Later that night, Long Zhentian called Shang Zhitao, wanting to tell her Christmas stories in his drunken state.

“I didn’t request a lesson today, so I won’t pay for this lesson,” Shang Zhitao teased Long Zhentian.

“No charge. Today is volunteer teaching.”

“But I don’t want to learn slurred English.” Shang Zhitao mocked Long Zhentian’s drunken slurring, bantering with him.

Suddenly, Long Zhentian became serious: “Taotao, let me take you to America?” His impulsiveness startled Shang Zhitao, leaving her speechless on the other end of the phone.

“Did you hear me? Come with me?”

“Sober up, Long Zhentian.” Shang Zhitao hung up the phone. Why did Christmas make everyone so strange?

“What’s wrong?”

Shang Zhitao shook her head. Had everyone gone crazy?

They returned home, and Sun Yu took out a small gift box from her bag and placed it in Shang Zhitao’s palm, unusually gentle as she said, “Shang Zhitao, Merry Christmas.”

Shang Zhitao took the gift, ran into her room, and came back out: “I prepared a gift for you too.” She placed the wrapped box in Sun Yu’s hand and hugged her.

She had prepared a building block house for Sun Yu, and Sun Yu had prepared a preserved flower for her. This bit of sweetness in ordinary days made for unforgettable memories of friendship.

Shang Zhitao began to enjoy borrowing books from Sun Yuanzhu; having a small library at home felt wonderful. But she also understood restraint and politeness, only going to his room when everyone was home. In her heart, Sun Yuanzhu was like a celestial being, and she couldn’t bear to see him tainted.

When borrowing books, she would chat with Sun Yuanzhu for a few sentences. She always felt that Sun Yuanzhu had a trace of sadness in him. But he was always so peaceful that it made her think it was just her imagination.

When reading Sun Yuanzhu’s books, she followed his habits, turning pages carefully, not daring to leave any marks.

During the New Year’s holiday, while others went out to busy themselves, she stayed in bed reading books. Not only reading but also taking notes.

She only went out one day to climb a mountain with Long Zhentian. After sobering up, he repeatedly apologized for his impropriety on the phone. His apology was sincere, sounding like a confession. He said Shang Zhitao was his ideal Chinese girl—gentle, kind, and resilient. That’s why he couldn’t help saying those words, and he asked for her forgiveness.

Foreigners were funny; who knows what they had in their heads?

Shang Zhitao’s face reddened as she listened to his compliments, finally saying: “Long Zhentian, I can’t go to America with you. I have my parents here. Do you know there’s an ancient Chinese saying? ‘While your parents are alive, don’t travel far.’ Working in Beijing is already a bit unfilial of me; I can’t go abroad with you. Besides, I think you’re a great teacher and friend, but you’re not my type!”

“I’m heartbroken!” Long Zhentian patted his chest and lamented, making Shang Zhitao giggle.

On the last day of the New Year’s holiday, Shang Zhitao caught a severe cold.

She had always been healthy since childhood, rarely getting sick. When classmates were constantly having runny noses, only she remained healthy as iron. Old Shang often said, My daughter’s greatest advantage is her healthy physique.

But now the healthy Shang Zhitao had caught a severe cold. Her nose was so blocked that half her brain couldn’t function, her eyes were watery, looking as if she had suffered some great grievance. She coughed incessantly and had a fever as well. Despite being so ill, she still got up early and went to work. She didn’t want to take sick leave; the Chinese New Year was approaching, and she wanted to save a few days of leave to go home and accompany Old Shang and Da Zhai.

She sniffled as she exited the elevator and bumped into Luan Nian coming out of his office in the corridor. She didn’t want to talk to him, but still rubbed her nose and greeted him: “Good morning, Luke.”

Luan Nian passed by her without a sideways glance, his expression cold.

Shang Zhitao felt too unwell from her cold to ponder Luan Nian’s thoughts. She probably understood that for Luan Nian, once a relationship ended, it was over. He already thought she was foolish and didn’t want to talk to her much. Her head was foggy, so she took a pill and, seeing it was still early, lay her head on her desk for a nap. This cold came on fiercely; by afternoon, she had a high fever. Her face burned red.

Lu Mi returned with water and saw her sitting at her computer with a blank stare. She placed her hand on Shang Zhitao’s forehead: “Good heavens, your forehead is hot enough to fry an egg!”

“Huh?” Shang Zhitao was slow to react and also touched her forehead. “It does seem a bit hot…”

“Go home, take sick leave.”

“Sick leave… does it count as annual leave?”

“Are you stupid? It’s paid sick leave. For more than two days, remember to get a doctor’s note.”

“Okay.”

Shang Zhitao packed up and stood. Lu Mi wrapped her up well and sent her out. She was a bit worried and asked Shang Zhitao: “Are your roommates at home?”

“I don’t think so.”

The two entered the elevator. As the doors were closing, Luan Nian and the girls from the Creative Center also walked in. They were heading to the first-floor coffee shop for a meeting.

Lu Mi smiled at everyone, then quietly asked Shang Zhitao: “What will you do if no one’s home? Forget it, I’ll take you back.”

Lu Mi, Shang Zhitao’s first Beijing friend, was chivalrous. Even sharing an elevator with the CEO, she could boldly say: “Wait for me on the first floor. I’ll put on my down jacket and drive you home.”

Shang Zhitao secretly pulled her sleeve, telling her to be careful, but she just pouted. Once, Kitty went to the neighboring mall to buy shoes in the afternoon and was caught red-handed by Lu Mi, who was going down to meet suppliers. Everyone had their moments—looking proper normally but sneaking off like cowards when skipping work.

