Xu Zhinan didn’t look in that direction again, quickly walking around to the passenger side and getting into the car.

Xu Zhenfan also got in the car, looking somewhat surprised at the scene before them. “What’s going on up there? Are those all celebrities?” He wasn’t very familiar with entertainment stars.

Gu Congwang somehow had a grudge against Lin Qingye despite never having spoken to him, and snorted: “Blocking the road. Don’t they have any public morality?”

“Let’s go out that way,” Xu Zhinan pointed to a passage on the other side.

Gu Congwang steadily drove the car out of the crowd. After driving a bit further, those noisy sounds disappeared.

“How was it? Feeling confident about the competition today?” Gu Congwang asked.

Xu Zhenfan answered for her: “How could she not be confident? Look, this level of skill—I can already imagine people’s shock when these photos are posted online!” He rolled up his pants leg again.

Gu Congwang glanced through the rearview mirror and smiled. “Looks like our Ah Nan is about to become famous with one battle.”

Xu Zhenfan: “Absolutely!”

Xu Zhinan: “…It’s not that dramatic.”

Gu Congwang dropped Xu Zhenfan off at his shop’s entrance, said goodbye, and continued driving to Pingchuan University. The two of them had dinner together at the commercial street outside the university gate.

By the time they finished, it was already 7 PM. Gu Congwang’s mother called asking him to come home, so they didn’t linger. After paying for the meal, Xu Zhinan went straight back to the dormitory.

The lights were on in the dorm.

Normally at this hour, Jiang Yue would still be at the library.

“Yue Yue,” Xu Zhinan pushed open the door. “Why are you back so early today?”

“My head hurts a bit today. Maybe the air conditioning in the library was too cold.” Jiang Yue sniffled, her voice heavy with nasal congestion. “Aren’t you going home today?”

“I am. I just came to get some things.” Xu Zhinan walked to her side. “Are you feeling very uncomfortable?”

Jiang Yue propped up her head with her hand. Books were still laid out in front of her, but she couldn’t focus on them anymore. “Mm, I think I caught a cold.”

“I have cold medicine.”

Xu Zhinan dug out some medicine she kept on hand and mixed a cup with warm water for her.

Jiang Yue thanked her, pinched her nose, and drank it all at once. “It’s fine, don’t worry about me. Go home first. I’ll just go to sleep early tonight.”

“Don’t you need to go to the hospital?”

“It’s fine. Going to the hospital now would keep us busy until very late.”

Xu Zhinan was still somewhat concerned. She put her small medicine box on Jiang Yue’s desk and boiled a kettle of hot water for her. “If you still feel unwell tonight, remember to message me.”

“Mm.”

However, before Xu Zhinan could finish packing her things, Jiang Yue, who had only been sniffling and having a headache earlier, suddenly began experiencing diarrhea. When she came out of the bathroom, her face was pale, her lips colorless, looking almost on the verge of collapse.

Xu Zhinan stepped forward to support her, but felt her burning arm. “Yue Yue, you have a fever?”

She couldn’t bring herself to leave Jiang Yue in this state.

Xu Zhinan took a shirt from Jiang Yue’s wardrobe to drape over her shoulders, tucked a thermos bottle under her arm, and helped her out of the dormitory.

Fortunately, the campus hospital wasn’t far from their dormitory. On the way, they met a classmate who helped take Jiang Yue to the campus hospital.

They took her temperature: 38 degrees Celsius.

After drawing blood, they waited for fifteen minutes for the test results: fever caused by a viral cold.

The classmate who had helped bring Jiang Yue had already left. Xu Zhinan helped Jiang Yue sit down on a chair, and soon the doctor came to set up an IV for her.

By now, Jiang Yue was feeling increasingly dizzy, and her nose was completely blocked. “Ah Nan, you should go home. There are doctors here.”

“I already told my mom I’m not coming home tonight,” Xu Zhinan poured her a capful of warm water. “I’ll stay here with you. You can sleep on my shoulder for a while.”

Jiang Yue thanked her again but didn’t speak anymore due to her sore throat. After drinking the water, she soon fell asleep without realizing it.

The two were about the same height, so Xu Zhinan had to sit up straight to let her comfortably rest on her shoulder.

During the summer break, most students had already gone home, and it was evening, so the campus hospital was very quiet. The entire school was quiet too.

Xu Zhinan took out her phone. Xu Zhenfan had sent her a message with a link.

She clicked on it and saw it was the voting page for the tattoo design competition’s preliminary round. Official voting would only begin after midnight tonight; at the moment, it was just the display phase.

Xu Zhinan scrolled down to look at each entry carefully.

It was evident that the tattoo skill levels varied greatly. However, with so many participants in this competition, there were quite a few outstanding ones in each group, including several excellent ones in the realism style group.

