Zhang Shutong hung up the phone, and the weight on his heart finally lifted.
He stood quietly by the window. The sky had completely darkened, and the moon hung high in the air.
He could actually see the moon today; he had almost forgotten what it looked like.
He held the medicine bottle in one hand, like he was holding a wine glass, and clinked it against the moon from afar.
Unfortunately, Sailor Moon wasn't real.
Zhang Shutong didn't draw much energy from the moonlight and just wanted to sit back down and rest for a while.
Returning to the sofa in the hospital room, Zhang Shutong covered himself with the down jacket, and his eyelids started to droop again.
The news that Teacher Song was out of danger had invigorated him, but the effect of this shot of adrenaline didn't last long. Or rather, it was precisely this news that made him finally relax.
Zhang Shutong thought of the story of Bi Gan's heart being gouged out. Vegetables can live without a heart, but what about people? The answer, of course, is death. As expected, the old man died immediately after hearing the news.
Although Zhang Shutong wasn't about to die, once the tension in his heart was gone, he felt like every cell in his body was sending out an SOS signal.
Now his brain was sending an emergency command for him to sleep—the kind of sleep where an alarm clock wouldn't even wake him up. Zhang Shutong's head slowly drooped, then lifted again. He was so sleepy that he couldn't help himself. In his desperation, he quickly called for the nurse...
The young nurse rushed over, thinking he was having some kind of adverse reaction.
"What do I do? I keep wanting to sleep," Zhang Shutong said, fighting with his eyelids.
"Then sleep," the young nurse said curtly. "There's a component in your medicine that makes you sleepy. Isn't it normal to want to sleep? Can you go against objective laws?"
"But I don't want to sleep," Zhang Shutong said listlessly. "Is there anything to help me perk up?"
The young nurse was amused:
"Do you smoke?"
"No."
"Then there's nothing I can do." She thought for a moment. "You're quite handsome. Do you have a girlfriend? Have a long phone call with her."
Zhang Shutong looked even more dejected at the words.
"Please, please, I already have a fever; don't stab me again, okay?"
"Is there really nothing?"
"Really nothing." It was the first time the young nurse had encountered such a strange request. "Even if you wanted to study with a head hanging from a beam, you don't have the conditions for it here."
Zhang Shutong nodded and continued to fight with his eyelids.
Half-asleep, he felt someone sitting next to him. Zhang Shutong thought it was the big brother who played "Elopement" returning, but a hand reached out in front of him:
"Want some? I'll share."
The young nurse offered him a handful of sunflower seeds.
Zhang Shutong shook his head.
"Look at you. I found something to help you perk up, and you don't want it." The young nurse pretended to be angry.
"My hands are tied." Zhang Shutong explained.
"Then put them on your clothes." The other person sprinkled a handful of sunflower seeds on Gu Qiumian's down jacket. "Put the shells on there too. Just throw them away when you leave."
Zhang Shutong didn't want to get her clothes dirty, but the sunflower seeds were already there, so he picked one up and started cracking it. It tasted like sunflower seeds... a sign that his mind was indeed fuzzy. What else would a sunflower seed taste like?
"Thanks." It was nice to chat with someone; it helped to lift his spirits. "Aren't you on duty?"
"Of course, I am," the young nurse said cheerfully, cracking sunflower seeds and crossing her legs. "I'm on duty right now. The chair in the pharmacy is too hard."
As expected of the small island, the hospital was wild, and the nurses were wild. But he wasn't much better himself; as a patient, he was also quite wild.
"What's with that look?" The young nurse switched which leg was crossed. "You're the only one left. Don't report me, for the sake of the sunflower seeds."
He looked up and around, only to realize that the entire hospital room was empty, with only him sitting on the sofa.
"It's almost 10 p.m. now. Except for emergency patients, who doesn't go home at this hour?" the young nurse added.
She was also a carefree person. After speaking, she realized it wasn't appropriate and apologized, "I didn't mean you. It's just that on our island, no one gets an IV drip this late."
"About what time will I be able to remove the needle?"
"Around 11 p.m., I guess. What, are you planning to leave halfway through? And come back tomorrow?"
Zhang Shutong shook his head and said no. He was thinking that he would remove the needle and rush to the villa, and the timing would be just right.
