Always By Your Side

Chapter 7: Already Met by Chance

The next day, the sun was shining without any clouds. At noon, Yuanyuan sorted out some thoughts on the column that she wanted to discuss with Professor Fu. When it was almost done, Fu Beichen sent a text message: I’m here.

When Yuanyuan was about to go downstairs, a colleague named Wang Yue who was in charge of other publications saw her and stopped her, “Yuanyuan, where are you going?”

“I made an appointment for the special column.”

Wang Yue smiled: “It doesn’t look like it, this anxious little appearance is kind of like going to see a boyfriend.”

“You’re thinking too much…”

“Alright, I trust you! When you come back, bring me something to eat.” Then Wang Yue recited an order of spicy duck neck and spicy duck feet from a duck restaurant. 

“In truth, you actually want me to bring you food, right?”

“Good girl, now go!”

Yuanyuan was released like a Pikachu. 

Yuanyuan ran downstairs and saw Fu Beichen’s car and its owner at a glance. She thought of what Wang Yue had just said to her, “anxious little appearance”—she was just embarrassed to make people wait for a long time. But of course, she also looked forward to meeting him.

After all, Fu Beichen was the one she had encountered the most…She couldn’t think of a suitable adjective, but when she was with him, she had a feeling of “no regrets in that time”. 

Yuanyuan sat in the co-pilot seat. She originally wanted to ask about Professor Fu’s recovery situation—she was still a little worried that she was disturbing Professor Fu’s rest.

But Fu Beichen had already said: “You don’t need to worry, Professor Fu is in good spirits. Fasten your seatbelt.” Regarding her thoughts and words, he always seemed to understand easily.

Fu Beichen waited for Yuanyuan to fasten her seatbelt, then started the car.

“Fu Beichen, thank you very much.” Not only did he pull strings for her, but he was also taking her there.

“It’s no problem, I also wanted to go see Professor Fu anyway.” Fu Beichen turned the steering wheel to go around a corner, and after a while, he asked softly, “How old are you?”

Yuanyuan froze, then answered: “Twenty-three.”

“Twenty-three…” he repeated, but did not continue. Instead, he changed the subject, “Do you like porcelain?”

“Porcelain? I like it very much.”

“Then next time I’ll give you one.” Fu Beichen lightly laughed. Seeing that she was about to refuse, he added: “It’s just a small thing.”

Yuanyuan said: “I think that ever since I met you, I’ve been the only one receiving benefits.”

Fu Beichen glanced at her and half-jokingly said: “I’ve eaten your bowl of noodles.”

Yuanyuan let out an “ah”. “Is my craft so valuable? Fu Beichen, you must never be a businessman.”

Regarding her “recommendation”, Fu Beichen just smiled and said: “Whether or not I’m making a profit, I know it.”

Up ahead there was a traffic jam. Fu Beichen slowed the car’s speed, smoothly turned on the stereo, and a gentle song flowed out, “A person who can be called a beauty has a flower-like appearance, a beautiful voice like a bird, a moonlike charm, a graceful body like a willow…”1

Yuanyuan thought of the beautiful woman Shen Yu that day. It had been on her mind constantly, but she didn’t know how to pry into other people’s private affairs, so she was a little curious, “Shen Yu, that’s the beautiful woman I saw that day…She called you senior brother, are you also Professor Fu’s student?”

Regarding this, Fu Beichen was a little bit exasperated, “Professor Fu never taught me. ‘Senior brother’ was purely what his group of students called me to fool around.”

The two chatted one after another along the way, and very quickly they arrived at the hospital—H University Affiliated Hospital. Yuanyuan had a vaguely bad premonition but immediately shook her head, commanding those thoughts to be tossed to the back of her mind.

Professor Fu enjoyed a special state allowance, thus he lived in an independent ward. The moment Yuanyuan walked to the door, she suddenly felt a little bit apprehensive. At her side, Fu Beichen seemed to be aware of it. He reached out and patted her shoulder, a gesture of encouragement and placation beyond words.

Yuanyuan’s state of mind magically stabilized, and she smiled gratefully at him. When she went in, she looked up and saw an old gentleman in hospital garments sitting up on the bed. He was considered an old gentleman because Yuanyuan had read Fu Jiasheng’s information and knew he was seventy-one this year. Otherwise, his jet-black hair, as well as his spirited, hale and hearty appearance would have made her unsure.

“Professor Fu, hello.” Yuanyuan stepped forward to say hello. She took out her business card from her bag to introduce herself.

