Chapter 6: Swan, Gray Goose

The two of them talked about very dry topics in the damp rain.

Lu Canran said, “When I visited our math teacher last year, she still often mentioned you. She said you scored 148 in math on the college entrance exam, really impressive.”

“The last time I saw her was when I went back to school to give a talk,” Liang Yuanzheng said. “She mentioned you too. Said there was a female student with the same student number as mine, who was also the top math student in her class.”

Lu Canran tried hard not to laugh too openly, pretending to be nonchalant. “Really? Was your student number also 0101?”

Liang Yuanzheng looked at the endless heavy rain outside and replied casually, “Yes. I didn’t expect you to be 0101 too.”

“What a coincidence.”

“What a coincidence.”

Lu Canran felt this topic couldn’t go on. It was starting to sound like they were trying to get each other’s QQ info and security questions. If the next thing asked was “Who do you admire the most?” or “Your parents’ names,” she might as well steal Liang Yuanzheng’s QQ account.

Jiang Si, who arrived in the rain, cut off Lu Canran’s chance of account theft just in time. He brought another black umbrella, and before leaving, reminded Lu Canran to return Zhu Huaxin’s call.

“My sister is really worried about you,” Jiang Si said with a bitter smile. “If you don’t call her, she probably won’t be able to sleep tonight.”

Lu Canran felt like the one who wouldn’t be able to sleep wasn’t her.

She tilted her head slightly and looked at the bullet screen above Jiang Si’s head.

[Zhu Huaxin]

Zhu Huaxin and Jiang Si didn’t exactly come from a blended family. As far as Lu Canran knew, Zhu’s mom and Jiang’s dad were only married for two years. But even if they couldn’t be husband and wife, they still remained friends. Jiang’s dad had been assigned to work in Canada for five years, and Jiang Si continued living at Zhu Huaxin’s house.

Lu Canran also knew that Zhu Huaxin didn’t like Jiang Si very much. She often complained that Jiang Si acted like a model student and perfect top achiever in front of her mom, even volunteering to do housework, which only made her look lazier in comparison.

“Lu Canran?”

Lu Canran snapped out of it. Liang Yuanzheng had already opened the large black umbrella and said apologetically, “Sorry, there’s only one umbrella. You might have to squeeze in a bit.”

“No problem,” Lu Canran, who couldn’t have asked for more, tried hard to suppress the corners of her lips. “Thank you, senior.”

Liang Yuanzheng tilted the large black umbrella in her direction. Lu Canran knew this was umbrella etiquette from the one holding it. But she didn’t want her senior to get wet and fall ill. At the same time, she was afraid of crossing the line too boldly. After some hesitation, she quietly shifted her feet in his direction, secretly inching closer.

Liang Yuanzheng didn’t move away!

Yes!

She peeked at him.

Liang Yuanzheng didn’t show a displeased expression! (Though, to be fair, he rarely showed any expression at all.)

Yes!

Lu Canran felt like jumping up.

All those words poets use to describe love for the sake of rhetoric couldn’t compare to the way her heart fluttered in this moment.

The slanted wind carried rainwater that splashed onto their faces. The two of them stepped over puddles, dodged the slick, tile-trap bricks that could erupt into fountains at any moment, and walked quietly. Lu Canran wished this stretch of road would never end.

Maybe it was the close distance under the shared umbrella that made Liang Yuanzheng unusually silent. Lu Canran thought for a long time before finally coming up with a question that didn’t involve any account security information.

“A friend of mine has a birthday coming up,” Lu Canran offered as an excuse. “I want to get him a bottle of men’s cologne. Senior, what cologne do you use? It smells really nice.”

Liang Yuanzheng lifted his sleeve and sniffed it. “Might just be the hospital’s disinfectant.”

Lu Canran said, “Huh?”

Liang Yuanzheng replied, “You’re giving it to a male friend? I can give you a bottle—if he needs disinfectant, that is.”

Lu Canran said, “No, no, it’s fine, thank you, senior. Maybe my nose is just acting up.”

She was so embarrassed she didn’t even know what she was saying anymore. It felt like nothing in the world could be more awkward than this. But very soon, she realized she’d been embarrassed too early—because of the intense awkwardness and the unprecedented proximity, she got so nervous that she started walking with the same arm and leg moving together.

She tried to correct it, but ended up stiffly walking with the same arm and leg in sync.

She looked like a little zombie.

Frustrated, she silently prayed that Liang Yuanzheng hadn’t noticed. Out of the corner of her eye, she peeked at him and saw him lift his arm and sniff again, as if checking whether there really was a scent.

Lu Canran nervously sniffed herself too.

…She hadn’t sweated today. She should smell okay, right?

Damn it, she should’ve worn perfume.

Otherwise, she was just a slightly smelly, awkward little zombie right now.

The shrill ringtone of a phone came to Lu Canran’s rescue. Liang Yuanzheng had to get back to work again—there had been a fight involving civilians in the commercial street near A University. One of them had crashed into a pancake stall during the scuffle, and several students watching nearby were accidentally injured and sent to the hospital for emergency treatment.

The person who came to take Lu Canran’s temperature had changed again—it was the young nurse from the afternoon shift.

Lu Canran successfully “bribed” her with a packet of dried tangerine peel sunflower seeds, trying to dig up information about Director Xue’s daughter, Xue Ningyuan.

With the bullet screen above her head reading [Drama drama love triangle drama ohoho], the nurse enthusiastically began a detailed introduction of Xue Ningyuan.

