Before the weekend get-together with her girlfriends, the first thing that came up was the handling of Zhong Xi's case. The daughter had to pay for her mother's debts, and the school issued the most severe punishment—expulsion.

This was the first time Xia Minmin had heard of the expulsion punishment. On the day Zhong Xi left school, she saw Zhong Xi's father for the first time. He had a full head of white hair, and his clothes were faded and the cuffs were torn. Compared with the fashionable Zhong Xi and her mother, she even wondered if the three of them were a family.

Although Zhong Xi's father was poorly dressed, he was very polite. When he came to the dormitory, he brought a bag of apples and kept apologizing to Zhong Xi. Everyone felt heartbroken watching him. After packing Zhong Xi's luggage, he refused Xia Minmin and the others' offer to help and left the dormitory alone with a suitcase and two storage bags.

Xia Minmin and the others stood on the fifth floor and looked down. The old father struggled to leave with his luggage and gradually disappeared from everyone's sight.

"Why does Zhong Xi have to do this? There are plenty of students in our school who are not well-off, why do you have to pretend to be rich when you're not?"

"It's all vanity's fault. She's incredibly strong-willed; she can still fabricate so many lies."

"Yes, she also used the lie of having powerful connections to deceive several students who failed their courses. This year, the number of students in our school who have to extend their studies has increased by a few more."

"She is indeed smart, but unfortunately she didn't use her intelligence for the right purpose. She almost fooled even her counselor."

Du Lan had been very silent during this time. She wanted to slap herself a few times. They had lived together for four years, going in and out of the same place, and she hadn't even discovered Zhong Xi's true colors. She blamed herself for being stupid and not seeing through such a simple deception. Fortunately, it was just a delay in graduation, and it wouldn't have much impact on her future.

Time seemed to be fast-forwarding; after donning a thick down jacket, a light coat was put on, and soon short sleeves appeared. Kyoto University's graduation ceremony arrived in a flurry of activity.

Xia Minmin had moved her luggage from the dormitory to her apartment in Beijing little by little, like ants carrying food. She had never lived in this apartment in the four years she had been in Beijing.

The temperature in Beijing in June was just right. Those who came to watch the graduation ceremony were, as always, Xia Minmin's parents, Xia's maternal grandparents, Wang Aimin, and Tang Meng, who had already secured a job.

Li Chunmei's eyes welled up with tears as she watched her daughter give a speech on stage. These past four years have been busy with her studies, and her daughter has come and gone in a hurry. But in places she couldn't see, she was already more confident and composed than in previous years.

"Xiaomin, congratulations on graduating from university! From now on, I should call you Dr. Xia." Tang Meng handed the sunflower she had prepared to her best friend.

"Thank you, dear Officer Tang."

Li Chunmei's DV camera never stopped recording, while Xia Jianguo took turns taking group photos of everyone with his camera.

"Xiaomin, congratulations on your graduation! This is a gift your godfather prepared for you!" Wang Aimin handed the gift to Xia Minmin.

"Xiaomin, this is what your grandparents prepared for you."

Xia Minmin was carrying four gifts, the packaging of which looked expensive. "How wonderful! Is there a gift for graduating with a PhD?"

Xia Jianguo tapped his daughter's forehead and said, "You little money-grubber, if you graduate on time and don't have to extend your studies, you'll get a gift; otherwise, you won't."

Xia Minmin covered her forehead; her dad had really hit her hard, it almost hurt her to death. Everyone laughed at her funny expression.

"Class monitor! Let's take a group photo together." Xia Minmin's classmate held up a camera not far away.

Tang Meng said, "Give it to me!" She took the gift and flowers from Xia Minmin's hand.

"I'll be right back. Just wait for me under the shade of the tree. I'll be there soon!"

Li Chunmei and the others watched Xia Minmin run far away before walking to the shade of the tree. Their eyes never left Xia Minmin as they watched her and her classmates take funny pictures.

Taking photos with her classmates almost exhausted Xia Minmin; they came up with all sorts of bizarre and outlandish poses, none of them normal.

Xia Minmin wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Are you done yet? You've ruined my glorious image."

"Class monitor, this is so much fun! How about we go back to school and take the same photos again after our ten-year promise?"

Xia Minmin thought about herself ten years from now and immediately shook her head, "No way, my old arms and legs won't be able to do such difficult moves in ten years."

An older boy in the class hooked his arm around Xia Minmin's neck and said, "You little brat, you dare to call yourself an old man in front of me."

"Haha..." Xia Minmin chuckled, remembering this older brother—a real older brother, who started school two years later than his peers and then repeated a year of high school. He often joked that if this were ancient times, his children would be the same age as Xia Minmin.

"Big brother is right, you're out of the running. Ten years from now, you won't even be thirty, and we'll already be approaching forty."

What's meant to happen will happen; classmates who have spent four years together will now go their separate ways.

Xia Minmin pushed her suitcase and boarded the plane home. She didn't need to be in such a hurry, but she wanted to take Tang Meng to her workplace tomorrow, so time was tight.

On the plane, Li Chunmei said, "Mengmeng, your parents don't have time. How about Auntie and Xiaomin take you to work together?"

Tang Meng smiled and said, "Aunt Chunmei, you really don't need to. I'm not a child anymore. Xiaomin can take me there."

"Alright, you two be careful today. I won't say anything more." Li Chunmei knew what her daughter was thinking when she heard her sigh, and she was definitely repeating it to herself.

Xia Jianguo was amused by the subtle banter between the mother and daughter. In the years that his daughter had been studying away from home, she would repeat the same things whenever she went out with her classmates. Whenever his wife started, his daughter would quietly repeat after her.

After getting off the airport bus, Tang Meng rushed home to get her packed luggage, ready to take the bus with her best friend to their next destination, Guangzhou.

"Guangzhou is so close to Shenzhen, and I've never been there before." I sat on the bus, looking at the scenery on both sides of Guangzhou.

"This is my second time here. I came once after I was accepted. There's a five-star hotel a ten-minute walk from the branch office where I work. Shall we stay there for the next few days? I'll take you home this weekend." Even before officially becoming Officer Tang, Tang Meng's tone was different from usual, carrying an air of unyielding authority.

"I'm fine. After you go to work, I'll wander around the city and relax a bit." Xia Minmin stretched, stood up and twisted her waist. Taking the bus was tiring and smelly, and she felt uncomfortable. It was another day she didn't want to take the bus.

Twenty-two-year-old Tang Meng has become brave and resolute after four years of training at the police academy, completely different from the soft and gentle little girl she used to be.

During the day, while Tang Meng was at work, Xia Minmin would search for delicious food in the streets and alleys. Near the end of the workday, she would bring some good food to Tang Meng and share it with her colleagues. This was something Ms. Li Chunmei had specifically instructed her to do.

"Tang Meng, your best friend came to see you, and brought so much delicious food again?" Tang Meng's colleagues, who come every day, are already very familiar with her.

"Brother Liu, here's the information. I'll head off work now. I'll be in Shenzhen tonight. Call me if anything comes up, and I'll be right back."

Tang Meng's colleague, Brother Liu, said, "Little girl, just go home and relax. He'll definitely look for you."

It was already 9 p.m. when I got back to Shenzhen.