Tan You patted the large, spotted dog’s head. "Why don’t you stay here tonight? I can give you a tour."

The large dog nudged her hand with its muzzle. Tan You booped its nose, then stood and gently tugged the loose skin on its neck. "Come on. I even put out a special mat for you with your picture on it."

The dog shadowed her every step as Tan You led it into the largest of the deluxe doghouses. The space inside was so generous that even Tan You could lie down with room to spare.

In the far corner of the doghouse lay a large mat, which had a picture of a spotted dog on it. The real spotted dog stared at the picture for a moment, then lay down beside the mat.

Tan You chuckled and tweaked its ear. "I made two mats for you. When this one gets dirty, I’ll swap it out for the other. No problem."

The dog obediently lay down on the mat. Tan You booped its nose again. "From now on, you can go out and play whenever you want. But if you get tired or hungry, come back. I can afford to take care of you."

The large dog nuzzled her wrist, showing its affection.

With the spotted dog taking the lead, the other dogs quickly occupied the remaining doghouses. Tan You did a quick headcount. "Good, you’re all here. Now, don’t walk in the middle of the path, stay to the side..."

She gave the spotted dog a few more reminders, and it lay quietly at her feet, listening. Wen Zhe watched the scene, his mind drifting.

The Ji Li in his memory wasn’t like this. She had been quiet and introverted, with few friends, but her eyes had always followed him.

Having received love letters since elementary school, Wen Zhe knew exactly what that kind of gaze meant. But he couldn’t find it in her eyes anymore. All he saw now was indifference, a fact that Wen Zhe found incredibly difficult to accept.

A voice suddenly broke the silence. "That look on your face... it’s the dazed look of someone who’s been dumped."

Wen Zhe turned to see Xu Liang, who was holding a mug, looking completely at ease. Seeing Wen Zhe’s confused expression, Xu Liang smiled. "I’m a photographer. I’m good at capturing people’s emotions. My apologies if I’ve overstepped."

"No, not at all..." Wen Zhe shook his head. "I’m just... sad. Why did she change all of a sudden? It was so fast I didn’t even have time to react."

Xu Liang chuckled. "People can grow and change in an instant. Everyone has their own life to live. How can you possibly keep track of every little thing someone else does?"

Wen Zhe muttered, "She... she wasn’t like this before..."

Xu Liang’s curiosity was piqued. "She... What was she like before?"

But Wen Zhe clammed up. Xu Liang shrugged. "Ali, need any help?"

Tan You called out. "Then could you brush a layer of sauce on the roast goose? I really don’t have a free hand right now."

"You got it!" Xu Liang set down his mug and quickly brought the sauce out from the kitchen. Wen Zhe felt awkward sitting alone under the eaves, so he decided to just follow Xu Liang wherever he went.

As for approaching Tan You, Wen Zhe clearly didn’t dare. He didn’t know why, but seeing her now made him a little afraid. He used to be able to casually sling an arm around her shoulders, but now... if he dared to reach out, Wen Zhe had a feeling something very bad would happen.

"Is this a bread oven?" Crouching in front of the adorably shaped oven, Wen Zhe looked at it with fascination. He had seen it in videos, but seeing it in person finally made it feel real.

"Mhm," Xu Liang said, carefully brushing sauce onto the goose. "It just needs to roast a little longer. Oh, right. When I’m done with this, I’ll go get the guest room ready for you. We rarely have visitors, so if our hospitality is lacking in any way, just let me know."

Hearing Xu Liang speak as if he were the host, Wen Zhe felt an inexplicable surge of irritation. He stared at Xu Liang. "What... is your relationship?"

"Us?" Xu Liang paused, then suddenly doubled over with laughter. He managed to stop himself just as Wen Zhe’s expression was turning thunderous. "What do you think our relationship is?"

"You two seem too close," Wen Zhe said, his face grim. "Like you can talk about anything and everything."

"Of course we can," Xu Liang said, sliding the goose back into the bread oven. "We’re very good friends."

Xu Liang didn’t elaborate further, simply heading off to prepare the guest room for Wen Zhe. Wen Zhe looked around the old house, then asked hesitantly, "Can I look around?"

Xu Liang replied, "You can go anywhere except her room. Ali is very protective of her personal space and doesn’t like people going in and out as they please."

"Am I that strict?" Tan You asked, leaning against the doorframe with a wry smile. "I’d say I’m pretty easygoing."

"Right, you’re the most easygoing person I know!" Xu Liang boomed with laughter. "Are you calling us because dinner’s ready?"

"Mhm," Tan You huffed. "I came to get Wang Jue. You were just an afterthought."

"I knew it. You’re always gentler with the ladies," Xu Liang said, clutching his chest theatrically. As he fell into step behind Tan You, he didn’t forget to call out to Wen Zhe. "We have a guest today. You’ll meet her at dinner."

Wang Jue also had a quiet, introverted personality. When Tan You called her out of the dance studio, she still seemed a bit out of it. Upon seeing Wen Zhe, she gave Tan You a surprised look, clearly curious about the stranger.

Tan You’s explanation was brief. "Wen Zhe. My university classmate."

"Are we... just university classmates?" Wen Zhe asked with a self-deprecating laugh. "I thought we were at least friends."

"Oh, friends, too," Tan You agreed readily. ’Friends it is, then,’ she thought. ’It’s just a label, after all.’

Wang Jue glanced from Tan You to the sullen-faced Wen Zhe and wisely kept her mouth shut. She couldn’t help but be a little surprised when she saw the huge basin of food Tan You served. It was filled with everything from steak, lamb, and duck to eggs, broccoli, and pumpkin.

"I’ve never seen a meal made like this before." After one bite, Wang Jue’s eyes immediately lit up.

Xu Liang shrugged, amused. "It’s something she came up with specifically for the little strays. It’s commonly known as ’dog food.’ But I prefer to call it a ’hodgepodge,’ since we’re people, aren’t we?"

Wang Jue’s chopsticks paused for a second. She then shoveled in another two mouthfuls before mumbling, "If it’s this delicious, you could call it pig slop and I’d still be happy to eat it."

Xu Liang froze for a second, then burst out laughing. He never would have thought that Wang Jue would say almost the exact same thing he had. Come to think of it, though they’d only known each other for half a day, their minds had been on the same wavelength several times.

Tan You glanced at the two of them, the corners of her lips turning up in a barely perceptible smile. "After dinner, let’s go into town together. We’ll leave the house to them. Are you okay with that?"

Wang Jue replied, "Of course. I’d like to take a shower, anyway. I’m a bit tired from the long trip and a shower would be relaxing."