Chapter 15
Thank you to MCJohnston (sorry I think this was from a while ago oTL) and Whiteflare for the ko-fi (づ￣ 3￣)づロ <3
Shen Yan woke up to a furry little paw on his chest scratching him.
When he opened his eyes, he was greeted with the sight of the little guy’s energetic face after a long rest. Given the soft meows, the little guy was probably hungry now and had a good appetite after sleeping so soundly.
A faint smile appeared on his face as Shen Yan stretched out his hand to gently stroke the small space between the cat’s ears.
Feeling comfortable for the massage, the little guy arched its body and got up to stretch on his chest.
It was then that this movement drew his attention to the rustling sound of paper. Only then did he notice that the cat was stepping on some pieces of paper under its paws.
Upon closer inspection, he found that there was even writing on the paper.
This wasn’t there before he took his nap, right?
Shen Yan was slightly stunned by this before he carefully lifted the cat up to rescue the mangled pieces of paper from under its paws.
The order of these pieces of paper had been completely messed up when he retrieved them, but before he could even begin to read the contents, his eyes fell on the signature at the back—
Qi Jing?
Feeling like he had just awoken from a dream, he shot up onto his feet, rolled the kitten up in the blanket, and was about to rush out when his foot accidentally bumped into something placed next to the sofa.
That thing fell to the ground with a thud.
When he lowered his head to see what it was, it turned out to be a silver gift bag with an exquisitely packaged moon cake gift box inside.
He stared blankly at the gift box when the door to the lounge was suddenly pushed open. Before he even saw the head nurse, Ms. Pang, he could hear her speaking in a loud voice, “Dr. Shen! A new patient has been sent in! It’s a golden retriever and seems to have some indigestion problems. Please go and have a look.”
“Alright,” Shen Yan answered after coming back to his senses before asking her in turn, “Just now… did that reporter from the provincial TV station come here?”
“Yes,” Ms. Pang said while nodding, looking rather surprised, “I told him you were resting here, and he came up by himself. What happened? You guys didn’t meet? He said he was here to drop something off for you, and I saw him come down shortly after he went upstairs, so I thought you were done talking.”
“That means he’s already gone?”
“He’s been gone for a while.” Ms. Pang recalled and told him that Qi Jing had left about half an hour ago.
If that’s the case, then there was no point in him chasing after the other party.
Shen Yan looked down at the paper clutched in his hand and let out a long sigh.
Then, he got Ms. Pang to head downstairs to make the necessary preparations first. “Okay, get the nurses to give the dog a basic examination first. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
The little one in his arms was so hungry it kept pawing at him pitifully with both paws.
Shen Yan placed some cat food in a round plate for it to eat slowly while he brought a chair over to where the cat was eating and carefully read the few pieces of paper left by Qi Jing.
The contents of the papers were just as polite and courteous as the person writing them.
Qi Jing began the letter with a reference to the paw print card he had sent sincerely expressing his joy and gratitude.
Then, he went on to write two paragraphs about the audience feedback he heard from the TV station, the effect of the news, the media comments, his hope that more hospitals will follow suit in the future, rescuing abused animals, and the other relevant procedures that come after.
Only after that, was something that came from his personal perspective:
“Although I should be happy that the little ones have all successfully found a new home, I can’t help but feel a little sad knowing that I won’t be able to read any more diary entries with information about them. Rather than work, I feel that the emails exchanged between us was an experience of sharing love and joy.”
After emailing for so long, this was the first time Qi Jing spoke his true feelings.
Next, Qi Jing wrote about him.
“I wanted to get to know you better the first time I heard about you from the Animal Rescue Association, and I’m glad to have successfully worked with you. Following your wishes, there was no mention of you personally in the news reports broadcast to the public. Many do not know of the time and effort you’ve put into this, but I do. I can see from your diary entries and actual treatments for the animals that you are a good doctor who’s meticulous, ethical, and kind-hearted. Thank you, and it was a pleasure knowing you.”
It’s not often that Qi Jing would say something that revealed his personal feelings so obviously.
However, by the end of the letter, he went back to his usual tone.
“I wish you good health, success at work, and happiness for your family. I’d also like to wish you a Happy Mid-Autumn Festival in advance and I hope you like the box of mooncakes. ^_^”
At the place where Qi Jing signed off with his name, an adorable paw print was drawn. Then, he marked off with the date and that was it.
There is no mention of the words “See you again” throughout the entire letter.
And after reading through the entire letter, that seemed to be what he had intended. After all, he didn’t leave any room for a reply.
Shen Yan stared at the hand-drawn cat’s paw print for a while before silently folding the few pieces of paper and placing them in his chest pocket.
