Chapter 36: 36 Chapter 36 Part 1

◎”Hey, beautiful doctor, want to run away with me?”◎

“Mom…”

Yu Qinjiu dragged out the word, pressing her lips together in a helpless pout.

“Yeah, what if I want to come back and stay later? We’re not short on money anyway.” As if expecting Yu Qinjiu to question her, Lin Yingxiang didn’t even frown when she answered. Her expression was perfectly natural.

Yu Qinjiu didn’t believe it. “Really?”

“Of course.” Lin Yingxiang nodded, even pointing at the confused Brittany beside her. “Besides, Brittany just said she really likes it here. Maybe she’ll come back to play after the holidays when she goes back home.”

“Huh?” Brittany was a bit confused, but under Lin Yingxiang’s gaze, she obediently nodded. “Yeah, I really like the persimmon tree here. Even though I haven’t seen where it is yet.”

“It’s right behind the steps at Gate 1 of the neighborhood. Just a two-minute walk. The property management left some persimmons on the tree, didn’t pick them all.” The agent interjected, adding more detail. He looked at the still hesitant Yu Qinjiu. “It’s no big deal actually. A long-term lease, even if you break it, it’s just one month’s deposit. But a short-term lease has much higher rent. When you think about it, they’re pretty much the same. A long-term lease gives you a bit of a safety net.”

With that, he handed over the pen, smiled kindly, and took out the short-term contract again. “Of course, if you want to rent short-term, the landlord is fine with that too. She’s not in Nanwu right now and has entrusted me with full authority.”

Lin Yingxiang coughed lightly twice. “I’m fine with whatever you decide too.”

Brittany shrugged. “I’m okay with whatever.”

So the choice fell to Yu Qinjiu. Just like that phone call from Carol, it seemed like everything had become some kind of sign.

At this moment.

It was no longer the fragile, sick eighteen-year-old girl making the decision. It was the twenty-eight-year-old Yu Qinjiu, who had control over her own life, faced with a choice.

Yu Qinjiu felt she shouldn’t hesitate. Of course, she couldn’t separate from Lin Yingxiang again. From the day of the car accident, Lin Yingxiang had only had her left. She couldn’t leave Lin Yingxiang again.

Because on the day of the car accident, she wasn’t by Lin Yingxiang’s side.

Of course, there were many “ifs” in life that you regretted not doing. After learning the truth, she spent countless nights trying to reconstruct the scene of Lin Yingxiang’s car accident in her mind. If she had gone home earlier after the graduation ceremony that day, instead of indulging in the alcohol and refusing to go with Lin Yingxiang to see Yu Cheng.

If she had faced that scene together with Lin Yingxiang, would Lin Yingxiang not have had that car accident? Would Lin Yingxiang not have been left with such severe aftereffects? Could she have been Lin Yingxiang’s support when she was alone? Would Lin Yingxiang have not spent that terrifying month that way?

If she hadn’t been so naive. If she had been able to notice a few details. If she had seen a hint of something in the way Gu Xi and Yu Muzhou interacted. If she had paid a little more attention when she noticed Yu Muzhou’s disgust towards Gu Xi…

Would things not have turned out the way they did later?

But she didn’t.

Even during the month Lin Yingxiang was in the hospital, she wasn’t by her side. She didn’t understand Lin Yingxiang’s attitude towards Yu Muzhou. She never tried to understand the emotions behind Lin Yingxiang’s wet eyes. And when Lin Yingxiang cried, she felt annoyed.

During that time, she was on the opposite side of Lin Yingxiang.

So she swore, never to let Lin Yingxiang be alone again.

But now, faced with a short-term contract and a long-term contract, she found herself unable to hold the pen. Lin Yingxiang was right there beside her, watching her. When the pen fell on the table, she picked it up and handed it back to her, gently rubbing her head.

“It’s just a contract. Don’t overthink it.”

“Yeah, Debby. It’s just a rental contract.” Brittany said. “And you’ve been looking for a house with a persimmon tree and a river in London for so long without finding one. What if you want to come back and stay for a few days later, and it gets rented out to someone else?”

“We’re not short on that kind of money!” She made a bold declaration.

The agent waiting beside her was amused by her tone. Lin Yingxiang also laughed. “Yeah, we’re not short on money.”

Throughout it all, Lin Yingxiang’s gaze remained fixed on Yu Qinjiu, never leaving. Yu Qinjiu stopped feeling troubled by it. Just as they had said, it was just a rental contract. It was just a short-term project.

She didn’t need to agonize over this.

Whether it was the rental contract or the short-term project, she had the power to end them. She wouldn’t be separated from Lin Yingxiang because of this rental contract or this short-term project.

Thinking this, Yu Qinjiu picked up the pen and signed her name on the long-term contract. Stroke by stroke, as if she was signing some solemn oath. After she finished, she stared at her name for a moment, then said very quietly,

“I will always be by your side.”

