Chapter 16

Snowball hadn’t run far. It just stood at the door for a moment, saw the unfamiliar surroundings and the empty hallway, then fearfully shrank back inside the house.

Fang Nianchen saw the snow-white furball burrow back in and instantly let out a sigh of relief.

Only after snapping back to her senses did she realize just how dire her situation was.

“Fang Nianchen, are you this happy to see me?”

What Fang Nianchen cared about wasn’t Yu Wan calling her by her full name—after all, using someone’s full name wasn’t intimate, especially when it was her boss doing the calling.

What really caught her attention was the second half of the sentence.

Though it was a joke, to Fang Nianchen’s ears, there was a hint of smugness in Yu Wan’s tone, a certainty that gave her pause.

Fang Nianchen wanted to defend herself a bit—she wasn’t a dog, wagging her tail happily at the sight of her owner.

But then she realized she was still nestled in the crook of Yu Wan’s arm, constantly leaning forward due to gravity.

Yu Wan was just supporting her shoulders without pushing her away, leaving them in this stalemate.

Fang Nianchen held her breath and struggled to escape from her embrace. “Sorry…”

To her, this hug felt like taking advantage of Yu Wan. She felt a surge of guilt and didn’t dare look at Yu Wan, keeping her head bowed low.

Her condition seemed to be worsening; her whole body was heating up, her breathing labored, as if she might faint any second.

No, she couldn’t faint now, or Yu Wan would have to hold her again and call an ambulance.

While she was lost in her chaotic thoughts, Yu Wan had already gently closed the door.

“Why are you apologizing?” Yu Wan saw her standing there stiff as a dried bonito, her shyness always so unexpected yet perfectly in character. Feeling a bit mischievous, she wanted to tease her. “Don’t tell me you did it on purpose?”

“No no no, I was trying to chase the cat.” Fang Nianchen panicked and quickly explained herself. “You opened the door just now and Snowball ran out. I was afraid it would get lost. The snow-white one, that’s Snowball—I even called out to it, right? And Pan-fried Dumpling was at the door; I was afraid I’d step on it. You know, the golden retriever one.”

Fang Nianchen desperately tried to clear her name, explaining the “sequence of events” to Yu Wan, even introducing all the participants.

She was wearing corgi-style pajamas, gesturing animatedly as she explained, the decorative tail hanging behind her swaying gently.

Yu Wan took it all in, lips pursed to stifle a laugh. “Mm, and then?”

“And then… this happened.” Fang Nianchen was both anxious and helpless, spreading her hands in innocence.

But she completely avoided mentioning the hug from earlier—it was too hot to touch.

“You’re sick but still so full of energy.” Yu Wan finally couldn’t hold back her laughter. “Looks like you’re not feeling too bad.”

Before seeing Fang Nianchen, she’d been worried if the illness would make her listless or really uncomfortable. She’d worried all night and couldn’t let it go, so she’d decided to visit at noon.

She’d even prepared for Fang Nianchen to refuse to see her, like excuses about the cold being contagious or being too sick to even open the door—very much the kind of excuses Fang Nianchen would come up with.

Her excuses were always terrible, just like how she wasn’t good at lying, and naively oblivious to it.

But she hadn’t expected Fang Nianchen to agree so readily. Could getting sick really change someone’s personality that much?

The apartment wasn’t big—a two-bedroom, one-living-room place around fifty square meters. It felt a bit crowded with all the cats and dogs, but it was lively overall, so Fang Nianchen probably didn’t feel too lonely.

When Yu Wan saw Pan-fried Dumpling, she breathed a sigh of relief: with a large dog around, the risks of living alone were slightly lower.

Fang Nianchen led her to the living room. “The sofa has cat hair on it, but don’t worry, I have a lint roller. You can use it when you leave.”

She hadn’t even sat down yet, and already thinking about making her leave?

Yu Wan didn’t say anything, just hummed in acknowledgment, a reluctant agreement.

After Yu Wan sat down, Fang Nianchen didn’t idle for a second and asked, “Would you like something to drink? I have coffee and tea at home, plus boiled water and sodas.”

This caretaking personality of hers hadn’t changed a bit.

But making a sick person wait on her went against Yu Wan’s conscience. “No need, I’m not thirsty. You sit.”

“Oh.”

Fang Nianchen obediently sat down, but a second later, she stood up again. “I’ll still pour you a glass of water.”

So earnest.

Yu Wan was helpless against her. The boss-subordinate dynamic didn’t work in real life, and she couldn’t really order Fang Nianchen around.

