Zhou Qinyao, having finished work early due to his cold, saw Tang You standing at his door as he entered the alley. 

The young girl was holding something, peeking through the door crack with great care, yet hesitating to knock. She looked conflicted.

Zhou Qinyao’s lips curled into a slight smile as he leaned against the wall, feeling oddly comforted. The heaviness in his chest seemed to lift.

Later, when Tang You, embarrassed, held onto the thermos and tried to come up with an excuse, Zhou Qinyao opened the door and asked:

“Would you like to come in?”

Tang You gave up on her struggle and obediently followed him inside like a little tail.

Once inside, Zhou Qinyao took off his coat and said, “Make yourself comfortable.”

“Oh,” Tang You replied quietly, sitting down on a nearby chair.

Zhou Qinyao noticed she seemed a bit nervous.

The girl’s short hair was tucked behind her ears, and her pale earlobes were slightly flushed. She clutched the thermos tightly in her hands.

She looked like a timid little rabbit away from its nest, unsure and anxious.

Zhou Qinyao felt a faint urge to smile. He opened the fridge and asked, “Do you want something to drink?”

“…Anything.”

The fridge only had chilled beer, which Zhou Qinyao felt was inappropriate. He closed the door and said, “Wait a moment.”

As he left the room, Tang You finally raised her head from her school uniform.

She blinked and discreetly glanced around at the room’s decor.

Zhou Qinyao’s place was an eastern wing of a traditional courtyard. Although it was an old building, every brick and tile retained a strong cultural essence and had a sense of history.

On the wall was a painting. As Tang You walked over to take a closer look, she accidentally bumped into something on the table, and a magazine fell to the floor with a thud.

She glanced down to see that the magazine was titled *World Jewelry*.

Tang You recognized the magazine.

When Fang Lai wanted to enter the jewelry industry two years ago, she had subscribed to several international jewelry magazines to analyze industry trends, and this was one of them.

The magazine issue on the floor had the cover featuring next year’s spring collection.

No wonder Zhou Qinyao had immediately recognized that the gift he gave to Cheng Xuan was not an ordinary brand.

Zhou Qinyao returned with a glass of lemon water. Tang You, holding the magazine, asked:

“You like jewelry too?”

A flicker of emotion passed through Zhou Qinyao’s eyes. He quickly took the magazine from her:

“Old Wu bought it for three yuan a pound from a scrap station to prop up a table leg.”

Tang You sensed something odd in his expression, paused for a moment, and didn’t ask further. “Oh.”

Zhou Qinyao tossed the magazine aside and handed her the water. “Here, drink this.”

Tang You took a sip and said, “Thank you.”

The atmosphere suddenly grew quiet, and the mood, once warmed by the magazine, turned cold.

Fortunately, Zhou Qinyao cleared his throat twice, reminding Tang You of the purpose of her visit.

“I heard from Xuan Jie that you’re sick,” she said softly.

“She talks a lot, doesn’t she?” Zhou Qinyao looked over casually. “What else did she say?”

“She also said… that you refuse to take medicine.”

“Oh.” Zhou Qinyao nodded indifferently. “So you came to persuade me to take medicine?”

“No, no.” Tang You shook her hands quickly and took out the thermos. “This is chicken soup made by my aunt, with many secret ingredients. It’s very effective for colds. If you drink it and sweat a bit, you’ll get better faster.”

As she spoke, she opened the thermos and poured the soup into a cup.

Zhou Qinyao’s gaze fell on her exposed, delicate white wrist.

It was clean and soft, seeming fragile as if it might snap with a bend.

His thoughts involuntarily drifted back to that night when she was drenched.

Zhou Qinyao’s brow twitched imperceptibly, and his already dry throat felt even drier.

He grabbed a cup of water from the table and drank it.

Tang You had filled a cup with chicken soup and was about to hand it to him when she suddenly froze.

Seeing her expression through the clear glass, Zhou Qinyao realized something was wrong.

He had drunk from her cup.

He could taste a faint minty sweetness, the flavor of her lip balm left on the rim of the cup.

…

After a brief, awkward silence, Zhou Qinyao put down the cup. “I… I’ll pour you another one.”

“No need.”

Tang You’s face felt a bit inexplicably warm.

Despite not doing much, the interaction over that cup of water felt oddly intimate.

After a few seconds of silence, Tang You remembered the soup she was holding and offered it to him, saying, “How about you have a sip of this?”

Zhou Qinyao, slightly flustered, glanced at the steaming chicken soup and instinctively said, “It might be a bit hot.”

Tang You quickly touched the cup to check and found it was indeed a bit hot.

So she brought the cup to her lips and gently blew on it.

“Whoo… Whoo…”

Zhou Qinyao watched in surprise as she diligently blew on the soup, her lips pursed in concentration.

Unable to hold back a smile, Zhou Qinyao turned his face away, covering his amused lips with his fist.

What kind of girl is she? How can she be so adorable?

The peculiar smell of the special chicken soup began to fill the room, but Zhou Qinyao faintly noticed the subtle fragrance of Tang You.

The unique scent of the young girl mixed with it, light and delicate, stirring emotions.

This made Zhou Qinyao feel somewhat uncomfortable.

He interrupted her, “Alright, that’s enough.”

In truth, Zhou Qinyao wasn’t fond of soup, especially this chicken soup, which he heard was made with ginger, scallions, white pepper, tomatoes, and some other odd ingredients.

He took a sip, forcing himself to drink it despite the strange combination of sour, salty, spicy, and an oddly astringent bitterness.

Zhou Qinyao almost gagged.

But, to not waste Tang You’s effort, he endured the discomfort and finished the cup.