The car had stopped. He slightly opened the door of the car while holding me carefully. Then he stepped out of the car and picked me up again on his back and started walking towards the gate of the dormitory.
His driver immediately asked him, "Sir, where are you going?"
He said, "Just park the car a little far away from the dormitory and wait for me inside the car. I'll be there within 15 minutes."
The driver nodded, and the car went away from us.
He adjusted me on his back and started walking inside the dormitory. Thankfully, the guard at the gate was not there, and it hadn't gotten that late, so the dorm was still open.
He entered the dorm. No one was there. Of course, it was late hour; everyone had already gone inside their respective rooms. He turned his head slightly, first to the right, then to the left, and started murmuring to himself.
"I don't know which room she is staying in, and no one is here. What should I do? I don't even know if any of her friends are here or not. But I think she must have a friend here. But if that friend is here, how can I contact her? I don't even know her friend's name or how she looks. What should I do?"
"I think I should take her back home with me, and then I'll ask my assistant to arrange a room for her. Yes, this will be the right thing to do."
He turned around while holding me and started walking back towards the gate. But he had just taken a few steps when he heard a voice from behind.
"Zhao Shiza."
He turned around after hearing that voice and saw a girl standing there in a night suit, looking a bit tense. She came running towards us and touched my hands, which were curled around his neck.
"What happened to her?" she asked.
Xu Yuan took a step back and tightened his grip around me, like he was scared of something.
"Who are you, and why are you touching her? Stay away from her," he asked shockingly.
The girl replied, "I am her friend. Her childhood friend, Wang Ruoxi."
But Xu Yuan was not in the mood to believe her. He didn't want to give me back to her.
"How do I believe you? Maybe you are some kind of enemy who got jealous of her and now wants to take revenge," he said.
Wang Ruoxi got a little shocked after hearing this. She smiled sarcastically and said, "Listen, Mr. Xu Yuan, this is a girls' dormitory. We've been living here for the past three years. This is not a fighting zone. I am her only childhood friend. Please give her to me. I'll take her to the room."
"No," he said. "First show me proof. Then only I'll believe you."
Wang Ruoxi exhaled sharply, took out her phone, and showed him a picture of me and her together outside this dormitory.
"Now you believe me?" she asked.
He paused.
"You said you are her childhood best friend, so—" he didn't complete the sentence.
Wang Ruoxi understood what he wanted to say. She searched her phone again and showed him our childhood photo from school, wearing school uniforms.
"Now you believe?" she asked.
"Hm," he said.
"Come with me. I'll guide you," Wang Ruoxi said and started walking.
Xu Yuan followed her.
"Carry her carefully," Wang Ruoxi said while moving towards our room.
"I know. You don't need to tell me," he replied in a quiet, frustrated tone.
We reached our room. She opened the door, and Xu Yuan walked in while carrying me.
"That's her bed," she said.
He very carefully placed me on the bed, like placing something sacred. He covered me properly with a blanket.
"Hey, what are you doing? Why are you making her a dumpling?" Wang Ruoxi asked.
Xu Yuan sighed. "She's very cold. Touch her hands. I think she's getting cold because she stayed outside late."
He continued covering me like a dumpling.
"She always has cold body temperature since childhood," Wang Ruoxi said.
"What does that mean?" he asked, shocked.
"It means she's not catching cold because of today. This is her normal body temperature."
"Do such things exist?" he asked.
She nodded.
"Okay, now you can leave. And Mr. Hero, please wear your face mask. If any dorm girl sees you, they'll go crazy, and you won't be able to leave."
"Yes, I know," he said.
Before leaving, he turned back and looked at me lying on the bed like a dumpling.
"Please take care of her. She needs your help."
"You don't need to tell me that. I've lived with her since childhood. I know how to take care of her," Wang Ruoxi said angrily.
"Why are you so cold to me, Miss Wang?" he asked.
She murmured to herself, Because you are the one who hurt my friend so much.
"Hey, wait," she stopped him.
"What now?" he asked.
"You didn't tell me why she is in this condition. She was fine before. Did her low blood sugar drop again?"
"Low blood sugar?" he repeated. "She has low blood sugar?"
She nodded. "Yes. Since childhood, she faints easily. Doctors said she needs something sweet with her all the time, or it can be dangerous."
He froze.
"No… she didn't faint. She's just sleeping," he said slowly.
"Sleeping like this?" she asked.
"She's drunk. I don't know how, but she got too high. She was arguing with someone on the street. If I hadn't reached there—"
"So you came like a saviour," Wang Ruoxi said.
"I didn't say that," he replied.
"Okay, I understand. It's late. You should leave. Be careful no one sees you."
He went outside, and Wang Ruoxi immediately closed the door.
He thought to himself, You are such a fragile, silly girl. I didn't even know how much care you needed.
He knocked again.
"What now?" Wang Ruoxi asked.
"I want your phone number. Just in case of an emergency."
She opened her QR code. He scanned it.
"It's WeChat. If anything happens, we'll contact each other here."
He nodded.
Behind Wang Ruoxi, I murmured in my sleep, "You looked freaking handsome in that black suit at the jewelry exhibition… please take care of yourself… you just had surgery…"
He heard it. Wang Ruoxi heard it too.
She immediately closed the door. "Okay, bye bye. WǍN ĀN."
Xu Yuan walked outside the dorm, thinking to himself, You will answer me, silly girl. I won't leave this like this.
He reached his car and got inside.
"Take me home," he said.
The driver nodded, and the car started moving.
Xu Yuan remained lost in his thoughts as the night grew colder and darker…