Su Anxi had always considered herself quite popular. Though she couldn't rival the universal adoration commanded by the Chinese currency, at the very least, she was well-received by people of all ages and even animals, wasn't she?
For the first time ever—truly unprecedented—she found herself repeatedly unwelcome by one, or rather, one… dog.
The bite force of a German Shepherd was already astonishing, and this one was a trained police dog to boot. After careful consideration, coupled with the hostile, teeth-baring attitude of her "enemy," Su Anxi decided to take two more steps back for safety's sake.
"Xile," Xu Yu called out, noticing Su Anxi quietly retreating again. He gave the dog a light pat on the back and issued a command, "Down."
Xile obediently lay down upon hearing the command, though its alert eyes remained fixed on Su Anxi, albeit without baring its teeth anymore.
"Don't worry," Xu Yu looked up at Su Anxi and reassured her, "Xile won't bite you."
Su Anxi inwardly pursed her lips, feigning composure while still keeping a wary eye on Xile's movements.
While subtly glancing at the dog, she said, "I've roughly estimated that from my current distance, if your Xile were to lunge at me, I'd have enough reaction time to dodge. That feels safer."
It seemed there really was always something that could humble anyone. Xu Yu rarely saw Su Anxi acting so timid and found it particularly amusing and even cute.
"You really don't need to calculate that. If Xile wanted to lunge and bite you, even retreating another fifty meters wouldn't help," Xu Yu said as he fastened a leash to Xile and tied the other end to a tree trunk behind him. Then, he patted the spot beside him and said to Su Anxi, "Come over. With me here, it's fine."
Su Anxi had only wanted to step out for some fresh air and coincidentally ran into Xu Yu, who had just returned safely. Watching his interaction with Xile, she had intended to observe for a while.
But now, it seemed as if she really had something to discuss with him…
"I still have patients to attend to, so I won't stay. You and your… um, Xile should rest well," Su Anxi said, casually pointing at Xu Yu's face. "Wash your face. You look exhausted."
With that, she turned to leave, only to hear the man's weary voice from behind, "Dr. Su, I'm injured."
Hearing this, Su Anxi quickly turned back to look at Xu Yu and hurried over as fast as she could, her composure completely gone. "Where are you injured? Why didn't you say so earlier?"
Seeing Su Anxi approach with such urgency, Xile made a move to stand up, but Xu Yu gave it a light slap on the rear and shot it a warning glance. The dog let out a soft whimper and obediently lay back down.
Xu Yu allowed Su Anxi to come close, grab his arm, and inspect it back and forth while repeatedly asking, "Where exactly are you hurt?"
"What? Worried about me?" Xu Yu's teasing voice reached Su Anxi's ears.
Su Anxi froze mid-action, realizing she had been tricked. She let go of his arm and glared at him. "Please don't joke like that with a doctor."
Xu Yu looked up at Su Anxi. His dark eyes were bloodshot, rimmed with red, and shadowed by dark circles. Dust and mud were smeared across his face.
Seeing his exhausted appearance up close, he suddenly seemed like a child who had lost his way home—pitiful and helpless.
Worried about him, yes! Worried, worried for over twenty hours.
From the moment he left after bringing her back yesterday until now, over twenty hours later, her heart had never truly settled. Though she appeared calm on the surface, only she knew the turmoil inside.
Every time injured armed police soldiers were brought in, upon hearing the news, she would immediately check if he was among them. Seeing he wasn’t among the wounded would ease her mind slightly, but soon her anxiety would rise again.
It wasn’t until just now, when she saw him and Xile, that her long-suspended heart finally settled.
"It’s just a minor injury, no need for treatment," Xu Yu said.
Su Anxi spoke to Xu Yu in a doctor’s tone, "No matter what kind of injury, if it exists, it needs to be treated. Come inside with me."
Xu Yu couldn’t help but smile, looking up at Su Anxi. "Then sit with me for a while first, and I’ll go in with you."
"Just a little while," Su Anxi relented, sitting down on the stone platform beside Xu Yu.
The two sat side by side, neither speaking, an inexplicable awkwardness hanging in the air.
Xu Yu unconsciously reached for a cigarette, his slender fingers pulling one out and placing it between his lips, though he didn’t light it.
"How is the girl we rescued yesterday?" Xu Yu asked softly, playing with a lighter in his hand.
Su Anxi glanced at Xu Yu, the cigarette perched on his thin lips as if he were just toying with it—no wonder his words sounded muffled.
"She was taken away by the public security department. The specifics, I don’t know."
In fact, after returning yesterday, once Liao Zhiping had treated her sprained ankle, she had wanted to check on the girl, only to find she was already gone. It was said she had been taken away by the police.
"Hmm," Xu Yu nodded quietly to himself, then changed the subject. "After being a military doctor for so many years, do you still feel sad when you can’t save someone?"
