The next day, He Suye was summoned to the school by his boss with just a phone call. Coincidentally, it was New Year’s Day, and the campus seemed to be bustling with more people, with graduate and doctoral students coming and going with relaxed expressions, finally stealing a half-day of leisure.
However, he couldn’t afford to relax. Professor Gu Ping pointed to the thick stack of papers on the desk. “Xiao He, if you’re not busy, could you help me grade these papers? Those undergraduate students have terrible handwriting.”
He reluctantly took them, and unexpectedly, Professor Gu said, “Sandalwood musk, what comes next?”
Without hesitation, he blurted out, “Boxwood cinnabar, tuber agarwood, rhinoceros horn, aconite, aloeswood, and attach a warm prescription with borneol.”
Professor Gu chuckled approvingly. “Very good, very good, you haven’t forgotten a bit!” Suddenly, his expression turned stern. “Xiao He, ‘properly’ grade these papers, ‘seriously’ grade them, no slacking off!”
Instantly, He Suye felt a chill creeping from his feet to his scalp. In his mind, he repeated, “4.5 credits, I guess someone else will have to pay again.” Sure enough, Lao Daoist, you are still as “daoist” as ever.
After packing up the papers, he slung the bag over his shoulder and decided to grab some food from the cafeteria before heading home. Lunch would have to be makeshift. Passing through the long herb garden, he noticed several girls practicing Taiwanese mercury sphygmomanometers on stone benches. He didn’t pay much attention and just glanced past them.
Immediately, a girl whispered, “Look, a handsome guy!”
Someone else chimed in, “We actually have such a catch in our school. Oh my, I’ve lived in vain for twenty years!”
Then, a girl giggled, “Stop pressing the pump like that, my arm’s going to burst! Ouch!”
He Suye listened intently and burst out laughing. He glanced up and realized he had already walked past, intending to turn back. That’s when he saw a guy standing against the back wall, showing off to a girl, “This wall is great for climbing. Before the new campus was built, we used to climb this wall to sneak out for overnight stays.”
Of course, he remembered this wall. How many classmates had climbed over it during the school closure period, he couldn’t even remember, but he couldn’t climb over it himself because there was always a girl threatening him, “He Suye, try climbing out and see!”
At that time, the school had issued a notice: unauthorized leave during school closure would result in disciplinary action, and scholarship evaluations were not allowed.
He had been truly desperate then, with no one answering the phone at home, both his parents’ office phones busy for a long time, his mobile phone switched off. It felt like he was living in a vacuum, unable to feel any sound, not even the slightest ripple.
Finally, he had made up his mind, regardless of the consequences, and more importantly, regardless of the scholarship. But just as he was about to jump down, a familiar voice came, “He Suye, don’t do anything stupid, please, I beg you, okay?”
There was no commanding tone, just a pleading one, tinged with tears. He panicked, slipped, and fell directly from the wall, arguably the most embarrassed and failed moment of his life, but fortunately, he only scraped his arm.
He could only sit there stupidly, ignoring the pain in his hands and feet, softly comforting Zhang Yiling, “Forget it, I won’t climb anymore, and you don’t need to cry anymore. If you keep crying, I’ll just dig a hole and hide in it.”
Then, they walked back together in the moonlight. Zhang Yiling’s eyelashes still had tears hanging on them, shimmering. He Suye felt somewhat guilty, but he couldn’t understand her motives. Finally, he asked, “Why didn’t you let me go?”
Zhang Yiling restrained her emotions slightly. “The school has issued a notice. Once you leave, isn’t it seeking trouble?”
He sighed. “That’s good then, no one will compete with you for the top scholarship.”
She snorted disdainfully, looking at He Suye with a haughty gaze. “I don’t care for it. It was given to me for free, I don’t care for it at all!”
He could only awkwardly smile, after a long time mustering, “Thank you.”
In fact, He Suye had known how strong she was at that time. She never borrowed anything she wanted from others. But he was really slow-witted. Such a proud girl worried about him, and he didn’t investigate the reason. He was sensitive in his thoughts, but unfortunately, when it came to emotions, he was astonishingly obtuse, only a frank, direct confession would make him understand. Although everyone could see Zhang Yiling’s admiration for him, He Suye remained oblivious. He used to be focused solely on himself, living a carefree life.
