Chapter 1 Uninvited Guest (I)

Lu Chengyu felt that once this issue was brought up, it would inevitably lead to a long discussion. The transition from school to society for a girl always involves some changes, to varying degrees. However, Tu Ran's situation had become so unique that it was self-subverting. Moreover, he did not want to say, "I think you used to be simply foolish and honest, but now you are vain and worldly-wise," because none of these words sounded like a virtue. Thus, he raised his wrist to check the time: "I have to go, I need to return to the institute for a meeting."

He noticed her fingers, painted with bright nail polish, holding a cigarette between them. He contemplated whether to approach her and exchange some trivial, inconsequential small talk after many years apart, what one might call catching up. Unexpectedly, Tu Ran took the initiative before him, pulling the corner of her mouth in a slight smile through the sparse light blue smoke, offering a worldly and polite greeting. Thus, he merely nodded slightly in response.

Tu Ran took out the test report from her pocket and handed it to him: "I am pregnant"

One day, Lu Chengyu received two text messages at almost the same time

Lu Chengyu knew that she was being perfunctory, so he asked her: "Go ahead and tell me, what exactly do you want, what are your plans"

He admits that she has a certain appeal to him; for instance, he finds her quite pleasant to look at, and her figure is considered graceful and tall. However, her personality lacks maturity, and she tends to be very goal-oriented and impatient, lacking modesty and not entirely innocent. Furthermore, her work is not stable and easily attracts gossip. In summary, if she hopes to develop a long-term and stable romantic relationship with a mature-minded man, her allure is still rather weak.

* * * * * * * * *

Although Lu Chengyu is young and lacks experience, the content of his resume is quite substantial. He has published several academic papers, received numerous titles as an outstanding graduate student party member and cadre, co-authored a teaching material, and was once a favored student of an authoritative old professor in a certain field, thus he has some connections. Tu Ran has met some people through him and occasionally made a few small profits. However, whenever she tries to take a big step forward, Lu Chengyu would intentionally or unintentionally obstruct her, saying, "Just make a little profit, don't be too greedy. The profit margin on this medicine is so high; how can others survive?" Or he would simply say, "Change your profession; girls are not suited for this line of work."

The events that followed all stemmed from a single joke. Among friends, there are always those who enjoy showing off. Because the surname Tu is rare, during a casual conversation, Zhou Xiaquan remarked: "There are generally two prevailing views regarding the origin of the Tu surname. One theory suggests that in ancient times, there was a river called Tu Shui, and the ancestors of the Tu family lived by the water, thus adopting water as their surname. Another theory posits that it originates from the Tu Mountain clan, which was the name of a feudal lord in ancient times, as recorded in the 'Records of the Grand Historian.' Yu, the legendary emperor, even married the daughter of the Tu Mountain clan..." The others understood the implication and chuckled. Lu Chengyu found this group rather tedious; aside from work, they seemed to have nothing else on their minds but romantic entanglements, linking everyone to one another. After the joke, the group took it upon themselves to play matchmaker, and from then on, the task of escorting Tu Ran home after gatherings naturally fell to Lu Chengyu.

He lowered his head and looked at her earnestly, but she remained silent for a long time

The black thin overcoat on Tu Ran appeared to be a bit oversized, as if she wanted to shrink her entire self into it. She held the collar with one hand while clutching a black-purple folding umbrella in the other, the tip of the umbrella dripping water.

A person is standing by the window

That day, Lu Chengyu immediately noticed the girl sitting next to Zhou Xiaoqian, not because of her apparent beauty, slenderness, and fashionable attire, but because he had known her for many years. He even remembered how she looked when she cried; at that time, she seemed to cry inexplicably quite often, which left him feeling discouraged and awkward

Seizing an opportunity, the director called him aside and asked, "Things were fine before, so how did it come to this?" He then proceeded to deliver a series of pointed and veiled criticisms, ultimately stating with righteous indignation, "Xiao Lu, if this were in the past, it would definitely be a matter of conduct, and it still is now. Moreover, you are an outstanding party member. If you continue down this path, you will stray and make mistakes. You have truly disappointed me."

The hurried footsteps behind him suddenly rose and fell, making this truly an unsuitable place for conversation. Lu Chengyu turned to take a look; someone in the intensive care unit was being resuscitated again. He decided that if the young lady did not speak up in the next moment, he would turn back to take a look, while also trying to shake off a vague, unexplainable sense of foreboding.

