Running Towards You - Chapter 36

“Dr. Lu, why don’t you like that female classmate?” Ji Yin picked up a steamed dumpling, dipped it in soy sauce, then rolled it in chili oil before stuffing it whole into her mouth.

“Not liking someone is just not liking them,” Lu Jiahe replied, watching her eat with such gusto that his own appetite improved. He took a bite as well, chewing slowly for a long time.

“She’s actually quite good-looking and seems to be doing well. In terms of basic compatibility, she’s barely a match for you,” Ji Yin remarked.

“So, your suggestion is that I should date her?”

Ji Yin thought seriously for a moment, then shook her head. “But her personality isn’t right for you.”

“How so?”

Ji Yin took a sip of soy milk and said, “You can get along with anyone, but she harbors this inexplicable hostility toward your friends. That’s just not a good fit.”

Lu Jiahe chuckled and picked up the last dumpling. “You’re quite perceptive. You’ve only met her a few times and barely spoken to her, yet you’ve pinpointed the root of our conflict. Even Li Chenyao hasn’t noticed.”

“Of course! As your friend, I’ll be strict when vetting your girlfriends!” Ji Yin declared with conviction.

“Alright then, you keep vetting. If you find someone suitable, remember to introduce them to me.”

Ji Yin mentally ran through a list of people but couldn’t think of anyone suitable. Still, she verbally agreed.

After the meal, Ji Yin followed him home to return some old books and borrow new ones.

Dr. Lu would recommend books based on her reading level and interests.

“You’ve read several interviews and novels already. How about trying something from the social sciences?”

“Social sciences?”

“Right. In the early stages of reading, it’s good to explore different genres to find what interests you most before diving deeper.” Lu Jiahe picked out two books for her: From the Soil and Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind.

“You’ve been to many places, so you might understand the first book more deeply than others. The second one you can take your time with, if you really can’t get into it, just drop it.”

“Okay.”

Just in case she couldn’t get into either and lost interest in reading altogether, Lu Jiahe also picked out A Thousand Splendid Suns.

“This one’s a novel. You can read it if you get bored.”

“Okay.” Ji Yin skimmed the synopsis it was about the struggles of two women’s lives and exclaimed, “This takes me all the way to Afghanistan! I’ve never read foreign books before. Anything I should keep in mind while reading?”

“Keep tissues handy,” Lu Jiahe said.

“No wonder I’ve been crying so easily lately. It’s all because of these books once the waterworks start, they won’t stop,” Ji Yin joked.

“That just means the books are awakening your empathy,” Lu Jiahe replied with a smile.

Ji Yin carried the three books home and, following Dr. Lu’s advice, started with From the Soil.

Two hours later, she couldn’t resist calling Lu Jiahe: “Dr. Lu, I’m reading the book, and some parts feel a bit obscure. But there’s so much familiar content things I never paid attention to before actually follow patterns and have explanations! I’ve never thought about the people and things I’ve encountered from these perspectives before!”

“It seems you’re really into it.” Lu Jiahe smiled approvingly. “How far have you read?”

“Only three chapters.”

“Did you do anything else in between?”

“Went to the bathroom.”

“Three short chapters in two hours means you’re thinking deeply.”

Ji Yin nodded repeatedly. Her reading speed was painfully slow, as if she wanted to break down every character and knead it into her brain. She often reread passages repeatedly to fully grasp the logical connections.

What she loved most were the examples the author provided so many were based on personal experiences she’d never considered from an outsider’s perspective. She kept slapping her thigh in realization while reading.

“This is so good my thighs are getting bruised from all the slapping,” Ji Yin said.

Lu Jiahe chuckled. “Don’t bruise them too much. I don’t want to treat such a disobedient patient again. Besides, they’re such nice thighs.”

Ji Yin giggled. “I’ll keep reading. Can I discuss it with you later?”

“Sure.”

Within half an hour, Ji Yin had called him four or five times.

“Maybe we should just keep the line open,” Lu Jiahe suggested.

“Really? Won’t it disturb your rest?”

“No, I’m off tomorrow anyway.”

“Okay!”

They continued their call while doing their own things. Lu Jiahe even took his phone into the shower, listening as she excitedly brought up content from the book and connected it to past experiences from her life.

The chasm of time gradually filled through their conversation. From her fragmented stories, Lu Jiahe pieced together the trajectory of her growth.

The line remained smooth in his mind, though every setback along it was something he hadn’t witnessed firsthand.

Through Ji Yin’s alternating tones of excitement and wistfulness, Lu Jiahe felt the sensation of “the light boat has passed countless mountains” and was profoundly grateful that the light boat had indeed passed them.

As the water stopped running, Lu Jiahe quietly listened to her rambling voice.