It wasn’t until his mother’s news came that he completely lost his direction in the dark night, and it was Zhang Yiling who reached out and pulled him out.
He always felt he owed her a lot, thinking of repaying her for a lifetime, but he never waited for that day. She had already told him, “He Suye, we’re even now.”
From then on, she was no longer part of his world.
Perhaps he should have known earlier that Zhang Yiling was not his cup of tea. Whatever feelings he had for her, they might have been indebtedness, dependence, or gratitude, but genuine love was rare.
Time really can help one understand some things.
Entering the cafeteria and just joining the queue, he was already contemplating how much rice he would eat today when his phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number, and he hesitated before answering. The voice on the other end was also hesitant. “He Su Ye, is this you?”
He suddenly realized, “Qiu Tian?”
On the other end, there was a hearty laugh. “It’s me. I, Hu Han San, have returned from studying abroad. How about treating you all to dinner? How about roast duck?”
When he arrived at the hotel, there were already five or six people there, all his buddies from his graduate school days. As soon as they saw He Su Ye, they started teasing, “Little He is showing his talent, already attracting beauties!”
He Su Ye playfully punched each of them, then saw Qiu Tian pause for a moment and asked with a smile, “You’re back? Did you have fun in the United States?”
Qiu Tian was He Su Ye’s classmate and close friend, with a personality opposite to his. He was lively and outgoing, with a knack for turning things around. Just by appearances, no one could link this smooth talker to the MD program at Beylor College of Medicine.
He had switched to clinical studies during his graduate years and then was sent abroad on a scholarship to pursue his Ph.D., only returning this year.
He and Zhang Yiling were the two sent abroad back then.
At the banquet, everyone was in high spirits, especially Qiu Tian. His authentic American English seemed to have disappeared somewhere, replaced by a torrent of hometown dialect, with jokes flying left and right.
He Su Ye couldn’t handle alcohol, but he was forced to drink a few cups. As he headed to the restroom, Qiu Tian, who was a bit tipsy, hugged his shoulder and asked, “Do you want to know how Zhang Yiling is doing now?”
It would be false to say he wasn’t curious. He nodded, “How is she now?”
“Not good!” Qiu Tian seemed sober, speaking with conviction. “Back then, we were sent abroad, but after studying for two years, we returned. She was set on staying in the United States, but the school here wouldn’t provide certification, and Beylor doesn’t recognize undergraduate medical degrees. She had to switch to studying bioengineering, which she’s finding quite challenging, considering it’s not her field.”
“Oh?” He Su Ye raised an eyebrow. “Seems like you’re not entirely in the know either?”
Qiu Tian splashed water on his face and took a deep breath. “We were all so busy back then, who had time to care about others? Besides, you know how it was between me and Zhang Yiling, like enemies.”
He Su Ye sighed, “Her temperament always gets her into trouble.”
Qiu Tian stared at He Su Ye in the mirror, then decided to continue, “If you still liked Zhang Yiling, you wouldn’t have come to see me today. I knew early on that you two wouldn’t end up together, but back then, you almost cut ties with me because of her.”
It felt like something was lodged in his throat, slightly irritating. He turned away from Qiu Tian and sincerely said, “Thank you!”
Qiu Tian came over and pinched him, grinning, “When are you going to find a wife and let me have a look? I want your son to call me godfather!”
Leaving the hotel, the weather suddenly turned gloomy, as if it was about to snow. Pedestrians hurried along the street, and he raised his collar against the cold wind, trying to shake off the alcohol.
Feeling a bit tipsy today, he remembered he had to revise exam papers when he got back and that Shen Xifan would come by tonight to deliver some materials. He decided to stop by the supermarket and bought some mung beans, black beans, and red beans, planning to cook porridge tonight.
Cooking porridge was an art, involving both boiling and simmering. First, you boil it over high heat until it boils, then switch to low heat to slowly thicken the soup. Porridge must not be left unattended, simmered over low heat until it’s soft and cooked, then simmered for about two hours. When cooking bean porridge, the beans should be put in before the rice, and the beans should be boiled a few times in cold water to prevent them from blooming. After that, the rice can be added.
He decided to revise the exam papers right in the kitchen, sighing repeatedly. These students really left him speechless. As he corrected them, he chuckled, thinking about posting something on Tianya after finishing, to tease the kids who needed makeup exams.