“Cheng Yuanyuan.” Professor Fu didn’t wear reading glasses, so he had to pull the card far away to read it out loud. Then, he raised his head and said to Yuanyuan with a smile, “Please have a seat, little girl.”

“Thank you.” Yuanyuan sat on the edge of the sofa. The sofa wasn’t big, just enough to seat her and Fu Beichen. 

“Beichen talked to me about this. Your editor-in-chief has always sent me your magazines, so please thank him for me, he is very attentive and distinguished. Beichen said that it was you who wrote the latest issue about porcelain, it was pretty good.”

Yuanyuan was overwhelmed by favour from this superior, “Regarding the report about porcelain, it was all thanks to Fu Beichen who was luckily in Jingdezhen at that time…Teacher Fu guided me.” Just as Yuanyuan finished speaking, several medical staff opened the door and walked in. The one taking the lead was Fu Jiasheng’s attending doctor, H University Affiliated Hospital’s Director of Orthopedic Surgery, Zheng Lizhong. And following behind Zheng Lizhong among others was a handsome, distinct male doctor. It was Cheng Bai. After Yuanyuan had spoken those words, she turned around and saw him. His expression was hard to decipher.

Fu Beichen stood up, and Yuanyuan followed and also got up. Zheng Lizhong stepped forward and asked Professor Fu some questions, and he could tell from his words that he was very satisfied with the results of the operation. After Zheng Lizhong and Professor Fu finished their exchange, Cheng Bai faced Professor Fu and greeted him by calling him “Grandpa Gu”.

Fu Jiasheng laughed: “I told you, there’s no need to call me Grandpa Gu. With you calling me grandpa, my face has gotten three more wrinkles!”

Cheng Bai smiled, noncommittal.

Fu Beichen was the tallest among the people present. He stood there and exchanged a couple sentences with Zheng Lizhong. When he saw Cheng Bai looking at him, he turned and nodded slightly at Cheng Bai. Cheng Bai didn’t greet him, and he also didn’t care.

Fu Jiasheng looked at Cheng Bai and said: “Back then, your grandfather was a Chinese medicine doctor who was hard to find. Kid, why did you learn Western medicine?” 

Zheng Lizhong heard this and turned to smile at Professor Fu who had been his friend for many years: “Traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine each have their own advantages. Cheng Bai is my proud student. Whether he studies Chinese medicine or Western medicine, he is a rare talent.”

“Isn’t this a pity for the Chinese medicine of our country, talented people are going elsewhere,” Professor Fu said humourously.

Director Zheng was a busy person, after chatting with Professor Fu for a little bit, he left. Before leaving, he let Cheng Bai stay to talk to Professor Fu about the precautions during the recovery of the leg bones. Professor Fu knew that the doctors were busy, and in addition the nurse had also mentioned the areas that required attention, so he didn’t let Cheng Bai stay any longer. Cheng Bai put his hands in the pockets of his white coat, nodded, and said: “Okay, then if you need anything, ring the bell to call a nurse.”

“Will do.”

Cheng Bai walked out of the ward, and within that time, he didn’t look at Yuanyuan once. When he walked to the nurse’s station, a nurse stopped him and said: “Doctor Cheng, I brought some pastries from home that I made myself. Would you like to come eat some?”

Cheng Bai stopped and tactfully declined: “Thank you. You guys eat.”

When he walked away, the nurse’s station began to discuss in whispers.

“Doctor Cheng doesn’t like eating sweets right?”

“I don’t know what he likes. It seems that he’s not interested in anything except for medicine.”

Dr. Cheng was a good-looking man, drove a high-end car to work, and was refined in manner. In short, he was very popular with the single girls in the hospital.

On that day, Yuanyuan and Professor Fu had a very good interaction. Professor Fu seemed to like her very much, and ultimately accepted her request. When she left the hospital, Fu Beichen came out with her. He wanted to go back to the research institute.

“Speaking of which, you and Cheng Bai grew up together since childhood?” Once they were in the car, Fu Beichen opened his mouth and asked.

“En.”

“That’s pretty good.”

Yuanyuan thought, How is it good? It was entirely a case of something that could not be cut nor raveled, nothing tasted like that to the heart.2 She pondered whether or not to tell Uncle Shenghua that she wanted to move out and rent a house earlier. Fu Beichen started the car, but seeing her still sitting in a daze, he leaned over, reached out, pulled her seatbelt over, and fastened it. The moment Yuanyuan reacted to what had just happened, he was the closest to her. Fu Beichen had a faint fragrance on his body. Yuanyuan went rigid. She heard her heartbeat distinctly, and tilted her head to the side.

