Gan Qing was strangely silent for a few seconds. Then, she finally realised what she had done and stiffly took a step back.

"I… erm, I wasn't very awake…"

"You're even using my keys!"

The two of them had spoken almost in unison and also shut their mouths in unison. Two voices overlapped.

Gan Qing's gaze drifted down. Yu Lanchuan had taken something out just now and his wallet was opened, revealing his keys. His key chain was hung with a small decorative Swiss army knife… which she had availed herself of by taking it and holding it against his neck.

Without a word, Gan Qing pulled a tissue from the side and gave Yu Lanchuan's keys a thorough wipedown. Then, looking like she was making a tribute, she offered it up on both hands, respectfully escorting it back to Yu Lanchuan's bag, and pretended that nothing had happened.

She usually couldn't be bothered to open her eyes wide and her eyelids were always hiding half her pupils, making other people unable to tell what she was focusing on and putting a distance between her and them. Now, because of her cold, her double eyelids were burned by her fever until the folds had multiplied and were weighing down heavily, and there was a hint of tears. For no reason at all, she now seemed innocent and docile.

Unlike her usual self.

Yu Lanchuan's mind stirred. It was as though he was looking at an ice-covered rock on a mountain and spotted a bunch of flowers growing in the cracks. He was a little shaken by this unexpected turn and his voice involuntarily softened a few notches, "Go eat something and check your temperature. I'll take you to the hospital."

Without realising it, Gan Qing followed after him for a few steps. There seemed to be something separating the sound in her ears from her; the sound seemed to come from far and then from near in tandem with the intermittent ringing in her ears. Her reaction was also slower.

Yu Lanchuan had already spread the medicine and food he had brought all over the table by the time she spoke in a rather unclear voice. "I don't need to go to the hospital. It's like this every time I get a cold. I'll have a fever for a day and it'll go down after sleeping for two days. It's fine whether or not I take medicine… Mm…"

Her brain seemed a little incapable of reacting. She kept feeling that she had forgotten to say something and it was a long while before she remembered and quickly made up for it awkwardly, "Why did you purposely come back from the office? I feel bad for inconveniencing you."

It never hurts to be extra well-mannered; Gan Qing's original intention was to say something polite but because these polite words came out a little too slow, like she was forcibly making up for her slip-up, they didn't sound well-mannered and considerate. Instead, it sounded like she was purposely being more distant and was a little unfriendly.

That was just how mysterious the human language was. Sometimes, a subtle difference in tone or timing would result in a completely different meaning.

Gan Qing sensed it. To prevent misunderstandings, she quickly turned her head full of sticky paste and added a line that sounded completely like she was kissing up to him. "But I happen to have no energy to get up and cook. This lunch came at the perfectly right time. Little Master Yu has saved my humble little life, my eternal gratitude for his great kindness, in the future…"

Yu Lanchuan gave her a chilly look.

Gan Qing could only laugh foolishly.

But Yu Lanchuan didn't seem angry at all. He ignored her, looking down as he sent messages to his colleague to say that he had something to do in the afternoon and was taking a half day off.

After sending the message, he put his phone away and took his time to ask, "In the future, what? What can you do to repay me?"

Gan Qing, "..."

She counted on her fingers; she had neither money nor power, neither a house nor a career. She had nothing but the barest of necessities. Only her culinary skills were still decent but her palate seemed different from others and could not be accepted by the secular world. Little Master Yu respected order and obeyed laws, and was a model citizen; he probably did not have the need to hire an assassin.

No wonder in the legends passed on among the people, the little demons were always repaying debts of kindness with their bodies—they really had no other skills.

But Gan Qing had always thought that the "demons repaying debts of kindness with their bodies" type of stores were all fantasies cooked up by young men from the lowest rungs of the old society in the past. The male protagonists all had empty pockets and empty heads, and only hearts full of integrity.

If Master Xu was a child of the nobility, then The Legend of the White Snake would not be a story of repaying kindness and instead be a "porcelain scam." That was because Madam White Snake was an aimless migrant who even faked her household registration, whose special abilities were in using her demonic skills to swindle and trick. Even her beautiful looks were created with her skills and she exposed herself the moment she had too much to drink. 

Why would a gentleman of the nobility class want her? He would be scared until he pissed his pants.

The rest of the story would probably describe Master Xu spending a large amount of money to hire Daoist masters to perform a ritual, followed by a few hundred rounds of great battles between the Daoist masters and the demons. In the end, evil would not be able suppress good and the demons would be exterminated.

Yu Lanchuan saw her at a loss for words and rolled his eyes. From the bag of medicine, he took out a digital thermometer and tossed it to her. "Read the manual yourself if you don't know how to use it."

As he spoke, he took the soupy and liquidy foods that had gone a little cold to the kitchen and heated them up one by one.

Gan Qing's head felt heavy. She tilted her head, resting it on the back of the chair, relieving the burden on her neck. Through her angled viewpoint, she looked at Yu Lanchuan in the kitchen. Yu Lanchuan's back was to her and he was familiarising himself with the microwave in her place. His eternally well-ironed shirt was overlaid with a simple wool vest, bringing out the lines of his broad shoulders and narrow waist.

Little Master Yu was not a "child of the nobility" but if put in the past, he definitely had the right to be a "gentleman." He was overflowing with talent, could handle matters by considering all aspects, and it was only a matter of time before he reached the top of the ranks. He was also good-looking and one day, a princess might take a fancy to him and bring him home to be her prince consort. Then, he would no longer have to pay his house loan.

