This July was busy and packed for Huo Chuxue. For an obstetrician, there was never a loose or idle moment, because no matter the day, someone was always pregnant, someone was always giving birth.
Ever since returning from Cenling, she had been looking for opportunities to contact He Qingshi. She would call him from time to time, send him a message, ask him out for a meal. At first, it was fine. He would answer the calls, reply to the texts, and show up for meals on time.
But after a while, the calls gradually stopped going through, almost always ending up as busy signals. Texts disappeared without a trace, as if they were never received. As for meeting for meals, it became impossible. She couldn’t even get through to ask.
Huo Chuxue found it very strange. She didn’t know what had gone wrong and felt quite frustrated for a while. In her impression, she didn’t seem to have done anything to offend He Qingshi.
Early in the morning, after finishing rounds with Fang Ru, Huo Chuxue returned to her office. Before her seat was even warm, her best friend Qiao Shengxi walked straight into the office, carrying a pile of snacks which she plopped directly onto the desk. “Three surgeries this morning, we’re teamed up. Better stock up on some energy.”
Huo Chuxue grinned and accepted them all. “Thanks, Xixi. You’re the one who loves me most.”
“Cut it out. You should find a man to love you. I don’t want to be your nanny every day.”
Huo Chuxue: “…”
It was fine if Qiao Shengxi didn’t bring it up, but once she did, Huo Chuxue only felt infinite melancholy. “Men aren’t paying attention to me anymore.”
Qiao Shengxi: “…”
Nurse Qiao leaned against the desk, counting on her fingers. “What’s going on? Tell me about it.”
Huo Chuxue quickly recounted the whole thing to her best friend, wanting to hear her opinion.
“Xixi, what do you think is really going on? My head is spinning right now.” Huo Chuxue wore a sullen expression, looking thoroughly depressed.
After listening carefully, Qiao Shengxi spread her hands. “Stop overthinking it. That person is clearly avoiding you.”
Huo Chuxue: “…”
Doctor Huo frowned deeply, puzzled. “Why? I haven’t done anything. Why would he avoid me?”
Qiao Shengxi got up and headed for the door, tossing out a casual remark: “You’ll have to ask He Qingshi that. How would I know? If he’s avoiding you, why don’t you just go find him!”
——
Huo Chuxue did want to go find He Qingshi, but she simply couldn’t find the time.
University A’s Medical School was holding an obstetrics academic exchange conference these two days, and Fang Ru had asked Huo Chuxue to attend with her.
Huo Chuxue had attended quite a few similar academic conferences with Fang Ru before. She could learn a thing or two. But they were just too long. After two or three hours, she would be drowsy and feel completely drained. She never really liked them.
But if Fang Ru asked her to go, she would always go. Her professional title hadn’t been promoted, not due to a lack of clinical experience or ability, but because her published papers were insufficient. She had never been fond of writing those things. To help her get promoted, Fang Ru always made her attend various academic conferences, listen to experts’ speeches, and then come back to mull things over and try to write one or two useful papers. But Fang Ru’s wishes were mostly in vain. Because not only was Huo Chuxue unwilling to write, she genuinely couldn’t write them.
University A’s Medical School was right next to the College of Liberal Arts, separated only by a street. Huo Chuxue planned to go to the College of Liberal Arts to find He Qingshi after the conference. It was Friday, and she knew He Qingshi had classes in the morning.
If she hadn’t needed to return to University A today, she would have considered going to He Qingshi’s house to find him. She couldn’t stand him avoiding her like this.
The morning academic exchange ended just as the students finished their classes. She timed it perfectly and went to the College of Liberal Arts.
After asking a student for directions, she found He Qingshi’s office.
She didn’t know if He Qingshi would return to his office after class, so she could only gamble. After all, he wasn’t answering her calls, and she couldn’t reach him.
In her over twenty years of life, Huo Chuxue hadn’t experienced anything earth-shattering, but her luck had always been decent. In middle school, she barely scraped into Qingling No. 1 High School. For university, she barely made it into University A’s Medical School. Each time, luck was on her side.
This time was naturally no exception.
She hadn’t been waiting outside He Qingshi’s office door for long when she heard a familiar set of footsteps.
Leather shoes stepping on the floor, emitting a regular sound, the pace steady and powerful, the rhythm compact.
She recognized these footsteps. It was definitely He Qingshi.
She turned around happily and, sure enough, saw He Qingshi walking unhurriedly towards the office, carrying his laptop bag.
The corridor was gloomy, the light not very bright. The man was dressed entirely in black, moving silently as if emerging from the darkness.
The footsteps grew clearer, one sound pressing upon the last, as if stepping directly over her heart.
Seeing him, she was so happy, her heart racing.
Liking someone meant feeling full of joy and excitement upon seeing them.
She couldn’t wait any longer. She couldn’t wait another moment. She had to tell him. She no longer wanted to play this tug-of-war, pretending to be oblivious while fully aware, silently hiding her feelings. She didn’t want to struggle so hard to find opportunities and excuses just to get close to him. She didn’t want to hint at things from time to time, putting in so much effort.
She wanted to lay her cards on the table, to tell him clearly that she liked him and wanted to be with him. She wanted a definite answer. Even if the outcome wasn’t ideal, it was better than her painfully guessing his thoughts and letting her imagination run wild alone.
