Xie Qingcheng turned around, What a coincidence. Was the cemetery having a huge bargain sale today? Everyone was coming to visit the graves in droves.
The small group of people standing before him were his former colleagues from Huzhou Medical School.
To be honest, they didn't really count as colleagues although Xie Qingcheng referred to them as such. Rather, they were Qin Ciyan's students who were mostly in neurosurgery, a different department from Xie Qingcheng's.
"…Long time no see," Xie Qingcheng offered after a long pause.
Among these doctors was Nurse Zhou, the one who'd changed Xie Qingcheng's IV drip in the urgent care unit the other night. In stark contrast to Xie Qingcheng, Nurse Zhou was a forthright person with an irascible temper, making it quite difficult for them to see eye to eye, After glaring at him for a while, she couldn't help but say, "Xie Qingcheng, what's the meaning of this? What…what are you doing, coming to Qin-laoshi's grave?"
Xie Qingcheng remained silent.
"Hurry up and get out of here. Someone like you shouldn't be paying respects at Qin-laoshi's grave."
"I've no intention of paying respects," Xie Qingcheng said. "I just happened to pass by."
"You—!"
Upon hearing this person speak with that attitude, the other doctors standing by couldn't hold back anymore either.
"Professor Xie must be living it up at Huzhou Medical School, isn't that right?" one of them sneered.
"Must be nice, having so much free time that you can come and stroll around in a cemetery. Teachers really do have it easier than doctors."
Xie Qingcheng looked at them dispassionately. "What's wrong, everyone? Did I commit a crime or do something wrong? If you want to become the next Qin Ciyan, then be my guest. There's no need to expect everyone to follow in his footsteps."
"Xie Qingcheng!" Nurse Zhou was scandalized by his words. Her horselike face pulled even longer in her disgust. "Have you no shame?!"
"I'm unenlightened," Xie Qingcheng replied. "I have a sense of self-preservation."
"…Leave! Just hurry up and leave!"
"That's right! And don't let us see you here again!"
The young doctors couldn't control their emotions and were on the verge of strangling Xie Qingcheng to death right there in the cemetery.
The clamor grew so loud that one of the cemetery's gray-clad groundskeepers came over, hastily stopping the fight. "What are you doing?
Remember to be solemn and respectful! And keep the volume down!"
As he scolded them, he pointed to a sign in the distance.
Then, he sternly added, "Acting like this will disturb those at rest. If you have any grudges or debts, go settle them outside. Once you're out of the cemetery, you can make as much noise as you want, so stop shouting when you're in here!"
Nurse Zhou rolled her eyes so hard that they nearly popped out of her head. "Who'd willingly meet with this guy once they're out of the cemetery? Just the sight of his face makes me feel like I'm choking on anger…"
"I also find the sight of fools like yourselves rather inauspicious," Xie Qingcheng retorted coolly.
"Xie Qingcheng, you—!"
"Xie-ge!" Chen Man called out as he rushed over. He had heard the ruckus while paying respects to his brother and came to help. "What's going on?"
As he was in full police regalia, the people around them naturally quieted down.
Nurse Zhou immediately narrowed her eyes in recognition.
It was that young cop again, the one who stayed by Xie Qingcheng's side all through the night that time…
"What's wrong?" Chen Man asked.
"It's nothing." Xie Qingcheng's peach-blossom eyes swept over each doctor's face in succession. Then, he turned to Chen Man and said, "Let's go."
"Oh…" Chen Man guessed that some conflict must have arisen between them, but Xie Qingcheng might not want to waste time talking about it, so he said, "Xie-ge, be careful. It just rained and the ground is quite slippery."
As the two of them made to leave, Nurse Zhou seriously couldn't bear her disgust anymore. At the thought of what had happened at Huzhou First Hospital before, and seeing Xie Qingcheng's prim and proper figure right now, a wave of violent loathing surged up in her chest.
