Meng Xinglan and Liang Yiran had work on Monday, so they booked a flight back to Pingcheng on Sunday night. After dinner, Ruan Mian sent them to the airport. When she got back, she saw on Moments that Chen Yi had recently posted a new status:
“Out on a mission, will be back end of the month.”
There was no photo, as if it was a special message just for someone.
Perhaps due to the recent events, Ruan Mian inexplicably felt that she had some connection with this post. As usual, she liked it, and clicked into Chen Yi’s Moments1 to casually scroll through.
After seeing five posts in a row, Ruan Mian realized something was off. From Chen Yi’s “End of leave” post on March 24 to today’s, there were a total of seven posts.
No comments, and only one like – hers.
Ruan Mian scrolled down a bit further and checked his posts before March 24. Almost every one had likes and comments from Shen Yu, occasionally one or two also had likes from Meng Xinglan.
But these seven had none.
It was as if Ruan Mian thought of something. Her heart beat faster as she flipped through those seven posts over and over, and that notion grew stronger and stronger in her mind.
She still couldn’t quite believe it. She exited out and opened her chat with Meng Xinglan, and was so nervous as she typed that her fingertips even trembled slightly. She had to re-type the sentence several times before getting it right without any errors.
Just as she was about to hit send, Ruan Mian hesitated again, not daring to confirm this 50% chance that it might be her own wishful thinking.
It was also at this moment that she saw the keys on the corner of the desk, the ones Chen Yi had given her before leaving yesterday.
The keys to his home.
Somehow, it was as if she gained courage in that instant. Ruan Mian hit send, and the message was quickly delivered, but Meng Xinglan was already on the flight back to Pingcheng.
To Ruan Mian, those few hours felt endless, yet she had never anticipated anything this much before.
She thought, if the outcome was good, then this wait would be very meaningful.
At two in the morning, the city was deathly silent. All sounds were amplified in the deep of the night, standing out starkly.
In the pitch black room, the suddenly lit phone screen from the vibration woke the person who had barely fallen asleep.
Ruan Mian turned on the bedside lamp and picked up her phone to see Meng Xinglan had just replied to her message.
It was like having bought a scratch card, already scratched off the second last number, just one more to reveal to see if she had won a prize.
That feeling was both thrilling and extremely nerve-wracking.
Ruan Mian unlocked the screen, repeating the motion five or six times, until another message came in from Meng Xinglan.
Whether the outcome was good or bad hung on just that moment.
She held her breath slightly and opened the chat box.
Meng Xinglan: Hold on, I just got off the plane, will send screenshots later.
Meng Xinglan: Image
Ruan Mian tapped open the image, and it showed Chen Yi’s latest Moment was the tabby cat photo from January.
It was as if everything suddenly became clear. Even if this didn’t entirely prove anything, she still had the feeling of hitting the jackpot. All those flickering thoughts in her mind, all those bold guesses, in this moment they seemed to have become definite notions.
What had seemed like her own wishful thinking was actually a hint of mutual affection.
After a while, Ruan Mian replied to Meng Xinglan, then went back into Chen Yi’s Moment to carefully look through those seven posts again.
Each period was like the meaning of a happy ending.
She couldn’t help curving her lips. She looked for a long time before exiting out.
The remaining days continued busy as usual. Meng Xinglan’s wedding date was set for mid to late April, on June 6th, right before Dragon Boat Festival.
The hospital ran shifts and days off on a rotation system. Ruan Mian wanted to keep the three days of Dragon Boat Festival open, so she switched shifts with some colleagues, giving up the May 1st holiday.
After returning from Luolin, Dr. Meng had assigned her more tasks, ostensibly to overwork her but in essence to train her. He probably planned to let her operate independently in the second half of the year.
Dr. Meng had always valued her highly, and Ruan Mian didn’t want to disappoint his expectations either, so she could only work doubly hard. As a result, she missed several calls from Chen Yi on May 3rd because she was too busy.
