Mr. Ban glanced at Mi Cai and me, which made us feel even more awkward. Finally, I explained in a gentlemanly tone, “Mr. Ban, Comrade Mi Cai has a bit of a cold, so I was just…” I didn’t finish my sentence, as it was a bit embarrassing to say.

Mr. Ban nodded and said, “I thought she had sprained her ankle.”

With Mr. Ban’s comment, Mi Cai and I felt even more embarrassed. His meaning was clear: it was just a cold, why was I carrying her!

Mi Cai and I stood there awkwardly, but Mr. Ban didn’t make things more difficult for us. He said, “I’ve cooked some late-night snacks for you, come in and eat.” He then went into the house before us.

Finally, Mi Cai and I were left alone. I complained, “I told you to walk by yourself, but you insisted on being carried. Now you know how embarrassing it is, right?”

“You jerk…”

“Are you cursing me or my dad?”

“Whoever carried me, I curse!”

“I carried you out of the car, but did I say I would carry you upstairs?”

While Mi Cai and I were arguing, Mr. Ban called from inside the house, “What are you two doing standing outside? Comrade Mi Cai has a cold, don’t catch a chill!”

…

When we returned to the house, Mr. Ban had already served us tangyuan (sweet dumplings). He asked us, “Do we have any cold medicine at home? If not, I’ll go buy some.”

I asked Mi Cai, “Did you finish the cold medicine I bought for you last time?”

“I still have some.” Mi Cai replied, still looking down, not yet recovered from her embarrassment. After all, in Mr. Ban’s eyes, she was a very proper girl, but the scene he had witnessed was her stubbornly clinging to me and refusing to let go.

Mr. Ban nodded and said, “Alright, you two eat. I’m going to stay at a hotel… Zhao Yang, remember to make her some ginger soup after you finish eating.”

“Mr. Ban, won’t you stay a bit longer? I’d like to talk to you.” I stood up and said. After all, because of the incident with Li Xiaoyun, he and my mother were extremely disappointed in me. I wanted to say something to make him feel better.

“We’ll talk tomorrow. I’ll come over at noon to cook for you.”

“Oh, then let me walk you out.”

“No need, the hotel is just across from your apartment complex. Remember to make ginger soup for Mi Cai later. If you don’t take a cold seriously, it can lead to more serious illness!” He then turned and walked out of the house.

I whispered to Mi Cai, “Aren’t you going to come down and see my dad off with me?”

“You go by yourself… I don’t know what he thinks of me now! So embarrassing!”

“Good that you know it’s embarrassing. You’ve completely shattered my dad’s worldview. He definitely looks down on you now… You’re too unreserved!” I deliberately exaggerated.

Mi Cai remained silent for a long time, sighing softly, then sighing again… If only she could turn back time!

…

After seeing Mr. Ban off downstairs, I returned to the apartment. Mi Cai had already gone back to her room and hadn’t even cleared her dishes. I came to her door, gently opened a crack, and peeked inside. Only a small night light was left on in the room, and Mi Cai was already wrapped in a blanket lying on the bed, probably without having washed up.

I opened the door and walked in, asking, “You haven’t washed up yet, why are you lying down already?”

“I don’t feel like washing up.”

I scolded her with a stern face, “Not washing up is not good… You’re a goddess!”

“I’m not a goddess, I’m a psycho!”

“Why are you talking about yourself like that?”

“If I weren’t a psycho, why would I let you carry me!”

“Oh, you’re still thinking about that?… Although you stubbornly clung to me and refused to let go, and my dad saw you acting like you were dying, he didn’t say anything about you, so don’t take it too seriously!”

“It’s all your fault!”

Faced with Mi Cai’s tantrum, I was at a loss for what to do. Finally, I said, “Okay… okay… okay, it’s all my fault!… But, don’t sleep yet, I’m going to make you some ginger soup. Drink it before you go to sleep.”

“I’ve taken cold medicine.”

“You’ve caught a chill, you need to drink some ginger soup to drive out the cold. It’s safer to combine it with cold medicine.” I patiently and kindly persuaded her.

“I don’t like ginger soup, it’s too strong.”

“You don’t catch a cold every day, drinking it once in a while won’t kill you.”

“I don’t want to drink it.”

I coaxed her like a child, “Be good, after you drink it, I’ll give you a fun thing.”

Mi Cai finally showed interest, “What fun thing?”

“You’ll definitely like it.” I said confidently, because she would definitely like it, otherwise she wouldn’t have asked me to give her a gasoline-powered race car last time.

“Then I’ll drink it.”

“That’s right, your body is your own, you can’t be careless… You lie down, I’ll go make it for you now.”

Mi Cai reminded me again, “Remember to give me the fun thing you mentioned.”

I was speechless for a moment, and felt even more that she was playful, making the fun thing seem more important than her life. Then I remembered how cold she was when we first met, and couldn’t help but marvel at the power of time. We have all become more real and more like ourselves as time goes by. Of course, this only applies to Mi Cai and me. Compared to her previous coldness, I prefer the real her now. At least she’s not as unreachable as before, and I don’t have to stand at an insurmountable corner of the sea, looking at her from afar.

…Half an hour later, I brought the ginger soup I had prepared to Mi Cai’s room. She was on the phone, and from the conversation, it seemed she was talking to Wei Ran. Mi Cai mentioned she had a cold and couldn’t return to Shanghai, promising to make time for him another day.

After Mi Cai finished her call, I handed her the ginger soup and casually asked, “Since you didn’t go back to Shanghai, is the little turtle upset?”

“He’s not upset. He has other friends in Shanghai.”

“Really? I told you it wasn’t worth rushing back. Who knows, he might be enjoying himself in some club right now, living a life of luxury!”

Mi Cai frowned, “What do you mean by ‘enjoying himself’?”

“Are you misunderstanding? What I meant was simple. He’s surrounded by his friends, on his left and right. They’re all friends, I didn’t say anything about special services!”

“You’re vulgar and boring, not funny at all!”

“Drink the ginger soup first. Once you’re better, you can scold me more effectively!”

“You’re really great.”

“Without my greatness, who would highlight your sharp tongue.”

Mi Cai didn’t want to banter with me anymore. She took the ginger soup from my hand and reluctantly took a few sips. Then she asked, “Where’s the fun thing you mentioned? You should give it to me now, right?”

“Finish the soup first, then I’ll give it to you.”

“Let me see it first. How do I know you’re not lying to me?”

“No bargaining. I said I’ll give it to you after you finish the soup. With my impeccable integrity, I wouldn’t lie to a sick woman.”

“I think ‘a word, nine lies’ is more like it.”

“You’re saying I can tell nine lies in one sentence? Are you complimenting me? Even a language master can’t reach that level!”

“Stop talking nonsense. If you don’t show me first, I won’t drink it.”

I wouldn’t argue with a woman throwing a tantrum. I compromised, “Fine, fine, fine, I’ll go get it. I just hope you won’t be moved to tears later.”

—————–

There were too many people adding me on WeChat yesterday. From the moment I announced it, the verification messages haven’t stopped. I’ve only added a small portion due to limited time, I apologize… It’s not that I don’t want to communicate, but I simply can’t respond to everyone.

Yesterday, there was an impressive reader whose verification message was ‘Mi Zhongde’. I hesitated for a long time, but in the end, I didn’t add him. I didn’t dare to. After all, I am an upright person.