Chapter 14
Chapter 14
Without asking, Fang Zhou knew that the person in the wheelchair was the patient Shen Qingyuan was supposed to care for. She was quite young, and her clothes and demeanor gave off an impression of wealth and privilege. Of course, someone who could afford a private doctor must be quite well-off.
However, this person's gaze—Fang Zhou had a vague feeling about it—carried a scrutinizing and unfriendly tone. After exchanging a few pleasantries with Xiao Chao, Shen Qingyuan remembered that Fang Zhou was still there, but it didn't seem necessary for the two groups to be introduced to each other. Given Ye Chuyang's status, he certainly wouldn't like meeting strangers outside of work.
Before Fang Zhou could say goodbye, Ye Chuyang leaned back slightly, looked up at Shen Qingyuan inquiringly, and asked, "And who is this?"
His gaze shifted from Shen Qingyuan's face to Fang Zhou. "Dr. Shen's boyfriend?"
For some reason, Fang Zhou felt uncomfortable with the gaze of the man in the wheelchair.
Ye Chuyang's question was, of course, directed at Shen Qingyuan. Shen Qingyuan was slightly surprised that he asked so directly.
Before Shen Qingyuan could answer, Fang Zhou, who was standing next to her, interjected, "Hello, I'm Fang Zhou, a reporter from Chenyang Evening News." He paused for a moment, then added, "I'm not Dr. Shen's boyfriend."
Fang Zhou stepped forward, walked up to Ye Chuyang, politely bowed, and extended his right hand.
Ye Chuyang slowly raised his hand and briefly shook hands with Fang Zhou.
"Hello, my surname is Ye."
After shaking hands, Ye Chuyang leaned to one side, resting his head against the armrest of his wheelchair, his eyelids barely open.
After all, his identity was special, so only his surname was given. Fang Zhou found this to be somewhat arrogant.
Fang Zhou didn't recognize him, even though he was a big star. It's not easy to recognize someone just by looking at them.
Fang Zhou ignored him and returned to Shen Qingyuan's side, saying gently, "Qingyuan, I'll go back now."
Shen Qingyuan replied, "Fang Zhou, thank you so much for bringing me here today. I'll treat you to a meal when I get back to Chenyang. I won't keep you any longer, go back to work!"
Fang Zhou smiled and said, "No trouble at all. Just let me know in advance when you get back to Chenyang, and I'll come pick you up."
The way she addressed me changed from "Sister Qingyuan" at the beginning to "Qingyuan". The transition was very smooth.
Shen Qingyuan was slightly taken aback.
Ye Chuyang was still pondering the word "still". What did "still not" mean? If it's not, then it's not. Why use "still not"? It carried a lingering, veiled meaning that made people uncomfortable.
Fortunately, Fang Zhou left the waiting room after saying goodbye. Ye Chuyang glanced at his back and then looked away.
She got up too early today, and only ate a few bites of the breakfast Nan Lan prepared for Shen Qingyuan. Now Shen Qingyuan was a little hungry. She saw steaming hot buns for sale at a breakfast stall in the distance.
"I'm going to buy some food," Shen Qingyuan said. "Do you need me to bring you anything?"
Xiao Chao shook his head. He had already bought a bunch of snacks and bottled water under Ye Chuyang's direction. Ye Chuyang rarely ate snacks, so these were naturally meant for the people traveling with him.
“Sister Chen, we don’t need to buy snacks,” Xiao Chao patted his backpack. “Brother Yang already asked me to buy a lot, enough for us to eat on the way.”
"Okay!" Shen Qingyuan nodded and walked away briskly.
As soon as she walked away, Xiao Chao heard Ye Chuyang mutter to himself, "Still attracting attention like that."
Xiao Chao was completely confused. "Brother Yang, what do you mean by attracting attention?"
Ye Chuyang raised her eyebrows without making a sound and ignored him.
-
It was time to board, and the announcement began playing the train number information for the train they were to take.
Ye Chuyang slowly maneuvered his wheelchair into the station, with Xiao Chao following behind, pulling two large suitcases. Shen Qingyuan also hurried to catch up.
In the past, Shen Qingyuan hated traveling between Chenyang and Jicheng most of all when it came to squeezing onto the high-speed rail, especially during the Spring Festival travel rush. From beginning to end, she felt a faint sense of death. Half a year later, Shen Qingyuan came to the high-speed rail station again, and her mood was surprisingly good.
The familiar Harmony Express train, the bustling passengers, the uniformed staff, the railway tracks stretching far into the distance…
Ten years ago, these familiar railway tracks took her from her small town to Jicheng.
At that time, Chenyang did not have a high-speed rail. You had to take a long-distance bus first, then transfer to a major station and take the high-speed rail to Jicheng.
At that time, she was truly tired of the small town. The novelty and liveliness of Jicheng, and the prestigious reputation of its schools, as told by teachers and neighbors, absolutely captivated her, a naive and inexperienced girl. She had only one belief: to fly tirelessly towards that halo, like a flying insect chasing the light.
But the little insect flew around once, only to be burned by the light. From then on, it flew back to its nest and never went out again. It needed something to give it a push, or for a stronger beam of light to appear and lure it away again.
Once on the high-speed train, Xiao Chao helped Ye Chuyang move to a window seat. The business class carriage was quite spacious, with only three seats in a row and an aisle in the middle. Ye Chuyang sat alone in a separate seat, while Xiao Chao and Shen Qingyuan sat next to each other.
Thanks to Ye Chuyang, Shen Qingyuan was taking the high-speed rail business class for the first time, which cost three times as much as a second-class ticket.