When she called back later, no one picked up. From his Moment, Ruan Mian saw he would be going to the southwest military district for training exercises in the next period, and wouldn’t be back until mid to late May.
They were both terribly busy during that time, and adding in Chen Yi’s unusual occupation, they rarely contacted each other.
After another busy night, Ruan Mian learned in the morning that the Red Cross would hold an earthquake disaster relief commendation conference in City B at the end of the month. Dr. Meng told her to arrange her workload ahead of time, and also assigned her the task of writing the speech.
As one of the leaders of the first medical team, Dr. Meng had to give a speech on stage at the commendation. He was always too busy to make time to write this kind of thing.
After handling the minor matters, Dr. Meng said gently, “Alright, go get some rest after your shift, don’t overwork yourself.”
“Okay, I understand.”
Ruan Mian had worked the night shift. After handing off duties to her colleague, she ran into one of Chen Yi’s teammates downstairs in the first floor lobby.
Zhou Ziheng.
He had been caught in a secondary collapse during the on-site rescue back then. They had managed to save his life in time, but his left leg suffered permanent disability.
Zhou Ziheng had clearly seen Ruan Mian too. He paused and said, “Dr. Ruan.”
After saying this, he explained to the middle-aged woman beside him, “Mom, this is Dr. Ruan Mian. She was also there for disaster relief.”
Ruan Mian smiled politely. “Hello, Auntie.”
“Hello.”
The middle-aged woman was holding a stack of receipts and said with a smile, “You kids chat, I’ll go pay first.”
“Okay.”
Zhou Ziheng watched his mother walk far away before looking back.
Ruan Mian wasn’t very familiar with him. At most she had paid more attention to him at the disaster site. Standing there chatting with him for a few sentences, she learned he was here for rehab training.
The doctor who had operated on him was Ortho Chief Li from Xiehe Hospital. Later, considering his understanding of the injury, Dr. Li had suggested he come to Xiehe for follow-up treatment.
They didn’t chat for long before his mother came back from paying. They bid farewell and left, while Ruan Mian stood there watching them for a bit before looking away.
On the day of the commendation conference, Ruan Mian went to the hospital early. She and her colleagues took the hospital bus to the venue. There were already several other hospital buses parked outside, as well as military vehicles.
People dressed in all manners of clothing shuttled amongst them. She looked towards the group in military uniforms several times, but didn’t see any familiar faces before a colleague urged her inside the venue.
Not long after she entered, several more vehicles pulled up outside in succession. Chen Yi got out of one, while Shen Yu got out of another nearby.
The group strode into the venue in neat formation, footsteps echoing on the floor, causing many to frequently glance back towards the entrance.
The third time Ruan Mian looked back, she saw Chen Yi walking in front, tall and straight in uniform, handsome and serious as he reported to a leader about something.
But not long after, when he finished his report and turned to chat with a comrade beside him, he was back to that casual, nonchalant manner, as if nothing bothered him.
He also seemed to be looking for something, frequently turning his head this way and that, before looking away again. It was unclear what he had said to Song Yangling, but she turned and left.
The procedure for the commendation conference had been set long in advance and distributed to each unit. The second segment was the awards ceremony. Ruan Mian followed her colleagues up the left side of the stage.
The host spoke of the efforts and contributions this batch of medical personnel had made on site. Standing on stage, Ruan Mian had an unobstructed view of the auditorium below.
She saw Chen Yi sitting in the third row. Despite the considerable distance, she still couldn’t confirm if Chen Yi saw her.
But she soon found out.
Chen Yi sat properly and seriously down below, cap placed beside him. As Ruan Mian inadvertently glanced over again, he suddenly smiled briefly.
Ruan Mian’s gaze faltered, cheeks flushing slightly. She pretended to calmly look away, acting as if listening to the host speak.
Applause rose from below as groups went up on stage one after another. The entire awards ceremony took three hours.
