【Chapter 1: The Wednesday Frequency】
The rainy season in this city always arrived without warning, like a premeditated joke.
Shen An-sheng stood at the edge of the bus shelter, his black folding umbrella barely covering half his shoulder. Rainwater dripped from the umbrella ribs onto his leather shoes, blooming into small, dark stains. He lifted his wrist to check his watch—7:14 AM.
Less than a minute left.
His gaze didn't cast toward the end of the road. Instead, it drifted imperceptibly to his right.
Two meters away stood that girl.
Today was Wednesday.
Shen An-sheng’s mood held a trace of anticipation indescribable on other days because Wednesday was special.
Unlike her usual sharp trench coats or soft knitwear, every Wednesday she would change into a sleek, dark yoga outfit with a loose sports jacket casually draped over it. On her back, she carried a neatly rolled yoga mat. White AirPods hung in her ears, her head nodding gently to the beat of some music.
This outfit outlined her fine figure, full of vitality, forming a stark contrast to the lethargic, weary commuters around them.
This was Shen An-sheng’s motivation for waking up early every day, and the most secret routine of his life.
Three months.
Every morning at 7:15, they would punctually appear at this bus stop.
At 7:18, the 705 bus that Shen An-sheng took would arrive first; the 652 bus she waited for would usually arrive late, two minutes later.
Different routes, different destinations.
They were like two parallel lines running with precision, sharing three minutes of waiting time in the early morning.
"Bus is coming!" someone in the crowd shouted.
The massive body of the 705 bus cut through the curtain of rain and slowly pulled over. Shen An-sheng collapsed his umbrella. Habitually, before stepping onto the bus stairs, he glanced back one last time.
The girl was adjusting her AirPods, but the moment he turned, she seemed to lift her chin slightly, her gaze brushing past his back as if it were nothing.
Shen An-sheng gave a self-deprecating smile and tapped his card to board.
Don't overthink it, Shen An-sheng. It's just a coincidence.
That same Wednesday evening was a disaster.
The server crashed ten minutes before clock-out time. The project manager roared in the conference room, and Shen An-sheng, as the technical lead, was forced to stay and fix it until 9 PM.
When he finally walked out of the office building, he felt as if his soul had been drained. The rain hadn’t stopped; instead, it fell harder. Gusts of wind wrapped in cold raindrops ruthlessly battered every late-night returnee.
Even worse, the 705 bus had been diverted due to an accident. He could only find an alternative route via an app—a bus he rarely took that required a long detour to get home.
When the bus pulled into the station, it was already packed with passengers like sardines. The windows were covered in thick condensation, making it impossible to see inside from the outside.
Shen An-sheng braced himself and squeezed on. The cabin was filled with the smell of damp umbrellas and the sweat of exhaustion. The air was stifling and humid, making his already groggy head throb even more.
He struggled to protect his briefcase, trying to move toward the rear of the bus to find a corner where he could breathe.
"Excuse me, passing through..."
He turned sideways to squeeze past two high school students carrying huge backpacks, his gaze weaving through the gaps between the crowded heads. Suddenly, his eyes froze.
In the second-to-last row, by the window, was a familiar silhouette.
Even though it was just a profile, and even though the light was dim, Shen An-sheng recognized her at a glance.
It was that girl.
She was still wearing that loose sports jacket from the morning, only now the zipper was pulled to the top, burying half her face in the collar. She was still wearing those AirPods, her head leaning against the foggy glass window, seemingly in a daze, or perhaps asleep.
And in this carriage where it was difficult even to stand, something incredibly illogical occurred—
The aisle seat next to her was empty.
Shen An-sheng was stunned. The area was packed with people; there was even an uncle standing right next to that empty seat holding the handrail, yet no one sat down.
He walked two steps closer in confusion and finally saw the reason.
That familiar, long-rolled yoga mat was lying across the empty seat like a sturdy line of defense, domineeringly occupying the entire space. And one of her hands was resting lightly on the yoga mat, as if guarding something.
Shen An-sheng’s heart suddenly began to race for no reason.
Reason told him he should just stand at a distance and not disturb her. But his feet seemed to have a mind of their own, guiding him through the final wall of people to stop right beside that seat.
He looked at the yoga mat, then at the girl with her eyes closed, his Adam's apple bobbing.
Just as he hesitated whether to speak, the girl’s eyelashes trembled, and she opened her eyes.
Eyes met.
In that instant, the girl took the AirPod out of her right ear, and the music stopped abruptly. Her eyes were clear, without the haze of just waking up. Seeing Shen An-sheng standing before her, her eyes lit up slightly, and then, the corners of her mouth hooked into a tiny, almost imperceptible arc.
There was no verbal exchange.
Moving fluidly, she reached out, scooped up the long yoga mat from the seat, and quickly stood it up, hugging it into her arms. The cylindrical mat became a bolster in her embrace, blocking half her face, revealing only a pair of smiling eyes curved like crescents.
The empty seat was thus unreservedly revealed before him.
Shen An-sheng paused for two seconds before his brain started working again.
Was this... saved for him?
"Is... is anyone sitting here?" Shen An-sheng heard his own dry voice ask a stupid question.
The girl hugged the yoga mat, her chin resting on the top of it. Her voice was crisp, carrying a hint of softness unique to rainy nights:
"No. There has never been anyone."
Shen An-sheng took a deep breath and, under the envious and surprised gaze of the uncle next to him, slowly sat down.
As he sat, his arm inevitably brushed against the yoga mat in her arms. The cool touch of the rubber felt incredibly scorching to him at this moment.
The carriage remained stifling, and the rain continued to fall.
But in this moment, Shen An-sheng felt that this crowded Wednesday night might be the most beautiful night of his life.
"You..."
"You..."
They spoke at the same time and stopped at the same time.
The girl chuckled, shrinking slightly toward the window while hugging the mat, and asked generously: "You are Mr. 705, right?"
Shen An-sheng’s heart skipped a beat. He turned to look into her shining eyes.
"I am... You are the Wednesday Yoga Girl?"
The smile in the girl's eyes deepened. She handed over one of the AirPods in her hand and said softly:
"No yoga tonight. This song is perfect for a rainy day."
【Chapter 2: The Frequency of Proximity】
Shen An-sheng carefully accepted the white AirPod from her fingertips.
The moment of contact was brief, but he keenly felt the residual warmth on the earphone—it was her body temperature.
He placed the earphone in his left ear.
The next second, the noise of the rain, the roar of the engine, and the laughter of the students in the back were all shut out by an invisible barrier.
Flowing into his ear was a slow-tempo old English song. The singer's lazy, husky voice accompanied by the bass of a jazz piano was like a cup of warm whiskey, instantly dyeing the humid, stifling air with a slightly intoxicated hue.
“I can't take my eyes off you...”
Shen An-sheng’s heart missed a beat.
He turned to look at the girl beside him. She was looking down, her gaze falling on the yoga mat in her arms, her finger unconsciously tracing circles on the uneven texture.
Although she pretended to be nonchalant, Shen An-sheng noticed that the ear exposed outside her hair was already red as a ripe cherry.
So, she was nervous too.
This discovery relaxed Shen An-sheng’s tight nerves slightly. He adjusted his sitting posture, trying to make his stiff shoulders look natural. But this movement made him realize how close they were right now—
Their shoulders were almost touching.
With the bumping of the bus, the fabric of his arm would occasionally rub against the sleeve of her sports jacket. That subtle touch was magnified infinitely through his nerve endings.
