Lu Yixin lay on the bed, the pillow covering her head, watching the bathroom through the gap of the pillow.

It was still early, just a little past ten at night. She had drunk earlier and slept for a while, and now she was completely awake.

Through the frosted glass door of the bathroom, she could vaguely see Fang Yongnian’s silhouette inside. He was always steady, unlike her—so noisy and clumsy that her presence could never be ignored.

This was not the first time they were sleeping under the same roof after they started dating, but this time, they would be sleeping on the same bed.

There were actually many ways they could have gone home. This place even had supermarkets and food delivery, so calling a car would have been no problem. But Fang Yongnian didn’t.

He booked a room. When she woke up, he was leaning against the bed, completely relaxed, reading some documents.

They were in love.

An ordinary kind of love—her boyfriend doted on her, respected her, and just like her, wanted to always stay close.

Lu Yixin grinned into her pillow, unable to suppress her joy, and bounced twice on the bed with her head still buried.

“The bed’s sinking.” Fang Yongnian opened the door after his shower and saw Lu Yixin bouncing like a frog with her head buried in the blanket. His teasing tone carried a trace of laughter.

He hadn’t turned off the light, and when he walked over, the faint scent of floral cologne followed him.

Lu Yixin quickly lay flat, half her face hidden behind the pillow, the other half flushed red.

Fang Yongnian lifted the quilt and lay down beside her, still without turning off the light.

Lu Yixin clutched her pillow, revealing one eye.

Fang Yongnian hadn’t changed into a bathrobe, he was still wearing the shirt and trousers from earlier, except the top button of the shirt was undone.

“You didn’t change into a bathrobe?” Both of Lu Yixin’s eyes peeked out now.

Then she noticed, he was using a different quilt from hers.

“I’m used to it.” Fang Yongnian’s hair had grown a little longer; after drying, it hung softly around his ears.

When he slept in the company dormitory, it was always like this. A grown man, not caring about such details.

Lu Yixin pursed her lips, quietly stretched one foot out, and slipped it into Fang Yongnian’s quilt.

“I didn’t remove the prosthetic.” Fang Yongnian reached for his laptop and placed it on his lap, explaining, “There’s no crutch or wheelchair here, it’s inconvenient to get up at night.”

Lu Yixin still didn’t speak. She stretched out one hand too, slipping it under his quilt.

Fang Yongnian glanced at her helplessly.

“You’ve already taken a shower.” He finally understood what she was concerned about. “These clothes are what I wore during the day, they’re dirty.”

Lu Yixin stopped moving, one hand and one foot tucked under his quilt, most of her body still under her own, her head buried into the pillow by his side.

“Satisfied now?” Fang Yongnian patted her head.

Lu Yixin nodded with her face buried, and the hand inside his quilt quietly circled around his waist.

“I’m the same as you,” his voice was low and deep in the quiet night, “I hope the love we have can be ordinary. No external conditions, no rules to calculate—just love.”

Lu Yixin held him tighter.

“I didn’t agree because you were persistent or pressed me too hard.” He stroked her hair. “You were the one who pursued me first, only because the way you think has always been clearer than mine.”

Although the moment he was moved came later than hers, it wasn’t by much.

It was just that, at that time, he chose to turn a blind eye, while Lu Yixin chose to charge forward without hesitation.

“It’s not being clear-minded, it’s being immature.” Lu Yixin finally lifted her head.

Only after going through the hurdle with her parents did she realize—if not for Fang Yongnian’s tolerance, her reckless impulsiveness back then could have ended terribly.

Fang Yongnian’s lips curved slightly.

Lu Yixin lay there watching him, watching him smile at her, watching him so close before her eyes.

“Fang Niannian.” She found his hand under the quilt and interlaced their fingers. “We’ll be happy.”

They definitely would be.

Not the kind of happiness she had once imagined in her childish romantic fantasies, but a steady, warm, tangible kind of happiness.

“We will.” Fang Yongnian used his free hand to open his laptop.

