Chapter 46

On the morning of the second day, Lin Qimian went for her jog dressed in a tank top and shorts. That afternoon, Xu Yueliang’s performance at the Starlight Awards came midway through the event, but it still stunned countless viewers.

Lin Qimian watched as Moon’s follower count on Orange more than doubled in a single day. That evening, she went out for another night run.

On the third day, Huang Xiaoyi arrived right on time outside Lin Qimian’s apartment. Lin Qimian opened the door, and Huang Xiaoyi looked at her, pausing for a moment before saying, “Wow~ Doctor Lin, you look so beautiful even when you’re sick~~~”

Lin Qimian turned and headed back inside. “The blue pair of slippers.”

Huang Xiaoyi changed into them, set down her bag, and walked further in while taking it all in. “Ever since you bought this place, this must be… only the third time I’ve come over?”

Lin Qimian handed her a drink. “Is that right?”

Huang Xiaoyi nodded. “Yeah. Once for your housewarming, and once last year when I had a huge fight with my roommate and had nowhere to go in the middle of the night—you took me in. That’s it.”

Lin Qimian said, “You can come over more often.”

Huang Xiaoyi replied, “Your attitude doesn’t exactly say that.”

Lin Qimian handed her the juice. “The one you like.”

Huang Xiaoyi took it happily and chugged a big gulp. “But I still love you anyway.”

Once they were seated, Huang Xiaoyi took a good look around the apartment.

It wasn’t overly luxurious—just a spacious flat with floor-to-ceiling windows in the heart of the city, furnished with tasteful, high-quality decor.

Lin Qimian didn’t like big changes; everything was neatly arranged and orderly. Compared to the last visit, the only differences were more books on the shelves and new curtains and decorations.

It was so enviably perfect it made her eyes water.

“Sigh…” Huang Xiaoyi let out a long breath.

Lin Qimian immediately asked, “What’s wrong? Is something off?”

Huang Xiaoyi said, “Everything’s off when you’re a working stiff looking at this.”

Lin Qimian pressed, “Tell me specifics. Is the decor too cold? Does it feel stiff and uncomfortable? Are the colors not bright enough? Do the decorations seem a bit odd?”

Huang Xiaoyi: “…”

Lin Qimian picked up her phone. “I think it’s not quite right either. I’ll have someone send over some paintings and flowers.”

Huang Xiaoyi grabbed her wrist. “No need for that.”

She thought for a moment, then explained to Lin Qimian, “When you’re adding approachability, you still need to keep some… of that aloof sophistication.”

Lin Qimian: “???”

Huang Xiaoyi continued, “That way, people will admire you, like you, feel bold enough to get close, and be full of anticipation.”

Lin Qimian: “…”

Huang Xiaoyi added, “The apartment’s fine as is. Just tweak yourself a bit.”

She looked Lin Qimian up and down. Lin Qimian was dressed in soft loungewear that had no particular shape to it, but with her long legs and arms, she made it look like it was tailored for a mannequin.

Her posture was upright, and she had a healthy glow.

Huang Xiaoyi: “…”

Huang Xiaoyi asked, “You… look like this when you’re sick?”

Lin Qimian grabbed a tissue, covered her mouth, and let out a sneeze. “I really am sick.”

Huang Xiaoyi: “…”

Lin Qimian clarified, “I’ve got some cold symptoms.”

Huang Xiaoyi: “…………”

Lin Qimian tossed the tissue. “No helping it. I went out three times yesterday—felt okay last night, but there was a hint of fever coming on. Went for a run again this morning, and the symptoms… seem to have eased up a bit…”

Huang Xiaoyi: “…………..”

Lin Qimian rubbed her nose hard, turning the tip bright red. “Does this look convincing now?”

Huang Xiaoyi laughed helplessly and waved her off. “Alright, alright. I didn’t actually want you to make yourself sick for real. We’ll just go with acting.”

Lin Qimian asked, “Starting now?”

Huang Xiaoyi exclaimed, “I haven’t even finished this drink you gave me!!!”

Lin Qimian replied, “You can sip the drink slowly. Moon’s blown up—not just with live streams, but tons of business deals coming her way too.”

Huang Xiaoyi set down her cup. “Let’s go, let’s go—into the bedroom.”

Lin Qimian smiled and led the way inside.

Huang Xiaoyi entered the bedroom and was momentarily dazzled by the Lunar Celestial Chart hanging on the wall.

“You really…” She pointed at Lin Qimian, too exasperated to say more.

