CH 45.1

As the autumn in A City deepened, the long overdue Mid-Autumn Festival, together with the full moon, finally arrived.

The hospital gates seemed to be a boundary, as the festive atmosphere did not spread to Jihua, the number of patients was only increasing, and the medical staff walked in a hurry.

Jiang Xu had just come out of the operating room when he bumped into Shen Fangyu, who was changing out of his clothes in the locker room.

“Hurry up,” Shen Fangyu was checking the time and urging him on, “I asked Li Sheng to keep watch in the auditorium, he said that the actual length of the shows before us were shorter than expected, so let’s hurry up.”

“Why did they end earlier?” Jiang Xu had calculated the time, he should have finished his surgery an hour earlier than the scheduled time.

“Do you think everyone is as serious as you about performing in the stipulated time?”

The administrative office had stipulated that each show could not be less than five minutes, and it was obvious that these busy medical and nursing staff did not have the intention of following the rules. They all just gave a perfunctory performance before rushing off.

“I’m going to change my clothes.” Jiang Xu took his regular clothes out of the locker and prepared to go to the cubicle when Shen Fangyu said, “You can just change here; there’s no one here at the moment anyway.”

It didn’t matter if there were other people, the changing rooms for men and women were separate.

Jiang Xu’s hand paused, “Are you human?”

“……” Shen Fangyu turned his back in good faith. There was a moment of silence, then rustling sounds began to come from behind him, and he suddenly felt a little furtive in his heart.

He hadn’t thought much about it at first, but Jiang Xu’s attitude caused him to have a little ghostly thought in his mind, a subtle thought that seemed to be suspended in the air, which he couldn’t touch or see through.

Fortunately, Jiang Xu patted his shoulder before his inexplicable emotions festered and said, “Let’s go.”

The two made their way from the locker rooms to the auditorium, walking so fast that their coats were caught in the wind.  Jiang Xu wanted to run there, but Shen Fangyu suddenly stopped him, reminding him that he was no longer fit to run so often.

As the pregnancy progressed, the early pregnancy reactions faded and were becoming less frequent, and with all the nutritional supplements, vitamins, and calcium tablets, the adverse effects of pregnancy had become rare.

Jiang Xu knew that the significant discomfort would occur again in about two months, and that the current period was almost the most peaceful time of the pregnancy.

When things got busy, he would even forget about the existence of the baby and neglect some of the little details of his life. Unexpectedly, Shen Fangyu, who wasn’t pregnant, would always remember such things.

When they arrived backstage, Li Sheng hurriedly greeted them both, “Brother Shen, Doctor Jiang, you’re finally here!”

He was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, seeing a savior from heaven. He didn’t dare to breathe and said in one breath, “You’re next! Director Cui came backstage to see if you were there, and when I said you weren’t there yet, she said that if you didn’t make it in time, I should go up there and stall for time, but how could I?!”

Jiang Xu and Shen Fangyu looked at each other and looked at Li Sheng at the same time, saying in unison, “Sorry for being early.”

Li Sheng: “……”

Li Sheng shook his head sadly as he watched his comrade’s indifference and betrayal. The host, who had finished announcing the next show, came down and saw the three men and urged them, “Why are you still chatting here?”

Before Jiang Xu could react, a microphone was shoved into his hand, and as if rushing to be reincarnated, the sound system played the intro to the theme song of The Legend of the White Snake, ” Crossing Love”.

The curtain was lifted; the stage was lit up so brightly that Jiang Xu was dazzled and his heart suddenly beat a little faster.

The last time he performed on stage was when he was five years old, wearing a red dudou and wiping his red cheeks as he did one cartwheel after another at the kindergarten cultural performance.

Jiang Xu had never learned to dance before, but the kindergarten teacher insisted that he was so good-looking and that he should give it a try. Unexpectedly, Jiang Xu was so gifted that he learned to do cartwheels within two days of practice, and the teacher immediately included him in the show.

This incident did not leave much of a mark on Jiang Xu’s memory, but the Jiang couple, like every pair of parents who like to show off their children, told everyone about their son’s brilliant exploits when he was a child, and even stored the video of his performances in their mobile phones, making sure to show it to their relatives and friends whenever they got together.

