Shen An’s heart was filled with anticipation. He had thought Chen Nannan would take him to some secret hideaway.
But when they reached their destination, Shen An stared at the door before him, wrapped tightly in iron chains, his face full of confusion.
This was the Central District, on the stairwell at the top of the Experimental Building.
The two of them stood there, one step above the other, staring at each other in silence.
“Uh…”
Clearly, even Chen Nannan felt a bit awkward facing the chained iron door.
“How could this happen? The rooftop of the Experimental Building usually doesn’t close until nighttime. Why so early today…”
She muttered to herself, trying to come up with an excuse to smooth things over.
Shen An said softly, “Is this the place you mentioned, Senior Sister? The spot that’s good for relaxing?”
He glanced around and shrugged. “It’s not bad, actually. Pretty quiet environment. Though it might scare the people downstairs a little.”
Chen Nannan turned away in embarrassment and huffed playfully. “It’s not like that! I… I was trying to take you to the rooftop!”
“Ah, so it’s right behind this door?”
“Yeah, yeah.” Chen Nannan tugged at the corner of her mouth and smiled. “Whenever I’m in a bad mood, I come here.”
“The rooftop is usually empty except for the building managers, so I can sit here all afternoon without a worry in the world.”
The stairwell was dimly lit, almost pitch-black, with no lights on. The airtight windows were covered by curtains.
When she spoke, Shen An could only gauge her emotions from her tone.
“Sit here all afternoon? Doesn’t that get boring?”
“Of course not.” Chen Nannan sounded excited, like she was sharing her personal secret tip. “You can sit on the rooftop, right up close to the sky.”
“Then you watch the clouds drifting by, gathering and scattering. When you’re really immersed in it, you completely forget that time even exists.”
Watch… clouds?
Shen An was tempted to pull out his phone and check if the System had sent any notifications.
But then he thought better of it. Everyone had their own way of decompressing. Some people played games, others hooked up, and a few even went streaking.
Compared to that, cloud-watching didn’t seem so strange. It was even “safe,” without bothering anyone else.
“So, watching clouds is your way of unwinding, Senior Sister?”
Shen An asked gently.
“Uh…” Chen Nannan fell silent for a moment before whispering, “In other people’s eyes, I’m the kind of girl who shouldn’t have any stress at all.”
“So a lot of the time, I don’t even know if I’m really under pressure or… if I’m just bored and coming here to moan about nothing.”
Hearing this, Shen An gained some insight.
Chen Nannan didn’t dress flashily—her clothes were simple, far less bold and alluring than that girl he’d met at the milk tea shop.
But every piece she wore was an expensive luxury item.
Her phone was the latest model from a top brand.
And she was beautiful, too. This understated style suited her delicate, quiet features perfectly.
She was also popular with the teachers and always talked about studying, so her grades were probably excellent.
Wealthy family, good looks, outgoing and kind personality, top grades.
She was the picture-perfect winner in life—the pure ideal in others’ eyes, an untouchable beauty no one dared approach.
How could someone like that have worries? What right did she have to troubles?
That was probably how everyone saw it.
Chen Nannan let out a silly laugh and murmured, “Maybe I just like watching clouds.”
She turned her head, peering into the darkness at Shen An, at those deep, profound eyes of his.
“This is my little secret, okay? You can’t tell anyone.”
Her playful tone hid a girl’s shyness and mischief, along with a hint of timid anticipation.
Shen An climbed the stairs to stand beside her. “Do you want to watch the clouds?”
“Uh… the door’s locked.”
Chen Nannan pointed at the chains wrapped around the door.
” Locks like this are actually pretty easy to pick.”
Shen An picked up the padlock holding the chains. “Do you want to watch the clouds?”
He asked again.
Chen Nannan hesitated. “Isn’t this a bad idea? Do you even know how to pick locks?”
“If you don’t want to, we can head back now.”
Shen An said calmly.
Hey~
Chen Nannan puffed out her cheeks, tiptoed to glance around, then whispered, “There aren’t any cameras here, right?”
