Early the next morning.
The alarm had rung four times before Xu Qinghe groggily crawled out of bed.
At half past six in the deep winter, it was still dark outside.
The world was pitch black, the cold biting, and the wind howled through the withered branches.
She finally sat up and opened the curtains. Glancing at her phone, it was 6:38. She flopped back down.
She could sleep for two more minutes.
The only time she had gotten up without hesitation in recent years was the afternoon of Shi Miao's wedding, when she had arranged to have dinner with Shi Wenli that evening.
The anticipation of seeing someone she liked overwhelmed all her morning grumpiness.
After washing up, she finally felt a bit more awake.
On the dining table, her father had already prepared breakfast for her to take to the hospital—the same two boiled eggs and a carton of milk, day after day.
She had been eating this breakfast since childhood and had grown accustomed to it, so it didn't feel bland.
But after last night's tomato wonton soup at Shi Wenli's place, her appetite had been whetted, and suddenly boiled eggs seemed unappealing.
When she left, she only took one boiled egg.
There were two paths from her building to the community gate, and she always took the one that passed by Shi Wenli's door.
In the distance, a familiar figure appeared in the open parking lot. The man was wearing a dark brown coat, tall and slender, his back to her, as he cleared the frost from the car's front windshield.
The house he was renting didn't have an underground parking spot.
In winter, when cars were parked outside, the most troublesome morning task was defrosting.
"Good morning, Dr. Shi."
Shi Wenli turned at the sound of her voice. Under her khaki thick scarf, her bright, soft face held her usual smile.
It seemed Zhao Mingde hadn't told her about the blind date yet; otherwise, she wouldn't be so at ease.
"Good morning," he responded gently, tilting his chin toward the passenger seat. "Get in the car and wait for me. Almost done."
It was rare to run into him in the morning, so Xu Qinghe didn't stand on ceremony. She opened the passenger door and got in.
A month from now, no matter when she left the house, she wouldn't have the chance to accidentally meet him again.
Last night at his place, after cleaning up the kitchen, the three of them had chatted for a while. That was when she learned that he had already bought an apartment in his sister's neighborhood and would be moving within the month.
Once he moved, and winter came again, she would probably miss those mornings when she ran into him.
The car was warm, so she took off her down jacket and bundled it in her arms.
After scraping off the frost, Shi Wenli sat down in the driver's seat.
The subtle shift from colleague to potential date was hard to describe.
From yesterday to this morning, even while scraping the frost off the windshield, he had been adjusting his mindset, trying to digest this matter quickly.
Seeing her holding such a bulky down jacket, he reached out. "Let me put your coat in the back seat."
Xu Qinghe said no, "My breakfast is in the pocket."
Shi Wenli let it go and put on his seatbelt. "Eat it while it's hot. It'll be cold by the time you get to the office."
Xu Qinghe always knew her limits and never ate in someone else's car.
"I just got up. Can't eat anything yet," she made an excuse casually.
Not only was there the down jacket in front of her, but her bag on her lap was also bulging.
Shi Wenli tried to act natural and kept the conversation going. "Are those new crocs in your bag?"
"..." Xu Qinghe laughed. "Yeah."
Besides the shoes, there were surgical caps in the bag, which she brought to the operating room for sterilization and backup.
Unlike other doctors who used the hospital-provided caps and slippers in the OR, she always bought her own.
As the car drove out of the neighborhood, Shi Wenli asked again, "What did you bring for breakfast?"
Xu Qinghe pulled out the warm boiled egg and milk from her down jacket pocket. While waiting for the red light, she held them up to him. "My dad's specialty breakfast."
After teasing him, she put them back in her pocket. "Your cooking is so good. Your future kids will be lucky. Sometimes I wish I were your kid."
Shi Wenli: "..."
He just gave a dry chuckle and said nothing.
Throughout the drive from the neighborhood to the hospital, Shi Wenli was the one initiating topics.
Xu Qinghe silently sighed for him. He must be deeply affected by his family matters, afraid she would notice his low mood, so he racked his brains to find things to talk about, using that as a cover.
Since he didn't want to show his emotions, she would act as if she knew nothing.
--
As soon as Xu Qinghe stepped into the office, she took the still-warm boiled egg out of her pocket.
Through the thin plastic bag, her fingers skillfully peeled the shell.