Sent to the countryside, I turned the health center into a top-tier hospital.

The two walked a few more steps, and a sycamore leaf fell, landing on the gravel road. It spun twice in the wind and stuck to the curb.

Su Meng suddenly stopped.

"Chen Ping, there's no way Xiao Lei and I can be together."

Her voice was lower than before, so low it sounded like she was talking to herself, "I will not marry him."

Chen Ping also stopped and stood next to her, without looking at her.

"Who you marry is none of my business." Chen Ping's expression and voice were very calm, even somewhat indifferent.

Su Meng stood beside him, without moving.

A few seconds later, Chen Ping turned his head and glanced at her.

Su Meng bit her lower lip so hard that the light lipstick on her lips faded, revealing a pale mark underneath.

Her eyes were red, but there were no tears, just a deep red, as if they had been irritated by something.

Chen Ping shifted his gaze to the hospital building in the distance.

Upstairs, there are rows of windows, some open, some closed, some with curtains drawn, and some with nothing blocking the view.

He wasn't sure if he had gone too far with what he had just said, but he didn't intend to take it back because he was telling the truth.

They got their divorce certificates together, and they went down the steps in front of the Civil Affairs Bureau together, neither of them looking back.

"You'd better tell your dad not to use those heart stents from Xiao Lei's company."

Chen Ping changed the subject.

Su Meng took a breath, a short, quick sniff.

She switched the file folder in her hand, rubbed her eyes quickly, as if afraid of being seen.

"I checked again, and all the test reports are up to standard."

Su Meng's voice was still a little tight, "The report from the third-party organization wasn't done by Xiao Lei's people."

Chen Ping smiled.

The smile was faint; the corners of his mouth twitched and then disappeared, and the smile seemed to carry a hint of bitterness.

He didn't reply and kept walking.

Su Meng stood there for a second, then followed. The two walked a few steps, one after the other, then walked side by side, neither of them speaking again.

The pebble path wasn't long; we walked around it once, then around it again.

Occasionally, one or two leaves would fall from the sycamore tree, landing at their feet before being blown away by the wind.

Upstairs, the window of the ward was open.

Cui Ying stood by the window, holding a bowl of rice that was no longer very hot, but she didn't eat it.

She watched the two people in the courtyard downstairs, walking side by side on the cobblestone path, their pace neither fast nor slow. Occasionally, they would turn their heads and say something, then fall silent again.

She saw Su Meng stop, and Chen Ping also stop. They stood face to face for a few seconds before continuing on their way.

She couldn't see their expressions, but she saw Su Meng raise her hand and rub her eyes.

Cui Ying's mother sat on the bed, looked up at Cui Ying, then looked out the window, and sighed.

Cui Ying's father leaned against the headboard. He had just finished eating and his eyes were closed, so it was hard to tell if he was asleep.

Chen Ping and Su Meng walked around downstairs again.

Su Meng spoke up, "I'll handle things at the bureau, you don't need to worry. It wasn't easy to get you 500,000 yuan, we can't let anyone hold onto this money."

Chen Ping said only one word, "Okay," and nothing more.

Su Meng glanced at him again.

Chen Ping noticed her gaze but didn't turn away.

The two walked around again, keeping a half-step distance between them, looking like a young couple taking a stroll, but neither of them paid any attention to the other, and they didn't even glance at each other.

Su Meng stopped and said, "I have to go. I have a meeting at the bureau this afternoon."

Chen Ping nodded.

Su Meng turned and walked away, but stopped after a few steps without looking back.

"Chen Ping."

"Um?"

"Don't get your head injury wet."

She finished speaking and left, her high heels clicking on the concrete, walking further and further away until she disappeared from sight after leaving the hospital.

Chen Ping stood in the courtyard for a while, and the wind blew by, making the leaves of the sycamore tree rustle.

He looked up at the building; Cui Ying was standing by the window, looking down.

Their eyes met, and Cui Ying quickly left from the window.

When Chen Ping returned to the ward, Cui Ying was holding a meal, which had already gotten a little cold.

Hearing the door open, she turned her head to the side, her expression returning to normal, revealing nothing.

Chen Ping didn't mention what happened downstairs, and she didn't ask either.

"The food's cold, I'll go heat it up for you."

Cui Ying was about to leave with her food when Chen Ping took it from her and said it wasn't necessary, as it was cold and would still be fine to eat. He then finished his meal in a few bites.

The rice was a bit hard, and the dishes were cold, but he ate very quickly, as if he were completing a task.

Cui Ying's mother cut the peeled apple into small pieces, arranged them on a plate, inserted toothpicks, and pushed it in front of Chen Ping.

Chen Ping ate a piece and pushed the plate back to Cui Ying's father, who waved his hand and said he didn't want any, then pushed it to Cui Ying's mother.

A plate of apples passed around among several people, and in the end, more than half of the plate remained, placed on the bedside table, and no one touched it anymore.

Cui Ying cleared away the dishes and placed the plastic bag at the door.

Chen Ping said, "Auntie, you and Cui Ying should go back and rest. I'll stay here and keep watch. Uncle is alright, I can manage."

Cui Ying's mother shook her head: "You've been busy all night, it's your turn to go home. I'll stay here and keep watch. Go home and get some sleep."

Neither of them moved.

Cui Ying stood in the middle, looked at Chen Ping, then at her mother, and said, "Stop arguing."

She threw the tissue in her hand into the trash can, clapped her hands, and said, "Mom, you should go back now. The house can't be left unattended. Chen Ping and I will stay here. You can come and relieve us tomorrow morning."

Before Cui Ying's mother could say anything more, Cui Ying had already pulled her up from the chair, stuffed the bag into her hand, and pushed her toward the door.

Cui Ying's mother was pushed two steps, stopped, turned around, and looked at Chen Ping.

"Chen Ping, thank you for your hard work tonight."

"It's alright, Auntie."

Cui Ying's mother glanced at Cui Ying again, as if she wanted to say something, but she opened her mouth but didn't say anything, and turned and left.

The footsteps in the corridor faded into the distance, the elevator doors opened and closed, and then it became quiet.

There were three people left in the ward.

Cui Ying's father leaned against the headboard with his eyes closed, it was hard to tell whether he was really asleep or just pretending.

Cui Ying unfolded the folding bed, spread out the quilt, pulled another bed to the wall, sat on the edge of the bed, and took out her phone to look at it.

Chen Ping sat for a while, then got bored. He went downstairs and bought a chess set at the hospital's convenience store. It was plastic, with a chessboard made of a thin layer of plastic that could be rolled up and stuffed into a pocket.

He returned to the ward, laid out the chessboard on the bedside table, arranged the chess pieces, and called out, "Uncle."

Cui Ying's father opened his eyes, looked at the chessboard, then at Chen Ping, and laughed, "You little rascal, you know I'm bored lying here."

He propped himself up on the edge of the bed, pulled the blanket up to his waist, flexed his fingers, picked up a firecracker, and set it up with a snap.