Planning
Planning the future for two people
A strong tingling sensation emanated from the ankle, like an electric shock, causing Lu Yinxi to straighten her foot and curl her toes, her cheeks immediately turning bright red.
“You… you…”
Soft and cool lips pressed against her ankle, leaving her unable to utter a complete sentence, so she bit her lip and turned her head aside.
With a knee injury, Lu Yinxi didn’t wear a long nightgown, instead, she simply wrapped a knee-length white towel around herself, her slender and straight calf resting in Jian Qing’s hand.
After leaning down to plant a kiss on the ankle, Jian Qing straightened up, her ears red, but her expression unchanged, as she traced her gaze from bottom to top over Lu Yinxi’s body, studying her intently as though she were admiring a painting.
The gaze was too direct, prompting Lu Yinxi to softly protest: “You’re not allowed to look; if you keep looking, it’ll cost you!”
Jian Qing released her hand and moved her gaze away.
Her eyes wandered for a few seconds, and the heat in her ears only increased.
She pinched her own ear, calmly met Lu Yinxi’s gaze, and changed the subject, asking: “What would you like for dinner?”
This child surely hasn’t eaten yet.
Blushing, Lu Yinxi pulled her foot back a little, touched her stomach, and said, “I want to eat noodles.”
Jian Qing stood up and went to the kitchen to cook noodles.
Lu Yinxi threw on a coat and followed her to the kitchen to watch her cook.
Jian Qing, being from the north, always keeps various kinds of noodles at home, while Lu Yinxi, a southerner, starts craving rice after a few meals without it, and only eats noodles once or twice as a change.
Jian Qing asked Lu Yinxi, “What kind of noodles do you want to eat?”
Surprised and delighted, Lu Yinxi replied, “Can I order my own meal today?”
She isn’t picky and is easy to please, usually eating whatever Jian Qing makes.
Jian Qing nodded, “You choose.”
Lu Yinxi asked, “Can you make everything?”
Jian Qing said, “What I can’t make, I’ll learn now.”
Cooking is nothing more than combining firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, and tea with various ingredients.
“Then I want saozi noodles, with soup, sour and spicy to stimulate the appetite.”
Jian Qing knows how to make this.
Meat pieces, carrots, wood ear fungus, and other ingredients are diced and stir-fried.
Ever since discovering that Lu Yinxi enjoys spicy and flavorful foods, Jian Qing has brought back chili sauce and Sichuan pepper sauce from various places during business trips to mix and store, adding a spoon or two while cooking.
Lu Yinxi opened the refrigerator and saw it was packed with food.
She asked Jian Qing, “Why do you buy so many vegetables when you’re alone?”
Jian Qing, while cutting vegetables, replied, “After the fire accident, your film crew will definitely suspend filming for a while.”
When the crew suspends filming, Lu Yinxi will return to stay.
Lu Yinxi understood.
Jian Qing didn’t just go to find her earlier; she wanted to bring her back as well.
She filled the refrigerator to the brim…
Standing in front of the refrigerator for a moment, she picked out some vegetables to prepare a salad.
The kitchen was enveloped in an aura of cooking.
The “thud thud” of chopping vegetables on the cutting board and the “splash” of washing vegetables filled the air.
The daytime fears gradually dissipated in the kitchen’s cozy atmosphere.
Like a small animal returning to its burrow, she felt the warmth and peace of home here.
After her grandmother’s death, even Gu Mingyu couldn’t provide her with this warmth, yet she found it in this world, from this person.
The phone recording the world’s information had perished in the flames, with some of her beliefs seemingly swallowed by the fire’s tongue along with it.
For the first time, Lu Yinxi had the thought, “I might as well stay here.”
Even if this is just a dream, it is currently a beautiful dream.
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She will have a wonderful lover, a warm family, some outstanding friends, and additional youthful years.
The balance between the virtual and reality gradually shifts.
By the time the saozi noodles were served, Lu Yinxi was so hungry that her stomach was practically touching her back, and she quickly devoured a few bites to fill her empty stomach.
Jian Qing went to the bathroom to shower, washing away the kitchen’s aroma, and when she emerged, she exuded a refreshing, faint cold fragrance like thin snow.
She sat on the sofa, her thick long hair swept to the left, using a white towel to dab and wipe, the black of her hair and the white of her arm forming a stark contrast.
Lu Yinxi glanced over from the dining table, admiring the misty allure of the beauty after her bath.
After bathing and in her dreams, these are her two most enchanting moments.
Without any hint of romantic admiration, purely from the perspective of feminine beauty, she is worthy of being captured in a painting.
Lu Yinxi couldn’t help but secretly revel in the fact that only she could see such a Jian Qing.
With a smile hanging on her lips, she lowered her head and slowly ate saozi noodles and vegetable salad. Jian Qing, on the sofa drying her hair, glanced over at her, and watching her eat filled her with satisfaction and joy.
Her mood became easily contented; happiness was just a matter of eye contact, not even needing conversation, just being in the same room was enough.
