Flowers stay fresh for only up to fifteen days. Xu Ze took the seventeen lisianthuses to the medical school laboratory before the first petal began to wilt. Making dried flowers was a convenient way for medical students to put theory into practice.
Xu Ze specifically bought a transparent rectangular acrylic box, which was rather weighty. It looked like a work of art once the bouquet of dried flowers was placed inside. Perhaps adding ribbons and other decorations would enhance its appearance, but Xu Ze wasn’t skilled at that. He simply wanted to preserve the flowers.
His phone vibrated. It was a call from a team member, “Xu Ze, the boss is here and wants to have a quick meeting. Where are you? Come to room 602.”
“Okay.”
Xu Ze returned to room 604 with the box in hand and left it by his backpack before heading to room 602. The team members were already there. Huang Liling was reviewing the latest project’s reports and data. When he saw Xu Ze, he said, “Everyone’s here, let’s get started.”
Huang Liling gave brief instructions to everyone after they had reported their progress. Once the meeting was over, everyone dispersed to their respective tasks.
“Xu Ze, you stay.”
As the others left, Huang Liling motioned for Xu Ze to sit down and asked, “Has the 195th Hospital been less busy lately?”
Union military hospitals were special in nature. They were generally not too hectic except during the war. Xu Ze nodded, “Right.”
“Then use this free time to meet someone. The one I mentioned earlier, Ruan Miao, the daughter of the vice president of the Union Investment Bank,” Huang Liling said, “She transferred back to the capital’s city hall last week.”
Without waiting for Xu Ze to speak, Huang Liling cut straight to the point, “This young lady was interested in you a year ago. Back then, you were busy with frontline support and politely turned her down. Now she still wants to meet you. Don’t tell me you won’t go. It’s fine even if you young people just chat. Her dad and I are old friends. As long as his daughter likes you, he doesn’t have many requirements for a son-in-law. It’s rare to be so open-minded.”
Xu Ze, “Teacher…”
Huang Liling interrupted him, “This time, you have to go. At least meet her once. I don’t tend to care about others, but if you refuse again, I’ll immediately have the hospital assign you a new doctoral supervisor. After that, we won’t have any connection.”
The educational model of the Military Medical University was slightly different from that of regular medical schools. Each clinical medicine cohort had about 20 talents for training in the 5+2+2 format. The 9-year program meant that enrollment came with Union military doctor status, allowing seamless progression from bachelor’s to master’s to doctoral degrees. They had the option to stay at the hospital or school after graduation or enter the military region. Xu Ze was part of the current 9-year program. Huang Liling had been his professor for five years and his graduate advisor for two. Barring unforeseen circumstances, he would continue as Xu Ze’s doctoral advisor for the next two years.
After spending so much time together, Xu Ze understood Huang Liling, and Huang Liling equally understood Xu Ze. Huang Liling knew how to phrase things to compromise with his student who seemed to have no temper but was actually more difficult to deal with than anyone else.
“Even if you have someone you like, I haven’t seen you together from undergraduate to master’s degree. Since all these years have passed without you being together, it’s unlikely to happen in this lifetime. I don’t want to see you waste any more time.” Huang Liling suddenly sighed with emotion, “Xu Ze, I’ve guided you every step of the way, from research to projects to internships at the hospital. Seeing you achieve results makes me proud, but I’m just the kind of person who will meddle, especially when it comes to students I have high hopes for. I hope I can do something for you in other ways.”
As the conversation reached this point, Xu Ze understood that there shouldn’t be any room for refusal, at least not in a way that would reject Huang Liling outright—perhaps meeting with Ruan Miao and having a clear conversation could better resolve this matter.
“Alright. Thank you, teacher,” Xu Ze said.
Xu Ze returned to the laboratory and packed his backpack. While packing, his eyes remained fixed on the dried flowers in the acrylic box. The white petals had turned to a pale brown. Xu Ze could still vividly remember the bouquet’s freshest and best condition.
