Phone Call
Are you taking a shower?
At nine o’clock, the campus of Jiang University was brightly lit.
The dismissal bell rang “ding-ling-ling” for a while. Jian Qing closed the textbook and turned off the PowerPoint: “Class dismissed.”
As the words fell, the classroom erupted into a flurry of noise. A few students, without even packing their bags, clutched their textbooks and eagerly rushed forward, using the pretext of asking questions to engage in conversation with Jian Qing.
Jian Qing patiently answered, while her peripheral vision instinctively fell on the first row by the window to the right.
The seat was empty, and outside the window, the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, stars of blossoms adorned the branches.
If she were here, she would be sitting in that seat by the window, smiling as she looked at the flowers. Then, on the way home, she would cling to me, talking nonstop, like pouring out beans, about the color and scent of the flowers.
Jian Qing paused briefly in her explanations, then shifted her gaze to the group of students in front of her: “Let’s stop here for today. If you have any questions, leave a message on the platform, and I will answer them.”
After class, she really didn’t like talking much. She would rather write lengthy explanations online than ramble on in person.
Yet, being a teacher or a doctor are both professions that require facing many people and engaging in extensive communication.
Hu Jianjun once sighed, “I thought you would focus solely on research. We even kept a spot in the lab for you.”
Compared to dealing with people, dealing with microorganisms is much simpler and easier.
But for her, the more challenging something is, the more she wants to try it.
The students left the teaching building in groups of threes and fives, while Jian Qing, carrying her bag, paused in front of a cluster of greenery.
Last winter, Lu Yinxi had picked an icy leaf from this spot and gave it to her, only to angrily snatch it back and eat it after being teased by her, declaring that she wouldn’t give it away anymore.
She reached out to touch the leaves of the greenery, a smile forming at the corners of her lips.
At 9:30, after the evening banquet had ended, Lu Yinxi was pulled into a room by several senior brothers and sisters to play Werewolf.1
Her mind was elsewhere, mentally simulating Jian Qing’s route home.
Normally, at this hour, Jian Qing should have already finished work and returned home, doing her own things in the study. But now that school has started, sometimes she has to teach 3 evening classes, and it’s expected that she won’t be home until around 9:30.
Lu Yinxi guessed which path Jian Qing might take, imagined her facial expression, and wondered if she might miss her just a little.
After two months of spending every day together, suddenly returning to living alone, no matter how cold and indifferent she might be, Jian Qing’s mind would inevitably flash with some images of her.
She didn’t need much—just the occasional thought of her, and Lu Yinxi would be completely satisfied.
It was like adding just one spoonful of honey to water; that bland, tasteless water would instantly become sweet sugar water.
Lu Yinxi smiled faintly.
That smile was immediately caught by one of the senior sisters: “Ah—Xiaolu is sneaking a smile, you must be the werewolf!”
Lu Yinxi raised her hand in protest: “I’m innocent! I’m a good person. If you vote me out, you’ll regret it!”
Her defense was in vain, and so she was unjustly voted out of the game.
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She smiled it off, completely unconcerned, and sat to the side with her phone, sending a message to Jian Qing:
【Are you home?】
If there were any urgent matters at the hospital, they’d call directly. Jian Qing wouldn’t check her phone while walking, and even after getting home, she rarely played with her phone. Who knows how many hours would pass before she saw the message.
Feeling bored, Lu Yinxi opened Jian Qing’s Moments on WeChat.
She never posted updates on social platforms; her Moments were completely blank, without even a background image set.
Lu Yinxi wanted to glimpse her feelings through words, but there was nothing to see.
It seemed that she once had a Weibo account, but Lu Yinxi couldn’t recall the name.
It was as if she didn’t need to vent her emotions.
It might be better to search for the online hospital and look at how patients from online consultations rated her.
Lu Yinxi opened the app for the First Affiliated Hospital and searched for Jian Qing. In the comments section, nearly every review included words like “good-looking,” “pretty,” or “a bit stern.”
As she read, an unconscious smile appeared at the corners of Lu Yinxi’s lips.
Before, when they spent every day together, it was enough to just look at her. Now that Jian Qing wasn’t in front of her, she had quietly moved into her heart. The moment Lu Yinxi had any free time, Jian Qing would occupy her thoughts, pushing aside all other ideas, leaving her mind filled with only her.
Suddenly, her phone chimed with a “ding,” and Jian Qing’s reply popped up on the screen:
【I’m home.】
A reply within 10 minutes—did she just happen to take out her phone and see the message, or was she deliberately waiting for her message?
Lu Yinxi stared at those three words, reading them over and over again. It felt as if fireworks had exploded in her heart, and she was so excited that she almost wanted to stand up and spin around on the spot.
After a few seconds of excitement, she indeed stood up, but not to spin around. Instead, she said goodbye to the senior brothers and sisters: “Senior brother, senior sister, I’m going to rest now. I drank a bit too much and feel a little dizzy.”
“Xiaolu, you’re not doing so well, you’ve only had less than 3 drinks.”
“It’s not even 10 o’clock, who goes to bed this early? The nightlife is just starting!”
“Look at you, all fluttering with spring feelings. Are you going back to have a long phone call with your partner?”
Some tried to keep her there, while others teased her. Lu Yinxi smiled as she grabbed her bag and jacket, escaping like a flash.
Her room was upstairs, and she walked up the stairs.
Just as she turned from the hallway into the passage, she bumped into Lan Zhou.
Lu Yinxi stopped in her tracks and politely greeted her: “Hello, Teacher Lan.”
Lan Zhou was wearing a black dress that exuded a striking elegance, yet she appeared somewhat disheveled, not as stunning as she had been at the banquet.
