In class on Wednesday, Professor Bai announced the suspension of classes the following Monday.

After his afternoon classes, Ting Shuang went home and checked his email. Unsurprisingly, he’d received a formal notice of class suspension sent by the teaching assistants.

However, the reason for the suspension was not mentioned in the email, nor did Bai Changyi mention it when he was in class.

If he was this secretive, could it be because..

Ting Shuang took out his phone and sent a message to Bai Changyi: Is Your Highness not waking up early on Monday?

After sending the message, Ting Shuang suddenly noticed the current distance between them: 480 kilometres.

480 kilometers???

After three heated days, did they go back to square one?

Was Bai Laoban going on the Long March?(1)

Ting Shuang couldn’t make sense of it, and sent another message: Bai Laoban, where are you?

Only at nine o’clock in the evening did Bai Changyi finally reply: Hanover.

Ting Shuang was about to start typing, when Bai Changyi started a video call. “There’s an industrial robots exhibition here.”

Ting Shuang looked at Bai Changyi’s background and guessed that it was his hotel room. He asked, “So you went to the exhibition this afternoon?”

Bai Changyi said, “No, the exhibition only starts next Monday. I reached Hanover at five o’clock, and just had a meal with representatives of two collaborating exhibitors from China and Germany.”

Ting Shuang said, “Oh.. our class next Monday is suspended because of this exhibition?”

Bai Changyi said, “Mm, I have to give a live report in the exhibition hall on Monday. I’ll come back Tuesday night.”

Ting Shuang said, “Then why did you leave today? Today’s only Wednesday.”

Bai Changyi said, “It’s a joint exhibition by three parties. The LRM department and the two companies are working together on several projects. We’ll have meetings in the hotel on Thursday and Friday. They will set up their booths during the weekend. I’ll be overseeing the process.”

In his head, Ting Shuang started making plans.

He had classes on Thursday and Friday. He had work on Saturday. His Sunday was free, and the only class he had on Monday was suspended. If he took the train to Hanover after work on Saturday and returned on Monday night, then he could spend two days and two nights with Bai Changyi. It could be considered a vacation.

Mm.. He couldn’t let Bai Changyi know. He had to suddenly appear outside his hotel room on Saturday at midnight, and ring the doorbell to send the old professor warmth.

“What are you giggling at?” The Bai Changyi on the phone screen asked.

Giggling?

Ting Shuang slapped his face and said, “W-who giggled? Can’t I be happy?”

Bai Changyi said, “Happy about what.”

Ting Shuang said, “Happy.. happy that I can sleep in next Monday morning. Hey, I can’t talk any longer, I, I uh.. I have to rush out an experiment report.”

He had to quickly book the train ticket.

Bai Changyi said, “Mm, don’t sleep too late.”

Ting Shuang said, “Okay okay..”

As soon as he hung up, Ting Shuang realised he had a problem—

He did want to go to the hotel to send warmth.. But which hotel was Bai Laoban staying in?

Whatever, he’d book a train ticket first, then get the information(2)?from Bai Laoban over the next few days.

Possibly due to the industrial exhibition, the train tickets to and from Hanover were much more expensive than usual. After booking, Ting Shuang checked the records of his spendings this month and contemplated whether he should find another job.

If this went on, he might not even be able to stay in a relationship.

Over the next three days—

Thursday.

Ting Shuang, “Dear.. Is your hotel close to the convention center? If the convention center is a bit far away from the city center, it’ll be hard running back and forth, no?”

Bai Changyi, “It’s fine, someone brings me around.”

The first try at gathering information: Fail.

Friday.

Ting Shuang, “Bai Laoban, it’s late, are you hungry? I’m eating supper. Look, it’s grilled chicken wings. How about I call in a delivery for you?”

Bai Changyi, “I’m ready to go to bed. Go to bed early after you eat.”

The second try at gathering information: Fail.

Saturday.

After getting off work, Ting Shuang went to the train station with the suitcase he had brought out of the house in the morning.

While waiting for the train, he once again sent a message to try gathering information for the third time: Bai Laoban, I heard the news that hotel prices in Hanover have skyrocketed in the past few days, and many hotels that usually cost between one to two hundred euros a night rose to six to seven hundred euros a night. Even so, they’re still fully booked. Which hotel are you staying in? I’ll help you to check if they’re taking advantage of the situation and cheating you, how about it?

After a long period of time, Bai Changyi responded: The hotel’s booked by a company collaborating with us.

Ting Shuang was thinking about how to continue fishing for information when Bai Changyi asked: Are you on the train?

Ting Shuang: No, I am at home.

Bai Changyi: Think about it carefully before you answer my question.

Think carefully..

It was bad.

Current distance: 399 kilometers.

After ten seconds: 398 kilometers.

Ting Shuang: Yes, I’m on the train.

Bai Changyi: Where are you going.