She smelled good. Not perfume, but a faint citrus scent mixed with the freshness of rain—perhaps her usual body wash, or the smell of freshly laundered clothes. The scent wasn't strong; it could only be smelled at this distance.
"This song..." Shen An-sheng was just about to break the silence.
Just then, a delivery scooter suddenly rushed out at the intersection ahead.
"Screech—!"
The bus driver slammed on the brakes. The massive inertia caused everyone in the carriage to exclaim, bodies tilting forward uncontrollably.
"Watch out!"
Shen An-sheng reacted almost instinctively. He quickly reached out his right hand, grabbing the handle of the seat back in front, creating a protective barrier with his arm in front of her to prevent her from hitting the seat ahead.
Because the girl was holding the huge yoga mat, her center of gravity was unstable. She was thrown like a projectile by the inertia, crashing heavily toward Shen An-sheng.
Thump.
It wasn't the sound of impact, but the sound of overlapping heartbeats.
Her forehead lightly bumped against his shoulder, her soft hair brushing past his neck, bringing a numbing itch. And the round yoga mat in her arms was squeezed between them, becoming the sole, thin cushion.
Time seemed to freeze at this moment.
The bus stopped steadily, but no one moved.
Shen An-sheng maintained the posture of protecting her, his arm muscles tense, holding his breath completely. He could feel her warm breath spraying near his collarbone through his thin shirt.
In the earphones, the jazz music hit its climax, the soulful melody echoing in both their minds.
The girl didn't straighten up immediately.
She just leaned on his shoulder like that, pausing for about two seconds.
These two seconds felt as long as a century to Shen An-sheng. He even had an illusion—did she not want to leave either?
Then, as if suddenly waking up, she flusteredly pushed against the yoga mat and sat upright.
"So... sorry." Her voice was smaller than before, carrying obvious panic.
"Are you okay? Did you get hit?" Shen An-sheng retracted his arm, his palm full of cold sweat, but he tried to keep his voice steady.
The girl shook her head. Her pale cheeks were now dyed crimson. She lowered her head, seemingly afraid to look at him, but her hands subconsciously tightened their grip on the yoga mat, her knuckles turning slightly white.
"This driver... drives really aggressively." Shen An-sheng tried to ease the overly thick atmosphere with a joke.
The girl chuckled and finally looked up at him. Her eyes were sparkling, reflecting the flowing neon lights outside the window.
"Yeah, really aggressive." She said, but she didn't move her body away, still maintaining the distance where her shoulder lightly touched his.
More importantly, she didn't take off the shared earphone.
Shen An-sheng looked at her and asked a question as if possessed:
"What is the name of this song?"
The girl blinked, and the corners of her mouth curved into a sly smile—a side of her Shen An-sheng had never seen.
"Secret," she whispered. "If you can guess it tomorrow morning, I'll tell you."
The bus continued to sway forward, the windshield wipers swinging rhythmically.
In this crowded rainy night, two people, one pair of earphones, an unnamed song, and a yoga mat separating yet transmitting warmth between them formed a small, warm world.
Shen An-sheng looked at the receding streetscape outside the window, hoping for the first time that this road home could be a little longer.
【Chapter 3: The Lost Ticket】
"Next stop, New Taipei Boulevard."
The cold electronic announcement was like a ruthless pair of scissors, instantly cutting the thread of ambiguity flowing in the carriage.
Shen An-sheng felt the girl beside him tremble slightly. As if waking from a deep dream, she glanced flusteredly at the blurred scenery outside the window, then quickly pulled out the white earphone.
"I... I have to get off."
Her voice was hurried, carrying a hint of shyness from the excessive intimacy just now.
"Okay." Shen An-sheng instinctively wanted to stand up to make way, but the crowded carriage only allowed him to turn sideways with difficulty, his knees almost pressing against the seat back in front.
The girl held the huge roll of yoga mat, her movements appearing clumsy. She hastily stuffed the earphones back into her pocket, trying to carve a bloody path through the surging crowd in the aisle.
"Excuse me, passing through!"
The doors opened, and the cold wind mixed with rain instantly poured into the carriage, dispelling the last trace of warmth.
Shen An-sheng watched her dive into the crowd like a frightened deer, a huge sense of loss suddenly surging in his heart. The miracle of tonight was over. Would they revert to being two strangers keeping their distance at the bus stop tomorrow morning?
Just then, his gaze was drawn to something under the seat.
On the dark gray floor lay a pale pink strap quietly.
It was the yoga mat strap.
Clearly, she had untied it on purpose or it had come loose in her panic when she hugged the mat. Without this strap, the yoga mat would be like an unconstrained scroll, very difficult to carry.
"Wait! You dropped something!"
Shen An-sheng shouted, grabbed the strap, and without caring that his briefcase wasn't properly shouldered, rushed toward the rear door.
However, the crowd getting off during the evening rush hour was like a solid wall. When Shen An-sheng finally squeezed off the bus and stood in the pouring rain, that familiar figure was long gone from the bus stop.
The rain was too heavy, blurring his vision. In the distance, there were only countless open umbrellas and pedestrians rushing by.
She had disappeared.
Shen An-sheng stood on the waterlogged sidewalk, letting the rain soak the hem of his trench coat. He tightly gripped the pale pink nylon strap in his hand, which still carried a bit of the lingering warmth from the carriage and the touch of her fingertips.
He lowered his head and, under the dim halo of the streetlamp, carefully examined this "trophy."
It was a very ordinary yoga strap, but at the end, there was a small, crooked pattern embroidered on it—it was an orange, and next to it were two small English letters: "L.Y.".
L.Y. ... Ling Yu? Ling Yue?
The corners of Shen An-sheng’s mouth unconsciously turned up, his heart beating violently in the cold rainy night.
This wasn't the end.
He looked up in the direction the bus had left, and solemnly placed the strap into the inner pocket of his suit, close to his chest.
Originally, he was worried about what excuse to use to talk to her tomorrow morning.
Ask for the song name? Talk about today's rain?
These excuses seemed too pale in front of "returning a lost item."
Now, what he held in his hand was not just a strap, but an "admission ticket" to her world.
This time, he didn't need to wait for heavy rain, nor for luck.
Tomorrow morning at 7:15, he finally had a reason he *had* to walk toward her.
***
(At the same time, on the other side)
Ling Yu ran into the apartment lobby panting, closing her dripping umbrella.
She shook the water droplets from her hair in a sorry state and looked down at the yoga mat in her arms, which had already come loose and become fluffy and messy.
"Ah..."
She froze, touching the edge of the yoga mat, then checking her pockets.
Empty.
The strap was gone.
That was her favorite strap, with the ugly orange she had embroidered herself when she first started learning embroidery.
"It must have fallen on the bus..." Ling Yu sighed in annoyance, leaning against the cold wall tiles hugging the messy yoga mat.
But a second later, her annoyance solidified, then transformed into a wondrous expression mixed with nervousness and anticipation.
She recalled the scene before getting off the bus.
That man—Mr. 705, was sitting right next to her, his gaze constantly on her.
If... what if he picked it up?
Ling Yu’s cheeks burned uncontrollably again. She remembered his broad shoulders on the bus just now, and that strong arm blocking in front of her during the emergency brake.
She took out her phone, opened the calendar, and heavily marked a heart on tomorrow's date.
"Tomorrow morning... you better show up with it."
She whispered to the air, the corners of her mouth rising in a sweet smile she couldn't hide.
【Chapter 4: The Unnecessary Third Person】
The morning after the rain, the air carried a biting chill but was exceptionally clear.
