Trending topic alert: The mysterious fan site administrator of a top celebrity has been exposed.

Zhou Ai stared at the motionless phone screen, feeling those five minutes stretch into an eternity.

He considered countless possibilities: Did Chu Yi think his new hairstyle was ugly? Was she too lazy to reply? Or...did something really happen? Did her foot injury worsen? Was it inconvenient for her to be home alone?

Anxiety, like vines, coiled around me, tightening its grip.

All his "playing hard to get" tactics and so-called "calmness" crumbled completely at that moment. Almost instinctively, his fingers trembled as he pressed the video call request.

Every beep of the waiting connection felt like a pounding on his heart.

Meanwhile, Chu Yi, on the other side, did indeed sit there holding his phone for a full five minutes. He stared at the selfie of the black-haired man, his mind a jumble of thoughts.

Praising his looks? That's too frivolous.

Ignoring it? That would seem too deliberate.

At this moment, Chu Yi realized more clearly that she was always at a loss when faced with Zhou Ai's undisguised and intense approach. All her composure and sense of propriety seemed to have met their nemesis.

Just as he was having a fierce internal struggle, Zhou Ai's video call request suddenly popped up, startling him so much that he almost threw his phone away.

My heartbeat suddenly became erratic.

Chu Yi almost reflexively adjusted the angle of her phone camera to make sure it was only aimed at the gray sofa cushions and a corner of the ceiling, then took a deep breath and pressed the answer button.

The screen lit up, and Zhou Ai's anxious and worried face instantly filled the frame.

However, Chu Yi's face, which he had envisioned, did not appear; the only thing in the shot was a monotonous gray fabric.

Zhou Ai's heart sank, and a strong sense of disappointment welled up inside her, but at least... the call was connected, and she could hear a voice.

"Why...why aren't you replying to my messages?" Zhou Ai's voice came through the receiver, carrying a hint of barely perceptible grievance and lingering anxiety. "I thought something had happened to you." His tone was direct, making no attempt to hide his worry.

Chu Yi looked at Zhou Ai's enlarged, worried face on the screen, his Adam's apple bobbing as he tried to keep his voice steady: "No, I'm packing." To increase credibility, he deliberately shook the camera slightly, scanning the suitcase spread out on the ground not far away.

A subtle silence fell over both ends of the video.

Both could see glimpses of each other's surroundings through the screen, but they couldn't see each other's expressions, only hear each other's soft breathing. An invisible tension spread through the quiet air.

Zhou Ai stared at the gray sofa cover, his heart still pounding. He knew Chu Yi was behind the camera, and this feeling of being so close yet so unreachable was even more agonizing.

Just as Zhou Ai was racking her brains to find a new topic, Chu Yi suddenly said very softly:

"New hairstyle...pretty cool."

Zhou Ai seemed to be paused, stunned for a second, and then the phone slipped from her hand and smashed on the floor with a "thud." The camera spun around twice before finally settling on the ceiling light.

Chu Yi listened to the sound of the camera panning, and watched as Zhou Ai frantically bent down to retrieve her phone, re-entering the frame. Her cheeks and ears flushed red visibly, and her breathing became rapid.

Zhou Ai's hands were shaking so badly he could barely hold the phone. He finally managed to focus the camera back on himself, and in the video, his eyes were filled with panic. He stammered, "..."

"Then...can I see you?"

When Zhou Ai asked, his voice trembling with anticipation, "Then...can I see you?" his heart nearly leaped into his throat. He held his breath, his eyes glued to the screen, afraid of missing any change.

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the screen.

But after a few seconds, Zhou Ai watched as the camera on the other side slowly and hesitantly moved.

The gray sofa cushions and ceiling gradually disappeared from the frame, and in their place, Chu Yi's handsome and refined face appeared clearly in the center of the screen.

He seemed to have just taken a shower, his hair still damp at the ends, a few strands of black hair lying smoothly on his smooth forehead and temples, making him shed his usual aloofness and seriousness, and adding a touch of domestic gentleness and... an unintentional lazy allure.

The moisture seemed to have also touched his skin, giving his cheeks a light, healthy pink hue, making him look more vibrant than his usual cool-toned white.

Perhaps due to the angle, his eyes appeared exceptionally bright in the shot, and his long, thin eyelashes trembled gently as he blinked.

