After a few seconds of silence, Zhou Qinyao glanced around the room and casually asked, “I heard you study music?”

“?”

Tang You felt these words were familiar.

She quickly remembered that when Cheng Xuan helped her out before, Cheng Xuan had asked the same question when discussing how to thank her, and then…

Tang You suddenly understood.

She immediately nodded, “You don’t have to say anything, I get it, I’ll sing.”

Zhou Qinyao: “?”

Before he could grasp what she meant, the girl began to sing slowly—

“Grateful heart… Thank you for being with me… for a lifetime…”

As she sang, she looked at Zhou Qinyao with genuine, heartfelt eyes full of gratitude, as if thanking his entire family and ancestors.

Zhou Qinyao: “……”

Zhou Qinyao: “????”

Did I say anything?

When did I ask her to sing?

Zhou Qinyao stood there with a complex expression, listening to Tang You’s song.

He felt an internal rejection because the song was too awkward, but…

The girl’s voice was soft and tender, unexpectedly touching, causing a surge of emotions.

“Stop singing.”

After listening for a few seconds, Zhou Qinyao interrupted her. He then awkwardly touched his brow and said, “The water has mostly drained. I’ll turn the lights back on.”

“Oh.” Tang You obediently closed her mouth.

Zhou Qinyao turned on the power. The dim room suddenly brightened, and as he was about to remind Tang You to get a repairman to fix the pipe the next day, he was stopped short when he turned around.

In the dim light, he hadn’t noticed earlier, but now he saw that Tang You had changed into long pajamas with a pale pink strawberry pattern. The neckline was open enough to reveal her soft skin and collarbone, glowing under the light.

Her cheeks also had two barely noticeable pink flushes.

She looked a lot like the strawberry cotton candy in Zhou Qinyao’s pocket.

Soft and tempting, making him itch to take a bite.

…Damn, what am I thinking?

Zhou Qinyao cursed himself silently, cleared his slightly dry throat, avoided eye contact, and turned to leave. “I’m going now. Remember to call someone for repairs tomorrow.”

Tang You watched his back, still wanting to say something but hesitating.

When he had left on his motorcycle, she whispered to the air:

“Good night.”

The next three days passed uneventfully.

On Tuesday during a break, Cheng Xuan came to talk to Tang You about the autumn outing.

The outing wasn’t a school event but rather a gathering of their Hutong neighborhood friends to barbecue and enjoy the crisp autumn weather. Although Tang You didn’t live in the Hutong, Cheng Xuan included her as a new member of their group.

“It’s scheduled for this Sunday afternoon. Can you come?”

“Who else will be there?”

“Just the ones you met at my birthday party and a few other neighborhood kids.”

“Oh.” Tang You hesitated for a moment and quietly asked, “Will Zhou Qinyao be there?”

“Yao Ge?” Cheng Xuan thought for a moment, chewing gum. “He probably won’t make it.”

Tang You was startled and looked up. “Why?”

“He caught a bad cold and is resting at home.”

Zhou Qinyao had caught a cold.

And it started the day after he left Tang You’s house.

He had been caught in the rain the night before, then got drenched again from the water leak, and finally returned home in the night wind. It was peak season for colds, and even a good constitution couldn’t withstand such treatment.

But Zhou Qinyao was particularly stubborn. Cheng Xuan told Tang You that he refused to take medicine even when he was sick, and Wu Zhiyu had no way to handle him.

Tang You kept this in mind but didn’t say anything at the time.

She quickly called Aunt Rong when she returned to class.

Aunt Rong had a secret family recipe for soup that supposedly combined various ingredients with chicken to quickly expel the cold from the body. After sweating it out, the cold could be cured without medication.

Tang You eagerly asked Aunt Rong to prepare the ingredients and make the soup. Aunt Rong was efficient, and by the time Tang You came home from school in the evening, the soup was already made and kept warm in the pot.

Tang You found her thermos and poured all the chicken soup into it.

“Miss, are you sick too?” Aunt Rong asked, concerned as she helped. “Be careful not to burn yourself. Let me do it.”

“No need,” Tang You pushed her hand away, closed the lid, and headed out. “I’m going to see my friend who’s sick. I’ll be back soon!”

“…W-what? Miss, come back!”

By the time Aunt Rong realized what was happening and put down her cloth to catch up, Tang You had already disappeared.

Tang You rushed through the Hutong to Zhou Qinyao’s house. As she was about to knock on the door, her hand paused in mid-air.

She wondered if Zhou Qinyao would blame her for catching a cold.

Would he want to rest quietly and not be disturbed…

She hadn’t called ahead; what if he was sleeping?

Tang You hesitated, leaning forward.

The courtyard door was an old, double lock. She peered through the crack, and the courtyard was eerily quiet with no sound at all.

Had he gone to sleep…

Holding the thermos, Tang You was about to knock on the door when her phone suddenly rang.

She glanced at the caller ID and felt a sudden panic, as if she had done something wrong. Her heart raced, and her face flushed red with heat.

Fearing that the caller might come out and see her, she quickly hid behind the wall, took a deep breath, and forced herself to stay calm as she answered:

“Hello.”

On the other end was a relaxed, slightly nasal voice calling her name. “Tang You.”

“Mm? Yao Ge.” Tang You could hear her own heartbeat pounding.

Zhou Qinyao: “What are you doing?”

“Me?” Tang You was caught off guard. She looked up and mumbled, “I’m just… taking a walk.”

Zhou Qinyao chuckled softly, his voice a bit hoarse. “Taking a walk?”

“…Yeah.”

Tang You felt guilty, glancing back at the courtyard gate with no one in sight.

She relaxed a bit, focused on the door, and stepped back on the stone path, trying to create the illusion of someone walking outside for the caller: “I ate too much earlier, so I’m out for a stroll, and—”

Before she could finish, she bumped into someone.

She felt a clear collision with another body.

Tang You immediately turned around and unexpectedly ran into that familiar face.

“Also what?”

Seeing the girl’s flustered and blushing expression, Zhou Qinyao put away his phone, paused for a moment, and gently tapped the thermos she was holding. His voice was lazy and teasing:

“Did you come to find me as well?”

Tang You: “……”