◎The more she longed to get close, the harder it was to hold on◎
/How can someone you haven’t seen or heard from in ten years reattach themselves to your life?/
Yu Qinjiu felt the standard answer to this question should be:
/Just wish her happiness/
When she was five years old, a thought suddenly popped into Yu Qinjiu’s head:
There should be a profession dedicated to making snowmen. Because every time she saw snow, she wanted to build a snowman. It brought her the joy of construction and creation, a huge sense of accomplishment.
But as she grew up, the world came up with all sorts of bizarre professions, yet it still seemed like no one had popularized snowman-building as a career.
If they had, she probably wouldn’t have become an architect.
Not that it mattered. She was still on the phone with her British company, which was urging her to cut her holiday short, while simultaneously building a snowman in a busy public square. It made her so happy she forgot about all the nonsense.
She was freezing cold, shivering, her hands bright red. But she was still satisfied, taking a few photos to send back to England, trying to preserve the biggest, most beautiful snowman she had ever made.
After taking pictures, she passed a tavern called “2012,” which looked like it had opened in 2012. She pushed open the door and went inside.
She ordered a few of their signature drinks. The place was playing an old movie, Titanic. The movie dialogue mixed with the low murmur of conversations around her.
And an old song.
A deep, female voice, a very familiar melody. It took Yu Qinjiu a few lines to remember the name: Liu Ruoying’s Later.
But the version playing was slightly different from the one she remembered.
The drinks arrived. She took a sip. It was a bit astringent, a bit harsh going down. She didn’t drink any more. She looked up at the screen. Jack and Rose were talking.
“Rose, winning that ticket was the best thing that ever happened to me.”
In 2012, Titanic was re-released in 3D. She had dragged Ji Qingyou along to see it, wearing 3D glasses.
At that scene, easily swept away by the movie’s emotion, her eyes red, she had asked Ji Qingyou what she would do if they were in the same situation. Who would she choose to save?
Ji Qingyou never cried during movies, no matter how passionate or tragic the protagonists were. She always looked calm and restrained, never shedding a tear.
That time was no different.
Ji Qingyou stared intently at the screen. The faint blue light projected from the screen gave her profile a soft, hazy glow. In a calm voice, she said, “My mom and sister are both doctors. They’ve always told me that doctors need to sacrifice themselves for others. But I still hope we can both survive.”
“But didn’t you say you didn’t want to be a doctor?” Yu Qinjiu asked, her nose stuffy. Her eyes were stinging so much she had trouble focusing. “Ji Qingyou, my eyes hurt.”
Ji Qingyou paused, then turned to look at her. She gently removed their 3D glasses and wiped Yu Qinjiu’s tears with her warm fingers. Then she blew on her sore, uncomfortable eyes, her movements very light.
Yu Qinjiu cooperated, but she couldn’t help asking, “Ji Qingyou, am I not pretty now?”
After she felt a little better.
Ji Qingyou looked at her silently. After a few seconds, she answered the wrong question.
“Yu Qinjiu, I think I kind of want to be a doctor now.”
The old movie in the tavern ended. Rose threw the necklace into the sea under everyone’s gaze.
Her memories drifted back. Yu Qinjiu stared at the glass of honey pomelo vodka, which she had only taken a single sip from.
She just thought it didn’t taste very good. It wasn’t as good as the drink Ji Qingyou had mixed for her the first time she ever drank.
On that day, she had choked on the alcohol and spat it out. Ji Qingyou, saying, “Why do you have to drink it if it doesn’t taste good?” had still mixed in green pomelo juice and soda. The proportions were probably perfectly precise, typical of Ji Qingyou. It was delicious.
Later, she often wanted to drink Ji Qingyou’s mixed drinks. But Ji Qingyou didn’t allow it, so she didn’t agree often. Only on particularly important, crucial occasions did she grant her wish.
Yu Qinjiu looked at the snow-covered view outside the window, then at the crowded hospital across the way. She paid, pushed open the door, and walked out.
It was cold. She pulled her coat and scarf tighter around herself.
As the cold wind hit her face, the astringent taste in her mouth rose up again. She couldn’t help thinking:
Later, it seemed she had never tasted such sweet alcohol again.
–
Passing by the same open space again, Ji Qingyou noticed the snowman that had been built there.
Hospitals gathered the world’s most rapid changes. Even an ordinary snowman was like that. Yesterday, it was bare. Today, its round head was topped with three branches.
Ji Qingyou couldn’t help but stop.
