THE SMALL HOSPITAL, THE

GREAT DOCTOR2

1. THE MEDICAL SCHOOL

LIBRARY

The afternoon sunlight slants through the library’s tall glass windows, casting pale golden squares of light and shadow across the floor. The library is extremely quiet, with only the low hum of the air-conditioning and the occasional soft rustle of turning pages.

Deep inside the stacks, Lin Xiuling stands between two rows of towering bookshelves, holding a slip of paper with the call number she has copied down. She tilts her head back and checks the labels on the shelves one by one. Rising onto her toes, she reaches into the uppermost shelf and searches back and forth until she finally finds the section labeled "Surgery."

She pulls out several books and flips through them, but her brows grow increasingly furrowed.

"Huh?" The Atlas of Minimally Invasive Surgery she has been looking for over the past several days is not in its usual place. She pulls out the books beside it one by one to check, then even crouches down to look at the bottom shelf, but still finds nothing.

Lin Xiuling cannot help muttering under her breath, "Wow, what the heck? Did someone check it out?"

She stands up and is about to check the call number again when a low, calm male voice suddenly comes from behind her.

"Junior, what book are you looking for?"

Lin Xiuling turns around. A young man carrying a stack of medical textbooks is walking toward her from the other end of the shelves. He is wearing a simple white shirt with the sleeves slightly rolled up. The stack of books in his arms almost covers half his face, leaving only a pair of calm, focused eyes visible.

Lin Xiuling pauses for a moment, then points toward the bookshelf in front of her.

"The Atlas of Minimally Invasive Surgery. I’ve been looking for it forever, but it looks like someone checked it out."

The man stops and glances at the call number in her hand.

"You’re looking for this one?"

"Yes."

He says nothing more. He simply places the stack of books he is carrying on a nearby reading table. Lin Xiuling watches him with some confusion.

The man reaches into the middle of the stack and pulls out a thick medical atlas. He flips past the cover and takes a look at it, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

"Found it."

Lin Xiuling’s eyes light up.

"Really?"

The man turns and holds the book out to her.

Lin Xiuling instinctively reaches for it, but stops the moment her hand touches the book.

"But... don’t you need it too?"

The man glances down at the stack of books he has just placed on the table. His expression remains calm.

"I only borrowed it to look through it and reinforce what I’ve learned."

"Reinforce what you’ve learned?" Lin Xiuling blinks.

She looks at the thick atlas in her hands and then at the senior student standing in front of her, her face filled with confusion.

It is such a thick professional book, and he only borrowed it to "look through it"? And he says it is to "reinforce what he’s learned." Most students borrow a book like this either to prepare for an exam or to write a report. Who borrows an entire professional atlas just to review everything in it again?

The man seems completely unaware of the questions in her mind and has no intention of explaining. He simply picks up the books from the table again.

"Take your time."

With that, he turns and walks away.

Lin Xiuling stands there holding the book, her eyes unconsciously following his back. His pace is not fast, yet there is something strangely unhurried about him.

When he reaches the exit of the stacks, he suddenly stops for a moment. He lowers his head and looks at the book in his hands as if checking something, then continues walking.

Lin Xiuling watches his disappearing figure, and a strange sense of curiosity rises within her.

Who exactly is this guy?

She looks down at the Atlas of Minimally Invasive Surgery in her hands, then looks up toward the figure that has already disappeared around the corner of the shelves.

She purses her lips and cannot help talking to herself.

"This senior... must be that Father, right?"

She remembers the nickname her classmates privately use for this senior and cannot help shaking her head.

"Sure enough, he’s a weirdo."

Although she says this aloud, her fingers unconsciously stroke the cover of the book.

For some reason, the calm and serious expression on that young man’s face has left a small but persistent impression on her.

Meanwhile, Yang Wenhua, already outside the stacks, has no idea that the girl behind him is watching him. He carries his books to the window and stops.

The afternoon sunlight falls across the side of his face. He lowers his head and looks at the medical textbook in his hands. His expression remains focused, but the puzzled look on the girl’s face flashes through his mind.

"Reinforce what I’ve learned."

For him, it has never been a joke.

A surgeon does not deal with answers on an examination paper. He deals with living human beings. Getting even one detail wrong could mean the loss of a life.

He raises his head and looks out at the clear sky beyond the window. Then he lowers his head again and continues walking.

Back in the stacks, Lin Xiuling has already opened the Atlas of Minimally Invasive Surgery.

