“Sorry……”

Su Man felt she wanted to disappear into the floor.

She awkwardly propped herself up on her elbows to reduce the weight pressing down on Lu Yuwen, then noticed him barely perceptibly furrowing his brow. Panicked, she asked, “Did I hurt you?”

She was normally quite agile — why was she always so clumsy around him?

Lu Yuwen gripped Su Man’s arm with one hand, his voice hoarse, “Don’t move.”

Su Man froze, not daring to budge.

Had she really hurt him somewhere? Where? His chest, his legs, his arms, or somewhere else?

The two of them were far too close.

She held her breath. She could feel Lu Yuwen’s rapidly beating heart, the slightly warm temperature of his body, and the soft, faintly damp fabric of his pajamas from the sweat earlier……

Without realizing it, she had drawn even closer to him.

Was it her imagination? Why did it feel like he was already right there before her eyes, as if there were only… a single millimeter between them?

Then, soft against soft, the lightest of touches.

Su Man went still.

Lu Yuwen looked at her with gentle eyes. Seeing her reaction, the corners of his mouth curved into a smile. He tilted his head up again, brushing against her lips.

Once more.

Su Man slowly, slowly blinked.

Lu Yuwen could tell she was genuinely stunned — because she had even forgotten to blush.

“I wonder,” he murmured, lying there on the floor, “whether this might be contagious.”

Su Man answered in a daze, “It’s not a viral cold, so it probably won’t be contagious……”

Lu Yuwen couldn’t help but let out a low laugh.

“Manman, you’re so adorable.”

He cupped her face in both hands and kissed her again——

This was an experience Su Man had never had before.

Strange, unfamiliar, with a touch of awkward discomfort — and yet she wanted it to continue, because the tip of her heart felt like it was floating upward toward the sky……

Higher and higher it floated, further and further, rising above the clouds, enveloped by the warmth of the sun, the air growing thin, her whole body turning soft and weightless.

She thought she might be contagious after all.

Because she seemed to have caught a fever too……

……

(The author’s note: Somehow barely wrote anything, but it got reduced to under a thousand words after edits, and I don’t know how to fill it back up.)

Afterward, she was completely lightheaded.

She heard Lu Yuwen asking in her ear, “Manman, are there any houses for sale in your neighborhood?”

Su Man looked at him in a daze, “I don’t know… I’d have to go back and ask my mom……”

“Alright.” Lu Yuwen gently swept the hair from her cheek, his voice husky, “From now on… I want to be able to see you every day.”

Su Man’s mind was still spinning. She nodded instinctively, without really thinking through what it would mean if that were to happen.

……

That evening, Su Man gave Lu Yuwen his second dose of medicine, and after he fell asleep, she tidied up the room. She set a cup of hot water on the nightstand beside his bed, with the kettle set to keep warm so he could have hot water whenever he woke up.

Satisfied that she hadn’t missed anything, she took one last look at the man sleeping in the bed, then finally left, gently pulling the door closed behind her.

Su Man drove home.

The whole way, her mind was foggy — as though stuffed full of countless thoughts, yet also as though she hadn’t thought about anything at all.

When she finally got home, she parked the car and stepped out——

The moment her feet touched the ground, all of it — the fluttering nervousness, the shyness, the shock, the sweetness, the tension, the excitement — it all came rushing up at once, belated and overwhelming, sweeping over her completely!

Su Man stood by the car door, both hands pressed tightly over her cheeks. Her whole face was red, all the way down to the base of her neck. Even her ears were burning, and her heart was pounding wildly!

Oh heavens……

She — she she she she she had kissed someone!

—