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Chapter 31 - 30

The water in Duan's mouth sprayed out and splashed across the small table in front of him. Almost immediately, he reacted so sharply that he sprang to his feet.

From where Yibo stood in front of the Guests house room mirror, he turned to look at him, surprise written plainly on his face. He was holding a small towel, drying his face and the back of his neck.

He had just come out of the shower after arriving in Macau. Duan had come with him straight from the airport-he had been waiting even before Yibo's flight landed. According to Duan, his curiosity had been unbearable; he had been calling nonstop even before Yibo's boarding, insisting they talk.

Eventually, Yibo had turned his phone off entirely. Only after arriving at the airport, completing all flight procedures, and getting ready to board had he turned it back on to tell Duan the plane was about to take off.

By Duan's account, the distance between his home and the airport in Macau was long, yet even before the flight landed, he had already been standing there waiting.

They had kept quiet all the way into the city, found a guesthouse, and still Yibo hadn't said a word. Only now-after stepping out of the shower-was he finally listening to Duan's anxious plea for him to explain what was going on before his heart gave out.

"๐ผ ๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘ก ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘”๐‘’๐‘ก ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘’๐‘‘."

That was how Yibo began-the words that made Duan choke violently on the water he had been drinking.

Yibo turned toward him, then walked over to his small travel bag, pulled out a light blue T-shirt, and slipped it on without fastening a single button, leaving it open. He then crossed back and sat on the edge of the bed, facing Duan.

"๐‘Šโ„Ž๐‘œ ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”, ๐‘Œ๐‘–๐‘๐‘œ?" Duan asked, still struggling to steady his voice.

He knew Yibo well. He didn't like beating around the bush or long explanations-whatever needed to be said should be said directly.

Looking straight at him, Yibo answered,

"๐‘โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘›. ๐‘Œ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘“๐‘’'๐‘  ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘›. ๐‘‡โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก'๐‘  ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘ฆ ๐ผ ๐‘Ž๐‘ ๐‘˜๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ก ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘™๐‘™ โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐ผ ๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘  ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”."

Duan nodded slowly.

"๐‘‡โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘ก ๐‘‘๐‘œ๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘ ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘’ ๐‘š๐‘’. ๐ต๐‘ข๐‘ก ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ๐‘  ๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘™๐‘‘ ๐‘š๐‘’, ๐‘Œ๐‘–๐‘๐‘œ? ๐‘‡โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘™๐‘‘ ๐‘›๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘”๐‘’๐‘ก ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘’๐‘‘. ๐‘‡โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘–๐‘ก ๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘ ๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘ก ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ ๐‘๐‘™๐‘Ž๐‘›. ๐ผ ๐‘‘๐‘œ๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘˜๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘๐‘’๐‘›๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘ ๐‘ก, ๐‘๐‘ข๐‘ก ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘ค๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘“๐‘–๐‘Ÿ๐‘š ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘ก ๐‘–๐‘ก-๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘Ž๐‘”๐‘’ ๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘  ๐‘›๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘Ž๐‘› ๐‘œ๐‘๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘›. ๐‘†๐‘œ ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘”๐‘’๐‘‘?"

Yibo said nothing. He simply pressed his palms against his face, lost in thought.

"๐ผ ๐‘˜๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘–๐‘ก ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘™๐‘‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘˜๐‘’ ๐‘ ๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘  ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘”๐‘’ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ ๐‘š๐‘–๐‘›๐‘‘," Duan continued. "๐‘‡โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘ ๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข'๐‘‘ ๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘๐‘–๐‘‘๐‘’ ๐‘œ๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘›๐‘–๐‘”โ„Ž๐‘ก."

Duan heard Yibo release a quiet, heavy breath before lowering his hands.

"๐ผ'๐‘š ๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ก ๐‘๐‘™๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘›๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘Ž ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘™ ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘Ž๐‘”๐‘’, ๐ท๐‘ข๐‘Ž๐‘›," Yibo said at last. "๐ผ'๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘š ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘š๐‘๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘™๐‘ฆ. ๐‘‚๐‘›๐‘๐‘’ ๐ผ ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘œ๐‘™๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘ ๐‘ข๐‘’ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘๐‘ข๐‘ โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘›, ๐ผ'๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘’ ๐‘“๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘š โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘š ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘๐‘™๐‘’๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘™๐‘ฆ. ๐‘‡โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก'๐‘  ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘ฆ ๐ผ ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘š๐‘’-๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘  โ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘“๐‘–๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘œ๐‘๐‘™๐‘’ ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘œ ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘› ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ ๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘  ๐‘š๐‘ฆ ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘ , โ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘Ž๐‘”๐‘’ ๐‘ก๐‘œ โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘“๐‘Ž๐‘š๐‘–๐‘™๐‘ฆ, ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ โ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘Ž๐‘”๐‘’ ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘ฃ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”๐‘™๐‘ฆ. ๐ป๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘”๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘๐‘š๐‘œ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ ๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘Ž๐‘™. ๐‘€๐‘ฆ ๐‘“๐‘Ž๐‘š๐‘–๐‘™๐‘ฆ ๐‘š๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘ก ๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘ฃ๐‘œ๐‘™๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘‘."

