Chapter 55 The falling snow was originally silent, like chickens and ducks talking, but it actually felt...
When Liang Siyu got home, he didn't notice anything wrong. The weather was nice today, with a rare coolness at the end of summer. He assumed Xu Aida had gone out for a walk or to pick up a package.
When he came out of the shower, he realized that under the slightly wrinkled blankets was her.
It was a thin, bony piece; if it weren't for a small strand of hair sticking out, it would have looked no different from a blanket carelessly piled on the bed.
He gently lifted the corner of the blanket; her hair was disheveled and damp, and the blanket itself was damp. She had probably just lain down shortly before he returned.
"Ada?" he called softly, helping her fix her hair. "Shall we get up and blow-dry our hair?"
She wouldn't look up, only muttering, "No, I want to sleep a little longer."
He immediately sensed something was wrong; her voice clearly indicated she had been crying again. He tried to pull her into his arms to check her complexion, but she resisted.
"Well, well." He quickly let go of her hand. "It's okay, you don't need to move. Shall I blow-dry your hair for you?"
Suddenly, she braced herself with her arms, turned around, revealing a pair of red and swollen eyes, and said breathlessly, "I want to go home, Ned, I want to go home!"
He hugged her and patted her back gently: "Okay, okay, I'll go back with you during the fall break, okay?"
Their fall break is a three-day long weekend, so traveling to and from California would be a bit rushed, but it's not impossible.
"It's not autumn break!" She cried in his arms for two or three minutes before finally lifting her head. "Never mind, I don't even know what I'm saying. Just leave me alone. I'm going to wash my face."
She stopped him from following her: "Pour me a glass of juice."
"Then, remember to dry your hair." He watched the bathroom door close, and after a while, he heard the hairdryer before going to the dining room.
Liang Siyu poured two glasses of Apple Cider, sat down, and looked at the empty chair opposite him.
"I want to go home," "It's not autumn break," what does that mean?
Wait, she didn't say now, she said after graduation, right?
He suddenly remembered that night at his brother's house. She smiled lightly, "If you ask me, the best city in the world is Cupertino."
How could he be so slow to understand? Of course Ada would want to go back to the Bay Area, where the climate is pleasant, the technology is advanced, there are many universities, and it's the home she grew up in.
CC and Ed are both New Yorkers, and they disagree on where to buy a house.
He had never even thought about this question; he naively assumed that he wouldn't leave New York, that he would succeed in proposing, and that Ada would stay.
He planned two marriage proposals, but never sat down to listen to her thoughts on the future.
That's the crux of the problem! After graduation, Ada wanted to go back to California, but she could also see clearly that he couldn't leave New York—whether for family responsibilities or for his career.
Neurosurgery is one of the most competitive departments. To successfully match with a candidate from another region, one needs outstanding talent, long-term hard work, and of course, a network of contacts.
If he wants to return to work in New York, he certainly can't just stay in the JHU affiliated hospital system in Baltimore during his clinical rotations; he has to apply for internship opportunities in New York.
With the help of his family, it wouldn't be difficult for him to get a rotation opportunity in surgery or neurosurgery at New York-Presbyterian Hospital or Mount Sinai Hospital.
But if he wanted to go to California, his father would definitely not agree easily. That meant he would have to rely entirely on himself, trying to make cold contacts and emailing every hospital, which would drastically increase the chances of failure.
Moreover, even if a match is found, a resident's annual income is only around $60,000 to $70,000, and neurosurgeons need seven years of residency training before they can become attending physicians.
If his family cuts off his trust, his income during his hospitalization would be simply not enough to live on in the Bay Area.
He realized that he had been living in a giant protective bubble of his family all along. He knew he was lucky, but he had never really thought about what was outside the greenhouse.
For the first time, that translucent bubble shattered in his mind. He seemed to have stepped into a New York winter, the familiar streets, the snowflakes soft and chaotic, and he couldn't see the future.
When Xu Aida came out, her hair was smooth and her complexion was normal, except for her swollen eyes, which still showed traces of her struggle in the afternoon.
She took a few sips of apple cider and slowly said, "Ned, don't worry, I'm fine. I was reading a book, and it just brought up some memories. By the way, I recently learned about EMDR therapy and I'd like to try it. Would you be willing to help me find a suitable therapist?"
Liang Siyu was still preoccupied with the question of "she wants to go home," but upon hearing this, she opened her mouth several times in surprise, wanting to ask "Really?", but was afraid of offending her, and simply didn't know how to start the conversation.
Seeing his dazed expression, her mood actually improved a little: "Silly boy, snap out of it! Is your brain stuffed with straw again?"
He nodded blankly, then quickly shook his head, took a big gulp of juice, and exhaled: "I'll go find them right away and make a list for you. Oh, and I need your insurance account."
She shook her head: "Let's eat first. Shall we order takeout from that Cantonese restaurant again? I want their seafood congee."
“Of course.” He scratched his head, annoyed at his own messy hair, while she had already quickly dialed the order number.
He stood up and walked around before opening the refrigerator to look for an ice pack. When he couldn't find one, he simply took out a bottle of chilled sparkling water, wrapped it in a towel, and used it to apply an ice pack to her eyes.
She lay on his lap, receiving the ice pack. He looked at her soft, tousled hair, gently touched her forehead, and then massaged her head.
A slight smile appeared on her lips, and she even let out a soft, contented hum.
But when she suddenly realized she was making that childish sound, she bit her lip.
He gently touched her lips.
