After the Winter Solstice, the program Wen Ruqing and Liang Yuchen had recorded was finally aired. The response was very good. Although most people tuned in for the celebrity guests, quite a few began to take an interest in the profession itself.
As long as people saw it — that meant the goal was achieved.
Wen Ruqing and Liang Yuchen also gained a lot of attention because of it. The two already had a good image, and on the program, they showed their professional competence. Outstanding people are always easy to notice.
Later, someone found Liang Yuchen’s social media account. During the show’s broadcast, he gained a wave of new followers. But they couldn’t find Wen Ruqing’s account, so they left comments under Liang Yuchen’s posts asking for information about his colleague.
“See? Everyone still likes handsome guys,” Liang Yuchen sighed dramatically over lunch. “Can’t they see a beautiful woman like me? Why are they all asking about you?”
Wen Ruqing shrugged. He didn’t know either. Chen Qi had suggested that he open an account too — maybe he could ride the wave and become a minor internet celeb, which would also help promote the institute.
“No, I’d rather not,” Wen Ruqing shook his head. He didn’t even like posting on his WeChat Moments, let alone interacting with strangers online.
There was no takeout today, so Wen Ruqing had lunch in the cafeteria. Xu Yuanyuan asked him about it, and he just said he was tired of takeout. In truth, the person who usually cooked for him had worked overtime last night — probably still not up yet.
After eating, he gave Bai Xizhou a call. His voice sounded just as he’d imagined — probably just got out of bed.
They chatted a little. The topics were trivial and boring, but neither of them felt bored. Perhaps this is just how people in love are.
In the afternoon, Liang Yuchen and Wen Ruqing followed Feng Yuhua to Xincheng High School to give a presentation. It was an event jointly organized by the institute and the education bureau. Coincidentally, they were presenting the ancient book restoration project today.
Feng Yuhua thought these two had been quite popular lately, so he chose them. But he was still the main speaker — the two mostly stood by, answering students’ questions or assisting when they tried hands-on.
Wen Ruqing had casually mentioned it to Bai Xizhou — just small talk, with no real intent. He knew Bai Xizhou would be meeting Bai Xiting that afternoon.
Just a few days ago, Bai Xiting’s return to China had finally come to light. Wen Ruqing didn’t expect it to be discovered only now — unbelievable.
After the event, Wen Ruqing didn’t leave with Feng Yuhua. He stayed behind, saying he wanted to look around the school.
It was around dinner time. The road to the cafeteria bustled with people. Students in uniforms were full of youthful energy. Next to that road was a basketball court — someone was playing basketball.
Wen Ruqing bought a bottle of water and found a step to sit on. Only then did he see the banner on the fence — “Basketball Tournament.”
No wonder it didn’t look like just a casual game.
“Is it good?” A voice suddenly came from behind.
“Not bad.” Wen Ruqing took a sip of water, then paused mid-motion, realizing something was off. He turned around — and saw Bai Xizhou standing behind him, already pinching the back of his neck.
Pinched like that, Wen Ruqing started struggling. He felt that doing this kind of thing in public was fine, but not in school — it might give a bad impression.
“Ah, to be young again,” Bai Xizhou sighed as he sat down beside him. “Compared to them, I really am old.”
“I was just watching,” Wen Ruqing defended himself. It was clearly nothing, but the jealousy in his voice practically spilled out.
The two bantered back and forth. No one came out on top. Just as Bai Xizhou was about to speak again, a basketball rolled to his feet. They both looked toward the high school students.
“Uncle, pass the ball back!” the leading boy shouted at Bai Xizhou.
“I’ll help you get the ball, but let me join for a game,” Bai Xizhou was in a playful mood. “Let me sub in for one of you.”
The boys exchanged glances, then the one who’d shouted finally nodded in agreement. The boy who was subbed out walked over and sat next to Wen Ruqing, who handed him a bottle of water.
“Thanks.” The boy took a sip and sat beside him, watching the game together.
Truthfully, Wen Ruqing didn’t know much about basketball. He only understood that scoring was impressive. He hadn’t even been watching earlier — just enjoying the youthful energy of the students.
“Uncle, you’re not a teacher at this school, right?” the boy asked after resting a bit.
“Weren’t you in the experience class this afternoon?” In theory, anyone who attended would know Wen Ruqing wasn’t from here.
“I just finished the joint exams and came back from outside. I was here to find someone, but they dragged me into basketball.” The boy talked a lot, smiling with sharp little canine teeth showing.
Then he seemed to spot someone, thanked Wen Ruqing, and ran off — straight toward another boy. That boy didn’t show much expression, and vaguely resembled Bai Xizhou. The next second, the boy who’d just run over hugged him.
Wen Ruqing figured he had stumbled on a secret of teenage love and quickly turned his head back toward the court — just in time to see Bai Xizhou make a perfect three-point shot, holding the ball like he was showing off.
Bai Xizhou still looked slightly out of place among the students, though his height wasn’t. He was even taller than a few of them. After a single game, he stopped — evening study time was nearing, and the crowd slowly dispersed.
