At the end of November, snow fell and temperatures plummeted again.

When the weather turned cold, the number of patients at the hospital increased dramatically, and the doctors’ workload grew accordingly. First, icy roads and snow caused more traffic accidents. Second, when temperatures dropped, many elderly patients with multiple ailments couldn’t survive the winter.

Xu Sui had been working overtime for a whole week straight. Sometimes when she was busy, she’d hastily eat a couple of bites of takeout before being called away by a nurse again.

Although work was busy and she dragged her exhausted body home each day to collapse into bed, Xu Sui felt it was quite good—her days were fulfilling and peaceful.

The next day at noon, in the hospital break room, Xu Sui stood by the water dispenser with a long coffee stick, tearing open the small opening and pouring powder into a mug. Behind her, colleagues sat around a long table, chatting while drinking coffee.

“Hey, did you all see the news? There was a rape case in the Huaining area. So scary—the victim was only 26 years old. They say the perpetrator specifically targets young women getting off work late. That poor victim was so tragic, even her ears were bitten and mangled. She was found in the morning—a perfectly fine young girl lying bloody in the bushes. What scum,” Dr. Cheng said.

“That kind of person is truly an animal. Even flogging his corpse wouldn’t be excessive.”

Nurse He’s eyelids twitched: “Huaining Road? Last week my friend and I went to Wanzhong Cinema to see Wonder Woman. On the way home, I was particularly happy and bought a bunch of yellow bubble roses. After getting off the subway and walking for less than ten minutes, while waiting at a traffic light, I kept feeling like someone was staring at me. When I turned around, I saw a long-haired man constantly smiling at me—he looked very sleazy and even made a kissing gesture at me.”

“Oh my god, then what happened?” Han Mei looked shocked.

“Then when the light turned green, I ran with the crowd. So scary—I still have lingering fears.” Nurse He patted her chest.

“Don’t take that route anymore. I heard there are quite a few perverts on that stretch recently. Be careful when going home at night,” someone consoled.

“Hey, Dr. Xu, doesn’t your home happen to be on Huaining Road? You’ve been working overtime every day recently—be careful at night,” Han Mei said.

Xu Sui was slowly stirring her coffee with a long-handled spoon, took a light sip, half her face against the cup rim: “It should be fine? I won’t be that unlucky, right?”

“Just in case—and Huaining Road is exactly the road to your residential complex. You can’t avoid it, so what should we do?” Nurse He said worriedly.

A male colleague at the hospital set down his coffee and crossed his arms: “Dr. Xu, you’re the flower of our Puren Hospital—nothing can happen to you. How about we male colleagues escort you home?”

“Right, the two of us on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and Xiao Gao and Old Gu on Tuesdays and Thursdays,” another colleague said with a laugh.

Xu Sui’s tongue was slightly burned by the coffee. She smiled and said: “The dean would skin me alive. Everyone please rest assured—I’ll carry an anti-wolf alarm and a self-defense pen.”

“That’s good then.”

That evening when going home after getting off the subway, perhaps because her colleagues had mentioned this news during the day, Xu Sui kept feeling like someone was following her from behind.

She had a vague sense that the person was deliberately matching her pace—when she stopped, they stopped; when she quickened, they quickened. Like a ghost, silently following behind.

But whenever Xu Sui stopped, she found nothing behind her—just emptiness, only hurried passersby.

Xu Sui still felt someone was following her, so she quickened her pace home.

Only after the key turned in the lock and she walked inside did Xu Sui lean her back against the door, a thin layer of sweat on her back, breathing heavily.

For several consecutive days, Xu Sui felt someone was tracking her every night on her way home, but she could never catch them. Only once did she see a figure flash by, but saw nothing clearly.

This made her anxious every time she set foot on Huaining Road, her heart feeling like it had a boulder suspended over it.

Until the fifth day, when Xu Sui safely and smoothly returned home, she breathed a long sigh of relief, sat on the sofa, and posted on social media: “Seems like I’ve been followed by some pervert for several days. Kind of considering moving.”

As soon as she posted this, it drew many comments. Hu Qianxi commented: Sui baby, I really want to send my pet rhinoceros to protect you.

Liang Shuang: No way, come stay at my place.

Da Liu: Girl, you need to be extra careful.

Xu Sui earnestly replied to each one, telling them not to worry.

At Red Crane Club, a group of people were playing dice, gaming and drinking together.

Sheng Nanzhou was playing on his phone. Seeing Hu Qianxi’s comment under Xu Sui’s post, he asked casually: “When are you coming back? I really want to see your pet rhinoceros.”

However, after waiting ten minutes, Sheng Nanzhou didn’t receive a reply from Hu Qianxi.