She was obnoxious enough as it was.

While Fang Nianchen went to the kitchen to pour water, Yu Wan took the opportunity to politely survey the room’s furnishings.

From the living room, it was clear Fang Nianchen hadn’t put much effort into renovations—everything was designed for easy maintenance: cat trees of various sizes lined the windowsill, and a neat row of food bowls stood against the wall. You could imagine the huge expenses.

The cats in Fang Nianchen’s home were quite shy toward strangers. Without exception, they all hid under the sofa or the TV cabinet.

Fang Nianchen returned quickly without dawdling, placing a glass of lemon water gently on the table.

Yu Wan looked up. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” Fang Nianchen’s voice carried a clear nasal tone, flat and without much inflection, but it sounded adorably silly.

After bustling about, Fang Nianchen finally settled properly on the sofa, hands on her lap, body slightly leaning forward. “I don’t know how I caught this cold. I used to get soaked in the rain and be totally fine.”

In truth, it proved her overconfidence had backfired, delaying proper treatment.

Fang Nianchen sniffed lightly and apologized again for the missed appointment. “Sorry about that.”

Even though she’d explained yesterday and knew Yu Wan understood, she still confirmed it over and over.

She was someone who hated troubling others, so she rarely made promises. But once she did, she became the most reliable one.

Failing to follow through because of her would leave her guilty for a long time.

She seemed like the most conflicted, contradictory person in the world. Often, even she couldn’t explain why she could have completely opposite thoughts about the same thing.

“It’s nothing. Just rest up when you’re sick.” Yu Wan took a sip of the water; the lemon’s acidity was perfectly balanced by the honey. “I’m not here to chew you out. I was thinking, you live alone—if you’re sick, you might need someone to take care of you.”

“But…”

“I know.” Yu Wan gently cut her off. “I know you’re almost better now, not feeling too bad. You’re amazing; you take good care of yourself.”

Though Yu Wan’s tone sounded like coaxing a kindergarten kid, full of “you’re great,” it was also exactly what Fang Nianchen thought.

She paused, then continued, “But I won’t feel at ease without seeing you with my own eyes.”

Fang Nianchen’s pupils dilated more than twice their size at those words. Her gaze dropped, and her hands on her lap touched, fingers pressing against each other.

It sounded unreasonable.

Saying she knew Fang Nianchen could handle it, yet still not at ease.

But Fang Nianchen wasn’t upset.

Far from it—her mood actually improved a bit.

“Can I go tidy up first?” Fang Nianchen asked a bit embarrassedly. “I just got out of bed…”

Her hair wasn’t even combed, and she was still in childish pajamas. This first impression was terrible, especially contrasted with Yu Wan’s formal attire—she looked completely unserious.

Yu Wan had no issue with such a simple request. “Mm, go ahead.”

As Fang Nianchen left, a few bolder cats followed at her feet toward the bathroom, only to be predictably picked up and carried out by her.

Yu Wan heard her say in a tone like educating ignorant children, “I’m going to change clothes. Even though you’re little eunuchs, you can’t be perverts.”

Because of her illness, Fang Nianchen’s steps were languid and lazy. She dawdled between the bedroom and bathroom a few times before gathering what she needed and locking the bathroom door.

Sensing that Fang Nianchen wasn’t too tense in her own territory—and even downplaying Yu Wan’s presence—Yu Wan relaxed a bit.

A moment later, as Yu Wan rested against the sofa, one little kitten finally mustered the courage to approach her. She extended a finger for it to sniff.

The kitten rubbed its head against her hand, and Yu Wan smoothly scratched its chin.

Suddenly, there came banging knocks at the door. The kitten was instantly spooked and darted straight into Yu Wan’s lap.

Yu Wan could only hold the cat and stand, walking to the door. She tried to peek through the peephole, but it was pitch black. Then she remembered the couplet on the door probably covered it.

Unable to see who it was, she asked, “Who is it?”

“Xiao Chen, my mom asked me to bring you some dumplings.”

Hearing such an intimate form of address, Yu Wan fell silent for a moment. Pan-fried Dumpling suddenly barked loudly at the door, startling her as well.

“Pan-fried Dumpling, shut up!” Fang Nianchen had finished washing up and come out, now in loose short sleeves, looking no different from usual. She pinched Pan-fried Dumpling’s muzzle. “Shh.”

“You little rascal, scaring people.” Fang Nianchen nudged Pan-fried Dumpling behind her with her leg and asked Yu Wan, “You okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“Good.” Fang Nianchen nodded, then went to open the door.