“Great. For someone as stubborn as you, a little coercion is necessary. I support Professor Huang’s approach.” Chi Jiahan commented like this while making an appointment with Xu Ze to eat after work on Saturday and learned that he might have to meet Ruan Miao.
Xu Ze ate his breakfast quietly without saying anything. Chi Jiahan lightly kicked him under the table, “Have you decided? Will you continue your Ph.D. at the Military Medical University or go abroad? You’ve been at the military hospital for so long. Professor Huang no doubt hopes you’ll go to the research institute next.”
“I’m still considering it,” Xu Ze replied.
“Dr. Xu, take your time.” Chi Jiahan tore his toast into strips, “I’ll be grateful as long as you make fewer trips to the frontline.”
Once they finished eating, Xu Ze and Chi Jiahan returned to their own departments. When Chi Jiahan entered the changing room, he couldn’t find his white coat. He remembered he had left it in his office when he finished work the day before.
After taking off his shirt and hanging it in the locker, Chi Jiahan went to the reception desk to sign in while wearing a T-shirt. A nurse looked up and laughed, “Our Dr. Chi looks just like a high school student.”
Chi Jiahan also chuckled, “Yeah, after I sign in I’ll go back to my Chinese class.”
The smile on his face didn’t fade as he turned around. The alpha two meters away suddenly stopped and looked at him.
“Captain He,” the nurse stood up to greet him.
He Wei nodded at the nurse and then turned his attention back to Chi Jiahan.
It was a peculiar stalemate, but it lasted only a few seconds. He Wei thought Chi Jiahan might turn around and leave just like he did last time in Xu Ze’s office. Surprisingly, Chi Jiahan asked, “What happened to your hand?”
He knew that He Wei had returned to the capital under his parents’ order to recuperate, but it seemed like the more he recuperated, the more injured he became.
He Wei raised his bandaged left wrist to show it and replied, “Sprained it.”
“Orthopedics is on the fourth floor.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Inside the office, He Wei leaned against the door. Chi Jiahan put on his white coat and attached the communicator to his chest. Then he stood before He Wei, lifted his head, and asked, “What’s the matter?”
He Wei lowered his eyes to him for a moment, then took out an exquisite pink envelope from the pocket of his police pants, “You weren’t here the last two times, so I brought it again today.”
Chi Jiahan showed no intention of extending his hand. He asked somewhat coldly, “What is it?”
He Wei kept watching him without revealing his intentions. Eventually, he bit the tip of his tongue, his expression relaxing into a smile as he said in a cheeky tone, “A wedding invitation.”
Chi Jiahan was obviously stunned.
“I haven’t heard that Captain He was getting married.” After composing himself, Chi Jiahan no longer looked at He Wei but focused on the alpha’s hand holding the invitation. He noticed his deformed ring finger and partially intact pinkie nail. He said nonchalantly, “Congratulations.”
“Yup. So please keep it a secret for me, Dr. Chi.” He Wei waved the envelope gently, “Will you come?”
After a short pause, Chi Jiahan raised his hand to take the invitation. The envelope was firm and he could feel a harder card inside.
“I won’t,” he replied.
—
After getting off the helicopter and driving for about half an hour, Lu Heyang and Song Yuke arrived at a residential area in the neighboring city. The houses in the community looked a little aged, but the facilities and security conditions were no worse than those in high-end residential areas. Most residents here were family members of government employees or military personnel.
Before they even reached the location, they saw an elderly woman and a little girl waiting by the roadside from a distance. Song Yuke parked the car, took several large gift boxes from the backseat, and walked forward beside Lu Heyang.
“Auntie, it’s been a long time.” Lu Heyang bent down slightly and held Yu Fang’s hand.
“You’ve grown up, grown up.” Yu Fang’s smile reached her eyes, “You could have said whatever you needed to say over the phone. It must have been tough to come all the way here.”
