The dozen-or-so-square-meter master bedroom suddenly seemed to shrink.

The air seemed to compress around Zhu Wenshu as its center, Ling Chen’s voice pressing in on her from all sides.

With a click, Zhu Wenshu hit the pause button.

It was all because this autumn night was too gentle, too perfectly matched with Ling Chen’s singing voice.

That was the only reason she’d completely forgotten his music was still playing in the room.

No wonder he’d pressed her about why she’d been in such a rush to get home.

He must have thought she’d rushed home eagerly just to listen to his songs.

And then, “Take your time listening, then.”

Recalling his tone, Zhu Wenshu flopped down onto her bed, burying her face in the pillow, and let out a long, heavy sigh.

The temperature dropped sharply after an autumn rain; ginkgo leaves covered the ground, and footsteps treading over them carried a heavier weight of late autumn.

Ling Siyuan’s short-sleeved shirts had all been put away; under his autumn school uniform jacket, he now needed an extra wool vest to avoid getting cold.

And according to his recent rigorous observations, it wasn’t even light out anymore when he left for school in the mornings—clear proof that winter was truly on its way.

This morning, sitting in the entryway with his shoes already on, waiting for the nanny, Ling Siyuan sighed with an air of nonchalant world-weariness, muttering to himself, “Studying is bitter, studying is exhausting, and you even have to pay tuition to study—might as well join a gang, at least you’d have food, drink, and status.”

“?”

Ling Chen, who happened to be walking out of his room carrying a glass of cold water, froze for a moment.

What on earth was this little brat going on about.

At that moment, Ling Xingyan was still away on a business trip, not yet home, while Auntie Xiao was in the kitchen cutting fruit, preparing to pack it in a container for Ling Siyuan to take to school.

Ling Chen, originally headed for the living room, suddenly thought of something mid-stride and turned back, crouching down in front of Ling Siyuan.

“Hey.”

Ling Siyuan glanced down at him listlessly and said, “First of all, my name isn’t ‘hey.’ Second, I’m in a very heavy mood right now and don’t feel like chatting.”

“I don’t have time to chat with you either. I just want to consult you about something recently…”

Though he’d said he wasn’t in the mood to chat, upon hearing the mature-sounding word “consult,” Ling Siyuan immediately looked up at Ling Chen.

Ling Chen said unhurriedly, “How come you haven’t been causing me any trouble lately?”

“Huh?”

Ling Chen leaned in closer, but lowered his voice.

“Your teacher hasn’t come to find me at all.”

“Huh??”

“What’s with the ‘huh.'”

“If you keep this up—”

Ling Chen lifted his eyes, saying casually, “From now on, when they call in a parent, I’ll send your dad instead.”

“?”

Ling Siyuan’s legs, which had been swinging, suddenly stopped, and he nearly jumped up.

But he suddenly regained his composure, and lifting up the bright red scarf around his neck, boasted, “I’m never going to get my parent called in again—I’m already a Young Pioneer now.”

Ling Chen gave a light snort. “That impressive, huh?”

Before Ling Siyuan could say anything more, Auntie Xiao came out carrying the fruit. “Yuanyuan, time to head out.”

Seeing Ling Chen there too, she added, “Did you just wake up, or have you not slept yet? There’s still breakfast in the fridge—I just put it in there. Want me to take it out and heat it up for you now?”

“No need to trouble yourself, I’ll handle it myself later.”

Ling Chen slowly stood up, glancing down at Ling Siyuan. “Off to school with you, little Young Pioneer.”

“Hmph.”

Ling Siyuan stood up and shook his backpack into place.

Just as he opened the door, he remembered something, and gripping the doorframe, said to Auntie Xiao, “Auntie, I want to talk to Uncle alone for a bit.”

“Oh my, you and your uncle have secrets now.”

Auntie Xiao said with a smile, “I’ll go press the elevator and wait for you, then.”

Once she’d stepped out, Ling Siyuan turned and gazed at Ling Chen eagerly.

Ling Chen, in the living room, raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”

“Uncle… it’s just…”

Ling Siyuan glanced back at the door, making sure Auntie Xiao had her back turned, then opened his backpack and dug a few crumpled hundred-yuan bills out of an inner pocket, holding them out to Ling Chen. “This is the allowance I’ve saved up. I want… it’s just…”

“This much, huh?”

Ling Chen took an unhurried sip of water. “Trying to buy me off with money?”

Ling Siyuan stammered, “No… it’s just, could you help me top up my game account, the six-hundred-forty-eight tier—here’s seven hundred yuan.”

Seeing that Ling Chen said nothing, Ling Siyuan added, “You can keep the leftover fifty-two yuan for yourself.”

“You’re really generous. But—”

Ling Chen pushed the money back toward him. “Money can’t buy me off. It depends on your behavior.”

