On Monday, Ji Xiunian took a day off to take Ji Anyang to the hospital for his follow-up.
The elderly doctor in his white coat smiled warmly. “He’s all better now. The surgery went smoothly. The boy has a strong constitution—he’s recovered very well.”
“Then in the future…”
“There shouldn’t be any major problems going forward. Take his medicine on schedule, keep regular hours, stick to a light diet. And—most importantly—keep his spirits up. A boy his age should be lively. Happy.”
“Thank you, Doctor Wang.” Ji Xiunian hesitated before asking, “He won’t need another surgery, will he?”
“No. Just come in for regular checkups. Once a year.”
Ji Xiunian bit her lip, then released it, and at last a smile broke through.
A woman whose emotions so rarely showed, her eyes were rimmed with red now, yet her lips curved with a smile. Without another word, she simply murmured, over and over, “Thank you… thank you…”
Doctor Wang waved a hand. “It’s nothing. Young man, go pay for the prescription first. I’d like a word with your mother about the day-to-day care.”
Ji Anyang had been silent the whole time, a faint sheen of tears in his eyes. Now he rose and bowed to the doctor before turning to let himself out.
“Doctor Wang, is there anything else I should watch for? Please tell me—I’ll write it all down.”
“Mm, that can wait. There’s something else I’d like to ask you, actually.”
“Of course. Please go ahead.”
“The truth is, this surgery went so smoothly because I’ve performed one like it before. That case was very similar to your son’s condition. He was the son of an old friend of mine. I’m curious—medically speaking, this condition is primarily hereditary. How did such striking similarities arise between two strangers?”
“What exactly would you like to know? Could you put it a bit more clearly?”
“I apologize.” Doctor Wang smiled apologetically. “I’ve been writing a paper lately that touches on this very question. I wanted to ask—does your family have any history of hereditary illness? The child’s parents, grandparents—anything similar?”
“Nothing on the mother’s side.” Ji Xiunian thought for a moment. “I’m not entirely sure about the other side. I’m sorry.”
“Ah, no, no—it’s I who should apologize…”
Doctor Wang dimly recalled Hao Shuyou mentioning that the boy was raised in a single-parent household, growing up without a father. His question had been tactless.
Ji Xiunian shook her head. “It’s quite all right. You’re devoted to your research—I understand, and I admire it. I’m truly sorry I can’t give you more detailed information.”
Doctor Wang moved past the topic. “Thank you for understanding. Now—let’s talk about the rest of the recovery period, shall we? First…”
They talked for about ten minutes before Ji Anyang returned with the paid receipt. Ji Xiunian rose to thank the doctor once more. “Doctor Wang, thank you so very much.”
Doctor Wang patted Ji Anyang’s shoulder with a smile. “Think nothing of it. No need to thank me, young man. You’re still young—the road ahead is long. Don’t go around wearing that long face every day.”
Ji Anyang’s lips curved into something between a smile and tears. “Thank you, Doctor. I really will change.”
After seeing them out, Doctor Wang sat down and called Hao Shuyou. “Shuyou, your friend’s boy came through surgery beautifully. I didn’t let your trust down—or Zhou Lang’s.”
The line on Hao Shuyou’s end was noisy. “Glad to hear it. Thanks, Old Wang. One of these days I’ll bring my junior schoolmate along and treat you to dinner.”
Doctor Wang chuckled. “Deal. I’ll fleece you for a proper meal. And that girl Zhou Lang—a while back my neck trouble flared up again. If I didn’t owe her a favor, I honestly might not have taken the operating table myself. But thanks to you two, this was a genuinely interesting case.”
“You really are a research maniac. I’m swamped—gotta go.”
“All right. Catch up another time.”
Doctor Wang had barely hung up and was about to call in his next patient when another call came through.
“Hello? Little Duan?”
“Uncle Wang, how’s your neck been lately? Is that pillow I sent you still doing the trick?”
“It’s wonderful, wonderful. What can Uncle Wang do for you?”
“Oh, nothing much. You told me to come in for regular checkups, and it’s been two years now, so I thought…”
“Right, right—look at me, it slipped my mind entirely. Come on over. I’ll give you a proper checkup.”
Outside the hospital, Jiang Wei stood by the roadside and waved. “Little Nian, over here.”
Ji Xiunian was caught off guard. “Big Brother? What are you doing here?”
“Just passing by.” Jiang Wei threw an arm around Ji Anyang. “Anyang, you’re all right?”
“All better. The doctor says he’s recovered well. From now on it’s just medicine on schedule and regular checkups.”
