13 Invitation

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It was still early, and Zhou Suirong, who kept a regular schedule, was most likely still resting. Fang Qingzhao pressed the doorbell twice before hearing footsteps approaching from afar. She stepped half a pace to the left, positioning herself perfectly within the view of the smart door lock’s camera.

The approaching footsteps paused briefly, then hurried away, only to return about a minute later in a rush. The front door was suddenly yanked open.

“Who’s there?” Zhou Suirong’s gaze unintentionally landed on her, surprised, as he blocked the entrance with one hand and said in an odd tone, “Well, well, a rare visitor.”

Fang Qingzhao met his eyes for a second, then suddenly recalled his previous advice—not to stare directly into someone’s eyes when they are lying. So she lowered her head and averted her gaze.

Even in late summer, the morning air was damp and cool, with a chilling breeze drifting from the corridor, swirling desolately around Fang Qingzhao. The dim hallway lighting made her face appear paper-thin and pale.

Zhou Suirong pulled the door wide open. Water droplets still clung to his short hair from a hasty splash. Feigning indifference, he asked, “What brings you here so early?”

“I wanted to see you, to talk,” Fang Qingzhao replied.

He blurted out, “I’ve been hospitalized for over a month, and you never said you wanted to see me…”

He stopped himself, unwilling to voice words that sounded like complaints or resentment, which would only expose his own vulnerability. Yet he couldn’t help feeling indignant.

He couldn’t understand how Fang Qingzhao could appear so nonchalantly, as if he were insignificant and forever at her beck and call. He wasn’t willing to let her in.

“We broke up. I could understand if you didn’t come to see me because you didn’t want to have anything to do with me anymore,” Zhou Suirong said, tugging at his collar to reveal a jagged knife scar, about two fingers long, above his left collarbone. He struggled to suppress his grievance with anger and asked, “But what’s this about? You left me in the hospital like a fool, and part of my memory is missing. That can’t be unrelated to you, can it?”

“For this question, I anticipated you’d probably ask it, so I thought about how to answer on the way here,” Fang Qingzhao said, displaying the logic of a top student with an initially useless explanation.

Zhou Suirong furrowed his brow, waiting seriously for her to continue.

In truth, her mind was blank, unable to come up with a solid answer, so she was forced to be honest: “Considering many factors and certain limitations… I hope you won’t probe too deeply for now.”

Zhou Suirong was so irritated he laughed bitterly and instinctively reached to touch the oblique scar on his neck. The dangerous wound beneath his fingertips still throbbed and hadn’t healed. A slight pressure could tear it open, exposing flesh and blood.

He thought to himself, luckily that stab didn’t hit his heart or lungs—otherwise, he’d be calling an ambulance before even listening to her speak.

Fang Qingzhao’s sincerity manifested in a well-crafted sentence: “If I said it was for your own good, you probably wouldn’t accept that kind of excuse. I carefully reviewed all the information and believe you’re currently in a safe and stable condition. Until I’m certain about what happened to you, I hope you can maintain this state as much as possible. I don’t know what situations, people, or words might trigger your stress and disrupt this balance, so I can only broadly avoid them. It’s not my intention to hurt you. I’m sorry.”

Listening to her lengthy explanation, Zhou Suirong caught nothing but the final “I’m sorry.”

He grumbled, “I don’t understand. Can you speak properly?”

“Sorry. I’m not good at lying to you,” Fang Qingzhao apologized again. “I was busy before and couldn’t focus on this. Now I’ve canceled all my upcoming work. I will tell you everything. Just let me in, please?”

Fang Qingzhao rarely engaged in such lengthy, mostly pointless explanations and wait for feedback. It left Zhou Suirong silent.

He clearly saw her pale, dry lips, her embarrassed and melancholic stance, her hands hanging by her sides, fingers lightly rubbing her pants seams, pondering without finding a way.

He felt his own weakness. Faced with such unreasonable evasion, he didn’t respond with a cold sneer but was inexplicably softened. No wonder Fang Qingzhao always put him off, casually dismissing him.