It was already dark outside. He looked up at the window and saw large snowflakes drifting down. Unable to contain his excitement, he opened the window to take a look. The cold wind, mixed with snowflakes, rushed in, disappearing as soon as it met the steam from the pot.
He thought, did Shen Xifan bring an umbrella? He hoped she didn’t end up with a pile of snow on her head, pitifully calling out, “He Su Ye, it’s snowing!”
But his intuition was always accurate. Just as he was about to serve the porridge, the doorbell rang. Sure enough, it was Shen Xifan, smiling happily, covered in snow from head to toe. Her dark eyes sparkled with excitement. “He Su Ye, it’s snowing!”
He let her in, and she immediately pulled out a stack of documents from a plastic bag, carefully checking them. “Luckily, they didn’t get wet. Look, I’ve translated them all, just waiting for your professional terms.”
He was both amused and exasperated, asking her, “Have you eaten? I’ve made porridge. Would you like some?”
As she typed incredibly fast, letters and words seemed eager to be written.
He Su Ye was surprised and impressed, witnessing Shen Xifan’s focused work for the first time. Bangs clipped to the side, wearing glasses, she was completely absorbed. Who said men were the most handsome when they were focused on work? He felt that women were just as impressive.
After a while, Shen Xifan looked up, furrowing her brows. “He Su Ye, why are all those yin-yang terms in pinyin?”
He nodded, “Add hyphens.”
“How do you say ‘Muxiang’?”
“Vladimiriasouliei, first spell it out in pinyin, then explain it.”
The room was quiet, with only the sound of their typing and occasional brief exchanges. They collaborated seamlessly and soon completed a set of documents. Li Jie sent several emoticons in a row on QQ, which amused Shen Xifan.
Feeling a bit sore in her shoulders, she looked up and shook her shoulders. Without paying attention, she saw He Su Ye covering his mouth and laughing at the computer, his dimple on the right side so sweet and adorable, it defied logic.
Unable to resist, she leaned over to take a look. As soon as she saw the first line, she burst into laughter. “He Su Ye, those kids are too talented! You’re quite talented as a teacher too!”
A certain man posted online:
“I’m feeling quite depressed… corrected your Fangge…
Classmates, all of us studying traditional Chinese medicine know about ‘Baiwei,’ but Chinese characters are just so wonderful. With ‘Baiwei,’ we also have ‘Baiwei’ beer. So, one comrade wrote ‘Add or subtract weiri, use Baiwei.’
Actually, if you wrote ‘Ziwei,’ it would’ve been okay, or even ‘Xili,’ I’d count that as correct. But what’s with writing ‘Drink Baiwei, win a BMW’? I guess they thought studying traditional Chinese medicine didn’t have a future, so they wanted to win a BMW with a lottery ticket.
For the phrase ‘Huanglian and Shengdi with Gancao, induce sweating to dispel wind and boost strength,’ how come someone wrote ‘Inducing sweating to strengthen yang and invigorate the male potency’?
Look at these classmates poisoned by advertisements. Kids, you can’t write these things randomly. Fortunately, I saw it, as did the examiner; otherwise, they probably would have failed.
Then there’s someone who wrote ‘Biyu’ as ‘Bixue.’ I really wonder, is it because they read too many Jin Yong novels when they were young, endlessly reciting about Yuan Chengzhi and Wen Qingqing’s ‘Golden Snake Lord’?
And there’s even more outrageous ones, like ‘Pujixiaodou, Bangqinlian, XX root, X leaf, Xthorn’ — I don’t know when classmates become doctors in the future and can’t remember which medicine to use, just replace it with ‘XX,’ and say ‘Figure it out yourself!’
During the correction process, there were countless spelling mistakes. Comrades, don’t worry, it’ll take two hours, slowly but surely, and make sure to use that thing around your neck…
There’s a formula I think all students of Chinese medicine should know — using Guizhi in Mahuang Tang. But why do so many people follow it with ‘Xixin Gancao Mutong shi’? Didn’t your teacher use Mahuang Tang as an example when explaining the principles of treating diseases?
Overall, correcting Fangge is much more painful than reciting silently!
Two hours of mental exhaustion, dozens of duck eggs cracked, 4.5 credits, I guess someone will have to pay again!
Comrades, cherish life, stay away from make-up exams, take care of yourselves!”
