Chapter 21 Frenzied Embarrassments He told his grandfather, "My friend's surname is Zhu." ...
"Senior?" The voice sounded like a murmur from someone half-asleep, and Zhu Liushuang thought she was dreaming.
"Still feeling unwell?" He Ming asked, withdrawing his hand.
Zhu Liushuang subconsciously raised her hand to tuck her messy sideburns behind her ear, forcing out what she thought was a sweet smile: "No... I'm much better now."
“Everyone else went to the cafeteria for lunch.” He Ming crossed his arms and looked down at her. The subtext was probably: Why didn’t you go for lunch?
Zhu Liushuang stood up, leaning against the edge of the table. She quietly reached behind her back and tucked the folds of her clothes that had gotten out of her clothes. Her voice was hoarse as she said, "I just took a nap. I'm going to the cafeteria now."
Her gaze darted around, lingering on his shirt collar: "Senior, are you also eating in the cafeteria?"
Although she knew the chances of the two of them eating in the cafeteria together were slim, she still held a sliver of hope.
He Ming shook his head: "I have to rush back to the office in a bit; I'm going out on fieldwork this afternoon."
The answer was as expected.
Her heart, which had been pounding, was silently dampened by the drizzle and sank back to the ground. Zhu Liushuang nodded obediently, "Thank you for your concern, senior. You should go back now, so as not to delay your work."
She put her hands back on the table and began to pretend to tidy up the things on the table, one by one, very slowly.
"Zhu Liushuang..." the man in front of her suddenly spoke, his tone distant as he called her name.
The first time she heard him pronounce her name, his tone was plain and ordinary, as common as calling out "Zhang San" or "Li Si," but it sounded tender and affectionate to her ears.
Zhu Liushuang immediately looked up, her moist eyes filled with expectation: "Is there anything else, senior?"
A large, well-defined hand was presented to her, with long, slender, white fingers and neatly trimmed nails. A rectangular white business card was held between the thumb and forefinger.
“I guess this business card is the one you just lost, so I came to ask you about it,” she heard him say to her.
Business card? Zhu Liushuang remembered the business card she had received from the doctor this morning and asked, "Dr. Xie Jingzhi?"
He Ming nodded, and before she could reach out to take it, he placed the business card on the table and said casually, "Keep it safe."
"Thank you," Zhu Liushuang murmured, watching him turn away.
When He Ming appeared at the classroom door, she realized that she should do something.
She composed herself, packed her things as quickly as possible, slung her bag over her shoulder, and hurried a few steps, trying to keep up with him.
But the man was tall and had long legs, so for every step he took, she had to take two or three more, and the two always kept a short distance between them.
Zhu Liushuang stared down at the cement road ahead, her black leather shoes moving faster and faster, and the distance between them grew further and further.
She almost instinctively started to jog, wanting to get closer to him.
There was a fork in the road ahead; to the south was the cafeteria, and to the east was the school gate. Just as she was about to catch up with him, He Ming suddenly stopped.
Zhu Liushuang braked hastily, and due to inertia, her body leaned forward and swayed twice before she regained her footing.
She was never a reckless person, but whenever she met He Ming, she started making a complete fool of herself. Zhu Liushuang silently prayed for herself: How embarrassing!
He Ming turned around, intending to find someone, and only when his gaze fell on Zhu Liushuang's rosy oval face did he realize that the person he was looking for was right in front of him.
"I was just about to ask you, are you looking for Dr. Xie to see a doctor?"
Did he know she was following him? Zhu Liushuang blushed, and her voice lowered considerably.
"It's not me... Someone in my family is sick, and I wanted to see Dr. Xie for treatment. But I heard he's getting old and doesn't see patients often..."
He Ming listened patiently to her, and after getting her answer, he politely said goodbye.
After this absurd little incident, only Zhu Liushuang was thrown into disarray. Her feet seemed to be rooted to the ground, unable to move.
Just because he reminded me before he left: "Don't run too fast next time you walk."
See? She's made a fool of herself again. She roared inwardly.
That night, Zhu Liushuang tapped He Ming's WeChat profile picture countless times, preparing to say something.
Her fingertips slid back and forth across the phone screen, deleting and rewriting the words she typed in the chat box, but she couldn't find a single sentence that satisfied her.
Zhu Liushuang was furious and angrily slammed her phone screen a few times.
