The night was thick and deep, mist rising from the river surface, making the entire small town appear especially blurred, possessing a hazy beauty.
Yet the smile on He Qingshi’s face, Huo Chuxue saw it clearly. That fleeting smile, gone in an instant, yet she had clearly caught it.
In truth, from the first moment she saw this man, she knew he carried a story within him. This person was rigid, conservative in his ways, practically an old man. His heart was even more like a barren wasteland, where not a single blade of grass grew. It was also an abyss, requiring many, many things to fill.
She had never seen him smile. She had once thought this man was incapable of smiling.
His smile had dazzled her eyes, leaving her dazed for a long moment.
When she came back to her senses, she saw He Qingshi had been calmly watching her all along.
His eyes were exceptionally well-formed, phoenix eyes, with long, narrow outer corners, the pupils a pure, deep black, like a pool of ink that could not be diluted.
Phoenix eyes were also called peach blossom eyes, yet he didn’t give off the slightest feeling of frivolity, probably due to his aloof, indifferent temperament and old-fashioned, rigid style.
Huo Chuxue smiled slightly, her tone light and cheerful, “Tangshui Renjia is my family’s restaurant. Mr. He, if you go next time, I’ll have my dad give you a fifty percent discount.”
He Qingshi glanced at her, as if finding it amusing, “Not eighty percent anymore?”
“Special treatment for you.”
He Qingshi: “……”
“My dad’s skills are superb, famous far and wide. You must go and try it.”
He Qingshi’s voice grew even hoarser in the wind, “Can’t go today? Isn’t it still open?”
“Not today. My dad went on a trip these past couple of days.”
The two of them stopped walking further, just standing on the bridge talking quietly. Occasionally, a few tourists passed by, their hushed whispers brushing past their ears.
Huo Chuxue leaned back against the arch of the bridge, bending one long leg, the tip of her shoe touching the ground. The ankle exposed to the air was lustrous like jade, almost translucent.
He Qingshi inadvertently caught a glimpse and hurriedly averted his gaze.
The woman’s voice was thin and soft in the night breeze, carrying the distinctive soft, glutinous tone of someone from the Jiangnan water towns, “The year I was interning, the first time I assisted in surgery, I encountered a high-risk pregnant woman. The child was born successfully, but she herself never left the operating table. Postpartum hemorrhage. Five minutes, just five minutes. The operating room was in chaos, and she was gone. I went out to notify the patient’s family. The mother grabbed my collar, cursed me, hit me, completely mentally broken down. That look of despair is something I’ll never forget for the rest of my life. That incident hit me very hard. For a long time, I couldn’t get over it, doubting my original purpose for studying medicine. That feeling was like being deeply mired in quicksand, sinking deeper and deeper, unable to get out. Then I started giving up on myself, doubting myself.”
“My aunt said I had seen too little, that after seeing more, I’d become numb. During that time, as soon as I got off work, I’d run to the town. Alone, I walked across every single one of the town’s hundred-plus ancient bridges. That feeling was like racing against time. If you won the race, you’d be okay. Later, the first time I independently led a cesarean section surgery, when I took out the child and heard its cry, the joy that rose from the depths of my heart was enough to pull me out of that former quagmire.”
“Sometimes, when a person can’t get out, it’s not that they truly can’t get out. They just haven’t encountered the opportunity that will allow them to walk out.”
In an instant, she flashed a quick smile, so fleeting it was almost imperceptible, “Sorry, Mr. He. Got a bit emotional for a moment, said too much.”
She hugged her arms, “It’s very late. Let’s go back.”
Huo Chuxue walked ahead holding the umbrella, her back slender, yet her whole body seemed to possess a tenacious energy that made people take notice. She was very much like the reeds He Qingshi had seen in Wangchuan in his early years—seemingly soft, as if they would break with a gust of wind, yet incredibly tough. The locals wove them into mats that could last for years.
The red hem of her skirt was lifted by a corner of the wind. That touch of red fell into He Qingshi’s eyes, and for some reason, his heart tightened.
Tonight, from beginning to end, she had never asked him why he was in a bad mood.
—
Strolling to where they had parked earlier, Huo Chuxue asked, “Did you drink tonight?”
He Qingshi shook his head, “No.”
“So that sake at the Japanese restaurant was just for show?”
“I said I don’t drink.” His tone was firm, as if giving someone a guarantee.
