Xu Qinghe couldn't help laughing out loud.
Song Xintan: [Was it really Zhao Mingde who set you up?]
Xu Qinghe: [Mm. My dad asked our department head to introduce me to someone, and the head introduced Shi Wenli.]
Song Xintan: [If I'd known, I would have gone to worship your department head back then.]
Xu Qinghe: "..."
She had no time to continue chatting. [I'm about to prepare for the next anesthesia. Let's talk when I get back.]
In the neurosurgery office on the other side, Shi Wenli sent the calendar screenshot to his sister. Shi Miao was about to take a nap when her phone buzzed with a message. She opened the image but didn't understand what it meant. [Didn't you say you were moving on the 28th of the twelfth lunar month? Did you move it up?] This year, the Spring Festival was in February, so the 28th of the twelfth lunar month was early February. She wondered why her brother had suddenly decided to move a few days earlier.
Shi Wenli: [It's not the moving day. I'm planning to get the marriage certificate with Qinghe before the New Year.]
Shi Miao, who had just lain down, shot up from the bed. [What? Didn't you say last night that you two had been together for too short a time?]
Shi Wenli: [I think it's good to have a family sooner.]
Shi Miao opened her photo album and sent over a dozen pictures to her brother in one go. [My haul today (smirk)(smirk)]
Shi Wenli opened them one by one. There were suits, shirts, ties, and leather shoes. Shi Miao: [Bought them for your wedding. Foresight, right? (sunglasses emoji)]
Shi Wenli smiled warmly.
Shi Miao: [After all, we came from the same womb. I had a feeling you might flash marry. Since I had time today, I shopped all morning.] She asked her brother: [Before getting the certificate, what process are you planning? Min Ting and I can help prepare.]
Shi Wenli: [No need. I'll go to Qinghe's place myself. We're just getting the certificate first. We'll go through all the formalities slowly after we go public.]
Even if Xu Qinghe didn't care about these things, he still wanted to complete all the procedures.
He had been typing and looking down at his phone the whole time. Beside him, Ding Qihang wanted to ask him several times about getting a badminton court membership card, but seeing how busy he was, he didn't want to interrupt. Ding Qihang always felt that Shi Wenli had been very different lately. Aside from starting to like chatting by text, he didn't even take his afternoon nap anymore. Before, as long as there was rest time at noon, his superior would take a nap. But today, as soon as he returned to the office, he sat down and kept chatting on his phone.
There was also something special today. Around 12 noon, someone ordered a cup of coffee for Shi Wenli, delivered directly to the neurosurgery office. Of course, they also got some fruit platter as a bonus. People sent milk tea and coffee to his superior almost every day, but Shi Wenli always left them for the others to drink and never touched them himself. Today, for the first time, Shi Wenli drank the coffee himself. He had had one before, but that was before he went abroad for advanced training. He wondered who sent the coffee this time. Anyway, it definitely wasn't Jiang Yang treating them. Whenever Jiang Yang treated, the items would be announced in the group before they even arrived.
It was almost time for the afternoon clinic. Shi Wenli hadn't finished his coffee yet, so he took it with him and stood up, still typing on his phone as he walked out of the office. [I'm going to the clinic. Let's talk when I get home tonight.]
Xu Qinghe: [Okay. You're busy. I need to prepare for the next anesthesia too.]
--
Xu Qinghe got off work late today and didn't leave the hospital until 7 PM. Shi Wenli had gone home after his clinic ended and sent her a message: [Still not done?]
Xu Qinghe: [I'm done. I'll be home in about five or six minutes.]
Shi Wenli: [I'm at the flower shop buying some flowers to put in a vase.] The roses he bought last Friday were a bit withered, so he bought some peonies to replace them.
Xu Qinghe: [Did you time your outing to coincide with when I get off work?]
Shi Wenli: [Mm. I'll wait for you at the entrance of the neighborhood.]
Knowing someone was waiting, Xu Qinghe quickened her pace without thinking. The five-or-six-minute walk took her only about four minutes. Beside the main gate, the tall figure was looking at a delivery bag in his hand. It was probably another package for her. She didn't have time to go shopping, so most of the things she needed were bought online. Packages came every now and then, and he would pick them up for her on his way home from the courier station.
"Director Shi." Shi Wenli looked up at the sound and gave a gentle smile. "That was fast."
"Now you know how fast we anesthesiologists walk. It's a skill." He had things in both hands, so Xu Qinghe took the bouquet of peonies and grabbed his hand. Before he could hold back, she interlocked her fingers with his. Shi Wenli tightened his grip slightly. Their palms pressed together. His palm was dry and warm.
"Is it my package?" She changed the subject.
"Mm. Looks like sticky notes." Shi Wenli handed it to her. There were quite a few packages arriving lately. Xu Qinghe looked at the size of the packaging bag. "It should be." She liked buying all kinds of beautiful sticky notes.
They turned into the neighborhood. Shi Wenli said, "I made you some five-red-bean milk. Drink some when you get home." He had even started arranging dinner for her.
Xu Qinghe felt apologetic. "You've been tired all day. Don't bother with anything when you get home. I'll just grab something simple in the cafeteria."
Shi Wenli: "You'd get sick of the cafeteria dinner every day."
When they got home, Xu Qinghe put down her bag and prepared to arrange the flowers in the vase herself. Shi Wenli first opened the package for her and put the five or six sticky note pads on her bedside table. After trimming the peonies and putting them in the vase, he placed a cup of thick five-red-bean milk on the table.
