Lovers' quarrels are soon made up.

Setting out with high spirits only to return after receiving a metaphorical bucket of icy water dumped straight onto his head, Fang Changan understood Shen Mo's current frame of mind quite well on his way home.

With his younger siblings at school and his parents at work, the house was entirely empty. Fang Changan opened a copy of *Influence*, a book that had just been published and released in China. Shen Chengyan had bought it only a few days ago, and the plastic wrapping had just been torn off.

After reading two pages, Fang Changan felt a sense of desolate loneliness. He closed the book, went downstairs to turn on the television, and lay alone on the couch, watching it in isolation. The noisy television sound initially made him feel a bit better, but immediately afterward, it only made the solitude feel even more oppressive.

After agonizing for a while, he picked up the telephone, paused for a moment, and put it back down.

Explanations without a face-to-face meeting were just like breaking up—both were irresponsible acts. The latter was being irresponsible to the other person, while the former was being irresponsible to oneself. Besides, what could he possibly say over the telephone?

"Mo'mo, you saw wrong. Those two people weren't actually me and Wang Ke; it was Fang Changming and his classmate. We haven't seen each other in two years, and he's grown this tall already. You wouldn't have expected that, hahahaha..."

Wasn't that questioning someone else's intelligence while burning all his own bridges? Modern society emphasized that "what is not prohibited by law is permissible." Besides, Wang Ke was already fifteen years old. Even if something were to happen, it wouldn't violate the law; holding hands was a perfectly righteous matter—what was there to feel guilty about?

Feeling increasingly guilty, he first redefined the phrase "feeling perfectly righteous," and then simply lay flat on the couch, pondering how he might redefine "profound affection and devotion."

Fang Changan only regretted not having a smartphone; otherwise, by browsing through various news stories or scandals, he would instantly feel that his own minor issue was far from scummy, and that merely knowing how to reflect on it made him worthy of the demeanor of a saint.

The next morning, Fang Changan read a book at home for a while, but he simply could not settle his mind. Just as he was preparing to go over to Shen Chengyan's house to take another look, he suddenly heard a shout from the courtyard: "Fang Changan!"

Fang Changan glanced outside and lazily said, "Come in."

Wang Yuwei walked into the living room wearing a knee-length floral dress and a light purple T-shirt. She said rather huffily, "You sure have a lot of nerve, telling me to 'come in'—sounded just like a senior leader."

Fang Changan pointed at the two remaining oranges on the table, indicating that she could take one freely, and said, "I saved these especially for you."

"Who are you trying to fool? Saved them especially for me?"

Wang Yuwei rolled her eyes. "That kind of nonsense might work on Wang Ke, or maybe even Shen Mo, but I'm not buying it."

Fang Changan didn't bother arguing idly with her and asked, "When did you get back?"

"Last night."

"Your exams finished in the morning, and you only came back at night?"

"I went out to celebrate with my classmates, of course. I finally survived the senior high school entrance examinations—aren't you even going to allow that?"

This girl was far too precocious, and in all probability, she cast her net wide. Fang Changan didn't want to converse too much with her. He had always been thick-skinned in front of girls he liked, but that kind of thick skin easily led to misunderstandings, so he changed the subject and asked, "How did you do on the exams?"

"Definitely not as well as you, but the county's No. 1 High School should be no problem."

Wang Yuwei said with a grin, "After all, art students only need a little over four hundred points. No matter how dim-witted I am, scoring over five hundred is definitely certain."

"That's good. Your mom must be quite happy."

"What about you? City No. 1 High School?"

"Naturally."

"What if Wang Ke doesn't make the cut?"

"If she doesn't, she doesn't. I don't have the ability to crowbar her into City No. 1 High School."

Wang Yuwei stared at him fixedly for a moment, let out a chuckle, and said, "Who are you trying to fool? She's so pretty, and she just keeps getting prettier. As if you'd be willing to let her go."

"How old are you anyway? What kind of talk is that?"

"I'm just speaking the truth."

Wang Yuwei looked around. "Neither of your parents is home, right? Let me tell you, the county town is a lot more chaotic than our school. Some people even sit together right inside the classroom, just like you and Wang Ke. But they dare to hold hands out in the open—do you dare?"

Fang Changan rolled his eyes and couldn't be bothered to entertain her.

Wang Yuwei continued, "My mom promised to buy me a cell phone if I get into the county's No. 1 High School. If you get into the city's No. 1 High School, will your parents buy you one?"

