Shu Nian’s movements froze.

As those words fell, the music finished playing and automatically skipped to the next song. She held her breath, not knowing how to react, her mind blank, feeling as if she might have imagined what she heard.

Several minutes passed this way.

Shu Nian came back to her senses and reopened the song “A He,” dragging the playback to the last ten seconds to listen again. The man’s voice was soft and faint; perhaps it was just her imagination, but it sounded somewhat awkward.

Word by word, at a slow pace, with clear pronunciation.

Saying words that could make one’s heart explode in an instant.

—”This song is for you, including the title.”

The song was called “A He.”

Did he mean he was giving A He to her?

Giving himself to her.

If Shu Nian understood correctly at this moment.

The birthday gift Xie Ru He gave her wasn’t the MP3 player in her hand, nor was it the songs he had recorded again for her.

It was something she wanted.

It was what had been troubling her for days, a treasure that made her as cautious as if contemplating a major life decision; it was the person she was afraid to approach yet didn’t want to distance herself from after discovering her feelings.

It was Xie Ru He.

And his affection.

The feeling was like after many days of continuous rain that had made her mood terrible.

Then one day, she opened the curtains. She expected to see a sky full of dark clouds, but surprisingly, the sky was clear and clean. The night sky was ink-black like a piece of dark cloth, dotted with stars.

And then, she reached out and caught a star.

Shu Nian’s heart raced wildly. At this moment, all her memories surfaced. She recalled that day when Xie Ru He said he “had someone he liked,” and then asked if she remembered what she had said to him at that time.

Back then, her mood had been low, and she answered without a moment’s thought that she didn’t remember.

What “at that time” was he referring to?

Was it when she asked him what he wanted to do after he could stand up again?

Shu Nian struggled to remember but couldn’t recall. Yet it felt like she was trapped in a dead end, stubbornly trying to find her way out.

She kept thinking about what she had said at that time.

After who knows how long.

Shu Nian suddenly remembered.

At that time, she seemed to have said—”When the time comes, I can accompany you.”

And Xie Ru He had told her that what he wanted to do was…

Date the person he liked.

Shu Nian abruptly put down the MP3 player and picked up her phone.

At this moment, there was an intensely eager impulse in her heart. She wanted to call him, to run to see him, to throw everything aside and ask him, to get that affirmative answer.

She opened her contacts list, but before she could dial Xie Ru He’s number, she suddenly noticed the book on her bedside table titled “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.”

Like a bucket of cold water poured over her head, all her impulses were extinguished.

Shu Nian’s throat tightened, and her expression turned timid. She sniffled, slowly exhaled, and abandoned the idea, inexplicably feeling like crying.

The lit screen gradually darkened.

It was a call that was just one second away from being made.

Why did she have to be sick?

And why did she have to meet him again while she was sick?

And why did she have to like him at this time?

And why did she have to know at this moment…

That he might like her too?

Dating someone with a psychological illness.

Would turn one person’s unhappiness into two people’s.

She would have many negative emotions, such as inferiority, sadness, and sudden despair. Although she wanted to suppress such impulses, there was simply no way to do so.

Shu Nian didn’t know if these emotions would be amplified after she started dating.

Would she become insecure, and possessive; would she lose her rationality, show her ugly side in front of him, dragging him into the swamp?

She wasn’t sure.

But she also knew that all she could do at this point was to live a life that appeared normal. She could go out independently, and live, but would try to avoid conversations with others, not actively approaching others, always coming and going alone.

Just spending the rest of her life by herself.

This was enough; she shouldn’t harm others.

Shu Nian had always held this view, so whenever someone showed interest in her, she would promptly extinguish it. She never expected she would fall for Xie Ru He.

Shu Nian felt that being with Xie Ru He in her current state—

Seemed unfair to him.

Probably because Shu Nian hadn’t gone to see Xie Ru He for several consecutive days and barely contacted him. During these days, he often took the initiative to reach out to her on WeChat, asking what she had been doing lately.

Through the screen, emotions couldn’t be discerned from the text.

Shu Nian lied, saying she had recently taken on another voice acting role and was at the recording studio every day.

Xie Ru He didn’t seem to mind and continued chatting with her. It was as if he had nothing better to do and just wanted to talk with her, but the style of conversation was very different from before.

It was somewhat like this:

Xie Ru He: [Shu Nian, I had a glass of milk when I woke up today.]

His serious tone made Shu Nian think something had happened: [Huh? What’s wrong?]

And then—

Xie Ru He: [And a slice of toast.]

Xie Ru He: [What about you?]

Shu Nian: “…”

Or like this:

Xie Ru He: [It’s a bit cold today, wear more clothes.]

Shu Nian: [Okay.]

Xie Ru He: [I saw a nice piece of clothing recently.]

Xie Ru He: [What do you think?]

Shu Nian replied with an “okay,” and then he sent a picture.

…But it was women’s clothing.

Shu Nian didn’t know what he was trying to do, couldn’t figure it out, and even felt like the person on the other side of the screen wasn’t him. She didn’t want to overthink it, keeping her mind on this issue.

That would only lead her deeper.

The next day, a voice acting director contacted her for an audition.

Shu Nian went out.

On her way to the subway station, she ran into He You. Remembering the thief incident, Shu Nian was about to go over and ask him a few questions, when she suddenly noticed another man standing beside him.

Before she could see what the man looked like, He You noticed her presence. He said something to the man and then came over to greet her.

Shu Nian shifted her gaze and asked, “Officer He, I wanted to ask you something.”

He You said, “Go ahead.”

“The thief who was caught that day, was he responsible for the previous theft cases too?”