She didn't know what she was thinking either, but seeing how close Chen Man and Xie Qingcheng were, she spat at him and said, "Xie Qingcheng, I spoke up for you back when there were rumors going around the hospital that you were a homosexual. But now I see that Professor Xie is capable of enticing even cops into his bed. With a little police officer keeping you warm at night and at your beck and call during the day, serving and protecting you, you sure seem safe now. You'll never need to worry about getting—"
"What the fuck are you saying?!"
This time, it was Chen Man who was enraged. He didn't even wait for Nurse Zhou to finish before he was raring up for a fight.
Xie Qingcheng grabbed him. "Don't bother."
"But the way she was insulting you—"
"Let's go, Chen Man. You're still in uniform. Think of your reputation," warned Xie Qingcheng. The reminder was like a splash of water to the face, and it brought Chen Man back to his senses. Chest heaving and jaw clenched, he glared viciously at those people once more before finally leaving the cemetery with Xie Qingcheng.
Although the offending doctors were out of sight, Chen Man was still incandescently furious and kept swearing under his breath in the car on the drive back.
"How could they insult you like that…
"Xie-ge, there was nothing wrong with your decision to begin with…
"What right do they have to emotionally blackmail you like that, what right do they have to talk to you like that…"
But Xie Qingcheng was rather composed, as though he hadn't heard what they said at all, as if nothing had happened and they hadn't met anyone whatsoever.
"Ge, why aren't you angry at all?!" Chen Man exclaimed.
"Why should I be angry?"
"Th-they talked about you like that—"
"They are the last students of Qin Ciyan. And as for Nurse Zhou, she was personally hired by Qin Ciyan. It's perfectly normal for them to take issue with me."
"They even said that you and I, that we…we…"
"Are gay?"
Chen Man didn't know how to respond.
"I'm not gay, but people can say whatever they like. It doesn't affect me." As Xie Qingcheng spoke, he picked up and unlocked the phone that he hadn't looked at all morning. As they had been in the cemetery, his phone was on silent mode, so it was only now that he noticed that He Yu had sent him a text.
"I returned to school today. When will our arrangement begin?"
Xie Qingcheng frowned slightly.
He suddenly recalled the passionate kiss that had transpired in the chaos of the hotel room and couldn't help but feel slightly ill at ease. After all, the rumors at Huzhou Medical School that he was gay had all begun thanks to this brat, He Yu.
He Yu had come to the hospital to look for him one day. The kid was too damn tall; despite being just a junior high schooler, he'd already shot up to nearly 180 centimeters. He hadn't been wearing his school uniform, so he completely fooled the young, not-yet-married Nurse Zhou. She assumed that he was a twenty-something young man and ran over to ask for his number. But who knew what that goddamn degenerate He Yu was thinking. Perhaps he was trying not to hurt Nurse Zhou's feelings or perhaps he hoped to avoid awkwardness, but he actually smiled at her request and told her, "Ah, but I'm Doctor Xie's boyfriend. I'm waiting for him to get off work."
Just the thought of it ticked off Xie Qingcheng, so he sighed and locked his phone again, not in the mood to reply to He Yu.
"I'm going to nap for a while," he told Chen Man. "I have class in the afternoon."
Chen Man was still grumbling, but when he heard Xie Qingcheng's unexpected words, he shut up.
"Oh…then sleep, Ge. I'll wake you when we get there."
Xie Qingcheng said his farewell and fell asleep.
Light splintered between the tree branches and spilled through the window, streaming over Xie Qingcheng's well-defined face and the elegant line of his slender neck, illuminating his pale skin before burying itself beneath his neatly tailored shirt…
Everything about this man exuded a sense of composure, reserve, and strength.
For some reason, when Chen Man thought of the vulgarities Nurse Zhou had spewed at them back at the cemetery and her accusation that Xie Qingcheng had seduced a cop into bed, his heart skipped a beat as a subtle feeling rose alongside his fury.
