Chapter 19: Familiar

Chapter 19 Familiarity

Zhou Ping stormed out of the boss's office, absolutely fuming.

Now, he couldn't stand the sight of Su Lichen. In his mind, he had already claimed those two clients as his own, and he felt that Su Lichen had stolen from him!

Su Lichen couldn't care less about what someone like that thought of him. Salesmen could easily avoid each other altogether. He reviewed the contract, picked up his laptop, and headed to a meeting room to discuss the terms with the client over video call.

Zhou Ping glared viciously at Su Lichen's retreating figure, convinced he was a smug little man who'd gotten lucky.

Not long after, Zhou Ping's Indian client placed an order.

When the email came through, Zhou Ping was still stewing.

He glanced at it, forwarded it to customer service, and told them to arrange purchasing and shipping, then ignored it.

Zhou Ping's English wasn't great—even with his connection to General Manager Zhou, his base salary was still much lower than Su Lichen's.

Base salaries were no secret among the sales staff. Roughly, the ones who knew English were all on similar pay, and the ones who didn't were also on similar pay.

Half an hour later, someone from customer service came over to ask him, "Ping, the deposit for this order hasn't come in yet. Should we arrange purchasing now?"

Zhou Ping didn't even look up. "The client is pushing for it. Just arrange it."

"But according to procedure, we need the deposit before we can—"

"I said arrange it. So get on with it." Zhou Ping looked up, his tone dripping with impatience. He figured if he couldn't do anything to Su Lichen, he could at least take it out on customer service.

"The client is in a hurry, got it? Who's going to take responsibility if it's delayed?"

The customer service person said nothing more and left.

Zhou Ping leaned back in his chair and glanced toward the meeting room where Su Lichen was.

What was the point? Even if he were in that same room, he wouldn't understand a word of what they were saying.

Zhou Ping looked away, the anger flaring up inside him again.

Days passed like this.

Xu Moxing stayed home every day, studying, reading, and taking notes.

Occasionally his sister would text to ask a few questions, and he'd reply.

Occasionally Su Lichen would work late and text Xu Moxing. Xu Moxing would then eat dinner alone, curl up on the sofa, and watch TV while waiting for him.

He took his supplements every day, and he was visibly putting on a little weight.

Su Lichen was forced to take them too and had gained some weight as well, so he was now watching his diet.

To keep track, Xu Moxing bought a scale.

Their way of weighing themselves was: Su Lichen would first weigh himself, then lift Xu Moxing—whose leg was still in a cast—and weigh the two of them together.

On weekends, they'd take a stroll nearby, living a peaceful, happy life.

Xu Moxing's leg was still in a cast and couldn't move, but the follow-up appointment was coming up.

One evening, Su Lichen came home early.

Xu Moxing was reading when he heard the sound and rolled his wheelchair over.

"Why so early today?"

"Finished everything." Su Lichen put down his briefcase. "How's your studying going?"

"Not bad," Xu Moxing said as he took the chopsticks. "Just some things I don't understand. Just taking it slow."

Su Lichen looked at him.

Under the lamplight, Xu Moxing's face was a little rounder than when he'd first left the hospital—no longer so gaunt.

His hair had grown a little, falling softly over his forehead.

"This weekend, I'll take you to Yangcheng for the follow-up," Su Lichen said.

Xu Moxing was taken aback. "Yangcheng?"

"Yeah, the place where you had the accident." Su Lichen looked down at his food. "Your medical records are at the hospital there, so the follow-up has to be there."

Xu Moxing nodded. "Perfect, we can make it a little trip."

Su Lichen looked up at him.

Xu Moxing smiled eagerly. "After the check-up, how about we look around Yangcheng? I want to see what good food they've got there. I don't even remember Yangcheng."

During college, Xu Moxing had never been to Yangcheng. His time was taken up by clubs and part-time jobs. Later, after they started dating, Xu Moxing still didn't have much money. Su Lichen wasn't short on money, but Su Lichen's money came from his parents, and Xu Moxing wasn't keen on spending it on trips—it could easily create an imbalance in their relationship. Su Lichen probably didn't mind, but Xu Moxing, who was always strapped for cash, minded.

He was serious about money, and just as serious about feelings. He preferred to keep the two as separated as possible.

As a result, during their college years, their dates were mostly on campus or exploring Shencheng by subway.

Su Lichen looked at his smile and said nothing.

After a moment, Su Lichen spoke. "There's an old street there with lots of food. It's probably become a trendy spot now—thanks to short videos, a lot of places have long lines."

"Ugh, I don't want to go there. No matter how good the food is, it's not worth waiting in a huge line."

Xu Moxing looked disappointed.

"It's fine. We'll just find an old residential area and see what good food is nearby. I'll take you to the city center and show you the landmarks."

"Sure, I'll look up some recommendations and see what's fun."

Xu Moxing perked back up.

He looked down at his food and ate for a while, then looked back up. "Did we go there before?"

Su Lichen paused.

"Yes."

Xu Moxing waited for him to go on, but he didn't.

Xu Moxing thought about it but didn't push.

"Then we'll go again, this time," Xu Moxing said eagerly. "Let's see how different it is from before."

Su Lichen looked at him.

A warm light fell on his face, his eyes bright, as if he was really looking forward to this trip.

"Alright."

Su Lichen picked up some food with his chopsticks and placed it in Xu Moxing's bowl.

The weekend arrived quickly.

Early Saturday morning, Su Lichen carried Xu Moxing into the passenger seat, leaned over to fasten his seatbelt, then stood up and put the wheelchair in the trunk.

Xu Moxing watched him sit in the driver's seat and start the car.

"Let's go!"

Su Lichen glanced at him, said nothing, but the corner of his mouth twitched.

They drove out of the residential area and onto the highway.

The sun was nice, streaming in through the window, warm on their skin.

After a while, Xu Moxing suddenly asked, "How long does it take to get to Yangcheng again?"

"Two hours."

"Are you tired?"

"No."

"If you're tired, stop at a service area. I'll stay with you."

Su Lichen turned his head to look at him.

Xu Moxing was looking out the window, as if he'd just said it casually.

He turned back, looking at the road ahead.

"Alright."

Two hours later, the car exited the highway and drove into Yangcheng.

Xu Moxing looked at the streets outside the window and suddenly felt a very strange feeling.

These streets, these buildings—he seemed to have seen them, yet not.

Every city has its unique feel and architectural style. Shencheng had lots of overpasses, while Yangcheng had fewer.

Geographical conditions, historical development, functional needs, planning concepts, and other factors shaped each city's distinct construction style.

"What's wrong?" Su Lichen asked.

Xu Moxing came back to his senses. "Nothing. Just... it looks familiar."

Su Lichen's hand on the steering wheel tightened.

"Maybe you've been here before."

Xu Moxing nodded and said no more.

The car stopped at the hospital entrance.

Su Lichen took out the wheelchair, helped Xu Moxing into it.

"Let's go."

Xu Moxing looked up at the hospital's outpatient building, when suddenly an image flashed through his mind—

A stretcher, white lights, someone shouting.

Brief, gone in an instant.

He was stunned for a moment. When he looked again, nothing was there.

"Mo?"

He came back to his senses, seeing Su Lichen watching him.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Xu Moxing shook his head. "Let's go."

Su Lichen pushed him inside the hospital.

The sunlight cast long shadows behind them.