Whenever Tai Ming Xiao mentioned that friend, he seemed lost and wistful. At first, she didn’t pay much attention, feeling no emotional ripples within, and sometimes she didn’t even listen to what he was saying. Until that day when she met with Liang Yun An at Li Chen’s club and saw that carefree, unrestrained club owner wearing earrings identical to Li Jin Yu’s. Although the style was common and even meaningless, so many coincidences together should have been obvious to someone as perceptive as Ye Meng. If she hadn’t been distracted by Wang Xing Sheng’s case, she would have noticed earlier. So that day, she searched online about the memory palace competition, and to her bewilderment, there was nothing hidden—his information was all over the internet.

The next second, a strange idea flooded her mind. Could Li Jin Yu’s denial of knowing Tai Ming Xiao and his group have something to do with this club owner? After all, those earrings, worn one on the left and one on the right, were quite suggestive. During those days, she couldn’t control her wild thoughts, but eventually forced these messy, illogical ideas down.

The two stood at the doorway. Ye Meng leaned against the door, Li Jin Yu looking down at her. This dim corner seemed severed from the moonlight outside. It was like a world suddenly frozen, the two of them motionless, grinding each other down with fiery gazes. The surrounding air seemed suspended with dense needles, pulling in any direction would be heart-wrenching pain.

“It’s not that I didn’t ask, it’s that I couldn’t bear to ask. I was afraid you would be sad, afraid you would remember things better left forgotten,” Ye Meng also couldn’t endure it anymore, with inexplicable anger in her heart, her chest heaving violently, blood recklessly stoking the fire within her. She spoke without restraint, “But with what you’ve said today, if it were anyone else, I could break up with you ten thousand times, the kind where there’s no chance of reconciliation!”

After speaking, she walked around him and went straight back to his bedroom. Ye Meng didn’t want to act out the middle-of-the-night drama of him chasing after her, him trying to explain while she refused to listen, then attracting the attention of neighbors from all directions, becoming their gossip fodder for the next day. She closed the door and said matter-of-factly, “If you want to go out to buy cigarettes, I won’t stop you. I’ll go back to Beijing tomorrow morning.”

After Ye Meng went inside, the door of the neighboring room quietly opened a crack. The old lady’s head wedged in the doorway, her eyes reproachful, as she whispered to Li Jin Yu: “Have you forgotten everything I told you?”

With the bedroom door closed and the living room unlit, only the TV screen emitted a dim blue light, hazily outlining his figure. Li Jin Yu wanted to check the time, but the wall clock had stopped working, and he realized he didn’t know where he had thrown his phone. Since coming here, he hadn’t been in the habit of wearing a watch. So he could only haphazardly flip through the throw pillows on the sofa, saying indifferently to the old lady without turning around: “Go to sleep.”

It’s good for a young couple to argue; relationships are forged through arguments. The old lady didn’t say much more, just sighed and closed the door.

Li Jin Yu didn’t find his phone and sat on the sofa for a while. From afar, he saw Ye Meng’s phone still lying lonely on the floor. He went over to pick it up; the screen was shattered, sadly split into pieces. He sighed—she had thrown it at him with such force, it was obvious how angry she was. He instinctively touched his chest—what was this, delayed pain? Seeing the devastated screen, his breastbone now belatedly began to ache faintly, even inhaling felt like being pricked by needles.

He frowned, tilted his head back, and hissed in discomfort.

Ye Meng waited all night but didn’t receive any explanation or attempt to make amends from Li Jin Yu. She got up to pack her things, determined to leave. When she opened the door, Li Jin Yu was still in the thin pajamas from last night, draped with a gray blanket, his legs sprawled wide, head leaning back against the sofa, with a fever patch stuck to his forehead, apparently still asleep.

The old lady came out from the kitchen, put her index finger to her lips, hushing Ye Meng, whispering: “He has a fever, of 38.3 degrees. He just got up to make you some egg porridge. I’ll go serve it for you.”

“I’ll do it myself,” Ye Meng walked into the kitchen, bent down to take two bowls from the cabinet, filled one, and handed it to the old lady. “Do we have medicine at home? Should I go to the community hospital to buy some later?”

“We have some, no need to buy any.”

The old lady took the bowl; Ye Meng wasn’t used to housework, as the porridge spilled over the edges. She regretfully slurped up the porridge grains that had leaked onto the rim and continued, “My grandson has a weak constitution, he gets colds and fevers once or twice a year. We keep regular medicine at home.”

Seeing her like this, Ye Meng made a mental note: next time be more careful when serving porridge.

Ye Meng was much more careful with the second bowl and asked: “Does Li Jin Yu often get fevers?”

The old lady said: “Don’t worry, it won’t affect his ability to have children. He’s just had weak lungs since childhood. When he was young, that heartless woman locked him outside and he got so cold, he was sent to the hospital with a fever and almost couldn’t be saved. He’s had health issues ever since.”

Ye Meng was silent for a moment. With the way things were between them now, having children seemed like a distant prospect.

“And he still smokes?” she asked.

