Chapter 37: Without her, I wouldn’t have love.

“What if he hurt his hand? He’s a doctor who needs to perform surgeries—his hands are precious.”

“If he hurt his leg, that would also be troublesome—he’d need a wheelchair. No one could take care of him, and I’m not good at taking care of people. I often make him angry…”

“Hurting his brain would be even worse. He’s very smart. In his senior year of high school, he ranked first in every monthly exam. Even if the driver had all the money in the world, it wouldn’t be enough to compensate.”

“I shouldn’t have drunk last night. Whose idea was it to open a bar there anyway? Why did they have to open it in that particular spot? If I hadn’t seen it, I wouldn’t have gone in.”

Chi Yue, “...”

He just came to get his helmet. How did someone else’s accident on the road become his fault or the fault of his bar?

“Cough, cough,” Chi Yue cleared his throat.

“Don’t rush me! I’m looking!” Cheng Wanyue snapped irritably. She was agitated, and the room was already in disarray, as if it had been burglarized.

While searching for the helmet, Cheng Wanyue kept mumbling. The door was open, so Chi Yue could hear her, and of course, Qing Hang could hear her too.

He had taken two hours off to come here, but buying the flowers took more than half an hour.

After getting off the elevator and seeing Chi Yue in the corridor, he thought maybe he shouldn’t have come.

But now her voice faintly reached his ears, and he thought, even if they only had a minute together, it would be worth it.

“Finally found it,” Cheng Wanyue walked out holding the helmet and handed it to Chi Yue. “I haven’t used it, but you’d better check it. If there’s any problem, come find me, but I’m busy today and tomorrow too…”

She didn’t finish her sentence before she froze.

One moment her foot was still on the anti-slip mat at the door, and the next she ran to Qing Hang, losing one of her slippers in the process.

Qing Hang had smoked a lot last night and throughout the day. Before coming here, he had only taken a quick shower in the department. Cheng Wanyue was sensitive to the smell of smoke, but because her mind was preoccupied with him, her attention wasn’t on it.

“Who told you to run around? If you’re injured, you should stay in the hospital. You’re a doctor yourself—how can you be such a disobedient patient?” Cheng Wanyue checked him from head to toe. “Your legs are still there, your hands too. Good, good, just a little scratch. Your face is fine, and your head? Did your head get hit?”

She cupped Qing Hang’s face with both hands, very close to him. He could see her eyes were still a bit swollen.

Yan Ci had said she cried for a long time.

She wasn’t wearing shoes, and Qing Hang slightly bent down to match her height. “It wasn’t really a car accident—just a minor rear-end collision.”

The air suddenly fell into an extremely awkward silence.

Mei Qiu came out of the living room and meowed softly twice. Chi Yue, who was allergic to pollen, coughed louder than before, startling Mei Qiu. Cheng Wanyue also snapped back to reality.

She took two steps back, glared at Qing Hang, turned around to pick up Mei Qiu, and slammed the door shut after going inside.

Whether Chi Yue realized he was superfluous at that moment or the pollen made him uncomfortable, he left without saying a word to Cheng Wanyue. As he passed by Qing Hang, he raised an eyebrow and smiled ambiguously—whether it was a challenge or a silent declaration of war.

In his carefree and rebellious youth, he carried an untamed, competitive spirit.

Qing Hang knew there was a surveillance monitor inside the house, and Cheng Wanyue could see everything in the corridor. He didn’t knock on the door. “Cheng Wanyue.”

The corridor was quiet.

He lowered his voice. “Wanyue, I was wrong.”

After a while, the door opened a crack, and she handed out his phone.

“If you don’t catch it, I’ll throw it,” she swung her arm slightly, and the phone screen lit up.

Qing Hang noticed the screensaver wasn’t the previous photo; she had changed it. In the new screensaver, Mei Qiu was cradled in her arms.

Instead of taking the phone, he held her hand. “Yesterday, I shouldn’t have left you alone there. My attitude was bad, and I didn’t explain clearly.”

Cheng Wanyue stood behind the door and glanced at the surveillance screen. “I haven’t forgiven you!”

“Mm,” Qing Hang knew she was still angry. “I can’t stay too long—I need to get back to the hospital by five o’clock. Tomorrow... or the day after tomorrow, I’ll come again.”

“I’m ignoring you—why bother coming?” She tried to wriggle free, but his grip was firm, and she couldn’t break free.

Qing Hang said, “Even if you ignore me, I’ll still come.”

“... Don’t come tomorrow.”

He looked like he hadn’t slept all night.

Cheng Wanyue added, “Don’t come the day after tomorrow either.”

“Alright,” Qing Hang would nod to any of her demands. “Then I’ll leave these flowers here.”

Embarrassed by her earlier behavior witnessed by outsiders and recorded by the surveillance camera, Cheng Wanyue said, “No, take them away.”

“My arm hurts—I can’t carry them anymore.” Qing Hang placed the flowers at the door and took his phone from her hand.

