Chapter 2
After paying, the two of them walked out of the clinic. An Nuo walked ahead, and Ying Shuhe asked, "How are you feeling now? Is the pain still there?"
An Nuo glanced at her with some discomfort, and then replied slowly, "It's okay, not hurting anymore, and the anesthesia hasn't worn off yet."
An Nuo let out an "Oh" and tucked her chin into her scarf, revealing only her petite nose and clear eyes as she watched the passing cars.
Ying Shuhe took the opportunity to ask with a hint of curiosity, "Why did you give that cute dentist a hard time just now?"
At her words, An Nuo's gaze momentarily froze, but she quickly regained her composure. "You must have misunderstood; I was just helping him with his shoelace."
Ying Shuhe didn't push it and chuckled quietly. Snowflakes continued to flutter down from the sky. On some of the distant rooftops, remnants of previous snowfall still clung, like little white dots decorating the surfaces.
Two guys on the sidewalk nearby were fooling around. One of them bent down, playfully shaped a snowball, and stuffed it into the other guy's clothes, leading to a mix of laughter and cries of distress, creating a lively scene.
The noise was starting to get on An Nuo's nerves, and she deliberately reiterated, "I was just helping him with his shoelaces, didn't have any other intentions."
Ying Shuhe stifled a laugh, and they continued their walk.
A taxi approached not far away. An Nuo raised her hand to hail it, opened the back door for Ying Shuhe, and then closed the door, surprising her with wide eyes.
Clearing her throat while covering her lips, An Nuo said, "I'll just head back and rest; it's nothing serious."
Snow continued to fall lightly, dotting An Nuo's hair and clothes.
She stood upright, waving to Ying Shuhe to go ahead. When she noticed Ying Shuhe contemplating whether to exit the car, An Nuo raised an eyebrow and asked, "Do you really want me to stand out here in the cold wind?"
At her words, Ying Shuhe withdrew her hand from the car door, saying, "Alright, take care of yourself, and call me if you don't feel well."
"Got it."
The car started moving on the road. An Nuo lifted her foot, her boots making a "squeaky" sound in the snow. She glanced back, gazing at the glass door, which remained closed. There was no one outside, but numerous footprints marked the area near the door. Snow on the signboard had fallen, making a "plink" sound as it landed.
An Nuo turned her gaze away, crossed the street, turned right, and walked into Building 12, which was the nearest to the entrance of the residential area. She headed up to the fifth floor.
Exiting the elevator, An Nuo reached into her bag to find her keys and walked to the door of apartment 5A. But after a few steps, she instinctively turned her head towards a faint closing sound from behind. "Bang!"
In front of the neighbor's door opposite her apartment, there was now a completely black garbage bag, looking rather full.
An Nuo was puzzled and continued to her door, unlocked it, and entered. She had moved here six months ago and initially believed no one lived in the apartment across from hers because she never saw anyone coming or going. However, it could also be due to her limited outings.
But in the past two months, she saw the door open just once. She had grown curious and slowed her pace to watch. She saw a fair and slender hand extend from the gap in the door, quickly place a bag of garbage outside, and promptly shut the door. The whole process took less than three seconds. It looked bizarre and eerie.
Once inside her apartment, An Nuo changed into a pair of woolen slippers and tossed her bag onto the couch. She patted it when it fell onto the floor due to the couch's springiness.
She felt her head beginning to heat up again from going out in the cold wind, but had no appetite for lunch. She poured a glass of warm water and took a few pills from her medicine cabinet.
She suddenly remembered the dentist she had met earlier and his vacant expression. Maybe she wouldn't see him again. An Nuo picked up her phone and booked a flight to return to her hometown next week.
She wanted to go home, where she could be sick and still have someone there for her.
When she woke up, it was just past 6 PM. The night had fallen outside, and countless stars sparkled in the dark sky. An Nuo felt weak all over, and her body temperature was rising. Tears welled up in her eyes, and the world seemed to sway.
She reached for a thermometer from her medicine cabinet and checked her temperature. It read 39.5 degrees.
An Nuo couldn't afford to wait any longer and wrapped herself in a large coat, putting on a scarf that covered half her face. Her body was burning, yet she felt an unusual coldness. She held her coat tightly.
Walking felt like stepping on cotton. She left the residential area and stood near the road, intending to hail a taxi. Her head was down, not paying attention to the surroundings.
Once outside the residential area, she swallowed hard, deciding to stand nearby to flag down a taxi. Her whole body felt like it was on fire, yet she experienced an unusual coldness. She wrapped her coat around herself even tighter.
She left the residential area, and An Nuo was about to stand nearby to hail a taxi. She felt unwell, so she turned her head to glance at the road.
Because of dizziness and a heavy head, An Nuo veered off her path while walking. Suddenly, she collided with a man not far away.