His gaze swept over Xie Qingcheng's brows, eyes, and nose bridge, and eventually landed on the man's ice-cold lips. When Xie Qingcheng was awake, the words that came out of those lips were rarely cordial. Even his tone was always very stiff. But now that his eyes were closed in sleep, those lips seemed very soft…
Chen Man watched him, mesmerized by the sight before him, his warm breath becoming just the slightest bit hotter than usual.
Fall brought an end to the loud clamor of cicadas at Huzhou University, but as though irritated by the tranquility settling over the human world, the dry leaves fell in succession, crunching underfoot as students walked by, smoothly shifting the noise from the tree branches to the ground.
When He Yu returned with his luggage in tow, he had the good fortune of running into Xie Xue, who was leaning against the doorway of the little shop by the school's gate with her head tilted upward.
"…What's up with you?" He Yu asked by way of greeting.
At first, he wanted to go the other way and pretend he hadn't seen her, but then he felt that there was no need for him to avoid her. He hadn't told her how he felt, and Wei Dongheng might not even accept her affections. The two of them could at least continue to interact as friends for the time being.
Xie Xue had a tissue pressed to her nose, and her voice was nasal when she spoke. "I don't know, maybe it's the dry fall weather, but my nose is bleeding again, ugh… Oh, wait, you're back! Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"What's the point? But you—if you're constantly getting nosebleeds, then you should go get it checked out. Take some time off and I'll go with you to the hospital."
"It's fine, it's fine. It's not that big of a deal."
"What do you mean it's not a big deal?" He Yu frowned. "When I got sick in the past, you always promised to go with me to the hospital. Can't you take this as my returning the favor?"
Xie Xue blanked for a moment. Maybe the nosebleed sapped her of her IQ. "It's been so long, I don't even remember what I said back then anymore…"
He Yu sighed, then took out a pack of tissues and gave it to her. "I'm used to it. I don't know how you managed to get into university and become a teacher with that memory of yours."
He watched as Xie Xue covered her nose with a clean piece of tissue. "Have you told your brother about your nosebleeds?"
"My brother's busy. I don't wanna bother him."
At this moment, Xie Xue spied someone walking over from a distance. That person waved to her, and Xie Xue's face suddenly flushed bright red.
Before He Yu noticed just what had flustered Xie Xue all of a sudden, she reached out and pushed him slightly with her free hand. "Uhhh, didn't you just get back? Hurry up and go unpack. Don't worry! If I get another nosebleed, I'll go to the infirmary to get it looked at. And if it's really a problem, I'll go to the hospital. I have a faculty meeting soon, so I'll be going now."
"…All right, go on then," He Yu said.
So, Xie Xue left.
He Yu found her behavior a little strange, but he didn't think much of it as he dragged his suitcase toward his dorm.
He had no intention of telling Xie Xue about his feelings now. After the recent events, especially when he had lost control and forcibly kissed Xie Qingcheng in the hotel, he realized that although he hadn't completely abandoned all sense of reason, he was indeed still a patient with a potentially dangerous condition.
He couldn't be certain whether he would always be able to maintain his present state of rationality in the future.
What if he went even crazier?
Perhaps Xie Qingcheng was right…
He should first get a hold of himself and strive to reach a stable condition that Xie Qingcheng would approve of. At that point, it wouldn't be too late for him to tell Xie Xue how he felt.
In any case, he had already waited for so many years, so it wouldn't hurt to bide his time a bit longer. Plus, He Yu figured that a scoundrel like Wei Dongheng wouldn't actually get together with Xie Xue.
When He Yu returned to his dorm, all his roommates happened to be out. He spent some time unpacking his things, and when he sat down to rest, he saw that there was an unread message on his phone.
It was from Xie Qingcheng.
After leaving him on read all day long, Xie Qingcheng finally deigned to grace him with a reply.
"6 p.m. Wait for me in front of the medical school's Laboratory #3."
He Yu needed to honor his agreement with Xie Qingcheng and begin receiving the so-called "training."
He Yu arrived outside the medical school's main laboratory right on time, but it was another thirty minutes before Xie Qingcheng finally made his appearance.
