In the camera frame, Shi Wenli was looking directly toward her.
Xu Qinghe’s heartbeat quickened slightly, but the sound of laughter filling the banquet hall easily drowned it out.
She chose the angle with the best lighting and pressed the shutter several times in succession.
Jiang Yang joined in the fun. “Sis, take a couple of pictures of me and Brother Shi. We’re the two faces of our hospital. We absolutely have to get a few shots together.”
He slung an arm around Shi Wenli’s shoulder like they were old buddies, wearing an exaggeratedly cheeky grin.
Xu Qinghe took five or six pictures of them.
The wedding ceremony began, and everyone took their seats.
Jiang Yang deliberately moved one seat over, giving his original chair to Shi Wenli.
“Brother Shi, sit here. You and Dr. Xu have plenty to talk about.”
Shi Wenli sat down beside Xu Qinghe. He had been running around like a spinning top all morning and could finally sit down and rest.
He casually unbuttoned his suit jacket and turned to speak to her, only to find her looking down at the photos on her phone.
“I don’t think I’m very photogenic,” he said with a faint smile.
Xu Qinghe handed him her phone.
“I think you look good.”
Shi Wenli flipped through the pictures one by one.
“These are even better than the photographer’s.”
Of course they are, Xu Qinghe thought.
The photographer didn’t have any other feelings involved when taking his pictures.
She lowered her voice and asked, “Why are you sitting at our table? Aren’t you sitting with your family?”
“My family is at this table.”
Xu Qinghe understood. He meant his aunt and uncle.
Just then, all the crystal chandeliers in the banquet hall dimmed.
A moment later, a vast expanse of pink evening clouds appeared before them.
Xu Qinghe felt as if she had been transported outdoors at sunset.
“Wedding ceremonies are already using technology this advanced?”
Shi Wenli explained, “There isn’t a traditional red carpet, and there won’t be a segment where the parents go on stage, so they replaced those elements with holographic projections.”
They had used immersive holographic effects to create the sunset and the lights of thousands of homes that his sister loved.
Xu Qinghe knew that Shi Wenli’s relationship with his parents was distant, so she simply nodded and didn’t ask further.
She had seen his parents earlier. Both had attended the wedding with their respective remarried families.
She couldn’t fully understand what Shi Wenli must have been feeling at that moment, but his emotions were surely complicated.
His father and mother had each built complete new families of their own, while the family that had once belonged to him and his sister had fallen apart.
Romantic piano music began to play, and the groom made his entrance.
The evening clouds slowly faded from the banquet hall.
One by one, the lights of the city appeared.
Shi Wenli watched as his brother-in-law took his sister’s hand and led her toward the stage.
His sister had once looked forward to her wedding day more than anything, dreaming of walking down the aisle with their father.
In the end, that dream had remained unfulfilled.
When he and his sister were still very young, their father had remarried and moved to Shanghai.
Their father was a cardiac surgeon who was so busy that he barely had time for anyone, let alone time to come home.
The two siblings spent the entire year looking forward to seeing him, only to manage a few visits.
Their mother had started a new family in Beijing, but she was busy too.
After their father remarried, he lived with his new wife and stepdaughter.
After their mother remarried, she lived with her new husband and stepchildren, and later had another child.
When his sister was little, there were times when she missed their parents so badly that, unable to see them, she would secretly cry behind their grandparents’ backs and ask him,
“Brother, did Mom and Dad stop wanting us?”
He had never known how to answer her.
Because in a way, that was exactly what had happened. Their parents had chosen new lives for themselves.
But that answer was too cruel. Even he couldn’t bear to face it.
So all he could do was comfort his sister.
“Mom and Dad would never stop wanting us. They have to work. They’ll come see us as soon as they get a holiday.”
Back then, every Friday evening, his sister would grab his hand and insist on going downstairs to play in the little garden.
He knew she was waiting there for their parents.
Sometimes it would get dark and she still refused to go home.
“Brother, can we play a little longer?”