Huo Chuxue yawned, seeming sleepy, “Since you didn’t drink, drive yourself back to the city. I won’t go back to the city center. I’ll go straight to my mom’s place to sleep.”
He Qingshi: “……”
“Will you make it to work on time tomorrow?”
“Night shift tomorrow.”
He Qingshi: “……”
After saying that, Huo Chuxue turned to leave. After walking two steps, she came back.
“Coming back with me?” He Qingshi thought she had changed her mind.
But then he heard Huo Chuxue say, “You have a cold. Go back and take some medicine.”
Another Monday. He Qingshi had class with Class 3.
This week, Jiang Nuan did come to class. But her face was pale, she looked listless, as if she had been seriously ill.
Moreover, this student who was always attentive slept through his entire class. This struck him as very strange.
When the class ended, the students filed out of the classroom.
Jiang Nuan raised her head from the desk, lazily packing her books.
He Qingshi strode over to her, “Jiang Nuan, what’s wrong? You slept through the whole class today. Are you sick?”
Jiang Nuan didn’t dare look at He Qingshi, her eyes evasive, her expression extremely flustered, as if she were afraid of him, “I’m fine, Teacher He. I’m just not feeling well.”
“A cold?” His gaze shifted to the girl’s pale, weak face, “Go see a doctor.”
The girl’s lips were pale, bloodless, “No, I’m really fine, Teacher He. I’ll go now.”
There was a distinct sense of fleeing in panic.
He Qingshi couldn’t help but frown. Suddenly, he realized that the spirited, obedient, and diligent Jiang Nuan from before seemed to have vanished!
—
Returning to the office, he ran into Class 3’s counselor, Teacher Zhu, on the way.
Teacher Zhu was a new counselor, a young male teacher who had taken over Class 3 less than a month ago.
Teacher Zhu smiled and greeted He Qingshi, “Finished class, Teacher He?”
He Qingshi stopped, “Just finished with Class 3.”
Remembering Jiang Nuan’s recent state, he couldn’t help but ask more, “Teacher Zhu, has something happened recently to your class’s study committee member, Jiang Nuan?”
Teacher Zhu adjusted his glasses, puzzled, “What’s wrong with Jiang Nuan?”
He Qingshi: “I noticed her recent condition hasn’t been good.”
Teacher Zhu said, “It’s like this. Jiang Nuan asked for a week off last week, saying something happened at home. I asked her what it was, but she wouldn’t say. I figured it probably involved privacy she wasn’t comfortable disclosing, so I didn’t press for details. This child’s family circumstances aren’t great, but she’s very sensible, hardworking, and motivated. Many teachers in the department know her. Director Duan even praised her in front of me before. Don’t worry, Teacher He. Jiang Nuan probably won’t have any issues. I’ll go talk to her again tomorrow, see if she’s encountered some difficulty.”
Huo Chuxue was on outpatient duty today.
She was currently just an attending physician, not qualified for specialist outpatient clinics, so naturally, it was a general clinic. The registered patients were of all sorts, every kind of person.
Huo Chuxue saw patients all morning and was utterly exhausted.
As it was nearing the end of her shift, a mother and daughter walked into the consultation room.
The mother looked about forty, dressed plainly, her dark face full of wrinkles, crisscrossed like gullies.
The daughter was fourteen or fifteen, quite fair-skinned, wearing a blue-and-white striped school uniform, her hair in a ponytail, cute-looking. She just seemed listless, her complexion somewhat sickly.
Huo Chuxue recognized the school uniform the girl was wearing; it was from Qingling No. 3 Middle School.
From the moment they entered the consultation room, the woman began cursing heaven and earth, ranting and raving. It was the same few phrases over and over—
“You wretched girl! Your uncle and I work so hard to put you through school, and you don’t study properly. Instead, you get involved with someone, get yourself knocked up…”
“How did I give birth to such a shameless daughter… what a sin…”
She kept raising her hand to hit the daughter trailing behind her, left and right.
The daughter endured the pain, eyes brimming with tears, expression very wronged, not daring to make a sound.
In all her years as a doctor, Huo Chuxue most detested this kind of foul-mouthed patient family member.
The woman had a loud voice; her sharp curses echoed throughout the entire consultation room.
Huo Chuxue and Lin Yao looked at each other, faces full of helplessness.
Hearing it, Huo Chuxue found it grating. She tapped the desk, her tone cool and heavy, “This is a hospital. Please keep quiet. Do you want the whole world to know about this?”