The old lady blew on the bowl and began to mumble: “He quit before, quit together with me. Recently, with the pressure of exams, he started again.”

Ye Meng filled another bowl and brought it out to Li Jin Yu. She didn’t know if he was still asleep or pretending, and noticed his earrings had been removed at some point. Ye Meng felt an inexplicable blockage in her heart, suddenly finding his relationship with Li Chen intriguing. When Li Jin Yu’s eyes were closed, his entire being was indescribably bland. Only when those deer-like eyes opened did they seem to have hooks in them. Those deep-feeling eyes, whether frank, cold, or lazy, could never escape the suppression within, making one’s heart ache just by looking at them.

But now, lying there obediently, appearing completely at others’ mercy, he was like a different person from last night when he coldly snapped at her. Moreover, whether intentionally acting cute or not, the fever patch on his forehead was a “Children’s Fever Reduction Patch.”

—Quite suitable, he was two years old at most.

“Get up, eat your porridge,” Ye Meng said firmly, holding the bowl.

Li Jin Yu remained motionless as if he hadn’t heard.

Ye Meng said coldly: “Stop pretending to be asleep, I saw your eyes move.”

Li Jin Yu straightened his head, one hand pressing his neck as he lazily stretched his muscles, taking her porridge, saying, “Don’t you know anything? People’s eyes naturally move when they sleep.”

Ye Meng didn’t respond further, turning back to the bedroom to pack her luggage. Li Jin Yu, with a blanket draped over his shoulders, leaned emotionlessly against the door watching her meticulously pack up everything she had unpacked days ago. “What time is your flight? I can take you to the airport.”

Ye Meng, without raising her head, replied irritably: “What, are you starting to show off your racing skills now? Akina Mountain Drift King? Oh no, wait—Nine Gate Ridge Racing Champion.”

Li Jin Yu had a fever and felt drafts coming through the walls. He tightened the blanket around his shoulders, wrapping himself like a lampshade, coughed once, and said innocently: “I meant by taxi.”

Ye Meng couldn’t stand his attitude and roughly slammed the suitcase shut with a bang. “No need, I’ll wait for your fever to break before I leave. I’ll go find Fang Ya En in the meantime.”

“Hmm,” he coughed again vaguely, saying: “You go find Sister Ya En. I’ll go to the hospital myself.”

“…”

The county hospital was overcrowded, and during this season it was almost impossible to get an appointment at the fever clinic. Ye Meng called her second aunt at the emergency department to help arrange an appointment in advance, saying she would bring Li Jin Yu over soon. She originally didn’t want to take Li Jin Yu to the hospital—with his weak constitution, cross-infection would be even more troublesome. The emergency room was also crowded, with patients waiting in the narrow, dim corridor.

Before entering, Li Jin Yu gave her a mask, saying, “Don’t get infected.”

Ye Meng sighed and put it on, an evil thought inexplicably crossing her mind: if Li Jin Yu could be as well-behaved as today every day… maybe he should be sick all the time!

She responded with a noncommittal “mm” and said she understood.

The two didn’t speak further. The corridor was crowded with patients shoulder to shoulder. Ye Meng didn’t want to sit with him, so she leaned against the wall by the emergency entrance. Li Jin Yu, wearing a mask with his legs spread wide, leaned on the waiting chair opposite, his eyes seemingly glued to her. Ye Meng wanted to tear away his gaze.

Annoyed by his staring, she glared at him.

What are you looking at? Never seen a beautiful woman before?

With his mask on, all that remained of Li Jin Yu were his deep, emotional eyes, so shamelessly fixed on her—who could withstand that?

And he even smiled, the corners of his eyes curving upward, looking impossibly obedient.

Ye Meng decided to buy him an eye mask later; otherwise, it would be too easy to forgive him at any moment.

When they finished getting the medicine and were going down in the elevator, a small incident occurred. She ran into an ex-boyfriend, something that might happen once in a thousand years. She couldn’t even remember his name at first, and after a long pause, tentatively asked, “Zhang Miao? What a coincidence.”

Zhang Miao, wearing glasses, looked refined, holding hands with his wife and child. They had just come down from the pediatric department on the fourth floor. He politely said to her: “The child has a bit of a fever. Is this your husband?”

Ye Meng hadn’t thought much of it, but with Li Jin Yu being such a jealous person, her heart suddenly tightened, fearing he would start sulking again. She didn’t even dare smile too brightly, only cautiously nodding and saying, “Yes, he also has a bit of a fever.”

Unexpectedly, Li Jin Yu properly and politely nodded to Zhang Miao: “Hello, sorry, I have a cold and it’s not convenient to remove my mask.”

Zhang Miao had standard, proper features, but Li Jin Yu had the kind of proper features that attracted people, now enhanced by the mask.

So he could speak properly after all. When formally interacting with people, he seemed quite legitimate, with a bit of a scholarly rogue feel.

In the evening, they had individual hot pots, one per person. Fang Ya En sat across from Ye Meng, while Li Jin Yu faced Chen Jia Yu. Amidst the rising steam, the hot pot restaurant’s windows were covered with mist, making it impossible to see the scenery outside.

