July 25th was He Zechuan’s birthday. According to past years’ practice, as long as Ruan Mian wasn’t busy, she would attend his birthday gathering.

He had good social connections. Back in school, his birthday parties could draw over twenty people. After graduation, that group of people scattered across the country, and the annual birthday gatherings were left with only those few who stayed in B City. This year was no exception.

Ruan Mian had received the location for this year’s gathering a week in advance. It was an old restaurant near Q University with Southern-style cuisine. When they were still studying at the same school, they used to go there often to treat themselves to better food.

On the 24th, ten minutes before getting off work in the evening, Ruan Mian went into surgery with Meng Fuping. She didn’t leave the hospital until almost eight o’clock. It was still over an hour’s drive from the hospital to the restaurant. She couldn’t make it to the dinner, so she went directly to the KTV where they had moved to continue the celebration.

Rushing all the way, by the time she arrived it was almost eleven o’clock. Ruan Mian came from the parking lot. He Zechuan received her message and came downstairs early to wait for her at the entrance.

From far away, Ruan Mian saw him standing there smoking. She quickened her pace, her tone carrying a hint of laughter: “Sorry about that, General He.”

He Zechuan stubbed out the cigarette in his hand, not minding her tardiness. “Let’s go. They’ve already started having fun upstairs.”

Ruan Mian walked inside shoulder to shoulder with him. “Who all came this year?”

“Still the same group from last year.” He Zechuan pressed the elevator button and, seeing her empty-handed, joked: “Where’s my gift?”

“Ah!” Ruan Mian slapped her forehead. “I was so focused on replying to your message that I left the gift in the car. I’ll go get it.”

He Zechuan grabbed her arm, pulled her back, then let go. “Forget it. When we’re done later, I’ll go with you to get it. Let’s go up first for now.”

“Alright then.”

The private room was on the second floor. The entire hallway was filled with the noise of people singing loudly off-key. He Zechuan brought Ruan Mian inside. The room was full of old friends, so there was no need to be formal. They stood up to greet her, then sat back down to continue playing.

Ruan Mian sat on the sofa next to He Zechuan chatting. After a while, another card game started up, and the two of them were called over to make up the numbers.

After playing noisily for about half an hour, Ruan Mian’s phone on the table lit up. She glanced at the caller ID, grabbed her phone and shoved her cards at someone next to her who was watching the fun. “Lin Li, play a round for me. I’m going out to take a call.”

“Got it.”

He Zechuan watched her walk out, then turned his attention back to the cards in his hand. Thinking of the name he had just seen, he felt somewhat distracted.

……

The call was from Chen Yi. During this period, he had gone to the southwest for training exercises again. Normally, he only had time in the evenings, but he couldn’t get his phone every day either—contact was very random.

Hearing the noise on Ruan Mian’s end, he asked: “Are you out?”

“Yeah, a friend’s birthday.” Ruan Mian walked around the hallway and went to the restroom area, where the surrounding sounds were much quieter. “I got off work late and missed the dinner. I’m at the KTV now waiting for midnight to celebrate with him.”

Chen Yi didn’t ask too much about which friend it was. He took the phone away to check the time, then brought it back to his ear and said: “I can still chat for ten minutes.”

Once there was a limit, everything became doubly precious. After they finished chatting for those ten minutes, Ruan Mian was reluctant to hang up and kept asking random questions here and there.

“Is it cold where you are?”

“It’s summer right now.”

“…” After a few seconds, she asked again: “Don’t you have training at night?”

“No.”

“Isn’t Shen Yu with you?”

“He’s in the second squad.”

“Oh.” Ruan Mian sighed.

Chen Yi sensed her thoughts and said in a low voice: “Aren’t you celebrating a friend’s birthday? It’s already fifty-five past. If you don’t go back soon, midnight will pass.”

Ruan Mian made an affirming sound and walked toward the private room entrance. “Then I’ll hang up first.”

“Go ahead.”

After hanging up, Ruan Mian re-entered the private room. The earlier card game had dispersed, and several tables had been pushed together and placed in the middle.

Seeing her return, He Zechuan asked casually: “Boyfriend checking in on you?”

