Qing Hang had very little rest time. As long as Cheng Wanyue was hospitalized, he was basically at the hospital too, reliving those missing days all over again—watching her undergo various examinations and treatments, suffering from nausea and vomiting due to medication side effects, either unable to sleep from insomnia or sleeping heavily for long periods.
Cheng Wanyue was discharged and then hospitalized again, her physical condition fluctuating between good and bad during this period. It seemed like summer arrived in the blink of an eye.
Yesterday, Qing Hang had been on night duty, and he would come to see her after his morning handover. But she waited and waited without seeing his figure.
A nurse came to draw Cheng Wanyue’s blood, and she kept looking toward the door. The nurse knew she was waiting for Qing Hang and said, “Dr. Qing has run into some trouble, and probably won’t be able to get away anytime soon.”
He had been working at this hospital for half a year now, and everything had stabilized.
Cheng Wanyue felt a bit anxious. “What kind of trouble?”
The nurse said, “A patient’s family is causing a scene, and it’s quite serious.”
For the news to have spread to the hematology ward, it couldn’t be a small matter. After finishing her blood draw, Cheng Wanyue went to find Qing Hang. Just as she stepped out of the elevator, she heard a commotion of quarreling voices. Although the dialect was difficult to understand, she had stayed here long enough to recognize that those were all curse words.
Cheng Wanyue walked forward but suddenly stopped at the corner.
Six or seven family members were making a scene and cursing loudly. Nurses and doctors were trying to persuade them to calm down, and the scene was very chaotic. Security personnel rushed over hurriedly. Cheng Wanyue was bumped and barely managed to steady herself by leaning against the wall. Only after the troublemakers were pulled aside did she see Qing Hang cornered against the wall.
His glasses had been trampled, one button on his white coat had been torn off, and several scratch marks on his neck were bleeding.
Ignoring everyone else, Qing Hang pushed through the crowd and ran to embrace Cheng Wanyue, who was striding toward him. When she got angry, no one could stop her.
Her hat fell to the ground, and Qing Hang took off his white coat to wrap it around her.
“What gives them the right to treat you this way?” Cheng Wanyue struggled forcefully, wanting to confront those people. “You’re saving lives, not harming them. What gives them the right to hit and curse at you?”
Hearing these words, the family members became even more aggressive. Qing Hang covered Cheng Wanyue’s ears and led her away from the busy elevator area before explaining in a low voice, “The patient’s family thinks I’m too young and assumed I’m an intern without experience. It’s a bit of a misunderstanding. Wanyue, listen to me, they didn’t hit me just now.”
Cheng Wanyue’s voice choked, “They did. I saw it…”
Throughout her treatment, she hadn’t shed a single tear, yet now she was crying uncontrollably because she saw Qing Hang being slandered and cursed at by the patient’s family. The white T-shirt he was wearing was soaked through in a large patch.
Teardrops fell on his scratch marks, causing him pain that made it hard to breathe.
“They’re doing it for their family member; it’s understandable. Similar incidents happen everywhere. Even if I had stayed at my previous hospital, I couldn’t have avoided it one hundred percent.”
“There’s no need for verbal disputes. If I perform the surgery well and the patient gradually improves, that’s better than any explanation.”
“Wanyue, I haven’t given up anything for you, nor have I sacrificed anything for you. I love this profession—I did before, and I do now. No, that’s not accurate. I have more now than before. I’m very glad I followed you to Nanjing. If I hadn’t come, I would have regretted it.”
Qing Hang patiently soothed Cheng Wanyue’s emotions one sentence at a time. “I know you’re angry. You feel sorry for me and feel wronged on my behalf, but you shouldn’t be getting into fights right after having your blood drawn. Chi Yue calls you a ‘beautiful warrior girl,’ but you should just take the first three characters to heart. You be the beautiful girl, and I’ll be the warrior. Treating diseases and saving people is like fighting against death—it’s a kind of battle.”
