Chapter 41 We Don't Always Need to Say Thank You
For Lin Xili, moving to the forensic department represents a significant shift in his professional career path.
Unlike the Forensic Medicine Department, which deals more directly with death and trauma, the Evidence Department focuses more on the discovery of microscopic evidence, the mastery of scientific instruments, and the precise construction of logical chains.
According to the bureau's regulations, all newly transferred and hired personnel must undergo a six-month systematic professional training program and pass an assessment before they can be formally employed.
Lin Xili did not see this as a burden, but rather as an excellent opportunity to lay a foundation.
She already needed nearly three months to consolidate her health and avoid overexertion and night shifts.
This regular daytime training schedule is a good fit for her physical condition.
During the day, she devoted herself entirely to the training in the forensic department.
From the most basic extraction and identification of fingerprints and footprints to the examination and analysis of trace evidence such as fibers, paint, and glass.
From more sophisticated poison and drug testing to the in-depth application of DNA technology...
Every day brings a new wave of knowledge and skills.
She absorbed everything greedily, filling her notebook with key points and practicing repeatedly on the workbench until the movements became muscle memory.
After get off work, her battlefield shifted to her desk in the dormitory.
Pursuing a PhD in forensic science while working is no easy task; it requires reading a large amount of cutting-edge literature and completing challenging coursework.
We also need to prepare for the qualification assessment.
After all, the professional qualification certificates involved in the field of forensics are more numerous and specialized than those for forensic medicine, and these are all peaks she must climb.
She has mastered time management to the extreme.
Every night after returning to the dormitory, I would have a simple meal and wash up, and then, without fail, begin studying for at least three hours.
She would categorize and record all the difficult questions she encountered during training and self-study that day, forming a clear list of questions.
Before 8 p.m., she would log into her email and send the question that she had been thinking about all day to Dr. Lan.
This has almost become a ritual for her at the end of each day's study session.
As Dr. Lan had predicted, his replies were as punctual as a machine.
In the evening, between 8:00 and 8:30, Lin Xili's email inbox would definitely receive a reply from him.
The reply remained concise, without a single superfluous word, getting straight to the heart of the problem, with rigorous logic, demonstrating profound professional skills.
This efficient and pure academic exchange greatly benefited Lin Xili.
This also filled her with admiration and gratitude for this mentor she had never met.
Since that 5,000 yuan transfer was returned, there hasn't been a single greeting between her and Huo Nanchen on WeChat.
Their initial interaction stemmed from the relationship between the patient and the doctor, but later it began with her exploitation and his compromise.
There seems to be a real lack of that natural desire to share between them.
Huo Nanchen wouldn't ask her.
Is the training tiring? Are the doctoral courses difficult?
Lin Xili wouldn't complain to him.
Today's experiment failed again, and this paper is so obscure...
The two, who were not usually talkative, were now further bound by Huo Nanchen's financial boundary of "not having the habit of spending women's money."
Even the usual one or two sentences of communication have been completely frozen.
Grandma Huo knew that she needed to devote a lot of energy to training and learning, so she didn't call to chat with her anymore.
So much so that when Lin Xili calmed down, she often felt dazed, as if the time she spent in the small town being treated for hyperthyroidism was a beautiful dream.
Thankfully, when I woke up, the name pinned to the top of my WeChat account and my grandmother's phone number were real.
Huo Nanchen continued his previous life, seemingly unchanged.
I go for a run in the early morning, arrive at the health center on time for my clinic hours, and face a steady stream of hyperthyroidism patients, asking questions, conducting examinations, prescribing medication, and explaining their conditions, day after day.
When I get home and walk up to the second floor, I unconsciously stop.
It stopped at the door of the bedroom where she had lived.
He would also pick up his phone and linger his fingertip on that familiar profile picture for a moment.
In the end, he simply locked the screen and went into his study.
A gust of autumn wind swept in, carrying fallen leaves and bringing a chill.
As Lin Xili stepped out of the Justice Bureau, she subconsciously pulled her thin coat tighter around herself, but then stopped in her tracks.
Under the tall sycamore tree across the street stood a familiar figure, his gaze fixed on her.
It's Huo Nanchen. They haven't texted each other on WeChat for a month. Why is he here?
He carried an exquisite cake box in one hand and a bouquet of blooming blue snowflakes in the other.
Has he come looking for me?
The thought made Lin Xili's heart skip a beat. Almost instinctively, she took a step forward and, ignoring the traffic, jogged across the road.
"Why are you here?" Her voice was slightly unsteady from running.
Huo Nanchen watched as she ran up to him and handed her the bouquet of blue snowflakes, the petals still glistening with tiny water droplets.