“I was planning to visit you anyway.” Lu Heyang looked at the little girl tugging at Yu Fang’s clothes on the side and asked, “Your granddaughter?”
“That’s right. She’s six years old and studying in the capital. Today is Saturday, so she came to play with me.” Yu Fang patted the girl’s shoulder, “An-an.”
An-an wasn’t shy at all. She said to Lu Heyang, “Hello, Uncle.”
Lu Heyang patted her head. Song Yuke crouched down and handed her a gift, “Do you want Uncle to play with you?”
An-an looked up at Yu Fang. After receiving her grandmother’s approval, she took the gift and said, “Thank you,” and added, “Yes.”
“You brought so many things.” They entered the living room. Yu Fang brought two glasses of water to the coffee table, “Colonel, please have a seat.”
“Just call me Heyang.”
Once Song Yuke had put away the gift boxes and took An-an to play in the garden, Yu Fang said, “You haven’t come home since the incident that year. Not long after that, some of us housekeepers retired. I didn’t know how to contact you. Later I heard that you went to the military academy. I felt relieved, thinking that your health must be fine.”
She was uncertain and asked, “Heyang, you probably don’t remember me, do you?”
“I have a vague impression but the details are unclear,” Lu Heyang said.
Yu Fang nodded, “I figured. Not everyone was able to see you right after you woke up. Once that time passed, it became hard to remember.”
She stood up to go upstairs, brought down a small box, and then sat back on the sofa.
“While you were in the hospital, a group of people came to the house and searched your room. They opened the safe and took some documents. There were some things they probably thought were useless, so they threw them in the trash.” Yu Fang opened the box, “I thought, why would you keep them in the safe if they were useless? So, I secretly picked them up.”
The box contained a few SIM cards, an old shabby wristband, and a small blue jewelry box that looked very ordinary.
Lu Heyang looked at the box for a few seconds without moving. He asked Yu Fang, “Auntie, do you remember if there were any other people besides He Wei and Yunchi who came to the house on my birthday in the third year of high school?”
“Yes, there was an alpha around your age.” Yu Fang remembered it after a little recollection, “I remember it clearly because only the children from the He and Gu families would usually come. You never brought other friends home. That night, it was raining heavily, and the boy had wounds on his face. I remember it clearly.”
“He got drenched in the rain and you asked me to make ginger soup for him. Later, he spent the night in the guest room. I was worried that someone would come to ask about him after checking the surveillance, but strangely, no one did.”
“Colonel,” Song Yuke knocked on the door, “They said the meeting is starting early.”
“Alright.” Lu Heyang stood up, “I’ll be leaving now. I’ll visit you again next time.”
“Hurry off, don’t delay the meeting.” Yu Fang closed the box and handed it to Lu Heyang.
After walking out of the gate, An-an ran over to Yu Fang holding a toy. Lu Heyang waved at her and An-an said, “Bye, Uncle.”
Yu Fang seemed to have something to say but hesitated. Before Lu Heyang got into the car, she couldn’t hold back anymore and asked, “Heyang, I hope you don’t mind me asking, but Qingmo, she…”
Lu Heyang stopped with his hand on the car door. He turned around and smiled at Yu Fang, “My sister is fine. Please don’t worry.”
“That’s good, that’s good.” Yu Fang patted her chest, breathed a sigh of relief, and laughed, “As long as nothing happened.”
On the way back, Song Yuke saw Lu Heyang looking at the contents of the box and asked while driving, “Is it a toy from your childhood?”
“It’s not.” Lu Heyang opened the jewelry box, stared at it for a moment, and replied, “It’s physical evidence.”
—
On Saturday afternoon, Huang Liling called Xu Ze at least thrice, reminding him to remember the appointment and preferably pick up Ruan Miao at the city hall so they could get acquainted on the way to dinner.
“I’ll ask someone to bring a car to the 195th Hospital later so you can drive to pick her up. Got it?”