Only after she said this did the woman fall silent.
The woman sat down opposite Huo Chuxue, took out a slightly crumpled ultrasound slip from her bag, and said, “Doctor, this is the report we got from the county hospital. The doctor there said it’s already five months, must induce labor. In a small county town, everyone knows everyone. If people found out about this, I’d have nowhere to hide my old face. I took her to a small clinic, but they said the pregnancy was too far along, they didn’t dare do it, told us to come to a big hospital.”
Huo Chuxue picked up the ultrasound slip and looked at it. 21 weeks pregnant. Indeed, already five months. And the ultrasound showed signs of bleeding.
She had initially thought the girl looked about fourteen or fifteen, but her actual age was even younger, only thirteen.
She couldn’t help but sigh. Kids these days were really precocious. Thirteen years old and already in a relationship, having tasted the forbidden fruit. Thinking back to when she was thirteen, she knew nothing, just followed Qiao Shengxi and Zhou Mo around acting crazy all day long.
The girl wore a loose school uniform, her belly well concealed, not showing at all.
She put down the slip and said to the girl, “Come in. Let me examine you.”
Pulling the curtain shut, the girl looked at her timidly.
Huo Chuxue pointed, “Take off your pants and lie down.”
The girl nervously clutched the zipper pull of her uniform, fidgeting uneasily, not moving for a long while.
Huo Chuxue thought she was scared and lowered her voice, trying to make her tone sound as gentle as possible, “Don’t be afraid. I’m not going to do anything, just examine you.”
The girl bit her lower lip hard, almost drawing blood from the force. Only then did she slowly start to take off her pants and climb onto the examination bed.
Huo Chuxue took one look and was utterly shocked.
The girl’s lower body was swollen and red. The inner sides of her thighs were covered in red and purple marks. Both legs were a horrifying sight, covered entirely in scars. New injuries layered over old ones, countless accumulations.
These injuries were from cigarette burns, belt whippings, glass cuts—all different.
She quickly lifted the girl’s top and sleeves. Her stomach, chest, waist, arms—anywhere clothes could cover—were also densely covered in injuries, a sight too painful to behold.
Huo Chuxue’s eyes widened in shock as she asked, “Did your mother do all this?”
The girl’s eyes were misty as she shook her head violently, “It was my uncle.”
“Your uncle?”
“My stepfather.”
—
Huo Chuxue had Lin Yao call the girl’s mother in.
The woman who had just been cursing heaven and earth, upon seeing her daughter’s body covered in injuries, immediately reddened, tears flooding down.
The woman’s voice was hoarse, “Who did this?”
She grabbed her daughter’s shoulders, roared, “I’m asking you a question, cat got your tongue? Who did it? Was it that little bastard who got you pregnant?”
“My uncle.” The little girl said, pulling on her clothes while tears streamed down wildly, “Mom, it was my uncle.”
“You wretched girl, still lying! Your uncle is so good to you, gives you the best food and drink, even puts you through school. How could it be your uncle? Tell me, who was it? Was it that devil who got you pregnant? I’ll kill him?!”
The girl hugged herself tightly, trembling, her expression utterly despairing, “Mom, it was my uncle. Every time he gets drunk, he hits me, takes off my clothes… it was him… he’s an animal…”
Huo Chuxue did her utmost to control her emotions, “Vaginal tearing, swelling. Your daughter has likely been suffering long-term sexual violence.”
Encountering such a patient left Huo Chuxue in a bad mood all day. Whenever she remembered the girl’s horrifying body, she felt nauseous.
Family sexual abuse, campus sexual abuse, harm from close relatives and teachers—such things were commonplace in the country.
In all her years as a doctor, she had encountered similar things before. But every time a victim appeared before her in the flesh, the physical and psychological trauma they endured, their helpless, despairing eyes, always blocked her emotions. It was like a hundred ants gnawing at her heart, a pain that ate into her bones.
As a doctor, what she could actually do was far too little.
Even by evening when she got off work, the bad mood was hard to dispel.
Whenever she was in a bad mood, she desperately wanted to go home. She wanted to eat the dishes her father cooked, wanted to link arms with her mother and complain about everything, wanted to walk alone across all those ancient bridges.
She called He Qingshi.
The phone only rang once or twice before it was answered. The man’s voice was, as always, clear and mellow yet deep. “Hello, Doctor Huo?”
She asked point-blank, “Mr. He, do you want to go eat at Tangshui Renjia?”