Chu Yi merely lowered her gaze slightly, unconsciously glancing at the camera. But this appearance—freshly bathed, unguarded, and even a little soft and naive—was an absolute and unexpected visual shock to Zhou Ai!

Zhou Ai felt a "boom" in her head, and her blood rushed to her head, making her cheeks and ears feel frighteningly hot.

Almost instinctively, he abruptly averted his gaze, no longer daring to look directly at the overwhelmingly striking face on the screen; his heart was pounding as if it were about to explode.

"Uh... um, that..." Zhou Ai began to stammer, her eyes darting erratically around the other corners of the room, avoiding looking at her phone screen. Her tongue seemed tied in knots. "Well... these past two days since I got back... the weather seems alright, huh?... Oh right, my manager got me a few gigs... I might be... pretty busy..."

He rambled on about unrelated things, jumping from the weather to work, then abruptly changing direction: "...Your...foot...caster...please don't get it wet...although...although I know you're a doctor...but, but you still have to be careful..."

Chu Yi quietly watched Zhou Ai on the other side of the screen, whose gaze was unfocused, whose cheeks were flushed, and who was clearly nervous to the point of being at a loss, without interrupting him.

He was known for his patience, and at this moment he showed even more patience, carefully trying to extract useful information from Zhou Ai's incoherent and illogical fragmented messages.

Listening to Zhou Ai's stammering explanation of the arrangements for his return, the busyness of his work, and his instructions regarding his injuries... although it was chaotic, Chu Yi still managed to piece together the core information:

Zhou Ai has a lot of schedules lately and will be very busy.

He was reminding himself to take good care of his foot injury.

And... the sentence he most wanted to express, yet uttered most vaguely and cautiously—

"...Just...wait for me...when I have time..."

Zhou Ai's voice trailed off, almost becoming a mumble. Her eyes darted quickly to the screen before snapping away, her ears burning red. "...Can...I come find you?"

He spoke his last sentence with extreme difficulty, his voice so soft that it was barely audible through the faint crackling of electricity; for a moment, Chu Yi felt as if he hadn't heard it clearly.

Chu Yi looked up and stared directly at the screen. He didn't answer immediately, but simply stared at the man on the screen, whose very hair seemed to radiate tension. After a few seconds, he said slowly, "If you have time, let me treat you to a meal. You saved my life in the mountains before, and I haven't properly thanked you yet."

His tone was calm and serious, even with a touch of businesslike politeness, as if he were performing a necessary social etiquette.

But to Zhou Ai's ears, it was like heavenly music! This was not just about having a meal; it was a clear permission and agreement to meet again!

He abruptly turned his gaze back to Chu Yi on the screen. His peach blossom eyes instantly lit up with an astonishing brightness, all the tension and panic in them replaced by immense joy. He couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth, revealing a set of white teeth, and smiled like a child who had suddenly received the sweetest candy in the world.

"Okay! Okay!" He nodded eagerly, his voice several octaves brighter with joy. "I'll message you as soon as I'm done! It's a deal!"

Chu Yi looked at Zhou Ai on the other side of the screen, whose mood instantly brightened, whose eyebrows and eyes curved into a smile, as if an invisible tail was wagging wildly behind him. Without even realizing it, the corners of her lips also turned up slightly in a very faint but real arc.

Like a child. They'll beam with joy at the slightest bit of sunshine.

She's kind of...cute.

The thought flashed through Chu Yi's mind, making her heart feel as if it had been gently tickled by a feather.

"Mm," he responded softly, his tone still calm, but seemingly gentler. "Then get some rest. Goodnight."

"Good night!" Zhou Ai's voice was still brimming with barely suppressed excitement as she looked at Chu Yi with sparkling eyes until the screen went dark and the video call ended.

As soon as the call ended, Zhou Ai could no longer contain his elation. He leaped up from the sofa, ignoring his injured back, and began wildly performing a set of exaggerated and comical "Tai Chi" movements on the spacious carpet in the living room. Finally, he fell heavily back onto the sofa, burying his face in the soft cushions and letting out a muffled but silly laugh, his shoulders shaking with laughter.

In the following days, Xu Yang clearly felt that Zhou Ai's whole demeanor was different.

