Waiting Again
Despite staying up late talking to Lin Wei, Mu Wan woke early the next morning.
After breakfast, the two of them went straight to the mall.
They spent the entire morning shopping.
In the afternoon, Mu Wan went to the film set.
Once filming ended, she called Liu Qianxiu and asked what time he expected to finish work.
Then she took a taxi home.
Changed.
Got ready.
And took another taxi to Tang’er Hospital.
Liu Qianxiu had surgery that afternoon.
It ran later than expected.
Before the operation, Mu Wan had called to ask what time he would finish.
He had answered.
She had said nothing else.
Remembering that she had come to the hospital to wait for him the previous day, Liu Qianxiu’s gaze shifted slightly.
Then he put away his phone and left the office.
“Doctor Liu.”
Xiao Yun was leaning against the wall outside.
At the sound of the door opening, she straightened and smiled.
She had approached him the previous day because of today’s surgery.
Now that Liu Qianxiu had finished helping with the operation, she had come to thank him.
His expression remained as calm as ever.
Xiao Yun stepped away from the wall.
“Let’s leave together.”
Liu Qianxiu did not say much.
He simply nodded.
They entered the elevator side by side.
The silence inside felt faintly awkward.
Xiao Yun stood toward the back.
She looked at the tall, straight figure in front of her and pressed her lips together.
They were colleagues.
Their working hours often overlapped.
Yet they had spent surprisingly little time alone.
Xiao Yun had noticed Liu Qianxiu almost immediately after Tang’er Hospital recruited her.
He was handsome.
Reserved.
Cold in a way that felt refined rather than arrogant.
Completely unlike any other man around her.
She had been drawn to him almost at first sight.
But she had never actively pursued him.
On the surface, they remained nothing more than colleagues.
Their occasional conversations were nearly always about work or surgery.
In front of him, Xiao Yun maintained her composure.
Her pride.
Her dignity.
When she was alone, however, he occupied far more of her thoughts than she would ever admit.
Liu Qianxiu was like a distant mountain.
Many women stood below and looked up at him.
Xiao Yun had her own pride.
She could not bring herself to lower it and chase after a man.
But if she never moved toward him, Liu Qianxiu would remain exactly as he was now.
Walking ahead.
Never turning around to look at her.
The elevator chimed.
The doors opened.
Liu Qianxiu stepped out.
Xiao Yun remained lost in thought for half a second.
By the time she looked up, he was already several steps ahead.
A flash of panic went through her.
She hurried after him.
“Doctor Liu!”
Liu Qianxiu had long legs.
By the time she called out, he was nearly at the entrance.
He turned.
His eyes were calm and clear.
“What is it?”
They passed through the glass doors together.
Perhaps Xiao Yun had rushed too quickly.
Perhaps her heart was simply beating too fast.
Color rose into her cheeks.
She looked up at Liu Qianxiu.
For once, hesitation showed plainly in her eyes.
Then she made up her mind.
“Doctor Liu, I wanted to…”
“Liu Qianxiu!”
A woman’s voice interrupted her.
Xiao Yun’s chin tightened.
She turned toward the sound.
Liu Qianxiu had already looked over.
It was the first time he had seen Mu Wan in a dress.
The vivid red fabric fell to her knees, making her skin look almost snow-white.
She stood beside the flower bed, her long black hair styled in loose waves that softened around her shoulders.
Careless.
Sensual.
Her face was small and striking.
Her eyes shone as she looked directly at him.
Against the lush green plants behind her, Mu Wan looked like a flame.
A blaze of red bright enough to set the whole summer alight.
She had not simply put on a dress.
She was wearing makeup.
Her hair had been styled.
There was an old saying about dressing for the person one wanted to please.
Mu Wan had apparently taken it quite seriously.
She spotted Liu Qianxiu immediately.
He had already changed out of his white coat.
A linen shirt and black trousers emphasized his tall frame and restrained elegance.
He stood there looking at her.
His expression barely changed.
The woman beside him was considerably less composed.
Without her white coat, Xiao Yun wore a dusty-pink blouse and beige wide-leg trousers.
She looked gentle and cultured, with the quiet refinement of a scholar.
Standing beside Mu Wan in scarlet, however, the contrast was impossible to ignore.
Xiao Yun was beautiful.
But hers was a restrained beauty.
Like a pale lily.
Mu Wan was a red rose in full bloom.
Brilliant.
Bold.
Impossible not to notice.
People passing through the hospital entrance looked at her.
So did Liu Qianxiu.
This was the second day in a row Mu Wan had come to wait for him.
If Liu Qianxiu truly disliked it, there was no way she would have returned.
Xiao Yun looked at Mu Wan smiling toward him.
The words she had been preparing disappeared from her mind.
This time, the disdain in her gaze was no longer concealed.
“She isn’t going to come pick you up every day, is she?”
Xiao Yun gave a small laugh.
“Anyone who didn’t know better would think she was your girlfriend.”
Red filled the edge of Liu Qianxiu’s vision.
He turned toward Xiao Yun.
His eyes passed over her once.
Calm.
Brief.
Unreadable.
The glance swept through Xiao Yun like a draft passing through an empty hall.
Her smile froze.
There was nothing obvious in his expression.
And yet somehow, the look seemed to say far more than nothing.
Xiao Yun bit her lower lip.
Liu Qianxiu had already turned away.
Then he walked toward Mu Wan.
She watched him approach.
When he came closer, she stepped down from the edge of the flower bed.
At seven in the evening, the sun had already disappeared.
Only a pale glow remained along the horizon.
People moved constantly in and out of the hospital.
Many of them looked at Mu Wan.
She did not care.
The only person she was watching was walking toward her.
Liu Qianxiu stopped in front of her.
Those dark, still eyes settled on her face.
Mu Wan’s heartbeat quickened beneath her smile.
“Liu Qianxiu.”
Her eyes curved.
“I came to wait for you again.”
Only people wait.
So she had come to wait for him.
Liu Qianxiu’s lips pressed together.
Then he gave a quiet response.
“Mm.”
His gaze remained on her.
“What do you want to eat tonight?”
— End of Chapter 11 —
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