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Shen Ning did not rest in the afternoon as Zhang Xinjie had said. After eating, she only closed her eyes to rest for about half an hour before turning on her computer and starting to work, drafting the large screen purchase contract that Zhang Xinjie had mentioned on the way yesterday.

The work wasn't urgent, but Chen Ning always felt a sense of urgency. The work assigned to her was never delayed, and there wasn't even a deadline of the last day. She usually finished it ahead of time and then hurriedly moved on to the next task or to study on her own.

Until she felt increasingly unable to open her eyes and her head began to spin.

She unconsciously touched her forehead and then her cheeks with both hands, and indeed felt that it was hotter than usual.

His eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and the words on the screen blurred intermittently. He sighed softly, closed his laptop, took some cold medicine, and dragged his heavy body to the bed.

After closing my eyes, the last conscious thought I had was of Zhang Xinjie.

After nagging me for ages about not catching a cold, he ended up nagging about everything...

This is so annoying...

...

I slept very soundly.

When consciousness returns, there's a rapid knocking on the door, followed by the ringing of a cell phone. He instinctively gropes for the phone on his pillow, grabs it, and groggily answers it.

"……Hello……"

"Chen Ning? Are you in your room?"

"Hmm?... Ah? I'm here." Hearing Zhang Xinjie's voice, Shen Ning struggled to open her eyes. The room was dimly lit, and she didn't know what time it was. The knocking continued. After her mind finally came to its senses, she quickly said, "...Wait for me, I'll be right there."

After getting up, Shen Ning shook her head and hurriedly smoothed her hair as she walked. When she opened the door, she saw Zhang Xinjie still holding his phone to his ear, his face not as composed as usual.

"Sorry, I was sleeping quite soundly and didn't hear your voice." Shen Ning smiled somewhat reluctantly. "Is something the matter?"

Zhang Xinjie handed over what he was carrying in his other hand: "I packed some dumplings and egg drop soup for you."

"Thank you, it's almost lunchtime."

"It's already 7:30."

Around six o'clock, Zhang Xinjie sent a message to Shen Ning. When she didn't reply, he figured she was still asleep, so he didn't call her to eat. He just packed her a light meal.

Unexpectedly, there was still no reply by 7 o'clock, which was not like Shen Ning's usual behavior. Zhang Xinjie felt something was wrong. He knocked on the door for a long time without response, and it took a long time for her to answer the phone. He was really nervous at that time.

Although I feel relieved to see her now, she doesn't seem very energetic and looks exhausted.

"Not feeling well? Did you catch a cold from being in the rain?"

"No, I'm just a little sleepy."

Shen Ning was still smiling, and when she saw Zhang Xinjie staring at her, she added, "It's really nothing."

After a few seconds of silence, Zhang Xinjie said, "Wait for me, let's go inside first."

After saying that, he turned around and went back to his room next door.

Chen Ning had just entered the house and opened the dumpling box, not even having time to unpack the chopsticks, when Zhang Xinjie returned, carrying a square bag.

"What's this?"

"Medicine kit," Zhang Xinjie asked from the doorway, "Is it convenient to come in?"

Are we about to start nagging again?

A sense of helplessness welled up inside her, and Shen Ning just wanted to deny it: "I'm really fine, look at me, I'm perfectly fine now."

"If it's inconvenient, I'll take your temperature at the door."

Perhaps it was the fever, but Shen Ning felt a lump in her throat, yet she knew there was no way to escape it. This feeling of helplessness suddenly transformed into a rebellious and irritable emotion: "Alright, come in."

Then he sat down at the table, took apart his chopsticks and started eating, completely ignoring Zhang Xinjie and showing no intention of waiting or cooperating.

The two of them acted as if they were each doing their own thing.

Zhang Xinjie didn't close the door. After coming in, he took out an electronic thermometer from his bag and took her forehead temperature.

"37.9℃, low-grade fever."

After reading the report, Zhang Xinjie frowned slightly, which was unusual for him, but Shen Ning showed no surprise at the fact that he had a fever.

He took out two kinds of medicine and placed them on her table along with the thermometer.

