Wang Yunchen’s brows knitted tightly, his jaw tensed, eyes fixed on her in stunned silence. For a moment, his mind couldn’t even process it: “……”
Did he hear that right? Wasn’t she from some small backwater hospital? She hadn’t even fully completed her apprenticeship. Had she actually been formally commended before? How could she speak so well?
Liu Shicheng was even more astonished.
He had no choice but to admit it: this was the best commendation speech he’d ever heard.
He had been in the hospital for three years, consulting for two of them, and he’d collected quite a few banners of gratitude. Yet every time, he had to spend half a day drafting a speech beforehand, terrified of saying something politically incorrect that might be used against him later when leadership began evaluating candidates for promotions.
But Shen Qingli just spoke all that off the top of her head?
His irritation only deepened. Everyone knew that Liu Youjun would be retiring in just over a year. That position was basically already his — or it should have been.
But now, with Shen Qingli as a competitor? She was suddenly a very real threat.
The way he looked at her was practically as if she were a thorn in his eye and a dagger in his flesh. Still, there was nothing he could do about her right now — he could only grit his teeth and endure it.
Shen Qingli didn’t miss the looks he and Wang Yunchen were giving her, but she couldn’t care less. After giving her speech, she stepped aside, yielding the floor to Liu Youjun.
He continued with his usual flowery praise before officially announcing the end of the commendation ceremony.
Shen Qingli followed protocol, trailing behind the higher-ranking doctors as they left, and returned to her consultation room. Soon after, Zhang Aifang walked in.
“You really hit the jackpot. Barely here for a few days and already getting a banner? If there hadn’t been such a scene today, people would’ve thought you hired that family to put on a show.”
Shen Qingli smiled. “I didn’t expect it either.”
Zhang Aifang teased, “Dr. Shen is impressive, huh? When you’re promoted and on the rise, don’t forget about me.”
Shen Qingli’s lips curved into a broad smile. As she looked at the banner, she felt even more certain she’d made the right choice in this second chance at life.
Clearly, if she poured her energy and time into her career, it would pay off.
But instead, she had chased after that vague, dispensable love — becoming anxious and paranoid day after day, driving herself to the brink of madness.
……
In the military family housing compound, Su Jinshen finished his work early and returned home.
The moment he walked in, his gaze instinctively swept around. Not seeing Shen Qingli anywhere, he planted his hands on his hips, irritation flickering across his face.
He didn’t even know why he bothered worrying about her now. Before, when she always rushed up to him the moment he came home, overflowing with affection, he’d almost dreaded returning — he could hardly handle her enthusiasm.
But now? Now that she was never around, coming and going at dawn and night, he found himself… unsettled.
Just then, Zhou Jiarun walked in.
“Captain Su, could you take me to the hospital again? My throat is getting worse. It hurts just to swallow now.”
Su Jinshen snapped out of his thoughts and turned around. “The medicine they gave you last time didn’t help?”
“No,” Zhou Jiarun said. “Barely did anything. Just like that doctor said before, I should probably get an IV this time. If I drag it out any longer, I’m afraid my voice will be ruined.”
Su Jinshen nodded. As a political instructor, he spoke to the troops all day — he couldn’t afford to lose his voice.
“Alright.”
Zhou Jiarun headed out first, and the two of them drove their jeep to Ning’an Hospital.
When they reached the second floor again, Su Jinshen found himself — for reasons he didn’t understand — glancing automatically toward the direction Zhou Jiarun had previously mentioned. The direction where Shen Qingli supposedly worked.
Zhou Jiarun caught him immediately.
“You’re not looking to see if Shen Qingli is here, are you?”
Su Jinshen didn’t respond.
Shen Qingli was always leaving early and coming back late. Zhao Wenbo liked her now. And what was he, her husband, doing every day? How could he not care?
Even though Zhou Jiarun’s comment had been casual that day, it stuck with him.
Zhou laughed. “She quit Xia’an Hospital directly — no notice, no transfer. How could she suddenly end up here? Unless you pulled strings.”
That sounded right. She hadn’t worked in so long, let alone suddenly joined a major city hospital like this.
He withdrew his gaze and walked toward the respiratory and infection department.
But then — suddenly — Shen Qingli and Sun Yan appeared ahead, lunch boxes in hand.
She wore a white coat with no mask, long black hair pinned neatly into a bun with a hairpin, exposing her slender swan-like neck.
She was speaking with a soft smile. But the moment she saw him, the smile froze — just for a heartbeat — before she continued chatting calmly with Sun Yan, walking right past him as if he were a stranger.
His breath caught. For a second, everything went still — his mind blank.
Zhou Jiarun stared after her, equally stunned.
“Captain Su… wasn’t that Shen Qingli?”
Su Jinshen swallowed down the shock and forced his expression back to calm. A quiet “Mm” escaped him.
Staring at her retreating figure, Zhou muttered,
“So I wasn’t mistaken last time. That really was her. But how did she get into a city hospital?”
Su Jinshen pressed his lips together. In truth, he was even more curious than Zhou Jiarun.
But what bothered him more was the way she pretended not to know him — as if they were strangers.
Before, she would’ve rushed to greet him. Even outside, she’d jump at the chance to introduce him as her husband. But now? Nothing. Not even an acknowledgment.
Meanwhile, even after arriving at the cafeteria, Shen Qingli couldn’t stop replaying that moment in her mind. Her appetite vanished.
Still, remembering how Sun Yan shared meat with her last time, she bought two meat dishes and passed a few pieces to her.
As Sun Yan ate, she studied her carefully, picking up on her dejection.
“Those two men in uniform — you know them, don’t you?”
Shen Qingli froze for a moment. Her grip tightened around her chopsticks, knuckles pale.
She didn’t want her private life spreading around the hospital. Even if Sun Yan meant well, gossip traveled fast — just like back in the compound, where everyone speculated about her behind her back.
She lowered her gaze. “No. I don’t.”
Sun Yan was not fooled.
“Come on. What can’t you tell me? You forget where you live? The family compound? Those two obviously outrank most people. And the way your smile just died when you saw them — you definitely know them.”
Shen Qingli didn’t react, unsurprised — but unwilling to answer.
Sun Yan persisted.
“You look miserable. Maybe I could help. If it’s a marriage issue — trust me, I’m familiar. And you haven’t mentioned your husband once since coming here.”
She had every intention of forming a close bond with Shen Qingli — maybe even benefiting from her future connections. Normally, they didn’t work in the same department, and Shen’s quiet nature made closeness hard to build. But this? This was an opportunity.
Shen Qingli took a slow breath and said softly but firmly:
“Sorry. I don’t want to talk about my personal life right now.”