Qi Yue, stepping into the cafeteria, heard the call. She looked over to see several familiar doctors waving at her.

"What? Am I treating you all to a meal?" Qi Yue walked over with a smile.

"Don't joke, you are treating us," they laughed, already bustling to find seats around the dining table.

"I'm dirt poor right now," Qi Yue said, sitting down as well. "You have to sympathize—I'm a patient!"

A burst of laughter erupted from the group.

"You're a patient, yet you're already back at work so early," someone teased.

The noisy group gathered their food and squeezed around one table to eat.

"A patient really does need robust nourishment," one doctor chuckled, looking at Qi Yue's meal box. "It's all meat and rich dishes."

Everyone crowded over to see.

"Wow, pig's head meat!"

"Xiao Qi, didn't you always say you disliked greasy things like this?"

Dislike them?

Qi Yue paused, momentarily stunned.

Eating, of course, required meat. Tender, slow-stewed pig's head, taking huge mouthfuls at a time...

A man laughed and used his chopsticks to transfer a piece toward her.

Qi Yue closed her eyes and shook her head gently.

"It's restorative medicine," she smiled, pointing to her own head. "I injured my head, after all."

Another round of hearty laughter followed, drawing the attention of others in the cafeteria.

"Look, the moon outside the chest has returned," someone murmured.

"Yes, it's much livelier now."

A woman and a man walked into the cafeteria at that moment.

"Jianfeng, what do you feel like eating? How about a small hot pot?" Cui Xiu asked. She turned to see the man beside her looking inward, seemingly not having heard her. She followed his gaze and instantly her face fell.

Listening to the cheerful banter of her colleagues, Qi Yue kept her head down, eating her food.

"Qi Yue."

A female voice sounded above her.

The joking group all looked up, their expressions instantly turning sour.

Wu Jianfeng’s face was also unpleasant.

"Cui Xiu," he muttered through gritted teeth, tugging Cui Xiu’s arm again.

Cui Xiu shook him off.

"What?" she snapped. "We're all colleagues. Qi Yue had such a big incident and got better—shouldn't we offer some proper greetings? We used to visit her when she wasn't well."

The atmosphere around them became deeply awkward.

"Cui Xiu, coming all the way out here to eat? Isn't the Third Cafeteria much closer to the TCM Department?" a female doctor asked with a strained, half-smile.

"Sister Zhou, who can resist the wonderful food at the 'Chest Outside' cafeteria?" Cui Xiu returned the smile just as falsely. "Once you've tasted it, you can never forget."

While this exchange occurred, Qi Yue continued eating with her head bowed, seemingly having heard nothing.

In Cui Xiu's eyes, this was deliberate avoidance.

"Qi Yue," she called out again, tapping the table with her hand.

Qi Yue finally snapped out of her daze and looked up.

"Oh, Cui Xiu."

"Congratulations on your recovery," Cui Xiu said.

Qi Yue nodded with a faint smile.

"Thank you," she replied.

Cui Xiu was about to say more when Qi Yue’s pager suddenly beeped. She stood up without even thinking about grabbing her lunchbox.

"Take this back for me," she instructed.

Everyone waved enthusiastically at her retreat.

"Oh, right, Cui Xiu," Qi Yue said, pausing as she turned back to Cui Xiu.

That injection of Chinese medicine in the dream...

She couldn't help but smile slightly.

"Thank you so much for helping me out," Qi Yue said.

With that, she hurried away.

Cui Xiu was left utterly bewildered.

"What help?" she asked, looking at Wu Jianfeng.

Wu Jianfeng ignored her and tugged her away.

"What help did I give her? Picking up your ex-boyfriend? Is she laughing at me?" Cui Xiu fumed.

"Just stop talking, I'm not eating this lunch," Wu Jianfeng said, genuinely angry this time. He pulled free of her and strode off.

The entire cafeteria watched them go. Cui Xiu bit her lower lip, stamped her foot, and chased after him.

"Honestly, she just humiliated herself."

"Exactly, why bother."

Qi Yue's colleagues shook their heads, commenting quietly.

In the ward, several people stood by the patient's bedside, watching with expressions of slight anxiety.

"Dr. Qi, this only just started," the nurse said, her forehead slightly beaded with sweat.

Qi Yue was already leaning over, beginning the examination.