This time, Duan was certain that if there had been water in his mouth, it wouldn't have stopped at choking him...it would have gone straight to his heart. Perhaps only surgery can save him, for Yibo to open his chest and reset whatever was malfunctioning inside him.

He understood every word Yibo had said-but somehow, none of it made sense. And the way Yibo kept staring at him made it clear he already knew Duan was struggling to process it.

Duan finally shook his head.

"๐ผ๐‘“ ๐ผ ๐‘ค๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘‘๐‘œ๐‘๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘’, ๐‘Œ๐‘–๐‘๐‘œ, ๐ผ'๐‘‘ ๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘๐‘˜๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ ๐‘๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘œ๐‘‘ ๐‘™๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘™๐‘  ๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘”โ„Ž๐‘ก ๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘’ ๐‘–๐‘“ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข'๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘˜๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘ ๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐ผ ๐‘‘๐‘œ๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘˜๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘ก...๐‘™๐‘–๐‘˜๐‘’ ๐‘‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘ข๐‘”๐‘ "

Yibo didn't smile. Instead, he moved closer and sat at the end of Duan's chair.

"๐‘Œ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘˜๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘“๐‘’ ๐‘œ๐‘“๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘š๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘  ๐‘ƒ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘˜๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘ก โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘“๐‘Ž๐‘š๐‘–๐‘™๐‘ฆ, ๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘”โ„Ž๐‘ก?"

Duan nodded.

"๐‘Œ๐‘’๐‘ . ๐ผ ๐‘˜๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ค โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ, ๐‘ƒ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘”."

"๐‘‡โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘™๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘“๐‘ข๐‘™๐‘™๐‘ฆ," Yibo said. "๐ต๐‘’๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘กโ„Ž โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘š."

And from there, Yibo explained everything in detail-from the very beginning to the end. He told him about the first time he met Malo, how he discovered Peng's identity through him, the kind of person Peng really was, and the most shocking part of all: how he had unexpectedly crossed paths with the very plan Peng had been pursuing-one that also involved Zhan.

Duan did not interrupt him even once. He listened carefully to every detail, each of Yibo's words settling into place in his mind. Cases like this had become increasingly common in society-people presenting themselves as respectable, trustworthy, even prosperous, while secretly engaging in criminal activities that funded their wealth.

If there was anything truly new to Duan in this story, it was the realization that Peng's motive went beyond money. What drove him just as strongly was revenge-revenge for his parents, which he intended to take out on Zhan.

"๐‘€๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘œ ๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘™๐‘‘ ๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”," Yibo said. "๐ต๐‘ข๐‘ก ๐ผ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘˜ โ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘™๐‘–๐‘๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘™๐‘ฆ โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘‘๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘™๐‘‘ ๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘š๐‘ข๐‘โ„Ž ๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘™. ๐ด๐‘›๐‘ฆ ๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘๐‘ก ๐‘š๐‘œ๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘”๐‘Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘ ๐‘ก ๐‘ƒ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘”โ„Ž๐‘ก ๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘™๐‘‘ ๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘™๐‘ฆ ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘ก โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘š ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘”๐‘–๐‘ฃ๐‘’ โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘š ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘ข๐‘๐‘๐‘’๐‘Ÿ โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘. ๐‘‡๐‘œ ๐‘โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘› ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘ , ๐ผ'๐‘š ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘Ž๐‘› ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘ก๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘Ÿ. ๐ธ๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘–๐‘“ ๐‘โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘› ๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘š๐‘’, โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘  ๐‘›๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘™๐‘‘-๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ก ๐‘œ๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ƒ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘”. ๐‘‡โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘ฆ ๐‘˜๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ค โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘š, ๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘ก โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘š, ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘๐‘’๐‘™๐‘–๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’ โ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘–๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ ๐‘œ๐‘›."

