[014: What’s the crux of the matter?]
But Fang Zhixi refused to leave.
Yao Mu said, “Don’t hold up the next patient.”
Fang Zhixi said, “Do you fancy Sister Yiyi?”
The moment Fang Zhixi brought this up, Yao Mu’s expression had already turned cold before he even realised it. “You’re holding me up at work.”
Fang Zhixi said, “Ding and I aren’t boyfriend and girlfriend. I only said that to you back then because I was angry.” Only now did she remember, “Oh! What about your wife and children? Were you lying to me about that too?”
“No.” Yao Mu had always considered himself quite patient, but every single word Fang Zhixi spoke hit him right where it hurt, “Please leave. You’re seriously disrupting my work.”
Seeing the flinching look on Fang Zhixi’s face, Yao Mu realised his tone had been too harsh. Just as he was about to explain, Fang Zhixi, clutching her bag and the test results in her hand, slowly stood up. Yao Mu snatched the test results from her hand. “You’re not ill. There’s no need to get tested.”
“……Oh.” Fang Zhixi hung her head, clearly feeling genuinely frightened by him.
Yao Mu’s lips moved, but he still couldn’t bring himself to say “sorry”.
That evening at the bar, Fang Zhixi told Chen Ding about what had happened that morning. Judging by Yao Mu’s expression at the time, Chen Ding concluded that the two of them hadn’t made up yet.
As he pondered this, he glanced at Fang Zhixi, who was sitting alone looking dejected. “Still feeling down?”
“He was so harsh with me.”
“Well, what would you like to eat? It’s on me.”
Although she was deeply immersed in her sadness and couldn’t pull herself out of it, she hadn’t forgotten about food. Fang Zhixi placed her order on her phone and forwarded the payment link to Chen Ding.
Just as they were enjoying their meal, Fang Zhile arrived and reminded her that it was already 10 pm and she had to return to university. Fang Zhixi didn’t want to go back, but Fang Zhile packed up the table full of takeaway and squeezed both herself and the food into a taxi.
Chen Ding had also gone home.
To his surprise, the lights were on at home.
Chen Ding scanned the living room, knocked on Zhuang Yiyi’s bedroom door, and eventually found her in the study, sitting at her computer desk playing with her phone.
“Darling—” he said in a clingy tone, but Zhuang Yiyi pushed his head away. “Is there something you haven’t told me?”
Chen Ding tilted his head to look at her, then crouched down beside her. “What do you mean? There are plenty of things I haven’t told you.”
Zhuang Yiyi ignored his teasing. “You sent Fang Zhixi to find my senior brother today to find out how things are between us. Don’t you think you’re overstepping my privacy a bit?”
Zhuang Yiyi’s serious expression caused Chen Ding to drop his carefree demeanour. He apologised earnestly, “I’m sorry.”
There was no argument at all. The scenario Zhuang Yiyi had imagined in her mind proved entirely unnecessary. Chen Ding continued, “I didn’t think this through properly. I didn’t ask you directly at the time; instead, I went round the back and asked Yao Mu. Firstly, because you were busy, and secondly, because I didn’t want to bring the matter up between us again. That day in the car park…”
Zhuang Yiyi sprang to her feet. “So you think it’s my fault now?”
Chen Ding was taken aback; Zhuang Yiyi’s sudden reversal of the blame left him completely bewildered. “No…”
“What do you mean ‘no’? You clearly could have asked me, but you chose to ask my senior instead. You simply don’t trust me, you suspect me…” Before Zhuang Yiyi could finish, she turned, pulled out the USB stick, and walked away. Chen Ding grabbed her arm; she shook it off, but couldn’t break free, and glared coldly at him. “Are you trying to restrict my freedom now?”
Chen Ding immediately raised both hands in a gesture of surrender. “Darling…”
Zhuang Yiyi paid him no heed and strode towards the door. Chen Ding blocked her path. She opened her mouth slightly, and he cut in straight away. “I’m not trying to restrict your freedom. Just let me explain.”
