After Lu Yuwen fell asleep, Su Man sent a message to Su Ma explaining the situation and noting that she’d be back late.

She couldn’t just abandon Lu Yuwen, burning with a high fever, alone in a hotel room. Even if she wasn’t skilled at caregiving, at least with her there she could pour him a glass of water or hand him his medicine.

For now, Su Man decided to tidy the room a little.

But she found that — whether thanks to the hotel’s outstanding cleaning service or Lu Yuwen’s own impeccably orderly habits — the room was spotless. There was truly nothing that needed her hands.

Su Man tossed out the used-up toothpaste tube, and then heard Lu Yuwen’s phone go off. She came out to check and saw thirteen unread messages and seven missed calls on the screen.

There must have been another notification just now — the phone had only chimed once.

Privacy being what it was, Su Man didn’t look further, pulled her gaze away resolutely, and went back to the bathroom.

She found a white towel, soaked it in hot water, wrung it out, and used it to wipe the sweat from Lu Yuwen.

Perhaps the medicine was beginning to take effect — there was a great deal of sweat on Lu Yuwen’s face.

So Su Man kept watch at the bedside, wiping it away now and then with patient, steady care.

It was a strangely familiar feeling, as though she had experienced this before… as though she had once cared for him exactly like this.

But how could that be?

Su Man found the thought amusing. She couldn’t possibly have known Lu Yuwen before.

……

Two hours later, Lu Yuwen’s pre-ordered lunch arrived — but he was still asleep.

Su Man didn’t wake him. She wanted him to rest longer; more rest would help him recover faster.

But just then, Lu Yuwen’s phone rang again. This time it was a video call, and the persistent ringing filled the room without stopping. Su Man found herself overwhelmed by it.

She picked up his phone, torn. On one hand, she very much wanted to hang up and protect Lu Yuwen’s rest. On the other hand, she felt she had no right to do so — and what if it was something urgent?

While she was still hesitating, Lu Yuwen was woken by the noise. Su Man quickly passed the phone to him. “I don’t know who’s calling you on video.”

Lu Yuwen glanced at it. “…It’s my restaurant’s business partner.”

Su Man breathed a quiet sigh of relief that she hadn’t taken matters into her own hands. If it was a business partner calling, it was almost certainly something important.

“Can you take the call for me?” Lu Yuwen leaned against the headboard and looked at Su Man with a gentle, quiet steadiness. “I don’t have the strength… in my hands…”

“Oh — sure, of course…” Su Man nodded and connected the call for him.

The screen immediately showed the upper half of a man’s face. Su Man and the stranger stared at each other, both equally startled.

She quickly moved closer to Lu Yuwen’s side, sheepishly asking, “So do I just… hold it up for you?”

“Sit beside me.” Lu Yuwen spoke slowly, his tone soft and unhurried. “As long as he can see me.”

“All right.” Su Man moved in closer and held the phone up steadily so he could talk to the other party.

The man on the screen was dumbfounded, and after a long pause finally spoke. “Lu Yuwen — aren’t you going to introduce her?”

Lu Yuwen leaned against the headboard, smiling. “My girlfriend.”

Su Man: “…”

The other man let out an exaggerated, high-pitched exclamation. “Impossible! A girl this pretty couldn’t possibly be your girlfriend!”

Lu Yuwen smiled again. “This is the most beautiful traffic officer in the world. She isn’t technically my girlfriend yet, but I’m in the process of pursuing her — she’s already my girlfriend in my heart, so I’d say my answer is accurate.”

Su Man: “…”

The man on the screen: “No wonder you slipped off to Shanghai without a word! The first half of the year’s profits aren’t even back yet and you’re already rushing to open a new branch! So it was all for love! Ha ha ha ha ha…”

Su Man was nearly dying of embarrassment. She fought to hold the phone steady and not let her hands shake too visibly.

Lu Yuwen said, “Since you know I’m in the middle of a courtship, make it brief — what did you need?”

—