Yun Li thought Fu Shize was completely drunk out of his mind.
He released her, then hooked his arm around her neck from the other side, rubbing against her right ear in the same manner. His tone was almost pleading: "I just told you—don’t always reject me."
"When have I always rejected you?" Yun Li immediately retorted. Knowing he had drunk quite a bit with Yun Yongchang tonight, she sighed and turned to look at him. "Is your stomach upset? Let’s not talk for now. I’ll take you back to your dorm."
"I’m fine." Fu Shize’s expression was calm, appearing completely normal.
If not for the faint redness on his neck, Yun Li wouldn’t have been able to tell he had been drinking.
"You were mean to me just now."
Yun Li: "..."
Ah, and then there was his nonsensical rambling.
Yun Li coaxed him like a child: "How could I ever be mean to you?"
Fu Shize stared at her for a long moment before slowly asking, "How are you going to prove it?"
"..."
Yun Li was at a loss for words but patiently explained, "What you just said can’t be proven. It’s the same as asking me to prove I ate yesterday."
She rambled on, but Fu Shize didn’t seem to hear her, answering his own question instead: "A kiss means you weren’t mean."
"..."
They had already reached the car. Yun Li tried to shove him into the passenger seat, but Fu Shize stubbornly pressed her against the side of the car, murmuring, "Then let me prove it for you, Lili."
He pinned her hands against the car door before she could react. His warm tongue licked her lower lip, then slipped inside, forcing her to tilt her head back in response.
Yun Li drove Fu Shize to buy some liver-protecting medicine. At home, Fu Shize had still been struggling to stay somewhat sober, but once they reached the dorm, he collapsed onto the bed, ready to sleep.
"Get up first." Yun Li tugged at his arm. Fu Shize murmured softly, "Lili, don’t fuss." He pulled the blanket up to his shoulders like an obedient child in kindergarten. "I need to sleep for a bit."
"This is the last time you drink, understand?" Yun Li sat beside him, her voice tinged with concern. "Tonight, I almost wanted to fight my dad over it."
He let out a vague hum in response.
Yun Li sat there for a few minutes. Fu Shize seemed to have truly fallen asleep.
The drawer wasn’t fully closed. She pulled it open and found several boxes of sleeping pills inside, two of which were already three-quarters empty.
She stayed silent for a moment before getting up and heading to the water room to fetch hot water. She mixed it with cold water until the temperature was just right, then carried it back to the room.
First, she dampened a tissue and gently wiped his face, her fingers tracing from his long lashes to his straight nose, then to his thin lips.
She hesitated for a moment before lifting the blanket and staring at his collar. Gathering her courage, she reached out.
As she undid the second button, her gaze drifted up to his face. Recalling the events of the evening, she knew that although Yun Yongchang rarely showed his emotions, he must have taken quite a liking to Fu Shize.
Their relationship had taken another step forward, leaving her with an unreal feeling.
Yun Li kissed the corner of his lips, then focused on unbuttoning his shirt and wiping his body with a towel.
When it came to his lower half, she poked him. "Take off your pants before sleeping."
Fu Shize didn’t respond.
Assuming he was asleep, Yun Li wrestled with herself for a moment but ultimately couldn’t muster the courage. She simply tucked the blanket around him.
The man on the bed chuckled softly and opened his eyes. "Not going to continue?"
"..."Yun Li just wanted to drag him out of bed and give him a good beating. With a stern expression, she asked, "You've been awake this whole time?"
Seeing her darkened face, Fu Shize, perhaps emboldened by alcohol, didn't seem intimidated. He simply responded with an "Mhm."
"..."
Fuming, Yun Li strode over to him. Fu Shize turned onto his side, resting his right arm under his head. From her vantage point above him, Yun Li could see the reflection of the light in his hazy eyes.
Fu Shize patted the space beside him. When Yun Li didn't move, he called out again with a smile, "Come here."
The tenderness in his voice melted her anger. She sat back down beside him, her legs dangling and kicking lightly at the edge of the bed.
Fu Shize lay on his side, wrapping an arm around her waist from behind and asking softly, "Why did you wipe me down?"
Yun Li answered honestly, "You were all sticky. I wanted you to sleep more comfortably."
He tightened his grip slightly, pulling her closer, the corners of his eyes crinkling with a faint smile.