“No, that one hasn’t been caught yet,” He You scratched his head and kindly reminded her, “So you still need to be careful when coming and going, remember to lock your door.”

Shu Nian mumbled, “So you didn’t lock your door?”

He You clicked his tongue: “I forgot to close the door.”

“…”

Shu Nian found his behavior a bit odd, wanted to say something, but didn’t take up more of his time. She softly said goodbye and then turned to walk toward the subway station.

He You walked back and said to the man, “Captain, let’s go.”

The man he called “Captain” didn’t move, staring at Shu Nian’s back as if remembering something: “That girl, she should be doing okay now, right?”

He You raised an eyebrow: “You know her?”

“Sort of, she’s a good girl.”

“Come on, Captain,” He You laughed carelessly, his words completely lacking formality, “How old is that girl? She’s young enough to be your daughter.”

“What the hell are you saying? Do I look like a beast to you?” The man glared at him, amused by his anger, “I handled a case a few years ago, she was the last victim.”

“…” He You’s smile gradually faded.

The man looked in Shu Nian’s direction again and sighed: “And the only survivor.”

At the recording studio, Shu Nian went in for the audition. Since they had worked together many times, this was just a formality, and the director immediately approved.

Shu Nian took the script and went to the break room to practice lip-syncing while others were recording.

The director seemed to be on a tight schedule and told her they needed to record two scenes today.

But Shu Nian kept getting distracted, her state of mind was poor.

When she entered the booth to record, she either said the wrong lines or couldn’t get the emotions right. A single line had to be recorded ten or twenty times before it was acceptable, wasting a lot of time. The more anxious she became, the worse her performance got, until eventually she couldn’t even match the basic lip movements.

The director decided to let Shu Nian adjust her emotions first and recorded other people’s parts instead.

Shu Nian felt utterly defeated and went aside to work on the character’s emotions.

The entire afternoon passed like this.

Shu Nian ate boxed meals with her colleagues from the voice acting team. Nobody talked; they all silently ate while looking at their scripts. Shu Nian did the same, reading her script over and over.

To keep to the schedule, they didn’t waste time and immediately returned to the recording booth after dinner.

With the buffer period and guidance from the director and a senior voice actor on controlling emotions, Shu Nian’s recording went smoothly this time, passing after just two takes.

After finishing her scenes, Shu Nian didn’t linger, planning to go home and study the script properly. She thanked the director and several seniors, then left the studio.

Looking at the time, it was just after nine o’clock.

Being in the recording studio was like being isolated from the outside world, unaware of what was happening. Outside, the sky had completely darkened, and what had been a clear, clean sky was now filled with large clouds, foreshadowing a storm.

It looked like heavy rain was coming.

Shu Nian rummaged through her bag and realized she had brought an umbrella, which made her relieved. She left the building and took the subway as usual, returning to the station near her home.

She noticed the bakery next door was still open.

Shu Nian thought for a moment and decided to buy some bread for tomorrow’s breakfast.

Or lunch, if she couldn’t get up early, she thought.

She went in, but because it was late, there wasn’t much left. Shu Nian walked around, picked up a sandwich and two baguettes, and went to the counter to pay.

Shu Nian took the brown paper bag the clerk had packed for her and left the bakery.

In an instant, torrential rain had started pouring down, splashing on the concrete ground. The rain came sudden and fierce, though it was unclear if it was just a shower or would continue as heavy rain.

Winter rain brought bone-chilling cold.

Shu Nian instinctively shrank her neck and tried to free a hand to take out her umbrella. She turned her head and suddenly noticed someone standing beside her.

A familiar person.

It had been several days since they last met.

Xie Ru He wasn’t in a wheelchair; he stood straight, looking energetic and bright. He wore a long coat that made him appear slender yet tall, with an outstanding presence. His face was sickly pale, but his lips were vibrant, making him look extremely handsome.

He was holding an umbrella, intently watching her.

Shu Nian was stunned, not knowing why he was there.

Xie Ru He lowered his eyes, imperceptibly curved his lips, and asked, “Do you have an umbrella?”

Hearing this, Shu Nian nodded instinctively, a bit confused, yet nervous and uncertain about seeing him. She pressed her lips together and took out her umbrella from her bag.

“I see.” Xie Ru He stared at the umbrella in his hand, pausing for several seconds. The next moment, he closed his umbrella and said expressionlessly, “Mine is broken.”

Shu Nian: “…”

Not understanding the reason behind his sudden action, Shu Nian carefully pointed out: “Weren’t you just using it? It’s not broken…”

Xie Ru He wasn’t the least bit embarrassed about being caught in his lie. He didn’t speak, seeming to consider how to respond.

Shu Nian scratched her head and asked softly, “What are you trying to do?”

Hearing this, Xie Ru He suddenly bent down to look her in the eye.

This sudden closeness allowed Shu Nian to see her nervous self reflected in his eyes. She stepped back, quickly lowering her gaze, completely at a loss for how to react.

Then, Xie Ru He spoke: “I’ve never done this kind of thing before, I don’t have much experience. But I think the way I’m expressing myself shouldn’t be wrong.”

Shu Nian couldn’t help but look up at him again: “What?”

The street lamps cast a warm yellow light, creating a golden glow around them. The raindrops continued to fall, like stars dropping down, bringing lines of light that crashed onto the ground with a pattering sound.

Whether it was the light or an illusion, Xie Ru He’s face took on a hint of blush. He stared at her, his dark almond eyes filled with an enchanting emotion, all focused entirely on her.

They remained frozen like this for a few seconds.

Just as Shu Nian couldn’t resist saying something.

Xie Ru He licked his lips and said with complete seriousness: “Shu Nian, I am pursuing you.”