"๐ด๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘š๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก, ๐ผ ๐‘‘๐‘œ๐‘›'๐‘ก โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘ ๐‘œ๐‘™๐‘–๐‘‘ ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘–๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘›๐‘๐‘’ ๐ผ ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘› ๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘”๐‘Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘ ๐‘ก ๐‘ƒ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘™๐‘’๐‘”๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘™๐‘ฆ. ๐ด๐‘™๐‘™ ๐ผ โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘€๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘œ'๐‘  ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘‘๐‘ . ๐‘†๐‘œ ๐ผ ๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘๐‘–๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘ƒ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘ ๐‘œ๐‘™๐‘ข๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘›-๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘™๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘ ๐‘ก ๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ก ๐‘ฆ๐‘’๐‘ก. ๐ผ๐‘“ ๐ผ ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘š๐‘œ๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘› ๐‘“๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘š โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘โ„Ž, ๐ผ ๐‘˜๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘ƒ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘ ๐‘๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ๐‘ ๐‘ข๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘š. ๐‘‡โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก'๐‘  ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘› ๐ผ'๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘๐‘ข๐‘  ๐‘œ๐‘› ๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘™๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘™๐‘Ž๐‘›. ๐ด๐‘›๐‘ฆ ๐‘š๐‘œ๐‘ฃ๐‘’ โ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘˜๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘‘ ๐‘โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘›, ๐ผ'๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘˜๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘ก ๐‘–๐‘ก-๐‘๐‘’๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘’ โ„Ž๐‘’'๐‘  ๐‘๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘ ๐‘’ ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘š๐‘’."

Duan nodded slowly.

"๐ต๐‘ข๐‘ก ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘ก โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ?" he asked. "๐ผ๐‘“ ๐‘ƒ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘  ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘›, ๐‘‘๐‘œ๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘˜ โ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘š๐‘–๐‘”โ„Ž๐‘ก ๐‘ก๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ๐‘› ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘‘?"

"๐ผ ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘™๐‘™ โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘€๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘œ," Yibo replied. "๐‘‚๐‘›๐‘’ ๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ ๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ, ๐‘€๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘œ ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘”๐‘–๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘š๐‘’ โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘ก ๐‘ƒ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘”'๐‘  ๐‘›๐‘’๐‘ฅ๐‘ก ๐‘š๐‘œ๐‘ฃ๐‘’. ๐ด๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ , ๐ผ'๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘“๐‘–๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘Ÿ โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘š. ๐ต๐‘ข๐‘ก ๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘”โ„Ž๐‘ก ๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ค, ๐‘โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘› ๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘ƒ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘”'๐‘  ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘๐‘ข๐‘ -๐‘ ๐‘œ ๐ผ'๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘ก ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘’."

Duan nodded again, this time more firmly, clearly following the logic.

"๐ผ๐‘“ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘ค๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘—๐‘œ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘™๐‘–๐‘๐‘’, ๐‘Œ๐‘–๐‘๐‘œ, ๐ผ ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘™๐‘‘๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘˜๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘˜ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข'๐‘‘ ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘กโ„Ž ๐‘๐‘ฆ ๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ค," he said with a short laugh. "๐‘‡โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘๐‘™๐‘Ž๐‘› ๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘™๐‘™๐‘–๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘ก. ๐ป๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘™๐‘ฆ, ๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ก ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘ฆ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘œ๐‘๐‘™๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘™๐‘‘ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘˜ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘–๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘ก ๐‘œ๐‘“ a ๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘ข๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘› ๐‘™๐‘–๐‘˜๐‘’ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘ ."

Then his expression shifted, becoming serious.

"๐ต๐‘ข๐‘ก ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘’'๐‘  ๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘’ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘–๐‘”๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘ก ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ย ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘Ž๐‘”๐‘’. ๐‘€๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘Ž๐‘”๐‘’ ๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘Ž ๐‘๐‘–๐‘” ๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘™, ๐‘“๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ ๐‘๐‘–๐‘”๐‘”๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘š๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘๐‘™๐‘–๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘› ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข'๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘–๐‘ก. ๐‘Œ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘‘๐‘œ๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘“๐‘ข๐‘™๐‘™๐‘ฆ ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘™ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ ๐‘œ๐‘ค๐‘› ๐‘“๐‘’๐‘’๐‘™๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”๐‘ , ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘™๐‘ฆ ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘™๐‘’ ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘™ ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘Ž๐‘”๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”๐‘  ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘กโ„Ž ๐‘–๐‘ก."

