Chapter 45: A Bout of Illness

Later that night, Long Zhentian called Shang Zhitao, drunkenly wanting to tell her Christmas stories.

“I didn’t ask for a lesson today, you know. This lesson today is unpaid,” Shang Zhitao teased Long Zhentian.

“No money, today is voluntary teaching.”

“But I don’t want to learn slurred English,” Shang Zhitao laughed at Long Zhentian’s drunken slurring, bantering with him.

But Long Zhentian suddenly became serious. “Peach, shall I take you to America?” His sudden intensity startled Shang Zhitao, leaving her speechless on the other end of the phone.

“Did you hear me? Come with me?”

“Wake up, you drunkard, Long Zhentian,” Shang Zhitao hung up. Why did Christmas make everyone so strange?

“What’s wrong?” Sun Yu asked her.

Shang Zhitao shook her head. Had everyone gone crazy?

They returned home, and Sun Yu took a small gift box from her bag and placed it in Shang Zhitao’s palm, saying with rare gentleness, “Shang Zhitao, Merry Christmas.”

Shang Zhitao took the gift, ran into her room, and then ran out again. “I prepared a gift for you too.” She placed the wrapped box in Sun Yu’s hands and hugged her.

She had prepared a Lego house for Sun Yu, and Sun Yu had prepared a preserved flower for her. This little bit of sweetness in their ordinary days was an unforgettable memory of friendship.

Shang Zhitao began to enjoy borrowing books from Sun Yuanzhu. Having a small library at home felt really good. But she also knew how to be restrained and polite, only going to his room when everyone was around. In her heart, Sun Yuanzhu was like a celestial being, and she couldn’t bear for him to be sullied.

She would chat with Sun Yuanzhu for a few sentences when she borrowed books. She always felt that Sun Yuanzhu had some sadness in his emotions. But he was always peaceful, which made her think it was just her imagination.

When she read Sun Yuanzhu’s books, she would carefully turn the pages according to his habits, not daring to leave a single mark.

During the New Year’s holiday, while everyone else went out to busy themselves, she stayed in bed reading. Not only did she read, but she also took notes.

Only one day did she go out to climb the mountain with Long Zhentian. After sobering up, he kept apologizing for his inappropriate behavior on the phone that day. His apology was very sincere, sounding like a confession. He said that Shang Zhitao was the Chinese girl in his heart: well-behaved, gentle, and resilient. That’s why he couldn’t help but say those things, and he asked Shang Zhitao to forgive him.

Foreigners were really too funny. Who knew what went on in their heads?

Shang Zhitao listened to his praises with a flushed face, and finally said, “Long Zhentian, I can’t go to America with you. I still have my parents. Do you know the Chinese saying? ‘While parents are alive, one should not travel far.’ It’s already a bit unfilial of me to work in Beijing, let alone go abroad with you. Besides, I think you are a very good teacher and friend, but you are not my type!”

“My heart is broken!” Long Zhentian lamented, patting his chest dramatically, making Shang Zhitao giggle.

On the last day of the New Year’s holiday, Shang Zhitao caught a bad cold.

She had been healthy since childhood and rarely got sick. At that time, her classmates had runny noses one after another, but she was as healthy as a little tank. Old Shang often said, “My daughter’s greatest advantage is her healthy body.”

The usually healthy Shang Zhitao caught a bad cold. Her nose was so blocked that half her head couldn’t turn, her eyes were watery, making her look like she had suffered a great grievance, and she coughed incessantly, accompanied by a fever. Even though it was so severe, she still got up early and went to work. She didn’t want to ask for leave. Chinese New Year was approaching, and she wanted to save those few days of vacation to go home and be with Old Shang and Da Zhai.

Sniffling, she stepped out of the elevator and bumped into Luan Nian coming out of the office in the hallway. She didn’t want to talk to him, but she still rubbed her nose and greeted him, “Good morning, Luke.”