But this time, as she looks at the words on the pages, what comes to mind is not the textbook.

It is the image of the senior student walking away.

2. THE WOODEN MAN IN THE HALLWAY

The crisp sound of the class-ending bell travels all the way down the hallway of the medical school building, instantly bringing the previously quiet space to life.

One classroom door after another swings open. Students emerge carrying textbooks, notebooks, and heavy reference books. They gather in groups of two or three. Some discuss the question the professor has just left them with. Others hurry toward their next class. Still others lean against the windows and stretch their stiff shoulders, taking a brief breath during the short break.

December sunlight slants through the windows at the end of the hallway, falling across the marble-tile floor and casting a pale golden glow. Outside, the campus trees sway gently in the winter wind, while occasional laughter from students in the distance fills the campus with a youthful, busy atmosphere.

When Lin Xiuling and Su Mingzhu walk out of the classroom, both of them are carrying large stacks of reference books in their arms. The medical textbooks are as heavy as bricks, almost covering half their bodies.

After walking a few steps, Xiuling cannot help shifting the books higher in her arms. Her wrists are already aching from the weight. She looks down at the stack and sighs helplessly.

"Mingzhu, I really think if this keeps up, I’m going to be crushed to death by these books before the final exams even begin."

Su Mingzhu glances at her, and a smile immediately appears at the corners of her mouth.

"You’re already crying for help over just a few books? If the professor saw you, he’d think medical students can’t even carry their own textbooks."

Xiuling rolls her eyes at her.

"Easy for you to say. Surgery, physiology, pathology—which one isn’t killing us? And finals are right around the corner. Just thinking about those exam questions is already giving me a headache."

Although she complains, she knows better than anyone that she has no way to avoid it.

After entering medical school, she finally understands that youth is not as carefree and romantic as she had imagined in high school.

Other students can spend their breaks chatting, shopping, going to the movies, or even falling passionately in love. But their youth is spent mostly immersed in the library, surrounded by anatomical diagrams, difficult English medical terms, and an endless pile of reference books that never seems to get any smaller.

Thinking about this, she cannot help sighing inwardly.

How much longer will it be before she can finally catch her breath?

Just as the two are about to continue walking, a familiar male voice suddenly comes from behind them.

"Student Xiuling!"

Lin Xiuling stops and turns around.

Tang Tiancong is walking quickly toward them. He has a mysterious smile on his face. The moment Xiuling sees his expression, a hint of alertness rises inside her.

Whenever this man wears that kind of smile, it usually means he has something to ask her.

"Tiancong, what is it?"

Tang Tiancong walks up to her, deliberately clears his throat, and puts on a solemn expression before smiling and saying, "I have something to report to you first. As usual, you’re going to be the host of this year’s Christmas party!"

Lin Xiuling freezes for a moment. The fatigue on her face from carrying the heavy books immediately gives way to a look of helplessness. She looks down at the stack of reference books in her arms, then raises her head to look at Tang Tiancong, wondering whether she has heard him correctly.

"Why me again?" she asks, her voice rising. "But I need to start preparing for my final exams. Can’t you put some effort into training someone to take over?"

Tang Tiancong seems to have expected her to say exactly that. He immediately spreads both hands, wearing an expression of helplessness.

"How easy do you think it is to train a successor? Besides, preparations for the party have already begun. If we change the host at the last minute, we’ll have to rearrange a lot of things."

As he speaks, he deliberately spreads his hands wide, as though the whole situation has become so difficult that there is no way to clean up the mess.

Xiuling stares at him for a while. She knows perfectly well that he has already counted on her saying yes.

At the department’s previous events, she had been the host several times. Not only was she confident and composed onstage, but she also reacted quickly to unexpected situations. Everyone had long since become accustomed to giving this kind of job to her.

She originally wanted to refuse, but looking at Tang Tiancong’s face, which practically had "You’re definitely going to say yes" written all over it, she could not come up with a sufficiently firm reason.

"Did you guys already make the decision and only come to ask me now?" she asks with a frown.

Tang Tiancong gives a sheepish grin without answering.

His reaction is answer enough.

Xiuling cannot help shaking her head. Although she is somewhat annoyed, she also feels helpless. She knows that if she really refuses, someone will eventually come and persuade her anyway. Rather than continuing to waste time, she might as well agree now.

