Chapter 48

Du Ruo washed her hair and showered in a daze, dried off, towelled her hair, and collapsed into the soft bed, staring at the ceiling.
Her brain was still frazzled, her heart still pounding unevenly.
She felt like she’d caused a minor catastrophe.
A wild mess of feelings wove through her: anxious, giddy, regretful, secretly delighted, every emotion in the book.
And whenever she thought of that kiss, her face burned. She rolled over, buried her head in the pillow, and kicked the mattress as hard as she could, whump, whump, whump.
He might be breathing easy, but she knew she wasn’t sleeping tonight.
Just on the other side of the wall, Jing Ming looked perfectly calm, outwardly, anyway, since he’d promised Du Ruo to keep things secret. So, back in their room, he turned his self-control up to maximum, almost to the point where he looked moody.
But Li Wei knew him too well, saw right through the act, but didn’t call him on it, letting him keep up the bluff.
In the shower, Jing Ming’s mouth wouldn’t stop twitching up, his grin nearly flying off his face.
Even with the lights out, lying in the dark, he couldn’t keep from smiling. Grinned, rolled over, grinned again, changed positions, still smiling.
Until finally, Li Wei couldn’t stand it anymore and grumbled, “Bro, look at the time. Are you done yet or what? Let some people sleep?”
Only then did Jing Ming finally settle down.
That night, everyone on the Prime team slept sweet and sound, satisfied and content.
The dream had taken its very first step.
The next day, no one was up early. It was nearly noon when they all met up to check out. A crowd of them flooded the hallway; Jing Ming and Du Ruo’s eyes briefly met and flicked away, badly pretending to be casual.
They squeezed into the elevator, chatting together. The two of them were right in the mix, but never once spoke to each other. Jing Ming couldn’t help himself; when they left, he hung back to be last and sneakily scratched her palm as he passed.
She jumped, glaring at him over her shoulder. He just kept looking ahead, grinning.
They had lunch together at Bao’an Airport, and then everyone broke off to head home.
Jing Ming gave everyone over a week off. August 1st, back to the lab. After all, their moment in Shenzhen was behind them, the main mission was waiting: Prime No.2.
At the airport, when Jing Ming found out Du Ruo wasn’t heading back to Beijing but going home instead, he frowned, but said nothing.
Half the team was flying to Beijing, boarding gate up ahead.
They all waved goodbye to Du Ruo.
Jing Ming couldn’t be obvious, so he lagged at the very end, dragging his steps, and when he passed by her, he whispered,
“Come home early, okay?”
“Mm.” She replied softly.
He walked away with the other guys, and after a few steps, glanced back as if it were nothing.
She was already gone, heading into the departure lounge.
Du Ruo found a seat, enjoying a rare moment of silence, and tried to make sense of whatever was going on between her and Jing Ming. It all felt a little hazy and unreal. The more she thought about it, the less sense it made, so eventually she just gave up.
Boarding, take-off.
The seaside city of Shenzhen disappeared behind, its sparkle and glory from days ago fading a little in her mind.
Landing on the southwestern border.
Long day, bus, minivan, motorcycle, winding mountain roads. By the time the sun set, she was finally back in that battered little mud hut deep in the hills.
For a moment, it felt like another lifetime.
She got home just as evening fell.
A dim bulb dangled from the living room ceiling. The place was bare. Peeling, yellowed newspaper still clung to the old walls. Rough cooking stove, battered table and chairs. Passing through to the tiny bedroom where three generations lived together: three narrow wooden beds, a faded ’90s wardrobe, so old, no one knew its real color, doors barely hanging on.
Du Ruo whispered, “But I’ve been sending money home, haven’t I? Why not get new beds? Or a new wardrobe?”
“It all works, don’t be wasteful,” her mom replied with a gentle smile. “We’re saving everything for you.”
She looked at her mom, a woman just past forty, already lined and tired, looking more like Jing family’s grandma than anything else. Her chest ached, and she quickly set down her bags and headed off to start a fire and chop up some pigweed for dinner.
She hadn’t done farm work in ages. That night, her arms were sore before she even managed to fall asleep.
Du Ruo lay in her little bed, listening to her ailing grandmother’s pained groans from the next bed, and couldn’t sleep at all.
She rolled over quietly, checked her phone. No new messages.
