The next day at noon, Han Shumo returned from a busy morning at the hospital. At the entrance of the family housing compound, he saw Qin Wanqiu leaning against a tree, lost in thought.
Yesterday, he hadn’t been able to give Qin Wanqiu a proper response.
And today… he still couldn’t.
Because he had promised Xu Suyu that the choice was hers.
If she chose to marry him, then getting too close to Wanqiu now would only hurt her.
He didn’t know how to face Qin Wanqiu, so he planned to take a detour.
But she spotted him and waved gently. “Shumo.”
He had no way to avoid her now. He got off his bicycle and walked over.
“Wanqiu, why are you here?”
“I was waiting for you. Shumo, are you avoiding me because of my confession yesterday? I’m sorry. Liking you is my business — you don’t have to mind it. If Jiang Zhun hadn’t forced things yesterday, I never planned to let you know. I really didn’t want to trouble you.”
“It’s not trouble. I actually…”
Han Shumo’s grip on the handlebars tightened and loosened, then tightened again.
“Forget it. Some things I can only explain later. Wanqiu, did you need something from me today?”
Qin Wanqiu didn’t understand what he was struggling with, but it didn’t matter.
She already had a plan.
She wanted both the job and Han Shumo.
“Shumo, my aunt helped me ask General Jiang about arranging a job for me at the hospital. But now Comrade Xu Suyu says she studied medicine too and wants to work at the hospital. She wants to compete fairly with me for the same position.”
Han Shumo frowned.
In the previous life, Wanqiu had also tried to arrange a job this way but for some unknown reason had failed.
And this time…
“This job was originally meant for you?”
“Mm.” Wanqiu nodded miserably.
“But since Comrade Xu wants it, Jiang Zhun is backing her. You know he hates my aunt, so he targets me too. I’m already twenty-five… I don’t want to rot away at home for the rest of my life. I really need this chance.”
Han Shumo knew Wanqiu’s last-life ending had been tragic.
Failing to arrange a job, she’d stormed out after fighting with her family, was knocked unconscious and violated, became pregnant, and ultimately died in childbirth with her child.
This life, he must ensure Wanqiu lived well.
And since she now had an opportunity, he naturally would help her.
“I’ll talk to Xu Suyu for you.”
“Thank you, Shumo. Can I ask one more thing? Can you tutor me these few days? Just in case I really have to take an exam — I want to win with my own ability.”
That — that was exactly what he admired about her.
Her resilience, her refusal to give up, her bright, forward-moving spirit.
“Okay. I’ll help you. Make a list of what you don’t understand. As long as I’m not working, I can tutor you. Also, I have outpatient shifts the day after tomorrow — you can come to the hospital and observe in my clinic.”
“Really? Thank you, Shumo.”
If she got familiar faces at the hospital and got wind of exam topics in advance, it would only be to her advantage.
“No need to thank me. I want you to have a good future.”
He was still speaking when he suddenly saw Xu Suyu approaching in the distance.
Qin Wanqiu followed his gaze and turned. Xu Suyu walked toward them with a few books in her arms.
She wore a white blouse she’d just bought from the supply store, black trousers, and her long hair tied back in a simple low ponytail.
An ordinary outfit, but paired with her beauty and dignified bearing, it drew countless glances.
Even Han Shumo was staring at her.
Qin Wanqiu felt uncomfortable, but she maintained a gentle tone.
“What a coincidence — it’s Comrade Xu. She’s so pretty. Look, everyone’s staring at her.”
Han Shumo glanced at the passersby eyeing Xu Suyu and frowned slightly.
“Everyone has their strengths. She has her appearance. You have your inner beauty. In my eyes, you’re not inferior to her.”
“Really?” Wanqiu blushed.
“Mm. Your perseverance and optimism are things she could never imitate.”
He patted her shoulder. “Since Jiang Zhun isn’t here, I’ll go talk to her now about the job.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“No need. She’s not unreasonable. Wait here.”
He walked over and blocked Xu Suyu’s path.
“Comrade Xu.”
Xu Suyu had intended to pretend she hadn’t seen him and his beloved, but he actually approached her.
“Comrade Han, what is it?”
“I heard from Wanqiu that you’re competing with her for the hospital job. I don’t know why you suddenly want it, but it is extremely important to her. With this job, her family won’t look down on her anymore — it determines her future. Could you please not follow Jiang Zhun in acting willful? Please give the job back to her.”
Xu Suyu couldn’t help laughing.
Here it was — the great self-sacrificing, moral-preaching Han Shumo.
Han Shumo frowned. “You… what are you laughing at?”
“When you hear a joke, you laugh. Isn’t that normal?”
Her smile faded, her eyes turning cold.
“Comrade Han, you’re known as gentle and courteous, but why are you always so rude to me? You’re the one who owes a debt — not me. Where do you get the right to speak on my behalf and cut off my opportunities?”
“I…”
Han Shumo realized he was still subconsciously treating her as the wife from his previous life — the one who had cared for him quietly for decades.
And that’s why her repeated refusals felt so unfamiliar and jarring.
He did need to change that.
But he couldn’t step back on the job issue. If the job fell through, Wanqiu’s fate could not change.
“I’ll marry you. You let Wanqiu have the job. That way your crisis is solved, and Wanqiu escapes her family’s control. Isn’t that perfect for everyone?”
“Comrade Han, mind your words. I already have a fiancé. I will not marry you. If you want to save Qin Wanqiu’s future so badly, why not marry her? Why drag me into this?”
Han Shumo’s chest tightened.
As if he didn’t want to marry Wanqiu — he was practically losing his mind wanting to.
But Jiang Zhun wasn’t a good man.
If Xu Suyu married him only to delay her relocation and divorced later, maybe it would be fine.
But she’d given him a token of affection. Clearly, she intended a real life with him.
And Jiang Zhun’s eventual death… that alone would ruin her entire lifetime.
If not for Old Xu’s life-saving grace, and for the memory of Xu Suyu’s gentle, lifelong care in the previous life, he wouldn’t bother with any of this!