Chapter 8: Lingering Fear

Hearing the girl casually mention “death,” Yan Ningxi’s heart softened. “Get up and come inside with me.”

She took Ming You into the house and measured her underarm temperature: 37.6°C, a mild fever.

Cold medicine and fever reducers were household staples. Yan Ningxi methodically measured out several pills, boiled some water, and handed them all to Ming You. “Take the medicine.”

“Thank you.” Ming You sat obediently, swallowed the pills without complaint, then said, “I’ll just lie on the sofa for a bit.”

“Suit yourself.”

Her gaze swept over the girl’s wristwatch. The glass was fogged up, and the hands had stopped at an even earlier time.

Yan Ningxi still couldn’t make sense of the girl’s words and actions, and with her own body exhausted, she had no energy to confront her. She grabbed a small blanket, draped it over her, and returned to her room.

A thin chill seeped in through the floor-to-ceiling window that hadn’t been fully closed. On the sofa, the girl clutched the edges of the fleece blanket with both hands, covering most of her face.

The faint fragrance in her breath carried a calming magic like soothing incense, lulling the girl into a beautiful dream she hadn’t had in a long time.

…

Ming You lay there until six in the morning. She placed her handbag from the edge of the sofa onto the coffee table, slipped a pre-written note under it, turned off the spotlight on the TV wall, and left without a word.

Even with her careful movements, the sound of the door opening and closing woke Yan Ningxi.

She hurried to the living room and saw no one there. She immediately called Ming You on voice chat, but no one picked up. Her eyes fell on the paper bag. She picked up the note, which read: Sister Yan, this skirt suits you better.

Inside the bag was a brand-new V-Neck Collared Pure White Mid-Sleeve Long Skirt.

After parting with Jiang Lai at noon, Ming You had been racking her brain for a reason to meet Yan Ningxi. She wandered the mall for a long time before finding this skirt she was satisfied with.

Yan Ningxi folded the skirt neatly and put it back in the bag. She changed clothes and chased after her, but all she saw was Ming You hunching over as she climbed into a yellow taxi.

No answer on voice chat, no replies to messages. Worried about her condition, Yan Ningxi relied on the hotel info from the room keycard in her memory and took a cab straight there.

Outside room 503, she knocked, but no one opened. Calls to the room phone and the registered mobile went unanswered.

In desperation, Yan Ningxi used her ID card as collateral. “I’ll leave my ID at the front desk. Just have someone accompany me up to open the door and check if she’s there. If she’s not, I won’t go in.”

“Alright.” The staff, seeing her sincerity and assuming she wasn’t trouble, also concerned for the guest’s safety, agreed to go up with her under the pretense of housekeeping.

But the room was empty—no sign of the girl. Even from the doorway, they could see her luggage was still there, and the floral long skirt Yan Ningxi had given her hung on the drying rack in the entryway.

Mindful of guest privacy and property security, the staff didn’t let Yan Ningxi enter. They stepped inside for a quick look and said, “Miss Yan, there’s definitely no one in the room. Why don’t you try calling your friend again? Ask about her other friends or family, or wait in the lobby downstairs?”

“Okay, I’ll wait downstairs.”

…

Yan Ningxi waited anxiously in the lobby. An hour later, she finally spotted Ming You, her clothes stained with blood. Her worry instantly escalated into lingering fear.

“Ming You.”

The girl looked dazed until she heard someone call her name.

The woman approached, grabbing her arm with one hand and brushing aside the stray hairs blocking her face with the other. She scanned her from head to toe. “Are you hurt?”

Ming You’s face was pale, too weak to even shake her head, but she forced a smile and made a pushing motion. “Don’t get your hands dirty, Sister Yan.”

Yan Ningxi’s heart ached fiercely.

The phone slipped from the girl’s hand, landing screen-down between their feet.

As Yan Ningxi reached to pick it up, Ming You, sensing her intent, grabbed her wrist. “Don’t bend down. It’s not worth it.” With that, she borrowed Yan Ningxi’s support to lean down, scooped it up herself, and clutched it tightly.

Yan Ningxi understood the self-mockery in her words. After repeatedly checking and confirming no injuries on her body and that the blood wasn’t hers, she helped her upstairs to the room.

The bed was a mess, with large and small bath towels and hand towels draped over the edge. The bathroom was chaotic too, the girl’s clothes from when she’d come over for dinner the evening before on the shelf. The bathtub was full of water, and after a night, the floor still wasn’t dry.

After tidying the messy bathroom, Yan Ningxi picked up the pajamas she’d left on the bed. “Do you have the strength to change and freshen up?”

“No strength. Does that mean Sister Yan’s going to help me bathe?” Ming You was just mouthing off; she had no real intention of having Yan Ningxi wash her.

“If you don’t mind, we can give it a try.”

“…” Ming You had dug her own pit. She turned away, hugged the clothes, and shut the bathroom door.

A simple rinse drained all her energy. She emerged with wet hair. Yan Ningxi pulled her over, making her lean against the wall. “Dry your hair before you sleep.”