“No, I’ll just borrow a friend’s car. Thank you, teacher.”
“That works too. It’s almost time to set off. Ruan Miao finishes work at 5 pm. You know that, right?”
It was probably Huang Liling’s first time being a matchmaker. His voice carried a trace of nervousness.
“Mn, I know,” Xu Ze replied.
In fact, at noon, Chi Jiahan had tossed the car keys on Xu Ze’s desk and told him, “I just washed it last night. The tank is full.”
Without waiting for Xu Ze to say anything, Doctor Chi continued indifferently, “I know you agreed to the dinner for a reason, but considering that this is your first blind date after all this time, I still find it amusing.”
He was so pleased that he even considered making an anonymous phone call to Lu Heyang—but considering that Colonel Lu had amnesia, Chi Jiahan ultimately refrained from doing so.
At 4:30 pm, Xu Ze messaged Ruan Miao to tell her he would wait for her in front of the city hall, and she agreed. After confirming the plans, Xu Ze packed his belongings, changed out of his white coat, and signed off from work.
The road from the 195th Hospital to the city hall was relatively clear and Xu Ze arrived promptly. Since it was Chi Jiahan’s car, the sensor bar recognized the license plate and automatically allowed the car through. Xu Ze parked in an empty parking spot at the entrance next to several military vehicles.
At five o’clock, Xu Ze got out of the car. As he climbed the stairs, he noticed many people leaving the lobby. They weren’t ordinary government employees, but likely leaders who had just finished a meeting. Xu Ze stepped aside and waited for the crowd to disperse before heading back into the lobby. However, he unexpectedly knocked into an omega.
The omega exclaimed and the documents in her hand fell to the ground. Xu Ze quickly apologized and crouched down to pick them up.
“Xu Ze?”
Xu Ze looked up and realized he had bumped into Ruan Miao. She had also attended the Preparatory School in high school. She and Lu Heyang had been classmates before the classes were split in the third year.
“Are you hurt anywhere?” Xu Ze picked up the documents, “Sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
“No, it’s okay. I walked too fast.” Ruan Miao tucked her hair behind her ear and took the documents, “Wait for me a moment. Let me organize these.”
The bag hanging on her arm looked inconvenient, so Xu Ze held out his hand, “If you don’t mind, I can carry the bag for you.”
“Okay, thank you,” Ruan Miao handed her bag to Xu Ze.
Xu Ze heard footsteps coming from the lobby again. He used his fingers to guide Ruan Miao’s elbow, signaling her to move aside a little. At the same time, he said, “If it’s not urgent, you can also organize them in the car.”
Ruan Miao moved closer to him. She smiled at Xu Ze and waved the folder in her hand, “It’s okay, all sorted.”
The two of them walked down the stairs together. Xu Ze opened the front door for Ruan Miao. As she was about to get into the car, she looked up and suddenly stopped, “Isn’t that Colonel Lu?”
Xu Ze stopped and turned around to see Lu Heyang. He was wearing a training cap and standing beside a military vehicle with some officers. It was then that Xu Ze realized Lu Heyang and his group had just been in the lobby, and that they had followed them down the stairs.
The others said goodbye to Lu Heyang and entered their cars to leave. Song Yuke greeted Xu Ze before getting into the driver’s seat to wait for Lu Heyang.
Xu Ze didn’t know why Lu Heyang kept looking at him without saying anything. The shadow of his cap blocked the upper half of his face and made his expression unclear. After a few seconds, Xu Ze spoke first, “Colonel.”
“Dr. Xu, are you here on business?” Lu Heyang asked.
“No,” Xu Ze shook his head, “I’m here to pick up a friend.”
Since Ruan Miao knew about Lu Heyang’s memory loss and knew he probably didn’t remember her, she said to Xu Ze, “Xu Ze, give me the bag. I’ll wait for you in the car.”
