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

Cui Ying looked up at him, her eyes filled with surprise, curiosity, and a little bit of anticipation.

She pointed to a door next to the living room: "There."

Chen Ping went into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.

The refrigerator is huge, with two doors, and it's packed full of everything: vegetables, fruits, eggs, milk, meat, fish, you name it.

He glanced at it, took out a few eggs, a bunch of green vegetables, a piece of pork, and a few scallions, and then rummaged through the cupboard and found rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar.

"Your house is quite well-equipped," Chen Ping said while washing vegetables.

Cui Ying stood at the kitchen doorway, leaning against the doorframe, looking at him.

Her lips curled up, and her eyes shone brightly, as if she had discovered a new continent.

"You can really cook?"

"What do you think?" Chen Ping rinsed the rice and put it in the steamer. Then he placed the vegetables on the cutting board and chopped them quickly and evenly with a swift, crisp sound. "If I didn't know how to cook, I would have starved to death long ago."

"Didn't your ex-wife cook for you?" Cui Ying asked.

Chen Ping was taken aback, and the knife in his hand slowed down.

"She's busy, how could she have time to cook..." Chen Ping said softly.

Su Meng works at the Health Bureau and is very busy every day. After becoming the deputy director, she became even busier and had no time to cook.

Cui Ying didn't say anything, she just looked at him.

Watching him wash and chop vegetables, beat eggs, and heat oil.

Chen Ping's hands were very steady, just as steady as when he was giving injections.

Once the oil is hot, pour in the eggs; they sizzle and release a wonderful aroma.

Cui Ying took a deep breath, her stomach growled, and she quickly covered it, her face turning red again.

Chen Ping didn't turn around, but he heard it and smiled.

Soon, four dishes were served.

Stir-fried tomatoes and eggs, with bright red and yellow colors.

Stir-fried green peppers with pork; the pork slices are thinly cut, and the green peppers are crisp and fresh.

Stir-fried bok choy, its green color shining brightly.

There was also a seaweed and egg drop soup, with a few drops of sesame oil floating on top of the noodles; the aroma alone was enough to whet your appetite.

Chen Ping served two more bowls of rice, set out his chopsticks, and sat down at the table.

"Try it," Chen Ping said.

Cui Ying sat down opposite him, picked up her chopsticks, took a piece of egg, put it in her mouth, chewed it, and her eyes lit up.

She picked up another piece of meat, chewed it, and her eyes brightened even more.

She didn't say anything, but her chopsticks never stopped; she ate one bite after another until her cheeks were bulging.

Chen Ping watched her eat and smiled, "Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you."

Cui Ying swallowed the food in her mouth, took a sip of soup, and let out a long sigh: "Chen Ping, how come you can do everything?"

"This is nothing. When I was a kid, I lived with relatives. If I didn't work, I wouldn't get any food."

Chen Ping picked up a piece of green vegetable with his chopsticks, put it in his mouth, chewed it, and nodded. "It's alright, the salt is just right."

Cui Ying put down her chopsticks, looked at Chen Ping for several seconds, her eyes filled with heartache.

Cui Ying couldn't understand the phrase "no work, no food" at all.

Because she had been raised in luxury since childhood.

Chen Ping felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze and looked up: "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." Cui Ying lowered her head and continued eating, but her eyes were a little red.

After dinner, Chen Ping was about to wash the dishes when Cui Ying pushed him forward, saying, "You cook, I'll wash the dishes. It's fair."

Chen Ping didn't argue. He walked out of the kitchen and stood in the living room for a while.

Sunlight streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a warm glow on the light gray sofa.

He walked to the window and looked at the bamboo trees in the yard. When the wind blew, the bamboo leaves rustled, sounding somewhat like, yet not quite like, the poplar trees in the backyard of the Siping Township Health Center.

After washing the dishes, Cui Ying came out of the kitchen, shook the water off her hands, and walked to his side.

"How's my place? Is it alright?"

"That's great." Chen Ping nodded. "When I was in Tianhai City, my biggest dream was to buy a big villa here."

Cui Ying glanced at him but didn't say anything.

After a few seconds of silence, she suddenly spoke, her voice very soft: "So, do you still want to buy it now?"

Chen Ping turned his head and looked at her.

Cui Ying didn't look at him, but at the bamboo in the yard. The sunlight shone on her face, making it shine white, and her ears were still red.

Chen Ping smiled but didn't answer, because he didn't know how to answer.

Cui Ying waited a few seconds, but didn't get an answer. She bit her lip, turned around, and left.

"I'll go tidy up your room." After she finished speaking, she went upstairs.

Chen Ping watched Cui Ying's retreating figure, smiled, and sat down on the sofa. But as soon as his bottom touched the sofa cushion, he heard the sound of a key turning at the door.

He paused for a moment, instinctively trying to stand up, but before he could, the door was already open.

Cui Ying's mother stood at the door, carrying several shopping bags in her hand. Her hair was neatly tied up, she wore light makeup, a beige cashmere coat, and low-heeled leather shoes.

When she saw Chen Ping, she paused for a moment, her expression shifting from calm to surprise, and then from surprise to something indescribable.

It wasn't that I was unhappy, but it wasn't that I was happy either. It was the kind of expression you have when you see a stone on the road and don't know whether to kick it away or go around it.

"Dr. Chen?"

She put her shopping bags on the ground, changed her shoes, and came in. "What brings you here?"

Chen Ping stood up and placed the things he had bought on the ground on the coffee table: a bag of fruit and a bouquet of flowers, which he had bought from the flower shop at the entrance of the residential area.

He didn't want to buy it at first, thinking it was too deliberate, but it would be even more inappropriate to come empty-handed. After hesitating for a moment, he bought it anyway.

"Auntie, excuse me."

Chen Ping tried to make his smile look natural. "The health center is on holiday, and I have nowhere to go. Cui Ying suggested that I stay in Tianhai City for a few days. I'm sorry to have troubled you and your uncle."

Cui Ying's mother glanced at the things on the coffee table, then at Chen Ping, and smiled.

That smile was polite, but polite to the point of being somewhat distant.

She walked over, sat down on the sofa, patted the seat next to her, and gestured for Chen Ping to sit down as well.

"Dr. Chen, you're too kind. You didn't need to bring anything."

Chen Ping sat down, his back straight, his hands on his knees, without leaning against the back of the sofa.

This was a habit he had developed since childhood: when in someone else's home, one should not lean too comfortably, as that is a posture reserved for the host.

"I didn't know what your aunt and uncle liked, so I just bought some fruit," Chen Ping said.

"Dr. Chen, is it really true that you have no one left in your family?"

Cui Ying's mother poured him a cup of tea and handed it to him, speaking casually as if they were having a casual chat.

"That's all." Chen Ping took it, didn't drink it, and put it on the coffee table. "My parents disappeared many years ago, and I'm all alone."

Cui Ying's mother paused for a moment, glanced at him, her eyes filled with sympathy, but it was quickly overshadowed by something else.

"It must be tough for you all by yourself," she said.

"I'm used to it," Chen Ping smiled.

Cui Ying's mother picked up her teacup, took a sip, put it down, and looked at Chen Ping.

Her gaze lingered on Chen Ping's face for a few seconds before shifting to the bouquet of flowers on the coffee table.

The flower is a lily, white, and hasn't bloomed yet; the bud is tightly closed, like a clenched fist.