The Riddle

Xu Yaqing dragged Li Leran all the way to the entrance of a coffee shop. Under the front-desk clerk’s startled cry of “Boss,” she hauled the woman out of the car and shoved her into the office.

Her movements were far from gentle, but she didn’t actually use much force; it was enough to be intimidating, but not enough to really hurt anyone.

Li Leran, feeling wronged, was dumped onto the office sofa in her own shop. She glared at Xu Yaqing. “You’re such a brute!”

Xu Yaqing smiled without any warmth. “Thanks for the honest review. Since you know I’m a brute, you still dared to pull that stunt? Want me to beat you up?”

She raised her hand on the last two words. Li Leran recoiled in terror, practically on the verge of tears.

“You’re despicable! I saved you!”

Xu Yaqing sneered. “Go on.”

“If not for me, you’d already be exposed. Would you still be standing here talking to me now?!”

Xu Yaqing lowered her hand expressionlessly. That part, at least, was true.

Someone had splashed coffee all over Xu Yaqing’s pants. She’d gone to the restroom to wash it off and dry them, which had taken only about ten minutes. By the time she came out, Wei Yin was nowhere to be found. She didn’t need to think hard to know Yu Tiantian had taken her away.

Since Yu Tiantian had gone to talk to Wei Yin without wanting Xu Yaqing along, Xu Yaqing had wandered around the building alone. She’d prowled back and forth, and really did stumble into a strange room.

At first she’d spotted a figure, a little girl who looked like the one who’d splashed coffee on her. Xu Yaqing was magnanimous enough not to hold it against her, but since she had nothing else to do, she thought she might as well go tease the girl a little. So she followed her, twisting through halls, going up and down stairs, until she reached that room.

The door was wide open. Inside, every wall was made of some kind of alloy, the joints sealed shut; aside from the door, there was no other way in or out.

Xu Yaqing was bold when she had the skill to back it up. Besides, in this godforsaken place where she couldn’t see a single living soul no matter where she looked, she was already irritated; without thinking much, she went in.

She knocked and looked around, and when she reached a wall fitted with a display panel, before she could make sense of anything, the main door suddenly closed.

Xu Yaqing hadn’t even made it to the entrance before she was trapped inside. Only then did she start to panic a little. She hurried back to the control panel, planning to look for an emergency button, but before she could do anything, Li Leran somehow appeared out of nowhere, grabbed her hand, and motioned for her to be quiet and follow her.

Xu Yaqing said nothing and followed her into the wall. They went all the way down, then emerged from a corner of the storage room beside it.

“Are you crazy? You actually dared to break into Yu Tiantian’s restricted area,” Li Leran cursed as soon as she started speaking. “Are you out of your mind?”

“It was just a coincidence,” Xu Yaqing said helplessly. “Would you believe me if I said I got drawn in?”

“Who would draw you in? Who around here even knows you?” Li Leran said anxiously. “Stop acting so casual. If Yu Tiantian finds out… she’ll definitely get physical with you!”

Xu Yaqing wasn’t the least bit afraid. She smiled. “Oh? Beat me up?”

Li Leran stopped talking. She fell silent, giving Xu Yaqing a cold, contemptuous look, as if mocking the very words Xu Yaqing had just said.

Li Leran stressed, “Anyway, don’t tell anyone you went into that room. And from now on… stay away from Tiantian.”

“Aren’t you her most loyal little sidekick—good friend?” Xu Yaqing asked oddly. “Did I hear you right? You’re telling me to stay away from her?”

“Yeah, I’m close to her. Can’t I not want you to ruin her business?”

Xu Yaqing narrowed her eyes. “What business?”

Li Leran faltered. “…None of your business.”

Xu Yaqing said, “Then let’s change the subject. Why were you there?”

Li Leran stammered, “I-I was just coming to see Tiantian today. Since I heard you were here too, I-I just happened to run into you.”