Yibo looked at him closely.

"๐ผ ๐‘˜๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก," he said. "๐ต๐‘ข๐‘ก ๐ผ'๐‘š ๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ก ๐‘ ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘š๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘›."

"๐ผ ๐‘š๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘› ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ฆ ๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘™๐‘–๐‘˜๐‘’ ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘˜๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘”๐‘’๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘œ๐‘› ๐‘Ž โ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘ ๐‘๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘™ ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘ ๐‘’. ๐‘‡โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”๐‘  ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘š๐‘๐‘™๐‘ฆ ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘™๐‘’ ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘™."

Yibo answered without hesitation.

"๐ท๐‘ข๐‘Ž๐‘›, ๐‘๐‘’๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘›, ๐ผ ๐‘˜๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘š๐‘ฆ โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘ก ๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘‘๐‘ฆ ๐‘–๐‘› -๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘กโ„Ž โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘š. ๐ผ ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘™๐‘‘ ๐‘›๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘‘๐‘œ ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘ฆ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”....๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘ฆ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”-๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘™๐‘‘ ๐‘๐‘ข๐‘ก โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘š ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘‘๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘”๐‘’๐‘Ÿ."

Duan nodded and tapped the table in front of them.

"๐‘‡โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก'๐‘  ๐‘’๐‘ฅ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘ก๐‘™๐‘ฆ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘๐‘™๐‘’๐‘š, ๐‘Œ๐‘–๐‘๐‘œ. ๐‘‡โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘“๐‘’๐‘’๐‘™ ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘š...๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก'๐‘  ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘™ ๐‘‘๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘”๐‘’๐‘Ÿ. ๐‘Œ๐‘œ๐‘ข'๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘™๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘›๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘š ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘๐‘ก โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘š ๐‘“๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘š ๐‘ƒ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘”, ๐‘๐‘ข๐‘ก ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘™๐‘’ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข'๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘‘๐‘œ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก... โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘”โ„Ž๐‘ก ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘ก โ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข'๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘๐‘ก โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘š ๐‘“๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘š ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ ๐‘œ๐‘ค๐‘› ๐‘“๐‘’๐‘’๐‘™๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”๐‘ ?"

Yibo stared at him, then shook his head.

"๐ผ ๐‘‘๐‘œ๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘ข๐‘›๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘š๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘›."

Duan exhaled slowly, shaking his head as well.

"๐ผ ๐‘š๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘› ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘š, ๐‘Œ๐‘–๐‘๐‘œ...๐‘–๐‘ก ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘™๐‘‘ ๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘ฆ โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘š ๐‘“๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ ๐‘š๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘› ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘ฆ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘˜ ๐‘ƒ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘š๐‘–๐‘”โ„Ž๐‘ก ๐‘‘๐‘œ. ๐ด๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ก ๐‘—๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘ก โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘š. ๐ผ๐‘ก ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘™๐‘‘ ๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘ฆ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘œ."

โœจโœจโœจ

๐’๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ง ๐จ'๐œ๐ฅ๐จ๐œ๐ค ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ .

Zhan sat on a tall stool in the downstairs kitchen, his eyes fixed on the blue flame of the gas stove where a small glass pot rested, waiting to boil. Ever since he first tasted Mrs. GhaleeTk's tea, he had grown fond of it. For the past two days, drinking tea had become a habit....especially at night. Most mornings, he left the house early and rarely had time for breakfast.

Whenever he prepared it, he usually shared it with Nainai. Bai didn't care much for tea and only drank it when he felt like it. Tonight, however, Zhan had poured more water than usual because Uncle Sanxing was around, and when he saw Zhan in the kitchen, he asked him to make tea for him as well.

From where Zhan sat, he could hear Noni and the others chatting noisily in the open courtyard as they prepared dinner over a wood stove. Ever since Uncle Nanjing installed a bright bulb in the compound, nighttime conversations had grown livelier. Noni and the rest often stayed outside talking until midnight, since solar fans hadn't yet been installed in their rooms...they said that would come later.

Zhan's eyes remained on the flickering gas flame. His ears picked up the distant chatter, yet his mind was far away, absorbed in thoughts about his life and where everything seemed to be heading. Ever since Uncle Elder called him, things had felt noticeably lighter. Whenever Peng crossed his mind, remembering that Uncle Elder had given him the option to bring forward another suitor instead of Peng eased something deep in his chest. That relief only grew stronger after Uncle Elder visited Nainai again and reassured her that, within the year, Zhan would be married.