It was only when Jiang Xu was fifteen that he learned from his cousin that his childhood glory had spread throughout his circle of relatives, causing Jiang Xu, who was in his second year of school, to lose a whole night’s sleep in embarrassment. When his six-year-old cousin held up a dudou and clamored for Jiang Xu to dress up as Nezha, he felt like saying goodbye to the world.

Because of this, Jiang Xu was so resistant to the stage that he didn’t even sleep well the night he impulsively agreed to perform with Shen Fangyu.

It was his first time attending the Mid-Autumn Festival part at Jihua, and the fast pace of the event left him little room to make mental preparations before he was thrust onto the stage. The psychological shadow from his childhood made Jiang Xu subconsciously want to retreat, but the spotlight had already landed on him.

Seeing that there was no way to avoid it, Jiang Xu froze for a moment and subconsciously looked for Shen Fangyu, who was on stage with him.

Before his eyes could find Shen Fangyu, a hand was suddenly placed on his waist, with just the right amount of warmth and strength.

Accompanied by the thunderous applause from the audience, Shen Fangyu led him to the center of the stage, then he (Shen Fangyu) raised the microphone and sang the first line along with the melody.

As Shen Fangyu sang, he kept looking at him with an encouraging smile in his eyes, and by the time the four lines of the tender “ah~” were finished, Jiang Xu had finally calmed down.

“The beauty of the West Lake in March….  spring rain is like wine and willows are like smoke…”

Shen Fangyu’s voice was not as thick and hearty as the original singer’s, it was a little more subdued and lazy, and he didn’t sing as he did at home when he was deliberately angering Jiang Xu. And now that he was serious, Jiang Xu discovered that Shen Fangyu was actually singing very well. It didn’t sound like an amateur KTV-level voice, it was as if he had had some voice lessons.

He (Jiang Xu) took a deep breath, lifted the microphone closer to his lips, and gazed at him as he sang, “Destined to meet thousands of miles away……”

Shen Fangyu hooked the corners of his lips and took Jiang Xu’s hand without warning: “It’s hard to hold hands when you miss each other…”

Jiang Xu was startled, and before he could break away from him, Shen Fangyu was already signaling him with his eyes to sing the next line.

He subconsciously spoke, “Ten years of cultivation to cross the same boat……”

Shen Fangyu took over his words, “A hundred years to cultivate to be together ……”

Jiang Xu: “If a thousand years can make a difference ……”

Shen Fangyu: “We’ll be together for a thousand years ……”

“If a thousand years have a destiny ……”

Shen Fangyu smiled and sang to him, “White heads and one heart before us ……”

His eyes looked extraordinarily luminous in the light, and his eyes seemed to have warmth, falling lightly on Jiang Xu’s face and making his heartburn.

Peach-blossom eyes always tend to give people the illusion of affection. If the original singer, Teacher Zuo, sounded like a wanton and rough boatman, then Shen Fangyu’s voice was more like the gentle and jade-like Xu Xian, with a clear breeze and a light smile, saying over and over again the vow of love stronger than gold by the broken bridge of the West Lake in March, amidst the smoke and rain of the rooftops.

Jiang Xu doesn’t remember much about the plot of The Legend of the White Snake, and this classic theme song, as the times have changed and the children have grown up, has become a somewhat memorable old-fashioned song for grandmothers. Most can hum a few lines, but not many people would take it as a guiding principle or as a love song for confession.

But today, Jiang Xu suddenly felt that this song was very moving, even more moving than many pop love songs he had heard with lyrics about being in love until death.

The word “love” wasn’t even mentioned, but the song was like sweet mountain spring water, flowing softly and delicately through his limbs and bones.

Under the spotlight, Shen Fangyu, wearing a simple grey and white long-sleeve shirt with irregular grey striped ribbons on the cuffs that swayed with the movement of his wrists, sang the words with a smile, as if he were making a vow to him.

“La la la la …… la la la ……”

Shen Fangyu raised his hand and swayed it from side to side to the melody of the music. After a while, he suddenly took the microphone away from his mouth in lines and whispered to Jiang Xu, “Look at the audience.”

Only then did Jiang Xu suddenly react to his loss of concentration and hastily turn his head to look at the audience.

The audience was actually half full this year, with far more people than the previous year, and he wondered if it was because the administration officials had taken the trouble to promote it. Hearing the audience sing along with these lines, Jiang Xu suddenly realized that he hadn’t even looked at the audience since he got on stage.

Jiang Xu felt a bit confused.

Was it because he was too nervous on stage or something else?

