The administrator auntie sitting at the desk, playing on her phone, didn’t even look up. She casually knocked on a small blackboard placed on the bench behind her.

Ji Fanling stood on tiptoe to take a look.

Scrawled on the board in messy handwriting were the words: “Maintenance from Monday to Wednesday this week. Operating hours changed to 5:00 PM to 10:30 PM.”

“Water stops at 10:30, and you’re still letting people in at 10:28?”

Ji Fanling sneered coldly. “What, so desperate for money? Refund me!”

“You didn’t read the notice, so whose fault is that?”

The auntie, legs crossed, continued scrolling through short videos. “I wrote it all out. What, can’t you read?”

Ji Fanling: “I said refund me. Didn’t grow ears, did you?”

“Even a minute counts as a wash. Once you’re inside, no refunds,” the auntie declared firmly.

“Is that so? If you don’t refund me tonight, I’m not leaving. Let’s see who outlasts who,” Ji Fanling said calmly, enunciating each word.

The auntie finally put down her phone, squinting at her. “What’s with you kids, being so unreasonable! What school are you from?! You, and you too!” She pointed at Lu Yan, spitting as she spoke.

Lu Yan took two steps back, glancing nervously at Ji Fanling.

Ji Fanling kept a steady gaze, unfazed. “Who are you pointing at?”

“Fine, fine. Come back tomorrow, I’ll give you a two-yuan discount.”

The auntie, clearly one to bully the weak and fear the strong, muttered under her breath, “Happy now? I’m off work. Leave already!”

“Two yuan? Who are you trying to fool?” Ji Fanling said coldly. “Can tomorrow’s water wash my hair today?”

“You’re not letting this go, are you!” the auntie snapped.

“Fanling…” Lu Yan tugged at her arm and shook her head.

Ji Fanling understood what she meant.

This was the closest public bathhouse to their shared apartment. If they fell out with the administrator, it was highly likely she would refuse to serve them in the future, forcing them to go to a bathhouse much farther away.

It wasn’t worth the trouble.

If it were just Ji Fanling herself, she would rather walk two kilometers round trip every time to take a shower than swallow her pride and let this slide.

…

But she was with Lu Yan.

In the end, Ji Fanling returned to their rental apartment with a head full of suds. She boiled a kettle of hot water, mixed it with tap water, and bent over the sink, hastily rinsing the shampoo out of her hair.

The long walk back had taken so long that the tips of her hair had frozen into icy clumps, breaking off into shards of ice with every touch.

Ji Fanling didn’t own a hairdryer. Usually, after washing her hair, she would use the public hairdryer at the bathhouse before heading home, but today, that wasn’t an option.

If only she could go to Fu Yingcheng’s place to dry her hair…

…

What was she even thinking?

By the time Ji Fanling lay down on her bed, her quilt was damp, her hair was damp, and even her underwear was half-dry and half-wet. Her entire body was devoid of warmth, as if she were soaking in a pool of clammy, cold moisture.

The whole day had been a series of endurance tests. Putting up with Huang Lili, then the upstairs neighbor, then the bathhouse auntie.

What the hell.

What a shitty day.

Just as Ji Fanling was about to fall asleep, the front door banged open. The couple in Room One had returned, giggling and laughing in the living room before heading into their bedroom. Only a thin, non-soundproof wall separated them from Ji Fanling. And soon enough, the banging and shouting began.

If it had been the Ji Fanling of the past, this kind of laughter wouldn’t have bothered her much, it wasn’t all that different from the loud shouting and cursing during Ji Guoliang’s card games.

Perhaps it was because Fu Yingcheng’s home had been so quiet that she now found herself unaccustomed to this kind of noise. Just as she was about to drift off to sleep, she was jolted awake again by the thunderous sound of water.

In the shared apartment, the bathroom had an old-fashioned squat toilet with the water tank mounted high. Whenever someone flushed, the noise was particularly piercing in the stillness of the night.

Just as she fell asleep, she was woken up by the sound of water.

Just as she fell asleep again, she was woken by laughter from next door.

Just as she drifted off once more, the water noise jolted her awake again.

This happened three or four times in a row.

Ji Fanling tossed and turned under the quilt, covering her ears as frustration built up inside her, like it was about to explode. No matter how she lay, she couldn’t get comfortable.