“Okay.” Xu Ze handed the bag back to Ruan Miao and closed the car door for her.
Lu Heyang spoke in his usual tone, “Are you going to have dinner?”
“Yes,” Xu Ze replied. The thought of two people waiting made him uncomfortable. Xu Ze realized that he had a comfort zone when he was with Lu Heyang, whether in the past or now. He would feel more at ease in a relatively smaller, quieter environment with no other people around.
Xu Ze said, “If there’s nothing else, we’ll head out.”
Lu Heyang smiled subtly, “Drive safe.”
As there was some traffic on the way to the restaurant, Ruan Miao struck up a discussion with Xu Ze.
“Does Colonel Lu remember you?”
“No, he doesn’t,” Xu Ze replied.
“From the way you two looked at each other just now, I thought he still remembered you. It’s been a while, and it feels like you two have changed but also not.”
“Did you know me in high school?” Xu Ze wasn’t quite sure. Ruan Miao’s words hinted at her having an impression of him, but Xu Ze couldn’t remember interacting with her.
“Yeah, I knew you. Since there aren’t many S-level students, you’re bound to run into each other in the same school. Back then, you were often injured and didn’t socialize much with others. It seemed like you were only close to Chi Jiahan.”
“As for Colonel Lu, though I didn’t know the details of his family back then, he had a good relationship with Gu Yunchi so I could roughly guess his background. He seemed like a kid without any bad habits or unhealthy hobbies, and he didn’t like to socialize much.” Ruan Miao pondered for a moment, “He has changed more than you. Maybe it’s because he is a soldier, but when he looks at people, it’s like he’s interrogating them.”
Xu Ze didn’t feel any significant change in this regard, probably because he had been interrogated by Lu Heyang many times during high school.
“Don’t feel pressured. Just consider it as a meal with a former schoolmate.” Ruan Miao shrugged and smiled at Xu Ze, “You seem like someone only interested in studying and working. After starting your Ph.D., you’ll be even busier.”
The words Xu Ze had prepared were tacitly revealed by the other party, leaving him unsure of what to say. He turned to Ruan Miao and smiled in return.
After dinner, Xu Ze dropped Ruan Miao off at her home. Then he drove to the residential area where Chi Jiahan lived and took the keys upstairs.
“Tell me how you refused,” Chi Jiahan asked from the sofa, hugging a cushion.
“I didn’t refuse.”
“I knew it.” Chi Jiahan yawned, “After all, most people would realize you’re practically a robot after chatting with you for a while. So there’s no need for you to refuse.”
“You should go to sleep. I’ll get going,” Xu Ze said.
“I won’t send you off,” Chi Jiahan watched with drooping eyelids as Xu Ze left.
The subway station was only a few minutes away from the apartment. Xu Ze removed his glasses as he felt a throbbing sensation in his temples. As he approached the entrance of his apartment, Ruan Miao called to ask if he had arrived home.
“Just arrived.”
“Then rest early. I enjoyed having dinner with you today. Good night.”
Xu Ze interpreted the word “enjoyed” as Ruan Miao’s kind consolation. He replied, “Good night.”
After ending the call, Xu Ze walked up the stairs. Several lights at the top of the entrance seemed to be broken. The area by the door was dimly lit and because Xu Ze wasn’t wearing his glasses, he didn’t notice until he got close that an alpha was standing near the information roll-up banner.
He quietly observed the silhouette in the darkness, feeling both certain and uncertain.
“Colonel?”
The cliff is killing me aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh😭😭😭
I had an urge to throw the professor under a bus. He reminds me of my Asian relatives that would be telling you to become a doctor, nurse or a lawyer💀
Xu Ze is better than me for not giving him a punch in the nose lmao
Lol lu heyang if u still don’t remember him u would really lose him….
Thank you for the chapter ☺️
I badly wanted to Know what is that pink envelope He Wei handed over to Chi Jiahan.