So she takes a deep breath, deliberately puts on a stern face, and says, "Fine! But let me make one thing clear. This is the last time. No more after this."

"No problem!" Tang Tiancong immediately breaks into a victorious smile and even gives her a salute. "Thank you, our host!"

"Cut it out." Xiuling glares at him but cannot help laughing.

Having gotten the answer he wanted, Tang Tiancong turns and walks away as if he has just completed an important mission. Before long, he disappears into the crowd moving through the hallway.

Su Mingzhu watches him walk away and cannot help shaking her head.

"That guy has you completely figured out."

"Who told me I agreed to do it before?" Xiuling lowers her head and adjusts the books in her arms.

Although she says it casually, she has already begun calculating how much time she has left. Final exams are right in front of her, and now the Christmas party has become another responsibility. She is already not getting enough sleep, and now she will probably have to sacrifice her weekends too.

She is somewhat annoyed with herself for always being so softhearted. But at the same time, she has to admit that when Tang Tiancong asked her, a small part of her had actually been looking forward to it.

Hosting the party, standing onstage, and watching everyone in the department laugh and enjoy themselves together—ultimately, that kind of lively atmosphere is still one of the few highlights of her youth.

The two girls continue talking as they walk down the hallway.

Just then, Su Mingzhu suddenly stops. Her eyes pass over Xiuling’s shoulder and focus on the other end of the hallway. Her expression first changes slightly in surprise, and then she immediately reaches out and tugs at Xiuling’s arm.

"Niuniu, make way for him."

"Who?" Xiuling asks, looking up in confusion.

Su Mingzhu does not answer. She simply signals with her eyes for Xiuling to look ahead.

Xiuling follows her gaze and sees a tall male student walking toward them from the end of the hallway.

At first glance, she can hardly recognize him.

Both of his arms are loaded with books. Thick medical textbooks in English are stacked layer upon layer against his chest. The top few books are piled so high that they almost cover the lower half of his face. One of them is even clamped beneath his chin.

To maintain his balance, he keeps his upper body perfectly straight. His arms hold the books tightly against his chest, yet his steps remain unusually steady. His expression is so focused that it is as though the hallway in front of him is not an ordinary school corridor but a tightrope where one careless move could cause him to lose his balance.

Xiuling watches for several seconds before finally recognizing him.

"That’s Father!"

There is obvious surprise in her voice.

She has heard that name from her classmates quite a few times recently. It seems that no one in the medical school does not know about "Father."

According to what she has heard, he is a complete oddball. Aside from attending classes, studying, and researching medical cases, he practically has no other life. He rarely appears at department gatherings and hardly ever participates in student club activities, let alone goes on dates with girls.

His classmates even joke privately that he does not seem like a college student in the prime of his youth. Instead, he is more like a priest who has no interest whatsoever in worldly life and spends every day studying medicine. That is how he got the nickname.

Seeing that Yang Wenhua is getting closer, Su Mingzhu immediately takes Xiuling by the hand and pulls her half a step behind herself.

"Niuniu, make way for him."

"What are you doing?" Xiuling asks, completely puzzled by her reaction.

"Can’t you see how much he’s carrying? What if you bump into him and all those books fall? Are you going to pick them all up?"

Xiuling cannot help laughing.

"Is it really that serious?"

"You’ll see."

The two quickly move aside.

Su Mingzhu even instinctively reaches out to shield Xiuling, as though the person approaching them were not a student but a truck loaded with cargo that might lose control at any moment.

Yang Wenhua seems completely unaware of any of this. He simply keeps walking with complete concentration.

Suddenly, the top book slips slightly to the side. He lowers his head a little and uses his chin to press the book back into place. At the same time, both arms tighten around the stack.

For a moment, Xiuling almost laughs. But then she feels that it would be impolite, so she bites her lip and does her best to hold it back.

When Yang Wenhua reaches the two girls, he seems to notice that they have moved farther aside than necessary. He turns slightly to avoid letting the books in his arms brush against them.

He does not stop walking. He simply says in a low voice, "Sorry."

That familiar voice makes Xiuling’s heart stir slightly. She immediately remembers their encounter in the library a few days earlier.

It is the same person.

The same calm and quiet tone.

That day, he had handed her the Atlas of Minimally Invasive Surgery without hesitation and had said only, "I borrowed it to look through it and reinforce what I’ve learned."

At the time, she had thought this senior was strangely amusing.

But now, seeing him again, she feels something different.