Shen An-sheng left home ten minutes earlier than usual.
He specifically changed into a dark iron-gray long coat, retied his tie three times, and even practiced a smile in the mirror by the entrance before leaving.
His right hand was in his coat pocket, his fingers tightly rubbing that roll of rough nylon strap.
The little embroidered orange was right under his fingertip, like a calming pill.
"Miss L.Y., you dropped your orange."
He had rehearsed this opening line in his mind all night. He imagined her eyes widening in surprise, then revealing that sly and cute smile from last night. Perhaps they could naturally exchange Line contacts, or even agree to listen to music together next time.
With a mood as jubilant as a high school student, Shen An-sheng briskly turned the street corner and looked toward the familiar bus stop.
7:10 AM.
She should already be there.
Shen An-sheng’s gaze quickly locked onto the familiar spot. Sure enough, that light apricot figure was standing under the bus stop sign.
But a second later, Shen An-sheng’s footsteps halted abruptly, as if drenched by a basin of ice water, all the fervor from moments ago instantly cooling to ash.
She was not alone.
Standing beside her was a tall man.
The man wore a well-tailored dark blue suit, his back upright, holding two Starbucks breakfast bags in his hand. At this moment, he was turning sideways, looking down and talking to Ling Yu, the distance between them dazzlingly close.
Shen An-sheng froze in place, his fingers in his pocket tightening around the strap unconsciously, knuckles turning white.
He saw Ling Yu look up and give the man a brilliant smile—it wasn't politeness to a stranger, nor courtesy to a colleague; it was a defenseless, extremely intimate smile.
The man seemed to say something funny, then naturally reached out, dotingly rubbing the top of Ling Yu’s head, and casually tucking her wind-blown scarf in.
This action was too natural.
Natural enough to seem like a habit of many years.
Shen An-sheng felt his stomach cramp. The sourness named "jealousy" instantly corroded his reason.
Who is he? Boyfriend?
If she has a boyfriend, what was last night?
The shared earphone, the two seconds leaning on his shoulder, and the sentence "Tonight I'm on the same bus as you"... Was it just a pastime when she was bored?
Shen An-sheng suddenly felt the strap in his pocket become scorching hot. His palpitation all night now seemed like a joke. He was like a fool who picked up a fallen leaf and thought he owned the entire autumn.
At this moment, the man seemed to be leaving. He handed the breakfast bag to Ling Yu, gave a few instructions, and turned to walk toward a black sedan parked on the roadside.
Ling Yu watched the car leave, the smile on her face not yet fading.
"Beep—"
The sound of the 705 bus arriving came from the distance.
Ling Yu turned around, habitually searching for the figure in the dark blue trench coat.
Her gaze swept through the crowd and soon found Shen An-sheng standing in the shadow of the convenience store sign.
Her eyes lit up, and she instinctively wanted to raise her hand to wave, even taking a small step forward.
However, Shen An-sheng didn't move.
He looked at her expressionlessly, the tenderness and shyness from last night gone from his eyes, replaced by a coldness that pushed people a thousand miles away.
Just as Ling Yu froze, Shen An-sheng strode forward with his long legs, bypassing the queuing crowd, and quickly boarded the bus that had just stopped.
He didn't look at her once.
Nor did he stop to wait for her.
The carriage was still crowded, but not to the extent of last night.
After getting on, Shen An-sheng walked straight to the corner of the last row and sat down. He took out his phone, put on his black noise-canceling headphones, and completely shut out the outside sounds—and a certain person's existence.
Ling Yu followed onto the bus.
She stood somewhat bewildered in the middle of the aisle, still holding the warm breakfast. She looked at Shen An-sheng’s position; it was the corner farthest from her in the carriage.
He looked down at his phone, brows slightly furrowed, radiating a "stay away" low pressure.
What happened?
A wave of grievance and confusion welled up in Ling Yu’s heart. Ideally, the atmosphere was so good before getting off last night, why did he turn back into a cold stranger after just one night? Even colder than before?
She bit her lip, ultimately lacking the courage to go over and question him. She silently sat in the single seat behind the driver, separated from him by the long carriage.
The bus swayed as it started moving.
Shen An-sheng watched the lonely back in front through the reflection in the dark window.
His hand in his pocket clutched the pink strap to death, the embroidered orange stinging his palm.
He wanted to return the thing to her, then turn and walk away dashingly.
But he couldn't do it.
He neither wanted to cut off this sole connection nor was he reconciled to just handing it over like nothing happened.
"L.Y. ..."
He silently recited these two letters in his heart. The abbreviation that felt sweet originally now seemed like an unsolved puzzle.
Who the hell was that man?
If he didn't clear up this question this morning, Shen An-sheng felt he wouldn't need to work all day.
【Chapter 5: Out of Control Acid Rain】
This day felt as long as a century to Shen An-sheng.
He made mistakes in three variables while coding, stared blankly at the projection screen for five minutes during the meeting, his mind constantly replaying the scene from the morning—the hand placed on her head, and her blindingly brilliant smile.
When he finally endured until clock-out time, as if to match his gloomy mood, the heavens poured down torrential rain again.
This rain was fiercer than last night, as if to drown the entire city.
Shen An-sheng walked out of the office building, cold wind mixed with rain hitting his face. He irritably turned up his collar, opened his black folding umbrella, and prepared to walk into the rain curtain.
Since he was in a bad mood, he should just go home and sleep early.
However, just as he stepped down the stairs, that spell-like figure tripped his steps again.
Under the eaves of the building entrance stood a person, all alone.
Ling Yu.
She seemed to have bad luck today. In the morning, someone delivered breakfast, but in the evening, she became so wretched. She hugged her thin trench coat with both arms, shrinking behind a pillar to avoid the rain flying in diagonally. Her hair was already slightly wet, sticking to her cheeks, looking particularly pitiful.
She didn't bring an umbrella.
Shen An-sheng’s steps paused.
Reason told him: Leave, Shen An-sheng. Don't be a busybody. Didn't someone care for her meticulously this morning? That person would surely come to pick her up in a black sedan; it’s not your turn to be sentimental here.
He gritted his teeth, forced himself to turn his head, and stepped into the rain.
One step, two steps, three steps.
The sound of the rain behind him seemed to get louder, as if masking a silent cry for help.
Flashes of her shivering with her arms crossed and her lips turned pale by the cold wind crossed Shen An-sheng’s mind.
"Damn it."
Shen An-sheng cursed low and stopped abruptly.
He stood in the rain for two seconds, then like a gambler who had lost all his chips, turned around in anger and helplessness, striding back.
***
Ling Yu was staring at the gray sky in distress.
Today was truly unlucky. In the morning, her cousin forced two cups of coffee on her, almost making her late. Before leaving work, she lent her umbrella to a colleague rushing to pick up kids, resulting in her being trapped here.
Just as she hesitated whether to brave the rain to run to the convenience store to buy an umbrella, the view before her suddenly darkened.
A black umbrella, carrying a fierce momentum of wind, covered the gray sky above her head.
The sound of rain instantly lessened.
Ling Yu looked up in surprise.
Coming into view was Shen An-sheng’s taut face, written all over with unhappiness.
He stood very close, close enough for her to feel the outdoor chill he carried and the suppressed anger. But the hand holding the umbrella handle was steady, tilting most of the umbrella surface toward her, leaving half of his own shoulder exposed to the rain.
"You..." Ling Yu was somewhat flattered and just wanted to say thank you.
