Xu Qinghe thought Song Xintan's headache was unbearable, so she first told him to take his medicine: [This isn't entirely psychological. It's best to combine psychological intervention with medication. Didn't Shi Wenli prescribe you medicine? Keep taking it as directed.]
Song Xintan: [I'm feeling a bit irritable now. Will the medicine help?]
Xu Qinghe: [You might just be jet-lagged. You can't sleep, so you're irritable—]
As she typed this, she suddenly realized the problem: [Your insomnia is because your body clock is off. The irritability is because you want to sleep but can't!]
Song Xintan: [I've tried melatonin. It doesn't work. It's not jet lag.]
Of course, it probably had something to do with it. Now it was a combination of jet lag and withdrawal symptoms.
[This illness is driving me crazy. Sometimes it hurts, sometimes it doesn't. I urgently need Shi Wenli's psychological counseling.]
Xu Qinghe: [Do you really think Shi Wenli's counseling is some miracle cure that will fix you the moment you hear it?]
Xu Qinghe: [His words are like a miracle cure to me, not to you.]
Song Xintan: [You're married now! Have some self-respect!]
Xu Qinghe: [This has nothing to do with self-respect. You don't understand.]
Song Xintan retorted: [How don't I understand? Don't worry, you two will definitely grow old together. With my sincerity in wanting to repay my wish, you'll be happy and blissful.]
He was so eager to come back and repay his wish because he had made a wish at Yonghe Temple back then, too.
At the time, seeing her pitiful—too afraid to even confess her feelings, relying on superstition despite being a medical student—he decided to believe as well. He vowed to do more good deeds from the next day onward, hoping the heavens would grant her wish.
Since that wish at Yonghe Temple, every year he donated a large sum to the Tongxin Charity Foundation to treat children with congenital heart disease.
The foundation was started by Min Ting's uncles. Over the past twenty-plus years, it had helped countless children with congenital heart disease in remote areas.
Ever since Min Ting took over Jinghe Group, he donated to the foundation both in the group's name and in his personal name every year.
Song Xintan always tried to donate more than Min Ting, ensuring his name topped the donation list.
Being at the top was his way of ensuring the Buddha noticed him and granted his wish sooner.
Sincerity works miracles.
A few years later, the Buddha finally noticed him.
Every June or July, Xu Qinghe's hospital held the 'United Hearts' charity surgery campaign for children with congenital heart disease. It was her busiest time, as she was one of the anesthesiologists for the charity surgeries.
Sometimes she found it magical: the money he donated, ultimately through her hands, helped those children.
Even more fatefully, Xu Qinghe had become close to Min Ting, one of the heads of the Tongxin Charity Foundation—they were now family.
He and Min Ting had met a few times at charity foundation dinners. They knew each other but weren't close.
Now, Shi Wenli was Min Ting's brother-in-law. He himself was Shi Wenli's brother-in-law. So what should Min Ting call him?
Xu Qinghe replied: [Shi Wenli likes me now too. We're bound to grow old together.]
Song Xintan urged her: [We've chatted long enough. Can you help me with the real business now? Ask Shi Wenli now—roughly what time will he contact me? Preferably before seven. Any later and I don't want to interrupt your time together.]
Xu Qinghe: [He's opening my packages for me.]
Song Xintan: [Can't you open them yourself?]
Xu Qinghe: [He won't let me.]
Song Xintan: [Looks like you have poor practical skills.]
Xu Qinghe: “...”
He was doing it on purpose!
[I'll ask him for you right now, okay!]
Song Xintan retracted the message about her poor practical skills and rewrote it: [I didn't realize he liked you that much.]
Xu Qinghe laughed out loud.
She loved hearing that.
Shi Wenli finished opening all the packages and was cleaning up the packaging. When he heard her laugh, he turned and asked, “What's so funny?”
Xu Qinghe said, “Song Xintan is making me laugh.”
Shi Wenli was never one to pry, but today he pressed on: “What did he say that made you so happy?”
Xu Qinghe gave him a rough rundown: “He started by teasing me, saying I have poor practical skills. When I agreed to ask you for him, he immediately retracted that and sent another message saying he didn't expect you to like me so much.”
Shi Wenli responded, “I really do like you a lot.”
Xu Qinghe's lips hadn't stopped curling up all day.
Hearing it from him directly made her even happier.
She put down her phone to help him clean up the packaging.
Shi Wenli wouldn't let her.
Xu Qinghe said, “Song Xintan can't wait any longer. You'd better call him back now.”
Shi Wenli had planned to call at seven and cook dinner for her first.
“You didn't eat any vegetables at lunch. Let me make you a few dishes.”