Of course, she didn't dare to really hit it hard, since breaking it would cost a lot of money to replace the screen.
Unexpectedly, a few eye-catching words suddenly popped up in the chat box: "I patted He Ming's wooden fish head, merit +1."
Oh no... Luckily, it can be reversed!
What happened? The "Recall" option is gone! Is it a bug?
"This is a huge embarrassment..." she thought to herself.
Zhu Liushuang forgot when she set the "Tap" message. It was probably around the time the "Tap" feature first came out, and the message was provided by Tian Xingyu.
Now, how should she handle this? What kind of excuse can she come up with to salvage her image in He Ming's eyes?
Holding his phone anxiously, he waited for a long time, but didn't receive a single word from He Ming.
Well, all that mental preparation she did for half a day was for nothing.
After calming down, she decided: if he doesn't move, I won't move either.
With this mindset in mind, Zhu Liushuang calmly clicked into the "Human World" radio station and began listening to the program.
This episode was different from previous ones; the cover featured no beautiful scenery, only utter darkness. A small, dim crescent moon huddled in a corner. If she hadn't zoomed in for a closer look, she wouldn't have even noticed it.
The pleasant background music wasn't playing in the headphones. After a long silence, He Ming's slightly hoarse voice said, "Today, my grandmother passed away..."
He didn't choke up; his tone was so calm it was as if he were talking about "what I ate today."
————
Zhu Liushuang opened her eyes in the darkness, staring blankly at the ceiling. White noise filled her headphones.
It turns out... his maternal grandmother had passed away.
Coincidentally, her maternal grandfather also passed away that year, from a myocardial infarction, a complication of ankylosing spondylitis.
Zhu Liushuang was a freshman in college at the time. As a member of the school's publicity department, she had been busy all night editing a special report for the school newspaper on the sports meet. Just as she was about to catch up on a good night's sleep, her urgent cell phone ring woke her up.
On the phone, her mother's voice was heavy: "Xiaoshuang, come home quickly. Your grandfather has passed away..."
Before Zhu Liushuang could even close her eyes, she hurriedly asked her counselor for leave and bought a ticket for the next high-speed train to rush home.
Gucheng has only one funeral home, located on a mountain west of the city. Cremation requires queuing and appointments. My grandfather's cremation is scheduled for early morning three days from now.
Zhu Liushuang couldn't quite recall the specifics of the process; she only remembered her mother's swollen eyes from crying, her hoarse voice, and the funeral procession playing mournful music.
She didn't witness the cremation process; she simply stood outside, listening to her loved ones' sobs. Her mother's throat was hoarse and she couldn't make a sound; she was so emotionally distraught that she repeatedly tried to rush back inside.
Zhu Liushuang clung tightly to her mother's waist, blocking her path.
Tears fell uncontrollably at that moment.
After retrieving the urn, the group knelt and prayed at the sacrificial site to comfort the deceased.
Offerings were laid out, incense and candles were lit, and people kowtowed in mourning... Grandma calmly pulled her kneeling mother up and urged Zhu Liushuang to pack her things and go home.
She gave a bitter "okay" and then stood up, rubbing her numb legs. The moment she stood up, many more people around her knelt down.
Zhu Liushuang was curious and couldn't help but turn her head to look at the other side of the altar.
She actually saw He Ming in the kneeling crowd.
Zhu Liushuang couldn't believe it and couldn't help but raise her sleeve to wipe her eyes.
He Ming was dressed similarly to her, both in white mourning clothes, with a black armband on his right arm and a black belt around his waist. His face was expressionless and cold.
I didn't see him for more than two years, but I saw him again at the funeral home.
Zhu Liushuang lowered her head sadly, but couldn't help looking up at him again.
She reluctantly turned around only when her grandmother urged her to leave. She lagged behind the group, taking very small steps.
Once upon a time, on the same day, in the same place, they bid farewell to their loved ones with the same grief.
In such a solemn and sorrowful place, her girlish thoughts seemed so out of place.
Therefore, she only glanced at him from afar a few times before leaving with reluctance and regret.
Now, the regret buried in my heart has been mysteriously compensated by fate.
He told her about his sadness through the radio.
————
He Ming, who had just finished working overtime late at night, suddenly sneezed. He picked up the air conditioner panel on the table and turned the fan speed to the lowest setting.