She realizes that she has begun to notice him.

She notices the way he walks, the way he holds his books, and even the almost complete lack of emotional variation in his voice when he speaks.

The realization surprises even her.

Yang Wenhua walks past the two girls without looking back. His straight-backed figure soon moves toward the other end of the hallway.

Xiuling, however, remains standing there for a few seconds, unconsciously watching him.

Then Su Mingzhu suddenly says beside her, "That wooden man..."

Xiuling abruptly comes back to her senses. She turns to look at her.

"Why are you talking about him behind his back like that?"

Su Mingzhu puts her hands on her hips and watches Yang Wenhua’s gradually disappearing figure with an expression that suggests she has seen right through him.

"He really is a wooden man. Everyone says so."

"But I think..." Xiuling begins, then suddenly stops.

She originally wants to say, "He doesn’t seem that strange," but she does not know why she feels the need to defend a senior student she has only met twice.

She does not even know why she cares about how Su Mingzhu describes him.

So, in the end, she simply says, "He hasn’t done anything wrong."

Su Mingzhu immediately turns her head and gives her a meaningful look.

"Oh?"

Xiuling becomes slightly uncomfortable under her gaze.

"What is that look for?"

"Nothing." Su Mingzhu deliberately draws out the word, then smiles. "I just didn’t expect you to start defending our Father so soon."

"How am I defending him?"

Xiuling’s face warms slightly. She quickly lowers her head and starts rummaging through the books in her arms, pretending to look for something.

But her thoughts are no longer on the books.

She raises her eyes and secretly looks in the direction Yang Wenhua has gone.

There is no sign of him at the end of the hallway.

For some reason, she has a very strange feeling.

They have merely passed each other twice.

They do not even really know each other yet.

And yet this quiet, taciturn man whose mind seems to be filled with nothing but medicine has somehow become like a small stone that has accidentally fallen into the calm surface of her heart, creating the faintest ripple.

She does not want to admit that she is interested in him.

Even less does she want to admit that when Su Mingzhu calls him a "wooden man," she actually feels a little sorry for him.

Maybe she is simply curious.

"That’s all it is—curiosity."

Lin Xiuling tells herself this silently.

At that time, she does not yet know that when certain feelings truly begin, they are often not sparked by a sudden rush of emotion, but by a kind of curiosity that even the person experiencing it cannot explain.

And Yang Wenhua has no idea that as he walks down that hallway carrying a huge stack of medical books, a girl has already begun to notice his back.

To him, it is nothing more than an ordinary afternoon.

But to Lin Xiuling, that afternoon quietly becomes, without her realizing it, the starting point where their destinies begin to cross.

Yet there is still one name he can never forget, deeply buried in his mind:

Xie Cien.

And the ten-year promise.

3. REUNION IN THE LIBRARY

The afternoon sunlight slants through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the medical school library, casting bright squares of light and shadow across the wooden floor.

The air-conditioning hums quietly, and the air carries the faint scents of paper, books, and coffee. From time to time, there is the sound of pages turning, keyboards clicking, and students talking in hushed voices in the distance.

Lin Xiuling walks into the library carrying several heavy medical reference books, with Su Mingzhu following behind her.

The two women lower their voices and footsteps as they look for an empty table near the windows. They sit down, and just as Xiuling puts her books on the table, her eyes unintentionally cross the table and fall on a desk not far ahead.

She freezes.

Yang Wenhua is sitting there.

His head is lowered as he concentrates on the laptop screen in front of him. More than a dozen reference books are neatly arranged across the desk in three stacks. Three of them are already open, their pages densely covered with highlighting and handwritten notes.

Xiuling’s eyes brighten, and she unconsciously leans forward. She quietly nudges Su Mingzhu with her elbow.

"That’s Father!"

Her voice is extremely low, but she cannot hide the excitement in it.

Su Mingzhu follows her gaze and takes only one glance before curling her lips.

"Don’t bother him. You’ll only end up embarrassing yourself."

As she speaks, she takes the books out of her bag.

"He doesn’t like dealing with people."

Xiuling continues looking at Yang Wenhua.

She remembers what happened the day before yesterday. She had originally thought Yang Wenhua would not even notice her. To her surprise, he had actually spoken to her first.

It had been an utterly ordinary sentence, so short that it could hardly have been shorter. But for some reason, those words have stayed in her mind for the past two days.

She cannot help smiling.

