Betsy drove me at 100 km/h for 20 minutes and brought me here. That meant I was at least 30 kilometers away from home. I felt like dying. Why did all these ridiculous things happen to me recently?   

I picked up my slippers from the ground, tidied my clothes and looked up. Fortunately, the Big Dipper was still twinkling. I located the brightest star, Alkaid, to determine the directions. Then I walked towards the distant lights, as if I was escaping in loneliness.

It took me half an hour to see a road with traffic. To my surprise, it was the Shanghai-Nanjing Expressway at the border of Suzhou and Wuxi. 

...

I wandered until almost dawn and was finally given a lift into the city by a kind passerby. I then took a taxi back home. Having no wallet, I threw half a pack of unfinished cigarettes to the taxi driver and ran away without paying the fare.

Upon entering the residential area, anger started burning in me. I wanted to talk to Betsy, not about life or ideals, but about why she treated me like this.  

I went into the room, put the guitar on the table in the living room, and came to Betsy's door. I knocked on it vigorously, venting my anger. "Did you have fun fooling me? Do you know I have to work tomorrow... No, today. After tormenting me all night, how do you expect me to work? If the boss is unhappy, he may fire me. Will you support me then?"  

I kept rambling, but there was no response in the room.  

"If you continue to pretend not to hear me, I can scold you more." I knocked on the door again. 

There was still no response in the room.

"Is she not back yet?" I wondered as I tried the doorknob, only to find it locked.  

In Betsy's eyes, I was just a scumbag anyway. Breaking into her room wouldn't make much difference. I found the key to her room from a bunch of keys and opened the door, whether she was asleep or not. I had to talk to her.  

I turned on the light and finally saw Betsy lying sideways on the bed with her back to me, still silent.   

"You sleep so soundly. Did you ever think about what I've gone through? ...The wind blew my nose running all the way...Ah-choo..." I sneezed, rubbed my nose and scolded angrily, "I tell you, in my 20s, I've never seen anyone as hateful and unkind as you. How wicked!"

No matter how I scolded endlessly, she remained unmoved like Mount Tai!

Just as I was about to pull her out of bed to argue face to face, she suddenly burst into a violent fit of coughs...  

According to common sense, if my sneeze just now was a sign of a cold, her cough must indicate she had a fever. She must have caught a chill last night.

...

I was stunned for a moment and then scolded, "Heaven is watching! ...You got your just deserts!"  

Betsy coughed again but did not speak to me. I did not know whether she was too lazy to argue with me or too weak to tangle with me due to the fever.  

"Get out." After a long while, Betsy spoke coldly.  

"No need to remind me. I love to turn a blind eye. Die from coughing for all I care... You deserve it... Retribution... " I said and strode out of Betsy's room.   

I was about to take a hot shower and nap for a while, but I kept hearing Betsy's coughs from her room.  

I stopped walking to the bathroom and suddenly felt at a loss, feeling that as the only man in this place, I couldn't just stand by and watch her cough so helplessly.  

"Forget it. I've been a scumbag for so long. It's time to do some good. Let it accumulate virtue." I said to myself.

...

I left the towel in my hand on the sofa, went to the kitchen, found a piece of ginger and a bag of brown sugar and cooked ginger and brown sugar soup on the gas stove.  

I was so sleepy I could barely open my eyes. I lit a cigarette to refresh myself and watched the ginger and brown sugar soup in the pot numbly.  

The sun had risen from the eastern horizon outside the window. A light breeze blew over the hanging orchids on the balcony.

The new day exuded vitality and freshness that had lasted for billions of years. I was a little fascinated. The world at this time of the morning was charming and seemed to belong to me alone...Perhaps compared to this rare morning, I didn't like the glitz and glamour of the night so much.  

Betsy's cough woke me from my trance. I suddenly realized the ginger soup had been boiling in the pot for a long time. I turned off the gas stove, ladled a bowl of soup and went to Betsy's room.

...  

"I made a bowl of ginger soup. Drink it." I said to Betsy at her bedside.  

"No need for your kindness."  

"Who's kind to you? I'm afraid your cough will affect my sleep!" I said dissatisfied.  

Betsy said ungratefully, "Move out and you won't hear it."   

"If I move out, you may cough to death at home and no one will know... Stop talking. Hurry up and drink the ginger soup!" I said, fluffing up her pillow and roughly helping her up.  

I touched her forehead. She really had a fever. I picked up the bowl from the bedside table and handed it to her, "Drink the ginger soup first."

Betsy no longer struggled with her body. She took the ginger soup from me and drank it, although she remained silent. Her expression was not as cold as before.   

"Drink up, burrow under the quilt and sleep for a while. Leave the bowl here. I'll come to collect it later. You have a low fever. Take some antipyretics and cough medicine and sweat it out. You'll be fine."  

...

Afraid my cold might get worse, I put on a thick coat before going out. I rarely got sick and had no common medicines at home. So I had to go to the pharmacy to buy some antipyretics and cough medicine for Betsy.  

It was still too early, and the pharmacies were not open yet. I ran to several stops before finding one that was open. After buying the medicines, I immediately took a taxi back. By the time I got home, it was already 7:30.

When I returned to Betsy's room, she had fallen asleep. Seeing her breathing evenly and her face peaceful, I did not wake her up. I found her mobile phone in her bag, called my number and left a note on her bedside table: "When you wake up, remember to take the antipyretics and cough medicine. Call me if you need any help. My number is in your phone...The scumbag in your eyes, the angel in my eyes—Sunny."   

I gently tucked her in and left her room.  

...   

I took a hot shower. Without eating breakfast, I took the bus to work, starting my day's work in low spirits.

I was so sleepy, yawning constantly. Finally, I simply rested my chin on one hand and fell asleep in a highly technical pose. No one would have noticed I was sleeping without a close look.  

David was busy with his upcoming wedding. He didn't come to the company until almost 10 o'clock. He patted me awake, "Did you go clubbing again last night?"   

Thinking of last night's events, I felt annoyed, but there was no need to take it out on David. I yawned and said, "Didn't sleep well. I was tormented all night!"   

David misunderstood and said, "You have to pay attention to nourishing your kidneys. Although still young, you can't stand messing around with women so uninhibitedly!"

"We are cultured people. Can you speak more subtly?"  

David smiled helplessly. He then asked me, "Did you handle the proposal for GUCCI to set up a specialty counter in our mall yesterday?"

"Done. It's in the D drive document."  

David nodded and handed me a note, "Sunny, ask the manager for leave later. Accompany Daisy to buy the items on this list at the shopping mall."

"Is it your wedding or mine? Why ask me to accompany Daisy shopping?" I asked, amused.

David sighed, "I have no choice. There are so many things to buy. Daisy can't carry them herself. I have to go to Shanghai with the business development department to talk to GUCCI about setting up a specialty counter in our mall this afternoon. I can't affect the mall's business development plan prepared for months just for my personal matters, can I?"

"Alright." I responded and yawned again. Having wandered for most of the night and stayed up all night, how could I not be sleepy! 

David patted me on the shoulder and said, "Hang in there. I'll treat you to dinner tonight."

I waved to David, "Go do your thing. Let me nap a little!" 

"No more napping. Daisy is waiting for you downstairs!" ...David lowered his voice and whispered in my ear, "By the way...Jessica replied to the email. There is an 80% chance she will rush back from the U.S. for my wedding with Daisy!"

I stared at David, suddenly awake. It seemed I was shuttling between ice and fire. After three years, was she finally coming back?