Yun Li lowered her head, her fingertips tracing the back of his hand.
From behind her came his affectionate voice.
"I love you."
...
When they got home, Yun Li stopped by Yun Ye's room. His face was buried entirely in his pillow. She nudged him twice, surprised. "How can you even breathe like this?"
It was clear to Yun Li now—Yun Ye's alcohol tolerance was probably about as low as hers.
After two nudges yielded no response, she bent down and used a bit more force to turn him onto his side, ensuring he could breathe easier.
She hadn't turned on the light, so the only illumination came from the living room, casting a faint glow on Yun Ye's profile.
Yun Li wiped his face with a damp towel. He frowned, swatted her hand away, and rolled over, pulling the blanket over his head.
She didn’t scold him as she normally would.
Maybe because Yun Ye had taken those drinks for her sake.
...
The year-end days flew by in a blur. Yun Li was swamped with work—not only was she writing her graduation thesis, but she had also started her internship early at the company.
Her department was responsible for game development. The team was small, with each member juggling multiple projects simultaneously. On her very first day, Yun Li was assigned to shadow several projects to learn the ropes.
Her work primarily involved coding for game implementation, and one of the projects she was assigned to was developing a VR game commissioned by EAW.
On her first day at the company, Zhou Tiao came over to check on her.
Zhou Tiao smiled. "How are you settling in?"
Not wanting to seem like she was relying on connections, Yun Li politely and professionally thanked him for his concern.
"Yanxin, why don’t you mentor her? You're the best at guiding newcomers here," Zhou Tiao said, calling over Zhang Yanxin, who was sitting nearby.
As a leader, Zhou Tiao wasn’t stingy with praise for his employees. Zhang Yanxin nodded shyly.
Suddenly, Yun Li understood why Zhang Yanxin hadn’t shared Zhou Tiao’s contact with her.
She usually steered clear of office politics, but since she’d be working closely with Zhang Yanxin for a while, she decided to clarify after Zhou Tiao left. "My boyfriend is friends with the team lead from their school days. I hope you don’t misunderstand."
Hearing this, Zhang Yanxin’s attitude toward her did a complete 180.
Not only did she start treating Yun Li with extra care in daily tasks, but she also included her in the year-end business trip to EAW.
Yun Li had already planned to visit Jiang Yuan’s parents in Nanwu, so she took advantage of the opportunity and booked a flight for the weekend. Her colleague Zhang Yanxin wouldn’t arrive in Nanwu until Monday.When Yun Li mentioned going to Nanwu to Fu Shize, he simply sent her a picture—his flight information.
【Let’s go together.】
Yun Li was stunned. This trip was meant for her to meet Jiang Yuan’s parents. After a pause, she replied: 【Why are you going? You haven’t finished your doctoral thesis yet, and I have work to do there.】
Perhaps her refusal was too obvious, because Fu Shize responded: 【Can’t I go?】
Those five words even carried a hint of grievance.
Yun Li had no choice but to say: 【I’ll be really busy, you know.】
【Mm. I’ll wait for you at home.】
Staring at this message, Yun Li finally realized he meant they would stay together at South River Garden.
This business trip involved two full-time employees plus her, making three in total. If she had her own accommodation, the other two could share a standard hotel room.
Thinking about this, Yun Li casually grabbed some clothes from her wardrobe and tossed them into a small suitcase along with her makeup bag.
After squatting in front of the suitcase for a while, she furtively got up, retrieved three small pouches from her locked drawer, and carefully tucked them into the hidden compartment of her makeup bag.
A moment later, she took all the clothes out again, rummaged through her wardrobe, and held them up against herself one by one.
In the midst of this, Fu Shize called her on video. He had propped his phone on the bedside, sitting on a chair with his elbows resting on his knees, leaning slightly forward to look at the camera.
“Are you done packing?” Yun Li asked guiltily, her tone unnatural.
Fu Shize: “No need. There are clothes there.”
Still buried in her wardrobe, Yun Li replied absentmindedly, “Oh… I’m still picking out outfits.”
After a few seconds of silence, his voice came through her earphones: “Why are you picking?”
His tone was cool as always, but his words made her flush.
“……”
Yun Li stayed silent for a long while, unable to comprehend how Fu Shize’s mind worked.
When she didn’t respond, Fu Shize continued, “Picking out which clothes?”
