After hearing those words, Lin Xichen sniffled and wiped away her tears on her knee, somehow comforted by his words. She didn’t know what to say, so she softly retorted, “What you said, Xufang, was just a bunch of nonsense.”
Xufang remained silent, not engaging in an argument. After a while, he lowered his voice and called her gently, “Lin Xichen.”
Lin Xichen responded, “What is it?”
However, Xufang didn’t speak again, and the room fell into a quiet stillness.
In the small space, Lin Xichen could clearly hear his breathing, as if he were right beside her.
Xufang seemed to have a lot of patience, and he waited quietly.
After some time, Lin Xichen blinked, her lips curling slightly. She buried her face in her arms and said, “In the hospital, there was a kitten with feline panleukopenia. It was my patient, and it passed away this morning.”
Xufang finally reacted with a soft “Hmm.”
Lin Xichen continued, “And then this afternoon, the owner of the cat called and yelled at me.”
Xufang asked, “Yelled at you for what?”
Lin Xichen replied, “She said I was useless, that her cat’s condition was getting worse, and that she had wasted her money.”
This time, Xufang fell silent for a few seconds before asking, “Did you make a mistake?”
Hearing this, Lin Xichen’s eyelashes trembled, and she tightened her lips. She took a deep breath and explained earnestly, “The symptoms of that cat clearly indicated feline panleukopenia. I performed a rapid test, and it showed two lines. The white blood cell count was only 0.2. And…”
Because the person on the other end was him, Lin Xichen found it difficult to continue. She choked up and pointed her finger at him, accusing him like a child, “You can’t question me in this regard…”
“I don’t understand these things, and I’m not questioning you,” Xufang said, sounding a bit frustrated. His voice was getting more urgent. “I just want to tell you that if you did every step correctly, then why are you feeling upset now?”
Lin Xichen fell silent.
“You’re a veterinarian, you help those animals get better, and if you can cure them, you’re great, you’re talented, and you deserve praise,” Xufang said, not quite sure what profound words to use, so he scratched his head and said it in his own way. “But if you can’t cure them, you did your best, and you still deserve praise.”
His words caused Lin Xichen’s tears to flow even more, and her sobbing became louder.
Xufang closed his eyes for a moment and maintained a patient and gentle tone. “You didn’t do anything wrong, so don’t cry.”
Sometimes, she just wanted to cry.
When she was alone, crying could provide relief, and the tears would automatically stop. But once there was someone she cared about nearby, the sense of grievance would be magnified hundreds of times, and her tears wouldn’t stop because of his comfort; her emotions would only surge stronger.
Lin Xichen was in that state right now.
She felt that Xufang’s words were right. She felt that Xufang was really amazing and that she couldn’t do without him.
She just wanted to hear him say more, wanted to be a little more coquettish with him, wanted to be closer to him, wanted him to be even more patient and attentive to her, just a little more.
However, to her disappointment, Xufang didn’t speak anymore.
Soon, Lin Xichen stopped crying, wiped her tears away with some tissues, and remembered that Xufang had noticed her unhappiness because of her few words. Her previously heavy heart felt much lighter now, and she gradually began to understand.
In this profession, doctors had to face many separations due to life and death. She couldn’t invest too much emotion in her patients, nor could she doubt herself because of a few angry words from others.
Capability and resilience had to go hand in hand.
That way, she could go further.
Lin Xichen took a few tissue papers to wipe her tears away and thought that Xufang was really great.
Really, really, really, really great.
Lin Xichen was filled with gratitude, her eyes brightening, and the sadness from before was completely gone. Her tone carried an evident desire to please him as she asked, “Xufang, what are you doing?”
“Waiting for you to finish crying,” Xufang replied.
She acknowledged his response with a simple “Okay” and continued to work on the PPT for Lin Xigeng. While she was engrossed in her task, Xufang had finished his shower and returned to their dorm.
Noticing her peculiar use of the word “?” (meaning “fart” in Chinese) in her messages, Xufang couldn’t help but be both puzzled and slightly amused. He decided to question her, asking, “What are you doing with all this ‘?’ talk?”
