HYAT - 42

When Shen Qianzhan called out to Ji Qinghe, she didn’t actually know what she wanted to say to him.

She was silent for a moment, recalling the fleeting moment of softness she had just felt. She pursed her lips and said, “Since we ran into each other, I wanted to ask if you’re free on Thursday. The first draft of the outline is done. If you’re free, you can come to Qiandeng and listen to it with us.”

“Okay,” Ji Qinghe agreed, still looking at her.

Shen Qianzhan also felt that it was a little strange to have stopped him for such a trivial matter. She thought for a moment and said, “In the middle of the month, I want to go to your studio to take some pictures. Mr. Jiang and Lin Qiao don’t know much about clock restoration, so they’ll have technical difficulties writing the script...”

Ji Qinghe interrupted her: “The photos are to help them understand?”

Shen Qianzhan didn’t see anything wrong with that: “Yes.”

“The studio in the courtyard can be open to them for a long time. Meng Wangzhou is there. Although he isn’t a master restorer, he has no problem explaining the basic theory.” Ji Qinghe cleared his throat and said, “I thought you were taking the pictures for the art department.”

Shen Qianzhan didn’t expect him to be thinking so far ahead: “They’ll definitely need them in the future. I haven’t been in contact with any professional court clock restorers other than you. The props and set design for the crew will probably be largely based on your studio’s creative direction.”

Ji Qinghe nodded, having no objection to her arrangements.

With that, the conversation came to an end.

Shen Qianzhan breathed a sigh of relief and took two steps back: “Alright, then... let’s leave it here. We’ll talk in more detail next time.”

A sharp, short sound, either an alarm or a sensor, rang out in the parking lot.

Ji Qinghe followed the sound with his gaze and suddenly asked, “Does the community property management have security guards patrol at night?”

Shen Qianzhan followed his gaze. He was looking at a dark door near the stairwell and storage room. It used to be a place to store construction waste, where things like planks, nails, and paint buckets were all thrown together and then handled by the cleaning crew arranged by the property management.

Later, as more and more residents moved in, the complaints and feedback grew. After the property management cleaned up the waste and trash in that area, the dark door remained empty.

“You could suggest that the property management install a camera in this area.” He withdrew his hand from the car window and motioned, “You go up first.”

Ji Qinghe’s reminder made a chill run down the back of Shen Qianzhan’s neck. She didn’t argue and left a “be careful on your way” before walking through the corridor entrance and into the elevator.

________________________________________

Old Shen and his wife were waiting for her to eat.

Shen Qianzhan scooped out the Buddha’s Temptation from the thermos and divided it into three bowls, one for each person.

Ever since Shen Qianzhan returned to work after the new year, she often brought home side dishes like braised beef and bamboo shoots for their meals. So, at first, Shen’s mother didn’t think of Ji Qinghe. It wasn’t until she tasted the shark fin in the Buddha’s Temptation that she let out a surprised “Hmm.” “This isn’t vermicelli, is it? It’s shark fin?”

Old Shen chimed in: “It’s shark fin. The ingredients in this Buddha’s Temptation are high-end. It doesn’t seem like something Dandan would get from a street stall. It tastes like the bowl we had at that Guangzhou hotel for over five hundred dollars.”

The word “Guangzhou” touched a nerve in Shen’s mother, and a look of understanding suddenly appeared on her face: “Did Xiao Ji bring this over?” Without waiting for Shen Qianzhan to confirm, Shen’s mother continued, “I think that boy is polite, considerate, and quite generous. He’s very nice.”

She nudged Shen Qianzhan, who was just eating without saying anything, with her elbow: “What’s Xiao Ji’s personality like?”

Shen Qianzhan’s head began to hurt at the familiar opening line: “He’s an investor in the project. We haven’t even said more than a few words to each other. How would I know what his personality is like?”

Initially, Old Shen hadn’t planned to get involved in the mother-daughter conversation. But seeing Shen Qianzhan’s completely detached attitude, his stubbornness kicked in, and he rebelled: “It doesn’t seem to me like you and Xiao Ji have only said a few words to each other.”

“You only have to listen to half of what your mother says. Your father believes you have good judgment. But Xiao Ji is very proper, polite, and knows how to please people. Whatever you’re thinking, you should consider it carefully so you don’t waste each other’s time.”

Old Shen’s words were fair, and Shen Qianzhan took them to heart, nodding: “I know. What’s the plan for Grandpa’s surgery tomorrow?”

