161. The Moon of That Year
"Oh—" Ling Ling replied softly, her tone filtering out any hint of surprise. She didn't want the atmosphere between them to become too awkward, so she asked, "One last question. This is my first time having a catheter, so I don't have to get up to go to the bathroom. But, do I need to initiate it myself, or will it just suck my urine away?" Ming Tong chuckled softly and said, "With a catheter, I don't have to urinate on my own. Once the clamp is opened, urine will naturally flow out through the catheter." "Oh, so magical! Doesn't that mean I could be urinating while we're chatting like this? Wouldn't that be embarrassing?" "Why should I be embarrassed? I've seen you in more revealing ways, even the liver inside your belly." They both chuckled. The moonlight was bright, waxing and waning, its clarity changing from present to past. Life is unpredictable; some meet again, others drift apart. The constant emotions deep within our hearts flow beneath the mundane daily grind. The next day, Ming Tong rose early to go to work. He had a surgery to perform. Ling Ling's urinary catheter was also removed, and she felt much more relaxed. The doctors and nurses took good care of her, and she thought it must be Mingtong who made special arrangements for her. At noon, Ling Ling leaned against the head of the bed and replied to work messages on her phone. She thought she had to finish her last shift. She heard footsteps coming in and thought it was Mingtong coming over after getting off the operating table. She raised her face and was about to speak to him, but her smile froze. She didn't expect that the person coming was Lu Yan. Lu Yan looked at her straight, with no expression on her cold face. "Hello." Ling Ling didn't want the two of them to continue staring at each other strangely, so she had to speak first. Lu Yan walked to her bedside, put the bouquet of carnations in her hand on the bedside table, tried to soften the expression on her face, and said, "I heard you were sick, so I came to see you." "Thank you." Ling Ling gave an official smile in return, but she was anxious in her heart, and just hoped that she could speak frankly as soon as possible. "Our Mingtong is your lead surgeon, right?" Lu Yan said this, puffing out her chest and acting like the mistress of a household. Ling Ling gave a dry laugh and replied, "Yes, I suddenly fainted at work. A colleague rushed me to the hospital, and I happened to be treated by Dr. Zhong." Lu Yan opened her mouth to ask more questions, but was interrupted by the sound of hurried footsteps. Zhong Mingtong ran into her room, breathless, his dark green scrubs barely in place. He glanced at Ling Ling before resting his accusing gaze on Lu Yan. "You, you finished the surgery so quickly?" Lu Yan jumped up in panic, muttering to herself, "Your source is unreliable." Mingtong's eyes darkened, and he shouted hoarsely...
"Oh—" Ling Ling replied softly, filtering out any element of surprise from her tone. She didn't want the atmosphere between them to become too awkward, so she asked, "One last question. This is my first time having a catheter inserted, so I don't have to get up at night. But, do I need to initiate it myself, or will it suck my urine away?"
Mingtong chuckled softly and said, "After inserting the catheter, you don't have to urinate on your own. Once you open the clamp, the urine will naturally flow out of the body through the catheter."
"Oh, that's amazing! Doesn't that mean I might be peeing while we're chatting? Wouldn't that be embarrassing for you?"
"Why should I be embarrassed? I've seen you in more revealing ways. I've even seen the liver in your belly."
The two of them chuckled. The moonlight was bright, waxing and waning, its clarity changing from present to past. Life is unpredictable, some meet again, others drift apart. The constant emotions deep in my heart flowed beneath the mundane daily grind.
The next day, Mingtong woke up early to go to work. He had an operation to perform. Lingling's catheter was removed, and she felt much more relaxed. The doctors and nurses took excellent care of her, which she thought was due to Mingtong's special attention.
At noon, Ling Ling leaned against the headboard, replying to work messages on her phone. She thought she had to finish her last shift. She heard footsteps coming in and thought it was Ming Tong coming over after getting off the operating table. She raised her head and was about to speak to him, but her smile froze. She didn't expect it to be Lu Yan.
