Xu Zhi smiled and replied: [Then I’m going to sleep. Good night.]
Salt: [You’d better pray that the blizzard in Beijing keeps your boyfriend stranded, otherwise he’ll strangle you when he gets back to Qingyi.]
Xu Zhi: [Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Chen Jiaojiao.]
Salt: [I advise you not to provoke your neglected boyfriend in Beijing right now.]
Xu Zhi had been running around all day and her eyelids were starting to droop. She had almost been harassed on the plane, and if it wasn’t for the kind lady next to her who switched seats with her, the guy would have driven her crazy.
Xu Zhi: [I’m going to sleep now, really tired. Today was exhausting, been running around all day.]
It took a while for him to reply, obviously busy. By the time he responded, Xu Zhi was already asleep, her phone tossed on the bedside table with WeChat still open. Moonlight streamed in through the window, falling softly like gauze on the floor. The surroundings were quiet and particularly peaceful.
Salt: [Take good care of your dad first, boyfriend takes a back seat.]
Salt: [Call me if you miss me, anytime.]
…
There wasn’t much to the winter break. Cai Yingying hadn’t started her holiday yet, and Xu Zhi spent those days shopping for New Year’s goods with Old Xu, then went back to the countryside to stay with her grandmother for a few days. By the time Cai Yingying was on holiday, Xu Zhi’s winter break was already more than half over.
After spending over half a month in close quarters with Old Xu at home, Xu Zhi deeply understood that “absence makes the heart grow fonder” was a philosophical question worth exploring.
On the first day of the holiday, Old Xu carefully knocked on her door: “Nainai, time to get up for breakfast. Would you like shrimp and peanut porridge?”
On the second day of the holiday, before mealtime, Old Xu still had a motherly heart: “Nainai, what do you want for lunch? Dad will go buy it.”
On the third day of the holiday, Old Xu: “Today we’re making French-style baked shrimp. Didn’t you always say you wanted to eat it when you were in Beijing?”
On the fourth day of the holiday, at mealtime, Xu Zhi saw the kitchen was empty, “Dad, aren’t you cooking yet?”
Old Xu: “Let’s order takeout today. Dad has to go to the clinic this afternoon.”
On the fifth day of the holiday, Xu Zhi got up early to go for a run downstairs. Old Xu was lounging on the sofa, looking refreshed as he read the newspaper and drank tea, “Bring back some breakfast when you return. Dad wants to eat Fengxiang xiaolongbao.”
…
On the nth day of the holiday, Xu Zhi got up, showered, dried her hair, and was so hungry her stomach was touching her back. She casually mumbled, “Dad, what are we eating today?”
Old Xu was watching “Soldiers Sortie” and languidly threw out a line: “Skipping one meal won’t kill you.”
On the n+1th day of the holiday, in the evening, Xu Zhi persisted and just sat down on the sofa: “Dad, I—”
Old Xu: “When does your school start again?”
Xu Zhi: “…”
It was at this moment that Xu Zhi began to desperately miss her limited-time boyfriend in Beijing. She went back to her room, quietly closed the door, and sent him a WeChat message.
Xu Zhi: [Little Man, are you there?]
salt: […Little your fing Man.]
Xu Zhi: [It means the same as Little Chen, just a term of endearment.]
salt: [Got shot down by your dad again?]
Xu Zhi: [He asked me when school starts. I feel like he’s been acting strange lately, and he’s been coming home later and later.]
Salt: [You sound exactly like someone hurt by a scumbag, seeking comfort from a backup.]
Xu Zhi ignored him, hugging her phone and leaning against the headboard, smiling for a while. She casually pulled over a cushion, carefully recalling the details of her recent interactions with Old Xu. Resting her chin on it, she replied to him.
Xu Zhi: [My dad has issues. He even took an emergency call last night and left. What kind of emergency could there be in andrology?]
Salt: [There are some, like some restless, vigorous young single guys, overly curious, playing too hard and ending up in the hospital. I know one.]
Xu Zhi: […Is that exciting? Who?]
Salt: [Don’t ask about these things. Look it up yourself, there’s plenty of news.]
Xu Zhi immediately looked it up on her phone and found it was true. It was even with mineral water bottles.
Xu Zhi’s curiosity exploded, so she initiated a video call, wanting to ask why a mineral water bottle could be inserted.
But Chen Luzhou didn’t answer the first time. After a while, he leisurely sent a WeChat message.
salt: [Having dinner outside.]
Xu Zhi: [Oh.]
salt: [Oh??]
Xu Zhi: [Huh?]
Salt: [Your boyfriend is only eating at this hour, and you’re not going to ask why?]
Salt: [If you don’t love me anymore, don’t force yourself.]
