Xu Qinghe sent Shi Wenli a message herself:
Xu Qinghe: I’m going to your place for dinner with Jiang Yang tonight, freeloading again. Sorry to trouble you.
Shi Wenli: It’s no trouble. Come over.
Shi Wenli: I’ll start making the tomato soup.
Xu Qinghe: OK.
At least she had managed to taste his homemade wontons before he moved away.
After leaving the main hospital building, Xu Qinghe asked Jiang Yang where they were going to buy the barbecue.
Jiang Yang pointed across the street from the hospital.
There was a food alley diagonally across from the hospital, with three barbecue restaurants next to one another.
Jiang Yang had never eaten at any of them and had no idea which one tasted best, so he ordered a takeaway portion from each.
Xu Qinghe stayed in the car while they waited. She opened the vanity mirror and tidied her loose strands of hair.
There was a lipstick in her bag. She picked a shade close to nude and applied a simple layer.
When she finished, she couldn’t help laughing at herself.
She and Shi Wenli had known each other for so long. He had seen her exhausted and completely disheveled. Why was she suddenly so concerned about her appearance?
She pushed the vanity mirror back up just as Jiang Yang returned, carrying three large bags of barbecue.
Xu Qinghe put the lipstick back into her bag.
“Are Shi Miao and her husband coming too?”
Jiang Yang got into the car and closed the door. “They went on their honeymoon. It’s just Shi Ge, you, and me.”
“Then why did you buy so much? Can we finish all that?”
“If we can’t, it’s fine. I’ll take the leftovers home for my dad.”
“…” What a filial son.
As soon as Jiang Yang mentioned his father, he took off his coat and tossed it onto the back seat.
“My dad tried to set Shi Ge up on a blind date today. You know that, right?”
Xu Qinghe paused slightly before shaking her head. “I ate lunch early today, so I didn’t run into Director Shi in the cafeteria.”
So the rumors going around the hospital were true. Director Jiang really had been trying to introduce someone to Shi Wenli.
He had just introduced them at lunchtime, and Jiang Yang was now going to Shi Wenli’s place for dinner, even bringing barbecue to celebrate. Shi Wenli must have agreed.
Xu Qinghe pulled out a tissue from her bag and discreetly dabbed her lips.
She wiped away the faint rosy-brown color.
Jiang Yang pulled his seat belt across with a click and started the car.
“My dad confidently said a few days ago that he was going to set Shi Ge up with Qi Ruo-jie. But Shi Ge didn’t even know what she looked like or where she worked. He rejected it outright.”
“Do you think my dad is the worst matchmaker ever?”
In just a few dozen seconds, Xu Qinghe’s mood had gone on a roller coaster.
So that was why she had felt so reluctant to let him go.
When she heard that he had been introduced to someone, she was far more upset than she had expected.
Jiang Yang was a little exasperated with his father.
“Other matchmakers at least manage to get the two people to meet. But my dad…”
“He’s probably feeling miserable right now.”
“He likes grilled fish, so I packed some for him to cheer him up.”
As they chatted, the aroma of barbecue filled the entire car.
Jiang Yang had been hungry for ages. How could he resist?
He immediately changed his mind about his filial plans.
“Forget it. We’ll eat the grilled fish first. I’ll bring some to Dad next time.”
Xu Qinghe: “…”
His filial devotion hadn’t even lasted two minutes.
The traffic light ahead turned red, and Jiang Yang gently pressed the brakes. Just then, his phone rang.
He glanced at the number displayed on the car screen. Since he didn’t consider Xu Qinghe an outsider, he simply tapped the hands-free button.
A clear, pleasant female voice filled the car.
“Yangyang, are you off work?”
Jiang Yang: “…”
Being called by his childhood nickname in front of a female colleague was mortifying.
He had been so busy that he’d forgotten Qi Ruo always called him that. Otherwise, there was no way he would have answered on speaker.
