Chapter 220 - 188: An Old Acquaintance Comes to Call (4)

When Su Mo arrived at the small clinic, a line was already forming outside.

The moment she opened the door, she was plunged into a flurry of activity. Neither Little Jiu nor Fu Ying were in today, leaving her spinning like a top.

Around ten o’clock, He Yuan and Xuan Qing arrived as well.

There were still about ten patients ahead of them in line. Though Su Mo was busy, she worked methodically, bringing order to the chaos.

He Yuan sat on a nearby sofa, talking to someone on the phone.

Xuan Qing walked over to Su Mo. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Su Mo glanced up at him and pushed a few bags of medicine, each labeled with a patient’s name, toward him. "Could you please help me hand these out to the patients?"

"Okay."

By the time the ten people ahead of He Yuan had been seen, it was nearly noon.

At least the clinic had finally started to empty out a little.

Su Mo set up his IV drip, then saw the next three or four patients. When she glanced up at the clock, it was already past eleven.

She looked at Xuan Qing, who had been helping her for quite a while, and said apologetically, "You’ve been a huge help. Let me treat you both to lunch."

Xuan Qing smiled and nodded. "Okay."

Su Mo pulled out her phone, found a number in her contacts, and made a call. "Yes, for three people. And please include some extra dishes."

In the inner room, He Yuan called Xuan Qing over. "So, my IV treatments will be done in a few days. What’s your excuse going to be to come here then? You want me to break my other arm to help you out???"

Xuan Qing raised a brow coolly. "That’s not entirely out of the question."

"You’re completely shameless!!!"

...

Fu Ying came over at noon on the third day. The moment she walked in, she saw Xuan Qing helping Su Mo dispense medicine.

His friend was inside, getting an IV drip.

Fu Ying quietly sidled up to Su Mo. "What’s going on? Did you hire him as an assistant?"

"He’s just helping out."

Fu Ying glanced at Xuan Qing in the distance and arched an eyebrow. "You’d better be careful. He definitely has ulterior motives!"

Su Mo gave her a weary look. "Just go and help me register those patients!"

After they got through that wave of patients, Fu Ying invited Xuan Qing to go with her to help pick up their boxed lunches.

Before they left, Su Mo pulled Fu Ying aside. "I told you we could just have it delivered. Why insist on going yourselves, and dragging him along? Isn’t that imposing?"

Fu Ying waved it off. "Oh, please. You didn’t feel bad about him helping you for days, but now you think it’s a problem for me to ask him to help carry lunch? Besides, he looks more than happy to go with me."

"...Suit yourself."

Fu Ying grinned, then called Xuan Qing to head out with her.

Once they were out of the clinic, Fu Ying started making casual small talk with Xuan Qing.

By the time they got back to the clinic, He Yuan’s IV drip was finished, just in time for lunch.

After lunch, Xuan Qing and He Yuan left the clinic.

Fu Ying walked over and glanced at the patient records. "So, He Yuan’s not coming tomorrow?"

Su Mo nodded. "That’s right. Today was his last day."

Fu Ying said meaningfully, "Does that mean we’ll be short one free helper starting tomorrow? What a shame."

Su Mo just chuckled, shook her head, and walked into the inner room.

Staring at her retreating back, Fu Ying mused, "I have a feeling you two will meet again. He’s different from the others."

...

Su Mo didn’t take Fu Ying’s words to heart. Over the years, she had grown used to all sorts of people coming and going in her life.

That was, until she returned to Yun Mansion that evening.

The family next door had moved out only a few days ago, and now someone new was moving in.

As Su Mo stepped out of the elevator, she saw movers busy carrying a bed into the adjacent apartment.

"Careful! Don’t bump it!"

She was unexpectedly bumped into, and the person quickly apologized over and over.

Su Mo frowned and said, "It’s fine."

Just as she was about to turn away, she saw a man not far off, holding a phone and talking.

As Xuan Qing turned around, phone in hand, he saw the familiar figure standing nearby.

"I’ll talk to you later."

He ended the call and walked over. "Doctor Su. What a coincidence."

