Salt Soda and Mint - Chapter 2

An immense tsunami was raging within her heart.

The moment she saw the woman’s face, memories from many years ago came rushing back like a violent gale, impossible to forget or suppress.

This was not the first time Nan Sui had seen her. She had actually known her back in her first year of high school.

That afternoon, she had skipped class and returned home just before the school day ended. Li Qingyun was watching television in the living room. Seeing that Nan Sui had skipped class, she didn’t scold her, but instead said, “Your homeroom teacher told me that your grades have slipped significantly recently.”

Nan Sui gave a careless “mm” in response.

“It’s been quite a while since the competition. No matter how much you dwell on it, you can’t change the results. Don’t you agree?” Li Qingyun said gently. “Mom hopes you can adjust your mindset. Three years is a very short time, so don’t waste it, okay?”

Nan Sui sidestepped the issue, saying, “I’m going to change my clothes.”

“I’ve hired a private tutor for you, and she is in your room right now,” Li Qingyun said quickly. “I searched for a long time to find this tutor. Please show her some respect and listen carefully to the lessons.”

“…” Nan Sui was stunned. “A tutor?”

“Yes,” Li Qingyun said, her expression turning stern. “If you continue to have this indifferent attitude toward your studies, I won’t bother trying to help you anymore.”

That threat actually managed to spook Nan Sui for a moment.

She pursed her lips, nodded silently, and walked toward her room, though her heart was still filled with resistance.

She took off her backpack and opened the door with a casual air, only to find someone already sitting at her desk.

Nan Sui’s room wasn’t very large. It contained a bed, a desk with a chair, a wardrobe, and a small bay window.

At that moment, the unfamiliar woman was sitting in the chair, idly flipping through some materials. Hearing the noise, she looked up.

Her skin was a cold, porcelain white. She was extremely young, with the kind of features that effortlessly captured attention. Her rimless glasses added a sense of aloofness to her vibrant facial features.

She looked like a pedigree cat.

They stared at each other for a few seconds.

The woman stood up, a gentle smile curling the corners of her lips as she extended a hand. “Hello, my surname is Lu. You can call me Teacher Lu.”

The resistance Nan Sui had felt just moments ago vanished, replaced by a sense of nervousness and bewilderment. She was too shy to meet the woman’s gaze directly, so she bit her lip and reached out. “Hello, Teacher. I’m Nan Sui. ‘Nan’ as in north and south, ‘Sui’ as in… ears of wheat.”

She bit her tongue.

Why am I stuttering?

The woman watched her quietly. “Mm, your mother told me about you. I’ve looked at your past grades, and you are very bright.”

Nan Sui’s lips curled slightly. “Not really.”

The woman glanced at her watch, her voice soft and warm. “Let’s try a trial session today. If we are both satisfied with the arrangement, we can continue working together. Does that sound acceptable to you?”

Nan Sui nodded slowly. “That’s fine.”

The sound of a voice amplified by the microphone echoed through the lecture hall, bringing Nan Sui back to reality. Her gaze landed on the woman on stage.

After all these years, her features were more mature and refined. She wore light makeup that radiated a charming elegance, and her voice was just as she remembered—like a gentle summer rain, comfortable yet sophisticated.

After staring for a few seconds, Nan Sui looked away.

She took a few photos of her and then retreated to a corner, leaning against the wall to watch her.

So, her name was Lu Ling.

Back then, she had only introduced herself by her surname, and Nan Sui had always addressed her as “Teacher Lu,” never daring to overstep by using her first name.

On the rare occasions she felt close to her, she would call her “Little Teacher Lu,” which was the limit of the liberties she dared to take.

Nan Sui watched her without blinking, listening intently as she shared her professional experiences and the content of her presentation. Seeing that she had performed over a thousand surgeries in just six or seven years, many of which were late at night in the early hours of the morning, Nan Sui’s eyelashes fluttered.

She remembered that she didn’t like staying up late.

She used to love going to bed early and waking up early, maintaining a very disciplined lifestyle.

Now, things were the complete opposite.

Performing consultations during the day wasn’t enough; she had to work overtime at night to perform surgeries.

Perhaps her gaze had been too fixated, because at one point, the woman speaking on stage paused for a moment and looked toward her.

Their eyes met, and Nan Sui held her breath.

After a few brief seconds, Lu Ling calmly looked away.

“…”

She didn’t seem to recognize her.

This was understandable. Nobody would remember a student they had tutored years ago, especially one who didn’t have any outstanding qualities. Years had passed, and she was still just as ordinary and plain as ever.

Nan Sui comforted herself with this thought, though she still felt a bit hurt.

Once the lecture ended, the students filed out of the lecture hall. A few students rushed up to the speaker to discuss questions and seek advice. Pu Ning finished organizing her notes, stood beside Nan Sui, and nudged her.

“Let’s go over too,” Pu Ning said. “What if we can get her WeChat?”

Nan Sui looked at her camera listlessly and didn’t respond.

“We saw Dr. Lu when we visited the Xinhai Medical Center during the job fair last time, but it was such a pity that we only got to speak a few words to her,” Pu Ning said, filled with excitement. “Come on, just keep me company. Are you coming or not?”

Lost in thought, Nan Sui didn’t answer for a long time, so Pu Ning simply grabbed her and pulled her over.

Nan Sui came back to her senses to find herself already standing in front of Lu Ling.

Beside her, Pu Ning smiled and said politely, “Hello, Dr. Lu. I’m Pu Ning. You guided our work a few days ago. This is my good friend, Nan Sui, who was in charge of taking photos for the lecture today. I wonder if you noticed her earlier?”