She stubbornly believed that if they waited a little longer before going home, perhaps their parents would come to see them—just like the other children waiting for their parents to come home from work.
He had been young too and couldn’t understand why their parents were always too busy to come see them and his sister.
He didn’t understand them, yet he still longed for them.
As time passed without seeing his parents, he missed them terribly too, but he didn’t know who he could tell.
When he grew older, he came to understand how busy his father must have been as a cardiac surgeon. He also came to understand how difficult things could be for his mother after marrying into a powerful family.
But in the end, all that remained was understanding.
That morning, when the wedding cars arrived downstairs at the old family home, his father had sighed emotionally.
“In the blink of an eye, you and Miaomiao have both grown up.”
Perhaps to their parents, it really had been just the blink of an eye.
But to him and his sister, it had been more than twenty long years, each day endured through countless moments of waiting and disappointment.
Especially after their grandparents passed away, that home had been left with only the two of them.
…
On the stage, Director Gu, serving as the wedding officiant, began his speech.
Shi Wenli came back to himself and applauded along with everyone else.
Xu Qinghe recorded Director Gu’s entire speech. He spoke with such genuine emotion that he moved everyone present.
She sent the video to her own department director.
She wanted him to see how Director Gu treated his student.
Zhao Mingde had stayed behind to cover duty in the department today, sending the younger doctors to attend Shi Miao’s wedding instead.
After watching the video, however, his attention completely went in another direction.
Such a long speech, and he didn’t get a single word wrong. Looks like Old Gu really put effort into memorizing it.
Xu Qinghe: “…”
Someone without a particularly sentimental nature simply couldn’t empathize.
She exited the chat and lifted her glass, lightly tapping it against Shi Wenli’s.
“Congratulations to you too.”
Of everyone, Shi Wenli was probably the happiest person about Shi Miao’s marriage.
Shi Wenli tapped his glass against hers.
“Thank you.”
He took a sip of juice and said, “If you’re not in a hurry to leave after the banquet, wait for me a few minutes. I’ll drive you home.”
“Aren’t you busy this afternoon?”
“The rest of the arrangements don’t need me. My brother-in-law has already taken care of everything.”
After the banquet ended, all he needed to do was see the older relatives downstairs.
Since they lived in the same residential complex, accepting a ride from him was perfectly natural, so Xu Qinghe didn’t refuse again.
Perhaps because he had been away for a year on an overseas training program, they hadn’t had a proper conversation in a long time. Today, they were clearly more relaxed with each other than before, talking more and growing closer.
The grand wedding gradually came to an end, with both hosts and guests thoroughly enjoying themselves.
Shi Wenli handed his car keys to Xu Qinghe.
“You go wait in the car first.”
Director Jiang and his wife walked behind them.
Mrs. Jiang nudged her husband with her elbow.
“Hey, aren’t Dr. Xu and Wenli a couple? Don’t go breaking up those young lovers.”
Her husband had been planning to introduce Shi Wenli to someone for a blind date in a few days, but she felt that the relationship between Xu Qinghe and Shi Wenli seemed more than ordinary.
Director Jiang was certain.
“They’re not a couple. They’ve always had a good relationship. They’ve been friends for years. I asked Jiang Yang and Shi Miao. Wenli is single.”
When she got into the car, Xu Qinghe opened her photo album and selected pictures to post on her social media.
She chose a group photo with the bride and groom, then picked two more pictures of herself with the bride.
Afraid that her intentions might be too obvious, she didn’t include Shi Wenli’s solo portrait. Instead, she included the picture of him with Jiang Yang.
She hadn’t posted a nine-photo grid in several years.
Her father quickly liked the post and left a comment:
The bride and groom look so happy. Aren’t you even a little moved?
Xu Bingduo wasn’t trying to pressure her into marriage. He simply hoped his daughter would have time to properly fall in love.
He didn’t want her to reach a certain age and simply find someone suitable and settle down.
Xu Qinghe teased her father:
I’m so moved that I posted a nine-photo grid. How about you go to Yonghe Temple someday and pray for me to find a good match?