"You're quite strange. When I was a student and got sick, I'd wish for a shot to make me better quickly, so I could sleep and wake up with nothing wrong. Why are you so determined to hold on?"
"I have something to do later." Zhang Shutong said absently.
"Oh, please." The young nurse laughed. "I'd believe you if you were in the city, but where can you go on our island?"
"It's not for fun; I'm going to look for someone." Zhang Shutong said a little more, having eaten her sunflower seeds.
"Looking for a girl, this late?"
"How did you guess?"
"A woman's intuition is always sharp. So, is it?"
"Something like that."
"What do you mean, 'something like that'?"
"'Something like that' means I'm just going to her house, but I'm not going to see her." Zhang Shutong said, using words that even he found obscure.
"Is this some kind of cheesy romance movie? Did you make that girl sad?" The two were communicating on completely different wavelengths.
"I don't know."
"Then you did." The young nurse finished her own sunflower seeds and grabbed a handful from his down jacket. "You boys are just like this. You do something that makes a person sad or angry, and you don't even realize it yourself."
"Maybe." Zhang Shutong yawned lightly. "But I don't care about that right now."
"Then why are you still looking for her? Aren't you trying to win her heart back?"
This young nurse wasn't old. Her eyes widened, and she was already treating Zhang Shutong as a fun distraction for her night shift.
"I'm trying to save her life."
Zhang Shutong said casually.
The content was ridiculous, but it didn't sound like a joke. His face wasn't looking good right now, and in her eyes, he really seemed a bit cold, especially since he liked to wear black and hadn't let go of his phone since he sat down, as if he were on some kind of secret mission and just happened to come to this small hospital for an IV drip.
The young nurse stared at him blankly for two seconds before bursting out laughing:
"You look so cold and serious, but you're so glib. Stop the nonsense. With society getting safer and safer, whose girl's life needs you to save?"
Zhang Shutong was stabbed again.
He had originally planned to save her life, of course.
Zhang Shutong thought.
But what could he do since her dad was back?
"I'm not kidding with you. I see you're always looking at your phone. Are you waiting for a message from her?" the young nurse asked again.
Zhang Shutong nodded. The two were communicating on different wavelengths again.
The young nurse advised him again:
"I think you shouldn't mention abstract things like 'saving a life' anymore. If you want to win a girl back, be more practical. Talking about those fake, grand things, like 'I want to save your life' or 'I want to protect your safety,' is too big and empty, just like tonight's moon. It's beautiful, right? But you can't touch it even if you jump. It's more touching to take a walk with her at night. It's more important to protect her feelings than to protect her life."
"If you really want to protect her safety, then prove it with action. A million empty words are not as good as putting your arm around her when crossing the street. If you really care about her, then don't wait for a message anymore. A day of waiting is not as good as actively asking her how she's doing."
Zhang Shutong thought it made a lot of sense, but he wasn't talking about abstract things.
And he was almost led astray. He wasn't trying to win a girl back.
He was just too sleepy and wanted to find someone to talk to.
And your guess is the complete opposite! She doesn't think I'm talking nonsense; she just doesn't want to trouble me anymore.
But Zhang Shutong couldn't explain the details. He was grateful that she was willing to chat with him:
"I think I understand."
The young nurse asked again:
"To be honest, since you don't care what she thinks, why are you still looking for her?"
"It's not that I don't care; it's that I never know what she's thinking." Zhang Shutong said, showing a rare moment of powerlessness. "I thought I understood before, but I didn't."
"You can't do anything about that. There really are girls who are hard to read. You just have to try harder."
"I've tried my best." Zhang Shutong said without hesitation. "It's just that the results weren't good."
"What do you mean?"
"Every time I try to do something, I always mess it up."
"What do you mean? What did you do to her?"
"I mean, I took her fishing, but she didn't like fishing. I took her to watch a movie at school, but we didn't finish it. We played all day, but it didn't seem like she had a good time. I tried to help solve a case, but it almost caused a misunderstanding. She asked me to watch a movie, but I left halfway through every time. I..." Zhang Shutong was listing them all off, but he paused here. "And when I finally got home, something happened to her again."
The young nurse was shocked:
"No way, little brother. Listen to me, please don't go looking for her. It'll be pointless. Go wash up and go to sleep. You're not just trying your best; you're trying your absolute best to mess things up!"
Zhang Shutong laughed when he heard this:
"I guess so."
