After she finished wiping her hands, Fu Shize naturally took the crumpled tissue from her and tossed it into the nearby trash bin.
"Let's go. Accompany me to pick up some medicine?"
"Oh, sure." Yun Li followed him, and after walking a short distance, she asked directly, "Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
"Insomnia. The doctor prescribed some medication." Without hesitation, Fu Shize handed her the prescription, which listed only two types of medicine.
Noticing Yun Li's serious expression, he chuckled lightly, "What do you think is wrong with me?"
"Nothing, it's just... after all this time, is your insomnia still that severe?"
"It comes and goes." Fu Shize, accustomed to living with insomnia, reassured her, "Just a lot of dreams."
While he queued to collect the medicine, Yun Li searched online for the two drugs listed—common sleeping pills.
Given their current relationship, she didn’t feel it appropriate to probe further. Still, relieved to find nothing too serious, she sighed inwardly.
When Fu Shize returned with the medicine, he glanced at his watch and asked, "What time did you arrange to meet Yun Ye?"
She had nearly forgotten the excuse she’d used earlier. Yun Li blurted out a random time, "Five-thirty."
Fu Shize checked his watch again. "It’s still early. Want to come to my lab?"
Since they had previously agreed to this, Yun Li nodded.
"Take my car." Fu Shize turned his head slightly toward her. Yun Li paused. "I drove here too. We can just drive separately."
Fu Shize replied, "You’re not familiar with the roads here. This area is crowded and not easy to navigate. I’ll bring you back later."
Near the campus hospital was a cafeteria, with bicycles haphazardly parked along the roadside and shadows of people moving about.
It did seem tricky to drive through.
Fu Shize tilted his head slightly, gesturing toward the nearby Little Turtle. "The car’s over there."
"..."
Only then did Yun Li realize that by "car," he meant an electric scooter.
She felt somewhat deceived.
Staring at the Little Turtle, Yun Li fell silent. Its size suggested a high-powered electric scooter, indeed more suited for weaving through campus than a car. The scooter showed signs of age, with patches of rust spotting its metal frame.
Fu Shize gave her no chance to reconsider, cheerfully handing her a brand-new helmet.
She watched as he methodically fastened his own helmet—white, with a dark semi-transparent visor that faintly revealed his eyes behind it.
Noticing Yun Li frozen in place, Fu Shize leaned down, took the helmet from her hands, adjusted the straps, and placed it on her head.
Their proximity brought his arms within her peripheral vision. Once the helmet was secured, Fu Shize stood just ten centimeters away.
"Can you fasten it?"
"Oh..." Hearing this, Yun Li felt for the two straps around her neck. Unfamiliar with the buckle’s mechanism, she fumbled twice without success.
Seeing her struggle, Fu Shize naturally bent down, his face now below her line of sight.
Focusing intently near her neck, he grasped the two straps beneath her chin with both hands.
Yun Li stared at his eyes behind the dark visor. At one point, he glanced up, their gazes meeting briefly.
The moment the buckle clicked into place, his fingertips brushed against her skin, causing Fu Shize to recoil slightly as if shocked.
He quickly turned away, pulling the scooter out and swinging onto it. Tilting his head, he gestured toward the back seat with his chin.
Around them, other scooters zipped past, many carrying passengers. Yun Li didn’t overthink it, carefully seating herself to avoid physical contact.
"Put your hands here."Seemingly aware of her concerns, Fu Shize tapped the body of the vehicle, signaling her to hold on. As soon as Yun Li steadied herself, a gust of wind rushed past, and Little Turtle darted forward on the road.
Ahead was Fu Shize’s back.
She suddenly recalled the motorcycle ride at EAW. So much time had passed, yet her feelings now were unexpectedly similar.
In the rearview mirror, she could see both their faces. The wind visor obscured his eyes, but she could see the curve of Fu Shize’s lips.
The wind lifted her hair into the air as the scenery on both sides flew past rapidly.
He removed his helmet, hung it on the bike, and dismounted with a casual motion. Yun Li lost her balance slightly, but Fu Shize grabbed her arm, holding on until she steadied herself on the ground before letting go.
His lab was on the third floor, consisting of several rooms. Fu Shize took her around each one, explaining his daily work. His routine was monotonous—shuttling between the dormitory and the lab.
Yun Li had no formal scientific training, so while Fu Shize spoke casually, she found herself lost in the details. Still, he was talking more than usual, which was nice.