Hearing Lu Yinxi’s greeting, she was reeking of alcohol, holding a 6-pack of beer, with red-rimmed eyes. She looked at Lu Yinxi and nodded in response, saying, “Hello.”
Her nose was a bit stuffy, and her voice sounded hoarse and muffled, as if she had cried hard before.
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“Teacher Lan, my surname is Lu, and I’m Lu Yinxi, the Lu Yinxi from ‘Lin Kong Lu Yinxi.’ You can just call me Xiaolu,” Lu Yinxi introduced herself, then lowered her head to count the number of beer bottles, knowingly asking, “1, 2, 3, 4, 5… 6 bottles of beer. Teacher Lan, feeling down?”
At this moment, Lan Zhou must have just received a breakup call from her ex-boyfriend and was about to head to the rooftop to drown her sorrows in alcohol.
Lan Zhou and Lu Yinxi weren’t close, and at this moment, she had no mood for conversation. Ignoring Lu Yinxi’s question, she forced a smile and waved goodbye, saying, “Xiaolu, that’s a beautiful name. See you tomorrow.”
Lu Yinxi quickly stuffed her jacket into Lan Zhou’s arms, saying, “Teacher Lan, you’re wearing so little. Be careful not to catch a cold. There’s a press conference tomorrow after class, so take care of yourself.”
Without waiting for a response, she hurried back to her room.
Holding Lu Yinxi’s jacket, Lan Zhou stood there for a moment, then glanced at the closed door, feeling somewhat puzzled about the girl’s intentions.
She walked over, considering knocking on the door to return the jacket, but then thought it was the kind gesture of a young girl. Not wanting to let it go to waste, she draped it over her shoulders, carried the beer, and went up to the rooftop to drown her sorrows.
Lu Yinxi leaned against the back of the door, listening to the footsteps fade away, lost in thought.
In the original story, Lan Zhou faced the cold wind on the rooftop and encountered Chu Yan, who gave her his coat. As a result, the next day, she was photographed by paparazzi wearing a man’s coat.
That coat happened to be the same style as one worn by her male co-star, Xiao Yihang, who was married with children. In the near future, due to that photo and other baseless rumors, Lan Zhou would be unjustly accused of having an affair with Xiao Yihang, becoming the third party that intruded into someone else’s marriage.
The female lead always faced many hardships, only to achieve a happy ending at the last moment.
Lu Yinxi thought that if she could help Lan Zhou avoid this minor trouble, it shouldn’t have a significant impact on the plot, right?
After all, this was not a matter of life and death, nor would it affect the final outcomes of the characters.
Lu Yinxi sat on the sofa, silently contemplating for a while.
Based on her experiences over the past two months, she could make minor adjustments to the plot.
For example, she could change her relationship with Jian Qing from a sponsorship to a romance. Or, she could shift the relationship between Chu Yan and He Bei from unrequited love to mutual affection.
Perhaps saving He Bei was too drastic a step, too sudden, and it disrupted the storyline, which was why it couldn’t be changed.
If she started from the smallest details, like becoming friends with Lan Zhou from now on and preventing Jian Qing from doing anything wrong, perhaps she could gradually transform the situation, leading from quantitative changes to qualitative ones, thereby altering the outcome of the death.
All her thoughts ultimately coalesced into a single goal of clinging to Lan Zhou’s support. Lu Yinxi felt as if she were playing a virtual game with countless side quests to choose from, yet she wasn’t sure if she had only one life to live.
With a soft sigh, she looked down at the three words Jian Qing had sent her on her phone.
If it weren’t for her heart being tied to this place, she would have taken her money and fled far away, avoiding the entanglements and disputes among this group of people—Jian Yan, Chu Yan, and Lan Zhou—ignoring them all completely.
But if she hadn’t given her heart to Jian Qing, she feared she wouldn’t be who she was now.
Without the sense of security provided by Jian Qing, she might be trembling and struggling to survive in some corner; perhaps she would have long been defeated by the fear of loneliness, losing the courage to live in a strange environment.
In this world, even in reality, Lu Yinxi had never experienced that unique sense of peace from anyone else.
Being with Jian Qing, even if it was just the two of them, saying nothing and doing nothing, she would not feel lonely; however, when she was with others, even in a group full of laughter and play, she couldn’t truly integrate herself.
No matter what, she did not regret falling for Jian Qing.
Lu Yinxi opened her contacts and dialed Jian Qing’s number.
In less than five seconds, the phone was picked up.
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The sound of flowing water came from the other end, causing Lu Yinxi to freeze, her mind filled with hazy and intimate images.
After listening for a moment, she cautiously asked, “Teacher Jian, are you taking a shower?”
“Mm, I am.”
The voice on the phone sounded more magnetic than usual.
The cool tone, accompanied by the gentle sound of water, made Lu Yinxi uncontrollably imagine the scene in the bathroom—hazy steam, the pure white of skin, and water flowing over smooth surfaces…
Her cheeks burned red, and her eyes showed a mix of surprise and embarrassment. After hesitating for a long while, she felt as though she had overheard something she shouldn’t have. Flustered and incoherent, she stammered, “You, you… how can you do this… It’s okay if it’s not convenient to answer the phone. I can call back later… You don’t have to…”
You don’t have to rush to answer the phone while taking a shower.
What if the phone gets water-damaged? What if you slip and fall?
Jian Qing stood by the sink, preparing the red date and white fungus soup for tomorrow. The phone was on speaker mode, propped up on the side.
She looked at the red dates in the water and smiled faintly, no longer teasing Lu Yinxi. After drying her hands, she picked up the phone and said, “I’m just washing the red dates, it’s not inconvenient.”
Footnotes
- Werewolf: Refers to a popular social deduction game where players are assigned roles and must use strategy and deception to win.