"The eyelid tremors during eye closure have disappeared, and the heart rate has reached 120," she stated, standing up. "Oxygen administration."

The nurses responded with a quick "Yes, ma'am," and rushed to comply.

"Doctor, what is happening? He was fine... Didn't you say the surgery was very successful?" the family member cried nearby.

Administering oxygen did not improve the patient's condition.

"Dr. Qi, let's send a sample for lab work," the nurses suggested.

At this point, they needed the instruments to check.

Qi Yue frowned, silent for a moment, looking at the patient in the bed, her gaze settling on his wrist.

Instinctively, she reached out and took his pulse.

The nurses watched her, astonished.

As her fingers touched the pulse, Qi Yue felt terms that she shouldn't know—diagnoses based on Traditional Chinese Medicine—naturally surfacing in her mind...

Startled, she snatched her hand back.

"Dr. Qi!" the nurse urged again.

Send a sample? But these symptoms...

Every illness has an external, symptomatic reaction...

Madam Qi, while we may not have those specific things you desire, I believe we can see and find...

Who was speaking in her head? That dream was so vivid...

Qi Yue closed her eyes again and sat down.

"Dr. Qi?" The nurses were already preparing to move the bed, stopping in surprise when they saw her pause.

"Have there been any unusual occurrences these past few days?" Qi Yue asked, carefully examining the patient's facial features.

"Unusual?" the family member pondered, exchanging glances before shaking their heads.

"Has he felt any discomfort anywhere?" Qi Yue inquired.

The nurses watched the patient's reaction.

"Dr. Qi," they reminded her again softly.

"Discomfort?" The family members exchanged another look, and one finally said, "A few days ago, Xiao Qiang mentioned feeling uncomfortable, like wind was blowing on him."

Wind?

Qi Yue turned to look at the window.

This ward had been sealed off for three days post-operation, and the patient was heavily covered.

"Yes, yes, he said it felt like wind blowing on his face..." another family member chimed in. "He even asked the orderly to check the windows..."

Wind...

"Dr. Qi, the patient's eyes are rolling back!" the nurse exclaimed, her voice laced with alarm.

Qi Yue shot up instantly, her gaze sweeping across the room, finally landing on the IV drip.

She reached out and flipped over the drug card attached to it.

"It’s a Cephalosporin allergy," she announced, pulling the needle out at the same time.

The nurses were startled.

"That's impossible, he's been receiving this same medication for days," they insisted, looking down at the patient. "Besides, he hasn't shown any allergic reaction."

Qi Yue had already deftly removed the needle.

"Administer dexamethasone intravenously, and promethazine intramuscularly," she commanded.

She was the doctor; her word was final. The nurses immediately complied.

Qi Yue quickly wrote out the prescriptions while the others rushed to administer the emergency treatments.

Qi Yue did not leave the ward, watching everyone bustle.

After the two doses were injected, the patient indeed began to improve.

Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Dr. Qi! It really was an allergy! There's a reaction!" a nurse suddenly pointed to the patient's ear.

Everyone quickly looked over and saw a spreading patch of red rash around the patient's ear.

All of them couldn't help but pat their chests in relief.

"Thank heavens..."

If they had insisted on taking him down for tests while the infusion continued, he might have been lost before reaching the ground floor.

"Although we learned in textbooks that some allergic reactions can manifest two to three days later, running into it so abruptly really makes you forget," the nurses commented.

"Fortunately, fortunately, we caught it in time," Qi Yue said. "Be more careful next time."

The nurses quickly affirmed.

After monitoring the patient for a while longer, her shift time was up, and the other doctors had arrived. Qi Yue handed over the patient's status report and returned to her office.

The half-eaten lunchbox had been brought back by a colleague and was sitting on her desk.

Qi Yue put the lunchbox into the microwave. Facing the window, her office was on the third floor, directly facing the main street. She stared blankly until someone knocked lightly on the door.

"Haven't eaten yet?" Huang Ying walked in and asked.

Qi Yue smiled as she pulled the lunchbox out of the microwave.

"I was on call this morning," she explained.

Ward duty was the busiest, and eating on schedule was uncommon; often, one simply couldn't stop to eat.

"Are you off work now?" she asked, opening her lunchbox and picking up her spoon, gesturing for Huang Ying to sit down.

Huang Ying nodded.

"Gather tonight?" she asked.