The cat on the floor was still happily eating without a care in the world.
If he remained silent just as he’s always had… this would be the end of it.
If he remained silent…
The journey back to his office was in silence, Qi Jing had timed it just right. With ten minutes left in his lunch break, he had enough time to buy some food from a nearby supermarket to fill his stomach.
His colleagues were right, after running out and about for two hours, his fingers were all frozen from the chilly autumn breeze. However, his heart felt refreshed and there was a sense of relief.
Evidently, he had his thoughts written all over his face as the colleague he bumped into the moment he stepped into the office asked, “Did something good happen, Qi Jing?”
He chuckled lightly while returning to his seat, pulling out the swivel chair, he returned with a question instead, “Why do you ask?”
“Because you looked listless when you came to work in the morning and now you look relaxed.” All those working in news did have some observation skills.
“Yeah,” Qi Jing sat down on his chair and replied casually, “because I got closure.”
“Closure?” At this point, his colleague looked as if he was trying to figure out some advanced math question.
“Say, don’t you think a good man should have a good woman by his side?” Qi Jing did not answer his question directly, but instead blurted this out of nowhere.
His colleague blinked blankly before affirming Qi Jing’s words very naturally. “Yeah, that’s right.”
Qi Jing smiled, his eyes never leaving the work document on his desk, and leisurely continued as if they were making small talk, “Then I made no mistake in my decision.”
In this practical, to the point of being cruel world, that was the cold, hard truth.
He could still understand it that much.
“Qi Jing.” That colleague gasped, his eyes rounded in shock.
From the look on his face, he seemed to have solved the first step to this ‘advanced math problem’, albeit in the wrong direction. “C-Could it be that you’ve gotten yourself into an extramarital affair? You got together with a married woman?”
Although that colleague had already lowered his voice as much as he could, there were still people with ears sharp enough to hear it.
Yes, like for example, Mr. S.O.B, who maintains a living with his ears.
“Oh dear! I can’t believe it, Qi Jing, I didn’t peg you as someone who would get involved with a married woman.” Mr. S.O.B, who seemed to have sprouted out of the ground, exclaimed, his face full of excitement.
At this point, Qi Jing began to seriously wonder if he could actually be a descendent of Tu Xing Sun.
While he didn’t know just whose descendent Mr. S.O.B was, he did know that the latter’s voice was as loud as a loudspeaker. With a yell, Mr. S.O.B had managed to send the words just now through the entire office.
In an instant, the office fell so quiet one could hear a pin drop as they collectively perked up their ears to listen to the rest of the story.
“Ahem.” Realising that he might have unintentionally caused a catastrophe, that colleague had to temporarily engage his play dead mode.
“Look at you, so young and promising, with a bright future ahead of you. Why would you do something like that? Sigh~ Looks like I’ll have to warn the married ladies to be more cautious of you.”
Mr. S.O.B must be a great helper in the kitchen given his strong ability, which should not be underestimated, to add oil and vinegar, and stoke the flames.
With all due respect, Qi Jing turned around in his swivel chair to say to Mr. S.O.B with a smile, “Don’t worry, even if I really got involved with married women, Mrs. Sun is very safe.”
Mr. S.O.B’s wife had visited the station several times.
And as they always say, husband and wife were birds of a feather, a match made in heaven.
Qi Jing had always marveled at this couple who was so consistent all throughout, from their outward appearance to within. For such a well-matched and perfect union, breaking them apart was something that was not conducive to the safety of society, and Qi Jing would never do something that would impede the development of the country.
Mr. S.O.B, who had been defeated many times over, had even forgotten to “punish” Qi Jing as he stomped out of the room.
Thanks to Mr. S.O.B, who provided Qi Jing with this space to roast him, after venting out everything, Qi Jing felt a lot better and quite refreshed. The interview in the afternoon also went smoothly without a hitch because of this.
With this momentum, Qi Jing decided to press on without letting up and get the plan for the Mid-Autumn Festival special in the evening done as well.
If everything went according to plan, he might even be able to take a half-day off for the Mid-Autumn Festival to listen to some audio dramas and perhaps do some recordings.
It was past 6 PM but the building of the TV station was still brightly lit, especially the offices of the News Channel.
To compensate the staff for their efforts, working overtime, the director was actually willing to put a hole in his wallet and spend a fair sum ordering take-out for those still in the office. Naturally, Qi Jing took the opportunity to have a good meal and was completely satisfied.
Take a step back and everything will be fine.
Now that he had made up his mind, not only did he feel relieved, but his work was getting on track as well.
