It was midsummer and the imperial capital was experiencing unprecedented high temperatures.

Shi Qingxun walked out of the operating room, took off the gloves on his hands, and then took off the mask on his face. His handsome and gentle face was full of fatigue. He took a deep breath, washed his hands, and prepared to return to the office.

When I walked out of the department corridor, a cheerful white figure suddenly jumped out and handed me a cup of ice-cold coffee.

"Director Shi, you just had the operation. Did it go well? You must have worked hard. Have a cup of coffee."

Shi Qingxun stopped and looked sideways at the little girl in a white nurse's uniform beside him. He lowered his eyes slightly and glanced at the coffee in her hand, but made no intention of taking it.

"Thank you, I don't drink coffee." He nodded to the nurse. Although his low and mellow voice was gentle, his tone was full of coldness and alienation.

Without giving the nurse any chance to react, he walked straight back to the office.

The operation, which lasted more than five hours, made him physically and mentally exhausted. In addition, he had performed a six-hour emergency operation last night. He had no time to rest at all, and he had to squeeze out time to drink water.

When I got back to the office, I didn't have time to eat and just took a nap on the sofa for more than an hour.

When the afternoon consultation time came, he began to see patients with two dark bruises under his eyes.

He didn't get off work until around five in the afternoon, after he had finished seeing all the patients. He returned to his home, which was warmly decorated but seemed particularly deserted in the hot summer. He ordered a takeout, and after a quick wash, the takeout arrived.

After eating the takeout, Shi Qingxun slept until 6:30 the next morning, then woke up and went to the hospital again.

Such busy days accompanied him, day after day, year after year.

As autumn approaches, the temperature in the imperial capital begins to drop. The clear and crisp weather blows away the scorching summer heat, and the morning breeze is warm and slightly cool.

In the morning light, Shi Qingxun drove to the villa in the suburbs.

Yun Chuxian, who was painting with his granddaughter in the yard, knew that Shi Qingxun had come when he saw the black and gray Maybach, and stood up to greet him.

"Qingxun, you're here." Yun Chuxian smiled slightly, and looked at his tired face, frowning subconsciously: "How come you've lost so much weight in just 20 days? Have you not been resting well or eating well recently?"

"Aunt Yun, the hospital has been quite busy lately." Shi Qingxun got out of the car and greeted her with a gentle nod.

"No matter how busy you are, you must take care of your health. How can you bear this?" Yun Chuxian looked at him with eyes full of heartache.

"Aunt Yun, don't worry. I know my own body well." Shi Qingxun smiled lightly, his eyes fell on Shuangjiang who was painting.

Shuangjiang raised her hand with the paintbrush in her hand and waved it gently. Her tender and beautiful outline looked very much like Su Yang, especially her pair of twinkling almond eyes, which looked exactly like Su Yang, as if they were carved from the same mold.

"Uncle Qingxun." Frost's soft voice was like a yellow oriole flying out of the valley, and it brushed into his ears along with the morning breeze.

Shi Qingxun smiled and touched her head, walked to her side, squatted down, and looked at the painting on the drawing board. There were only two sunflowers on it, and one was a half-finished product.

Shuangjiang, who is over two years old, obviously has a talent for painting and loves painting very much.

"Shuangjiang seems to like sunflowers very much?" Shi Qingxun thought about the last time he came here, the little girl was also painting in this yard, also painting sunflowers, but the scene was different.

Although the tender little hands seemed a little unfamiliar, they were able to do it quite well, with every stroke being just right.

Shi Qingxun was slightly startled, glancing at the sunflowers in the painting, a little absent-minded.

Yes, Rong Xi has liked sunflowers since he was a child.

Her personality is like a sunflower, growing towards the sun, lively, cheerful and optimistic.

Yun Chuxian was watching from the side, feeling a little sad. She raised her hand and touched her nose, then walked over and asked, "Qing Xun, you came here so early, you probably haven't had breakfast yet, right? I'll ask the kitchen to make something for you. Go check on Xixi first, and I'll have someone bring it to you when it's ready."

"Okay, thank you Aunt Yun." Shi Qingxun concentrated his thoughts and slowly stood up.

"It's no big deal. I'm grateful that you come to visit Xixi whenever you have time." Yun Chuxian smiled and waved her hand: "Go ahead, go and talk to Xixi."

Shi Qingxun nodded, turned and went to the duplex room in the backyard that was closest to the peach tree and was full of girlishness.

The facilities in the large room were relatively simple. Apart from a few dolls placed on the light blue sofa, there was a very cute tea set on the table, several artistic works hung on the wall, and there were also some models of musical instruments, which made the room quite cozy.

On the huge princess bed lay a girl wearing white autumn pajamas, her eyes closed, and her pretty and delicate doll face was pale as a piece of paper.

Shi Qingxun's gentle expression sank silently. He pursed his lips and sat on the sofa chair beside the bed. He looked at the white jade hand exposed outside the quilt, reached out and gently held it.

The girl's hands were soft, tender and very smooth. After holding her hand for a while, he unconsciously wrapped her entire hand in his palm and slightly increased the strength.

This was not the first time he held these hands. He had held them many times when he was a child, but he had never been as greedy as he was now to hold her in his hands.

"Xixi, it's been so long, can you please wake up?" The originally warm and low voice suddenly became hoarse, and inexplicably revealed a choked sense of begging.

“Even if you want to punish me, can we try another way? You can get up and hit me, scold me, it’s all fine. Don’t you like autumn the most? Wake up soon and I will take you to see the shore of Rolls Lake. The autumn scenery there is especially beautiful, and you will definitely like it.” Shi Qingxun held her hand and lowered his eyes. Two crystal clear tears dripped from the corners of his eyes under the lenses.

But no matter how pleasant his voice was, Rong Xi lying on the bed did not react at all.

Perhaps the stone pressing on his chest for the past three years was too heavy. Whenever he recalled the scene when Rong Xi confessed to him while drunk and crying, he wanted to slap himself.

It was obviously he who was moved first, but he let her speak, and then he rejected her after she spoke.

How on earth had he had the heart to reject her and watch her cry?

He thought he was doing this for her own good, so that she could distinguish between so-called family affection and love, but in the end, he met with such an ending, which made him regret it deeply.

His girl was about to celebrate her 24th birthday, but she had been sleeping in bed for three years.

"Xixi, wake up, let's get married, okay?"

The room was silent for a while, and Shi Qingxun choked up again, with a hint of tentative pleading in his gentle voice.

(End of this chapter)