Cheng Wanyue was amused. “I don’t like him calling me that. It sounds silly.”
Qing Hang didn’t have any tissues nearby, so he could only use his clothes to wipe her tears. “We won’t mention it anymore, and I won’t let him call you that. You’re the most special Princess Rapunzel.”
“…What kind of princess has a bald head?”
“That’s exactly what makes you special. A princess doesn’t necessarily have to wear gorgeous dresses, possess magic, live in a castle, be young, or have long hair.”
“That makes sense. Tomorrow, when I see that little girl in bed 48, I’ll tell her that.”
“Are you still angry?”
“Yes, I’m almost angry to death.”
She had cried a lot and was coughing as she spoke. Qing Hang gently patted her back. “Do you remember that summer vacation in eighth grade? You followed Uncle Cheng to town, and while watching some boys play marbles near a small shop by the school, you helped a person who collected recyclables stand up to classmates who were bullying him.”
Cheng Wanyue clearly didn’t remember. “Did that happen?”
“Guess who that person collecting recyclables was.”
With such a hint, Cheng Wanyue couldn’t possibly fail to understand. “Was it you? So we met that early.”
Qing Hang remembered even the color of the clothes she wore that day. “Yes, a year earlier than what you remember as our first meeting. You’ve been looking out for me since then.”
Cheng Wanyue also recalled some old memories. “Because of you, my classmates gave me nicknames like ‘Cheng Puppy’ or ‘Cheng Chicken.’ They sounded awful.”
After a moment, she added, “But I wasn’t angry at all.”
A colleague found Cheng Wanyue’s hat and waved at Qing Hang from a distance, indicating that the hat would be placed in the office. Qing Hang nodded in thanks.
“Don’t be angry now either. I can handle this,” Qing Hang turned sideways to block the gazes of passersby. “Don’t you always say I’m amazing?”
“I’ll stop being angry soon,” Cheng Wanyue’s emotions settled down. She didn’t care about wearing a hat or mind people staring at her. “The hat was stepped on several times.”
“It’s okay. I’ll buy another identical one.”
“Buy glasses first. The old pair was trampled too. I’m being discharged tomorrow. Let’s go shopping together.”
This phase of treatment had ended. After discharge, they would wait for the doctor to notify them about the next hospitalization date.
Qing Hang had just finished his night shift and was sent home to rest by Cheng Wanyue after having breakfast with her.
During the day, Cheng Yuzhou took care of Cheng Wanyue. While Cheng Yuzhou was in the doctor’s office, she went downstairs for a walk, wondering if the scratches on Qing Hang’s neck would leave scars, and found herself in the place where the commotion had happened that morning.
Qing Hang’s colleagues recognized her—after all, the family members had just caused a scene that morning—and worried she might get into trouble, they advised her not to go there.
But Cheng Wanyue wasn’t there to cause problems.
Seeing that she wouldn’t listen, the doctor called the nurses’ station, and Cheng Yuzhou hurried over when he found out.
Cheng Yuzhou’s worries were unnecessary. Cheng Wanyue was chatting warmly with the family members. She was talking about Qing Hang’s credentials. What Qing Hang couldn’t boast about himself, she could praise doubly, praising him with all her might, reassuring the patients and family members, making them trust Qing Hang.
Before leaving, the family member who had been making a scene and cursing that morning was all smiles as she pressed an orange into Cheng Wanyue’s hand.
Cheng Wanyue looked up and smiled at Cheng Yuzhou. She tossed the orange into the air and caught it precisely, as if to say: See, aren’t I amazing?
“Are you surprised?” She waved the orange in front of him to bring him back to reality. “I have a brain too, you know.”
Her eyes and eyebrows were filled with joy, but Cheng Yuzhou felt a deep sense of bittersweet emotion. “I’m not surprised. I just feel that our family’s little sister has grown up.”
