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

Upon reaching the hospital entrance, Chen Ping told Cui Ying to take a taxi home.

After seeing Cui Ying off, Chen Ping returned to the ward. Cui Ying's father was already asleep, snoring softly, with alternating long and short snores.

The nightlight was still on, casting a dim, yellowish glow on his face, making his wrinkles appear much deeper than during the day.

Chen Ping pulled out the folding bed, spread out the quilt, lay down, and stared at the ceiling.

There was a crack in the ceiling that stretched from the light bulb to the corner of the wall, like a dried-up river.

He stared at the crack for a while, then closed his eyes.

The moment I close my eyes, I see that girl's face.

Under the streetlights, his face was covered in tears, but his eyes held neither fear nor anger; they were empty, like a dried-up well.

The moment she opened the car door and got in, she glanced back at Chen Ping, and that look was the most desperate look Chen Ping had ever seen.

She's only a teenager, yet she already has that kind of look in her eyes.

Chen Ping rolled over, facing the wall.

The walls were white, but the light from the night lamp cast a slightly yellowish tint on them.

He pulled the blanket up to his chin, closed his eyes, but couldn't fall asleep.

My mind raced, with words like pulse, tongue coating, thready pulse, liver qi stagnation, and qi stagnation turning into fire popping up one after another, like a pot of porridge boiling and bubbling, impossible to turn off.

He didn't know how much time had passed before he finally drifted off to sleep.

In my dream, the girl stood by the bridge, wearing a school uniform, her hair blowing wildly in the wind.

She turned around and looked at him, her mouth opening and closing, her voice coming from a great distance, as if through a layer of water.

He couldn't hear her clearly, so he took two steps forward, then two more, and suddenly her voice became louder, so loud that it hurt his ears.

"Uncle, save me! Uncle, save me!"

She wasn't standing on the bridge anymore; she was standing on the edge of a cliff, with a bottomless abyss behind her. The wind blew upwards from below, billowing her school uniform like a flag.

He reached out to grab it, but couldn't reach it; he reached out again, but still couldn't reach it.

She took a step back, then another.

Chen Ping suddenly opened his eyes. The fluorescent lights on the ceiling were on, their white light dazzling.

He stared at the light tube for several seconds before his heartbeat slowly subsided.

It was already daylight. There were sounds of nurses pushing trolleys in the corridor, people talking, and people laughing.

He sat up, wiped his face, and found his palms were sweaty.

He glanced at his phone; it was 7:20 in the morning.

Cui Ying's father was already awake, leaning against the headboard, holding his phone, looking at something.

"Uncle, I'm going to process your discharge."

Cui Ying's father looked up, glanced at him, and, noticing that he didn't look well, asked, "Didn't you sleep well?"

Chen Ping shook his head and said "no," then put away the folding bed, folded the blankets, and left the ward.

There were many people going through the discharge procedures, and Chen Ping waited for more than an hour before it was his turn.

He handed the form in, and the young woman inside the window typed away on her keyboard for a while before handing out a stack of forms.

He signed the papers, took the settlement slip, and returned to his ward.

Cui Ying had arrived and was standing by the bed talking to her father.

She saw Chen Ping come in, looked him up and down, frowned slightly, but didn't ask anything.

"My things are packed, let's go."

Cui Ying's father put on his coat, got out of bed, stretched his legs, and took a few steps. "My legs are so weak after lying down for the past few days."

Chen Ping walked ahead carrying his backpack, while Cui Ying supported her father as they walked behind.

Stepping out of the hospital building, the sunlight warmed my face.

Cui Ying's father took a deep breath and said, "The air outside is so fresh."

Cui Ying drove the car to the door. Cui Ying's father sat in the passenger seat, and Chen Ping sat in the back.

The car started moving, exited the hospital gate, and turned onto the main road.

The street scene outside the window rushed past, row after row: shopping malls, restaurants, traffic lights, pedestrians.

Chen Ping leaned back in his seat, looking out the window, his mind still filled with the girl's face.

Cui Ying glanced at him in the rearview mirror but didn't say anything.

When they arrived home, Cui Ying's mother had already prepared a meal. The table was full of dishes: ribs, fish, vegetables, and soup.

Cui Ying's father washed his hands, sat down, picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of pork rib, chewed it, nodded, and then took another piece.

Cui Ying's mother sat opposite him, served him a bowl of soup, and then served Chen Ping a bowl as well.

Chen Ping took a sip of the soup but couldn't taste anything.

Cui Ying sat down next to him and put a piece of fish into his bowl.

After finishing her meal, Cui Ying put the dishes and chopsticks in the kitchen, washed her hands, and came out to see Chen Ping standing in front of the French windows in the living room, looking at the bamboo in the yard, motionless.

She walked over and stood next to him without saying a word.

After a few seconds, she turned her head to look at him.

"Are you still thinking about that girl?"

Chen Ping didn't answer, but he nodded.

Cui Ying looked at him for two seconds, then gently patted his arm. "Go find her. If you don't, you'll never be able to let go of her for the rest of your life."

Chen Ping turned to look at her.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, illuminating her face and making it appear radiantly white.

Cui Ying's lips were slightly upturned, and she looked beautiful when she smiled.

"I'll go with you. If you go alone, they won't even open the door for you because they don't know you," Cui Ying said, turning to get her bag.

"But I don't know where they live," Chen Ping said.

"Idiot, don't you remember the license plate number? With the license plate number, you have all the information."

Cui Ying turned around and glared at Chen Ping.

"I……"

Chen Ping didn't know what to say, but of course he remembered the license plate number.

Even with a license plate number, connections are still needed to find out the other party's information; it's not something just anyone can do.

Chen Ping doesn't have such connections. If he were in the medical field, he might be able to find a few connections.

He couldn't find any connection to checking the license plate number.

At this moment, Cui Ying walked over with her bag. Seeing Chen Ping standing still, she asked, "You didn't even remember the license plate number, did you?"

"I've remembered, but I..."

"Find my dad, he can take care of it with just a phone call." Cui Ying gave Chen Ping a push.

Chen Ping walked towards Cui Ying's parents' room and then gently knocked on the door.

"Come in..." came Cui Ying's father's voice.

Chen Ping pushed open the door and went in, only to find Cui Ying's mother in the room. Her face looked a little off, slightly flushed, and her eyes were darting away, avoiding Chen Ping's gaze.

It seemed as if Chen Ping had stumbled upon something.

Chen Ping could tell at a glance that the two were about to get intimate and had been disturbed by him.

However, it's understandable, since Cui Ying's father had been hospitalized for several days and the couple hadn't been intimate at all.

So it's understandable that people are eager to leave the hospital as soon as they're discharged; it's human nature.

"Chen Ping, what's wrong?" Cui Ying's father asked, somewhat surprised, when he saw Chen Ping.

Because Chen Ping had stayed at their house for so many days, he had never taken the initiative to come to their room.