Li Congming woke up at six-thirty in the morning, still lying limp in bed. As he fumbled for his phone in a daze, he was instantly jolted awake by a series of WeChat messages from Qi Fang.

After reading through Qi Fang’s messages, Li Congming first relayed them to Chen Ke, asking for her opinion, before typing his reply.

[Li Congming: Are you saying you suspect Shen Yu’s illness is related to his business trip a few weeks ago?]
[Qi Er Shao: Shen Yu’s unusual behavior started after he returned from that trip.]
[Li Congming: We’ve speculated about this conclusion before. Didn’t you say there was no evidence?]
[Qi Er Shao: Shen Yu visited his father during the trip.]
[Li Congming: But isn’t Uncle Chen…? Do you think Shen Yu was triggered and that’s why he fell ill?]
[Qi Er Shao: Mm.]
[Li Congming: That doesn’t make sense. Don’t you and Shen Yu often go to pay respects? He’s never been triggered before.]
[Li Congming: Besides, I don’t think Shen Yu is someone who’d be easily affected.]
[Qi Er Shao: Something unexpected must have happened, but we don’t know what.]
[Qi Er Shao: Also, I suspect Shen Yu’s thought jumps are related to the people and things he encounters daily, or what he’s been thinking about.]

Li Congming closed the chat window, his drowsiness long gone.

A few minutes later, Chen Ke replied to his message. They discussed this new discovery for a while before Chen Ke suddenly asked, “Why didn’t Qi Fang contact me directly?”

Li Congming was taken aback. That’s right.

Shen Yu’s illness was more psychological in nature, and Chen Ke was the actual psychologist. If Qi Fang had any discoveries, he should have told Chen Ke so she could record it in the medical files.

Why was he telling Li Congming, an orthopedic surgeon?

Li Congming hesitated for a while before convincing himself, “We’re close friends, so it’s not strange that he wanted to tell me first…”

But Chen Ke said, “He told you on purpose because he didn’t want to contact me, and he knew you’d definitely pass this information to me. It avoids delaying important matters without putting anyone in an awkward position.”

Li Congming couldn’t wrap his head around it. “Huh? Why wouldn’t Qi Fang want to contact you?”

On the other end of the phone screen, Chen Ke suppressed a smile.

It was probably because… she had suggested yesterday that Qi Fang consider separating from Shen Yu for a while, and he was holding a small grudge.

This friend of Li Congming’s truly regarded Shen Yu as more important than anything else, just as Li Congming had described.

*

Shen Yu and Qi Fang spent a few days touring the local attractions. On their last day, after a simple breakfast of local specialties at the hotel, the receptionist enthusiastically recommended they visit the beach market two kilometers away.

“It’s the largest retail spot for local specialties on our small island,” the receptionist described, gesturing animatedly.

The market was at the westernmost edge of the beach, a large area of colorful canopies and trellises forming a specialty retail market. From the hotel room window, it looked like countless pieces of colorful fruit cake laid out in neat rows.

Before departing, Qi Fang had to coax Shen Yu not to insist on using a wheelchair, though they still brought along the emergency call button.

The hotel receptionist was startled to see this “disabled person” bravely walking out on his own two legs, and quickly arranged for the hotel’s beach shuttle to take Shen Yu and Qi Fang to the market on the other side.

Located in the Southern Hemisphere, Country N was transitioning from spring to summer. The morning breeze was gentle and warm, filling one with comfort.

Shen Yu changed into a white shirt and light brown track pants. Before leaving, Qi Fang forcibly wrapped a thin, Bohemian-style sun protection scarf around his neck.

Sitting in the shuttle, Shen Yu’s body swayed with the bumps of the ride, the short silk scarf fluttering in the wind, giving him a playfully disheveled look.

Qi Fang secretly observed Shen Yu’s appearance from behind his sunglasses. After a while, unable to resist, he took out his phone and snapped a few pictures when Shen Yu wasn’t looking.

This was a side of the cool and dignified Professor Shen that outsiders never saw.

——Qi Fang gleefully saved the photos in an album dedicated to Shen Yu. Apart from worrying about Shen Yu’s illness, he was thoroughly satisfied with this trip.

“We’ve arrived, sirs. Please exit the vehicle,” the shuttle driver said in broken English to the two passengers in the back.

Shen Yu did not realize that Qi Fang had taken dozens of photos of his wind-tousled appearance during the ride. He tugged at the silk scarf around his neck, slightly uncomfortable. He got off the shuttle first and was about to walk forward when he suddenly paused.

Three seconds later, Shen Yu turned around, quietly looking at Qi Fang, who was tipping the driver. He extended his right hand towards him.

Qi Fang had just put away his wallet when he looked up and saw Shen Yu’s gesture. He froze for a moment. “What’s wrong?”

Shen Yu said, “I’ll help you down.”

Qi Fang’s eyes widened, as if his train of thought had been interrupted. He stood still on the shuttle.

The driver broke the awkward silence with his local English. “Sir, your friend is worried you might fall getting off the shuttle.”

Shen Yu held out his hand for a moment, but seeing Qi Fang’s hesitation, he began to curl his fingers, about to lower his hand.

Unexpectedly, his hand was suddenly grasped.

Qi Fang held onto his hand and easily jumped down from the shuttle.

“Thank you for your concern, Professor Shen,” Qi Fang said with a radiant smile as he met Shen Yu’s gaze, mimicking a formal tone.

