Chapter 8 Reunion with an Old Enemy

Chapter 8: Encountering an Old Enemy Again

More than half a month had passed since Wu Qiu and his mother moved into the clinic.

With many patients and the clinic so busy, the family naturally couldn't afford to sleep in. They all rose at the crack of dawn, even Yang Shu joined them at the table. These days, Yang Shu's illness had improved significantly, and she could now get out of bed. Unable to stay idle, she helped Madam Liu with some household sewing. Cui Nanshan had advised her several times not to overexert herself, but he couldn't talk her out of it, so he had to let her be, only reminding Madam Liu to keep an eye on her and not let her work for too long.

Lei Li and Lei Tan were young and sleepy, yawning constantly. Lei Tan was even worse, swaying left and right as if about to topple over, which made everyone laugh. Cui Nanshan took pity on them and nudged Lei Xun's arm: "Let the two little ones stay home today? When things are less busy, they can go take a nap."

Lei Xun looked over. Both Lei Li and Lei Tan were yawning until tears streamed down their faces. He softened: "Alright, they've been out for several days in a row. If they get too tired, they might easily fall ill."

Lei Ding nodded in agreement: "There are all sorts of people outside, it's a real mess. It might be inconvenient for young men and women to go out. Today, I'll go with you to treat patients outside the city. Let Father and Yue Er and Tan Er stay behind. With Qiu Geer helping, they should manage."

After marrying Lei Xun, Cui Nanshan had always followed him in practicing medicine, diligently studying medical skills. Being clever, he was now considered a reputable physician within a hundred-mile radius. Although Lei Li and Lei Tan were still young, they had helped with the family's medical practice since childhood and could handle minor illnesses without issue. Lei Li's ambition wasn't in medicine; he wanted to study and take the imperial examinations to earn an official rank, but he was still knowledgeable in medicine. Lei Tan, though only eleven, aspired to be a physician who healed and saved people, diligently studying medicine. Both could be considered "capable assistants" at the clinic. Today was the last day treating disaster victims outside the city. After that, they could stay at the clinic for three or four days. Cui Nanshan felt that taking the two children to handle things for a day was manageable, so he nodded in agreement: "Alright, but you two take care of yourselves too. I made mung bean and lotus seed soup for you to take along. The midday sun is harsh; make sure to drink it often."

Wu Qiu brought their things and saw them off at the door. Lei Ding stopped at the entrance, taking the bundle he handed over: "Go back inside quickly. The morning wind is strong; don't stand at the door catching a chill."

Wu Qiu hummed in acknowledgment: "You two also rest properly, don't get heatstroke... come back early."

Lei Ding nodded, watching Wu Qiu go inside, but he didn't leave immediately. He stood at the doorway, leaning against the doorframe, blinking as he watched him. This gave him a feeling of being missed—someone other than his parents and family eagerly hoping for his safe return.

He suddenly wondered, if he didn't have to go out today, what would it be like? What would he say to Wu Qiu, what would they do?

Lei Ding never expected that things would change so much between leaving and returning.

In the evening, Lei Xun and Lei Ding returned from outside the city. There were still two patients at the clinic; one had already been examined and was waiting for Cui Nanshan to write a prescription, while Lei Li was taking the pulse of the other. Lei Xun went to observe Lei Li's consultation. Lei Ding looked around but didn't see Wu Qiu.

Lei Tan suddenly popped up from somewhere: "Looking for someone?"

Lei Ding looked down to see the boy with a meaningful and intrigued expression. Before he could answer, Lei Tan continued: "Looking for Brother Qiu? Brother Qiu seemed a bit off this afternoon. I noticed he looked like he wasn't in a good mood. Later, he stayed in the back brewing medicine and organizing herbs, and didn't come out again."

Lei Tan quickly waved his hands: "Of course I tried to persuade him! He said he was fine. I checked his pulse, and he really was alright. Brother Qiu just said he was going to help brew medicine and went inside. I just got the feeling he seemed troubled. I was afraid that if I kept asking, I'd annoy him. Since you're back now, big brother, why don't you go check on him?"

After saying this, he revealed a mysterious smile: "Maybe since your ages are closer, you understand him better."

Lei Ding sighed, sent Lei Tan to help Cui Nanshan, and lifted the curtain to enter the small adjacent room. Wu Qiu was indeed inside, sitting on a low stool lost in thought. Hearing the noise, he hurriedly looked back. Seeing it was Lei Ding, a flicker of joy crossed his face: "You're back. I didn't hear you earlier, otherwise I would have come out to greet you."

Lei Ding smiled, pulling over a chair to sit beside him: "I'll watch things here. It's stuffy in this room; you should go out for some fresh air."

Wu Qiu stood up to fetch something, shaking his head: "It's fine, this is the last dose of medicine. Big brother, you've been busy outside all day. Shouldn't you go have some tea and rest? There's no need for two people to watch here."