Luan Nian walked past her without looking, his expression very cold.

Shang Zhitao felt unwell from her cold and had no time to ponder Luan Nian’s thoughts. She probably understood that for Luan Nian, once a relationship ended, it ended. He had always thought she was foolish and didn’t want to talk to her much. Her head was dizzy, so she took a pill. Seeing that it was still early, she lay down on her desk to sleep for a while. This cold was fierce, and by the afternoon, she had a high fever. Her face was burning red.

Lumi came back from getting water and saw her sitting in front of the computer with a blank stare. She put her hand on Shang Zhitao’s forehead. “My goodness, you could fry an egg on your forehead!”

“Huh?” Shang Zhitao reacted slowly and touched her own forehead. “It does feel a bit hot...”

“Go back, take sick leave.”

“Sick leave... does it count as annual leave?”

“You silly girl, it’s paid sick leave. Remember to get a doctor’s note if it’s more than two days.”

“Okay.”

Shang Zhitao packed her things and stood up. Lumi wrapped her up warmly and saw her out. She was a little worried and asked Shang Zhitao, “Are your roommates all at home?”

“It doesn’t seem like it.”

The two of them entered the elevator. As the doors closed, Luan Nian and the girls from the creative center also walked in. They were going to the first-floor coffee shop for a meeting.

Lumi smiled at everyone and then whispered to Shang Zhitao, “What if no one’s home? Never mind, I’ll take you back.”

Lumi, Shang Zhitao’s first friend in Beijing, was righteous. Even in the same elevator as the CEO, she could openly say, “You wait for me on the first floor, I’ll go put on my down jacket and drive you back.”

Shang Zhitao secretly tugged at her sleeve, telling her to be careful, but she just pursed her lips. Kitty had once gone to the nearby mall to buy shoes in the afternoon and was caught by Lumi, who was going downstairs to pick up a supplier. Everyone was the same; usually putting on airs, but when they skipped work, weren’t they just as sneaky?

Lumi wasn’t afraid of any of them! Shang Zhitao got off the elevator and waited for Lumi in the lobby on the first floor. Luan Nian and the others went to the coffee shop through the back door. Luan Nian glanced at Shang Zhitao’s abnormally red face and suddenly felt a pang of tenderness.

The night he was drinking in Hokkaido, when Shang Zhitao told him she wanted to end their relationship, he had actually felt a bit angry. He didn’t want to get entangled with women. After a glass of wine, he thought about coming back to deal with her. After a few more glasses, he felt that ending it like this was fine. Shang Zhitao couldn’t afford to play, and he wasn’t serious, so continuing would probably lead to a lot of trouble.

But now, seeing Shang Zhitao sitting there, still sitting upright despite being sick, a little pity arose in his heart.

“Are you sick?” He rarely took the initiative to text her about personal matters.

Shang Zhitao saw the message Luan Nian sent her, but she put her phone in her pocket without replying. Only she knew why she had gotten this sick. On one side was her hopeless affection for Luan Nian, and on the other was the thought of letting go, tormenting her alternately. The feeling of not being loved was too terrible, so terrible that a hidden fire grew in her heart with nowhere to vent. If she didn’t get sick, she probably wouldn’t be able to end things.

Luan Nian was in a meeting with the department. Through the glass back door of the coffee shop, he glanced at Shang Zhitao and saw her put away her phone without replying to his message, her posture stubborn.

Lumi came and took her away.

Luan Nian had always known that Shang Zhitao had a little bit of stubbornness. Her stubbornness was hidden very deep, making people mistakenly believe she was always submissive. But her occasional outbursts of emotion revealed her stubbornness.

After brainstorming with them, he stood up. “Grace, you can take the lead on the following work.” He went upstairs, put on his coat, and drove out of the company. When he was going up in the elevator, he bumped into Lumi, who had just returned after dropping off Shang Zhitao. She greeted him, “Good morning, Luke.”

