When Gu Zhan arrived at the hospital, his mother was still unconscious.

He first went to ask the doctor about her condition. The doctor said she was suffering from septic shock caused by pneumonia. The reason the male teacher that afternoon had said that Gu Ru’s condition wasn’t very good was because some students had noticed that she had recently been coughing violently and that there were streaks of blood in her phlegm.

The moment Gu Zhan heard this, his face went pale. He knew all too well how frightening blood in the phlegm could be for a pneumonia patient.

The doctor comforted him. “Don’t panic yet. We won’t know the exact situation until the cancer screening is completed. Right now, the family’s state of mind directly affects the patient’s emotional state. Your mother is currently in the ICU, and we doctors also need the family’s cooperation and support to help her get out of danger as quickly as possible.”

“Mm.” Gu Zhan nodded absentmindedly. “Can I go in and see her?”

“Not yet.” The doctor patted him on the shoulder. “You don’t need to worry too much. If your mother’s condition stabilizes tomorrow, she should be transferred to a regular ward soon. Then you’ll be able to spend more time with her.”

“Okay.” Gu Zhan nodded.

After the doctor left, he sat alone outside the ward for a long time.

Actually, when he had spoken to Gu Ru on the phone the previous week, he had noticed that her coughing was quite severe. He had merely urged her a few times to go to the hospital, but he hadn’t paid much attention beyond that.

During this period, he had been too focused on work, caught up in his endless entanglement with Fu Yan, and had neglected his mother far too much. He knew that her pneumonia always worsened every winter, so why hadn’t he brought her to the hospital for a proper checkup?

Gu Zhan was filled with guilt. He felt he had been a terrible son.

There had been several work calls that afternoon that he had missed while on the plane. Since there was nothing he could do for Gu Ru for the time being, he called everyone back one by one. He also told Richard that he might have to stay in Suzhou for a while and instructed him to move all meetings online.

By the time he finished everything, two hours had unknowingly passed.

At 9:43 p.m., Gu Zhan rubbed his growling stomach and suddenly remembered that he hadn’t eaten dinner.

He leaned his head back against the pale green hospital wall and closed his eyes for a moment, as though releasing the exhaustion that had accumulated throughout the entire day. Then he glanced at Gu Ru sleeping inside the ward before leaving the hospital.

Gu Zhan found a small noodle shop near the hospital. He had only just recovered from his own fever, so he absolutely couldn’t afford to fall sick again. Gu Ru needed him now, and so did Feifan Select. He had to take care of himself.

It was a Korean ramen shop. The spicy-and-sour kimchi soup, combined with cheese, crab sticks, and springy ramen noodles, was delicious. Holding the steaming bowl in his hands, Gu Zhan took a sip of the broth. The warmth made him suddenly remember the past.

Fu Yan had once cooked him noodles this warm, too.

Fu Yan?

Gu Zhan blinked hard, forcing the person who had suddenly intruded into his thoughts back out. He pulled out his phone and idly scrolled through it while eating.

The bar owner from that morning had gotten bored and contacted him again. He had even sent Gu Zhan several recent photos of the doctoral student he had mentioned before. Gu Zhan hadn’t had time to look at them during the day, but now he opened them.

The man really wasn’t bad-looking.

The bar owner had said he was thirty? From the photos, he looked more like a student. He wore a clean-looking denim-blue shirt, his hair neatly trimmed at the ends, revealing a section of his fair, slender neck. He wore black-rimmed glasses and looked composed and wholesome.

Gu Zhan’s first impression of him was quite... satisfactory.

Satisfactory?

When Gu Zhan realized that he had evaluated a person as though he were assessing a product, a wave of bitterness rose in his heart.

Of course, part of that bitterness came from his guilt at disrespecting the other person. But there was also some self-pity.

He seemed to have begun choosing his future partner the same way he selected products and evaluated projects. He cared more about whether the other person was compatible with him than about what his own heart wanted.

It seemed he no longer had the ability—or perhaps the opportunity—to consider whether his heart would flutter for someone.

Would he ever fall for someone again?

He had only fallen for someone once in his entire life, and the result had left him utterly devastated. More than a year had passed, and he still hadn’t moved on.

His body’s instinctive self-protection mechanism had quickly learned to lock his heart away somewhere safe. At his age, it seemed he had almost forgotten how to fall for someone at all...

Just then, his phone rang.

Gu Zhan was lost in thought and was startled by the sudden ringtone. He looked down and saw that it was Du Zhe calling. His heart gradually settled, and he answered.

