went to the door to close it.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted someone huddled in the shadowed corner by the wall outside. She startled and cried out instinctively.
Fang Qingyi, who was boiling instant noodles inside, rushed out, pulled her back a step, and slammed the door shut.
“That guy’s not quite right in the head. You’ll get to know everyone in the village after a while. Just ignore him, pretend you didn’t see.”
Tao Shuran softly acknowledged with an “Mm,” and on her way in, stood the half-empty mineral water bottle on the door latch.
Exhaustion from nonstop work overrode issues like unfamiliar beds and acclimation woes; the melatonin in her bag went unused.
Tao Shuran slept deeply.
She awoke in the latter half of the night to shrill crowing.
In her groggy haze, she slowly sat up.
Fang Qingyi, sleeping beside her, sensed the movement and mumbled with her mouth, “Ranran, why are you awake?”
Tao Shuran said, “Going to the bathroom.”
“Take this.” Fang Qingyi deftly grabbed a flashlight from the drawer. “Turn right when you go out; that public toilet’s the cleanest.”
She “Mm”ed, fished a long coat from her open suitcase, slipped it on, and prepared to head out.
First lesson learned here: don’t drink too much water at night.
On her way out, Tao Shuran deliberately checked—the mineral water bottle from daytime stood innocently in place.
The whole village lay in serene quiet, millions of lights bathed in night, resting and recharging.
The sky was dark. She switched on the flashlight and looked up at the moon.
Back in Fuqing City, Tao Shuran had walked home alone late at night before, but a village night road was a whole different beast from the city.
Total silence enveloped her. Sparse lamps flickered on and off along the roadside; her entire field of vision relied on the flashlight in her grip.
Unknown wild grass grew by the path, occasionally brushing her calves. She jumped like a startled bird each time, her steps quickening.
The whole street echoed only with her hurried, panicked footfalls.
No… there was another person’s.
Tao Shuran halted immediately. Three seconds later, the footsteps behind also stopped. Her heart skipped a beat as all the worst possibilities flooded in.
She forced herself to stay calm, veered from her original path toward the populated village area.
At the same time, she carefully pulled her phone from her trench coat pocket. The moment the screen lit up, Tao Shuran finally glimpsed her pursuer in the reflection.
A man.
The deaf guy from daytime.
And right as she took out the phone to call for help, the man lunged. His immense strength sent her stumbling forward.
She fought back desperately. The flashlight rolled away with a clatter.
The only light vanished. Tao Shuran fumbled out the anti-wolf spray she’d bought online on a whim, sprayed wildly into the air. While he clutched his eyes and bellowed, she ducked behind an abandoned haystack.
The spray was just a cheap gadget; not very potent, eye irritation lasting only a minute or two.
Tao Shuran had wanted to bolt back amid the chaos, but eyeing the straight, open road ahead, with the physical gap between man and woman, he’d catch her once recovered.
No second lucky shot to the eyes.
If she hid until dawn, given the guy’s foggy wits, he might wander off on his own.
Tao Shuran crouched motionless. Thick darkness closed in; fear heightened every sense.
The pacing footsteps circled nearby, the man’s low, heavy breaths the most ominous signal.
Tao Shuran bit her lower lip hard, eyes squeezed shut. Her heart pounded like it would burst from her chest.
The man’s slender fingertips lightly brushed her cheek. The slightly cool touch, like a slithering snake, sent shivers in the pitch-black terror.
Tao Shuran hugged herself tighter, too scared to open her eyes or move.
A low chuckle from the man drifted down.
A bit helplessly, he said, “Tao Shuran, open your eyes.”
The familiar yet strange voice—the second she heard it, Tao Shuran’s eyes flew open involuntarily.
In the dim night, Liang Yuanjing tugged at his stiff jacket, black work pants straight and lean. Those pitch-black, deep eyes narrowed slightly as he looked down at her.
After a moment, he extended a hand to her.
In a deep voice, he said, “Don’t be afraid. It’s me.”
Tao Shuran stared up at him in a daze.
The instant their hands met, it was as if that unparalleled summer had descended once more.
They reunited again.