"Take this medicine after you finish eating, and then go to sleep. If you wake up in the middle of the night, check your temperature again. If it's over 38.5°C, take the other medicine."

Chen Ning chewed on a dumpling and casually hummed in agreement.

"If you feel really bad or uncomfortable, call us right away, okay?"

Shen Ning felt dizzy, and the nagging in her ears sounded like Tang Sanzang's chanting. She was extremely impatient, swallowed a mouthful of soup, and began to dismiss him: "I know, you can go back now."

Zhang Xinjie's lukewarm response from beginning to end caused a rare stir in his heart; his voice remained steady, but his tone became more forceful.

"Don't take a low-grade fever lightly. It's easiest to get a fever at night, and it's not convenient to go to the hospital when you're out of town."

Shen Ning also got angry when she heard this: "It's just a low fever. Who hasn't caught a cold and had a fever since they were a child? It's not as serious as you say. Besides, I felt much better after sleeping all afternoon."

"You're saying this is much better when your temperature is almost 38℃? If your fever doesn't go down tomorrow, you can stay at the hotel tonight and don't need to come to the venue with us."

Are you threatening me?

"It's not a threat, but a reasonable adjustment to work based on objective circumstances."

Chen Ning slammed down her chopsticks: "Fine, then you guys go to the competition. I'll stay here alone in the hotel tonight, feeling sick."

"Then let Yu Tian stay as well; he doesn't have any competitions to participate in."

Shen Ning stood up abruptly, her voice rising: "Zhang Xinjie, are you out of your mind?! Even if he's not playing, he's still a formal member of the team!"

"What's all this noise about!"

Just as the situation was about to spiral out of control, Han Wenqing's voice, deliberately lowered but still full of restraint, suddenly came from the doorway.

He stayed in the room the whole time. When Zhang Xinjie came to get the medicine box, he asked him a question and learned that Chen Ning might have caught a cold from being caught in the rain.

Seeing that Zhang Xinjie hadn't returned after so long, I wondered if something was seriously wrong, so I came over to check on him. But as soon as I stepped outside, I heard the two arguing, and they were talking incoherently.

Especially Chen Ning; at least Zhang Xinjie knew how to control his voice, but Chen Ning was completely enraged.

"With the door open, why are you making such a racket? Do you think Tyranny needs a headline tomorrow?"

Han Wenqing glared angrily, never expecting that the two most worry-free people on the team would start arguing before the game.

Han Wenqing's rebuke instantly calmed Zhang Xinjie down. Realizing his irrationality, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and said, "I'm sorry, Captain, I acted impulsively."

He was now extremely shocked by the pointless arrangements he had made for his teammates and his attitude toward a subordinate with a fever; as the vice-captain, this was a serious dereliction of duty.

Looking at Shen Ning, her hands were still supporting her on the table, and her already pale face looked even more tired.

Zhang Xinjie was extremely annoyed, but he didn't feel embarrassed at all. He immediately apologized to Shen Ning: "I'm sorry, it's my fault."

Shen Ning didn't know what she was doing or what she was supposed to do. Her mind was buzzing, and she felt like she was suffocating.

Zhang Xinjie had to keep an eye on her in everything, which annoyed her.

Zhang Xinjie argued with her, and she got annoyed.

Zhang Xinjie apologized to her, but she was still annoyed.

But what annoys her most isn't Zhang Xinjie, but her own unreasonable behavior right now.

So unreasonable that they themselves don't even know why they are being unreasonable.

So what should we do now?

Han Wenqing, who was standing to the side, understood their state of mind and did not expect Shen Ning, who was sick and unable to think clearly, to be able to think rationally. He directly took back the right to speak.

"How is your body?"

Shen Ning sat down, holding onto the back of the chair: "...It's nothing, just a slight fever."

After saying that, she looked up at Han Wenqing, but avoided Zhang Xinjie, and then lowered her head and said, "Sorry, Captain."

"We can talk about it tomorrow. Eat something first, get a good rest tonight, and call us anytime if you need anything."

"Okay, thank you, Captain."

Seeing that Shen Ning kept avoiding his gaze, Zhang Xinjie left the room without saying anything more.