“Hey, Ge Zhan. Are you still busy lately?”

“A little. What’s up? Is something wrong?”

“Can’t I call you just to chat if nothing’s wrong?” Du Zhe hadn’t contacted Gu Zhan at all since returning from the bar that night.

That night, he had beaten up Fu Yan. Not wanting to cause himself any more trouble, he had proactively submitted his resignation to C Brand—which was essentially a breach-of-contract notice. His contract with C Brand had only just been renewed, and the penalty for breaking it was astronomical. His manager had given him a thorough scolding, saying that even if he sold his house and kidneys, he still couldn’t afford the penalty, and had absolutely refused to let him breach the contract.

In a fit of anger, Du Zhe had simply packed a bag and driven along the Sichuan-Tibet route on a road trip.

Of course, that was only part of the reason.

More importantly, there were the things Gu Zhan had said to him at the bar that night.

He loved his work, and he also loved his Ah Zhan. He couldn't decide which was more important, so he wanted to try letting go of both for a while.

He had set off on his journey with nothing—no work and no Gu Zhan. The farther he traveled, the more he would know which one he couldn't stop thinking about.

That would be his choice.

“Ge Zhan, I really miss you.” Du Zhe sounded half coquettish and half shameless over the phone. “I want to see you. Are you free tomorrow? Can you have dinner with me?”

Gu Zhan smiled. “I'm really not making an excuse. I'm in Suzhou right now.”

“Huh? You went back to Suzhou again? When are you coming back?”

“I haven't decided yet.” Gu Zhan paused. “My mom... isn't feeling well. I'm at the hospital taking care of her.”

“What happened to Auntie? Is it serious?”

Gu Zhan was momentarily at a loss for words. “It’s not that bad. We’re waiting for the test results. Once I’m back in Beijing, I’ll come find you.”

“Okay.” Du Zhe’s voice was clearly disappointed. “Ge Zhan, if you need any help, just tell me.”

“Mm, okay.”

Gu Zhan hung up.

After finishing his noodles, he went home to pack some clothes for Gu Ru, then hurried back to the hospital and found a hotel nearby. Although the doctors wouldn’t let him enter the ward to see his mother, he didn’t want to go far. Staying close to her made him feel more secure.

The next morning, he bought some breakfast and returned to the hospital.

Gu Ru had already woken up. She looked fairly energetic. Through the glass, she tried to communicate with Gu Zhan, shaking her head one moment and nodding the next, even smiling at him.

Afraid that staying any longer would make her emotional state unstable, Gu Zhan asked a nurse to bring the congee inside for her and then stepped away.

In truth, Gu Zhan felt like crying.

He didn't want to cry in front of Gu Ru. Her shaking her head was her way of telling him she was fine; her nodding was her way of telling him not to worry; her smile was telling him to stay strong.

They weren't related by blood, yet they still shared an incredibly strong understanding and emotional connection.

Gu Zhan prayed silently.

His mother had to be okay.

She would definitely be okay.

Family members couldn't freely visit ICU patients, so Gu Zhan sat alone on a bench outside the ICU, keeping watch over his mother.

He simply wanted to be as close to Gu Ru as possible, even though he still had a mountain of work to deal with. With his laptop in his arms, he alternated between checking documents and emails and looking through the glass window at Gu Ru, constantly monitoring the readings on her monitors for anything abnormal.

The nerve-racking day passed like this.

Leaning against the armrest of the bench, Gu Zhan unknowingly fell asleep from exhaustion.

At eleven that night, a nurse gently tapped his shoulder and woke him.

“Sir, our hospital doesn’t allow people to stay overnight. The head nurse will be making rounds shortly.”

“Okay. I’ll leave right away.”

Gu Zhan stretched his neck and was about to stand when he suddenly noticed that there was a small flannel blanket draped over him.

Had some kind doctor or nurse seen him sleeping in the hallway and quietly covered him with it because they were worried he'd get cold?

He wanted to call after the nurse who had just woken him and ask, but she had already walked away.

Gu Zhan withdrew his hand, carefully folded the blanket, then took a sticky note from his briefcase and wrote two words:

Thank you.

He stuck it to the blanket, neatly placed the blanket back on the bench, and left the hospital.

Perhaps, somewhere beyond what could be seen, some deity really was taking pity on this mother and son.

On the morning of the third day, Gu Ru was transferred out of the ICU. All her vital signs had returned to normal.

