Chapter 7 : Back Home

Tang Zhen ran to the subway station in one breath and caught the last train.
The carriage was empty, with only a few people scattered about.

She chose a seat at the very end.
To her right, at the end of the row, was a young boy hugging a laptop bag, his chin dipping as he dozed off.
Diagonally across from her was a girl in work clothes, also dozing.
There was also a mother with her child, using cartoons on her phone to keep the child quiet and from disturbing others.

Everyone was tired, but everyone was also understanding.

As Tang Zhen watched, the uncomfortable feeling from earlier gradually dissipated.

‘Everyone works this hard, right? In every industry, in every type of job. It’s not about brainwashing myself, but if everyone is working this hard, why should I be the exception?’

As for Chi Yuqin, she no longer harbored any hope that the woman would remember her.

Now, not only had Tang Zhen completely given up on the idea of being ‘recognized,’ but her image of Chi Yuqin had also been completely overturned in her mind.

‘Distance really does create beauty.’

The more gentle she had imagined her to be before, the stronger the contrast was now.

‘You want me to change careers, right? You want me to sit in a lab, right?’

‘Doesn’t everyone have a bit of pride?’
Tang Zhen gritted her teeth in defiance—

‘Why should I listen to you?’

‘I won’t give up!’

After a ninety-minute subway ride, her feet felt numb the moment they touched the ground.

The buses had already stopped running when she got out of the subway station.

Tang Zhen walked along a stretch of road with streetlights.
When she reached the entrance to the alley, it was completely dark.

She used her phone’s flashlight to illuminate the path ahead.
The sound of cicadas was a constant buzz in her ears, and from time to time, the heart-wrenching cries of cats and dogs drifted from somewhere unknown.

The further she walked, the more her hands trembled, and her heart quivered.
The path felt like a bottomless black hole, about to suck her in.
She was scared, but there was nothing she could do.
She couldn’t just not go home, right?
So she had to steel herself and keep walking, comforting herself inwardly—‘Just cicadas, just cats, just dogs. As long as it’s not people, there’s nothing to be afraid of.’

Just a few steps into the alley, Tang Zhen suddenly stopped.
She turned around and shone her phone’s flashlight—

“Chen Min, is that you?”

There were two people standing at the entrance to the alley.
Coincidentally, they were only a little behind Tang Zhen.

Chen Min pushed the person in front of her. “You can go. I don’t need you to walk me home.”

The person grabbed Chen Min’s arm and pulled her close, glancing toward the light source in the alley. “Who is she?”

“None of your business!”

Chen Min forcefully broke free and turned to leave.

Before she reached Tang Zhen, Tang Zhen had already seen her face clearly in the light of the flashlight.
It was indeed Chen Min.

“You’re this late too?” Chen Min asked.

“Overtime.”

“What a coincidence, I had overtime too.”

They passed each other, walking one behind the other.
When Tang Zhen looked back again, she caught a glimpse of the person at the alley entrance, still standing there.

With a companion, the road seemed shorter.
Soon, the two of them arrived home.

Tang Zhen saw Chen Min deadbolt the door and asked, “You’re locking it now?”

Chen Min knew what she was asking.
Three people lived in this apartment, and the other one still hadn’t shown up.

“She’s not coming back. Said she’s staying at her boyfriend’s. She won’t be back for a few days.”

After speaking, Chen Min went to the kitchen.
As soon as she opened the refrigerator door, she immediately turned and asked, “Did you wash the pot?”

Tang Zhen hummed in agreement. “It was getting moldy. I was afraid of bacteria.”

“You must be aware of such occupational hazards as a doctor.”

Chen Min took out two cartons of fruit and vegetable juice. “Here—”
Then she added, “Let it get moldy. It’s not your pot. Don’t wash it next time. You’ll spoil her.”

Tang Zhen held the fruit and vegetable juice in her hand, the cool condensation soaking her palm.
Anyone could tell at a glance that she was an honest kid.

Chen Min wasn’t a talkative person, but looking at Tang Zhen like this, she couldn’t help but remind her, “I know you have a good heart, but some things… you have to look at the situation and the person. If she had even a little consideration for others, she wouldn’t have left leftovers to get moldy.”

Young people in Jingbei, especially those who came from out of town to make a living without any connections… they all had it tough.
No one owed anyone anything.
Consideration was always mutual.

“I understand.”

After finishing the juice, Chen Min went to the bathroom to take a shower.
After she was done, it was Tang Zhen’s turn.

The hot water showered down, washing away most of the day’s fatigue.

After her shower, Tang Zhen, in her pajamas, returned to her bedroom to blow-dry her hair.
Just as she finished, she heard a knock on the door and hurried to open it.

Chen Min couldn’t be bothered to blow-dry her hair, so she had it all wrapped up in a dry-hair cap… waiting for it to air dry.
She was now wearing a nude-colored silk nightdress, leaning against the doorframe, and said, “Want something to eat?”

“No, thank you…”

“You’re not hungry?”

“I…”

Tang Zhen wanted to say she wasn’t hungry, but her stomach betrayed her with a growl.
She had been busy all afternoon, then was defeated by Chi Yuqin in the evening.
After leaving the hospital, she had caught the last subway.
How could she have had time to eat?
If Chen Min hadn’t knocked on her door to ask, she would have just gone to sleep.

Chen Min saw Tang Zhen’s hesitation at a glance and didn’t even wait for her to nod before pulling her out. “Someone else is treating. It’s free food.”

Fried chicken, fries, onion rings, plus a baked sweet potato with cheese and a chicken leg burger.

Wasn’t this too much?

