66. Fear

In just two days, the acupuncture treatment room at Flourishing Hall was tidied up. The workers who installed the curtains hung them and tested each one, making sure they worked before leaving with their tools.

Xu Mingtang and the rest of the clinic staff stood on the newly refurbished second floor, nodding with satisfaction. “Yiyi, this floor is yours from now on. For acupuncture, your fourth uncle will help you. When using acupuncture for weight loss, remember, it must be personalized—syndromes must be differentiated first, and different constitutions require different meridian pathways. You know all this, right?”

Tang Yiyi answered with confidence, “I know, don’t worry, Master.”

“Good. Go and take a look at your room.”

Xu Mingtang opened the door, and Tang Yiyi walked in. The room was about the same size and layout as the one upstairs, but with the addition of a wardrobe and a bookshelf packed with books.

“These books are all yours to read,” Xu Mingtang said. “The top shelf holds my notes from the past thirty years, arranged from left to right by year—the farther right, the more recent. They’re all for you, take your time with them.”

Tang Yiyi gazed at the row of neatly arranged notebooks and couldn’t help but marvel. To devote one’s life to a single pursuit—difficult, yet not impossible. “Thank you, Master.”

“Tonight, you’ll be the only one staying in the clinic. Remember to lock the door at night.”

“Okay.” Maybe I can add another couple of locks?

“I’ll tell Baike to keep an eye on things here at night. He stays open late, and with him around, even thieves avoid this area.”

“Great, tell Brother Bai.”

“Magnolia Lane has always been peaceful, not like those new neighborhoods where no one knows their neighbors. Here, a stranger is spotted immediately.”

Tang Yiyi went upstairs, brought her things down, and arranged them. She still had half the snacks Qin Baike bought her, so she set them on the bookshelf, creating a lively display with their colorful wrappers. Then she opened her notebook and wrote the date on the first page. Perhaps one day, she would say to a young person, “These are my master’s notebooks, arranged by year from left to right—take them and read.” The thought of that day coming made her feel truly cool.

That evening, four of them ate dinner at a folding table by the kitchen door. Afterward, Xu Mingtang and his family left. Alone in the spacious clinic, Tang Yiyi felt a little uneasy and hurried to her room, locking the door and focusing on her studies.

Ever since she’d heard about Ye Tong, she hadn’t really wanted to see Qin Baike. No matter how hard she tried, she’d never be a documentary director—at best, she could become a somewhat well-known Chinese medicine practitioner in Magnolia Lane. The gap was… sigh.

Even as a noodle shop owner, he was still someone many women liked.

Recently, his popularity was waning. Fewer people came to see him, and as his photos circulated online, the crowd shrank. Most likely, he’d “return from his travels” by tomorrow at the latest. After all, as the boss, it was odd to spend every evening washing dishes on a livestream. His composure was truly unmatched.

That morning, when she returned the phone to Xiang Qiaoting, she’d asked if it was Brother Bai who had broken it. Qiaoting hesitated, then recounted the events of that day.

Tang Yiyi was even more convinced that Qin Baike had an excellent temper. With such a good man, how hard would she have to work to win his heart?

Thunder rumbled faintly outside. Tang Yiyi checked the weather forecast on her phone—indeed, thunderstorms were expected. Since when had the forecast become this accurate?

She hurried to the bathroom, took a quick shower, then curled up under the covers, cocooning herself from head to toe.

Under the blanket, she switched on her phone’s flashlight and opened one of Xu Mingtang’s notebooks.

His notes were almost like a diary, recording every patient he treated. He detailed his diagnostic reasoning, briefly described simple cases, and wrote extensively about complex ones, including the entire course of treatment, how he modified prescriptions, and the patient’s responses to those changes—nothing was omitted.

Tang Yiyi immersed herself in the notes, forcing herself to ignore the growing thunder outside.

Her phone chimed with a text. It was Qin Baike: “Are you asleep?”

Tang Yiyi: “No.”

Qin Baike: “Still scared?”

Tang Yiyi: “Yes, I’m scared!”

Qin Baike: “Alright.”

Alright? What does that even mean? Tang Yiyi wondered. But then there was a knock on her door. She poked her head out from under the covers and realized someone was really knocking. She heard Qin Baike call, “Yiyi, open the door.”

She got out of bed, pulled a T-shirt over her pajamas, and opened the door.

Qin Baike stepped in, a canvas bag slung over his shoulder and a sealed plastic container in his hand. Tang Yiyi eyed the container. “I didn’t order takeout tonight.”

“I promised you before: when it thunders, I’ll keep you company.” As he spoke, he opened the container. Inside was a box of neatly cut watermelon, each red, juicy cube perfectly uniform. If Virgo Li Huan saw this, she’d be thrilled.

She pointed beside him. “There are forks in the kitchen.”

He fetched two forks from the kitchen.

“Brother Bai, did you climb over from upstairs again? But I locked the door to the upstairs passage.”

“I can jump, but why jump if I have a key?” He dangled a key in front of her.

“Where did you get that?”