Lu Yan looked at her straight, with no expression on her cold face.
"Hello." Ling Ling didn't want the two of them to continue looking at each other strangely, so she had to speak first.
Lu Yan walked to her bedside, placed the bouquet of carnations on the bedside table, tried to soften her expression, and said, "I heard you were ill, so I came to see you."
"Thank you." Ling Ling gave him an official smile, but she was anxious in her heart, and just hoped that she could speak her mind as soon as possible.
"Our Mingtong is your chief surgeon, right?" Lu Yan said this while puffing out her chest, acting like the mistress of the house.
Ling Ling laughed dryly and replied, "Yes, I suddenly fainted at the company. My colleagues took me to the hospital and I happened to meet Doctor Zhong who treated me."
Lu Yan opened her mouth to ask more questions, but was interrupted by the sound of hurried footsteps. Zhong Mingtong ran into her ward, breathless, not even taking off his dark green surgical gown. He glanced at Ling Ling and then fixed his accusing gaze on Lu Yan.
"You, you finished the operation so quickly?" Lu Yan stood up in panic, secretly cursing the source of the information for being unreliable.
Mingtong's eyes were gloomy, and he said to her in a hoarse voice: "Come out with me."
Lu Yan followed him timidly. As soon as she walked out of the ward, Ming Tong couldn't help but question her: "Why did you come here to make trouble?!"
"I'm not making a fuss. I, I just came to see her." Lu Yan defended herself anxiously.
"What do you think I'll do to her? She just had surgery and the catheter was just removed, and she can't walk yet."
"So she's no threat to me?"
Ming Tong fell silent when Lu Yan asked him this. After a long while, he murmured weakly, "I've already married you."
The ward door was ajar, and Ling Ling could clearly hear their conversation in the hallway. "I'm already married to you," Zhong Mingtong said to Lu Yan. To Ling Ling, it sounded too cruel. She looked at the small bouquet of pink carnations she had placed on the bedside table. The petals had turned yellow.
Outside the ward, there was a long silence, followed by the sound of footsteps quickly fleeing. Then, Zhong Mingtong wearily pushed the door open. He didn't come in, but leaned against the doorframe, looking at her helplessly, then weakly lowered his eyes to stare at the ground. After a long while, he said in a hoarse voice, "Sometimes, I hate you a little."
Ling Ling frowned, looking doubtfully into his dim eyes as he said, "I hate you for letting me know what it feels like to truly love someone."
After saying this, Zhong Mingtong didn't look at her again, but left without looking back. He walked to the end of the corridor outside the ward and saw the full moon hanging high in the night sky outside the window. He suddenly thought of the time when he left his keys at the hospital and they were whispering affectionately on the windowsill of the building while waiting for the flash delivery. Back then, they were so good.
*~*~*~*~*~*~
In the following days, Zhong Mingtong never appeared again.
Ling Ling's minor wounds healed, the stitches were removed, and she was almost fully recovered. She was finally able to go through the discharge procedures. She had been unconscious when she arrived, and she had nothing to take with her when she left. She changed from her hospital gown into her own clothes, grabbed a bag with her medical records, and left the hospital.
When she was about to take a taxi at the hospital gate, Zhong Mingtong ran over anxiously and said, "I just went to the ward to look for you. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to see you." He said breathlessly.
Ling Ling smiled at him generously and said, "Thank you for taking care of me these days. I'm sorry for causing you any trouble."
Mingtong listened to her saying such distant polite words and said ashamedly: "I'm sorry, I——"
Ling Ling didn't want him to get bogged down in internal conflict, so she interrupted him and said, "It's nothing. We understand each other very well and know why we separated in the past. So there's no need to explain. We understand. Just live a good future, don't you think?"
