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

The car drove for more than twenty minutes before stopping at the entrance of the residential area.

He paid and got off the bus, walking along the familiar path. The holly bushes along the roadside were neatly trimmed, and the streetlights cast a dim, yellowish glow.

He stopped at the foot of the building, looked up, and saw that the light in Su Meng's window was on, the warm yellow light shining through the gap in the curtains, standing out in the night.

He didn't go into the building; he just stood at the doorway looking at the window.

A cool night breeze blew in from the stairwell, causing the hem of his coat to flutter slightly.

He stood there for a moment, took his hand out of his pocket, clenched it, then let it go. He then turned around and prepared to leave.

"Chen Ping?"

The voice coming from upstairs carried a hint of uncertainty and probing.

He stopped in his tracks, looked up, and saw Su Meng standing on the balcony, looking down through an open window, clutching a piece of clothing that had just been taken down.

She saw him turn his head, pause for a moment, then turn and leave the balcony.

Less than two minutes later, the electronic lock on the unit door clicked open, and the door was pulled open from the inside.

Su Meng stood at the door wearing a loose loungewear jacket and slippers, her hair loose, as if she had just run down from the living room.

She looked at Chen Ping, her eyes showing surprise and something else, her tone lighthearted: "Why aren't you going upstairs now that you're here?"

Chen Ping opened his mouth, wanting to say that he was just passing by and stopped for a while when he saw the lights on, but then he felt that it would sound too dry to say.

In the end, he only said, "I just finished giving a statement at the police station. I was passing by and saw your light was on, so I stood there for a while."

"Taking a statement? What's wrong?" Su Meng's eyes were full of concern.

"Oh, it's not my fault..." Chen Ping briefly explained the situation to Su Meng.

Hearing this, Su Meng finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Then you must not have eaten yet, right?"

Chen Ping shook his head.

"Come on, I'll make you some food..." Su Meng called to Chen Ping as they went upstairs.

"No need, I'll just find somewhere to grab something to eat, it's so late..."

"Let's go, what can we do so late? Even if you stay here, who dares to say no?"

Before Chen Ping could finish speaking, Su Meng pulled him upstairs.

Chen Ping felt a little awkward being pulled along by Su Meng, since Su Meng had never been so proactive in his mind before.

Even when they were dating, it was always Chen Ping who took the initiative.

Chen Ping followed Su Meng upstairs and into the house.

The light in the entryway was on, and a pair of his slippers, gray and clean, sat on the far side of the shoe cabinet.

He didn't ask why he kept them, bent down to change his shoes, and went into the living room.

"Please sit down. I'll cook you a bowl of noodles. We don't have any other dishes at home."

As Su Meng spoke, she went into the kitchen and started working.

The sound of a tap being turned on came from the kitchen, followed by the thumping sound of chopping vegetables.

He leaned back on the sofa, watching the busy figure in the kitchen.

In the five years of their marriage, he could count on one hand the number of times Su Meng entered the kitchen; every time, he was the one who cooked, washed the dishes, and cleaned the stove.

When she came home from get off work, she sat down on the sofa and said, "I'm so tired today," and he rolled up his sleeves and got busy.

At the time, he didn't think there was anything wrong with it. In any family, someone has to do these chores, so he did them.

But now, watching Su Meng standing in front of the stove wearing an apron, stirring the noodles in the pot with chopsticks, her movements a little clumsy but very serious, he suddenly felt a lump in his throat.

He lowered his head, shifting his gaze from the figure's back to the potted green ivy on the coffee table.

The leaves were a glossy green, and the vines hung down from the edge of the flowerpot, trailing quite a long way.

The sound of a pot lid being lifted came from the kitchen, steam rushed out, and the aroma of noodles filled the whole house.

Just then, Chen Ping's phone rang.

He took it out and saw Cui Ying's name flashing on the screen. His finger paused for a moment on the answer button, then pressed it, held the phone to his ear, and tried to make his voice sound natural: "Hey?"

Cui Ying's voice came from the other end of the phone, "Are you done giving your statement? I'm home, dinner's ready, my mom made several dishes, waiting for you to come over and eat."

Chen Ping glanced towards the kitchen. Su Meng was bending over in front of the stove, her back to him, scooping noodles. Steam rose from the pot, making her figure somewhat blurry.

He tightened his grip on the phone slightly, trying to keep his voice calm: "I ran into a friend here, we're going to talk for a bit and have dinner together, you don't need to wait for me."

Cui Ying didn't press further, but simply replied, "Then be careful, don't stay up too late, aren't we going back together tomorrow? Come back and rest early."

Chen Ping agreed, hung up the phone, and placed it on the coffee table with the screen facing down, as if afraid someone would see the call log on it.

When he looked up, Su Meng had already come out of the kitchen with a bowl of noodles. The bowl was placed on the coffee table in front of him, with chopsticks on the rim, steaming hot.

She sat down on the single sofa next to him, not looking at his phone, but casually asked, "Is that Cui Ying on the phone?"

Chen Ping neither denied nor admitted it. He simply picked up his chopsticks, bent down, took a bite of noodles, blew on it to cool it down, and put it in his mouth.

Seeing Chen Ping's expression, Su Meng knew she had guessed correctly, but she didn't ask any further questions.

"Secretary Li has spoken to me. The matter of the nursing school should be settled; only the final procedures need to be completed. I should be able to officially start work next month," Su Meng said.

Chen Ping swallowed the noodles in his mouth, looked up at her, and said, "That's good. Being a principal is much better than working in the health bureau. You don't have to deal with those people all day long. You just need to manage the school well and guide the students."

Su Meng nodded. "Yes, I also think this path is smoother than I expected. When I was in the Health Bureau, I always felt that my expertise was useless, but now, after going around in circles, I'm back on the right track."

She paused, then lowered her voice, "I have to thank you for this. If you hadn't helped me pull some strings, I might still be under investigation, let alone be a school principal."

Chen Ping shook his head, picked up another mouthful of noodles from his bowl, and said, "Only if you stand firm and can withstand scrutiny can others push you. I only did what I could; the rest is up to you."

Su Meng smiled but didn't say anything more. The two of them were separated by the bowl of noodle soup on the coffee table, whose steam was gradually dissipating. They remained quiet for about a minute or two.

Chen Ping finished the last bite of noodles, placed the bowl on the coffee table, and looked up at the clock on the wall.

It's almost nine o'clock.

He stood up. "It's getting late, I should go back now. I need to get back tomorrow."

"Why don't you sleep here tonight? There's a place to stay..." Su Meng asked Chen Ping tentatively.

"No, that's not appropriate, after all, we're no longer husband and wife." Chen Ping refused decisively.

Su Meng paused for a moment, then didn't say anything more. She turned around, walked to the entryway cabinet, opened a drawer, rummaged through it, and handed over a key.

There was an old key ring hanging on the keychain; he recognized it—it was the key to the house they used to live in after they got married.