There were still some other procedures after, and it wasn’t until past noon that it completely ended.
The medical personnel left the scene earlier than the others. Outside, the sunshine was good and the breeze gentle. People who knew each other gathered in small groups, chatting away.
Ruan Mian stood in the shade with Lin Jiahui, waiting for the hospital bus to come take them to the hotel for a meal. It took quite a while before the military personnel finally came out of the venue.
Ruan Mian saw Song Yangling stop Chen Yi at the bottom of the steps.
They didn’t talk for long, probably not even a full minute. Chen Yi looked around before looking away again. It was unclear what he said to Song Yangling, but she turned and left.
Not long after, Shen Yu came over, hands on his waist as he stood there. “Liang Yiran said he got a call from Jiang Rang earlier. This brat’s forgotten all about us after going abroad.”
Chen Yi lazily smiled. “Probably busy.”
It had been the same when Jiang Rang first went abroad. The rigor and particulars of his field kept him terribly busy every day, basically no free time at all.
Shen Yu shrugged. In high school, out of their group of four, Jiang Rang and Chen Yi had been closer.
Not sure what had happened over the years, but he sighed without saying more.
It was already June in City B, entering summer weather. The night breeze held hints of sultriness. There were food stalls set up at the complex entrance, the aroma of grilled skewers especially tempting.
Shen Yu couldn’t resist the allure. He got out of the car, stood there and stretched his back. “Why don’t we grab a bite first before heading out? We’ll get home late either way, past midnight, so no difference.”
Chen Yi: “Sure.”
He turned and took out his phone, sending Ruan Mian a message, then went with Shen Yu to a grilled skewer stall near the complex entrance.
It was peak time now, and Chen Yi found them seats while Shen Yu went up to the display to pick skewers, getting three of each kind. The basket quickly filled up.
He made one trip to the grilling area, then came back for a second basket, going back and forth to fill up three whole baskets. The owner called for him to take a seat.
Shen Yu could tell the owner had a Pingcheng accent, and they chatted for a bit, discovering he really was from Pingcheng. He stood there and kept chatting.
The owner handed his three baskets of food over to start grilling.
The two chatted avidly. Chen Yi sat not far away, frequently lifting his head to glance at the complex entrance. Voices clamored around them, nightfall blanketing the city.
After a while, a familiar figure emerged from the complex entrance and walked over. Ruan Mian wore simple light wash jeans and a white tee, hair loosely tied up. Her gaze roamed around searchingly, as if looking for something.
Chen Yi picked up his phone and typed out a few words to send over.
Almost at the same time, she lowered her head to check her phone, then quickly lifted her head, fixing her gaze over here before hurrying over.
Due to his vantage point, Chen Yi sitting there could only see her coming but not the other way around.
Ruan Mian walked rather quickly. Slim figured, simply dressed, she looked just like a student who hadn’t graduated yet.
She approached, the dim streetlights silhouetting her.
Somehow, Chen Yi strangely felt this scene seemed vaguely familiar, various fleeting fragments flashing through his mind in an instant.
Blistering summer night, noisy grilled skewer stall, and a girl running.
These mundane fragments, in a certain moment, abruptly connected together seamlessly into a continuous scene.
Chen Yi’s mind flashed with realization as he suddenly remembered.
This was how he had first met Ruan Mian, even earlier than in Class 8 of No. 8 Middle School.
- WeChat Moments (???) – Literally translated to ‘friend circle’; it’s a virtual space within WeChat, China’s messaging app like Whatsapp/FB Messenger, where people can post photos and updates to their social network. Think X/Instagram but within WhatsApp and for your contacts on there, and you’re able to set your privacy settings to different options (only you, only specific friends, only specific groups, everyone, etc). Screenshots of how Moments look like here.
(T/N: Repeating a previous footnote because this is vital to understand what’s coming up!!!! Because…..!!!!!!!!) ↩︎
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