Sima Feng was held in a prison three hours away from City A. With the opening of the high-speed rail last year, the travel time had been cut to just over an hour. Sima Qiu-yun set out early that morning. In addition to two newly purchased sweaters, she brought her father a professional book on mechanics. During the early days, Qiu-yun would spend half of the thirty-minute visitation window in tears, but she had grown stronger over time. Now, she could even chat happily with him. She consoled herself with the thought that she saw her father more often than her classmates from other provinces saw theirs.
After they had spoken for a while, Sima Feng told Qiu-yun that due to his good behavior and his long-term role as a mechanics instructor in the prison, his sentence had been reduced by two years.
Qiu-yun was overjoyed. The prospect of seeing her father home two years early prompted her to call Chen Liping immediately, but the call went unanswered.
She was likely still fast asleep. Qiu-yun had grown accustomed to her stepmother’s routine of gambling all night and sleeping through the day.
After finishing her business, Qiu-yun took the high-speed train back. Having woken up so early, she closed her eyes to rest as soon as she boarded. During a mid-journey stop, she felt someone beside her leave and heard the rustle of clothing as a new passenger took the seat. She shifted slightly, only to hear a voice call her name: "Sima Qiu-yun?"
Qiu-yun snapped awake.
Liang He sat there, still carrying the crisp chill of late autumn from outside the train, watching her with a smile.
"Professor... Professor Liang?" Qiu-yun asked in surprise. "It’s you?"
"It is. What a coincidence." Liang He placed a portable Surface tablet on the tray table. "I attended a research seminar this morning and I'm heading back to City A now."
"Oh, I..." Qiu-yun felt awkward mentioning she had been visiting her father in prison. "I was just taking care of some business this morning."
Liang He gave a polite smile. Qiu-yun noticed that the Liang He of today was different from the man she had seen at the memorial service. His hair was trimmed short and neat, the exhaustion and sorrow had vanished from his eyes, and he looked refreshed. It seemed he was gradually stepping out from the shadow of his wife's passing. It made sense; life must always move forward.
After a few pleasantries, Liang He began working on his laptop. Qiu-yun caught a glimpse of photos of Buddhist grottoes on the screen and guessed his morning meeting had been related to them. Not wanting to disturb his work, she leaned against the window, watching the golden wheat fields flash by until she grew drowsy again.
Just as she was about to drift off, she heard him ask, "Wu Liu... she’s in your year, isn't she?"
She turned and saw that Liang He had just checked his phone before locking it and placing it on the table.
"Yes," Qiu-yun nodded. "She’s my classmate and my roommate."
"I see," Liang He replied briefly, acknowledging the information.
Qiu-yun was puzzled. She didn't know why Liang He would suddenly bring up Wu Liu, and remembering Wu Liu’s unusual fixation on him a few days prior, she felt a flicker of unease.
However, Liang He didn't ask anything else.
It was Qiu-yun who couldn't help herself, probing further: "Why do you ask about her, Professor Liang?"
Liang He smiled but only asked, "Where is she now? Are you two still in touch?"
"Yes," Qiu-yun replied, bewildered. "She works at a private gallery in City A. We just saw each other a couple of days ago."
"That’s perfect then." Liang He pulled a book from his bag. The cover read *Entering the Great Tang: From One Dynasty to Another*. "Wu Liu asked me for a signed copy, and I was wondering how to get it to her. If it’s not too much trouble, could you give it to her for me?"
Qiu-yun stared blankly at the book, noticing the cover credited "Liang He" as the author.
"This..." Qiu-yun hesitated as her mind raced. This was clearly Wu Liu’s attempt to get close to Liang He, but she couldn't gauge his stance. After all, Wu Liu had confessed to him during their sophomore year. Did he remember, or had he forgotten? Or did he remember and was simply pretending to have forgotten?
"She mentioned she needed to look up some Buddhist content for her work, and this book of mine happens to cover the cultural and ancestral ties between the Northern Wei, Sui, and Tang dynasties," Liang He explained. "I’ve been quite busy lately, and I didn't want to delay her work by giving it to her too late."
"I see..." Qiu-yun didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Wu Liu’s excuse was clever, but she hadn't expected Qiu-yun to run into Liang He, nor for him to hand the book over right then and there. She tried to decline politely. "But Wu Liu wanted a signed copy from you..."
"Oh, right..." Before Qiu-yun could finish, Liang He interrupted her, acting as if he had just remembered. He pulled a pen from his bag, turned to Qiu-yun, and smiled. "I almost forgot." Then, with a serious and business-like air, he wrote on the title page: *For your collection, from Liang He.* He closed the book and handed it to Qiu-yun, still smiling. "Thank you."
Qiu-yun looked at Liang He. He was smiling and amiable, his eyes deep and clear, yet they seemed to hide a sharp edge that left her unable to discern his true intentions. However, based on her years of experience being pursued by boys, this gesture carried an 80% probability of being a "polite rejection."
Qiu-yun could only accept the book with a forced smile. "It’s no trouble."
Just then, Liang He’s phone displayed a WeChat notification. He checked it, then locked the screen and placed it back on the table.
Qiu-yun flipped through the book. It used the Yungang Grottoes in Datong, Shanxi, as a primary thread to analyze the evolution of the Tuoba clan of the Northern Wei during their Sinicization. It covered history, Buddhism, and fine arts, filled with both text and illustrations—hardly a casual read. At the thought, she couldn't help but stifle a laugh. What "work needs"? The paintings in Wu Liu’s gallery were all fragmented abstract pieces sold to pretentious nouveau riche who didn't understand them anyway. They had absolutely nothing to do with the national treasures that were the Buddhist grottoes.
