Volume One, Chapter 64: This was the first time he called her "Gardenia."

Past midnight, Xu Zhi’s fever finally subsided.

She took a shower, and when she came out, she picked up her phone. A new message had arrived on WeChat; seeing it was from Liang Jinmo, she tapped it open immediately.

Liang Jinmo: How’s your cold? Did you take any medicine?

The message had been sent around nine, but she hadn’t seen it until now—too late to know if he was still awake. Yet she longed to talk to him, so she replied: I had another fever tonight, but I took the medicine you gave me. I’m feeling better now.

She lay back in bed, phone beside her pillow, watching it hopefully.

Within seconds, the phone buzzed.

She snatched it up—he had replied.

Liang Jinmo: Your immune system is too weak. Don’t stop the medicine at random. Take the cold medicine for a few days in a row.

She read the words, her heart swelling with a bittersweet ache.

She asked: How come your constitution is so good? You never catch cold.

That time at the artificial lake, in the dead of winter, the surface still glazed with thin ice, both had fallen in. She was sick for more than half a month. While recuperating, she’d once looked out her window and seen him riding his bike fast, as though nothing had happened.

Liang Jinmo: It’s not that I’ve never been sick. Don’t you remember? That time in our first year of high school, you gave me fever medicine.

Xu Zhi’s fingers stiffened around her phone.

She truly hadn’t recalled it at first. That incident had become a knot in her heart.

After a while, she asked: Are you… still angry?

Liang Jinmo: ?

Xu Zhi: Back then, I made you leave my house before your fever was gone.

Liang Jinmo: I’m used to it.

Xu Zhi stared at those three words, finding them glaring.

He always said that, and perhaps it was true, but it left her unsettled. She thought, no one can truly get used to such coldness, neglect, and isolation.

She typed “I’m sorry,” but felt the words were weightless.

After a moment, she deleted them and rewrote her message.

Xu Zhi: There won’t be a next time. If you ever catch cold again, you must tell me. I’ll be there with you.

After a while, Liang Jinmo replied: You’re acting unusual.

Then he asked: Did something happen?

Xu Zhi marveled at his keen insight and didn’t hide anything: Today, I went with my parents to visit Grandpa Liang. He insisted I get engaged to Liang Mu Zhi as soon as possible. Neither of us wants it, but his reaction was stronger than mine. He erupted on the spot, said he doesn’t want me, even called me unremarkable.

Liang Jinmo: Are you upset?

Xu Zhi: A little. It was humiliating, being rejected so openly. It made me wonder… am I really that terrible? And my dad, too—he doesn’t care at all how I’ll live in the future, just wants to use me to make money.

Liang Jinmo: I used to think the same way. My parents didn’t want me either. But someone told me to wait a little longer. She said, one day, I’d meet people who cared about me, who liked me, make friends, maybe even get married, have children. She said things would get better, and I should hold on.

Xu Zhi gazed at the screen, tears blurring her vision.

He’d been sent to the Liang family by his birth mother, isolated there, even bullied for years at school, seen countless cold stares. The self-doubt he’d endured must far exceed hers.

After a moment, she smiled through her tears.

Because he sent another message: I chose to believe her.

He soothed her with her own words, telling her this world was worth waiting for.

Xu Zhi wanted to say so much to him, but it was late, and the cold medicine made her sleepy. She sent him a goodnight.

This time, Liang Jinmo replied with a voice message. His voice was deep and magnetic, gentle: “Goodnight, Zhi.”

It was the first time he called her “Zhi.”

That night, Xu Zhi fell asleep holding her phone, listening to his words over and over.

The next morning, after washing up, Xu Zhi went downstairs, ready to talk to Xu Heping. But as soon as she reached the bottom, she saw Liang Mu Zhi sitting on the living room sofa.

Xu Heping sat opposite, preparing tea for him with exaggerated courtesy. Xu Zhi frowned, noticing another man in the room—broad-shouldered, dressed in a sharp black suit.

She was unsure what was happening. As she stepped off the stairs, Xu Heping called, “Zhi, Mu Zhi came to see you.”

She walked over, and Xu Heping pointed to the seat beside Liang Mu Zhi. “Sit down, I was just about to call you.”

Xu Zhi didn’t sit. Xu Heping acted perfectly natural, as if nothing unpleasant had ever happened between them. His performance was flawless.

She lowered her gaze to Liang Mu Zhi, who looked up at her. After a moment, he spoke, directing his words to Xu Heping: “Uncle Xu, may I take Xu Zhi out for a walk? We won’t go far, just around the neighborhood.”

Xu Zhi didn’t know what he was up to; she hadn’t decided yet, but Xu Heping answered quickly, “Of course, no problem. You’re engaged now—you should spend time together and build your relationship. Zhi, go upstairs and change, accompany Mu Zhi for a walk.”

Xu Zhi paused, then said, “I’m not feeling well. I won’t go.”

Xu Heping shot her a sharp look, but Xu Zhi remained expressionless. “I have a cold.”

Liang Mu Zhi was taken aback. His family background meant he was rarely denied so directly.

Xu Heping said, “You seem fine. How can you have a cold? Besides, it’s not a serious illness. A walk in the neighborhood will do you good.”

Xu Zhi abandoned all excuses and spoke plainly: “Besides, I don’t want to go out with him.”