Volume One Chapter One She felt that he had played a tremendous joke on her.

Liang Mu Zhi got into a fight.

When Xu Zhi received the call from the police station, it was already eleven at night.

There was a curfew at the dormitory, and when Xu Zhi tried to leave, the dorm manager gave her a hard time. In the end, the manager sighed as if lamenting the decline of morals: “College students these days, girls have so little self-respect…”

Xu Zhi knew the manager had misunderstood, but she had no energy to explain. She hurried out, braving the heavy snow at the side gate to hail a taxi, heading straight to the police station.

Bailing Liang Mu Zhi out required paperwork—mainly forms and payment.

The officer asked her, “What’s your relationship with Liang Mu Zhi?”

Xu Zhi hesitated before she replied, “We grew up together.”

The Liang and Xu families were close, and when Xu’s grandfather was alive, he arranged a childhood betrothal between their grandchildren. The parents had never objected, tacitly approving that Xu Zhi would someday become their daughter-in-law.

Among everyone, only Liang Mu Zhi’s attitude was ambiguous. If he was opposed, he never said so when teased, only smiled; if he agreed, he never privately told Xu Zhi they should be together.

He treated her well, but always maintained a certain distance.

Sometimes his attitude made Xu Zhi anxious, but as a girl, she was shy. Though she liked Liang Mu Zhi and had accepted the family arrangement in her heart, she didn’t dare take the initiative to say anything. Now, all she could claim was that she was his childhood friend.

“He has only one emergency contact in his phone—it's you. I thought you were family,” the officer said, surprised. “He smashed up a bar for his girlfriend.”

Xu Zhi’s hand paused, uncertain if she’d heard correctly. “What… girlfriend?”

“Yes, a girl named Chen Jing. They were at a bar when some punks harassed her, and Liang Mu Zhi hit one over the head with a bottle…” The officer clicked his tongue. “He was ruthless. The guy is still in surgery at the hospital, and the bar’s involved too. You’ll have to figure out how to deal with it, might even end up in court.”

Xu Zhi was stunned. She and Liang Mu Zhi spoke almost every day, either on WeChat or by phone, and he had never mentioned a girlfriend.

After the paperwork, Liang Mu Zhi was led out by the police.

Xu Zhi looked up and noticed a fresh scar at his brow—a full three centimeters, slanting across his left temple, newly crusted with blood and prominent against his handsome face.

This wasn’t Liang Mu Zhi’s first fight.

His history of fighting went back to middle school. Raised as a pampered heir, with the Liang family’s money and influence, compromise and concession were foreign to him. He had lived recklessly, boldly, for years.

He walked up to Xu Zhi and called her, “Little Zhi.”

Close friends called her Zhi, but only Liang Mu Zhi insisted on adding “Little” in front, a single word that made the address more intimate.

Xu Zhi still hadn’t recovered, staring at the wound on his brow. Instinctively, she wanted to ask if it hurt, but the words changed at her lips: “Who is Chen Jing?”

Liang Mu Zhi paused, gently tugging her sleeve, leading her out of the police station lobby. “Let’s talk outside.”

A blizzard had been forecast for the night, but the weather proved even harsher than expected.

Xu Zhi, slender and delicate, felt she might be blown away. She regretted in haste, grabbing only a wool coat that offered little protection against the storm.

Liang Mu Zhi led her across the road to a hotel.

Her thoughts were in turmoil; she wrapped her coat tighter, following him, her frozen mind still fixated on the question—who was Chen Jing?

Once inside the hotel lobby, warmed by the air conditioning, she felt revived and slowly clenched her stiff fingers.

Liang Mu Zhi didn’t stop at the front desk, but went straight to the elevator with her, speaking as they ascended: “Chen Jing is my girlfriend. I was planning to introduce her to you soon, but this happened… She’s upstairs in a room.”

Xu Zhi was numb; she felt as if the cold had seeped into her soul. As they walked out of the elevator, she remembered to ask, “If she’s your girlfriend, why didn’t she come to the police station to bail you out?”

“She was badly shaken by the harassment,” Liang Mu Zhi explained as he walked, “and besides, the blizzard outside…”

He realized the awkwardness of his words. “Thank you for tonight, Little Zhi. Once this is settled, I’ll treat you to dinner.”

Xu Zhi felt as if the storm outside had blown right into her chest, chilling her to the bone.

Liang Mu Zhi knocked on the door. Someone quickly answered, and as soon as the door opened, she threw herself into his arms.

Chen Jing’s voice was tinged with tears. “You scared me… How could you be so reckless, fighting with those people… You’re hurt, does it hurt?”

“I’m fine.” Liang Mu Zhi pressed down Chen Jing’s hand as it reached for his brow, clearing his throat and signaling that someone else was present. “This is Little Zhi.”

Only then did Chen Jing notice Xu Zhi, turning to look at her.

Xu Zhi’s features were cool and elegant, bare-faced yet never plain, but beside Chen Jing—who wore makeup—she seemed much more refined.

“So you’re Little Zhi. Mu Zhi often talks about you. Hello.”

Chen Jing extended her hand. Xu Zhi hesitated, then shook it politely.

Once inside, with the door closed, Liang Mu Zhi had barely sat on the sofa before Chen Jing leaned in again, dabbing at his wound with a tissue.

Xu Zhi felt uncomfortable, standing awkwardly.

Liang Mu Zhi pushed Chen Jing away. “Leave it; I’ll wash up later. Let me find a place for Little Zhi to stay. The school dorm is probably locked.”

Liang Mu Zhi called the front desk, hanging up after a brief conversation.

The hotel was fully booked because of the extreme weather.

Chen Jing pouted. “There’s no way we can book a room now. This king-sized room is the one I reserved for us this morning.”

Xu Zhi’s first thought was that these two had booked a room early in the day—a king-sized bed.

She didn’t know why her mind latched onto this detail, but the more she tried to suppress it, the more it surfaced. Had they already reached this stage? How long had they been together?

Liang Mu Zhi had hidden it so well.

Just over a month ago, when she visited the Liang family, Grandpa Liang had half-jokingly asked when Mu Zhi planned to marry Zhi. She’d blushed, and remembered clearly how he’d replied.

He said, “Grandpa, you’re too anxious. At least wait for Little Zhi to graduate.”

Her misunderstanding had deepened in the haze of his ambiguous attitude, often believing she was special to him.

But now, she felt he had played a colossal joke on her.

She couldn’t smile; she pulled out her phone and looked down. “It’s alright, I’ll search for other hotels nearby.”

Chen Jing suggested, “Let’s help you look on our phones. Hurry downstairs and see if there are other hotels nearby. If we find one, we’ll call you. We’ll cover more ground that way.”

Xu Zhi wasn’t foolish—Chen Jing was clearly trying to get rid of her.

She didn’t want to stay either, and turned to leave.

“Wait, I’ll come with you…” Liang Mu Zhi began, but Chen Jing grabbed his arm.

“You’re hurt, don’t run around. Just rest…”

Xu Zhi didn’t hear the rest; she walked out and closed the door behind her.

Stepping outside, the cold struck her like a wall, the world shrouded in swirling white veils.

Xu Zhi wrapped her coat tightly around herself. Snowflakes landed on her long lashes, falling away with each blink, like a single tear.