Salt Soda and Mint - Chapter 4

“Little Nan Sui?”

No one had called her that except for Lu Ling.

A term of endearment from the past, now spoken once again in that gentle, soft voice, made Nan Sui’s heart tremble.

Though so much time had passed, the familiarity remained. Meeting Lu Ling’s gaze, an uncontrollable joy welled up within her, surging through her entire nervous system.

Then, she caught up to the meaning behind Lu Ling’s words.

The smile on Nan Sui’s face flattened.

Why do I feel like I’m being questioned and criticized?

Reflecting on it further, she realized that in Lu Ling’s eyes, not only had she failed to show that she recognized her, but she had grown into someone mature and steady. Compared to the mischievous, unruly child she had been, it was as if she were an entirely different person.

A little ungrateful thing.

Nan Sui’s smile vanished completely. Afraid of a misunderstanding, she hurriedly explained, “No! Lu… Teacher, I remember you.”

She murmured, repeating it, “I have always remembered you.”

Lu Ling raised an eyebrow slightly.

“To be reasonable and polite—that is something you taught me,” Nan Sui said, looking at her unblinkingly. She pursed her lips, feeling a bit anxious. “Am I… have I changed that much?”

Noticing Lu Ling’s gaze, Nan Sui straightened up slightly. In the quiet car, they sat one in front of the other, her expression serious and her demeanor open and relaxed, letting the other woman look her over.

After several seconds, Lu Ling still had not looked away.

Nan Sui’s confidence gradually waned, and a shy feeling began to surface. Fighting the urge to look away, she heard the woman say, “Move a little closer.”

Nan Sui hesitated, then leaned forward slightly.

“Closer.”

Only when Nan Sui was just about to bridge the distance and touch her did Lu Ling stop her from moving any further. The young girl’s bright profile was mere inches away, her long, curled lashes looking soft to the touch.

The girl sat there, quietly listening. “Where exactly have I changed so much?”

Lu Ling observed her for a moment before moving her gaze from her cheek, not in any particular hurry. She raised her hand and lightly brushed her messy hair.

“Little Nan Sui has become beautiful.”

The next second, Lu Ling noticed it.

An uncontrollable flush of red was spreading across the girl’s earlobes.

Back in the dormitory, Nan Sui looked in the mirror immediately. She couldn’t see any redness and nodded with satisfaction.

Reflecting on her reaction earlier, it didn’t seem too exaggerated; on the whole, she had appeared quite calm.

Nan Sui felt that she had evolved. In the past, facing Lu Ling’s gentle, wicked teasing would have turned her face bright red, but now, she was clearly more mature and harder to manipulate.

Running away in a panic was simply not in her nature anymore.

Nan Sui appraised herself with satisfaction and noticed a few messages on WeChat. The HR lady from Surname quickly sent her the results of the second interview, saying that the manager was very satisfied. She suggested a time for the final interview and asked her to bring along a portfolio of her edited work.

Not wanting to wait too long, Nan Sui picked the earliest possible time, and the other party agreed.

At the same time, she had cast a wide net and submitted resumes to other companies as well. She had received three or four other interview notifications, but Nan Sui didn’t rush to reply, thinking about today’s chance encounter.

If she hadn’t guessed wrong, the “Director Lu” at Surname and Lu Ling should be quite close. If she could stay at that company, she might have more chances to see Lu Ling.

After all, they were no longer teacher and student, and her profession had nothing to do with medicine.

If she didn’t do something, it would be very difficult to see her on a regular basis.

She was the kind of person who gave her all once she made a decision, just like she had with the graduate entrance exam. Thinking of this, Nan Sui declined all the other interviews to focus on preparing for the final one in two days.

She had registered a short-video account in college and had posted some edited works, slowly accumulating over a hundred thousand followers. Re-evaluating these works now, she felt dissatisfied and decided to work overtime to create something new.

Three people lived in their dorm, all from different majors. One was perpetually stuck in a lab and rarely seen, while Pu Ning was busy with hospital internships, rotating between day and night shifts.

Compared to them, Nan Sui spent more time in the dorm. When Pu Ning returned from a night shift and saw her working at the computer, or when she returned after switching shifts during the day to find her still busy, she asked in confusion, “What are you so busy with?”

Nan Sui told her about the internship.

“I’ve finally seen it for myself. Don’t look at how flowery the job descriptions are; interns basically just do odd jobs. You’d be better off finding a job relevant to your major, at least that guarantees you’re sitting at a computer and not running back and forth,” Pu Ning said.

