Lin Wan, speechless, pushed him aside. "I don't have time to fool around with you. I need to pack."
A Jin glanced at the open wardrobe and the scattered items across the floor.
"What's with this setup? Looks like you're moving."
"I am moving."
She sighed as she folded clothes. "This whole area is being demolished. I came back this time just to handle the paperwork."
"So where are you taking all this stuff?"
"I'll store it at Sister Xiaofang's next door for now…"
"That pregnant woman?"
Lin Wan shot him with a glare. "Why do you need to know so much?"
A Jin clicked his tongue, looking wounded. "I'm trying to care about you."
She snorted, continuing her packing.
He crouched beside her and reached out to help, only to have his hand slapped away.
Looking aggrieved, he said, "Fine, fine. I'll help later. Let's go get something to eat first, okay?"
Without looking up, Lin Wan answered, "How are you hungry again? Didn't we just eat?"
A Jin's eyes widened.
"That was lunch! I'm a grown man—high consumption rate—what's wrong with needing food?"
Then, as usual, he began his nonsense:
"And hey, it's not like I've ever starved you. How come you won't even feed me properly now that we're here?"
Lin Wan flung the items in her hands onto the bed.
"Alright, alright—fine! We'll eat!"
Triumphant, he grinned and retreated to the room to get dressed.
As he walked away, Lin Wan finally noticed the pajamas she bought were too small—his pant legs dangling above his ankles, the whole outfit making him look ridiculously dopey.
So different from his usual tailored suits and immaculate shirts that she nearly burst out laughing.
—
Lin Wan found the closest half-decent restaurant she could to fill him up.
After they returned, she kept packing—sorting, discarding, and boxing the rest.
By the time everything was in order, it was already past eleven.
She took a quick shower and began straightening her grandmother's bed.
"Wan Wan," A Jin said from behind her, "sleep in your room."
She looked up warily, but he merely pressed a hand onto the mattress.
"This thing's so damp you could wring water out of it. How are you supposed to sleep here?"
"My room's a single bed."
"Then I'll take this one."
He accepted the arrangement without hesitation.
Lin Wan's heart jolted—warming for a beat before turning faintly sour.
She sighed, tossing the pillow onto the bed.
"Chen Jin… you don't have to do this."
He blinked, then answered earnestly, "Wan Wan, you're overthinking. You're a woman, I'm a man—I can't let you sleep on something like that."
—
In the end, Lin Wan did sleep in her own room.
Before she left, A Jin checked her ankle again.
The swelling hadn't disappeared entirely, but it was no longer serious.
She casually reminded him to take his medicine.
The day had worn her out completely.
The moment her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep.
When she woke, morning light filled the room.
She went next door—his bed was empty, the blanket folded neatly into a perfect square.
Still staring at it, she heard the door open.
A Jin stepped inside holding two paper bags.
"Awake?" he said with a smile. "Thought you'd sleep longer."
Like he belonged there, he walked straight into the kitchen, found bowls and plates, and plated the fried dough sticks and soy milk he'd bought.
Lin Wan stood at the doorway watching.
A strange, almost dreamlike feeling crept up through her chest—foreign yet familiar.
Like soft wool wrapping around her…
Like clouds lifting her gently upward.
Warm.
Beautiful.
But too unreal.
—
After breakfast, it was still early.
Lin Wan looked around the small house—her grandmother's house—and grief rose quietly, heavy and slow.
More than ten years of life here, and soon it would all disappear.
Hard to accept.
A Jin noticed her expression.
He thought for a moment and said, "I know a way to keep it."
She looked up immediately, eyes bright—
Only to see him pull out his phone and wave it.
Her excitement collapsed into exasperation.
He snapped a few photos of the room.
"I can't stop demolition," he said matter-of-factly. "Honestly, places like this should've been torn down years ago. Your city's pace of development is slow."
Lin Wan whispered, dazed, "This place… holds my memories."
"Yeah."
A Jin looked around once more, softer this time.
"That's why my method works. Let them build whatever they want… and you keep what's yours. Not a bad deal, right?"