"With your personality, getting a cell phone will definitely ruin your studies. A pager would be fine; the simpler the functions, the better."

Fang Changan casually offered this advice. Wang Yuwei seemed to pause for a fraction of a second, glanced at him, and then curled her lips in a pout. "Since when did you start caring about me?"

"Just saying it on a whim."

Every time Wang Yuwei returned home from the county seat, she would come over to greet him and exchange a few words. Over the past two years, the two of them had more or less figured out each other's temperament. Fang Changan didn't care about minor details and spoke his mind whenever something crossed his thoughts.

After Wang Yuwei left, Fang Changan resumed wrestling with how he should "explain" things to Shen Mo. As he thought about it, he suddenly realized something felt a bit off.

In his past life, his romantic history had been relatively chaotic, and he had experienced quite a few women. Yet even during his very first romantic experience, he had never felt such "gut-wrenching" anxiety. This wasn't due to some innate callousness on his part; Fang Changan figured that, on one hand, perhaps back during his secret crush, he had engaged in too much internal drama, exhausting most of his passion beforehand. On the other hand, the primary reason was probably that he had simply been too busy: with several people waiting to be coaxed, regardless of who ignored him, it counted as lightening his burden. Unless they all ignored him at once, he would have been too busy being happy and grateful to have any time or energy to dwell on other things.

This kind of restless, agonizing torment was a first for him... If he traced it back carefully, ever since he decided to seize the opportunity to hold Wang Ke's little hand, something similar seemed to have occurred, though back then it had been filled with excitement and anticipation.

This hardly seemed like the behavior a person reborn with the soul of a later era ought to exhibit.

Fang Changan sprawled out on the sofa and began to ponder philosophical questions. Gradually, he actually managed to find a self-consistent explanation: after his rebirth, due to a mix of objective and subjective factors, he had unconsciously conformed in many aspects to the behavior of a genuine child of that age. Coupled with environmental influences, this had subtly altered his mindset and emotions without him realizing it.

This seemed to explain why, upon his rebirth, the moment he laid eyes on Shen Mo and Wang Ke—two girls who had just entered middle school—the thought of "I want both of these girls" had naturally popped into his head. His powerful soul from the future didn't seem to have drastically changed how he viewed kids; the girls he used to like, he still liked now.

The fact that he hadn't displayed any such behavior toward Liang Jingyu later on could still be explained by "emotional saturation," which in turn served as secondary evidence of the genuine nature of his feelings for Shen Mo and Wang Ke.

Having formulated his own explanation, Fang Changan abruptly realized that he was facing two choices—essentially the pros and cons of his past life, both of which were equally obvious.

The path of his past life had the advantage of being visibly smooth and backed by rich experience, ensuring that no matter the outcome, he wouldn't get hurt. The downside was that there would be essentially no surprises, and he would still end up meeting the fate of his past life: approaching middle age, occasionally yearning for a warm harbor, only to be paralyzed by a deep-seated lack of security and fear.

The opposite path had the advantage of a bond and trust cultivated from childhood, something irreplaceable by any amount of money. Yet countless "martyrs" seemed to have proven that this path was all too easy to inflict harm on others and oneself—especially given his greedy reluctance to let go of either, making it seem all the more absurd, with an inevitably rugged road ahead.

Perhaps due to inner fragility and a spirit far from strong enough, or perhaps because he had already unconsciously made his choice long ago after his rebirth, Fang Changan found that when faced with this seemingly difficult problem, he didn't harbor much hesitation or struggle at all before making his decision.

Then he committed an action he knew was wrong, yet persisted in anyway: he called Shen Mo.

"Dial tone... dial tone... dial tone..."

The phone rang for a while, followed by a gentle, pleasant female voice: "Hello, who is this?"

"Hello, Auntie. My name is Fang Changan. I'm looking for Shen Mo."

"Alright, hold on a moment."

The other party didn't seem surprised. Immediately afterward, he heard her call out: "Mo'mo, it's a phone call for you. Fang Changan."

After waiting two or three seconds, Fang Changan heard Shen Mo's voice. Though two years had passed, her voice had changed slightly from his memories, yet it also seemed entirely unchanged—soft and tender, instantly recognizable:

"Tell him I'm not here."

Then there was silence. Fang Changan guessed that Shu Mei must have covered the mouthpiece with her hand, which proved that she didn't know about Shen Mo being angry with him.

