Chapter 18.

Song Bai choked on cold water, and in the second half of the night, he got a fever. Ji Suiyun was awakened by his intermittent coughing and felt extremely annoyed. Ji Suiyun has poor sleep quality and usually doesn't sleep with others, but he was too lazy to leave last night after staying up too late.

Ji Suiyun impatiently nudged Song Bai and said, 'Don't make a sound.'

Song Bai shivered and curled up slightly. He was half asleep and felt uncomfortable, enduring it for a while before coughing again.

When Song Bai could finally lift his swollen eyelids, the sky was already bright. His body and consciousness seemed to have separated, and he couldn't feel the discomfort in his light and floating state. After staring blankly for a while with his eyes open, Song Bai suddenly remembered and sat up abruptly to look for his phone. The forceful movement caused the IV tube on the back of his hand to wriggle violently, making blood flow backward.

Hey, don't worry! The female assistant sitting on the side playing with her phone was startled, but quickly realized what was going on and rushed to intercept Song Bai: What's wrong? Tell me.

Jing Xiaoyan received a call from her boss at 3:30 in the morning. She had just arrived at Ji Suiyun's place and had to leave. She had to stay up all night taking care of him, hiring a doctor and buying medicine.

I need to take a leave of absence, said Song Bai, his voice hoarse.

I've talked to Mr. Jin, I told him that An An forced you to take her to play and got sick from the cold wind. He didn't ask too much about it. Jing Xiaoyan knew a little bit of the situation and felt pity for Song Bai. Mr. Ji is usually busy and doesn't have much time to see you. When you do meet him, try to be gentle.

Song Bai didn't listen to her words and just thought thankfully that he had taken a day off, then he heavily lay down again.

The medicine was a bit cold. Song Bai's arm was numb, and he didn't feel it while he was sleeping. When he woke up, he felt uncomfortable all over. Song Bai tried to wrap himself up in the blanket, but he was still cold.

Just as the drip was near its end, a faint and blurry ringtone resounded from a mobile phone. Song Bai ripped the needle off his arm forcefully, eliciting a look of surprise from Jing Xiaoyan. Blood droplets trickled down his hand and dripped onto the bedsheet and carpet.

I'm searching, I'm searching! She was almost scared out of her wits. What kind of phone call was this that could make someone feel like they're possessed by evil spirits?

But Song Bai quickly calmed down. He found his phone and took a few steps away from Jing Xiaoyan. With a wary and slightly dangerous look in his eyes, Song Bai stared at her and then answered the phone.

What surprised Jing Xiaoyan was how gentle and harmless Song Bai's tone was over the phone. It even had a hint of weak coquettishness to it. He apologized for his unappealing sick voice and blushed and became shy after saying just a few sentences.

I'm fine, I just stayed up really late last night and my throat is hoarse...okay, I know I can't get sick because it takes a long time to recover...Don't overwork yourself and make sure to wear a hat and gloves when you go out...I want to eat Marselle too!...You're so annoying, who cares about ice cream sticks anyway!...

I also love Chengcheng...

Hahaha, that's right. It's because I was thinking of you last night that I couldn't sleep.

Jing Xiaoyan watched as Song Bai spoke with tenderness and excitement, but tears streamed down her beautiful face. She suddenly felt heartbroken for this boy who was a few years younger than herself and thought that Ji Suiyun was indeed a bit cruel this time.

Song Bai took a day off and went to work the next day. That day, Lu Fucheng sent him a lot of pictures on WeChat, including ice sculptures in the Ice and Snow World, the silhouette of a foreman wearing a sable-like coat secretly taken by Lu Fucheng, and finally, two sticks – the sticks of the Mader ice cream. The words carved by Lu Fucheng read, For A Bai.

The other engraved character had a lot of strokes, and Song Bai had to enlarge the image to see clearly. It was a modified sentence from Mu Xin.

Your smiling eyes and sweet words have made me fall ill, and as the fever subsides, Harbin becomes even colder. Lu Fucheng is really not suited for selling cuteness, his jokes are all so stale.