The bedding on the bed was perfectly smoothed out. Huang Xiaoyi walked over. “I’m messing this up now, okay?”

Lin Qimian said, “Go ahead.”

Huang Xiaoyi yanked up the covers, shook them out wildly a couple times—but not a single wrinkle appeared. She ended up balling them into a big lump and kneading it fiercely.

Lin Qimian watched with great interest.

Huang Xiaoyi directed her, “Water glass, medicine, thermometer—you’ve got them all?”

Lin Qimian: “Yes.”

Huang Xiaoyi: “Bring them.”

Lin Qimian fetched them. Huang Xiaoyi took them, arranged them on the bedside table, and popped out a few capsules.

“These… don’t waste them.” Huang Xiaoyi stared at the capsules in her hand. “You might as well take them.”

Lin Qimian took them and swallowed them down with some water.

Huang Xiaoyi: “…”

Lin Qimian said nonchalantly, “I think I’ve caught a bit of a cold.”

Huang Xiaoyi threw back the covers. “Alright, hop in, Lin the big invalid.”

Lin Qimian climbed into bed and lay down.

Huang Xiaoyi propped her up with a pillow to get the angle just right, then ordered her to take her hair down and mussed up a few stray locks.

“Slide down a little—don’t sit so straight. Slouch more. Hey, relax. Loosen up your whole spine. Be messy, you get it? Messy! You see all those patients at the hospital every day. Pick up a few tips from them…”

Lin Qimian cupped her cheek, which sent Huang Xiaoyi into peals of laughter.

“Hey.” Huang Xiaoyi darted out of the bedroom to the vanity and rummaged through Lin Qimian’s makeup stash.

She came back with a blush palette in hand, dabbing it here and there on Lin Qimian’s face.

A few minutes later, she beamed with satisfaction.

“Perfect.”

Huang Xiaoyi pulled out her phone and hunched over. “Eyes down. Natural droop. Yeah… damn, that’s killer!”

She held the phone up for Lin Qimian to see. In the photo, she was slumped against the bed, head bowed and eyes downcast, with an unnatural yet striking flush at the corners of her eyes, on her cheeks, and across her nose. One slender pale hand draped outside the covers, her delicate wrist exposed, the blue veins standing out sharply on the back of her hand.

The bedside table in the background had it all: a water glass, an open bottle of pills, a thermometer—not a single detail missing.

“Mmm.” Lin Qimian glanced up at her. “You all like this sort of thing?”

Huang Xiaoyi clutched her phone to her chest. “Heh heh heh. Who doesn’t love a fragile beauty?”

She took a deep breath, typed out her caption, edited it several times, and double-checked it just as many before finally posting it to Moments.

【Sigh, everyone else is out playing, but I’m stuck taking care of my sick friend T_T】

She paired it with the photo—meticulously staged, yet with zero editing. Natural, effortless, gorgeous.

Right after, she commented on her own post: 【But I still have projects to wrap up. What am I supposed to do?】

“How’s that?” Huang Xiaoyi waved the phone in front of Lin Qimian’s face. “Not bad acting, huh?”

Lin Qimian watched in real time as likes poured in and comments started flooding the post one after another.

Lin Qimian: “…”

Lin Qimian: “You forgot to set the groups.”

Huang Xiaoyi: “!!!!!”

She snatched the phone back. She really had forgotten—no groups selected. She’d blasted it to the entire world.

It wasn’t just the comments; her DMs were blowing up too.

【Who’s the beauty in your Moments?】

【A friend of yours?】

【Friend sick? Need someone to look after her?】

【Send my contact info ASAP. Where’s your friend? I’m there.】

【I’m actually a top-tier caregiver, you know?】

【Forget my vacation—I’ll pay to take care of your friend. Deal?】

【What projects? Didn’t we finish ours? Aaaaaah!】

【Was it my milk tea?】

Huang Xiaoyi: “…”

Huang Xiaoyi turned to Lin Qimian, eyes brimming with tears. “I… I screwed up… I got too excited… Delete and repost? Moon probably hasn’t seen it yet…”

Lin Qimian: “Does Moon share mutual friends with you?”

Huang Xiaoyi paused to think. “Probably not. My old classmates are all on QQ.”

Lin Qimian: “Then you’re good. She won’t see it. No repost—it’d look too forced.”

Huang Xiaoyi: “Oh, oh, oh.”

Lin Qimian shifted around, settling in more comfortably. “Ignore everyone else.”