After a long silence, Ji Yin called out, “Dr. Lu, are you still there?”

“I’m here,” Lu Jiahe replied.

“I thought you’d fallen asleep.”

“No, I was just thinking.” He stepped out of the bathroom and tossed his pajamas onto the bed.

“About what?”

“About seeing you.”

Half an hour later, Ji Yin opened her door to find Lu Jiahe standing there, his hair still damp. She froze momentarily.

“Want some late-night snacks?” Lu Jiahe raised the bag in his hand with a smile.

“Sure.” Ji Yin ushered him inside and fetched a hairdryer from her room. “Dr. Lu, dry your hair first.”

“Leave it for now.” Lu Jiahe was busy unpacking the food, his hands full.

Seeing this, Ji Yin stood behind him, turned on the hairdryer, and began drying his hair strand by strand.

Once the food was laid out, Lu Jiahe turned and saw their reflections in the glass window. The room was so quiet that only the hum of the hairdryer filled the air, as ordinary moments flowed gently between them.

“Done.” Ji Yin ran her fingers through his hair, set down the hairdryer, and was about to dig in when Lu Jiahe stopped her.

“Wash your hands first.”

“Oh, right.” Ji Yin hurried to wash up, then kicked over a snack box. “I’ve got beer too. Want some?”

“I’ll take one.”

They chatted casually while eating.

“What made you decide to come over so suddenly?” Ji Yin asked between bites of duck neck.

“I feel like having a midnight snack, but eating alone is no fun,” Lu Jiahe took a sip of wine and noticed the book on the sofa. “How far have you gotten in the book?”

“About a third. I almost stayed up all night to finish it,” Ji Yin replied.

Lu Jiahe smiled. “Seems like I came at the right time. If you have anything to say, we can talk face to face.”

Ji Yin thought for a moment and asked, “Is that why you came?”

Lu Jiahe neither confirmed nor denied it. She picked up her beer and clinked it against Ji Yin’s. The cold liquid slid down her throat, and she couldn’t help but laugh. “If my mom knew I was drinking ice-cold beer in the middle of the night, she’d be furious.”

Ji Yin immediately realized. “I’ll go get you some hot water.”

“No need, this is fine. It’s been a while since I’ve had cold beer,” Lu Jiahe said. “Don’t bother, just sit down and let’s have a good chat.”

“About what?” Ji Yin asked.

“About the book, about you anything,” Lu Jiahe replied.

“We’ve already talked a lot on the phone. How about we talk about you instead?” Ji Yin looked at her expectantly.

“Sure, what do you want to know?”

“Anything. For example… is ‘Zaozao’ your nickname?”

“Yeah.”

“Why that name?”

“I was a premature baby,” Lu Jiahe said, amused by Ji Yin’s surprised expression. “Hard to believe, right? I was born over a month early. My mom was rushing around covering news stories, and I rushed out of her belly too. I wasn’t very healthy as a kid, so now you know why my mom is so strict about what I eat and drink.”

“That was really close. There was a premature baby in my village who didn’t survive long after birth,” Ji Yin said with lingering fear. “Thank goodness you made it, or I wouldn’t have gotten to meet you.”

“I’m glad too that I got to meet you,” Lu Jiahe smiled. “What about you? Why are you named Ji Yin? It’s a nice name, who chose it?”

“The local cop.”

“Huh?” Lu Jiahe was puzzled.

“Actually, my mom originally wanted to name me Ji Ying, with ‘Ying’ as in ‘hero.’ Back then, household registrations were handwritten, and she had someone else handle it. The cop couldn’t tell the difference between the nasal sounds, so he wrote ‘Yin’ instead.”

Lu Jiahe didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

After eating for a while, neither of them could finish. They leaned back on the sofa, continuing to drink and chat, and before they knew it, the conversation turned into a truth-telling session.

“What’s the most rebellious thing you’ve ever done?” Ji Yin asked.

“Coming out. What’s the most fun thing you’ve done?”

“Experimenting with firecrackers, trying to make a bomb. Ended up mistaking lime for gunpowder.”

Lu Jiahe burst out laughing and then asked, “Who do you hate the most?”

“Ji Chenggang.”

Lu Jiahe paused before realizing who that was. She patted Ji Yin’s hand. “Who do you like the most?”

Ji Yin looked down at her hand. “What kind of ‘like’?”

“Any kind.”

“Then it’s Yanzi.”

“Makes sense.”

“And you.”

Lu Jiahe’s eyes flickered. “Are we tied in ranking?”

“Yes. One family, one friend of course they can be tied,” Ji Yin said.

“I’m honored.”

“What about you? Who’s your favorite friend?” Ji Yin deliberately excluded family.