The contract was signed. The agent kindly offered to carry their luggage. “The neighborhood is having a Lantern Festival event later. If Ms. Yu and your mother want to join, I can take you there directly…”

“No need.” Yu Qinjiu interrupted him. She met Lin Yingxiang’s eyes and said softly, “We still have important things to do.”

—

At the hospital, during the lunch break.

Ji Qingyou received a WeChat message from Yu Qinjiu. She said she had already received the door code. She asked if the password had any special meaning. It looked like a date, but it wasn’t anyone’s birthday.

When she received the message, Ji Qingyou was sitting up straight, her gaze focused on her phone screen. The app she had open was an online shopping platform.

She didn’t know much about scarves. She could only guess at the brands of the scarves Yu Qinjiu used to wear based on certain product recommendations, and any scarf whose reviews frequently mentioned the word “comfortable” was added to her cart.

She spent all of her fragmented time today doing this.

When Yu Qinjiu’s message popped up, her gaze flickered for a few seconds. Although she had already prepared the answer, her fingers still paused involuntarily as she typed:

[It’s not a birthday. It doesn’t have any special meaning either. It’s just a regular date. The day I moved in here. I just set it casually.]

Yu Qinjiu quickly replied:

[Oh]

[The weather is nice today]

Then a picture followed. It was the four sticky notes she had left at home. Yu Qinjiu had placed them together and sent them to her neatly.

Then she said:

[I’m listening to everything Dr. Ji says]

When she was relaxed, she really liked to call her “Dr. Ji.”

Ji Qingyou had noticed this a long time ago. She didn’t find the title “Dr. Ji” to blur the distance between them now. On the contrary, because of Yu Qinjiu, even the title “Dr. Ji” had been given a new, vibrant meaning.

Vivid, bright, stamped with a colorful seal.

Ji Qingyou replied with “Get some good rest.” The brief chat ended. Her phone lingered on the chat interface for a few seconds. After confirming that Yu Qinjiu wasn’t going to reply again, she switched back to the shopping platform and continued browsing all the items under the #scarf# tag.

Yu Qinjiu seemed to really like plaid scarves.

So she added the keyword #plaid# too.

She didn’t know how much time passed.

When she switched back to her cart and selected all to check out, a “Holy shit” sounded from above her head. Ji Xiruan’s energetic voice suddenly appeared.

“Did you spend your entire month’s salary on this?”

Following Ji Xiruan’s words, Ji Qingyou’s gaze finally stopped on the total amount. It was indeed very close to her monthly salary. She paused for a few seconds, then clicked the payment button. The order was paid.

In all the things she wanted to spend on Yu Qinjiu.

The string of numbers representing money was the least significant.

But Ji Xiruan sucked in a cold breath behind her. “Dr. Ji, you didn’t even blink.”

Ji Qingyou put down her phone. She noticed that Ji Xiruan’s mood was much better than yesterday. But when she looked up and saw her red, swollen eyes, she frowned.

“Didn’t you sleep last night?”

Ji Xiruan acted like nothing was wrong. She patted her shoulder, sat down beside her, took a sip of hot tea, and leaned lazily back in her office chair.

“I did. But I didn’t sleep well.”

“Did you sleep well?” Ji Xiruan asked, glancing over at her. “Didn’t Miss Alps leave yesterday? You could still sleep well?”

“She came back.” Ji Qingyou opened the drawer, took out an Alps lollipop, slowly unwrapped it, and put it in her mouth.

“Huh?” Ji Xiruan lifted her head from the chair with some difficulty. “Why did she come back again?”

Too many things had happened in these two days. She was exhausted, both physically and mentally. But work and life had to go on. From the moment she stepped into this profession, she knew that no matter how hard it was to get over certain emotions, they would pass when the next day’s endless stream of things came flooding in.

It wasn’t about whether she wanted them to pass or not. They just had to.

Ji Qingyou didn’t seem to intend to answer the question. Her gaze was fixed on the computer screen, as if she was already engrossed in her work.

But after a few seconds, she took the lollipop out of her mouth and said, “I slept pretty well last night.”

She had said so much, and she was still answering the question from before about whether she could sleep well after Miss Alps had left.

Ji Xiruan suspected that Ji Qingyou’s AI brain had rusted, and that her reactions had suddenly become much slower, catching her off guard. She let out an “Ah” before muttering back, “You don’t need much sleep anyway. I remember back in university, you only slept six hours a day and could still be full of energy during the day. Not something us mere mortals can compare to.”

Ji Qingyou glanced at her. “Six hours is a lot.”

Ji Xiruan tilted her head. “Is it?”

Ji Qingyou spat out a single word. “A lot.”

Ji Xiruan choked, then decided not to argue with her. “Never mind. I’ll catch a quick nap. Otherwise, I’ll be busy again soon. Hey, you’re not on duty tonight, are you? Why don’t you come with me to eat at that BBQ place near the entrance? I haven’t had it in a while. I’m craving it…”

She said she was going to nap, but she kept chattering away. As if she was afraid the silence would let all sorts of messy thoughts flood into her mind.