Harmony
Heidelberg University, Germany.
"Hiss—it's so cold."
After finishing the last module exam of the semester, He Zou shouldered his backpack, which felt as heavy as if it were stuffed with lead weights, and walked towards the classroom door with his friend, exhaling a puff of white breath as soon as he opened his mouth.
As soon as she stepped out of the teaching building, the cold air outside stung her cheeks. She shrank her neck and hid her face in her beige cashmere scarf, leaving only her eyes showing.
Her beautiful purple eyes, paired with a fluffy scarf, made her look like some kind of small animal with upright ears.
She is clearly a tall and beautiful woman, but in winter she curls up into a ball, and only her eyes are visible.
I must say, they're actually quite cute.
Walking beside He Zou, Lin Tang resisted the urge to tiptoe and rub her head, looking at her amusedly: "So afraid of the cold, yet you went skiing during the Christmas holidays?"
He Zou shifted her gaze to the left, glancing enviously at her friend who was wearing a down jacket with her chest open. She mumbled in a muffled voice, buried in her scarf, "Isn't it cold being buried in the snow? This kind of damp and cold magical attack is more painful."
"Isn't Tokyo also a place where magic attacks occur?" Mentioning Tokyo, Lin Tang suddenly remembered something else and asked, "Are you going home for winter break this year?"
He Zou shook his head: "No, that way we can keep each other company during winter break."
Hearing her say that, Lin Tang wasn't surprised. This was their third year as classmates, and in the past two years, she hadn't seen He Zou come home.
Lin Tang himself said that the round-trip airfare was too expensive, and rather than going home and arguing endlessly with his family, he would rather stay in Germany for an internship and earn some living expenses during the summer vacation, killing two birds with one stone.
Tuition fees for medical studies in Germany are relatively low compared to other European and American countries, and with a full scholarship, covering her tuition shouldn't be a problem. However, for Lin Tang, who comes from a small county, the cost of living in Germany is still very high, and her family is against her studying abroad, so she needs to earn her own living expenses. Fortunately, her current part-time job pays well per hour, and if she's frugal, she can repay some of her parents' tuition fees each year.
He Zou is different from her.
Although they don't usually talk about their families except for exchanging academic information, Lin Tang observed that Hezai didn't need to work part-time like her; she focused solely on her studies. Occasionally, she would see Hezai receiving phone calls from home. Although she didn't understand Japanese, she could tell from Hezai's tone and expression that she had a close relationship with her family. She wondered why Hezai hadn't been home for two years.
Out of respect, Lin Tang did not investigate further.
German winters are gloomy and people don't go out much. The whole city is so quiet it's depressing. It's always nice to have someone with you.
The two chatted about their winter break plans and soon reached a fork in the road. Lin Tang was going to his part-time job, and before leaving, he reminded her, "Remember to go to the project center this afternoon to confirm and sign."
He took his hand out of his pocket and waved to her, "Okay."
She's not a careless person, it's just that Tangtang worries too much.
Thinking this through, He Zou still calculated the time: it was already lunch break, and there was still—
She habitually raised her wrist to check the time, then let out a soft "ah".
"I forgot again, the watch is lost."
When she discovered her watch was missing that day, she immediately wanted to get out of the car and go back to look for it. Given the ever-present risk of avalanches, the driver and rescue personnel wouldn't turn back for a watch, nor could they leave her alone halfway. In the end, they simply comforted her and said they would help her search once communication was restored.
She hasn't received any follow-up news so far, so it's probably gone forever...
That old watch wasn't a luxury brand, but it was very precious to her.
Looking at her empty wrist, Hezou felt a sense of emptiness in her heart.
When she was in a bad mood, she felt even less inclined to eat the German food at the school cafeteria. With more time after the exams, she decided to go back to her apartment and cook for herself.
She had lived almost entirely on her own since middle school and was quite a good cook. However, after coming to Germany, due to the difficulty in buying ingredients and the heavy workload, she rarely cooked, except for the occasional treat to satisfy her taste buds.
"Sizzle—"
The shrimp, coated in batter, sizzled as they were dipped into the hot oil.
Wazou used long chopsticks to stir the tempura from time to time, observing its condition.
Just as the tempura began to turn golden brown, her phone, which was placed above the microwave, vibrated.
After glancing at his phone, Hezou smiled and answered the call, casually pressing the speakerphone button.
"Hiro, good evening."
With a 7-hour time difference, it's already past dinner time in Tokyo.
The voice on the other end of the phone was deep and pleasant, but the content wasn't so pleasant: "How many times have I told you, you have to call me 'brother'."
Every time he solemnly emphasized his status as the older brother, He Zou would laugh at him: "It's less than a month short. Isn't having such a cute little sister in the future calling you 'brother' all the time enough?"
"That's my older brother too." Yagyu Hiroshi frowned as he listened to the commotion on the other end. "Cooking? In a bad mood?"
"It's nothing, I just had a craving." He Zou replied casually, quickly scooping the perfectly colored fried shrimp out of the pan and placing them on paper towels to drain the oil before turning off the heat, grabbing his phone, and leaving the kitchen.
"Not planning to come back this year either?"
"Aren't we juniors already? Is Tokyo University really that relaxed? Don't juniors need to do internships?"
