Grass ring
When Hezou woke up, it was still dark.
The tent was dark and cool, but she was completely enveloped in Tezuka's body heat.
His arms were firmly wrapped around her waist, and his breath brushed evenly against her hair.
Listening to the rhythmic breathing behind me, the anxiety and fatigue of the past few days dissipated, leaving only comfort and peace of mind.
After lying quietly for a while, the chirping of early birds outside the tent reminded Hezou that it was time to get up.
She moved the hand he was holding around her waist, a subtle movement that startled him awake.
Tezuka closed his eyes, but his arms tightened unconsciously, holding her even more firmly in his embrace.
"Shall we get up?" His voice was hoarse with sleepiness.
"Mmm." Kazusa responded softly, turning around in his arms and stopping him from getting up together. "Kunimitsu doesn't need to get up so early, sleep a little longer."
The French Open was already exhausting, and he didn't even have time to rest before coming here with his father.
She didn't feel anything when she arrived, but when she thought about how they had traveled a long and arduous journey to finally appear before her, she felt a pang of heartache.
"Okay." Tezuka lay down following her lead, as if he knew her heartache. In the darkness, he reached out and groped for her cheek, gently stroking the corner of her eye with the back of his fingers, and then lowered his head to kiss her forehead.
He closed his eyes, savoring the quiet, lingering kiss. His lips were warm, still dry from the morning.
"Lie with me for another five minutes." His drowsy, low voice whispered in Hezai's ear, carrying a deep affection unknown to others.
With a smile, He Zou wrapped her arms around his neck, pulled him into her embrace, and gently patted his back: "Only five minutes."
With her consent, Tezuka buried his face in the crook of her shoulder, inhaling her sweet minty scent, and let out a very soft, satisfied sigh.
"Kunimitsu..." Kazusa kissed his earlobe, her smile impossible to hide, "Are you being affectionate?"
Her response was an arm that tightened around her waist and a nose that gently brushed against the side of her neck.
The slightly itchy touch made Hezou chuckle softly, and then she felt his warm lips gently touch her shoulder blade.
It was a kiss devoid of any desire, more like a quiet imprint, exuding complete relaxation.
He could no longer muster any desire to tease.
Five minutes later, Tezuka's breathing became even and long, as if he had fallen asleep again.
He Zou gave him a light kiss on the lips, then got up to continue her work for the new day.
With medical resources stretched thin, Eiji Yagyu's arrival was an unexpected boon to Massabit Hospital.
The value of a top-notch cardiac surgeon is immeasurable. He also brought a large quantity of urgently needed medicines donated by Yagyu Hospital, which solved the immediate problem.
So yesterday, Dean Oluka excitedly invited him to visit his home.
The hospital is now treating a large number of critically ill patients, but the local medical staff's experience in dealing with critically ill patients is simply insufficient. Director Oluka wants to ask him to help establish a simple and efficient monitoring process for critically ill patients.
Watching the departing convoy and the large amount of supplies left behind, He Zou rubbed his eyes and turned to walk towards the intensive care unit area.
There, Eishi Yagyu was sharing his experience with a group of medical staff surrounding him.
Her father once told her that cardiac surgeons are the "kings" of the ICU.
Standing by the tent, He Zou looked at her father's focused profile and suddenly remembered that when she had a high fever in her second year of high school, her father had just come off the operating table and was still in his white coat by her bedside.
Her mother had recently passed away, and both father and daughter remained silent. But that night, her father held her hand until dawn.
As Hezo listened attentively to his father's explanation of his experience, he was reminded of many past events for some reason.
After it was all over, seeing her father frown, she quietly handed him a bottle of water.
Eishi Yagyu took the drink and waited until the discomfort in his throat subsided before lingering on his daughter's face for a moment before saying, "You've lost weight."
He crossed Eurasia to see her out of concern, but still spoke to her in a stiff tone.
Faced with her father today, He Zou put aside her usual confrontational attitude and smiled very calmly, saying, "Everyone here is thin."