Song Bai smiled gently and went to show off to Li Yang.

Li Yang is about to leave the single life, but he is still sour. He glared at Song Bai and said, Alright, alright, he is just a kid who is easily fooled. Remember, next time when you talk to Cheng Cheng, ask for a house, a car, a ring and a salary card, you foolish thing.

Song Bai whispered in retort, 'As long as Chengcheng is with me, I don't need anything else.'

Li Yang was stunned for a moment, 'If I could come across a girl who doesn't want anything, I would even have to marry her to get a marriage license.' However, after he finished speaking, he realized that the probability of meeting someone like Lu Fucheng was probably smaller than obtaining a house and a car.

Lufucheng sent Song Bai a set of Russian nesting dolls, which were round and chubby little girls with blue sailor dresses hand-painted on them, and exceptionally cute. Song Bai loved them to bits, and if it weren't for fearing she might drop and break them, she would have hugged them every day.

Ji Su Yun hadn't looked for Song Bai for several days in a row. It wasn't that he was worried about Song Bai, but rather he was afraid of getting infected. On the other hand, Song Bai vaguely recalled the details of that night, thinking that he had completely angered Ji Su Yun and that everything would finally come to an end early. Song Bai's mood improved a bit and his recovery from illness accelerated.

(Note: I have attempted to translate this passage into American English while also maintaining the original meaning as much as possible. However, some nuances or cultural references may be lost in translation.)

When Song Bai received a text message from Ji Suiyun, he surprisingly didn't feel much panic or the pain of disappointment after his hope had been dashed. Instead, he carefully wiped his figurine before changing his clothes and heading out.

The text message contained the address of a teahouse, and so Song Bai hailed a taxi and eventually found it after much searching. He thought to himself that he was lucky that Ji Suiyun didn't set a specific time, otherwise he would have been surely late.

Song Bai reported the name of Ji Suiyun to the receptionist, but the other side said that Mr. Ji did not give any instructions about any guests coming. Song Bai called Ji Suiyun, but no one answered the phone and no one replied to the message.

Song Bai stood there foolishly, staring in a daze at the receptionist's increasingly grotesque and eerie smiling face. He trembled and took a step back.

Song Bai didn't know what Ji Suiyun wanted to do, but he didn't dare to leave. He sat down on the marble staircase by the water pavilion in front of the teahouse. Time passed slowly, and the cool wind intermittently blew, but Song Bai felt like his whole body was freezing. He didn't know how long it had been when the teahouse's elegant huanghuali wood door was respectfully pulled open by a waiter, and five or six men walked out one after another.

Song Bai's phone rang, and from a short distance away, Ji Suiyun's eyes immediately found him.

Come here, Ji Suiyun beckoned to Song Bai with a wave of his hand.

Song Bai's feet were already cold and numb, but he felt a burning sensation rising up in his body. Even walking on flat ground felt like he was trudging through mud. Song Bai walked over to Ji Suiyun, standing meekly and obediently by his side.

You're really badass, we lost, we lost. One of the men laughed and lifted up Song Bai's chin. You've only been here a few times and you've already been trained so well by Old Ji.

Ji Su Yun appears to be in a good mood, perhaps due to the fact that Song Bai has helped him gain face. He also defended Song Bai, saying, 'Mr. Feng, let's talk about something else when you send over that piece of green Qi Nan wood from your house. My family has been waiting for three and a half hours already.'

Feng Zhengqi grinned and asked, 'Why choose a date when we can just seize the day? Let's go together!'

Ji Su Yun was not too willing. He hadn't even eaten it willingly himself, so how could he just share it directly with others? But just as he hesitated, Song Bai's extremely sensitive intuition caught on to something. He suddenly raised his head to look at Ji Su Yun, his eyes widening with clear signs of pleading, panic, and despair.

Ji Su Yun's heart trembled slightly in one spot.

Song Bai wanted to grab Jì Súiyún's arm, but didn't dare to. In the end, he timidly and gently held onto the hem of Jì Súiyún's clothes, which had a great sense of drape.

I haven't taken my medicine tonight.