Seeing that she didn’t want to talk more about it, Old Shen didn’t push. He followed her lead and changed the subject.

After dinner, Old Shen used the excuse of throwing out the trash to take a walk around the neighborhood. While he was out, he sent a message to Su Zan: “My young friend Su, your uncle wants to ask you something.”

Su Zan was extremely interested in gossip and replied instantly: “Ask away, Uncle.”

Old Shen said, “The relationship between my Dandan and Xiao Ji seems a bit tense. Did they have a conflict before?”

Su Zan’s mind went straight to the point. He thought for a moment and replied: “No, Uncle. Don’t worry about them. It’s only a matter of time.”

Old Shen: “!!!” He hadn’t wanted to know that!

________________________________________

Early the next morning, Shen Qianzhan took half a day off to take Old Shen and his wife to the hospital.

She spent the morning helping them with payments and collecting reports. After lunch, she went back to work.

Around 2:00 PM, Jiang Juanshan submitted the script outline as promised.

Shen Qianzhan specifically reserved a small meeting room and gathered Su Zan and Qiao Xin for a read-through.

The title of the tribute drama was temporarily set as “Time” by Jiang Juanshan. He wrote the main outline, and Lin Qiao wrote the character designs and summaries.

Shen Qianzhan was very satisfied with this initial outline. After annotating it with a few comments, she provided feedback for revisions the same day. After finishing all this, she left work early to check on the situation at the hospital.

A heart bypass surgery takes three to five hours. Theoretically, the surgery should have been over by 4:00 PM. But throughout the afternoon, Shen Qianzhan’s phone remained silent. There were no work-related calls and no messages from Old Shen and his wife.

She arrived at the hospital before rush hour. After informing Old Shen and his wife, she went to park her car first.

The hospital’s underground parking garage was three floors deep, and parking spaces were tight. The popular spots near the elevators and stairwells were always occupied. Shen Qianzhan drove around the huge parking lot again and again until she finally found a space in a remote corner on the second basement level.

Her sense of direction wasn’t great. It was common for her to get lost in a large space without signs. What’s more, the hospital’s different departments were connected by a labyrinth of corridors. She spent nearly half an hour navigating the underground maze before emerging from the emergency room exit on the ground floor.

Her phone, which had been silent as if it had sunk into the sea, finally made a sound. Amid the buzzing vibration, she picked up the phone while pushing aside a curtain.

Unexpectedly, it was a low, familiar male voice: “Are you lost?”

The background of the emergency room was a cacophony of indistinguishable sounds. Ji Qinghe’s voice was a little blurry, like an oil painting in a frame, covered with a layer of wax.

She instinctively looked at the caller ID: “Ji Qinghe?”

“It’s me.” Ji Qinghe was standing by a window at the end of a corridor, looking down at the plaza: “Your aunt told me you arrived half an hour ago.”

“I couldn’t find the exit.” Shen Qianzhan hurried out of the emergency room and into the corridor.

The corridor was empty on both sides. There were no signs or doctors and nurses passing by, and her voice was a little anxious: “I don’t know where I am.”

Ji Qinghe recalled the background sounds he had just heard, and while turning to go downstairs, he asked, “Are you in the outpatient or emergency department?”

“Emergency room.” Shen Qianzhan finally saw the fever clinic and the animal bite clinic next to the emergency department: “Which way should I go?”

She heard him laugh softly on the other end of the phone, a bit of helplessness in his voice: “You went in the completely wrong direction.”

Shen Qianzhan felt a lump in her throat.

The wrong direction...?

“Stay right where you are. I’m coming to find you.” Ji Qinghe said, then hung up the phone.

Shen Qianzhan looked at the phone screen. After the call ended, the screen went from bright to dark, and the light gradually faded.

Her heart suddenly skipped a beat. The questions she hadn’t asked, such as “Why are you here?” and “How are you so familiar with the hospital?”, all dissipated into the air, which was now filled with a light snow.

In the first two years Shen Qianzhan came to Beijing, she had a special fondness for snow. For the first snow, she would go to the Forbidden City to admire it. While tourists took countless pictures with their long and short lenses, she would sit on a chair opposite the clock museum, her neck tucked in and her hands in her pockets, and sit for half a day.

The wind was strong and the snow was cold, but even with her nose frozen red, she didn’t feel cold.

Later, she met a scumbag who wasn’t even an ex, and he drove her around the suburbs of Beijing. On such a cold day, with the car windows completely open, she could reach out and catch snowflakes, feeling both cold and ridiculously foolish.