Okay, that was her answer.
Shen An raised his hand, his fingertips brushing lightly over her soft hair.
“Hey! What are you doing?”
Chen Nannan jumped in surprise.
“Don’t worry. Just borrowing your hair clip for a sec.”
Shen An removed her hair clip. Her unbound hair cascaded down like a waterfall in the darkness, revealing her radiant surprise.
“I’m not sure if this’ll work. It’s been ages since I last did something like this.”
Shen An inserted the thin end of the hair clip into the lock’s keyhole.
Chen Nannan could only hear the faint stirring sounds of the clip and his steady breathing.
She tentatively raised her hand, and as she extended it, she touched his body.
He was right behind her…
This position…
Chen Nannan quickly bowed her head and froze in place, not daring to move.
Click.
A crisp sound rang out as the lock sprang open.
Shen An removed the chains from the iron door and pulled back the bolt.
Another click, and he pushed the door open. Light poured in, chasing away the stairwell’s gloom and bathing them both once more.
Chen Nannan stood there in a daze, staring blankly at the unlocked padlock.
So amazing…
He… he actually knew how to pick locks?
Where did he learn that? Didn’t it need reporting or something??
Meanwhile, Shen An had already stepped out onto the rooftop.
His thoughts and attention shifted away from Chen Nannan, fully focused on the rooftop itself.
This familiar scene…
And this wind, gentle yet bustling with noise.
Shen An stood in the middle of the rooftop, his face etched with shock.
This rooftop…
It was the exact one where he’d arrived in this world, the place he’d stood upon opening his eyes!
His gaze quickly swept to the edge of the rooftop.
That girl—the one who had decisively jumped from here—had stood right there.
Vaguely, he felt as if some long-troubling puzzle had suddenly clicked into place, like an inspiration striking him.
It was like a closed loop in logic; he’d come full circle, back to where it all began.
East China Comprehensive University, Experimental Building, rooftop.
Chen Nannan was still fixated on the lock, dying to know how Shen An had opened it.
With just a hair clip?
She was about to ask when she saw something that filled her with utter terror!
At the rooftop’s edge, Shen An had walked right up to it—and stepped onto the ledge!
Reacting in an instant, Chen Nannan rushed onto the rooftop, her voice trembling. “Shen An? Shen An! What are you doing? Get down from there right now!!!”
She stopped a few steps away, halting abruptly.
She didn’t dare get too close, afraid of startling him.
But she couldn’t stay too far, either, terrified that if he slipped, she’d only be able to watch him fall.
“Shen An… you… calm down, okay? Please don’t do this.”
Chen Nannan’s voice cracked with tears. She was terrified, utterly petrified.
She had no idea what had happened or why Shen An had suddenly climbed up there…
Her frightened, trembling voice reached Shen An’s ears.
He wasn’t thinking of suicide, actually.
He just wanted to stand there and feel what that girl must have felt.
He looked down. From the rooftop to the ground was dozens of meters.
Anyone afraid of heights would be shaking uncontrollably, body and mind in chaos.
It was a bone-deep terror.
And a single step forward would mean certain death, shattered beyond repair.
Shen An surveyed it all calmly, like a detective hunting for clues. His eyes scanned every corner, even taking in the students walking on the paths below.
The wind whipped noisily past, tousling his hair.
He spread his arms, as if embracing the breeze.
“So this is what it felt like?”
He murmured.
This action, without a doubt, terrified Chen Nannan all over again.
Her legs gave out beneath her, and she collapsed to the ground with a thud.
Shen An heard her fall and turned in surprise. “Senior Sister?”
Like a drowning person clutching a lifeline, Chen Nannan saw his normal expression and blurted out, “What are you doing up there? It’s dangerous! Get down now!!”
“Uh… I think standing here with the wind blowing feels pretty nice.”
Shen An even struck a casual pose, flashing a smile.
Every little move he made danced on the edge of her nerves; the slightest shift made her heart lurch.
