Su Man held her phone and stared blankly at the chat window.

Another woman might have begun to suspect — was Lu Yuwen tired of her? Did he not like her anymore? Had he taken a liking to someone else?

But not Su Man.

She stared for only two seconds before it dawned on her. “It must be that the engagement ran too late last night, so just like me, he slept in!”

With that settled in her mind, Su Man got up, washed up, and ate what was essentially a late brunch. Around eleven o’clock, figuring Lu Yuwen ought to be up by then, she gave him a call.

No one picked up.

Now that was even more out of the ordinary.

No messages, no answered calls — what was going on?

Another woman might have let her imagination run away with her. Not Su Man. She kept calling, one after another — and on the fourth try, the call finally connected —

A man’s hoarse, low voice came through the phone: “Manman…”

Su Man was startled. “What happened to your voice?”

“I have a cold…”

His voice was very low, sounding weak and drained. Su Man felt her heart clench. “How did you end up with a cold in the middle of this heat? Have you taken your temperature? Have you taken any medicine?”

Lu Yuwen said, “Not yet…”

Su Man was already on her feet grabbing her bag. “Wait there — I’m coming to see you right now!”

Afraid that Lu Yuwen might take a turn alone, she moved quickly and talked at the same time. “Just lie down and rest. Don’t hang up the phone. I’ll be there very soon — half an hour at the most.”

Lu Yuwen: “I’ll be fine. Just be careful on the road…”

“I know, I know!” Su Man slung her bag over her shoulder and flew down the stairs, calling as she ran, “Mom! Do we have any cold medicine at home? Hurry and get me a box! And a thermometer!”

Su Ma was downstairs arranging flowers, communing with the finer pleasures of life. She heard her daughter making a great commotion and turned her head curiously.

“Cold medicine for what? Are you sick?”

Su Man being sick was a rare occurrence — as uncommon as the sun rising in the west.

“No, it’s not me.” Su Man shook her head vigorously. “Lu Yuwen is sick. He’s running a fever and there’s no one at the hotel to look after him. I’m going to check on him.”

“Oh, young Lu is sick.” Su Ma got up to get the medicine, then asked Su Man, “Is it a wind-heat cold or a wind-cold cold?”

“What?” Su Man had no idea what the distinction was and scrunched her brow. “Just get one box of each — hurry up, I’m in a rush.”

Su Ma rummaged through the medicine cabinet and found several boxes, handing them to Su Man. “You can’t just take medicine carelessly. When you get there, look at his symptoms and match them to the right one — each box has instructions, so make sure you read them.”

“I will!” Su Man took the medicine, packed it efficiently into her bag, then turned and headed out the door, quick as a gust of wind.

She drove to the hotel and went straight to Lu Yuwen’s room.

She had sent him back to the hotel so many times, yet this was the first time she was actually going inside. Before, she had always only dropped him off at the entrance and driven home.

The phone call was still connected but had gone quiet. Su Man wasn’t sure if he had drifted off into a feverish sleep. She raised her hand and knocked several times, and spoke toward the phone:

“Lu Yuwen, I’m here. Did you hear me knock? Come open the door.”

Lu Yuwen said nothing.

But on the other side of the door, the soft shuffle of footsteps reached her. Su Man waited patiently for a moment — then with a click, the hotel room door opened.

Lu Yuwen behind the door looked terrible. His face was pallid, his eyes red-rimmed, and his expression carried the slight, unfocused quality that comes with a high fever.

Su Man’s heart lurched in her chest. Without thinking, she pressed her palm to his forehead — and pulled it back as though she’d touched something burning. “Your fever is really bad! Maybe we should skip the medicine and I’ll take you straight to the hospital!”

—