She shuddered, removed the ice pack, turned to lie on her side, and buried her head in his T-shirt. How childish she had been just now!
As if hearing her thoughts, he bent down and kissed her ear: "So cute."
She was so adorable that he wanted to bite her peach-pink cheeks. How could he have such a strange thought? He was simply insane.
Cute? That's such a "cute" word. It implies gentleness and harmlessness, and even its playfulness carries a touch of sexiness.
But what if she's not cute?
Her chest heaved, her face flushed, and she pushed him away forcefully, crying, "No! No!"
What if her naiveté wasn't just this harmless little quirk? What if her naiveté embarrassed, bothered, or even made him feel that she was being unreasonable? Would he still have the same attitude?
“Ada?” He was a little surprised, but tried to gently pat her shoulder: “Take it slow, speak slowly, I’m listening. Come on, take a deep breath first.”
Her gaze sharpened and became distant: "Ned, what if I'm no longer lovable? What if I make some unreasonable demands?"
She didn't know what she wanted to say; all she knew was that she wasn't as cute as he thought. A strange current surged through her body, making her speak without thinking.
He interrupted her, a hint of bitterness in his voice: "You want to go back to California after graduation, right?"
She was stunned. She wouldn't say she'd never had such a thought, but she'd never actually dared to think about it.
That's just asking for trouble. Considering all the practical factors, it's impossible for him to leave New York. He really does have a hospital to inherit.
“Ada, that’s not an unreasonable request.” He struggled to choose his words. “It’s a, uh, very natural need. You like the place where you grew up, which is perfectly reasonable, and I can’t believe I’ve overlooked that.”
A natural need? Xu Aida's breathing gradually slowed down, and the turbulent energy in her body seemed to dissipate little by little.
In her clear gaze, his voice sounded hoarse, as if squeezed out from a crack in the rock, and stained with dusty dirt.
“I was so bad, assuming you should stay for me. You silently endured all of this, while I was so arrogant that I didn’t even realize the problem. I’m so sorry.”
"To be honest, I don't have an answer right now. I don't know, I'm not sure what I can do. But please give me some time to think about it, okay?"
“But I promise I will seriously consider this matter, and I will not give you a perfunctory answer or assume that you should stay in New York, okay, Ada?”
The more he spoke, the more uneasy he felt. His words sounded useless and wouldn't solve any problems.
He nervously touched her shoulder, awaiting her verdict.
She was very quiet, as quiet as a goddess statue in a museum, elegant and dignified, untouched by the mundane world.
There was a great silence in the room.
For the first time, Xu Aida felt her mind go completely blank, literally.
Since she can remember, her brain has always been active, like a high-performance multi-threaded parallel processor, with countless thoughts emerging every moment, being filtered, processed, and formed into conclusions.
But at this moment, she seemed to have suddenly lost the ability to think and speak; everything froze.
She tried to recall something to fill the empty memory, but none of the noisy "several Adas" spoke.
They stood there silently, mouths agape, all their intelligence gone, transformed into clay and stone sculptures of fools.
She didn't know how much time had passed—a few seconds? Or tens of seconds?
She found her voice: "Okay, okay, of course, no rush."
"Oh, I'm not saying I absolutely have to go back to California. Oh, of course, going back to California would be great too. Ah, no, actually New York is pretty good too..."
She stopped, realizing she was rambling.
He hugged her, his eyes welling up with tears: "I understand, I understand, this is not easy, is it? We don't know what to do."
He felt lost yet full of strength. He thought he was about to be abandoned, but that wasn't true, it never was. She loved him, of course she loved him, that's why she was so confused.
Xu Aida shook her head slightly. Did she not know what to do? How could she not know what to do?
She is a pragmatist; she knows where the most reasonable, realistic, and profitable path lies.
California certainly has a comfortable climate, but besides that, New York has countless advantages. Why should she go against his family? It won't do them any good.
Besides, what's the point of talking about this now? He might change careers again next year. There's no such thing as the New York Bay Area. Maybe in the end, he'll still go to Hangzhou. Actually, Hangzhou isn't so bad.
But then, she suddenly burst into tears. From an external perspective, today's conversation was completely misguided, meaningless, and failed to solve any real-world problems.
But that's not how she felt inside. She didn't want to admit it, but her body didn't lie. She actually felt great, which was really strange.
Inside the pink bubble, the little girl said: "I told you, that's none other than Ned! He wouldn't laugh at me for being childish!"
"Okay, okay," the calm voice softened, and her gray figure became somewhat blurry. She seemed to want to hug the little girl, but her movements were stiff.
I admit he said some nice things today, but don't get your hopes up too high. Most likely, he'll stay in New York.
So what? He said my request was reasonable! Reasonable! Didn't you hear him?
The little girl was growing taller. [I'm not that kind of stupid kid. I can tell he's not lying. He's just an ordinary person too.]
She saw the little girl's figure rapidly lengthen, the pink bubble burst, and the pink girl and the gray figure intertwined.
She became more and more three-dimensional, more and more clear, smiling at her in a pink cashmere sweater and gray suit pants.
She seemed to see the girl with snowflakes falling on New York City behind her, but in the green greenhouse, orchids were blooming, and someone was sitting opposite her, gently pushing a baked apple to her. She smiled and ate it; it was soft and sweet.
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Author's Note: What a coincidence! Beijing had its first snowfall yesterday. The snow fell silently, but it resonated with different emotions in everyone's heart. I hope we can all hum our own songs this winter~ Wishing everyone happiness~
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