Before closing the door, Han Wenqing said one last thing: "Your body is your own, and you're not a child anymore. You should be able to distinguish between what's important and what's not."

As the door closed, Shen Ning put her hands on her head and leaned against the table, her head throbbing terribly, feeling that everything was terrible.

Meanwhile, Han Wenqing and Zhang Xinjie returned to their rooms.

Without Han Wenqing asking, Zhang Xinjie recounted the whole story truthfully.

Even during the narration, he himself was puzzled. He wondered how things could have escalated to this point when it was just about delivering medicine to someone who was sick.

He remained seated upright, his face still composed, still humble and dignified, but his mind was in turmoil.

Zhang Xinjie truly didn't understand. He clearly loathed anything out of control, yet he himself had pushed things to become even more out of control.

Han Wenqing, on the other hand, remained silent for a long time after listening.

The cause of this matter was so trivial that it couldn't be more so, but it was extremely similar to something that had happened to me before, and I had an unbelievable guess in my mind.

"Perhaps I've been presumptuous, but you don't have to respond," Han Wenqing said, looking at Zhang Xinjie. "Do you like Chen Ning?"

The moment the words left his mouth, Zhang Xinjie knew that what he had been avoiding facing all along had finally been exposed.

From initial appreciation and affirmation, to recently, an uncontrollable concern...

The word "like" finally appeared directly in front of him.

Zhang Xinjie did not answer directly, but looked directly at Han Wenqing and asked, "Why do you think that?"

"What happened between you two just now is somewhat similar to what happened between me and Xu Xinnuan."

"Would it be convenient to elaborate?"

Han Wenqing nodded: "You know we rarely see each other. When we first got together, one weekend when we went out, she wasn't feeling well but didn't say anything and forced herself to come. In the end, she couldn't hold on halfway through."

You mentioned her?

"Yes, his attitude was very firm, and his words were harsh. He told her that if she ever disregards her health for the sake of a relationship again, he would consider breaking up with her."

Thinking of Xu Xinnuan's gentle personality, Zhang Xinjie sighed softly, "How could the team's wife stand you saying this?"

"Yes, she cried a lot. She was already feeling unwell, and then she developed a high fever that didn't subside by the second day. Her throat was so sore that she couldn't swallow anything."

Zhang Xinjie suddenly remembered that there was a time when Han Wenqing asked him for recommendations for juice shops around the area, saying that Xu Xinnuan had a fever and a sore throat.

So that's what happened.

"Therefore, the captain believes that these two things are the same when it comes to handling relationships."

Han Wenqing said, "I won't pay excessive attention to or criticize people I don't care about. Think about it, is that how you treat Shen Ning?"

Is this what they mean by "the deeper the love, the harsher the criticism"?

Zhang Xinjie turned his gaze to the window, trying to sort out what he had always been unable to grasp.

His principles and way of doing things have always been based on extremely rational cause-and-effect logic.

Why do it?

What will be the result after it's done?

Only when these two factors are in place can specific actions be taken, post-event analysis and review be conducted, and scientific adjustments be made.

But he wasn't sure about his feelings for Shen Ning.

Why has this uncontrollable attention arisen? Is it simply because she is outstanding? Zhang Xinjie believes not.

How can one envision the future outcome if the beginning is uncertain?

"Captain, you know I never do things I don't understand."

Han Wenqing, who has been through it all, said, "Sometimes you just can't figure out things when it comes to relationships."

"Then let's keep thinking until we figure it out." Zhang Xinjie looked directly at Han Wenqing and said very solemnly, "Captain, don't worry, I won't let my own affairs affect the team or the competition. What happened today was my dereliction of duty, and my bonus for this quarter will be deducted."

This is not a big deal, and in fact it has not caused any negative impact. It is unreasonable to deduct a quarter's bonus directly.

But Han Wenqing knew that he couldn't change Zhang Xinjie's decision.

He tacitly approved of this self-punishment, and finally said, "You're not someone who'll be confined by frameworks. Step outside and see things from a different perspective, and maybe you'll understand."

Zhang Xinjie nodded, then left the room and went to the training room to begin the planned schedule.

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