Lu Yixin, who had just been feeling deeply moved and content: “……”

“I haven’t touched anything about Alzheimer’s for many years.” Fang Yongnian was amused by Lu Yixin’s puffed cheeks. “I didn’t have time to read when I was working, only now do I have a bit of free time.”

“I’m a freshman about to take my final exams,” Lu Yixin said every word as if bleeding from her heart, “how can my conscience handle this?”

He had been slipping study time in whenever he could these past few days.

Whenever he was left alone, he would definitely take out his phone or laptop.

“I’ll get up to review.” Unable to win against her conscience, Lu Yixin resigned herself and climbed out of bed. “I’ll get up and do my homework.”

“Put on your jacket.” Fang Yongnian shooed her like a chick. “Ask me if you don’t understand something.”

Lu Yixin pouted and leaned over to kiss his cheek. When she turned to get out of bed, Fang Yongnian didn’t even look up. “Put your shoes on.”

Lu Yixin turned back and kissed him again, this time like a little chick pecking at grain, making a soft smacking sound.

Fang Yongnian finally looked up. His glasses were tilted from her kiss.

“It’s only a little past ten.” He adjusted his glasses. “If we don’t find something to do and keep talking, we’ll get into trouble.”

Lu Yixin tilted her head.

“Keep talking, and we’ll end up kissing again.” Fang Yongnian looked at her, frowning. “Also, the pajamas I bought for you are too thin.”

He should have bought her a big cotton jacket instead.

After saying that, he didn’t speak again, lowered his head slightly, brows faintly furrowed, and opened another complex French document.

Just a few words of conversation, and he was already fighting the urge to hold her.

In front of Lu Yixin, he had always overestimated his self-control.

Right now, it still wasn’t time.

He had looked at his body in the bathroom earlier—imperfect, pale, covered in scars. Right now, it still wasn’t time.

He hadn’t completely walked out of that rainy highway yet. There was still a small distance between him and the ordinary kind of love they both wanted.

He was awkward.

But he didn’t want, at that moment, to still be thinking about hiding the scars on his body.

Lu Yixin tilted her head from left to right, stood by the bed for a second, then leaned forward and kissed Fang Yongnian again.

“I’m going to read.” She squinted and smiled.

She didn’t understand his inner struggle, but she could see his reluctance.

The first night they shared a bed in their lives, with the sound of crackling firewood in the fireplace, they read until midnight.

Lu Yixin eventually fell asleep while lying on the bed memorizing vocabulary words. In her half-conscious state, she felt Fang Yongnian get up, put away her books, and gently pull the blanket over her.

“Good night.” she murmured in her drowsy state.

“Good night.” Fang Yongnian turned off the light and kissed her forehead.

୨୧ ⏔⏔⏔⏔♡⏔⏔⏔⏔ ୨୧ 

When the phone rang in the middle of the night, Fang Yongnian opened his eyes and stared blankly for a while.

Lu Yixin slept restlessly. More than half her body had crawled into his quilt, holding him tightly like a body pillow.

Her nightdress had ridden up halfway, and her smooth, fair legs were resting on his waist.

Next time, he definitely had to buy a thick cotton jacket.

Fang Yongnian frowned at the phone, answering it with a trace of irritation.

Two in the morning—Yu Hanfeng, that workaholic.

“Sorry.” Yu Hanfeng’s voice carried no real apology. “I wanted to ask if you know any doctors who can do early-stage Alzheimer’s biomarker diagnosis?”

“Huating University Affiliated Hospital can. They bought a batch of equipment last year. Both biofluid and imaging biomarkers can be done.” Fang Yongnian lowered his voice. “Who needs it?”

“My cousin.” Yu Hanfeng’s tone was still crisp and professional even in the middle of the night, but after those three words, she fell silent.

“Symptoms?” Fang Yongnian was now fully awake. He propped himself up against the headboard and adjusted Lu Yixin’s sleeping position so she wouldn’t twist her neck.

