Chapter 23: Echoes from Home

Light filtered through the dorm window, warm and bright, but Lin Feng wasn't able to notice. Not yet.

He stared at the missed call icon on his phone, that particular number still flashing on the screen.

Mom.

She had called two days ago. When he was with Liu Xiaoyu. When he was too mired to answer.

Now the guilt lay in his chest like a weight he couldn't remove.

He'd already paid her the ¥8,000 for his father's hospital bill, after all. He'd done his part. But that didn't eliminate the distance between them—or the fear that had crept into his mother's voice the last time they'd really talked.

He sighed and pressed the call button.

The phone rang twice before she picked up.

"Hello?" Her voice was soft, cautious.

".Mom. It's me."

A pause of a moment.

"Lin Feng? Ah—" Her voice trembled a little, then steadied. "You finally called back. Are you. are you okay over there?"

Lin Feng closed his eyes, the familiar ache of homesickness tugging at him. "I'm okay. Just been a little busy with school."

Another silence. Then: "Your father is doing a little better. He can sit up now. The medicine's taking hold."

That hit him harder than he had expected. He hadn't realized how much he needed to hear it.

"That's good," he murmured. "Really good."

His mother hesitated. "We… we still have some fees remaining. Follow-up treatment. But we'll manage."

Lin Feng pulled out his wallet app on the ground and paid ¥1,000 without saying a word. He just did it.

A few seconds later, his mom gave a soft gasp.

"You—! Lin Feng, you already gave us so much. Where did you—?"

"Just some part-time work," he replied quickly. "Don't worry. Take care of Dad."

She fell silent again. But this time, it felt warmer. As if she knew something more than he was saying, and refused to ask.

"Alright," she said, softly. "Take care of yourself, Feng'er."

When the call ended, Lin Feng leaned back in his chair, staring at the cracks in the ceiling. For the first time in a while, he didn't feel helpless.

Later in the day, he bumped into Liu Xiaoyu again—this time by accident.

He had gone to the school library, hoping to find a quiet place to do his economics homework. But when he came around the third floor corner, she emerged on the opposite side with a fat textbook held against her body.

The two of them froze.

Neither of them moved for a couple of seconds. Then Liu Xiaoyu smiled, looking abashed.

"Are you… following me?"

Lin Feng blinked in surprise.

".Huh?"

She laughed, covering her mouth with her hand. "I'm kidding. Relax."

He shook his head. "You scared me for a second."

She leaned to one side. "Do you want to study together?"

Lin Feng hesitated. "Won't your friends say something about it?"

She shrugged. "Let them. I learn better without them talking around me."

They sat down at a table in the back, near the window. The light there was warm, and the world seemed oddly far away outside the glass.

They didn't speak much at first—just flipped pages, pecked away on laptops. Liu Xiaoyu would look up from his notes every now and then and raise an eyebrow.

"Are you really writing formulas by hand? That's so retro."

"It helps me think," he said, not glancing up.

"I guess it's sort of… adorable," she said, voice gentler now.

Lin Feng nearly dropped his pen.

But she did not push. Instead, she asked him questions about the chapter, genuinely curious about his opinions. And he—he talked more than he normally would. Explaning things. Debating opinions. Even they disagreed about one of the case studies, which somehow culminated in laughter.

Something felt natural about it.

Like tension before—theself-consciousness of her seeing the house—had resolved into something more natural.

Later that night, Lin Feng received another update.

[SYSTEM QUEST UPDATE]

"Mutual Growth I: Progress – 38%"

Emotional bond strengthened.

Shared study session acknowledged.

Tip: Real connection yields higher dividends.

He smiled faintly.

It wasn't a huge payoff. No fortune at once. No announced prizes.

But it was something.

A step in the right direction.

That night, Zhang Kai returned to the dormitory laughing loudly with two other students. They had just returned from a restaurant, arms full of bags of leftovers.

"Bro," one of them said, pointing to Lin Feng, "I heard that you've been flirting with Liu Xiaoyu lately. True?"

Lin Feng kept quiet.

Zhang Kai smiled. "Be careful, man. Some people already started talking. You used to be invisible, and now you're… visible."

The others laughed.

But there was something tight in Zhang Kai's expression—almost like jealousy. Like confusion. As if he couldn't quite figure out when Lin Feng had stopped being a background character.

Lin Feng didn't answer. He just turned back to his laptop.

He didn't need to prove anything.

Not now.