“I don’t want to listen!”
“Fine,” said Chen Ding. Zhuang Yiyi looked slightly bewildered.
“Then where are you going now?”
“None of your business!”
“I’m worried about your safety. If you don’t want to see me, I’ll leave. We’ll talk again tomorrow.”
Zhuang Yiyi watched as Chen Ding left the study, turned a corner and vanished into the hallway, followed by the sound of the front door closing. The unease on Zhuang Yiyi’s face vanished instantly. She let out a long sigh and, exhausted, collapsed onto the sofa in the study.
Arguing with people really was so draining, especially when they were just looking for a fight. She rubbed her forehead, thinking back on Chen Ding’s behaviour just now—every move had been completely unexpected. They hadn’t even had a proper fight.
Then she remembered that Chen Ding was going to talk to her again tomorrow. Her head ached. She didn’t want to talk. She hated arguments.
Chen Ding had only just stepped out of the house when he realised he’d left his ID at home. He’d also received a call from a client requesting last-minute changes to a contract. There was no way he could go back now.
On his way to the internet café, beneath the dappled shade of the trees, Chen Ding suddenly looked down and chuckled. He thought back to the way Zhuang Yiyi had argued with him just now.
She didn’t seem very good at arguing—blushing and getting all worked up, as if she were mimicking someone else’s quarrel—which was actually quite amusing.
Chen Ding suddenly thought that if he wanted to see her in future, he could simply provoke her. She’d be waiting at home for him to return.
Zhuang Yiyi went to the hospital first thing the next morning. Chen Ding hadn’t been in touch all morning, and she secretly breathed a sigh of relief, hoping the matter would just blow over.
But in the afternoon, just as she’d woken up, Chen Ding rang. Zhuang Yiyi didn’t want to face it. If she didn’t want to face it, she’d avoid it. That was her usual approach.
Seeing she hadn’t answered, Chen Ding assumed she was still busy with work. He didn’t want to let the issue linger. So he sent her a WeChat message first, explaining the situation and, whilst he was at it, making his feelings clear.
Zhuang Yiyi still didn’t reply.
She had seen it.
From an outsider’s perspective, she felt Chen Ding was indeed blameless. But from her own perspective, she hoped he was at fault. Sometimes, she even wished he would cheat on her. She had her reasons; it would be perfectly justified. She slipped her phone into her pocket.
That evening, Qian Zhang invited Zhuang Yiyi out for dinner again. This time, they met on the food street outside her undergraduate university, also known as ‘Decadence Street’.
Back then, he and Zhuang Yiyi would often dash here for a bite after class, chatting about their studies and classmates. Since he’d gone to Beijing for his postgraduate studies, they’d never had such leisurely, comfortable moments again.
Qian Zhang had chosen a Northeastern-style spicy hotpot restaurant. Zhuang Yiyi used to love coming here during her undergraduate days. She liked strong flavours, chilli, and coriander.
After taking the receipt and sitting down, Qian Zhang said, “I remember you used to absolutely love this place. You’d drag me here every day; whenever I asked what you fancied, you’d say ‘spicy hotpot’.”
Zhuang Yiyi smiled. “It really is delicious. I just wonder how it is now?”
“I tried it yesterday; the flavour’s exactly the same as before.”
Zhuang Yiyi resorted to her standard noncommittal response, “That’s good then.”
Qian Zhang continued, “Once we’ve finished eating, shall we go back to the university for a stroll?”
“No need. I come here often; sometimes I stand in for Professor Jiao.”
“It’s handy living so close. I haven’t been back since I graduated from my undergraduate degree.” ” As soon as he brought up the subject, Qian Zhang felt the atmosphere between them grow silent.
Or so he thought. Zhuang Yiyi didn’t see anything taboo about the question.
She got up to ask the owner for a bottle of Sprite. Qian Zhang noticed the condensation on the bottle. “Don’t drink too much cold stuff. Let me ask the owner for a room-temperature one for you.”
“I want it cold.”
