"I'm a bit hungry."
"Want some more?"
"I meant my stomach is hungry."
"Do you want me to make you some hot and sour soup, or should we order room service?"
"Hot and sour soup sounds good, but do we have enough ingredients in the kitchen? Maybe we should just have them send up some snacks."
Xu Xiuhe nodded and made a call to place the order.
In the Tibetan City, after several days of travel, Shu Yi's body was starting to feel the effects. They had spent two days there, visiting temples, burning incense, and making wishes.
Shu Yi's wish was simple - for her family and friends to be happy and free from worries.
Chang Zhiyuan's wish was even simpler - to win Shu Yi's heart.
He had prayed to every Buddha and deity he had ever heard of or seen.
"Why did you pray to so many? What did you ask for?" Shu Yi had never seen Chang Zhiyuan so devout before. She even began to wonder if he was a fervent Buddhist.
"I didn't ask for much, just one thing - to marry you."
Shu Yi was speechless.
She wished she hadn't asked.
"Aren't you going to ask why I prayed to so many?"
Shu Yi had been so distracted by his previous answer that she'd almost forgotten her first question, which he hadn't answered yet.
"Are you religious?"
"If they grant my wish, I can eat vegetarian for a week, but I can't give up sex or meat completely."
"Unbelievable," Shu Yi couldn't help but laugh, her comedic nature shining through.
Chang Zhiyuan was pleased to see her smile.
"I had to pray to each one because I don't know which ones are real. What if I have bad luck and all the ones I prayed to are fake? That would be terrible. Also, what if there's a real one that I missed, and it gets jealous and sabotages me? That would be even worse."
"Your logic is quite impressive, I must say."
Shu Yi gave him a thumbs up.
"Since I'm so impressive, when will you agree to be with me?"
Shu Yi fell silent again.
The past few days had been fine, but now she could feel that her body wasn't doing well. Usually, her health was quite good, especially compared to other actors in the industry. She had always considered herself quite disciplined in her lifestyle.
She had been confident that she wouldn't suffer from altitude sickness. But since yesterday, her body had started showing some symptoms.
Loss of appetite, shortness of breath, and insomnia at night - she had looked it up online and found out it was mild altitude sickness.
Out of pride, she hadn't told Chang Zhiyuan about it.
"What's wrong with you these past two days? You look pale. Are you tired, or is it altitude sickness?"
"Maybe a bit of altitude sickness, but it's not serious."
That evening at the hotel, there were plenty of rooms available, so Chang Zhiyuan had no excuse to linger in Shu Yi's room.
Shu Yi's condition was worsening, and after catching a chill in the night, she even developed a headache.
Sneezing occasionally, she felt even worse than if she had a fever.
There was a knock at the door. Shu Yi knew it was Chang Zhiyuan without looking. She didn't want to get up, preferring to lie still in bed.
"Shu Yueru! Shu Yueru! Open the door!"
Chang Zhiyuan called out several times and started banging on the door.
Shu Yi weakly got up to open it.
"What's going on? Shu Yueru, are you feeling unwell? Is it altitude sickness?"
Shu Yi frowned. She was genuinely unwell, but Chang Zhiyuan's expression made it seem like she was on her deathbed. What was that all about?
"I'm not dead yet," she muttered.
"You're still joking around? Look at how pale you are. I'm taking you to the hospital right now."
Chang Zhiyuan scooped Shu Yi up in his arms, grumbling as he carried her, "You're so thin, why did you insist on coming here? Altitude sickness is no joke, it can be life-threatening if not treated properly."
As he said this, Chang Zhiyuan himself started to worry.
He drove Shu Yi to the nearest hospital.
The hospital was full of people on oxygen, receiving IV drips.
Upon hearing about another case of altitude sickness, the doctor immediately put Shu Yi on oxygen, as if it were a routine procedure.
Indeed, beautiful places often come with their own dangers. The Tibetan City was breathtaking, but not without its risks.
Chang Zhiyuan looked at the hospital's medical facilities with disdain.
"Damn, it's so shabby," he thought, "It's like a roadside clinic in Rong City, run-down and overcrowded."
Seeing Shu Yi on oxygen, he finally relaxed a bit and stepped outside to make a phone call.
"Sis."
"Now you remember me? Spit it out, what do you want? You don't call unless you need something. Last time, you even dared to hang up on your sister before I finished talking. You've really grown up, haven't you? Thinking you're all that."
"Sis, I'm calling because there's a real problem. Shu Yi, the girl I'm pursuing, she's got altitude sickness. It seems pretty serious."
"Oh no, what should we do? Has she seen a doctor?"
Chang Ningjing's voice on the other end of the line suddenly filled with concern.