Scrolling through her feed, she saw Jing Ming’s update from half an hour ago: a lamp, a laptop, and a cup of tea. Not a single word.
He was never the type to post anything, so the comment section was exploding with likes and replies.
He Wang: [I’ll be damned, he actually posted. Miracles do happen.]
He Wang: [Show-off!]
Wan Zi’ang: [Can’t believe it! 1. Secretly an artsy guy, huh?]
Li Wei: [Didn’t think I’d live to see this 2. I see right through you, man.]
Tu Zhiyuan: [Shocked x3. I am utterly confused right now.]
Zhu Tao: [Surprise sighting #4. Consulted the spirits, something’s definitely up.]
And so on, all the way to 27...
Du Ruo hovered over the comment box, wanted to like the post, but thought better of it. She put away her phone and went to sleep.
For the next few days, she focused on being at home, helping her mom and grandma around the house, cooking, gardening, feeding chickens and pigs. She’d kept herself so busy she barely had time to think about anything else.
She didn’t text Jing Ming, and he didn’t reach out to her either. Whether he was just busy or waiting her out, she couldn’t say.
He did post a message in the Prime group chat. Apparently, he’d met with Mr. Yan Ruoyu. After watching their big Shenzhen competition, the old man got in touch, and now wanted to be an investor in Prime.
That announcement blew up the group, hundreds of messages flying in.
But Du Ruo was out in the cornfield squashing bugs, so she didn’t see any of it until that evening.
Tu Zhiyuan was even asking in the group: “Hey, where’s Xiao Ruo? Did she disappear or something?”
Jing Ming replied, “Ha, who knows?”
That was four hours ago; now, the chat was quiet.
Du Ruo ignored him, put down her phone, and served dinner.
Just the three of them round the table, having dinner together.
Halfway through, she quietly asked, “Mom, do you remember Aunt Ming Yi’s son?”
Her mom thought for a bit. “I do. He was such a handsome kid.”
Du Ruo kept fussing with her rice, biting back a smile at her lips.
Her mom laughed kindly. “He never wanted to come eat at our house though, not even a glass of water. Picky little boy.”
That knocked Du Ruo’s smile right off. For the next few days, she just logged out of WeChat altogether.
So it stayed awkward and frozen like that for a week, until one night, just as she climbed into bed, she suddenly got a text from Jing Ming: “When are you coming back to Beijing?”
Her flight was the following day, but she replied, “Probably staying a few more days. Why?”
No reply.
She waited two minutes, nothing. She puffed out her cheeks and chucked her phone aside.
As soon as she put it down, the screen lit up.
New message: “I’m coming to find you tomorrow.”
She almost fell off the bed in shock: “Don’t you dare!”
He replied, puzzled: “Why not? I want to see the mountains.”
Her: “I’m coming back tomorrow!”
Him: “Don’t believe you.”
She got anxious: “I swear! Li Wei booked all our flights together, the whole out-of-town crew. Ask him if you don’t trust me. Didn’t he mention it?”
Him: “…”
“Damn.”
“I’m going to kill him!”
She was just about to ask what happened,
Him: “Send me your flight info.”
She figured he was just being suspicious, so she sent it over.
He didn’t say much after that. “Get some sleep. Big travel day tomorrow.”
Her: “Okay.”
Him: “Good night.”
Her: “Night.”
She set down her phone, finally relaxed, and fell asleep.
The next day, she said her goodbyes to mom and grandma and left that remote mountain village, heading for the big city again, Beijing.
As the plane landed at Capital International, last year flashed through her mind. That time, she’d arrived alone at Beijing West Station, swept along in the crowds, lost, anxious, excited, completely overwhelmed.
Thinking about it now, she felt a little nostalgic.
She rolled her suitcase out of arrivals, and spotted Jing Ming, hands in his pockets, waiting for her by the exit.
She had no idea he’d come; seeing him from afar, she was caught off guard.
He looked as calm as ever, cool gaze locked on her.
When they finally met up, neither said a word for a few seconds. It’d only been a week, but weirdly, it felt a little awkward and new.
She kept her voice low: “What are you doing here?”
“What do you think?” he replied, just a bit impatient, and took her suitcase from her.
A warm flutter ran through her, even as he gave her a quick once-over. “You got a tan.”
