Chapter 10
Only Xia An was able to maintain that enthusiasm from beginning to end.
Because every single step of her journey had been fought for through her own hard work, she cherished the opportunity all the more. Xia An didn’t have many close friends; even Ke Ruochu, the person she was closest to, had no idea what she had been through.
There were many things Xia An disliked talking aboutâcomplaining, for instance. She felt her life was just ordinary; she didn’t consider herself particularly unfortunate or fortunate, as there were plenty of people out there who had it far better or far worse than her.
“Dr. Xia…”
“Hmm?”
Ye Jin wanted to ask Xia An why she was working at Ye Se. It wasn’t hard to guess the reason behind a part-time job at a nightclub. Initially, Ye Jin had assumed she was looking for a shortcut, but it didn’t seem that way now.
The version of her at the hospital seemed more authentic.
She probably wasn’t as pure and simple as her smile suggested, yet she still gave off an impression of open-mindedness and optimismâthis was how Ye Jin felt about Xia An.
“What’s wrong?” Xia An asked curiously, seeing that she remained silent.
“Goodbye.” In the end, Ye Jin didn’t ask. She realized she was meddling too much, but this was also the first time she couldn’t help but feel curious enough to want to understand someone.
“Goodbye, auntie~” Ye Wan said goodbye to Xia An obediently.
“Goodbye, little cutie.”
Xia An lingered on the spot, watching that elegant and beautiful silhouette walk away. The smile on her face shifted from helplessness to one of quiet acceptance.
Even though she still only knew that the woman’s last name was Ye.
But that was enough.
Xia An had originally thought Ye Jin was just an unexpected and beautiful interlude in her life, something she would smile and move past, but she was wrong…
For the next several days, Xia An never ran into her againânot at Ye Se, and certainly not at the hospital. Occasionally, when drinking soda water, Xia An would find herself remembering that face.
6:45 PM, Changnan Cardiology Department.
“Xia An, your boyfriend is here to pick you up.” A young nurse carrying a treatment tray stood at the office door, teasing Xia An half-jokingly.
“Stop joking around, you guys.” A man also dressed in a white coat stood at the office entrance. Although he said those words, Tang Zhen felt incredibly happy every time he heard the department spread ambiguous gossip about him and Xia An.
“Xiao Xia, so it turns out Xiao Tang is your boyfriend! You two sure hid it well.” The training instructor teased Xia An while sipping tea. “Hurry up and clock out, go on! Cherish it while you still have time to go on dates.”
“Instructor, you’ve misunderstood.” Xia An attempted to use a smile to diffuse the awkwardness.
“Then Xiao Tang needs to work harder and quickly lock down the goddess of our Cardiology department. We’re all rooting for you!” The others chimed in. In truth, most people in the department knew Tang Zhen had feelings for Xia An, so they were all lending a helping hand.
Tang Zhen walked over to Xia An. “Dr. Xia, let’s grab dinner?”
Xia An stood up. No matter how many times she explained, she just couldn’t shut down the department’s gossip.
Walking out of the office, Xia An looked up at Tang Zhen, her face masking profound exhaustion. “Don’t come looking for me in the future, lest everyone misinterprets things.”
“Just don’t take it to heart. Let’s go eat first. If I didn’t come look for you, would you just skip eating entirely?” As he spoke, Tang Zhen reached out, attempting to hold Xia An’s hand.
Xia An dodged it sensitively.
A wave of awkwardness washed over Tang Zhen.
Both Xia An and Tang Zhen were natives of Dongcheng, having grown up together as childhood sweethearts. When Xia An filled out Southern Medical University as her college preference, Tang Zhen had followed suit without a second thought. Although Tang Zhen always referred to himself as an older brother figure, Xia An wasn’t dense; she knew exactly what his true intentions were.
In the hospital cafeteria.
“Your dad’s surgery is coming up soon, right?”
“Mhm, they’ve already matched a suitable bone marrow.”
Tang Zhen pulled a bank card out of his pocket and slid it across the table. “There are a few tens of thousands of yuan in here. Take it for now.”
Xia An didn’t accept it, stating calmly, “I have money.”
“How could you possibly have money?” Tang Zhen questioned. He knew perfectly well that relying solely on her scholarships and the measly stipend from her residency wouldn’t even cover a few rounds of chemotherapy. “Xia An, can you stop being so stubborn? Can’t you lean on someone else for once?”
“No need.” Xia An pushed the card back, her tone remaining cold. She didn’t want to owe Tang Zhen any favors; otherwise, the lines between them would become even more blurred.
“Since Uncle entrusted you to me, I have to take good care of you. Otherwise, how am I supposed to answer to him?” Tang Zhen grew increasingly emotional as he spoke.
“I think you’ve misunderstood. I can take care of myself.” This was what Xia An found most frustrating; he brought up her father every single time. She stood up, leaving behind a brief sentence: “I have a lab experiment tonight, I’m heading back to school first.”
“Xiao An…”
Xia An had lied. Tonight, she was going to Ye Se, as she finally had a relatively ample amount of time.
At 7:30 PM, Xia An returned to the dorm. After showering, she changed into a dress, reapplied some light makeup, and prepared to set off.
On the bus, she sat by the window, picked up her phone, and sent a WeChat message to Ke Ruochu:
â I’ll be coming back a bit late today.
From 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM, several emergency cases arrived one after another, keeping Ke Ruochu spinning like a top with absolutely no time to check her phone. It wasn’t until past 10:00 PM that Ke Ruochu managed to carve out five minutes to eat instant noodles. Taking a look at her pinned WeChat messages, she immediately knew Xia An had gone to Ye Se again.
Ke Ruochu instantly wanted to call Xia An, but right before dialing, she hesitated. She knew very well that Xia An wouldn’t listen to her. After debating back and forth, Ke Ruochu made the call anywayâexcept it wasn’t to Xia An, but to Tang Zhen…
Even though this was a call she really didn’t want to make.
Ke Ruochu knew Tang Zhen liked Xia An, and she also knew Xia An didn’t want to get too close to him. She had promised Xia An not to tell anyone about the part-time job. But Ke Ruochu couldn’t think of any other way; Xia An was always like this, and if something ever happened to her one day, she would regret it for the rest of her life.
Weighing the pros and cons repeatedly, she finally made the call.
“Ruochu?”
“There’s something I want to tell you…”
At 10:30 PM, Ye Jin was driving past the bar street in the Jinglin District. While waiting for a red light, she looked out the car window and happened to spot the storefront sign for Ye Se.
“…I can drink with you.”
“Just drinking?”
“Then, Sister, what else… do you want me to accompany you in doing?”
For some unknown reason, Ye Jin suddenly recalled this exchange. She knit her brows at first, but when that face surfaced in her mind, her lips curved into a subtle smile.