He changed the subject. “Qing Hang won’t come to the hospital tonight. My mom will keep you company. She has many new stories to tell you.”
Cheng Wanyue enjoyed listening to Second Aunt’s stories—they were more interesting than watching TV. As Cheng Yuzhou mentioned that he and Zhou Yu were selecting a postpartum care center, Cheng Wanyue forgot to ask why Qing Hang wasn’t coming to the hospital, though normally, he couldn’t be driven away.
He was busy with work, and although she preferred that he rest properly, she felt unaccustomed when he wasn’t around.
When Qing Hang received Cheng Wanyue’s message, he was already in the car. She had estimated that he should be awake by now before sending him a WeChat message.
Y: When little Moon is born, what gift should I prepare as her aunt?
Lune: Toys?
Y: But I don’t know what kind of toys little Moon will like. How about we buy a dog to grow up with her?
Lune: That’s much better than what I thought. Samoyeds are cute when they’re little and still cute when they grow up.
Y: Like the one Yan Ci raises?
Lune: Yes, he says they’re easy to take care of.
After seeing the video Yan Ci sent her, Cheng Wanyue decided to buy a Samoyed. She called Qing Hang and heard a broadcast announcement on his end—he was on a high-speed train.
She thought Qing Hang was going on a business trip that would last at least a week, but he returned the very next day.
Due to a lack of sleep, there was a hint of fatigue between his brows, but he was in a good mood and said a lot while hugging her.
Tomorrow was her birthday. At 11:55 PM, he knocked on her door to sing her a birthday song and asked for a birthday wish from her. When she wouldn’t give one, he said that during his birthday last year, he had saved a wish and wanted her to help fulfill it.
Cheng Wanyue thought for a moment—he had only made two wishes last year. “Last year’s has already expired.”
Qing Hang leaned in to kiss her before she could blow out the candles, kneeling on one knee in front of her. “So I’m not making a wish to God, but to you. I wish… to marry Cheng Wanyue.”
Cheng Wanyue closed her eyes as she lay in the rocking chair, momentarily dazed. “No, choose another wish.”
“I will be a good husband.”
“No.”
“You already proposed to me that night on New Year’s Day.”
“I was joking.”
Qing Hang took out the ring she had only worn for one evening. “I took it seriously, so it wasn’t a joke. You said you took a set of photos in your freshman year that you liked. I found that photographer, and she agreed.”
Cheng Wanyue suddenly realized, “So that’s where you went yesterday…”
The photographer was named Zhao Nanshuang. Qing Hang had been contacting her studio for a long time but hadn’t revealed Cheng Wanyue’s information. It wasn’t until yesterday when he met Zhao Nanshuang in person that he shared some details. “Her schedule is very full, and she refused me three times. She remembered you, and when she learned I wanted to ask her to take photos for you, she postponed her overseas trip.”
It was Zhao Nanshuang’s photographs that had led Cheng Wanyue into the profession.
Before she could use sleepiness as an excuse to drive Qing Hang away, the door was opened from the outside by Cheng Yanqing. The whole family came in. Zhou Yu was holding a white veil, the light reflecting off her tearful eyes.
Cheng Wanyue was surrounded in the middle. Qing Hang could have put the ring on her finger while she was in a daze, but he didn’t. He was waiting for her to nod.
“The floor is very hard. Qing Hang has been kneeling for so long. Moon, don’t you feel sorry for him?” Zhou Yu let go of her hand, and the veil happened to fall on Cheng Wanyue’s hat. On the day when Cheng Yuzhou proposed, Cheng Wanyue had said the same thing to her.
The veil covered her face, and Cheng Wanyue blew a breath, causing the delicate veil to float gently.
She muttered softly, “You’ve even learned to play tricks, and even got A’Yu to help you.”
Qing Hang smiled. “I had no choice but to find help.”
Cheng Wanyue accepted the veil and the ring. Cheng Yanqing cheered from the side. The home hadn’t been this lively for a long time.