The time on the telephone display ticked forward second by second, and Fang Changan's heart beat along with it. After twelve seconds, he heard Shu Mei's voice, which carried a hint of apology alongside barely suppressed amusement: "Sorry, Mo'mo says she isn't here. You should try calling back another time."

Clearly, Shu Mei also knew that Fang Changan had heard what Shen Mo said. Therefore, she had added the word "says" into her daughter's blatantly petulant excuse. In doing so, the meaning of the entire sentence, as well as her own attitude toward the matter, underwent a profound transformation.

On one hand, Fang Changan inwardly praised his future mother-in-law for her smooth handling of the situation; on the other hand, he found it both funny and exasperating, and he gave a slight, bitter smile: "I understand. Thank you, Auntie."

"You're welcome. Goodbye."

"Goodbye, Auntie."

Fang Changan hung up the phone, feeling rather depressed and even regretting the choice he had just made.

Look at that—it used to be just one person suffering, and now it had turned into two people suffering, hadn't it?

Fortunately, if Mo'mo wouldn't take his call, he still had Ke'ke.

He dialed Wang Ke's house next. The person who picked up the phone was once again his future brother-in-law: "Hello! Fang Changan, what are you looking for my sister for again?"

"Nonsense, why would I look for your sister? I'm looking for you."

"What are you looking for me for?"

"Just wanted to ask—what grade are you in this year?"

"Starting sixth grade in the fall. Why?"

Fang Changming would be entering his second year of middle school in the fall, but the local area was officially implementing the six-year primary school system starting with the year right below him. Wang Ke's younger brother was one grade below Fang Changming, getting caught right in the transition, which would make him two grades behind henceforth.

"That's alright then. My younger sister is going to be in the fifth grade in the fall. If you don't step up your game, you're going to fall behind."

"Tsk, I'm not looking to have your sister be my girlfriend."

"Hey, I'm holding onto those exact words. I'm waiting for the day you eat your own words."

"Eat what words?"

"Is braised pork delicious?"

"Never eaten it."

"What about braised pork belly?"

"Eaten it."

"Is it good?"

"Some of it is."

"Well, there you go."

"Huh? What does that mean?"

"Nothing. Just remember it."

Fang Changan had no thoughts of arranged marriages, nor was that realistic. But as for his future brother-in-law, coaxing him did no harm. Given that his family's financial situation had vastly improved, Fang Changan no longer had to feel the pinch of telephone bills. He chatted idly for quite a while with the future brother-in-law whose name he didn't even know yet. The little kid probably felt that this guy who wanted to be his brother-in-law wasn't a bad person after all and volunteered: "Hold on a second, I'll go call my sister for you."

"Alright, I'm waiting."

After waiting about twenty or thirty seconds, Wang Ke's voice rang out: "Hello?"

Fang Changan imitated her tone: "Hello?"

The young girl's voice was tinged with a sweet smile: "What are you calling me for?"

"Oh, no special reason. Just wanted to see if you'd gotten home."

"Huh?"

Wang Ke was a little dazed. "I got home the night before—no, wait, the night before last! Before the sun even went down."

"That's good."

"You called just to ask that?"

"Yeah. Did you get sick of me?"

"No."

For a moment, Fang Changan didn't know what to say. On the other end, Wang Ke remained silent as well, quietly wasting telephone fees.

After a moment, she let out a chuckle and chided him with simulated shyness, "Why aren't you saying anything?"

Fang Changan smiled. "I was waiting for you to speak."

"I'm not going to speak."

"Then I won't either."

"Hmph!"

"What are you huffing about?"

"Nothing!"

The two of them pointlessly wasted a few more cents on phone bills before Fang Changan gave a soft sigh and said, "Actually, before I called you, I was in a pretty bad mood."

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know. I suddenly found myself with too much free time, didn't know what to do, and felt a bit restless."

Naturally, Fang Changan couldn't tell the truth, so he casually pulled out an excuse: "After talking with you, I feel a lot better now."

Hearing him describe her as if she were some miraculous panacea, the corners of the young girl's mouth curled upward uncontrollably, yet she still maintained a demure front as she said, "How come I had no idea I was so amazing?"

"It depends on the person. Just like medicine has to match the disease—changing the medicine won't work, changing the ailment won't work either. It has to be just right."

Wang Ke was clearly even more shy now. Not knowing what to say, yet feeling she ought to say something, she whispered softly, "Oh."

Hearing the sound of his father's voice outside, Fang Changan said, "Alright, I've heard your voice, we've talked, and my mood is fixed. I'm going to hang up now—my dad's back."