"Where is that man?"
Shen An-sheng’s voice was cold, mixed in the sound of rain, carrying a thick scent of sourness and sarcasm. "Didn't he pat your head this morning? Now that it's raining so hard, why doesn't he drive to pick you up?"
Ling Yu was stunned.
She blinked, her brain blank for a second before realizing what he was saying.
Morning? Head pat? Man?
Looking at Shen An-sheng’s eyes slightly red from jealousy, and his awkward appearance of helping her with the umbrella despite being obviously angry, the grievance in Ling Yu’s heart suddenly vanished.
So that was it.
So his coldness in the morning wasn't because he hated her, but because... he was jealous?
A huge joy exploded in her heart like bubbles. Ling Yu suppressed the corners of her mouth that wanted to rise, tilted her head deliberately, and asked in an innocent tone:
"Are you talking about... my cousin?"
The air suddenly went quiet.
Only the sound of "pitter-patter" of rain hitting the umbrella surface remained.
The expression on Shen An-sheng’s cold face froze instantly, as if the pause button had been pressed.
A bellyful of sarcastic words he had prepared were all stuck in his throat.
"...Who?" He suspected he heard wrong.
"My cousin." Ling Yu finally couldn't help laughing, her eyes curving into crescents. "He just came back from abroad and lives near my house. He dropped off breakfast on his way this morning and patted my head to mock me for not growing taller."
Shen An-sheng: "..."
A burst of awkward silence spread.
Shen An-sheng felt like a complete idiot right now. His entanglement, anger, heartbreak all day, and that aggressive questioning just now, all turned into a huge sense of shame, burning his ears red.
He subconsciously wanted to retract the umbrella and run away, but seeing Ling Yu’s smiling eyes, he couldn't bear to move.
"Oh."
After a long while, Shen An-sheng squeezed out a word dryly. He cleared his throat awkwardly, his gaze drifting elsewhere, but he still stubbornly held the umbrella without moving a millimeter.
"So it was a cousin." He repeated in a low voice. The sourness in his tone disappeared, replaced by a rejoicing of surviving a disaster and a trace of imperceptible tenderness.
"Otherwise, who did you think it was?" Ling Yu took a step forward, actively shortening the distance between them, standing under his umbrella. "A boyfriend?"
Shen An-sheng didn't speak, just pursed his lips, defaulting.
Ling Yu looked up at him, boldly reached out, and gently tugged at his sleeve:
"If I had a boyfriend, would I have fought you for that empty seat last night?"
Shen An-sheng’s heart jumped fiercely.
He looked down at her face close at hand. The relief after the misunderstanding was cleared softened his whole being.
He suddenly remembered the burning object in his pocket.
Now, it was time.
Shen An-sheng reached his left hand into his coat pocket and pulled out the roll of pink strap he had been rubbing all day.
"Since there is no boyfriend..."
He handed the strap to her, his voice deep and husky, carrying a hint of probing and anticipation:
"Then this little thing embroidered with an orange, may I personally return it to you? Miss L.Y."
【Chapter 6: Self-Introduction in the Mist】
The rain showed no sign of abating; instead, it seemed intent on soaking the city thoroughly.
"This rain won't stop for a while." Shen An-sheng closed the umbrella, glanced at his half-soaked sleeve, then at Ling Yu beside him who was equally a bit disheveled, and suggested, "I know a nice Japanese Udon shop nearby. Do you want to grab something to eat and wait out the rain?"
Ling Yu's stomach cooperated by letting out a very faint growl at this moment.
Her face instantly flushed, and she nodded: "Okay."
It was a small corner shop hidden in an alley, hanging warm yellow lanterns at the entrance, looking like a small warm sun in the torrential rain.
Pushing open the wooden door, the wind chimes made a crisp sound. The shop wasn't big, with only two or three tables of guests. The air was filled with the aroma of bonito broth and fried food. A customer whose glasses instantly fogged up was slurping noodles with head down. This sound full of life completely relaxed Shen An-sheng's nerves that had been tense all day.
They chose a table for two in the corner.
No longer the side-by-side crowding on the bus, this was their first time facing each other, sitting across a narrow wooden table.
Shen An-sheng took off his wet coat and hung it on the back of the chair, revealing the white shirt inside. The rain had penetrated the coat, and a large transparent water stain bloomed on the left shoulder of the shirt, sticking to the skin, vaguely revealing the tight muscle lines underneath.
Ling Yu's gaze lingered on that water stain for two seconds, a warm current of guilt surging in her heart.
That got wet because he was shielding her from the rain.
"Your clothes..."
"It's fine, it'll dry in a bit." Shen An-sheng rolled up his cuffs nonchalantly, poured a cup of hot barley tea, and handed it to her. "Warm your hands first."
Ling Yu took the cup, the temperature from her fingertips flowing to her limbs. She looked down at the roll of pink strap placed on the table—it was what Shen An-sheng had solemnly returned to her before entering the shop.
"Why an orange?"
Shen An-sheng suddenly asked. His voice sounded exceptionally steady and pleasant in the noisy shop. "I mean, that embroidery."
Ling Yu paused, her fingers gently rubbing the crooked little pattern, corners of her mouth unable to help rising:
"Because I was too clumsy when I started learning embroidery. I wanted to embroider a sun, but it turned into an oval, so I just added two dots on it and insisted it was an orange."
Shen An-sheng looked at her vivid expression and couldn't help chuckling.
"It's very cute," he said. "It suits you very well."
This straightforward compliment made Ling Yu's ears heat up again. To hide her shyness, she pretended to be calm and shook the strap in her hand:
"Since you picked up my secret, shouldn't I know your name too? I can't keep calling you 'Mr. 705' or 'The Gentleman Who Got Jealous Peeking at My Cousin', right?"
Shen An-sheng almost sprayed out the mouthful of barley tea he just drank.
He put down the cup in embarrassment, looking at the girl opposite him whose eyes were curved, obviously teasing him. After the misunderstanding was cleared, she seemed to have recovered that little fox-like slyness.
"Shen An-sheng."
He looked into her eyes and said seriously, "Shen, the Shen with three water drops. An-sheng, meaning peace and life."
"Shen An-sheng."
Ling Yu chewed these three syllables lightly in her mouth, as if to carve them into her heart.
"It sounds very reassuring."
At this moment, the waiter walked over carrying two steaming bowls of Nabeyaki Udon. The white steam rose between the two, blurring each other's faces, but making the atmosphere even more ambiguous and tender.
Ling Yu picked up her chopsticks, flashed him a formal smile through the lingering mist:
"Hello, Shen An-sheng. My name is Ling Yu. Ling as in towering, Yu as in rain."
"Ling Yu."
Shen An-sheng repeated, his gaze gentle enough to wring water out of. "L.Y. So it's Ling Yu."
No longer the strange girl at the bus stop, no longer passenger 652, and no longer a code needing guessing.
She was Ling Yu.
The Ling Yu sitting opposite him right now, having dinner with him.
"Eat quickly, the noodles will get soggy." Shen An-sheng handed her the chopsticks, a tone of unprecedented familiarity in his voice.
This dinner was eaten very slowly.
The rain outside was still pounding against the glass, but the world inside the window was quiet and beautiful. They talked about trivialities at work (it turned out she was a graphic designer at a design firm, and he was a software engineer), debated which rice ball was the best at their regular convenience store, and shared those little thoughts they dared not say while waiting for the bus every morning.
