The end of the year just passes by.
Xu Qin closes her wardrobe and thinks of something.
She has tidied up everything, she puts the key back on the wardrobe and goes out.
She isn’t the doctor of emergency department anymore.
She passes the corridor of the emergency department, a group of nurses and doctors are pushing a sickbed to go inside the emergency department. She is a passerby right now.
She feels that she finishes her duty but she feels a bit of sense of losing something.
She goes out of the building. The feeling of reluctant to leave is gone because Song Yan is waiting nearby for her
He is holding his backpack and standing under the tree. He is smoking.
She takes out an ointment out of her bag and walks toward him. He notices her and throws the cigarette to the bin. He takes her bag and helps her to o hold it. He says: “You only have this few things?”
“I have put several things in my outpatient clinic.” She unscrews her ointment and looks at his backpack: “I remember that you also have a lot of things in your dorm.”
“I have packed it to my suitcase, I asked Yang Chi to help me to send it back home.”
She takes a bit of the clear salve and rubs to the chapped wound on his face.
He cooperates with her by lowering his head, he asks: “Is it marred by a scar?”
“It’s too ugly.” She says: “Before it recovers, we are not allowed to take wedding photos.”
He gets closer to her face and suddenly asks: “Do you think that I don’t love you enough?”
She is applying the ointment on her face. She shakes her head and looks at his eyes.
“Xu Qin at that key moment, I need to choose, I don’t mean to abandon you.”
“I know.” She nods. “I understand it for real.”
He has his responsibility, she understands it.
She asks: “What about you?”
“Em.”
“Do you feel that I am naive, I threaten you, I am so selfish.” She doesn’t wait for his answer and just says: “I am not a noble person, I’m a selfish one….”
He cuts her off: “I like that part of you.”
She shuts up and suddenly doesn’t know how to explain.
That time, in the early morning of the winter. There’s a sun and the air is cool.
The streets are quiet and no one is there.
“We would walk to go home?” He mentions.
“Okay. It’s a great day. …… There’s no one around.”
“It’s a New Year, everyone is playing at their house.”
“Would the temperature raise again?”
“I heard that it would snow again.”
“Then it would be spring right.”
“Em, it would be spring.”
That day on the road, very few people walk around. The whole city is clean and peaceful.
On the way back, a lot of people are saying lots of words.
The new year starts.
She was lonely before, she was terrified; but this time, she has him by her side. He is holding her hand.
Song Yan also has the same feeling.
Those past ten years, he struggled hard alone, he made a living away from home; Now they are living together, they would fill their memory together.
………
Spring Festival’s holiday is the best time to rest after full year of business.
The city starts to be livelier. Everyone seems to be so happy.
As for Song Yan and Xu Qin, they take off their uniform. He is not a firefighter, and she is not doctor on the holiday. They are young couple who are going on date.
They pass the dessert shop and enjoy the ice cream. They have fun together.
The time they enter the department store, they could see a lot of couples.
It’s so crowded.
She looks around and looks for Song Yan. He is wearing hoodie, jeans, and vans sneakers. She always watches her for some time when he isn’t wearing his work uniform. He looks relaxed.
“What are you looking at?”
“You should have a crew cut? Could you make your hair long?”
Song Yan touches his head and asks her: “I’m ugly?”
She immediately shakes her head: “I’m just curious.”
“If it’s ugly, I’ll cover it up.”
Xu Qin’s heart beats so fast. She thinks he is cooler when he wears his hat.
She notices that a lot of women are looking at him.
She puts down his head: “Do you know that you looks so handsome with your crew cut?”
“You are capable to do sweet talk right now?” He hugs her waist. Today she is wearing a grey wool dress, she looks so elegant and beautiful.
“I just eat candy ah. It’s strawberry flavor.”
Her words like an invitation for him. He just lowers his head and wants to kiss her. But considering that they are in public face. He just comes closer to her face and smells.
Xu Qin immediately blushes, she feels this is more provocative than a kiss.
They control their urge to kiss until they are inside the cinema.
They pay no attention to the movie.
Everyone seems to be immersed with the movie.
As for Song Yan and Xu Qin, for a while they watch the movie, for a while they play with each other. They hold hands, tease each other. They are so pleased for that two hours.
The time they are out of the cinema, Xu Qin notices a claw machine. Xu Qin is holding a sheep doll, which Song Yan bought for her before they went to the cinema. Her gaze is looking at the doll inside the claw machine.
“You want one?”
“Yes.” She looks at him. Her eyes are shinning like stars.
“Go.” Song Yan takes his phone and scans the QR code to get the coins.
Xu Qin asks happily: “Why do you get so many coins?”
He explains: “i think it’s hard for you to get one. So it’s better to be prepared.”
Xu Qin: “…….”
She then denounces: “You are the person who has made an inauspicious remark.”