So if there was anything troubling Zhan now, it wasn't Peng. It was Dr Yibo...the way Dr. Yibo had suddenly focused all his attention on him, putting in deliberate effort to win his trust, stirring thoughts Zhan still didn't fully understand.

When Zhan compared that with the stories he overheard at work about the behavior of some doctors, he couldn't tell whether Yibo belonged in that category or not. Especially now that Yibo had insisted their relationship remain secret, that he didn't want anyone else to know. Zhan couldn't help wondering whether trusting him had been a mistake.

Would this lead to regret someday?

Yibo had said he would approach his elders only when Zhan felt fully certain...he hadn't promised anything else beyond that. Yet Zhan couldn't stop remembering what Yibo had said to him on the phone the night before.

"๐‘ฐ ๐’˜๐’‚๐’๐’• ๐’•๐’ ๐’Œ๐’๐’๐’˜ ๐’Ž๐’‚๐’๐’š ๐’•๐’‰๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ๐’” ๐’‚๐’ƒ๐’๐’–๐’• ๐’š๐’๐’–, ๐’๐’‰๐’‚๐’,"

Dr. Yibo had said softly into his ear.

"๐‘ณ๐’Š๐’Œ๐’† ๐’˜๐’‰๐’‚๐’•?" Zhan had asked, listening.

"๐‘ณ๐’Š๐’Œ๐’† ๐’‰๐’๐’˜ ๐’š๐’๐’– ๐’˜๐’‚๐’Œ๐’† ๐’–๐’‘ ๐’Š๐’ ๐’•๐’‰๐’† ๐’Ž๐’๐’“๐’๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ. ๐‘ฐ ๐’˜๐’‚๐’๐’• ๐’‚ ๐’…๐’‚๐’š ๐’˜๐’‰๐’†๐’ ๐‘ฐ ๐’๐’‘๐’†๐’ ๐’Ž๐’š ๐’†๐’š๐’†๐’” ๐’‚๐’๐’… ๐’š๐’๐’–'๐’“๐’†'๐’“๐’Š๐’ˆ๐’‰๐’• ๐’ƒ๐’†๐’”๐’Š๐’…๐’† ๐’Ž๐’†...๐’Ž๐’‚๐’š๐’ƒ๐’† ๐’š๐’๐’–๐’“ ๐’‰๐’‚๐’Š๐’“ ๐’Ž๐’†๐’”๐’”๐’š ๐’‡๐’“๐’๐’Ž ๐’”๐’๐’†๐’†๐’‘, ๐’š๐’๐’–๐’“ ๐’†๐’š๐’†๐’” ๐’ƒ๐’‚๐’“๐’†๐’๐’š ๐’๐’‘๐’†๐’, ๐’š๐’๐’–๐’“ ๐’—๐’๐’Š๐’„๐’† ๐’‰๐’๐’‚๐’“๐’”๐’† ๐’‚๐’๐’… ๐’…๐’“๐’๐’˜๐’”๐’šโ€ฆ"

Yibo had paused briefly before saying something that made Zhan's heart do something he couldn't name.

"๐‘ฐ ๐’˜๐’๐’–๐’๐’… ๐’๐’๐’—๐’† ๐’•๐’ ๐’Œ๐’Š๐’”๐’” ๐’š๐’๐’– ๐’ˆ๐’๐’๐’… ๐’Ž๐’๐’“๐’๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ ๐’Š๐’ ๐’•๐’‰๐’‚๐’• ๐’Ž๐’๐’Ž๐’†๐’๐’•, ๐’๐’‰๐’‚๐’."

Zhan squeezed his eyes shut tightly now, just remembering it, as his mind drifted to a conversation he once overheard between Zuzu and the others.

"๐ป๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘™๐‘ฆ, ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘’'๐‘  ๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘‘๐‘œ๐‘๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ ๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘‘๐‘›'๐‘ก'๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘”๐‘–๐‘Ÿ๐‘™'๐‘  ๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ. ๐ด๐‘›๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘’ ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘œ ๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘›๐‘’๐‘‘ โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘“๐‘ข๐‘™, ๐‘ โ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘š ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘—๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘  ๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘“๐‘ข๐‘™. ๐‘†โ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘‘ โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘š ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘๐‘™๐‘’๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘™๐‘ฆ, ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘ฃ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘๐‘’๐‘‘ โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘™๐‘“ โ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘™๐‘‘ ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ...๐‘๐‘ข๐‘ก โ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘‘ โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ, ๐‘Ž๐‘โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘‘ โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘”๐‘œ๐‘Ž๐‘™, ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘˜๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ."

