At 8:50 a.m., a Beagle meme popped up on her screen: so sleepy.
Susu smiled.
He really liked that character—he used those stickers a lot.
"Still sleepy?" she typed.
"You look really good in glasses," Yike replied.
She smiled.
"Drop the "really."
"Hahaha."
"Just finished running an errand. Heading back to the office."
"Go."
"Not sleepy anymore?"
"Hungry."
She sent a silly bear sticker: come on, let's have some fun.
"I'm dying 😂 I'm still in bed. I've got training these days. I'll head in a bit."
She sent a "nice" sticker back.
—
At 10:01, her phone buzzed again.
A long message from him.
A whole story—
ending, of course, with:
"...It's Crazy Thursday - KFC deals day. send me 50 Yuan, I need something warm to heal myself."
Susu laughed.
"I knew it. It had to end with Crazy Thursday."
"Hahahahah."
"I actually read most of it. Even though I guessed the ending."
"Same. I still read it carefully," he said.
—
"You'll be going to Dubai soon."
"Still work though. You have it better."
"Better how?"
"You can come visit me sometime."
"Haha, we'll see. I probably can't stay at your place though—I'm scared of cats. I'll probably just stay at a hotel."
"You're scared of animals?"
"Yeah."
"Alright. We'll figure it out. I'll be with you."
"Mm. I'm going to rest a bit more."
"Okay, I'll get back to work. Get some sleep."
—
Susu put her phone down.
Why would he be afraid of cats?
Did something happen before?
For a moment, she felt a small, unexpected ache in her chest.
That felt new.
Why did she feel that way?
—
It had been a long day.
At 7:50 p.m., she arrived at the gym.
Her phone lit up.
"Got called out tonight to stamp a contract."
"Seriously?"
"Who's dying tomorrow that it has to be done tonight?" she typed.
"No idea. The whole thing's a mess. And somehow it still ends up being my problem."
"Poor you, bro."
"I'm done for. Was chilling at home, then boom—one call and I'm out."
"Then just treat it like a walk. Wake yourself up a bit. Hang in there, bro."
"It's so hot."
"It's fine. I'll suffer with you. I'm at the gym now.Finish up and go home to get some rest."
She put her phone down and headed to the weights.
—
By 9:30, she was done.
No messages.
She sent a voice note:
"I'm heading home. You done?"
"Done," he replied instantly.
"Go get some rest."
"Try to get some rest early.I'll tidy up a bit tonight."
"Okay. You too."
—
Then suddenly—
video call.
She picked up immediately.
"Hey, beautiful. What are you doing?" he smiled.
They talked for a while—about his upcoming trip to Nanjing.
About eighteen minutes later, the call ended.
Susu sent a "good night" Makabaka sticker.
She put her phone down.
And in that quiet moment—
it felt like
Yike had taken up
a little more space in her heart.