Xu Yaqing didn’t call out the lie. She only nodded. “Fine. Let’s leave it at that.”

Xu Yaqing had an absurdly big heart and clearly wasn’t taking Li Leran’s words to heart. Li Leran’s warning didn’t get through to her at all; she had no choice but to keep following her all the way. First she sent Wei Yin home, then she even planned to go back with Xu Yaqing. If they hadn’t quarreled a little on the way home, the two of them probably would have been relatively peaceful by now…

But it all got ruined by Li Leran’s mouth.

“What’s wrong with calling her a jinx? That person is called Wei Yin, right? It’s her; ever since she showed up, nothing good has happened…” When Li Leran saw Xu Yaqing’s expression really darken, her voice dropped. “…I wasn’t wrong.”

Xu Yaqing took a deep breath and forced herself to stay calm. “I don’t want to keep reminding you what manners are, and I don’t want to keep explaining the meaning of ‘harsh words chill the heart in June.’ If you have something to say, say it. If you’re going to insult my friend in front of me, do you think I have such a good temper, or that I’m such a useless coward I won’t do anything to you?”

Li Leran raised her voice. “You can’t be friends with her!”

Xu Yaqing felt like they were talking past each other entirely. She rolled her eyes and turned away.

“Let’s talk again when you’re willing to speak properly.”

Li Leran hurriedly said, “You don’t believe me, do you? I saw her photo. It was because of her that Tiantian got sent abroad…”

“What did you say?” Xu Yaqing’s expression sharpened. “What photo? What does going abroad have to do with her?”

“I’m not sure. It seemed like some kind of special treatment plan. Tiantian wanted to treat her illness…” Li Leran racked her brains. “Later, her family found out and wouldn’t let her keep using that thing, so they sent her overseas.”

“If you’re sick, don’t go out and bother other people,” Li Leran said in a low voice. “She can’t lift a hand or carry anything, and she doesn’t even know how to drive. She asked other people to help treat her illness, and then dragged everyone else into it too.”

“Special plan? Treating illness?” Xu Yaqing stepped closer. “What do you know? Tell me everything.”

Li Leran looked at her and pressed her lips together. “I don’t know much. It was some special plan for gland treatment. Tiantian only mentioned it to me once; she said she was going to look into someone’s illness, and even showed me that person’s photo… Later she suddenly said that because she’d been treating Wei Yin, her family was furious and wanted to send her to Europe. Otherwise, she’d originally planned to go to Japan with me.”

Xu Yaqing asked about many details, but Li Leran clearly knew very little. Xu Yaqing felt that something about this was off and told Li Leran not to tell anyone.

“I already told you to stay away from Yu Tiantian,” Xu Yaqing said, holding the doorframe as she turned back before leaving. “You just told me to stay away from her too. Going back and forth like this is pretty funny. Why don’t we both stay away from her? What do you think?”

Li Leran’s dyed red hair had already faded. Her thin frame made her cheeks sink in on both sides; she looked neither well put together nor healthy. When she heard Xu Yaqing’s words, her lips moved twice as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she said nothing.

—

Provincial Hospital, Differentiation Department Ward.

Hua Yu stood at the end of the corridor by the railing in a windbreaker, holding her phone and speaking to someone, her face tense.

“I looked it over, then had the senior director in our department take a look, and finally passed it up to the dean,” Zhang Rong’s voice came through the call. “You know we couldn’t possibly make a mistake on such a basic judgment.”

Hua Yu’s tone was calm, but the impatience on her face was obvious. “It’s a congenital condition. For so many years her gland development has been in a chronically abnormal state. How could…”

“I understand your concern,” Zhang Rong interrupted lightly, her voice even. “But cases like this do exist. Many of the body’s organs have some degree of self-repair. Since her problem is genetic, who’s to say the mutation couldn’t have gone back to normal? Or rather, the phenotype has regressed, and she’s begun to appear normal. That alone is enough to take her out of the category of disease.”