Zhou Suirong lowered his hand and said stiffly, “Come in.”

Fang Qingzhao dragged out a suitcase from the side and followed him inside.

The room showed little sign of life. Zhou Suirong had lazily piled unopened deliveries of daily necessities on the balcony.

The lights were off, and the grayish air felt like an impenetrable sea, suffocatingly thick between them.

Zhou Suirong sat cross-legged on a single sofa in the living room.

Behind him, a bright light poured in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a faint golden glow over his shoulders, making his hair appear translucent.

Without looking up, he played with his phone, switching between apps as if ignoring his visitor.

Fang Qingzhao stopped far off near the entrance, her expression obscured by the light, and straightforwardly asked, “Can you come with me to City B without asking any questions?”

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Zhou Suirong flatly refused, “Impossible.”

The anger he had just suppressed flared up again, his breathing uneven as he said coldly, “Fang Qingzhao, can you treat your ex-boyfriend with some respect now that we’ve broken up?”

Fang Qingzhao stood there, neither leaving nor moving.

Zhou Suirong peeked at her through half-opened eyelids.

After a moment, she softly said, “The police are looking for me.”

Zhou Suirong startled, dropping his phone. “What do you mean? What did you do?”

Fang Qingzhao spoke vaguely, “It’s complicated. I can tell you on the way.”

“So what do you call this behavior? Running away from the law?” Zhou Suirong picked up his phone and strode close to her, nearly breath mingling, teeth clenched as he trembled, “Are you crazy? Fang Qingzhao!”

She didn’t deny it, only repeating meaninglessly, “Come with me. You have to be with me.”

Her eyes reflected the fragmented light of the sunrise, clear and bright, fully containing his face. In a low, gentle voice, she said, “Please?”

She appeared gentle and harmless but was used to giving orders. Once she made a decision, she never wavered, displaying a near-arrogant toughness and cruelty. She wouldn’t soften, concede, or admit fault, nor understand care.

Her persistent repeated requests were already a huge concession.

Zhou Suirong turned his face away and stepped back slowly, searching on his phone.

From City A to City B was over 1,500 kilometers. By train, about seven hours; by plane, just over two.

If they left immediately, they could make a round trip before dark.

He closed the train app and said with a grim face, “I can drive you there. But you have to tell me why you’re going to City B.”

Fang Qingzhao was about to speak when Zhou Suirong changed his mind, biting his lip and irritably cutting off the topic, “Forget it, I won’t ask. I won’t get involved in your matters anymore. I’ll take you to City B and come back. Don’t make any more excuses then.”

Fang Qingzhao opened her mouth but seemed at a loss for his coldness and only muttered, “Thank you.”

She quickly smiled at Zhou Suirong. Rare ripples appeared in her usually cold, calm eyes, focused intently on him, with obvious closeness and deliberate flattery: “I can’t find anyone else. You’re the person I trust the most… friend.”

Zhou Suirong, caught in her gaze, felt his tense features soften. Helpless, he rubbed his forehead and looked away. “We’re broken up. Don’t say that again.”

Fang Qingzhao’s smile stiffened, the corners of her mouth tightening downward, seeming to take his words seriously, even becoming more formal: “Okay. Sorry to trouble you. I’d be scared going alone.”

Zhou Suirong didn’t see her face but imagined her dimmed expression, each word stabbing him like a needle.

“That’s not what I meant,” he said, still avoiding her eyes. “Wait here.”

He went to the bedroom, closing the door behind him. Sitting by the bed to collect his thoughts, he found a colleague saved under the nickname Firecracker Xiao Xing and sent a message.

Zhou Suirong: Can you help me ask for a day off when you go to work today?

Firecracker Xiao Xing: ?

Firecracker Xiao Xing: Bro, you haven’t been to work for almost three months. You’re only now remembering to ask for leave?

Firecracker Xiao Xing: It’s 6:02 a.m. Are you messaging me just for that?

Firecracker Xiao Xing: Thanks for still thinking about us. I’m touched. But it’s okay, the boss is away these days, I’m thinking of skipping work too.