She sighed:
"In that case, no one can help you. It's a good thing she doesn't hold grudges."
"She hasn't complained about me much."
"Then you go for it? It feels like you've already tried your best. Or maybe you should just sleep for a while. It's not too late to go find her tomorrow." The young nurse yawned. "Anyway, I can't hold on anymore. I'm leaving. Remember to call me when you need the IV changed."
Zhang Shutong gave a soft "mm."
As she left, she casually turned off the lights, leaving only one old wall lamp that flickered faintly.
The white paint on the wall was peeling. It was better when it was noisy because it would be a desolate emptiness once it became quiet.
Only Zhang Shutong was left in the hospital room. His head started to droop again, but it seemed God didn't want him to fall asleep, and his phone rang again.
Zhang Shutong looked up and saw that it wasn't a message from anyone, but a friend request.
He never added strangers on QQ, but this person was a little special because the note said:
"I'm Qiumian's best friend. It's an urgent matter about her. Please accept when you see this!"
Zhang Shutong instinctively frowned.
He didn't know why her best friend would contact him if something happened to Gu Qiumian.
He accepted, and the matter was indeed urgent. The other person sent a video call.
A girl with short hair appeared on the screen, smiling and showing her canine teeth:
"Hello, handsome, I thought you wouldn't accept."
"It's you." Zhang Shutong held the phone, suddenly realizing it was the little secretary.
"A fated meeting, huh."
"What's wrong with her?"
"You're always like this no matter who you talk to. Hey, aren't you curious how I know your QQ number?"
"If it's nothing, I'm hanging up." Zhang Shutong judged that he was being played. This was clearly a prank call.
"Don't hang up. I really have something to tell you." The other person said quickly. "Don't you want to know how Qiumian's day was?"
"No."
"If you really didn't, you would have hung up already, right? You hesitated, you wavered, you were shaken." She seemed to be declaring victory.
What a sharp person. Zhang Shutong sighed:
"Then just say it."
"Can you be a little nicer? I'm being nice here, comforting Qiumian and then coming to comfort you. At this time of night, don't look at the credit, at least look at the hard work!"
"Why were you comforting her?" Zhang Shutong asked, a rare curiosity in his voice.
The other person suddenly squinted her eyes:
"I say, brother, it's not fun to pretend to be dumb."
Zhang Shutong couldn't handle this kind of overly friendly girl, but he wanted to find something to perk himself up now, so he nodded, motioning for her to continue, treating it like a late-night radio show.
The host's first sentence was shocking:
"Did you take Qiumian's down jacket?"
"You know?" Zhang Shutong said strangely. For a moment, his sleepiness even floated away.
"So she found out and was unhappy, and that's why you comforted her?" Zhang Shutong asked incredulously.
"Ah, yes, yes, she found out you secretly took her down jacket and was very angry. She wants two to be returned, not just one. I'm here to ask you for money. What are you even talking about!" The little secretary wailed. "I'm telling you, did you really not notice? You can't be this dumb, right? Handsome, please, I beg you to recall what happened at the time, okay?"
Zhang Shutong didn't have the brain to recall. He thought, "You weren't even there at the time, girl. How do you know more than me, the person who was there?"
"Just get to the point."
"Get to what point? I wasn't there!" The other person sighed. "Forget it, I'll send you this. See for yourself."
His phone vibrated twice. Zhang Shutong really didn't have the energy to play guessing games with people. He made up his mind that if these two photos were still a mystery, he would hang up immediately.
He lowered his head and opened the pictures, as if he could see his recently recharged phone bill was about to hit rock bottom again.
The pictures were photos taken by a phone.
To be precise, they were photos of photos.
—A photo taken of a photo on another phone.
The surroundings must have been very dark when the photo was taken. The quality was blurry, but he could make out the content at a glance.
Because the first picture was something he had experienced.
He was inside the car, sitting in the driver's seat, half-turned.
Zhang Shutong remembered it. It was the time he was learning to drive. He awkwardly stalled the car, and Gu Qiumian seized the opportunity to take a candid shot of him.
He thought to himself, "What do you want by secretly taking a photo of your best friend and sending it to me?"
Did she think this was some kind of great discovery?
He would have asked what she meant before, but now he only wanted to quickly swipe to the second picture.
Zhang Shutong was stunned.
