“Anyone want water? I’m going to get some,” Shen Nianjing picked up his cup and asked.
Qin Qi casually handed him two bottles.
Shen Nianjing carried three large cups to the water dispenser, pressed the button, and waited for them to fill.
“The topic selection starts at three this afternoon, but he’s still holed up in some off-campus hotel. I haven’t seen him for days.”
“Oh, what about your competition then?”
Two people walked in behind him. They sounded like they were making instant noodles. Shen Nianjing had no interest in other people’s gossip, so he turned around to switch bottles and continued filling water.
“If he doesn’t show up, Zhou Zhou and I will have to handle it ourselves,” Wang Mingzhi sighed, his tone somewhat disgruntled. “But we’ll probably only get a provincial award at best.”
“That’s still pretty good. At least you get competition experience.”
“But he promised to lead us to win a national award! He even guaranteed we wouldn’t need to lift a finger!”
“That’s just how Su-ge is. Always wants to handle everything himself, but he’s only human. Everyone has limits.”
“Then he shouldn’t make promises he can’t keep. It’d be better if he didn’t show up at all.” Wang Mingzhi walked to the water dispenser and set his instant noodles down with a sharp “pop” next to the bottle being filled.
Shen Nianjing screwed the caps on the last water bottle and left the water station without a word. Once outside, his face scrunched up in confusion. He couldn’t help but glance back at the water station.
Were they talking about Su Zhiyan?
Su Zhiyan was slacking off?
Shen Nianjing really wanted to go back and ask what exactly was going on with Su Zhiyan lately.
It was too strange.
And why would he insist on handling the competition alone? Wasn’t this the kind of project perfect for dividing up the work…
The topic selection started at three in the afternoon. Shen Nianjing and his teammates successfully chose their topic, then, like everyone else, planted themselves in the computer room, practically ready to sleep there.
“I can’t…” Qin Qi slumped across his chair. “I’m sick of coding. My head’s spinning, and just looking at that mess makes me want to puke.”
After going at it for a day and night, he’d run through countless solution approaches, completely frying his brain.
“You guys go back first. I’ll code a bit more,” Shen Nianjing said without even lifting his eyes, his fingers dancing across the keyboard.
After writing for quite a while, he looked up at the computer room. Besides the scattered diagrams and random stuff others had left behind, the entire building felt empty.
“What time is it? Everyone’s gone already?” He glanced at the time.
11 PM.
Shen Nianjing’s eyes widened in shock. How did he not notice the time passing?
The topic selection wasn’t worth sleeping hunched over a desk in the computer room. He quickly packed his things and got ready to leave.
During a previous competition, his lack of experience and desire for a good ranking led him to sleep in the computer room for two nights. By the end, his entire body ached unbearably.
After turning off the lights, Shen Nianjing walked out.
Light still spilled from the last computer room in the quiet hallway.
Who was working that hard?
Shen Nianjing cracked his knuckles, pretending to be casual as he walked toward the lit room.
The door was half-open, and it was quiet inside. Probably only two or three people left.
He stood behind the door and peeked.
Behind the second row of computers, a round head was bent over, drawing something. No one else was around, just neat stacks of draft paper and materials.
Damn, this guy’s intense! Shen Nianjing shook his head in admiration for this warrior pulling an all-nighter to tackle the topic. He gave a silent applause and turned to leave.
The next moment, the “warrior” looked up.
Shen Nianjing froze, staring at him like he’d seen a ghost, his jaw nearly dropping.
Familiar tea-colored eyes, reflecting the computer screen’s glow, showed traces of fatigue.
Shen Nianjing stared at this face he hadn’t seen for days and became speechless for a moment.
It was Su Zhiyan.
How could it be him???
He stared at Su Zhiyan for several full minutes before accepting what he was seeing.
He suddenly remembered his teammates’ complaints at the water station the other day.
Staying at an off-campus hotel, nowhere to be found, slacking off…
This was slacking off?
The guy was practically ascending to immortality here!
Shen Nianjing stood in the shadows by the door, hesitating.
He didn’t know whether to leave or go in and check on him. After all, they hadn’t seen each other for days, and the guy looked ready to pull an all-nighter. As an acquaintance, wouldn’t it be natural to show some concern?
But was this concern necessary? Shouldn’t he leave quickly before he was noticed?!
Shen Nianjing’s eyes fell on the thin figure behind the computer.
Logic told him to pretend he didn’t see anything and leave, but his feet remained rooted to the spot, refusing to move.
While he was still hesitating, Su Zhiyan stood up.
Shen Nianjing’s eyes widened as he quickly dodged. He hurriedly turned and headed straight toward the stairs on the right side of the corridor.
He didn’t see me.
He didn’t see me!
The stairwell seemed particularly far away now, and Shen Nianjing felt like he had walked for a lifetime.
“Bang!”
A loud crash suddenly came from the room, followed by the sound of a chair scraping.
“…”
Shen Nianjing froze, spun around, and rushed into the room.
–
In the hospital room, after thanking the nurse who had finished the IV drip, Shen Nianjing sat quietly in the chair beside the hospital bed.
On the bed lay a person, pale-faced with eyes tightly shut.
Shen Nianjing looked at his face and took a deep breath.