“You skipped work?”

“...Ah... Flora was sick, I took her home.” Lumi said righteously.

“Hmm. Skipping work will result in a deduction of salary. Go report to HR.” Luan Nian said with a straight face, making it impossible to tell if he was serious or not.

Lumi made a “tsk” sound behind him, thinking, “I’ll report your beloved Kitty too.”

Luan Nian pressed the close button. Sometimes he thought these people were quite stupid. Their faces were burning red, and instead of going to the hospital, they went home?

He drove his car to the entrance of Shang Zhitao’s apartment complex and called her. Shang Zhitao didn’t answer, probably asleep, or simply didn’t want to answer.

“Come downstairs,” Luan Nian texted her. “To fill out a leave application.”

Luan Nian used his boss’s authority to pressure her. His official tone finally extinguished Shang Zhitao’s resistance. She pondered how to reply to him, and then saw his next message: “Bring your ID card and medical insurance card downstairs. Fill it out on my computer.”

...Shang Zhitao felt that Luan Nian was really meddling too much. Did he have to chase his employees home to ask if they had filled out the leave system? There were so many people in the company, could he possibly monitor everyone’s attendance? She dragged her feet downstairs and saw Luan Nian driving the car she had crashed, feeling a little guilty again.

Getting into the car, she said to Luan Nian, “I’m sorry, Luke. I didn’t mean not to fill out the system. I forgot.”

She didn’t know why, but her fever had subsided for a while, and now it was back. Her throat felt as uncomfortable as if she had choked on water, and it was very difficult to speak. She coughed non-stop, almost breathless.

Luan Nian waited until she finished coughing before asking, “Did you bring your ID card and medical insurance card?”

“Yes.”

Luan Nian didn’t speak again and started the car. Shang Zhitao was a little surprised and turned her head to look at him. “Where are you going?”

Luan Nian didn’t answer her, driving the car to the hospital near Shang Zhitao’s home.

“Get out.”

“I’m not going to the hospital.” Shang Zhitao had been healthy since childhood but was also most afraid of going to the hospital. Seeing the hospital now made her legs feel weak, and she chickened out, sitting motionless in the car. “I want to go home.”

Luan Nian raised his eyebrows and said, “Let me see who you filled in as your emergency contact in the system.” He then reached for his computer, but Shang Zhitao hurriedly pressed his hand down. “Don’t.”

Her palm was burning hot, pressed against the back of Luan Nian’s hand. Realizing it was inappropriate, she quickly withdrew her hand. “I’ll go in and register right now. Thank you for bringing me.” She didn’t want to be involved with Luan Nian anymore. In the past few days, she had thought things through a lot. Unlike Luan Nian, she couldn’t easily pick up and let go. She didn’t have that ability. She had inadvertently seen him with other women and knew that for him, she was just a means to satisfy his physical needs. It could be her, or it could be someone else. Originally, she thought she could not care, but she did.

She entered the hospital clinic alone, thinking, “I definitely won’t get a blood test.” People were coming and going in the clinic. She walked around inside, wanting to find a quiet place to wait for a while and then go home. When she turned her head, she saw Luan Nian standing behind her, even mocking her, “Don’t know where the registration window is, do you?”

Shang Zhitao pursed her lips and didn’t speak. She didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t figure out why Luan Nian was meddling so much. That’s just how he was. Just when you were completely heartbroken, he would suddenly be a little bit nice to you, making you think you were special in his heart.

Luan Nian was too lazy to waste words. He walked up to Shang Zhitao and took her ID card and medical insurance card from her down jacket pocket, not forgetting to threaten her, “Your emergency contact is Shang Wenbin, right?”

The threat worked. Shang Zhitao was most afraid of her parents knowing she was sick. During her four years of studying in Nanjing, she had gotten sick once or twice, but she had kept it well hidden.

She still obediently saw the doctor.