Chapter 28: New Phone, Gotta Make the First Call

Gao Qinghe stared at the contact marked "Xiang Bei ♥" in her address book, stunned for a long moment.

The little red heart was like a drop of blood, lying quietly behind the name, but she felt as if it were beating.

Gao Qinghe held her phone with both hands, her arms unconsciously tightening. The Tiffany pendant was pressed tightly between her soft cleavage, digging into her skin, bringing a faint sting.

'No, no, no, Gao Qinghe, don't overthink it. This might be a phone Xiang Bei was going to give to Lin Xi.'

'Right, he originally took it out and handed it to Lin Xi, so that's the most logical explanation. See, see? She's just become part of their little play again.'

But no matter how she pretended, Gao Qinghe couldn't fool herself.

Lin Xi had just said she didn't need a new phone, so even if Xiang Bei were that stupid, he wouldn't think of giving her one to curry favor.

Gao Qinghe bit her lower lip, her teeth sinking gently into the plump flesh, leaving a faint red mark.

'So what was Xiang Bei going to all this trouble for—'

Just as she was thinking, her phone suddenly rang, making Gao Qinghe nearly drop it. She quickly covered the phone and turned off the volume, but her heart was already pounding.

On the screen, unsurprisingly, was a message from "Xiang Bei ♥."

"Still managed to get your number, huh"

She seemed to hear Xiang Bei's voice behind her ear, low and roguish, carrying the smugness of getting what he wanted, yet lazy and elegant.

She could almost see his teasing expression and his slightly narrowed, handsome eyes. She felt his breath behind her ear again, warm and moist, carrying his signature woody cologne scent.

Gao Qinghe's heart leaped suddenly—both sweet and bitter.

She bit her lip harder, her fingers hovering over the keyboard, hesitating on how to reply.

'Do you have a problem? Wrong number, right?' No, no, that tone was too weird. Gao Qinghe pressed the delete key, watching the characters disappear one by one.

'I don't want your phone, take it back'—Gao Qinghe bit her finger, feeling the tone was still off. No matter how she looked at it, it seemed like she was acting spoiled. She deleted it again and typed out the three cold words "Not needed," but after thinking, she deleted everything.

Staring at the screen for a long time, Gao Qinghe sighed.

'Sigh, you can't hear tone in texts. I can't let Xiang Bei misunderstand—'

She hadn't replied a single word, and had stared for so long that the screen went dark. The black reflection showed her expression: biting her finger, frowning.

She was actually smiling.

Her almond eyes glittered with moisture, her brows slightly furrowed, her long hair draped over her shoulders, her lips clearly curved upward.

???

The reflected expression suddenly shifted to shock. Gao Qinghe flung her phone onto the nearby couch.

No???

'Am I the one who's sick? What am I grinning at here??'

'What the hell, the person on the other end is Xiang Bei. Did I take the wrong meds?'

'No, no, no, no, I must be losing it. It's definitely because Xiang Bei acts so unpredictably that I'm confused, so my head isn't working right. That's definitely it.'

'Right, yes, it must be because I'm thinking about how to mess with him, which words would sting him most. People smile when they're planning a prank. Yeah, that has to be it.'

Gao Qinghe hesitated before picking up the phone. She barely had it in her hand before Lin Xi's voice startled her again, and the phone nearly fell to the floor.

Her voice was weak and broken, as if calling for her, or maybe just moaning.

'Wait, wait, what's going on now?'

"What's wrong, Sister Lin Xi?" Half nervous, half worried, Gao Qinghe quickly got up, threw the phone on the couch, and hurried to the study door. She knocked on the half-open door. "Sister Lin Xi, are you okay?"

She gently pushed the door open and found Lin Xi clutching her stomach, completely curled up on the chair at the desk. Her lips trembled slightly, and fine beads of sweat seeped from her forehead, making her usually fluffy bangs stick to her forehead. Her eyes were half-closed, her eyeliner slightly smudged from sweat—looking fragile and vulnerable.

"Sister Lin Xi! What's wrong?!" Gao Qinghe rushed to her side. "Are you okay? Does your stomach hurt?"

"I... maybe... maybe I just ate something bad. It's nothing. Can you boil me some hot water?" She forced a pale smile, her voice strained and weak, as if she were enduring pain to squeeze out these trembling words. "Sorry about this."

'Ate something bad? Didn't we eat the same thing tonight?'

But there was no time to think. Gao Qinghe hurried to the kitchen and filled the electric kettle with water, her thin arms nearly spilling it.

The humming of the kettle was loud, but it couldn't drown out Lin Xi's faint moans. Gao Qinghe kept double-checking that the indicator light was on, her eyes fixed on the blue light, wringing her hands.

'Why isn't it boiling yet? Is the kettle even making contact?'

'No, don't touch it. Touching it will make it boil slower.'

'A cup—right, get a cup first, that'll be faster.'

'Why did I put so much water in? Am I brain-dead? Pour some out, pour some out so it boils faster...'

The water was taking too long. Lin Xi's moans were incessant, sounding painful and heartbreaking.

'Does this really look like a stomachache from bad food? What if it's gastroenteritis or acute appendicitis?'

'Better not be stomach cancer—I heard that can cause stomach pain too...'

Powerlessness and anxiety filled Gao Qinghe's mind. Lin Xi had always been like this—hiding things and bearing them alone. This was clearly beyond the help of some hot water. The few times Lin Xi had asked for help before, she had already handled everything and only gave Gao Qinghe simple cleanup tasks.

'How was it when she got sick before? Right, she was like this too. She said nothing, just endured it alone. If she could just learn to ask for my help, I wouldn't feel so useless. Why does she make me guess? Why not just ask me—'

"Sister Lin Xi, the water will be ready soon. Just hold on..."

'Hold on my ass!' Gao Qinghe pushed open the door and saw Lin Xi in so much pain she could barely breathe. Her forehead was covered in sweat, her hair stuck to her cheeks and neck, and her face was terrifyingly pale. Her body twitched slightly, her breathing became rapid and shallow, and the sounds she forced from her throat had shifted from low moans to whimpers. Tears were seeping from the corners of her eyes.

No, she had to call someone here!

Gao Qinghe felt her heart leap into her throat. She rushed out, grabbed her phone, and unlocked it.

The screen was still on Xiang Bei's message.

She thought for only a second, then swiped away Xiang Bei's chat and dialed 120.