When Gan Qing left for work in the morning, she already sensed that something wasn't quite right in the air.

The hour at which she went to work was coincidentally the time when all the retired and idle residents came together to hold their "circle the tree" activity. This so-called "circle-the-tree exercise" was basically these people forming a circle around the thickest old cypress tree in the garden and posing like the legendary dapeng bird spreading its wings, each of them with their own unique take on the pose, and going around the tree with their feet doing the moonwalk and their eyes on the tree like a tiger glaring at its prey. 

Due to the fact that Old Sect Leader Yang also participated in this mysterious ceremony, Gan Qing had always felt that there must be some profound meaning hidden in it. Every time she passed by, she would sneak a few looks but until now, she had yet to understand it.

However, this morning, Old Master Yang seemed to have been delayed by something and didn't appear at the "ceremony." The circle of humans was short of one and was more sparse than it usually was. Those who were going around the tree also evidently had their minds elsewhere, the "dapeng spreading its wings" occasionally turned into "rooster pecking rice grains." Every now and then, someone would hurry a few steps and stretch their neck out to whisper a few words to the person in front or behind them, then go back to their place as though nothing had happened.

Gan Qing's hearing ability was too good. When she passed by, she heard a few snippets of their conversations.

"...Like I said, what kind of job can make that much money?"

"She doesn't even have a partner!"

"Right? It's so suspicious. How old is she now and she still doesn't have a partner, there must be something wrong…"

Gan Qing felt like she had taken an arrow to the knee. She left hurriedly, like there was wind under her feet.

When it was almost time to get off work, she was preparing to put away her work uniform and go over to Boss Meng's to get a free meal when she suddenly received a voice message from Zhang Meizhen.

"Don't come back so early tonight," Zhang Meizhen said.

Gan Qing's finger swept across the screen. She realised that from the day she moved into No. 110 until now, this was the first time something other than "Take in my delivery for me" appeared in her chat log with Zhang Meizhen. So, she asked, "What happened?"

Zhang Meizhen replied, "Things are messy at the courtyard. Don't interfere. Find someone and go on a date outside for now."

Gan Qing, "..."

Some veteran beauties would always feel that "finding someone to date" was as easy as "finding a place to eat"—was this something she could find just like that?

It would be quicker if she went out and kidnapped one!

Right then, the windchime at the entrance jangled. Gan Qing had already taken off her contacts and she quickly said, "My apologies, our shop has closed for the day."

"I know," the person who had come said impatiently. "I can see that large wooden sign, I'm not blind."

"...Little Master Yu?"

Yu Lanchuan's physical appearance at that moment was like those domineering bosses in television dramas. His shirt was severely neat and there was still a murderous intent between his brows. His coat was draped over the crook of his arm and he kept the door to Star Dreams open with one foot. He carelessly draped his coat over his shoulders. "It's windy here. Hurry up, I'm going to freeze to death."

His tone while hurrying her was too matter-of-fact. Gan Qing involuntarily moved faster and followed him out of Star Dreams with her head completely lost.

Meng Tianyi happened to poke his head out and look over. "Hey, Little Master Yu is here. Little Master Yu is a reliable person. With you here, I don't have to worry."

Yu Lanchuan nodded at him.

Gan Qing asked, "What happened?"

"Internal conflict in Beggars' Sect," Yu Lanchuan said briefly. "There are too many people with nothing better to do at No. 110 right now. You shouldn't go back yet, in case things get even messier once you show up."

Gan Qing, "..."

For some unknown reason, those obviously positive words would always be full of disdain when they were in Yu Lanchuan's mouth.

"I got a car. It's at the intersection, I can't drive it in. Let's go, we'll look for a place to eat." Yu Lanchuan used a purposefully "natural" tone. "I was busy the whole day, I'm still hungry."

Gan Qing said without thinking, "Sure, Boss Meng will take care of the food. What do you want to eat?"

Yu Lanchuan, "..."

He couldn't say "No" right in front of Boss Meng's face but he hadn't even drank a gulp of water after work before rushing here. And had he done that for the sake of eating at a roadside stall in a pitch-dark little alley?

For a second, he wanted to pry open Gan Qing's skull and see what kind of nonsense she had in there.

Luckily, Boss Meng quickly dissuaded her. "It's too busy tonight, there are no more seats in the shop. Don't join the excitement here, or do you want Little Master Yu to stand and eat in the back kitchen with you?"

Yu Lanchuan's eyelids lowered. His manner was saying: I am fine with anything but you should act accordingly.

Meng Tianyi said with a chuckle, "Little Master Yu is paying. If it wasn't because I have to take care of my shop, I would want to go along! There's a good free meal waiting for you, why aren't you hurrying? This isn't like you."

Yu Lanchuan had one foot on the steps at the entrance to Star Dreams. He scraped off the mud under his shoes, looking rather like he was forced to be there. He raised an eyebrow and looked at Gan Qing as though in puzzlement: Why is it that when I ask you out for a meal, you aren't like yourself?