In these two months, Ruan Mian had rarely been in contact with He Zechuan. Occasionally, he would send her a few links about games and the internet, and she would forward a few medical wellness articles from public accounts to him. They didn’t chat often. She had only briefly mentioned being in a relationship before and hadn’t discussed it in detail.

Now she didn’t deny that it was Chen Yi who had called. Hearing this, He Zechuan smiled: “Why didn’t you chat longer then?”

Ruan Mian: “Isn’t it all for celebrating with you at midnight?”

“Alright, I’ll give you an extra piece of cake later.”

“…”

As soon as midnight arrived, the lights in the private room went out. Lin Li and the others pushed in the cake cart from outside while singing the birthday song. Ruan Mian, remembering the lessons from previous times celebrating He Zechuan’s birthday, moved a few steps to the side.

The process was much the same. After making a wish and blowing out the candles, before He Zechuan could say anything else, someone pressed his head into the cake.

The private room erupted in chaos. After it finally settled down, the group sat together and took a group photo.

By the time they dispersed, it was already past midnight. After seeing off his friends, He Zechuan followed Ruan Mian to her car to get his gift—a pair of limited edition sneakers.

He sat in the passenger seat, opened the gift, and thanked her half-heartedly: “You shouldn’t have, Boss Ruan.”

“Mm, you’re welcome.” Ruan Mian was looking down at the group photo they had taken earlier. After viewing it, she selected the clearest one and posted it to her social media.

—Wishing Classmate He a happy 28th birthday [cake emoji]

—[Image]

The first to like it was He Zechuan. Ruan Mian refreshed, and her feed was full of birthday posts for He Zechuan from the friends who had gathered tonight.

She liked each one, then turned off the screen and placed her phone aside. “Did you drive? If not, I’ll take you home.”

“No need, you go back. I called my driver to come.” He Zechuan put away his gift. “I’m leaving. Be safe on the road.”

“Okay.” Ruan Mian smiled as she watched him get out of the car. While staring at his back, she noticed that tonight he was wearing a somewhat formal shirt and dress pants. Compared to his usual sweatpants and T-shirt combination, he looked much more mature. Those sneakers seemed somewhat out of place with who he was now.

However, Ruan Mian didn’t think much of it. She soon drove away from there. By the time she got home, it was already two in the morning. Taking her phone upstairs, she saw that Chen Yi had liked that post half an hour ago.

She clicked on Chen Yi’s profile picture and sent him a message.

[Ruan Mian]: Are you asleep?

This message went out like a stone sinking into the sea. It wasn’t until a certain late night half a month later, when Ruan Mian was on duty, that she received his reply.

[CY]: Not yet.

Ruan Mian held back and held back, but still couldn’t help asking if he had just gotten network access. The next second, he called with a voice call and proactively explained: “My phone broke a while ago.”

She made an acknowledging sound.

Chen Yi asked: “Where are you now?”

“At the hospital, on duty.” Ruan Mian said: “Did you come back?”

“Mm, I’ll come find you in a bit.”

Ruan Mian instinctively looked up at the time on the corner of the desk, considered for a few seconds, and said: “It’s already very late. Why don’t you come find me tomorrow instead?”

Chen Yi’s tone was playful: “What, do I need to make an appointment in advance to see my girlfriend now?”

“That’s not what I meant.” Ruan Mian couldn’t explain clearly and gave up struggling. “Then come. When you arrive, I’ll come down to meet you.”

“Okay.”

Chen Yi arrived quickly—about half an hour. Ruan Mian went downstairs to bring him up. Passing by the nurses’ station, Chen Yi distributed part of the late-night snacks he had bought to the people at the nurses’ station, successfully earning a compliment: “Dr. Ruan, your boyfriend is so good to you. It’s so late and he still brought you food.”

Ruan Mian smiled and exchanged a few polite words, then brought him back to the duty room. “When did you get back?”

“Just arrived this evening.” Chen Yi placed what he was carrying at the corner of the desk, pulled over a stool and sat down beside her. “Eat something first.”

“Wait a moment. Let me finish writing this bit.” This month, the department’s paper quota wasn’t being met. Ruan Mian didn’t have much free time during the day, so she could only squeeze in time to write at night.

Chen Yi made an acknowledging sound and said methodically: “Then you write. I’ll feed you.”

“…”

These words startled Ruan Mian so much that her movements stuttered, and her hand accidentally hit the delete key, erasing most of the paragraph she had just written.

