Saturday morning came with a crisp breeze and a pale gold sun stretching lazily across the sky.
LiWei stood outside the gates of the Jiang family estate, his breath caught somewhere between awe and disbelief.
The towering black gates parted silently after he stated his name to a stone-faced guard. As he stepped forward, it felt like entering a different realm—one where time moved slower and every leaf was trimmed with intention.
The path leading to the mansion curved gently through an emerald garden that looked like it had been lifted from a fantasy novel. Cherry blossom trees, though out of season, stood proudly among rock sculptures and koi ponds with tiny wooden bridges spanning over water as clear as glass. A breeze carried the subtle scent of jasmine and something sweeter, almost like vanilla.
He whispered under his breath, "Truly… the rich live in a different world."
A maid in a fitted grey uniform greeted him politely and led him inside.
The interior was no less breathtaking. The foyer rose two stories high, crowned by a crystal chandelier that scattered sunlight into fragments of color across the polished marble floor. Art adorned the walls—some modern, some ancient, but all real. A soft instrumental piano piece played in the background, probably automated, but it gave the whole place a dreamlike touch.
He was guided to a study room where Jiang Mian sat waiting. She was bright-eyed and full of energy, her long black hair tied in a ponytail and an English notebook open in front of her.
"You're five minutes late," she pouted, though it was more playful than serious.
He smiled. "Traffic. And I had to stop by the mortal world to get permission to enter this realm."
She giggled.
The lesson began swiftly. For the first three hours, they went through English vocabulary, simple sentence construction, and pronunciation exercises. She was a fast learner but also easily distracted, often slipping into questions like:
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
"Why don't you dress more like a celebrity?"
"Do you think my sister is scary?"
He answered them all with either a quick redirect or a smirk. Sometimes, both.
Around noon, they moved to the private court near the back garden—a full-sized basketball court with black flooring and the Jiang family crest at center. He started teaching her basic dribbles, passes, and shooting forms.
She wasn't exactly athletic, but she was determined. Every missed shot came with a little growl. Every bounce that went wild was met with a fierce stomp of her foot.
Midway through her third airball, LiWei caught sight of someone approaching from the glass hallway.
Jiang Yue.
She was dressed casually—black leggings, a fitted white tee, and a baseball cap shielding her eyes from the sun. But even in something so simple, she moved with grace and authority.
"I hope you're not bullying my sister," she said, her voice teasing.
"She's the one bullying the basketball," LiWei replied, tossing her the ball.
Jiang Yue caught it effortlessly and took a single step forward—shooting it straight through the hoop. Clean. Silent.
LiWei raised an eyebrow. "Show-off."
"Learn from the best," she smiled.
From then on, Jiang Yue began appearing midway through each weekend lesson. Sometimes she just watched, other times she joined the drills. Their conversations were few, but filled with unspoken understanding. He noticed she always observed him with quiet intensity, as though trying to peel back a layer he didn't know he had.
Days turned into weeks, and then into a rhythm.
Every Saturday, he arrived at the estate. Every session began with language, followed by laughter on the court. Some days Jiang Mian was bright and cheerful, other days she threw little tantrums—refusing to spell or demanding five-minute breaks every two minutes.
But he didn't mind. Somehow, it felt good to be wanted for something simple. Something real.
Outside the Jiang estate, life pressed on like a river that refused to stop flowing.
Zhiwei continued to throw his tantrums in class—especially after LiWei ignored his veiled threats and subtle provocations. One time, Zhiwei kicked over a chair when LiWei was called up to demonstrate a lesson by the professor. Another time, he tried to trip him during practice.
But strangely, LiWei didn't react.
Something had changed inside him. His patience stretched further now. His senses, sharper. His instincts—more precise. There were moments he could hear things others couldn't, like a paper being flipped at the back of the classroom… or the heartbeat of someone sitting too close.
And then, there were the nights.
Twice, maybe three times over the past month, LiWei had seen Ms. Liang out late.
The first time, he was walking back from Tao's place, taking the longer route through the quieter alleyways near the river. She had been standing under a flickering streetlamp, speaking to a man dressed in a charcoal suit. Her expression was unreadable. When their eyes met, she smiled faintly and nodded, then disappeared into the shadows like she had been part of them all along.
The second time was near campus. He had stayed late for extra drills and was cutting through the garden by the western wall when he saw her again—this time alone, leaning against a tree, staring up at the moon like it was speaking to her.
He'd asked, "Ms. Liang?"
She looked at him and simply smiled.
"Be careful out here, LiWei," she had said softly.
He opened his mouth to ask why she was out so late, why she looked like she was waiting for something—or someone.
But she was already walking away.
She never explained, and he didn't push.
Something told him there were things he wasn't supposed to understand yet. Secrets curled around her like fog.
By the time the semester neared its end, his days had begun to blur—school, training, tutoring, silence-filled moments with Jiang Yue, awkward encounters with Zhiwei, and fleeting sightings of Ms. Liang under the night sky.
But through it all, one thing became certain:
This life—his life—was no longer ordinary.
The world was shifting around him. Whispering. Watching.
And something inside him was changing with it.