“Ruo-jie, I just left the hospital. Are you back from your business trip?”
Qi Ruo: “Yeah. I took the flight back at noon.”
She had been away on a business trip for a month. The moment she got off the plane, she learned that her parents had arranged a blind date for her.
She was about to question them about why they hadn’t told her beforehand. She had no intention of getting married so soon, much less going on a blind date.
But before she could say anything, her father had already told her, “Don’t be angry. You don’t need to meet him. He rejected you.”
Her father was deeply disappointed, blaming Director Jiang for being a terrible matchmaker and saying he’d lost such an excellent potential son-in-law.
He had gone on about it the entire drive home from the airport, giving her a headache. She eventually asked him for a photo because she wanted to see what this supposedly wonderful man who had left her father so regretful looked like.
Her father said Shi Wenli wasn’t photogenic. A picture couldn’t capture even one percent of his presence. She had to see him in person.
She told her father not to exaggerate.
Her father had defended himself confidently. “You don’t trust my judgment? Look at my judgment in choosing your mother. You can trust me!”
He hadn’t forgotten to compliment her mother while praising himself.
Coincidentally, she would be going to the hospital the day after tomorrow to observe a surgery. If she happened to run into him, she would take a look at what he was really like.
If she didn’t, then so be it. She already had someone she liked and wasn’t curious about other men.
Jiang Yang asked, “Why did you call me?”
Qi Ruo: “I’m going to your hospital the day after tomorrow to observe a surgery. Have lunch with me.”
“Sure.”
Jiang Yang agreed, then couldn’t help sighing.
“If only you’d come back a day earlier. You could have met Shi Ge as a fellow medical professional, and maybe there would have been a chance. But now my dad completely ruined it at lunchtime today.”
At the mention of Shi Wenli, Xu Qinghe instinctively glanced at the car screen.
So this was the woman Director Jiang had introduced to Shi Wenli.
Qi Ruo’s voice came through the speaker again.
“Even if I’d come back two days earlier, Shi Wenli and I wouldn’t have had any chance. It was all my dad’s wishful thinking.”
They chatted a little longer before ending the call.
Jiang Yang’s curiosity got the better of him. He turned to Xu Qinghe.
“Jie, you’re close to Shi Ge and know him well. What kind of woman do you think he wants?”
Xu Qinghe answered honestly. “When it comes to his romantic preferences, I really don’t know.”
“Then ask him tonight.”
Xu Qinghe also wanted to know what kind of woman Shi Wenli liked, or what his standards were for a partner.
During the year he had been abroad for further training, whenever she had free time, she couldn’t help thinking about him.
When you missed someone, it was easy for your thoughts to run wild.
She would wonder whether he’d met someone he liked during that year, whether anyone had introduced him to a suitable girlfriend.
Sometimes she even wondered whether he had ever liked someone before.
…
By the time they arrived, Shi Wenli had just brought the steaming tomato-soup wontons to the table.
“Shi Ge!” Jiang Yang called from outside.
There was a series of hurried knocks on the door, as if he couldn’t wait another second to eat the wontons.
“Coming.”
Shi Wenli went to open the door.
The moment it opened, Xu Qinghe smiled at him as naturally as she always did.
She had no idea that Director Zhao was trying to set the two of them up, so she behaved completely normally.
“The freeloaders are here.”
Shi Wenli smiled faintly and welcomed them inside, doing his best not to let them notice anything unusual.
The moment Xu Qinghe entered, she noticed something different about the dining table.
A few days earlier, when she’d come upstairs to pick up a handwritten case report, the vase had been empty. Now it held a bouquet of chamomile decorated with several sprigs of snowberry bells, complemented by a pale-green checkered tablecloth.
The whole arrangement was warm and elegant.
Shi Wenli opened the bags of barbecue and arranged everything on plates.
Xu Qinghe asked, “Did you arrange these flowers yourself? They look nice.”