“Yuanyuan? Are you ready? If you don’t come out now you’ll be late!”

“Oh! Coming!”

Having answered Auntie Xiao, Ling Siyuan still wanted to say more, but Ling Chen had already headed back toward his room.

On the way to school.

Ling Siyuan couldn’t figure out what Ling Chen meant by “behavior.”

He racked his brains the whole way, brow furrowed tight, barely watching where he was going, until he bumped into someone.

“Sorry!”

He apologized instinctively first, then looked up, blinking. “Ah… good morning, Teacher Zhu.”

“Good morning. What were you thinking about, so lost in thought?”

Zhu Wenshu asked, bending down.

“N-nothing.”

Ling Siyuan shook his head.

“Alright, watch where you’re walking from now on.”

Zhu Wenshu, looking at his chubby baby cheeks, couldn’t resist giving one a pinch. “Off to class, then.”

“Okay, teacher.”

Once Ling Siyuan had walked off, Zhu Wenshu withdrew her gaze and let out a soft breath.

Just a few days ago she’d still been wondering how she’d face Ling Chen if Ling Siyuan acted up again and she had no choice but to contact him.

Though it wasn’t really a big deal, as Ling Siyuan’s teacher she still found it rather awkward.

Fortunately, ever since Ling Siyuan had put on his red scarf, he’d been unusually well-behaved, as if sealed by some spell.

Though there was no telling how long this seal’s effect would last.

This afternoon’s second period was P.E. class, ordinarily the most vexing day of Zhu Wenshu’s week.

Forty-five minutes of wild play, and who knew how many kids would end up scraped or bruised—if she got a more delicate one, she’d have to spend ages coaxing them.

But today her luck held—nothing went wrong, and after class everyone returned to the classroom obediently, getting ready for math.

She went to check, and nothing seemed amiss.

Reassured, Zhu Wenshu returned to the office and let out a yawn.

She hadn’t had time to rest at noon, and now she was overwhelmingly drowsy, torn between taking a quick nap or getting started on preparations for next week’s teaching competition.

Over twenty minutes later, a little girl suddenly ran into the office.

“Teacher Zhu! Teacher Zhu!”

Before she even saw the girl, just hearing the urgency in her voice, Zhu Wenshu’s temples had already begun to throb.

She pressed her fingers to her brow and turned around. “What’s wrong? Isn’t class in session right now?”

“Ling Siyuan’s stomach hurts!”

The girl said, “Teacher Tang wants you to come over.”

Normally, upon hearing something like “stomach hurts,” Zhu Wenshu would weigh the situation for a moment.

Was it really a stomachache, or was some little troublemaker just getting a headache from sitting through class.

But either way, this trip was one she couldn’t skip.

She set down the pen she’d just barely picked up, straightened her clothes, and headed toward the classroom with the little girl.

Pushing open the door and glancing around, her heart clenched.

Teacher Tang was a rather heavyset middle-aged man, bent over standing by Ling Siyuan’s seat, with several students crowded around, the whole classroom in an uproar.

Zhu Wenshu couldn’t make out the details, but she knew the situation probably wasn’t good.

She hurried over, and seeing this, Teacher Tang made way for her.

“Not sure what happened, he suddenly started having stomach pain. You’d better take him to the nurse’s office right away.”

At this moment, Ling Siyuan was slumped over his desk clutching his stomach, looking like his life was hanging by a thread, cold sweat beading all over his body.

Seeing this, Zhu Wenshu’s own breathing tightened, and as she felt his forehead she said, “Alright, I’ll take him. Teacher Tang, please continue with the class.”

The children around them said, “Teacher, let us help you.”

“No need, you all focus on class.”

With that, Zhu Wenshu bent down, slid both hands under Ling Siyuan’s arms, and lifted with all her strength—

Couldn’t budge him.

She tightened her grip again, using every bit of strength to lift him—

…Kids these days were really being raised a bit too solidly!

She turned and directed two boys nearby.

“Come on, this is your chance to show some unity and friendship—help him to the nurse’s office.”

“This one needs to go to the hospital.”

The school doctor said, “Acute gastroenteritis, most likely will need some anti-inflammatory antibiotics—we can’t administer that here.”

“Is that serious…”

Zhu Wenshu looked at Ling Siyuan writhing on the bed and nodded. “Alright, I’ll take him there first.”

Just then, a male teacher happened to pass by outside; Zhu Wenshu called him over and explained the situation, and he immediately set aside whatever he’d been doing to carry Ling Siyuan out on his back and put him in a taxi.

“Hang in there a bit longer.”

Ling Siyuan, clutching his stomach, curled up on Zhu Wenshu’s lap; he didn’t actually cry out loud, just moaned in pain with a hoarse voice, sounding utterly miserable.