His expression showed no obvious abnormality, but Lei Ding felt something was off. He remembered the sparkle in Wu Qiu's eyes when he saw him off at the door that morning. Those bright eyes, which he had often found himself absentmindedly recalling throughout the day, now seemed dull. Though Wu Qiu was still smiling, Lei Ding just felt something was different.

He thought for a moment and asked in a low voice: "Did everything go smoothly today?"

Wu Qiu smiled: "Of course. Don't you trust Master Cui's medical skills?"

At this moment, Wu Qiu was standing while Lei Ding was sitting. Lei Ding looked up into Wu Qiu's eyes, and a sense of helplessness arose in his heart. Wu Qiu's eyes seemed to speak, clearly conveying his unease, yet Lei Ding couldn't press for details. After all, he was just the physician treating Wu Qiu. Even now, with Wu Qiu staying here, he was merely the host providing shelter. How could he demand that Wu Qiu bare his heart?

This room was mainly used for brewing medicine. It was small, not very well-ventilated, and had a fire going, making it quite stuffy in the summer heat.

In truth, Wu Qiu understood Lei Ding's concern.

Lei Ding wasn't one for idle chatter; his words always had a reason. From the moment he asked if everything went smoothly today, Wu Qiu knew he had probably sensed something. But today's matter had nothing to do with the Lei family, much less with Lei Ding. Wu Qiu truly didn't know how to bring it up.

He was afraid speaking would cause trouble, and even more afraid that saying it would make Lei Ding despise him.

Wu Qiu's troubles, to be honest, didn't start today; the root of the problem had been buried years ago. Back when he was married into the Xue family village, before he even crossed the threshold, Xue An had died unexpectedly. Rumors spread in the village that he was destined to bring misfortune to his relatives, having caused the deaths of both his parents and his unconsummated husband. But Wu Qiu had a gentle and tolerant nature, and was extremely filial. After living in Xue Village for a year or two, most villagers stopped mentioning these rumors. On the contrary, they pitied the orphaned widow and her son, and often looked after him and Yang Shu. Therefore, when it came to his impression of the villagers in Xue Village, Wu Qiu still felt gratitude towards most of them.

But there are always exceptions. In Xue Village, there was one person Wu Qiu desperately tried to avoid. This person was named Xue Hu, about four or five years younger than Wu Qiu. The villagers had always considered Xue Hu's family to be respectable, and Xue Hu himself a somewhat dull, honest child. Wu Qiu never imagined he would have a conflict with him. A few years later, as Xue Hu grew older and began to understand worldly affairs, approaching marriageable age, his parents were busy finding him a good match, but he himself seemed in no hurry, appearing still naive.

One day, Wu Qiu was washing clothes by the river outside the village. The area was filled with men and women washing clothes and vegetables, and everyone was quite unrestrained. For convenience while washing, Wu Qiu had also rolled up his sleeves slightly, revealing a small section of his fair, well-proportioned forearm. It was precisely these arms that caught Xue Hu's eye. From then on, Xue Hu became fixated on Wu Qiu, repeatedly trying to strike up conversations and harass him.

But Xue Hu had always given the villagers the impression of being honest, simple-minded, and a bit foolish. No one would believe he actually had the nerve to harass a widowed man. Initially, Wu Qiu wanted to talk to someone about it. He casually chatted with a neighboring man, asking if he believed Xue Hu would pester other men or women. The neighbor didn't pay much attention and offhandedly said that a simple child like Hu Zi, if he did such a thing, must have been seduced: "If you ask me, flies don't land on an uncracked egg. It must be that the person themselves isn't clean, otherwise why would Hu Zi go after them and not someone else? Qiu Geer, why are you suddenly asking this? Did you see something?"

Wu Qiu's lips turned pale with fright, and he hurriedly denied it: "I haven't seen anything, I was just talking idly."

Wu Qiu's household only had his mother-in-law, Yang Shu. If something really happened, besides her, no one would stand up for him, and he didn't know who would truly take his side. The neighbor's casual remark completely shattered Wu Qiu's courage. He never thought that in such a situation, he himself would be considered at fault.

But he had merely gone to the river to wash a few clothes, was dressed properly, and only rolled up his sleeves to avoid getting them wet. Everyone present, men and women alike, had their sleeves rolled up. Wu Qiu couldn't understand what he had done wrong, but since people said so, and gossip was fearsome, he didn't have the energy to endlessly entangle himself in the villagers' gossip and disputes.

