The apology sent the previous day had no response by noon the next day, so Qi Yu left a note at the front desk before going out, asking the receptionist to pass it on.

Xu Jingqian received the note in the afternoon. He had woken up late because someone’s advances had kept him up all night. His mind was filled with images of her wanting to kiss him, and even in his dreams, he was asked why he couldn’t kiss her.

How was he supposed to know why? Besides, hadn’t she already kissed him?

As he went downstairs, the little calico cat was waiting for him at the staircase. He had woken up late and hadn’t had a chance to fill its bowl with food. He picked up the cat and scratched its chin. “Are you hungry?”

The cat purred contentedly.

Xu Jingqian carried the cat to the living room. There was still some food in its bowl, but the water was low, so he refilled it. “Drink up.”

The cat lowered its head to drink.

After lunch, Xu Jingqian passed by the front desk to make himself a cup of coffee. The receptionist on duty handed him the note. “This is from the guest in room 1102.”

“Okay.”

Xu Jingqian took the note without looking at it and stuffed it into his pocket.

After making his latte, he returned to his room. The cleaning lady had just finished tidying up, so he stepped aside to let her out. “Thank you.”

“No problem.”

“By the way, did you deliver the fruit I bought yesterday to room 1102 today?” Xu Jingqian asked.

“I cut it up and delivered it right after cleaning the room this morning,” the cleaning lady replied.

“Thank you. You can go ahead with your work.”

Xu Jingqian’s room had a great view. Pulling back the curtains revealed snow-capped mountains, occasionally shrouded in clouds. He sat down at his desk, took the small note out of his pocket, and unfolded it. In bold, enlarged letters, it read: “I’M SORRY!!!”

It was certainly eye-catching, especially with the three exaggerated exclamation marks.

Xu Jingqian took a sip of his coffee. He felt the apology lacked sincerity, just like the message on his phone. Besides saying “I’m sorry,” she didn’t explain what she was sorry for.

He picked up his phone and typed a message: “I don’t accept your apology.”

Qi Yu replied quickly: “Why?”

Xu Jingqian: “Think about it yourself.”

Qi Yu responded with two words: “Don’t want to.”

Qi Yu felt that Xu Jingqian was being unreasonable. She had made a mistake and apologized for it, even going so far as to handwrite a note for him. Now he was telling her he didn’t accept her apology. If he didn’t accept it, fine, but what more did he want from her?

Qi Yu, unable to contain her frustration, sent a voice message: “Fine, if you don’t accept it, you don’t accept it. Who cares if you accept it or not? It’s up to you.”

Her voice trembled slightly, and Xu Jingqian noticed something was off. “Are you crying?” he asked.

Qi Yu saw the message but didn’t want to reply. She had been in a good mood all day, enjoying her sightseeing and shopping. She even bought some local specialty flower cakes for Xu Jingqian, although they weren’t anything new for him. She bought them because she thought they were delicious and wanted to apologize to him properly.

After making her purchase and preparing to leave, Qi Yu realized she couldn’t find her way back. The ancient town was vast, and she only remembered that her car was parked in a parking lot, but there were parking lots everywhere outside the town. She had no idea where exactly she had parked.

She tried to retrace her steps from memory, but after a few turns, she found herself in an unfamiliar area. The more she walked, the more lost she became. She tried to backtrack but got confused by several shops with the same name.

This time, she was truly lost.

Qi Yu wandered around the ancient town for an hour. The stone path was uneven, and she accidentally tripped and fell, scraping her knee and drawing blood.

She found a step to sit on and wanted to tell Xu Jingqian that she was lost, but instead, she received his message saying he didn’t accept her apology.

Qi Yu looked at the flower cakes beside her and her dirty, bleeding knee, feeling utterly wronged. She replied to Xu Jingqian’s message while trying to use her navigation to find her way out, but it was like finding a needle in a haystack.

Just as Xu Jingqian called, her phone’s low battery warning flashed. Qi Yu answered the call. “What?”

“What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice tinged with concern.

Qi Yu, who had been feeling wronged, burst into tears upon hearing his voice. “What should I do, Xu Jingqian? I’m lost. I can’t find my way out, and my phone is about to die.”

“Don’t cry, don’t cry, Qi Yu, listen to me,” Xu Jingqian said. “First, go borrow a power bank to charge your phone.”

For some reason, Qi Yu stopped crying. She limped over to borrow a power bank and charged her phone.

Xu Jingqian asked her how she got there, and she said she used navigation.

“Check your history to see if there’s a record of your previous location outside,” Xu Jingqian suggested.

Qi Yu did as he said and found the record. She suddenly felt stupid for crying and wasting an hour.

“Why are you crying again?” Xu Jingqian thought there was no record and tried to comfort her. “It’s okay, you won’t get lost.”

Qi Yu sobbed, “I found it. I’m hanging up.”

“Send me your location. I’ll come to get you,” Xu Jingqian said.

“No.”

“Why not?” Xu Jingqian thought she was angry because he hadn’t accepted her apology. “I do accept your apology. I didn’t mean it that way earlier. I accept, I accept.”

Qi Yu mumbled, “I still want to explore this afternoon.”