Life countdown begins, ice queen bursts into security room

Jiang Fan sat in the company all day and accomplished nothing.

Before leaving get off work, Li Cheng glanced at him, hesitated, and finally left without saying anything, closing the door behind him.

Jiang Fan still went at eight o'clock in the evening.

Zhou Yutong opened the door.

"Brother Fan, you're here. Sister Nian is in much better spirits than yesterday; she ate a bowl of porridge for dinner."

Jiang Fan changed his shoes and went inside.

"Okay, you can go back now."

As Zhou Yutong left with her bag, she glanced back at him and then obediently walked away.

The door closed.

Jiang Fan went to the kitchen and saw that there was still half a pot of pear water that had been stewing at noon.

He turned on the low heat, took out the dried sea buckthorn and monk fruit he had bought at the pharmacy that day from the plastic bag in his hand, and brewed a pot of it.

The bedroom door was open.

Shen Nian was leaning against the headboard, holding her phone.

My complexion is definitely much better than yesterday.

"What's your temperature?" Jiang Fan asked as he walked in, carrying a cup.

"Thirty-seven degrees." Shen Nian's voice was still hoarse.

Jiang Fan placed the water infused with Malva nut on the bedside table.

"Drink some of this, it's good for your throat."

Shen Nian took it and sipped it, her brows furrowing at the bitterness.

"What are you looking at?"

Shen Nian turned her phone over to show him.

The screen displays the comments section for "Blue and White Porcelain," with tens of thousands of comments.

"Your song was released today."

"Um."

"Very impressive." Shen Nian looked at him, her eyes shining.

Jiang Fan pulled up a chair and sat down on the edge of the bed.

How does your throat feel?

Shen Nian took another sip of the seawater from the fat man.

"It still hurts when I swallow. After saying a few words, it starts to itch and I feel like coughing."

She looked up.

"The path you paved for me, every step I took was perfect. But I ended up getting stuck myself."

"Don't say that."

"I must say," Shen Nian's voice was hoarse. "If this goes wrong, it's not just my problem. It's your reputation, the studio's reputation, and Fang Yiming's side—"

"Shen Nian."

Jiang Fan interrupted her.

Shen Nian stopped, her eyes reddening.

She lowered her head, her hands gripping the cup, her fingernails turning white.

Jiang Fan looked at her drooping eyelashes and remained silent for a while.

"Shen Nian."

"Um?"

"I have something to tell you. Don't rush to refuse; let me finish first."

Shen Nian put down her cup and looked at him.

Do you believe that there are things in this world...that science can't explain?

Shen Nian blinked.

It felt very incongruous for Jiang Fan to say those words.

This person usually does everything logically, so when he suddenly said this, Shen Nian didn't react for a moment.

"What do you mean?"

Jiang Fan looked down at his hands.

How so?

He had been thinking about it all the way on the way here, but he still couldn't come up with a way to say it that didn't sound like a jerk.

"I have a way to help your voice recover quickly."

Shen Nian was stunned for a moment, then her eyes lit up.

"What method?"

"This method is a bit unusual." Jiang Fan rested his fingers on his knee, rubbing his thumb back and forth a couple of times. "You might think I'm taking advantage of you if I tell you."

Shen Nian remained silent, waiting for him to speak.

Jiang Fan looked up at her.

"I possess a... ability. After intimate contact with certain people, I can repair their bodily functions."

After he finished speaking, the room remained quiet for a long time.

A sharp, short horn blared from the direction of the parking lot downstairs.

Shen Nian looked at him calmly, without anger or shock.

That calmness actually made Jiang Fan uncomfortable.

"Do you believe it?" Jiang Fan asked.

Shen Nian did not answer the question.

"What do you mean by intimate contact?"

Jiang Fan did not avoid her gaze.

"That's exactly what you mean."

It's quiet again.

This time it was quiet for even longer.

The sound of pear juice bubbling in a pot came from the direction of the kitchen.

"You helped me with my lawsuit, wrote songs for me, and signed me to the company—" Shen Nian coughed twice, pressed her throat to catch her breath, and continued, "Was it all for this?"

"no."

Shen Nian lowered her head and stared at her fingers folded together on her knees.

Jiang Fan stood up.

"You don't need to give me an answer now. Think it over carefully tonight, and then we'll talk. If you think I'm talking nonsense, or if you're unwilling..."

He paused for a moment.

"I'm trying to find another solution from the production team."

-

Jiang Fan sat on the living room sofa and spread out the thin blanket from last night.

Time passed minute by minute.

10:23.

The bedroom door clicked once.

Jiang Fan turned his head to look over.

Shen Nian stood there, leaning against the door frame.

"Come here," she said.

The sound was very soft.

Jiang Fan stood up from the sofa and walked over.

The two people stood facing each other in the bedroom doorway.

Shen Nian was almost a head shorter than him, and she had to look up to see his eyes.

She stared at him for a few seconds.

Then she reached out and grabbed Jiang Fan's wrist.

"I was depressed for a year. At my worst, I thought about jumping off a building."

Her voice was so hoarse it was almost broken; every word seemed to be squeezed out of her throat.

"You're the one who pulled me out of the water."

She paused for a moment.

"I believe you, not because of the nonsense you spouted."

Jiang Fan's lips twitched slightly.

"I believe you because last night you brought me a bowl of pear juice, blew on it to cool it down, and fed it to me. You also got up in the early morning to pour me water, wipe my sweat, and cover me with a blanket."

Her fingers tightened on his wrist.

If you're lying to me—

Jiang Fan looked down at the hand that was gripping his wrist; its knuckles were clearly defined.

He took her hand in his own.

"Won't."

Shen Nian released his wrist, turned around and walked back to the room.

When she reached the bedside, her fingers rested on the zipper of her pajamas, and she paused for a moment.

"Turn off the light."

"it is good."

Jiang Fan reached out and turned off the bedroom light.

In the darkness, the sound of a zipper being pulled open could be heard.

Very light, very slow.

-

Much later.

Shen Nian curled up in the blanket, her back to Jiang Fan.

My breathing gradually calmed down, but my body was still trembling slightly.

The blanket slipped down a bit, revealing one of her shoulders, which was still covered with beads of sweat.

Jiang Fan lay down behind her, with a fist's distance between them.

"Does it still hurt?"

Shen Nian shook her head.

There was a moment of silence.

"That repair thing you mentioned... does it work?"

You'll find out when you wake up tomorrow morning.

Shen Nian pulled the blanket up even higher, covering her entire shoulders.

A long time passed.

Jiang Fan thought she was asleep.

In the darkness, Shen Nian stretched out a hand and groped around.

She grasped Jiang Fan's fingers.

Not very strong.

But it didn't loosen.

-

Jiang Fan waited until her breathing had completely stabilized before bringing up the control panel.

[Total Lifespan Gained: 1000 points] (Deep Compatibility x2)

Current lifespan: 21000 points

[Remaining lifespan: 45 days and 20 hours]

He turned off the panel.

Shen Nian, who was next to him, turned over and faced him.

In her sleep, her brows were relaxed, her lips were slightly parted, and her breathing was even.

Jiang Fan tucked the corner of the blanket that was draped over the outside of the blanket.

I had just closed my eyes when I suddenly remembered something.

He tiptoed out of bed and walked barefoot to the apartment door.

I crouched down, opened the battery compartment on the back of the combination lock, took out two AA batteries, and placed them on the shoe cabinet.

Jiang Fan stood up and clapped his hands.

I don't have to sleep on the sofa tonight.