Lu Shengxing, the lively Firecracker Xiao Xing, liked calling Fang Qingzhao “boss.” He joined the company late and was the youngest.

Zhou Suirong: Where’s your boss these days?

Firecracker Xiao Xing: Said she went to cooperate with the police investigation. I messaged her, but she hasn’t replied.

Zhou Suirong: For what? Is it serious?

Firecracker Xiao Xing: How would I know? I have no connections at the police station. Sister Lin was also called in for questioning, but she tells me nothing and tells me to mind my own business. I’m so angry.

Zhou Suirong: Hmm.

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It really was true.

Zhou Suirong felt a heavy weight in his chest, overwhelmed by the many unknowns. This restless frustration had no outlet; the key to relief lay in Fang Qingzhao’s hands.

He pulled out a suitcase from the corner and anxiously threw a few clothes into it from the wardrobe.

With no mood to tidy, he took out his phone again to confirm.

Zhou Suirong: Did I really break up with her?

Firecracker Xiao Xing: ? You said so yourself before. You broke up.

Firecracker Xiao Xing: Your illness lasted so long and the boss never came to see you. Isn’t that obvious? Why ask such a humiliating question?

Firecracker Xiao Xing: Zhou, I know you have amnesia and are reluctant, but she’s your boss. Clinging won’t end well.

Firecracker Xiao Xing: Although, to be fair, the boss is indeed ruthless…

The other party seemed to sense something and suddenly asked sharply: Wait, are you two together now?

Zhou Suirong didn’t know how to answer.

Lu Shengxing guessed from his slow replies: Then why even ask for leave?! [Facepalm]

Zhou Suirong thought, labor laws don’t protect relationships anyway; if Fang Qingzhao used unexcused absence as a reason, he might not get compensation.

Firecracker Xiao Xing: Where are you guys? How many days off? Doing something big? Why not bring me? I can help spread the word!

Firecracker Xiao Xing: Bro, answer me! Everyone’s so preoccupied, making me feel like an outsider.

Zhou Suirong couldn’t stop the barrage of questions, his head aching. He ruthlessly passed the blame: You can ask your boss yourself.

Firecracker Xiao Xing: She’s too busy; she still hasn’t answered 22 of my questions.

Firecracker Xiao Xing: I’m worried she’s in serious trouble. Sister Lin has been running around nonstop these days, and I overheard her say someone died and that the boss’s projects might be suspended for two months. What if the boss gets implicated?

Firecracker Xiao Xing: Bro, I really don’t want to lose the boss. You have to tell her to obey the law. We’re waiting for her to come back.

Firecracker Xiao Xing: It’s okay if she doesn’t come back; we’re very self-managed. Just don’t sell me off, I’m socially anxious and shy, don’t want to suck up to a new boss.

Zhou Suirong’s phone chimed repeatedly with a flood of unreadable messages. The last one read: Bro, you reply so slowly. Can you do a voice call now?

Almost immediately, a nerve-wracking voice call invitation popped up.

Zhou Suirong nearly dropped his phone but quickly rejected the call and replied: I’m not available right now. Don’t worry, you’re so outstanding, the boss won’t give you away.

The reply was shy and brief: Okay then.

Zhou Suirong turned off the screen, tangled some charging cables into a bundle, hastily packed, and zipped up the suitcase.

Fang Qingzhao waited in the living room. When he came out, she stepped forward to take his luggage, brushing against his hand.

Zhou Suirong pushed her hand away slightly: “You can’t carry this.”

He quickly remembered he had only packed a few clothes and resignedly said, “Fine, you take your own.”

At the doorway, he also took Fang Qingzhao’s suitcase.

She pressed the elevator button, standing side by side with him, separated by two suitcases. After a moment’s thought, she turned her head and, in her uniquely formal and almost deliberately provocative tone, said, “Thank you. For your generosity, kindness, and consideration. Sorry to trouble you.”

Zhou Suirong: “...”

He finally understood.

But why was Fang Qingzhao the one angry with him?