Professor Xie's neat, snow-white lab coat meant that he had probably just finished teaching a specialized course. Huzhou was warm in the early autumn, as the city remained blanketed in lingering heat and humidity, so now that his class had ended, Professor Xie unbuttoned his white coat, revealing the light gray blazer and sharply tailored trousers underneath.
With a swipe of the employee ID card hung around his neck and a beep, Xie Qingcheng walked out of the main building's sliding doors. His coat fluttered in a passing draft, and he reflexively tamed it with the clipboard in his hand without pausing as he descended the tall flight of stairs of the laboratory, calm and unruffled.
He Yu watched him coolly, one hand wrapped around the strap of his messenger bag and the other stuffed into his pocket.
"Your sense of time is really lacking."
"Class ran late," Xie Qingcheng said. "Have you been waiting for long? Come and eat with me first."
The food at the medical school's dining hall was excellent, far better than that of Huzhou University. Professor Xie and He Yu made their way there.
Dinnertime had already passed, so there were only a few stations cooking made-to-order dishes that were still open. A scant handful of latecomer students were scattered throughout the spacious dining hall.
Xie Qingcheng swiped his employee ID card at one of the order windows and then returned to his table with the receipt scribbled out by the dining hall auntie in his hand.
While they were waiting for their food, a pair of male students walked up beside them—surprisingly, they were holding hands. Xie Qingcheng didn't even notice at first, but later, after the two of them sat down across from each other and chatted for a while, the taller of the two leaned forward and tenderly kissed the other student on his fair-skinned cheek.
Xie Qingcheng and He Yu stared in mute horror at this gay couple.
Then, the two homophobic straight men moved in astonishing unison. Without waiting for the other to react, they both stood up and moved to the table furthest to the side.
"Why are you…" He Yu began.
"I can't stand it."
"…Aren't you a doctor?"
"My medical philosophy and personal life perspective are two separate matters." Xie Qingcheng pushed one of the beers he had grabbed from the fridge toward He Yu, then pulled open the tab of his own can with a pop. The creamy white foam bubbled to the top. He took a sip. "Why would men get together with someone of the same gender… Wouldn't it be very awkward?"
He Yu also opened his can of beer and touched it to Xie Qingcheng's. "I've gotta say, Doctor Xie, I really do approve of some of your ideas. A gay classmate even asked me out once before… He gave me a huge bouquet of roses."
"What happened then?"
"I broke his shin."
Xie Qingcheng had nothing to say to that.
The dining hall auntie stuck her head out of the order window and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Number 19 is ready! Two spicy dry pots, come and get 'em!"
Xie Qingcheng stood up and went to fetch their meals.
Of the two spicy dry pots, one was vivid red in color, filled to the brim with diced chicken stir-fried with dried chilis, facing heaven peppers, and Sichuan peppercorns. The crispy cubes of chicken were hidden within a sea of deep-fried chili peppers, studded with glistening and tender pieces of chopped green onion. Slices of garlic fried over high heat gently emitted an extremely appetizing aroma from where they lay atop the mountain of chicken and dried chilis.
This was Xie Qingcheng's order.
As for the other dish, though it was called spicy dry pot in name, it wasn't spicy at all. It was a pot of pork ribs that had been mixed with fermented bean curd and onion powder, and then fried until they were crisp on the outside and juicy on the inside. Plump slices of king oyster mushrooms scored with a crosshatch pattern curled up into themselves, while boldly sliced sections of leek diligently drew out the fragrant juices from the mushrooms and meat. Although the light in the dining hall wasn't all that bright, this hot, aromatic, and hearty dish had a mouth-wateringly soft shine to it, not to mention the smell of garlic and fermented bean curd that seemed to rush through one's nostrils straight into the belly.
Xie Qingcheng pushed the pot of fried ribs toward He Yu.
He Yu frowned at the dish.
Xie Qingcheng glanced at him. "You don't like it?"
"I don't really like fried food," He Yu said. "Plus, I'm allergic to fermented bean curd." He smiled. "Are you using this opportunity to get back at me for feeding you mango?"
