Mộc Yên Chi sat at the desk, surrounded by a pristine white space, faintly smelling disinfectant.
She was quickly typing, handling the unfinished work on her computer.
Mộc Yên Chi tilted her head, perhaps because her shoulders were a little sore, took a small sip of water from her cup, then glanced at the clock.
It was already past nine-thirty.
The surroundings were quiet, occasionally punctuated by hushed exchanges between the on-call doctor and nurses, but these were muffled by the soundproof door.
Suddenly, the room door swung open, letting in some of the noise from outside.
Thẩm Nhược Giai stood at the doorway, arms crossed, raising an eyebrow as she looked at Mộc Yên Chi, then sighed and said:
"Still not going home? Look at what time it is!"
Mộc Yên Chi chuckled, nodded a few times, and said as if negotiating:
"Alright, alright, I'm done. I'm going home now."
Thẩm Nhược Giai smiled, taking it as a sign that her friend was finally being compliant. She took a few steps inside, stood beside the waist-high desk, and casually picked up a ballpoint pen that was about to fall, handing it to Mộc Yên Chi.
Mộc Yên Chi took it, quickly put it into the pen holder, then happily grabbed her handbag and said:
"Have you eaten yet?"
"I've been waiting for you for almost thirty minutes, haven't eaten anything yet, and I'm so hungry I'm about to faint. Come on, treat your big sister to a meal!"
Mộc Yên Chi's eyes crinkled in a smile, she made an OK sign with her hand, then linked arms with Thẩm Nhược Giai and they walked out.
The two of them strolled around the night market next to the hospital, filling their stomachs with food.
Thẩm Nhược Giai then said she craved bubble tea, so they had to drive to buy some.
Mộc Yên Chi reached out and pressed the music button, and clear, gentle melodies filled the air.
She took a long sip of her bubble tea, chewing on the chewy, soft tapioca pearls, and exclaimed:
"The taste here is always the same, isn't it? So delicious!"
Thẩm Nhược Giai rolled down the car window and poked her head out to look around.
They happened to stop at a red light near a bridal shop.
Inside, it was incredibly bright, not the usual soft glow, but a dazzling, eye-stinging brilliance.
The wedding dress displayed in the glass case was truly breathtaking, its entire lower half adorned with real crystals.
Thẩm Nhược Giai's mouth fell open. After feasting her eyes on it, she turned back to her friend, who was focused on driving, and said:
"Hey, Xiao Chi, look! Isn't that wedding dress beautiful? Wow, I'm completely smitten! I have to bring Old Fan here someday."
Mộc Yên Chi smiled faintly, so faintly that no curve was visible at the corners of her lips.
She pressed the accelerator and drove straight on.
A wedding dress? It truly was beautiful! She had worn one too, almost...
Thẩm Nhược Giai seemed to realize she had gotten a little too excited, so she lowered her voice and asked:
"Hey, do you even know how old you are? Why don't you find someone to date? What happened to all those people I introduced you to?"
She silently ran her hand over the steering wheel, then spoke in a very soft voice:
"Not a good fit!"
"You haven't even gotten to know them, so how can you say they're not a good fit? What are you afraid of? It's just dating, don't keep yourself locked away anymore."
Mộc Yên Chi turned the wheel, pulling into Thẩm Nhược Giai's neighborhood.
"We're here, go home quickly, and stop nagging me."
Thẩm Nhược Giai sighed in exasperation. Why did her best friend always avoid the topic of relationships like this?
"Do you need me to pick you up tomorrow?"
"Of course! You'll have to treat me to breakfast as punishment."
"Alright, go on in. Goodbye!"
She waved goodbye, waited for Thẩm Nhược Giai to go inside, then rolled up the window and drove off.
Mộc Yên Chi finished the last sip of her bubble tea, looking at the colorful LED lights along the roadside.
She had dated before, of course, but it never went anywhere.
The person she loved when she was seventeen truly couldn't stay with her until the end of her life.
They had been together for so long that when they parted ways, she seemed to lose all faith in love.
Two years ago.
Mu Yan Chi was eagerly waiting to share the news that she was three weeks pregnant with Chen Ting, her fiancé.
But just as she opened her phone, she received a call from Shen Ruo Jia.
"Hello, Xiao Jia, where are you? I just came out, why aren't you here?"
The other end of the line was silent for a few seconds before she hesitantly said:
"I'm coming to you now."
Mu Yan Chi mumbled an acknowledgment, then hung up.
What was with Ruo Jia's tone?
Less than two minutes later, Shen Ruo Jia ran over from a distance, her face blank, her eyes slightly red.
She jumped to her feet, walked closer, and asked cautiously:
"What's wrong? Is someone chasing you?"
Ruo Jia looked up at her, her lips trembling slightly, and whispered:
"Xiao Chi... please don't get too upset! Just now, Old Fan called me and said he saw..."
"Huh? Saw what? Hurry up and tell me!"
Seeing her impatience, Ruo Jia's heart ached even more. She gripped her phone tightly with both hands and said with a frown:
"Old Fan said he saw Chen Ting with some girl, looking very intimate."
"The two of them... went into a hotel."
Mu Yan Chi was stunned after hearing this, her eyes seemed to darken, and her vision blurred.
Her fiancé went into a hotel with another girl?
"Maybe it's just a business partner, right? It has to be..."
She collapsed onto the long bench, her hands numb, her eyes clouded with tears.
Ruo Jia supported her arm, watching Mu Yan Chi seemingly shrink into herself, feeling as if a thousand knives were piercing her heart.
She sat for a long time before finally speaking in a hoarse voice, asking:
"Can you take me to see him?"
Shen Ruo Jia felt a surge of anger and said furiously:
"Why do you still want to see that bastard? Do you know what he's busy doing right now? Damn it!"
Mu Yan Chi let out a shaky breath, turned to look at the person beside her, with a pleading look:
"Xiao Jia, I don't believe he would do that."
"We're about to get married, and I'm pregnant. He wouldn't do that."
Shen Ruo Jia had no choice but to give in to her, but not without a warning:
"Leave everything to me. You're pregnant, so don't get too agitated. I can handle that 'bitch'."
She couldn't hear anything else, her ears ringing, and she just nodded unconsciously.
The two of them left the hospital and drove towards the city's largest hotel.