One glance was all it took for Fei Chaichai to shrink back, hiding obediently at Li Yuyuan's side.
Little did she know, the two people at the door were whisked away by a phone call the very next second.
She didn't see it, still furious at her own cowardice.
If she had gritted her teeth and pushed past her fear of drowning, she might have been rescued by Number 99 by now, ready for mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
Now look at her.
Not only had she wasted a perfect opportunity for intimate contact, she'd also been caught in a tug-of-war with Li Yuyuan.
Fei Chaichai shed tears of regret.
At this point, she couldn't care less about Number 66. She could only hold the last line of defense—she absolutely could not let Number 99 see her allergic reaction.
She resumed her battle, stepping one foot back and yanking at her wrist with renewed determination, as if in a tug-of-war.
But after all her effort, she hadn't budged him an inch—not his wrist, not even Li Yuyuan himself. He stood like a mountain, immovable.
Fei Chaichai was so angry she wanted to bite someone. She couldn't understand why he'd been afraid of a misunderstanding earlier but wasn't now. Frantically, she said, "Let go of me!"
Hearing this, Li Yuyuan finally shifted his gaze—from her wrist, trailing up her body as she leaned back to add weight, and finally settling on her anxious face as he confirmed, "Are you sure?"
What was there to ask?
Without a second thought, Fei Chaichai said, "Absolutely, positively, one hundred per—"
Before she could finish the word "percent," the force gripping her wrist vanished abruptly.
Then, the sensation of weightlessness hit her again.
Startled, Fei Chaichai immediately grabbed his hand again, unable to believe that Li Yuyuan had let go just like that. She stared at him in disbelief. "You… you…"
"You said you were sure." Li Yuyuan helpfully finished the sentence for her.
"…"
Oh.
So his "Are you sure?" had actually meant—"If you're certain you're prepared to fall flat on your face and give yourself a concussion all over again, then I'll let go"?
Huh??
Fei Chaichai wished she could jump up and strangle Li Yuyuan.
But she didn't waste precious time.
After making sure she was steady on her feet this time, she finally shook off the hand that had toyed with her time and again, and like a little sparrow flapping its wings, she scurried toward the changing room.
Li Yuyuan stayed where he was.
The moment her figure disappeared into the natatorium, the casual ease on his face faded completely. He lowered his gaze, glancing at his left hand she had shaken off.
The spot she'd touched looked no different—the tattoo remained, flowing like mist.
Yet strangely, the skin that had felt nothing when the tattooing needle pierced it now burned with a peculiar sensation.
Faint, but dense.
It traveled along the tattoo's lines, wandering through his body without rhyme or reason.
The restlessness he'd suppressed found nourishment, unsatisfied, craving more.
Li Yuyuan's face remained calm as he let this unfamiliar feeling charge recklessly through his bloodstream, making no move to interfere. After a few glances, he lowered his hand, picked up the little red swim cap by the pool, and walked out of the venue.
The middle-aged man who had been watching from the shadows quickly revealed himself.
Half an hour ago, he'd been placing a medal around the champion's neck on the podium. Now he was acting like a stalker, stepping forward to pretend it was a chance encounter.
"Oh, President Li, I've been looking everywhere for you! Our director didn't know you'd come to the venue—he's still waiting in his office. The car is already outside…"
He chattered on while leading Li Yuyuan toward the VIP passage.
But the "VIP" had his own ideas and exited through another door instead.
He hurriedly caught up, asking with concern, "President Li, where are you off to?"
"Taking care of personal matters."
Sunlight poured down behind the young man.
He pulled out a cigarette case, lowered his head to bite down on a cigarette, and didn't stop walking even as he heard the question. Lazily, he tossed out a line: "If Director Sun didn't get enough of a look just now, feel free to follow."
Director Sun: "…?"
He froze on the spot.
Fei Chaichai also needed to take care of personal matters.
Based on past experience, her allergy would flare up within five minutes at the latest, so she had to take her medicine before that. But along the way, either staff members stopped her to fill out volunteer check-out forms, or teammates she'd worked with for four days pulled her aside for commemorative photos.
