A1

"Let's go," Chu You said, his cold voice carrying on the night breeze to Nian Yuyu's ears.

As his words ended, he had already pulled open the passenger side door.

Nian Yuyu mumbled an acknowledgement and silently sat in the back seat of the car.

Once both were seated, the driver stepped on the gas, and the car quickly started, with the neon-lit bars on the street fading into the night.

Nian Yuyu opened her mouth to speak, but through the rearview mirror, she noticed Chu You gazing out the window at the night scene, showing no intention of engaging in conversation with her.

She quietly withdrew her gaze and pulled out her phone to bombard Jiang Jingyun with messages.

Nian Yuyu: [You're really not being nice!]

Nian Yuyu: [Do you have any idea how awkward the atmosphere in the car is!]

Nian Yuyu: [Even the driver uncle is keeping mum!]

Jiang Jingyun replied with a string of hahahahahahahaha.

Jiang Jingyun: [You and your Red Socks Doctor seem to have quite the fate.]

Jiang Jingyun: [Li Beize just said, Chu You moved in three days ago.]

Looking at Jiang Jingyun's messages, Nian Yuyu poked at her phone screen with a tragic expression, [What Red Socks Doctor!]

Nian Yuyu: [Stop mentioning red socks!]

She was busily replying to the messages and did not notice that Chu You in the front seat no longer looked out at the night scenery.

The car drove on, with the street lights on both sides flashing by one after another.

The lights, flickering in and out of view, cast a clear reflection of Nian Yuyu's lively and animated expressions on her fair face onto the rearview mirror.

Chu You looked at the rearview mirror, and a subtle emotion tinted the calm depths of his eyes.

Outside the car window, the night was hazy, while inside the car, the heating was turned up high.

Nian Yuyu put away her phone, and stealthily glanced at the rearview mirror, only to catch a pair of indifferent black eyes unexpectedly.

She abruptly withdrew her gaze and leaned towards the door, pretending nothing had happened.

In the front seat, Chu You's lips curved in a slight arc, which quickly fell away.

The taxi reached the destination before they realized it.

The driver finally spoke up, "Who will pay?"

Nian Yuyu quickly took out her phone, but Chu You, sitting in the passenger seat, had already paid the fare.

She silently clenched her phone and said softly, "Thank you, Dr. Chu."

After getting out of the car, Chu You's cold gaze fell on her again, his impassive face gaining a few shades of ambiguity under the thick night sky.

Nian Yuyu felt stiffened by his stare and blurted out, "Dr. Chu, how much is the fare, I'll transfer it to you."

"No need," Chu You withdrew his gaze, his voice cold.

"I live in this complex," Nian Yuyu tried to remain composed, pointing to the cluster of buildings behind them.

"Then... goodbye, Dr. Chu, thank you for today."

Chu You was silent for a few seconds, "Goodbye."

Nian Yuyu turned and walked toward the gate of Chunhua Garden, her petite figure casting a long shadow on the ground.

Chu You stood by the roadside, the traffic light turned green, but he remained motionless.

Not far away, the sound of Nian Yuyu greeting the security guard drifted to him with a gust of cold wind, and he stepped towards the other side of the road.

…

Back in the warmth of her room, Nian Yuyu immediately shed her trench coat, briskly washed up, and eagerly dove into her soft bed.

The next day dawned bright.

A small mound formed in the soft pink blanket, Nian Yuyu turned over in bed, then sat up wrapped in the comforter.

It was nearing noon, and the clear sunlight filtered through the glass window, casting a soft, hazy glow on her fair and exquisite face, as if her pale skin were covered in a layer of misty soft light.

She yawned, and her dark round eyes misted over with a layer of foggy moisture.

Suddenly, the phone on the bedside table began to ring frantically, shattering the silence of the room.

Nian Yuyu groped for her phone and answered the call.

"Hello," she said, her voice still lazy from just waking up.

"I knew you'd be awake at this time," Jiang Jingyun's voice came from the other end, "Hehe, how did it go with Dr. Chu You last night?"

As Nian Yuyu walked to the bathroom with the phone, she spoke listlessly, "Not great, we weren't familiar with each other, and it was super awkward last night."

"Tsk," Jiang Jingyun sounded somewhat disappointed, "You had such a good opportunity last night, didn't you get his contact info?"

Nian Yuyu put her phone on the bathroom sink and switched to speakerphone, "How could I dare!"

Chu You was as cold as a human ice machine, not to mention she had already embarrassed herself in front of him.

Plus, she was only bold on the internet.

"Hehe," Jiang Jingyun suddenly laughed with ill intentions, "Yuyu, I think you could have successfully gotten his contact info yesterday."

"On the way back yesterday, Li Beize said Chu You sneaked several glances at you in the bar."

Sneaked glances at her?

Nian Yuyu was so shocked she almost swallowed her toothpaste. She rinsed her mouth quickly and picked up the phone again, "Impossible!"

It was rather her who had stolen glances at him, and she even got caught every time.

"It's true, Lu Binghao also said he saw it," Jiang Jingyun's voice was seductive, "Why don't you go back to the hospital and ask for his contact info?"

"I really think you two are fated!"

"Now you even live so close, just separated by a road."

Nian Yuyu recalled the look the nurse at the service desk had given her and immediately refused her suggestion.

"Enough, stop fantasizing."

Suppressing the odd feeling rising in her heart, Nian Yuyu tried to sound relaxed, "I probably won't see him again in the future."

"Otherwise, I'll be reminded of my social death experience every time I see him."

Jiang Jingyun still felt it was a pity; she was a die-hard member of the Association for Judging by Appearances.

Chu You was handsome, cold yet dashing, and matched perfectly with the cute and docile Nian Yuyu.

After chatting for a while, Nian Yuyu hung up the phone, had a quick brunch, and then took a taxi to her parents' house in Chunhua Garden.

Today was Nian Zhenguo's birthday. Nian Yuyu had just arrived when her mother, Yu Qian, threw a "knife look" her way, "You might as well have come back later in the evening."

"Look at those dark circles under your eyes; you must have stayed up late last night!"

Nian Yuyu showed an ingratiating smile, "I overslept."

That said, she hurriedly presented the birthday gift she had bought for her father, a luxury brand wristwatch.

Nian Zhenguo was a headteacher at a high school, with a strong sense of time, and was perennially at the forefront of cracking down on teenage romance.

During her three years of high school under Nian Zhenguo's supervision, she was virtually isolated from the opposite sex.

"How much was it?" Yu Qian took the watch and looked at it before asking the price instinctively.

"Not expensive," Nian Yuyu smiled, "One month's writing fee."

Yu Qian knew about Nian Yuyu's approximate income, and after hearing her daughter, she threw another "knife look," "Wasting money."

But her smile quickly stretched to her ears.

Nian Yuyu didn't take it to heart; she could tell when her mother was really scolding her or just saying it offhandedly.

Sure enough, when Nian Zhenguo came out of the kitchen wearing an apron, he also endured a scolding from Yu Qian but then happily put on the new watch.

Father and daughter exchanged a smile.