IJLHTW - 24

Ye Mingshi stared at Huo Ci in disbelief, her face filled with astonishment. When the scalpel in her hand had torn through the gloves earlier, her heart had momentarily stopped. As a medical student, she knew well that on this land of Africa, various infectious diseases ran rampant. Since HIV status was considered private information, no one could be forced to undergo testing unless it was for surgery.

The child had arrived nearly on the verge of death, leaving no time for any tests.

Before the surgery began, Yi Zecheng had reminded everyone to take precautions, and they all wore double layers of gloves.

But because of her mistake, he had been placed in such grave danger.

Ye Mingshi crouched in the corner, trembling all over, sobbing softly, “You don’t understand anything. Do you think this is a trivial matter? Do you know how dangerous occupational exposure is here?”

“You seem to understand. Then why were your hands shaking during the surgery?” Huo Ci looked at her coldly.

Ye Mingshi raised her head again, this time looking past Huo Ci.

Yi Zecheng stood there.

“You came here to save lives. Do you see those people sitting outside? They are poor. Without Doctors Without Borders, they would be left to fate. But if you’re only here for Yi Zecheng, please go back to your country as soon as possible. Don’t stay here harming others and yourself,” Huo Ci’s voice wasn’t loud, but every word pierced Ye Mingshi’s heart like a knife.

She stood up, her face filled with sorrow and indignation, “You’re right. I shouldn’t stay here.”

After Ye Mingshi left, Huo Ci turned to leave. Unexpectedly, just as she turned around, she saw Yi Zecheng standing a few steps away, quietly watching her.

Even though it had only been a few hours since they last met, Huo Ci felt he seemed even more handsome now.

“Did you hear me?” Huo Ci asked.

Hear what? Scolding Ye Mingshi or that confession meant for him?

Yi Zecheng didn’t move; his gaze was steady. His eyes were a very light amber color, appearing calm like a deep, unruffled pond hiding countless emotions beneath. Golden sunlight bathed his face, and even the tiny beads of sweat on the tip of his nose shimmered with sunlight.

“Was the child saved?” Huo Ci asked when he remained silent.

This time, Yi Zecheng nodded, a faint smile appearing on his face for the first time. He said, “He was saved.”

“That’s good,” Huo Ci took two steps forward, moving closer to him.

When she reached out to hug him, Yi Zecheng’s body stiffened, wanting to pull back. However, Huo Ci held him tightly, refusing to let him retreat. The hand that Yi Zecheng had kept at his side slowly clenched into a fist.

His body tensed.

“Huo Ci, you don’t need to do this,” the man’s voice came from above, tinged with an almost imperceptible emotion.

Huo Ci chuckled softly and said, “Dr. Yi, you can’t possibly think hugging me will transmit anything, can you? You’re a doctor; surely you know better.”

She was referring to the fact that hugging wouldn’t transmit HIV.

Yi Zecheng chuckled softly, looking down at the person in his arms. Her long black hair was tied back, the top of her head soft.

Turning the tables on someone—she was the best at it.

To her surprise, Huo Ci looked up at him, batting her eyes, and softly said, “I dare to kiss you even now.”

Yi Zecheng really laughed this time. When he was younger, the boys in the compound loved to sit in their cars and tease girls. It wasn’t real harassment—just driving a broken-down jeep and shouting at girls on the roadside, making them blush and angrily retort, followed by a burst of laughter.

Every time he sat in the car, he found them boring.

Han Jingyang scolded him, calling him an old scholar with a wooden head who didn’t understand the charm of girls. Their eyes curved into crescent moons when they smiled, and they easily blushed, resembling red apples that made one want to take a bite.

Perhaps it was Han Jingyang’s twisted logic, coupled with Yi Zecheng’s lifelong aversion to mingling with girls, that gave him only a vague concept of what girls were like. He thought they were probably shy and bashful, crying easily if spoken to harshly.

Huo Ci completely shattered every preconceived notion he had about girls.

She was straightforward, saying whatever she thought and doing whatever she wanted without the least bit of shyness. She wasn’t coy or pretentious, bold and self-assured, always acting as if everything she did was perfectly justified.

“Or maybe let me kiss you now so you can check if I’m serious,” Huo Ci said, tiptoeing.

Yi Zecheng looked down at her, softly cursing, “Little rascal.”

Seeing his relaxed expression, Huo Ci breathed a sigh of relief.

Occupational exposure in Africa was terrifying. Though it was just a child, he might very well carry the HIV virus, and no one dared to let their guard down. Knowing Yi Zecheng’s nature, he bottled everything up inside and wouldn’t complain to anyone, no matter how heavy the burden.

So she deliberately teased him, talking about light-hearted topics.

Even if she couldn’t truly help him, at the very least, she could lighten his mood somewhat.

…

Yi Zecheng looked down at her, “Not done hugging yet?”

Huo Ci shook her head, “Not done yet.”