Lin Xichen replied promptly, “I’m making a PPT for Lin Xigeng. Because I don’t know how to use PowerPoint, I’m creating the images first with Photoshop and then transferring them to PowerPoint.”
Seeing her messages filled with “?” (which sounded like the word “PPT” in Chinese), Xufang couldn’t contain his amusement. He responded, “Why don’t you just say ‘PPT’ normally?”
Lin Xichen, undeterred by his lack of enthusiasm for her playful wordplay, continued with her affectionate tone, “Xufang, can you see the love hidden within these words?”
Xufang couldn’t help but smile at her playful approach. His heart skipped a beat as he read her message. He replied, “I can’t.”
Lin Xichen, unfazed by his response, continued with her sincerity, “Xufang, I really like you.”
Seeing her confession, Xufang’s heart raced, and his eyes brightened. He couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.
One of his roommates passing by noticed his expression and asked curiously, “Did you just win the lottery or something?”
Xufang, still smiling, replied nonchalantly, “Yeah, something like that.”
He lowered his head and continued to look at what Lin Xichi had sent him.
Lin Xichi: ?So.?
Lin Xichi was quite sycophantic: ?Starting from today, when I talk to you, I will try to mention your name as much as possible to show my level of appreciation for you.?
Xu Fang: “…”
Did she really need to do that?
But Lin Xichi’s enthusiasm couldn’t be stopped, no matter how he tried to restrain her. He had to endure her constant chatter every day, like:
“Your fart smell is so bad today.”
“I had a glass of fart wine today.”
“I went to a place, and it was really far-fart.”
“It’s so cold today, so I wore a fart scarf.”
And so on.
It wasn’t until she couldn’t find any more words to replace “fart” that she gradually quieted down.
May had two holidays, Labor Day at the beginning of the month and Dragon Boat Festival at the end.
Lin Xichi had been debating for a while and discussed it with Xu Fang. In the end, they decided to meet during the Dragon Boat Festival and bring him some zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) to eat.
Coincidentally, in June, Xu Fang’s assignment to his work location was also announced. After Lin Xichi returned from City B, she would know where he had been assigned. Then, in another month, he would be on vacation and return to Xicheng.
Lin Xichi switched shifts with her colleagues and even worked an extra week to secure a four-day consecutive holiday. She planned to visit him from May 27th, the day Xu Fang started his vacation, until the 30th.
They would spend three days together and then, on the 31st, she would return.
Since Xu Fang started his postgraduate studies in City B, Lin Xichi had visited him every year, usually two or three times a year.
Although her parents were also in City B, she hardly ever told them when she visited, so when she went there, Lin Xichi usually booked a hotel.
Xu Fang would stay with her and book two rooms, one for each of them.
She had protested against this arrangement before, saying that it was foolish for a couple to book two rooms when they went on vacation, like giving away money for nothing.
Xu Fang didn’t respond to her protests and continued to book two rooms each time.
This time, when they arrived, Lin Xichi’s first reaction upon seeing Xu Fang leading her into a standard double room was, “Did we enter the wrong room?”
She turned to look at Xu Fang.
Xu Fang glanced at her, noticed her suspicious look, frowned, and calmly said, “We booked too late, and there were no other rooms available.”
Lin Xichi suddenly realized and exclaimed, “Oh!” It seemed she had finally figured it out.
She sat on the bed with her bare feet, looking like a seasoned wife, and said contentedly, “A-Pi, you’ve finally come to your senses.”
Xu Fang’s mouth twitched. “Came to my senses about what?”
Lin Xichi didn’t believe he didn’t understand, so she quickly got up, put her coat back on, and dragged Xu Fang out of the room.
Originally, Lin Xichi just didn’t want to stay in the hotel room all night. She wanted to go out with Xu Fang to the supermarket, buy some snacks and daily necessities, and take a walk. She had no idea that she would meet someone she hadn’t seen in a very long time here.
