115. What you worry about will not happen

"That's great!" Ling Ling had even begun to plan her future life in this community in her mind. When they reached the bottom of Building 9, Zhong Mingtong stopped and said to her, "I live on the third floor. Do you want to go up and take a look? The middle unit among the three units has a one-bedroom and one-living room, but you can also go to my house first to see if the view or the height is what you want." "Okay, but--" Ling Ling was instinctively happy and was about to agree, but then she felt a little rash. Zhong Mingtong smiled kindly and said, "I've been living alone at home for a long time, so there's nothing inconvenient at home. It's almost lunchtime now, and it will be too late for you to go back to the city. There's an imported supermarket in the community. I'll buy some pre-prepared dishes, and how about we have hot pot at my house?" He said it generously, and Ling Ling shouldn't have been shy, but there was still a wall in her heart that stood between them, and she didn't dare to cross it. Seeing Ling Ling's awkward hesitation, Zhong Mingtong smiled calmly and said, "Don't worry. We're just old friends who've been through thick and thin, having a simple meal together. Don't worry, nothing you worry about will happen." It was rare for him to speak so clearly, and Ling Ling smiled with relief, letting him take her to the imported supermarket, and then to his home for a tour and dinner. "No need to change shoes before entering. I don't have any women's slippers here," Zhong Mingtong said, opening the door and inviting her in. Ling Ling politely entered his home, feeling that it could withstand a sudden visit from anyone at any time. It was so clean and tidy that it barely showed any signs of habitation. The only hint of life was the scattered medical books in the glass-enclosed study. After Zhong Mingtong opened all the lights and doors in the house, he said to her, "Feel free to explore and take in the view from the windows. I'll go change out of my gym clothes in the bedroom first. You don't need to plan for this bedroom, as it's not part of the apartment you're planning to buy." Ling Ling smiled sweetly at his dry humor and politely wandered around the house. When he returned, he was back to his usual scholarly demeanor. He told her to sit wherever he wanted and went to the kitchen to wash the ingredients he had just bought. The dark green glass dining table was gradually laid out with various ingredients. Zhong Mingtong called Ling Ling over to eat. Ling Ling had only managed to eat half a convenience store sandwich that morning in a rush to Shunyi, and she was starving. But as soon as she sat down at the table, she remembered the pair of mugs she had just bought at the Import Supermarket while he was away. She pulled them out of her tote bag and said apologetically, "This is my first time visiting your home, so I can't come empty-handed. I just bought these mugs as a gift for you."

"That's great!" Ling Ling has even started planning her future life in this community in her mind.

When they reached the bottom of Building 9, Zhong Mingtong stopped and said to her, "I live on the third floor. Do you want to go up and take a look? The middle unit among the three has one bedroom and one living room, but you can also go to my house first to see if the view or the height are what you want."

"Okay, but..." Ling Ling was instinctively happy and was about to agree, but then she felt a little rash.

Zhong Mingtong smiled kindly and said, "I've been living alone at home for a long time, so there's nothing inconvenient about it. It's almost lunchtime now, and it would be too late for you to go back to the city. There's an imported supermarket in the neighborhood. I'll buy some pre-prepared dishes, and then we can have hot pot at my house."

He spoke generously, and Ling Ling shouldn't have been shy, but there were still some walls in her heart, standing between them, which she dared not cross.

Seeing Ling Ling hesitating awkwardly, Zhong Mingtong smiled calmly and said, "Don't worry. We are just old friends who have been through thick and thin together, having a simple meal. Don't worry, nothing you worry about will happen."

It was rare for him to speak so clearly. Ling Ling smiled with relief and let him take her to an imported supermarket, and then to his house for a visit and dinner.

"You don't need to change your shoes when you enter. I don't have any women's slippers here." Zhong Mingtong opened the door and invited her in.

Ling Ling walked into his house politely and felt that his house could really withstand a sudden visit from anyone at any time. It was so clean and tidy that there were few signs of habitation. Only the scattered medical books in the glass-partitioned study made it seem a little lively.

Zhong Mingtong opened all the lights and doors in the house and said to her, "Feel free to explore and take a look at the view outside the window. I'm going to change out of my sportswear in the bedroom first. You don't need to plan for this bedroom because it's not included in the apartment you want to buy."

Ling Ling was amused by his dry humor and smiled sweetly. She walked around the house politely. When he came out after changing his clothes, she saw that he had regained his usual bookish air.

He told her to sit wherever she wanted, then went to the kitchen to wash the ingredients he had just bought. Various ingredients were laid out on the dark green glass dining table. Zhong Mingtong called Ling Ling over to eat.

Ling Ling had only eaten half a convenience store sandwich that morning in order to get to Shunyi, and was now starving. But as soon as she sat down at the table, she remembered the pair of cups she had just bought at the Import Supermarket while he was not paying attention.

She took it out of her tote bag and said to him apologetically, "This is my first time visiting your home, I can't come empty-handed. I just bought this pair of cups for you as a gift."

Zhong Mingtong looked at the pair of Christmas-themed ceramic mugs and said, "These mugs are very expensive. I used to see them often when I went to that supermarket, but I thought, 'No one would buy them to drink water.' So, are they just for gifts? Haha. Thank you, then. I'll put them in the display case."

Hearing what he said, Ling Ling took back the cup she was about to hand him and said stubbornly, "Then I'll use it to drink water. Wait!"