After dinner, Lu Yinxi tossed the dishes into the dishwasher, washed up quickly, then bounced to the sofa, hugged a doll, and sat down, watching Jian Qing dry her hair.
While watching, she grabbed the hairdryer to help her.
She dried it to about seventy percent, then stopped.
Jian Qing tossed her long hair, stood up, looked at Lu Yinxi, and said, “I’m going to the study to write a paper.”
Lu Yinxi raised her wrist, glanced at the time, and tugged at her sleeve: “What topic? I can help you find reference materials tomorrow, but tonight, stay and chat with me.”
Jian Qing replied, “Wei Mingming will find them.”
Jian Qing usually assigns the task of finding reference materials to Wei Mingming, and if they’re in English, she also has her translate them into Chinese to practice her English skills.
Wei Mingming is currently a professional master’s student; the requirements for papers aren’t high, but since she plans to pursue a Ph.D., she must improve her English skills and academic ability.
Lu Yinxi said, “I can help you input statistical data.”
Jian Qing, with a half-smile, replied, “Wei Mingming and Zhang Yue can both do that.”
Lu Yinxi couldn’t think of anything else she could help with at the moment, but she really wanted to spend more time with her, so she clutched her sleeve, not letting go, and lowered her head in deep thought.
Jian Qing offered a solution: “6 yuan for 30 minutes of chatting.”
Lu Yinxi looked up, smiling broadly: “It really is…”
Good and cheap.
“Pay a deposit first!” She transferred 3 yuan to Jian Qing, then pulled her to the balcony to watch the stars and chat.
Jian Qing had recently installed two rattan basket hanging chairs on the balcony. Lu Yinxi immediately noticed them, ran over, and sat in one, swinging back and forth like on a swing.
Jian Qing joined her, gently swinging back and forth, gazing at the night sky.
In the night breeze, Lu Yinxi swayed and chatted: “Have you ever been to X City?”
“I’ve been there for an academic conference.”
Doctors rarely have holidays. Even though annual leave is officially stipulated, whether it’s granted depends on the department head. If the department head is a workaholic who never takes a break, subordinates feel embarrassed to take leave and can only take the opportunity to explore during academic conferences.
Lu Yinxi recalled, “I remember saozi noodles are a major specialty there. The streets and alleys are full of noodles and roujiamo, and there’s also a type of noodle I can’t write the name of, biang biang noodles, quite interesting.”
Jian Qing said, “If you like going, I’ll take you next time.”
After saying that, she took out her phone and started checking X City for this year’s schedule to see if there are any national-level academic conferences.
Generally, academic conferences for the year need to be reported, registered, and filed with the Health Commission’s Medical Administration Division by the end of last year, and invitation letters are issued a month before the event.
“There’s nothing next month; let’s check again the month after.”
Lu Yinxi hummed softly, feeling a bit sour inside: “Where will you find the time to accompany me? You don’t even have time to make a phone call…”
She still remembers that the first call she received in the afternoon was from Wei Mingming, not from Jian Qing.
Isn’t she afraid something might happen to me?
Jian Qing heard the complaint in Lu Yinxi’s words, put away her phone, and softly apologized, “I’m sorry.”
Lu Yinxi shook her head, looked at the night sky, and gently said, “There’s really no need to apologize for this.”
She understands clearly that caring for someone is a matter of affection, not obligation.
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Matters of affection, before confirming a relationship, give no right to criticize.
Moreover—
“Teachers guide students, soldiers protect civilians, doctors guard patients; they are simply fulfilling their duties.” Lu Yinxi thought it through and was very good at self-soothing her emotions, “I’m not angry, but I’ll deduct a fee. The 6 yuan chat fee is now 5 yuan.”
As a small act of revenge.
Jian Qing looked at her, smiled slightly, and said nothing.
Lu Yinxi pursed her lips, “I’m thirsty, what would you like to drink?”
“Lemon water.”
Lu Yinxi walked in, took out two wine glasses, sliced a few pieces of lemon, added a few spoons of honey, some ice cubes, poured in cold water, and inserted two straws, making two glasses of lemon water.
She handed a glass to Jian Qing, then sat back on the hanging chair and continued swinging.
Accidentally, some water splashed, spilling a drop or two on the cover of the watch on her left hand.
Lu Yinxi quickly wiped the watch cover.
It’s not a valuable brand-name watch, just an ordinary smartwatch, but she cherishes it deeply.
This was the first gift Jian Qing gave her.
— Even though it was given under the suspicion that she was ill.
Lu Yinxi touched the watch cover, suddenly understanding something, turned her head and asked Jian Qing, “That afternoon, did you guess I was fine, so you weren’t worried about me?”
Jian Qing nodded.
She had first opened the smartwatch’s location tracker to check Lu Yinxi’s position.
The location always showed, indicating that as long as the watch was there, so was the person.
She guessed that Lu Yinxi was most likely safe and sound.
The next second, she shook her head and refuted, saying, “I was nervous.”