Nan Sui countered, “Did you get an offer from Xinhai Medical Center yet?”

“Not yet, waiting for the results.”

“Let me know when the results come out.”

“Sure. Why are you so concerned about me?” Pu Ning laughed, then grew melancholy. “I went for the written exam a while ago. The difficulty was okay, but there were far more people taking it than I expected. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll look elsewhere. I won’t hang myself from a single crooked tree.”

Nan Sui cheered her on sincerely, “You have to get in! Your professional skills are very strong—you’ve won so many scholarships, teachers praise you often, and you haven’t made a single mistake in all these days of interning. If they don’t want you, they’re blind.”

“…” Encouraged by her sincerity, Pu Ning began to doubt herself. “Am I that strong?”

…

…

For the final interview two days later, Nan Sui arrived early. It was the same lady as before, who took her to Lu Li’s office this time.

Nan Sui had Googled her before coming. There wasn’t much information on Lu Li: graduated from a well-known foreign art university, a jewelry designer, and currently the Vice President of Surname’s China region.

The lady knocked, reported to Lu Li, and left, leaving Nan Sui and Lu Li alone.

Lu Li gestured. “Sit.”

Nan Sui sat on the nearby sofa.

Lu Li was holding an art magazine, reading it indifferently. “What is your relationship with Lu Ling?”

Not expecting the question, Nan Sui gave a confused “mm,” wondering how to answer.

“She is my cousin. Some people in the company know, so I’ll just tell you directly,” Lu Li mused. “You are… Nan Sui?”

Nan Sui nodded.

“I haven’t heard her mention you,” Lu Li observed her. “But you two seem to have an unusual relationship.”

Nan Sui said slowly, “I met Dr. Lu a few times before.”

Lu Li gave an “oh,” unsure if she believed her or not.

A while later.

Lu Li looked at her with interest. “I’ve seen your account; it’s quite good. Everyone else in the company approves of you, too. Do you have any other questions? If not, I’ll have them prepare the contract.”

Watching the young girl leave, Lu Li thought for a moment, took out her phone, and harassed the person on the other end: [You’re done for. You have something on me now!]

The other side was likely busy or couldn’t be bothered to reply; it remained quiet.

Lu Li raised her eyebrows indifferently and gave instructions in the group chat to the front desk reception staff to secretly take a photo of Nan Sui when she wasn’t looking.

Less than five seconds later, she received the photo and sent it to Lu Ling: [Your little girl is going to be an intern under me.]

Lu Li rested her chin on her hand: [Do you think I should give her a hard time?]

…

…

After finishing a surgery, explaining the situation to the patient’s family, and changing out of her surgical scrubs in the locker room, Lu Ling walked to the restroom, pulled off her gloves to throw them in the trash, and bent down to wash her hands.

Cold water washed over her slender, fair fingers. She lowered her eyes, washed them several times, and then went to her office to get her phone.

Her phone was filled with daily messages—from her mother, hospital group chats, and some colleagues. Lu Ling was accustomed to ignoring low-value messages. She slid her finger down and clicked on Nan Sui’s chat box.

It was quiet; there were no new messages.

She paused, exited the app, and noticed Lu Li had been talking to her.

Someone knocked on the office door. Lu Ling said, “Come in.” Zuo Shuyuan handed over a stack of documents and pointed at them: “These are some typical cases from the hospital that I’ve organized recently, including the surgical procedures and follow-up tracking. Take a look. By the way, our department is having a meeting later to discuss that… what group was it? The surgery plan for that President Li. Do you want to come and listen?”

Lu Ling: “Sure. I’ll be there in a moment.”

Zuo Shuyuan gave an “mm” and her eyes flickered.

She noticed the photo on Lu Ling’s phone screen.

“…”

Sensing her gaze, Lu Ling quietly turned her phone over. “Is there anything else?”

“No,” Zuo Shuyuan smiled, her heart racing. Her fingers touched the doorknob, and she couldn’t resist turning back to gossip: “You wouldn’t happen to have a sister complex, would you? Tutoring a little sister in college, and now you’re watching another young girl?”

“Do you believe I’ll secretly give you anesthesia?”

“I believe it, I believe it,” Zuo Shuyuan tactfully zipped her lips. “I’m rolling, I’m rolling.”

Ignoring the suppressed laughter coming from outside after the door closed, Lu Ling picked up her phone again and looked at the photo.

The quality of the candid shot was very high. Nan Sui didn’t seem to notice; she was standing beside a woman in a formal suit, looking at something, revealing a fair, beautiful profile and a slender figure.

Lu Ling was thoughtful when a new message came in.