Although Wu Qiu's nature wasn't overly timid, and deep down he was resilient, unwilling to bow to life's hardships, when it came to dealing with people, he always hoped to avoid trouble. If enduring for a moment could bring peace, he would never rise up in resistance. Precisely because of this, Xue Hu became increasingly emboldened, seeing that Wu Qiu didn't dare to make a scene, and would try to approach him whenever he thought of it. At first, he just stopped Wu Qiu to talk. When Wu Qiu sternly refused, he spread rumors that Wu Qiu was unfeeling towards others. After a couple of years, his courage grew bigger, and he even dared to grab Wu Qiu's clothes. That time, Wu Qiu was furious and slapped him twice. Xue Hu got scared and behaved for a while, but then reverted to his old ways.

Xue Hu told Wu Qiu: "Anyway, you're already a widower. Serve me once; it's not like your husband will come looking for you."

But Xue Hu also knew that if pushed too far, Wu Qiu might fight him to the death, so he was somewhat apprehensive. Things dragged on like this for another two years. Wu Qiu had to avoid him whenever he went out. Sometimes at night, thinking about it, he would consider finding a way to resolve it, but then he'd worry about the villagers' gossip. He even thought that if driven to desperation, he might end his own life, but then he worried about who would take care of Yang Shu. Yang Shu treated him like her own son, doing her utmost to be considerate and loving. Wu Qiu didn't want to cause Yang Shu distress over such a matter, so he could only weep silently to himself.

Over the past month, from the flood to being stranded at the Lei family clinic, Wu Qiu simply hadn't had time to think about this person again—until today. In the afternoon, when there were fewer people, everyone sat in the main hall of the front room, which was well-ventilated and cooler. Lei Li was studying at a nearby desk. Lei Tan, being sleepy, dozed off with his head on Cui Nanshan's lap. Cui Nanshan fanned him while chatting idly with Wu Qiu.

Just then, Wu Qiu glanced inadvertently outside the door and vaguely saw someone standing outside the clinic. Wu Qiu didn't even have time to see his face clearly; just seeing that figure felt like being struck by lightning, plunging into an icy abyss. There was no mistake; the person standing outside was Xue Hu.

He didn't know how Xue Hu had appeared here, nor did he have time to think much about it. He just immediately wanted to avoid him, excusing himself by saying he needed to boil some hot water, and hurried away. Why was Xue Hu in Yongning City? Had he seen him? Would he continue to harass him?

Wu Qiu wanted to tell Lei Ding, but this thought circled in his mind and then stopped abruptly. His staying here was already an act of great kindness from the Lei family, a stroke of luck for him. With a major flood affecting millions of victims, even if Lei Ding had the heart, he lacked the means. These days, the clinic had been providing free consultations continuously and had donated a lot of money for the government's disaster relief. But after all, they couldn't rescue every victim and bring them to the clinic. Wu Qiu thought that if not for heaven's mercy, he and his mother probably wouldn't have been saved by the Lei family. If he set a precedent, more people would want the Lei family to help them, and there would naturally be no shortage of gossip outside. Although Wu Qiu tried his best to help with chores, he still felt he couldn't make up for the trouble his family had brought.

Now, he realized with a start that over the past half month, he had developed a slight dependence on Lei Ding. Lei Ding was usually reasonable. Even Wu Qiu himself hadn't noticed that he was hoping from the bottom of his heart that Lei Ding would tell him that none of this was his fault, that he hadn't behaved improperly, that he was wronged.

But when Lei Ding was really sitting beside him, he lost the courage to speak, silently standing to the side, not daring to look into Lei Ding's eyes.

The medicine finished brewing, emitting a soft gurgling sound that broke the slightly awkward atmosphere between them. Wu Qiu seized the opportunity to change the subject: "It must be done. I should take it to Master Cui."

Lei Ding nodded, also standing up to help him. After hesitating for a moment, he finally said: "If you don't want to talk about it, I won't force you. But since you're staying here and call me big brother, I naturally treat you like a real brother. If you encounter any difficulties, just tell me. I'll handle it."

Wu Qiu smiled and agreed, also reassuring Lei Ding not to overthink it. Only then did the two go out to deliver the medicine.

Nothing more was said that day, and Lei Ding didn't bring up the earlier matter again.

In summer, it gets dark later. Today was clear, so by evening it wasn't pitch black. Wu Qiu stayed in Yang Shu's room talking a bit longer. When he came out, he could still see the path in the courtyard. The cool evening breeze soothed the unease in his heart. Wu Qiu took a deep breath, feeling much more comfortable.

Just then, he saw light coming from the latticed window of the study next to the front hall. He couldn't help but wonder. Lei Li should have returned to his room by now. Lei Xun and Cui Nanshan usually retired early, and besides, they had a small study in their own room, so they probably wouldn't come to the outer study. Lei Ding had a dedicated study in his east wing courtyard, so he didn't need to come here either. For a moment, he couldn't think of who would still be up so late. He followed the light over.

Only when Wu Qiu approached did he see that the study door wasn't closed, nor was the curtain drawn. Someone was sitting at the desk, writing something with a brush. It was none other than Lei Ding!

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