Xu Bingduo didn’t believe in such things, but if his daughter wanted him to pray for her, he was willing to make the trip.
He asked:
Anything else you want me to pray for? Your career too?
Xu Qinghe: “…”
She replied:
I was just joking. You actually took me seriously?
Speaking of Yonghe Temple, she had gone there once with her childhood best friend when she had first started working.
It had been the first day of the Lunar New Year, and Yonghe Temple had been packed with people burning incense.
By then, she had already fallen for Shi Wenli.
As she was leaving the temple, a fortune-teller stopped her at the entrance and told her that her destined partner was in the south.
Her childhood friend had immediately pulled out a thick stack of cash.
“This is just a deposit,” she had said, before asking the fortune-teller whether there was any way to move Xu Qinghe’s destined partner to the neurosurgery department of a certain hospital in their city.
The fortune-teller had been completely bewildered and returned the money in full.
Her friend had also once told her, “Speaking as one man about another, that guy you have a crush on definitely doesn’t like you.”
Maybe she and Shi Wenli really weren’t meant to be.
They had known each other for so long, yet they were still nothing more than ordinary friends.
Xu Bingduo replied:
I’ll go first thing tomorrow morning.
Xu Qinghe: “…”
That social media post might actually have triggered her father.
The driver’s door opened from outside.
She turned her head, and Shi Wenli got into the car.
“That was quick?”
Xu Qinghe put away her phone and pulled down her seat belt, fastening it.
“I only took a few of the older relatives downstairs.”
Shi Wenli buckled his seat belt.
As the car left the underground parking garage, Shi Wenli glanced toward the hotel entrance.
His aunt and uncle were standing there chatting happily with Director Jiang and his wife.
Xu Qinghe saw the four of them too.
She turned to Shi Wenli.
“Do you want to go say hello?”
“No need. They’re probably discussing what kind of woman would be suitable to introduce me to.”
Xu Qinghe seized the opportunity to ask half-jokingly, “What are Director Shi’s requirements for a partner? I’ll keep an eye out for you.”
Shi Wenli assumed someone had asked her to sound him out.
Recently, quite a few people had been trying to introduce him to potential marriage partners. Besides Director Jiang, even one of the hospital’s deputy directors was eager to play matchmaker.
He asked her for a favor.
“If anyone else asks you about me, just turn them down on my behalf.”
But I’m the one asking about you, Xu Qinghe thought.
Before meeting him, she had never imagined that she would ever have a secret crush on someone.
She was afraid he’d find out.
Yet she was also afraid that he would never find out.
“Are you free tonight?” she asked instead.
“I am. Why?”
“I’ll treat you to dinner.”
She had mentioned a few days earlier that she had ridden in his car quite a few times over the years, and she wanted to treat him to a meal before he moved away. It was rare for both of them to have free time on the same day.
Shi Wenli said, “I’ll treat you. Thanks for switching your schedule to attend Shi Miao’s wedding today.”
Everyone who knew him knew that his sister was the person he cared about most, so even though he was busy, he had made sure to attend her wedding.
That was also why Xu Qinghe had come so early.
“What do you want to eat?” he asked.
Xu Qinghe didn’t argue about who would pay.
“How about the hotpot restaurant at the entrance of our complex?”
“You finally have a day off. Don’t you want to pick somewhere you’ve been wanting to eat?”
“Anything is fine. It’s cold, so something hot sounds good.”
She didn’t really care what they ate.
As long as the person eating with her was him.
The street outside their residential complex was bustling, filled with all kinds of restaurants, shops, and entertainment.
The hotpot restaurant they planned to visit was somewhere she and Shi Wenli had eaten before.
He had helped her translate some academic papers, and she had treated him to dinner afterward.
At the time, she had jokingly complained, “You’re not even taking me somewhere fancy? Why are you trying so hard to save me money?”
Shi Wenli had smiled and said that when she eventually became a chief physician, she’d have to treat him to an expensive meal.
At the time, a thought had occurred to her.