Lin Wen.
There was no one else beside her, and it seemed like she was alone. At the moment, she was pushing a shopping cart, standing in front of the milk display.
Compared to the image Lin Xichi had seen a long time ago, Lin Wen had changed quite a bit.
Her hair had been cut short to shoulder length, revealing her small, delicate face. Her complexion, once pale and sallow, now appeared fair and flushed with a hint of rosy hue, giving her a refreshed and clean look. She wore a long dress that reached her ankles, her face lightly adorned with makeup. Her lips were slightly pursed, as if contemplating which brand of milk to buy.
Her demeanor exuded tranquillity and grace, and her appearance was undeniably attractive.
Due to this remarkable transformation, Lin Xichi couldn’t be entirely certain if it was her.
It wasn’t until she pushed the shopping cart forward, her still slightly limping gait, that Lin Xichi became sure.
Lin Xichi’s breath caught in her throat, and she didn’t know how to react. She stood there dumbfounded, seemingly losing her ability to think.
Soon, Lin Wen noticed her gaze and looked at her with confusion.
Only then did Lin Xichi regain her senses and quickly stepped back.
Their eyes met for a second.
Lin Xichi turned around, pretending she hadn’t seen anything, and walked towards where Xu Fang was.
Xu Fang was still in the snack section, picking snacks for her. He noticed her presence in the corner of his eye but didn’t look over, casually asking, “Do you want chocolate?”
Lin Xichi mumbled in agreement, reaching out to grab the hem of his shirt, feeling somewhat uneasy.
Sensing her fidgeting, Xu Fang raised an eyebrow and turned to look at her. His hand moved down slightly, gripping her hand. “What about jelly?”
Xu Fang’s palm was broad and warm, quickly calming Lin Xichi’s flustered mood. She licked her lips, nodded, and leaned closer, scanning the jelly selection on the shelf with her dark eyes.
She had been browsing for quite a while without making a choice.
Xu Fang, looking at her, asked, “Don’t you like mango flavor?”
“I’ve changed my preference. You just don’t understand me anymore,” Lin Xichi said, glancing at him with a clear tone of reproach. “You don’t care about me now.”
Xu Fang frowned, picked up one row of jelly cups, and asked, “How about strawberry?”
“No.”
“Pineapple?”
“No, no.”
Xu Fang pulled her closer and said with a stern face, “Then there’s none left.”
Lin Xichi sighed, “It seems like there’s none left.”
She appeared somewhat reluctant, as if she wanted something more. Xu Fang couldn’t help but ask, “What flavor do you want? I’ll get it for you next time.”
This question seemed to strike a chord with Lin Xichi. She raised the corner of her mouth, leaned in close to his ear, and spoke softly, as if sharing a very mysterious secret, enunciating each word clearly.
“Fart flavor.”
Xu Fang: “…”
Did she think this was romantic?
The two of them left the supermarket with their items.
Although Lin Xichi wasn’t heavily influenced by Lin Wen, she hesitated about whether to tell her parents that she had seen Lin Wen. Besides, it seemed that Lin Wen had seen her too.
Thinking about this, Lin Xichi sent a text message to her mother, which Xu Fang could clearly see on her phone. He immediately understood her momentary awkwardness.
Xu Fang held her hand and, seeing her put down her phone, asked, “Hungry?”
It was just past nine o’clock at night, and the night market was bustling with people. Neon lights lit up the surroundings, and the aroma of street food wafted through the air with the breeze.
Lin Xichi wasn’t hungry initially, but the enticing smells made her stomach growl. She touched her belly, nodded, and said, “Yes, let’s go eat something.”
“What do you want to eat?”
City B had a wide variety of food options, especially street food.
Lin Xichi was also unsure for a moment. She looked around and then fixed her gaze on a French pizza shop. A glint of inspiration flashed through her eyes, as if she had just thought of something.
Xu Fang followed her gaze.
Before he could speak, he heard Lin Xichi say, “I want that.”
“Fartza.”
Xu Fang: “…”
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