"Eight o'clock, at the school sports field?"
"Okay."
She hung up and glanced at the time. It was almost time to leave.
At exactly six, Shen Jingbai walked out of his office and said, "Keqin, you can leave now. Good work today!"
Zeng Keqin stood up. "It's not hard."
She said goodbye to Chen Kaiheng, tidied her desk, and left. Before leaving, she tried sending the client a message, but again, it was like a stone dropped into the sea.
At night, the sports field was bustling with joggers and a few people playing basketball. The sound of sneakers scraping the ground rose and fell.
Jiang Shiyu stood under the bleachers, wearing a black short-sleeved T-shirt. His deep blue hair glowed coldly in the dark. He held a tube and leaned against the railing.
"You're here?"
Zeng Keqin walked up to him. "What do you want to give me?"
Jiang Shiyu didn't speak. He handed her the tube.
Zeng Keqin took it, hesitated, and asked, "Can I open it?"
He straightened up, looking casual. "Sure."
Zeng Keqin opened the cap and gently pulled out an oil painting.
In the deep blue night sky, stars twinkled like diamonds. The sea was calm, shimmering. A pier stretched into the sea, lit at the end by a dim yellow streetlamp. Fishing lights flickered in the distance, and waves lapped against the rocks nearby.
The tones of the painting were mostly dark, but the streetlamp's light was bright and warm, like the only direction in the darkness.
"This is..."
Zeng Keqin looked up at him.
Jiang Shiyu's gaze was fixed on the distant sports field. Someone had just scored a three-pointer on the basketball court, and cheers erupted.
"When I'm in a bad mood, I look at this painting. Since I'm moving away, I'll leave it to you."
"Thank you."
Zeng Keqin carefully rolled up the painting. The moonlight sprinkled on her fair, slender neck, making her look gentle and fragile.
His Adam's apple moved. "How... how's your internship going?"
"Pretty smoothly."
Zeng Keqin walked up beside him, watching the joggers. "What about you? What are your plans after graduation?"
"The company I signed with before—I can officially start after graduation. There are a few projects waiting for me, so I'll probably be busy for a while."
"That's good."
"Are you planning to stay at that small firm long?"
"Not sure yet, but I really like it there."
"Like it?"
He was surprised. She had only interned for a day and already liked it?
"Yeah, the people there are really nice, especially Lawyer Shen. He takes every case very seriously and responsibly. He must truly love this profession."
As she spoke, her eyes were fixed in the distance, and the corners of her mouth involuntarily curved, as if recalling something pleasant.
Jiang Shiyu shifted his gaze away from her face. His tone was flat. "He's a partner, so of course he cares."
Zeng Keqin seriously retorted, "No, he's been like this from the start. He's my role model."
A light snort came from beside her.
"Since you admire him so much, why not just stay at his firm for New Year's and skip the salary?"
Zeng Keqin frowned. "That's not what I meant..."
"Then what about me?"
She turned her head.
Jiang Shiyu's jaw tightened. He looked away, his voice tinged with awkwardness. "My painting deserves only a 'thank you'?"
Zeng Keqin glanced down at the tube, her fingers tightening. "I'll look at this painting every day. Even if I don't look, I'll put it by my bed."
Only then did Jiang Shiyu seem satisfied. He lifted his long leg over the railing and stood outside the bleachers. "You said you'd put it by your bed."
She nodded.
"I'm leaving."
"Okay. See you."
Zeng Keqin hugged the tube, waved, and turned toward the dormitory.
She didn't notice that Jiang Shiyu, walking in the other direction, had stopped.
He leaned against the wall, pulled out a cigarette, and put it between his lips. He flicked the lighter a few times but couldn't light it. Finally, he took the cigarette out of his mouth and crushed it in his palm.
The night wind blew, messing up his hair. His bangs covered his eyes.
He thought of the look on her face when she talked about Lawyer Shen.
Her almond-shaped eyes had sparkled, as if filled with a galaxy of stars.
That was something he had never seen before.
Author's note: No additional note.