Xu Qinghe greeted him first. “Director Yin, so late.”
Because of her good mood, a light smile spread across her face.
Yin Zhengqian sized her up for a few seconds. Wasn’t she supposed to be stubborn and hold grudges?
In all his years of work, she was the first to hang up on him.
But after all, she was more than two decades younger than him, and she had taken the initiative to greet him, so he couldn’t just ignore her with a straight face.
Even if he was dissatisfied with her, he nodded slightly in response.
Xu Qinghe didn’t mind his cold reaction. She looked down at her phone messages.
Fang Yu had messaged her an hour ago, concerned: [Did you really fall out with Director Yin?]
Xu Qinghe replied: [It’s not that serious. Just a disagreement about the surgery. It happens.]
Fang Yu: [If it were me, even if there was a disagreement, since Director Yin called personally, I would have given him some face. But you? You just hung up on him.]
Fang Yu: [You weren’t so busy you forgot that Director Yin is now the head of general surgery, were you?]
Xu Qinghe: [I didn’t forget.]
As the head of general surgery, Director Yin oversees departments including hepatobiliary, spleen, pancreas, gastrointestinal, thyroid, breast, colorectal, and trauma infection.
She understood Fang Yu’s reminder: it wasn’t worth offending the head of general surgery over a disagreement about one surgery.
Xu Qinghe: [Today is my lucky day. Let’s talk about something happy~]
Fang Yu: [Oh right, I almost forgot, you had a double-yolk egg this morning.]
Xu Qinghe: [(chuckle) (chuckle)]
Fang Yu: [Then I wish that all your orthopedics surgeries get scheduled with Wu Xiaofeng’s group.]
Fang Yu: [I wish you can have another double-yolk egg tomorrow morning.]
Fang Yu: [I’m busy now.]
Xu Qinghe smiled knowingly: [Thanks.]
When she came out of the hospital, the roasted sweet potato stall at the alley across the street was still there.
When the light turned green, she quickly crossed the street.
The old woman selling sweet potatoes picked out one oozing honey and put it on the scale. Noticing that the smile in Xu Qinghe’s eyes was deeper than usual, she said, “Got your bonus today? So happy.”
Xu Qinghe scanned the code to pay and said, “Even happier than getting a bonus.”
It was cold, and there weren’t many pedestrians on the road.
Walking on the sidewalk, she peeled the sweet potato. The steam rose, carrying a sweet fragrance to her face.
She took a bite, and as she chewed, the corners of her mouth involuntarily lifted.
No one knew how carefully she had hidden her feelings from Shi Wenli all these years.
And no one knew that during the year he was away for advanced training, every time she passed by his building and saw his car parked there day after day, how much she had missed him.
She had no one to tell.
No outlet to confide.
Those secret feelings were like winter roasted sweet potatoes, accompanying her year after year.
Finally, as she neared the entrance of her neighborhood, Xu Qinghe couldn’t wait any longer and directly replied to Zhao Mingde.
[Director, I’ve thought it over seriously. I am willing to go on a blind date with Shi Wenli. You’re right—if I miss someone as excellent as him, it will be hard to find another. Also, we know each other well, so we can skip the adjustment period. It’s good.]
Her words were sincere, without any insincerity.
Zhao Mingde finally breathed a sigh of relief: [Glad you figured it out.]
About two minutes later.
Zhao Mingde sent another message: [I’ve conveyed your intention to Shi Wenli.]
Seeing this, Xu Qinghe held her breath.
Zhao Mingde: [I’ve done right by your dad.]
Xu Qinghe said sincerely: [On behalf of my dad, thank you.]
Zhao Mingde: [They say a matchmaker doesn’t need skill, but I think they do. If it were Dean Jiang handling this, he might have messed it up for you two.]
“……”
Xu Qinghe laughed and thanked the director again.
The director must have put a lot of effort into setting her up with Shi Wenli.
She asked again: [Director, can you arrange a time for us to meet?]
Zhao Mingde: [Arrange it yourselves.]
Zhao Mingde: [My work is done. From now on, I won’t get involved in anything between you two. If you have something to say, talk to Shi Wenli directly. I’m not a messenger.]
Letting them contact each other, Xu Qinghe felt troubled.