Xie Zhiyan first formally met Ning Yuxuan during the summer vacation of his nineteenth year.
His mother suddenly assigned him a task: to tutor the daughter of her good friend.
It was said the girl's grades were already quite good, but she was about to enter ninth grade, facing the first important major exam of her life.
Zheng Xinmei was always warm-hearted towards people, and Ning Fei had been her best friend for many years, so she proactively suggested having her own academically excellent son help with tutoring.
Xie Zhiyan initially refused; middle school kids were at their most rebellious age, and besides, he had no experience as a tutor.
However, after his mother's repeated persuasion, he finally agreed.
His impression of those two weeks spent together wasn't actually very deep.
Years later, when he realized he had developed different feelings for Ning Yuxuan, did he deliberately try to recall the scenes from that time.
But the memories had already grown hazy; even with great effort, he could only remember some fragmented pieces.
The girl was indeed somewhat rebellious. At their first meeting, she declared: "Xie Zhiyan, let's get this straight first. You tutoring me is my mom and your mom's decision, not mine. So it doesn't mean I have to listen to everything you say."
What was his reaction back then?
To be honest, Xie Zhiyan couldn't quite remember.
He probably just gave a slight tug at the corner of his mouth and told her he understood.
He was an adult, after all; there was no need to argue with a middle school girl.
At his mother's request, Xie Zhiyan tutored Ning Yuxuan in her studies for half a month.
Though called tutoring, the girl said he didn't need to actively teach her anything; he just needed to promptly answer her questions whenever she encountered something she couldn't figure out.
Xie Zhiyan was happy to have it easy, so most of the time he just read his own books in the study or browsed some materials on the computer.
Meanwhile, the girl sat not far from him, meticulously writing her holiday homework.
The girl was utterly unceremonious. Regardless of whether he was in the middle of reading something, whenever she had a question, she would immediately come over and tap his shoulder.
"Xie Zhiyan, take a look at this problem for me. I think the standard answer miscalculated."
"This is so strange. For this multiple-choice question, no matter how I calculate it, the answer should be B. Xie Zhiyan, see where I went wrong in my steps?"
At first, Xie Zhiyan wasn't used to having his train of thought suddenly interrupted, but after it happened many times, he somehow grew accustomed to it.
Back in his own middle and high school days, classmates often came to ask him questions, mostly female classmates.
However, every girl who came to ask him a question was cautious and careful, afraid of disturbing him or upsetting him.
Only Ning Yuxuan was so self-assured and righteous.
She was never polite about asking for his help.
So much so that even after that summer vacation ended, he would occasionally still receive messages from her.
Once, a roommate borrowed his professional course notes to look at and stared at one page in shock: "Zhiyan, do we need to use the Law of Sines for this course? Did I miss something in a lecture?"
Xie Zhiyan chuckled lightly and said calmly, "Don't bother with that page. Someone asked me a math question, and I just jotted down the steps."
The roommate immediately perked up: "Zhiyan, you're finally dating someone?"
Xie Zhiyan: "No."
The roommate didn't believe him: "Impossible. That smile of yours just now was suspicious. And you actually helped someone solve a math problem? Must be your girlfriend, right?"
Xie Zhiyan initially didn't want to explain, but after being asked a few times and getting annoyed, he said, "It's a kid from a relative's family."
Upon hearing this, the roommate was astonished: "A kid? Zhiyan, since when did you have the patience to tutor a kid in math? And education is getting so intense these days, kids are already learning the Law of Sines..."
...
Calling her a "kid" might have been a bit of an exaggeration, but Xie Zhiyan had always regarded Ning Yuxuan as a little girl who hadn't grown up.
A little girl who always felt perfectly justified asking him for help.
For the next few years, that impression didn't really change.
Until another summer vacation, five years later.
Xie Zhiyan was studying for his MBA in North America and came back during the break to spend time with his mother.
Ning Yuxuan had just finished her freshman year of university and found a summer internship near the Xie family's old residence, so it was only natural that she often came to Zheng Xinmei's place for meals.
Xie Zhiyan didn't know how Ning Yuxuan managed to come up with so many different words to praise his mother's cooking.
Zheng Xinmei was always delighted by her comments and would then pretend to scold her own son: "Look at Xuanxuan, and then look at you. You're such a dull gourd, really no fun at all."
Xie Zhiyan remained unfazed: "Mom, after all these years, haven't you gotten used to what I'm like?"
Zheng Xinmei was both amused and exasperated by her son: "Yes, I shouldn't expect anything from you. I might as well adopt Xuanxuan as my goddaughter; she'd be better than you, my own son."
As she spoke, Zheng Xinmei seemed to genuinely consider the idea and asked Ning Yuxuan: "Xuanxuan, would you like to be my goddaughter? Then you could call Zhiyan 'brother,' and he'd have to look out for you more."
Ning Yuxuan blinked her eyes, before she could answer.
Xie Zhiyan cut off his mother first: "Mom, there's no need for such titles. I'll look out for her as I should anyway."
Looking back now, Xie Zhiyan felt that perhaps he had already subconsciously developed different thoughts about Ning Yuxuan back then.
Otherwise, why would he have interrupted his mother without a second thought?
