Chapter 19: Searching for Him in the Crowd a Thousand Times

When Lin Ye woke up, it was already dark. He had at least managed to sleep on the living room sofa, but Zhang Wen had ended up on the floor; his posture made it clear that the lad had likely started on the couch before rolling off.

Rubbing his throbbing temples, Lin Ye found his memory fragmented. He only vaguely recalled the boss’s son driving them home. A sharp stinging sensation in his right palm made him instinctively lift his hand. When he opened it, he found a small rabbit hair clip pressed so firmly into his skin that it had left a temporary indentation.

Staring at the clip, Lin Ye swallowed hard. More memories drifted back—the moment he had slumped over the table and said he would stop by the hospital entrance on his way tomorrow. It wasn't a big deal, just a simple detour. That was all. He had spent so many days with Su Qing in the hospital; surely, that made them something of... friends. And if a friend was being discharged, it was perfectly reasonable to drop by the entrance to see them off. Just like that, without much deliberation, Lin Ye convinced himself to go to the hospital the next day.

After a quick shower, he lay in bed, surprised to find himself looking forward to the next day. As for the fact that tomorrow was Monday and he had work—well, he would just take a leave of absence. He hadn't taken a single day off since starting the job, so, yes! He would ask for leave right now! The thought of seeing that familiar figure again lifted the irritability that had plagued him since noon, and he even began to hum a soft tune.

On the floor, Zhang Wen curled into a ball. He was having a nightmare about being naked and watching penguins in Antarctica, shivering uncontrollably.

Unlike his friend, Lin Ye had no cooking utensils in his rented apartment, so he had gone downstairs for a bowl of small wontons, bringing one back for Zhang Wen as well. By the time Zhang Wen woke up in the middle of the night, the wontons had become bloated, yet even after heating them in the apartment’s microwave, he had still muttered, "Thanks, foster father." One can only understand the significance of a bowl of wontons after a night of heavy drinking if one has truly been there.

Lin Ye slept soundly that night and had a dream. In it, on the day they signed the divorce papers, he had wanted to kiss Su Qing. He had reached out to stroke her nose, and then she had woken up. The dream ended there; he never saw her eyes, and they naturally didn't appear in the dream. Upon waking, he felt a lingering sense of loss.

By five o'clock, he had finished washing up, eaten two steamed buns and a bowl of hot and sour soup at a shop downstairs, and reached the hospital by six.

The head nurse, having just finished her night shift and changed into her street clothes, bumped into Lin Ye right at the hospital entrance. He was dressed in all black, complete with sunglasses and a mask.

"Oh? I thought your wife wasn't being discharged until ten this morning. Why so early? Oh, youth is a wonderful thing—always wanting to be glued to each other."

Lin Ye was stunned. He had gone to great lengths to disguise himself, fearing that Su Qing or Li Dehua might spot him, yet the head nurse had seen through him instantly. Flustered, he sheepishly removed his glasses and mask, exchanged a few awkward pleasantries to cover his tracks, and then hurried off to buy a newspaper at the kiosk east of the hospital gate.

He sat on a bench in the courtyard, using the newspaper as a shield. This time, he thought, it was foolproof. Who would pay attention to someone sitting on a bench reading a paper?

As the seconds ticked by, the closer it got to ten o'clock, the more tormented he became. Two voices seemed to emerge in his mind.

Voice One ranted, "Lin Ye, you spineless fool! You're divorced, yet here you are, lurking like a stalker! You pervert!"

Voice Two kicked the first one to the ground: "You don't know anything! I'm just giving myself closure. It’s about seeing things through to the end, don't you get it?"

Suddenly, a third, downtrodden voice emerged from a corner: "Let's be honest, you're just a broke loser who can't bear to let go because you're not in the same league..."

In the next instant, all three voices vanished, as if they had never existed at all. Lin Ye’s gaze remained locked on the hospital’s front entrance, searching for that familiar silhouette. It wasn't ten yet, but what if she came out early? This was his only chance to see Su Qing, and he didn't want to miss it.

Lin Ye’s nose twitched. It was strange—he caught a familiar scent. For a moment, he couldn't place where he had smelled it before, but it held a magical quality that seemed to calm his heart instantly.

"Excuse me, could I sit next to you?"

The girl's voice, appearing suddenly by his ear, was like the first ray of spring sunshine—warm and bright. Every note seemed to dance, brushing against the lake of his heart and sending ripples outward.

"Sure, no problem. Go ahead."

Though the girl’s voice was melodious enough to surprise him, Lin Ye didn't even turn his head. His entire focus was fixed on the flow of people at the hospital entrance. It was five minutes to ten, his heart was in his throat, and his focus was so intense he had no room to consider his surroundings.

"Um... sir, are you looking for someone?"

The girl tilted her head, the tenderness in her starry eyes deep enough to drown in.

What a joke. Had he ever met a stalker who would admit to being one? Besides, Lin Ye wasn't a stalker.

"No, I'm not. You don't see the newspaper in my hands? I'm reading." He shook the paper to add a touch of credibility, feeling a flicker of smugness that he had prepared it.

"But it looks like you've been watching the hospital entrance the whole time. I don't have anything to do right now, so if you're looking for someone, why not show me a photo? I can help you look."

As she spoke, the girl shifted closer, reducing the distance between them until the breath from her cherry lips brushed against his earlobe.

In the next second, Lin Ye’s ears turned red, the color spreading visibly from behind his ears to his thin cheeks, sending a shiver of goosebumps down the back of his neck.

Lin Ye finally couldn't sit still anymore. He scooted away and turned to look at the girl who had been talking to him.

"What is wrong with you—"