Chapter 5 She's back, but...it seems like someone's with her now. ...
Before her thighs touched the ground, a pair of strong hands precisely supported her from both sides and lifted her up deftly. A familiar male voice sounded behind her, filled with concern, "Yuying, where's your cane?"
At that moment, Ding Chu pushed open the door and rushed over, holding the cane she relied on for mobility.
"Boss, why did you come out by yourself?"
Ye Yuying snapped out of her daze, took the cane, and then turned around to see the man who had caught her. She exclaimed in surprise, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in Germany?"
The man was tall and imposing, with striking, defined features. His eyes and brows possessed the contours of a Westerner, yet also the refined elegance and gentleness of an Easterner. He wore a long, dark gray overcoat, the hem fluttering slightly in the wind. His deep brown eyes were fixed intently on Ye Yuying's face, filled with concern.
"You think I won't come?" His Chinese had a slight German accent, but it was clear enough not to be difficult to understand.
Ye Yuying was stunned, not yet fully reacting. The person in front of her was none other than Li Song, her attending physician during her spinal reconstruction surgery in Germany.
He is of mixed Chinese and German descent, but in recent years his parents have returned to live in China, while he works as an orthopedic surgeon in Germany.
Her eyes still held a hint of shock: "Shouldn't you be very busy with work...?"
“My family said there was an urgent matter when I returned to China, so I took my annual leave early and came to see you.”
Li Song nodded, suppressing the fleeting emotion in his eyes.
He gently helped her sit down, his brows furrowed: "Didn't you promise me that you wouldn't go up or down stairs on your own or walk without support for at least a year after the surgery?"
His tone was stern and unquestionable, but to her it sounded like a familiar, calm comfort.
She had spent most of the past few years listening to his non-standard Chinese chatter. After a while, she didn't hear it and even felt a little nostalgic.
Ye Yuying forced a smile, her voice weary yet cheerful: "What's Dr. Li doing here?"
His industry has absolutely nothing to do with venture capital, which puzzled her.
“I have some connections with people in the family and here. I heard you had a high-pressure defense today, so I came to see you on my way and see if I could help you in any way.” His tone was calm, but every word was firm.
"It's alright, it's just a formality." As soon as she finished speaking, she subconsciously tried to cover it up, but the slight trembling of her legs had already given her away.
Li Song's gaze swept over her stiff legs, then looked at Ding Chu, and asked, "Did she use a steroid cream today?"
Ding Chu's expression changed slightly, but knowing he couldn't hide it from a professional, he had no choice but to tell the truth: "...It was used. It's effective for two hours."
Li Song's eyes darkened, and his lips tightened even more.
“You’re gambling with your life.” He looked at her, his tone calm but every word like a needle. “Yuying, it’s not that I can’t understand you, but you have to know that once the spinal nerves are damaged again, it’s not just about the pain, it’s that you may never be able to stand up again.”
The air suddenly became still.
Ye Yuying lowered her eyes and remained silent. Over the years, she had tempered her temper considerably, always remaining calm and not arguing, but no one could change her mind.
They understand the道理 (principles/reasoning), but they'll still do it next time.
A nerve block injection primarily involves injecting local anesthetic and steroid medications around the nerves near the spine. If the injection site is too deep or the needle is inserted incorrectly, it can directly damage the spinal nerves or spinal meninges. Furthermore, overuse of nerve blocks can cause local soft tissue atrophy or nerve degeneration.
Li Song stared at her for two seconds, composed himself, and said in a low voice, "Let's not talk about this now. I'll help you stand up and take you home."
"I have some things to do—" Her gaze swept over the black sedan in the distance, but at that moment, the car had already started moving.
"Go inside first, your health is the most important thing, it's so cold outside." He didn't allow her to refuse, and directly helped her up, leaving no room for doubt in his sternness as a doctor.
Ding Chu stood silently by, holding his cane without interrupting.
Cheng Mingdu sat in the car, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw everything in the rearview mirror—a completely unfamiliar scene.
She leaned on another man's shoulder, and he helped her up with practiced ease, his eyes filled with deep worry and concern.
Cheng Mingdu's figure instantly froze to the extreme.
He paused for a moment, then looked away, as if he had never witnessed anything.
The wind whistled through the empty corridor, and car headlights came on.
