After the breakup, I was taken in by a group of trendy young women.

The corridor of the medical examination center seemed to have no end. The smell of disinfectant mixed with the cold air from the central air conditioning kept the midday heat out of the glass doors.

The fluorescent lights overhead made everyone's faces look bloodless, but Lin Ye sat on the row of plastic benches at the end of the corridor, legs crossed, an unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth, in such a good mood that he almost wanted to hum a few lines of a song.

Spending money feels fucking awesome.

Looking at the price list of health check packages on the phone screen, he swiped his finger across it, picked the most expensive one, and didn't even blink.

The VIP health check package, including all items, costs 1,680 per person, and 11,760 for seven people.

The moment he aligned his payment code with the barcode scanner, he felt no pang of heartache. Instead, an indescribable sense of exhilaration welled up within him, as if something that had been weighing him down for twenty-three years had finally been released in an instant.

Then the system notification sounded right on time.

[Ding! Detected that the host has made health care purchases for six female companions and unofficial members, triggering a hidden mission: Attentive Care.]

[Task Evaluation: The host's consumption behavior demonstrates both initiative and care, exceeding the system's expectations.]

[Triggering 100x return.]

[The 1,176,000 yuan has been credited to your account.]

Lin Ye looked down at the long string of numbers that popped up in the bank's text message—ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions—and counted them twice to make sure he hadn't added an extra zero.

One million seven hundred and seventy-six thousand. Adding the seventeen thousand he already had in his account, he now has about one million three hundred and fifty thousand.

He put his phone back in his pocket, leaned back in his chair, and squinted at the faded health poster on the wall across the corridor that read, "Regular check-ups, care for your health." The eight large red characters had been there for who knows how many years, and the edges were curled up.

Take care of your health.

When these four words come out of an ex-girlfriend's mouth, the next thing she usually says is, "You've been staying up all night playing games again."

"Could you smoke less?"

When will your salary increase?

The number returned from the system is 1,176,000.

Returning from the seven girls, he turned his head and saw Bai Xiaojing squatting in front of the blood-drawing window, rolling up the sleeves of her Lolita dress to reveal her thin arms, closing her eyes and turning her face to the side, looking as if she were about to go to the execution ground.

The tattooed man patted her on the shoulder and said, "You're so scared of getting your blood drawn," and then took a deep breath as he sat down. The koi fish on the tattooed arm stretched so much that its scales looked like they were about to burst as she clenched her fists.

After Zhang Jingjing finished drawing blood, she pressed a cotton swab against the back of her elbow. The tip of the swab was already red. She was still tilting her head and discussing with Green Hair which department would save the most time later.

Pink Hair chimed in, saying that the ultrasound room had the longest line, so they should go for the ultrasound first. Qi Liu Hai sat on the bench holding Wang Cai, and the cat poked its head out of the backpack and meowed, as if answering for her.

Shen Qing stood next to the water dispenser, sipping a glass of warm water. When she saw Lin Ye looking in her direction, she quickly looked away, her ears turning red again.

Lin Ye took the unlit cigarette out of his mouth and chuckled.

The medical examination report came out at 3 p.m.

The nurse lined up seven brown paper envelopes on the triage desk, and before her name was even called, the seven girls rushed forward to claim theirs.

The tattooed arm was the first to be unwrapped. She pulled out the densely packed lab report, scanning it from hemoglobin to liver function. When she saw the last line, "No abnormalities found," she raised an eyebrow and shoved the report into Lin Ye's hand: "Look, brother, there's nothing wrong with you."

Lin Ye took it and read it once, then read it a second time.

Then he read through the reports of the other people in turn.

Bai Xiaojing's case showed no abnormalities.

Zhang Jingjing's results showed no abnormalities.

Green Hair, Pink Hair, Bangs, Shen Qing—every report in the seven kraft paper envelopes showed no abnormalities.

Hepatitis B, syphilis, HIV, HPV—after all the test results he recognized and those he didn't, were neatly marked with four words: Negative. Or three words: Not detected.

He placed the report on his lap, his fingers unconsciously tracing the edge of the paper, a weight lifted from his heart.

Clean.

When those two words popped into his head, he suddenly felt a little ridiculous.

What is he expecting?

What are you worried about again?

These seven girls, with their brightly colored hair, tattooed arms and legs, and smoking cigarettes, squatted on the curb. Walking down the street, they could scare away three neighborhood committee aunties. Everyone who saw them for the first time would mentally label them as frivolous.