Huang Xiaoyi grinned mischievously. “Oh…”

But her phone screen was littered with red notification dots. It was torture not to tap them.

She cherry-picked replies from her closer friends, steering the conversations off-topic with casual deflections.

Lin Qimian spotted her typing. “Is it Moon?”

Huang Xiaoyi: “Nah, nah—just scrolling Weibo.”

Lin Qimian: “…”

Lin Qimian lay there for a moment. “Does scrolling Weibo involve typing?”

Huang Xiaoyi: “Whoa, someone’s trashing my favorite plushie! Gotta fire back!”

Lin Qimian: “…”

It was a dull, nail-biting wait.

Lin Qimian was counting on Xu Yueliang having just woken up, not yet dove into work. At this hour, she was probably eating breakfast, doing her makeup, setting up her scenes.

She’d check her phone at least once, wouldn’t she? Lin Qimian recalled their time together: Xu Yueliang rarely touched her phone when they were hanging out, but she scrolled endlessly while waiting for her at the hospital.

Their chats always got quick replies from her, unless she was live-streaming.

No big deal if the post slipped by unnoticed. Lin Qimian had set a one-hour timer. If Moon didn’t bite, Xiao Yi would just DM her outright for “help” and see if she took the bait.

Time ticked by slowly, one second at a time. Huang Xiaoyi stole glances at her.

Lin Qimian pretended not to notice, lying there quietly. She had no desire to reveal too much of these shameless, weak emotions stirring inside her.

Yes, she had realized her own weakness.

Pretending to be sick felt just like being actually ill—her pulse weak and thready, her limbs heavy and listless.

The symptoms had probably lingered for nearly a week now, starting from the moment Xu Yueliang had fled from her presence, and erupting fully today.

Her mind was blank, devoid of thoughts, incapable of thought.

She simply counted the passing moments, like leaves drifting down in autumn.

She’ll come see me. She won’t come see me.

She’ll come see me. She won’t come see me.

“Moon messaged!!!” Huang Xiaoyi shouted suddenly.

Lin Qimian’s heart jolted at the sound, as if dangling from the edge of a cliff.

Huang Xiaoyi stared at her phone, fingers trembling with excitement. “She’s asking how you’re doing.”

Lin Qimian clutched her chest. “Tell her I’m on my last legs.”

Huang Xiaoyi paused. “…You’re overdoing it a bit.”

She read aloud as she typed: “Not great. Bad cold, keeps spiking fevers…”

Huang Xiaoyi looked up sharply. “She’s asking if you’ve gone to the hospital!”

Lin Qimian pointed at herself. Huang Xiaoyi nodded quickly. “Oh, right, right—Doctor Lin is a doctor herself, no need for the hospital…”

“Yeah, she can treat herself, prescribe her own meds. She says if it gets any worse, she’ll have to give herself an IV…”

“Probably used to it, sigh. So independent, and no one around to look after her…”

“It’s National Day, everyone’s busy. I’m just squeezing in a quick visit—company wants me to work overtime on this big project, but I couldn’t leave her alone…”

“She’s been sleeping a ton, all listless and groggy…”

Huang Xiaoyi started giggling as she typed faster and faster:

“No need for anything fancy—just fetching water, reminding her to take her meds on time…”

“If the fever spikes too high, she’ll still need the hospital…”

“Ordering takeout for meals, yeah. I know it’s not ideal, but I can’t cook…”

“She doesn’t complain, but the takeout’s too oily, so she eats like a bird…”

After a brief pause, Huang Xiaoyi slapped her thigh and turned to Lin Qimian. “Holy crap, sis! We did it!!!!!”

Lin Qimian’s brows lifted slightly.

Huang Xiaoyi waved her phone. “Moon says she’s bringing you congee! Homemade! Did you see? Century Egg Lean Meat Congee—sick-day special!!!!!”

Lin Qimian steadied the flailing hand and peered at the screen.

Sure enough, it was Xu Yueliang, her questions tentative but thoughtful enough to include side dishes.

Lin Qimian smiled and released Huang Xiaoyi’s hand. “Reply to her quick.”

Huang Xiaoyi was grinning ear to ear. She glanced at Lin Qimian and read aloud as she typed: “She loves it! She loves that one too—don’t worry, she’ll eat anything…”

“No way, you’ve really saved me here. Doctor Lin and I are so grateful…”

“Address—she wants the address!”

Lin Qimian covered her eyes with one hand and rattled off her address.