Tonight he stays in the suburbs. His maternal grandfather's self-built villa is located in a new rural renovation area. The surrounding environment is quiet and peaceful, and he can hear the croaking of frogs in the lotus pond in the distance.
After finishing the engineering report, he retrieved his phone from the sofa and began replying to his colleagues' messages. As he swiped down the WeChat list, a look of confusion crossed his eyes.
Zhu Liushuang patted my wooden fish head, merit +1.
He Ming, an old-fashioned man who had never used the "tap" function before, slowly typed a question mark into his phone screen.
He guessed the other person had probably misclicked. This girl seems a bit too loud and boisterous…
The next morning, He Ming sat in the dining room having breakfast with his maternal grandfather, Xie Jingzhi. On the octagonal table were soy milk, steamed buns, and millet porridge, prepared by the nanny who took care of Xie Jingzhi's daily life.
"You haven't come back to see this old man for a whole month. Aren't you afraid I'll die someday?" Xie Jingzhi took off her reading glasses, still arguing with her grandson.
"Why are you saying such unlucky things so early in the morning... I wish you good health and longevity." He Ming replied casually, "I've been too busy with business lately, I'll take you to the flower and bird market another day."
Xie Jingzhi scoffed, "Stop using work as an excuse. You're just afraid I'll pressure you to get married, aren't you? You're avoiding me!"
He Ming lowered his head and drank his porridge, pretending not to hear.
“You become mute the moment this is brought up. Tell me how old you are this year. I’ve never seen you get close to any girl. If your mother and grandmother were still alive…” Xie Jingzhi said with exasperation, “we wouldn’t need me to urge you!”
“Grandpa…no rush.” He Ming said firmly to comfort him, “I’m not even thirty yet, I’ll be able to bring it back to you someday.”
"On the day I'm buried?" Xie Jingzhi slammed down the half-eaten bun and glared at him.
He Ming silently finished the porridge in his bowl, then picked up a spoon and scooped a piece of fermented bean curd into his grandfather's bowl.
“You always say I need a home, but aren’t we a family already? I can take care of myself, I don’t need anyone else around me…”
Hearing her grandson's heartfelt words, Xie Jingzhi, who had been feigning anger, could no longer keep up the act and earnestly said, "Grandpa is eighty-two this year. How many more years can I stay with you? I just want to see you get married before I'm buried. When your grandma passed away, she was delirious and kept telling me that she couldn't face A-Ling if she didn't see you get married..."
The conversation had finally reached a dead end. The "A-Ling" Xie Jingzhi mentioned was He Ming's mother, Xie Ling. Mentioning his mother lowered He Ming's aura, and he no longer wanted to even bother with the elderly woman.
Seeing her silent grandson, Xie Jingzhi completely lost her appetite and sighed, "Fine, fine... you can do whatever you want! Now that you're all grown up, even your grandpa can't control you anymore."
After breakfast, He Mingtong, who was taking care of Xie Jingzhi's nanny, inquired about his grandfather's recent situation, then hurriedly grabbed his briefcase and left the restaurant. Just before leaving, he suddenly remembered what had happened yesterday and casually asked, "Have you been seeing patients again lately?"
Xie Jingzhi felt a little guilty: "Occasionally... it's not just my apprentice, he's come over countless times, saying he wants to start a pilot treatment. It doesn't take much effort, just acupuncture."
He Ming hummed in agreement, then added, "Don't overexert yourself... You're a patient yourself."
"I'm a doctor, how can I not be responsible for my own body!" Xie Jingzhi retorted stubbornly. He was afraid that He Ming wouldn't let him see patients, so he urged him to go to work as soon as possible.
He Ming paused in his steps, his tone suddenly softening: "Grandpa... I have a friend... her family might come to you for a medical consultation, could you please take a good look at them then?"
"Who is it? You can just bring them along whenever you have a day off."
“My friend’s surname is Zhu…” He Ming did not answer directly and quickened his pace to walk out of the courtyard.
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Author's note: Be steady, Shuangshuang!
When I was writing about our meeting at the funeral home, a scene from the movie "Love Letter" came to my mind. The female lead's father had passed away, and the male lead came to her house to give her the book "In Search of Lost Time"... It was all regret. At that time, Shuangshuang probably wanted to go to He Ming's side and ask him a question as a fellow alumnus, but she didn't have that opportunity.
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