Song Yan holds the fat sheep doll and the coins for her.
How could she get one?
The claw is weak and small.
Song Yan helps her to look around, he directs her. Most of the time he just watches her than the doll. He watches how serious she is. How her eyes is waiting to get one…..
He is happy.
“You are smiling?! Why are you smiling? Because you smile, I couldn’t get one.”
He doesn’t smile anymore and stands up straight. “Let me try.”
“What would I get if I could catch one?”
“What do you want?”
“No reward?”
“…… what reward do you want?”
“Change another position.”
Xu Qin kicks his leg lightly and asks: “Is there any position we haven’t tried one?”
“Let’s note it down, I just regard that you are agreeing.”
Song Yan aims for the furry rabbit. The furry rabbit falls to the hole.
The time they enter the Japanese restaurant, Xu Qin is still holding that rabbit happily. She keeps on rubbing the fur of the rabbit doll. She is excited and happy.
“I really like this rabbit. After getting this, I feel that my day is perfect.”
“I think the one I bought couldn’t be compared to the one I caught.” He glances at the fat sheep doll. Then he gets her a small plate and pours a soya sauce and the green wasabi on it. “Let’s eat, you said that you are hungry.”
“I like all of them.” Xu Qin picks her salmon sushi with her chopstick and start to eat. Then she says: “I remember during our senior high school time, you were really good at ——“
She then stops.
He was good at playing claw machine.
He used to catch a lot of dolls for her. It made a lot of bosses hate him and banded him to come over.
He gave her from Doraemon to Chibi Maroko-Chan doll. From the little penguin to little elephant. He gave her a lot of dolls. It filled her cupboard. The time she went abroad, she didn’t take the dolls with her. The time she returned, she noticed that all the dolls are gone.
She remembers that time she just stood there and felt empty.
Song Yan smiles: “Then in the future for every date, I would get one for you okay?”
“Em. This restaurant is better than last time.”
“There’s another restaurant that has greater taste. It’s a bit far from here. I would take you there next week.”
“Okay.”
The time they are talking, someone on the other table is discussing about the fire disaster on the New Year’s Eve.
“……. Our firefighters are very great. For me, we should do transformation for the profession of firefighters. How could when it’s great fire, they still sent some firefighters inside. Did they want to kill the firefighters? It seems that our country isn’t people-oriented, look at American….”
That person sounds arrogant.
His friend seems to be unable to control his emotion and says: “There might be unexpected situation, don’t mouth off. We don’t know the real situation that time. They are brave enough to get inside the fire scene, not only for the money but their responsibility.”
Xu Qin feels a bit uncomfortable to hear it. She looks at Song Yan and notices that he is so calm.
He just drinks his soup and says: “For this fire disaster, there are lots of people critic the firefighters’ headquarter. But it happened, what should we do? We should fight it. Passerby might not know what to doo too.”
Xu Qin just listens to her.
After a while, she strokes his hand to comfort him.
“Song Dui Chang (Leader Song), in the future you are part of the headquarter, you would be the reformer of this profession. Fighting!”
Song Yan snorts. “Right.”
……
Day by day passes, the weather is getting warmer.
In a flash, it’s Valentine’s Day.
That day, Xu Qin gets a call from Xiao Yi Xiao. He said that Meng Yan Chen would be sent abroad to join peace-keeping force. He wants to make a party before he leaves. He asks her to come and says: “Bring your boyfriend too.”
Xu Qin puts down her phone.
Meng Yan Chen is going abroad, she should meet him. It’s a gathering with friends, would Song Yan be jealous.”
She asks Song Yan about it. “If you want to go, let’s go. If you don’t want, then I’ll not go too.”
Song Yan; “Let’s go. Why aren’t we going?”
“….. Oh.”
Everything is going smoothly.
She doesn’t know that Song Yan’s thought actually every simple. Of course he needs to get to know her friends.
In the afternoon, Song Yan goes out for a while, he says to her that his friend has an urgent matter. He needs to go over to help. But for the gathering at night, he doesn’t come late. When two of them arrive at the Mei Se bar, everyone is already there waiting for them.
Two of them take the seat and the waiter comes to take their order.
Song Yan: “Vodka.”
Xu Qin: “Whiskey.”
Song Yan glances at her and she just shrugs her shoulder: “It’s okay to drink few glasses. You are here, why should I be afraid?”
He rolls his eyes.
Meng Yan Chen looks at Xu Qin, he notices the ring on her finger. He knows that ring should cost up more than hundred thousand Yuan, Song Yan is treating her well. He is letting her go with a relieved heart now.
This moment though he still feels disappointed but he feels relieved too. He is relieved now because of the conversation between him and her at the interrogation room.
That day he finally realizes that it’s useless to keep on complaining for the situation he couldn’t change.