Low blood sugar, physical exhaustion…
He’d never seen someone who cared so little about their own wellbeing.
Just the thought of the scene he saw when he rushed into the computer room made his skin crawl.
Su Zhiyan collapsed on the floor, unconscious.
He glanced at the desk, where the computer screen was filled with dense lines of code, the desktop cluttered with modeling sketches, and countless files and papers…
This was slacking off????
He really didn’t understand.
Just how did Su Zhiyan interact with his teammates?
After safely delivering Su Zhiyan to the hospital, it was almost midnight. Shen Nianjing pulled his jacket closer, feeling he should leave.
As a fellow student from the same department, he’d done his duty by helping a classmate in trouble, and he’d even covered the medical expenses. He’d done more than enough.
Way more than enough!
Thinking this, Shen Nianjing stood up.
Just as he took a step, the person on the bed opened his eyes and, after adjusting to his surroundings, saw Shen Nianjing standing nearby.
“Where am I?”
The sudden voice nearly made Shen Nianjing bite his tongue in surprise.
“Ho-hospital.” He looked at Su Zhiyan and explained, “You fainted from low blood sugar. I was passing by and brought you here.”
Su Zhiyan’s eyes opened slightly, his bangs falling softly against his cheeks, his face so pale it almost blended with the white sheets.
Shen Nianjing’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he felt somewhat guilty.
Su Zhiyan frowned at these words, turning his head to look at the IV tag hanging above the bed, his gaze following the tube down to his left hand, where a tiny pink hot water bottle rested in his palm.
“That’s because your hands were cold, so I borrowed a hot water bottle from the front desk nurse.”
“I cleaned it with alcohol wipes, it’s very clean.”
Shen Nianjing followed his gaze to the hot water bottle and hurriedly explained, afraid that if he spoke too slowly, Su Zhiyan would snap at him.
He originally planned to leave directly, but now seeing Su Zhiyan awake, he suddenly wanted to stay.
Shen Nianjing thought to himself,
“Thank you,” Su Zhiyan suddenly said.
Shen Nianjing froze, “No- uh, it’s nothing.”
He wanted to ask about Su Zhiyan’s team arrangements, but before he could speak, he saw Su Zhiyan pull back the covers to get out of bed, even preparing to pull out the IV needle from his left hand.
“!” He quickly rushed forward to hold down his hand. “What are you doing?”
His voice trembled, clearly frightened.
Were patients all this disobedient these days? Shen Nianjing firmly restrained him, completely baffled.
Su Zhiyan lowered his eyes, still trying to get out of bed, but Shen Nianjing’s arms held him tightly, making it impossible to move.
“How’s your team’s progress?” He looked up at him, his voice cold.
Shen Nianjing was startled by his gaze and looked away. “More than halfway done. We should finish tomorrow afternoon.”
Su Zhiyan lowered his eyes, trying to forcefully pull his arm from Shen Nianjing’s grip, but couldn’t break free.
“Are you crazy?” he said irritably.
“You’re the crazy one!” Shen Nianjing was shocked.
Good heavens, he was actually experiencing a scene straight out of a TV drama.
The patient was trying to escape!
But seeing how Su Zhiyan looked ready for a real fight, he calmed himself and tried reasoning with him.
“Are you rushing because of the competition progress?”
“At least wait until the glucose drip is finished.”
“Otherwise you’ll just faint again and end up back here.”
“Isn’t that just making extra work?”
Shen Nianjing held Su Zhiyan’s left wrist with one hand and protected his right arm with the other, forming a half-embrace around him.
The latter suddenly stiffened, as if uncomfortable with being held like this.
Is he disgusted by me? Shen Nianjing thought.
His grip suddenly loosened, and Su Zhiyan stopped struggling and laid back down on the bed, his expression and eyes both complicated.
Seeing him no longer insisting, Shen Nianjing’s tension gradually relaxed.
The targeted approach worked. Good old diagnosis techniques never fail.
“…How much longer for the drip? I need to get back,” Su Zhiyan asked.
“An hour? It’s two bottles after all.”
“What do you want to do, drink it directly?” Shen Nianjing scratched his head, eyeing the half-empty glucose bottle uncertainly.
Su Zhiyan fell silent, picking up his phone with his right hand and setting an alarm for one hour.
“Thanks, you can go now.”
“…???”
“You really are…” Shen Nianjing was speechless.
He’d never met someone so stubborn.
“I just feel like you’ll get in trouble again,” he said.
Su Zhiyan glanced at him.
Shen Nianjing caught himself, waving his hands frantically, “I’m not jinxing you!”
“It’s just a feeling I have.”
“Maybe next time you could faint when there are more people around?”
“Or better yet, don’t run into me.”
Su Zhiyan calmly closed his eyes.
Seeing his breathing become steady, Shen Nianjing waved his hand in front of his face a few times.
He fell asleep.
What now… Shen Nianjing’s face showed a mix of hesitation.
He looked at the phone beside the hospital bed, and finally reached for it.
Throughout the process, he checked on Su Zhiyan several times, who was sleeping soundly.
His sleep quality seems pretty good. Did he always sleep this deeply?
He took the phone from beside the pillow, quietly walked out of the hospital room, and gently closed the door.
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