Lu Chen dropped Ji Yingyu off at her apartment, a small two-bedroom place located inside the second ring road. It wasn’t big, just a modest unit. He helped her carry the luggage to the door but didn’t go inside. “You should’ve told me in advance that you were coming back. I didn’t have time to arrange for someone to clean up. The place hasn’t been lived in for a while, so there’s probably a lot of dust. If you’re tired, I can call someone to clean it for you. You can stay at the main house for a few days and move back in when everything’s ready.”

“It’s fine, Lu...