Shen Tingwan was so sleepy that she drifted off again. When she woke up next, it was already past eight o’clock. She stretched out her arm to grope toward the side of the bed, but found nothing there, and only then did she open her eyes.
The blackout curtains blocked out the sunlight, leaving the bedroom dim.
As she gradually woke up, she stared at the empty pillow beside her, lost in lazy reverie. Thinking back to what had happened before dawn, a smile tugged at the corners of her lips.
Exhausted from the business trip and all the socializing on top of it, Shen Tingwan lingered in bed a little longer before getting up to wash up.
Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, she saw the obvious fatigue on her face. Shen Tingwan tugged up the neckline of her nightgown—it was indeed a bit too low. Thinking of something, she wanted to laugh again.
Sang Ning had already been busy for quite a while. She hadn’t gotten enough sleep yet had gotten up early. She pushed through with her energy, but fortunately, the compensation for this business trip was generous, so she didn’t have too many complaints about the fatigue.
The sunlight by the seaside was intensely blinding. In the morning, Sang Ning continued with her photoshoot tasks, while Shen Tingwan had her own work arrangements. They each busied themselves separately.
Around eleven o’clock, they bumped into each other in the hotel’s long corridor. Shen Tingwan had applied slightly heavier makeup, looking radiant and full of vigor as she walked with a spring in her step.
She was completely different from the lazy, coquettish version in bed. When they met face-to-face, Sang Ning couldn’t help but smile.
Sang Ning was almost bare-faced, and Shen Tingwan could tell she was pretty tired too.
After lunch, Shen Tingwan’s work wrapped up, but Sang Ning still had a few more sets of photos to shoot at the hotel.
“Aren’t you leaving now, Editor Shen?”
“You all go ahead. You’ve worked hard.”
“Then we’ll arrange another car for you separately.”
Shen Tingwan said it wasn’t necessary. She had her principles—personal schedule changes couldn’t be charged to business expenses.
In the afternoon, Shen Tingwan went to the shooting site.
Sang Ning was busy, her long hair loosely piled up at the back of her head, revealing a section of her fair and pretty nape.
Shen Tingwan watched closely from the side. She quite liked seeing Sang Ning at work—quiet and focused, radiating vitality and passion.
It was a long time before she was noticed.
When Sang Ning turned back, her eyes lit up a little. She had thought Shen Tingwan would have gone back first.
Shen Tingwan gave her a helpless smile.
During a work break, the hotel sent over afternoon tea. Everyone gathered to eat, and Shen Tingwan sat down too.
Someone asked, “Hasn’t Teacher Shen left yet?”
Shen Tingwan smiled faintly. “I still have a bit of business.”
Sang Ning sipped her black coffee to perk herself up, then picked up her phone and sent a WeChat message. Shen Tingwan was sitting right across from her, and the next second, Sang Ning saw her check her phone.
The two of them faced each other, quietly chatting via WeChat without a word.
[Sang Ning] Not done yet?
[Shen Tingwan] Done.
[Shen Tingwan] Later, ride back with me in my car. Just us, no one else.
[Sang Ning] Are you waiting for me?
[Shen Tingwan] Only just noticed?
Sang Ning glanced at her and replied: No need to wait for me.
Shen Tingwan didn’t reply. Instead, she lifted her head and stared straight at her.
After being stared at for a while, Sang Ning lowered her head and typed back a “Okay.”
The afternoon tasks weren’t heavy, and they wrapped up before three o’clock. Sang Ning didn’t leave with the other colleagues. After the others had gone, she got into a car with Shen Tingwan to head back.
It was an MPV, spacious enough for resting. Only after they were alone in the back did it finally feel like the workday was over.
Shen Tingwan unscrewed a bottle of water and handed it over. Sang Ning took it smoothly, growing more and more accustomed to Shen Tingwan’s thoughtful care.
It would still take several hours to get back to Birch City. Sang Ning hadn’t slept a full seven hours the night before, and as soon as she sat down in the car, exhaustion washed over her.
Shen Tingwan turned to her and said, “If you’re sleepy, take a nap.”
She always seemed to guess Sang Ning’s thoughts. Unable to hold back, Sang Ning asked, “How do you know I’m sleepy?”
“You got up so early—how could you not be?” Shen Tingwan laughed, gazing at her softly. “Your eyelids are fighting.”
Looking at her smile, Sang Ning smiled too, her heart feeling warm.
Shen Tingwan helped adjust her seat to recline a bit flatter and urged softly, “Get some sleep.”
Sang Ning was exhausted beyond measure. If she were riding with others, she wouldn’t sleep no matter how tired she was, but with Shen Tingwan beside her, she could relax a lot more.
At first, Sang Ning was in a half-asleep, half-awake state. But after they hit the highway, she couldn’t hold on any longer and slept the whole way, leaning against the seat.
Shen Tingwan watched the scenery pass by, glancing occasionally at the person beside her. Sang Ning stayed perfectly still the entire time, her sleeping posture as proper as could be.
It hadn’t been a boring business trip.
As dusk fell, the endless highway was bathed in romantic sunset glow.