Later, life ground away her passion, and even snow couldn’t stir her heart.

She would only complain that the snow was too heavy and would affect the filming schedule. Occasionally, when she felt passionate about something, she would heat up a pot of wine on a snowy day and sit in the makeshift photography studio to watch the shoot.

But it had been a long, long time since she had felt the snow had warmth, as she did today.

________________________________________

Shen Qianzhan waited for ten minutes.

In those ten minutes, a mother and daughter entered the fever clinic. The girl was still small, her height just reaching her mother’s waist. Her face was flushed with fever, and her mother held her hand tightly. She took one step after another through the accumulated snow, her steps unsteady but focused and serious.

She watched the mother and daughter go into the fever clinic, have their temperature taken, and then leave to pay.

The fever clinic was next to the emergency room, and the payment counter was at the emergency room’s registration desk.

Shen Qianzhan watched the mother and daughter walk through the corridor. They paused at a left turn. Her gaze followed, and only then did she see a standing sign at the corner of the wall with an aluminum location map on the wall. The landmarks, from the emergency room and outpatient clinic to the inpatient department, were all marked with red stars.

She had completely missed it because she had been standing with her back to the wall while on the phone.

Shen Qianzhan felt her face heat up a little. She looked around and, seeing no one, walked along the eave.

The emergency room was located in the northwest corner of the hospital, with a separate side door for ambulances to enter and exit.

When Shen Qianzhan was in the underground garage, she had crossed half the hospital. Parking there had already taken her away from the correct exit, which was why she got lost and went further and further away.

She looked up, studying the map for a while. Just as she figured out that she had to cross the flower bed to find the outpatient department, footsteps grew louder, moving from a distance and getting clearer.

She turned to look.

Ji Qinghe was walking towards her with an umbrella.

One hand was in his coat pocket, and the other was holding the umbrella. His steps were steady and unhurried.

The umbrella looked familiar. On the afternoon of the third day of the new year, Ji Qinghe had also held an umbrella like this, taking her from the tea house private room to the parking lot.

On the black surface of the umbrella, two or three snowflakes had gathered on top. As he walked, the snow gradually melted, dripping down the ribs of the umbrella.

Perhaps sensing her gaze, he slightly lifted the umbrella handle, and his dark, deep eyes met hers without warning.

Shen Qianzhan wondered if it was her imagination, but she seemed to see the coldness in his face slightly melt, his eyebrows relax. There was a warmth that was different from his usual coolness, a subtle and pleasant pine scent that filled the air, creating a slightly intoxicating sensation.

Shen Qianzhan quietly swallowed.

Damn, it was another day of being captivated by his good looks!

Before Ji Qinghe could get closer, she took a few steps to meet him and moved under his umbrella. The question she hadn’t had time to ask before now conveniently covered up her nervousness: “CEO Ji, what are you doing here?”

“I came with my grandfather.” Ji Qinghe reached out, motioning for her to follow him: “My grandfather and Ms. Meng arrived in Beijing last night. They heard Dr. Fei had a surgery today, so they came for a check-up.”

Shen Qianzhan understood and politely asked about the condition of Old Master Ji.

“He’s doing very well.” Ji Qinghe glanced at her and asked, “Don’t you want to meet him in person?”

His tone was serious, and he asked with genuine sincerity. Shen Qianzhan couldn’t tell if he was genuinely trying to fulfill her long-held wish or if he was teasing her for her past efforts to see Old Master Ji.

As she hesitated, Ji Qinghe didn’t seem to care about her answer. He quickly moved on to the next topic: “I arrived a little later than you. I heard from your aunt that you had been here for half an hour but hadn’t shown up. So I guessed you were lost.”

Shen Qianzhan was too embarrassed to admit it and asked, “Has Dr. Fei finished the surgery yet?”

“No.” He switched hands on the umbrella and gently guided her to his side: “It should be soon. Don’t worry.”

There was a semi-open passage on the ground that led directly to the outpatient department. Ji Qinghe walked half a step behind Shen Qianzhan. After she entered, he stood in the corridor, closed the umbrella, and walked alongside her.

The hallway had bulletin boards and pictures of experts, like a wall of honor. The walls were lined with photos of various conferences and award trophies.

Shen Qianzhan was worried about her grandfather’s condition and didn’t look closely.

As they stepped into the elevator, Ji Qinghe pressed the floor number. After the elevator doors closed from left to right, he slowly said, “My grandfather really wants to see you. Would you consider it?”