Lu Mi wasn’t afraid of any of that! Shang Zhitao got off the elevator and sat in the first-floor lobby, waiting for Lu Mi. Luan Nian and his group entered the coffee shop through the back door. Luan Nian glanced at Shang Zhitao’s abnormally red face and suddenly felt a bit of softness in his heart.

That night, when he was drinking in Hokkaido and saw Shang Zhitao’s message about ending their relationship, he felt a bit angry. He didn’t like entanglements with women. After one drink, he thought about dealing with her when he returned, but after a few more drinks, he felt this ending was for the best. Shang Zhitao couldn’t play the game, and he wasn’t serious; continuing would likely bring many complications.

But now, seeing Shang Zhitao sitting there, sitting upright despite being sick, he felt a touch of pity in his heart.

“Are you sick?” Unusually, he took the initiative to message her about a personal matter.

Shang Zhitao saw Luan Nian’s message but put her phone in her pocket without replying. Only she knew why she had fallen ill. On one hand were her hopeless feelings for Luan Nian, on the other was the thought of letting go, alternately tormenting her. The feeling of not being loved was terrible, terrible enough to create a dark fire inside her with nowhere to vent. If she hadn’t fallen ill, she feared she wouldn’t have been able to contain it.

Luan Nian was in a department meeting, glancing through the coffee shop’s glass back door towards Shang Zhitao. He saw her put away her phone without replying to his message, her posture defiant.

Lu Mi arrived and took her away.

Luan Nian had always known that Shang Zhitao had a bit of stubbornness in her. Her stubbornness was hidden deep, making people mistakenly think she always yielded. But her occasional emotional outbursts revealed her stubbornness.

After finishing his discussion with them, he stood up: “Grace can lead the rest of the work.” He went upstairs, put on his coat, and drove out of the company. In the elevator, he met Lu Mi, who had just returned from sending Shang Zhitao home. She greeted him: “Hello, Luke.”

“You’re skipping work?”

…”Ah… Flora is sick, I sent her home.” Lu Mi said righteously.

“Hmm. Skipping work means a deduction from pay. Go report to HR.” Luan Nian said with a straight face, making it hard to tell if he was serious.

Lu Mi made a dismissive sound behind him, thinking, I’ll report your beloved Kitty too.

Luan Nian pressed the close button. Sometimes he thought these people were quite stupid. Burning with fever and not going to the hospital, what the hell are you going home for?

He drove to Shang Zhitao’s community entrance and called her. Shang Zhitao didn’t answer, possibly asleep, or simply not wanting to answer.

“Come downstairs,” Luan Nian texted her. “Fill out the leave form.”

Luan Nian used his identity as a boss to pressure her. His official, business-like attitude finally extinguished Shang Zhitao’s anger. She pondered how to reply, then saw his message: “Bring your ID and medical insurance card. Fill it out on my computer.”

…Shang Zhitao felt Luan Nian was overstepping. Did he chase employees home to ask if they filled out the leave system? With so many people in the company, was he going to monitor everyone’s attendance personally? She reluctantly went downstairs and saw Luan Nian had brought the car she had damaged. She felt a bit guilty.

Getting into the car, she said to Luan Nian: “I’m sorry, Luke. I didn’t intentionally not fill out the system. I forgot.”

For some reason, her fever had subsided for a while but now returned. Her throat felt like it was choking with water, making it difficult to speak. She coughed continuously, as if about to suffocate.

Luan Nian waited for her to finish coughing before asking: “Did you bring your ID and medical insurance card?”

“Yes.”

Luan Nian didn’t speak further and started the car. Shang Zhitao was a bit surprised and turned to look at him: “Where are you going?”

Luan Nian didn’t answer her and drove to a hospital near Shang Zhitao’s home.

“Get out.”

“I’m not going to the hospital.” Shang Zhitao had been healthy since childhood but was most afraid of hospitals. Now, seeing the hospital, her legs went weak. She became scared and sat motionless in the car: “I want to go home.”

Luan Nian raised an eyebrow and said: “Let me see who you listed as your emergency contact in the system.” He reached for his computer, and Shang Zhitao hurriedly grabbed his hand: “Don’t.”

Her palm was scorching hot against the back of Luan Nian’s hand. Realizing this was inappropriate, she quickly withdrew her hand: “I’ll go register right now. Thank you for bringing me here.” She didn’t want to be entangled with Luan Nian anymore. These past days, she had thought through many things. She wasn’t like Luan Nian, able to pick things up and put them down easily. She didn’t have that ability. She had inadvertently seen how he was with other women and knew that to him, she was just a means to satisfy physiological needs. It could be her, or it could be someone else. Originally, she thought she wouldn’t care, but she did.

She entered the hospital outpatient department alone, thinking, I’m not getting blood drawn. People came and went in the outpatient department. She walked around, looking for a quiet place to wait a while before going home. Looking back, she saw Luan Nian standing behind her, mocking her: “Don’t recognize the registration window, do you?”

Shang Zhitao pressed her lips together without speaking. She didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t figure out why Luan Nian was meddling. He was just like that—just when you’ve given up, he shows you a bit of kindness, making you think you’re special to him.

Luan Nian didn’t waste words. He walked up to Shang Zhitao and took her ID and medical insurance card from her down jacket pocket, not forgetting to threaten her: “Your emergency contact is named Shang Wenbin, right?”

The threat worked. Shang Zhitao was most afraid of her parents knowing she was sick. During her four years studying in Nanjing, she had been sick once or twice, but always kept it well hidden from them.

So she obediently saw the doctor.