Thoughtful

Q University held its graduation ceremony fairly late, usually at the end of June or the beginning of July, just as summer was settling in. Graduates said goodbye to campus life and stepped into the next stage of their lives.

Q University had a fairly high rate of internal graduate admissions; nearly half of its undergraduates chose to pursue a master’s degree. The rest had already accepted offers or were still looking for one.

The graduation ceremony was held at just this lively, bustling time. Some people laughed, some were full of hope, some were lost, some reluctant to part; but more than anything, it was steeped in the brilliant backdrop of youth, with infinite possibilities ahead.

“Weren’t you in residency training? How do you have time to come back to campus?”

At the foot of Hua Yu’s dorm building, Yu Tiantian was dressed to the nines and blocking her way.

“Residency training isn’t prison,” Hua Yu said lightly. “Move.”

Yu Tiantian’s smile widened. She took half a step forward and blocked her again. “Coming back at a time like this, you’re not here for the graduation ceremony, are you?”

Hua Yu couldn’t be bothered to deal with her. When Yu Tiantian still didn’t move, she simply turned and went around her.

Ignored by Hua Yu, Yu Tiantian’s smile nearly slipped. “I’m warning you, don’t go to the graduation ceremony. Wei Yin doesn’t want to see you.”

The moment she said it, the area fell silent.

Hua Yu didn’t keep walking, nor did she turn her head. Yu Tiantian came to stand in front of her again, her smile pasted on like a mask, and pressed her advantage. “Did I guess right?”

Hua Yu lifted her eyes and looked at Yu Tiantian. “Who are you?”

Yu Tiantian was stunned. “What?”

The question came out so abruptly that it made no sense. She was Yu Tiantian; she was Hua Yu’s childhood friend—or rather, her sworn enemy. The two of them had never gotten along since they were little and were always arguing. After Hua Yu grew up, she couldn’t be bothered to quarrel with her anymore and mostly ignored her, which only worsened the conflict between them.

Yu Tiantian was speechless for a moment. Was Hua Yu actually going to pretend not to know her here?

“Stop playing dumb, Hua Yu. You know whether you recognize me or not—”

“Yu Tiantian, Class of 2019, nursing major, Department of Differentiation,” Hua Yu cut her off in an indifferent tone. “As a doctoral senior from this college, I was invited to attend the 2019 undergraduate graduation ceremony. The invitation was personally delivered by the student union president.”

Yu Tiantian’s expression stiffened; her face went cold.

Hua Yu glanced at her and said breezily, “Who are you, and what right do you have to speak?”

Hua Yu was three or four years older than them, but she had been a top student since childhood. She skipped a grade in high school, and in college she entered Q University’s most famous differentiation program. She was on an eight-year combined bachelor-doctoral track, which meant she just happened to graduate the same year as them.

She was a campus celebrity, a future pillar of the medical field; putting aside the halo that came with her family background, Yu Tiantian was nowhere near qualified to speak to her here.

Yu Tiantian clenched her teeth. Anger flushed her face red, and her voice turned sharp. “Hua Yu, don’t act so impressive. You’re angry, aren’t you? You can’t stand hearing Wei Yin’s name, can you? But no matter how much you hate me, Wei Yin still chose me. Wei Yin asked me to tell you she doesn’t want you showing up at the graduation ceremony. The last time you confessed in public, it already caused her a lot of trouble; she doesn’t want to run into you in public again.”

“Wei Yin has a mouth. If she wants to say something, she can say it herself.”

Hua Yu didn’t want to waste any more words on her. She had only taken half a day off.

Just as Hua Yu had said, she had been invited to the ceremony. If Wei Yin didn’t want to see her there, she would have told her directly.

If it weren’t for Yu Tiantian’s appearance, her relationship with Wei Yin should have been close and intimate.

No matter how much Yu Tiantian tried to stir things up, Hua Yu wouldn’t believe her based on nothing but her empty words.

Seeing that Hua Yu was about to leave again, Yu Tiantian raised her phone. “You don’t believe me? Wei Yin doesn’t want to talk to you; she already deleted you.”

Yu Tiantian turned the screen toward Hua Yu. On it were messages Wei Yin had sent her.

[in]: I want to wear matching couple outfits with you.

[in]: Please tell Hua Yu for me that I’ve already deleted her on WeChat. Let’s not see each other again after this.

The avatar was Wei Yin’s. Hua Yu very much wanted to ignore Yu Tiantian again, but the urge to verify it made her open WeChat anyway.

She opened Wei Yin’s Moments; there was only a single horizontal line.

Hua Yu didn’t have time to think about anything else. She hurriedly sent an emoji.

[You are not yet friends with the other party. Please verify first...]

The red exclamation mark was blindingly glaring; Hua Yu’s expression cracked layer by layer.

