Pei Zhen stood beneath the streetlamp wearing a blue shirt under his white coat, appearing gentle and sincere.
Hu Xiu’s slight fondness for Pei Zhen had gradually turned into heartache and conflict—
No one would dislike someone who liked them, especially since Pei Zhen wasn’t particularly difficult to deal with.
“You’re back…”
“Yes, I just arrived this morning and was called in for the night shift tonight. The surgery schedule is packed at the start of the year.”
“So… what kind of surgeries?” Starting with work talk, skirting around the real issue.
“Wound repair, removing accessory ears and verrucous nevi, revision rhinoplasty—though I was just the assistant on that one, learning something new from Director Chen.” He paused. “How have you been?”
“Pretty good, back on track.” She felt his gaze sweeping over her, as if making up for the three months they’d missed. When the conversation stalled, Pei Zhen asked, “How are things with Diao Zhiyu?”
He knew! She rarely shared her private life on social media, yet he seemed fully aware.
Hu Xiu studied his collar under the light. The clean, gentle man smiled faintly, a trace of disappointment seeping through.
Countless questions swirled inside her—how did he know she was dating Diao Zhiyu? Why had there been no contact during his three months in the U.S.? Had he met his ex-girlfriend there, and how had that gone?
Instead, she smiled and pointed at Zhao Xiaorou, who had just stepped out of a car nearby. “I’ve got plans with someone, so I’ll head off now. Let’s catch up another time.”
As she turned away, Hu Xiu felt like mocking love itself. Perhaps this was how mature men gave up and said goodbye to women they once liked after fate pulled them apart. Her response had been appropriately vague, offering an irrelevant conclusion to their farewell. Whatever happened in those three months no longer concerned her.
From today onward, they would just be friends—exchanging smiles when they passed on the stairs, pausing awkwardly for a second when their eyes met during casual chats among colleagues, occasionally lingering gazes because of their past ambiguity, only to inwardly laugh at themselves. After all, they had once been deeply involved.
Just as she took a step, Pei Zhen suddenly called out from behind, and Zhao Xiaorou heard it too.
He said to her, “Hu Xiu, the three-month agreement—I knew you’d break it, but… we’re still friends, right?”
Zhao Xiaorou cursed on the way. “Hu Xiu, you’re done for. What he really meant was, ‘I still have feelings for you, I’m going to pursue you, what happened three months ago isn’t over.’”
“He let you roam free for three months, not realizing you’re still in his pond. How terrifying! Someone as shrewd as Pei Zhen playing old tricks—you’re just showing off in front of an expert.”
“Did your reading comprehension teacher coach sports or something?… He was just asking if we’re still friends. We work in the same hospital, of course we’re friends.”
Even as she said it, Hu Xiu sensed something off. In her limited conversations with Pei Zhen, his words always carried deeper meanings. Zhao Xiaorou, an old hand at reading between the lines, flipped her menu as if it were a script. “Hu Xiu, as long as you’re in this hospital, and he’s your colleague and superior, this isn’t over.”
“He never saw you as just a friend from the start. Do you think that question was innocent? You think this is like downgrading your lifestyle when you’re broke? Look at his resources—he’s not cutting back.”Now Hu Xiu understood—she too was watching her own drama unfold. No matter how close girlfriends might be, behind the scenes while sipping tea and snacking on sunflower seeds, they all secretly hoped for more dramatic scenes to savor.
As if recalling something, she asked, "Didn’t you mention on the phone that Ma Liang had some gossip about Diao Zhiyu?"
"Nothing much, really. How can you trust what Ma Liang says? He’s a fool." Zhao Xiaorou set down her knife and fork. "But don’t let clichés fool you either—like how Diao Zhiyu is an actor and therefore unstable. Let me tell you, no one is absolutely stable. Pei Zhen, Li Ai—none of them are men who’ve matured just because they’ve reached a certain age. That’s just human nature."
"Do you genuinely like Ma Liang, or are you just keeping him around for fun?"
"Let me ask you—what do you think of him?"
"He added me on WeChat and occasionally asks me about English. He once got a internship offer from an agency and asked me what it meant. Later, I heard he actually started working there. With his poor English, I was worried he wouldn’t cope, but his attitude seems quite sincere."
