“He came looking for me, yes. But the online rumors are wrong. I didn’t let him in the door, and I certainly didn’t go on a sweet date with him. What an abominable marketing account, ruining my reputation.”

“Are you sure there was no sweet date?”

“Absolutely not! If there was one, may God strike me down with lightning immediately!” Su Jiu swore.

Rong Si hadn’t actually suspected that. He was just asking casually.

He faintly smiled. “There’s no need for that.”

“I was afraid you wouldn’t believe me!” Su Jiu puffed out her cheeks. “What about you? Big Brother, you didn’t seduce any girls when you returned overseas, did you?”

“What if I say… a lot of people wanted to hook up with me?”

Su Jiu felt a headache coming on. “I knew it!”

Even if the little villain hadn’t gone looking for other girls, they would come looking for him.

“But I also know you’ll ignore them. I trust you.” She laughed. “How are you these days, Big Brother? Did you miss me?”

“Of course, I do. What can I do other than miss you and study and work?”

He deliberately put “miss you” first. Su Jiu felt it was incredibly sweet, but she suddenly sneezed.

Rong Si immediately asked, “What’s wrong?”

Su Jiu rubbed her nose. “Nothing. Maybe I have a cold? The weather has changed a lot these days.”

“Why aren’t you paying more attention to yourself? Don’t get sick.”

Hearing the concern in his voice, Su Jiu giggled. “Okay, okay, I know. I’ll pay attention. You too. You can’t ignore it just because you’re a boy!”

“I will.”

After chatting with him for a while more, Su Jiu reluctantly hung up. At night, she sneezed a few more times and felt a little dizzy. She felt like she was coming down with a cold, so she lay down in bed early to rest.

The next morning, Su Jiu woke up in a daze. She felt weak all over and looked at the clock on the wall. It was already past ten!

Have I really slept in until now?

Su Jiu rubbed her dizzy brows and sat up. The hand that brushed her forehead seemed a little hot. Am I having a fever?

At that moment, she heard a knock on the door. “Little Jiu, are you up? What’s wrong with you today? It’s late, and your breakfast is getting cold.”

“Auntie Zhang, I’m up,” Su Jiu said weakly, her voice a little hoarse.

Sensing that something was wrong, Auntie Zhang opened the door and walked in. When she saw Su Jiu was flushed and did not look well, she touched Su Jiu’s forehead with the back of her hand. Indeed, it was a little hot.

“Little Jiu, you have a fever! Get up and wash first. Auntie will bring you breakfast and medicine.”

“Yes! Thank you, Auntie Zhang!” Su Jiu sweetly replied.

“It’s my duty to take care of you. Why are you thanking me?” Auntie Zhang smiled and reached out to touch her forehead again. “Take your medicine first, and we’ll see if you get better. If not, I’ll call a family doctor for you.”

“Okay!”

…

Su Jiu had thought it was just an ordinary cold, but she had a fever that came and went throughout the day. At night, it seemed to get worse. Her forehead was burning hot, and she was groggy. She couldn’t lift her spirits at all, so she snuggled under the blanket.

Hearing that their daughter was sick, Su Shengjing and An Yuan called Su Jiu. When they heard that her fever had not subsided, they got a little worried. They instructed Auntie Zhang to take good care of the girl and go to the hospital if it got any worse.

As Auntie Zhang spoke to her parents, Su Jiu received a call from Rong Si.

She poked her head out from under the covers, picked up the phone on the nightstand, put it to her ear, and answered. “Hello? Big Brother?”

Rong’s deep, pleasant voice came from the other end. “You haven’t said good night to me.”

Only then did Su Jiu remember that she had been sleeping before this and had forgotten about it. Usually, they would say good night to each other every night before they went to bed.

“I forgot. Well … good night!”

Rong Si sensed that something was wrong. “What’s wrong with your voice?”

“Nothing. I just have a sore throat. I’ll be fine.”

“You caught a cold?”

“Yes … a little.”

“Idiot. You don’t know how to take care of yourself.”

For some reason, perhaps because sick people were especially fragile, Su Jiu suddenly felt a lump in her throat when she heard his seemingly reproachful words.

Especially now that she had a headache and felt terrible all over, it made her want to cry for some reason. She wanted to tell him about her situation and listen to his concerns, but she didn’t want to cause him trouble and worry.

So she sullenly replied, “I know I was wrong. I’ll definitely pay attention in the future.”

Rong Si was surprised to hear that she seemed to be choking up. “What’s wrong?”

Is she crying?

Su Jiu hurriedly perked up and smiled. “It’s fine! Big Brother, I’m going to sleep. You have to rest early too. Good night!”

“Okay. Good night.”

After hanging up, Su Jiu recalled his words and sniffed.

Oh dear, what’s wrong with me? When did I become so melodramatic? It’s just a cold and a fever, right?

It’s a small matter. It might be better tomorrow. There’s no need to make a point of asking the little villain to care about me, is there?

Thinking of this, she felt a little better. After taking the medicine Auntie Zhang had given her, she fell asleep again.

On the other end, Rong Si looked at the phone screen with a frown. He was almost certain that the girl was about to cry. He wondered what was wrong with her.

Is it… a bad cold?

His frown deepened at that thought.

***

The next morning, Auntie Zhang came to Su Jiu’s room at dawn. Seeing that the girl was still sleeping, she reached out and gently touched her forehead. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized that it was still hot.

What happened? Is the medicine not helping?

It looked like she might really have to go to the hospital for an IV or treatment.

“Little Jiu? Little Jiu? Wake up, your fever is a little high. Shall we go to the hospital?” Auntie Zhang leaned closer to her and said.

Su Jiu woke up in a daze, feeling even worse today than the previous day. Her head felt like it was splitting open and she wished that she could continue sleeping.

“Auntie Zhang…” she began and realized that her voice was even more hoarse than it had been the day before.

I have got a bad cold!

“Little Jiu, eat something first, then let us go to the hospital.” Auntie Zhang turned and hurried out, wanting to bring some food up for her. But as she went downstairs, she heard the doorbell ring.

Thinking that Su Shengjing and An Yuan had returned, Auntie Zhang walked over and opened the door. However, when she saw the tall and handsome young man standing at the door, she was stunned.

“You’re …”

Rong Si was dressed in a white shirt and black trousers. He could have been described as beautiful. He looked at Auntie Zhang and said bluntly, “Little Jiu’s boyfriend.”

What?! 

Is this Little Jiu’s boyfriend?

Auntie Zhang was dumbfounded.

God, he is so tall and handsome. Moreover, from the way he holds himself, he looks like the young master of a wealthy family.