It was just that he was completely unaware of it at the time.
The matter of adopting a goddaughter was eventually dropped.
However, Zheng Xinmei had always wanted a daughter, and over the years, she had treated this good friend's daughter almost the same as she would a goddaughter.
Ning Yuxuan's internship was from nine to five. At first, she ate lunch at the company cafeteria. After work, sometimes she went directly back to Ning Fei's place, and sometimes she came to Zheng Xinmei's for dinner before returning.
But Ning Yuxuan always complained that the cafeteria was expensive and the food wasn't good, so Zheng Xinmei volunteered that whenever Ning Yuxuan said she was coming for dinner, she would also prepare Ning Yuxuan's lunch for the next day, packing it in a thermal lunchbox for her to take to the office.
Xie Zhiyan had come back to the country specifically to accompany his mother, so he often had dinner with Ning Yuxuan as well.
However, he was naturally a man of few words. At the dinner table, it was usually Ning Yuxuan and his mother chatting animatedly, while he occasionally chimed in with a sentence or two.
He and Ning Yuxuan didn't become particularly close just because they often had dinner together either. At most, they would greet each other when they met and almost never engaged in casual chat—
Except when she needed his help with something.
One morning, Zheng Xinmei went shopping with friends as planned.
Xie Zhiyan was alone in the study reading materials when a text message notification suddenly chimed.
Opening the message, the first words that caught his eye were "Help me," followed by three exclamation marks.
Ning Yuxuan: 【Help me!!! I forgot the lunchbox Auntie made for me yesterday in your fridge! Xie Zhiyan are you busy? Can you bring it over for me?】
It was followed by a sticker of a chubby kitten waving its paw, with the words "Please, please" above its head.
Xie Zhiyan couldn't help but chuckle softly.
The girl was a bit more polite than before. In the past, when she asked him math questions, she would just send the problem directly.
Now, although still not overly courteous, she at least sent a "please" sticker.
Xie Zhiyan: 【Doesn't the company have a cafeteria?】
Ning Yuxuan: "But the shrimp fried rice won't be fresh by evening! If you're not busy, could you bring it over for me? I'll buy you an ice-cold soda when you get here!"
Xie Zhiyan: "I haven't had lunch yet. If you're worried about it not being fresh, I can help you take care of it."
In truth, he wasn't busy and didn't mind driving over to deliver it.
He just didn't know why, but he didn't want to agree to her request too readily.
Ning Yuxuan: "No way!! That's my favorite shrimp fried rice! Besides, the cafeteria food is super gross!"
Ning Yuxuan: "Forget it, I'll just take a taxi to your place to pick it up. If you're home, you can at least open the door for me, right?"
Xie Zhiyan could almost picture the young girl's expression—both anxious and annoyed—on the other end, the corner of his mouth lifting imperceptibly.
She really did love his mother's shrimp. Willing to make a special round trip in the sweltering summer noon just to eat it.
Xie Zhiyan: "Send me your company address."
In less than five seconds, her location popped up.
Ning Yuxuan: "Call me when you're almost here! I'll come down to meet you!"
Xie Zhiyan: "I'll be there in fifteen minutes."
The company where Ning Yuxuan was interning was about a ten-minute drive from the Xie family's old residence. It was located in a relatively remote area compared to the city center, so traffic was rarely an issue.
Xie Zhiyan took the fried rice from the fridge, placed it in an insulated bag, and also grabbed a bottle of the juice she liked.
She always drank the same few juices at dinner; it was hard not to remember her preferences.
By the time his car stopped in front of the company building, Ning Yuxuan was already waiting at the entrance.
Dressed in a pink floral sundress, she looked every bit the student, brimming with youthful energy.
She had been shading her eyes from the sun, looking around, but upon seeing him, she immediately waved vigorously and jogged over.
The hem of her skirt fluttered, tracing a circle in the air.
"Thanks for the trouble!" Ning Yuxuan's eyes curved into crescents as she took the insulated bag from him.
Xie Zhiyan handed her the bottle of juice and saw her eyes light up.
"How did you know this is my favorite?" Ning Yuxuan smiled, her eyes still curved. "Thank you!"
She then passed him the soda she was holding, almost forcing it into his hand without asking if he wanted it.
Ning Yuxuan said cheerfully, "I promised you an ice-cold soda. I just bought it, specifically picked the coldest one from the fridge!"
"Alright, I'll head back to eat now?" she said.
Xie Zhiyan was silent for a couple of seconds before giving a slight nod.
Ning Yuxuan smiled and waved at him, then turned and walked back inside with the colleague who had come down with her.
Xie Zhiyan stood where he was, not leaving immediately.
He overheard her colleague ask, "That guy is so tall and handsome. He's really not your boyfriend? I think you two look really good together!"
"Really?" Ning Yuxuan laughed. "Maybe it's because I'm pretty, so I look good with every handsome guy?"
She quickly added, "But he's the son of my mom's friend, several years older than me. There's no way he could be my boyfriend."
The two walked further away, and he couldn't hear the rest.
Xie Zhiyan lowered his gaze.
This was the first time he had tasted the feeling of having his emotions so easily swayed by a single sentence from her.