Today they both came home relatively early. They finished watching a movie before nine. Shi Wenli turned off the TV and planned to talk to her face to face about getting the certificate again. Xu Qinghe was sitting cross-legged on the beanbag, leaning lazily against the sofa armrest, debating whether to offer to massage his neck and shoulders.
"Qinghe."
"Hm?" Xu Qinghe looked up at him.
"You're getting certified with me just like this. Don't you have any requirements for me?"
Xu Qinghe shook her head. She borrowed Fang Yu's joke: "Director Shi is someone you can marry without thinking."
Shi Wenli smiled. He said seriously, "Sometimes I may not think everything through very thoroughly. And our relationship is quite special—going from friends to lovers. Sometimes I find it hard to grasp the right pace, not knowing if I should move faster or slower. If you have any concerns about our relationship or feel it's lacking something, just tell me. If you tell me, I'll know and I'll know what to do next." Otherwise, he was always afraid of being too abrupt with her. She had said before that what she hated most was dating—boring and a waste of time. He didn't know how her attitude toward marriage and relationships had changed over the years. Of course, it must have changed, or she wouldn't be with him.
His words hit the mark. She did have concerns, but she had been struggling with how to bring them up. Now she finally had an opportunity. "I do have a little concern."
Shi Wenli asked, "What are you worried about? Just say it."
In a lighthearted tone, Xu Qinghe said, "I'm worried that if we keep going like this, we might really end up as just roommates."
Shi Wenli answered firmly, "That won't happen." The reason he decided to go on the blind date was because he had feelings for her and couldn't bear to let go. There was no way they would end up as emotionless roommates. "Then I have nothing to worry about."
"Nothing else? No requirements?"
"No." Marrying someone she liked who was good to her—she couldn't think of any other requirements.
Xu Qinghe stood up. "I'll go take a shower first."
Shi Wenli also stood up, preparing to go to his own room. "Call me if you need anything."
He closed the door, sat down at his desk, but didn't turn on the computer. He thought about the concern Xu Qinghe had just raised. He hadn't been acting enough like a boyfriend, which led her to think that way—worried that he might always regard her with the same feelings as a colleague or a friend.
Xu Qinghe finished her shower and put her clothes in the washing machine, reminding Shi Wenli not to forget to wash them for her. She planned to go to bed early tonight, so she turned off the light as soon as she got into bed.
"Qinghe?" Shi Wenli knocked at the door.
"It's not locked. Just push it open." Xu Qinghe reached over to turn on the light, half-sitting up under the covers. Shi Wenli pushed the door open and saw that she was already in bed. "Early tonight."
"Mm. I haven't slept well the past few days. I'm hoping I can fall asleep early tonight." She asked, "What's up?"
"Nothing. I thought you might still be awake, so I came to keep you company."
"Come in and sit. I'm not going to fall asleep anytime soon either." Xu Qinghe pulled back the covers. Shi Wenli sat down on the edge of the bed and automatically tucked the covers in for her. Xu Qinghe didn't want to be too formal with him, so she simply lay down to talk. She treated it as a normal gesture between boyfriend and girlfriend.
The water glass on the bedside table was too close to the edge; if bumped, it would fall off. Shi Wenli moved it toward the center and turned to talk to her. "Did you tell Director Zhao about us getting the certificate?"
"Not yet. I didn't run into our director today. He was at a meeting and didn't come to the office." Xu Qinghe's hands were under the covers. Having him so close made her a little uncomfortable, and her fingers unconsciously twisted the hem of her pajamas. She kept her expression calm and said, "I'll tell the director tomorrow and treat him to some wedding candy." He had been quite upset these past few days with the Wu Xiaofeng matter. Telling him this good news tomorrow face to face would lift his spirits. After all, not everyone could successfully set up a couple.
Shi Wenli said, "I'll drop by Director Zhao's office tomorrow too."
Xu Qinghe teased, "The director will be flattered. He'll probably say to you, 'You're too polite, really.'" She mimicked it vividly, and Shi Wenli laughed.
Being so close, Xu Qinghe noticed his smoke-gray sweater, which was similar in color to the sheets she was lying on. She reached out from under the covers and touched his sweater sleeve. "This one is thicker than the ones before."
"Mm. It's been cold these few days, so I found a thicker one to wear." Shi Wenli picked up her phone and glanced at the time. It was almost 9:50. "Go to sleep. Make up for the sleep you've missed these two days."
Xu Qinghe let go of his sweater and withdrew her hand from the back of his. Since he had come in and sat down, she had been holding her breath. "You get some sleep too."
Shi Wenli had told her to go to sleep, but he didn't get up immediately. Instead, he looked back at her. "Were you not sleeping well these past two days also because you were worried we might end up as roommates?"
Xu Qinghe admitted, "I did think about it when I couldn't sleep. But I won't overthink it tonight."
Shi Wenli said, "It's my fault. I haven't adapted to this relationship yet. I haven't made you feel like a girlfriend; instead, I've felt more like a friend."
Xu Qinghe said, "It's not just your fault. I'll work with you to manage our relationship from now on."
"I was the one who wanted to go on the blind date. Let me do the work. You don't have to do too much." With that, Shi Wenli put her hand back under the covers, paused, and then leaned down to place a gentle kiss on her forehead. He looked down at her. "What do you want for breakfast tomorrow?"
Xu Qinghe could barely find her own voice. After a slow beat: "Whatever."
"I'll figure something out. Go to sleep. I'll wake you tomorrow morning." Shi Wenli reached over and turned off the light. The light from the living room shone in. He walked out of the bedroom by that light and gently closed the door.