Qi Jing happily ate the food the director got for them with a peace of mind, made himself a cup of coffee, and put himself back into his usual working state. Occasionally, his eyes would drift and a small corner of that envelope on the file cabinet would appear in his field of vision. Even though he would still pause for a moment, as long as his eyes did not linger, it should be alright. For the time being, he focused his attention on the computer screen, concentrating on dealing with the various work-related emails.
Just then, the number of unread emails refreshed to “1” —a new one had arrived.
Qi Jing habitually clicked on his inbox, but the moment he saw the subject of the new mail, he couldn’t help but stop breathing for a moment.
“Regarding the diary entries”.
Simple and concise, he could tell at a glance what the email was about and who was the one that wrote it.
Qi Jing suddenly felt like he didn’t put enough sugar in his coffee, it was extremely bitter. He tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp, the strong astringent taste attacked his nose and mouth, leaving him unable to speak for a short time.
No one would open this email for him even if he drank another ten cups of coffee.
Realising this, he finally put the cup down as if resigned to his fate, lightly tapped his index finger, and clicked his mouse down on the title.
The email was very short.
The entire text was only made up of one sentence and a signature.
“If you want to read it, I’ll continue writing. ——Shen Yan.”
Those words reflected in his unblinking eyes.
The edges of the font were like a serrated blade, it somehow made him feel a sharp pain as he stared at those words.
“Huu…”
He heard himself gasp with much difficulty, the clogged feeling in his throat seemed to have finally cleared up enough for him to continue breathing.
In this small and narrow cubicle, no matter how hard he tried to suppress it, his breathing still sounded very harsh on his ears, like that of an injured patient in an intensive care unit.
He felt like he was suffocating. It felt as if there was no room for any more air in his chest.
Not interested.
Don’t write.
He really wanted to reply in a similarly short and simple way. However, while he was still at a loss for what to do, his fingers had already moved to close the email, returned to the inbox page, quickly ticked the box in front of the email, and moved the cursor to the “delete” button. Maybe it was due to the effect of the caffeine kicking in, his right hand began to tremble and he couldn’t find the strength to click down on the mouse.
It’s only eleven words.
Only eleven words and it completely messed up the emotions I managed to put in place.
He maintained the position for a long time until his arm started to get sore, but still unable to execute that delete command.
His work was only half done.
There was still a mountain of miscellaneous work he had to settle.
Qi Jing closed his eyes tightly, lowered his head, and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes again, he created a new folder in his mailbox, named it “To be deleted”, and moved the email directly into it. The moment the title disappeared from the list of emails in his inbox, he forced a smile in a bid to escape from reality and tried to find what little bit was left of the relief that had been washed away by that email.
Just then, a colleague from the same interview group nicknamed, “Chubby Dahai”, happened to pass by Qi Jing’s desk while burping.
Qi Jing recalled that this guy would be away during the Mid-Autumn Festival. He looked very dejected and was even complaining that he couldn’t be with his wife and children on a holiday when he received the notice from above a few days prior.
This could work. Qi Jing hurriedly called out to him, “Dahai! You’ll be going to K City for a business trip in two days and won’t be able to go home for the Mid-Autumn Festival, right?”
“Yeah, this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival basically ruined.” Chubby Dahai pulled a long face.
“Then… how about I go in your stead?” Qi Jing offered.
“Are you serious?” As expected, Chubby Dahai let out a cry of surprise, but his jubilant look gradually faltered. “Uh… While I am grateful for your kindness, won’t you be the one unable to stay and enjoy the holiday in that case? I think I’ll pass, it’s ok.”
“It’s alright, I live alone here and I’m not going back to my hometown. Besides, I’m quite used to traveling.” Qi Jing chuckled lightly.
“Are you sure?” Chubby Dahai scratched his head apologetically. He did really want to spend the Mid-Autumn Festival with his family.
“Un, I’m sure.” Qi Jing lowered his eyes, trying to make his expression as natural as possible.
Since he’d put it that way, Chubby Dahai was certainly more than happy to accept his offer. He kept thanking Qi Jing, even claiming that he would take Qi Jing’s place if the latter had a business trip he didn’t want to go on.
Truth to be told, it didn’t matter whether he went on a business or not, he just didn’t want to be here.
He had previously made the promise that he would definitely reply to the emails within 24 hours. But this time, he had decided that he would not reply. Although it was highly unlikely, he was afraid that person would suddenly call or show up at the station. Or he might even accidentally run into that person somewhere in this city at some point in time.
Therefore, he decided it was better for him to disappear for a while.
Qi Jing stared at his screen in a daze, the words on the document on the computer became a little hazy, like it had been muddled by water. He reached out to feel his forehead. The fever had subsided, and all that was left was a dull pain that was faintly acting up.
A/N: Practical application of Qi Jing’s “God of playing dead” skill in the 3D world…