Zhao Xiaorou chuckled without looking up. "Do you all think I’m degrading myself by dating him? I used to think so too. But he’s like some bizarre anthropological specimen—disgusting yet oddly fascinating. His old phone was full of adult apps, but outside, he acts all proper. He’s not highly educated and his comprehension isn’t great, yet he’s willing to try anything. He’s told me plenty of bizarre anecdotes—most of the emotional stories in my recent vlogs came from him. You know, this relationship has been the easiest for me because from start to finish, I’ve said whatever’s on my mind without bothering to pretend, and he accepts it all without question."
Here, Zhao Xiaorou remembered something but didn’t voice it. A few days ago, she’d accidentally glimpsed Ma Liang browsing Xianyu. A man couch-surfing at her place, relying on selling secondhand goods to get by?
Curiosity killed the cat. She coquettishly asked Ma Liang (a rare act for her with him), "Sweetie, can I borrow your phone? I want to take a selfie."
Ma Liang, engrossed in a variety show, handed it over without a second thought. Casually, she opened Xianyu and saw he was buying sneakers listed as: "90% new, local transaction."
Nothing seemed suspicious until she opened the chat history—that’s when Zhao Xiaorou truly stepped into a new world.
The buyer appeared to be a man, messaging bluntly: "Available? Size 42?"
"Show me your feet wearing them to confirm they’re yours? Then I’ll buy."
"Meet at 2 PM on the 18th. Bring them—I need to see you try them on again."
"Received the shoes. The scent is nice, I like it."
Though she considered herself well-acquainted with all sorts of oddities, Zhao Xiaorou never expected someone close to her... to have a fetish for selling used shoes.
Scrolling further, she found all his clothes clearly priced and sold. Not every buyer was this perverted, but when he encountered one, he readily agreed and even hiked the price—how money-hungry could he be?
Fighting nausea, she returned the phone. "Ma Liang, how’s your job going?"
"Not bad. A little over three thousand a month. Since my pay’s low, I get scolded at home—that’s why I couch-surf everywhere."It sounded utterly heartbreaking. Zhao Xiaorou's heart softened. "You mentioned looking for a job earlier—let me refer you to a local agency."
Ma Liang, sitting beside her, turned around earnestly. "Really? I've wanted to change jobs for a long time. Being a scarf designer is nice, but I know nothing about design. I do want to learn something new. But what does that English word mean? Can I really join?"
Zhao Xiaorou casually asked a friend if there were internship openings. Ma Liang stayed up all night crafting a resume, sent it to Hu Xiu for revisions, and returned with a polished version. Zhao Xiaorou felt a pang of tenderness.
Perhaps Ma Liang wasn't as handsome as Diao Zhiyu, and his abilities were undeniably lacking—enough to draw disdain from anyone.
But in the deep of night, watching his bespectacled figure hunched over the resume revisions, she thought with compassion:
If she could offer some warmth and kindness to this boy who had never climbed out of life's valleys, then this relationship wouldn't have been in vain.
When Ma Liang received the job offer and spun her around in joy, she thought with bittersweet ache—Zhao Xiaorou wasn't as wretched as outsiders believed.
Thanks to Ma Liang, she loathed herself a little less too.
With Pei Zhen's return, the hospital regained its lively atmosphere—as often happens when charismatic figures reappear, stirring quiet routines into conversation. Hu Xiu immediately received a gossip-filled message from her senior colleague: "Xiao Hu, are you joining Xiao Pei's welcome-back gathering?"
"Not this time—I have mountains of translation materials to review," Hu Xiu replied briskly.
"It won't take long, just an hour or two. Don't be so dedicated to work. Besides, we're all colleagues—no need to draw boundaries just because you're in a relationship." The senior's typing speed was astonishing.
Hu Xiu adjusted her glasses. "I genuinely can't finish my work. I'll definitely join next time."
The senior didn't reply further. After work, five or six colleagues from the administration building gathered to head out together. Hearing them discuss Pei Zhen—his last surgery ending around 7 PM yesterday—Hu Xiu considered staying late to casually explain if they crossed paths.