"Actually..." Ling Yu took a bite of tempura shrimp and whispered, "I saw you peeking at me doing stretches last Wednesday."
"Cough!" Shen An-sheng was drinking soup and choked again.
He wiped his mouth with a napkin in a sorry state, his face turning brighter red than the carrot in the bowl: "I was... observing if the bus was coming."
"Oh—" Ling Yu dragged out the syllable, laughter almost spilling from her eyes. "But the direction you were looking seemed to be the opposite way."
Shen An-sheng looked at her helplessly, and finally couldn't help laughing along.
In this relaxed and happy banter, the strangeness accumulated over three months melted away completely.
When they settled the bill and walked out of the shop, the rain had finally lessened, turning into a gentle drizzle.
Shen An-sheng put on the damp coat again and opened the umbrella once more.
"Let's go."
He naturally tilted the umbrella toward her side. This time, his action was firmer and more justified than before.
"I'll walk you home."
Ling Yu stood under the umbrella, looked up at the tall figure beside her, and nodded gently.
"Okay."
This time, no need for excuses, no need to wait for a chance encounter.
The road home finally became a journey for two.
【Chapter 7: The 7:15 on the Forehead】
The journey home was shorter than imagined.
The raindrops became fine and lingering, looking like a thin layer of gold gauze under the halo of streetlamps. Shen An-sheng deliberately slowed his pace, and Ling Yu tacitly matched his rhythm.
The space under the umbrella was small. Their shoulders occasionally bumped lightly with their steps, each contact like a silent exchange of electric current. They spoke no more, only the crunching sound of leather shoes on the wet asphalt road and the sound of their breathing gradually synchronizing.
"Here we are."
Ling Yu stopped in front of the iron gate of an old apartment building. She turned around, looking at the man beside her with some reluctance.
This was only a ten-minute walk from the Udon shop, but she felt as if she had walked through a long and beautiful dream.
Shen An-sheng closed the umbrella and leaned it against the red bricks by the door.
The rain had stopped, and the air was filled with the unique earthy scent after rain and unknown floral fragrance.
"Thank you for walking me back." Ling Yu clasped her hands behind her back, fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes, looking up at him. "And... thank you for dinner."
"You're welcome." Shen An-sheng gazed down at her.
The sensor light at the apartment entrance was broken, leaving only a little glimmer projected from the distant streetlamp. In this dim light, Ling Yu's eyes were astonishingly bright, as if hiding stars.
Shen An-sheng felt his throat go a bit dry.
He didn't want to just turn and leave like this. He wanted to do something to confirm that everything tonight wasn't his imagination, confirming that the girl in front of him was truly no longer a phantom existing only at the morning bus stop.
"Ling Yu." He called her name softly.
"Hmm?" Ling Yu responded, her voice soft and sweet.
Shen An-sheng took a small step forward.
The distance between them instantly closed, close enough for him to see her slightly trembling eyelashes, close enough to smell the faint citrus scent in her hair—the smell he had smelled on the bus, which he could finally greedily possess alone.
The atmosphere suddenly became thick.
Ling Yu seemed to sense something. She didn't retreat; instead, she tilted her face up slightly and closed her eyes. It was a silent invitation, and also total trust.
Looking at her obedient appearance, Shen An-sheng's heart softened into a mess.
His hands, originally clenched into fists, slowly loosened, lifted, and gently held her shoulders.
He didn't kiss her lips.
That was too hasty, too frivolous. For this affection treasured for three months, he wanted to treat it in the gentlest way.
Shen An-sheng lowered his head, his warm lips gently and devoutly pressing on her forehead.
Light as a dragonfly skimming water, yet heavy as a thousand pounds.
Ling Yu's body trembled slightly, her hands subconsciously grabbing the hem of Shen An-sheng's coat.
This kiss carried the anxiety of his waiting in the rain, the rejoicing after the misunderstanding was cleared, and all his expectations for the future.
Time seemed to stand still at this moment.
Even the sound of water droplets falling from the roadside leaves became exceptionally clear.
After a long time, Shen An-sheng slowly pulled back.
His hands still held her shoulders, thumbs gently rubbing the fabric. His voice was a bit hoarse but unusually firm:
"Goodnight, Ling Yu."
Ling Yu opened her eyes, cheeks red as ripe apples. She felt the place he kissed was burning hot, the heat burning all the way to the bottom of her heart.
"Goodnight... Shen An-sheng." She responded quietly.
Shen An-sheng smiled, that smile gentle as the warm sun breaking through the clouds.
He tucked a strand of stray hair behind her ear and whispered:
"Tomorrow morning at 7:15, see you at the old place."
No longer a chance encounter by luck, but a promise.
"Mn, see you at the old place." Ling Yu nodded vigorously, a smile rippling in her eyes. "Be there or be square."
Watching Ling Yu walk into the iron gate until the sensor lights in the stairwell lit up floor by floor, finally stopping at the third floor where she lived, Shen An-sheng finally turned around.
He opened the umbrella again. Although the rain had stopped, he felt he needed this umbrella to hide the silly smile on his face.
He touched his coat pocket. It had originally held that strap, and now it was empty.
But his heart was filled.
Shen An-sheng strode into the night. This wet and cold city looked exceptionally cute in his eyes tonight.
Tomorrow would be 7:15 again.
But he knew that starting tomorrow, every day's 7:15 would be completely different from the past three months.
That was a new frequency belonging to them.
【Chapter 8: The Original Owner of the Habit】
Happy days always pass especially fast, fast enough to make one forget the rough grainy texture of life itself.
A month had passed since that forehead kiss.
Now, 7:15 AM was no longer a silent watch of two parallel lines, but the sweetest beginning of every day.
Shen An-sheng completely gave up the 705 bus and switched to accompanying Ling Yu on the 652. Although this required him to transfer to the MRT one extra time to get to work, he enjoyed it tirelessly. They would share a pair of earphones, Shen An-sheng would bring her a warm club sandwich, and Ling Yu would catch up on ten minutes of sleep on his shoulder.
This morning, the weather was rarely sunny.
The two stood under the bus stop sign as usual. Ling Yu was looking down, studying the style of Shen An-sheng's shirt cufflinks, laughing that this style was too old-fashioned and she would give him a new pair next time.
"Shen An-sheng?"
A clear, confident female voice carrying a trace of surprise suddenly intervened in their conversation.
The voice wasn't loud, but like a sharp needle, it instantly pierced the warm bubble.
Shen An-sheng's hand, which was adjusting Ling Yu's scarf, froze abruptly.
Ling Yu felt his stiffness. She looked up and followed the direction of the voice.
Three steps away from them stood a woman.
She wore a sharply tailored light gray suit, seven-centimeter high heels, chestnut long curly hair draped over her shoulders, exquisite makeup, radiating a powerful aura unique to the corporate elite.
She was a completely different type from Ling Yu's gentle, domestic style—she was like a rose with thorns, aggressively beautiful.
Shen An-sheng slowly turned around, a trace of extremely complex emotion flashing in his eyes—shock, panic, and a depth Ling Yu couldn't understand.
"...Su Qing?" Shen An-sheng's voice was dry.
The woman called Su Qing smiled. She looked Shen An-sheng up and down, her gaze finally landing on Ling Yu beside him. That look didn't carry hostility but held an uncomfortable "scrutiny."
"Long time no see." Su Qing flipped her hair, her tone so familiar it was as if they had just met yesterday. "Just got back to the country and bumped into you. Small world."
"When did you get back?" Shen An-sheng asked subconsciously, but his body unconsciously moved half a step in front of Ling Yu, like protection, or perhaps isolation.
