The reason why Director Sun and President Liu weren’t raining terror down on the office right now was precisely because Fei’er had already given them both excuses that the Director was terribly busy, so sorry he can’t call, and because they trusted Fei’er a fair amount. She didn’t have that kind of repertoire with Liu Xingyu. “Of course. He’s just a bit under the weather, that’s all. He’s trying not to take too many calls.”

“Under the weather? Did he call in sick?”

Maybe Fei’er shouldn’t have said that. She just wanted to get Liu Xingyu off her back. “Sir, do you want to leave a message?”

“Fuck. No, forget it.” He hung up without saying goodbye.

Huang Fei’er looked at the clock. It was two in the afternoon. She tried calling the Director again.

“Hello, this is Liu Xiaokai…”

She sighed and put the phone back on the receiver. She was calling about every hour—she didn’t want to overwhelm him, but she really was worried. He usually sent a message by now.

At three, she called again.

At four.

Then at five—he finally picked up. He was groggy and his voice slurred as he spoke to her.

“Meimei. Is everything okay?”

“Director! I was worried about you.”

“I’m…sorry.” There were some sounds on the other line. Fei’er could picture him sitting up in bed, rubbing his eyes. She wanted to go to him and make him tea or something. Give him a hug, even if she’d never done that before. “I didn’t feel well enough to come into work. I should have called.”

“Oh, don’t be sorry. I’m just glad to hear your voice. Is there anything you need?”

The Director let out a soft groan. “Mn…Send Mr. He to the hotel.”

“Should I come too? I can bring food or drinks or—”

“Stay there and make sure everything is still operating as it should. I’m depending on you.”

Her heart hurt. “Yes, sir.”

“Thank you, Meimei.”

“Oh—I told Director Sun and President Liu that you were busy. And your b—Mr. Liu Xingyu called as well, looking for you.”

“Thank you, Meimei. You’re very dependable.”

“I’ll send Driver He to you right away. Are you coming to the office?”

“Yes, I’ll come in for appearances, but I probably can’t stay long.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll see you soon.”

“En. Bye, Meimei.”

He called Sun Yue right afterward, told her everything was fine and she accepted it without much of a fight. Then he called Xingyu, who had left about a dozen missed calls and half a dozen voicemails that Xiaokai deleted without bothering to listen to.

“Xiao-Xiao!”

Xiaokai finished washing his face and grimaced at his phone.

“Where have you been?”

“Busy.”

“Busy doing what?”

“Is Weiran there?”

“Is Wei—why are you asking about Weiran?”