Warm Water Burns, Chapter 15

[Gege, the chicken soup is delicious.]
[Thank you.]

As she sent those two messages, a faint flush crept up to the base of Wen Yan’s ears.

Yuanning: [Is it good?]

She’d already said it was delicious…

He was probably just double-checking.

Wen Yan sent a nodding penguin sticker.

It left her unsure how to properly thank Fu Lanzhuo.

She really wanted to treat him to a meal that afternoon, but he might not have the time.

She let the thought go.

A new message popped up in the chat first.

Yuanning: [There’s a layer of pastries at the bottom of the container. Try them.]

Seeing this, Wen Yan set her phone down and turned her attention back to the white insulated container. She studied it, turning it slightly, until she found the latch and twisted it open. Sure enough, there was another layer beneath.

Two kinds of pastries were arranged inside, both looking delicious. Wen Yan didn’t quite recognize them. She picked one up with her chopsticks.

The first bite was crisp and flaky, giving way to a soft, chewy filling. She tasted the clean sweetness of hawthorn.

It was so good she finished it in two bites.

[Gege, what are these two pastries? I’ve never had anything like them. They’re really good.] She sent the question to Fu Lanzhuo.

Yuanning: [One is homemade by our housekeeper—hawthorn and cheese filling. The other is lotus root starch osmanthus cake.]

Wen Yan looked over and used her chopsticks to pick up the one Fu Lanzhuo had mentioned. The texture was silky and smooth, almost translucent, with a delicate, lingering fragrance of osmanthus blooming across her palate.

Both pastries were wonderful. Wen Yan had eaten nearly half of them before she went back to the chicken soup.

Still, those two servings of pastry had saved her an entire breakfast.

Worried she wouldn’t finish all the soup, she deliberately left two pieces uneaten. As she drank, she finished all the chicken and morels inside, ending up comfortably full.

By then, the faint ache in her lower abdomen had faded entirely.

[Gege, I’ve finished everything.] There were actually still two pieces of pastry left, but she felt this would better honor the thought behind Fu Lanzhuo’s gesture. She hit send.

Two seconds later, a reply came: [Mm.]

Yuanning: [Get some rest.]

Fu Lanzhuo was probably busy by now. Wen Yan didn’t want to disturb him further, so she sent a nodding bunny sticker and left it at that.

She stood, pulled a civil law textbook from her bookshelf, and tucked it into her bag. She added a few sanitary pads as well.

Her stomach had stopped hurting. She decided to head to the library.

*

Three-thirty in the afternoon. Yanqing University Library.

Sunlight streamed bright and clear through the tall, spotless glass windows, falling in broad slanted sheets. Fine motes of dust floated in the air, visible in the light as though dusted with gold powder.

Wen Yan sat by the window, bathed in that warm glow. She was halfway through *Wuthering Heights*, her fingertips lightly tracing the bottom edge of the page.

The surroundings were hushed. Nearly everyone had their heads down—studying, reading, or writing papers—each absorbed in their own small world at their own desk.

This kind of unhurried leisure made Wen Yan a little uneasy. Three years of high school had conditioned her to a life of relentless pressure. Every spare moment had been spent grinding through practice problems, with almost no room for anything else.

When she finally finished *Wuthering Heights*, she closed the book, pulled her laptop over, and opened it. She wanted to find a part-time job she could do on weekends.

There were all sorts of options online. After browsing for a while, Wen Yan decided on tutoring. A primary school student was looking for a math tutor, the hourly rate was decent, and the location was in the city center. Her slender fingers tapped the keyboard as she submitted her application.

By the time she finished, she glanced at the clock. It was almost five. Her gaze drifted to a cloth bag on the right side of the desk, where the rounded lid and edges of the white insulated container peeked out.

She hesitated, then picked up her phone and messaged Fu Lanzhuo: [Gege, let me bring the lunchbox back to you. Send me your address so you don’t have to make another trip to campus. I have plenty of time—my afternoon is completely free.]

A while passed before the reply came: [No need. I’ll come to campus to get it.]

“…”

Since he insisted, Wen Yan didn’t argue.

And perhaps Fu Lanzhuo simply didn’t want to casually reveal where he lived.

[Okay. Sorry for the trouble, gege.] Wen Yan typed.

Yuanning: [It’s no trouble.]

Wen Yan’s lashes trembled.

The golden light streaming through the windows gradually retreated from the long table, slowly vanishing beyond the window frame. Inside the library, the small sounds multiplied—someone dragged a chair, producing a brief, soft scrape. Wen Yan checked the time and began packing her bag, ready to head to the cafeteria for dinner.

Her gaze fell once more on the bag to her right.

Suddenly, her phone buzzed. A message from Fu Lanzhuo: [I’m at the campus gate. Are you in your dorm?]