Specifically, this manifests as: feeling refreshed and cheerful, with a beaming smile.

Whether it's filming intensely, repeatedly recording songs and refining details in the recording studio, or even on the way to a gig, he maintains an almost feverishly positive attitude. The occasional morning grumpiness or impatience with repetitive work that he used to have has completely disappeared.

He would even proactively greet the staff and crack harmless jokes, making several members of the team feel flattered. They would secretly come to Xu Yang and ask, "Brother Yang, is Brother Ai... in love? He looks like he's swooning over women, something's not right!"

Xu Yang could only shake his head helplessly each time. He knew perfectly well that the root of the problem lay with that Dr. Chu, but he dared not ask how far things had progressed between the two of them.

What surprised Xu Yang most was Zhou Ai's unprecedented enthusiasm for his work. Every time he efficiently completed a task, he would eagerly come to Xu Yang and ask, "What's the next job? When is it? A tight schedule is fine!"

Xu Yang found Zhou Ai's proactive, even somewhat workaholic, nature very unsettling, and even a little creepy.

He finally couldn't resist and, during a break, reached out to feel Zhou Ai's forehead, his face full of worry: "You don't have a fever... Did you fall and damage your brain because of the bad signal in the mountains after your trip to Guizhou?"

Zhou Ai was studying the itinerary when she heard this. She slapped Xu Yang's hand away in annoyance and curled her lip in disdain: "What do you know?"

He raised his chin, his face filled with a strange sense of pride and anticipation, and declared in a resounding voice:

"A man who works hard is the most attractive!!!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Chu Yi applied for an extension of her sick leave due to her ankle injury. Fortunately, the cast has been removed. Although she still experiences some slight discomfort when walking and needs to be careful to avoid strenuous exercise, she is at least much more free to move around and no longer needs to rely on a wheelchair or crutches.

During the holiday, he still took time to attend two academic conferences held in the city on behalf of the director. The conferences were of high caliber, attended mostly by industry experts and representatives from relevant companies.

The second meeting was held in the conference center of a hotel in the east of the city. Chu Yi, dressed in a well-fitting suit, sat in a seat at the back, listening attentively to the speakers on stage, occasionally glancing down to jot down a few sentences in the meeting manual.

He has a cool and aloof demeanor, and even in a crowd, he exudes a unique sense of detachment, making him difficult to approach.

During a tea break in the middle of the meeting, Chu Yi was sitting by the window, holding a glass of water and looking down at the bustling traffic when a slightly familiar voice rang out behind him.

"Teacher Chu?"

Chu Yi turned around at the sound and met a face with gold-rimmed glasses and a gentle smile.

He paused for a second, his brain racing to match the face with the name—Xie Huaiming.

The "young talent" that the mother had been trying so hard to match up.

He had almost forgotten about this person's existence.

Chu Yi quickly put on a polite but distant smile and nodded slightly: "Long time no see, President Xie." His tone was polite, but with a clear sense of distance.

Xie Huaiming didn't seem to mind his coldness. Her smile remained polite, and her tone was familiar and natural, as if the two were old friends who often met: "I contacted you a while ago, and you always said you were away on a business trip and the signal was bad. Your aunt mentioned it and was quite worried about you."

Chu Yi took a sip of water without making a sound, and said calmly, "I went to Guizhou, and the signal in the mountainous areas is indeed unstable." He had no intention of explaining further, and he didn't want to mention his injury.

Xie Huaiming glanced at Chu Yi, his gaze lingering for a moment on Chu Yi's face, which seemed to have thinned a bit, before readily replying, "Guizhou is a beautiful place, with clear waters and lush mountains. It seems that Teacher Chu has gained a lot from this business trip."

As she spoke, she glanced at her watch and casually extended an invitation: "It's almost lunchtime. There's a nice Huaiyang restaurant nearby, would you do me the honor of joining us?"

Chu Yi declined almost without hesitation, her refusal direct yet polite: "Thank you for your kind offer, Mr. Xie, but lunch has been arranged at the venue, so I won't trouble you."

This was almost a definite rejection. Xie Huaiming was an extremely intelligent man, and naturally understood the implication.

His smile remained unchanged, but his eyes behind his glasses flickered almost imperceptibly, as if he had some regret, but he quickly regained his elegant demeanor.