"Mhm, okay, bye-bye."

"Bye-bye."

Fang Changan hung up the phone and walked out into the courtyard. Walking alongside Fang Lujun was Fang Lusheng, carrying a white burlap sack that looked like it was packed full of things. Seeing Fang Changan walk out to greet them, Fang Lusheng warmly called out, "Changan's at home."

"Yeah, exams are over and I've got nothing to do, so I was watching TV."

Fang Changan made a motion to take the burden, but Fang Lusheng hurriedly said there was no need. After putting on the polite gesture, Fang Changan let him be and gracefully stepped aside to hold open the living room door, which didn't really need holding.

Fang Lujun introduced him: "These are peanuts and corn grown by your Uncle Lusheng's family—first-crop harvest. Brought them over for you kids to eat."

"Oh, thank you, Uncle!"

Fang Changan hurriedly smiled and expressed his gratitude. Fang Lusheng set the sack down on the floor and laughed, "What's there to thank? We're family, no need to be so polite..."

In both his past and present lives, Fang Changan's impression of Fang Lusheng wasn't particularly good. But regardless of that, it was a gesture of goodwill from the man, so there was no reason to give him the cold shoulder. He had him sit down and enthusiastically fetched a bottle of water from the refrigerator.

Fang Lusheng looked quite surprised and said, "My, you've even bought a refrigerator?"

The refrigerator was something Fang Changan had strongly recommended and pushed for that very summer; Fang Lujun had initially insisted that spending money on a refrigerator was a waste, only to finally agree to buy one. Naturally, once they had it, he experienced the true "truth of things." Having always loved hearing flattery and compliments, hearing Fang Lusheng say this made him feel even more pleased than if he had downed two liang of fine liquor. He sat down on the sofa nearby, waved his hand with a feigned modesty, and said, "Ah, just bought it, just bought it. The kid kept making a fuss and demanding one, couldn't help it."

Not many families in Majagou village owned refrigerators in this day and age. Fang Lusheng knew all too well what kind of straits Fang Lujun's family had been in just the past couple of years. Watching the family undergo a dramatic transformation over the span of two years—moving into a new house, using new furniture, watching the shoe store thrive, and now even buying a refrigerator, with air conditioning presumably not far behind—made him feel rather unsettled inside. He forced a smile and said, "Wonderful! Very nice, very nice..."

Fang Lusheng had come to the town on an errand and dropped by on his way. After sitting for a brief moment, he excused himself to leave. Fang Lujun naturally pressed him to stay for a meal, but one couldn't force a guest who needed to head home.

After the father and son saw him off and returned inside, Fang Lujun opened the sack to take a look. The fresh peanuts and tender corn cobs still had damp soil clinging to them. He said, "Take some of these and deliver them to your Uncle Shen and Teacher Cheng."

"Will do."

Fang Changan used a plastic bag to gather up a portion of the peanuts and corn. Carrying them to Shen Chengyan's house, he could hear Cheng梦飞 (Cheng Mengfei) on the telephone while still in the courtyard. Seeing him step into the house, she said "Changan's here" into the receiver. Then, after hearing something on the other end, she looked at Fang Changan with a startled expression and asked, "What's going on?"

Following that, she said, "Alright, alright, hanging up now. Be a good girl at home."

Fang Changan handed the bag over to the helper and explained, "An elder in the village brought them over. They're the spring crop."

Cheng Mengfei nodded, eyeing him suspiciously as she asked, "Have you seen Mo'mo? How did you manage to tick her off? The moment she heard you were here, she wanted to hang up."

Her words carried a hint of "stoking the flames," but it clearly showed how close and unreserved she felt toward him.

Fang Changan gave a somewhat awkward explanation: "I'm puzzled about it myself. I just called her a moment ago; her mom answered, and then she herself said over the phone that she wasn't there. I have no idea where I managed to upset her."

Seeing that he didn't look like he was lying, and unable to figure out how Fang Changan could have upset Mo'mo when they hadn't even met, Cheng Mengfei smiled and said, "It's fine. Once school starts and you see each other, everything will be cleared up."

"Yeah, yeah."

Fang Changan nodded vigorously. Indeed, that was precisely what he believed as well.

As the saying went, "A quarrel at the head of the bed is resolved by the tail of the bed." To a certain extent, that underscored the importance of meeting face-to-face, especially close-range contact. Otherwise, just try maintaining a long-distance relationship and see how that goes!