Standing in front of the gray and white villa, Jiang Jianhuan hesitated for a moment before reaching out to enter the password on the touch panel.
With a few beeps and a slight click, the door opened.
Jiang Jianhuan gripped the doorknob, took a deep breath, and mentally prepared himself.
—I'll just go in and take a look to check on the work. If the progress is delayed, I'll be the one to take the blame.
Just consider it as encountering a difficult customer.
She pushed the door open and went in very quietly.
In front of me was a large living room with very little furniture, making it seem empty. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows was an artificial lake, with trees planted on both sides. The environment was serene and very quiet.
Jiang Jianhuan looked around and found that the interior decoration was also in black, white and gray, which was cold and simple.
It doesn't feel like home at all.
She tentatively called Su Mo's name a few times, and the echoes lingered in the air, but no one answered.
Jiang Jianhuan looked at the stairs in front of her, hesitated for a few seconds, and then carefully walked up them.
There were three rooms on the second floor. One of the doors was half-open, and you could vaguely see the corner of a quilt peeking out. Jiang Jianhuan tentatively walked over and knocked on the door.
Is anyone there?
There was still no response, but she pushed open the half-closed door and took in the scene inside the room.
Right in the middle was the bed, and a person was lying on it. The bedding was messy, and most of the face was buried in the pillow. Only messy hair could be seen.
Jiang Jianhuan walked over, her footsteps making no sound on the white carpet beneath her, and softly called Su Mo's name.
The person on the bed seemed to have heard something, and stirred, revealing a bit of their face from under the covers, which appeared abnormally red.
Jiang Jianhuan's gaze sharpened, and he reached out.
His forehead was burning hot, and when Jiang Jianhuan suddenly placed his hand on it, it felt a little hot to the touch. Jiang Jianhuan quickly shook his body.
"Su Mo, wake up, you have a fever, I'm taking you to the hospital."
Even the deepest sleeper would be awakened by her actions. Su Mo opened her eyes groggily, her head throbbing with pain.
The people around him were incredibly noisy, and their shouts sounded strangely familiar. He struggled to lift his eyelids, and Jiang Jianhuan's face appeared in his blurry vision.
"How did you get here..." He opened his eyes wide and struggled to get up to get a better look, but he was too weak and soon his consciousness was overwhelmed by sleepiness, and he leaned back weakly.
Just before closing her eyes, Su Mo gripped her wrist tightly. Jiang Jianhuan was caught off guard and fell onto the bed with him.
"Su Mo, Su Mo, wake up..." The voice kept echoing in his ears, like two forces pulling at his mind. Su Mo frowned, trying his best to regain his clarity.
Jiang Jianhuan called him for a while but there was no response. He fumbled for his phone in his bag to call Li Sa for help, but just as his fingers touched the hard edge, the person in front of him opened his eyes again.
"You're awake?!" Jiang Jianhuan was overjoyed and was about to help him up when she saw Su Mo staring at her, his eyes were strangely dark, and the corners of his eyes were slightly red from the fever. His voice was incredibly soft.
"You're back."
"Huh?" She raised an eyebrow in surprise, but before she could speak, the person in front of her pressed down on her.
A burning heat enveloped her lips, a familiar softness caressing them, and warm, moist breath sprayed onto her face. Jiang Jianhuan felt herself instantly ignite.
"I miss you so much..."
A soft sigh escaped her lips, followed by silence. Su Mo lay motionless on top of her, as if asleep.
Jiang Jianhuan stared wide-eyed at the ceiling, unable to come to her senses for a long time. After a while, she unconsciously pursed her lips.
Her face flushed slightly. She lowered her eyes, gazing at Su Mo with a complicated expression for a moment before gently pushing him away.
Jiang Jianhuan called Li Sa, and he arrived quickly. This was clearly not the first time this had happened. Accompanying him was the family doctor. As Jiang Jianhuan watched him skillfully administer an IV to Su Mo, she felt a slight pang of pain in her heart for some reason.
"Thank you so much this time, Miss Jiang." The room door closed, and Li Sa saw her downstairs. Jiang Jianhuan hesitated for a moment before asking.
"Why does he often act like this? Can't he take care of himself?"
Li Sa sighed.
"You don't know, Su Mo is a workaholic. When inspiration strikes, she can lock herself in her room for days and nights. Several times she was discovered after she fainted from hunger."
"I really don't understand what these people are thinking..."
Li Sa was still nagging on the side, and Jiang Jianhuan couldn't help but think back to when the two of them were together. Su Mo was the same way, often forgetting to eat and sleep when she was inspired to write new songs, but she wasn't as carefree as she is now.
Unexpectedly, he has become even more outrageous over the years.
Perhaps it's because they're no longer bound by constraints.
It was already dark when they went out. It gets dark early in winter. Li Sa offered to take her home, but Jiang Jianhuan refused. Su Mo was still asleep and needed someone to take care of her.
This area is all villas, and you have to walk to the gate and outside the security booth to hail a taxi. It's quiet all around, with only the dim yellow streetlights on both sides.
It's gotten colder recently, and the night wind is chilly. Jiang Jianhuan tucked her chin into her turtleneck sweater and walked slowly with her hands in her coat pockets.
The kiss from earlier kept replaying in her mind. Su Mo was probably not fully conscious, just like when they first kissed, she was also not fully conscious.
After she met Su Mo again at university, she was so excited she almost went crazy. Every day she chased after him like an energetic little monster.
At that time, Su Mo was still working at the bar. Jiang Jianhuan found out his schedule and went there early to wait for his performance.
After Su Mo tried to reason with her several times to no avail, she could only let her be.
That was about two months after the start of the semester. Jiang Jianhuan had figured out his personality and became increasingly presumptuous. She would even secretly tug at his sleeve under the pretext of being afraid of the dark when they passed through alleys after he got off work.