Midnight had come and gone when Qi Yue stepped out of the residence, off duty.

"The girl servant Aru murmured, "I'll fetch some hot water for Lady Li to soak her feet. It might help relieve the fatigue."

"You're exhausted enough yourself," Qi Yue shook her head, "Don't trouble yourself anymore. Go rest - you still have to rotate in a while."

Aru wasn't tired at all, merely wiping surfaces and cleaning up. "It's nothing compared to what you two are going through - both physical exhaustion and mental strain," she said before striding off to summon the servants.

Qi Yue stood in the courtyard feeling every sinew of her body ache, yet sleep eluded her.

She slumped against the steps instead.

"Stand up. This is no place to sit." Chang Yuncheng's voice cut through the night from nearby shadows.

Startled, Qi Yue turned toward the sound. "What are you doing here?" she asked before realizing it was a foolish question, laughing wryly as if scolding herself for forgetting this *was* his home.

Chang emerged from beneath the veranda.

"You're not resting either? This late hour," Qi Yue stood up and stretched, cracking her knuckles in inquiry.

"Attended to some matters." He responded vaguely.

Neither pressed further into the silence between them.

"Why don't you ask about the patient's condition?" Qi Yue smiled suddenly.

"What good would it do? We've done all we could," he said with that same detached air of indifference.

Qi Yue laughed - this boy had never once asked how his injuries were healing, unwilling to add pressure to her shoulders.

"Thank you," she said softly, "You don't need to worry or blame yourself. I'm not holding it against you."

Chang Yuncheng snorted dismissively.

"Typically..." he turned away with a scoff, "self-righteous nonsense."

Qi Yue chuckled again.

"Ashamedly annoying as you are," she said with a sly grin, "You're at least an honest villain - though know this gratitude means nothing more than it is."

Chang's gaze swept over her from above.

"You think too much," he frowned. "Get some rest and clear your mind."

Their conversation was interrupted as Aru arrived with the servants carrying hot water.

Qi Yue leaned against a veranda pillar, gazing up at the starlit sky while exuding a breath of cold air.

"Go ahead first. I'll be in shortly," she told her attendant.

Aru hesitated slightly before noticing Chang still standing there. After a moment's pause, she nodded and led the servants inside.

How beautiful these stars are, Qi Yue thought. She'd certainly worked many night shifts and performed countless midnight operations before - yet never once paused to look up at them. Perhaps it wasn't that she hadn't considered doing so... but rather had no one else here under *her* sky to share it with. Colleagues, family, friends - they were all under different starlight now.

The sudden question broke her reverie: "What did those two maids say when they visited you?"

Startled from her thoughts, Qi Yue blinked at him.

"What do you mean?" she asked, turning toward Chang's voice.

"Your aunt and cousin both sent their servants to see how you're doing," he said directly, eyes fixed on her.

Ah yes - that. Qi Yue rubbed her nose against the chill, dispelling the stiffness creeping into her muscles from the cold.

"One wanted me to leave," she smiled, raising an eyebrow at him, "The other urged me to stay. Care to guess which was which?"

Chang scoffed at this rhetorical question.

"By the way," Qi Yue added with a teasing tone, "How's your investigation into my attempted murder proceeding? Any results yet?"

"Nothing is impossible if you truly commit yourself," he said loftily.

Qi Yue rolled her eyes.

"Says the one who thinks determination alone can overcome everything," she muttered before catching herself - suddenly feeling that prickling behind her nose, like when... treating patients...

Chang frowned at her reaction. "What's with all these dramatic sighs? It's just medicine! What's with this dying act? Truly repulsive."

This time Qi Yue didn't bristle as he expected.

Still leaning against the pillar, she hugged herself in an undignified manner and kept gazing upward.

"Medicine," she said wryly, "Those two simple words mean someone entrusting their life to you... yet failing them completely."

Chang remained silent.

The night fell into stillness once more, broken only by the occasional moans from within where injuries festered and Hu San's soft footsteps echoed past.

"Three years ago," Chang suddenly began, "I led an advance scout mission."

This was the first time this boy had spoken to her of his past.

Qi Yue looked at him but said nothing as he continued without meeting her eyes:

"It was my first real encounter with those eastern raiders. I assembled a team of twenty men - all carefully selected veterans, handpicked and trusted completely. We were certain we'd succeed."

He paused here, lost in memory.

Straightening against the pillar, Qi Yue listened silently as he continued:

"I followed the intelligence reports to determine our route before sending them off." Another pause.

"And then...?" she finally asked.

"Nothing more happened," he said flatly.

"What do you mean?" she was puzzled now.

Chang turned his gaze toward her:

"My judgment failed. The route I chose not only yielded no intelligence, but we were ambushed - every man killed without a single survivor." His voice remained steady as if recounting dinner plans.

Qi Yue stared at him in stunned disbelief.

"All... dead?" she echoed, thinking she'd misheard.

"Yes," he said with a faint smile, "All dead."

"Then... then..." she stammered helplessly toward him.

"You're wondering why I'm still here? Why I can still be happy and cheerful?" His tone darkened suddenly. "What else could I do? Die too? Would their lives return if I perished with them? Better to live, fight more battles, kill more enemies - that's the best repayment for their sacrifice."

His expression remained calm but his voice trembled slightly, betraying internal struggle.

Qi Yue looked at him silently.

"I'm sorry," she hesitated before apologizing awkwardly, "For bringing back these memories..."

"You're always so irrational," he scoffed, then turned and walked down the steps without another word.

"Just politeness," Qi Yue said to his departing figure, shaking her head.

A cold breeze struck as Qi Yue looked up at the stars once more. At this very moment under those same constellations, her night shift colleagues were likely still working too - but none of them would be suffering like she was right now with these complications.

You lucky devils! You don't get to face challenges quite like mine!

Qi Yue smiled wryly.

"Time for some rest," she said aloud, stretching stiff neck before heading toward the sleeping quarters... Halfway written. Everyone take a look first - I'm going on duty and will finish writing at the hospital by noon today. This counts as half an update~

Zhu Zi Mu Gu please stop! You're being too extravagant with these gifts! One was enough! RQ