The Gentle Cocoon

"Hello?" Shen Zhiyi's voice came through, sweet and clear with a trace of barely concealed excitement. The background was quiet; she was probably in her dorm room.

"What are you doing?" Zhao Chen's voice unconsciously softened. He leaned against the cold glass window, his gaze falling on the dazzling nightscape outside.

"I just got back from the library with Shuhua and the others. We're about to grab something to eat."

Shen Zhiyi spoke lightly. "What about you? Have you been busy all day? We all saw the news... You..."

She paused, seeming unsure how to ask, afraid of touching on his difficulties.

"Mm, I just finished up."

Hearing the caution in her voice, the tightly drawn string in Zhao Chen's heart loosened a little more. "I am a bit tired, but it's alright. The situation's temporarily under control."

"That's good..." Shen Zhiyi clearly breathed a sigh of relief, then sounded a little concerned.

"Have you eaten? Don't focus only on work. You still need to eat on time."

"Not yet. I was just about to go."

Zhao Chen went along with her, the corners of his lips lifting slightly. "Why do you sound like my mom?"

Shen Zhiyi's soft, reproachful voice came from the other end of the line.

"Who sounds like your mom? This is... this is normal concern between classmates!"

There was a hint of shy irritation in her voice, but it only made her sound more intimate.

"Alright, alright. Normal concern." Zhao Chen chuckled softly, his voice carrying a magnetic vibration through the phone. "Then may I ask this classmate who cares so much about me, what exactly did you have for your 'casual' dinner tonight?"

"Just rice noodles from the cafeteria, with a fried egg."

Shen Zhiyi answered honestly, then asked in return, "What about you, Chairman Zhao? What grand feast is the imperial kitchen serving you tonight?"

"Even a chairman has to eat rice noodles." Zhao Chen deliberately sighed. "I might not even get a fried egg."

"That bad?" Shen Zhiyi laughed, her voice like the clear chime of a bell. "Then should I mail you a serving of our cafeteria's rice noodles? I guarantee double fried eggs!"

The two of them chatted idly like that, their topics utterly meaningless. They went from the cafeteria's rice noodles to the possibility of colder weather next week, to whatever joke Zhou Xiaowen had made today, to Chen Shuhua's professional analysis of Henglong's announcement...

They did not touch on any heavy company affairs, only the most ordinary campus life and the trivial, boring things young people shared with each other.

Yet it was precisely this sort of pressure-free "nonsense" that, like a gentle stream, quietly washed through Zhao Chen's mind, which had been filled with numbers, reports, and battles of human hearts.

He could imagine the faint smile in her eyes as she said those things, perhaps with her fingers unconsciously curling around the ends of her hair.

His exhaustion slowly faded amid the relaxed conversation, replaced by a quiet warmth.

He could even hear the faint sounds of her roommates fooling around on the other end, along with Zhou Xiaowen asking loudly, "Who is Zhiyi talking to? Why are you smiling so sweetly?"

Then came her hurried, lowered-voice denial and a smiling, "Stop it."

A real, vivid sense of life traveled to him through the radio waves.

The call lasted nearly twenty minutes, until Li Jing's voice came from Shen Zhiyi's side, urging her to go wash up. Only then did the two reluctantly end the call.

"Go wash up." Zhao Chen's voice was gentler than ever. "Remember to use hot water. Don't be greedy for the cold."

"Got it. You should hurry up and eat too!" Shen Zhiyi reminded him. "No matter how busy you are, you have to eat!"

"Mm, I'll listen to you."

After hanging up, Zhao Chen turned around and discovered that Su Wantang had somehow come to stand nearby. She held his coat in her hands and had been quietly waiting, a knowing yet gentle smile on her face.

"Finished?" She walked over and handed him his coat. "It was Zhiyi, right? She sounds like a good girl."

Zhao Chen took the coat without denying it, the tips of his ears warming slightly. "Mm. Let's go. Shall we eat back home, or...?"

"Let's go home. I made soup this afternoon. We can heat it up when we get back. It'll be good for your stomach."

Su Wantang's voice was soft, carrying the certainty of home. "You must have spent a lot of energy again. Have some soup, then get some rest."

The two walked out of the office side by side. Only a few emergency lights remained on in the hallway.

As the elevator descended, Su Wantang hesitated for a moment before speaking softly.

"From now on... if you work too late, call me, and I'll come pick you up. Or... I don't really have anything to do during the day, so I can bring you meals. Eating out all the time isn't healthy."

Zhao Chen turned to look at her. Under the lights, her profile was soft yet resolute.

"Wouldn't that be too much trouble for you?" he asked.

"It's not trouble." Su Wantang shook her head. Her voice was quiet, but left no room for doubt. "Someone has to take care of these things at home. Just focus on your work."

The elevator reached the underground parking garage, and the doors opened.

As he got into Su Wantang's understated sedan, a warm breath of air washed over him.

She started the car with practiced ease, drove out of the garage, and merged into Shan City's still-bustling nighttime traffic.

Zhao Chen leaned against the Front Passenger Seat's chair back and closed his eyes.

Just then, his phone buzzed softly. He opened it to find a photo from Shen Zhiyi—a steaming bowl of rice noodles, topped, sure enough, with two golden fried eggs.

The caption read: "I ate it for you—double portion! (smug emoji)"

He couldn't help smiling. He saved the photo and replied with an emoji of ruffling her hair.

The car drove smoothly onward, soothing classical music flowing from the stereo.