Her silhouette against the windows reminded me of another day, when she stood gazing out on the lush green of Yangmingshan from my now-abandoned home. The 101’s neon blue exterior told me it was Friday. I’d been out cold for three days.

“What have I done that makes you think I’m so horrible?” She whipped around, stalking back to the bed. Her movements were bold, but her voice betrayed her hurt. “You say you don’t know me, but you seem to have made plenty of assumptions already.”

I drew a ragged breath. She was right. I had judged her before I had ever met her, simply because she was you. But no matter how much she cared, did it matter when her perspective was from a place of distance and comfort that her tremendous wealth afforded her?

“I understand you want to help the meis, but—”

“I’m beginning to see more, Jason,” Daiyu said. “And I’m here because I was worried about you. Is that so hard to believe?”

“It’s foolish to risk getting sick.” I swallowed. “We barely met.”

“I know you better than you knew that stranger you tried to save in Liberty Square.”

I blinked, caught off guard. “That’s different.”

“How so?”

In too many ways I didn’t want to explain, all of which would expose my true self and past to her. My Vox beeped, and I answered it, relieved to be interrupted. Lingyi’s small face peered at me from the screen. “Zhou! We’ve been—”

“I’m fine now,” I cut Lingyi off, then moved so she could see Daiyu over my shoulder. “I’ve got a guest.”

Lingyi clamped her mouth shut and stared at me. I could only imagine what I looked like and ran a hand through my hair. The ends stuck up. “Okay,” she said. “Call me later.” Lingyi broke our connection.

“New girlfriend?” Daiyu spoke in such a casual tone that I slanted my head, but her glass helmet only reflected the blue neon of the building.

Instead of answering her question, I said, “I really need to use the bathroom.”

She leaned over the side of the bed, then tossed my boxers onto the sheets. I probably looked stricken, because she said, “I didn’t undress you, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

I rolled to the other edge of the bed and pulled my boxers on, not bothering to cover my backside, too frustrated for modesty. I had the vague notion of tugging off my clothes in fever dreams, so hot it felt like the material burned my skin. Not a dream, then. My first step was unsteady.

“I’ve made rice porridge,” Daiyu said. “I thought you might be hungry.”