After finishing breakfast, Su Man took the lunchbox and headed to the hospital.

Just as she had expected, Su Ma had barely slept all night. The moment she saw her daughter walk in, she began listing all the reasons she needed to go home and catch up on sleep, leaving Su Man alone to keep her father company.

The hospital was rather dull. Nurses and aides bustled around doing everything that needed to be done, leaving Su Man with nothing useful to contribute.

She sat there with nothing to do and took out her phone — scrolled through Weibo, then checked her WeChat Moments.

She saw that Li Li had posted something new:

**[Where you stand today often determines where you begin tomorrow.]**

The accompanying photo was of the commendation ceremony venue, still mostly empty seats — he had arrived early. The post had been sent at 9 a.m., which meant the ceremony had probably started by now…

Li Li had specifically gotten her an admission ticket in advance, reminding her over and over: his parents took terrible photos, so when he went up to the stage, she absolutely had to take plenty of pictures — and make them look good!

Now she couldn’t take any for him.

Su Man sighed inwardly.

Then she thought of his attitude that morning, and her mood turned indignant: Whatever. Not having anyone to photograph him — he deserved it!

She put her phone away and stopped looking at WeChat Moments.

……

By ten o’clock, people began arriving one after another to visit.

Her father currently held a somewhat ceremonial post, but the web of family connections — grandfathers, uncles, cousins — was extensive, and no small number of people came to call. Several were family elders.

So Su Man found herself transformed into something like a little handmaiden, pouring tea and fetching water in wave after wave, while patiently fielding questions from the older relatives. This went on until noon, when the last visitor finally departed.

A nurse came specifically to remind her that patients needed rest, and that the ward had been turned into a reception room, which wasn’t appropriate.

Su Man had no recourse and thought to herself: this wasn’t exactly something she could control.

Su Ba lay lazily on the hospital bed and said, “You might as well go home. Have your mom come over.”

Su Man gave him a helpless look. “Mom is definitely asleep right now.”

“Let her sleep first, then come.” Su Ba said as though it were perfectly obvious. “There’s nothing interesting for you to do here anyway. Didn’t you say you had that ceremony thing to go to today? Go on then.”

Su Man’s brow furrowed, and she pressed her lips together without a word.

Although she was still upset, the edge had worn off somewhat. After all, she and Li Li had always bickered — she wasn’t about to swear off all contact with him just because of one morning’s ill temper.

If she could go, she still wanted to go.

She was just worried about leaving Su Ba alone.

Su Man looked at him uncertainly. “Can you manage on your own?”

Su Ba: “Is there any difference between you being here and me being alone?”

Su Man stared. “Of course there is — I’ve been pouring your tea.”

Su Ba turned his head away with a weary sigh. “Now that the visitors are gone, there’s not even anyone to talk to. It’s dull…”

Su Man: “…”

Fine…

She really was fairly useless here, if she was honest. Mostly she’d just been on her phone. The main issue was — what was there to talk about with her own parents? They genuinely had no common ground!

Su Man felt mildly stung, sensing she was being gently pushed out.

“I’ll really go then,” she said.

Su Ba slowly waved her off. “Go, go.”

Su Man thought it over and figured that her presence here wasn’t much help anyway. She checked the time — in a little while, her mother would be coming to drop off lunch.

Alright, she made up her mind.

Su Man grabbed her bag and left the hospital. She decided to drive to the research institute where Li Li worked, and as she started the car, she called him — wanting to let him know she was on her way.

But no one answered.

Maybe the occasion called for silence, and his phone was on mute?

She grew uneasy and quietly sped up.

By the time Su Man reached the research institute, she found that the venue had already emptied. She stood at the entrance and called Li Li again —

This time, he finally picked up.

The moment the call connected, the sound of loud, lively music poured through, and Li Li’s voice came out nearly at a shout: “What is it?! I’m out eating!”

Su Man pursed her lips, unhappy, and asked, “Where are you eating? I’m at the research institute — but it’s already over.”

“You’re only getting here now?! Good grief, it ended ages ago!” Li Li sounded utterly baffled. “The seniors in my research group are treating everyone to dinner, we’ve got a party going! Why didn’t you come earlier?”

Su Man felt more displeased than ever. “I didn’t know it had ended. I called you earlier and you didn’t answer.”

“We had a party going on! I couldn’t hear it! Besides, your dad’s in the hospital — I figured you weren’t coming today!”

She could faintly hear several voices calling Li Li’s name in the background — both male and female.

Li Li said, “Hey! I’m done talking to you — they’re calling me!”

He hung up.

Su Man looked at the darkened screen, momentarily speechless.

A ball of frustration sat in her chest with nowhere to go. When she thought it through, the whole awkward mess felt entirely self-inflicted.

Every time…

Every time, it seemed like she was the one making herself look foolish.

—