She forced herself to remain calm and pressed undo several times. In her mind, she imagined the scene he described. Even though nothing had happened yet, there were already signs of her face flushing and ears burning.

After a few seconds of silence, Ruan Mian looked up to meet his gaze and said seriously: “When I’m writing papers, I can’t really multitask.”

Chen Yi found her answer somewhat amusing but didn’t disturb her further. “You write. I’m going to the restroom.”

“Turn right when you go out and walk to the end.”

Taking advantage of the time he was out, Ruan Mian quickly wrapped up the remaining content.

The late-night snacks Chen Yi bought were relatively bland in flavor, and the combination was also quite mismatched—there was both Chinese-style congee and Japanese-style sushi.

Ruan Mian opened the congee first. After eating a few bites, Chen Yi pushed the door open and came in. Seeing her eating while still looking at the computer, he pulled out a tissue to wipe his hands and said: “Do doctors also eat so inattentively?”

“…”

For a moment, Ruan Mian really felt like she was seeing Ruan Mingke. She raised her hand to release the mouse. “No, I’m just checking for any typos.”

Chen Yi didn’t respond, but instead dragged his chair over to sit next to her, his tone brooking no argument: “Eat first. Work on it after you finish eating.”

“Oh.”

The two were sitting too close. Ruan Mian could even hear Chen Yi’s steady, low breathing. She buried her head and ate a little less than half a bowl of congee. As if unable to hold back any longer, she turned her head to look at him. “Don’t you want to eat something?”

Chen Yi sat sideways, his arm resting on the corner of the desk, his other hand placed on her chair’s armrest. The floor lamp beside them illuminated his features and contours clearly.

“I won’t eat.” He lowered his eyes slightly, pulling her chair closer to himself as he spoke, his voice low and gentle. “Though I could consider other things.”

His words and actions were both straightforward and ambiguous. Ruan Mian still couldn’t help but feel nervous, especially when meeting those eyes that she had once been unable to forget and had dreamed about countless times. She had so much affection that was indescribable and inexplicable.

Chen Yi lowered his head and nuzzled the tip of her nose, his eyelashes slightly lowered, the dense long lashes almost touching her face.

Just a little bit more.

An unexpected phone call broke this long-awaited romantic atmosphere. It was Ruan Mian’s phone. She snapped out of the mood, reaching over to pick up her phone.

Chen Yi still held her wrist, his fingertip against her pulse point, rubbing it intermittently. His gaze fell on the phone Ruan Mian had brought to her eyes.

The caller ID read: Mom.

He raised his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. The displeasure of having his moment interrupted dissipated completely. He stood up and went outside, leaving the space for her to take the call.

……

Ruan Mian hadn’t expected Fang Ruqing to call her at this hour. In the second before the ringtone ended, she swiped right to answer: “Mom?”

“Ah, I thought you were asleep.” Fang Ruqing sounded like she had just woken up, her voice carrying a hoarseness. “Why aren’t you asleep yet?”

Ruan Mian: “I’m on duty at the hospital. Why did you think to call me at this hour?”

“It’s nothing. I just dreamed about you while sleeping. When I woke up, I wanted to call you. I didn’t pay attention to the time.”

Ruan Mian felt a bit teary-eyed from this sudden warmth. “Then when I have a few days off, I’ll come back for a visit.”

“No need. It’s only the weekend, two days. That’s not even enough time for you to make the round trip.” Fang Ruqing didn’t say much else. After asking about her recent situation, she suddenly mentioned: “How are things going with that blind date of yours from before?”

Ruan Mian paused. Before she could figure out what to say, she heard Fang Ruqing continue: “Your father told me he’s in the military and quite busy with work. Do you two barely see each other?”

Ruan Mian made an affirming sound. “More or less.”

“If you two really can’t get along, don’t force it. Don’t just rush into something because I’m pressuring you to date.” Fang Ruqing sighed. “Your father too—before introducing you to a blind date, he could have at least told me in advance so I could help you assess the situation.”

Ruan Mian picked up on the subtext in her mother’s words and tentatively asked: “Mom, are you not very satisfied with Chen Yi?”

There were a few seconds of silence through the receiver. Fang Ruqing was brief and to the point: “Yes.”