Shi Wenli glanced at the vase. “The florist suggested the combination. They’re not very fresh anymore. They looked better when I first bought them.”
Xu Qinghe gently touched one of the sprigs.
“My life has gotten more and more unrefined. I haven’t bought flowers in years.”
“I don’t usually buy them either,” Shi Wenli said. “The vase stays empty most of the year. A few days ago, my brother-in-law came over for his birthday, so I decorated the place a little.”
No wonder everyone wanted a brother-in-law like him.
Putting aside the fact that she liked him, she also wanted to become family with someone like him.
Jiang Yang washed his hands and dropped into a chair.
“I saw your post on WeChat Moments. You cooked an entire tableful of dishes for President Min’s birthday. It made me so jealous.”
Shi Wenli finished arranging the barbecue and sat down opposite him.
“I’ve been busy lately. When I have some free time around the New Year, I’ll invite you all over for dinner.”
Xu Qinghe took off her coat and casually draped it over the sofa. She rolled up the sleeves of her thin sweater and prepared to wash her hands.
She didn’t feel comfortable casually using the bathroom in a man’s home, so she went into the kitchen instead.
The kitchen wasn’t large, enough for two or three people at most. It was spotless and neatly organized, with hardly any trace of cooking grease.
After washing her hands, she came out and hesitated over whether to sit beside Shi Wenli or beside Jiang Yang.
“Jie, come over and try Shi Ge’s cooking.”
Jiang Yang enthusiastically pulled out the chair beside him.
Someone had made the decision for her, saving her the trouble of choosing.
She walked over and sat down.
She had barely taken one bite of the wonton when Jiang Yang eagerly asked, “Well? I wasn’t lying, was I? Isn’t it so good you almost swallowed your tongue?”
Xu Qinghe nodded.
“I’ll have to eat another bowl tonight. Once Director Shi moves, I might not have the chance to enjoy his cooking again.”
Shi Wenli looked up at her.
He wanted to respond, but for a moment, he didn’t know what to say.
Jiang Yang had already swallowed four or five wontons and was finally feeling satisfied.
“Jie, you make it sound like Shi Ge is moving off the planet.”
Xu Qinghe: “…”
She smiled discreetly.
“I’ve lived in the same residential complex as Director Shi for so many years, but I hardly ever have time to come over and freeload a meal. After he moves, it’ll be no different from him moving to another planet.”
From then on, it wouldn’t just be a matter of distance.
Jiang Yang said casually, “If you want wontons, that’s easy. Whenever you crave them, just ask him to bring you a serving. There’s no need to be shy. His entire department even makes him bring them scallion pancakes.”
Shi Wenli still couldn’t think of what to say.
Seeing Xu Qinghe focused only on eating, he assumed she was a little reserved because it was her first time visiting his home. He handed her two skewers of grilled chicken wings.
“Thank you.”
Xu Qinghe put down her spoon and accepted them.
Compared with the crispy-outside, tender-inside chicken wings, she actually preferred his tomato wontons.
Jiang Yang was oblivious to the fact that Shi Wenli was much quieter than usual.
Xu Qinghe noticed.
She glanced at him from time to time.
Shi Wenli never wore his emotions on his face. Only when something was serious enough to distract him would the slightest change become apparent.
After eating several wontons, Shi Wenli looked up. He was about to ask whether she thought the soup base was too light when he realized she was studying him.
He smiled.
“What are you looking at?”
Xu Qinghe asked directly, “Did something happen at work?”
Shi Wenli maintained his smile.
“Is it that obvious?”
“Not really.”
Perhaps because she had known him for so long, she could keenly detect even the slightest change in him.
She joked lightly, “I just think you’re less lively than usual.”
The word lively made Shi Wenli laugh.
It was the first time anyone had ever described him that way.
He could only give her a reason involving his family.
“Something with my parents.”
Then he added, “It’s nothing serious.”
He changed the subject.
“Does the tomato soup taste too light?”