"But he talked to me the day before yesterday!"

Su Mingzhu turns her head and deliberately looks Xiuling up and down.

"Then congratulations, Niuniu."

She reaches over and pats Lin Xiuling on the shoulder, speaking with exaggerated seriousness.

"You can go buy a lottery ticket."

Lin Xiuling covers her mouth and laughs.

"Is it really that exaggerated?"

"Why not?"

Su Mingzhu lowers her voice.

"Father is famous in our department for being the ultimate cool guy. If you can get him to talk to you first, what else could that be but winning the lottery?"

Lin Xiuling does not answer.

She secretly glances at Yang Wenhua again.

For some reason, a strange sense of anticipation rises in her heart.

Maybe... he is not as difficult to approach as Mingzhu says.

Just then, Yang Wenhua suddenly closes the book in front of him.

He picks up two reference books and stands.

The legs of the chair make a faint scraping sound against the floor.

Xiuling quickly withdraws her gaze and pretends to lower her head to organize the stationery on the table.

Yang Wenhua carries the books and turns toward the stacks.

Only after his figure disappears among the bookshelves does Lin Xiuling raise her head.

She looks at Yang Wenhua’s empty seat, then at Su Mingzhu.

A mischievous glint suddenly appears in her eyes.

"Let’s go over and take a look at his laptop."

Su Mingzhu freezes.

"Why?"

"Let’s see what he has written in there."

"Are you crazy?"

"I just want to take a look."

"What if he suddenly comes back?"

Lin Xiuling bites her lip.

She knows that what she is doing is probably inappropriate. The laptop contains Yang Wenhua’s private information, and she has absolutely no reason to look at it.

But another thought is tickling at her heart like a tiny feather.

She simply wants to know how he organizes his notes.

In the end, that thought defeats her better judgment.

"Come on."

She tugs at Su Mingzhu’s hand.

The two women tiptoe toward Yang Wenhua’s desk like a pair of thieves.

Lin Xiuling stops first and looks back toward the stacks.

After making sure no one is coming out, she carefully sits beside Yang Wenhua’s chair.

The laptop screen is still lit.

She gently clicks the mouse.

The screen immediately comes alive, and Lin Xiuling’s eyes widen.

Displayed on the screen is an exceptionally well-organized set of course notes.

She holds the mouse and slowly scrolls down.

Line after line of headings, categories, key points, and charts are clearly arranged across the screen.

"It’s Neurophysiology..." She almost cries out in surprise, then quickly covers her mouth.

Su Mingzhu leans closer.

"How is it?"

Lin Xiuling stares at the screen, her eyes growing more astonished.

"He actually organized the chapters this clearly."

Her finger lightly traces the screen.

"My God! How many reference books must he have read?"

Su Mingzhu glances at the three large stacks of books on the desk and immediately feels a chill run over her scalp.

"I only read the two books the professor assigned, and I’m already practically dead."

She shakes her head with a bitter smile.

"Is he even human?"

Lin Xiuling does not laugh.

She stares at the notes on the screen, and an indescribable admiration suddenly rises inside her.

So this is how Yang Wenhua studies.

No wonder he is always alone.

No wonder his grades are always at the top of the class.

And no wonder... she cannot help continuing to notice him.

The moment that thought appears, she startles herself.

She quickly moves her eyes away from the screen.

"I’ll leave a note for Father."

"Why?"

"To ask if I can borrow his organized notes for this course."

Su Mingzhu looks at her in disbelief.

"Don’t be silly. Why would he bother with you?"

Lin Xiuling stands and gently pats the hem of her skirt.

She actually has no confidence at all. There is even a little fear in her heart.

What if he really refuses?

What if he thinks she is annoying?

But she is not willing to give up without even trying.

She looks back at Yang Wenhua’s seat.

"If I don’t try, how will I know?"

With that, she pulls Su Mingzhu back to their seats.

She tears off a sticky note.

Lin Xiuling picks up a pen and thinks for a long time.

She originally wants to make the note more formal, but in the end she writes only one short sentence.

"Senior, could you lend me your organized notes for Neurophysiology? Thank you! —Xiuling"

She stares at the sticky note for several seconds.

Her heart suddenly begins beating faster for no apparent reason.

"Are you finished?" Su Mingzhu urges her.

"Yes."

Lin Xiuling takes a deep breath.

Holding the sticky note, she walks toward Yang Wenhua’s seat once again.