Hearing this, Lu Ling turned her gaze toward her.

In the noisy environment, without the cover of a mask, her face was exposed—delicate skin, fair cheeks, a beauty that was immediately striking. Her eyes were deep, and when she looked at Nan Sui, they seemed gentle and affectionate, as if she were looking at a lover she adored.

Nan Sui felt her limbs go stiff, until she heard her ask softly, “May I see the photos?”

Nan Sui nodded reflexively and was just about to pull up her album when her arm was pinched. Pu Ning smiled and said, “Dr. Lu, she hasn’t retouched the photos yet. How about you two exchange contact information? She can send them to you once she’s finished, would that be okay?”

Hearing this, Nan Sui paused.

It was clear that Lu Ling thought this was a good suggestion. She hid the tiny spark of anticipation in her heart and looked at the woman calmly.

After a moment of thought, Lu Ling took out her phone. “That would be fine.”

And just like that, they exchanged contact information in full view of everyone. The progression of events had been so smooth that Nan Sui hadn’t quite processed it yet.

Lu Ling tapped a few times on her screen and looked up. “Your name?”

“Nan Sui. ‘Nan’ as in north and south, ‘Sui’ as in ears of wheat.”

Her voice was a little tight.

Lu Ling paused for a second, a flicker of a smile appearing on her lips, and she finished saving the contact. “Alright. Sorry to trouble you with the editing, I’m not very photogenic.”

Pu Ning laughed. “Dr. Lu, you’re being too modest.”

At 9:00 PM in a hotpot restaurant.

Pu Ning chewed on some steaming beef and looked across the table at her friend, who was resting her chin on her hand, poking at her bowl, and laughing to herself from time to time. She didn’t quite understand what was so funny.

But to be honest, Nan Sui looked very beautiful when she laughed.

Her round, fawn-like eyes were clear and bright, and with her oval face and high nose bridge, she looked like a New Year’s painting doll, bright and sunny.

“Why aren’t you depressed anymore?” Pu Ning took a sip of water and asked sincerely. “How is your mindset so good? You managed to get over something as big as a failed graduate school entrance exam in less than a day?”

“If I were truly sad, you’d have to comfort me again. Do you like comforting me that much?” Nan Sui said with a smile, glancing down at her phone.

She was looking at Lu Ling’s WeChat Moments.

Actually, there wasn’t much to see. Aside from shared medical articles and public account posts, there was nothing interesting to be found. It was dull and boring.

But Nan Sui still felt it was fascinating.

So, she had become a doctor. Based on the reactions of the medical students earlier, she seemed to be quite impressive.

She had always seemed capable of anything, Nan Sui thought with stars in her eyes, and she let out a soft laugh again.

Pu Ning didn’t comment on her foolish behavior and began to worry about her own situation. “The spring recruitment starts in a few days. What do you think the odds are of me getting an internship at Xinhai Medical Center? I saw in the group chat that a lot of people want to compete for it. It’s over… why do I feel like my chances aren’t very high?”

Nan Sui looked at her. “Is that the only place you want to go?”

“Of course not, it’s just my top choice. I’ve looked at a few other companies, but in my heart, I still want to work there the most. You have no idea, after we visited that day, so many people were dreaming of working there for the rest of their lives.”

“Is the pay better, or the environment?”

“Both are great. I can’t do this, I have to go back tonight and polish my resume again.”

Seeing her anxiety, Nan Sui offered a few words of comfort. When she returned to the dorm that night, she finished showering and blow-drying her hair, then sat down at her computer to upload the photos she had taken today.

Looking at the full batch, she realized she had taken three times as many photos of Lu Ling as she had of any of the other big names. She cleared her throat and set Lu Ling’s photos aside.

Actually, they didn’t need any editing at all.

In the photos, the woman looked gentle and aristocratic, with a faint curve to her lips and an expression that remained calm. She remembered that during the lecture, a student had rudely interrupted her and raised a hand to ask a question, yet Lu Ling hadn’t shown any sign of annoyance.

Conversely, Nan Sui had glared at that person in displeasure.

Nan Sui made some simple adjustments, changed the color tone, and noted that it wasn’t too late yet. After hesitating for a while, she tapped on Lu Ling’s chat box.

Just like when they first met, her tone was respectful and polite: “Dr. Lu, are you available right now? I’d like to send you the photos from today’s lecture. Our school’s public account will be recording this event, and you can pick out a few photos you like to be featured.”

Confirming that her wording was appropriate, she sent it.

A few minutes later.

Lu Ling: “How many?”

Nan Sui was stunned, then replied: “One or two would be fine.”

Lu Ling: “Okay, send them to me.”

Nan Sui sent all of the photos.

Without waiting long, just a minute or two, Lu Ling pointed out two of them. Her attitude was so casual that Nan Sui suspected she hadn’t even looked at them carefully.

The conversation stopped there.

Nan Sui looked at the now-silent chat box.

She clicked on Lu Ling’s profile picture and zoomed in. It was a pink ocean wave against a background of blue sky and white clouds, a unique and romantic choice.

The dorm was very quiet; Pu Ning was in the shower. The computer screen glowed, illuminating Nan Sui’s beautiful, delicate profile.

For someone who had reunited with a person from the past after all these years, Nan Sui’s personality dictated that she should reintroduce herself. But she didn’t dare. On one hand, she had likely been long forgotten; on the other, the grand ambitions she had once boldly stated had ended in failure.

She stared blankly for a moment, and when she finally came back to her senses, she realized that a line of text had appeared in the chat box.

You poked “Teacher Lu” and said “Be my wife!”

Nan Sui: “…”

The next second.

Lu Ling: “?”