“We’ll be there soon. Once the doctor gives you some medicine, it won’t hurt anymore.”

While comforting Ling Siyuan, Zhu Wenshu called Ling Chen.

He picked up quickly, though there was a lot of noise in the background, as if he were somewhere crowded.

“What’s up?”

His voice came through low and steady.

“Yuanyuan is sick, his stomach hurts—it might be acute gastroenteritis.”

Zhu Wenshu’s tone was a bit urgent. “I’m taking him to the hospital now. I wanted to check with you first—does he have any prior medical history? Any drug allergies?”

Ling Chen gave a soft click of his tongue. “Stomach hurts?”

The confusion in his tone was undisguised; he seemed quite surprised.

“Yes.”

Zhu Wenshu said, “Just now during P.E. class, he worked up a sweat, took off his jacket, and then went and ate two popsicles.”

Ling Chen was silent for a moment, then said, “I’ll message you back in a bit.”

Hearing the noise on his end, Zhu Wenshu didn’t think much of it, said “okay,” and hung up.

A few minutes later, Ling Chen’s message arrived.

c: This hasn’t happened before, and so far no known drug allergies.

c: Where are you two now?

Zhu Wenshu: Changsheng Subdistrict Health Clinic, near the school.

As she replied, the taxi happened to pull up right at the clinic entrance.

Zhu Wenshu struggled to carry Ling Siyuan out, exerting tremendous effort to get him into the emergency room.

There weren’t many people at the clinic at that moment; a few front-desk nurses, seeing the slender Zhu Wenshu half-carrying, half-dragging a little boy in, hurried over to help.

From the examination to the diagnosis—during which Ling Siyuan even threw up for a while—until he was finally successfully hooked up to an IV drip, Zhu Wenshu was busy running around for over half an hour.

By the time she sat down to rest, Ling Siyuan, whether from being drained of energy by the pain or the medicine starting to take effect, had his eyelids fighting to stay open, but at least he’d stopped whimpering.

“Sleep if you want.”

Zhu Wenshu said, “Teacher’s right here with you.”

Ling Siyuan nodded, his parched lips moving slightly—perhaps trying to say thank you, but no sound came out—before he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

The late-autumn sunlight was thin and sparse, sparse shadows shifting across half the window.

There weren’t many people in the treatment room at that hour, just a middle-aged woman on an IV drip in the far corner; occasionally a nurse would come in to grab something, the soft soles of her shoes making a light, gentle sound.

Zhu Wenshu sat in her chair, and lulled by Ling Siyuan’s slow, steady breathing, grew drowsy herself.

But worried that Ling Siyuan needed someone watching over him, she didn’t dare truly fall asleep, constantly fighting against her own willpower, forcing her eyes open as she scrolled through her phone.

Gradually…

Her head began nodding like a chick pecking at rice, dipping again and again, and she had no idea when her phone had slipped down into the gap of the chair.

In her drowsy stupor, her head tilted and dropped once more.

But the sensation of weightlessness that always jolted her awake didn’t come this time—instead, her cheek was caught and held by something warm, which seemed to draw away the exhaustion tearing at her nerves.

A moment later.

Zhu Wenshu suddenly opened her eyes, remembering that Ling Siyuan was still on his IV drip—she’d nearly dozed off completely.

Her body jerked upright, and the warmth at her cheek withdrew.

Zhu Wenshu immediately widened her eyes to check the IV bag, confirming it hadn’t finished yet, and only then relaxed back into her chair.

Then, belatedly, she turned her head to the right.

The moment she saw Ling Chen, wearing a baseball cap and a face mask, Zhu Wenshu’s spine, which had just touched the chair back, snapped straight again.

“Why are you here?”

When she’d seen Ling Chen ask for the address earlier, she’d assumed he’d arrange for the nanny to come instead.

“Why shouldn’t I come?”

Ling Chen’s fingers, hanging at his side, twitched slightly twice before he tucked them back into his pockets. “How is he now?”

“Should be okay, he’s been asleep for a while now…”

Just as she was speaking, Zhu Wenshu glanced at Ling Siyuan and found that he’d woken up at some point, his big eyes wide open, staring at the two of them.

“Yuanyuan, you’re awake?”

Ling Siyuan didn’t speak, just nodded groggily.

Ling Chen turned and stepped forward, bending down to touch his forehead, saying as if to himself, “So he really is sick.”

“Of course it’s real.”

Zhu Wenshu quickly stood up. “Would I lie to you about this?”

Ling Chen glanced back at her, his lips pressed into a straight line, saying in a low voice, “I wasn’t talking about you.”

He then reached over and ruffled Ling Siyuan’s hair. “Still hurts?”

Ling Siyuan nodded blankly. “Doesn’t seem to hurt anymore.”