By the time I become a chief physician, that will be more than ten years from now. By then, we’ll probably each have our own families and children.
He wouldn’t let her treat him then.
And she wouldn’t ask to treat him either.
Sometimes, whenever she imagined him falling in love with someone else and eventually marrying her, she felt an urge to confess.
She wanted to tell him that she liked him.
But deep down, she understood that the very reason she had chosen to keep her feelings secret was because the chance of him accepting her confession was so slim.
If he rejected her, she would still be working alongside him as a neurosurgery anesthesiologist. They would practically have to see each other every day in the same operating room.
How unbearable would that be?
Whenever she thought about it, the impulse to confess gradually cooled.
They chatted casually along the way, and before they knew it, the car had turned into the entrance of their residential complex.
Neither of them had eaten enough at the wedding banquet, so they agreed to go to the hotpot restaurant at five.
After Xu Qinghe got home, she took a nap and set her alarm for 4:30.
Normally, when she needed to catch up on sleep, only an emergency call could wake her instantly. Even an alarm wasn’t enough. She usually had to let it ring three times before reluctantly getting out of bed.
But today, for the first time in ages, she woke up before the alarm.
So this is what waking up naturally feels like.
It was the first time she had experienced it since entering the medical profession.
Xu Qinghe got up, washed and changed, and arrived downstairs at Shi Wenli’s building at 4:50.
She sent him a message:
Director Shi, are you coming downstairs?
One advantage of living in the same complex was that they could simply walk to the restaurant together.
Shi Wenli replied:
Coming.
Xu Qinghe hadn’t brought a bag. She slipped both hands into her coat pockets and waited beside the flower bed outside the entrance.
It was bitterly cold, and the setting sun offered almost no warmth.
In another month or two, he would probably be moving away.
Once he moved, it would be difficult for them to see each other after work.
Before long, Shi Wenli came downstairs.
He had already changed out of the suit he’d worn as part of the wedding party. Underneath his coat was a black-and-gray sweater, with a dark-gray overcoat in a slightly lighter shade over it. The style was simple and elegant.
Xu Qinghe casually asked, “Did Shi Miao buy that coat?”
“Yes.”
Shi Wenli lowered his eyes and looked at what he was wearing. He owned quite a few winter coats, and after thinking for a moment, he said, “I think this one was actually bought two years ago.”
“Shi Miao has always had such distinctive taste.”
While praising Shi Miao, she was also indirectly complimenting how good he looked in the coat.
As they talked, they walked toward the entrance of the complex.
Xu Qinghe thought of something and brought it up.
“I heard Jiang Yang say today that even our deputy director wants to set you up with someone, but you turned him down.”
Ever since Shi Wenli had been promoted to become the youngest associate chief physician in the history of his field in China, blind-date arrangements had been nonstop.
She couldn’t help sighing.
“Truly, fame brings trouble.”
“…”
Shi Wenli laughed.
“That doesn’t sound like a compliment.”
“It is a compliment.”
Xu Qinghe laughed as she spoke.
“Don’t focus only on the last three words.”
It had been a long time since they had talked this freely and casually.
They arrived early, and there were hardly any customers in the restaurant. The two chose a quiet table by the window.
Xu Qinghe knew what dishes he liked, so she checked them off when ordering.
“Want some soda?” Shi Wenli asked.
“Sure, one bottle. I haven’t had it in years. I’ve almost forgotten what it tastes like.”
Shi Wenli opened a bottle of orange soda, inserted a straw, and handed it to her.
When Xu Qinghe took the soda, she couldn’t help looking at his hand for a moment.
His hands seemed naturally suited to holding a scalpel. His palms were broad and well-proportioned, while his fingers were long and slender, with full fingertips.
Even Director Jiang had praised him for having exceptionally steady hands and excellent control.
Before all the dishes had arrived, Shi Wenli’s phone vibrated.
It was an unfamiliar number.
Thinking it might be a patient’s family member calling, he quickly answered.
The caller introduced himself.
“Wenli, it’s me. Your Uncle Liu.”
Shi Wenli took a moment to recognize the voice.