Zhou Jingze, sitting nearby, was casually playing with dice, wearing his typical devil-may-care smile as he crushed this group of people completely, leaving carnage everywhere.

“Hey, did you see Xu Sui’s post? She says she’s encountered some pervert recently,” Da Liu, who didn’t know what had happened between the two of them, mentioned proactively.

However, as soon as the words “Xu Sui” came out, the atmosphere around them obviously tensed. Zhou Jingze’s smile clearly faded as he spun the dice in his hand, his tone seemingly indifferent:

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, there’s actually some pervert. Men nowadays are truly beasts, only thinking with their lower half when they see pretty girls,” Sheng Nanzhou chimed in.

Da Liu nodded frantically: “Xu Sui is so pitiful, getting involved with this kind of social trash.”

Zhou Jingze was wearing black drawstring pants, his knees propped against the coffee table. With a “snap,” he set down the dice cup and lifted his eyelids to glance at the two of them:

“Hah.”

Da Liu didn’t react to Zhou Jingze’s snort. Sheng Nanzhou’s mind worked quickly, and he let out an earth-shaking curse:

“You’re that trash?! That beast?!”

Da Liu understood following his words and looked shocked: “No way, Master Zhou, when did you become so deeply devoted?”

“Devoted my ass,” Zhou Jingze sank back into the sofa, his tone leisurely, “I just happened to be walking my dog on that stretch of road.”

Walking my ass—your house is so far from hers, your dog must be quite tired following you, having to walk so many unnecessary detours. Sheng Nanzhou thought this long string of complaints in his mind and was about to speak up and criticize when—

Zhou Jingze shot him a sharp look, pointed at the points on the table, his tone arrogant:

“Pay up.”

Sheng Nanzhou glanced over, his tone pained: “Damn, lost again. Don’t you find it boring always winning? Isn’t life very dull?”

Zhou Jingze took the chips from his hand and raised his brow: “No.”

“It feels great,” Zhou Jingze added.

Friday night at ten o’clock, Xu Sui had just finished an eight-hour surgery and came out completely exhausted. She simply tidied up and left the hospital.

When the cold wind hit, Xu Sui’s mind became momentarily hazy and she almost couldn’t stand steady. Thinking it was due to hunger and excessive fatigue, she didn’t pay much attention and got on the vehicle.

After reaching the subway station, the bitter wind swept through the bare branches on the trees, blowing toward people from all directions. Xu Sui shivered and buried her face in her scarf.

Just as she was about to reach the residential building downstairs, Xu Sui felt her head becoming increasingly dizzy, as if there was a thousand-pound weight pressing down. She couldn’t see the road clearly, her steps went soft, and she fell straight toward a nearby bench.

Zhou Jingze hadn’t brought his dog out today because it was too cold—zero degrees. Lord Kui had been used as his excuse to come out these past few days, walking such long distances until he got annoyed. Today he simply threw a tantrum and refused to come out.

Zhou Jingze had no choice but to silently follow Xu Sui alone from behind, watching her safely reach home before returning.

He was thinking about how Bai Yushi was as a boyfriend—knowing this road had been unsafe recently with frequent incidents, yet still letting Xu Sui go home alone.

But on second thought, having to witness the two of them together, he didn’t know if he could bear it. Zhou Jingze tugged at the corner of his mouth self-mockingly.

Seeing Xu Sui walking ahead with unsteady steps, he felt somewhat uneasy. In the time it took to fish out a cigarette from his pants pocket, he casually lifted his eyelids and saw that Xu Sui had already collapsed on the bench.

The cigarette between his fingers broke in half. Zhou Jingze’s expression sharpened as he immediately rushed over, crouched halfway down, threaded his arm through her armpit, placed his other hand on her waist, and scooped her up in his arms.

The cold wind was fierce, the night thick, with sparse stars scattered about. Zhou Jingze carried Xu Sui as he walked through the wind.

Zhou Jingze wore a black down jacket. Broad-shouldered and long-legged with single eyelids, his profile was sharp and defined. He held a woman in his arms, his expression hurried as he carried her past one passerby after another.

“Wow, look how handsome that guy is.”

“Right? Carrying someone in such thick clothes on such a cold day—looks exhausting, but so boyfriend-like.”

Zhou Jingze carried Xu Sui upstairs. When he reached her door, he stood there hesitating for a moment, then finally took out his phone and called Liang Shuang.

Given his position, it wasn’t appropriate for him to take care of Xu Sui.

But the phone kept ringing without answer. Zhou Jingze had no choice but to fish the keys from Xu Sui’s bag, unlock the door, and carry her into the room.

