Chapter 13 Smoke Becomes Cause

The car stopped just outside the hotel's revolving door, and Zong Chi immediately placed the camellia in his hand into the trunk.

Fast forward to the light snow season, and the wind already has the shadow of midwinter. He Dongli tucked his chin slightly and watched Zong Chi operate. He was wearing only a single layer of clothing. He closed the trunk door and walked straight from the left to the driver's seat. Across the car, he looked at He Dongli who was still not getting in with a slightly puzzled look, "What's going on?"

He Dongli stepped forward and opened the passenger door.

She got in the car and tilted her head to fasten her seatbelt, and someone beside her got in a step behind. He didn't bring anything with him and didn't ask where He Dongli lived. He just wanted her to lend him her phone for navigation.

In addition, it was obvious that he hadn't driven himself for a long time. He was used to driving with the gear shift, and for a moment he didn't know where to start.

He Dongli regretted agreeing to his words in a moment of impulsiveness, "No, I'd better take a taxi."

Zong Chi smoothly switched and immersed himself in the situation. He put his hand on the gear lever and asked in confusion, "Why, are you in a hurry to go back to the hospital?"

He Dongli didn't let him get lost in the fog and gave him a friendly reminder, "Has your driver's license expired? You shouldn't drive if you don't drive often."

"I don't drive often, but I'm not so bad at it yet. What? Are you stricter than the Ministry of Transportation?" Zong Chi suddenly choked back at He Dongli. He Dongli was speechless for a moment. He continued to stab him, "It's been five years since I changed my license. I changed it the year I broke up with you. It's still valid. Do you want to see it?"

He Dongli couldn't help but turn his head and look out the window on the right when he heard him say that. He wanted to correct something, but because of his serious personality, he gave up.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to report back to the colleague on duty, they remained silent and each went their own way.

The car drove away from the hotel, but in the opposite direction. He Dongli looked up and saw him driving south before he stopped him, "Where are you going?"

"have no idea."

“…”

"What can I do if you're just looking at your phone and not giving directions?"

"Zongchi, I've been standing all day and don't have time to walk around the garden with you. You really..."

"I asked to borrow your navigation as soon as I got in the car, didn't I?" Zong Chi held the steering wheel with one hand, arguing with her while lowering the car window. He saw the U-turn sign standing in the middle of the isolation belt, and immediately turned left and looked back.

The car turned around and Zong Chi tapped the center console, motioning her to put her phone on it.

He Dongli could only obey him. He hadn't been back in years, and even if he gave him directions, he wouldn't remember. The car heater was on full blast, and the navigation voice kept blaring. Then there were He Dongli's WeChat notifications, several of which were stacked in the background, waiting to be read.

Zong Chi thought out of sight, out of mind, and reminded her to look, but she just said it was okay and that she would call directly if it was urgent.

The car slowly moved forward. Zong Chi didn't take it seriously and instead asked, "What does that Yue guy want from you?"

"Nothing." He Dongli was vague, only saying that she refused, "Don't take on things that are not my responsibility, and I can't deny the things that are mine."

Zong Chi sneered, but agreed, "It's also because you and Liang Jianxing aren't close enough."

He Dongli turned his head to look at him. Zong Chi didn't look away, and the second half of his words were somersaults on his tongue: We are so close, I would run over there even if you take a taxi!

"Doctor-patient conflicts are already tense. Don't say a word about things that can be resolved through appointments. But I know you studied medicine to treat illnesses, and treating illnesses is about solving problems, not empathizing with them. Incapable empathy is just excessive sentimentality."

He Dongli listened to it, but she didn't say anything in detail. However, it was obvious that someone already knew everything before going downstairs of the hotel.

"Are the camellias in the trunk your reward for coming here tonight?" Zong Chi asked again.

He Dongli closed his eyes, there was nothing he couldn't say, "I looked at him a few more times on their garden balcony that night when we went on a blind date. He probably thought I really liked him."

"..." Zong Chi looked at the play with indifference, "Oh, why did you watch it again if you didn't like it?"

*

He had said this before.

At thirteen, He Dongli moved back to his hometown of S City with his mother to attend school. Although his father had passed away, Yu Xiaohan and his eldest sister-in-law remained on good terms. The year he took the college entrance exam, his cousin He Dongsheng took advantage of a graduation trip to visit Dongli from South City, accompanied by Shen Mingchong.

He Dongsheng brought a lot of food for Ah Li, some of which had gone bad from being stored away for so long. He Dongli was very touched but still tried a bite. He felt very sorry for it and said it was still delicious even though it was still good.