By the time she finally made it back to the changing room, well over five minutes had passed.
Fei Chaichai's heart sank like a stone.
Given how incompatible she and Li Yuyuan were—like oil and water—she knew without even checking that this allergic reaction would be severe. So she only gave her arm a token glance.
Another glance.
On the third glance, Fei Chaichai suddenly thrust her arm up.
Normally, both her arms would already be a horrifying mess by now.
But today, aside from the finger marks Li Yuyuan had left behind, there wasn't a single red rash.
Fei Chaichai was stunned. She stepped closer to the mirror, scrutinizing her face carefully, not missing a single detail.
But no matter how she rubbed, pinched, or pressed, her features were still her features, and her skin was clean and smooth—not a trace of an allergic reaction.
What was going on?
Why had touching Li Yuyuan produced no allergy symptoms at all?
Was her body just slow to react…
Or had it already progressed past the warning stage of rashes, straight into the suffocation phase?!
"…"
Oh no.
She really did feel like she was having trouble breathing!
Fei Chaichai panicked instantly, quickly swallowed a pill, and then rushed without pause to the private hospital under the Qu Group.
As soon as she reached the dermatology department, she spotted the person she was looking for at the nurse's station and flung herself into her arms, wailing, "Sister Xiaoyi, what do I do? I think I'm about to die!"
The last time Qu Keyi had seen Fei Chaichai was on New Year's Eve.
Half a year later, she thought the girl had come to discuss her brother Qu Jiayuan's birthday, never expecting such alarming words to be the first thing out of her mouth. She soothed her first: "Calm down, calm down. Tell me slowly—what happened?"
"It's just—"
Fei Chaichai rattled off her bizarre encounter in one breath, finally landing on her own fate, and said with indignation, "If I really wither away and die because of this, I'll haunt that Li guy even as a ghost!"
After hearing the whole story, Qu Keyi's hanging heart settled, and she tapped her on the head. "You're just scaring yourself. Allergic reactions come on fast. If it could really cause suffocation, would you still be standing here right now?"
"…"
That logic made sense.
But how could she be fine?!
That meant she was immune to Li Yuyuan!
That was even harder to accept than withering away on the spot.
Qu Keyi could see her worry and, taking it as caution, took a scientific approach: "Tell you what, I'll order some tests for you. Let's let the numbers speak."
"Okay!"
—Half an hour later.
Exam Room Three.
Qu Keyi reviewed all the test reports on the computer and concluded, "Everything's normal. No issues at all."
Fei Chaichai immediately leaned in, sticking her rear out as she crowded over: "Really? Take another closer look."
It sounded like she actually hoped the results would show a problem.
Qu Keyi smiled and pinched her cheek, understandingly: "You've had allergies for years, and this is the first time you've encountered this situation. It's normal to not believe it at first. But data doesn't lie. Your body is genuinely very healthy right now."
"…"
At that point, Fei Chaichai's mental health was no longer very healthy.
"But," Qu Keyi didn't settle the matter just yet, "whether you truly didn't have an allergic reaction this time is still up in the air. What if the reaction was just delayed, and you happened to take your medicine in time, and the two canceled each other out?"
The moment she said that, Fei Chaichai's eyes lit up again.
Qu Keyi laughed helplessly, thought for a moment, and suggested: "Are you familiar with the person you'd haunt as a ghost? Why not try contacting him again and see?"
"Ah…" Fei Chaichai's face showed resistance.
Going to Li Yuyuan for an experiment—that kind of deliberately seeking hardship was something even a dog wouldn't—
Do!
Do exactly this kind of challenge-yourself, sweet-after-bitter great opportunity!
Monday, nine in the morning.
Following the address she found on the map, Fei Chaichai arrived at 101 Zaoshu Street in the old city district.
This wasn't a CBD of towering high-rises, nor were there skyscrapers piercing the clouds, yet there stood a building over a dozen stories tall, hidden among a cluster of old residential buildings.
The all-steel structure had not a trace of corporate dullness. The glass curtain wall was bright and transparent, reflecting the morning sun rising high in the sky, full of futuristic flair—like a scene that would only appear in a sci-fi film.