Their final stop was his office. As they approached the door, Yun Li heard lively chatter inside.
“Holy crap, I saw our senior bring a girl to the lab!”
“Which senior?”
The speaker clicked his tongue. “I only have one senior.”
This was followed by exclamations of disbelief.
“Is she pretty?”
“From our department? Which lab?”
Listening to the rapid-fire questions, Yun Li asked, “Are we still going in?”
Perhaps due to poor soundproofing, the voices inside abruptly stopped, replaced by the sound of chairs scraping as everyone hurriedly sat down.
Yun Li felt even more awkward.
“Do you not want to go in anymore?” Fu Shize countered.
The way he phrased it made it seem like she was the one with something to hide.
Maybe she was overthinking it, but she even detected a hint of amusement in his eyes. Not wanting to leave that impression, she replied straightforwardly, “Let’s go in and take a look.”
Fu Shize swiped his card to open the door. The workspace was clearly tight, with four or five people inside, though partitions separated the desks.
“I’m usually in the office. You can come here if you need anything,” Fu Shize said.
Yun Li thought to herself that there probably wouldn’t be any reason to.
His desk was at the far end, impeccably organized, with everything in its place.
Her gaze landed on the corner of the desk, where she froze—there sat a Paper Light Ball, the one she had taught Fu Shize to fold during their camping trip. This one was more intricate, with hollowed-out patterns and added lighting.
Noticing her stare, Fu Shize picked it up and handed it to her. “I’ve improved quite a bit, haven’t I?”
The Paper Light Ball was meticulously folded, the details flawless, clearly the work of someone skilled. Lost in thought, Yun Li placed it back where it had been.
Seeing her apparent disinterest, Fu Shize paused before picking it up again and setting it in front of her.
“Here,” he said. “Do you want it?”
Yun Li blinked. “Huh?”
“Do you think it’s nice?” he asked.
“It’s very nice,” she answered honestly.
“Then take it if you like it.” His expression remained unchanged as he added, “I make them often.”
As if it were nothing significant.
His persistence struck her as odd, but she reluctantly accepted it. “Oh… thanks.”
He gave a soft hum in response.The others in the office remained silent, the quiet so profound that Yun Li thought it was just the two of them there.
With others present, Yun Li felt too awkward to stay in the office for long. The moment they closed the door behind them, a wave of murmurs erupted inside.
“Is that the girl from senior’s phone lock screen?”
“I think so.”
Yun Li’s steps faltered slightly. Fu Shize was right beside her, so she didn’t dare dwell on it, forcing herself to walk forward as if she hadn’t heard their gossip.
Fu Shize drove her back to the campus hospital on Little Turtle. Along the way, Yun Li couldn’t stop thinking about the teasing remarks from his juniors.
He probably just… didn’t bother changing his lock screen after the breakup.
They arrived in just a few minutes.
Yun Li got off the bike and looked at him. After a long pause, she said, “Thank you.”
Fu Shize’s gaze was gentle as he watched her. Unable to bear it, Yun Li quickly ducked into the car.
She fastened her seatbelt and checked the road on both sides. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Fu Shize still standing there, watching her. Hesitating for a moment, she lowered her head and reversed the car to leave.
When Fu Shize returned to the lab, his juniors were already impatient. Normally, they would have bolted for lunch by now, but today they stubbornly waited for him to come back.
The moment he stepped inside, they all stood up, eyeing him intently.
“...”
“Senior, wasn’t that ball your treasure?” Lin Jingran, a junior in the lab, teased him. The last time he had reached for that ball, Fu Shize had immediately brushed his hand away.
“And you—I fold it often,” Lin Jingran mimicked his tone. “Senior, your way of pursuing someone is way too subtle. Be careful, or she might take it seriously.”
“...” Fu Shize glanced at him and chuckled. “So?”
“Senior, I think you should consider changing your approach,” Lin Jingran said, slinging an arm over his shoulder. “No one could resist a confession from you. Just confess directly, and it’ll work.”
Fu Shize shook his head. “If I confess now, she might delete me on WeChat.”
Lin Jingran disagreed. “Who would dare delete you on WeChat?”
Fu Shize replied nonchalantly, “She’s done it twice.”
“...And you’re still pursuing her?” Lin Jingran was utterly baffled. In their eyes, someone like Fu Shize—a prodigy—should have smooth sailing in love.