An Nuo was completely drained of energy and fell to the ground. Fortunately, she was wearing thick clothing, and the ground was covered in a layer of snow, so she didn't feel much pain.
The man quickly squatted down and asked softly, "Are you okay?"
An Nuo let out a faint "Mm" and, using her hand for support, struggled to sit up.
"Could you help me up?" Her voice was weak as she looked at the man in front of her. She was about to say something more but eventually managed to say, "I'm not trying to scam you..."
It seemed to be the same dentist from earlier. He was wearing a mask for cold protection, and the eyes visible on his face overlapped with the ones she saw this morning. When he saw her face, the man's gaze froze.
He reached out, gripping her elbow, and slowly helped her up.
"Can you stand?"
An Nuo exerted effort herself and managed to stand with great difficulty.
She whispered her thanks and then spotted a taxi approaching. She quickly waved it down. As she got in, she opened the car door. Right as she was about to ask the driver to go, the man who had helped her into the taxi earlier got in through the other door and told the driver, "Go to the nearest hospital."
An Nuo was too exhausted to think about why he entered her taxi and simply focused on reaching her destination. She leaned her head against the car window and dozed off during the ride.
When they arrived at the hospital, the man sitting next to her woke her up.
An Nuo opened her eyes and nodded wearily, slowly stepping out of the car.
Luckily, the taxi had stopped just outside the hospital, so she only had a few steps to reach the entrance. At this time, she had no choice but to go to the emergency room. She went to the registration desk to pay the fees and then entered the internal medicine clinic.
The doctor prescribed medication and instructed her to get an IV, so An Nuo had to go to the second floor for the intravenous drip. She climbed the stairs slowly, feeling dizzy and realizing that her breath was uncomfortably hot.
While turning a corner in the stairwell, An Nuo noticed the man who had accompanied her earlier following behind her, the one she had shared the taxi with.
In the IV therapy room, An Nuo sat down, and a nurse came to hang the IV. She buried her face halfway inside her scarf, but she still felt extremely uncomfortable.
Someone seemed to have taken a seat beside her. An Nuo made an effort to glance at the man next to her.
She saw the man taking off his coat and placing it over her.
Afterward, she fell asleep again.
In a daze, she thought she heard the man calling her name. Perhaps he had seen her medical record.
"An Nuo, have you eaten?" he asked.
In her drowsy state, she replied very softly, "No."
An Nuo was awakened when a nurse removed her IV needle. The person sitting beside her had turned into Ying Shuhe, who now looked at her with concern.
"Feeling better?" Ying Shuhe asked.
An Nuo was drenched in sweat, her lips had lost color, but she did feel a lot better. She wiped her forehead, and with a hoarse voice, she asked, "Why are you here?"
Bringing up this point made Ying Shuhe angry. "I called you, and you didn't pick up. You had a fever of nearly 40 degrees, and you didn't tell me?"
An Nuo was silent. "…"
"A man answered the phone and said he accidentally bumped into you on the road and brought you to the hospital."
An Nuo's gaze froze at those words. "Where is that man?"
"He left."
Ying Shuhe then pointed to a plastic bag next to them containing a bowl of congee. "This is what the man brought. He said it's an apology."
An Nuo looked at the bowl of congee. Then, she asked, "What did that man look like?"
Ying Shuhe recollected and replied, "Tall, slim, quite handsome."
An Nuo responded with a nod and didn't say anything more. It was quite a coincidence that just when she wished for someone to be there when she was sick, he had appeared.
Ying Shuhe accompanied An Nuo back home. Concerned that she might not feel well tonight, she decided to stay at An Nuo's place. When she looked at the congee brought by that man, she wasn't sure whether to eat it or not. "Nuo Nuo, should I throw this away and make you a fresh bowl?"
An Nuo glanced at it for a moment, then responded, "No need, just reheat it."
Soon, she lowered her gaze, her thoughts unknown. "I'm hungry; I'll eat this."
The next day, when An Nuo woke up, her fever had completely subsided. Ying Shuhe watched as she finished her meal and took her medication before leaving.
After drinking all the water in her cup, An Nuo refilled it and entered her bedroom.
She sat on the cushioned windowsill and pulled back the curtain to look outside. Her face still appeared a bit pale but ethereally beautiful in the sunlight. Her eyes were clear and bright, sparkling.
Her gaze lowered slowly, passing over the blue sky, the white clouds, the distant skyscrapers, and the snow on the barren trees. Finally, her eyes rested on the small clinic just outside the residential area, and on the signboard displaying those six characters: "Wensheng Dental Clinic."
This is my first time translating a novel So, please leave a review if you can of my translation. Feel free to complain and help me find any shortcomings of this translation
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