“That’s good, that’s good.” Jiang Wei’s smile flashed white and dazzling. “Come on, we’re going to your uncle’s place. I’m cooking today—I’ll make Anyang something delicious.”
“Big Brother, aren’t you working today?”
“Working… not working. Hurry, get in the car first.”
Ji Xiunian kept feeling that something was off about Jiang Wei, but she didn’t press. Only when the car pulled up outside a restaurant did she look over, as if finally sensing it. “What have you arranged?”
Jiang Wei spread his hands. “Now, don’t blame me for rushing things. It was Anyang’s idea. He said you’d finally taken a day off, and that you were free to have a meal with someone today.”
“A meal with whom?”
“The younger cousin of an army buddy of mine. I’ve been thinking—my comrades are all like me, too busy for their own families. So this time I found someone local to Mingchuan, works at a company now. His surname is Xiao. He’s already here—go on in.”
Ji Xiunian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Big Brother. Anyang. Are you two ambushing me into a blind date? You couldn’t even give me advance notice—acting first and telling me after?”
Jiang Wei’s face crumpled, his eyes full of unconcealable concern. “Just meet him once. Once—is that so much? I’m begging you, as your big brother.”
Ji Anyang lowered his head. “Mom, I’m sorry. It was my idea to tell Uncle.”
Ji Xiunian never lost her temper with family. She reined herself in. “Fine. I’ll meet him. You two go home.”
In a little while she would simply apologize to the man and leave. Ten minutes, no more.
Jiang Wei was overjoyed. “You’ll go? Wonderful—go on, go. Do you want us to wait here for you?”
“No need.” Ji Xiunian stepped out of the car and waved to them through the window. “Anyang, eat properly. Food from outside isn’t clean either. Go on home, both of you.”
“Okay, okay. We’ll head off then.”
“Mom, there’s no need to rush back.”
“I have something in the evening; I can’t come back too early.” Ji Xiunian recalled something. “It’s one of my teachers’ eightieth birthday today—I’m going to her place later. I’ll come pick you up from your uncle’s tonight.”
“Okay. I’ll read at Uncle’s. No rush.”
Only after several more reminders did Ji Xiunian enter the restaurant.
Mr. Xiao sat by the window, his back to her—a man in a light gray suit.
Ji Xiunian walked over. “Sorry, Mr. Xiao, I’m late… Xiao Zhen?”
The man in the gray suit froze too, then his eyes lit up with delight. “Ji Xiunian?”
“How is it you?”
They asked the question in the same breath, then looked at each other and smiled. What else could it be—weren’t they both dragged here by their families for a blind date?
Xiao Zhen pushed the menu toward her. “Take a look. Order whatever you like.”
Ji Xiunian hadn’t expected to run into a university classmate, and it would be rude to leave at once. She glanced over the menu and ordered two dishes at random. “I’m done. See if there’s anything you want.”
Xiao Zhen took the menu with a smile, picked out a couple of dishes, and poured her a glass of warm water. “You were abroad for years, weren’t you? What brought you back all of a sudden?”
“Not so sudden. I’ve been back two or three years now.”
“Oh… right. You never post in the old classmates’ group chat, so we all assumed you were still overseas.”
“And you? Weren’t you running a business down south? When did you come back to Mingchuan?”
“I got divorced. Came back at the start of this year. My parents are getting old, so I transferred back to look after them.”
Ji Xiunian didn’t ask about the divorce. The food arrived just then, and she smiled. “Shall we start? I’m a little hungry.”
Xiao Zhen had been hoping she would ask more; he did his best to hide his disappointment. “Go ahead. Don’t be polite.”
The meal passed quietly.
Ji Xiunian ate with refined, delicate manners—posture elegant, shoulders and neck straight, back upright, barely making a sound.
Time and again, Xiao Zhen wanted to ask after her life these past years, but whenever he saw her gentle and graceful as ever, he hesitated, not daring to break the quiet.
Just like before. She was the untouchable light of his youth, the girl he had willingly enshrined upon the altar of his heart—never once confessing his feelings, forever watching from afar, never daring to come close.
When the meal ended, Ji Xiunian rose. “I should be going. It’s Teacher Zhao’s birthday—I’m going to see her.”
Xiao Zhen brightened. “What a coincidence—I’m going to see Teacher Zhao too. Did you drive? Let’s go together.”
“But the gift I prepared is still at home.”
“No problem. I’ll give you a lift to pick it up. It’s hard to get a cab around here. We’re old classmates—why so formal?”
Ji Xiunian also worried that refusing too stiffly would sour the surface harmony. “All right then. Thank you. It’s on the way, as it happens.”
By the time she’d picked up the gift and driven over, it was already three.