She sticks the note to the edge of the laptop screen and gently presses down on the corner of the paper with her fingertip to make sure it will not fall off.

After finishing, she immediately turns around as though she has just completed an important mission.

"Let’s go."

"Why do you look so guilty, like you just committed a crime?"

"I don’t."

Lin Xiuling puts on a stubborn front.

The two return to their original seats.

She opens her textbook and forces herself to focus on her studies.

But after reading only a few lines, although her eyes are fixed on the textbook, her mind is nowhere near the material.

Will he agree?

Or will he pretend he did not see it?

Will he think she is strange?

She secretly raises her eyes and glances at the empty seat ahead of her.

Then she quickly lowers her head again.

"Focus on your studies."

She tells herself silently.

"Don’t overthink it."

After a while, footsteps come from the direction of the stacks.

Lin Xiulings heart suddenly tightened.

Yang Wenhua came back carrying several books. He placed them on the table and pulled out a chair. Just as he was about to open his laptop, he noticed the sticky note beside the screen. His movement stopped. Yang Wenhua picked up the note and read it once, his eyebrows lifting slightly. Then he raised his head and looked across the rows of desks toward Lin Xiuling.

As luck would have it, at that exact moment, Lin Xiuling also looked up. Their eyes met across the room.

Lin Xiuling froze for a second. Her heart seemed to skip a beat, and she had no idea what to do. In the end, she simply raised her hand and held up two fingers toward Yang Wenhua, wearing a friendly yet slightly pleading smile. The smile seemed to say, “Please, Senior.”

Yang Wenhua was momentarily stunned. Clearly, he had not expected her to be so direct. He looked at Lin Xiuling, and the corners of his mouth slowly curved upward. It was a somewhat awkward, even slightly shy smile, like that of a grown boy who had no idea how to respond to a girls kindness.

When Lin Xiuling saw that smile, something inside her suddenly softened. So... he wasnt cold. He was just not very good at dealing with people.

Yang Wenhua lowered his head and looked at the sticky note. He said nothing. He simply reached behind his chair and picked up his backpack. He unzipped it, took out a USB flash drive, and plugged it into his laptop.

The folders on the screen quickly appeared. He found the file for Neurophysiology and clicked Copy. The progress bar slowly moved forward, little by little.

Sitting some distance away, Lin Xiuling watched what he was doing. Her mood seemed to move forward along with the progress bar, one step at a time.

When the copying was complete, Yang Wenhua unplugged the USB drive. He stood up and walked toward Lin Xiuling. She quickly straightened herself in her chair.

Yang Wenhua stopped beside her desk and held out the USB drive.

“Here.”

Lin Xiuling froze for a moment. She took the USB drive, and her fingers accidentally touched his hand.

Both of them paused slightly at the same time. Lin Xiuling quickly pulled her hand back.

“Th-thank you, Senior.”

She lowered her head and looked at the USB drive in her hand, but a small warmth slowly rose inside her. She had originally thought he would refuse. She never expected that he would simply copy the file for her without asking a single question.

“Senior, how should I return your USB drive?”

Yang Wenhua thought for a moment. His tone remained brief.

“Ill be here after class.”

Lin Xiuling nodded.

“Okay!” She looked up and smiled at him. “Ill bring it back here tomorrow.”

Yang Wenhua nodded.

“Mm.”

He turned and walked back to his seat. He sat down again and opened his laptop. His fingers returned to the keyboard. Before long, the steady tapping of the keys once again filled the quiet library.

Lin Xiuling watched his back. For some reason, even though she had only borrowed a set of class notes, it felt as though she now had a small secret of her own. She lowered her head and slipped the USB drive into her pencil case. A faint smile appeared unconsciously at the corners of her mouth.

Su Mingzhu, sitting beside her, had seen everything. She leaned toward Lin Xiulings ear and lowered her voice.

“Niuniu.”

“Hmm?”

“I want a copy too.”

Lin Xiuling froze for a moment, then glared at her.

“Didnt you just say he doesnt talk to people?”

Su Mingzhu shrugged.

“So Ive changed my mind.” She looked toward Yang Wenhua, who was concentrating on typing, and couldnt help smiling. “This Father Senior doesnt seem so scary after all.”

Lin Xiuling did not answer. She lowered her head and opened her textbook again. But this time, there was a smile at the corners of her mouth that she could not hide.