Yu Wan’s brows furrowed as she watched her worriedly.

Did she always open the door like this? Without even checking who it was?

The boy in the sports jersey stood at the door. As soon as it opened, he handed over the item in his hand. “Xiao Chen, my mom insisted I bring you these dumplings. She said it’s to thank you for the vitamins you gave her.”

Fang Nianchen was slightly stunned by the dumplings suddenly thrust in front of her face. She paused before opening her mouth to refuse. “No need, it’s fine. The vitamins…”

She wanted to say that she’d bought too many vitamins for Pan-fried Dumpling and couldn’t finish them. They might expire if left sitting around, and it just so happened that those vitamins were also suitable for small dogs. Neighbor Auntie Liu had a corgi at home.

A bunch of coincidences had led her to give away the vitamins, completely free of charge.

Though honestly, it wouldn’t affect the efficacy of the vitamins at all. But compared to the process or the result, people clearly cared more about the embellishments that decorated the process and result.

“Just that.” In the end, she chose to forcibly end the sentence.

“It’s no trouble. We made so many dumplings anyway, we couldn’t finish them all.” The boy stubbornly pushed the dumplings forward, nearly shoving them into Fang Nianchen’s face.

She couldn’t tell if this kid was genuinely dense or just pretending. If you said he couldn’t talk, he’d somehow make conversation impossible to refuse.

Fang Nianchen had no choice but to awkwardly accept them. “Then… thanks.”

“No need to be polite.”

The hallway was much cooler than inside the house, and just then a gust of wind blew by. Fang Nianchen sneezed twice in a row.

“Are you sick?” The boy suddenly grew nervous for some reason and asked with concern, “Is it serious?”

“Just a cold, it’s fine.” Fang Nianchen forced a smile, finding his words baffling.

What business of his was it if it was serious or not?

“Drink plenty of hot water and get lots of rest,” the man instructed. “Take medicine if you still feel bad.”

Fang Nianchen just nodded and said nothing more.

Such pointless chatter—whether said or not, it made no difference. He probably hadn’t even realized it yet and was still patting himself on the back, thinking he was some peerless good guy.

Fang Nianchen found it boring and couldn’t even be bothered to play along.

They chatted about this and that. The topic shifted from illness to the games the boy liked, and he even invited Fang Nianchen to play together. She good-naturedly agreed to everything.

The man didn’t seem to realize at all that standing around in the cold draft would make her condition worse, rendering his earlier concern meaningless.

Fang Nianchen kept a wooden expression, too embarrassed to tell him to leave, so he just kept talking.

“I’m hungry.” After who knows how long, Yu Wan, who had been standing nearby, suddenly spoke up.

“Mm! Then let’s eat first.” The light returned to Fang Nianchen’s eyes. “That’s it for now. We’ll chat another time. Thanks for the dumplings.”

Fang Nianchen thanked him politely as she closed the door, her tone much better than it had been in the previous few minutes.

Once the door was fully shut, Fang Nianchen let out a sigh of relief.

“You were annoyed ages ago. Why didn’t you just say so?” Yu Wan seemed able to see right through her thoughts at a glance, just like last time at the archery stall when she’d bailed her out.

Though she didn’t know the principle behind it, she was completely right.

Fang Nianchen explained, “I’m not very good at refusing people.”

“Oh.” Yu Wan seemed to believe her. She thought for a moment, then spoke again. “How about I make you something for lunch?”

Fang Nianchen looked startled by her words, her voice nearly cracking as she replied, “No need.”

“You’re pretty good at that, aren’t you?” Yu Wan smiled meaningfully. “And you refused awfully fast.”

“I didn’t…” Fang Nianchen stammered, lifting the dumplings in her hand. “I meant since he brought the dumplings, we can just boil them for lunch. No need to trouble you with cooking.”

This time, Yu Wan wasn’t letting her off the hook. She kept nitpicking. “It’s no trouble if it’s him, but it is if it’s me? Are we that distant?”

“No…” Fang Nianchen couldn’t figure out what she was so hung up on. “The dumplings, they…”

Fang Nianchen wanted to say the dumplings were convenient, cooked quickly, and saved time. She hadn’t expected Yu Wan to cut in directly. “I don’t like eating dumplings.”

“Why?” Fang Nianchen was full of question marks, her freshly combed hair threatening to frizz up again.

“You have to dip them in vinegar.” Yu Wan’s lips pressed together. “Sour.”