Shen Tingwan looked back, and Sang Ning was still sleeping soundly, gentle sunlight falling on her. She stared at that soft face for a long time, feeling a warm, peaceful sense of security.
After returning from the business trip, Birch City’s weather turned erratic, flipping between summer and winter several times before ending with a sharp drop in temperature.
That morning, Sang Ning rushed out and casually bought a hot latte from a street vendor. It was so bad she frowned. She snapped a photo and sent it to Shen Tingwan, saying she’d gotten some really awful coffee.
Probably because Shen Tingwan had been contacting her so much lately, reaching out to her had become natural for Sang Ning too.
Shen Tingwan started sharing many things with her—talking about collaborations, meetings, overtime, socializing, whether she’d drunk alcohol, what she’d had for dinner… like reporting in.
Sang Ning was naturally happy to oblige. Even without meeting, she knew what Shen Tingwan was up to. They went back and forth now, and she no longer held back on messaging frequency like before. She sent whatever she wanted, sometimes bombarding Shen Tingwan with photos in a single day.
[Shen Tingwan] It’s going to cool down again tomorrow.
[Shen Tingwan] Stay warm.
[Sang Ning] You too.
With the recent cold snap, lots of people caught the flu. Yu Shuang had fallen victim too, swapping her milk tea for hot cold medicine packets, and it took her days to recover.
At noon, Sang Ning felt a bit dizzy. She lay on her desk for a nap, and when she woke, her body felt hot—unnaturally hot.
There was a thermometer in the office. She dug it out and took her temperature.
Seeing her suddenly checking her temperature, Yu Shuang asked in a thick nasal voice, “No way, you’ve caught it too?”
“Something like a fever,” Sang Ning said. She used the digital thermometer, and soon it beeped.
Yu Shuang asked, “How high?”
Sang Ning looked at the reading. “37.5.”
A low-grade fever, not high enough for fever reducers yet.
Yu Shuang: “Shouldn’t you go home?”
Sang Ning thought of the urgent work on her plate that needed finishing today. “It’s fine.”
Yu Shuang knew her temperament. “Don’t push yourself.”
Sang Ning knew her limits. “Yeah.”
In the afternoon, Yu Shuang headed out for a shoot. Sang Ning sat at her computer editing photos, her body persistently hot. It wasn’t pleasant; she checked her temperature every hour, but the low fever lingered.
Sang Ning was sensitive about fevers. Her hearing loss had come from a high fever in childhood, so every time she had one—even asleep—she had nightmares.
A low fever wasn’t terribly serious, but it was grinding. Fevers were one of the few things that could really get her down. In the afternoon, she applied a fever patch, but it didn’t help much.
The hazy state dragged on until evening.
Sang Ning barely managed to finish her work. She picked up her phone and hesitated before messaging Shen Tingwan: Suddenly got a fever.*
After sending it, she thought better of it and deleted the message.
Sang Ning checked her temperature again—it had risen instead of dropping. Still uneasy, she decided to go to the hospital.
As she prepared to leave the studio, her phone rang. Seeing the caller ID, Sang Ning picked up immediately. “Senior Sister.”
“What did you just send me?”
Sang Ning laughed it off. “Nothing, sent by mistake.”
Shen Tingwan heard her voice sounding off from usual. “What’s wrong? Not feeling well?”
Sang Ning hadn’t even realized it was that obvious, but under Shen Tingwan’s question, she couldn’t help admitting, “Suddenly got a bit of a fever.”
Shen Tingwan: “How high? Taken medicine?”
Hearing that gentle concern, Sang Ning wanted to push her luck and ask to meet, but it was just a thought. She knew Shen Tingwan had other plans that night, so in the end, she said lightly, “Not serious. It’s fine.”
She didn’t mention going to the hospital, not wanting to worry her.
Shen Tingwan: “Really fine?”
Sang Ning affirmed clearly, “Yeah.”
After a brief pause.
Shen Tingwan said, “I’m coming over now.”
“Senior Sister…” Sang Ning wanted to say no need, but heard Shen Tingwan softly say “I’ll be quick,” which settled her instantly.
Shen Tingwan rearranged her schedule on the fly, driving through the night. Ten-odd minutes later, she pulled up at the familiar studio entrance.
Sang Ning stared at the person pushing through the door, speechless for a moment. The one she wanted to see had appeared right before her eyes—
Shen Tingwan walked over and first touched her forehead. Her own hand was a bit cool, making it feel especially hot. “Feeling bad?”
Sang Ning was never one to trouble others, but facing Shen Tingwan now, she didn’t put up a front for once. “Yeah.”
Shen Tingwan: “Eaten anything?”
Sang Ning couldn’t control her gaze and kept staring at her. “Not yet…”
Shen Tingwan: “Eat something. We’re going to the hospital.”
“Senior Sister.” Sang Ning reined in her eyes a bit before remembering to ask, “Didn’t you have plans tonight? How’d you still come over?”
Shen Tingwan stared into her pretty eyes, vaguely seeing something there. After a quiet moment, “I feel like you wanted me to come…”
Sang Ning’s thoughts were seen through, leaving her in a moment of silence.
Shen Tingwan pressed bluntly, “Don’t you?”