She then found Lu Xihe’s tattoo in the totem group. At first glance, it had a rough, primitive feel, but upon closer inspection, every detail was handled with extreme ingenuity, conveying a sense of unrestrained beauty.

It was indeed top-tier quality.

Xu Zhinan’s technique was delicate, not the same type as his.

But through this tattoo work, one could understand why “Assassin” had been the most renowned tattoo shop in the area for years.

After looking through everything once, she exited, and Xu Zhenfan sent her another link.

[Brother Zhenfan: Damn, you’re about to go viral, little sister!]

The tattoo community wasn’t large. The more professional ones had a dedicated forum for sharing their body art. While this competition hadn’t created much of a stir in the broader internet, it was hotly discussed in this forum.

Xu Zhinan usually didn’t participate in any online circles, so this was her first time visiting the forum.

The post Xu Zhenfan sent was discussing the galaxy tattoo image she had created, which the website had published.

Damn, this is pretty amazing!!

A rarely seen realism style master???

This galaxy looks so good, truly like it was painted on. Does anyone know which city this tattoo artist Xu Zhinan is from? If she’s nearby, I’d like to make an appointment.

Stunning!

Damn, is this Xu Zhinan’s work???

I hear gossip. Do you know her person above? Tell us more?

I don’t know her. I’m just one of the tattoo artists who attended today’s competition (though I’m not very skilled, just went for fun, so I won’t mention my name). The model she brought was crying throughout the tattooing process. I thought it was because Xu Zhinan’s technique was poor and she made even a burly man cry, but the result??? She was??? Hiding her talent???

I’m cringing just hearing this. Don’t tell me you mocked her too.

The entire venue was laughing at her. This girl is incredibly beautiful, super delicate, like a doll, and she’s so well-behaved. Her skin is fair and unblemished without any tattoos. She doesn’t look like a tattoo artist at all, but the result…

A pure-style tattoo artist? I’m even more interested now!!!

Xu Zhinan: “…”

Although the thread later derailed into discussing her appearance, Xu Zhinan was still very happy that so many people appreciated her work.

Jiang Yue’s head slipped from her shoulder as she dozed.

Xu Zhinan quickly sat up straight again to let her rest comfortably.

Having left in a hurry, she hadn’t brought anything with her. The only thing available to pass the time was her phone. Xu Zhinan opened Weibo—she didn’t often check entertainment news before, which made Zhao Qian laugh and say she was living in the last century.

“I Come for Music” had extremely high popularity this time. Being broadcast on a popular TV channel, a popular video app, during prime time, with excellent editing, each episode generated a lot of discussion.

Today, there was an outdoor meet-and-greet for the show at the same venue as the tattoo competition.

Several related topics are trending right now.

The campus hospital was very quiet; only the rustling of leaves blown by the wind outside could be heard.

Xu Zhinan, as if possessed, clicked on the trending topic about Lin Qingye.

The first Weibo post contained four photos of him getting out of the car at the stadium that evening.

In the last one, he was standing by the car, his gaze seemingly directed at the camera, brows furrowed, his expression somewhat cold and irritable, forming a stark contrast with the other people in the frame who were all smiling warmly.

Hahahahahahahahaha grumpy-faced Lin Qingye is killing me!!!

Lin Qingye’s inner thoughts: Why am I here? Why do I have to do public relations?

Why does this guy look so handsome even with a cold face!!!!

Hahahahaha now I understand why Lin Qingye hasn’t been active since winning the Golden Melody Award four years ago.

With this expression, I’d probably look like a husky… how can brother be both fierce and handsome at the same time? Wuwuwuwuwu, I’m so into this type.

Brother, be fierce to me!!!!!!!! (makes masochistic noises)

Though I’m just a random passerby, can I get the original photo? This is too handsome, I want to use it as my screen wallpaper!!

…

The discussion level on the trending topics was much higher than in the tattoo forum.

Xu Zhinan couldn’t read everything, so she just looked at the few top comments.

People expressed their love for Lin Qingye much more dramatically and passionately than in the school forums of the past.

Of course, there were also negative comments about him, but they were quickly buried by fans’ likes and positive reviews. Without scrolling down, they couldn’t be seen.

Xu Zhinan clicked on that photo again.

He did look… quite fierce.

She had rarely seen him with such an expression before.

But the last time he came to her shop drunk, he also looked very different from usual.

He probably really didn’t like this kind of public event.

Even though so many people liked him, he never seemed to care.

Just like he didn’t care about her liking him before.

Xu Zhinan exited Weibo and also dozed off for a while. Soon Jiang Yue finished her IV drip. Xu Zhinan woke her up, and they walked back to the dormitory together along the quiet, empty campus roads.