“Not yet.” Yu Hanfeng was quiet for a moment. “But when she got off work today, she suddenly couldn’t find her way home and drove onto the ring road.”

“It could just be temporary cognitive impairment caused by emotional fluctuation.” Fang Yongnian rubbed his temples.

“I’m not betting on luck.” Yu Hanfeng gave a bitter laugh over the phone. “I’ve made up my mind. We’ll go with your proposed Kang Mo’s project plan. But until we find a more suitable project manager, besides research, you’ll still have to take on the project management part.”

Half-asleep, Lu Yixin scratched her face.

“Alright.” Fang Yongnian lowered his head, his thumb brushing gently over Lu Yixin’s cheek.

“What needs to be prepared first?” At two in the morning, Yu Hanfeng, who was now suspecting that the cousin who had raised her since childhood might have Alzheimer’s, didn’t even allow herself the luxury of despair. “If she really has it, can we start experimental treatment early?”

“The materials Wu Yuande gave us can save time when formulating the new drug development plan. But whether the NLRP3 inflammatory target can truly suppress AD still requires extensive experimental proof.”

“This could take several years, and clinical trials need IND approval. Even if your cousin unfortunately has AD, whether she’s a typical patient and whether she qualifies for the trial must still be further examined.”

“How many years from project establishment to clinical trial?” Yu Hanfeng’s fingers were tapping rhythmically on her desk over the phone.

“If everything goes smoothly, three to five years.” Fang Yongnian paused. “But if the target direction is wrong, those three to five years would be wasted.”

It was a high-stakes gamble.

He had to explain all the risks to the investors clearly.

“What preparations are needed in the early stage?” Yu Hanfeng was silent for a long time before asking again.

“The project members still need to be recruited. I’ve already listed the personnel names, I’ll send them to you later.” Fang Yongnian’s voice was low, but even so, it woke Lu Yixin. She rubbed her eyes and looked up at him.

Fang Yongnian gave her a small smile.

“We also need a long-term cooperating top-tier hospital specializing in AD to provide sufficient clinical data. I’ve listed the candidate hospitals too.”

“As for the rest…” Fang Yongnian paused. “Drug development needs clinical physicians. The current team’s specialties don’t match. Aside from the people on the list I gave you, I still need Zheng Fei.”

“Zheng Fei, the one who runs the pharmacy with you?” Yu Hanfeng was stunned.

“Yes.” Fang Yongnian nodded. “He’s a clinical medical expert in neurodegenerative diseases. I’ll send you his résumé too.”

Lu Yixin’s eyes widened in surprise.

Wasn’t Zheng Fei just an old country doctor…

Yu Hanfeng, on the other end of the line, chuckled. “That pharmacy of yours is really sheltering two Buddhas. What a waste of talent.”

She had looked into Zheng Fei’s background and knew his credentials.

“He only wants to make AD drugs.” Fang Yongnian didn’t deny it.

Everyone had their own story. Everyone had their own redemption. For Zheng Fei, developing Alzheimer’s drugs was his redemption.

“Alright.” Yu Hanfeng agreed.

“The rest, we’ll sort out during tomorrow’s meeting.” Fang Yongnian was about to hang up. “As for your cousin, let’s wait for the test results. If it’s detected early, there are medications that can still delay it.”

“Fang Yongnian, what’s the probability of the project’s success?” Yu Hanfeng, who had been calm until now, couldn’t help but ask urgently before ending the call.

Fang Yongnian was silent for a moment.

“One hundred percent, or zero.” He didn’t give her false hope. “But I’ll do my best.”

Yu Hanfeng hung up.

In the darkness, Lu Yixin burrowed completely into Fang Yongnian’s quilt, pressing close to him.

“Good night.” She didn’t ask about the phone call in the middle of the night.

“Good night.” Fang Yongnian sent the email, set his phone aside, and lay back down.

“It will be one hundred percent.” In the dark, she patted his head.

“Mm.” Fang Yongnian answered after a long pause.

It would be.

Just like he told Lu Yixin ten years ago—one day, it would be.