Wen Yan replied: [No, I’m at the library.]

Yuanning: [Alright. I’ll come to you.]

Wen Yan stood and started packing. She tucked her water bottle and pencil case into her bag, left *Wuthering Heights* on the table, then slung the bag over her shoulder, grabbed the cloth bag, and carried the book to the return shelf first.

The evening sun was soft. The library’s aged brick-red building lay bathed in the slanting golden light. At dinnertime, quite a few people were emerging from the library, heading to the cafeteria.

Wen Yan reached the entrance, her eyes sweeping over the crowd, searching—uncertain whether Fu Lanzhuo had arrived yet. Then she heard someone call from behind her: “Wen Yan.”

She turned. Fu Lanzhuo stood tall and straight beside the stone lion to the right of the library’s grand doors, one hand in his pocket, his gaze calm and still, watching her quietly.

Wen Yan’s fingers tightened slightly on the handle of the cloth bag.

Fu Lanzhuo stepped forward until he stood before her.

“Gege, did you just get here?” Wen Yan asked.

“Mm,” Fu Lanzhuo replied.

Wen Yan looked up at him, and for reasons she couldn’t explain, the words slipped out: “Can I treat you to dinner?”

After all, Fu Lanzhuo was already on campus. Surely he could spare half an hour for a meal.

Fu Lanzhuo held her bright, dark eyes steadily. His jaw tightened. “Yes.”

Though she’d asked, Wen Yan hadn’t actually decided what to treat him to. While she was still thinking, Fu Lanzhuo spoke first. “Let’s go to the cafeteria. It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten at a Yanqing cafeteria.”

Wouldn’t that be too simple?

But Wen Yan agreed. “Okay.”

“Let’s go to Xilan Cafeteria. It’s the closest to the library,” Fu Lanzhuo said.

“Mm.” Wen Yan nodded.

As the two of them walked toward Xilan Cafeteria, Fu Lanzhuo reached toward her. “Let me carry that bag.”

“Oh, I already washed the lunchbox. Thank you!” Wen Yan handed him the bag containing the insulated container.

Fu Lanzhuo took it. “Why aren’t you resting in your dorm?”

“I spend my weekends at the library anyway. And it’s really not a big deal,” Wen Yan replied.

She was just on her period, not sick.

If there were no cramps, she was perfectly normal.

“Your stomach hasn’t hurt again?”

“Mm…”

Yanqing University had seventeen cafeterias in total. Xilan was the tallest, with six floors, though the top two were only open on special occasions—mostly for university leadership to dine. The bottom four floors were open on weekdays, but on weekends, only the first and second floors operated.

From the library, it was a five-minute walk.

The late afternoon sun spilled lazily over everything. The open ground in front of the cafeteria glowed a warm gold. Unlike the usual weekday rush and clamor, the weekend atmosphere was loose and languid. The air carried not only the warmth of sunlight but also the faint, inviting aroma of food drifting from inside.

When Wen Yan and Fu Lanzhuo walked into the cafeteria together, quite a few gazes turned their way. Wen Yan was used to it by now—whether in the cafeteria, on the paths, or in the library, people always seemed to notice her.

“You seem quite popular on campus,” Fu Lanzhuo said suddenly.

Wen Yan admitted it almost instinctively. “A little.”

Especially today, with a man by her side.

Fu Lanzhuo’s gaze was very faint. “Let’s go upstairs. I’ll take you to the sixth floor.”

“The sixth floor… but isn’t that closed to the public?” Wen Yan turned to look at him.

“It’s open. I gave them a heads-up in advance,” Fu Lanzhuo said.

Wen Yan paused.

Then again, Fu Lanzhuo’s status was extraordinary. He probably wasn’t comfortable sitting and eating surrounded by so many staring eyes.

“Oh…”

Wen Yan agreed.

But after agreeing, she felt something was off. On their walk from the library, Fu Lanzhuo hadn’t made a phone call or sent anyone a message.

Yet he said he’d given them a heads-up in advance…

“Let’s go.” Seeing the hesitation in her eyes, Fu Lanzhuo prompted her.

Wen Yan followed a beat behind, walking with him toward the elevator.

“Ding.”

The elevator arrived at the sixth floor quickly.

At the other end of the corridor was the entrance to the dining hall. Wen Yan saw two men in black standing guard there, side by side, as though they’d been waiting for a while. She instinctively tightened her grip on her backpack straps.

“They’re my bodyguards. You can pretend they’re not there,” Fu Lanzhuo said.

Wen Yan would only learn later that Fu Lanzhuo didn’t usually like having bodyguards follow him around. But given his position, they accompanied him more often than not.

Wen Yan nodded and followed him toward the dining hall entrance.