Seeing her like this, Eishi Yagyu suppressed his original plan to argue, and he didn't know what to say.
The father and daughter walked out of the ward in silence.
“If your mother saw you like this,” Yagyu Eishi suddenly spoke, his voice a little hoarse, “she would be very proud.”
He Zou stopped and looked at his father.
The setting sun gilded his temples, making them look like mottled white hair.
"Dad," Kazusa said softly, suppressing the bitterness in her heart, "I didn't do this because I wanted to make you and Mom proud."
Yagyu Eishi was taken aback, stopped in his tracks, and turned to look at her with a puzzled expression, seemingly not understanding what she meant.
He Zou smiled and said, "It's not for anyone's expectations, it's just because I want to live like this."
She will become a Doctor Without Borders who, like her mother, traverses poverty, disease, and even war, but she is not an extension of her mother's tragedy, nor proof of her father's failure; she is herself.
“I chose this path that I love, and I will take responsibility for my choice.” She reached out and took her father’s arm, smiling firmly as she told him, “So Dad, you don’t need to worry about me, and you don’t need to blame yourself.”
Looking at his daughter's gentle, relaxed eyes, which even revealed a sense of compassion and understanding, Eishi Yagyu's hands, which had held a scalpel for years, trembled slightly. A scene flashed before his eyes—
After finishing his day's work, he couldn't wait to push open the door, and Mero came stumbling and falling all the way. Finally, she reached him, jumped up, and wrapped her little arms tightly around his legs, hanging up to him, laughing merrily like a bell.
That little toddler who barely reached his knees, even after losing his mother and having such an irresponsible father, has grown into such an outstanding adult...
The thought of his wonderful daughter being snatched away by that brat Tezuka Kunimitsu made him feel a tightness in his chest.
Thinking this, Eishi Yagyu, who was initially pleased to have his daughter linking arms with him, began to walk with a heavier gait.
Little did he know, the person who had been causing him trouble appeared in his line of sight as soon as he turned the corner.
As He Zou spoke, he glanced at his father and smiled.
Outside the corridor window, Tezuka was holding a thin child and picking tender pods from a moringa tree.
The child happily broke off half of a tender green bean pod and put it to his mouth. He obediently lowered his head and ate the half-pod.
Tezuka's ever-straight back and the uprightness ingrained in his bones gave him an air of refined elegance that seemed out of place in this noisy and barren land.
But when he lowered his head and swallowed the bean pods, mixed with soil and juice, that noble quality was like a perfect jade vessel calmly holding a pool of clear water, gaining another kind of simplicity and perfection.
He Zou couldn't help but chuckle softly.
Eishi Yagyu narrowed his eyes.
He originally thought that Tezuka Kunimitsu was too aloof and not a good match for his Mero.
He misjudged the situation.
Yu Guangli saw his daughter's gentle and calm gaze fall on the courtyard, and Yagyu Eishi felt a sense of melancholy at having to let go.
He sighed and looked at his daughter: "Mero, didn't you watch his post-match press conference?"
He Zou turned his gaze away from the window and asked in confusion, "Not yet, what's wrong?"
Eishi Yagyu gestured with his chin towards the person outside the window, "He used the prize money from several competitions to establish a neurosurgery fund under the Atobe Foundation."
"Neurosurgery...fund?" Kazusa instantly understood the significance of this fund.
She even quickly recalled the folder with the Atobe Foundation logo that she had seen in his apartment earlier.
...Was it around that time?
Seeing his daughter clutching the ring around her neck in a daze, Yagyu Eishi shook his head resignedly.
To be honest, his daughter didn't need Tezuka, an outsider, to do these things for her; the Yagyu family had no shortage of money.
Faced with his questioning, the kid said something even more infuriating in an infuriating calm.
He said, "Her excellence and the support of the Yagyu family are enough to allow her to go wherever she wants and do what she thinks is worthwhile. And these are the things I want to do."
He wanted to wait on the road leading to her ideal, to build a support point for her.
He believed she would come.