“Yu. Tian. Tian.”

Yu Tiantian loved watching Hua Yu break down. She admired the sight for a few seconds, then smiled and said, “This has nothing to do with me. Who told you to confess to Wei Yin in front of everyone? After being rejected, you actually went into heat... Wei Yin was tormented badly by you. If I hadn’t rushed over, she would have been bitten badly by you.”

At the mention of that incident, a flicker of pain flashed through Hua Yu’s eyes, but even more than pain, there was confusion.

Yes, confusion.

Wei Yin had deleted her.

Wei Yin had said she didn’t want to see her again.

Later, Hua Yu didn’t make it to the graduation ceremony.

The residency training director called her to the hospital; one of the patients she had been responsible for had developed a problem. By the time she was caught up in that situation, fate had already made the decision for her.

After that, she truly never saw Wei Yin again.

Wei Yin, asleep, looked peaceful, as if that murmur had only been Hua Yu’s hallucination.

Hua Yu wanted to ask Wei Yin: wasn’t it you who said back then that you didn’t want to see me again?

She had deleted Wei Yin’s WeChat, but she still couldn’t bear to delete Wei Yin herself. So Wei Yin stayed in her contacts until five years later, when Wei Yin scanned her code again and automatically added her as a friend.

Wei Yin said she hadn’t turned verification on, so plenty of people must be adding her.

How could that be.

The sting of not being invited, even four years later, still faintly hurt. Hua Yu thought idly: had you ever invited me at all? What did you want to tell me at the graduation ceremony?

Back in the room, Hua Yu took out a thick stack of materials, turned on her computer, and began studying gene therapy for scent glands against the reference material.

Time passed quietly. The hands on the clock moved to two o’clock, and the burning pain from overusing her eyes finally made Hua Yu stop reading.

She wasn’t very sleepy, but she knew she should rest.

She still had to attend the gathering tomorrow.

She slept dreamlessly through the night; her body clock woke Hua Yu at 7:30.

When she opened the door, the smell of food drifted over, making hunger surge even stronger.

Wei Yin had changed into a yellow moon-patterned set of loungewear and was wearing a navy apron as she carried the finished boat congee to the table.

“I don’t like the fried dough sticks in boat congee, so I didn’t add any,” Wei Yin said, showing her. “If you like them, I can add them next time.”

Hua Yu was a little surprised. “What time did you get up?”

Wei Yin couldn’t say for sure. “A little after five. I couldn’t sleep anymore.”

That made sense. Hua Yu had gotten home around nine last night and seen that Wei Yin was already asleep; counting it up, that was eight or nine hours.

Mm, she wasn’t being too hard on her.

“I don’t like fried dough sticks either,” Hua Yu said as she sat down, scooped up a spoonful, and nodded. “It tastes good.”

Hua Yu had only had the chance to taste cuisines from all over the country after she started working, when she was traveling nationwide for consultations and training. The boat congee was very authentic; the porridge was fresh and sweet, with a pleasant mix of crisp and soft textures. It was easy to tell this was a dish Wei Yin was very good at.

“You like Cantonese food?” Hua Yu asked casually.

Wei Yin sat across from her and started eating too. “Mm. I lived in Guangzhou for a year, so this is the cuisine I know best.”

Hua Yu didn’t ask what she had been doing there. Wei Yin’s work probably took her all over the country too, though as a caretaker.

At that thought, Hua Yu smiled. “I underestimated you.”

Wei Yin didn’t understand. She looked up, a grain of rice stuck to the corner of her mouth. “Ah.”

Hua Yu pulled out a tissue and handed it over, her tone very light. “Wipe your mouth.”

As Wei Yin wiped, she looked at Hua Yu. “Dr. Hua, your under-eyes are a little dark. Didn’t you sleep well?”

Hua Yu drank her porridge, feeling pretty good. “I read a few papers last night and stayed up late.”

“Then today at work...”

Hua Yu said, “I’m off today.”

Wei Yin blinked. “Oh.”

“But there’s a gathering at noon. Eat by yourself; keep it light. I put the nutrient supplement and herbal packet you’re supposed to drink today on the top shelf of the fridge. One packet of herbs should be soaked in two liters of water, and you’ll finish it in exactly one day,” Hua Yu said after finishing her meal. She stood up and casually set her bowl in the sink. “There’s a card on top of the fridge. The living expenses are in there; just use it for whatever you need.”

Wei Yin gave another soft “oh.”

After Hua Yu finished eating, she went back to her room to catch up on sleep. Wei Yin lowered her head and drank the rest of the congee, only belatedly realizing that Hua Yu hadn’t just been telling her her schedule; she had also arranged a lot of things for her.

How could there be such a good employer, wow.

Wei Yin rubbed her reddened ears, and the corners of her mouth spread into a huge smile.