Shen Mingchong laughed at her for being silly, but since they hadn't seen each other for two years, he praised her for growing taller.

That time, He Dongli accompanied them to visit the entire S City. He Dongsheng and Shen Mingchong discovered that A Li was not very familiar with this city. Before they went back, A Li came to see them off and couldn't help crying. She asked her brother if he would be admitted here.

He Dongsheng hugged A Li, saw through her unhappiness, and asked her if she was bullied at the Xu family. If things really don’t work out, just call your aunt and we’ll take you back.

He Dongli shook her head and said that everything was fine with her and that her life was much better than theirs.

Not long after, He Dongsheng called A Li and told her that his college entrance examination results were not ideal and he could not go to her place. However, A Chong did well in the exam and if nothing unexpected happened, he would be closer to her.

During the four years that Shen Mingchong studied in City A, he often came to see He Dongli, and every time he brought things for his sister on behalf of A Sheng.

He Dongli's first iPhone was bought for her by Shen Mingchong and He Dongsheng together. Shen Mingchong said that Ah Sheng paid a little more, he is your real brother and richer than me, to celebrate your good grades. Ah Li, with this score, you will probably crush those men in your He family ancestral hall for decades.

The final destination of this mobile phone was that it was smashed into pieces by Zong Chi.

He didn't know that the old mobile phone that had been with his girlfriend for so many years was actually a gift from Shen Mingchong. Zong Chi asked He Dongli what he was thinking. He Dongli was tired of the endless quarrels with Zong Chi at that time, and she didn't think that cutting the loss in time was ruthless in Zong Chi's eyes.

Obviously, they just weren't suitable.

Zong Chi was always against her. He asked her, "Who is suitable for you?" The one with the surname Shen.

He Dongli didn't bother to pay attention to his nonsense.

The two of them parted on bad terms that time, and he immediately flew to Singapore. They were in a cold war for almost a month. On his birthday, He Dongli called him, even at the exact time, and the call was transferred to the voicemail.

She sent him a message with a photo of an orange cake she had made.

That day, Shen Mingchong came to Shanghai on a business trip. His father had just passed away. He Dongli heard about it from Dong Sheng. She happened to have half a day off, so Shen Mingchong called her and the two of them had dinner at a nearby Chinese restaurant.

Shen Mingchong said that he was going to get engaged. His family introduced him to someone else. The plan was to get married before his father passed away, but he didn't expect his condition to worsen so seriously.

Shen Mingchong drank a lot of wine that day. He Dongli didn't try to persuade him at first because she understood the pain of losing her father. However, she found it difficult to control Shen Mingchong's behavior afterwards.

When he said he didn't plan to send an invitation to Ah Li, He Dongli said that she still had a few days during the holidays.

Shen Mingchong shook his head. "No, it's not that I'm afraid you don't have time, it's that I don't want you to go. Because I'm afraid I'll regret it."

He Dongli sat in her seat extremely embarrassedly, not knowing what to say. Shen Mingchong asked her again, "Ali, I heard from your brother that you and your boyfriend don't get along well..."

He Dongli stood up immediately and hurriedly refuted Shen Mingchong's words, "Whether it is harmonious or not is my business. I don't think I can be an excuse for anyone to think twice or waver."

When she came out of the restaurant, Shen Mingchong suddenly sobered up, chased after her, and apologized again and again.

He Dongli was determined to leave, and Shen Mingchong suddenly, uncharacteristically, vented: "Ali, yes, I like you. I've known you for as many years as your brother. Even your brother saw through it, but you couldn't. You're so beautiful and talented, but you're so far away from me. I came here for you. Just when I was about to muster up the courage to confess my feelings to you, you suddenly fell in love with someone else, and she's such a high-profile and well-connected person."

I have no reason not to give up. However, anyone with eyes can see that you and that person are simply not suitable, right? Even if the Xu family supports you, you will never be able to be on his level. Ah Li, whether a person is happy or not is not something she alone knows.

I'm sorry, I lied to you. I don't plan to get engaged to anyone else because I don't like her, and I don't want to date her even if I force myself to do so, thinking about...

Before Shen Mingchong could finish his words, he was punched hard in the face by Zong Chi who appeared out of nowhere.

When he was about to throw a second punch, He Dongli tried her best to stop him. She called out his name, begging him, but it seemed more like she couldn't bear to leave Shen Mingchong, the man she had grown up with...