She went to the kitchen to wash the pair of cups, then poured boiled water from the dining table into them. The two of them treated the water as wine and clinked their glasses to drink.

"So, there's nothing special about drinking water from this cup, right?" Ling Ling said proudly.

"No, it still has some special taste." Zhong Mingtong smacked the food seriously, savoring the taste.

"What special taste?" Ling Ling couldn't help but ask curiously.

"It smells very strong of detergent."

The more serious Zhong Mingtong was, the more Ling Ling laughed. Mingtong let her laugh, pretending to frown as he washed the cup again, then poured her some tea.

Ling Ling smiled enough and raised her glass to thank him sincerely, saying, "Thank you, Dr. Zhong, for the meal. You've helped me, a financially strapped person, to buy a house and even let me enjoy a hot pot dinner. This scene reminds me of the cartoon 'My Neighbor the Yamadas'."

Mingtong clinked his cups with hers and said, "You mean, the mothers in cartoons often make hot pot, and then the children realize that it's just that the mothers don't want to cook, because hot pot is like everyone cooking together."

"Haha, yes, yes." Ling Ling smiled and took a sip of the fragrant warm tea.

The two of them ate and chatted, and Ling Ling asked him, "Do you usually watch cartoons?"

Mingtong replied, "I'd say I almost exclusively watch cartoons. I have to read medical books when I'm working on my thesis, and every day at work I have to experience countless births, illnesses, and deaths, the separation of families, and see bloody bodies. So when I want to relax after get off work, I don't want to watch anything with too many humans in it anymore. Watching refreshing cartoons is the best choice."

"Is this all your entertainment?"

"Yeah, so am I a very boring person? Every day I get up early for a morning run, eat a lot at work, and watch cartoons after get off work." Mingtong said self-deprecatingly.

"No, on the contrary I feel very calm and at ease." Ling Ling said sincerely.

After they finished lunch together, Ling Ling prepared to say goodbye and leave his house.

After Mingtong dropped her off at the gate of the complex, he said, "The first phase of this apartment is occupied by doctors and their families from our hospital. When there's a house available, we often buy it ourselves, saving on real estate agents' fees. There's a couple living upstairs who specialize in cardiology. Their child is going to attend a school in the Xicheng district, so they're thinking of selling their house. If you're interested, I'll keep an eye out for you."

Ling Ling said gratefully, "Okay, okay. I've looked at so many houses, and this neighborhood and apartment type are the ones I'm most satisfied with."

"But..." Mingtong helped her think a little further and said, "You should think about it again. Do you want to be my neighbor?"

Ling Ling was slightly stunned, and instantly understood what he meant. This matter had indeed not been discussed with Yu Chuanbei, but she thought that Zhong Mingtong only asked her to keep an eye on it, and it would not be too late to tell Yu Chuanbei after getting definite news.

She smiled and nodded at Zhong Mingtong, as both a greeting and a farewell.

*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ling Ling returned home and saw Yu Chuanbei had returned from a business trip and was packing his suitcase.

He noticed a corner of a property brochure sticking out of the canvas bag on her shoulder, so he casually asked, "How do you like the property?"

Ling Ling hung her bag behind the door and slowly changed her shoes. She carefully considered her words and responded, "I've had a lot of fun today. There's a residential complex called Kangyue Garden in Shunyi District. If there's a suitable house available, I might buy there."

Yu Chuanbei looked up, thought for a while and said, "Oh, I know that place. It's quite close to my parents' home. A Grade A hospital in Xicheng District was relocated nearby, and a staff housing building was built to support it. Now it seems that the second phase of commercial housing is about to be launched. If you buy a house there, we can spend the weekend at your house after visiting my parents occasionally." He smiled at her gently, like an old couple chatting about family matters.

She had been struggling all the way home, wondering whether to tell him about her encounter with Zhong Mingtong. She had decided to keep it a secret from him. Hadn't he told her a white lie during the Aojie case? So, for the sake of harmony between them, she might as well keep it a secret. But after hearing him say that, she felt guilty.

"Here, a refrigerator magnet." Yu Chuanbei handed her a refrigerator magnet from Guiyang.

This was a small agreement between the two of them. The exterior of the double-door refrigerator was divided into three areas, which were used to place refrigerator magnets of cities they had visited since they started living together: one area was for cities he had visited alone, one area was for cities she had visited alone, and the third area was for cities they had visited together, which so far had only been Chengdu.

She tore open the packaging, distracted, and placed the new fridge magnet in his area. Staring at the sparsely packed magnets, she felt their two areas were like two isolated islands, never to meet. She knew she lacked Yu Chuanbei's cunning and couldn't keep her chance encounter with Zhong Mingtong a secret. Otherwise, she'd feel like she'd mentally cheated, and the endless internal friction would be excruciating.

"I met Zhong Mingtong today." Ling Ling turned around suddenly, as if announcing something important.

Yu Chuanbei stopped hanging the shirts in his suitcase back in the closet and said calmly, even a little ruthlessly, "When I mentioned that tertiary hospital just now, the first thing that came to my mind was him. I just didn't want to bring it up for no reason, so I didn't mention it."

His behavior made her feel subtly unhappy, so she simply said, "He lives in Phase 1 of that complex. He said that hospital staff often take over the housing internally, which saves the agency fee. He will help me keep an eye out."