Romain Rolland once said—there is only one true heroism in the world: to see life as it really is and still love it.
What Xu Sui felt from Zhou Jingze was exactly this: no complaints, no compromise, not returning hatred even when treated unfairly.
The young man was not afraid of the long years ahead.
He still retained a small part of what was inside his heart.
Zhou Jingze raised his hand to wipe away her tears, pulled her from his embrace, and changed the topic, his upturned eyes containing laughter: “Are you still eating the hawthorn? The frosting is melting.”
“Yes.” Xu Sui sniffled.
After Zhou Jingze took Xu Sui to dinner, there happened to be winter fireworks lighting up over the Crow River across from the square. The two watched the fireworks together.
That night at home, Zhou Jingze worried that his girl might have problems after such an emotionally intense day, so he stayed.
However, after Xu Sui bathed, probably because she had expended too much energy crying after work, she quickly fell asleep.
Zhou Jingze didn’t sleep. He leaned against the wall watching over Xu Sui, seeing her restlessly turn over, the blanket slipping off, revealing a lotus-white arm.
The man lowered his bent knee, walked over to help cover her with the blanket, bent down to kiss her forehead, then left the room.
On the balcony, cold wind whistled, sparse stars overhead fading away.
Zhou Jingze leaned against the railing, shook out a cigarette from the pack, lowered his head to bite it, skillfully clicked his lighter with a “snap,” and wisps of gray-white smoke rolled from his thin lips, drifting into the air.
Zhou Jingze’s hand holding the cigarette lazily rested on the railing, squinting at the distance, thinking about who knows what.
When the cigarette butt was about to burn his hanging slender fingertips, Zhou Jingze threw it into a flower pot, took out his phone from his pants pocket, and dialed a number.
Before long, the call connected. Zhou Jingze restrained his casual expression, speaking seriously: “Hello, is this Director Zhang from Puren Hospital…”
The next day, when Xu Sui got up from bed, having slept well and already vented her emotions, she felt much lighter when she woke.
At eleven AM in her hospital office, the nurse knocked again, saying Director Zhang was looking for her. Xu Sui nodded, released the mouse she was pressing, and got up to walk toward the director’s office.
Arriving at the director’s office, the teacher gestured for her to sit. Xu Sui sat with a blank expression, thinking the director would again give her a long speech of persuasion to take on this patient.
Unexpectedly, Teacher Zhang put down his pen and coughed lightly: “Little Xu, your teacher apologizes for what was said yesterday… Your boyfriend told me everything. I didn’t expect there was another layer to the story. Those in our profession have to endure some grievances.
“Whether you take this patient or not, you can decide for yourself.”
“But your teacher has only one requirement—you must tell the patient yourself. You must face this personally.”
“Alright, thank you.” Xu Sui said.
During lunch break, Xu Sui messaged the person marked as “Feeder”:
【What did you tell my teacher? His attitude did a complete 180 today.】
Soon, Zhou Jingze replied: 【Said my girlfriend is a faucet, and if they make you cry again, I’ll demolish your workplace.】
Zhou Jingze’s reply was quite inappropriate. Xu Sui stared at his words and burst into laughter. She typed in the chat box: 【What if I refuse? If family members or media make a big deal of this later and I lose my job, what then?】
【I’ll support you.】 Zhou Jingze’s response was decisive and quick.
Three simple words, yet Xu Sui’s heart skipped a beat, her cheeks burning as she typed: 【Don’t you have no money?】
Seeing this, Zhou Jingze’s tongue pressed against his left cheek as he chuckled, replying: 【Now that I have a wife, I can access the family assets.】
Xu Sui’s face grew even more embarrassed. She changed topics, chatting with Zhou Jingze about daily matters. Finally, Zhou Jingze sent an unexpected message:
—Whatever decision you make, I’m here to support you.
Xu Sui’s eyelashes trembled as she replied: 【Okay.】
Actually, after Zhou Jingze’s words yesterday, Xu Sui had already made her decision.
Song Fangzhang had been staying at Puren Hospital receiving treatment for the past two days, just waiting for Xu Sui’s response. Xu Sui pulled up his medical chart again.
She wondered if it was Buddhist karma at work.