Being continuously harassed by Lu Li, Lu Ling remained calm, showing no signs of impatience: [You seem very free?]

Lu Li: [Not allowed?]

Lu Ling: [If you’re free, go date someone. Don’t touch my phone.]

Lu Li: [? Who touched your phone?]

Lu Ling: [Was the ‘poke’ notification not set by you?]

Lu Li: [You finally realized. I set that a month ago.]

After leaving the company, Nan Sui looked up at the sky; it was a warm day. She got on the subway back, hesitant for a while before slowly typing: [Teacher, I passed the interview at Surname today! I’ll be interning there soon! Are you busy today? If not, could I treat you to dinner?]

Confirming everything was correct, she closed her eyes and hit send.

In the conference room, five or six people were seated around a U-shaped table—all doctors who were about to perform surgery on President Li. Zuo Shuyuan was analyzing the patient’s basic condition and the surgical procedure when Lu Ling’s phone rang.

Zuo Shuyuan paused, and the people at the table exchanged glances before looking at her. Lu Ling picked up her phone to check: “Continue.”

After she finished, she thought about her schedule for the day; it seemed she could get off work on time: [Okay, I’ll come pick you up after work.]

Soon, a sticker of two dolls spinning and jumping arrived.

Lu Ling gave a soft laugh.

The serious conference room fell silent once again. Sensing everyone’s gaze fixed on her, and seeing the calm expression of Zuo Shuyuan—which actually concealed a fanatical desire for gossip—Lu Ling sat up a bit straighter and turned serious: “Sorry, let’s continue.”

Nan Sui hopped back to the dormitory. It was, as always, empty. It was still several hours before Lu Ling got off work, so she opened a Korean drama on her computer and opened a bag of potato chips.

Her mind was full of the promise for later this evening. The Korean dramas that used to make her cry her eyes out no longer held her interest. Instead, Nan Sui focused on researching her outfit and makeup for the date.

Time passed without her noticing.

Nan Sui stood in front of the mirror, checking herself repeatedly. Once she was certain there were no issues, she grabbed her bag and headed out.

As she reached the school gate, she hesitated over whether to go to a nearby flower shop to buy a flower.

Thinking again, it wasn’t a date between lovers; she shouldn’t add unnecessary pressure to her.

According to their agreement, Nan Sui stood in front of the school gate and waited for a while.

People came by to chat her up from time to time.

Facing these enthusiastic strangers, Nan Sui shook her head to refuse, not getting entangled with them, and focused entirely on waiting.

Ten minutes later.

Lu Ling: [I’m so sorry, an emergency surgery just came up. I won’t be able to make it to our date today. Can we reschedule for another time?]

She stared at the message.

For a long time.

Nan Sui: [It’s okay. I understand that Teacher Lu is very busy.]

Lu Ling: [Sorry, I really wanted to congratulate you in person.]

Nan Sui pursed her lips: [It really is okay. Teacher Lu, go ahead and be busy. Don’t let me waste your time.]

The other side didn’t reply again.

Nan Sui turned back toward the dormitory, took off her earrings, necklace, and false eyelashes in front of the mirror, removed her makeup, and slowly wiped the transparent water droplets from her face.

She was just a little disappointed. She let out a soft sigh at the mirror, changed into casual clothes, and went to the cafeteria to eat.

For the next while, she would have to juggle her internship and her graduation thesis. While waiting in line to get food, Nan Sui noticed she had already been pulled into a work group, and someone had added her privately.

Xu Yizhu.

The other party gave a simple introduction. She was to be her direct supervisor during the internship, and she would be working under her. Her tone was gentle, stating directly that if she had any difficulties, she could come to her, and she would try her best to solve them.

Nan Sui replied politely.

Carrying her food back to the dorm, she opened the Korean drama again. The director’s narrative technique was highly skilled; after watching for ten minutes, it already made one want to cry. Nan Sui ate slowly.

Just then, someone knocked on the dorm door.

A girl was standing outside.

The girl was wearing a brown apron and a matching hat, holding a small bouquet of white and pink roses. She asked with a smile, “Is this Nan Sui? Someone entrusted our shop to deliver this to you.”

“For me?”

“Yes, please accept it. I wish you have a good mood all day.”

Other people in the hallway began to look over. Disliking the idea of being the subject of gossip, Nan Sui took the roses: “Thank you.”

After closing the door, she noticed an exquisite card next to the roses.

It had some writing on it.

Wishing little Nan Sui

May everything go as you wish, and may you have a bright future.

Signed: LU, who is not familiar with you.