She was indeed nervous about her.
Lu Yinxi was stunned for a moment, then gently said “oh,” bit the straw, and suppressed the smile at the corner of her lips.
She couldn’t help but wonder if she put too much honey in this lemon water because it was so sweet…
So sweet that she felt the night breeze was intoxicating.
After a while, she asked Jian Qing again, “Have you ever thought that if we were together, we would face great resistance?”
Compared to the open-minded atmosphere of the entertainment industry, with many homosexuals and singles, hospitals belong to a relatively traditional system, often facing pressure to marry and matchmaking from superiors, colleagues, and patients. In such an environment, few choose not to marry, and coming out is even rarer.
Jian Qing turned her head, gazed at Lu Yinxi’s brow, and answered, “I’ve thought about it.”
She is a very planned person.
For example, she wouldn’t wander around aimlessly; she must have planned the itinerary and the items to purchase before going out.
If she wants to be with a woman, she will certainly consider all aspects.
She has planned a lot for the future. She won’t enter a marriage of convenience; she looked into policies that protect the rights of same-sex partners, property notarization policies, and insurance-related regulations. She devised an insurance purchase plan for both of them and planned to set up a family reserve fund…
No planned romantic confession, never expressed intense love, just seriously planning the future for the two of them.
She did a lot, yet the words spoken were only “thought about it.”
Lu Yinxi understands Jian Qing’s nature; Jian Qing saying “thought about it” is surely accompanied by action.
Jian Qing has long-term plans, but she does not. Whether in career or relationship, she only has short-term goals, only setting goals for next year.
Wanting long-term companionship, relying solely on love is not enough. Love can sustain, but economic capability is the foundation, and risk resistance capability is the guarantee; otherwise, any wave in life may become a storm that overturns everything.
Jian Qing considers her young age and is willing to wait for her growth, but she cannot drag Jian Qing down.
If both parties are determined to take a path that is less traveled and more rugged, she needs to look further ahead.
At nine o’clock in the evening, Lu Yinxi indeed received the notice that the crew would stop work for three days.
The crew originally planned to shoot a fire accident scene, but unexpectedly, fiction became reality, and a real accident occurred.
Relevant departments need to investigate and gather evidence from the crew, thoroughly investigate the cause of the fire. The crew also needs to handle the aftermath for the injured and manage public opinion online, while the main actors need to appease the fans’ emotions and provide explanations to media reporters.
Lu Yinxi had a three-day holiday.
On the first day, she received a digital tablet gift from Jian Qing.
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“You like to draw, so I gave you a drawing tablet.”
She went to the market to pick a piece of Lantian jade, carved with her surname and Jian Qing’s surname, as a return gift.
On the second day, she used the digital tablet Jian Qing gave her to create educational comics about scalds and burns, especially emphasizing that after scalds and burns, the first thing to do is to continuously rinse with cold water or soak the scalded area for more than 30 minutes, rather than applying random oils, soy sauce, toothpaste, gentian violet, etc.
In the evening, Jian Qing brought back a pair of earrings with deer antler pendants.
Doctors on duty cannot wear earrings, and she never pierced her ears from the beginning, so the earrings were naturally given to Lu Yinxi.
Lu Yinxi wore the earrings in front of the mirror, jokingly said, “First the deer antler necklace, now the deer antler earrings. Next time, are you going to give me a little deer?”
Jian Qing seriously replied, “If you like, I can consider it.”
She became very generous, like a dragon in springtime falling in love, who sees all shiny treasures and loves to pluck them out to give to people to make them happy.
Lu Yinxi couldn’t think of a return gift at the moment, so she drew a little deer and gave it to Jian Qing as a social media avatar.
Jian Qing’s avatars were either system defaults or pure white; Lu Yinxi changed all her avatars to a cartoon version of a moose.
On the third evening, Jian Qing came back from work and handed Lu Yinxi a file folder.
Lu Yinxi joked while opening it, “Today’s gift, is it a five-million-dollar check?”
“No.” Jian Qing looked at her, smiled slightly, feeling a bit uneasy in her heart, but her face remained calm, “It’s some medical records and literature. I want to tell you, I have… a family history of mental illness.”
The author has something to say:
Burns are quite common in daily life, so it’s useful to note down the correct way to handle them. Using myself as an example, earlier this year, the back of my hand was scalded by 100°C boiling water. The way I handled it was to immediately run to the faucet and rinse my hand with cold water. I didn’t have any burn ointment at home, so I ordered medicine delivery. Within 30 minutes, the delivery person brought burn ointment. In the meantime, I filled a basin with ice water and kept my hand submerged. After the ointment arrived, I dried my hand and applied it. Of course, this was a mild, small-area burn that could be managed at home. If it is more severe, you should also rinse or soak it in cold water for 30 minutes, then wrap it with a clean cloth and go to the emergency room for medical help. Absolutely do not apply soy sauce, toothpaste, etc. Keep the wound clean and dry to avoid infection.