Xu Qin looks at Xiao Yi Xiao, Meng Yan Chen, Zhan Xiao Rao. She says to Song Yan: “You should know all of them so I don’t need to introduce them to you. This one is Jiang Yu, Jiang Yu, this is Song Yan.”
Both men look at each other, they just nod to each other without saying anything else.
Xu Qin looks at Meng Yan Chen and wants to ask something but she doesn’t speak up. Instead Song Yan asks him: “Where would you go?”
Meng Yan Chen: “Lebanon.”
“When would you go?”
“Next week.”
“Why is it so quick?”
“There is an urgent task.” Meng Yan Chen answers. They both chat about work for a while.
Xu Qin just stays silent and enjoys her Whiskey.
Zhan Xiao Rao notices that they are chatting about serious topic. She intervenes and asks Song Yan: “OMG, do you want to go with him? Just go just go, I will stay here with Qin Qin and be together.”
Xiao Yi Xiao: “Zhan Xiao Rao, you might not understand. Men like everything about war.”
Jiang Yu: “How about you why don’t you like it?”
Xu Qin doesn’t mind their words, she just asks Meng Yan Chen: “Pa Ma are agreeing for you to go?”
Meng Yan Chen: “Papa agrees, Mama is still angry.”
Xu Qin nods.
All of them hang out and chat till late night. Xu Qin stands up and goes to the restroom, Song Yan follows her.
He always be protective of her.
Xu Qin finds it funny. “This is Xiao Yi Xiao’s bar, it’s very safe.”
Song Yan smiles and strokes her waist. He holds her and they walk together toward the bathroom. On the way, they bump into a couple, who are hugging and kissing each other.
Xu Qin gets inside the restroom while Song Yan is waiting outside. He leans on the wall and smokes his cigarette. Suddenly Jiang Yu comes over. Both of them look at each other and says nothing to each other.
It’s obvious Song Yan is calm, Jiang Yu wants to smoke too. He explains: “I come over to smoke, it’s banned to smoke inside.”
Song Yan nods.
Jiang Yu leans on the wall too like Song Yan. Song Yan throws a lighter toward him, Jiang Yu takes it.
“Thanks.” He lights on his cigarette and throws the lighter back at him.
Song Yan puts the lighter back inside his pocket.
Both of them say nothing, they are just smoking.
After a while, Jiang Yu says: “Last time I seemed to meet you at the Ministry of Public Security.”
“Em, I had matter to do.”
“You would go work over there.”
“Temporarily no, I need to go to detachment too.”
Jiang Yu nods with approval: “Em, now you might be able to do odd jobs, it’s better to wait for two or three years then you could be promoted.”
Song Yan looks at him.
Jiang Yu smiles: “In the future we might bump into each other during work, please take care of me.” Jiang Yu extends his hand to him.
Song Yan doesn’t respond immediately so Jiang Yu is startled. But in a next second, Song Yan just extends his hand and shakes hand with him
When it’s midnight, they say goodbye with each other.
On the way back home on the taxi, Xu Qin leans on Song Yan’s shoulder. She is relieved that Meng Yan Chen is in good state right now.
When the taxi is not yet arrived in front of the Wu Fang Jie, Song Yan asks the taxi to stop.
Xu Qin is confused: “We aren’t there yet.”
“Let’s take a walk.”
“Okay.”
They get off the car and she holds his arm.
In the late night, the lights are on.
They walk side to side, they say nothing to each other. Yet it feels so romantic.
Xu Qin lifts her head to look at the sky. The sky is filled with stars. It’s not too many but there are few stars. She walks with her head raises, she doesn’t feel afraid to fall down as he is holding her.
After a while, she asks: “For this Valentine’s Day we don’t spend it by ourselves, are you unhappy about it?”
“No.”
Instead he is very happy tonight.
“Being with you, which day isn’t Valentine’s Day?”
Xu Qin snorts and says: “Then would you give me a present? Hurry up give it to me, I just want a rose.”
She purposely makes fuss about it. “Hurry up, today is Valentine’s Day! You need ot send rose for me! I just want one!”
Song Yan smiles and says: “Isn’t one too little?”
He holds her shoulder and turns her body.
There is a brand-new white BMW car on the road side.
Xu Qin is confused. She is curious who would have a car like her. She notices petals of rose on the car.
Her heart starts to beat up.
He hugs her from behind and puts the car key on her palm.
“This….. is for me?”
“For my wife.”
“Then it’s me!” She yells. She couldn’t control her emotion.
He holds her and says: “In the future let’s go and get off work together okay?”
She nods obediently: “Okay ah.”
He couldn’t help to laugh.
She also laughs. She feels that going to work would be a happy thing for her.
“Oh right.” He kisses her ear and asks with a hoarse voice “Last time the reward of getting that doll from the claw machine, shouldn’t you fulfill it now?”
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