Tang Zhen blinked, but… it smelled so good~

“Eat, eat, don’t be shy~”
Chen Min was extremely generous, pushing the baked rice in front of Tang Zhen while she herself ate onion rings one by one.

As Tang Zhen was eating the cheese and sweet potato baked rice, Chen Min’s phone rang.
It was a video call.
She didn’t avoid it and answered it directly.

The phone was placed flat on the small plastic coffee table in the living room.
The table was pitifully small, and the two of them were close together.
The moment the person’s face appeared on the video, Tang Zhen saw it clearly.

It was a short-haired girl with a very delicate appearance, and a hint of heroic spirit in her brows.

“Chen Min, you didn’t blow-dry your hair again!”

“Do you need something? If not, I’m hanging up.”

The person in the video’s attitude clearly softened. “It’s too remote where you are. This is the only restaurant open at this hour. I saw the ratings were okay. It’s not bad, right?”

Chen Min didn’t answer and looked up to ask Tang Zhen— “Is it good?”

Tang Zhen was bewildered but still answered honestly, “It’s good.”

“You heard that? Anything else?”
Chen Min didn’t even glance at her phone.
From this angle, the person in the video could probably only see her chin.

“Can you—”

“No!”

Without another word, Chen Min hung up.
No matter how many times the phone rang after that, she didn’t answer.

This action… why was it exactly the same as Chi Yuqin’s?

Chi Yuqin?!
Tang Zhen’s head buzzed.
She quickly closed her eyes and pushed those three words down.
It was bad enough at the hospital.
She didn’t want to think about her before going to sleep at night.
What if she dreamed of her… what would be the difference between that and pulling an all-nighter?

Besides, she was nothing like Chen Min.
Just for this sumptuous late-night snack, she couldn’t put the two of them in the same category.

Seeing Tang Zhen’s alarmed expression, Chen Min dusted the grease off her hands and asked—

“Have you met Chi Yuqin?”

“Cough cough—”

“Aiyo~ do you have to react so strongly? Hurry up and drink some water.”

Tang Zhen choked.
She took a large gulp of water and rested for a while before her throat returned to normal.

“I have.”

“You can choke just hearing her name. It seems you didn’t have a good day today.”

Chen Min hit the nail on the head, piercing Tang Zhen’s heart.

It was more than not good; it was hellish.

“Let me guess, she’s super arrogant, right? Looks at people with her nose in the air? As soon as she opens her mouth, it’s all about how tiring and difficult it is to study medicine, and how anyone who persuades others to study medicine will be struck by lightning. But if you ask her why she studied medicine, she’ll definitely tell you her family forced her, and she had no choice.”

Tang Zhen was astonished. “You’re a psychic!”

Chen Min laughed. “She hasn’t changed a bit over the years.”

“You know her? Are you close with her?” Tang Zhen asked eagerly.

“I know her… but not well. The one I was just video-chatting with is closer to her.”

Chen Min was telling the truth.
She had only met Chi Yuqin a few times, and it was always Si Xiaolin who had taken her.

The reason she had such a deep impression was probably that time she had witnessed Chi Yuqin tear down a junior who was pursuing her in public.
Chi Yuqin’s mouth was so sharp, she didn’t use a single curse word but still managed to make the sunny boy burst into tears on the spot.

It was a bit cruel, but on second thought, that boy deserved it.
Could a senior be casually liked?
A secret crush would have been fine.
And that guy had retaken anatomy for three years and still hadn’t passed.
And he still wanted to date?
More like a spittoon.

“Don’t you ever believe her when she says things like her family forced her and she had no choice. When she was at Jingbei Medical University… she was first in every subject.”

Tang Zhen sighed. “I didn’t believe her. As soon as she said it… I knew she was talking nonsense.”

Chen Min could really understand Tang Zhen’s feelings right now.
Chi Yuqin was definitely a genius.
In most cases, ordinary people could hardly catch a genius’s eye.
Even if they did… it was very difficult to keep up with a genius’s pace.
The pain of self-adjustment during this period, that heart-wrenching, bone-gnawing feeling… the taste of knowing it was impossible but refusing to give up….

At the thought of this, the expression on Chen Min’s face also darkened.

They were all ordinary people.
They were just ordinary people, a dim star among the vast sea of beings.

“You are capable. Anyone who can get into Jingbei and dares to stay after graduation is not a coward.”
Chen Min looked at Tang Zhen and said meaningfully, “In this place—don’t compare yourself to others. Compare yourself to yourself.”

After they had mostly finished eating, Tang Zhen took the initiative to clear the table.
She put the leftovers in the fridge and the trash in a bag to be taken out in the morning.
Chen Min let out a big yawn—

“I’m going to bed~”

“Okay, good night.”

They went back to their respective rooms.

It was late.

Tang Zhen didn’t want to sleep yet.
She read books, case histories, and watched videos.
She had to be at the handover meeting tomorrow morning.
All medical staff had to attend.
This was an ironclad rule at Renhua.
And it wasn’t just tomorrow, but every day from now on.

It was a lie to say she wasn’t scared.
The thought of Chi Yuqin telling her to change careers made her shudder.

Tang Zhen’s eyes grew tired from reading.
She wanted to get some eye drops but saw the pen on her desk first.
As if possessed, she picked it up, reached behind her head, and tried to twist her hair into a bun.
But her technique was obviously not very skilled.
Even with both hands, she couldn’t do it as well as someone else could with one.
It was loosely perched on the back of her head.
Tang Zhen looked at herself carefully in the mirror—

Frowning….

‘How did she twist it? I really wish I could borrow her hands for a moment.’