"๐ป๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘‘๐‘œ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘˜๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ค?" Aji had asked at the time, just as Zuzu fell silent.

"๐‘†โ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘–๐‘‘ ๐‘–๐‘ก โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘™๐‘“. ๐‘Œ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘ค โ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘ โ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘’๐‘š๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘ ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘‘ โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘™๐‘“ ๐‘โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘Ž๐‘“๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘Ÿ โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘š. ๐ป๐‘’ ๐‘”๐‘œ๐‘ก ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘‘๐‘ข๐‘๐‘’๐‘‘ โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”. ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘ โ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘”๐‘œ๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘™๐‘™๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘๐‘’๐‘œ๐‘๐‘™๐‘’ โ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘Ÿ๐‘ข๐‘–๐‘›๐‘’๐‘‘ โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘™๐‘–๐‘“๐‘’. ๐‘Šโ„Ž๐‘œ ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘™๐‘‘ ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘ก ๐‘Ž๐‘”๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘’ ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ค?"

"๐‘‡๐‘Ÿ๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘ก?" ๐‡๐š๐ง๐จ๐ข had scoffed and continued,

"๐‘Š๐‘’'๐‘ฃ๐‘’ โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘‘ ๐‘–๐‘ก ๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘ ๐‘โ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘œ๐‘™ ๐‘‘๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ๐‘ ...๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘ฆ ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘’ ๐‘‘๐‘œ๐‘๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘๐‘˜๐‘™๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘ . ๐‘Š๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘œ ๐‘“๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘–๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘  ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘“๐‘ข๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘”๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘ก. ๐‘๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘๐‘–๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘™๐‘ฆ ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘œ๐‘“๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘“๐‘–๐‘Ÿ๐‘ ๐‘ก ๐‘ฃ๐‘–๐‘๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘š๐‘ ."

Aji laughed and said,

"๐‘‡โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก'๐‘ ' ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘ฆ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘’ ๐‘š๐‘’...๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘˜๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  โ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘ ๐‘๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘™, ๐ผ'๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘›๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘˜๐‘–๐‘›๐‘‘๐‘  ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘‘๐‘›๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘’ ๐‘‘๐‘œ๐‘๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘ . ๐ป๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘™๐‘ฆ, ๐ผ'๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘™๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘›๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘š๐‘ฆ ๐‘™๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘ ๐‘œ๐‘›. ๐ผ'๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘›๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘ค๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘š๐‘ฆ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘™๐‘“ ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘˜ ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘ก ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘ฆ ๐‘‘๐‘œ๐‘๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ, ๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ก ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘š๐‘ฆ ๐‘–๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘”๐‘–๐‘›๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘›. ๐‘€๐‘ฆ โ„Ž๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘ž๐‘ข๐‘–๐‘’๐‘ก ๐‘œ๐‘“๐‘“๐‘–๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘—๐‘œ๐‘ ๐‘ ๐‘ข๐‘–๐‘ก ๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘—๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘ก ๐‘“๐‘–๐‘›๐‘’. ๐‘Š๐‘’'๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘˜๐‘’๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘˜๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘š๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ÿโ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘–๐‘‘ ๐‘š๐‘’๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘๐‘–๐‘›๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘š๐‘–๐‘›๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ ๐‘œ๐‘ค๐‘› ๐‘๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘ โ€ฆ"

Her words had sent everyone into fits of laughter back then. And now, as Zhan remembered it, those memories blended with everything Aji had repeatedly talked to him about Dr. Yibo since the day he arrived at the hospital. Yet here he was...unable to calm his heart after Yibo suddenly declared he wanted to marry him.

๐—ช๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—ฒ๐˜…๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—น๐˜† ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ฑ ๐—ฌ๐—ถ๐—ฏ๐—ผ ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—บ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—บ ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น ๐˜๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ฏ๐—ถ๐˜๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ, ๐—ท๐˜‚๐˜€๐˜ ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ธ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜, ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—บ? ๐—ข๐—ฟ ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—น๐˜† ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—ฝ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป, ๐—ท๐˜‚๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ฑ?