For the sake of being like herself and not purposely acting differently, Gan Qing could only sigh and say, "Sure."

It was all because of that message from Zhang Meizhen causing trouble!

Meng Tianyi chuckled as he waved goodbye to the two of them. He turned around to go back into the shop and collided into his little disciple who was poking his head out.

"Why are you sneaking around?" Meng Tianyi smacked the little disciple's head. "Didn't I tell you to watch the stove?"

Those who came to be "disciples" at small shops like these were all kids from other parts of the country who came to Yanning to look for a living. They made their way in the world while working odd jobs, still in their teens, and had dropped out of school a long time ago. The journey they had gone on was longer than anyone else's, the jobs they had worked also more than anyone else's. The air of immaturity had yet to leave their faces, yet they were already starting to have a certain worldly shrewdness.

"Boss, who's that?" the little disciple asked.

"A friend," Boss Meng said. "What has it got to do with you?"

The little disciple said, "He looks like a rich guy."

"Yeah." Seeing a chance, Boss Meng lectured him. "Look at you, you didn't study hard when you were young so now that you've grown up, all you can do is cut things in the kitchen. When you look at other people who have studied hard, don't you regret it? In my opinion, you should take the chance while you're young to go to school…"

"Ai, Boss, why are you going on about this again? Of course, going to school is good. Everything is brought to you without you needing to lift a finger. If I'm made of the right stuff, would I need you to tell me this?" The little disciple waved him off, a trace of worries beyond his age appearing on his face that still had its baby fat. "Why did you let Gan'er-jiejie leave with him? Nothing good comes from being a gold-digger." 

"Gold… what the hell, do you know how to speak properly? What gold-digger!"

The little disciple was rather worried. He felt that Meng Tianyi was like those money-minded old mothers of impoverished female leads in idol dramas who, despite their age, did not know how to conduct themselves and spent every day salivating in anticipation of their daughter baiting a rich son-in-law for them. Hence, he advised him earnestly, "When being in a relationship, both parties should have similar backgrounds. If the other person has money but you don't, will they treat you seriously? They will just play with you. Even if it works out, the other person wants to eat big lobsters but you only know how to cook mala crayfish, can the two of you get along? When more time has passed, when the relationship is no longer new and fresh, the other person will look down on you. My Gan'er-jiejie is so good, why should she go through that?"

"Hey! You're just a little brat, how dare you look down on mala cray-"

"Even little brats know that a person cannot always think of taking shortcuts." The little disciple put on a serious face and lectured the "old yet had no self-respect" Boss Meng with a serious tone. "The one who will suffer due to being at a disadvantage in a romantic relationship is not you!"

Meng Tianyi teased him. "Then, is it you? What kind of thoughts do you have about your Gan'er-jiejie? Even if you do, there's no use. You haven't reached the legal age for marriage yet."

The little disciple who had spoken so confidently just now turned red. He stammered for a while, then ran off.

Boss Meng looked at the little kid's flustered retreating figure and laughed for a while. Then, he could not laugh anymore. He turned his head back around and cast his eyes over at Star Dreams's quiet and lonely locked door. Then, his gaze leaped past those low buildings to land on the open and wide road as he tried to recall how the place had looked before the buildings that were previously there were demolished.

He no longer remembered it.

"Your Gan'er-jiejie..." Boss Meng seemed to be speaking to himself. "...has skin made of copper and bones of metal, and is ruthless and merciless; who could make her suffer? If she could be willing to fall to the ground and get a taste of the mortal realm, that would be wonderful, regardless of whether it is a sweet or a bitter taste. Even if she suffers one time, there's nothing bad about that. At least, it's better than living aimlessly and thoughtlessly."

As he spoke, he sighed. His hands folded behind his back, he slowly returned to the back kitchen.

It wasn't convenient to drive around in Mudpool Backlane, the car had to be controlled down to the centimeter. Gan Qing didn't know how to drive. She sat in the front passenger seat and kept glancing at the side mirror in fear and trepidation, afraid that it would scrape against the wall. When Yu Lanchuan drove out of the area, she finally heaved a sigh of relief and dared to speak to the driver. "What do you mean by the 'internal conflict in Beggars' Sect' you said just now? It can't be related to me, can it? If it is, I will-"

"Move out? What has an internal conflict got to do with outsiders? Even if there is, it's only an excuse." Yu Lanchuan steadily cut her off. "These few years, other than those hoodlum gangs, everyone kept to their paths and didn't have the energy to be particular about sects and whatnots. Only Beggars' Sect can still be considered to have a large standing. In the past, whenever we needed to find someone or follow someone, we always troubled Old Master Yang. They have many people, their might is strong, and their informants are deeply hidden. If you have people, you have power; if you have power, you have authority and you can change things. For so many years, Old Master Yang had suppressed them and didn't follow some of these people's views to expand and strengthen. There are probably some who have been dissatisfied for a while already."

"You can't say that. If someone has an excuse, that means the person has got something on you," Gan Qing said. "It's better to avoid unnecessary trouble."