Her head felt heavy, eyelids drooping. Unknowingly, Ming You’s hand grabbed at Yan Ningxi’s waistband, and her weight slowly shifted.

Her defenses against Yan Ningxi crumbled bit by bit through these repeated embraces.

Yan Ningxi had always disliked the cheap scent of hotel body wash and shampoo. But as the girl leaned in, her usual scent surprisingly carried a faint lemon fragrance.

Lemon, summer, sunlight.

Passionate.

Yet the girl’s temperament had nothing to do with those words.

After blow-drying her hair, Yan Ningxi patted her back. “Lie down on the bed first. I’ll go buy some medicine and food. If you’re still feeling bad past noon, we’ll go to the hospital.”

The girl lifted her heavy eyelids. “Mm, I’ll listen to Sister Yan.”

Before leaving, Yan Ningxi paused at the door for a moment. She stared blankly at the bed, seemingly judging if the girl on it was asleep.

Where did the blood come from?

The huge question loomed over Yan Ningxi’s head. She wanted to know, but she couldn’t force Ming You to answer right now. Even if it was out of genuine concern, what identity or position gave her the right to ask?

After all, just yesterday, she’d driven Ming You out the door with “it’s none of your business” and “this is my personal privacy.” Wasn’t this just what goes around comes around?

…

When Yan Ningxi returned, the girl had turned from facing the window to facing the door. Both hands were outside the covers, her left holding the phone, which was plugged into a charger.

Clearly, the girl had done it herself after she left.

The girl slept soundly.

Yan Ningxi raised the room temperature by two degrees. Her gaze lingered on the cracked phone screen for a moment before carefully placing the phone on the bedside table.

Then she settled into the sofa, adjusted to a comfortable position, propped her head, and closed her eyes for a nap. Her sleep quality had always been poor; on workdays, she usually got only six or seven hours, and that was assuming she went to bed early.

Her eyes opened again after just a few seconds.

She recalled that night at the bar, when she’d guarded the drunken girl on the sofa all night too. Only at dawn, confirming she was fine, did she set a wake-up call and breakfast service as a precaution before leaving.

In just a few short days, this unpredictable girl had taken up most of her time and thoughts, completely disrupting her routine and always catching her off guard.

With her steady and reserved personality, Yan Ningxi’s life had always been bland from childhood, her pace steady, her social circle narrow and uniform.

Since becoming a teacher, it was even more so—school and apartment, back and forth, her only entertainment watching TV. She didn’t watch variety shows or dramas; she watched the cartoon Tom and Jerry.

That was her secret, known only to Qi Xuexin.

Beyond that, most joys in life were “imposed” on her by Qi Xuexin.

Qi Xuexin came over nearly every week to mooch meals, telling her bizarre jokes and unreliable school gossip, along with half-true updates on university classmates.

Other activities like hiking or outings were, in Qi Xuexin’s words, to prevent her from suppressing herself too long, risking depression, so she dragged her out with every trick in the book.

The bar was another place Qi Xuexin had been pushing her to go for the past two years.

In Qi Xuexin’s vivid descriptions, bars were paradise—with fine wine, gourmet food, beauties, and music. But none of that appealed to her, so it held no attraction.

She never thought people who went to bars were all lacking in self-respect; otherwise, she wouldn’t patiently listen to Qi Xuexin’s endless tales of her “adventures” there.

On the contrary, she envied her. Envied Qi Xuexin’s straightforward views on relationships, her free-spirited, vibrant life.

She’d been stifled for too long.

She’d thought she’d never set foot in such a place, but after going once, she couldn’t extricate herself.

Among Qi Xuexin’s “adventures,” Yan Ningxi had heard similar stories. Stories with a romantic opening between her and her, a night of unspoken passion, no details, no aftermath.

Say goodbye at dawn, never to meet again—the unspoken rule for adults. She’d never played such games, yet she’d become a player.

…

Approaching noon, Ming You’s fever still hadn’t broken. Yan Ningxi woke her. “Change clothes. We’re going to the hospital—no bargaining.”

The girl rolled over, her voice weak but cold. “Not going.”

“I’m not joking.”

Yan Ningxi grabbed the blanket to pull it back. The girl rolled toward her, eyes open, clutching the blanket tightly, lips pursed. “Sister Yan’s so fierce. Didn’t you go buy medicine? I’ll take it. Can I skip the hospital?”

“Ming You.” Weakened by her coquetry, Yan Ningxi handed her the prepared medicine and water. “No later than three this afternoon. If your temperature doesn’t drop, you go to the hospital with me.”

“Okay.” She sat up obediently, finished the medicine, and spotted the new mercury thermometer on the cabinet. She smiled at Yan Ningxi. “Sister Yan, go handle your business. I’ll be good—I’ll check my temperature every hour, send you photos as proof.”

Yan Ningxi had no special plans that day. She sat on the bed’s edge, watching the girl intently. “Tell me first—where did the blood come from?”

She couldn’t relax without knowing. Even risking a rebuff, she had to ask.

Eyes on the window, Ming You said indifferently, “Just from a stray cat. It died.”