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

Sunlight filtered through the branches of the locust tree overhead, dappling her face. She looked a little worse than when we last met at the hospital, with a hint of fatigue around her eyes. But her posture remained the same: her back was straight, and her chin was slightly raised.

Chen Ping walked over and stood in front of Su Meng, less than a step away. "Why are you here?"

"I came to see you."

Su Meng spoke in a very flat tone, as if she were talking about something very ordinary.

She glanced around, her gaze sweeping past the window of Cui Ying's accounting office. Cui Ying was sitting inside, pen in hand, a page of the ledger in front of her open, but her eyes weren't on the ledger; instead, they were looking through the window at the two people in the courtyard.

Su Meng withdrew her gaze, looked at Chen Ping, and softened her voice, "Shall we find somewhere to talk?"

Chen Ping nodded and led her to the stone table under the tree.

The poplar leaves rustled overhead, while the tamping machine on the other side of the construction site continued its clanging and banging.

The two sat down on a stone bench, and Su Meng got straight to the point, "I probably won't be able to stay at the Health Bureau for much longer."

Chen Ping frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"

Su Meng lowered her head, her fingers lightly tracing names on the stone table, a faint bitter smile on her lips. "There have been quite a few personnel changes in the bureau recently. Qi Guofu was taken away by the Discipline Inspection Commission because of his conduct, so the position of bureau chief is vacant. The person who will fill the vacancy is... never mind, I won't say."

"Xu Wenshan?" Chen Ping asked.

After all, Xu Wenshan is also a deputy director. If Qi Guofu steps down and Su Meng cannot take his place, then it should be Xu Wenshan.

Su Meng nodded. "If I don't take that seat, then Xu Wenshan will have to take it."

"Why aren't you sitting?" Chen Ping asked curiously.

Su Meng was stunned for a moment, staring blankly at Chen Ping, "Do you think that seat is just for anyone? Xu Wenshan has Xiao Lei backing him up."

"What about me? If I were to sit in that seat, Xiao Lei would definitely make me sleep with him, so I simply won't sit there."

Chen Ping remained silent for a few seconds. He knew that Xiao Lei was behind Su Meng's position as deputy director of the Health Bureau.

After all, Xiao Lei's father is the vice mayor, so arranging this kind of thing is quite easy for him.

But now that Su Meng and Xiao Lei have fallen out, Xiao Lei has realized that he no longer has a chance to manipulate Su Meng, so he can no longer help her.

"So what do you want to do?" Chen Ping asked with some concern.

"have no idea."

Su Meng looked up at the distant mountain peaks. Most of the leaves on the trees on the mountain had fallen, and the gray-brown branches swayed gently in the wind. "I'll take the doctoral entrance exam, go back to medical school to pursue my doctorate, and start doing academic research again. I'm tired of dealing with policy and management issues at the health bureau these past few years. I want to go back and do research quietly, and mentor a few students."

"Or find a hospital and become an ordinary doctor; you'll never go hungry."

Chen Ping did not respond.

He looked at the profile of her face, at her hair that was being blown slightly by the mountain breeze.

He saw her a few times after the divorce. Each time, she was dressed formally, with her hair up, standing upright as if she were ready to go on stage and give a speech at any time.

Today, she had her hair down, and a poplar leaf was stuck to the shoulder of her trench coat, but she didn't reach out to pick it off.

"Are you getting used to things here?" Su Meng turned her head to look at him.

"I'm used to it."

Chen Ping nodded. "The health center has been renovated, and the number of patients is increasing every day. They're also building a new building in the backyard, planning to set up a mental health center for teenagers. It's a very busy and fulfilling time."

As Su Meng listened to him, the corners of her mouth curled up slightly. It wasn't just a polite smile; she was genuinely happy for him.

"Have you submitted a report to the Health Bureau regarding the establishment of the youth mental health center? I don't recall seeing your report at the bureau," Su Meng asked.

"We didn't report to the Municipal Health Bureau, but we did inform the township government. Moreover, the money for building the adolescent mental health center didn't come from the health center," Chen Ping explained.

"Not the health center? Who will pay? The township? The county?" Su Meng was somewhat surprised.

After all, nowadays, whether it's the township government, the county government, or the municipal government, everyone is tightening their belts and is poorer than the other.

Who would be willing to spend money to build a youth mental health center in Siping Township?

Chen Ping shook his head. "Neither..."

Su Meng stared at Chen Ping without saying a word.

"Yes... I paid for it." Chen Ping's voice was very soft, so soft that only Su Meng could hear it.

"You?" Su Meng's eyes widened. "How do you have so much money?"

"It was...it was given to me by Cui Ying's father," Chen Ping said truthfully.

Su Meng was stunned, remaining silent and her expression unreadable.

At this moment, Cui Ying was standing behind the window of the accounting office, looking at the two people under the tree through the glass.

At the stone table, Chen Ping and Su Meng sat facing each other. The distance between them was closer than that between ordinary colleagues, but not quite that between intimate relationships. It was a distance that only people who had lived together for many years could maintain naturally.

Su Meng's expression was complicated; she couldn't say she was jealous, but she still felt a little uncomfortable.

In the courtyard, Wang Tao, Zhou Jie, and Sun Xiaoyan squeezed into the corner of the corridor, peering out from afar.

Zhou Jie's curiosity was clearly piqued, and she tugged at Wang Tao's sleeve, asking, "Who is that woman? She seems to know Dr. Chen quite well. Isn't Dr. Chen and Sister Cui Ying a couple? Why isn't Sister Cui Ying doing anything about it?"

Wang Tao lowered his voice and covered his mouth with his hand, "That's Dr. Chen's ex-wife, Director Su of the Municipal Health Bureau."

Zhou Jie's eyes widened suddenly, and she quickly turned around to look again. The more she looked, the more familiar the woman by the stone table seemed.

She tugged hard at Sun Xiaoyan's sleeve, her voice extremely low, "Xiaoyan... Su Meng? Isn't that Director Su who gave a lecture at our school last autumn? The one about medical system reform? The auditorium was packed, and you were standing in the corridor listening to the Q&A session and even took notes."

Sun Xiaoyan did not answer; her gaze remained fixed on the figure beside the stone table.

After a few seconds of silence, she took a deep breath and spoke with unusual seriousness, "It was her. At the time, Director Su said that grassroots doctors are like capillaries. No matter how good the policies are, if the capillaries are not open, the people will still not benefit."

"She also told us, the graduates of nursing school, not to be discouraged or to look down on ourselves. She said that anyone who can save lives and heal the wounded is a white-clad angel, and there is no distinction between noble and lowly white-clad angels."

Zhou Jie nodded repeatedly, her voice filled with barely suppressed excitement, "Yes, it's her. After you came back, you talked about her in the dorm for a whole week, saying that she was very knowledgeable and that you wanted to idolize Director Su. I never expected that she would be Dr. Chen's ex-wife."