He shouldn’t have asked. Yi Zecheng reached out to grasp her shoulders and pushed her away. If he hadn’t pushed her away, she really would have hugged him indefinitely. Yi Zecheng had her figured out—she was just a little rascal.

“Aren’t you hungry? Let’s go,” Yi Zecheng put one hand in his pocket and turned to walk out.

Huo Ci paused, then happily asked, “How did you know I haven’t eaten lunch?”

It was Pan Chen who told him. When he was treating the wound earlier, Pan Chen had watched for a while and informed him that Huo Ci, worried about him, hadn’t eaten lunch until now.

“Don’t go. I have something good for you,” Huo Ci remembered something in the car and pulled him.

Yi Zecheng let her pull him along until they reached the car. When she secretly took out a mango from her bag and placed it in his palm, he couldn’t help but laugh, “Is this what you call something good?”

“It’s the last one. I didn’t even give it to anyone else,” Huo Ci huffed.

“Thank you,” Yi Zecheng smiled at her but didn’t take it.

Then he waved to a few children playing not far away. The black children dropped the plastic bottle they were kicking and immediately ran over. They were yellow-skinned Chinese people, and the villagers knew that such people were there to help them. Even these children showed them extra respect.

Yi Zecheng spoke to them softly in their language, which sounded like gibberish but still sounded pleasant in his deep voice.

“What did you say to them?” Huo Ci curiously asked.

Yi Zecheng glanced at her and softly replied, “You’ll know in a moment.”

Huo Ci found it amusing that he was keeping secrets from her. But she didn’t ask further. Instead, she took out her phone, opened Weibo, and saw the notification bar filled with numbers like 9999. She never clicked to read them, whether they praised or criticized her—it didn’t matter to her.

She pressed the middle button, then tapped on the text box and started typing.

“Following in the footsteps of #DoctorsWithoutBorders#, I’ve arrived in Buri, Guinea. Before Doctors Without Borders came here, 200,000 people had never received medical care. Lack of doctors and medicine is the norm here. Today, another occupational exposure occurred here, and the injured person was brought in critically ill, having not undergone HIV testing.”

After finishing the paragraph, Huo Ci glanced at the man beside her.

Finally, she solemnly typed, “I hope he stays safe.”

There was no internet here, so she couldn’t send the message immediately after writing it. Meanwhile, the children who had left earlier ran back. Each of them carried two mangoes, yellow with a hint of red, and the fresh scent of mangoes wafted around.

Yi Zecheng had them place the mangoes on the hood of the car and handed them some bills. The children danced with joy.

Huo Ci watched in amazement.

Until he looked at her with a smile and said, “These are all yours.”

Huo Ci wanted to cover her face—it was so damn embarrassing.

**

When the car returned to Conakry, it was already nine o’clock at night. Even when they drove all the way to the hotel, there was hardly any light.

After getting out of the car, everyone looked exhausted. Huo Ci held her camera; she had taken many photos today and needed to sort them out later.

However, as soon as they got out of the car, several black women surrounded them. Pan Chen waved them off, and they finally managed to shake them off once they entered the hotel.

Huo Ci was a bit puzzled and asked him, “What were they selling? I didn’t see anything in their hands.”

Pan Chen awkwardly looked at her. Even Yi Zecheng couldn’t help but shake his head and laugh.

Until Pan Chen said, “They were selling themselves.”

Huo Ci finally understood—they were prostitutes.

“People here are very poor. For a few dollars, you can have them for a night,” Pan Chen explained.

Huo Ci indifferently responded, “Oh.” But Pan Chen added, “At night, someone might even knock on your door, so don’t open it for strangers easily.”

Before going upstairs, Pan Chen called Ye Mingshi over. After the surgery, her mood had been poor. Pan Chen likely went to console her. Finally, she and Yi Zecheng entered the elevator.

Yi Zecheng’s room was closer to the elevator. When he stopped at his door, Huo Ci also stopped.

He took out his key, turned to look at her, and saw her say earnestly, “I need to protect your safety.”

Bored, Yi Zecheng opened the door and went in.

Unexpectedly, she squeezed in behind him. What surprised them both was that the room’s lights were on. Huo Ci was about to ask if he had forgotten to turn them off before leaving.

“Surprise!” a shout rang out. Huo Ci turned her head and saw a naked man appear before her eyes.

Before she could get a clear look, her eyes were covered by a warm hand, and her whole body was pulled out by Yi Zecheng.

When she came to her senses, she angrily tried to rush in, asking, “Who is that pervert? Why is he in your room? Don’t stop me, I’m going to kill him.”

“Damn pervert.”

Yi Zecheng pinned her against the corridor wall, looking at her helplessly.

Then a head popped out from inside the room, looking at her innocently and pitifully, “Who are you?”

“Pervert, what are you doing naked in his room? Wait, I’ll kill you,” Huo Ci was genuinely angry. How could there be anyone else in his room?

Until the handsome face said pitifully, “I’m his little uncle.”

Huo Ci stopped struggling, opening and closing her mouth, looking at Yi Zecheng, then at that head.

Shit, how awkward.