“Thank you…”

“You’re welcome.”

A warm breath blew in Yuanyuan’s ears, burning them red.

After Yuanyuan returned to the office, she only then remembered that she had forgotten to buy food for her colleagues.

Wang Yue saw Cheng Yuanyuan standing in front of her, empty-handed, and said with a melancholy sigh: “Once upon a time, the mountain doubted the dream was wrong.3 I reminded you to bring some rations when you return home, but you forgot in the blink of an eye and abandoned me like dust. Alas, all kinds of things today flow out like water without leaving a trace. Just go.”

Yuanyuan thought, Writing poetry magazines is uncommon.

So Yuanyuan left as happy as a child.

Wang Yue shouted behind her: “Next time I will forget you!”

That night, it didn’t take Yuanyuan long to return to the Cheng house after getting off work. Shortly after she was back, Cheng Bai also came home. Auntie Zhu was cooking in the kitchen with the door closed. Yuanyuan saw that his face looked bad, and just as she was about to go upstairs quietly, she heard Cheng Bai say: “Last time it was Fu Beichen who sent you back from Jingdezhen? Your ‘boyfriend’ is Fu Beichen?”

Cheng Bai’s expression was very tranquil, but seeing this, Yuanyuan’s blood ran cold. She had a feeling heaven was about to take her. With great courage while concealing her conscience, she asked: “What if he is?”

“Fu Beichen wants to see you?”

Yuanyuan blushed, her brain heated up, and she started to speak with nothing to stop her: “Oh, shouldn’t you be calling him little uncle? Then that makes me your little aunt?”

Fu Beichen’s figure instantly appeared in her mind, like a tree facing the wind, gentle and elegant. Yuanyuan’s heart slammed suddenly—wasn’t she committing sinful actions and severely disrupting the natural order?

Cheng Bai seemed to laugh, then sneer, as if disgusted that she took advantage of Fu Beichen for a title, “You think you did well.”

With that disdainful tone, Yuanyuan almost couldn’t help rushing forward and biting the man in front of her—he actually looked down on her! Although, she had to admit that she was guilty of disrespecting Fu Beichen. It felt a bit like rebelling against the emperor. 

In the end, Yuanyuan glared at the person in front of her for a moment, and then ran away. Ultimately she had no courage, she was bullshitting.

That day at dinner, Yuanyuan bowed her head from start to finish. With a lot on her mind layer upon layer, her appetite was naturally very poor.

“Yuanyuan? Yuanyuan?” Cheng Shenghua called her twice.

“What?”

Cheng Shenghua smiled and said: “Why are you in a daze while eating? The food is cold, eat quickly.”

“Oh, okay.”

After finally finishing the meal, Cheng Shenghua stopped Yuanyuan and Cheng Bai and said, “Cheng Bai, Yuanyuan’s work unit and your hospital aren’t far from each other. In the future, you should pick Yuanyuan up after work.”

“I…” Yuanyuan opened her mouth to refuse, but the person at her side had already answered: “Okay.”

Cheng Shenghua made the final decision: “Then that’s it.”

“No, no need,” Yuanyuan felt that deciding days was worse than accidentally encountering each other. Was now a good time to talk about the idea of moving out? It would be implemented sooner or later anyway, so she mustered the courage to say, “Uncle, I want to rent a house outside in the future. I have graduated and I also don’t want to trouble you…all. Uncle, I have always greatly respected you and been grateful to you, and in the future I will still be this way. Even if I no longer live in your house, I will come back to see you whenever I have time. Whenever I have the ability, although I don’t know when I will be successful, I will honour you like my mother in the future and buy you delicious foods and useful things.” Yuanyuan’s gratitude to Cheng Shenghua in these words was sincere. 

Cheng Shenghua was naturally moved when he heard it, but still hesitated to let her live outside alone.

Yuanyuan saw that Uncle Shenghua was still hesitating. She didn’t want to embarrass her uncle, but seeing the corner of Cheng Bai’s clothes, she gritted her teeth and said: “Uncle, I just think, if I find a boyfriend later it might be more convenient to live outside.” After saying so, her face was red.

Cheng Shenghua listened and laughed, “I didn’t pay attention to this matter. Right, you are all grown up now, it’s time to find a partner.”

But Cheng Shenghua didn’t know that from the beginning, this child didn’t want to keep his family’s love.

Cheng Shenghua finally agreed. After hearing the results, Cheng Bai only said: “Then if there’s nothing, I’m going upstairs.”