"…A close acquaintance of mine—not much older than you—gets this every time he comes here. I thought all you young boys liked this kind of dish. Don't eat it if you're allergic. Go order something else."
"Which acquaintance? Do I know him?" He Yu asked nonchalantly.
"You don't know him. He's the one who was at the hospital last time, but you didn't meet him."
Just as Xie Qingcheng finished speaking and was about to hand He Yu his employee ID, his phone suddenly began to ring. He glanced at the screen and set down his chopsticks. "…Speak of the devil. Let me get this."
"Hello? Xie-ge, I'm near your school right now." Chen Man's voice came from the phone. It wasn't very clear, but He Yu could vaguely make out some of his words. "Are you done with class?"
Xie Qingcheng looked over at He Yu. "I'm with a patient. I have to talk with him a bit tonight. Why did you come?"
Chen Man paused for a few seconds. "I-I just got off work and happened to pass by. You accidentally left your notebook in the car this morning, so I wanted to give it back to you. I won't bother you if you're busy though."
He Yu was rather interested in checking out this devil. Anyone who managed to have a stable relationship with Xie Qingcheng was a curiosity, so after a moment of consideration, he said, "It's fine—seeing as he's already here, let's have dinner with him. I can't eat this anyway, and didn't you say that he likes it?"
"You don't mind?"
"Not at all."
So Xie Qingcheng invited Chen Man to join them.
He Yu went back to the window and ordered a pot of lightly seasoned seafood congee and a few more cans of beer.
Just as he finished ordering, Chen Man rushed into the dining hall carrying a paper bag with Xie Qingcheng's notebook inside.
Holding three beers in one hand and tucking his other hand into his pocket, He Yu casually walked back to their table. His gaze was fixed straight ahead and his messenger bag was slung over his shoulder.
They met in front of Xie Qingcheng's dining table and looked each other over.
Both young men were eye-catching. Chen Man had a fresh, lively appearance and exuded a sunny vibe while He Yu was exceedingly beautiful and elegant. Anyone would give pause when they saw their faces.
When their eyes met, they both froze for a moment.
He Yu felt that Chen Man looked a bit familiar, and the feeling appeared to be mutual.
But neither of them could figure out where they had met before.
Chen Man was a very amiable person. Shaking off the odd feeling, he smiled at He Yu first. Meanwhile, He Yu slipped on his refined, public-facing mask as per usual and offered Chen Man a polite smile. To make a somewhat inappropriate comparison, if you gender-swapped him and placed him in an ancient setting, Young Master He would be like the young lady of some wealthy estate, someone who wouldn't lose her sense of decorum so easily in front of an intriguing stranger.
"Hello," Chen Man said.
"Hello, Officer." He Yu returned the greeting.
Chen Man started in surprise. "You know me?"
"Professor Xie's mentioned you before," He Yu responded. Also, I saw Xie Qingcheng wearing your uniform jacket in the hospital.
Xie Qingcheng looked at the two of them standing there like a noble consort meeting a low-ranked concubine in some harem drama and furrowed his brow. "Why are you two just standing there? Come sit."
As a police officer, Concubine Chen had the modest nature of a public servant. He smiled as he said, "Comrade, please sit."
Accustomed to being in business settings with his parents since childhood, Noble Consort He followed the courtesies of capitalism, so he returned the smile. "After you, sir."
Suddenly being addressed as "sir" threw off the civil police officer. He scratched his head and cautiously sat down.
Likewise, the member of the bourgeoisie was surprised to suddenly be called "comrade," but took it in stride. Smile still intact, he also sat down.
Neither of them bothered with detailed introductions.
Social interaction in the present day was just like that. People often didn't give their full names when they met friends of friends—there was no need to. This was a barrier established by common convention as both parties understood that they were only sharing a meal together and wouldn't interact on a deeper level.