At this moment, all reunions, greetings, business cards... fall silent.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the corridor, Li Song helped Ye Yuying steadily back into the warm room.
Feng Ting came out from the main gate and was about to get into his car when he saw Cheng Mingdu's car in the distance and casually waved.
He had only intended to greet him from afar, but when Cheng Mingdu's car pulled up again, he walked over, presumably because something had happened.
The car window rolled down, and Cheng Mingdu inside said succinctly, "Get in the car first, I'll take you there, and let your driver go back first."
Could they be discussing something important?
Feng Ting pondered for a moment, trying to recall what major event had recently occurred that warranted Cheng Mingdu's direct invitation to get into the car.
He walked around the car and got into Cheng Mingdu's back seat from the left, half-jokingly asking, "You're not thinking of bringing me along for that accelerator chip project, are you?"
Cheng Mingdu has invested heavily in a chip startup and is currently pushing for joint development with a leading OEM.
"No, I won't bring it."
A concise and ruthless rejection was very much in line with Cheng Mingdu's style, something Feng Ting was already used to.
Cheng Mingdu remained calm, his gaze sweeping through the rearview mirror across the dimly lit corridor in the distance. His profile was stern, as if he was suppressing his emotions and didn't want to say anything more.
Feng Ting keenly sensed that something was wrong. Following the gaze, he saw only a few blurry figures disappear into the inner passage.
A few seconds later, Cheng Mingdu spoke, his tone calm and getting straight to the point: "Who is that?"
"The founder of Ashera, the woman who talks about making ten million in just six months—"
"another."
Feng Ting was stunned for a moment before realizing what he had seen: "Li Song, you should have heard of him."
"Isn't he going to marry your sister?" Cheng Mingdu asked calmly.
"That deal fell through recently." Feng Ting leaned back casually against the car, his tone nonchalant. "Dr. Xiao Li isn't interested in this. She's refined, gentle, and has a dignified appearance. You know my sister's personality; we don't get along."
As he spoke, he glanced at Cheng Mingdu, then suddenly remembered something and asked thoughtfully, "Even without considering family interests, it might be better for Ye Yuying to be my brother-in-law than for Li Song to be my brother-in-law."
Feng Ting continued, "Both of them spent a long time in Germany. One is an exoskeleton entrepreneur, and the other is a top orthopedic surgeon. Ye Yuying started from scratch in that environment abroad, and it's a hot technology sector. She's far better off than my unfortunate sister..."
"Um……"
Cheng Mingdu's reaction was indifferent.
Feng Ting paused, then glanced at him tentatively, "What do you mean? Is this... the iron tree has blossomed?"
Silence fell over the carriage, so quiet that one could almost hear the echoes of emotions, like a scimitar about to be drawn.
Cheng Mingdu tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest of his chair. After a long while, he simply said, "Did Li Song come to Jiangcheng for her?"
Feng Ting realized this wasn't the time for jokes and immediately composed himself. "The Li family was arranging for him to go back to China to look into the medical sector a while ago, since it's relatively easy for doctors to switch to this field. He absolutely refused, but now that his annual leave has been approved, he's flown straight to Jiangcheng. I don't know if it's just a coincidence."
Cheng Mingdu's gaze fell on the window, where streetlights flashed by, their reflections lingering in his eyes, his thoughts unsettled.
The car slowly pulled over to the side of the road, and he suddenly spoke, his tone returning to calm: "We've arrived, get out."
*
After the Frost's Descent, temperatures generally drop significantly, and the temperature difference between day and night increases.
Cheng Mingdu received a call early in the morning saying that his grandfather was sick and kept saying he wanted to eat the old-fashioned snacks from Jiangcheng.
The Cheng family's roots are in Chengdu. Cheng Mingdu understood the unspoken meaning in the phone call: the old man wanted to see him because he hadn't been home for a long time. It just so happened that his aunt was back in Australia for vacation, so it would be a good time to catch up.
Pei Jie packed up the lotus seed paste pastries and sugar-coated glutinous rice cakes that the old man liked and put them in the car.
Because Chengdu is close to Jiangcheng and it was a family gathering, he didn't bring a driver and drove there himself.
As the car entered the old city of Chengdu, the ginkgo leaves along the street turned golden, and when the wind blew, they fell to the ground, hitting the car windows.