Lying in her hospital bed, Gu Ru happily ate the apple Gu Zhan had peeled for her.

“Ah, the school just made a big fuss over nothing. They were afraid something would happen to me, so they deliberately made it sound worse and tricked you into coming back. I know my own body. I just stayed up late a few nights recently.”

Gu Zhan stuffed a piece of apple into his mother’s mouth.

“You’re already this old. Why are you staying up late like a young person?”

“Because final exams are coming up. I was preparing some study materials for several students who are always failing their classes. After the exams, it’ll be winter vacation and New Year. I just want all my students to get good grades, so their parents won’t nag them as much and they can have a happy New Year. You were always good at school, so you don't know. The students who do poorly on their finals have such a hard time when they visit relatives during New Year. All those aunts and uncles love asking about their grades.”

Gu Zhan smiled.

“Yes, Professor Gu. Your students may get a little less nagging from their parents, but you’re going to get some extra nagging from your son. Have you been taking your lung medication on time?”

“I have.” Gu Ru had a good appetite and took another big bite of apple.

“Then when did you start coughing... this frequently?”

“Just recently. Ah, stop asking me the same questions the doctors already asked. It’s annoying.” Gu Ru’s playful tone suddenly became serious. She gently stroked Gu Zhan’s drooping head. “Son, don't worry anymore. Mom promises you, I won't let you become an orphan again.”

“Mom...” Gu Zhan’s voice became choked with emotion. He turned his head away, afraid to look into his mother’s eyes.

Knock, knock.

The two of them looked toward the door at the same time.

A tall, broad-shouldered young man wearing a mask walked in, carrying a large fruit basket in one hand and two boxes of health supplements in the other. He smiled brightly.

“Du Zhe? What are you doing here?” Gu Zhan asked, somewhat surprised.

“I wanted to come, so I did.”

Du Zhe quickly put the things in the corner, pulled down his mask, and smiled at Gu Ru.

“Hello, Auntie. My name is Du Zhe. I'm Ah Zhan’s... friend.”

“Friend...” Gu Ru considered the word carefully, staring straight at Du Zhe.

Seeing this, Gu Zhan hurriedly added, “Mom, Du Zhe and I were also university classmates.”

Du Zhe smiled and continued, “Yeah. Ah Zhan and I have known each other for more than ten years.”

Gu Ru stared at him blankly for several seconds before finally smiling back.

“University classmates, huh? Good, good. Young man, you’re really tall. You look like a model.”

“Hehe.” Du Zhe scratched the back of his head. “Auntie, I heard you weren’t feeling well. How are you now? Are you feeling better?”

“I’m doing great.” Gu Ru spread her hands. “Everything’s perfectly fine.”

“Haha, you do look quite energetic, Auntie.”

The two of them chatted back and forth, getting along surprisingly well despite having just met.

Gu Zhan watched them for a while before giving Du Zhe a meaningful look, signaling for him to come outside.

Du Zhe looked at him somewhat bewilderedly.

Gu Ru noticed their exchange of glances, and her smile became even more knowing.

Seeing his mother’s reaction, Gu Zhan became even more embarrassed.

“Mom, Du Zhe and I have something to talk about. We’ll step outside for a bit.”

“Okay, okay. Go ahead.”

Gu Ru smiled warmly at the two of them.

Just before leaving, Gu Zhan remembered something.

“The nurse said there’s a checkup at ten-thirty, right?”

“Yes, in a little while. It’s on the sixteenth floor.”

“Then, Mom, I’ll be back soon. I’ll take you to the examination.”

“Okay.”

Gu Zhan led Du Zhe to an empty stairwell.

“How did you find time to come here?”

“I missed you.”

Du Zhe lowered his head and looked at him.

“Stop fooling around. Go back soon. Don’t let this interfere with your work.”

Du Zhe pouted.

“Ge Zhan, I just got here and you’re already trying to chase me away?”

“That’s not it. It’s just that you're here...” Gu Zhan decided not to beat around the bush. “With you here, my mom is likely to misunderstand. You saw her expression just now.”

“Auntie didn't misunderstand anything. I just like you...” Du Zhe muttered, looking slightly aggrieved.

Seeing that expression, Gu Zhan couldn't bring himself to be too blunt. After a moment's hesitation, he said, “Du Zhe, I think I already talked to you about this at the bar that night.”

“Ge Zhan.”

Du Zhe suddenly raised his eyes. His clear gaze fixed intently on Gu Zhan.

“I’m quitting modeling.”