"What are you laughing at?" Liang He caught the upward curve of her lips.
"Ah, nothing," Qiu-yun snapped back to reality, hurriedly pointing to an open page. "I just think this Buddha statue looks particularly kind and approachable. I couldn't help but smile when I saw it."
Liang He leaned in to look. "That is Cave 20 at Yungang, the iconic open-air Great Buddha. It symbolizes the founding emperor of the Northern Wei, Tuoba Gui. Before this emperor, the Northern Wei carried out a persecution of Buddhism. It was this emperor who restored the Dharma and commissioned the Yungang Grottoes, so the Buddha is shown with a smile to express gratitude toward him."
"No wonder he looks so benevolent. You can feel his divine aura even through a photograph."
"If you have time, you should read up on the history from the Northern Wei to the Sui and Tang. It’s very interesting."
"Like this book?" Qiu-yun gestured with the volume in her hand.
Liang He pursed his lips and nodded. "You could say that."
"Actually, I’ve been to the Yungang Grottoes in Datong, but I was in high school then. I didn't feel much; I basically just skimmed through the site." Qiu-yun flipped through a few more color plates. Looking at them now, she had no memory of those specific statues. It had been the summer after her freshman year of high school; Sima Feng had taken her and Chen Liping to Shanxi. Her only impressions of the trip were that the statues were numerous and massive, the sun was scorching, and the tickets were expensive.
"You could go again," Liang He said. "When visiting sites like that, it’s best to do some homework beforehand. It makes it much more interesting."
Qiu-yun smiled. "It’s hard to find the time now that I'm working."
Liang He smiled back. The crow's feet at the corners of his eyes were clearly visible, but because his features were set close together, these marks of time only added a certain sexiness to him. As the train rounded a curve, the sunlight on the tray table slowly shifted up to his chin, then his nose, and finally his eyes, falling into his pupils. Qiu-yun suddenly remembered something he had once said during their oil painting class:
"Human eyes are like transparent amber under the sun. They are beautiful."
She lost herself for a brief moment.
***
When Sima Qiu-yun handed the signed book to Wu Liu, the disappointment on the other woman's face was palpable.
"I specifically asked him for a signed book myself. How could he just casually hand it off to someone else to give to me?" Wu Liu grumbled.
"I just happened to run into him on the train," Qiu-yun explained.
"Let me see the signature." Wu Liu flipped to the title page, her fingers tracing the bold, forceful pen strokes. Her lip curled. "He didn't even write 'To Wu Liu.' He might as well have given the book to you."
Qiu-yun had intended to mention that Liang He had asked if she was in City A, clearly indicating he wasn't familiar with her life, but the words changed as they reached her lips: "Don't be like that. Why would he give it to me? He sent it to you."
Wu Liu flipped through the book several times before tossing it onto the table with a thud. "Forget it. You take it, I don't want it. This has nothing to do with my gallery, and I don't understand it anyway. You work at a museum; maybe you can use it."
"..." Qiu-yun was stuck between laughter and sighs.
After sulking for a moment, Wu Liu pulled the book back toward her. While looking at it, she asked, "Did Professor Liang say anything else?"
"...He just asked if we were close."
"What did you say?"
"I told him the truth—that we were roommates."
"And then?"
"There is no 'and then.'"
"How is that possible..." Wu Liu looked ready to beat her own chest in frustration. "Such a great opportunity to be alone together on the train for so long, and you didn't talk about anything else? He didn't mention me even a little bit?"
"..." Qiu-yun pressed a hand to her forehead. "He boarded halfway through the trip and reached his stop quickly. We were only together for about half an hour."
"Then did he..." Wu Liu’s eyes sparkled with hope as she thought for a long time. "Did he say what his impression of me was?"
"...No."
"Not at all?"
"...No."
Wu Liu stared at Sima Qiu-yun, holding her breath. After a long silence, her stiff shoulders finally slumped. She scrutinized Qiu-yun, her tone suddenly shifting. "Next time you go to see your father, can you take me with you?"
"Pfft—" Qiu-yun nearly spat out her tea. She rejected the idea without a second thought. "No."
She had always been guarded about her family matters. She always told her classmates that her father worked out of town, was very busy, and didn't have time to come home.
"My meeting Professor Liang on the train was a total coincidence," Qiu-yun explained. "He was coming back from a conference. Wake up."
Wu Liu thought for a long time, then looked at her with a frown. "How come you're the only one who has 'coincidences' with him?"
"..." Qiu-yun took a deep breath, exasperated. "Heaven only knows."
Wu Liu still looked at her suspiciously. "At the memorial service last time, he also took the initiative to ask how your work was going. He seems quite concerned about you."
"Good grief." Qiu-yun felt that continuing the conversation was a waste of time. She reached out and poked Wu Liu’s forehead. "Miss Wu, could you please clear your head and stop dragging me into this? And to be honest, I don't think Professor Liang has much of an impression of you. Having me give you the book was already a polite way of turning you down."
"How is that possible?" Wu Liu swatted her hand away, laughing instead of getting angry. "Everything was fine when I talked to him on WeChat. Did you say something to him?"
The movement was so sudden that the book on the table slid off and hit the floor.
Sima Qiu-yun was truly speechless. She felt that Wu Liu was becoming obsessed—an unhealthy obsession that bordered on madness. She felt a surge of anger and wanted to set her straight, but then realized that Wu Liu probably wouldn't listen to anything she said right now. She picked the book up from the floor and left with a cold remark: "Think whatever you want."
"Hey, hey!" Wu Liu called out behind her.
Qiu-yun didn't look back.
***