Hua Yu said nothing. She stared fixedly at a point ahead, lost in thought.

“When you care, you’re bound to panic. You can keep observing, keep being cautious and vigilant,” Zhang Rong comforted her. “However you look at it, this is a good sign. Be happy; don’t put so much pressure on yourself.”

Hua Yu had been busy these past few months with the clinical trial and gene therapy project. Zhang Rong knew exactly what she’d been working on; naturally, she also knew who Hua Yu was doing it for.

Maybe they really did have luck on their side. Maybe even Heaven couldn’t bear to watch and had finally taken pity on them. It was possible that Wei Yin’s illness had healed on its own; or rather, had recovered ahead of schedule.

Hua Yu thanked Zhang Rong and ended the call.

Liu Cong was standing five steps away from Hua Yu. When she saw Hua Yu hang up, she walked over.

“We’ve checked everything that needed checking,” Liu Cong said, slapping the report into Hua Yu’s hand with obvious delight. “Everything’s fine. Congratulations—she’s recovered.”

Hua Yu lowered her head and flipped through the report, carefully reading every value. After a pause, she said, “Do we need to take another chest X-ray…”

“Don’t waste medical resources, thank you,” Liu Cong said helplessly. “Stop looking. She’s fine.”

Two days earlier, Hua Yu had shown up at the ward, and they’d all been surprised; hadn’t she been given leave so she could rest properly?

Hua Yu had said she was family staying at the bedside, and then she’d simply handed Wei Yin over to them: hospitalization, examinations, more examinations, and still more examinations…

“The beds are very tight right now. This doctor should stop using public resources for private ends and stuffing her healthy, lively relative into a hospital bed.” Liu Cong said.

All signs indicated that Wei Yin’s gland was recovering, and recovering well. Although it still didn’t qualify as a high level, it was already enough to be judged “healthy.”

“In the medical profession’s standards for judging whether a gland is healthy, the most important item is ‘whether it can secrete pheromones in sufficient quantity and according to a set amount,’” Hua Yu believed in her own judgment. She paused, then said, “I want to do another pheromone comparison. I have Wei Yin’s previous pheromone sample; I want to make a full comparison with the current one.”

Liu Cong froze. “Is that necessary? Can something like that still change?”

Everyone’s pheromone scent is different; so is the chemical composition. Just like genetic testing, gland testing had gradually been incorporated into identity verification. But affected by sample evaporation, heat cycles, physical condition, and external contamination, it could only be used for basic identity confirmation.

But Wei Yin had always been the same person. Hua Yu’s behavior was like saying, “I have a strand of her hair from years ago with the follicle still attached; take it and do a genetic test to see whether she’s still herself.” It was oddly excessive.

“I’m not doubting her identity. It’s just… the gland is a special organ; it’s fickle. It may look healthy, but who knows if there are hidden dangers?” Hua Yu frowned. “Do it. If we don’t, I won’t feel at ease.”

Liu Cong hesitated for a moment. “Fine. Since you insist.”

During lunch break, in Hua Yu’s office.

Wei Yin was being fed by Yang Cha and Liu Rannran.

In the grandly named event of “you can eat to your heart’s content now; eat whatever you want, play whatever you want, go wherever you want.”

“Welcome to normal life!” Liu Rannran fired off a party popper.

Hua Yu, who had just opened the door, was showered in bits of glitter and confetti: …

She kept one hand on the doorknob and stood there in silence for three seconds, then looked up at Yang Cha.

“Very free?”

Yang Cha had already guessed what she was going to say and answered confidently, “It’s lunch break.”

“Dr. Hua, do you want to eat these?” In front of Wei Yin was a pile of colorful snacks. She clearly rarely came into contact with this kind of thing; she’d only tasted a little of each and was afraid to eat more. Right then she was holding a brown cylindrical snack and looking at Hua Yu. “This nut bar is very tasty.”

