Chapter 28: 28. Miss Alps and Nanwu Sweetheart Part 1

—I’m not a kid anymore.

After learning she was going to have a gastroscopy, Yu Qinjiu had said this many times. She said it in front of Li Nanli. She said it in front of Lin Yingxiang. She said it in front of Ji Qingyou too.

But when she was clutching the plush toy named “Nanwu Sweetheart” in her hands, standing in the bustling Endoscopy Center, and saw Ji Qingyou appear in front of her at that very second…

She had to admit: Okay, maybe I am just a five-year-old little girl.

And when she looked down again at the stingray plush in her hands, and at her wrist still being held by Ji Qingyou, she had to admit even further:

Okay. It turns out she would be willing to be a five-year-old little girl forever.

Ji Qingyou noticed her dazed reaction. She didn’t immediately let go of her wrist. After catching her breath for a moment, her concerned gaze remained fixed on her.

“Are you okay?”

Yu Qinjiu snapped back to reality and looked up. The noisy, chaotic sounds of the environment rushed into her ears, embedding themselves harshly. Her eyes met Ji Qingyou’s.

For a long moment, she stared at the shimmering light in Ji Qingyou’s dark pupils without looking away. She just shook her head gently. “I’m fine.”

Ji Qingyou breathed a sigh of relief, finally exhaling. She had been holding her breath, afraid that Yu Qinjiu would be startled.

“Dr. Ji, I heard you were in surgery. How did you still manage to come?” the nurse who had been shouting “Nanwu Sweetheart” asked casually, leading another patient into the exam room, leaving the question unanswered.

Yu Qinjiu belatedly remembered this. She looked at Ji Qingyou. She saw Ji Qingyou wearing dark green scrubs. They hung loosely over her thin, soft frame. Her tied-up hair looked like she had just taken off her surgical cap, with some longer strands falling out.

A gust of wind lifted Ji Qingyou’s hair, sending it brushing softly against her slender neck. A faint scent of disinfectant wafted over.

Sensing the smell in the wind, Ji Qingyou instinctively let go of Yu Qinjiu, putting some distance between them. She swallowed and explained softly. “I just got out of surgery. Did you finish your gastroscopy?”

Yu Qinjiu held up the stingray plush for her to see. “All done. Dr. Yang said this plush toy is very popular recently. She put it in front of me during the exam to keep me company.”

Ji Qingyou lowered her eyes and nodded. “That’s good.”

“She also said…” Yu Qinjiu stared at her intently. “That Dr. Ji bought it.”

Ji Qingyou’s drooping lashes trembled. She wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Yu Qinjiu’s soft, slow voice.

“They told me this stingray plush is very popular right now. They said Dr. Ji brought it over yesterday and told them not to tell me. But they said they couldn’t, because they can’t lie…”

Ji Qingyou’s vision wavered for a moment.

She couldn’t bring herself to explain. Because yesterday, when passing by the pediatric ICU, she had seen brightly colored murals and stickers on the walls. Every bed had a stingray plush like this. They were cute and looked so soft.

Generally, pediatric ICUs are designed with such warm, loving environments to comfort sick children, to help them feel love and the world even when they are ill.

She had been to this ward countless times.

But in that moment yesterday,

When she noticed those stingray plush toys, her first thought wasn’t to buy one for Yu Zhijiu, who was still a child, as a gift for leaving the hospital.

It was to buy one for Yu Qinjiu, who was about to have a gastroscopy. To distract her during the procedure. She thought it was some kind of hospital-designed comfort object.

But it wasn’t.

It was just Ji Qingyou’s own design of care for Yu Qinjiu. Even though, while buying it, she also thought of Yu Zhijiu. And she bought an identical one for this little girl, who had given her candy on her first day in the hospital.

“I bought one for Little Jiu too.” She explained it that way.

“Really?” Yu Qinjiu stared at Ji Qingyou for a long moment. Her fingertips, clutching the stingray plush, tightened. “So, did you buy it for me or for Little Jiu?”

Ji Qingyou hesitated for a second, then gave her answer. “…Little Jiu.”

Yu Qinjiu looked at her for a moment. Her eyes curved into beautiful crescent moons. She slowly uttered two words. “You’re lying.”

Ji Qingyou pursed her lips and was silent for a few seconds.

Yu Qinjiu glanced at her again, speaking slowly. “Do you know what your biggest weakness is?”

“You can’t lie at all.” Her voice was very soft. “And what’s wrong with buying a plush toy for a five-year-old little girl like me? It’s not like I said I don’t like it…”

When she mentioned “five-year-old little girl,” the laughter in her voice deepened. Her pronunciation was soft and indistinct, but there was a strange sense of pride.

When Yu Qinjiu said these things, she did them without any burden.

It was hard for Ji Qingyou to be so open. For example, she would rather leave a note saying “you are the prettiest five-year-old girl I’ve ever seen” than say it out loud directly. She would rather entrust her worries and care to her usually unfriendly “rival” than express them by giving a plush toy.

Having been in the busy, chaotic adult world for so long,

She thought this behavior was sentimental and contrived.

But Yu Qinjiu didn’t see it that way.

This made Ji Qingyou soften in that moment too. She asked hesitantly, “Do you like it?”

Before she could finish her sentence, a passerby squeezed past them.

Yu Qinjiu moved aside. But she still held the stingray plush tightly. When she looked back at Ji Qingyou, her crescent-shaped eyes curved even more deeply.

“I like it a lot～”

Her voice was filled with flowing joy.