Song Fangzhang’s health problems had been constant over the years, with dozens of hospital stays, his condition deteriorating. Looking at the dense medical diagnoses, Xu Sui could confirm he was now dragging a broken body through life.
Xu Sui recalled how the Song family’s harm and moral condemnation over the years had caused her mother to constantly pressure her emotionally, demanding she never make mistakes, study well, and become successful.
And grandmother often secretly cried in the middle of the night, having lost her son and experiencing white-haired parents sending off black-haired children at a young age.
Those years, Xu Sui’s family environment was very oppressive. She couldn’t even remember how she survived that period.
Xu Sui looked at the number on her computer screen, entered it into her phone and dialed. The call connected quickly, the other side sounding pleasantly surprised, voice hoarse: “Xu Sui…”
“I have an answer.” Xu Sui said.
The voice on the phone suggested “meeting at a café or something,” but Xu Sui immediately interrupted: “Let’s meet in the hospital’s downstairs garden.”
At three or four in the afternoon, the winter sun was warm. Nurses and family members pushed patients for walks in the garden, breathing fresh air.
Xu Sui hadn’t expected Song Zhishu to push her father out to the garden. Her eyes tightened. Song Fangzhang wore blue and white striped patient clothes, his whole body thin as skin and bones, making the clothes appear oversized and empty. His body had lost moisture, skin hanging in loose folds on his face like dying tree bark.
“Uncle Song, hello.” Xu Sui kept her hands in her white coat pockets, her tone calm.
Song Fangzhang lifted his cloudy eyes to look at her, clearly not recognizing Xu Sui.
In that instant, Xu Sui couldn’t tell if her emotion was deepened hatred or relief.
“Dad, let the nurse take you over there to get some sun. I’ll be right over.” Song Zhishu’s voice was gentle, like coaxing a child.
No one could now see that this gentle woman had once led a group of girls to publicly throw Xu Sui’s schoolbag from a fifth-floor window, pointing at her nose and cursing with humiliating words like “bitch” and “look everyone, she’s still a martyr’s daughter.”
Song Fangzhang smiled and nodded, even smiling at Xu Sui as he passed by.
After he left, Xu Sui straightened her back, standing before Song Zhishu: “I can’t perform your father’s surgery.”
Song Zhishu’s eyes immediately reddened as she pointed toward the distance: “But look at my dad, he’s like this—”
“So what?” Xu Sui immediately interrupted, asking pointedly, “At least you still have a father. Mine is gone. I don’t even have a chance to speak with him.”
She wanted to tell her father that her current work was going well, she’d gotten a raise, fallen in love, and met a wonderful person.
But it was impossible now.
“I’m telling you now, I will never treat anyone from your family. This is my decision,” Xu Sui looked at her, voice calm. “But I don’t represent our hospital, so your father can still receive treatment at Puren.”
Song Zhishu hadn’t expected Xu Sui to still hold grudges about the past. Furious, her previously hidden false claws emerged: “Are you even qualified to be a doctor?! Aren’t all lives equal? I already apologized to you—what more do you want?”
Xu Sui wasn’t angered. She smiled, then spoke seriously: “You don’t need to morally condemn me. I am certainly qualified to be a doctor, because from past to present and in the future, I have always been saving people.”
“I still believe most of this world is good. I have my own set of values, and you can’t affect me anymore.”
Xu Sui was taller than Song Zhishu. She bent down, her eyes showing faint sympathy, her words gentle yet cruel: “Song Zhishu, don’t you think this is all heaven’s best arrangement? Thirteen years ago, we were born on the same soil. I planted a tree, while you planted evil fruit.”
Song Zhishu trembled, frightened by Xu Sui’s words and presence. She had never imagined Xu Sui would resist and refuse. Her back broke out in sweat, completely stunned.
Was this karmic retribution?
Xu Sui withdrew her gaze and left without looking back.
After she left, Song Zhishu remained there, crying uncontrollably.
After saying these words, Xu Sui felt a weight lifted from her heart, much more relaxed. After all these years, she had finally removed the shackles others had placed on her.
After work, Zhou Jingze came to pick her up. Recently, when he got off work early, he would always come for Xu Sui, sometimes bringing a flower, sometimes a yellow balloon bought on the road, or other small trinkets.
Every day brought her different surprises.