"Happy birthday."
The four words exploded in Lin Xili's mind like a firework.
Birthday?
She then vaguely remembered that today was indeed her birthday.
A day forgotten by herself and by everyone in the Lin family.
In the Lin family, only Aunt Cheng remembered her birthday. When she reminded her mother, Song Yuan simply asked Aunt Cheng to buy her a cake.
Two years ago, after Aunt Cheng retired, this day became just another ordinary day out of the 365 days of the year.
Today, her phone was completely silent, without a single message of well wishes.
The parents won't remember, and the older brother and sister are even less likely to remember.
But the man in front of her, who was angry with her because of the previous five thousand yuan in household expenses, remembered.
Holding the slightly cool bouquet of flowers, Lin Xili asked in a trembling voice, "How did you know?"
"I saw it on my ID card."
Huo Nanchen's answer was simple and direct, devoid of any romance.
These words instantly brought tears to Lin Xili's eyes; he had actually remembered the date on her ID card.
I traveled all the way from this small town just to wish her a happy birthday.
Lin Xili's throat tightened slightly. The word "thank you" finally caught in her throat. "Let's go eat!"
She took him to the medicinal cuisine restaurant that Lu Qingshu had taken her to before.
The environment is serene and the food is nourishing.
After finishing his meal, Huo Nanchen naturally picked up the bill to pay.
Lin Xili watched his retreating figure. The round-trip high-speed rail ticket cost him half a month's salary, plus this meal...
She wanted to say "I'll pay," but the words stuck in her throat.
The five thousand yuan that was returned last time reminded her of the man's inviolable self-esteem.
She was afraid that if she opened her mouth, she would draw a new line.
In the end, she said nothing, but silently clenched her hands.
Stepping out of the restaurant, the evening breeze was even cooler.
“I’m currently living in the staff dormitory,” Lin Xili broke the silence first.
"The place isn't very big...would you like to...stay at my place for the night and go back tomorrow?"
Huo Nanchen stopped and turned to look at her. "I booked a hotel near the high-speed rail station."
"I need to catch the earliest high-speed train back tomorrow morning."
Lin Xili could understand; Huo Nanchen saw patients almost every day, and the patients in the small town needed him.
Looking at the cake he was holding again and the bouquet of blue snowflakes, she mustered her courage and asked:
"Can I go to the hotel with you? I don't want to go back to eat cake alone."
Huo Nanchen nodded slightly in agreement.
Huo Nanchen booked an apartment hotel, which was not far from the high-speed rail station.
The room was small, with a bed and a small coffee table next to it.
He placed the cake on the coffee table, deftly unpacked it, and inserted a candle.
With a click, he turned off all the lights in the room.
In the darkness, only a tiny orange flame flickered, illuminating his sharply defined profile, making his features appear much softer than usual.
"Make a wish." His voice sounded particularly deep in the quiet room.
Lin Xili looked at the small flame and closed her eyes.
desire?
She hopes to obtain all her certificates as soon as possible and graduate with her doctorate smoothly.
She also hoped that the man in front of her, and Grandma Huo from the small town, would have a peaceful and prosperous life.
She blew out the candle.
The room went dark again, and a few seconds later, Huo Nanchen turned the wall lamp back on.
Soft light filled the room as he used the included knife and fork to cut a piece of cake and hand it to her.
The cream is smooth and sweet but not cloying, just the grape flavor she likes.
“The cake is delicious,” she said softly, taking small bites. “Thank you.”
Huo Nanchen was cutting the second piece when he heard this and paused.
He looked up at her and said, "Between you and me, there's no need to always say thank you."
yes.
They were a legally married couple registered in the same marriage certificate.
A bittersweet feeling welled up in Lin Xili's heart.
He remembered her birthday and traveled a long distance to prepare a cake for her.
All of this stems from his good upbringing, which instilled in him the belief that this is a husband's responsibility and obligation to his wife.
He did an impeccable job and perfectly fulfilled his role as a husband.
But this has nothing to do with love.
She knew very well that his kindness towards her stemmed from a sense of responsibility, not from romantic feelings between a man and a woman.
But even this kindness wrapped in responsibility was enough to break her down at this moment.
After finishing the cake, Huo Nanchen cleaned up the trash.
Silence fell in the room again, a faint awkwardness hanging in the air.
For couples living apart, separation makes the heart grow fonder; when they meet, they can't wait to stick together.
But they are not.
At night, just like the first time they were at the Lin family villa in her bedroom, they each slept on one side of the bed.
With his back to him, Lin Xili could clearly feel the warmth and breath of another person behind him.
Slowly, I drifted off to sleep.
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