Zhou Jingze, holding her, carefully placed Xu Sui on the bed. But he accidentally tripped on a fuzzy slipper on the floor and inadvertently fell toward the bed.

His entire body pressed against Xu Sui, touching her soft, rounded chest. Her hand draped over his neck, and he caught her unique milky fragrance, especially when her sweet, jelly-like lips brushed across his cheek.

Zhou Jingze instantly froze, heat rushing to his lower abdomen. He closed his eyes with some difficulty, then reopened them and tucked both her arms under the blanket.

He turned around to help her remove her shoes and tucked in the covers properly.

Zhou Jingze touched her forehead—it was very hot. Xu Sui seemed very uncomfortable, turned over, and knocked his hand away.

Zhou Jingze ran out to find a thermometer. Xu Sui had always been neat, keeping things organized and orderly. He immediately spotted the medical kit under the living room TV cabinet.

He walked over, crouched halfway down, found a temperature gun and fever medication, then hurried back to the room.

Zhou Jingze took her temperature—38.5 degrees, high fever. He poured a glass of water, pressed out three pills from the medicine sheet—two green ones and one red one—and fed her the fever medication.

Perhaps the medication hadn’t taken effect yet, as Xu Sui remained very uncomfortable, tossing and turning on the bed, constantly murmuring in delirium.

Zhou Jingze leaned against the wall with one long leg propped there. Hearing this, he lowered his leg, walked over, and felt her forehead again.

Still very hot.

Zhou Jingze remembered his grandmother making him ginger soup when he was little. Taking his phone, he went out and ordered ingredients for express delivery.

The delivery person quickly brought the ingredients. Zhou Jingze took them into the kitchen and made ginger soup.

He used his phone to time the cooking, then brought the finished soup to Xu Sui, supporting her shoulder with one hand as he sat on the bed.

Zhou Jingze held the bowl in his hands. The two were very close as he habitually brushed the stray hair from her forehead behind her ear. After doing this, he remembered something and paused, then used his right hand to scoop a spoonful of ginger soup to Xu Sui’s lips.

Xu Sui instinctively drank two sips. Zhou Jingze thought she was still so well-behaved even when sick, so he continued feeding.

Who could have expected that just as he had this thought, the next second, Xu Sui vomited all the ginger soup she’d drunk onto him.

His gray sweater was immediately stained with yellow liquid, looking terribly dirty.

“…” Zhou Jingze.

Zhou Jingze supported the back of her neck and laid her back down on the bed.

He pulled several tissues from the bedside and glanced at Xu Sui, who was sleeping peacefully on the bed. His dark eyes showed a hint of helplessness:

“I really… give up with you.”

All night long, Xu Sui’s high fever persisted, rising and falling repeatedly. Zhou Jingze didn’t sleep, staying by her bedside, applying cold compresses to her forehead with a towel every half hour and wiping her palms to physically reduce her temperature.

Until the second half of the night, Zhou Jingze barely slept, his eyelids half-drooping with weariness, slate-colored circles under his eyes, staying until Xu Sui’s fever broke.

At 4 AM, Xu Sui finally recovered from her fever.

Zhou Jingze breathed a sigh of relief. His throat felt itchy and he suddenly wanted a cigarette, but remembering Xu Sui was still ill, he pulled out a cigarette from the pack and pushed it back in.

Instead, Zhou Jingze fished a candy from his pocket, methodically peeled the wrapper, tossed it in his mouth, and looked at the sleeping Xu Sui.

Xu Sui’s long hair cascaded like a waterfall, scattered messily on the bed. Her fair cheeks retained a slight flush from the fever, her lips were somewhat dry, and her dark lashes were tightly closed—beautiful and moving.

She was fast asleep.

Zhou Jingze glanced at her, smiled slightly, and began talking to himself.

His tone paused as he thought of something: “Bai Yushi really is quite outstanding—his background and character are both impeccable, otherwise I would snatch you back.”

“Liang Shuang was right that day. Right now I… have nothing. What do I have to compete with him?” Zhou Jingze pressed the candy against his tongue, his voice somewhat hoarse.

“Besides, you don’t like me anymore. I have no choice,” Zhou Jingze said, looking at her.

Zhou Jingze walked over and tucked Xu Sui’s blanket properly. With a “click,” he turned off the bedside lamp, plunging the surroundings into darkness. Half his face was hidden in shadow, his expression unclear. Only his silhouette was visible—like a tall, beautiful plaster statue, carrying loneliness and desolation, revealing powerlessness.

Before leaving, Zhou Jingze looked deeply at Xu Sui once more, lowered his lashes, his tone carrying its usual casualness as he smiled self-mockingly:

“So… liking someone can make you feel inferior.”