“I’m taking you to meet someone at dinner today.” Zhou Jingze’s hand rested on the steering wheel, his tone casual.
Xu Sui sat in the passenger seat, raising her hand to pull off her seatbelt, preparing to press it into the slot, but couldn’t find the right position. She struggled to locate it.
Zhou Jingze spoke slowly, mentioning a name.
She lowered her head, her movement pausing.
On the other side, at Beijing North Airport, Sheng Nanzhou pushed two large suitcases out of the exit. Beside him stood a woman—short hair, shorter in stature, wearing blue denim overalls. Though her face looked haggard, her smile was brilliant, her demeanor capable and beautiful.
Sheng Nanzhou pushed the luggage cart with one hand while tightly holding the woman’s hand with the other. Hu Qianxi said helplessly: “Nanzhou-ge, could you let go? I’m not going to run away.”
“No.” Sheng Nanzhou stubbornly gave a single word response.
Unable to argue with him, Hu Qianxi let him hold her hand. Seeing a restroom sign in the distance, she spoke with a wronged voice: “I want to use the restroom. This time I promise not to run, and my passport is in your hands anyway—I can’t escape.”
Only then did Sheng Nanzhou let her go.
After using the restroom, Hu Qianxi stood at the sink looking at herself in the mirror, still feeling unreal. Standing on her homeland’s soil, she felt dizzy.
After washing her hands, Hu Qianxi was about to take paper to dry them when she suddenly felt heart palpitations, shortness of breath, leaning against the sink counter, face pale, gasping for air, unable to move her hands and feet.
As if telepathically connected, Sheng Nanzhou sensed something wrong. His expression darkened as he strode toward the women’s restroom, ignoring others’ strange looks, charging straight in.
Upon entering, Sheng Nanzhou saw Hu Qianxi collapsed at the sink, her lips pale white, her face frighteningly ashen. He walked over to hold her shoulders, not even asking questions, taking medicine from her right pocket and skillfully feeding it to her.
Hu Qianxi swallowed with difficulty. Before she could recover, the man swept her up horizontally and carried her out.
In the car, Hu Qianxi sat in the passenger seat, eyes tightly closed, rapid breathing gradually returning to normal. Ten minutes later, when she opened her eyes again, they held their usual smile:
“Nanzhou-ge, could you promise me something?”
“Mm, tell me.”
“Don’t tell Xu Sui about this yet. I don’t want her to worry. About my illness, let’s keep it like when we were kids—just you knowing is enough.”
Sheng Nanzhou looked at her and sighed: “Alright.”
“Xixi.” Sheng Nanzhou suddenly called her.
Hu Qianxi looked back with smiling eyes: “Mm?”
“If it hurts, tell me.” Sheng Nanzhou looked down at her.
Don’t leave me unable to do anything.
…
“Xixi is back?! Then let’s go pick her up now.” Xu Sui’s eyes lit with surprise, her previously blank expression finally showing a smile.
Zhou Jingze glanced at the message from Sheng Nanzhou on his phone, his eyes dimming slightly. When he looked up again, his face wore its usual lazy smile as he stopped her:
“Tsk, if you go now, Sheng Nanzhou will get upset with you. Let them have a couple more minutes together.”
“That’s true.” Xu Sui realized.
Zhou Jingze started the car, reaching up to ruffle her hair: “Come on, let’s go to the restaurant and wait.”
In the restaurant, Xu Sui and Zhou Jingze waited for over half an hour. Every time someone pushed open the restaurant door, making the wind chimes sound, Xu Sui instinctively turned around frequently.
Soon, she saw a familiar yet strange woman enter—big eyes that made people feel warm and energetic when she smiled. She had changed too. The girl who could never lose weight before was now thin as a reed, with short hair, her once fair skin now a healthy wheat color from prolonged sun exposure.
Xu Sui almost didn’t dare call her name.
Everything felt like a dream.
Hu Qianxi pounced on her like a koala, hugging Xu Sui tightly, calling: “Sui-bao, I missed you so much.”
Xu Sui hugged her tightly too, her eyes immediately reddening at these words: “Finally willing to come back?”
“Hehe, of course. You’re my best friend,” Hu Qianxi buried her face in Xu Sui’s shoulder, smiling. “No matter what, I had to witness your happiness with my own eyes.”