Early the next morning, Xu Zhinan got up and went to Jiang Yue’s bedside. “Yue Yue, are you feeling better?”

“Much better.” Her nasal congestion wasn’t as heavy as yesterday.

Xu Zhinan stood on tiptoes to feel her forehead. The fever seemed to have subsided, which reassured her. She reminded Jiang Yue to take her medicine after getting up, then left the dormitory to go to her shop.

Last night’s post about her tattoo had sparked a small-scale discussion within the community, with significant effect.

Just as she reached the door of her tattoo shop, a woman approached and asked, “Excuse me, are you Xu Zhinan?”

“Yes, and you are?”

“Didn’t you participate in the tattoo design competition? I saw your shop address in that post, so I came over.”

Xu Zhinan hadn’t checked that post again later and didn’t realize someone had posted her shop address. It was free publicity for her.

She unlocked the door. “Please come in.”

They discussed tattoo designs for a while. The customer explained the pattern she wanted, Xu Zhinan took notes, and determined a general design direction. They exchanged contact information so Xu Zhinan could send her the design for confirmation once completed, and then they would schedule the tattooing appointment.

Just as this customer left, another person arrived.

The promotional effect of that post was quite remarkable, thanks largely to Xu Zhinan’s eye-catching design work.

However, for realism-style tattoos, design was of paramount importance. Most people came to make appointments, with only one customer bringing a ready-made image.

It was a small design, so Xu Zhinan started tattooing immediately.

By the time she finished and sent the customer off, it was evening. Sitting at the table, she began to feel a headache.

Along with that came all the symptoms Jiang Yue had last night: nasal congestion, headache, drowsiness.

She wasn’t sure if she had caught a chill last night or if she’d been infected.

She still needed to go to the competition organizing office to submit some documents. Xu Zhinan put on a face mask and forced herself to take the bus there.

However, after leaving the organizing office, she felt even worse. Outside, the weather was unusually muggy, and her face felt hot too.

The organizing office was very close to the City People’s Hospital, and the hospital was closer to home. Xu Zhinan decided not to return to school and went directly to the hospital.

After a series of examinations, she was unfortunately diagnosed with the same viral cold. She needed an injection.

After yesterday’s “I Come for Music” meet-and-greet, the recording of a new episode was scheduled.

After the recording finished, everyone went to dinner together.

Wang Qi walked over to Lin Qingye with a wine glass, swirling it. “Have a drink?”

“I’m not drinking recently,” Lin Qingye said.

Wang Qi raised his eyebrows in surprise. “What’s wrong?”

“Can’t drink.”

“Why?” Wang Qi teased. “Someone forbidding you?”

He went along with it. “Yeah.”

Zhou Ji, who was nearby, came over. “He got a tattoo a few days ago, and almost got infected. Can’t drink.”

Wang Qi was taken aback, looking him up and down. “What did you get tattooed?”

Zhou Ji was quick to answer. “His girlfriend’s name, on his back.”

Wang Qi glanced at Lin Qingye. Unusually not drinking, his long, bony fingers held a glass of plain water, and he surprisingly seemed to confirm it by not denying.

In the entertainment industry, no young celebrity just starting would dare do such a thing, especially male celebrities. Creating a persona to attract fans was almost an unwritten rule, and many entertainment companies explicitly stipulated no relationships for the first five years, all to maintain the support of girlfriend fans and wife fans.

Wang Qi knew, of course, that with Lin Qingye’s personality, he would never follow this route and had never deliberately created a persona to attract fans.

However, his face alone was a natural weapon, and since the show began airing, his fan base had grown rapidly, with the highest level of discussion.

“Really?” Wang Qi lowered his voice to ask.

Lin Qingye admitted frankly: “Yes.”

“Have you thought about what would happen if fans found out?”

“If they find out, they find out,” Lin Qingye’s expression remained unchanged. “I didn’t tattoo her full name, just her nickname. It won’t affect her life if it’s discovered.”

“…”

Wang Qi realized he was worried about a relationship revelation causing fans to abandon him and affecting his career, but Lin Qingye was only concerned about whether it would disturb his girlfriend’s daily life.

Although Lin Qingye naturally attracted attention because of his face, he indeed didn’t follow the traffic-driven route. Wang Qi had no suitable reason to stop this.

“I didn’t know you were so considerate toward girls.” Wang Qi smiled. “Have you introduced her to your parents yet?”

Lin Qingye snorted lightly. “What would I show them?”

Wang Qi wanted to offer some advice, but Lin Qingye’s phone rang, so he let it go and stopped disturbing him.

The message was from Ji Yan.

[Ji Yan: Captain, I saw Pingchuan’s Light at the hospital.]

[Ji Yan: Seems sick, in the infusion room, alone.]