In a fit of irritation, she threw off the quilt and turned on her phone.

It was already 4:30 in the morning.

Her throat itched, and she craved a cigarette. She sat up and rummaged through the drawer by the light of her phone, only to remember that after spending so much time with Fu Yingcheng, she’d gotten used to not carrying cigarettes anymore.

She realized something else.

It had been a long time since she even thought about smoking.

Ji Fanling fell back onto the bed, lying there motionless.

Her phone screen dimmed automatically, leaving her surrounded by three windowless walls that loomed darkly, narrow and oppressive, as if they were about to collapse inward.

The unfamiliar emotions that had been weighing on her for so long finally reared their head in the dead of night, clawing and spreading like brambles in the darkness.

In the past, she lived the same way no matter where she was. Even sleeping in her own bed at home, she could be rudely awakened by a beating. There had never been a place that gave her a sense of safety or warmth, let alone a feeling of belonging.

It was precisely because she had never experienced such feelings that, when she first found herself thinking of Fu Yingcheng, she didn’t even understand why.

Ji Fanling covered her eyes with her hand, remaining silent for a long time before letting out an abrupt laugh.

She really must be losing her mind.

For the first time in her life, she missed the feeling of home.

And the home she missed was… someone else’s.

*

The next day.

As expected, Ji Fanling came down with a fever.

She was too weak to get out of bed and certainly couldn’t drag herself to work with such a high fever. She had no choice but to ask Lu Yan to call in sick for her. She spent the entire day lying in bed, dazed and feverish, her head pounding, her mouth parched.

Having not eaten, her stomach aches badly, and even her sleep was restless.

By late afternoon, the man from Room 2 came back. It seemed like he wanted to borrow something, as he knocked on her door for a long time, speaking intermittently about something.

Half-asleep, Ji Fanling vaguely heard her phone ringing.

The ringtone played for a long time before she fully woke up. Struggling to open her eyes, she reached for her phone.

The caller ID displayed Fu Yingcheng.

The persistent vibrations of the phone buzzed through her palm, pressing for her attention.

It was so sudden.

It made her nose sting with an unexpected ache.

For a moment, Ji Fanling almost wanted to ask him if she could stay at his place for a few more days.

But.

How the hell… could she bring herself to say it?

Fu Yingcheng didn’t owe her anything.

As a former classmate, he had already done more than enough for her.

Ji Fanling was about to answer the call when a sudden fit of coughing rose in her throat. After coughing for a while, she realized her voice was too hoarse to speak properly, so she had no choice but to decline the call.

She opened WeChat and sent a question mark.

None of my business^[1]She changed her WeChat name again.: 【?】

None of my business: 【What’s up?】

A long time passed, so long that Ji Fanling thought Fu Yingcheng wouldn’t reply.

Then WeChat chimed.

…

C: 【Wrong number.】

*

Three days later.

At the top floor of the Jiuzhou Group headquarters, in the conference room.

Only the host’s side of the table was occupied, and the room was completely silent.

The man at the head of the table wore a dark shirt and an understated silver tie. With his eyes lowered, he silently flipped through the documents in front of him.

The sound of pages turning, one after another, echoed in the deathly quiet conference room.

Maversis Biotech, a company focused on research and development, was visiting China for an inspection. A brief meeting had been scheduled for 5 PM, but it was already past five, and the other party was still nowhere to be seen.

It was obvious to anyone paying attention that Mr. Fu had been in an unusually bad mood lately, and the other party had unfortunately hit the bullseye.

“Mr. Fu, the call went through.”

Secretary Wen walked into the conference room. “It’s raining, and there’s a traffic jam on the overpass. They said they’ll arrive within ten minutes.”

Fu Yingcheng glanced at his watch and said, “Tell them we’ll only wait ten minutes.”

Ten minutes later, Fu Yingcheng stood up on time, picked up his documents, and left the room. The others followed suit, seeing his actions as the cue to leave.

Just as they stepped out of the conference room, hurried footsteps echoed behind them, accompanied by shouts: “Mr. Fu! Mr. Fu! Please wait!”

Fu Yingcheng stopped in his tracks, and the group turned to see five or six Maversis representatives rushing toward them from the end of the hallway. They were drenched from the rain, panting heavily, and apologizing in English, “We’re so sorry for being late. There was terrible traffic. Shall we start now?”