The bell rang. The huge campus was quiet now, only classrooms still had students inside.
Having just played basketball, Bai Xizhou looked rather manly, his shirt unbuttoned. Wen Ruqing’s face flushed at the sight — he walked over and pulled the collar shut.
“What? You can ogle high schoolers, but I can’t open my collar? Hypocrite much?” Bai Xizhou frowned. “Only state officials can start fires, but commoners can’t light lamps?”
“You’ve got bite marks on your collarbone — they were showing.” Wen Ruqing helped him button up. “By the way, how did you get in?”
“A teacher brought me in.” Bai Xizhou put his arm around Wen Ruqing’s waist as they walked away. “I studied here.”
Bai Xizhou had lived in Xincheng since he was young. Except for university, he had studied here too. With his grades, of course he went to the best high school.
“Come on, let me show you around.”
He took Wen Ruqing to the pond behind the teaching building, where lotus flowers and koi were raised. He stopped by a convenience store, bought a cup of instant noodles, crushed it, and scattered some into the water. A bunch of koi swarmed the corner, flipping and splashing.
“The koi here still eat everything,” Bai Xizhou chuckled.
“No wonder they grow so well,” Wen Ruqing threw some more crumbs in, attracting even more fish.
The campus wasn’t too big or too small. They finished their walk quickly. It hadn’t changed much since Bai Xizhou had left. Wen Ruqing started feeling bored — it was getting dark, and they were about to head out when they saw that same boy from earlier again.
He was taking photos of the bulletin board, so focused he didn’t even notice anyone approaching. As Wen Ruqing got closer, he saw it was the honor board — a photo was posted there. The top liberal arts student was a boy named Ye Suining.
The face in the photo looked familiar. Wen Ruqing suddenly realized — it was the boy who’d been hugged.
“Hey, student,” Bai Xizhou called out, startling the boy. “Why aren’t you in class?”
The boy turned around, put away his phone, and visibly relaxed upon seeing Wen Ruqing next to Bai Xizhou.
“I just came back to see someone, not to go to school,” he scratched his head, a little embarrassed, and smiled — showing those same tiger-like teeth. “I’ll be going then, goodbye, uncles.”
Wen Ruqing nodded and waved goodbye.
“Second time,” Bai Xizhou said, tone a bit cool. “What are you thinking?”
“I think he’s in love. And the person he likes is the top student — that’s him,” Wen Ruqing pointed at the photo, completely certain.
“Well, that’s their business. As for us, it’s time for dinner.”
After dinner, the two of them headed home. Bai Xizhou hadn’t driven today. Luckily, the restaurant was nearby, so they walked.
There were few people on the street — probably too cold for anyone to want to go out. Passing by a shop, music was playing inside. Wen Ruqing couldn’t understand the lyrics, but the melody sounded fiery — like a confession.
“It’s a German song,” Bai Xizhou said, slipping Wen Ruqing’s cold hand into his pocket, gently warming it. “I heard it long ago.”
“Can you sing it for me?” Wen Ruqing asked. He had never heard Bai Xizhou sing before.
He tilted his head, eyes full of anticipation. He knew Bai Xizhou couldn’t resist him when he acted like this. Sure enough, Bai Xizhou gave in.
“Just saying, I’m not good at singing. And I haven’t spoken German in a long time,” he said, continuing to walk with Wen Ruqing.
“It’s fine. If you sing well, I’ll be the only one who hears it. If you sing badly, I’ll be the only one who knows.” Wen Ruqing pinched the hand tucked in the pocket.
Bai Xizhou sighed — a bit helpless, a bit indulgent. He cleared his throat lightly and began singing.
“Ich werd niemals aufhören, dich zu lieben,
Auch in tausend Jahren nicht,
Und selbst wenn du abhaust, wenn du fortgehst,
Will ich, daß du weißt, ich will nur dich…”
Bai Xizhou was probably being modest — Wen Ruqing thought he sang beautifully. His voice, when singing, was low, like a whisper beside your ear. It tickled the heart.
“What do the lyrics mean?” Wen Ruqing turned into a curious kitten.
“I will never stop loving you,
Even in a thousand years,
Even if you slip away, even if you leave,
I just want you to know, you’re the only one in my heart.”
Bai Xizhou really liked that line — “I will never stop loving you.” It suited him now. He could no longer imagine a world without Wen Ruqing.
Wen Ruqing hadn’t expected the song to be a love song. With how reserved Germans are, it was rare to hear love expressed so directly. It didn’t match the typical image of Germans — but in truth, they are passionate idealists when it comes to love.
A large part of Bai Xizhou’s longing for idealized love came from his time studying in Germany.
His later relationships all deviated from that ideal. Over time, he lost patience — until he met Wen Ruqing. Only then did he understand what it meant for love to overflow.
“Xizhou, it’s getting cold. Let’s go home quickly,” Wen Ruqing didnt say anything else. He just grabbed Bai Xizhou’s hand and picked up the pace.