"Gathering" meant going to Qi Yue's place for a meal. That was their long-standing tradition.

Qi Yue smiled and nodded.

"But my fridge is empty. You guys buy whatever you want to eat, and I’ll cook it when I get back," she said, taking a large bite.

"What were you thinking about just now?" Huang Ying asked.

"What?" Qi Yue asked with food in her mouth.

"Xiao Yue, you've been spacing out a lot lately. Is something troubling you?" Huang Ying inquired.

Qi Yue smiled and shook her head.

"Not at all," she replied. "I’m discharged now; I’m not your patient anymore. Stop trailing and investigating me."

Huang Ying pouted.

"Did you get the wedding invitation from that guy?" she asked after a moment's hesitation.

Qi Yue froze, then remembered something. Her hand flipped over a stack of case files on the desk, pulling out an envelope from underneath.

"Unbelievable..." Huang Ying grew angry, snatching the invitation and slapping it on the desk. "I can't believe that shameless person... He kept saying they would only marry after you recovered. What? Did he wait until you were better just to slap your face in person?"

Qi Yue smiled and shook her head.

"Xiao Yue, it’s nothing, don't take it to heart. There are plenty of good men out there. Hey, we have a new arrival in our department—a sea turtle [returnee from overseas]..." Huang Ying quickly tried to console her, saying this while raising an eyebrow suggestively.

Qi Yue laughed even harder, snatching the invitation back from Huang Ying’s hand.

"Hey, don't you dare go. It’s not worth it; why should you give them gift money..." Huang Ying glared, but before she could finish, she saw Qi Yue casually toss the invitation.

It landed perfectly in the wastepaper basket.

Huang Ying gave her a thumbs-up.

"Dr. Qi!" someone called from outside the door. "Are you assisting Director Zhou’s surgery?"

Qi Yue quickly swallowed the mouthful of food, abandoning the rest of her lunch.

"Yes, yes, I'll be there," she said, already standing up.

"Afternoon surgery," Huang Ying also stood up.

"Oh, it's a total pneumonectomy," Qi Yue mentioned.

"Then by the time you're out, it'll be late. Let’s gather another time," Huang Ying suggested.

Qi Yue nodded.

When Qi Yue walked out of the hospital office building, night had fallen.

"Dr. Qi, off work!"

Passersby greeted her, and Qi Yue returned every greeting with a smile. The north wind blew, scattering icy particles of snow that quickly coated the cement road in a thin, glittering layer.

Her rented place was very close to the hospital. Exiting the West Gate led directly to a bustling night market.

"...Is this fish still fresh?"

"...Sister, want some pineapple?"

"...Just two pounds of spareribs will be enough..."

Soon, Qi Yue was carrying three or four bags in her hands. The snow fell harder, and fewer people remained on the street. She pulled the hood of her coat over her head and quickened her pace.

The speakers of the street vendors continued to blast music.

"...What will I do without you... Go to work alone... Get off work alone... Alone in this huge city... No one to say goodnight to... Keeping me company all night, loneliness, loneliness..."

Qi Yue stopped in her tracks, turning to look.

The music echoed on.

The honking of a car behind her sounded—Beep beep.

Qi Yue snapped back to reality, moved aside, and continued walking.

The lights in her apartment flickered on. Qi Yue kicked the door open with her foot, kicked off her shoes, and ran barefoot across the warm floor into the kitchen, tossing the groceries onto the dining table. She drew the curtains closed, then headed to change clothes.

She started heating water while putting the ribs on to stew, and the rice in the cooker was already emitting a fragrant steam. But Qi Yue wasn't in the kitchen; a cheer came from the bedroom.

"Yes, this is it," she muttered to herself, emerging clutching her laptop. She placed it on the coffee table and clicked it on, and the sound of tinkling music filled the room again.

The sound of boiling water brought Qi Yue back to the stove. She turned off the heat and tasted the fish broth.

"Awful," she grumbled, pulling open the cabinet.

A plate of soup, a plate of small side dishes, and a bowl of rice were set on the table.

"Done, time to eat," she announced, tapping her chopsticks on the table.

Under the warm orange light of the dining area, the woman in soft grey loungewear ate quietly. The song from the laptop echoed over and over in the apartment.

What will I do without you...

Eat alone...

Wash dishes alone...

Alone in this big room...

Staring at the ceiling...

Every image brings heartache... RS