By 7 PM, Pei Zhen hadn't appeared. It was time to deliver documents to the Love Care Center. Shouldering her bag, she went to Doctor Jin's office and pushed the door open to find Pei Zhen on the sofa, drinking coffee after surgery—
That prized capsule coffee machine of Doctor Jin's was a gift from his girlfriend—who seemed to have broken up with him.
Exhaustion from surgery deepened the bags under his eyes, but his face visibly brightened at the sight of Hu Xiu.
Doctor Jin accepted the documents without a word, glanced at Pei Zhen on the sofa, and understanding the unspoken tension, turned to the cabinet with his back to them. Pei Zhen stood up. "I'm treating everyone to dinner later—you're coming, right?"
"I can't make it tonight. I have other plans."
The eagerness in his eyes dimmed. "Then... another time. I'll visit REGARD for coffee someday—do you all still gather there?"
"Some things happened... It's hard for us to meet now."
Someone as perceptive as Pei Zhen wouldn't press further. Doctor Jin remained silent, packed the documents, changed clothes, and politely excused himself.
Pei Zhen's phone vibrated incessantly. He lowered his head, stretched then gently clenched the back of his hand, and chuckled softly. "No time now. I'll ask what happened another day."Buying a bento and walking in the night breeze, Hu Xiu ducked into the subway and emerged to find the cherry blossoms along the road in full bloom.
She too had digested rejections and indifference from others before, with reactions far more pronounced than Pei Zhen's.
In adolescence, facing rejection inevitably made one feel like the world's most heartbroken person. Over time, that unwavering determination would turn into tossing a stone to test the path—gaining a little ground, then taking another step forward.
But she was determined to play the villain to the end. She was utterly fed up with the continuous battlefields that had appeared recently.
Her phone buzzed with a message from Pei Zhen: "Relax, we're just friends. No need to be on guard against me." A mature man, he even knew what she was guarding against.
This only made her more agitated.
Diao Zhiyu's audition was in Hengdian, so Hu Xiu wouldn't see him over the weekend. She had a conference herself and woke early to take a bus to the venue.
Entering the lecture hall at Longemont Jing'an, she saw Pei Zhen standing in the lobby shaking hands and chatting with a professor. Dressed in a sharp suit with the black shirt she had gifted him underneath, he looked impossibly brilliant.
Recalling the prepared materials, she realized she had been mentally reciting "MrBei"—wasn't that MrPei?!
Hearing Pei Zhen's voice through the simultaneous interpretation booth, his opening remarks began with an English introduction, which ironically required her to translate into Chinese. His three months in the U.S. seemed highly productive—this unscripted segment felt like a personal greeting just for her.
His presentation materials were exceptionally thorough, as if he had brought back every new technique from the entire field of Reconstructive Surgery: applications of PEEK materials for skull repair, 3D-printed prosthetic implants, stem cell cultivation and transplantation for necrotic skin...
For a full two hours—one hundred twenty minutes—Hu Xiu's brain worked frantically. By the mid-session break before the next doctor took over, she hadn't even managed a sip of water.
Emerging after six hours, she sat in the simultaneous interpretation booth for half an hour before meeting Pei Zhen and letting out a heavy sigh: "I'll have to be wary of doctors like you who go abroad for advanced studies. You speak whatever comes to mind—I'm not even sure if I translated everything correctly. Several parts left me completely baffled."
"I wanted to share everything while it's still fresh after returning. But I'm surprised you can handle this alone now—what exactly happened in these three months?"
Hu Xiu kept yawning: "Nothing much, just attended nearly thirty conferences..."
Raising his eyebrows in surprise, Pei Zhen said, "Then as an apology, let me treat you to a meal? I need to find Li Ai anyway, so we won't bother looking for another restaurant."
Find Li Ai?
The drive took only fifteen minutes. Hu Xiu slept like a log in the passenger seat, drooling behind her mask.
The car stopped at Xinlianfang. After a thirty-meter walk to Li Ai's café, Hu Xiu felt refreshed—the nap had been perfectly timed.
Upon entering, Pei Zhen immediately told Li Ai she had been snoring in the passenger seat and handled six hours of simultaneous interpretation—quite impressive.
Li Ai smiled gently: "She learns things very quickly."
"Where's Zhao Xiaorou? It's rare not to see her."