Hua Yu softened her expression and walked over to take the nut bar from her. After tasting a bite, she said in a low, gentle voice, “Mm. It’s okay.”

Yang Cha: “Tsk.”

After tasting it, Hua Yu put it back in Wei Yin’s hand. “Nuts are a high-quality fat, but nut bars are processed a second time. They’re not as healthy as plain nuts.”

Wei Yin took Hua Yu’s words as gospel. She immediately stopped fiddling with it and set it down to wipe her hands. “Okay, then I’ll go back and eat nuts.”

Liu Rannran: “Tsk.”

“She’s already recovered,” Yang Cha couldn’t help reminding Hua Yu. “Dr. Hua, why are you still managing her so strictly?”

The remark had been casual, but Hua Yu’s hand paused. Thinking of something, she fell silent.

In the quiet, Wei Yin slowly raised her hand.

“I don’t think it’s completely like that,” Wei Yin looked at Hua Yu, then at Yang Cha and the others. “I still feel very weak.”

“But all your gland indicators are normal now,” Yang Cha said, relying entirely on the test report. “And you don’t have any uncomfortable symptoms.”

“But I just feel off. My body isn’t responding properly,” Wei Yin said softly. “When you have a fever or a cold, don’t you first feel better in your head before your temperature comes down… or recover at the same time? That’s a cause-and-effect relationship.”

Liu Rannran thought Wei Yin made sense. “If you still can’t even notice a positive response yourself, then the recovery still isn’t thorough enough.”

Hua Yu looked at Wei Yin quietly.

Wei Yin met her eyes, questioning.

Hua Yu looked away, shook her head, then suddenly let out an extremely faint smile, tinged with both self-mockery and relief.

“Go rest at the nurses’ station,” Hua Yu said, lifting her wrist to check the time and issuing the eviction order to the two of them. “Dr. Hua isn’t working these next few days; you’re not allowed into her office.”

Yang Cha muttered, “So petty,” while Liu Rannran had something to say: “…Um, Dr. Hua, about Wang Qiyao, the hospital seems to have held a meeting.”

Yang Cha immediately smacked the back of Liu Rannran’s head. “Dr. Hua knows more than you do. Why bring up the one thing that’s hard to mention? Hurry up and go.”

Liu Rannran rubbed her head and smiled apologetically. “Then we won’t disturb you.”

After the two left, Wei Yin leaned in.

“Wang Qiyao?”

Hua Yu held her head and said flatly, “The daughter of the person who caused a scene at the hospital; she’s here for treatment. Premature aging.”

“The hospital has already come up with a response?” Wei Yin asked.

Liu Rannran’s wording just now had obviously been about this.

Hua Yu didn’t care much. “Keeping things calm is every hospital’s standard practice.”

Wei Yin opened her mouth, thought about it for two seconds, then came to her senses. “You’re saying they’ll pacify the matter of you getting hit, and settle things about you as a person?! ”

“Pretty much. In situations like this, the one who suffers is usually seen as the unstable element; they’ll express their grievance, magnify their grievance, and stir up panic. Often, the real person to be dealt with is the other side—if the one causing you grief has some serious backing.”

Wei Yin sniffed at that. “Dr. Hua has plenty of backing too.”

Hua Yu chuckled. “I’m no good. I’m just a little doctor.”

Wei Yin hesitated. “Would it really be like that?”

“They’ll compensate, they’ll apologize, but I’ll definitely keep treating Wang Qiyao,” Hua Yu said, not taking it to heart at all. “The wheel turns; nothing is ever new.”

Wei Yin was displeased. “Don’t speak English.”

“Mm. It means I’m insulting him.” Hua Yu casually packed all the snacks into a plastic bag, tied it up, and sat down in front of Wei Yin.

“Next, let’s talk about your matter.”

TL Note:

harsh words chill the heart in June (恶语伤人六月寒) = cruel speech can hurt people deeply, even in warm weather; a proverb about speaking kindly.