One day, Tong An'an worked late and returned to her empty apartment, feeling exceptionally lonely.
Calculating the time difference, it should be almost time for Jiang Jingyu to wake up, so she called him via video.
As it turned out, Jiang Jingyu was indeed just getting up.
His phone was propped on the bedside table, and he was dressing himself.
Watching his fine physique and the inherent sense of power in his every movement, Tong An'an couldn't help but swallow hard.
After pulling on his pants and shirt, Jiang Jingyu only realized she hadn't spoken when he was buttoning up.
He leaned his head over to see what she was doing, only to find her staring at him.
"Why aren't you speaking?"
From this angle, Tong An'an had a clear view of his collarbone, which was incredibly alluring.
Impulsively, she called him "husband" in a rather peculiar tone.
Jiang Jingyu immediately understood what she was thinking.
"What's wrong? Got ulterior motives towards me?"
Tong An'an replied, "Yes. What do you say we do about it?"
"What do we do? You fly back. I promise not to resist, and you can do whatever you want."
Knowing full well she couldn't fly back, he was deliberately provoking her.
Tong An'an bantered with him for a bit before changing the subject.
"I have something to tell you."
"I'm listening, go ahead."
"I'm going on a business trip to a certain place tomorrow. I might be staying for two days. It's quite close to Anna's post, so I plan to visit her."
"You're going alone?"
"Yes. Manager Li said my recent performance has been quite good, and I can meet clients independently, so he gave me this opportunity to gain more experience."
"Good, good. Little Comrade Tong is progressing rapidly and deserves praise. But you still need to be careful when traveling alone. Don't talk to strangers. Remember to lock your car windows and don't stay overnight casually."
After spending two days handling her work, Tong An'an took a day off and went shopping with Anna.
Having been here for three months without once going shopping, the two girls were ecstatic.
They drove to the city center and bought some clothes that they probably wouldn't wear but looked pleasing to the eye and were slightly more glamorous.
They took many photos on the streets, browsed street stalls, bought some peculiar handcrafted items, and then went to a restaurant for dinner.
Estimating that Jiang Jingyu would be off work, Tong An'an sent him a WeChat message, attaching a photo of her food.
To her surprise, Jiang Jingyu immediately initiated a video call.
It was quiet on his end, just him, while Tong An'an's side was noisy and lively. It was a rare occasion for their roles to be reversed, and Tong An'an was very satisfied.
"Hello, Mr. Jiang."
"You seem so happy? Where did you go playing?"
She told him the name of the place.
"With Anna?"
"Who else? A new little handsome guy I met?"
Jiang Jingyu let out a cold snort, seemingly a little jealous.
Tong An'an pretended to take a photo, "Really! I'll take a picture for you if you don't believe me!"
Anna proactively stood up and leaned into the camera.
"Hurry and take it. See if I've gotten more beautiful. Hello, President Jiang."
After a rare day of vacation, Tong An'an returned to work.
This day, she, who had always considered herself as strong as an ox, woke up feeling slightly unwell.
Her head was heavy, and her body felt weak.
Thinking she had caught a cold, she took two pills and went to work. She endured the day, but not only did her condition not improve, she felt miserable by the evening.
However, it was too late to go to the hospital. Feeling unwell, she didn't want to drive, so she decided to take leave the next day to see a doctor.
She skipped dinner, sent Jiang Jingyu a goodnight message, and then fell into a deep sleep.
The next day, sharp pains in her stomach and a churning sensation in her gut woke her up.
She grabbed her alarm clock and saw it was almost 11 o'clock, significantly past her usual start time.
This was the first time she had made such a mistake. While regretting it, she thought about calling Li Kai to explain.
However, her body was so weak that she didn't even have the strength to get up.
As she was worrying about what to do, and whether to ask Mrs. Li to take her to the hospital, there was a knock on the door. It was Li Kai's voice.
He asked why she wasn't at work today and if she was feeling unwell.
Tong An'an weakly said she thought she had a cold. Upon hearing this, Li Kai urgently told her to open the door.
"Could you have contracted malaria? Get up quickly, I'll take you to the hospital."
As it turned out, she had indeed.
Tong An'an had contracted malaria and needed to be hospitalized.
She would rest for two days, receive injections and IV drips, and her discharge would depend on her condition.
Lying alone in the hospital, within an hour, all the symptoms appeared.
She suffered from vomiting and diarrhea, alternating chills and fever, and her head ached as if it would explode.
Drowsy, she just wanted to sleep.
She slept, then woke up, then slept again. During her rare moments of clarity, she desperately missed Jiang Jingyu.
But she didn't dare tell him, fearing he would worry.
For two consecutive days, when Jiang Jingyu called her via video, she refused, saying she was busy. Her WeChat messages were also perfunctory; she simply lacked the energy to chat.
Fortunately, the doctor had years of experience treating malaria, and with Mrs. Li's care, she finally began to show improvement on the fourth day.
The doctor re-examined her, found no issues, prescribed some medication, and she drove back in a beat-up van.
She hadn't had a proper conversation with Jiang Jingyu recently, but fortunately, he hadn't suspected anything.
On the way, she looked at their chat history, which was still from yesterday morning.
She drove back, parked, and wearily walked towards the dormitory entrance.
As she reached the bottom of the building and was about to go up, she noticed someone standing to the left of the main entrance.
Because the person was exceptionally tall and carried himself with outstanding posture, and there was a suitcase beside him, he was quite eye-catching.
Tong An'an's heart skipped a beat, and she thought of Jiang Jingyu.
Just as she was about to get a closer look, he turned his head.
Their eyes met. It was indeed Jiang Jingyu. Tong An'an's eyes instantly welled up.
He was dressed casually today but still exuded an air of nobility.
When he looked at her, his eyes held a mixture of insight, blame, and concern. Tong An'an felt surprised and wronged, happy and embarrassed, unsure of what to do.
After a moment of stunned silence, she suddenly burst into tears.
Jiang Jingyu had learned about her illness from Li Kai's phone call and had rushed over immediately.
He had intended to scold her for not telling the truth, but seeing her cry, he immediately went to embrace her.
Tong An'an quickly backed away, "Don't come over, I'm sick, it's contagious."
Jiang Jingyu paid no heed, insisting on pulling her closer, holding her tightly for a moment, and then leaning in to kiss her.
Tong An'an dodged again, "It's really contagious!"
Jiang Jingyu gritted his teeth, "Who told you malaria is transmitted through saliva? Scared now? If I hadn't inquired, how long were you planning to suffer alone?"
Tong An'an was speechless, meeting his gaze with tears streaming down her face.
Jiang Jingyu softened again, "Alright, alright, I won't talk about it anymore. I'm here now, and you're going to be fine. Don't cry."
They lingered downstairs for a while, and then Tong An'an led him upstairs.
Passing by the Li family's residence, she knocked on Mrs. Li's door.
Mrs. Li was just preparing to take food to the hospital for her and rushed out to meet her when she saw her return.
"You're discharged? Are you okay? What did the doctor say?"
"I'm fine. Thank you for your trouble these past few days, I'm truly sorry."
Mrs. Li smiled, "We're colleagues, no need to be so polite."
After speaking, she noticed the person standing behind Tong An'an and was momentarily stunned.
"This is..."
Tong An'an opened her mouth, the word "husband" lingering on her lips several times before she could utter it.
"My boyfriend, he came to see me."