It was Director Liu from the neighboring hospital.
His father worked at that hospital.
“Hello, Director Liu. What can I do for you?”
Xu Qinghe was swishing meat in the hotpot. When she heard the words “Director Liu,” her movements paused slightly.
There was no deputy director surnamed Liu at their hospital.
Could it be the director of the neighboring hospital?
Their hospital and the neighboring hospital were both top-tier tertiary hospitals, and competition between them had always been intense across various fields.
Whenever Director Liu and Director Jiang met, they always teased and undercut each other. Neither was willing to concede.
Director Liu’s voice on the phone was warm.
“No need to be so formal. Let’s not talk about work in private. When are you free? Bring your father over to our place for dinner.”
Shi Wenli could only agree for the time being.
“I’ll come see you and Auntie this weekend when I have a day off.”
After he hung up, Xu Qinghe asked, “Director Liu from the neighboring hospital?”
“Mm.”
Xu Qinghe picked up the serving chopsticks and placed some of the cooked meat into his bowl.
“Wasn’t Director Liu the one who personally recruited your father and his team from Shanghai to join the neighboring hospital?”
Shi Wenli nodded.
“I think so.”
He wasn’t entirely sure about the details himself, so he added the number he’d just received to his contacts.
The two most authoritative experts in cardiac surgery in China were Director Gu from their hospital and his father, Shi Jianqin.
His father had a good personal relationship with Director Liu, but Shi Wenli himself had almost no interaction with him. At most, they would run into each other at medical conferences.
He recognized Director Liu’s voice because he had heard many of his presentations before.
Xu Qinghe joked, “Could Director Liu be trying to recruit you too?”
Shi Wenli smiled.
“Probably not. Director Jiang wouldn’t let me leave either.”
Even if Director Jiang agreed, Shi Wenli himself wouldn’t leave.
After a pause, he spoke frankly.
“Director Liu probably wants to help improve the relationship between my father and me.”
Xu Qinghe said, “I thought it was another blind date.”
“…”
Shi Wenli gave a helpless smile.
“Can’t rule it out.”
He picked up the strainer and serving chopsticks and gestured toward her.
“You eat. I’ll cook.”
As he swished the food in the hotpot, he casually asked, “What about you? Don’t your parents pressure you to date?”
“They do. Of course they do.”
Xu Qinghe told him about her father’s plan to go to Yonghe Temple the next day to pray for her romantic luck.
“My dad never used to believe in any of this. I just made one joke, and he actually plans to go.”
Shi Wenli smiled.
“Is Uncle Xu not busy lately?”
“Busy.”
Xu Qinghe teased her father.
“But that doesn’t stop him from going to Yonghe Temple.”
The very person they were talking about happened to be walking past the hotpot restaurant at that moment.
Xu Bingduo and his wife had just gotten off work and were planning to buy some fruit for their daughter. As they passed the restaurant, he happened to glance inside.
He quickly grabbed his wife’s arm.
“Look. Isn’t that Qinghe?”
Min Xu followed her husband’s gaze.
It really was their daughter, smiling and chatting with the person sitting across from her.
Looking more closely, they recognized the man as their daughter’s colleague from neurosurgery.
The couple didn’t stop for long and soon continued walking past the restaurant.
Min Xu frowned thoughtfully.
“Qinghe’s colleague is called Shi… Shi Wenli, right?”
Their daughter always referred to him as “Dr. Shi,” so she had almost forgotten his full name.
Xu Bingduo remembered too.
“Yes, Shi Wenli.”
The couple had met Shi Wenli before. It had been two years earlier, when they had gone for an evening walk with their daughter and happened to encounter Shi Wenli returning from work.
He had even stopped to greet them.
Their daughter often mentioned that she and Dr. Shi had a good relationship and that the two had worked together on research projects.
A father knew his daughter better than anyone.
Xu Bingduo said decisively:
“I don’t need to go to Yonghe Temple tomorrow morning anymore. The relationship she’s hoping to pray for is already right there in front of her.”