Faced with Tezuka Kunimitsu's words, even Yagyu Eishi couldn't voice any further dissatisfaction and thus agreed to let him accompany him.
Besides, there's another advantage to Tezuka Kunimitsu coming to Massabit.
The influence of this young world number one is enough to bring Massabit into the world's view, and aid from all sides will come one after another. In this way, it is only a matter of time before Massabit returns to calm.
Tezuka knew this, so he made plans early on.
Later on the plane, once he had recovered, Eishi Yagyu couldn't help but mutter "brat" under his breath.
—
As expected, after Eiji Yagyu left, reporters arrived first, followed by assistance from various parties.
As the rescue operation proceeded smoothly, He Zou and Lin Tang's internships were also coming to an end.
On the evening before they left, Kanade and Tezuka sat side by side on that hill, watching the distant horizon gradually turn orange-red.
She turned her head to look at her lover's profile outlined by the setting sun. His gaze remained calm, but it was gentler than usual.
He Zou was somewhat lost in thought when she gently plucked a slender lemongrass from beside her. Her fingers deftly twirled the stem as she pondered and said, "They say you shouldn't watch the sunset alone. The first time I watched the sunset here, it was so gentle, but the thought of you not being by my side made me feel a little melancholy."
Her voice was very soft, as if she were afraid of disturbing the tranquility.
Tezuka listened quietly, his gaze fixed on her nimble fingers.
Unfazed by his silence, Kazuna chuckled and continued her finger work. "Back then, I thought that if Kunimitsu were by my side, he would be gentler than the setting sun." Kazuna glanced at his expression and smiled, "Just like now."
The grass stems weaved between her fingers, gradually forming a ring.
"Thinking about it, I realized that if Guoguang were here, I would probably be willing to watch the sunset countless times."
The last blade of grass was cleverly tucked into the ring, and the melody gently smoothed out every irregularity, making the grass ring look as perfect as possible.
“So Guoguang…” she turned around and called his name, her voice soft yet firm.
Tezuka looked up and met her gaze.
The afterglow of the setting sun reflected in her eyes, making those eyes, which always held a clear smile, appear especially gentle at this moment.
She took his left hand, and in his sight, bent down to slip the straw ring onto his handsome ring finger, slowly pushing it down to the base of his finger. Then she looked up at him with a peaceful smile.
"Guoguang, let's get married."
Her voice was soft, yet it stirred a ripple in the calm eyes of the person listening.
The grass ring felt rough to the touch and carried her body heat.
Tezuka didn't answer immediately, but just looked at her intently. He looked at her hair being blown by the evening breeze, at her slightly flushed cheeks, and at the expectation in her eyes.
Then, he reached for the platinum ring she always wore around her neck. Because his fingers were trembling, he tried several times before he could open the delicate clasp and remove the ring from her bare finger, a ring that held his secret affection.
He Zou remained motionless, patiently waiting for him to hold the ring up in front of her.
The usually calm and composed man now looked like a bewildered boy clutching a precious treasure. He lowered his head, trying to hide his momentary loss of composure.
He Zou reached out, cupped his face in her hands, met his slightly trembling gaze, and said softly with a smile, "Aren't you going to put it on me?"
Tezuka regulated his breathing, slowly removed the ring from the necklace, and gently placed it on her right ring finger. He rubbed his thumb against her finger for a long while, and when he spoke again, he was hoarse:
"Melodia, let's get married."
Looking at his reddened eyes, and at the emotion that still showed despite his efforts to remain calm, He Zou felt her heart fill with something.
She opened her arms and hugged him, listening to his slightly rapid heartbeat. She felt a great sense of relief and a sense of peace in her heart.
The enormous sun in the distance finally sank below the horizon, its last rays gilding the vast plains of Massabit with gold.
A breeze picked up, sweeping across the withered grass and startling a few birds into flight.
In this tranquil grandeur, the ancient and desolate songs of tribal rituals drift from afar—
"Heaven and Earth,
It consists of two enormous, clasped hands.
We are all blessed in it.
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