The first picture was of him, and the second one was also of him.
But this one was a little creepy.
The background was the villa's yard, and the time was early morning.
The perspective was from a room on the second floor.
He was in the center of the picture, wearing an ill-fitting down jacket, shoveling snow with his head down.
"So, what do you think?" the girl asked.
Zhang Shutong moved his gaze away from the screen and subconsciously asked:
"Where did you take this from?"
"From Qiumian's phone, of course! I went to her house to play today!"
He looked at the screen again. The picture clearly showed how short the down jacket was—it would reveal his waist as soon as he bent over, yet it was wrapped so tightly, reminding him of a Swiss roll.
The boy in the picture was covered in snow. This sorry scene was captured.
The photo was blurry. He didn't know if it was because she was in a hurry to take a candid shot... or if the photo was originally blurry because its owner's hand was shaking from laughter when she took it?
What was she thinking at that time?
"Why does she have this picture?" Zhang Shutong said in surprise.
The girl said:
"I don't know that. You should recall it yourself."
Zhang Shutong could clearly recall every detail of what happened that day.
It was December 7th, a completely different Friday.
He got up early from the guest room on the second floor and found that the heavy snow had buried the entire yard. Then he went downstairs and was called out by Teacher Song to shovel snow.
The snow had piled up so high that it almost covered a quarter of the fence. He shoveled a path from the main gate that was wide enough for a person to walk through.
If he remembered correctly, the photo was taken at this time.
But why?
Zhang Shutong clearly remembered that Gu Qiumian should have still been sleeping at that time.
Although he had knocked on her door earlier out of some kind of worry, and because he knew she had low blood sugar, he left after she slowly responded.
Shouldn't she have gone back to sleep?
"Haven't you figured it out yet?" the girl reminded him at the right time. "Do you really think she didn't know that you wore her jacket without saying a word?"
Whether Gu Qiumian knew or not was irrelevant. Zhang Shutong only had one question now:
"How do you know?"
"Of course, I know. I just asked her tonight. I wanted to borrow this down jacket, and she said she lent it to someone yesterday. At first, I didn't think much of it, but then I thought, wait a minute!
"I know all of Qiumian's female friends. No one came to visit her these past few days, so it must be someone else. Plus, I saw this picture in her photo album before, and I thought again, could it have been you?"
Her deduction was brilliant and breathtaking. The little secretary delivered the final blow:
"Sure enough, I made a video call to you, and you really were wearing it.
"But I'm not talking about you, senior. Can you not be so sloppy? Since you wore someone else's clothes, can you take better care of them? She lent it to you to keep you warm. Why are you using it to crack sunflower seeds?"
Zhang Shutong was a little embarrassed. He shook the down jacket and scattered the sunflower seed shells onto his leg:
"But you guessed one thing wrong." He explained. "It's not as complicated as you think. My teacher found it. He probably didn't even know whose clothes it was and just grabbed it when he saw it."
The little secretary was furious:
"I told you, you're just as muddled as if you had a fever. How would your teacher know where her down jacket is? Is he her nanny or her dad? Let me ask you again, where was she at the time?"
Zhang Shutong was about to say that she had gone upstairs at that time, but the words caught in his throat. He remembered that he had gone out to make a phone call, and she had gone upstairs after he came back.
"It could also be the nanny..."
"What nanny? How would a nanny lend clothes to someone without permission?" Xu Zhiruo said angrily. "I'm just trying to say, did you, a blockhead, not notice that Qiumian was the one who got you that down jacket?"
Zhang Shutong was choked up.
Because he really didn't notice.
Or rather, it seemed impossible.
Because she had already gone upstairs when he left. It was Teacher Song who picked up the down jacket from the sofa and handed it to him. Although he put the clothes back in the closet after shoveling the snow, he wasn't sure where Teacher Song had found it at the time.
Zhang Shutong could clearly remember every detail of that morning:
For example, Teacher Song saying that the snow was too heavy and school was canceled, and asking which they wanted to hear first, the good news or the bad news.
For example, Gu Qiumian was inexplicably cold that day. The nanny said that if she did something embarrassing the day before, she would deliberately put on a straight face the next day.
For example, he had promised not to hide anything from her anymore, but he still went to the mountain without saying a word.