Chen Jia Yu animatedly told Li Jin Yu about his recent rapid progress in studies, his excited face turning red. He praised Li Jin Yu’s teaching methods as truly effective, saying once he remembered something, he never forgot it. He felt like he was about to reach the peak of his life, and recently, his deskmate Little Li had been looking at him with admiration.

Ye Meng teased him with a smile, “Is this heading towards having a girlfriend soon?”

Chen Jia Yu said with an air of worldly wisdom: “What girlfriend? Isn’t studying happiness enough?”

Li Jin Yu didn’t say anything, peeling two crab legs for Ye Meng, which she deliberately chopsticked away.

By now, even Fang Ya En could see they had issues. Taking advantage of Li Jin Yu’s bathroom break, Fang Ya En quietly probed: “What’s going on with you two?”

Ye Meng chopsticked the crab back, eating it: “We argued.”

Fang Ya En smiled: “About what?”

“Gou Kai.”

“I told you the little brother has a strong jealous streak,” Fang Ya En spoke like an experienced elder. “Just need to adjust to each other.”

Ye Meng took some fish balls from Li Jin Yu’s pot into her bowl, saying: “Not just jealous, but harsh words too. When arguing, you wouldn’t believe what comes out of his mouth.”

“He didn’t call you promiscuous like Chen Jian, did he?” Fang Ya En looked surprised, unable to imagine such words coming from Li Jin Yu’s mouth.

“Not that,” Ye Meng laughed coldly, “He called me ‘disgusting’.”

Fang Ya En, understanding her well, nodded calmly: “That needs to be addressed.”

That evening, Ye Meng lay on the floor organizing her things. She had just showered, her hair still dripping wet, wearing only a thin spaghetti-strap nightgown that contoured her shapely figure. The room’s heater was on, and worried she might catch a cold, Li Jin Yu turned the air conditioner up to thirty degrees. He was stifling himself to the point of sweating profusely, like a furnace. Watching her move back and forth in front of him so fresh and clean seemed to quench his thirst somewhat.

The room was lit by a small plug-in light that Ye Meng had bought online, a night light. The light was very dim, barely illuminating the room. There was no other option—whenever Ye Meng turned on the main light, the man sitting by the bedside switch would turn it off without a word.

Li Jin Yu leaned back lazily, one leg bent, the other straight, one hand resting on the bent knee, his expression indifferent. It wasn’t clear if he was playing with the light or with her.

Ye Meng went to the courtyard to smoke a cigarette. Li Jin Yu pulled up his other leg too, coldly staring at her packed suitcase as if wanting to burn it with fire.

After finishing her cigarette, Ye Meng wrapped herself in the night’s darkness, ready to go back inside. The small courtyard gate was firmly blocked, the man’s tall figure like a solid wall, not leaving even a crack for her. In the half-light of the moon, outside the fenced yard, it seemed as if a silver river flowed.

He also held a cigarette, one hand in his pocket, the other holding the cigarette at his side.

The clock had turned back; last night’s scene seemed reversed. Ye Meng, with a cold expression, said, “Move aside.”

Li Jin Yu looked at her deeply, and finally, without saying a word, stepped aside.

Later, Ye Meng got up in the middle of the night to go to the kitchen for water and found Li Jin Yu smoking there.

Li Jin Yu leaned thinly against the countertop, smoking. Lost in thought, he lowered his head, his gaze unfocused on a spot, like an abandoned, lost dog. His cold brows were tightly furrowed into a “川” shape, as he took occasional drags of his cigarette. One hand remained in his pocket, while the other holding the cigarette occasionally rested on the edge of the countertop, then remained motionless for a long while in silence.

It was at that moment that Ye Meng felt completely heartbroken. Suddenly, he heard a sound and looked up to see her. Without changing his expression, he brought the cigarette back to his lips, staring at her as he took a drag, then coldly turned his gaze elsewhere.

Ye Meng had originally wanted to go over and break the ice, but seeing his silent, deep, and dismissive demeanor, she swallowed the words that had reached the tip of her tongue. So she could only pretend to go get herself a glass of water. The kettle was behind him, blocked by his body, so she had to lean against the counter and reach around from behind him.

Drip, drip, tap.

After filling the glass, she prepared to leave.

Just as she rose, her waist was caught. Li Jin Yu took a final drag, carelessly stubbed out the cigarette, and then placed the ashtray on the windowsill while pulling her into his arms. The dissipating smoke scattered by her ear as he lowered his head to kiss her ear bone, letting the smoke screen her eyes, carefully and tentatively apologizing in a low voice by her ear, his deep voice murmuring over and over, coaxing her: “I was wrong, Ye Meng, I was wrong…”

“I know Tai Ming Xiao, he’s a brother I’ve grown up with since childhood. And Gou Kai, I know what kind of person he is better than you do. Li Chen is my brother’s best friend. What else do you want to know?” Li Jin Yu spoke helplessly in her ear, suppressing his voice, probably truly anxious, “I’ll tell you everything, including how many times I masturbate in a month. Okay? Hmm?”