There was also a photo.

Xu Zhinan sat alone in the corner of the infusion room, her head leaning sideways against the adjacent tile edge. The IV line hung down long, and her face was slightly flushed.

Lin Qingye narrowed his eyes, his gaze lingering on that photo for a moment.

[Lin Qingye: Where?]

[Ji Yan: City First People’s Hospital.]

Ji Yan’s number was called at the pharmacy counter, and she went to get her medicine.

Recently, she had been teaching dance at a training school and had leg pain for several days without improvement, so she came to get an X-ray.

She happened to see Xu Zhinan by chance.

She recalled that night when she heard Lin Qingye call her name in his drunken sleep.

Ah Nan.

To be honest, Ji Yan used to feel sympathy for Xu Zhinan.

She had liked Lin Qingye before, but after seeing reality clearly, she had hidden her feelings and never expressed them.

But Xu Zhinan was different—without any scheming, she openly offered her burning heart for him to see.

In Ji Yan’s view, she had cut her losses in time and attained enlightenment.

But Xu Zhinan was still foolishly sinking deeper, and falling for a playboy like Lin Qingye was truly stupid.

Until she heard the name Lin Qingye called in his dreams.

Ji Yan took her medicine and looked again at Xu Zhinan in the infusion room nearby.

She thought Lin Qingye owed her a big favor.

Xu Zhinan was awakened by a voice.

She didn’t even remember how she had fallen asleep. Her first reaction upon waking was to quickly look up to see if the saline drip was finished, but as she lifted her head, she saw the young man standing in front of her.

He wore a hat and mask, with the brim pulled very low. From Xu Zhinan’s angle, she could still see his pitch-black eyes.

A doctor in a white coat stood beside him, seemingly acquainted with Lin Qingye, saying to him: “There’s an empty room that way. You can take your classmate there.”

Lin Qingye gave a faint “mm” in response, his gaze not leaving her face.

Although the infusion room wasn’t particularly crowded, the TV was replaying the previous episode of “I Come for Music,” and now Lin Qingye was standing right in front of her.

Though fully disguised with his face unrecognizable, such a tall, slender young man was enough to attract attention. Young women around them kept glancing over.

Having just woken up, Xu Zhinan became nervous, unable to speak, only raising her hand to pinch the nose clip of her medical mask.

Lin Qingye, looking at her, spoke first, his voice somewhat hoarse: “Let’s go to the hospital room to sleep.” Then he took the IV bag from the stand and held it high.

Xu Zhinan didn’t move. “…I’m fine here.”

“It’s not comfortable sleeping here.”

“I won’t sleep anymore,” she insisted.

Lin Qingye was silent for a moment, then said: “You still have one more bottle to hang. The hospital room is quieter.”

He didn’t give Xu Zhinan another chance to refuse, bending down to grip her arm and pulling her up.

With several pairs of eyes around, Xu Zhinan didn’t want people to recognize that this was the Lin Qingye from TV, nor did she want to be discussed by the public because of this. She had no choice but to follow him and stand up.

She stepped back slightly, avoiding his hand, and said softly with lowered eyes: “I’ll walk myself.”

The young girl’s black eyelashes drooped, her face was small and delicate, with a faint crease on her profile from where she had been sleeping, and her eyes drooped at the corners from illness.

Lin Qingye released her and walked toward the hospital room holding the IV bag.

After walking a distance, in the corridor, Xu Zhinan suddenly realized a question—why was Lin Qingye here?

Reaching the hospital room, he hung the IV bag back on the stand. Xu Zhinan sat on the edge of the bed but didn’t lie down, wanting to wait for him to leave. But after a quiet moment, he showed no sign of leaving.

“How did you come to be here?” Xu Zhinan asked.

“Ji Yan told me,” he adjusted the IV flow regulator to slow it down a bit. “How did you suddenly get sick? You seemed fine yesterday afternoon.”

He spoke as if it were perfectly natural, as if they had met by appointment yesterday afternoon.

But in reality, they had only caught a glimpse of each other outside the stadium.

“Caught a chill,” Xu Zhinan said softly.

“Coming alone for an injection.” Lin Qingye looked at her, asking as if casually, “Where’s your boyfriend?”

“…”

Discussing this topic with Lin Qingye was quite awkward.

It was unclear why he was so keen on this subject.

Xu Zhinan paused, recalling his grumpy expression she had seen online. At that time, she and Xu Zhenfan had walked out together, and then she had run to Gu Congwang’s side to avoid suspicion.

Xu Zhinan blinked and asked, “Which boyfriend are you referring to?”

Silence.

Silence.

Silence.

Lin Qingye didn’t speak for a good while, then let out a snort of laughter: “Look at you, all grown up now.”