Touching a sore spot. Li Ai picked up the menu: "What would you like to eat? I'll prepare it."
The twenty minutes of noodle cooking provided enough time to explain the entire falling-out. Hearing Ma Liang's name, Pei Zhen narrowed his eyes: "Do you have a photo of him?"
Puzzled, Hu Xiu pulled up Ma Liang's photo from her social media feed. Pei Zhen chuckled briefly: "Are you sure this is Zhao Xiaorou's boyfriend? And she really likes him?""Perhaps not to the degree of deep affection, but we are indeed together, which is why Li Ai is so upset. Do you know him?"
"From the perspective of respecting patient privacy, I cannot disclose anything; but he is indeed my patient." Pei Zhen pointed to his nose and blinked.
Hu Xiu's jaw dropped: "It's actually fake? It looks so natural!"
"Normally I wouldn't remember patients so distinctly, but he pestered me for a long time in the consultation room, asking for a discount on his prosthesis and whether he could purchase it himself and bring it in. It was truly unforgettable.
Moreover, plastic surgery in public hospitals requires queuing, yet he proactively requested to jump the queue several times, claiming it was urgent. It was like trying to send away a stubborn deity."
The two leaned closer together. Hu Xiu leaned back in her chair to maintain distance. When the pasta was served, Pei Zhen rubbed his hands: "I often ate pasta in the U.S. too, but I always remembered this dish was on your menu.
REGARD holds special meaning for me. That Christmas Eve was probably the happiest night in years. Having grown accustomed to loneliness, the feeling of having friends gathered around was wonderful."
Li Ai smiled: "Come visit often from now on. After all, nowadays I've also grown used to being alone."
The three sat around the table. Hu Xiu remained silent, only listening to the two men discuss design. Li Ai picked up the latest AD magazine from the bookshelf, featuring his interpretation of the Italian style in four Bulgari apartments worldwide. The photos clearly bore Diao Zhiyu's distinctive editing style.
He flipped to the Shanghai showroom section and suggested Pei Zhen consider a similar design approach. When talking about interior design, his entire being seemed to glow with enthusiasm.
When the time came, he was the first to bid farewell, heading to the basketball court for exercise - his schedule completely packed.
Only Hu Xiu, Pei Zhen, and the barista remained in the shop. The silence grew somewhat awkward until Pei Zhen suddenly said, "I came to find Li Ai because I have another property that's been sitting empty. I want to decorate it with my own style - the current place has the previous owner's decoration which I've grown tired of.
I've always liked the designs he posts in his social circles. Thinking about it now, it was probably heartbreak that motivated him - just like how I threw myself into research back in the U.S."
"So you didn't contact me for three months?"
"I don't like long-distance conversations - they don't hold much meaning with the time difference. With Diao Zhiyu by your side, anything I did would be futile.
Besides, doctors are extremely busy with research, traveling between cities for conferences, spending entire days in labs discussing with PhD students. I hardly had time to think of you."
Hu Xiu's heart trembled at these words. Soon she smiled: "I accept this reason."
"Do you know the meaning behind this gesture I often make?" He extended his hand, fingers lightly curling into a fist: "There's a saying among doctors - 'to cure sometimes, to relieve often, to comfort always.' Humans can easily cause harm. The meaning of lightly curling one's fist is to conceal part of one's tenderness, giving it to only one person at a time."
When external factors cause unease, those hidden anxieties within may silently emerge as elements of crisis, claiming responsibility as the root cause.
Looking into Pei Zhen's eyes, Hu Xiu felt a wave of sorrow rise from the depths of her heart. Those acting classes with Diao Zhiyu had taught her well.
At least when she saw Pei Zhen make this gesture while speaking, she saw through it - this particular movement had never appeared before.When people want to achieve their goals, they will improvise on the spot, whether sober or drunk, and whether it comes from genuine feelings or pretense—acting is still acting.
Yet what was just said about not having time to miss her while in America was genuinely touching. Hu Xiu looked at the man before her and asked with complexity, "Pei Zhen, have you ever liked me?"
"Of course. To be honest, I still do now."
"Then, the one who calls you Mr. Aurora and met you in America—could you tell me about her?"
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