“I have other engagements scheduled.”

Fu Yingcheng’s English was so precise it was almost devoid of any warmth. “You may reschedule at your convenience.”

With that, he left, and the rest of the group followed him.

“Why did Mr. Fu leave? What does this mean? Is he upset?” The leading man, panicked, grabbed Secretary Wen in desperation.

“Mr. Fu does not let emotions interfere with his work.” 

Secretary Wen replied. “However, you may need to inform your CEO, Mr. Benderman, that this collaboration has been canceled.”

“What? Canceled?!”

The lead representative exclaimed urgently, “I didn’t mean to be late! It was only ten minutes, there’s no room for negotiation? Besides, you were the ones who initially proposed this collaboration!”

“You might not fully understand Mr. Fu’s personality.” 

Secretary Wen said in a matter-of-fact tone. “He doesn’t keep others waiting, but he also won’t wait for anyone.”

“Isn’t there any way to work something out…?” 

“An opportunity missed is just that, missed,” Secretary Wen interrupted, turning away.

“Mr. Fu will never take the initiative a second time.”

…

Wendy knocked on the door and stepped into the CEO’s office.

In front of the expansive floor-to-ceiling windows, a suited man sat at his desk, engrossed in work.

Just as she had told the Maversis representatives, Fu Yingcheng’s eyes betrayed no emotion. He never wasted feelings on things he deemed unworthy.

“Mr. Fu, here’s the dossier on Bioson and my updates on their coordination with us,” Wendy said.

Bioson was the company Jiuzhou most wanted to collaborate with after Maversis. Since the latter showed no sincerity, there was no need for Fu Yingcheng to issue any orders, so prioritizing Bioson was naturally arranged immediately.

Fu Yingcheng glanced at the document briefly. “Book me a flight to Washington next month.”

Wendy immediately checked the flight schedule. “You have a private engagement in the city on the 11th. The earliest flight after that is at 12:30 PM on the 14th.”

“That works.”

“Oh my, Mr. Fu has a private engagement~” 

A casual, playful voice came from the doorway.

Su Lingqing, dressed in a checkered shirt, leaned lazily against the doorframe with his arms crossed, raising an eyebrow at Wendy. “What engagement? How come I don’t know about it?”

Wendy brushed past him without so much as a glance, walking out of the office.

It was as if Su Lingqing were nothing more than a talking cloud of air.

Su Lingqing: “…Hey!”

Sure, Wendy was the secretary and only reported to Fu Yingcheng.

But wasn’t she being a bit too dismissive of him, the sales director!

“If you’re free, just go home,” Fu Yingcheng glanced at him. “Stop bothering the other employees.”

“How was I bothering her? I was just showing concern for you.”

Su Lingqing let out an exasperated laugh. “Hey, how about dinner tonight? My treat.”

Who knows which word set off Fu Yingcheng this time. The man let out a faint chuckle, not even lifting his gaze. “Don’t just stand there getting in the way.”

“I’m serious. How about that Michelin-starred place I recommended last time…”

“Not to my taste.”

“You’re so damn picky.” Su Lingqing curled his lip. “Fine, you decide what to eat. Happy now? I’m splurging today.”

“You think I’m lacking food…”

Fu Yingcheng glanced up in annoyance, but his words trailed off as he paused, adjusting his silver-rimmed glasses. “I’ll decide?”

Su Lingqing waved his hand dismissively. “You decide, you decide. Alright, Mr. Fu, let’s go. We can handle things later when we’re back.”

…

Half an hour later.

The air was thick with the choking scent of cheap spices. Round tables covered in thin plastic cloths flapped in the cold wind, while plastic stools screeched across the uneven, greasy floor that no amount of mopping could clean.

Su Lingqing stared in disbelief at the signboard of Zhao San’s Skewer Food Stall and exclaimed in utter shock:

“…This is what you decided on???”

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Author’s Note:

Mr. Fu: Always takes the initiative for his wife, a thousand times over.

Chi Chi’s Note: Aaaaaah, I’m such an idiot, such a big idiot! Aaaaaah, I accidentally set the wrong publishing time qaq. I just realized that this chapter’s draft was published along with the previous one (sobbing).

Red envelopes for the comments section qaq!

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