Xu Zhi couldn’t stop laughing. She was about to go take a shower, but seeing this message, she thought maybe she should comfort him a bit, someone was about to burst. So she leaned against the headboard and called him again.
This time he answered quickly, picking up after just one ring. But he didn’t speak, silently on the line with her, perhaps sulking. Xu Zhi didn’t rush to speak either, quietly listening to the sounds of life on his end.
The sounds on the other end of the line were noisy and fragmented. He was probably still eating, and the voices of people nearby were muffled by the sound of the cold wind, not very clear, but the atmosphere seemed lively, with bursts of laughter.
Chen Luzhou rarely spoke, perhaps he was in a mood. While others were engaged in animated discussion, erupting into roars of laughter at the high points, that liveliness almost palpable through the phone, you could only hear him give a short, perfunctory laugh twice, so low it was almost just a breath.
Xu Zhi quite enjoyed this feeling of listening to his every move over the phone, hearing his calm and steady breathing, inexplicably comforting. So she didn’t take the initiative to speak, wanting to see how long he could hold out.
Until Xu Zhi heard a girl’s voice, soft and gentle, talking to someone: “Let’s order a few more dishes. Didn’t Chen Luzhou just say the seafood here is good? I haven’t had seafood in so long. I miss the big crabs in Qingyi.”
Xu Zhi then asked, “Classmate reunion?”
“Just Li Ke and the others, and two former classmates.” His voice betrayed no emotion. Then he said tiredly to someone, “Don’t count me in, I’m leaving soon. Wang Yue is waiting for me back at the dorm to revise the mathematical modeling paper.”
His voice was also hoarse, clearly he hadn’t slept much lately.
“You’re leaving?” a girl asked.
He made an affirmative sound.
“It’s so rare for everyone to get together, what paper? You can revise it tomorrow.”
“Let Li Ke keep you company. Wang Yue has urged me several times already.”
“Hey, Zhang Yu, your deskmate is leaving. Try to stop him,” someone teased.
That girl quite understandingly said, “Chen Luzhou and his team have been busy with the mathematical modeling competition lately. Don’t hold him up.”
Xu Zhi heard Chen Luzhou laugh out loud through the phone, bluntly with a hint of displeasure, throwing out a line: “Don’t make it sound like there’s something between me and Zhang Yu. My girlfriend is still on the phone, how am I going to explain later?”
The people on the other end laughed, “Checking up on you?”
He chuckled but didn’t say anything.
Xu Zhi seized the opportunity to say into the phone: “Chen Luzhou, I’m angry.”
He paused on the other end, “Come on.”
Xu Zhi: “I’m jealous.”
Chen Luzhou: “Don’t try to turn this around. It’s just a class reunion, what the hell are you jealous of?”
Xu Zhi: “I’m jealous.”
Before he could speak, Xu Zhi hung up the phone, thinking she’d tease him a bit and call back later to comfort him.
“Bang bang bang!” Someone knocked on the door three times. Xu Zhi went to open it. Old Xu stood outside, hurriedly putting on his coat while mumbling to her, “Um… Nainai, Dad has an emergency… need to go to the hospital.”
Xu Zhi looked at him for a while, said “Oh,” nodded, and only cautioned, “Be careful driving so late at night.”
Old Xu added, “I made you a bowl of wonton. Eat some if you’re hungry.”
Xu Zhi obediently nodded, “Okay.”
At that time, Xu Zhi hadn’t thought too much about it, just felt that there seemed to be a lot of vigorous young men lately.
Xu Guangji put on his coat and hurried downstairs, quickly turning the car out of the community and heading straight for the hospital. When he arrived at the emergency entrance, he could already see several ambulances pulling into the emergency lane one after another, with several colleagues efficiently and orderly lifting patients down from the ambulances.
Xu Guangji and Cai Binhong arrived almost simultaneously. The situation tonight was complex. As the head of neurosurgery, Cai Binhong had rushed to the hospital as soon as he got the call, trying to reach Xu Guangji several times along the way without success. When they met, there was no time for another talk. Cai Binhong quickly briefed him on the situation.
“There’s been a fire at the school dormitory on Yingzhi Road. The casualties are still unclear. Several nearby hospitals have opened green channels, but the emergency department is probably overflowing with beds now,” Cai Binhong said as he pushed him inside. “Director Wei’s son is also in there. You go check on him first.”
The emergency corridor was already full of people, with patients being brought in continuously. Family members were crying and grabbing at anyone, latching onto anyone in a white coat, and immediately trying to kneel, “Please, save my child.” The scene was completely out of control, a total mess.
Fortunately, the nurses were well-trained and could only try their best to comfort them, “Please don’t panic. We’ve already opened a green channel. Everyone who’s brought in will be treated, just give the doctors some time.”
“My child has been lying in there for two hours, and no one has come to see him!”
