He freed his left hand, bent his fingers slightly, and pressed the button for the first floor.
The elevator door slowly closed.
Xu Qinghe looked down at his hand—knuckles distinct, completely wrapping around hers.
A dry and warm touch passed between their palms.
Neither spoke.
Everything around them was scorching.
The space was enclosed, as if all the oxygen had been sucked out.
When they stepped out of the elevator and reached the outside of the building, the cold wind hit them square in the face.
She didn't feel cold at all; instead, she felt a slight relief in her chest.
Even the cold wind felt fresh.
Shi Wenli turned his face and asked, "Are you cold?"
Her hand was still in his. Xu Qinghe pretended to be calm. "Not cold."
Only then did Shi Wenli say, "I was the one who decided to go on a blind date with you, but in the end, you've been the one taking the initiative. I need to reflect on that. From now on, just wait for me to take the initiative."
Xu Qinghe never minded these things. "Taking the initiative is the same either way."
Shi Wenli said, "It's different."
He mentioned his sister and brother-in-law. "Whenever Min Ting takes the initiative to do something, Shi Miao is always very happy."
"When they first got together last year, Min Ting initially planned to only meet once or twice a month. Shi Miao had no feelings for him at the time, but she was still a little disappointed when she heard that."
His sister and brother-in-law also met through a blind date without any emotional foundation, but the situation between him and Xu Qinghe was somewhat different, so he couldn't let her take the initiative in everything.
Xu Qinghe imagined: if today she hadn't been the first to loop her arm, but he had been the first to hold her hand...
Then it wouldn't just be sweetness; there would be an extra layer of flutter.
Indeed, it was different.
All the way to the package station, he held her hand.
The path she had walked countless times was finally no longer hers alone.
On the way back, he carried the package box, unable to hold her hand.
Once through the community gate, she hesitated for a few seconds, then finally looped her arm around his again.
"What color did you buy for me?"
Xu Qinghe tried to ease the awkwardness, but she was also eager to know.
He looked at her. "If I tell you, it won't be a surprise. Take a guess first?"
"Definitely not white." Xu Qinghe wrapped her other hand around his arm, holding it with both hands, and continued guessing. "And not blue."
Of these two colors of Crocs, she had countless pairs.
Shi Wenli chuckled. "Is that how you guess? Go ahead and eliminate more."
"You know I don't like pink, so you definitely didn't buy pink."
"Mm, indeed not pink."
Guessing slowly and leisurely like this, Xu Qinghe's grip on his arm alternately loosened and tightened.
When she tightened, she would hold on for a few extra seconds.
Later, she realized that guessing the color was a pretext; the real intention was to be affectionate.
Back home, Shi Wenli didn't bother to take off his coat first; he found a box cutter and opened the package for her.
Opening the box, there was a pair in wine brown and a pair in light gray.
The original accessories were decent, but they didn't match the style of her surgical caps, so he had replaced all of them.
The brown pair came with two matching teddy bears in the same color, harmonious, elegant, simple, and full of warmth.
The light gray pair was accessorized with a forest, a wooden house, the sun, and a lazy cat—giving a sense of tranquility, freedom, relaxation, and healing.
Xu Qinghe tried them on. "I'll bring them to the surgical center for disinfection on Monday."
From now on, she would probably only wear these two pairs in the operating room.
Shi Wenli said, "Leave them here for now. I'll bring them for you on Monday."
Xu Qinghe was a bit worried. "Better not. What if a colleague sees them and asks—what would you say?"
"Just say you left them in my car and I brought them for you. No need for further explanation."
It was warm inside. He hadn't even hung up his coat when his phone rang. It was Jiang Yang.
"Brother Shi, are you home? I'm bringing you a box of crispy honey kumquats. I'm almost at your building."
"..."
A couple of days ago, Shi Wenli was doing a consultation in cardiac surgery and ran into Jiang Yang. Jiang Yang asked if he wanted some apples. He said skip the apples, but if he had any oranges, he'd take two.