In just a minute, her face had drained to a ghostly white, her voice faltering.
Seeing things weren’t right, Shen An hurried down and over to her side. “Senior Sister? Are you okay?”
He took her hand—it was ice-cold to the touch.
Chen Nannan gripped it tightly, as if afraid he’d try something again.
“You… don’t do that. Don’t be impulsive. Whatever problems you have, you can tell me. I… I can try to help you figure it out. Please, don’t do this, okay?”
Shen An realized his “impulse” might have gone a bit too far.
He cleared his throat lightly. “No… I just wanted to try what it feels like to stand there with the wind blowing. I don’t want to die at all.”
“Really?”
Chen Nannan gripped his hand tightly, her big eyes fixed intently on him.
“Yeah, I’m the most afraid of dying.”
Shen An nodded without hesitation.
Chen Nannan finally let out a sigh of relief.
She couldn’t even bear to imagine what would happen if Shen An really jumped down—or worse, if he fell by accident.
Once her fear had eased a little, anger surged through her heart.
She raised her small pink fist and pounded it forcefully against Shen An’s chest.
Smack, smack, smack—the blows grew louder with each strike.
“Why did you climb up there for no reason? Do you want to scare me to death?”
“Isn’t it nice to stand there and feel the breeze? You just love dangerous spots like that? Have you ever thought about what happens if you fall?”
“Do you never consider anyone else? If you fell, what would happen to your parents? Your family, your friends—what about them?”
Shen An knew he was in the wrong. He could only endure the beating in silence.
Truth be told, he hadn’t meant to upset Chen Nannan on purpose.
It was just that the moment he pushed open the door to the rooftop, the familiar scene before him ignited an impulse he couldn’t resist.
Chen Nannan had described it perfectly: when lost in watching the clouds, fully focused and immersed, time itself slipped away unnoticed. Everything around faded into oblivion.
That was exactly the state Shen An had been in— so absorbed that he completely forgot about the timid, kind-hearted Senior Sister standing behind him.
He took her punches without a word, all the while holding her tightly in his arms.
His warmth chased away the chill of her fear.
“It won’t happen again,” he murmured. “I definitely won’t do this next time.”
The scare had drained most of Chen Nannan’s strength. After just a few blows, she slumped weakly against him, gasping for breath.
As the terror slowly ebbed and her thoughts cleared, she suddenly realized how intimate their position was.
Yet his embrace—gentle but firm, like sunlight itself—filled her with an indescribable warmth. She couldn’t bring herself to push him away.
The sensation was utterly wondrous.
Perhaps… it was the suspension bridge effect?
Only when her body temperature and color had returned to normal did Shen An release her. He brushed aside her disheveled hair and asked softly, “Feeling better?”
Chen Nannan shot him a grumpy glare. “I should be asking you that! Are you okay?”
Shen An chuckled. “I’ve been fine the whole time.”
“Fine my foot! You acted like a total idiot, climbing up there out of nowhere… You nearly gave me a heart attack.”
She patted her chest, still shaking off the lingering dread.
“Sorry, sorry,” Shen An said sheepishly. “I’ve always been a bit mischievous ever since I was a kid, so…”
“You’re not a kid anymore! Whatever—just don’t ever do it again!”
Chen Nannan snapped, annoyed. “Even if you want to jump, at least wait until I’m gone! Don’t make me watch!!!”
“I could never bear to die.”
Shen An narrowed his eyes, a strange wistfulness in his voice.
“Hmph. Do whatever you want—I don’t care if you live or die.”
Chen Nannan grumbled and swatted him once more, only to wince as pain shot through her own palm.
She lifted her hand and saw that her fair skin had turned bright red, stinging with a fiery burn.
A quick glance down revealed her knee was scraped too—likely from when she’d collapsed in a heap earlier.
She should’ve worn long pants.
Chen Nannan frowned, a mix of grievance and resentment welling up inside her.
That look—raw and tangible—met Shen An’s gaze head-on.
