Chapter 20.3 - Panax notoginseng 三七
Hidden in the corner, Qiu Tian sighed, “I’m getting old, can’t handle that kind of intense excitement anymore. I’m going home to sleep, I have surgery tomorrow, and if I annoy the boss, I’m dead.”
The others heard this and bid farewell to the newlyweds, some even giving Li Jie a playful punch, “Li Jie, well done!”
Shen Xifan was about to stand up to say goodbye, but her feet ached so much that she just wanted to stay seated and become a statue. A hand reached out to her, “Let me help you back. Can you walk?”
It was already very late when they got out of the taxi. The area around the apartment complex was dark, with only the lights from the security guard booth and dim streetlights illuminating the surroundings.
Seeing Shen Xifan limping, He Suye couldn’t bear it, “Forget it, I’ll carry you. At the rate you’re going, you’ll never make it home by dawn.”
Shen Xifan was unwilling to admit defeat. She originally wanted to glare at him fiercely, but her exhaustion robbed her of the energy to do so. Instead, she looked at him pitifully. He Suye sighed, “Little girl, stop being stubborn. Let me carry you.”
He Suye carried her, and the faint scent of alcohol and her natural fragrance mixed into his back. His body temperature felt like burning coal, and suddenly, an impulse surged within him, wanting to hold her tightly and ask if she liked him even a little.
Suddenly, she spoke, like a cold splash of water, chilling him to the bone. “He Suye, I’m going abroad to study.”
His forehead felt hot from the summer night, his throat ached with sharp pain, and his fingers suddenly grew cold and stiff. “Congratulations. Which country are you going to?”
Shen Xifan didn’t notice his unusual tone and spoke casually, “The U.S., Cornell, one of the Ivy League schools.”
So his suspicions were right. He suddenly felt ignored, his heart sour with mixed emotions. “Oh, congratulations. I’m actually going abroad soon as well.”
“Where to?”
“The school is organizing a medical team to go to a mountainous area for free clinics.”
“How long?”
“I don’t know. Based on past practice, a small group usually stays longer. I might be selected to stay.”
“Will life be tough there? No food, no clothes?”
“Silly girl, it’s not as bad as you think. It’s just that it can’t compare to big cities.”
Actually, he hadn’t agreed to participate in the medical team yet and hadn’t planned to stay longer. He had only said he would think about it and give a response later. But now, he had made up his mind.
He was being a little stubborn, with a small temper. He was upset by her decision but felt like he had no right to interfere. He just wondered why she couldn’t have told him sooner—so he could know earlier than others and feel like he was somewhat special to her.
He wanted to gamble, to see if she would miss him when he was no longer around.
Suddenly, Shen Xifan’s phone rang. She answered it slowly, speaking in a soft, cautious voice.
She patted He Suye on the shoulder, signaling that she needed to get down, and then sighed deeply as she stood on the flowerbed. “Tomorrow, I have to face the person I least want to see. What terrible luck.”
“Ex-boyfriend?” he asked, trying to guess.
“Got it right!” Shen Xifan’s face showed no signs of distress; instead, she wore a mischievous smile. “Actually, I wouldn’t have contacted him if he hadn’t. I’ll just quietly do to him what he did to me back then and dump him. Haha, it feels so satisfying! But, is it a bit cruel?”
He Suye watched her, listening to her talk on and on, with a slight smile on her lips. She seemed completely unaffected by the phone call, so different from the girl who had been red-eyed and despondent a few months ago, asking him what to do.
This was the one thing that reassured him about his own sadness—she had moved on from the past, even though she was about to leave.
He asked himself if he could forgive his childish impulsiveness. He wanted to know just how important he was to her, and as for her studying abroad, that was something for the future.