“Bed 9? He just has a fracture. There are several more serious cases in the emergency room, with large-area burns. Our chief doctor’s son is also in there, he doesn’t even have a bed himself, he gave up his bed for others. Let’s try to be understanding, okay?”
As Xu Guangji and Cai Binhong walked along, they heard heart-wrenching cries getting more and more miserable. Even though they were used to such scenes, it was hard not to be moved.
They changed into white coats in the emergency office. Xu Guangji asked, “The emergency beds can’t keep up? What’s the situation with Director Wei’s son, he’s giving up his bed to others?”
“Her son jumped directly from the second floor, with a comminuted fracture in his hip area. This kid has quite a temper. Seeing the families making such a fuss, and his mother wearing a white coat, he was afraid of being gossiped about, so he gave up a bed, saying he could endure a bit longer.”
“I’ll go take a look.”
Director Wei’s son was lying on a lounge chair in the emergency ward corridor, wearing his school uniform. His features were handsome, but he was sweating profusely from the pain, gritting his teeth to bear it. He had been given a dose of painkillers. Director Wei seemed so angry she could barely speak, “Hasn’t your school conducted proper fire drills? What were you thinking, jumping from a building? Everyone else managed to get out safely, did you have to play the hero?”
Just then, a figure approached. Director Wei looked up, “Dr. Xu, you’re here too?”
Xu Guangji was somewhat shy, rubbing his hands and putting them in his coat pockets: “Old Cai called me, I came to see if there’s anything I can help with.”
Xu Zhi walked into the emergency building. She had just spotted Dean Cai going upstairs for a meeting and was about to call out to him, but seeing his anxious expression as he hurriedly entered the elevator with several emergency department doctors, she turned to the nurse’s station instead. “Excuse me, where is Dr. Xu Guangji?”
Xu Guangji and Cai Binhong were close, so the nurses generally recognized him. They quickly looked around and said, “He just went to the emergency ward area.”
She pointed, and Xu Zhi could vaguely see a familiar figure in the emergency ward corridor. She said thank you and walked over directly.
…
Director Wei asked, “Where’s your daughter?”
Xu Guangji said, “At home.”
“Your son is quite brave. I just heard from Old Cai.”
“He just likes to show off unnecessarily.”
“How am I showing off? My roommate was sleeping inside. If I didn’t go back to wake him up, should I have let him burn to death?” the boy said, half-dead lying there, still a bit defiant.
“Right, so you both jumped down together.”
The boy suddenly looked at Old Xu and said, “Dr. Xu, what I did wasn’t wrong, right?”
Xu Guangji smiled amiably, “No, it wasn’t. You did well.”
Director Wei said to Xu Guangji, “Forget it, let’s talk outside.”
The boy: “Whatever you have to say, say it in front of me. Don’t think I don’t know you two are dating.”
Xu Guangji’s expression instantly became awkward.
Director Wei was also stunned, “…How do you know?”
“I just know, okay? It’s fine if you’re dating, I won’t say anything.”
The two looked at each other, smiling slightly awkwardly. After a moment, Xu Guangji said, “When you’re discharged, I’ll buy you a gift. As a reward for your bravery in saving someone this time.”
The boy was super generous: “Thank you, Dad Xu!”
“What are you calling him?” Director Wei smiled slightly, casually turning her head. She saw a slender figure standing not far away and nudged Xu Guangji with her elbow, “Isn’t that your daughter?”
Xu Guangji turned around, completely stunned.
Xu Zhi remembered when she was little and hospitalized for an allergy. Old Xu had comforted her the same way, “When you’re discharged, Dad will buy you a gift, to reward our little Xu Zhi for staying in such a luxurious big house at such a young age!”
Such a scene was quite heartwarming. It had been a long time since she had seen that shy smile on Old Xu’s face. It was the kind of smile when one’s beliefs are shattered, but one finds a bit of comfort in the fragments.
It was something she had tried so hard for so many years to help him overcome.
She also felt a bit powerless. But Xu Zhi felt indescribably happy, yet with a touch of heartache. There was something stuck in her throat, dry, but she couldn’t spit it out.
They looked like a family. In the future, Dad might no longer be just her dad.
Xu Guangji hadn’t reacted yet, “Xu Zhi, why did you come?”
Xu Zhi suddenly came back to her senses, afraid that her appearance might bring some unfavorable suspicions to that female doctor. Old Xu had finally found some courage, and she didn’t want to ruin it.
She looked at the female doctor with an extremely natural and friendly smile. Having been with Chen Luzhou for so long, she had at least learned what it meant to be natural. She took out the phone from her pocket and handed it over: “No, I’m not stalking you… I saw you forgot your phone. Dean Cai called you several times. Afraid it might be urgent, I brought it over for you.”