“Uncle Xu gave it to me, so I could keep an eye on things here at night. He’s still worried you might be scared, being a girl alone.” The two of them ate watermelon together. He looked up and asked, “Are you scared?”

She blinked at him. He’d already teased her for being afraid of thunder—would he understand if she admitted she was scared to sleep alone in this big house?

“Scared?”

Tang Yiyi lowered her head, eating watermelon.

Qin Baike sighed and shook his head. “You’re not just afraid of thunder—you’re scared to sleep here alone. Why don’t you sleep with Xiao Xie?”

Tang Yiyi looked up, her eyes shining.

“You usually turn the lights off at midnight, and so does Xiao Xie. After studying here, you can wash up and go sleep there. You get up at six for your morning run, then come back to change. It’s not too much trouble, and you don’t even have to bring your clothes over.”

Tang Yiyi was so moved she almost cried. “Alright, I’ll sleep with Xiao Xie.” Finally, she was one step closer to him.

“Tomorrow, I’ll buy a small bed for Xiao Xie’s room.”

“But I’m scared tonight—it’s still thundering.”

“I’m not leaving,” Qin Baike said gently. “What were you doing before I came?”

“Reading Master’s notes.”

“Then keep reading. I’ll work out outside. When you’re tired, just sleep—I’ll be here.”

“Okay.”

Qin Baike took a headset from his bag and put it on her head, smiled, and went out. Tang Yiyi held the headset with both hands, feeling as if Qin Baike’s hands were gently pressing down.

She didn’t know when she fell asleep. Though the thunder continued, every time she glanced at the shaft of light beneath the door, she felt reassured knowing Qin Baike was still there.

Qin Baike came in to find Tang Yiyi fast asleep, face down, headphones still on. He marveled at her ability to sleep so soundly.

He gently removed the headphones and set them by her bed. As he looked at her peaceful, oblivious face, her words echoed in his mind: If you can’t treat the girl you love well from beginning to end, then don’t be too nice to her at the start. However you’ll treat her later, treat her that way from the beginning. Don’t start one way and change after you’ve won her over—it’s disappointing and hurts deeply.

He tucked the blanket around her, feeling content that she trusted him. Even Xiang Qiaoting, knowing he’s her brother, would refuse to climb on his back—girls have a natural wariness of strange men.

But now, with the door open and a man outside, she slept soundly. And she was delighted at the thought of sleeping at the noodle shop. Sometimes he couldn’t understand these girls—what was so frightening about a big house?

He switched off her bedside lamp and left.

In the morning, Tang Yiyi woke refreshed. She picked up the headphones at her bedside and rubbed them against her cheek, noticing two crookedly written characters on the headband: Ye Zhan.

She covered her mouth, laughing. Brother Bai had given her Ertong’s headphones to use as earplugs—if Ertong found out, he’d be furious.

She placed the headphones on the bookshelf with the snacks. Looking at the lively row, a sudden sadness struck her: all those snacks would soon be gone.

But the copy of The Spirit in Art by his bed would last far longer.

After a night of heavy rain, the air was especially fresh. Tang Yiyi ran 5,000 steps along the riverside path, then turned back. In the distance, she saw Qin Baike running toward her.

“Brother Bai, heading to the market?”

“Yeah.”

“Why take the riverside? Qiaoting won’t trouble you anymore.”

“The air’s better here.”

Tang Yiyi pointed to the river. “Brother Bai, Aunt said this used to be a dock, but it doesn’t look like one.”

“It’s over there,” Qin Baike pointed behind him. “Want to see?”

“I do.”

Qin Baike turned and ran with her, past Magnolia Lane’s entrance and onward.

He pointed at a large banyan tree ahead. “Right under that tree. The old stone steps and bollards for tying boats are still there. The city gate above has been rebuilt to match the original style.”

They reached the tree, and Tang Yiyi walked to the steps and looked down. The long flight of stone stairs had been worn smooth and hollowed in the center by countless footsteps. The steps varied in length, some long, some short, giving the place an aged, weighty feel, much like Magnolia Lane.

She looked back at the city gate—now a pristine imitation of its former self.

Standing under the banyan tree, she gazed up at its vast, leafy crown. “This tree must be very old, right?”

“My grandpa said it was already this big when he was a child. Who knows how many years it’s seen.”

“It’s the true witness to all the changes here.”

Qin Baike patted the trunk. “It really has seen a lot.”

They stood for a while, then started running back. At Magnolia Lane, Tang Yiyi waved and headed into the alley.

Qin Baike jogged a few steps farther, then stopped and turned back to look at the banyan tree. In his mind’s eye, he saw a black-and-white silhouette: a slender girl tightly embracing a tall, thin boy beneath the tree.

The temperature, humidity, the breeze on their cheeks, the sound of the river lapping at the shore—all of it came alive again in an instant.

It wasn’t that he tried to remember, but memories sometimes leapt out unexpectedly, like a deer bounding through the distant woods—appearing and vanishing before he could catch a good look.

He turned and continued running forward.