At five in the morning, a sliver of sunlight awakened the slumbering border city, and along with it, the medical team’s doctors and nurses stirred to life.
After dinner the previous night, the Hospital Director and department heads of Fangquan Armed Police Hospital had led the medical team’s expert group in a brief meeting, providing a general overview and plan for this charitable medical outreach mission.
By five-thirty, the medical team was fully prepared and set out, splitting into two groups. One group went to the cultural activity center of a certain border defense regiment to conduct check-ups for the officers and soldiers.
The other group stayed at the hospital to provide outpatient services for the soldiers’ family members, then departed at eight-thirty for the company and outposts in Wangliu County to carry out medical rounds.
Su Anxi was assigned to the team heading to Wangliu County for the medical rounds.
Wangliu County was over a hundred kilometers from Fangquan City, and the roads were rough—besides highways, there were mountain paths, dirt roads, and washboard roads. Coincidentally, this period had seen frequent rainfall, so the less-than-hundred-kilometer journey took nearly half a day.
They arrived at the company at noon, had a meal, and rested. Starting at two in the afternoon, they set up general and specialized outpatient clinics for the company’s officers, soldiers, and their families, providing diagnoses and treatments tailored to different conditions.
In the evening, Su Anxi, drawing on her emergency department expertise and clinical experience, along with everyday situations, conducted knowledge lectures and on-site emergency simulation training for the company’s officers and soldiers.
The next day, they headed to the outposts to do the same.
Every day was either spent on diagnoses and check-ups or on the road to them. The team members had to endure long, arduous journeys and adapt to the unfamiliar environment.
Although the workload might not seem as heavy as in the emergency department, when combined with the harsh conditions, it was arguably even more exhausting than the busiest times in the emergency room.
Three days passed in a row, and Su Anxi still hadn’t received a call from Xu Yu.
Now, as they prepared to head back, Su Anxi sat by the window, her slender fingers toying with her phone, turning it over and over. Her tired yet still clear eyes gazed out the window.
Suddenly, her phone rang. Su Anxi instinctively straightened up, turned, and lifted her phone to look, her slightly excited expression instantly turning to disappointment.
“Having fun?”
She glared at Liao Zhiping, who had just sat down beside her, and placed the connected phone to her ear, her tone cold and mocking.
Liao Zhiping adjusted his sitting posture and couldn’t help but laugh into the phone. “You’ve been looking more worn out day by day lately, practically turning into a ‘longing-for-husband stone.’ If he doesn’t call, don’t you know how to call him?”
Su Anxi decisively ended the call, muted her phone, stuffed it into her bag, shot Liao Zhiping a glare, and closed her eyes to sleep.
Beside her, she heard the man’s helpless sigh.
The car’s engine started, and the vehicle jolted along the road, shaking everyone to the core. Even Su Anxi, a heavy sleeper, couldn’t rest properly, let alone the others.
Su Anxi tilted her head and slowly opened her eyes. What she saw instantly banished any lingering drowsiness.
Outside the window were cloud-wreathed mountain ranges, where the sun and moon met in a seamless line. The clouds drifted and swirled, painting a colorful, picturesque scene—a sight never to be seen in Yujiang.
Watching the distant, tiny weary birds returning to their nests, she suddenly remembered a childhood evening when wild geese flew south, their calls filling the dusk.
It must have been around fourth or fifth grade in elementary school. Xue Xue from the neighboring Compound confessed to Xu Yu, just as Su Anxi happened to return from school.
So Xu Yu, with his little-boy face, pointed straight at Su Anxi and rejected Xue Xue: “But I like her.”
At that moment, both of them turned to look at Su Anxi, who was completely out of the loop.
Soon, the little girl grabbed the straps of her backpack with both hands and pulled them forward, flashing Xue Xue a sweet smile before declaring resolutely, "I don't like him."
With that, she strode off briskly, just as a flock of geese flew overhead, as if cheering her on.
She didn’t like Xu Yu because he had poor grades and always bullied her.
Xu Yu caught up to her and asked angrily, "Why don’t you like me?"
Su Anxi, who was fond of reading astronomy and geography books at the time, used a metaphor.
She looked at Xu Yu and answered with righteous conviction, "Because the sun and the moon will never appear in the sky at the same time, just like us."
Later, Xu Yu bullied her even more relentlessly, yet at school, he completely ignored her.
Later still, she moved out of the Compound with her mother in middle school and transferred to another school, not seeing that little tyrant again for three years.
…
This childhood interlude only resurfaced in her memory today when she witnessed the scene before her.
Perhaps, even back then, he had already liked her, but she hadn’t understood.
She didn’t know—she never asked, and he never mentioned it. It was like a memory that had been erased, until today, when the door to that memory suddenly swung open, and she finally understood.
The vibration of her phone echoed from her bag. Su Anxi gritted her teeth inwardly, turned, and shot Liao Zhiping a glare before saying irritably, "Liao Zhiping, how childish can you be?"
"Playing a matching game is childish?" Liao Zhiping was both amused and exasperated. "Su Anxi, do you live by the sea or something?"