“Yeah.” Fu Shize acknowledged, then frowned when he noticed everyone staring at him. “What?”
“Nothing, just… you’re too pitiful, senior,” Lin Jingran blurted out. “Senior, so many people are chasing after you. You don’t have to… She deleted you twice. That’s way too capricious…”
“It’s fine if she’s a little capricious,” Fu Shize said casually, pulling out a chair to sit down.
Lin Jingran, being Fu Shize’s little fan, felt indignant on his behalf. “Senior, are you maybe… a little too lovesick?”
Fu Shize had never imagined someone would describe him that way and didn’t respond.
The others, seeing him start working, scattered like startled birds.
Fu Shize stared at the shared document on his screen—an English paper a junior was writing, with three or four people editing simultaneously.
He typed a few characters.
The memory of touching her neck earlier flashed through his mind. It had been so long since he’d been that close to her. The person he’d been dreaming about was right in front of him today. Several times, he’d almost blurted out a plea to reconcile.
Lost in thought, Fu Shize didn’t notice what he was typing into the document.
“Senior, you’re in the wrong document,” a junior beside him couldn’t take it anymore and reminded him.Fu Shize snapped back to reality and realized he had typed "Lili" several times in the shared English document. The Chinese characters stood out glaringly amidst the text.
He could almost hear the muffled snickers from others in the lab, likely agreeing with what Lin Jingran had said earlier.
He deleted the characters one by one.
So what if he was lovestruck? Let them think that.
...
After returning home, Yun Li brought the Paper Light Ball into her room. She didn’t want to place too much importance on a casually given gift—it might seem like she still hadn’t moved on.
She found a safe, empty shelf to store it and left it untouched.
Sitting back on the edge of her bed, she kicked her legs lightly, replaying their interactions from earlier that day.
He had been so close to her today.
Close enough for Yun Li to see the faint lines on his lips.
She didn’t want to overthink things or repeat past mistakes.
In her last relationship, she had withered away from constant uncertainty and doubt.
If Fu Shize didn’t give clear signals, she didn’t want to speculate anymore.
But what if he did?
Yun Li hadn’t considered that possibility. Her mind went blank for a moment.
She couldn’t even imagine how she would react.
Rolling onto her side on the bed, she grabbed her phone.
Better not dwell on it.
...
After a grueling week at work, Yun Li finally made it to Friday and took half a day off. She hadn’t been lying at home for long when Yun Ye sent her a message—
[Yun Li, I got bitten by a bug. I’m at the campus hospital.]
The message startled her so much she jumped out of bed.
The situation was simple. The summer heat in West Fuling brought swarms of insects. Yun Ye had been in a first-floor classroom when he was inexplicably bitten, leaving a large, swollen patch.
Coincidentally, the class was "Fundamentals of Control Engineering," and Fu Shize, as the teaching assistant, had driven him straight to the campus hospital.
Who would have thought their next meeting would be at the hospital again? Yun Li hastily greeted Fu Shize before rushing into the clinic.
A nurse was disinfecting Yun Ye’s wound.
"You’re fine, aren’t you? Why did you even call—" Yun Li leaned in and whispered, "Why did you call him?"
Injured and now accused of ulterior motives, Yun Ye stared at her in disbelief. After a long pause, he said, "He insisted on bringing me here."
"Who knows? Maybe he wanted to see you." Yun Ye’s tone dripped with sarcasm, clearly annoyed by her lack of concern.
"Fine." Yun Li decided not to argue with the patient and frowned. "Where were you bitten?"
"My hand. And my back." Yun Ye sat still, enduring the treatment for a few minutes. The bites were uncomfortable, and he clenched his jaw, eyes shut tight.
Yun Li lifted his shirt to check—his back was covered in a large red patch, with only a small, bean-sized wound at the center. It looked unsettling.
Yun Ye was mortified. "What are you doing? There are people around."
"Alright, alright." Ignoring his protests, Yun Li patted his head soothingly. "Once the nurse finishes treating you, it won’t hurt anymore."
"..."
Being treated like a toddler, Yun Ye turned his face away, biting back his irritation. Noticing her worried expression from the corner of his eye, he waved her off. "Just wait outside."
"Thank you for your help," Yun Li said politely to the nurse before stepping out. Fu Shize was leaning against the wall.
"Thank you for bringing Yun Ye to the hospital today. I can handle the rest," she hinted that he could leave.
Fu Shize shook his head. "I’m free right now."
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