14: Passivity

Passivity

"Yes, Head Nurse."1

"I told you to get me some surgical masks. Have you gone deaf?"

"Yes, I'll go get them now."

"Mian, what's wrong? Is there something on your mind? Do you need to take the day off? I feel like you've been distracted all day," the new nurse, Huang Yue, asked with a hint of concern.

Exhausted, Huo Mian shook her head.

She had been listless this entire day. What was worse was that it wasn't even because of the cold-war situation with Ning Zhiyuan.

She had been thinking about the man that she shouldn't be thinking about.

Was he really back? What happened last night wasn't a dream, was it?

Her daze lasted until her shift ended. Huo Mian changed from her white nurse's uniform into a pastel-blue dress. Grabbing her bag, she walked out.

She was just in time to catch sight of Ning Zhiyuan's white Chevrolet, which was parked outside of the front entrance.

He had just bought it last month. Since they were planning on getting married, Ning Zhiyuan's parents had helped pay for the car. This, along with their own salaries, summed up to over a hundred thousand Yuan. It was a pretty good-looking ride.

The license plate read 0510, which was Ning Zhiyuan's birthday. It was him for sure.

Did he stop here to wait for her?

Just as Huo Mian was about to walk over and ask, she saw He Man, who was wearing a miniskirt. She sprinted over to the car and, after quickly opening the door, hopped onto the passenger seat.

Then, the car sped off...

Light drained from Huo Mian's eyes, bit by bit. She unhurriedly pulled out her cell phone and made a call.

"What is it?" On the other end, Ning Zhiyuan sounded annoyed.

"Is your shift over? I need a ride home."

"Not yet. I have another surgery. I'll be working overtime so you can go home first. Don't call me for no reason. Bye."

With that, Ning Zhiyuan hung up the phone.

Huo Mian smiled wryly; she knew why Ning Zhiyuan was lying. He was trying to get revenge on her.

However, what he did was just low.

Huo Mian suddenly got the feeling that the ordinary man she had dated for three years was no longer ordinary.

She looked up at the sky. It was grey, just like her mood.

Then, Zhu Lingling called...

"Mian, are you off work now?"

"Yeah."

"Come to my place, I'm off today and made something yummy for you. It's marinated pork trotters!"

"That's good, I happen to be hungry too. Wait for me." Hanging up, Huo Mian flagged down a cab and headed towards Zhu Lingling's home.

Zhu Lingling's parents lived by the city outskirts. To make her commute to work easier, she had rented a cozy little place near the airport.

Whenever she had the time, Huo Mian would go over to mooch off her food. It seemed that, aside from home and the hospital, that was the only place she could go.

Setting the pork trotters on the table, Zhu Lingling began rambling off before Huo Mian even had the chance to eat. She was asking about what happened yesterday.

Unable to bear the bombardment, Huo Mian recounted the events for her in a relatively detailed fashion…

Of course, she kept some of the more provocative details, such as the forced kiss, to herself, only brushing over them.

"That's what happened. You're welcome to comment, Miss Zhu Lingling."

Huo Mian stared at Zhu Lingling with pursed lips and big wet doe-eyes. It was a cute look.

"Gosh, that's intense. So, what you're saying is Mr. Blueblood Qin Chu proposed to you yesterday?" Zhu Lingling stared back at her with a look of surprise.

"Girl, please. That's not the issue here. The issue is that Zhiyuan doesn't trust me anymore and wants to break up..." Huo Mian complained.

"Mian, tell me the truth. Do you still love Qin Chu?" Zhu Lingling asked, dead serious.

Huo Mian froze upon hearing this question...

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