Zong Chi almost dragged He Dongli into the car. He said a lot of nasty things that night and smashed her cell phone into pieces in front of He Dongli.

He Dongli couldn't pick up the phone, nor did he want to pick it up, so he just said to him calmly, Zong Chi, let's break up.

She accused him, maybe what he wanted was just a He Dongli who didn't care about the falling flowers outside, was innocent and naive, and was always awkward with him. Unfortunately, she grew up.

It was also during the repeated quarrels with Zong Chi that He Dongli understood firsthand that love will die, just like people, just like her father, it will get sick and there will be no cure.

Zong Chi asked, what next?

It just so happened that your childhood sweetheart confessed his love to you, and you realized that you were from the same world. You finally discovered it, He Dongli.

Hearing from Zong Chi that she and he were not from the same world was the most humiliating blow to He Dongli.

Zong Chi asked her again in a paranoid manner, He Dongli, do you like Shen Mingchong a little bit? Otherwise, why would you agree to meet him again and again?

He Dongli almost cried as she raised her hand to catch her own cowardice. Even so, Zong Chi still wouldn't let her be at ease. He pressed her like this, asking if she liked Shen Mingchong. That Shen guy has indeed liked you for many years, far more than you know.

He Dongli simply did as he wished. Yes, they and I are from the same world. In their eyes, I am transcendent and exceptional. It's not like being by your side, waiting for your call at any time, waiting for you to fly back from all over the world whenever you have time. I have to respond to you with gratitude, using my time, energy, and body. I'll be at your party for hours, and you'll socialize with your parents' friends. Only when you come back will you notice me and ask me what's wrong. I look listless.

Guilt flashed across Zong Chi's eyes, but he avoided facing the issue. When people avoid facing things they are not good at, they always argue for what they are confident of. For example, right now, he tried to use the friendship he had rushed back on a red-eye flight, but she was dating another man, to force He Dongli to come up with something, to refute something. Xixi, do you love him?

He Dongli said indifferently, at least when I am with him, I am purely myself and comfortable.

Zong Chi was furious when he heard an ambiguous word that irritated him, so you admitted it, admitted that you had no objection to this gentle and thoughtful love, right? He Dongli, what is your heart made of? If you don't like him, why the hell are you looking at him!

*

"Hmm," He Dongli said softly. After all these years, she could finally speak a few words without getting involved. With her long-awaited freedom and an irrepressible, vulgar sense of revenge, she said, "People who aren't entangled in worldly matters and pretentiousness are always free and easy, and have good fortunes. On this point, I agree with Liang Jianxing. At least he knows he's not interested in his blind date, but he's willing to play along to fulfill his parents' regrets."

Zong Chi was silent for a long time after hearing this. He Dongli knew he hated hearing such empty talk, and even secretly despised her shallowness. That's right, at the height of their quarrel, He Dongli had admitted that she had lived for twenty-four years, and all her shallowness, ignorance, and even moral corruption had been directed at you, Zong Chi. So now, you can do whatever you want to me. Yes, I went to the pool and tried every possible way to get you to stay, just to piss off Xu Xilin. Yes, I did use you.

I mean, are you satisfied?

Five years later, He Dongli, now nearly 30, was no longer at the age where he needed to argue with others to feel that things were fair. Rather than reasoning, He Dongli just wanted to tell him an indisputable fact: "Whether I like it or not, I have no intention of accepting it."

The traffic light flashed red. The driver couldn't help but slow down, sliding into the safety waiting line in the final stretch, smooth and meticulous.

The man in the driver's seat was used to being left-handed, and he always used his inward-pointing hand to steer the car. At this moment, his inward-pointing hand loosened and rested on the edge of the steering wheel. "I'm talking about flowers. Don't think too much and blame me."

He Dongli was willing to admit the crime, "Yes."

"You just like it."

“…”

“You won’t watch anything you don’t like.”

“…”

"I gave you the first bag because I knew you liked it but didn't want to accept it from Old Man Xu. I knew you liked her camellia logo."

“…”

"West,"

"I'm sleepy. I'll take a nap. Please wake me up when you get there." He Dongli blocked the gap as if she was afraid of a flood or a beast. Over the years, away from home and with a long school life, He Dongli has only been able to go back to pay homage to her father. Ah Sheng called her some time ago because of her children's schooling. She mentioned her uncle's grave and asked her if she wanted to move it to the new ancestral cemetery. He Dongli tried hard to dream about her father again that night and listen to his thoughts. However, she could no longer dream about him. She couldn't even remember what her father looked like when he was young. The vague dream seemed to tell her that there is no one in the world that cannot be forgotten.

