Shao Qi brought Liu Yiyi to his residence, a two-story modern townhouse surrounded by detached small villas. Each house came with its own private backyard. The real estate developer had specifically designed this housing estate for young people, making it hugely popular among wealthy young scions. It offered high security, lush greenery, low population density, and a modern aesthetic.
Shao Qi carried Liu Yiyi upstairs to the second floor and laid her down on the bed in the guest bedroom. Suddenly, his phone rang incessantly in the quiet space.
"My dear young master, tonight's event is about to start. Where on earth are you?" The voice of Shao Qi's manager, Zhao Xiujie, came through the phone.
"Jie, I'm not going tonight." Shao Qi turned around and walked a few steps toward the door.
"What? You—" Zhao Xiujie was furious; this event had been agreed upon long in advance.
Cough, cough, cough, cough. A rapid series of coughs broke out. "You're awake? Feeling any better?" Hearing movement from the bed, Shao Qi abruptly hung up the phone.
Before Zhao Xiujie could finish speaking, a busy tone came from the line. The profanities spilling from his mouth over there declared his deep displeasure.
Shao Qi looked at the coughing Liu Yiyi and stepped out of the room. Moments later, he returned holding a large glass of water. "Drink some water. You'll feel better."
Liu Yiyi sat up, took the glass, and drank greedily. Her throat was terribly dry, and the water in the glass was visibly almost gone. "Do you want more?" Liu Yiyi shook her head.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were allergic to alcohol." Shao Qi reached to take the glass, but the girl was faster, placing it on the nightstand. A wave of guilt washed over him.
She didn't blame anyone; she simply hadn't been careful enough herself. "It's fine. Where is this?" Liu Yiyi finally took in her unfamiliar surroundings.
"My place."
*Gurgle.* Liu Yiyi's stomach chose that very inopportune moment to protest. "Sorry, I'm hungry. I should head back." She readied herself to get out of bed.
"Just stay here for the night. You won't be able to catch a cab around here. I'll send you back tomorrow. Let me order some food, what do you want to eat?" Shao Qi reached out to stop her.
"Anything is fine." Liu Yiyi sat back down. A neighborhood where cabs are hard to get? Truly high-end. It looked like she wasn't leaving today.
"I'll just order a few things then." As Shao Qi was browsing the food delivery page, the manager's call came through again on his screen. "Jie."
"Oh sure, now you don't even let me finish talking!"
"No, Jie, it's a misunderstanding. I really have something going on here."
"Drop whatever you have going on! You must attend today's event, get over here right now!" Zhao Xiujie shouted loudly at Shao Qi.
"I know, Jie." Hanging up the phone, Shao Qi looked at Liu Yiyi. "I still have matters to attend to. The delivery person will bring your food to the door in a bit. You don't have to wait for me to get back. If you're bored, you can go downstairs and watch a movie." With that, he stood up, walked to his own room, and fetched a set of pajamas. "These are mine, you can wear them."
Liu Yiyi accepted the beige plaid pajamas. "Should I save some food for you?"
"No need, I'll eat outside. I'm heading out." He picked up his car keys and left.
Liu Yiyi got up and went downstairs. Shao Qi's home was decorated in a modern, minimalist beige style. A large photo of him singing hung in the living room, and the place was surprisingly tidy. She had only ever seen Shu Qiyu and Zhang Lin's rooms, both of which were total messes; every time she went over, she had to help them tidy up for a long time. She had always assumed all young people were so carefree, but apparently not.
Liu Yiyi pulled her gaze away, sat down on the rug by the sofa, turned on the TV, searched for *SpongeBob SquarePants*, and began watching with great relish. The doorbell rang—the delivery had arrived. Looking at the food placed on the coffee table, her mouth began to water uncontrollably. After devouring the meal, she patted her belly, cleaned up the leftovers, and went back to watching TV.
Once her stomach was full, drowsiness crept in. Dozing off, she nodded off right there against the coffee table. Until a hand rested on the back of her neck—Liu Yiyi snapped awake instantly. "Who's there?" Her gaze was chillingly sharp.
Shao Qi withdrew the hand he had intended to use to carry her upstairs, ignoring her guarded expression as he gently persuaded, "It's me. Can you stand up? Go sleep upstairs."
Fully awake now, Liu Yiyi looked at the man she had met a few times. "You're back. I'll go up then." She got up and headed upstairs.
"Yeah, get some sleep." Shao Qi sat on his sofa in deep thought. He recalled the flash of icy light in Liu Yiyi's eyes earlier. Just what kind of experiences could she have possibly been through to make her so vigilant and lacking in a sense of security? The room wasn't entirely quiet.
Sounds drifted from the television. Raising his eyes, he saw *SpongeBob SquarePants* playing on the screen, drawing a chuckle from him. "I never would've guessed she'd like watching cartoons like this," Shao Qi muttered to himself.
He picked up his phone, opened his chat with Zhang Lin, and decided to ask a few questions about Liu Yiyi. "Hey little fan, let me ask you something about your friend Liu Yiyi."
Seeing a message from her idol, Zhang Lin could hardly believe it. After repeatedly confirming it really was him, she replied instantly, "Idol, go ahead! I'll tell you everything I know."
"What is your friend allergic to?"
"Yiyi? She has a severe alcohol allergy. She almost lost her life to it when she was little," Zhang Lin spilled everything she knew about Liu Yiyi's condition without holding back.
"Right, I already knew about that. Anything else?"
Zhang Lin was puzzled. How did her idol know? Yiyi would never talk about herself; she always protected herself like that. "How did you find out Yiyi is allergic to alcohol? Did she touch alcohol? There should be medicine in her bag, in a green bottle," Zhang Lin blurted out, assuming Yiyi had already been drinking, her tone laced with urgency.
"I already took her to see a doctor." Shao Qi genuinely felt a bit guilty toward Liu Yiyi; if it hadn't been for that bottle of "alcohol," she wouldn't have had to suffer through this.
"She *did* drink? How is she now? Is she alright? Can I talk to her?" Was Yiyi okay or not? Should she contact Shu Qiyu? She was worried sick.
"She's fine now, she's already gone to sleep. It was mainly my fault for letting her drink something she shouldn't have."
Zhang Lin understood now; her idol was feeling guilty, which was why he was asking about her condition to prevent a recurrence. "The idol didn't know either. As long as she's okay now," Zhang Lin breathed a sigh of relief. Honestly, how could Yiyi be so careless about things she drank?
Bringing the conversation back, Shao Qi still wanted to find out other things about her. "Are there any other things she's allergic to?"
Other things? Having spent so much time with Yiyi, truly— "Aside from alcohol, I've never seen her allergic to anything else."
"Got it. I've already prepared the surrounding merchandise for you."
"Really? That's amazing! Thank you, Idol, for spoiling your fans so much!" Zhang Lin instantly started dancing around in joy. "Then I'll just wait for Yiyi to mail it back to me."
"Sure." Shao Qi ended the conversation and opened Liu Yiyi's chat profile. Her avatar was also SpongeBob—the picture of him riding a jellyfish, showing two big white buck teeth and spreading his arms wide in laughter. It was such a stark contrast to her actual personality. Thinking about how the characters of Liu Yiyi's name combined together literally meant "two" (a slang term for being a bit foolish or airheaded), he changed her nickname in his contacts — Liu Xiao Er.