But this didn't prevent the two young men from making friendly conversation at all. After all, they were similar in age and had a lot of shared interests. Plus, He Yu's desire to scope out the weirdos that made up Xie Qingcheng's acquaintances kept the conversation flowing from gaming to sports stars, and sports stars to championships, all without sharing each other's names.
Toward the end of their chat, both these dashing youngsters, Chen Man and He Yu, were all smiles. The communist and the capitalist had a very friendly and amicable interaction—almost as though the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese Nationalist Party had agreed to present a united front.
The generational gap between the two of them and Xie-dage might as well have been as wide as East Africa's Great Rift Valley. He watched from the sidelines, unable to contribute even a single word.
"…Ha ha ha ha, right? That kick was amazing."
"A complete shut-out—that's really quite rare."
"Did you see the game against England?"
"I was on call that day, but I watched the replay…"
The middle-aged man was getting fed up with the two youngsters' chatter. "Are you two going to eat or not?"
Chen Man reacted immediately. He realized that he was chatting a bit too pleasantly with his peer, so he hurriedly passed Xie Qingcheng a can of beer. "Ge, have a drink."
He Yu lowered his head without batting an eye and pressed a bent finger lightly to his temple, hiding the mocking smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
Of course, he had done it all on purpose.
Chen Man had accompanied Xie Qingcheng to the hospital, so their relationship must be pretty good. He Yu's interest in this police officer's personality had been piqued, so he wanted to see just what kind of person could put up with a paternal man like Xie Qingcheng.
Now, he could see that Chen Man was indeed a silly little fool with an extremely sunny disposition.
Xie Qingcheng's grumpy scolding led Chen Man to worry about neglecting the older man, so he didn't dare to chat with He Yu any further. Instead, he started to ramble idly to Xie Qingcheng.
As they neared the end of their meal, He Yu figured there wasn't much else to say. With a smile, he said, "Professor Xie, shall we talk business? I'll leave once we're done."
Xie Qingcheng didn't intend to keep him either, so he handed He Yu a list of names. "These are some students who often skip class. I'll give you a week to talk to each of them and see if their behavior changes after that."
He Yu accepted the slip of paper and looked it over. "Why are they all female students?"
"Male students are on my list."
He Yu examined his list carefully.
"The number of students on my list is the same as yours," Xie Qingcheng said. "I'll also talk with them over the course of this week. I'll take attendance at next week's lecture, and if you manage to convince fewer students to come back to class than me, you lose. If you lose, you have to do grunt work for me."
"Won't it be very difficult for me to succeed?" He Yu asked. "Since you're the teacher, won't they come if you threaten to fail them?"
"How can something easy be called training? You might as well ask me to spoon-feed you milk."
He Yu didn't want to waste any more time arguing with him. A xueba wasn't afraid of a challenge, so he haphazardly stuffed the list into his messenger bag. "I'll be going then. You'll see the results in one week."
Then, he nodded very politely at Chen Man. "Take your time eating, Officer. Maybe I'll run into you again sometime," he said with a smile.
After He Yu left, Chen Man turned to Xie Qingcheng. "Ge, is he a patient? He seems rather cheerful."
"…His issue is minor. He got rejected by his crush. His dad is worried about him and wanted me to give him some guidance."
Chen Man was stunned. "Huh? That guy got rejected? With that handsome face? That girl's standards are way too high…"
"What use is a handsome face?" At the mention of relationship troubles, Xie Qingcheng thought of Hangshi; when he thought of Hangshi, he thought of He Yu's indiscriminate kiss; and when he thought of that kiss, he felt rather uncomfortable. He said to Chen Man with a cold expression, "Just look at him. Does he look like the kind of guy who knows how to earn money or support a family?"
For some reason, Chen Man stilled for a moment before breaking into a smile. "Ge, I can earn money, and I can support a family."
Xie Qingcheng didn't take this to heart at all. He only treated it as some sort of bizarre competitive impulse between handsome youngsters. "Great, now go and find yourself a partner while you're still young."
Chen Man was dumbfounded.
"Eat your vegetables," Xie Qingcheng said blandly.
"Okay…"