He had only visited Chengdu a handful of times in the past few years, and every time he saw the main road covered with ginkgo leaves after the first frost, many images would flash through his mind.
The girl clutched her schoolbag tightly with both hands and ran as fast as she could, as if a raging flood was rushing behind her. She was almost always panting as she ran home every day.
He asked Ye Yuying, "Why do you always run so fast?"
At first, she just shook her head and didn't say anything.
Later she said, "As long as I run fast enough, no one can bully me."
At the time, Cheng Mingdu didn't understand the meaning of that statement until much later...
That day, her school uniform sleeves were torn, she was covered in dust and dirt, there were scratches on her arms, her shoelaces were not tied properly, the wind made her hair messy, and her figure was so thin that she could almost be carried away by the wind.
He then understood everything.
That day she wore new shoes that didn't fit, and she couldn't run...
Cheng Mingdu's thoughts were churning, his knuckles gripping the steering wheel tightly, until the old house gate opened, pulling him out of his reverie.
As the car drove into the Cheng family's old house, the old man acted as if nothing had happened. He pretended to cough a few times, and when he saw him, he cursed him a few times for "not being home." Then he asked him to go to the tea room to have tea with his aunt, and turned back to continue teasing the birds in the front hall.
Cheng Yiling was setting out the tea set by the window and pouring the first cup of tea.
He called out to his aunt, casually draped his coat over his shoulder, and sat down.
"Midtown was so lively today, did you see it when you came?"
Cheng Yiling handed over the hot tea. There was no formality between them. The two of them didn't act like family members who hadn't seen each other for years, and there was no awkwardness between them.
“Midtown is a bit congested, so I came from Xinjie.” Cheng Mingdu adjusted the position of his teacup, making sure the Chinese characters were facing him.
"That's because your alma mater—Rongcheng No. 1 High School—held its sports meet." Cheng Yiling smiled gently. "It's a grand event every year, and I heard that even the city's TV station went this year."
Cheng Mingdu didn't speak, but looked down at the tea leaves floating in the cup. The rising steam made his vision blur for a moment.
Cheng Yiling smiled, "Every time the school sports meet comes around, I think of that girl. Back then, I thought she was a sports specialist, and her score was barely enough to get into the top high school. I figured she'd probably go to a sports school and become a sports event manager or something. Who knew her college entrance exam score would be so amazing..."
"Eighth in the whole school." Cheng Mingdu replied calmly, but couldn't hide the pride and heartache in his voice.
He knew she had gone through an arduous and painstaking process.
“Absolutely.” Cheng Yiling nodded. “Ranked eighth at Rongcheng No. 1 High School, which is basically the same level as the provincial ranking, she could be picked up by any prestigious school in the country. But she quietly went to Europe and actually settled down there.”
“Perhaps it would be better for her to develop there.” He spoke with a slightly deep breath, his voice carrying a hint of sincerity.
She paused, her tone suddenly lowering: "The child is pitiful too. She had such a father, and her mother thought she was in the way. Her only two loving mothers, her grandmother and her aunt, also passed away one after another... She really has no reason to stay on this land at all."
Cheng Yiling was the only one in the family who knew some of the inside story about what happened back then.
“Mingdu,” Cheng Yiling suddenly spoke slowly, “whether she came back or not was her choice. You are all good kids, but you were all too stubborn when you were young. Look forward, look at me—I was also truly crazy when I was young, but now, drinking tea, watching plays, and growing flowers by myself is not bad.”
"...She's back."
Cheng Mingdu suddenly raised his head and looked at Cheng Yiling, his gaze fixed and stormy.
The tea room fell silent for a moment, while the wind outside the window picked up, rustling the leaves, much like the snowflakes of books falling like snowflakes after the college entrance exam that summer, eventually leaving behind a yellowed memory on the ground.
"But...it seems like there's someone around."
These words were spoken very softly, yet they were like a pebble dropped into the heart of a lake, creating endless ripples in the depths of one's soul.
He turned his head to look at the familiar courtyard outside the window, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly, his voice like the sound of a heart being released after its chest has been ripped open:
But I don't care.
A note from the author:
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30 red envelopes~~~
The foreshadowing is still being laid little by little~ [Cat emoji]
I love reading the comments! They make me jump out of bed and want to smash my keyboard! [Sprinkling flowers]
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