Shen Qingyuan's family wasn't poor; both her parents had stable jobs. She was an only child, and her parents were willing to spend money on her, which was considered quite good in a small city.
Even so, she never thought of buying a business class seat, and never felt it was necessary.
The carriage was quiet because there were few people.
The seats are spacious enough to recline horizontally.
The flight attendant was exceptionally gentle and kind.
Shen Qingyuan had already seen the new house Ye Chuyang bought for his parents in Chenyang. It turned out that the so-called class divisions were primarily based on differences in food, clothing, housing, and transportation.
Ye Chuyang closed his eyes to rest as soon as he got in the car. He didn't look at his phone, which was unlike a modern person.
Xiao Chao propped up the small table, poured out a bunch of snacks from his schoolbag, and gave them to Shen Qingyuan to eat.
Shen Qingyuan picked up a bag of cucumber-flavored potato chips and started eating while flipping through a book. Xiao Chao glanced at the cover: "Orthopedic Rehabilitation." Wow, a huge book.
Xiao Chao found it novel; he didn't know many people with such an academic background, and he had never seen anyone read such a thick book.
Xiao Chao, munching on spicy snacks with his mouth full of oil, exclaimed in amazement, "Sister Chen, look at such a thick book!"
Shen Qingyuan hummed in agreement, her gaze never leaving the book. "Professional books are usually quite thick. This one is relatively thin."
As she spoke, Shen Qingyuan turned a page, seemingly undistracted while talking to others.
Xiao Chao clicked his tongue and said, "Sister Chen, you're such a learned person, you're really different from us!"
Ye Chuyang's eyebrows twitched slightly when he heard the word "we".
Xiao Chao continued, "When I was in school, I would get sleepy as soon as I looked at a textbook, let alone this kind of incomprehensible book! Sister Chen, the brains of you academic geniuses are definitely different from ours. Sigh, I haven't read a book for years. Yang Ge doesn't read much either."
Xiao Chao suddenly remembered something, turned his head slightly towards Shen Qingyuan, lowered his voice, and said, "Brother Yang has a book that he takes with him every time he travels by plane or train. It's been more than three years, and he still hasn't finished reading it."
After saying that, Xiao Chao gave a sly, chuckle.
Shen Qingyuan smiled politely, "It's just that everyone has different interests."
The sea of knowledge is boundless, and Shen Qingyuan has read far more than five cartloads of books over the decades. Unlike Xiao Chao, she doesn't yearn for the so-called intellectual elites because she knows what they're really like.
They may possess knowledge or specialized skills that only a few can acquire, but in terms of moral character, they are not necessarily of high caliber.
"Noisy." A voice, neither loud nor soft, drifted from the next table. Ye Chuyang raised his eyelids and said with an annoyed expression, "Xiao Chao, I need to go to the restroom."
Xiao Chao stood up, still immersed in his own excitement, unaware of Ye Chuyang's displeasure, and casually said, "Didn't you just go? Brother Yang, you hurt your back, did other organs get affected too? Did they not find out before?"
Ye Chuyang pursed her lips tightly to avoid internal injuries and vomiting blood.
Because of this sentence, Ye Chuyang didn't dare to urge him anymore, lest that unlucky Xiao Chao say again, "So urgent?"
Shen Qingyuan tried her best to suppress her laughter, finding it very painful.
-
At lunchtime, the flight attendant gently served us the free high-speed rail boxed meals, and I must say, they tasted pretty good.
Xiao Chao and Shen Qingyuan ate with great relish. The rice was a large portion, and Shen Qingyuan finished it all.
Turning around, I saw that Ye Chuyang was eating very politely, only touching a few bites of the dishes, without touching a single bite of rice.
Xiao Chao naturally took Ye Chuyang's rice box, first asking Shen Qingyuan if she wanted more. After receiving a negative answer, he opened it and ate it himself. It made sense; taking care of Ye Chuyang, helping her up and down, was physically demanding, so he needed to replenish his energy.
Ye Chuyang took off his mask to eat, and a sharp-eyed flight attendant immediately recognized him.
Although there were rules to follow and things couldn't go too far, the young ladies still walked back and forth in the corridor more than a dozen times, making people's eyes blurry.
Every time she passed by Ye Chuyang, she would glance at him a few more times, then gracefully bow and ask if he needed any other services.
During the second half of the journey, Ye Chuyang got tired of sitting, and the flight attendant finally came in handy, helping Ye Chuyang to recline her chair.
He lay there for an hour or so, and only when they were almost at the station did he stretch and sit up contentedly to tidy up.
Xiao Chao asked obsequiously, "Brother Yang, are you sleeping soundly?"
"Nice chair. Buy me one later!"
Because of a back injury, Ye Chuyang had been having trouble sleeping lately. Unexpectedly, he had a good night's sleep on the high-speed train, and felt refreshed and in a good mood.
Throughout the journey, aside from eating and going to the restroom, Shen Qingyuan spent most of her time reading her book, "Orthopedic Rehabilitation".
Passengers bustled about in the carriage, and the scenery outside the window flashed by rapidly. Her portrait, like a still life drawn by an art student, remained motionless.
In the hazy light, Ye Chuyang caught a glimpse of this still life and suddenly felt a sense of temporal and spatial disconnect.
He recalled a long time ago, when a girl sat by the window in the same spot, engrossed in a book, her profile beautiful. The atmosphere was serene, like an oil painting. Beneath that tranquility, however, lay a vibrant life.
He didn't share her passion for the world she was so engrossed in; in fact, he was a little jealous.
Fortunately, many years later, he found his own world.
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