For example, the car tires weren't delivered that day, and they were trapped in the villa. They could have spent a leisurely and quiet morning. The snow was very thick, making people shiver from the cold. Even the Doberman was eating in its kennel.
And for example, he still made a phone call to his mom for help. When he came back, Gu Qiumian had already gone upstairs.
And for example, when he returned to the room, he found that the TV was playing the unfinished movie from last night, but when he realized it, the living room was empty, and the person was gone.
Finally, he rushed out of the door with the down jacket on. He was only concerned with walking fast and didn't look back.
Zhang Shutong could clearly remember every detail, but these details strung together suddenly became something he couldn't understand. He finally realized that there had always been another layer hidden behind them.
And he had never noticed it.
The phone said again:
"Look at that picture again, in the bottom right corner!"
Zhang Shutong looked at the picture again. It turned out there were some doodles in the corner. First, a series of simple numbers, 1207. So it was the date of that day. He flipped back to the driving lesson picture, and it was there too.
December 7th, the third day.
And;
December 6th, the second day.
This seemed to be some kind of commemoration.
But Zhang Shutong didn't understand what it was commemorating.
He only knew that the day he became seatmates with Gu Qiumian was December 5th, the first day after the Rewind. Their relationship officially thawed.
But what did it mean to Gu Qiumian?
The only thing he could make out was a very ugly ghost face drawn in the corner of the picture. It was so ugly that Zhang Shutong was all too familiar with it. They looked like sheep or clouds and were the work of a young lady in a very good mood.
When she was in a good mood, she would breathe on the glass and use her fingers to create a bunch of messy lines. She called them sheep, but in Zhang Shutong's eyes, they always looked more like ghost faces.
So Zhang Shutong often teased her for ruining the glass, but now the ones being ruined were two photos of himself.
He looked at these two photos silently.
This was a girl who still used one finger to type. What was she thinking when she awkwardly drew those patterns?
He didn't know.
Zhang Shutong only knew that on that day, a girl got up early. With an unknown feeling, she pulled back the curtains and saw the vast white snow, the silent wilderness, and a small black figure on the white snow. She smiled and pulled the curtains shut again, then fumbled to find her phone and took a photo from a crack, laughing as she did so.
This photo was left on her phone without Zhang Shutong's knowledge, and she wrote a series of numbers. What was she commemorating? And what kind of mood was she in when she drew a ghost face on the phone screen?
Many people are like raindrops on the glass of your life. The raindrops can be big or small, they can pour down, or they can form lines, but they always disappear in a flash.
But are some people the mist left on the glass?
Making it hard to see, but also hard to wipe away?
In the end, he still broke his promise.
He left the house alone that morning, leaving her in that villa, and he was doing the same thing tonight.
That building was like a palace. The lights were on even at night, but Zhang Shutong also knew that it was the most secluded place on the entire island. No matter what, they couldn't see the city lights.
There were always countless reasons: because it was dangerous, he couldn't take her; because it was important, he couldn't tell her. These reasons were all valid...
But what would the person who was always being kept in the dark think?
He didn't even say goodbye when he left that day, did he?
He wanted to save the goodbyes for next time because he didn't know how to say them, but there isn't always a next time.
Zhang Shutong finally felt a deep sense of fatigue.
He had successfully messed up another thing.
Life wasn't a case. Even if you successfully found all the clues, it was difficult to reach the right answer.
"Have you finally figured it out?" the girl said coldly at this moment. "Qiumian said I was wrong about you, but you don't really think that sending a few painless greetings on QQ counts as caring, do you?
"Anyone can do that. There are so many people who have a crush on her. A bunch of boys are willing, but they can't even get her contact information. Besides, do you think you're so funny and witty, or something? You're not the type to make a girl happy. You're as cold as a block of ice. Do you know that..."
"I know."
"You know what?"
Zhang Shutong said in a low voice:
"I actually haven't tried my best yet."
"Oh, senior, what do you mean, 'tried your best'? Are you telling a cold joke? I've already comforted Qiumian. She's completely let it go. What's the point of saying you'll try your best now? Stop bothering her, okay? Go on, try your best to send her a message asking, 'How are you?' Save your data fees. Besides, she has bodyguards and her dad at home. What else do you need to do..."
But before she could finish, she was interrupted by the other person.
"That's not what I mean by 'tried my best.' You don't understand."