"Since this is something you said yourself, I hope you can keep it in mind." Yu Lanchuan sighed. "You don't have a moustache, why do you carry so many razor blades with you? Don't you think it's inconvenient to take the subway?"

"It's… fine?" Gan Qing said. "I don't take the subway anyway. It's a bit expensive."

Yu Lanchuan rolled his eyes, then asked her. "Is it better now?"

"Huh, what?"

"The injury on your shoulder."

"Oh, it wasn't anything serious anyway…"

"Next time, don't leave at night." Yu Lanchuan stared at the road ahead, his gaze unwavering as he said, "I will drop by after work and pick you up."

Gan Qing turned her head to look at him in surprise.

"I'm not worried about you, don't think too much," Yu Lanchuan said, his face expressionless. "You stay at No. 110. I just don't want to come home one day and hear that someone has again stabbed you…"

"Erm…" Gan Qing thought for a while, then asked cautiously, "So, for the sake of… supervising me, you purposely rented a car?"

"Who's doing that on purpose?" Yu Lanchuan scoffed. "The weather's been cold recently. I just don't want to walk home after wo-"

Before he could finish speaking, his phone suddenly rang. When he was driving, Yu Lanchuan's phone was connected to the car. He pressed "Accept" without thinking and heard a gentle female voice come out of the speakers. "Good evening, Mr. Yu. This is XXX Restaurant. This morning, you made a dinner reservation for two people. We have made the preparations. May I ask what time the two guests will be arriving?"

Yu Lanchuan, "..."

This restaurant might not be aware that it was giving itself a poor review in advance.

Yu Lanchuan said emotionlessly, "Initially, I had an appointment with a business partner to discuss some things this evening but the other person happened to be delayed by some other matter. This is just-"

Gan Qing didn't wait for him to finish speaking before nodding hastily. "Okay, I understand."

"-a work dinner."

Gan Qing went along politely, "It truly is my lucky day."

Halfway there, Yu Lanchuan started to have a faint feeling of regret. He suspected that he must have taken the wrong meds this morning and that was why he chose this type of restaurant. When they reached the place, he endured Gan Qing's increasingly strange gaze and wanted nothing more than to cancel his reservation immediately and drag her home to make instant noodles. Considering that Gan Qing's right arm was injured and that it wouldn't be convenient for her to use chopsticks, he had picked a place that used knives and forks.

This was a restaurant that specialised in western-style dishes. Inside, the sound of bagpipes was playing faintly and tiny booths filled the place as far as the eye can see.

The servers they hired might all have bat blood running through their veins. The surroundings were dark like a cinema hall and there was only a bit of light over each table. Under each light, there was even a narrow-mouthed vase with a rose inside.

Due to the fact that the environment was too quiet and tranquil, the diners naturally were more well-behaved, speaking in low voices. Looking in from the outside, every light illuminated a pair—a man and a woman; listening carefully, whispered conversations were everywhere.

Gan Qing, "..."

A work dinner…

Could it possibly be that Director Yu depended on his sex appeal to move up in the business world?

He was the alliance leader after all… this was quite an offence on public morals!

This considerate restaurant might be serving the food very slowly for the sake of dragging out everyone's date. Between every two courses, they left enough time for an episode of a television drama, lest there be one or two gluttons who were only concerned about eating and didn't spend any effort on paying attention to their lover.

Every course came on a plate scattered with rose petals, every drop of sauce could cause indigestion.

Gan Qing ate this meal feeling like she was sitting on pins and needles. When she finally endured to the end and stood up, she realised that her legs had gone numb. She had walked in on two legs but now, she limped her way out.

"I don't know if it's just me but I can't help feeling rather awkward," Gan Qing said.

Yu Lanchuan glanced at her gloomily. His eyes seemed to be saying that he wanted to silence her forever and exterminate this piece of dark history.

Gan Qing hastily mimed zipping her mouth shut.

She propped her head on her hand and fell silent for a while. All of a sudden, she was finally sensing a certain feeling… Someone had actually purposely rented a car to pick her up after work and also made a reservation at a restaurant in advance.

He was following the standard route and yet, when he was found out, he still pretended that nothing was happening.

...It was really a little too adorable.

While maintaining his posture of paying full attention to the road while driving, Yu Lanchuan bristled. "Why are you smiling?"

"I'm not," Gan Qing refuted immediately. "It's the reflection. You're mistaken."

She cleared her throat, then dug out her phone to check the time and said with feigned seriousness, "At this hour, those troublemakers should have left, right?"

Yu Lanchuan let out an indifferent yeah. After a while, he said, "He has been the sect leader for so many years, this small matter shouldn't be a problem…"

Before he could finish speaking, from behind them came the sound of a vehicle honking. Right on its heels was the blaring of an ambulance siren.

The drivers on both lanes naturally parted to make way. Yu Lanchuan's words were cut off.

The moment the ambulance passed by them, his heart suddenly fell with a thump.