This time, Huang Xiaoyi typed silently, fingers flying. She tossed the phone aside and sat there stunned for a moment. “It’s done. She says brewing the congee will take time—about an hour and a half before she gets here.”

Lin Qimian: “Mm.”

Huang Xiaoyi: “She’ll cover for me this afternoon so I can head to the company.”

Lin Qimian: “Mm.”

Huang Xiaoyi: “This went so smoothly. How is it this smooth? We didn’t even need the backup plans.”

She looked at Lin Qimian. “Lin Qimian, I think Xu Yueliang might actually…”

Lin Qimian cut her off. “Don’t say it. This is good enough for now.”

Huang Xiaoyi pouted. “Wahhh, I’m gonna cry all of a sudden. This is so touching. I… Lin Qimian, are you crying???”

Lin Qimian: “No, just a bad cold.”

Her voice was a little hoarse, her throat tight and sore.

When she lowered her hand, her eyes were faintly red at the corners.

Huang Xiaoyi stared at her. “Just keep this vibe going. I don’t believe for a second that even the king of heaven couldn’t be won over…”

Lin Qimian looked up at her and smiled. “Go handle your project.”

Huang Xiaoyi: “????”

Huang Xiaoyi: “You’re killing the donkey before it’s done grinding, burning the bridge before we’ve crossed—you’re something else…”

Lin Qimian: “Head home early and rest.”

She paused. “I’ll update you if there’s any progress.”

“Got it!!!” Huang Xiaoyi beamed.

She double-checked a few more times that Lin Qimian was truly okay, then shouldered her bag and left the apartment, practically skipping with joy.

Lin Qimian lay there for a moment. This time, there were no tangled thoughts clouding her mind—she simply wanted to place a vase of soft, vibrant flowers in her stark, unyielding home.

Half an hour later, a large bouquet of white daisies arrived.

Lin Qimian arranged them with care, trimming the stems before slipping them into a clear glass vase. She set it proudly on the coffee table in the center of the living room.

About ten minutes later, a message came from Huang Xiaoyi: Xu Yueliang was on her way via Route 26.

Less than twenty minutes after that, Lin Qimian’s intercom buzzed.

She glanced at the door and unlocked it from her phone.

Then, in her mind’s eye, it all unfolded like scenes from a film: Xu Yueliang entering the building, locating the elevator, stepping inside, pressing the floor button, and standing patiently as it rose… Every detail played out vividly.

The only hazy part was Xu Yueliang’s face.

What would she look like today? What expression would cross her features upon seeing Lin Qimian? What thoughts swirled behind those eyes, in that heart?

The elevator doors slid open, and Lin Qimian rose to her feet.

She reached the door just as the footsteps outside halted. Xu Yueliang knocked lightly, then jabbed at the doorbell in a flustered rush.

Lin Qimian smiled to herself, then schooled her features into the fragile demeanor of a proper patient.

With a weak, unsteady hand on the knob, she eased the door open.

Xu Yueliang standing there was even more heart-soothing than the fresh, dew-kissed daisies.

The upward curve of her smiling eyes, the slight lift of her arm cradling the insulated thermos—all of it froze the instant their gazes met.

Her eyes widened, panic flickering in their depths.

Her hand dropped limply, and she hovered uncertainly, unsure whether to step inside or rush to support Lin Qimian. She was wedged in the half-open doorway, head bowed so low it nearly nestled against Lin Qimian’s chest.

“Doctor Lin, why are you up… I thought Senior Sister Xiaoyi would get the door…” Her voice was soft and syrupy, laced with caution. “You—you go back inside. There’s… there’s wind out here…”

There was wind, indeed—a gentle breeze whispering across the tender surface of Lin Qimian’s heart.

Lin Qimian swung the door wider and bent to set a pair of adorable pink slippers, complete with bowknots, at Xu Yueliang’s feet. “Come on in.”

“Aaah…” Xu Yueliang let out a muffled squeak. “Don’t bend over—don’t move! You don’t need to fuss over me. I can handle it…”

Lin Qimian stepped back a pace. Xu Yueliang kicked off her sneakers with swift, hands-free precision and slid her feet into the slippers Lin Qimian had set out.

Lifting her gaze to Lin Qimian, she had clearly built up a head of steam from her caregiving zeal during the journey—or perhaps Lin Qimian simply hadn’t retreated a proper distance. The crown of Xu Yueliang’s head grazed ever so lightly past Lin Qimian’s chin.

That fleeting brush of contact left them both rooted to the spot before their eyes could even lock.