Ting Shuang gave a reserved reply: Um.. To admire the father of calculus, Leibniz.

Leibniz died in Hanover.

Bai Changyi: Send me the train number.

At 10:52 in the evening, the train stopped at platform 6 of Hanover Central Railway Station. Ting Shuang got off the train with his suitcase, and saw Bai Changyi in the crowd.

In an unfamiliar city, they didn’t have to worry about anything.

He cut through the boisterous crowd, and they stood amongst it as they shared an embrace and a kiss.

“Have you had dinner?” Bai Changyi smoothed down Ting Shuang’s hair as it had gotten a little messy after sleeping on the train.

“Ah, I forgot to eat on the train.” Ting Shuang looked around and saw the coffee shop in the train station, “I’ll go in and buy a sandwich. Do you want anything to eat? Or a drink?”

What Bai Changyi thought of something, his spectacles lens glinting, “Coffee.”

“Alrighty.” Ting Shuang nodded. He came out after buying two cups of coffee and a sandwich, and passed a cup of coffee to Bai Changyi.

It was very late at this point, and Bai Changyi did not bother the driver who was in charge of sending him around the past few days. He called a taxi to bring them back to the hotel.

“Bai Laoban, you said the hotel was booked by a company collaborating with you, so they’re also staying here?” Ting Shuang asked in the elevator, where there were only the two of them, “We won’t be seen right?”

Bai Changyi said, “So what if they see us? You are an accompanying graduate student.”

Ting Shuang teased, “Staying with you?”

Bo Changyi’s expression remained cool and calm, “To save costs for the collaborating company.”

""

Ting Shuang said, “You didn’t bring the graduate students under you?”

Bai Changyi said, “I brought two of them, they aren’t on this floor.”

After walking out of the elevator and to the door of their room, Ting Shuang was still asking, “Then why is it that it just has to be me staying with–“

“Why do you have so many questions,” Bai Changyi opened the door, grasped Ting Shuang’s chin and kissed him, while he hung up the “Do Not Disturb” sign outside the door with his other hand.

(..)

After several hours in the train, and after being done roughly twice, Ting Shuang really didn’t have any energy left. He casually took out two bottles of beer, looked for a corkscrew and opened them, handing one to Bai Changyi. Then, while drinking, he walked to the French windows and leaned on the railing to look at the night view of the city.

Bai Changyi stood beside him, occasionally sipping from the beer bottle.

“Bai Laoban.. you don’t like drinking beer?” Ting Shuang turned around and said, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you drink. Just give it to me if you don’t want to drink,” He took the bottle of bear from Bai Changyi.

Don’t like to drink beer..

Little people noticed this.

Bai Changyi didn’t like drinking, but in the past, Meng Yurong liked to drink, so he would drink with her. Actually, Bai Changyi didn’t have the habit of smoking, but he’d accompany Ting Shuang when he smoked. He was more accustomed to taking care of others than being taken care of, so he doesn’t really express his likes and dislikes.

He didn’t know how the kid noticed it.

Bai Changyi looked at Ting Shuang’s side profile as he gazed out the window, thinking back to when they were at the train station. He had asked Ting Shuang to buy him coffee, and was planning to give Ting Shuang three euros in coins at this moment. He wanted the little bastard who randomly passed him money at unreasonable times to realise his mistake.

A part of him wanted to tease the kid, while the other part of him wanted to teach the kid a lesson.

But now he didn’t want to do that anymore.

Ting Shuang gulped down half a bottle of beer and said, “I want to eat pig trotters.. Trotters with beer.”

“Eat it after you wake up tomorrow.” Bai Changyi took the beer bottle from Ting Shuang. “Take a shower and go to sleep.”

The next day, Ting Shuang slept until noon and woke up to an empty room. He called Bai Changyi and said, “Dear, where are you? Didn’t you say we’d eat trotters?”

Bai Changyi said, “Come to the eighteenth floor for lunch.”

Ting Shuang asked, “Just the two of us?”

Bai Changyi said, “There are also people from the Chinese company.”

Ting Shuang said, “Oh, then I’ll tidy myself up more. I wanted to listen to your report tomorrow so I also brought my formal outfit..”

After washing up and changing into his clothes, Ting Shuang went downstairs and gave his name to the waiter at the entrance of the restaurant. He was then led to Bai Changyi and the others.

From a distance away, he saw Bai Changyi, who sat facing him. He couldn’t stop the corners of his lips from tipping up as he waved at Bai Changyi.

Bai Changyi nodded to him, then said something to the people from the Chinese company.

Several people from the Chinese company turned around when they heard his words.

Ting Shuang was originally about to smile as he nodded and greeted them, but after seeing their faces, he halted in his tracks, and his smile froze on his face.

The middle-aged man sitting in the middle of the people from the Chinese company was Zhu Ao—

The father he and Zhu Wenjia shared.