“It’s just right.”
It was the best tomato wonton soup she’d ever tasted.
He was an excellent cook and an exceptionally skilled doctor. No matter how difficult the situation, he was always calm and composed. He never lost his temper, much less took his frustrations out on other people.
Xu Qinghe couldn’t think of a single flaw in Shi Wenli.
Jiang Yang polished off a huge bowl of wontons. Even the grilled fish he’d originally packed for his father disappeared into his stomach, leaving nothing but bones.
Well-fed and satisfied, he leaned back in his chair with a contented sigh.
“Oh, right, Shi Ge. What kind of girlfriend do you want?”
The question came completely out of nowhere.
Shi Wenli: “…”
Xu Qinghe couldn’t help glancing at Jiang Yang.
She could imagine exactly how Director Jiang must have approached Shi Wenli at lunchtime. He had probably been just as direct, asking questions that left Shi Wenli completely stunned.
Even when playing matchmaker, there was an art to choosing one’s words.
“Shi Ge, there’s no one else here. Just say what’s really on your mind.”
Shi Wenli smiled helplessly but answered with a question of his own.
“Did Director Jiang send you to continue trying to convince me?”
Jiang Yang hurriedly waved his hands.
“I’m just genuinely curious.”
In his opinion, Qi Ruo was independent, capable, beautiful, and pleasant. She was a perfect match for Shi Wenli in every way.
Even someone as outstanding as her had been rejected outright by Shi Wenli, and he couldn’t understand why.
“Shi Ge, you’ve never actually met Qi Ruo-jie, have you? She’s just as pretty as our Dr. Xu. Are you really not going to meet her?”
Jiang Yang normally didn’t meddle in other people’s affairs. He simply felt it was a shame for the two of them to miss out.
Shi Wenli said, “There’s no need to meet her. It has nothing to do with her appearance. I simply don’t plan to get married.”
After a brief pause, he adjusted his wording.
“When Director Jiang tried to set us up, I genuinely had no intention of pursuing a relationship or marriage. I’ve already turned it down, so there’s no need for us to meet.”
Jiang Yang didn’t notice any fundamental difference between those two statements.
Even Xu Qinghe, who knew him well, didn’t immediately pick up on the distinction.
Shi Wenli stood and began clearing the table, not letting either of them help.
He had just carried the dishes into the kitchen when his phone vibrated in his pocket.
He took it out and saw a message from Director Zhao.
Zhao Mingde: Wenli, you don’t need to rush to give me an answer. This concerns your happiness for the rest of your life, so you need to calm down and think it through carefully. If you really can’t make up your mind, discuss it with Shi Miao. Marriage is a major life decision, and your family’s opinions are important too.
He was reminding Shi Wenli at every possible opportunity not to forget to give him an answer.
To make himself sound more familiar, Director Zhao had stopped calling him “Director Shi” and simply used his name.
It really was quite something for a man as straightforward as Zhao Mingde.
Shi Wenli replied:
Shi Wenli: Sorry, Director Zhao. Jiang Yang and Dr. Xu came over for dinner tonight, and I’ve been busy until now, so I didn’t get a chance to reply.
Zhao Mingde: No rush, no rush.
That was what he said, but in reality, he was already extremely anxious. He hadn’t even noticed the words “Dr. Xu” in Shi Wenli’s message.
Shi Wenli deliberately closed the kitchen door, shutting out the laughter and conversation from the two people in the dining room.
What he had said earlier when rejecting Director Jiang wasn’t an excuse. He truly had no plans to get married anytime soon.
Even though he had made up his mind not to marry early, when it came to Xu Qinghe, he couldn’t bring himself to say any words of rejection.
Since he couldn’t reject her, then he wouldn’t.
He carefully considered every word before typing:
Shi Wenli: Director Zhao, I’ve thought it over carefully. If Dr. Xu is willing, I’d like to meet with her properly and talk about it.