Twelve years ago, Shen Nanxing first met Gu Cheng'an in the tiered lecture hall for new hospital employees’ training.
The sunlight was bright that day. She wore a white blouse and black trousers, with a temporary work id badge pinned to her chest, and sat by the window. The classroom was packed with new doctors, nurses, technicians, and administrative staff members. Everyone was young, and the excitement in their eyes was impossible to conceal.
Gu Cheng'an was two minutes late.
He entered through the back door carrying a stack of materials, his hair slightly tousled by the wind. While looking for a seat, he accidentally knocked the pen off Shen Nanxing's desk. He bent down to pick it up and said quietly, “Sorry.”
Shen Nanxing took the pen from him and saw the name on his work id badge: Gu Cheng'an, surgical department.
Back then, Gu Cheng'an was not yet as composed as he would later become. His smile was somewhat bashful, and he did not speak with the constant restraint he had now. He sat beside Shen Nanxing. While the training instructor lectured on the hospital's history, he diligently took notes on paper, even writing down the cafeteria's opening hours in neat rows.
While lining up for lunch, Shen Nanxing realized that he was standing behind her again.
“Are you alone too?” he asked.
“Mm.”
“Then let's sit together.” After saying that, he seemed afraid of being too forward and added, “None of us newcomers know anyone, so we can keep each other company.”
Shen Nanxing thought he seemed sincere, so she agreed.
They gradually became familiar with each other. The hospital was large, and they belonged to different hospital departments, but after the new employees’ training, there were still various exams, team-building activities, and lectures. They often ran into each other in the cafeteria and occasionally shared a table. When Gu Cheng'an was in graduate school, his family had been of modest means, so he ate very frugally. Sometimes, when Shen Nanxing saw him order only one vegetable dish, she would give him the extra egg she had taken.
At first, Gu Cheng'an felt embarrassed. Later, he would bring her a cup of hot soy milk after being on duty.
At that time, Shen Nanxing had just joined the Emergency Department and was reduced to red-rimmed eyes by the veteran nurses’ daily scoldings. She learned how to insert needles, memorized procedures and medicine names, and still had to write notes after returning to the dormitory. Gu Cheng'an was busy too—operating rooms, hospital wards, department meetings—and he was often so exhausted that he could lose focus while sitting in the cafeteria.
Neither of them had it easy, but the hardships they endured back then came with something to look forward to.
One night, Shen Nanxing waited for the bus at the back entrance of the hospital after work. The rain was pouring, and she had not brought an umbrella, so she could only stand beneath the eaves. Gu Cheng'an came out of the inpatient building, saw her, and ran over with an umbrella.
“Where do you live? I'll walk you to the station.”
“No need. You're tired too.”
“It's on my way,” he said.
In fact, it was not on his way at all.
The umbrella was not large, so the two of them walked very close together. The sound of the rain covered much of the awkwardness and also brought a little peace to their hearts. By the time they reached the station, half of Shen Nanxing's shoulder was dry, while Gu Cheng'an's right shoulder was completely soaked.
She said, “How can you be so bad at holding an umbrella?”
Gu Cheng'an smiled. “I may need more practice.”
Later, they got together.
There was no grand confession and no expensive gift. One day, after finishing his night shift, Gu Cheng'an brought her breakfast and sat with her beside the hospital flower bed. He asked her, “Shen Nanxing, how about we stay in this city together from now on?”
She was twenty-five then. Hearing those words, her heart softened beyond measure.
“Okay,” she said.
She truly believed that as long as the two of them worked hard together, they could put down roots in this city. She believed that a doctor-and-nurse pairing would understand each other's hardships better than anyone else. She believed they would stand side by side for a long time, endure the most difficult years, and see their days gradually brighten.
Looking back now, Shen Nanxing did not regret believing back then.
She had simply come to understand that the things people believe in when they are young cannot necessarily withstand twelve years of mundane erosion.