Hiruzen wasn't fooled by her evasive answer and continued, "You were trapped during Christmas—"
When He Zou heard him start again, she had no choice but to interrupt him: "You were only trapped for two days. As soon as communication was restored, you immediately reported that you were safe."
“But your family is very worried about you. Since you have a two-month vacation, come back for a visit. Otherwise, your grandfather will really fly over to check on you in person.”
Given his grandfather's age, if he were to take a 12-hour flight, he would have to go to the hospital to lie down for a while as soon as he got off the plane.
"As a medical student, you should know that clinical internships are very—"
Before she could even utter the word "busy," Hiroshi interrupted her rather rudely.
"You have time to go skiing in a neighboring country, so you must have already passed your first national exam and obtained your ALS certificate. The German courses should be a piece of cake for you." His cousin's tone, which was usually flat, sounded a bit sarcastic as it reached Kazusa's ears through the radio. "And you'd rather go on vacation than come home to visit your grandfather... Kazusa, have you considered the consequences?"
When this was mentioned, He Zou didn't say anything. She was indeed a little guilty. She unconsciously touched her left wrist, and the warmth of the skin made her pause.
Before she could hesitate, Hiroshi sent another message over the phone: "By the way, your mother has already booked your plane ticket. Check your flight information via text message later."
Harmony: "..."
Hilü's final blow: "My mother said that if it's inconvenient for you to come back, she's even looked at plane tickets to Germany, and they can arrange for the whole family to come see you as early as tomorrow afternoon."
He raised a white flag and said, "...I'm going back."
After hanging up the phone, He Zou wrinkled her nose as she looked at the flight information in the text message. It wasn't that she didn't want to go home—she hadn't been home for two years, and it really was time to go back—but her obsessive-compulsive disorder was kicking in, and she felt a bit anxious about her plans being disrupted.
She wasn't making excuses when she told Billy that she was busy during winter break. Medical school requires mandatory internship credits, and she's already applied to a tropical medicine program at the university's International Programs Center that interests her. This program will allow her to earn credits while gaining cross-cultural medical experience, preparing her for her goals.
Lin Tang reminded her of the same thing. She was supposed to sign the project participation confirmation letter in the afternoon, but now she could only call to cancel her spot.
Over the phone, she apologized to her teacher: "Because I need to return to my home country temporarily, I will not be able to participate in this internship. I'm sorry for the trouble."
The teacher in charge, with the typical German meticulousness, confirmed with Kazusa again: "Are you going back to Japan?"
"Yes, teacher. It happened so suddenly, I'm so sorry."
“No need to apologize. The confirmation letter hasn’t been signed yet, so it doesn’t count as a breach of contract.” The teacher’s tone was the typical German indifference and rigor as he comforted people. He continued, “In addition, I would like to mention that there is a German-Japanese joint project here, with the internship location in Tokyo. Since it is a temporary project, the recruitment period is short, and it is difficult to recruit people in a short time. If you are interested, you are very welcome to join us.”
After saying this, he seemed to hesitate for a moment, then added, "The one leading the team is... Professor Antberg."
The professor hesitated because the mere mention of "Antberg" was enough to scare away most volunteers who just wanted to earn credits without much effort. This professor was notoriously strict; in the first national exam interview of the medical school each year, almost all the students who failed were those who had failed him.
"Huh?" Kazusa blinked as she looked at the internship plan that had been crossed out in red pen in her notebook. She hadn't expected such a good thing to happen!
Professor Antberg!
He Zou looked down at the schedule, where the mentor's name was clearly written as [Andreas Antberg].
This professor, one of the most authoritative neurosurgeons in Germany and even the world, is equally selective in choosing his interns. He Zou had been struggling with how to make his self-recommendation email stand out from countless other applications.
Now that the opportunity has been presented to her like this, it would be impolite not to seize it.
"Sorry, Tangtang. Thanks, brother~"
He Zou's eyelashes fluttered, and a bright smile appeared on her face.
She couldn't see the teacher on the other end of the phone, who was looking at the academic transcript and ranking in the class, a hint of relief in her eyes—such an excellent and proactive student would surely be able to handle that strict neurosurgery professor.
Thinking of this, the teacher's tone rose slightly, becoming more cheerful as he introduced the program: "The internship program lasts for two weeks and can earn you required internship credits. Professor Antberg originally required a medical interpreter, but if you join, we can save on that role. Do you have the time?"
"Yes!" Kazusa replied eagerly, emphasizing, "Teacher, I have time, please make sure I can participate!"
Over the phone, accompanied by the clatter of keyboards, the teacher cheerfully said, "I've already sent the recruitment guidelines and application form to your email. If you see that there are no problems, just submit the application form in the email reply."
"Okay, thank you, teacher. I'll get back to you later."
He Zou had already opened her email on her computer. She clicked on the fundraising guidelines, and the first page of the form stated the project name: "Germany-Japan Symposium on Neurotrauma and Sports Medicine and International Medical Collaboration Project for the Davis Cup Tennis Championships".
From such a long list of headlines, she immediately spotted the keyword "tennis".
Upon seeing this word, only one thought remained in the mind of Yagyu Kazuna, an outstanding graduate of Rikkai University Affiliated Junior and Senior High School:
"This space is indeed a huge tennis world."
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