Ling Ling smiled brightly as she spoke these words, but he suddenly pulled her into his arms. Ming Tong whispered in her ear, "Well, I wish us both the best in the future. I'm still thinking about you, maybe because I didn't dare say goodbye back then. Now let's say goodbye properly. The other day you said Long Jia was your only friend, and I felt so sad. I wished I could be your other friend. But—this is the 56th thing I've done that I haven't dared to do, and it's also the last one: hugging my ex-girlfriend in the hospital where I work."
They both smiled knowingly, then loosened their embrace. She got into a taxi, and he stayed outside, watching her leave.
They started uneventfully, ended uneventfully, and now they are officially saying goodbye uneventfully.
*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ling Ling did not go home directly, but went to the company.
When she sat down in front of Fang Tuowu with a large plastic bag of CT scans in her hand, he already knew what she was going to say.
But he was as kind as ever and asked, "How's your recovery?"
Ling Ling also said gently, "Much better. It was a minimally invasive surgery, and the recovery was quick. Thank you, Mr. Fang, for your concern. I'm sorry for keeping you worried and for leaving so much work at the company."
Fang Tuowu waved his hand and said, "It's okay, we're all family."
Ling Ling figured, since she'd already decided to leave, she shouldn't waste the other person's time any longer. So, she bluntly said, "Mr. Fang, I've been thinking a lot in the hospital these past few days—about my health and the things I truly enjoy doing. I want to resign. Here's my resignation letter." She pulled a handwritten letter from her medical record bag and handed it to Fang Tuowu, who took it and pressed it into his palm. Ling Ling continued, "In the past year or so as Vice President of Creative, I've been fully committed to streamlining our creative production processes using AI systems. I'm also trying to 'de-Ling Ling' myself." I know that creative directors at advertising agencies always carry a certain amount of personal legend, but I now feel that the company's creative standards can't fluctuate drastically based on my presence or absence. That's unhealthy and unsafe for any company striving for long-term growth. Gu Chuqi, Shao Yao, and Lu Chong's creative planning skills are now fully capable of maintaining our existing large client base.
As for me, I'm planning to open a studio with a friend. I'll focus solely on copywriting, which is what truly interests me and I'm willing to do exclusively for the rest of my life. I'm willing to accept a longer non-compete agreement. I won't take away the client relationships I've developed at TuoWu, now or in the future, and I'll ensure a thorough handover with my successor. Without your initial appreciation, I wouldn't be where I am today. Whether I'm at TuoWu or not, I won't do anything that harms its interests. Please rest assured."
"Of course I trust you." Fang Tuowu couldn't help but sigh and said, "I knew you would leave eventually, but I didn't expect it to be so soon. If you want to start your own studio, I can support you. You can become a third-party studio for Tuowu plug-ins. The company will provide financial and personnel support, and will also give you enough autonomy. What do you think?"
Ling Ling hadn't expected Mr. Fang to offer such tempting conditions. She admitted he was a master negotiator, but after digesting the news, she said, "Thank you for giving me such generous conditions. It makes me even more reluctant to leave. I know that leaving Kaituowu would be an absolute loss for my career. However, I still want to think about my departure from the perspective of my entire life. Although I'm not young anymore, I still hope to have the freedom to live the rest of my life without knowing the immensity of the world. So, Mr. Fang—"
"I understand. I support you." Fang Tuowu stood up, his tone relieved and firm.
Ling Ling also stood up and looked him in the eye, tightly holding the hand he extended.
After bidding farewell to Chuqi and Shaoyao, Lingling left Tuowu's building carrying a small storage box.
This is the place where she worked for six years. Here are her teachers, her comrades, her childish mistakes, and her unique talent. The past fades like the wind, but at some point, in the cool evening breeze or the gentle breeze, it will linger around you again, warmed by its familiar warmth, as if the wind that once carried away the past has returned to reminisce with you, telling you that it never left. Amidst the clamor of the world, she has already achieved her own personal prosperity.
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