Which… clothes…
Yun Li glared at the screen, and Fu Shize promptly fell silent.
The flight was early Saturday morning. Fu Shize picked Yun Li up from her place, and they took a taxi to the airport together.
After two and a half hours in the air, Yun Li stepped back into the bright, spacious Nanwu Airport.
Fu Shize walked slightly ahead of her, pulling the small suitcase. Nanwu was already in winter, the air bitingly cold. Dressed in a long black coat, he looked lean but carried an unapproachable aura.
Lost in thought, she recalled the night they first met—back then, he had been pale and fragile, exuding an intense sense of detachment.
Noticing she was lagging two steps behind, Fu Shize stopped and turned to look at her.
He held out his hand.
She obediently placed her hand in his palm and asked, “Do you remember when you picked me up at the airport back then?”
Fu Shize: “Mm.”
“I think,” Yun Li pondered, then said firmly, “you were cooler back then.”
“……”
“You seemed untouchable, but maybe that distance was what made you so attractive.”
“From what you just said,” Fu Shize deadpanned, staring at her, “it sounds like you don’t find me very attractive anymore.”
“……”
Flustered, Yun Li tried to explain, “That’s not what I meant…”
“Not what you meant?” Fu Shize repeated the key phrase skeptically.Yun Li thought he was upset about it, and a sense of unease crept into her heart as she walked forward.
His grip on her hand didn’t loosen. After a few steps, Yun Li stole a glance at Fu Shize and noticed he was touching his own cheek, as if adjusting his expression. A few seconds later, he looked at her with an indifferent face and asked in a completely emotionless tone, “Is this better?”
“…”
Seeing her speechless expression, Fu Shize frowned. “Not convincing?”
“…”
The entire way, Fu Shize maintained his cold demeanor. Even after getting into the taxi, he sat by the window, keeping a noticeable distance from Yun Li as he stared blankly outside.
Yun Li found his behavior childish and struggled to suppress her laughter.
Fu Shize lowered his head and tapped on his phone: [Cool?]
Yun Li: [Ultra cool!!!!]
A few seconds later—
Yun Li: [But I think you have potential for emotional neglect. For the past half hour, you’ve been giving me the cold shoulder qaq]
Fu Shize was both amused and exasperated. Seeing this message, he fell even more silent, leaning against the corner like an icy statue.
When the taxi arrived at the entrance of South River Garden, Fu Shize was paying the fare.
The driver hesitated, then seemed to steel himself before turning to Yun Li. “Miss, if anything’s wrong, remember to call the police.”
“…”
Fu Shize pulled Yun Li out of the car, his expression unreadable, giving no hint of his thoughts.
The furnishings in South River Garden were almost unchanged from when she had left. The room was dimly lit, dust floating in the air. As soon as they entered, Fu Shize took out the pair of couple slippers they had bought from the shoe cabinet.
While Yun Li changed her shoes, he went to draw the curtains.
Everything related to her—he hadn’t thrown any of it away, nor even packed it up. He had left everything exactly where it was.
It was as if she had never left.
As if she had just been away from home for a long time.
After removing the dust cover from the sofa, Fu Shize wiped the surface clean with a wet wipe.
Yun Li helped him. Once cleaned, the sofa was still damp when Fu Shize suddenly pressed her onto it. Her hands touched the cool fabric. Looking up, she saw the coldness on his face crack, replaced by a faint smile as he said slowly, “You think I have potential for emotional neglect.”
“Even the driver thought I was neglecting you emotionally and told you to call the police.” Since she had said so, Fu Shize figured he might as well put it into practice. He asked, “Should I show you some actual violence now?”
Yun Li’s eyes crinkled with laughter.
Fu Shize looked down at her, still unable to bring himself to be rough. He merely pinched her chin lightly, their gazes locking for a moment before Yun Li wrapped her arms around his neck. “A-Ze, you’re so good to me.”
Fu Shize: “No more talk about emotional neglect?”
“I know you wouldn’t do that.” Yun Li’s tone was firm. Glancing around, she had thought this place had nothing to do with her anymore, yet Fu Shize had never erased her traces. She asked, “Why did you keep all my things?”
Fu Shize: “Couldn’t think of a reason to throw them away.”
Or perhaps, when it came to things related to her, no matter how many reasons there were, he simply didn’t want them to disappear from his world.
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