But obviously, she wasn’t the only one who noticed the snowman. Someone passing by spoke to her, their tone cheerful.
“This snowman is so cute.”
Ji Qingyou turned her head and saw the new resident doctor. Young faces were always full of vitality and energy.
She thought for a moment, remembered the resident’s name, nodded, and greeted her.
“Dr. Tao.”
Tao Xingzi wasn’t hearing this title for the first time, but she was still stunned for a long moment. After a few seconds, she snapped out of it and handed one of the two drinks she was holding to Ji Qingyou.
“Black coffee.”
Ji Qingyou looked at the hand extended directly toward her. After a silent pause, she took it and said,
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Tao Xingzi said, looking at the snowman on the open ground, as if trying to make conversation. “I happened to be passing by here yesterday and saw someone building a snowman. I thought it was strange, who would have the leisure to build a snowman at a hospital? So I took a closer look. That woman was really pretty…”
She noticed that Ji Qingyou seemed to be lost in thought, her gaze wandering. Tao Xingzi looked down, ending the forced conversation. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, bit her lip, and nervously asked,
“Dr. Ji, are you free after work tomorrow? I’d like to invite you to dinner.”
The tips of Ji Qingyou’s fingers in her pocket twitched slightly. Her gaze shifted from the snowman to the somewhat nervous Tao Xingzi.
She had seen this kind of reaction many times from people who invited her out, and she could roughly guess that the other person had some sort of ulterior motive. At the very least, it wasn’t really about just having a meal.
In the past, she would have declined flatly. But Tao Xingzi… maybe she was overthinking it.
“Dr. Zhao is also coming, along with some other residents,” Tao Xingzi hastily added, her face turning a little red. “And I’ll ask some other doctors who aren’t on duty. Since I’m new here, I just want to have a meal with my colleagues.”
People passed by, some casting curious glances their way. Ji Qingyou looked at Tao Xingzi. After thinking for a moment, she gave an emotionless nod. “Okay.”
Getting her seemingly affirmative answer, Tao Xingzi finally sighed in relief. She wrung her fingers, walked a few steps away in a fluster, then turned back and said, “Then I’ll be off now, Dr. Ji. I still need to invite the others.”
Ji Qingyou nodded slightly. She held the black coffee Tao Xingzi had given her in her right hand, having no intention of drinking it.
Just as she was about to leave, a pale, pink-tipped hand covered hers. A faint, brownish mole was visible on the thumb.
It was a beautiful hand, with a cool touch, carrying a subtle, moist rose fragrance. A unique, unrestrained, languid scent.
The owner of the hand took the black coffee from her right hand.
And replaced it with a hot drink. It was warm in her hand.
“A mocha with no cream.”
The pronunciation was light, the tone soft, yet with a hint of captivating languor.
Ji Qingyou’s eyes followed the hand, finally landing on the red and black plaid scarf the person was wearing. It was thick and fleecy.
Light grey highlights in her hair fell upon it, gently lifted by the wind, carrying the fragrance.
“Why are you here?” she asked, gripping the drink cup. “Are you sick?”
But when she looked up, she breathed a sigh of relief. Yu Qinjiu’s complexion was good, at least. Even without makeup, her face looked bright, a kind of languid, radiant brightness.
She was wearing lightly colored contact lenses, making her eyes look watery and clear. Her dark brown curls were parted to the side, like rose-scented waves falling around her face. Her exposed ears were adorned with delicate, sparkling earrings.
Whenever she appeared, she brought a certain brightness.
Especially in this dull, lifeless building.
Yu Qinjiu took a slow sip of the black coffee, then subtly frowned. “So bitter.”
“Then drink mine,” Ji Qingyou said, holding out her own hot drink.
Yu Qinjiu tilted her head and looked at her, letting out a light laugh. “I bought that for you. How is that fair if you give it back to me?”
Ji Qingyou gently rubbed the cup with her fingers, took a sip. It was smooth and warm. “It’s good.”
Other people would probably think that with her personality, with her boring nature, she would only like black coffee.
But in reality, she liked mochas without cream. Yu Qinjiu knew this before she did, knew her better than the whole world, including herself.
“Black coffee is gross,” Yu Qinjiu said, as if lost in a memory. “When I was little, I thought people drinking black coffee in movies looked so cool. I vowed that when I grew up, I’d be a sophisticated city woman who only drank black coffee. But now, I’m grown up, and I still don’t like black coffee.”
With that, she looked at Ji Qingyou. “What about you?”