“No way!” she protested immediately.
Jing Ming: “Definitely tanned.”
She rolled her eyes at him; he just snorted.
They lapsed into silence. That hint of awkwardness hung around, like neither of them quite knew what to say.
He led the way, pulling her suitcase; she walked beside him, eyeing his tall silhouette. Suddenly she remembered last year, when he picked her up at the train station, so, she marched up and kicked him.
He turned around, bemused, but didn’t ask why or get annoyed. Instead, he just reached out and caught her hand, lacing their fingers together, gently drawing her closer until they were walking side by side.
That simple touch made all the stiffness vanish in an instant.
Outside, the summer heat hit like a wave.
By the time they reached the parking lot, Du Ruo’s face was drenched in sweat.
His flashy orange sports car stood out in the crowd. As she approached, the door swung open automatically.
They climbed in from opposite sides; once the door shut, he shot her a sideways look and said with mock disdain, “Did you just get fished out of a river?”
“I sweat super easily.” She swiped at the sweat on her mouth with the back of her hand, then, right on cue, he handed her a pack of tissues.
She pulled out a tissue, wiping herself off and muttering, “Beijing’s crazy hot. Bet the dorm is an oven by now.”
He was just slotting the car key in, but turned at that. “You’re staying at my place.”
She froze, uncertain if she was resisting or just startled. “I… maybe I should go back to the dorm”
He cut her off: “My mom says she hasn’t seen you in ages.”
“…Oh.”
“She wants you to stay for a few days.”
Du Ruo still hesitated.
He frowned. “Whole summer break and you can’t even bother to go visit her? That’s cold.”
“…”
She thought about it, she really hadn’t seen Aunt Ming Yi in a long time. And it was summer after all. She nodded. “Okay then.”
He arched one eyebrow, just barely, and after a pause, asked, “Did you miss me?”
“Huh?” Her cheeks went red. She looked away.
“Admit it. Did you miss me or not?”
“…” In the end, there was no dodging it. She mumbled, “Yeah, I did.”
He studied her for a moment, lips curving, then suddenly unbuckled and leaned in. Gaze dropped to her mouth, then drifted up to her eyes, steady and intent. The meaning was crystal clear.
Blushing, she slowly leaned in and pressed her lips softly to his, warm and gentle.
He held her gaze, not moving.
“…” So she kissed him again, this time carefully tasting his lips before letting go.
He chased after her as soon as she broke away, this time catching her lips between his, utterly tender as he deepened the kiss.
When they finally broke for air, breath running ragged, he let her go with obvious reluctance. He pressed a light kiss to her ear and whispered hoarsely, “Missed you like crazy.”
Me too, I missed you. So much.
They got back around four. Jing Yuanshan and Ming Yi were both at work, house empty.
Du Ruo stayed in the guest room, just finished unpacking when her phone buzzed.
Jing Ming: “Come to the study.”
Du Ruo headed out and found Housekeeper Chen balancing a huge plate of fruit and lemonade, ready to head upstairs. “I’ll take it for you, I was just going up anyway.”
“Thanks, Miss Du,” Chen replied, not standing on ceremony.
She walked up to the third floor, nudged the study door with her foot. “Open up.”
"What, you don't have hands now?" came a voice from inside.
"I'm carrying stuff!"
Footsteps approached quickly.
Jing Ming opened the door, took what she was holding, and set it down on the floor.
Piled on the ground were circuit boards, motors, joints, wires, casings, and batteries.
Du Ruo darted over, plopping down cross-legged in excitement. "Are you building a robot?"
"Yeah." He answered, barely looking up.
The whir of machinery buzzed nearby.
Du Ruo turned to see Eva, bumbling out of the corner, stopping next to the plate of fruit. Her big round eyes swiveled once before she piped up in an adorably soft voice, "What’s that?"
Du Ruo gawked, wide-eyed. "Wait, she can talk now?"
Jing Ming glanced up. "Yeah."
The next second, Eva slowly turned around, tipped her head up to look at Du Ruo, her voice sweet and childlike, "Who are you?"
Du Ruo grinned, delighted. "I'm Du Ruo."
Jing Ming snorted, rubbing his nose. "Are you for real?"
Eva tilted her head, sizing Du Ruo up, then blurted out to herself, "This girl’s got a bad temper."