Ji Qingyou met her eyes. The bewilderment in her eyes dissipated after a few seconds, replaced by relief. She waited with Yu Qinjiu for the gastroscopy results. Soon, Dr. Yang came out with the report. She handed it to Yu Qinjiu and glanced at Ji Qingyou, saying lightly, “Nothing serious. Just chronic gastritis. Take some medicine and protect your stomach. That’ll be fine.”

Ji Qingyou breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Thank you.”

Dr. Yang looked at her for a moment, then suddenly laughed, with a mischievous tone. “You’re welcome. I’ll do whatever Nanwu Sweetheart arranges for me.”

Ji Qingyou frowned.

Dr. Yang shrugged and turned back into the examination room, leaving no room for her to respond.

Ji Qingyou didn’t dwell on it. She took Yu Qinjiu’s report and examined it closely. Seeing that it was indeed as Dr. Yang had said, she relaxed her tight lips.

“You can go make a follow-up appointment to get some medicine. Then you can eat after an hour. You need to be a bit more careful with your diet from now on…”

She went on and on, and Yu Qinjiu listened quietly.

When she handed the report back to Yu Qinjiu, Yu Qinjiu stared at her for a moment before asking hesitantly, “I came to the hospital today. I heard everyone calling you ‘Nanwu Sweetheart’…”

She paused, a hint of apology in her voice. “Does it make you uncomfortable?”

Ji Qingyou tilted her head to look at her. “Do you know what nickname you have in our hospital?”

Yu Qinjiu was startled. She suddenly remembered the name Ji Xiruan had accidentally let slip last time. Looking at Ji Qingyou’s silent gaze, she understood. The corners of her mouth involuntarily rose. “Miss Alps?”

“Mm.” Ji Qingyou was brief. “Then we’re even.”

“Oh, we’re even.” Yu Qinjiu’s voice was filled with laughter. “But I don’t think I’ve ever heard you call me Miss Alps?”

Ji Qingyou looked away. “I need to get back to my department.”

As she spoke, she turned and walked out through the bustling crowd. But her steps slowed down. She wasn’t walking as fast as when she came, practically jogging.

She was waiting for her.

Realizing this, Yu Qinjiu smiled and followed. She intentionally bumped into her shoulder. “So, that means I haven’t directly called you…”

Before she could get out the word “Nanwu Sweetheart,” Ji Qingyou had already quickened her pace. She didn’t hate the nickname. She wasn’t annoyed by others constantly bringing it up. She just couldn’t imagine what it would feel like to hear Yu Qinjiu say those four words directly to her.

It might be a little strange.

But surprisingly, not entirely unpleasant?

Nanwu Sweetheart did sound a lot better than Robot.

And besides, who else but Yu Qinjiu would give her such a vivid, unique nickname?

Just as she was thinking this, her phone in her pocket vibrated. It was a call from her department. She answered it and quickly rushed off. Yu Qinjiu didn’t continue the joke at a time like this. They parted ways easily.

When she waved goodbye to her,

Ji Qingyou saw the hand Yu Qinjiu had extended. Her skin was fair, almost translucent. The butterfly tattoo on her wrist seemed to be covered in a delicate, luminous sheen.

It overlapped with a scene from not long ago.

Ji Qingyou dazedly realized that this time, there were no clearly visible red marks on Yu Qinjiu’s open palm. No indentations from hard edges. No suspected red marks from pinching.

One hand was holding the stingray plush.

The other was waving goodbye to her. It was smooth, clean, and light.

~ ~ ~

On New Year’s Eve, except for the nearly retired Qin Bailan, both Ji Qingyou and Qin Shuangchi were working. The wedding was in a few days. But Qin Shuangchi acted like someone who just had to show up. It seemed like Yu Muzhou had no complaints about this.

During lunchtime, Qin Shuangchi brought a few dishes that Qin Bailan had made at home. She came to find Ji Qingyou, taking her to her office to eat. “You should at least come home for New Year’s Eve dinner after work, right?”

“…Mm.” Ji Qingyou hummed in response, but immediately caught herself and shook her head. “I can’t.”

“Not even on New Year’s Eve?” Qin Shuangchi was taking the food out of the insulated container. She gave her a look, a little annoyed. “I’m not messing around. If you don’t come back, Director Qin will just come to your department and drag you home.”

“Is Yu Muzhou coming to our place for dinner?” After asking this question, Ji Qingyou was silent for a few seconds. Without waiting for Qin Shuangchi’s answer, she said in a very quiet voice, “I can’t let Yu Qinjiu be alone on a day like this.”

Qin Shuangchi paused, as if understanding her meaning. She pursed her lips. “Yeah, he’s coming. Director Qin said if he didn’t come for a meal at our place, he must have a problem with her. So we agreed to have New Year’s Eve dinner at our house.”

Ji Qingyou nodded. “What about New Year’s Day? Are you going to the Yu family’s place for dinner?”

Qin Shuangchi was silent. Then she explained, “I didn’t want to go. I haven’t gone in the past few years. But the wedding is in a few days. I can’t exactly not go… So tomorrow, Director Qin will be home alone.”

“Mm…” Ji Qingyou lowered her eyes. “Then I’ll go back home tomorrow to have dinner with Mom.”

“That works.” Qin Shuangchi relaxed. She stared at her for a moment, then mentioned as if offhandedly, “Why don’t you bring Little Jiu along tomorrow? We probably won’t be there, so they won’t have to see each other…”