Outside the window, the sunlight quietly shifted, falling across Yang Wenhuas desk and onto Lin Xiulings open textbook as well. Between the two desks, not far apart, no one noticed that a subtle and innocent feeling was beginning to take shape, leaving its first trace with nothing more than a small USB drive.

4. The Girls Dormitory

It was late at night. The hallway of the girls dormitory was gradually becoming quiet. Only a few dim yellow lights spilled through the partially closed doors. From outside the window, the occasional sound of a scooter passing along the campus road could be heard, and then silence returned.

Inside the room, the desk lamp was on. Its soft light fell across Lin Xiulings face and illuminated the laptop screen. On the screen were Yang Wenhuas notes for Neurophysiology.

Page after page was filled with clearly organized structures, charts, key-point analyses, and supplementary material, forming a precise network of knowledge. Lin Xiuling rested her chin in both hands, barely taking her eyes off the screen. Her right hand held the mouse, occasionally scrolling down. Whenever she came across something important, she stopped to read it carefully.

She had originally intended only to preview tomorrows lesson, but once she started from the first page and continued reading, she found that she simply could not stop.

“How could he organize everything this well...?” she murmured softly.

The more she read, the more astonished she became. This was no longer merely a set of class notes. It was more like a professional textbook created through repeated thought, classification, and organization.

She suddenly remembered the way Yang Wenhua had sat at the library that afternoon, his head lowered as he typed. Quiet and focused, as though nothing around him had anything to do with him.

Her fingers stopped on the mouse. Once again, the image of his slightly shy smile when he had looked up appeared in her mind.

Lin Xiuling froze for a moment.

“What am I thinking?”

She quickly shook her head and pulled her attention back to the screen.

Just then, the bathroom door opened with a click. Su Mingzhu walked out wrapped in a bath towel, her hair still wet, another towel draped over her shoulder. As she dried her hair, she walked toward the bed.

“Niuniu, go take a shower.”

Lin Xiuling did not answer.

Su Mingzhu stopped.

“Niuniu?”

There was still no response. She frowned, walked over to the desk, and bent down to take a look.

Lin Xiuling continued staring at the laptop.

Unable to resist, Su Mingzhu waved her hand twice in front of Lin Xiulings eyes.

“Niuniu!”

Only then did Lin Xiuling suddenly snap back to reality.

“Huh?”

“Ive been calling you forever.” Su Mingzhu dropped onto the edge of the bed and laid the towel across her knees. “Are your ears broken?”

Lin Xiuling blinked.

“What is it?”

Su Mingzhu glanced at the laptop screen and then at her. Suddenly, she smiled.

“Even when youre reading a romance novel, Ive never seen you this focused.”

Lin Xiulings face grew slightly warm.

“What are you talking about?”

“Then what are you looking at?”

Su Mingzhu craned her neck. Lin Xiuling instinctively turned the laptop screen slightly toward herself.

“My textbook.”

“Your textbook?” Su Mingzhu narrowed her eyes. “Are you sure its not someones love notes?”

“Mei-Mei!”

Lin Xiuling glared at her.

Su Mingzhu burst out laughing.

“Okay, okay. Im just teasing you.”

Lin Xiuling turned her attention back to the screen. After several seconds of silence, she couldnt help saying, “Seniors notes are amazing!”

Her voice was filled with genuine admiration.

“Theyre even more detailed and substantial than the professors explanations in class.”

Su Mingzhu continued drying her hair, and the corners of her mouth lifted slightly when she heard this.

“That guy has always been known as the department oddball.” She sat up straight. “I heard from some upperclassmen in his class that Father has been the top student in his class for all six years, and every professor wants to recruit him.”

Lin Xiulings eyes remained fixed on the screen.

“Of course.”

She said it as though it were the most obvious thing in the world, as if she had already taken it for granted.

Su Mingzhu looked at her.

“You really believe in him.”

Only then did Lin Xiuling realize that her tone had sounded a little too certain. She paused.

“Im just looking at his notes.” She lowered her head and pretended to concentrate on the material.

But another voice quietly surfaced in her mind.

Am I really paying this much attention to him just because of his notes?

She did not want to keep thinking about it.

Su Mingzhu, however, did not notice what was going through her mind.

“Do you know which specialty he chose last year?”

Lin Xiuling thought for a moment.

“I heard about it.” She looked up. “General surgery.”

“Mm.”

“Im not surprised!”

Su Mingzhu raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, really?”

