TSDT - 15

Perhaps the dinner was too delicious, the restaurant environment too comfortable, and Jiang Ying felt too utterly content, leading to a muddled state of mind.

Meng Jingshu drove her downstairs. Before getting out of the car, she actually, in a daze, said, “I feel like we’ll see each other the day after tomorrow.”

After she spoke, both of them fell silent for a long moment.

Jiang Ying, in the dead silence, wished even more that she could die. She tried to salvage the situation: “If you’re busy, just pretend I didn’t say anything.”

She reached for her seatbelt, wanting to leave this dreadful place immediately and let time erase the awkward incident of her making a bed-date reservation before her period was even over, only to be rejected.

Her hand was suddenly pressed down. Meng Jingshu used force, keeping her firmly in the seat.

He looked at her, his lowered voice raspy: “I’ll be busy with an exhibition these few days... Thursday, I’ll come find you on Thursday, okay?”

Jiang Ying quietly pulled her hand away and softly said, “Okay.”

After another moment of silence, Meng Jingshu asked, “Your face injury, is it better?”

The injury on the side of her nose was very shallow, leaving only a faint pink mark. She had put on some foundation, making it almost invisible.

Jiang Ying said, “Almost.”

Meng Jingshu: “Hmm.”

The sound of the rain was clear, making his current voice seem even rougher. For a moment, Jiang Ying felt a friction-like itch in her chest.

She pursed her lips, shaking off the lustful thoughts in her head, and very seriously instructed him, “Meng Jingshu, remember to take medicine for your cough, don’t drag it out like you used to.”

He smiled at her words and said okay.

The exhibition was on Tuesday and Wednesday. Shufeng Technology had only been established for a few months, but it had already gained a small reputation in the industry, with people constantly coming to inquire. Meng Jingshu was responsible for explanations and technical exchanges, while the remaining negotiations were left to Wei Zhanfeng. Not everyone who came had an intention to cooperate, but when it involved areas of interest, several detailed discussions were inevitable. Meeting acquaintances also meant constant social engagements at night.

After two days, Meng Jingshu was feeling quite unwell. A few cough drops didn’t help, and his throat became increasingly dry and sore. After the exhibition, on Thursday, there was a company-wide meeting, mostly for business adjustments. Wei Zhanfeng saw Meng Jingshu’s poor condition and directly sent him home.

He didn’t try to tough it out and returned to Dongming Jiayuan.

The domestic helper’s cooking was decent, usually impeccable, but perhaps due to his current discomfort, he had no appetite at all.

After the helper left, Meng Jingshu felt a little hungry and also hot. He simply ordered sashimi for takeout and took ice water from the fridge, chugging it down. Now he wasn’t hot, nor hungry.

But he felt even worse.

He cursed under his breath, went back to his room, took a shower, and went to bed to rest.

Before falling asleep, he vaguely thought, was there something else?

...

Jiang Ying wore face masks for several days in a row, and on Wednesday night, she even scrubbed herself clean. Her period ended, and with such diligent skincare, she was radiant, even looking exceptionally spirited while taking notes in court, as if she were the one who had received a six-figure settlement.

By Thursday afternoon, the anticipation began to stir.

This time, until after work, as the sky gradually darkened, she received no news from Meng Jingshu.

Could it be that they weren’t eating dinner tonight, and he was coming straight to the point?

...That would be fine too.

She went home, had dinner by herself, cleaned up, but her phone remained empty. She endured it for a bit, deciding to take a shower first. In just over ten minutes, she even brought her phone into the bathroom, occasionally pulling back the shower curtain to check, but the result was still disappointment.

It was almost nine o’clock.

Even if he couldn’t make it, he should have said something, right?

Meng Jingshu was a man of his word. In high school, when he snuck out during lunch break, he was never late, not once.

She felt a faint worry and dialed his number.

The first call rang until it automatically hung up. Jiang Ying paused for a moment, then dialed again.

It rang for about thirty seconds before someone finally picked up.

“Hello...”

His voice was so hoarse it sounded like crackling static from a bad signal, almost grating.

Jiang Ying frowned tightly: “Meng Jingshu? What are you doing?”

He said: “Sleeping.”

He seemed a little confused, his voice thick with nasal congestion.

Jiang Ying asked: “Are you sick?”

He sounded a bit impatient: “Yeah.”

During Jiang Ying’s moment of silence, he finally remembered his appointment with her and said hoarsely, “Is today Thursday? Sorry... I’ll have to break our date.”

Jiang Ying said softly, “It’s okay, you get some good rest.”

He was probably really uncomfortable; he didn’t even bother to respond again and just hung up.

Jiang Ying dropped her phone, lay on the bed, staring straight at the ceiling. She wasn’t really looking at anything, or thinking about anything. Her mind was blank for a while, then she rolled around on the bed twice as if to vent. She exhaled, sat up, saw that it was still early, took her Kindle from the bedside, and planned to read a book.

But after only two pages, her thoughts drifted far away again, back to a long time ago.

A long time ago...

It was almost this kind of weather, turning cool in autumn, with large temperature differences between day and night. Many classmates in their class caught colds during the change of seasons.

Teenage boys, full of vigor, especially those accustomed to being as arrogant as Meng Jingshu, had no concept of “cold” in their dictionary. Many people had switched to autumn and winter school uniforms, but not him. He still wore black short sleeves, at most putting on a summer school uniform jacket to pass inspection. So, he unfortunately got infected.

He was healthy and rarely got sick, but once he did, it seemed to be more severe than for others. His whole state was extremely poor, he was listless, looked world-weary, and had a terrible temper, with a childish immaturity.

After PE class, his deskmate, who wasn’t sick, went to buy ice water to drink, and he bought some too, sweating and chugging ice water. By evening self-study, he was so uncomfortable he couldn’t hold on, burying his head and falling into a daze.

Jiang Ying remembered his impatience just now, sighed softly, got up, and changed her clothes.