Gan Qing thought for a while and said, "I know a few people who have sword-making skills passed down for generations… Even though they're all making crafts now, they must still have some private treasures hidden in their homes. The Seven Secret Arts of Han Jiang keeps being forcibly transformed into truncheon techniques and broom skills, it's such a shame. Why don't I… get a sword for you?"

Yu Lanchuan said coldly, "A protection item to ward my house from evil? To hell with that. My house is not decorated in the Chinese style anyway. Why would I hang a sword there? That's insanity."

Gan Qing said, "...Sect Leader Yu, even if your esteemed sect only has a sect leader left, it is still a sword sect after all."

The microwave sounded with a ding. The savoury smell of the food wafted out, drifting into the living room, warm and rich.

"We are a sect that uses the sword, not a sect that worships the sword," Yu Lanchuan said indifferently. "Swords or spears, clubs or staffs, what's the difference? Of course, the best would be if we can settle things with words rather than with hands."

Here he goes again. The thermometer wedged in one armpit, Gan Qing hid her face in the crook of her other arm and smiled.

But Yu Lanchuan did not smile. He carried the warmed-up food to the table. "Fist and leg techniques are easy to pass down. Swordplay is bound to expand in the direction of stage performances and might become totally extinct one day. So what? Furthermore, I don't like to use real swords."

Gan Qing asked curiously, "Why not? Have you reached the stage where you're even able to use flower petals and leaves as swords?"

"Lethal weapons such as knives and swords belong to the category of high-risk methods. I should be considered a 'risk-averse person,' I don't like to deal with these things." Yu Lanchuan paused. "Oh, a 'risk-averse person' means-"

Gan Qing continued the sentence for him. "A person that, even in times of calm winds and calm waters, acts as though he is walking on thin ice."

"Something like that." Yu Lanchuan shrugged. Seeing that it wasn't convenient for her to move about with the thermometer wedged under her arm, he ladled out a bowl of soup for her and pushed a soup spoon into her left hand. "It doesn't sound as cool as being a gambler, does it? Safe and boring, like wolfberry and red date tea."

However, if he was someone who "acted as though he was walking on thin ice," why was he willing to stand up and block the menacing wave of Beggars' Sect rebels all on his own?

Gan Qing thought that if she asked this, Yu Lanchuan would definitely reply impatiently with a "I was forced to, there was no other choice, what else could I do?"

There were people who viewed money like it was dirt and were willing to exchange precious horses and sable fur coats for good wine, all for the sake of one round of utmost bliss. All things in the world were transient, only emotions ran deep and loyalty weighed heavy.

But Yu Lanchuan did not have that kind of ease in his conduct. He was like that type of old and rich man who was usually stingy and petty, and would split one coin into eight pieces to be used, miserly enough to make others torn between laughing and crying. But you just knew that, at the moment of crisis, he would be willing to discard everything that he had placed importance on and give up all his fortune for your sake.

"What are you looking at?" Her staring made Yu Lanchuan uncomfortable. He put on a poker face. "Why do I feel that you're a bit foolish today? The digital thermometer only needs one minute. Hurry up and check how well-cooked you are."

The thermometer was showing 38.5 degrees. High fever.

Yu Lanchuan frowned and put down his chopsticks. "I'll go down and buy some fever medicine."

Gan Qing's eyes fell on the indicator on the thermometer. Perhaps her temperature was really so high that her brain had short-circuited, she blurted out, "You don't want a knife and you don't want a sword. But if I treat someone to a meal, the most luxurious meal I can afford is McDonald's. If you continue to treat me so well, I'm not going to be able to repay this debt."

She dragged out her words and her voice was a little hoarse and nasal, sounding a little sticky. She was like the spider demon from the legends, lying in the middle of her web, dangerous and enthralling, keeping the moth Yu Lanchuan stuck where he was.

The two of them were separated by a tiny table, so close they could count the eyelashes on each other's eyes.

Yu Lanchuan's throat rolled slightly. Then, he slowly stood up, rested both palms on the small table, and leaned his body towards Gan Qing, his height lending him an oppressive feel.

When he was not pulling a face, the corners of his eyes and his lips were drawn in a straight line, neither curling up nor drooping down. The look on his face without any artifice was filled with a sense of rationality and indifference, making one think of the tranquil scene of a floating iceberg where hidden undercurrents and whirlpools flowed unseen beneath it.

Yu Lanchuan said next to her ear, "You can apply to extend the term of the loan and just repay the interest for now."

Gan Qing seemed to be frozen in that small piece of shadow, not moving an inch.

Yu Lanchuan lowered his eyes slightly, counting down from five in his heart. This was supposedly the time required for an adult to calm down from an impulsive urge. He was politely and courteously giving the other person this amount of time.

However, Gan Qing's reaction today was exceptionally slow. She seemed to have not caught this chance.

Yu Lanchuan sighed and gave her earlobe a light pinch. His breath brushed barely discernibly across her cheek, like the wind leaving light touches and blowing away, making it hard for a person to tell in that moment whether there was any physical contact. Then, he stood up, put on his coat and went down to buy medicine.

It was only when she heard the door close that Gan Qing blinked, seeming to wake up from a dream.

She was feverish to the point that she was completely confused. She could not at all consider complicated questions like "the future," "equivalent social status," "a good match or a bad match" and "which path to take from now on." Only a mere pinch of her brain cells were not on strike, sticking loyally to their posts as they connected her brain to her nose that was suddenly unblocked and noting down the smell of the cologne lingering beside her.

It smelled like mint.