Cheng Wanyue watched him enter the elevator on the surveillance screen. After waiting for a while, she opened the door to bring the flowers inside. They were different from the previous bouquet, with a stronger fragrance.

She deleted the surveillance video. Cheng Yanqing wouldn’t casually check the footage. When he returned from work and found a bunch of roses at home, he guessed Qing Hang had been there.

…

Cheng Wanyue forbade Qing Hang from visiting her, so he didn’t go these past two days but occasionally sent her messages.

Each time, she only replied with a few words or emojis, most frequently using the GIF of the yellow antenna baby swinging.

The more exhausted his body felt, the more absurd his dreams became.

As soon as he turned off the light and lay down on the bed in the bedroom, he kept thinking about her, recalling their first time together. He remembered every one of her expressions and every soft moan. He had made her angry, made her shed tears, and in his dreams, she retaliated by tormenting him even more.

Despite working late into the night every day and having to wake up early for the hospital, leaving him with very little sleep, why did each night still feel so long?

But strangely, ever since Cheng Wanyue had slept in this bed, he hadn’t experienced insomnia again.

Even with just four or five hours of sleep, he could still function normally the next day.

After the meeting, everyone ate lunch in the conference room, including Director Li, who also ate boxed meals with them.

Qing Hang stayed behind to clean up the table. Director Li was quite affable in private and occasionally joked around. Although he promised not to interfere in his daughter’s affairs, no parent could help but worry about their child’s love life. He couldn’t detect any special feelings Qing Hang had towards Li Yu, nor had Li Yu mentioned anything to them. So, he wanted to probe Qing Hang’s thoughts.

“Qing Hang, young people should gradually start considering love once they have stable jobs. Both your parents have passed away, and no one else will worry about these things for you. Let me nag a bit.”

Qing Hang brewed tea and handed it to Director Li with both hands. “Thank you for your concern, Director. I already have someone I like—a person I’ve liked for many years. Without her, I wouldn’t have love.”

Director Li was visibly surprised.

The Qing Hang he knew was impeccable at work. No matter how demanding the patients were, Qing Hang could handle them. During his graduate studies, he interned under Director Li.

Every time they made rounds, Director Li habitually asked a few questions. Students who hadn’t graduated yet were inevitably nervous, stumbled, or unfamiliar with theoretical knowledge and couldn’t answer. But Qing Hang always stood at the front, answering what others dared not to. He didn’t get arrogant when correct and didn’t falter when wrong. He maintained humility, neither servile nor overbearing, and humbly sought advice. Since officially starting work at the hospital, he had become increasingly excellent day by day.

Qing Hang’s personality was very suitable for being a doctor, though somewhat uninteresting in personal life.

Not just Director Li, but other colleagues in the department saw Qing Hang the same way.

Therefore, Director Li didn’t expect him to so directly express that he had someone he cherished deeply.

“A while ago, I thought about introducing my niece to you. Turns out you already have someone you fancy,” Director Li chuckled. Li Yu and Qing Hang had indeed known each other for many years. Family background wasn’t the most important factor, but it often posed the biggest issue in relationships. “Thankfully, this old-fashioned guy didn’t meddle in matchmaking.”

Qing Hang earnestly said, “Director, your concern for me is my blessing.”

People who have never been favored will remember even the slightest bit of care and kindness from others for a long time.

“Take it slow, don’t rush. Only by taking steady steps can the future be resilient,” Director Li patted Qing Hang’s shoulder. “Come over for dinner sometime when you’re free. Your master’s wife is quite a good cook.”

This month, Director Li had clearly noticed that Qing Hang seemed a bit more impatient than usual.

But Director Li didn’t know that Qing Hang was just trying his best to give Cheng Wanyue as much as he could. Right now, he had nothing—no car, living in a rented house, and all the good things were expensive. She wasn’t lacking love; if he couldn’t provide her with better, she would only suffer.

Zhou Heng was still in the outpatient clinic and finished work earlier than Qing Hang. Xu Qian came to the hospital to find him and invited Qing Hang to join them for dinner.

Every time they ate in the cafeteria, no matter how the food tasted, Qing Hang always finished his portion completely. Xu Qian admired this about him.

“Qing Hang, you’re off tomorrow, right?” Zhou Heng showed Qing Hang a picture on his phone. “The environment looks pretty good, not too far, and convenient to drive to. Many people go camping there. We thought of renting a barbecue grill and spending the day.”

Qing Hang rarely got a day off. “You guys go ahead; I have other plans.”

“Wanyue agreed to come with me,” Xu Qian had been watching Qing Hang before speaking. His expression changed when he heard Wanyue’s name. “Qing Hang, unless it’s something urgent, why don’t you join us? You can leave early.”

Qing Hang nodded. “Alright.”

Zhou Heng was taken aback. “What does this mean? I can’t persuade you, but Xu Qian manages it with just a few words?”

Qing Hang remained calm. “I’ve never been there. I want to check it out.”