Zhan's thoughts tangled in on themselves. He couldn't tell whether Dr. Yibo truly deserved to be introduced to Uncle Elder, or whether saying he trusted him had been a mistake. But if he didn't trust Dr Yibo, then when Uncle Elder eventually asked him to bring another suitor, ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ผ ๐˜„๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—น๐—ฑ ๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜? ๐—›๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—น๐—ฑ ๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—ด๐—ผ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ฃ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ด, ๐—ก๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—ถ'๐˜€ ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป?

"๐‘โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘›-๐‘”๐‘’"

Bai's voice, coming from the kitchen doorway, snapped him out of his thoughts. Zhan turned to see him entering with one of his friends, both carrying their evening lesson books.

"๐‘‡โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘ฆ ๐‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘–๐‘‘ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘š๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘™๐‘ฆ ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘๐‘ข๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘› ๐‘ โ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘™๐‘‘ ๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘–๐‘‘," Bai said as they walked in.

"๐‘†๐‘œ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘ข๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘™ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘ฆ ๐‘Ž๐‘ ๐‘˜๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘š๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘–๐‘ก?" Zhan asked, looking at him.

"๐‘โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘› -๐‘”๐‘’, ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘› ๐ผ ๐‘”๐‘’๐‘ก ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘˜ ๐ผ ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘”๐‘’๐‘ก. ๐ด๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘ค๐‘’ ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘™๐‘ฆ ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘š๐‘’๐‘š๐‘๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘‘. ๐ผ๐‘ก'๐‘ ' ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ๐‘  ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘›๐‘”๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘ข๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘  ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘ฆ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘˜ ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘ก ๐‘“๐‘–๐‘Ÿ๐‘ ๐‘ก."

The way Bai said "๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘ " made Zhan laugh. That, after all, was one of the reasons Bai had ended up in that class...most of his friends were there, so he'd been placed with them.

Zhan turned back to the kettle. The tea still hadn't boiled. It was hot, yes, but if he took it off now, it wouldn't taste right. He calculated quickly...by the time he went upstairs and returned, it would be properly boiled. So they left together.

They had barely stepped out when Saisai, one of the house staff, watched them climb the stairs. She then turned back toward the kitchen and noticed the kettle still on the flame. In that instant, the opportunity she had been waiting for lit up in her eyes. Her heart leapt. Without hesitation, she set aside the serving spoon she had been using and hurried into the kitchen. Before coming down, she had already taken a small white sachet that Aunty Hsiao had given her, instructing her to find a way to mix it into something Zhan would consume.

Luck was on her side. She reached the kitchen without anyone following her. She opened the kettle and poured the contents of the sachet straight in. The fine powder scattered instantly, dissolving into the water just as the tea began to boil, releasing its pleasant aroma. She closed the kettle and turned around, her heart pounding wildly...already imagining the money she had been promised in return.

"๐‘ƒ๐‘™๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘ ๐‘’ ๐บ๐‘’๐‘”๐‘’, ๐‘–๐‘“ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘’'๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘ฆ ๐‘โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘”๐‘’ ๐‘™๐‘’๐‘“๐‘ก, ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘› ๐ผ ๐‘๐‘ข๐‘ฆ ๐‘ ๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘ ๐‘ข๐‘”๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘’?"

Bai asked as they came back downstairs after collecting the money.

"๐บ๐‘œ ๐‘Žโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘๐‘ข๐‘ฆ ๐‘–๐‘ก. ๐ผ ๐‘˜๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘Ž๐‘– ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘—๐‘œ๐‘ฆ ๐‘–๐‘ก ๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘œ...๐‘—๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘ก ๐‘Ž๐‘ ๐‘˜ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘š ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘ ๐‘™๐‘–๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘–๐‘ก ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข,"

Zhan said as he headed back into the kitchen, while Bai and his friend went out.

Zhan went in, turned off the flame under the kettle, picked up the glass teapot, and carried it upstairs where the cups were kept. Nainai and Uncle Sanxing were still chatting when he returned. Zhan poured tea for the three of them, then poured the remainder into a small flask.

After Uncle Sanxing took his first sip, he looked up and said,

"๐ป๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘™๐‘ฆ, ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘›๐‘’๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘”๐‘’๐‘ก ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘Ž ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ ๐‘š๐‘’. ๐‘Šโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘’๐‘ฅ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘ก๐‘™๐‘ฆ ๐‘‘๐‘œ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘๐‘’๐‘œ๐‘๐‘™๐‘’ ๐‘“๐‘–๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘’ ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘“๐‘–๐‘›๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”๐‘  ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  โ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘’?"

Nainai smiled.