Dr. Shen and Dr. Jiang, who had been at odds with each other, held hands on the stage at the Jihua Mid-Autumn Festival, swaying from side to side to the soothing music. President Cao nodded in satisfaction and said to Vice President Cui at his side, “I’ve always heard that these two young men in your department don’t have a good relationship, but it seems quite good to me.”

Director Cui smiled and replied, “Young people, there is no such thing as an unresolved conflict.”

“Xuanxuan,” President Cao patted his daughter, who was watching the performance beside him, and pointed to the two doctors on stage, “These are the two youngest deputy chief doctors in the obstetrics and gynecology department that I told you about. They are graduates of A Medical University and have been outstanding since they were students. Do you want to get to know them and learn more from them?”

“It’s not just in obstetrics and gynecology,” Director Cui spared no effort in promoting her students: “President Cao, think about it. Has our school ever produced any young postgraduates who are more outstanding than these two in this decade?”

“Your Auntie Cui is right,” President Cao said to Cao Xuan, “there is hardly a director in Jihua who doesn’t know about these two legends, they are so young and are already taking the lead, you should learn from them.”

It was obvious that President Cao and Director Cui had already discussed this, and they sang in unison to get to the point, “How about it? If there is anyone you’d like to meet, Father will put down his old face and invite them to a meal so that you can receive more training. A big girl like you shouldn’t stay at home all day, you don’t know what you’re missing.”

Cao Xuan had always been very opinionated. When President Cao wanted her to study medicine, she refused, instead wanting to study sociology.

When she finished university, President Cao wanted to give her a 9-to-5 job at Jihua, but she refused and went abroad to do postgraduate studies without looking back.

Now that she was finally back, President Cao only wanted her to find someone to marry and have children with, so that he could enjoy the joy of having grandchildren like Director Cui. Unfortunately, Cao Xuan was talking about joining some kind of affirmative action movement for celibacy. Leave alone mentioning children, she didn’t even want to talk about a date.

Cao Xuan smiled, “Dad, stop using learning and training as a pretense.” She saw right through the two matchmakers’ intentions, “you just want to find me a match.”

She looked at the two young and talented doctors on stage. They were capable and handsome, and they were a sight to behold as soon as they got on stage.

Without makeup or styling, they wore simple clothes and had naturally black hair. They looked handsome and sunny, and even Cao Xuan, who had always been determined not to fall in love or get married, couldn’t help but be moved for a second.

Indeed, as her father said, they were good matches. She guessed that if he were reincarnated, he would wish that these two were his biological sons.

But Cao Xuan decided not to get married because, when she was a child, President Cao had always neglected her and her mother on the pretext that he was busy with work. At that time, Director Cui lived next door to them. She was also a doctor and would find her family asleep whenever she returned home, but she always found time to accompany her children in her busy schedule.

It was then that Cao Xuan realized that the ability to juggle a family was not related to one’s profession, but rather to one’s sense of responsibility, and because of the experience of her father, Cao Xuan was not very fond of male doctors as a group.

Seeing that his intentions had been revealed, President Cao was not embarrassed, and he smiled as he said, “Then do you have a favorite?”

Cao Xuan was about to refuse when her friend suddenly tugged on her sleeve. Her friend was called Yang Rui, and they had been close for many years. When President Cao insisted that Cao Xuan come to the Mid-Autumn Festival Party at Jihua, Cao Xuan dragged her best friend along with her.

“What’s wrong?” Cao Xuan asked Yang Rui with a tilt of her head.

Yang Rui glanced at the doctors on stage and leaned in to whisper in Cao Xuan’s ear, ” I want to meet the doctor on the left.”

Cao Xuan had no intention of getting married, but she always wanted to see her friends happy, especially after Yang Rui was disappointed by her longtime boyfriend just when they were about to get married. Cao Xuan originally agreed to be a bridesmaid for Yang Rui, but she didn’t expect the boyfriend to be a scumbag. Seeing her friend come out of the shadow of broken love, Cao Xuan would naturally help her if she wanted to date again.

So she pointed to the doctor on the left and asked her father, “What’s his name?”

President Cao and Director Cui glanced at each other; both of them, who had reached middle age, were clearly delighted at the change in Cao Xuan’s attitude.

“Jiang Xu,” President Cao said, “That boy doesn’t talk a lot, but he is a good and honest person.”