After Gu Qin walked away, Su Man was still watching his retreating figure.

Her attitude was completely different from how she was with me.

I suddenly understood everything.

It seemed Su Man was like most of the girls at school, interested in Gu Qin.

But Su Man was used to being pursued, so the idea of her chasing after Gu Qin was simply out of the question.

And as for Gu Qin, he probably didn’t even remember her name.

Realizing this, I was surprised to find that I didn’t feel any jealousy or sadness.

Once Gu Qin was out of sight, Su Man turned to me and asked, “So, are you coming next week?”

I snapped back to reality and smiled at Su Man. “Like I said earlier, I’ve been busy with my studies lately, so I won’t be able to make it.”

Hearing my answer, Su Man froze, clearly not expecting me to decline.

But I had no intention of explaining further, so I turned and went back to the classroom.

In that brief moment, a lot became clear to me.

I’d always thought I liked Su Man, but on reflection, it was just a shallow attraction.

I hadn’t felt any real spark with her—it was more that everyone said she was beautiful, so I agreed.

All the other guys pursued her, and I got caught up in the competition, so I chased her too.

Texting her daily wasn’t because I liked her; I just enjoyed the sense of superiority in her ignoring other guys but responding to me.

That wasn’t real affection.

For instance, when I first found out about my illness and felt desperate, she hadn’t even crossed my mind.

Since I didn’t truly like her, and she didn’t seem that interested in me either, why waste time on each other?

After all, my illness made me realize how precious time and life truly are.

…

It was Friday, and my two local roommates had already packed up and gone home early.

Once again, only Gu Qin and I were left in the dorm…

When it was time for dinner, I casually asked Gu Qin beside me, “Want to go to the cafeteria and grab some food?”

It was just an offhand question. I knew Gu Qin usually kept his distance and wouldn’t join me for meals or even to fetch water.

I didn’t expect much, but to my surprise, Gu Qin replied, “Sure.”

I was momentarily stunned as Gu Qin got up and asked, “Aren’t you coming?”

Regaining my senses, I quickly jumped up, “Coming, coming.”

Going to the crowded cafeteria with Gu Qin was a natural opportunity for me.

I kept “accidentally” brushing against him here and there, adding a few more days to my lifespan with each touch.

And, oddly enough, Gu Qin didn’t seem to mind or shy away from my touches tonight, which made me a little happy and strangely nervous.

After packing up our food, we returned to the dorm quickly.

I was blandly eating my porridge when Gu Qin suddenly asked, “Do you like that Su Man?”

“Cough, cough, cough!”

I hadn’t expected such a direct question, and I started coughing violently.

Gu Qin frowned, coming over to pat my back. “Are you okay?”

Every pat felt like another day added to my life.

I couldn’t help feeling delighted.

When I finally stopped coughing, I blurted out, “Could you pat a few more times?”

I could feel Gu Qin’s hand pause on my back.

Realizing my mistake, I thought he’d scold me, but to my surprise, he continued patting my back.

While doing so, he calmly asked, “You still haven’t answered me—do you like Su Man?”

His pats grew lighter, almost like gentle strokes down my back, making me shiver and instinctively answer, “I wouldn’t say I like her.”

Gu Qin raised an eyebrow. “Not really?”

I answered honestly, “I thought I liked her before, but today I realized it wasn’t that deep.”

Gu Qin’s hand paused mid-pat, and he gave me a cryptic look. “So you used to think you liked Su Man?”

I had no idea what was wrong with my answer and looked at him innocently. “Yeah, why?”

Gu Qin suddenly leaned in close, his expression cold and intense. “Then why were you always flirting with me?”

The air grew silent around us.

I stared at Gu Qin, stunned.

“I…” I stammered, my voice shaky.

“When… when did I ever flirt with you?”

Hearing that, Gu Qin’s expression turned even colder.

“You dare say you haven’t been flirting with me?”

He spoke icily.

“You’re always sneaking touches when I’m not looking, and at night, you even climb into my bed to kiss me. Are you seriously going to claim that’s not flirting?”

His words left me speechless.

I’d figured he’d noticed some of my actions, but I hadn’t expected him to call me out so bluntly.

Desperately, I replied, “I really didn’t mean it that way. I just wanted to be friends with you!”

I hadn’t anticipated that my offhanded explanation would ignite Gu Qin’s anger completely.

He stood abruptly, his hands pressing down on the table behind me.

In an instant, I found myself trapped between his arms.