"Last week." Su Qing said faintly, then lifted her wrist to check that exquisite ladies' watch, lips hooking into a playful smile:
"7:15."
The tone in which she read out this time made Ling Yu's heart skip a beat.
Su Qing looked up at the arrival schedule, a light of ambiguity in her eyes:
"I didn't expect that after two years, you haven't changed a bit. Still at this stop, still insisting on leaving at 7:15."
This sentence was like a basin of ice water poured over Ling Yu's head.
Su Qing turned to Shen An-sheng, the light of ambiguity in her eyes intensifying:
"I remember back then, you always complained about waking up too early. I had to call you so we could catch this bus... Seems like you've kept this habit very well."
Boom.
Ling Yu felt something collapse in her head.
So that was it.
So for the past three months, the "fate" she thought, the "tacit understanding" she believed in, even that sacred "7:15", was not a frequency unique to them at all.
It was just a "habit" Shen An-sheng kept for another woman.
Was she just... a latecomer intruding into someone else's memories?
"Su Qing." Shen An-sheng frowned, his voice turning cold, seemingly realizing the impropriety of these words. "That's in the past."
"Yes, the past." Su Qing shrugged, indifferent. At this moment, a taxi stopped in front of her. She opened the door, but before getting in, she deliberately looked at the silent Ling Yu again.
"Girlfriend?" Su Qing asked, tone brisk.
Shen An-sheng held Ling Yu's cold hand and tightened his grip: "Yes."
Su Qing raised an eyebrow, her gaze lingering on Ling Yu for two seconds, and said something meaningful:
"Cute... Indeed quite different from the type you liked in university. But, you're still drinking that brand of yogurt, I see."
She pointed to a bottle of strawberry yogurt in Shen An-sheng's hand—the one Shen An-sheng bought for Ling Yu every morning.
After speaking, Su Qing elegantly got into the car and left, leaving behind a ground of awkward dust.
The 652 bus pulled in.
This was their most anticipated moment every day, but today, the air was heavy enough to suffocate.
The two got on the bus and sat in the usual double seat.
Shen An-sheng still held Ling Yu's hand tightly, his palm sweating. He turned his head, explaining somewhat urgently:
"Ling Yu, she is my university classmate, and... ex-girlfriend. But we haven't been in touch for two years."
Ling Yu looked down at the bottle of strawberry yogurt in her hand.
The pink packaging once made her feel incredibly sweet.
"Do you like drinking this? I also think this one tastes the best." —This was what Shen An-sheng said the first time he bought it for her.
Now this sentence sounded like an ironic joke.
Did he think it tasted good? Or was it because Su Qing liked it?
7:15 was because of Su Qing.
Strawberry yogurt was also because of Su Qing.
Then what was she, Ling Yu? A shadow responsible for continuing these habits?
Ling Yu felt her stomach churning. That sour jealousy intertwined with huge self-doubt made it almost impossible for her to breathe.
She gently, but firmly, pulled her hand out of Shen An-sheng's palm.
"Ling Yu?" Shen An-sheng panicked.
Ling Yu turned to look out the window, her pale face reflected in the glass. She tried hard to control the trembling in her voice and whispered:
"Shen An-sheng, this yogurt... I suddenly feel it's a bit too sweet."
"Tomorrow, let's change the flavor."
【Chapter 9: The Absent Flavor】
The next morning, the sky was gloomy, as if it could collapse at any moment.
Shen An-sheng stood under the bus shelter, the hands on his watch ruthlessly pointing to 7:20.
Five minutes had passed.
This was the first time in three months that Ling Yu was late.
Or rather, absent.
Shen An-sheng didn't hold strawberry yogurt in his hand. He specifically ran to two convenience stores to buy a bottle of sugar-free oat milk—this was the "new flavor" he spent all night choosing: healthy, pure, without any impurities of the past.
But this bottle of oat milk stood lonely on the bench right now, like a joke no one appreciated.
"Beep—"
The 652 bus pulled in. The driver opened the door and habitually looked toward Shen An-sheng, seeming to wait for the girl who always boarded with him.
Shen An-sheng shook his head stiffly.
The driver closed the door, and the bus spewed a puff of exhaust fumes, driving away from the station.
Shen An-sheng didn't get on.
He took out his phone and dialed the pinned number.
"Beep... beep... beep..."
The phone rang for a long time until it went to voicemail.
He sent a message again: "Are you still sleeping? I bought you oat milk."
No read receipt.
Standing in the bustling crowd of the morning rush hour, Shen An-sheng felt a bone-chilling cold for the first time.
After going home last night, he thought of many words of explanation. He wanted to tell her that 7:15 was just because his biological clock was used to it, and strawberry yogurt was just because it was most visible on the convenience store shelf.
He wanted to tell her that Su Qing was long past tense, not even ashes remaining.
But now, he didn't even have anyone to explain to.
It turned out that when the person who gave time meaning disappeared, 7:15 became just an ordinary, boring, panic-inducing number.
That morning, Shen An-sheng took a taxi to the company.
But sitting in the back seat, watching the fleeting scenery outside the window, his mind was filled with that hurt look in Ling Yu's eyes when she withdrew her hand last night.
At the company, he was restless all day.
Whenever his phone vibrated, he picked it up immediately, but every time it was a message from a work group or a promotional text.
Ling Yu seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth.
During the lunch break, Shen An-sheng couldn't sit still anymore. He grabbed his jacket, rushed out of the office, and hailed a cab to Ling Yu's office building.
He wasn't sure if he could catch her, but he had to see her.
That bottle of sugar-free oat milk was still in his bag, now back to room temperature, but he felt he had to deliver it.
He paced in the lobby of Ling Yu's building for half an hour.
Finally, among a group of white-collar workers going out for lunch, he saw that familiar figure.
Ling Yu was walking with two female colleagues. Her complexion didn't look good, with faint dark circles under her eyes; it seemed she hadn't slept well last night either.
"Ling Yu!"
Shen An-sheng shouted, walking quickly to block their path.
Ling Yu stopped.
The colleagues beside her looked curiously at this panting man, then at Ling Yu.
"You guys go eat first, I... have something to do." Ling Yu forced a smile at her colleagues.
Only after her colleagues walked away did she turn her head to look at Shen An-sheng. Her gaze was calm, so calm it made Shen An-sheng feel afraid.
"Why didn't you reply to my messages?" Shen An-sheng's voice was a bit hoarse.
"Didn't know what to reply." Ling Yu lowered her eyes, her gaze falling on the briefcase in his hand. "Also, I didn't take the bus today. I took the MRT to work."
"Is it because of what Su Qing said?" Shen An-sheng said urgently. "Ling Yu, listen to my explanation. Those really are just habits. I didn't change them because I was lazy, because I felt no need to deliberately change... But I didn't expect you to mind. If you don't like it, I won't drink yogurt anymore, I won't leave at 7:15 either. We can switch to the 7:30 bus, or I can drive you..."
"Shen An-sheng."
Ling Yu interrupted his flustered stream of promises.
She looked up, tears glistening in her eyes but stubbornly refusing to fall:
"The point isn't what time we leave, nor what we drink."
"The point is, when I look at you, I'm always wondering... who are you seeing through me?"
This sentence was like a blunt knife, cutting fiercely into Shen An-sheng's heart.
"I'm not seeing anyone through you!" Shen An-sheng was anxious, reaching out to pull her. "I'm looking at you, Ling Yu, the fool who holds a yoga mat to save a seat, the you who gets embarrassed because of an orange embroidery!"