Su Anxi glanced at Liao Zhiping’s phone screen and saw it really was a matching game. Only then did she fish her phone out of her bag.
The string of numbers on the screen was all too familiar to her. He hadn’t changed his number, while the matching couple number, differing by only one digit, had long been deactivated by her.
By the time she wanted to use it again, someone else had already taken it.
"Hello…" she answered, her voice mingling with the bumps of the road and the pounding of her heart.
"Are you free today? Let me treat you to a meal." Xu Yu’s deep voice, devoid of any emotion, came through the receiver.
"I’m not in Fangquan right now," Su Anxi replied.
"Then forget it," he said after a pause.
Su Anxi tightened her grip on the phone before adding, "I’m on my way back to Fangquan. If you don’t mind it being late…"
"What time will you arrive?" Xu Yu interrupted her, asking.
"Around seven or eight," Su Anxi estimated, giving an approximate time.
"Eight o’clock. I’ll send you the address."
"Okay."
Xu Yu gave a faint "Mm" before adding, "By the way, bring Liao Zhiping along."
Su Anxi glanced at Liao Zhiping upon hearing this and replied after a moment, "I’ll let him know."
"Alright, that’s it. I’m hanging up."
Su Anxi ended the call, and a message arrived immediately. She glanced at it before locking her screen, her expression unchanged.
Suddenly, Liao Zhiping’s teasing voice sounded beside her, thick with implication. "Xu Yu? He asked you out for a meal?"
"Yes," Su Anxi replied with a forced smile, adding, "He told me to invite you along."
Liao Zhiping looked horrified. Wouldn’t he just be a third wheel if he went? He couldn’t go, absolutely not.
"I’m not feeling well—the journey’s been exhausting. I won’t go. You two take your time eating and chatting."
Su Anxi pointed at Liao Zhiping and said, word by word, "You. Have. To. Go."
Looking at Su Anxi’s expression, Liao Zhiping suddenly had the illusion that his life might be in danger.
Including him? What kind of situation was this, anyway?
Returning to Fangquan City, it was already close to 7:30 p.m. The sky was dark and gloomy, as if waiting for a heavy rainstorm—it seemed it really was going to rain again.
The car stopped at the dormitory building behind the Armed Police Hospital. The group picked up their belongings and got out one by one, heading upstairs or into their rooms, none in the mood for idle chatter.
Back in her dorm, Su Anxi set down her medical kit and eagerly opened her suitcase to rummage through it.
Soon, she pulled out a dress and smiled with satisfaction. Thankfully, when she had packed her suitcase earlier, she hadn’t removed the casual clothes originally tucked inside.
Not long after, there was a knock on the door, followed by Liao Zhiping’s voice: “Su Anxi, aren’t you ready yet? It’s almost eight o’clock.”
“Right away,” came Su Anxi’s crisp reply from inside the room.
A woman’s “right away” is always elusive and unpredictable.
Ten minutes later, the door opened. Liao Zhiping had just finished a round of his game and looked up, letting out a whistle—though embarrassingly, it didn’t quite sound.
Back in school days, she wore uniforms; after starting work, it was military attire. Even during occasional private meetups, she’d opt for simple, casual outfits. Dressed as she was now, exuding such a feminine charm, such instances could be counted on one hand.
Su Anxi stood before him in an apricot-colored V-neck off-shoulder blouse, her straight neckline accentuating her collarbones perfectly. Below, she wore a hazy blue irregular hem skirt, with the blouse tucked in, highlighting her slender waist and fair, long, straight legs.
Su Anxi closed the door behind her, running her fingers through her long hair from the widow’s peak backward, carrying herself with the proud elegance of a graceful white swan.
“Looks good?” she asked.
“Goddess,” Liao Zhiping gave a thumbs-up, then leaned in teasingly. “I’m feeling a hint of crisis on behalf of my wife.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve never seen you as a man,” Su Anxi retorted, slinging her bag over her shoulder and turning to head downstairs.
Behind her, Liao Zhiping followed, muttering, “Talking like that really hurts, you know!”
…
After getting out of the taxi, Su Anxi rubbed her arms against the cold as she walked toward the restaurant across the street.
Liao Zhiping, who had stepped out of the taxi behind her, watched her shivering and silently clicked his tongue twice, following without another word.
Despite her seemingly indifferent and smooth demeanor over the years, deep down, her competitive spirit remained ingrained, never fading.
And the person who could most ignite that spirit was Xu Yu.
Entering the restaurant, she spotted the man at the booth against the wall at a glance. Dressed in casual black, he held a cigarette between his fingers, taking occasional puffs. His well-defined lips exhaled smoke, softening his handsome yet sharp features.
As if sensing her presence, he suddenly looked up. His brows were like swords, his eyes bright and righteous, and his calm gaze swept over her from head to toe, unwavering.
The restaurant owner approached and asked, “Miss, how many in your party?”
Just then, Xu Yu stubbed out his cigarette and walked toward the entrance, shifting his gaze to the owner with a smile.
“Lao Cai, no need to bother. She’s a friend.”