But after living with them for these past few days, he knew that Bai Xiaojing, though full of flirtatious talk, would blush more easily than anyone else when it came to the real thing. He knew that the tattoo on her arm was done when she was seventeen and used her first month's salary from working in a factory. He knew that when Shen Qing was cornered at the locker room by the milk tea shop manager, she threw milk tea in his face.

He knew they were all clean and tidy girls.

Knowing something is one thing, but confirming it in black and white is another.

"Brother? What are you spacing out for?"

Bai Xiaojing's face suddenly loomed close to his, her deep brown pupils sparkling in the pale light of the corridor. Her lips were curved, and her lip balm was strawberry-flavored, exactly the same scent Lin Ye had first smelled on the curb.

She tilted her head and looked at the report in his hand.

"All negative, what's so interesting? You don't think we have some kind of disease, do you?"

Lin Ye closed the report, stuffed it back into the brown paper envelope, and handed it to her, saying casually, "Nothing. I just wanted to see if you were deficient in any trace elements so I could supplement them for you."

"We are short of money."

The tattooed man chimed in, rolling the report into a tube and tapping it against his palm, his tongue flashing briefly between his lips.

"We don't lack trace elements, but we lack macronutrients."

Zhang Jingjing leaned out from behind, resting her elbows on her tattooed shoulders: "Brother, how much is this health checkup package per person? I just glanced at the price list at the front desk, and the cheapest basic checkup was two or three hundred, and we have so many of these services!"

"Not expensive."

Lin Ye stood up, folded the seven brown paper envelopes into a stack and tucked them under his arm, his other hand in his athletic shorts pocket, his tone light and casual as if he were just saying the weather was nice today.

"It's alright, I'd say."

"How much is 'okay'?" Green Hair asked.

"It's alright, it's alright."

Bai Xiaojing walked beside him and suddenly reached out and grabbed the hem of his clothes.

Lin Ye turned to look at her. She didn't let go, nor did she look at him. She just stared at the glass door leading to the exit at the end of the corridor. The midday sun streamed in from outside the door, gilding her profile with a light gold.

She spoke, her voice softer than usual, so soft that only the two of them could hear: "Brother, are you worried about something?"

Lin Ye did not answer.

Bai Xiaojing didn't press the matter further.

She simply slid her hand, which was tugging at the hem of his clothes, down a little and hooked it around his little finger.

Her fingers were slightly cool, and the mottled black nail polish on her fingernails brushed against the back of his hand.

I hooked it once, and then it loosened.

As I walked out of the hospital, the midday sun had just moved out from behind the clouds, turning the floor tiles on the steps white.

The leaves of the sycamore trees rustled overhead, and the cicadas chirped deafeningly.

The tattooed man stuffed the rolled-up medical report into his bag, stretched his arms out to the sun, and said, "Let's go! Let's celebrate with a good meal! All the test results were negative, shouldn't we throw a feast?"

"Didn't you say this morning that you needed to replenish your nutrition after having several vials of blood drawn during your physical exam?" Zhang Jingjing teased her from the side.

"That's perfect, eating well will replenish your blood."

"Was that logic taught to you by your gym teacher?"

Did the PE teacher offend you?

Bai Xiaojing took out her phone, swiping through the food delivery app on the half-broken screen, muttering to herself which had the longest queues and the best deals among hot pot, barbecue, spicy hot pot, and crayfish.

She turned back and called to Lin Ye halfway down the steps. She saw him still standing on the steps, the morning light shining from behind him, outlining his silhouette with a golden edge.

She shoved her phone into her tattooed hand, jogged back, looked up at him, tilted her head, and her strawberry-flavored lip balm glistened in the sunlight: "Brother, you spent so much money today, we'll take good care of you tonight."

Lin Ye looked down at Bai Xiaojing.

She stood below the steps, three steps shorter than him, her face tilted back. Her blond hair was fluffy from the sun, and the newly grown black hair at the roots was particularly clear in the light.

One of the straps of her Lolita dress had come loose from the neckline, and a small piece of leaf, which she didn't know when it had gotten there, was stuck in her collarbone.

"How should I serve you?" he asked.

Bai Xiaojing tiptoed and whispered in his ear.

The scent of strawberry shampoo mingled with the warmth of her body steam, filling his nostrils. Her breath tickled his earlobe.

She said something in a soft voice, with a hint of feigned ambiguity and an undisguised smile at the end.