Du Ruo: ???
"Hey! I’m actually really nice," she protested.
Eva stared at her for a moment, then said a single word: "Oh."
With that, she toddled off toward Jing Ming.
"She’s too cute!" Du Ruo’s voice softened as Eva melted her heart. "When did she learn to talk?"
He shrugged. "A few days ago. Not like it’s hard or anything."
"She’s so adorable!" Du Ruo scooted over beside him to play with Eva, poking her little hand, tapping her eyes, totally absorbed.
He shot her a sideways glance, she was close enough he could feel her presence, and his lips curled into a silent smile as he went back to work.
After a bit of playing with Eva, Du Ruo crawled off to the corner and pointed at the pile of robots. "Can I check these out?"
"Go ahead," he said, not fussed at all.
She inspected each one, totally focused and serious.
Now and then, he’d glance at her and explain, "That’s a robot vacuum you’re looking at."
"Did you buy it, or did you make it?"
"All the robot vacuums at our place? I built every one."
"Wow." She said under her breath, then asked, "Which one was your first?"
"The black one to your left, thirty centimeters tall."
"Wait, your very first was humanoid? How old were you then?" she asked, astonished.
"Six or seven, I think."
"Whoa!" She opened the power switch and watched as the robot slowly trundled forward. She poked it, nudging it off balance, but it wobbled and didn’t fall. She marveled, "You figured out dynamic balance on your very first try! That’s crazy impressive."
He didn't reply, sipping his lemon water, the rim of the glass hiding the small smile tugging at his lips.
He set the cup down and said, "Come eat some watermelon."
"Alright." She circled back over to sit across from him, munching watermelon, and glanced at the bookshelf. "Have you read all these books?"
"Nope. The ones I’ve read are in the study next door."
"There’s another study? Can I see it?" Curiosity lit up her face.
"Sure, go ahead." He was nonchalant.
Next door, there were floor-to-ceiling bookshelves on three walls.
Sure enough, barely ten seconds later, he heard her whisper a muffled gasp, "Oh my god!"
He was on the floor fiddling with robot parts, lips twitching in an uncontainable smile, having to duck his head and rub his brow with the back of his hand to keep from bursting out laughing. He kept biting his lower lip to stifle it.
Only when he heard her footsteps coming back did he finally manage to straighten up and turn serious, focused again on his project.
Du Ruo rushed back in, kneeling on the floor at his side. "Need a hand?"
Jing Ming pushed over a tangle of joints and wires for her to assemble.
She took them, and quietly asked, "Will you let outsiders borrow your books?"
Jing Ming looked up at her. "Are you an outsider?"
She froze for a second, a little rush of warmth in her chest. She didn’t reply, just grinned and tipped her head, content to help build robots in silence.
He shot her a quick glance, then dropped his gaze, concentrating on his work.
They stayed like that until seven, eight p.m., both utterly oblivious to the world outside and the golden sunset blazing through the window.
At some point, Ming Yi’s gentle voice floated in from the hallway: "Xiao Jing, I haven’t seen Xiao Ruo anywhere, is she here?"
A second later, the door clicked open.
Ming Yi stepped in to see the two of them sitting on the floor, heads almost touching as they hunched over the same robot, both serious as little professors. She paused, caught off guard.
Du Ruo startled, too, raising her head nervously with a smile. "Hi, Aunt Ming Yi."
"So here’s where you’ve been, Xiao Ruo!" Ming Yi chuckled. "I was wondering why you were nowhere to be found." Then she added, "You two forgot about dinner, didn’t you? Time to head downstairs and eat something."
Jing Ming said, "Got it. We’ll be there soon."
Ming Yi knew he was busy and didn’t push, just closed the door quietly behind her.
On the way down, it struck her, when did those two start getting along so well?
Upstairs, Du Ruo didn’t say much, just diligently finished tidying up with Jing Ming.
Suddenly, Jing Ming asked, "Why’d you get so nervous just now?"
Du Ruo blinked, smiled. "I wasn’t! I just got startled when someone walked in unexpectedly."
That was what she said, anyway. But in that moment, her heart really did pound like she’d been caught sneaking around.
"With me here, what are you so scared of?" he grumbled, reaching out to ruffle her hair. "Let’s go. Dinner time."