The person in the passenger seat initially avoided speaking as if to avoid trouble, and closed his eyes, but he was truly exhausted both physically and mentally.

She didn't know how long she had been squinting. When she opened her eyes with a dizzy head, the car had already parked, the heater was still on, and the window glass was covered with a layer of dark blue mist.

He Dongli turned her head in confusion, and the concrete people around her flooded into her senses like a tidal wave.

She immediately looked away, fumbled to press the car window and saw that the car was parked in front of a small shop opposite her house. The shop was not closed yet, and the light box sign that said "Cigarettes for sale" had a piece of it missing for some reason, and the cigarettes had turned into cigarettes.

He Dongli immediately took off his seatbelt, and people around him kept asking, "Are you awake?"

He Dongli reached for her phone. The destination she had given him was the First Affiliated Hospital headquarters. He was not supposed to end up here. It was so late, she didn't want to argue anymore. She said to Zong Chi, still dazed and sleepy, "Thank you."

As he spoke, He Dongli pushed the door open and got out of the car. Before the door was closed, his cell phone rang. It was Jiang Xingyuan. She had just returned from a business trip and brought her a box of delicious butterfly cakes. She asked her if she had finished get off work and had asked the rider to deliver it to her.

He Dongli opened his mouth and took a sip of cold air, then blamed his friend, "It's so late, why are you rushing to deliver it?"

Jiang Xing originally wanted to ask for help, "No matter what, I will beg you to eat it quickly. It's very authentic. Don't forget what I asked of you."

He Dongli glanced back. If Jiang Xingyuan knew that she had bribed the person she wanted to see with sugar-coated bullets and that he was here right now, she would definitely step on the accelerator to come over.

Zong Chi followed him out of the car, slammed the door, looked around, and walked around the front of the car just as He Dongli finished his call. She couldn't open her mouth to say anything, and immediately pleaded with the man in front of her on behalf of her friend. She was just thinking, if it doesn't work, just ask Jiang Xingyuan to contact him directly. After all, they are also alumni for work matters, so what's up to them...

She lived just across the alley, in a two-story building with a courtyard in a Japanese-style layout. He Dongli only rented the first floor. The upper floor was originally occupied by the landlord's mother. When she looked at the house, the old lady had just passed away. The landlord was also in need of a female tenant to look after the house. With Zou Yan as a guarantor, he agreed to rent it to Dr. He.

The courtyard outside the small building is surrounded by a narrow red wall with traces of wisteria climbing on the wall, and only a small black iron door is open.

From the outside, it looks like a very narrow building for indigenous residents.

He Dongli took out her keys from her bag and was about to go back. She glanced at Zong Chi who had just gotten out of the car and finally reminded him, "Just drive straight ahead and turn right. You don't have to turn around."

At a distance not too far from him, Zong Chi placed one hand on his ear in the rearview mirror, paused for a long time, and finally responded indifferently, "Okay."

He Dongli turned around and walked to the other side of the alley. After only a few steps, she touched the door handle when someone called her from behind, "Dongli..."

Zou Yan had just finished work when his car pulled up and parked at the front door of the small building with familiarity. He was there to fulfill his promise of a gift. In one go, Zou Yan pulled a heavy box from the trunk and said to the people at the door, "They said you left work early and didn't respond to their messages."

Before Zou Yan could bring the coffee machine box to the door, someone quickly stepped out from in front of Zou Yan's car, handed a brown paper bag to He Dongli, and said to her as if no one was around, "I forgot to take the flowers. Liang Jianxing gave them to you, not to me."

He Dongli looked at Zong Chi who suddenly appeared again, his eyes sparkling with surprise or astonishment. This was not over yet. He continued, "I am not happy about not having navigation. I have to turn back. Please help me contact Chen Xiangyang and ask his driver to come pick me up."

“…”

"I'll get you the flowers. Please open the door. I'd like to use the restroom if it's not inconvenient for you."

The author has something to say:

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Next chapter will be released on V (24th, Thursday at 8pm)

Also, for new readers who are not familiar with me, I have always updated every other day (because I am a plot-blocker and I must finish the plot in my mind in each chapter, so some chapters start at 5,000 or 6,000 words. If I break it up and update it, it can also be considered daily. But I think if I finish a chapter in one go, I want my readers to read it in one go too [please])

As I said at the beginning, I will update five times a week first, and then I may return to the rhythm of updating every other day later. [Please]