"Of course. At first, I couldn’t accept it at all, even regretting why I chose this profession. But everything comes down to perseverance. For those I couldn’t save, I know I did my best. For those I did save, seeing them leave the hospital healthy brings more joy than anything else." As she spoke, Su Anxi smiled naturally, but when she turned her gaze, she saw Xu Yu looking at her with the cigarette still dangling from his lips, a roguish glint in his eyes.
She cleared her throat quietly and asked, "What about you? Do you feel sad?"
"Yes," Xu Yu answered firmly, pausing before adding with a bitter smile, "Especially… comrades-in-arms."
Su Anxi understood the meaning behind his words. Sending off comrades-in-arms could mean farewell, with the hope of meeting again in this lifetime, or it could mean a final goodbye, never to meet again in this life.
"Countless homes lit by lanterns, countless homes at peace; iron-willed souls, their spirits never cease." Su Anxi suddenly recalled these two lines Xia Junnan had once said. "Those words are truly well said."
"An old comrade-in-arms said those words to me just before he died. An explosion—not even his remains were left." These long-buried knots in his heart, for some reason, he found himself calmly sharing them with her.
Su Anxi sensed Xu Yu’s sorrow. Perhaps he was too tired; some wounds and pains buried deep in the heart weren’t untouchable—they just needed the right moment.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"Su Anxi," Xu Yu called softly, reaching up to remove the cigarette from his lips. In a low voice, he asked, "When you said you regretted it, did you truly regret it?"
"What?"
"Regretting giving up Tsinghua University back then."
"It’s a regret, but not truly a regret."
"…"
After a long silence, instead of Xu Yu's next words, she felt a weight on her shoulder. She visibly flinched, then turned to look—a man's head rested on her shoulder.
"Xu Yu," Su Anxi shifted her shoulder.
Xu Yu moved as well, but leaned even closer, murmuring hoarsely, "I'm exhausted. Let me lean on you for a while."
There had been times before—during perilous missions or moments of extreme fatigue—but never had he felt such peace as he did now.
He knew very well that only this person he was leaning against could make him let down all his guard and weariness, casting everything aside without a care.
Glancing once more at Xile lying on the ground, he shed his usual harsh attitude toward her and closed his eyes, drifting into dreams.
A faint smile touched his lips as his eyelids fell shut.
"Xu Yu…"
Su Anxi called his name several times but received no response. She remained motionless, staring at his short hair, slowly raising her left hand. Yet before she could touch him, she withdrew it.
The man on her shoulder had already sunk into deep slumber.
Beside her ear came the even rhythm of his breathing, warm breaths brushing against her neck, carrying the faint scent of tobacco and dried sweat unique to him. Neither smell was particularly pleasant, yet she found she didn’t mind them at all.
He had asked if she regretted giving up Tsinghua University back then. She said it was a pity—an honest answer. Not applying to Tsinghua could only be described as a regret!
At least back then, it had all been her own choice. Giving up Tsinghua for him—she had never regretted it.
…
That day, beneath the camphor tree, the boy in white said to her, "I want you to like me."
She had been startled at first, but soon broke into a smile, feeling as though a brilliant rainbow flower had suddenly bloomed in her heart. She wanted to tell him, "I like you too!"
But the words that came out were: "Xu Yu, are you an idiot?"
"Su Anxi, can you be serious for once?" Xu Yu had mustered the courage to confess, only to receive such a response, and he wasn’t happy about it.
Su Anxi, however, wiped the smile from her face and looked seriously at Xu Yu, earnestly telling him, "Xu Yu, I’m serious. Repeat the year."
Xu Yu neither agreed nor refused at the time.
Until the first day of school, when he stood at the entrance of Class 1, Grade 12, his gaze fixed on Su Anxi as he flashed her a roguish grin. Su Anxi, too, suddenly broke into a radiant smile.
At that moment, the noisy classroom fell into an eerie silence; the chattering classmates miraculously hushed.
The homeroom teacher walked to the classroom door and saw a human wall blocking the way. She tapped the "wall’s" back with the papers in her hand. "Our class doesn’t need a doorman. Go up and introduce yourself."
On the podium, Xu Yu’s eyes never left Su Anxi’s pretty face.
Similarly, many of the girls in the class never lowered their hands from covering their mouths.
"Hello, classmates. I’m a repeater, Xu Yu."
"What are you girls covering your mouths for? Applause is welcome here," the homeroom teacher said, leading the clapping.
After the applause died down, the teacher assigned Xu Yu to the only empty seat in the class—coincidentally, right behind Su Anxi.
She looked at the handsome young man and couldn't suppress her girlish heart. After glancing around the entire class, she said, "Excellent. The overall image level of our Class 1, Grade 12 has finally seen a new improvement. Very good, very good."
"Whoa…" The students grew restless.
The homeroom teacher immediately pulled a long face. "Whoa what? You're in Grade 12 now—everyone needs to perk up and understand what it means to feel the pressure. So, let's start by taking a test."
"Groan…" The students fell silent.
Author's Note:
Xu's classic move is online!!!! A brief flashback, nothing too long