Lu Jiahe thought for a moment. “Li Chenyao.”

Li Chenyao had been her friend for over twenty years undoubtedly ranking first. Ji Yin thought this and pressed further, “Then, apart from Li Chenyao, who’s your second favorite friend?”

“Zhang Chang, I guess.”

Ji Yin froze. “Who’s that?”

“My college classmate. She works in another city you’ve never met her.”

Four years of college was a long time, so Ji Yin nodded. “Alright, apart from this Zhang Chang, who’s your third favorite friend?”

“Zhao Chen,” Lu Jiahe answered before she could even ask. “A friend I met during my internship. We worked together for years, but she transferred to another department.”

“Fine. And after Zhao Chen?”

“Zhang San.”

“Who the heck is Zhang San?!” Ji Yin was on the verge of losing it.

“It’s her nickname, she’s the third child in her family.”

“That’s a real person?”

“Yep.” Lu Jiahe nodded, then patted Ji Yin’s head when she saw her bristling. “Why are you upset?”

“I thought I’d at least make the list.” Ji Yin mumbled, aggrieved.

“You’re not in the same category as them.”

“What? I can’t even make the friend category now?” Ji Yin couldn’t help but feel dejected, looking at her with a crestfallen expression. “Then what category am I in? Top Ten Patients of the Year?”

Lu Jiahe chuckled. “Hmm… if we’re really going by that, you’d definitely make the top ten. No other patient is as disobedient as you.”

Ji Yin was stunned. “In your eyes, I’m just a patient? Then what do all these days we’ve spent together mean? Staying up all night talking, stuffing ourselves with food, what does that count as?”

“It counts as us being gluttons.”

“…” Ji Yin crossed her arms and turned away in a huff.

Lu Jiahe patted her shoulder, but Ji Yin shrugged her off, refusing to turn back.

Leaning forward, Lu Jiahe rested her chin on Ji Yin’s shoulder and grinned. “Mad?”

Ji Yin snorted and turned her head the other way, still avoiding her gaze.

“Don’t be mad.” Lu Jiahe tried hard to reach her face.

Ji Yin twisted her neck so far it might snap, stubbornly refusing to look back.

“I was just teasing you.” Lu Jiahe pinched her cheek. “You’re tied with Li Chenyao.”

“I don’t believe you,” Ji Yin sulked.

“Really don’t?”

“Nope.”

“If you don’t, then ah!” Lu Jiahe had meant to circle around to face her but misstepped, nearly tumbling off the couch. Luckily, one hand still clung to Ji Yin’s shoulder.

Ji Yin turned and swiftly yanked her back up only for Lu Jiahe to land squarely in her lap the next moment.

“?” Ji Yin was baffled. How had they ended up in this position?

“Thanks,” Lu Jiahe said.

“Y-you’re welcome.” Only after speaking did Ji Yin remember she was still supposed to be sulking, so she pursed her lips again.

“Alright, stop being mad. I really was just teasing. If you don’t believe me, ask Li Chenyao aside from her, who’s the most important to me now.”

Ji Yin pressed her lips together, expressionless, but after a moment, she couldn’t suppress a smile. “Really?”

“Of course. If you weren’t important, would I come over in the middle of the night to chat with you and eat all this braised food and drink ice-cold beer?”

Ji Yin thought about it and realized she was right Dr. Lu was such a disciplined person who rarely stayed up late. “Seems like you really went all out today, risking your life to keep me company.”

“You can use idioms if you want, but no need to say ‘risking your life.'”

Ji Yin laughed so hard she tipped forward, her head resting on Lu’s shoulder. Suddenly, she realized their posture was a little ambiguous.

“Dr. Lu, you’re sitting on my lap.”

“Didn’t you tell me to sit here? Should I leave?”

“No, no! I just didn’t want you to misunderstand like I was taking advantage of you or something,” Ji Yin hurriedly explained.

“A straight foot is not afraid of a crooked shoe. As long as you don’t have those kinds of thoughts, I won’t misunderstand. Right?” Lu Jiahe said sternly.

“Right. My bad I was overthinking it.” Ji Yin nodded, then asked, “What shampoo do you use? It smells so nice.”

“Apple-scented,” Lu Jiahe answered casually.

“Doesn’t smell like it.” Ji Yin leaned in closer, sniffing her hair over her shoulder. “It’s a really unique scent.”

Lu Jiahe, meanwhile, was idly playing with Ji Yin’s hair and asked softly, “Ji Yin, have you ever had feelings for someone before?”

“No.”

“Then do you know what it feels like to have a crush?”

“No.” Ji Yin blinked and looked at Lu Jiahe. “What does it feel like?”

“You’ll know when it happens.”

“Listening to your nonsense is like working for free for ten years.”