Her father was Liang Yuanzheng’s supervising teacher. She herself also studied at A University and was Liang Yuanzheng’s classmate, currently undergoing standardized residency training at the affiliated hospital. However, unlike Liang Yuanzheng, who had no family support, Xue Ningyuan didn’t have to work so relentlessly overtime and didn’t spend as much time at the hospital as he did.

Liang Yuanzheng was truly immersed in hard work. Like every other resident, he took medical histories, gave orders, signed documents, wrote medical records, prepared surgical instruments… Especially during night shifts—his shifts were long, yet he never complained. There were even a few times when he personally stitched up patients with external injuries. The young nurse had once been in charge of removing sutures for a patient he’d treated and was deeply impressed, praising how neat and precise his stitches were, minimizing the chance of scarring.

He was also famously patient and mild-tempered, never complained, and was well liked at the hospital. The young nurse had nothing but praise for him.

Director Xue had a bad temper and was known for being irritable, having made many residents cry. Yet even he spoke highly of Liang Yuanzheng.

Lu Canran thought proudly, the person she liked really was that capable.

Up to this point, she had been trying to train herself not to pay attention to the sudden bullet screens that appeared, and this ability wasn’t entirely a bad thing. Right now, she could see even more heartfelt thoughts above the young nurse’s head—like the unsaid, [Xue Ningyuan is chasing after Liang Yuanzheng.]

Lu Canran wanted to cheat in this relationship.

She wanted to be with Liang Yuanzheng too.

—So, since she couldn’t see into Liang Yuanzheng’s heart clearly, should she try approaching it from the people around him? Take the initiative to find out what he liked? She didn’t even have to worry about being lied to, because she could see what they were truly thinking.

Liang Yuanzheng’s friends, huh… Lu Canran thought through it but couldn’t come up with anyone he was particularly close to.

First to be ruled out: Jiang Si. His mind was filled with only “Zhu Huaxin.”

They had too little interaction in daily life. Lu Canran knew nothing about Liang Yuanzheng’s life at the hospital.

Sigh.

Actually, maybe there was someone.

Suddenly, Lu Canran thought of a person.

Chen Wanli.

Liang Yuanzheng had mentioned him before, said they used to play basketball together back in high school… Maybe they were still in touch?

With uncertain feelings, Lu Canran dialed Chen Wanli’s number.

The two of them were childhood friends—the kind who had been playing together since they wore split-crotch pants.

“Hello? Ranran, it’s me, I’m here,” Chen Wanli scratched his head and sprawled out lazily in his seat. “Hm? What? You’re in the hospital? What happened? Huh? Food poisoning? Oh, not serious? That’s good. Huh? You want to chat with me? At this hour… Heh heh, finally remembered your dear big brother, huh? Last time I invited you to eat at White Swan and you didn’t want to go… Now you’re feeling lonely and cold, and finally thought of me? I knew it.”

Then he got serious and sat up straight. “Affiliated Hospital? Wow, what a coincidence—if this isn’t fate, what is? Guess where I am right now? I’m at the Affiliated Hospital too! Which room are you in? I’ll come find you.”

As he spoke, Chen Wanli tried to stand up. The cotton ball soaked in hydrogen peroxide pressed against his wound, and the pain nearly made him cry out. Pride forced him to hold it in. He chatted and laughed with Lu Canran for a few more moments before hanging up the phone. Only then did he take a few sharp breaths and shoot a distorted look at the cold-faced doctor.

…All he did was accidentally break the guy’s cup. Was that necessary? It’s not like he stole his wife. How has no patient complained about this attitude yet?

Wearing a white lab coat, cold and professional, he looked like a psychopathic serial killer. Clearly, he was dressing a wound, but it felt more like he was dismembering him and pouring a bucket of disinfectant over the remains.

“Thanks,” Chen Wanli said. “Dr. Liang.”

Liang Yuanzheng didn’t reply. He tossed the blood-soaked cotton ball into the trash can.

Beside it lay the shattered ceramic mug—a rather pretty and distinctive coffee cup. The round body was decorated with a ring of cute little mushrooms and hearts. Even the lid had a sculpted mushroom on top, and it came with a matching mushroom-shaped coffee spoon.

Now, that red heart had been broken into several pieces.

After clearing away the shards, Liang Yuanzheng bandaged the wounds of the four university students, wrote the medical records, entered the notes, and organized everything.

Finally able to rest for a moment, he took out his phone, wanting to listen to her sing and relax a little. On the home page of QQ Music, the top left corner under “Recommended for You” was a duet cover of Friends by Lu Canran and Chen Wanli.

Liang Yuanzheng tapped on it and selected “Dislike.”

A system prompt popped up—

“Select what you dislike about this content”

Dislike the song: Friends

Dislike the artists: Lu Canran & Chen Wanli

Liang Yuanzheng stared at it in silence for a moment, then canceled the dislike.

He closed the page and exited QQ Music.

On his phone, a voice message from his grandma had come through on WeChat.

Elderly and with poor eyesight, she had fumbled her way to sending it.

【Yuanzheng, your little sister says she wants to buy some study guides. Says all her classmates are buying them. A full set costs several hundred. Should we get them for her?】

Liang Yuanzheng transferred three thousand. When paying, the system alerted him of insufficient balance, so he switched to another card to complete the payment.

“Buy them. Anything for her studies, always buy it. And whatever her friends have, she can have too. I’ll help cover the cost.” Dressed in a shirt with frayed cuffs, Liang Yuanzheng called his grandma and said with a smile, “Don’t worry, I’m doing fine over here. Work’s not too tiring.”