She realized she wasn’t as patient as she had imagined. She needed to push He Qingshi, and push herself too.
The corridor was poorly lit. From He Qingshi’s angle, he could only see a woman standing by his office door, but her face was unclear. He thought it was a student looking for him and immediately quickened his pace.
Only when he got closer did he realize it was actually Huo Chuxue. She wore an orange T-shirt, black wide-leg pants, carried a backpack, and had her hair in a bun. She looked every bit the student.
He hadn’t seen her for a while. Seeing her now, he only felt a sense of unreality.
“What brings Doctor Huo here?” he asked as they stood face to face, while he fished for his keys.
Huo Chuxue shrugged, smiling carelessly. “I came to find you!”
He Qingshi: “…”
“What’s the matter?” He opened the door, pushed it, and stepped in first. “Come in and talk.”
Huo Chuxue followed him into the office. The office was large and empty—a sofa, a desk, two or three potted plants, and nothing else.
She glanced around, opening her big eyes wide as she asked innocently, “Can’t I look for you if there’s nothing wrong?”
He Qingshi: “…”
She casually sat down on the sofa, crossed her legs, and said calmly, “I called you several times. You didn’t answer your phone, didn’t reply to my texts. I thought you’d gone missing, so I came to find you.”
He Qingshi: “…”
He Qingshi put down his laptop bag and told a blatant lie. “You called me? I didn’t receive any calls.”
Keep pretending!
Huo Chuxue: “You got the texts, right?”
He Qingshi shook his head innocently. “No.”
“Do you dare let me see your phone?”
He Qingshi: “…”
Naturally, he did not dare!
He remained silent, just standing there awkwardly. He had read every text she sent him; they were still saved on his phone. He hadn’t had time to delete them.
He was unwilling to accept the truth Doctor Zheng had revealed. He couldn’t accept that he had developed feelings for her. It felt like a betrayal of Su Miao and a desecration of Huo Chuxue herself. In his eyes, they were just friends. She was merely a friend he greatly admired. He absolutely could not allow this relationship to change.
So he could only avoid her, create distance. Only then could he settle his emotions and let his heart return to silence. He had guarded Su Miao’s memory, lonely and still, for ten years. His heart had long turned to ashes. This was just an accident.
Clearly, his intentional avoidance was obvious to her. This girl had always been clever, best at reading people.
For a moment, the atmosphere took on the feel of a tense standoff.
She composed her expression, stood up from the sofa, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and said naturally, “He Qingshi, I’m hungry. Let’s go eat.”
He Qingshi: “…”
He Qingshi stared at her blankly, then said in a low voice, “I just ate at the cafeteria.”
He actually hadn’t eaten at all. He was just avoiding her.
Huo Chuxue knew perfectly well he was lying. She knew he had classes all morning; the bell had just rung not long ago. Where would he have found time to eat at the cafeteria?
It was exactly as Qiao Shengxi had said. He Qingshi was avoiding her. The current situation made it abundantly clear.
Utterly unfazed, she acted as if she didn’t detect his excuse and said directly, “You may have eaten, but I haven’t. You come with me to eat.”
He Qingshi: “…”
He stood there, at a complete loss for what to do, only feeling a headache coming on. Could this girl really not tell this was an excuse?
Huo Chuxue quickly walked up to him. They stood face to face, only a fist’s distance apart, so close they could see each other’s expressions clearly.
The man wore a look of not knowing what to do, clearly pained.
She, on the other hand, looked utterly innocent, her big eyes wide open as if she truly didn’t understand his words. At this moment, she resembled a child throwing a tantrum.
Afternoon sunlight poured in through the glass in large swathes. The few potted plants in the office strained to stand straight, their leaves large, lush, and verdant.
Light and shadow interwove in the office. The sunlight fell on her, outlining her figure with a soft, golden hue, gentle and elegant, as if she had stepped out of an oil painting. That clean, delicate little face was lovely, and every smile and frown was impossible to ignore.
Having known her for so long, he had almost never observed her closely. She was actually quite pretty. Not stunning, but pleasant to look at, comfortable on the eyes. She was very much like the reed flowers in the countryside of Wangchuan—resilient and elegant, capable of captivating one’s soul.
Then she directly took his hand and shook it twice, with a hint of a whine. “My stomach is hungry. Come eat with me.”
He Qingshi: “…”
The girl’s hand was warm, the skin of her palm smooth and delicate like fine silk. The contact felt like an electric shock, making his scalp tingle. He hurriedly pulled his hand back. His expression also unavoidably changed.
Seeing his intense reaction, Huo Chuxue frowned, her heart feeling desolate. He actually rejected her so strongly, avoiding her like the plague.
Suppressing her emotions, she continued with thick skin, “I’m really hungry. Let’s go eat.”
With that, she walked towards the office door.
She really was hungry. She had gotten up late that morning, rushing to make the conference. She had been in such a hurry she hadn’t had time for breakfast. After holding out all morning, her stomach was growling.
He Qingshi stood rooted to the spot, clenched his fist, and sighed silently. Then, slowly, he followed her.
He really had no way to deal with her!