Ling Yu took half a step back, dodging his hand.
"But Shen An-sheng, all the 'first times' you gave me are someone else's 'every time'."
She sniffled, her voice choking:
"This feeling is really terrible."
"Keep this bottle of oat milk for yourself."
After speaking, she turned around and walked decisively into the building's revolving door, leaving Shen An-sheng standing alone in place, the bag in his hand heavy, yet retrieving nothing.
【Chapter 10: Formatted Memories】
That afternoon, Shen An-sheng made a decision.
He took a half-day off and locked himself at home.
He opened that long-sealed old hard drive, which contained his backup data from university.
Su Qing was right; he was a sentimental person, or rather, someone too lazy to change.
His cloud album indeed still held photos from years ago; a movie ticket stub from the past might still be tucked in the corner of his bookshelf. He kept these not because he still loved, but purely because he was "too lazy to organize."
But he hadn't realized how cruel this "laziness" was to his current partner.
Shen An-sheng sat in front of the computer, his finger hovering over the mouse.
On the screen was a folder named "University". Opening it, there were thousands of photos inside.
He saw Su Qing.
In the photo, Su Qing was young and spirited, standing under the bus stop sign, holding strawberry yogurt, smiling at the camera. Time stamp: 07:15.
Shen An-sheng looked at this photo, feeling not a ripple in his heart.
No nostalgia, no regret, only a deep annoyance—annoyance at why this damn photo still existed, annoyance at why it became a blade hurting Ling Yu.
He pressed Delete.
The system popped up a prompt: "Are you sure you want to permanently delete?"
Shen An-sheng didn't hesitate. Clicked "Yes".
Then the second one, the third one...
He started cleaning frantically. Chat logs in his phone, cloud backups, old posts on social media. He was like an obsessive-compulsive patient doing a major cleaning, sparing no corner.
He wasn't just deleting data; he was deleting that "lazy self," the self who thought everything would be fine as long as it wasn't mentioned.
Three hours later.
Shen An-sheng's eyes were sore. The trash bin icon showed 3,200 items cleared.
Now, his digital world was so clean that only the memories of the last three months remained.
Those were memories belonging to Ling Yu.
The sneaky photo of her back, the Udon noodles in the rain that night, that crooked orange embroidered strap.
After doing all this, Shen An-sheng grabbed his car keys and went out.
He didn't go to Ling Yu's company, nor to her apartment building.
He went to that convenience store they frequented.
***
At 7 PM, Ling Yu dragged her exhausted body out of the MRT station.
Without Shen An-sheng's company, the way home seemed exceptionally long. She looked down, kicking small stones by the road, her heart feeling empty.
Saying those words to him in the morning hurt her too.
But she didn't want to be a substitute. If that was the case, she'd rather have nothing.
When she walked to the alley entrance downstairs of her apartment, her steps paused.
Under the streetlight, a familiar car was parked. Shen An-sheng leaned against the car door, holding a plastic bag in his hand.
Seeing her return, he immediately stood up straight, a look of almost stubborn seriousness in his eyes.
"You're back."
Shen An-sheng walked over and handed the plastic bag to her.
Ling Yu didn't take it, just looked at him: "I said, I don't want oat milk."
"It's not oat milk."
Shen An-sheng opened the bag.
Inside were all sorts of strange drinks.
Bitter gourd juice, celery juice, the worst-tasting salty sparkling water, and an extremely ordinary bottle of mineral water.
Ling Yu was stunned: "What is this for?"
"I bought every flavor in the convenience store that I haven't drunk and Su Qing would absolutely never drink."
Shen An-sheng looked into her eyes, his tone clumsy but sincere:
"Ling Yu, the old me was indeed lazy. Lazy to change flavors, lazy to delete photos, lazy to change time."
He took out his phone, unlocked it, and handed it to her. The screen showed the album interface—it was now atrociously clean, with only a few photos about her.
"But I spent the whole afternoon today clearing out the past."
"I won't drink yogurt anymore, and I can change 7:15."
Shen An-sheng took the bottle of mineral water from the bag, unscrewed the cap, and handed it to her:
"If you feel those flavors are too sweet, too cloying, too full of someone else's shadow... then from today on, we'll drink plain water."
"Start from zero. Re-introduce ourselves."
Shen An-sheng took a deep breath, as if conducting an important interview:
"Hello, my name is Shen An-sheng. 28 years old this year, single, no unforgettable exes, only a girl I like very much and want to win back."
"May I ask, can I invite you to drink plain water with me tomorrow morning at 7:30?"
Ling Yu looked at this man in front of her holding mineral water with a nervous face.
He looked a bit silly, even a bit extreme.
But she saw that determination to delete everything. For an engineer, data is memory. By deleting the backup, he cut off his retreat.
Ling Yu's lips, tight all day, finally couldn't help trembling slightly.
Tears fell, but this time, it was because her heart softened.
She reached out, took the tasteless mineral water, and took a sip gently.
Cool, but quenching.
"7:30 is too late," she complained softly with a nasal voice.
Shen An-sheng's eyes lit up instantly.
"Then... 7:20?" He asked tentatively.
Ling Yu glared at him, laughing through tears:
"7:10. This time, you have to come wait for me earlier than before."
【Chapter 11: The Subtle Sweetness of 7:10】
7:05 AM.
Shen An-sheng was already standing under the bus shelter like a straight pine tree.
Today he wore a brand-new dark blue casual suit. The cuffs bore no old-fashioned cufflinks but were bare. He held two bottles of mineral water tightly in his hands, condensation beads clinging to the bottles.
This five-minute wait made him feel more grounded than any moment in the past three months.
7:10 sharp.
Familiar footsteps sounded.
Shen An-sheng looked up and saw Ling Yu walking toward him. She wasn't wearing yoga clothes today but had switched back to a light yellow dress, looking like a small daisy blooming after the rain clears.
"Good morning, Shen An-sheng." Ling Yu stopped in front of him, a faint but heartfelt smile on her lips.
"Good morning." Shen An-sheng felt his heartbeat was a bit too fast. He clumsily unscrewed the cap of one bottle and handed it to her. "Here, your plain water."
Ling Yu took the water and took a small sip.
No strawberry cloying sweetness, no additive fragrance, only the pure clarity of water itself.
"Is it good?" Shen An-sheng observed her expression nervously.
"Mn." Ling Yu nodded, a glint of mischief in her eyes. "Although it has no taste, it wins by being... unique."
Shen An-sheng breathed a sigh of relief and revealed that signature silly smile.
The 652 bus pulled in.
This time, they walked up side by side.
The bus was still crowded, but luck was on their side today; there were two empty seats in the last row.
After sitting down, Shen An-sheng naturally took the bag from Ling Yu's hand and placed it on his knees. Then, he reached out his right hand and gently covered Ling Yu's left hand.
Ling Yu's fingers curled slightly, then turned over to interlock with his fingers.
Fingers intertwined.
No need for music in earphones, nor superfluous words.
In this noisy morning rush hour carriage, their palms transmitted each other's temperature. Shen An-sheng looked at the retreating scenery outside the window, thinking: It turns out the sunlight at 7:10 is truly more brilliant than at 7:15.
"By the way," Ling Yu spoke suddenly, taking a small box out of her pocket and handing it to him, "This is for you."
Shen An-sheng opened it.