She deliberately drew out the words.

“A lot of students in his class thought Father would choose the most popular specialty right now—plastic surgery.”

Lin Xiuling smiled. She leaned back in her chair and stretched.

“Thats what someone like me, whos in a hurry to make money, would choose.”

Su Mingzhu laughed.

“You really know yourself.”

Lin Xiuling laughed too, but her smile quickly became serious again.

“Father is different from us.”

She looked at the notes on the screen, and there was a little more admiration in her voice.

“He has great ambitions.”

She paused.

“That’s why he chose general surgery.”

The room fell silent for a moment.

Su Mingzhu placed the towel to one side and looked thoughtfully at her.

“Thats true!”

Suddenly, she spread both hands.

“As Buddha said: If I dont go to hell, who will?”

“Pfft!”

Lin Xiuling couldnt help laughing.

“What kind of twisted logic is that?”

“General surgery is exhausting and brutally hard. If thats not going to hell, what is?”

The two of them laughed for a while, and then their laughter gradually faded.

Lin Xiulings eyes returned to the screen.

She remembered the way that young man had stood in front of her that afternoon and handed her the USB drive. He had said nothing unnecessary. He had not even asked why she needed it. He had simply copied the file for her without saying a word.

That quiet thoughtfulness, rather than any grand gesture, had left a deep impression on her.

“Oh, right...” She suddenly remembered something. “I heard from some upperclassmen that Father is from the Tsou people of Alishan.”

Su Mingzhu nodded.

“Yeah, Ive heard that too.”

“Even without the extra points given for Indigenous status, he still could have gotten into medical school.”

Lin Xiulings voice was filled with amazement.

She knew what medical school meant. How many people had studied for years, working tirelessly just for the chance to get into this place? Yet Yang Wenhua had entered through his own ability.

That alone was enough to earn her respect.

Su Mingzhu reached for the glass of water beside the bed and took a sip.

“Our medical school is full of hidden talents. Theyre all elites among elites.”

She put down the glass and suddenly turned her head.

“But...”

Her tone suddenly became meaningful.

“You wouldnt happen to be interested in him, would you?”

Lin Xiuling froze. Her heart felt as though something had gently struck it. She immediately looked away.

“I am curious about him!”

The answer came too quickly, so quickly that even she found it suspicious.

Su Mingzhu stared at her.

“Just curious?”

“Of course.”

Lin Xiuling picked up the mouse and deliberately scrolled down quickly.

“I think hes really impressive.”

As she spoke, however, her voice gradually became softer.

Deep down, she knew very well that she was indeed simply curious about Yang Wenhua. At least for now, she could still tell herself that.

But why did her heart beat faster whenever his name came up?

Why had she been thinking about him from that afternoon until now, when all she had done was borrow a set of notes?

She did not dare answer.

She did not even want to answer.

Because she was afraid that once she admitted it, it would mean that something had already begun to change.

Su Mingzhu looked at her expression and suddenly smiled.

“Thats good.”

She deliberately pointed a finger at Lin Xiuling.

“Youd better not mess with him.”

Lin Xiuling frowned.

“Mess with him?”

She turned her chair around.

“There you go again!”

“Does becoming friends with Father count as messing with him?”

Su Mingzhu did not answer. She merely smiled knowingly.

That smile left Lin Xiuling even more confused.

“What exactly are you talking about?”

“Nothing.”

Su Mingzhu stood up from the bed and picked up the hair dryer.

“If you insist on inviting trouble, dont say I didnt warn you.”

“Mei-Mei!”

Lin Xiuling called after her.

Su Mingzhu turned around.

“Hmm?”

Lin Xiuling opened her mouth. She had originally wanted to ask, “Why?”

But when the words reached her lips, she swallowed them back.

Because she suddenly realized that the person she truly wanted to ask was not Su Mingzhu.

It was herself.

Do I really just want to be his friend?

She lowered her head.

The notes on the screen were still arranged in neat, clear lines. But at that moment, she could not take in a single word.

Su Mingzhu turned on the hair dryer, and its buzzing sound soon filled the entire room.

Lin Xiuling sat beneath the desk lamp, quietly staring at the screen. She did not know whether she was actually studying Neurophysiology or studying the person named Yang Wenhua.

And what she knew even less was this:

Some feelings do not first appear under the name of “love.” They often begin simply with “curiosity.” Then, little by little, they take up residence in a persons heart.