Shen Yu turned his face away, his released hand falling to his side. A closer look revealed a faint blush at the base of his ears.

“Your health isn’t good,” Shen Yu said after a moment’s thought. He added, “Stay close to me in the market. Don’t wander off.”

Qi Fang suddenly remembered his “role” as a sickly person.

“It’s quite crowded,” he remarked, glancing at the bustling beach market nearby. He casually suggested, “Let’s hold hands so we don’t get separated. What do you think, Shen Yuyu?”

With that, Qi Fang extended his hand, palm up, just as Shen Yu had done minutes ago.

“This time, let me lead you over,” Qi Fang said, his lips curving upward. “Okay?”

*

After wandering through the market for a while, Shen Yu still couldn’t figure it out.

He had initially intended to protect Qi Fang from the crowd, but somehow, Qi Fang was now the one leading him effortlessly through the market.

Country N was a famous tourist island, and it was the peak season between spring and summer. Tourists from all over the world flocked here, filling the market with people of various skin colors and attire.

Shen Yu followed Qi Fang through the crowd, observing the bustling throng. He began to regret not insisting that Qi Fang use a wheelchair.

There were far too many people… It was dangerous.

In a wheelchair, at least people would have made way for them.

As Shen Yu pondered this, a shadow suddenly fell over him.

Qi Fang had picked up a fisherman’s hat and casually placed it on Shen Yu’s head. Seeing Shen Yu look up, he explained, “For sun protection. Do you like this style?”

Shen Yu took off the straw hat to examine it. It was a handwoven fisherman’s hat, average in craftsmanship, but with a unique touch of pale purple flowers woven into it. Fresh, soft white petals bloomed at the end, giving it a fresh and elegant look.

Shen Yu put the hat back on his head.

Qi Fang smiled and teased, “Shen Yuyu, when have I ever misjudged your taste?”

Since childhood, Shen Yu had never been good at shopping. Not only did he not buy clothes for himself, but as he grew older, he even forgot to buy daily necessities for his dormitory.

When his clothes wore out, he could still wear his school uniform. When he ran out of necessities, Shen Yu could only silently follow his roommates, staring at their bottles.

His roommates were quite generous, sharing their things with Shen Yu.

But constantly using others’ belongings wasn’t a solution. When Qi Fang found out about this one day, he became extremely jealous. After school, he dragged Shen Yu to the supermarket, vowing to manage every aspect of Shen Yu’s life meticulously from then on, so he would never need to borrow from others again.

Shen Yu didn’t resist at all—except for a very small objection to Qi Fang’s proposed monthly shopping frequency, believing it would take up study time.

Qi Fang forcefully suppressed this weak protest, especially allowing Shen Yu to wear headphones and memorize vocabulary while they shopped together.

From then on, Qi Fang took care of all of Shen Yu’s daily necessities.

Shen Yu didn’t like flashy things, prioritizing practicality above all else, but occasionally he would accept some seemingly useless trinkets.

However, since Qi Fang had taken charge of Shen Yu’s shopping, he had never made a mistake in his choices.

“I have a kind of telepathy,” Qi Fang once said. “I can sense what you like.”

“Just like I can sense the person I like.”

Seeing Shen Yu’s interest in the straw hat at the beach market, Qi Fang went to haggle with the vendor.

The vendor was a local man with deeply tanned skin who didn’t speak much English. After a confusing exchange of views with Qi Fang, he finally gave in, throwing up his hands and saying, “OK! OK!”

“10 dollars! Let it go!”

Ten dollars wasn’t expensive, so Shen Yu looked at Qi Fang and suddenly said, “I’ll buy you one too.”

“Mm-hmm…” Qi Fang was looking for his wallet when he heard this and was shocked. “Huh?!”

Shen Yu actually wanted to give him a gift on his own initiative?

The rational and restrained Professor Shen had never shown interest in the worldly practice of exchanging money for objects to represent emotional value through “gift-giving.”

Once, on their first wedding anniversary, Qi Fang had rather unsubtly hinted that he wanted a gift. Shen Yu had thought for a minute and then transferred ten thousand yuan to his account.

“You can buy what you want,” Shen Yu had said seriously at the time. “And I suggest next time you replace the gift for me with liquid assets I can use as well.”

Recalling the past and focusing on the present, Qi Fang took a deep breath, forcing himself to appear very calm as he smiled and said:

“Professor Shen actually wants to give me a gift… Why don’t you pick one?”

Shen Yu’s gaze moved to the stall.

Qi Fang’s eyes closely followed Shen Yu’s line of sight.

Shen Yu scanned the stall, quickly settling on his target – a light green straw hat with blue trim.

“This one,” Shen Yu pointed and said to the vendor in English.

Qi Fang: “W-wait…”

Shen Yu didn’t hear him, paid first, then took the hat and handed it to Qi Fang, solemnly saying:

“Thank you for your gift. In return, I’m giving you a green hat¹wear a green hat – “bei da diao lü maozi” (被戴绿帽子), literally meaning “made to wear a green hat,” is used as slang implying that one’s spouse or partner has cheated on them or was unfaithful..”

Qi Fang: “……”

TL Notes

• 1
  wear a green hat – “bei da diao lü maozi” (被戴绿帽子), literally meaning “made to wear a green hat,” is used as slang implying that one’s spouse or partner has cheated on them or was unfaithful.