"What don't I understand... Hey, hey, what are you doing?"
She saw the other person raise his hand. She followed his gaze and realized he was pulling out the needle from his arm. Only then did she notice that he seemed to be in the hospital, getting an IV drip.
His voice was very low, but it became powerful and resolute:
"I'm saying you don't understand what I mean by 'I haven't tried my best,' and you don't understand what I'm doing. But it doesn't matter. It's enough that I understand."
It was as if he had suddenly become a different person. He became colder, but also more determined.
The phone's perspective lifted. Xu Zhiruo met Zhang Shutong's pair of pitch-black eyes.
The other person had already pulled out the needle. He pulled it out abruptly, which made her gasp. But the other person smiled at her:
"Thank you. I've already messed up so many things. I can't mess this up again."
He added:
"I'm hanging up now. I need one hand to press on the vein, or I'll have to get a shot in my foot tomorrow."
Then he turned off his phone.
Zhang Shutong finally understood what he had been waiting for.
All the talk of perseverance, of giving an account, of arrogance, were all lies.
He was just hesitating.
Since her father was here, he shouldn't be the one to take care of this matter.
Why?
It was nothing more than being calculative.
Calculating who should be in charge of this matter. Since there was a more powerful person in charge, didn't that mean he was no longer needed?
The ridiculous thing was that in the end, he retreated because of this calculation.
The saddest thing in life is to deceive yourself.
People are always troubled by the question of whether it's worth it, but why consider so much? Whether the girl is silly or smart, whether he'll be seen as a lunatic, whether she trusts him... these were never things he should be considering.
He should be considering how to get that girl out of the villa, whether it's by moving her with emotion, reasoning with her, or even kidnapping her, he absolutely couldn't let her stay in the villa, in that room on the second floor, tonight.
His condition wasn't great now. His head was heavy, his body was cold, and his skill in pulling out the needle was far from that of a professional. Now, beads of blood were seeping from his skin. If he could, he would really want to fall asleep and not wake up.
But had he really tried his best?
No, not yet.
His motorcycle still had gas, his body could still move, and his brain was still functioning.
If that's the case, why did he have to wait until midnight to circle the villa?
Zhang Shutong just didn't want to see that silver hair pendant fall to the ground. That would make him regret it.
What opportunity should be left for midnight? He rubbed his face and forcefully put a bandage on the wound. The opportunity was always right now.
It was 10 p.m. now. He still had two hours to get Gu Qiumian out of the villa.
Zhang Shutong started running again.
He had long legs, so he ran fast, taking a few strides to get out of the hospital room. The young nurse rushed over upon hearing the commotion:
"Hey, hey, what's wrong? What's going on? Why did you run away again?"
"Sorry, I'm going to win that girl back!" Zhang Shutong yelled. His voice echoed in the empty hospital room. "Although I'll have to trouble you to give me another shot tomorrow, a man can't always talk empty words..."
The young nurse was anxious and angry behind him, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, but Zhang Shutong had no time to explain.
He ran down the stairs quickly, holding the black down jacket in his hand. He got on the bike, and with his other hand, he opened his contacts, found Gu Qiumian's number, which he hadn't called for twenty-four hours, and was about to dial;
However.
A call came in at the same time.
It was Gu Qiumian's.
Zhang Shutong's heart suddenly constricted.
An ominous feeling welled up in his heart.
As if he were about to receive some kind of bad news.
...
But to his surprise—
"Are you still outside, running around on a motorcycle?"
Zhang Shutong stood still and subconsciously looked back.
"Why are you so stupid! Didn't I tell you I was fine, fine! If I hadn't called, would you have planned to keep lying to me, riding a bike all night until midnight, and then collapsing somewhere with a fever?
"Didn't I tell you countless times before to go home and rest! Don't hide things from me! Why won't you listen!"
"I..." Zhang Shutong felt that Gu Qiumian and her best friends had some kind of special ability. How did they know where he was?
"You've wanted to take me away ever since that day, as if something would happen as long as I stayed at home, but no matter how many times I asked, you wouldn't say anything!"
"Calm down. Listen to me explain..."
"But I don't want to be calm, I don't want to be rational, and I don't want to listen to you explain!"
For some reason, her voice was trembling. Her hot breath seemed to cross the phone and come to his end:
"Come pick me up. I'll go with you right now!"