“There are a few.” Su Ma walked over to the sofa and sat down, slowly smoothing the face mask against her skin as she spoke. “The Mrs. Wang in Building 2 is planning to sell her villa to buy a place for her daughter abroad. Mr. Zhang at Number 27 needs cash flow for his business lately. And there’s old Mrs. Li at Number 18, who’s always said the number 18 feels unlucky to her… Hey, why are you suddenly so interested in this?”

Su Man felt inexplicably a little shy. “Didn’t you just say that Lu Yuwen is out there on his own, with no one to look after him when he gets sick… So if he could live closer by, we’d be able to look in on him if anything comes up.”

Su Ma stared blankly at her for a moment, then looked at her steadily. “Are you saying Lu Yuwen wants to buy a house?”

Su Man nodded.

Su Ma: “And he wants to buy one near our neighborhood?”

Su Man nodded again.

Su Ma shot to her feet!

Su Man jumped in surprise. “……Mom?”

Su Ma strode over to her, her expression uncommonly serious. “Is this his idea, or yours?”

The intensity of her mother’s manner startled Su Man, and she retreated half a step. “Of… of course it’s his idea. He’s the one buying the house, not me.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Su Man felt as though the two eyes behind her mother’s black clay face mask were suddenly glowing — lit up with a brightness that was almost alarming.

Su Man asked carefully, “……What’s wrong?”

Su Ma smiled a mysterious smile, then turned and sat back down, her tone returning to normal. “Oh, nothing. If Xiao Lu moves nearby, that’s a very good thing. I’ll ask around about houses for him tomorrow.”

Su Man: “Then… I’ll head up to my room.”

Su Ma waved her off, closing her eyes and no longer looking at her. “Go on, go on, get some rest early.”

Su Man went upstairs with a complicated feeling in her chest.

Back in her room, she got ready to wash up and rest — but the moment she lay down on the bed, the events of the day came flooding back into her mind, unavoidable……

She lay on her side, raised a finger, and lightly touched her own lips — just as Lu Yuwen had touched them.

The corners of her mouth curved up on their own.

Whenever she thought of his attentiveness and gentleness, her heart melted like cream — sweet and soft all at once.

She was done for……

Su Man had a feeling that tonight, she was definitely going to be unable to sleep……

……

The next day, Su Man woke up early and packed up some breakfast from home, then headed cheerfully to the hotel.

At the front gate, she ran into Li Li, who was just heading off to the research institute.

They hadn’t seen each other for a few days, and Li Li was still a little awkward. He gave Su Man a wave and greeted her: “Morning.”

Su Man was in a good mood, so she’d forgotten their previous quarrel, and replied cheerfully, “Morning~”

Her bright smile gave Li Li a small, warm feeling, and he instinctively wanted to chat with her a little longer. “You’re in such a good mood — did they reinstate you?”

Su Man’s suspension wasn’t a secret — Li Li knew about it. But when he noticed that Su Man was wearing a skirt today……

“Where are you going this early in the morning?” Li Li’s brow creased. That outfit was definitely not for going to work!

Su Man answered with a smile, “I’m going to see Lu Yuwen~”

The last syllable rose with a cheerful lilt.

Li Li: “……”

Only two days of not paying attention to her, and things had already progressed further with that sly fox?

Damn! What kind of efficiency was that?!

There was no pulling her back now, was there?!

“Su Man!” Li Li demanded sharply, “What do you think you’re doing? Is his appeal really that great — you can’t even wait until a decent hour before running to him? There’s a limit to how lovesick you can be!”

Su Man didn’t like Li Li’s tone, and she didn’t like being called lovesick either. She explained seriously, “He’s sick, and there’s no one at the hotel to look after him, so I’m not comfortable leaving him on his own, that’s why I……”

Before she could finish, Li Li cut her off:

“Even so, there’s no need to go this early! It’s not even eight o’clock yet!”

Su Man continued to explain, “He has a fever and no strength in his body. If I go, at least I can open a bottle for him.”

—