Weekend morning.

Right on schedule.

Ye Yubai put on the new hoodie he’d bought, along with a pair of white sneakers he rarely wore. After styling his hair just right, he went to Gan Lan’s room and knocked on her door.

“Come on, let’s go see a movie!”

“Cough, cough, cough…”

Gan Lan opened the door, coughing.

She looked at Ye Yubai, her face pale and weak.

That fragile, delicate look in her eyes tugged at Ye Yubai’s heart.

It was as if someone had given the softest part of him a gentle pinch.

It hurt a little, and tickled a little too.

“I caught a cold. I can’t go.” Her voice was lazy and hoarse.

She said it lightly, then started to close the door.

Ye Yubai stuck a foot in the doorway to stop her.

“You caught a cold?”

He reached out uncertainly and felt her forehead.

Her forehead really was a little hot.

He’d thought she was pretending to be sick so she wouldn’t have to go to the movies with him.

“Then we won’t see a movie. I’ll take you to get an IV downstairs.”

As he spoke, Ye Yubai took her by the arm and pulled her out of the room.

Gan Lan’s head was spinning. When he pulled her, she stumbled straight into his arms.

The scent of new clothes washed over her.

And faintly, Gan Lan caught a hint of men’s cologne.

She looked up at her childhood friend.

Had this guy really gone to so much trouble just to see a movie with her?

That was so weird.

Holding her, Ye Yubai’s heart suddenly started racing.

That night, he’d already noticed a strange fragrance around Gan Lan. Now it seemed even stronger.

But Gan Lan was so touchy that if he bluntly told her, “You smell really nice,” she’d definitely hit him.

Ye Yubai could only pretend nothing had happened and slowly let go.

“Let’s just go to the clinic downstairs. That way, you won’t have to change.”

Gan Lan murmured, “Mm.”

She went back to her room, took her wallet out of her backpack, and changed into her sneakers.

She changed out of her pajamas, threw on some clean clothes, and got ready to leave.

“Let’s go.”

“I told you, you didn’t have to change…”

Ye Yubai rubbed his nose, turned his face away awkwardly, and muttered,

“Being so cautious makes you seem like such a girl.”

Gan Lan didn’t hear him, but she did notice a hint of inexplicable shyness on Ye Yubai’s face.

She was startled all over again.

“Why’s this guy getting shy around me?”

…

Downstairs.

An old doctor was dozing in the little clinic.

At the sound of someone pushing open the door, he barely lifted his head to glance at them.

“Sit here. I’ll take a look.”

Gan Lan stared at the old doctor for a long while.

Then she sighed.

If she remembered right, the old doctor would die of liver cancer a year and a half from now.

Gan Lan had even attended his funeral.

Seeing him again now left her feeling a little wistful.

After a quick checkup, the old doctor wrote her a prescription.

“Nothing serious. Just a little cold.”

He tore off the prescription and handed it to Gan Lan.

“You can get an IV, or you can skip it. It’s up to you.”

An IV cost more. Fever medicine was cheaper.

Of course Gan Lan chose the medicine.

After all, money was pretty tight for her right now.

Ye Yubai still seemed worried. “Are you sure medicine will actually work?”

The old doctor chuckled. “Why wouldn’t it? Don’t worry so much. Your girlfriend will be fine.”

Ye Yubai let out a surprised “Huh?” and gave Gan Lan a strange look.

A girl?

But Gan Lan was obviously a boy!

He’d even bathed with Gan Lan before. How could she be a girl?

But that voice was so soft and delicate. It really did sound like a girl’s!

Ye Yubai studied Gan Lan. “Gan Lan, you…”

Gan Lan gave a light cough. “Come on, let’s go. I’ll just take the medicine.”

She ushered Ye Yubai toward the door.

Then she looked back at the old doctor.

She suddenly said, “Doctor Xu, if you’re not busy, you should get your liver checked at the hospital.”

She didn’t know if it could save him.

But it couldn’t hurt to warn him.

The old doctor rubbed the back of his head. “Huh?”

He thought he kept a pretty regular schedule, and his liver was in good shape.

Still, hearing someone bring it up made him doubt himself a little.

“The neighborhood’s holding a health checkup tomorrow. I might as well go along.”

…

“Let’s go see a movie.”

Gan Lan suddenly suggested.

Ye Yubai had no objection, but seeing how unwell she looked made him a little worried.

“Are you sure you’re up to it?”

Gan Lan glanced at him. “I may be a boy, but don’t underestimate me.”

She sounded perfectly sure of herself, but her voice was still soft and weak.

Hearing that made Ye Yubai think of what Doctor Xu had just said.

His gaze traveled down Gan Lan’s neck and settled on her chest.

With so many layers on, and all of them loose, it was impossible to make out what was underneath.

If he could strip her naked and take a look, he’d know for sure.

Ye Yubai gave a light cough. “Sure. If you’re up for it, I’ll go with you.”

As he spoke, they arrived at the movie theater.

Just as they were about to go in, two familiar figures suddenly appeared in front of them.

They were the girls who’d invited the two of them to the movies before: Tiantian and Meimei.

Ye Yubai muttered “What a pain” under his breath, but the moment he faced them, he put on his usual warm smile.

“Hey, ladies.”

As he spoke, Ye Yubai casually hooked an arm around Gan Lan’s neck and pulled her close. “My buddy got sick today, so I took her to see a doctor. Sorry we’re late.”

Tiantian and Meimei exchanged a glance.

They’d already prepared themselves to be stood up, so they hadn’t expected to run into them after all.

What a wonderful surprise.

“No, no, we just got here too.”

“Yeah, we just arrived. Let’s go in together.”

The girls smiled brightly, though their eyes kept wandering back to Ye Yubai.

Ye Yubai had dressed up carefully today. He looked like a star stepping out in public, dazzling everyone around him.

As for Gan Lan, her sickly look gave her a whole different kind of beauty, like a frail, lovesick heroine.

Standing together, the two of them somehow looked like a perfect match!

The two of them walked ahead of the girls.

Behind them, the girls whispered to each other.

“I just caught a whiff of something going on between those two!” Meimei said mysteriously. “This pair’s got chemistry.”

Tiantian, though, looked a little dejected.

Her fingers kept tugging at the hem of her clothes.

Her eyes never left Ye Yubai.

She wasn’t into sickly beauties. She only liked sunny, cheerful guys like Ye Yubai.

She’d only invited Gan Lan to the movies so she’d have an excuse to get closer to Ye Yubai!

Now Ye Yubai wouldn’t even look at her, and Gan Lan hadn’t looked her way once the whole time either.

Was she really that easy to overlook?

They were already past the ticket gate and inside the theater.

Tiantian worked up her courage, swallowed her pride, and insisted on sitting between Ye Yubai and Gan Lan.

Ye Yubai’s expression darkened as he looked at her, clearly displeased.

“Tiantian, why are you sitting here?”