Lu Chengyu was dozing off in the duty room at that time, and in a daze, he replied with a few words: "I can't go, I have to accompany my girlfriend for dinner tomorrow night"

Thus, these two individuals began to maintain a relationship that was somewhat distant yet intimate. Whenever Lu Chengyu had a lively event that required a female companion to alleviate the awkwardness of being a third wheel, he would invite Tu Ran. Conversely, if Tu Ran had tasks that were difficult to manage alone or required physical effort, she would also call upon Lu Chengyu, although such instances were rare; she mostly sought him out for work-related matters. At that time, Tu Ran had already been a junior pharmaceutical representative for four years, while Lu Chengyu was pursuing a Doctor's degree in Clinical Medicine and had passed the examination to become an attending physician a year prior, actively seeking opportunities to study abroad for further qualifications.

Her complexion was poor, despite having applied delicate makeup. She lifted her head and smiled at him, saying, "Ah, there is something I would like to discuss with you."

It is early spring

The sky outside is overcast, with the sound of rain falling intermittently. The window at the end of the hospital corridor is wide open, and a refreshing breeze rushes in.

Tu Ran tilted her head and asked him: "What was I like before?"

Lu Chengyu reached out to wipe his face and walked over to ask, "So early?"

Lu Chengyu nodded and said, "You are quite principled," and he added, "You weren't like this before."

Lu Chengyu had always believed this, until one day he truly committed a serious mistake

Tu Ran was clearly startled by the suppressed sobs of the patient's family not far away. She steadied her mind before saying: "It's not exactly good news; you need to be mentally prepared."

Until one day, Tu Ran handed a test report to him.

Another message from Tu Ran: "Do you know the old Xu from General Surgery? This person is quite difficult to deal with, both lustful and greedy. He never misses a sauna or massage, and every time he promises to write a prescription but never actually does. Can you accompany me tomorrow night to meet him? Otherwise, all that money will go to waste. Please help me..."

Tu Ran immediately said, "Yes, I was just planning to resign."

After a period of interaction, the relationship between Lu Chengyu and Tu Ran never progressed further, remaining in a peculiar stage. Lu Chengyu was also too lazy to think much about it; he believed he could easily categorize Tu Ran as an ordinary friend.

Lu Chengyu glanced at his phone and realized that he had sent the wrong message last night. He had no interest in explaining and simply nodded sincerely, saying, "You are right to criticize me, thank you for your guidance, I will resolutely correct my mistakes"

"Speak up." Lu Chengyu's expression was calm; what was meant to come would eventually arrive

Tu Ran curled her lips into a smile: "It's nothing much, just making money, just thinking about money. Well, whatever makes money quickly, I'll do that, " she thought for a moment, "except for engaging in criminal activities."

Lu Chengyu had just completed a night shift in the inpatient department. Last night was relatively calm, except for one critically ill patient who experienced respiratory and cardiac arrest during sleep. Immediate resuscitation measures were taken to restore heart function, and the patient's condition stabilized, which was a close call. After Lu Chengyu finished all his handover tasks, he was surprisingly able to leave work on time. Such a situation is quite rare, leading him to feel that the day had gone too smoothly, and he kept thinking that something else might happen.

Despite having an ominous premonition in his heart, he still broke out in a cold sweat when he saw the words "positive" written above.

On the second day at work, Lu Chengyu noticed that the director's expression was unfriendly, especially towards him

The department head happened to be interested in introducing his niece to him. Lu Chengyu met with the girl a few times and felt that she was quite agreeable. The girl is a teacher at a key high school and appears to be refined, gentle, and polite. Lu Chengyu thought that given how busy he was with work, finding someone like her would be quite good, so he began to consider the possibility of a long-term relationship. As for Tu Ran's side, Lu Chengyu felt that it would suffice to find an opportunity to subtly hint at it when the situation was not too troublesome.

One message is from the director's niece, stating, "In order to thank you for your invitation last time, I would like to invite you to dinner tomorrow evening."

Due to this matter, the general public around him has come to know that Lu Chengyu has a girlfriend, and it seems that this young man with the surname Lu has a somewhat complicated private life, which has led to a sharp decrease in the number of people wanting to act as matchmakers. As a result, Lu Chengyu still has time to leisurely spend with Tu Ran, and he suddenly feels that this is not bad either