Fei Chaichai tilted her head back, mouth wide open, learning for the first time that Yunxia City had this style of architecture.
It was also the first time she learned that N.Found's Chinese name was "Zero-Hidden Technology."
So did that mean everyone inside the company was a "1"?
A strange association began to unfold in Fei Chaichai's mind.
And came to an end with a familiar "Hey, classmate."
She immediately spun around and said cheerfully, "Hi, Zhou Yi! Good morning!"
"Hi…" Zhou Yi seemed a bit reserved compared to her enthusiasm, and asked curiously, "What are you doing here?"
Fei Chaichai: "I'm here to see Li… your boss. Can you take me to him?"
Zhou Yi looked apologetic: "My boss hasn't been coming to the company lately, so…"
Fei Chaichai let out a disappointed "Oh," then settled for second best: "Then can you give me his contact information?"
"This…" Zhou Yi scratched his head awkwardly.
He'd certainly be willing to help Fei Chaichai, but at last week's meeting, President Qin had specifically warned everyone not to provoke his boss during this period, so he didn't dare act on his own.
Fortunately, someone who could make that call appeared just then.
Qin Ling had just parked the car when he heard Zhou Yi's call, and got out to look.
Two doormen stood at the company entrance.
One of them was smiling brilliantly, like a lucky cat, one hand raised at chest level, waving back and forth as she greeted him.
She clearly wanted something.
Qin Ling braced himself to be swindled and walked over.
Before he could ask what the "lucky cat" wanted, Zhou Yi stated her purpose on her behalf: "President Qin, this classmate wants the boss's contact information. Could you give her one?"
"Oh?"
At their previous meetings, she'd avoided Li Yuyuan as much as possible. For her to come knocking on his door today was truly a rare sight.
But Qin Ling held back his curiosity and first helped the "lucky cat" who was staring at him with eager eyes solve the problem: "Of course I can give it to you, but he doesn't like answering calls from strangers. Let me call him with my phone first."
Fei Chaichai knew Qin Ling was a good person, but didn't expect him to be this good. Moved, he even changed how he addressed him: "Thank you, President Qin!"
Qin Ling, now wearing the flattering crown, cleared his throat.
The call went through.
After a few rings, it was hung up.
Fei Chaichai: "?"
Qin Ling: "…"
He pressed his fist to his lips and coughed twice. "Zhou Yi, you call your boss."
Zhou Yi immediately complied.
Soon, they met the same outcome.
"…Could it be that he doesn't like answering calls from acquaintances either?" Fei Chaichai proposed a new possibility, cautiously seeking confirmation. "Why don't we try calling him with my phone?"
With that, he proactively handed over his phone.
Qin Ling and Zhou Yi exchanged a glance, gladly accepting this way out. They took the phone and entered the number.
The phone that had been cut off twice rang again with its noisy ringtone.
The lit screen became the only source of light in the room, faint and flickering, its glow dying out at the edge of that ink-blue smoke, revealing only a glimpse of a palm.
The hand had sharp, defined knuckles. When the ringtone repeated for the fourth time, it finally moved.
The air fell back into silence.
The call timer began.
The phone's blue light briefly illuminated the man's brows and eyes. Stripped of emotional embellishment, the aggression he usually kept in check was on full display—sharp and coldly weary.
After listening to silence for a long while, his patience ran out, and he spoke first: "What, waiting for me to invite you to talk?"
A sentence that already carried no warmth, wrapped in his cold voice, every word seemed tempered with ice, capable of cutting through even across the receiver.
The person on the other end seemed stunned. After a long moment, they mumbled softly: "Li Yuyuan, you're so mean."
The trailing tone was light, like a thin wisp of rosy cloud in a clear spring sky, drifting with the wind—elusive yet unmistakably there.
It blurred the line between reality and dreams.
Li Yuyuan slowly opened his eyes.
Before him was darkness. There was no little girl's face, not like in the dream, where he could look down and see her, crouched in the corner, tears soaking her lashes, accusing him with grievance.
Li Yuyuan.
You only ever bully me.