Su Mo asked doubtfully, "Are you the new neighbor moving in?"

He gave a faint smile and nodded. "Yes. So that means my next-door neighbor is Doctor Su?"

Su Mo nodded. "What a coincidence."

After a brief farewell, she took out her key, opened her door, and went inside.

The cat in her apartment immediately bounded into her arms, meowing nonstop.

Su Mo stroked its head, then carried it to go find some food.

A few uneventful days passed, and then one day, they suddenly ran into each other in the neighborhood park.

Xuan Qing looked at the orange cat by her feet and asked, "Is this your cat?"

"Mhm. It hasn’t been out for a few days, so I’m taking it for a walk."

The cat seemed to sense something about Xuan Qing’s presence. It grew frightened, cowering at Su Mo’s feet, too scared to move and letting out a continuous whimper.

Nearby, an old woman spotted Su Mo and immediately greeted her with a warm smile, asking if she could take a quick look at a health concern for her.

The cat by Su Mo’s side was a bit of a homebody; the jumble of unfamiliar scents made it increasingly anxious.

Xuan Qing looked at the cat by her feet. "I’ll watch it for you. Go ahead."

When Su Mo turned back, she saw that the orange cat had somehow ended up in Xuan Qing’s arms, fast asleep and looking utterly content.

She couldn’t help but feel a little astonished.

On the weekend, while she was working overtime at the clinic, she got a text from Xuan Qing. Her cat had gotten out of the apartment, and he’d just found it.

It dawned on her that she had received a call from a patient that morning and left in such a hurry that she’d forgotten to deadbolt the door.

Thank goodness it was found by someone she knew.

Su Mo texted him back: "Thank you so much. I’ll treat you to a meal sometime to thank you."

About a minute later, he replied: "Okay. I’ll be waiting."

Fu Ying, who had glanced over her shoulder, couldn’t help but laugh. "Just tell him ’no time like the present’ and make it tonight!"

"Some other day. Look at the time, he’s probably eaten already. I’m not talking to you anymore. I’m going home to get my cat. Remember to lock the door when you leave!"

Fu Ying turned and muttered to Little Jiu, "This one is really different. Su Mo’s a goner~"

Little Jiu chuckled. "Haven’t you always hoped she’d find someone? Isn’t this a good thing?"

Fu Ying arched an eyebrow. She’d actually wanted to introduce Su Mo to a few younger, sweet-faced guys, but... oh well. ’Who you meet and what kind of chemistry you have—it all seems to be written in the stars.’

When Su Mo got out of the elevator, she saw Xuan Qing standing by her door, holding her cat on a leash.

She reached out for the leash and thanked him politely. "It’s a bit late today. I’ll treat you to dinner some other time."

He looked at her, his eyes full of warmth. "Okay."

Just as Su Mo opened the door to go inside, the cat at her feet suddenly turned and trotted over to the man in the doorway.

"MEOW~"

The orange cat sat by Xuan Qing’s feet, tilting its head and looking up at him with its big cat eyes, as if to ask, ’Hey, human, aren’t you going to come in and sit for a while?’

Su Mo gave the leash a tug. The cat wobbled for a moment before walking right back to its spot and sitting down again.

The man outside asked in a soft voice, "Would it be alright if I came in for a bit?"

"Oh, of course! Please, come in."

Xuan Qing bent down, scooped up the cat at his feet, and stepped inside.

The apartments in this complex were all spacious, single-story layouts. Her place didn’t have much furniture, but it was clean and tidy, filled with an abundance of potted plants and greenery.

After taking a seat on the sofa, his gaze fell upon a photo frame on the coffee table.

It must have been taken a few years ago. Both people in the photo looked a bit younger, more innocent, but even back then, her beauty was already striking—like a crabapple blossom in spring, poised to bloom, exquisitely vibrant and bright.

As for the person next to her, he recognized him.

’Yes. He recognized him.’

In the photo, the young man wasn’t looking at the camera at all; his gaze was fixed stubbornly on her profile. ’The sunlight that day had been beautiful,’ he thought, ’and she, in his eyes, must have been just as beautiful.’