Inside was a pair of exquisite silver cufflinks. The surface wasn't ordinary gemstone but engraved with a small line of characters like code using extremely fine craftsmanship, and at the end of the characters, a mini orange was carved.
"I saw your cuffs were empty, wasn't used to it." Ling Yu turned her head to look out the window, ears a bit red. "I designed this myself and asked a friend to custom make it. The orange represents me, and the code in front... I checked for a long time, it means 'Hello World'."
Shen An-sheng was stunned.
As an engineer, he naturally knew the meaning of "Hello World"—it was the first greeting every programmer sent to a new world, representing "beginning," representing "birth."
She responded to his "re-introduction" in his language.
Shen An-sheng felt his eyes heat up. He took out the cufflinks and solemnly put them on his cuffs.
"Thank you." He whispered, infinite affection hidden in his voice. "This is the best gift I've ever received."
【Chapter 12: Exclusive Engineer】
Feelings stabilized, but life remained full of challenges.
Friday night, Ling Yu's company encountered a big trouble.
For the design exhibition next week, the interactive webpage her team stayed up for a month to build suddenly developed a serious bug during the final testing phase. The entire page failed to load, and the outsourced engineer in charge went missing at this critical juncture.
Ling Yu spun around in the office anxiously. Seeing the preview was tomorrow, the boss's face was already as black as the bottom of a pot.
"What do we do... it's all over." A colleague lay on the table in despair.
Ling Yu bit her lip and suddenly thought of something. She picked up her phone and dialed the pinned number.
Twenty minutes later.
Shen An-sheng appeared at the entrance of Ling Yu's company with his laptop bag, panting.
Without wasting words, he sat directly at Ling Yu's workstation, opened his laptop, pushed up the glasses on his nose, his eyes instantly switching from the "honest and gentle" look in front of Ling Yu to the sharp mode of a "top-tier tech god."
"Send me the source code." Shen An-sheng was concise.
Ling Yu stood behind him, watching his fingers fly across the keyboard, the code she couldn't understand cascading down the screen like a waterfall.
Shen An-sheng at this moment was focused, calm, and powerful.
This was a side Ling Yu had never seen. The man who usually struggled for ages to choose a drink and stood in the rain out of jealousy was now like a towering mountain, blocking all anxiety and storms for her.
"Found it."
Less than half an hour later, Shen An-sheng hit the final Enter key.
The screen flickered, and the originally crashed interactive webpage loaded smoothly instantly, the exquisite animation effects presented perfectly.
"Oh my god! It's fixed!" The colleague next to them exclaimed. "Ling Yu, your boyfriend is amazing!"
Ling Yu looked at the screen, then at Shen An-sheng who turned around smiling for praise, a strong sense of pride surging in her heart.
"Done." Shen An-sheng closed the laptop, rubbed his sore neck, and returned to his gentle appearance. "Any other problems?"
"None." Ling Yu couldn't help reaching out to hug his neck and, in front of the whole office, kissed him forcefully on the cheek. "Shen An-sheng, you're the best!"
Shen An-sheng's face turned completely red instantly, even more excited than when fixing the bug just now. He scratched his head in embarrassment and whispered:
"As long as it's your bug, I can fix it anytime."
That night, the boss treated everyone to a late-night snack to thank this "firefighting hero."
During the meal, someone jokingly asked Shen An-sheng: "Engineer Shen, with such good skills, many people must be trying to poach you, right?"
Shen An-sheng held Ling Yu's hand, smiling and shaking his head:
"I don't accept poaching. I've already signed a lifetime contract."
He turned to look at Ling Yu, eyes full of doting:
"I am Miss Ling Yu's exclusive engineer, serving only her."
【Chapter 13: The Key and the Orange Tree】
Time flew, and in the blink of an eye, it was deep winter.
Although they agreed to meet at 7:10 every day, as the weather got colder and given the distance between their apartments, the daily commute was indeed somewhat arduous.
This weekend, Shen An-sheng mysteriously brought Ling Yu to his home.
This was Ling Yu's first time at Shen An-sheng's apartment.
The room was tidy, even a bit too cold, typical of a single STEM man. But in the most conspicuous spot in the living room—where a huge gaming chair should have been—now lay a brand new, pale pink yoga mat.
And on the windowsill next to the yoga mat sat a small pot of lush greenery.
It was a Kumquat tree.
"This is?" Ling Yu walked over in surprise.
"I wanted to raise an orange, but orange trees are too big for the balcony. The boss said kumquats are also a type of orange." Shen An-sheng rubbed his hands nervously. "And that yoga mat... I bought it for you. Yours has been used for a long time and is a bit worn."
Ling Yu looked back at him, vaguely guessing something in her heart, her heartbeat accelerating.
Shen An-sheng took a deep breath and pulled a key out of his pocket.
Hanging on this key was a charm Ling Yu was very familiar with—that strap embroidered with an orange she once lost on the bus, now modified by him into a keychain.
"Ling Yu." Shen An-sheng walked up to her, his tone sincere and apprehensive. "For the past few months, we met on the bus every day, then parted ways."
"I don't want to walk you home anymore."
Ling Yu's eyes widened: "Huh?"
"Because I want..." Shen An-sheng stuffed the key into her hand. "I want you to return to 'our' home."
"This way, we don't have to meet at the 7:10 station every morning. Instead, we can wake up together at 7:10, brush teeth together, eat breakfast together, and leave together."
"I know I still have many shortcomings, not romantic enough, sometimes very straightforward. But I promise, from now on, I'll only buy the yogurt flavors you love for the house, I'll handle all bugs at home, and I'll do all the chores."
"Are you willing... to move in and be the mistress of this kumquat tree?"
Ling Yu held the key warm with body heat, looking at this clumsy yet sincere man before her, tears falling uncooperatively.
She didn't speak but threw herself directly into his arms, nodding vigorously.
"I do."
The girl who once lost her strap on the 705 bus finally found her permanent destination at this moment.
【Chapter 14: Terminal Station (Finale)】
One year later.
It was another rainy Wednesday.
Shen An-sheng and Ling Yu still sat in the last row of the 652 bus.
Although Shen An-sheng had bought a car long ago, every Wednesday, they still habitually took the bus to work. This became a ritual between them, commemorating the day they first met.
Outside the window, the city remained busy and noisy.
But inside the window, time was quiet and beautiful.
Ling Yu leaned on Shen An-sheng's shoulder, sharing that AirPod in her ear.
Playing this time was no longer sorrowful jazz, but a cheerful Wedding March Demo—the background music Ling Yu was selecting for the wedding recently.
"How's this one?" Ling Yu asked.
"Sounds good." Shen An-sheng smiled. "Anything you choose sounds good."
He looked down at the glittering diamond ring on Ling Yu's left ring finger.
That was put on during the "Bus Proposal" last month. That day, he booked the last 652 bus, and amidst a bus full of balloons and witnessing friends, he went down on one knee.
"Passengers, please note, we have arrived at the terminal station."
The familiar announcement from the driver came over the broadcast.
The doors opened. The sunlight after the rain pierced through the clouds, spilling onto the wet streets, refracting rainbow-like light.
Shen An-sheng stood up first, picked up both their bags, and reached out his hand.
Ling Yu smiled and placed her hand in his.
Together they walked off the bus, toward the office building ahead, and toward their shared future.
On the bus stop sign behind them, the electronic clock flickered, showing the time: 07:15.
Once, this was a time belonging to memories and regrets.
Now, it was just an ordinary number.
Because for Shen An-sheng and Ling Yu, as long as they had each other by their side, every minute was the best frequency.