"๐‘โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘› ๐‘˜๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ค๐‘  โ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘ โ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘. ๐ผ๐‘“ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘’ ๐‘ ๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘กโ„Ž โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘š, ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘› ๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘ ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘–๐‘ก'๐‘  ๐‘”๐‘œ๐‘œ๐‘‘."

He nodded.

"๐‘‡โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘› ๐ผ'๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘“๐‘–๐‘›๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘™๐‘ฆ ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘๐‘ข๐‘ฆ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ ๐‘ข๐‘๐‘๐‘™๐‘–๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘’ ๐‘‘๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ."

Laughing, Zhan carried his own cup into his room, leaving them to continue their conversation. As soon as he entered, his eyes fell on his phone lying on the bed, and at once his mind drifted back to Yibo...and to what he had said to him the night before.

"๐‘ฐ ๐’˜๐’๐’–๐’๐’… ๐’๐’๐’—๐’† ๐’•๐’ ๐’Œ๐’Š๐’”๐’” ๐’š๐’๐’– ๐’ˆ๐’๐’๐’… ๐’Ž๐’๐’“๐’๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ ๐’Š๐’ ๐’•๐’‰๐’‚๐’• ๐’”๐’Š๐’•๐’–๐’‚๐’•๐’Š๐’๐’, ๐’๐’‰๐’‚๐’."

Zhan closed his eyes, feeling the words echo through him again. Heaven knew what he had felt at that moment...he couldn't even name it. All he knew was that his body had gone weak all at once, everything freezing in place. Even the absent movement of his fingers tracing the pattern of a flower on his shirt had stopped. He had fallen silent, unsure of what to say. And Yibo, unbothered by his silence, had continued speaking.

"๐‘พ๐’†'๐’๐’ ๐’…๐’ ๐’Ž๐’‚๐’๐’š ๐’•๐’‰๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ๐’”, ๐’๐’‰๐’‚๐’โ€ฆ ๐’Ž๐’‚๐’๐’š ๐’•๐’‰๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ๐’”, ๐’“๐’๐’Ž๐’‚๐’๐’•๐’Š๐’„๐’‚๐’๐’๐’š."

๐Ž๐ก ๐ฆ๐ฒโ€ฆ

Now, Zhan said as he recalled those words, he didn't know when that phrase had slipped from his lips as he shut his eyes. Even the way they had ended the call felt hazy to him. If Dr. Yibo called again, he wasn't sure how he would even respond. Then he paused...๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ป'๐˜ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐˜† ๐—ด๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ผ๐—น๐—ฒ ๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐˜† ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜ ๐˜€๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด,? His restless thoughts made him feel as though he needed to talk to him. He prayed everything was fine.

With that thought, he glanced at the clock above the mirror. It wasn't that late yet. He was certain Yibo would call later anyway. For now, he would finish his tea and take a shower.

He lifted the cup to his lips, inhaling the rich aroma as his eyes closed. He took one sip, then another, not stopping until he had drained it completely, feeling the warmth slide down inside him.

What he didn't know was that with every swallow, a thin, invisible mist rose from the liquid and spread through the air inside him...like smoke from burning charcoal splashed with water, rising and dispersing all at once. So when Zhan set the cup down, a sharp pain shot through his head. A wave of nausea rose in his chest, and suddenly he felt himself drifting...spinning...as though being pulled toward a bottomless pit.

He clutched the bedsheet and slid down to the floor, his body trembling. The room spun violently, and he grabbed the edge of the bed, feeling as though it was the only solid thing left in a world about to collapse around him.

He stayed like that for nearly five minutes before the sensation eased slightly. He released the bed and lay flat on the carpet, the room still spinning along with his thoughts.

Then, all at once, his mind went blank...everything wiped clean. All the tangled thoughts vanished without a trace. It felt like a vast, empty field at midnight, where not a single image or figure existed, only the heavy stillness of night pressing everything low.

With his eyes closed, he surrendered to the sensation, until his disordered mind finally managed to grasp one single name from among all the people he knew in the world.

It appeared clearly in his head.

๐๐ž๐ง๐ โ€ฆ

๐๐ž๐ง๐ ...

๐‘ป๐’–๐’†๐’”๐’…๐’‚๐’š, 13ย ๐‘ฑ๐’‚๐’๐’–๐’‚๐’“๐’š

2026

๐’๐’‰๐’‚๐’๐’™๐’Š๐’‚๐’๐’š๐’Š๐’ƒ๐’๐Ÿ’šโค๐Ÿ’›

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