Chapter 18.1 - Sour Plum 乌梅
The weather in early March suddenly turned unusual. The air became extraordinarily humid, and there was always a lingering mist in the sky, enveloping everything around. Even breathing felt difficult.
Shen Xifan recently developed some strange little bumps on her arm that itched terribly. She tried many ointments, but nothing worked.
It had been a long time since she last saw He Suye. According to Qiu Tian, he was busy with a new medicine, working himself to exhaustion every day—his life was even harder than a mule’s. Holding the medical record in her hand, she sighed. Maybe it would be better not to bother him and just go straight to the dermatology department.
But as soon as she arrived at the dermatology department, she regretted it. The doctor barely glanced at her, scribbled a prescription, and handed it to her. She felt a chill in her heart—could this medicine really cure her? She wasn’t confident at all.
Standing confused at the payment counter, suddenly someone called her name. Shen Xifan turned around and saw Qiu Tian, wearing a white lab coat and holding a medical record, walking towards her. His appearance had a bit of the feeling of a healer. Unfortunately, he was still far from what He Suye could achieve.
Qiu Tian approached and asked, “What’s wrong? Headache, fever, cold, or flu?”
Shen Xifan shook her head and rolled up her sleeve. “Can you take a look at this? It’s itching like crazy!”
Qiu Tian looked puzzled. “Why don’t you ask Jiao Jiao? This looks like eczema. A few doses of Chinese medicine will fix it, these steroidal medicines aren’t good and shouldn’t be used too often.”
“Can’t you prescribe it for me?” She handed him the medical record. “He Suye’s been busy lately, I wouldn’t dare bother him.”
Qiu Tian’s face twitched slightly. “Miss, I’m from the cardiovascular department. Honestly, I don’t know much about Chinese medicine. Asking me to prescribe medicine is really just setting me up for embarrassment. Jiao Jiao’s in the lab at school. It’s just across the street. If you message him, he’ll definitely come running to see you.”
Shen Xifan laughed. “If he scolds me for disturbing him, I’ll have to come find you!”
He winked and muttered, “Go ahead, go ahead, he’ll be thrilled…”
It was Shen Xifan’s first time visiting He Suye’s school. The old campus was dilapidated, with weeds growing everywhere. A few school buses were parked by the roadside, and elderly professors sat inside chatting. As she walked and observed, she was curious, eventually making her way from the Baicao Corridor to the dormitory area.
However, after walking around, Shen Xifan was stunned. The old campus buildings had no signs, and two buildings looked similar to laboratories, but which one was the actual lab? She took out her phone and messaged He Suye, waiting a while but receiving no response.
Suddenly, a familiar figure appeared in the hallway. When he saw her, he stopped in his tracks, surprised. “What’s the matter?”
Shen Xifan felt embarrassed and pointed to the left building and then to the right one. “Fang Kexin, which one is the lab?”
Fang Kexin realized. “Are you here to see Senior Brother? The lab is the one on the right, but they don’t let just anyone inside. Did you call him?”
Shen Xifan explained, “I sent him a message, but He Suye hasn’t replied.”
“I see. Let me go inside and call him. Wait here for a moment.”
Soon, He Suye came out with Fang Kexin. He looked exhausted, his once bright eyes now deepened with fatigue, and there were faint dark circles under his eyes.
Shen Xifan really wanted to laugh, but when he stood in front of her, smiling and looking at her, a feeling of bitterness suddenly welled up.
He Suye smiled and asked, “What’s the matter?”
“Ah—well,” Shen Xifan quickly pointed to her arm, “I went to the dermatology department, and I ran into Qiu Tian. He said this Chinese medicine would work better and asked me to come find you. Also, I haven’t had much of an appetite lately and don’t feel like eating.”
Qiu Tian was really a sly fox, He Suye thought, secretly feeling pleased. He discreetly took a careful look at her arm. “Oh, it’s eczema. The weather’s been damp recently. Do you want to treat it externally or take the medicine internally?”
Fang Kexin interrupted from the side. “I’ve got something else to do, so I’m going to leave.”
“Never seen anyone like you who likes Chinese medicine so much,” He Suye laughed as he wrote, “30g licorice, 10g yellow ochre, 10g madder root, 10g magnolia flower, 10g Xuchangqing, 10g poria, and 2 dried plums. Just go to the pharmacy and buy the ready-made decoctions.”
Shen Xifan grimaced, “Ever since I met you, I’ve been trapped in the world of Chinese medicine. Honestly, I feel like I’m being overwhelmed by it.”
He Suye squinted and secretly glanced at her, “Who told you to be so sickly? With such a weak constitution, no one will want you in the future.”
She turned her face away. “Ah, don’t bring up depressing topics. It’s making me so unhappy!”
He Suye helplessly smiled. “Alright, let’s go out and get some fresh air.”
It turned out that behind his school, there was a large traditional Chinese medicine herb garden called Baicao Garden.
Walking along the bluestone path, crossing a high threshold, Shen Xifan discovered that all the green plants around her were medicinal herbs, but she didn’t recognize any of them, so she could only stare at them curiously.
The plants were diverse, and even He Suye couldn’t recognize all of them. He smiled and explained, “I’m fine with the dried ones, but the living ones are tough. The pharmacy students are amazing; the last time I was here with them, they were talking so fast, I got all confused.”
The small leaves were covered with dew. Shen Xifan carefully reached out her hand to touch them. “He Suye, if I break anything, do I have to pay for it?”
“Hmm…” He Suye leaned closer and took a look. “I don’t know, but some of these herbs are worth a fortune.”
Shen Xifan quickly withdrew her hand, looking at him warily, but He Suye smiled mischievously, pinching a few leaves. “Gotcha. This is ‘Ma Lan,’ which is just the same as ‘Ban Lan Gen.’”
“Ban Lan Gen is made from these leaves?”
As He Suye continued walking, he explained, “Ban Lan Gen, Ban Lan Gen, of course, it’s made from the stem and root. Little girl, the air here is great, right? The whole place is green. After the rain, the smell of the earth is refreshing. I used to love coming here.”
He walked off to a corner to tend to some unknown flowers, while Shen Xifan squatted in front of a plant, squinting her eyes. She murmured softly to herself, “You’re Zi Su, also called Su Ye. I like you a little bit. What do you think of me?”
The deep purple hue of the leaves was made even more vibrant by the moisture in the air. She gently shook the branches and smiled with happiness.
When Shen Xifan returned home, she found her father, Shen Dad, engrossed in a magazine, and her mother calling from the kitchen, “Fanfan, come help! Your mom has two hands but still can’t keep up!”
She washed her hands and went to chop vegetables. Shen Mom threw the rice into the pot and sighed deeply. “Fanfan, talk to me about you and that doctor. How’s it going?”
Shen Xifan silently cursed, realizing that Li Jie was getting married, and she would no longer have an accomplice in acting. She could only smile awkwardly. “What’s there to say? It’s just the usual… nothing special!”
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