“What do you mean ‘seems’—if it hurts, say so.”

With that, he leaned in closer, staring into Ling Siyuan’s eyes, and said in a low voice, “You really are clever, aren’t you—had to go and land yourself in the hospital just to cause me trouble?”

Ling Siyuan blinked, finally catching Ling Chen’s meaning.

“I didn’t…”

Hearing the boy’s weak, wronged little voice, Zhu Wenshu couldn’t help herself, frowning as she said, “Now I have to say something about this—a kid being a bit greedy about food isn’t some great sin, you just need to teach him properly. How can you call it ‘causing you trouble’?”

“…”

Ling Chen turned back to meet Zhu Wenshu’s fierce glare, pressing his lips together and nodding to himself. “Fine.”

Then he turned, pulled over a chair to the bedside, sat down, crossed his arms, and tilted his chin toward Zhu Wenshu.

“Go on then, Teacher Zhu—teach him first, or teach me first?”

Zhu Wenshu opened her mouth to speak, but then, thinking of something, turned to glance at the middle-aged woman who’d been on the IV drip earlier.

Fortunately, that spot was already empty now.

Withdrawing her gaze, Zhu Wenshu looked back at Ling Chen, and seeing his legs crossed casually, her teacherly habits kicked in, and she frowned. “Uncross your legs and sit up straight first.”

“…”

“…”

As soon as the words left her mouth, both of them froze for an instant.

A moment later, Ling Chen turned his head aside, but from the side, Zhu Wenshu caught the faint curve of his brows and eyes.

“I mean… what I mean is, crossing your legs like that isn’t good for your spine. Though of course, if you want to sit that way, that’s fine too.”

“Of course I’ll listen to Teacher Zhu.”

Ling Chen slowly turned his face back, looking straight at Zhu Wenshu, and under her sheepish gaze, uncrossed his legs and straightened his back.

But Zhu Wenshu, glancing at his arms still crossed over his chest, couldn’t shake the feeling that his words carried a sarcastic edge.

So she avoided Ling Chen’s gaze, stood up, and sat down by Ling Siyuan’s bedside, comforting him softly.

“From now on, if you’re too hot during P.E., take off your jacket first, and put it right back on once you’re done exercising. And no eating ice cream either, understand?”

Ling Siyuan nodded. “Mm, got it.”

Seeing the boy’s pale face, Zhu Wenshu decided not to say anything more.

“Still sleepy? Want to sleep a bit more?”

“Not sleepy anymore.”

Ling Siyuan said in a muffled voice, “I want… to play games.”

“Playing games while you’re sick will make you recover more slowly, you know.”

Zhu Wenshu pulled out her own phone and asked, “Want to watch some cartoons instead?”

Ling Siyuan thought about it. “Sure, I guess.”

“Okay, what do you want to watch?”

Zhu Wenshu opened a video app and propped it up in front of Ling Siyuan. “Boonie Bears or Pleasant Goat?”

“Hmm… I’ve seen both already…”

Ling Siyuan reached out a chubby finger and swiped through the screen for a long while, but couldn’t find a single cartoon he hadn’t already seen.

Zhu Wenshu muttered, “You’ve watched quite a lot… this isn’t great for reading and writing practice…”

Just then, a nurse pushed the door open, glanced inside, and said,

“Ling Siyuan… are his parents both here? Come settle the bill, then.”

Hearing this, Zhu Wenshu immediately said, “We’re not his parents… I mean, I’m not his mother.”

As soon as she said this, the nurse paused for a moment, then waved a hand. “Doesn’t matter—whoever’s the guardian, come settle the bill.”

Zhu Wenshu turned to glance at Ling Chen, and seeing him start to rise, quickly said, “I’ll go.”

She pointed toward the door. “It’s not really convenient for you to go.”

“Fair enough.”

Ling Chen sat back down.

Zhu Wenshu handed her phone to Ling Siyuan, telling him to pick a cartoon himself, then followed the nurse out.

Once her figure had disappeared through the door, Ling Chen slowly turned to look at Ling Siyuan, about to say something, but the boy spoke first.

“Uncle, I saw it.”

Ling Chen raised an eyebrow. “Saw what?”

Ling Siyuan tugged at his blanket, pulling it up over his mouth.

“I saw you touch teacher’s face just now.”

“…”

A shadow suddenly deepened in Ling Chen’s eyes as he stared at him heavily.

Ling Siyuan tugged the blanket up further, covering his nose, only his eyes showing, looking at Ling Chen with a mix of timidity and reckless resolve.

“I’m going to tell teacher—”

Ling Chen kept staring at him, only lowering the arms crossed over his chest and slowly sitting up straighter.

Ling Siyuan: “You’re a pervert.”

Ling Chen: “…”