The two of them covered their mouths and laughed. Shen Xifan pointed at the screen, muttering, “Baiwei, Baiwei beer. I wonder what illness that guy’s treating with Baiwei beer?”
He Su Ye told her seriously, “Adding or subtracting with weiri, using Baiwei. Douchi, Shengcong, and Jiegen, along with eight other flavors, nourishes yin, induces sweating. This guy’s using Baiwei to nourish yin and cool blood!”
Shen Xifan stared at him seriously. “He Su Ye, I’ve never seen you say something funny before. Are you secretly humorous?”
Feigning anger, He Su Ye rolled up a book and tapped her head. “You little brat, have you lost respect for your elders? You’re asking for it!”
Shen Xifan quickly dodged, but unexpectedly, as she moved, her fingers landed perfectly on the drawer, pushing it closed with a loud bang, catching most of her fingers.
As they say, when one finger hurts, the others ache in sympathy. She grunted, tears streaming down uncontrollably.
This startled He Su Ye, who lifted her hand, examining it under the light. It was red and swollen. Shen Xifan tearfully asked, “Will my finger break?”
He Su Ye sighed, “Do you think it will break? I’ll go get some medicine. Remain still and watch out to avoid trapping your leg.
Shen Xifan looked at him aggrievedly as he applied medicine to her hand, thinking, “I’m just a bit timid, why do you always seem to pick on me, He Su Ye, it’s so frustrating!”
But she had no idea what He Su Ye was thinking. When she was pinched just now, he felt genuinely scared. Seeing her tears, he started blaming himself, feeling like he should bear the pain for her.
And now, under the gentle lamplight, her lips pursed in pain, she looked so cute, the epitome of a fragile woman.
His face reddened slightly, holding her hand, feeling a bit overwhelmed. He felt like he was emotionally slow, as Qiu Tian would say, ‘even a donkey is better than you.’ But now, encountering Shen Xifan, it was like he suddenly woke up.
This was perhaps the biggest challenge in his life, even more difficult than memorizing Fangge, he thought.
But Shen Xifan was completely unaware, her eyes wandering around. “He Su Ye, do you have that Baiwei?”
He Su Ye snapped out of it. “Are you sure you’re talking about Baiwei and not Baiwei beer?”
Using her uninjured finger, she poked his head. “Old man, I’m talking about Baiwei, such a beautiful name. I wonder what it looks like?”
He Su Ye suddenly realized. “Oh, you want to see that. Allow me to caution you against feeling disappointed!
As it turned out, Baiwei wasn’t attractive at all. Shen Xifan sighed dejectedly. “I thought it was going to be a stunning flower, but it’s just a pile of dry grass!”
He Su Ye pointed to the specimen and explained in detail, “This is the root and stem of Baiwei, short, thick, nodular, and curved. The surface is brown-yellow; brittle, easily broken, with a yellow-white skin and yellow wood inside. It has a slight odor and a slightly bitter taste. It’s cold in nature, clears heat, cools the blood, promotes urination, resolves toxins, and treats carbuncles.”
Shen Xifan took it and said, “How can one herb treat so many illnesses? But Baiwei really is a beautiful name.”
He Su Ye chuckled, “Why are you so shallow, little girl…” Before he could finish, he saw Shen Xifan glaring at him, so he quickly changed his tune, “Actually, there are so many beautiful names in traditional Chinese medicine: Baishao, Banxia, Guixin, Houpo, Fuling, Lianqiao, Baizhu, Xiangfu, Yuzhu, Ziwan, Zhizi, Liancao, Zhuyu, Zihuadi Ding…”
He carefully counted them, his expression very focused and serious. Shen Xifan looked at him and felt that this man seemed so gentle and warm, stirring something in her heart. “Suye, that’s a beautiful name too…”
Before she could finish, an unexpected interruption occurred. He Su Ye chuckled lightly, “Yes, it sounds better than lotus leaves…”
Outside the window, the snow fell heavily, accumulating on the windowsill. Tomorrow, it would surely be a snowy scene. The quiet winter night was tranquil and silent. Inside, the warmth of the heater, the glow of the desk lamp, and the soft light of the computer illuminated the two people sitting face to face, conversing, surrounded by various specimens of Chinese herbs on the floor.
Both of them felt a bit bewildered, but more so, unaware. The orange hue of the soft light flowed from their eyes, blending into the boundless night.
This scene made one feel warm and content.