chapter 1
His voice was clear and amused, the last syllable drawn out with lazy ease.
I froze as if someone had hit pause.
A second voice message arrived.
“My dear desk mate, I’m filming a variety show. I was only messing with you. Happy New Year.”
His tone was light. Even through the phone, I could picture him leaning back in his chair, smiling with his eyes.
I opened my mouth, but something clogged my throat. It took me a long moment to breathe again.
[I’m glad you’re okay. Happy New Year!]
After typing the message, I stared at the words at the top of the chat: The other person is typing…
They glowed for a few seconds, then vanished.
He never replied.
Fireworks burst overhead, dazzling enough to fill the whole sky, but I had lost all interest in them.
I went home and buried my face in my blankets.
Of course. Xie Wang was a top celebrity now, the youngest triple-crowned Best Actor in the industry. He hardly needed to borrow money from me.
The next morning, my ringing phone jolted me awake.
Harsh white light leaked through the gap in the curtains. I squinted and groped for my phone on the nightstand, only to have my best friend’s voice crash into my ear.
“Xiao Ning! You’re trending!”
Jiang Yao was so loud my eardrum buzzed.
Then WeChat began chiming nonstop. Seven or eight messages came in, all links and screenshots.
#XieWangsHighSchoolDeskMate
#TheDeskMateWhoSentHerEntireSavings
Still rubbing my eyes, I opened one. A clip from the variety show had already been cut into countless edits and was spreading everywhere.
On-screen, Xie Wang lounged on a sofa in a black turtleneck, his head bowed over his phone.
Behind him, the enormous display showed our chat history.
The host grinned knowingly.
“Wang, you’ve saved her contact as ‘2.’ What’s that supposed to mean?”
Xie Wang looked up at the camera, the corner of his mouth lifting. “She was a little slow back in high school.”
Comments flooded the screen.
“Ahhh, my brand-new husband!”
“Why does he sound so fond of her?”
“Where do I order a desk mate like that?”
I stared at the face on-screen, dazed for a moment.
He had said the same thing about me in high school.
Back then, I knew little beyond books and studying. I was slow to notice anything else and always half a beat behind everyone around me.
He had sat beside me laughing, one sharp canine showing. “Desk mate, you’re the first person who’s ever made me understand the true meaning of ‘adorably clueless.'”
“Ah Ning! Tell me the truth. Do you still like him?”
Jiang Yao’s voice yanked me out of the past.
I got up to pour myself some water. My hand shook, and two pills spilled onto the floor.
“The medical report looked convincing. I just thought he really…”
“You idiot! That doesn’t mean you empty your account for him!”
Jiang Yao sounded ready to reach through the phone and shake me.
“And why did you have so little money left anyway?”
“I bought a few extra clothes lately.”
I laughed sheepishly and swallowed the pills.
“Honestly! I’ll send you some money later. Make sure you accept it. And you said your stomach was hurting last time. Did you ever go to the hospital? If not, I’m free this week. I can come to Lin City and go with you…”
“It’s nothing. I ate too much cold food.”
After hanging up, I picked up the pills I had dropped and threw them in the trash.
The trending searches were still refreshing on my screen.
I turned my phone facedown.
Running into Xie Wang at the hospital was the last thing I had expected.
I was there for a follow-up and had just left my attending physician’s office when I nearly collided at the corner with a man in a black mask and baseball cap.
I stepped aside and apologized.
As we passed, a familiar voice drifted down from above me.
“Desk mate. What a coincidence.”
My blood went cold.
I slowly looked up into a pair of smiling eyes.
“What… What are you doing here?”
“You didn’t answer my messages. Never thought I’d run into you here.” He waved his phone. “Quite a coincidence, don’t you think?”
I hurriedly opened WeChat. Xie Wang’s pinned chat did indeed show three unread messages.
[I’m filming in Lin City this month.]
[Want to catch up?]
[You there?]
Hardly anyone contacted me, and I always silenced my phone at the hospital. I had not noticed them at all.
“I didn’t ignore you on purpose…”
Then something occurred to me.
“You’re filming here?”
The eyes above his mask curved even more.
“I came to the hospital to shoot a promotional video. We just wrapped. You—”
He paused, his gaze sliding discreetly to the medical file clenched in my hand.
“Are you sick?”
I shook my head, my voice calm.
“A friend is. I came to see her.”
He seemed to exhale.
“Perfect timing, then. Want to have lunch together? I’m free this afternoon.”
I tightened my grip on the file and tucked it behind my back.
“All right.”