“But it’s not good for you. You used to get period cramps from drinking ice-cold Sprite—have you forgotten? It was nearly ten o’clock that night when you rang me, asking me to take you to the university clinic.” Qian Zhang took the Sprite from Zhuang Yiyi’s hand and went to ask the owner for a replacement. Zhuang Yiyi didn’t like arguing with people, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have a temper. She just kept her frustration to herself.
Qian Zhang smiled as he unscrewed the cap of the room-temperature Sprite and placed it in front of her. “Have a drink.”
Zhuang Yiyi didn’t drink it; instead, she asked the owner for a bottle of water—room-temperature water.
The spicy hot pot arrived.
Zhuang Yiyi tried a bite; it was tasty, but not as good as it used to be. There was a very strong flavour of seasoning.
As Qian Zhang ate, he reminisced about their time together at university. Listening to him, Zhuang Yiyi felt a sense of how things had changed, yet she found herself feeling quite nostalgic. She missed the vibrant, energetic version of herself from her undergraduate days, and she missed the determined, fearless version of herself who charged ahead. That youthful spirit was gone forever.
After finishing their meal, Zhuang Yiyi and Qian Zhang still went back to the campus for a stroll. The campus was vast, and with the addition of the West Zone this year, it had grown even larger.
It was evening study time, so there weren’t many students about, though there was a student music festival taking place by the lake.
Zhuang Yiyi received a call from Chen Ding. She glanced at Qian Zhang, who was listening intently to the music, and answered the phone.
Chen Ding heard the music coming from her phone and asked with a laugh, “Where are you? It sounds like someone’s singing.”
“The music festival,” Zhuang Yiyi replied vaguely.
“The music festival? Where? Why didn’t you invite me?”
“I didn’t want to invite you.”
Chen Ding took this as a bit of a sulk. “Fine. If you don’t want to invite me, then don’t. Did you see the message I sent you?”
“I did. I think you’re still missing the point. My point is… never mind.” Zhuang Yiyi turned her head, only to find that Qian Zhang had already looked over. She said, “Let’s go. It’s too noisy.”
“Right.”
Zhuang Yiyi hung up, thinking that Chen Ding must have heard it.
Chen Ding wasn’t a mind reader; he had no idea what Zhuang Yiyi was thinking. All he could think about was the ‘point’ she’d mentioned—but what exactly was that point?
Chen Ding still hadn’t worked it out.
He decided to go straight to the hospital to confront her. First, he searched the hospital’s appointment list on the WeChat official account and found that she wasn’t seeing patients these days.
So, early the next morning, he went to the hospital to visit Qian Yi.
They hadn’t seen each other since that last time, so Qian Yi was quite taken aback by Chen Ding’s arrival. Chen Ding didn’t bother with small talk; after asking about his general condition, he headed straight for the staff lounge in the inpatient ward.
Zhang Zhang was on duty at the nurses’ station. When she saw him approach, her eyes lit up. Without asking a single question, she said straight away, “Dr Zhuang’s gone to a meeting.”
Chen Ding smiled, said thank you, and sat down on a chair next to the staff room.
Yao Mu hadn’t gone to the meeting; he spotted Chen Ding as he returned from the bathroom. When their eyes met, Yao Mu said nothing, keeping his gaze fixed straight ahead as he walked past him. Chen Ding clenched his fists tightly.
Yao Mu returned to the break room, but his mind was elsewhere. He knew Chen Ding must have come to see Zhuang Yiyi; what on earth were they up to? Such thoughts constantly filled his head.
Old Wang, who shared the break room with him, clearly sensed that something was amiss and asked, “What’s the matter?” Yao Mu said nothing, merely smiling and replying, “I suppose I haven’t slept well.’” Old Wang understood perfectly. He let out a long sigh. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to last another ten or so years.”
Zhuang Yiyi returned from the meeting and spotted Chen Ding too. When Chen Ding saw her, he smiled broadly—a radiant, handsome smile—but Zhuang Yiyi felt deeply troubled, for she knew exactly why Chen Ding had sought her out.