"Ye Yansheng,
Ye Yansheng sat in the conference room, pursing his lips and furrowing his brows as he looked at the message Song Guanyu had sent him. By the time difference, it was already the early hours of the morning back home.
Was she having trouble sleeping again?
The little bear he had brought back for her had ended up somewhere unknown. Before, she needed him to hold her to sleep every night for her to fall asleep.
Later, when he asked about the bear's whereabouts, Song Guanyu had brushed it off vaguely. But Ye Yansheng could tell—she no longer needed that bear to sleep. Her new sleeping aid was him. Of course, he was more than happy to be completely relied on by her every night. He felt like he belonged to her.
But the emoji she sent late at night worried him. Suddenly, a hand landed on his shoulder. Ye Yansheng looked up and saw Nie Yizhi.
He stood up and shook hands with her. "Professor Nie." Zhou Shanli and Song Huaizhi also stood up and shook hands with her in turn.
When it was Song Huaizhi's turn, Nie Yizhi looked up and gave him a cold glance. Song Huaizhi met her eyes for a moment, then quickly looked away.
Nie Yizhi gave them a slight nod and said with a faint smile, "Dr. Ye, you don't look well. Are you sick?" Then she took the seat next to Ye Yansheng.
She asked because Ye Yansheng's face seemed slightly flushed, which could be a sign of a fever.
Ye Yansheng replied, "A slight fever. Nothing serious." It was probably due to that night in the bathroom with Song Guanyu.
The air conditioning was strong inside, and the bathroom had been very hot. The temperature shift had caused symptoms even before boarding the plane, when he felt drowsy. He hadn't paid much attention then, but after landing at New York airport, it had gotten worse.
"There are quite a few meetings over the next few days. Have you taken any medicine?" Nie Yizhi asked.
"Yes, I have. It won't affect the schedule."
"Alright. If you really can't handle it, let me know. Besides, Dr. Zhou and Dr. Song are here. They'll send you all the meeting materials."
Ye Yansheng nodded. "Okay."
The keynote speaker hadn't arrived yet. This was a top global academic conference, promoting talent exchange and technical communication, as well as a friendly gathering among nations.
While waiting, Nie Yizhi seemed to remember something and asked Ye Yansheng, "I heard you got married?" She had noticed the wedding ring on his finger when she came in.
Mentioning marriage made Ye Yansheng think of his little radish head at home. His voice softened, adding a touch of warmth.
He smiled at Nie Yizhi. "Yes, I'm married."
The usually stern ice queen suddenly seemed possessed by Song Huaizhi's spirit, showing a hint of nosiness. "The director told me your wife is quite young. You've been married for a while now. How are things?"
Ye Yansheng thought carefully about his daily life with Song Guanyu, and the corners of his mouth lifted.
"She's young, but very adorable."
Now it was Nie Yizhi's turn to be surprised. "Adorable?" Rarely did anyone use the word 'adorable' to describe someone. It seemed he really liked her.
"Mm. She's adorable. I really like her." Ye Yansheng spoke with affection.
The word 'adorable' carried nuances—it could describe one's appearance or convey another layer of love between lovers. Judging by Ye Yansheng's face full of happiness, it was the latter.
Ye Yansheng had fallen in love.
How interesting, Nie Yizhi thought. But not wanting to say more, she added one more sentence.
"Wishing you a happy marriage and lasting happiness, Dr. Ye."
"Professor Nie, I wish you happiness and smooth sailing too." After saying this, Ye Yansheng saw a flicker of stiffness on Nie Yizhi's face. He thought he might have said something wrong.
But a smart person wouldn't call it out. Nie Yizhi smiled, and with the end of the topic, the keynote speaker finally arrived.
The meeting began.
It had been a long time since Song Guanyu had been in New York. Her work schedule had been very full this past year, and she only had free time recently. After having dinner at her teacher's house, she took Lu Chunhe and wanted to go out. She wanted to buy some things; Ye Yansheng's home was too empty. She wanted to buy some interesting and delicate trinkets to add warmth to the house.
Liang Kang'an asked Liang Jiasong to drive her. Liang Jiasong had just finished eating too. Nodding to his father, he got up and grabbed the car keys, ready to go with Song Guanyu and the others. But Song Guanyu stopped him.
"Jiasong, you don't need to take us. I want to drive around myself." She held out her hand to Liang Jiasong, her eyebrows showing she was up to something. "Jiasong, I heard from Teacher that you just bought a new supercar. Would you mind letting me test its handling? Please?"
She clasped her hands together, smiling. She must have had her eye on that car for a while.
Song Guanyu was a good driver, so Liang Jiasong had no worries. He happened to have other things to do that day, so he handed her the keys. "Drive safely, Zhuzhu. Call me if anything comes up."
Song Guanyu snatched the keys from him. "Teacher! Jiasong, I'm off!" She grabbed Lu Chunhe and ran towards the underground garage.
The faint scent of sandalwood lingered in the air, a fragrance from Liang Jiasong's car that seemed to cling to Song Guanyu. His palm tingled where her fingertips had grazed it. Liang Jiasong rubbed his fingers slightly before putting his hand in his pocket, as if trying to hold onto that ticklish sensation.
Liang Kang'an, sitting at the main table, watched him stare at the doorway and sighed inwardly.
Although his temples were graying, the innate calm and nobility that time had polished remained. His features were still striking.
He drank the soup from the small bowl in front of him, skimmed off a bit of oil, and called out calmly, "Jiasong."
Liang Jiasong snapped out of it and walked over to his father, sitting down beside Liang Kangcheng. He said flatly, "Father, is the food not to your liking?" He was about to call for the steward to prepare a new dish.
Liang Kangcheng raised a hand to stop him, patting his hand lightly and shaking his head. He had repeated these words countless times over the years.
"Jiasong, don't cling to what doesn't belong to you. You and Zhuzhu have no future. Although she is pure-hearted, she can still tell what her feelings for you really are. You are only her brother in name."
Liang Jiasong's eyes darkened as a storm brewed within, but then his gaze softened again. He smiled at his father. "Then why did you call Zhuzhu here from home? Deep down, you're satisfied with Zhuzhu. You hope she can become my wife, don't you?"
He lowered his head, rubbing the watch on his wrist. Under the watchband was a tattoo engraved on the day he first met Song Guanyu when she was seventeen.
That year, Liang Jiasong was twenty-five. A young girl suddenly entered his heart. His mother had passed away that year, and Liang Jiasong spent his days indulging in various bars, living aimlessly.
Then seventeen-year-old Song Guanyu burst into his home with radiant smiles, innocently playing the piano and singing for him, helping him through the darkness.
The vitality in her was something he craved.