You are like the night, possessing silence and star clusters. — Neruda
After Jiang An’s flight arrived in City Z, she accompanied her ntor to a eting at the venue. She was busy until 8 p.m. before returning to the hotel. She had just turned on her cell phone and realized that there were many red dots in her WeChat indicating ssages mainly from friends and classmates wishing her a safe journey. Jiang An briefly replied before grabbing her pajamas to take a shower. The utterly exhausted girl lay in bed and imdiately lost all her strength, setting her alarm for eight in the morning before sinking into a deep sleep.
The night was waning, and Dr. Gao, after a day’s work, dragged his weary body back to his empty ho. As usual, he exercised in the gym for half an hour before taking a shower. Afterwards, he went into his study. The man sorted out the materials for a recent dical project he was researching. He kept busy until ten o’clock. Then, he took out his phone and saw Jiang An had uniformly replied in her monts that she had arrived safely. Dr. Gao sighed, opened Jiang An’s chat, his eyes resting on her profile picture. After hesitating for a while, he typed a few words and sent them.
Gao Chuan: Are you asleep?
After hitting send and watching it for a few seconds, he retracted the ssage, pondered for a few seconds, and edited a new one.
Gao Chuan: Are you asleep?
Then he gently tapped the send button, a profound face cold like ice.
The black night, like a vast net woven across the sky, with a few faint cold stars embellishing the indigo horizon, ti elapsed slowly. The person lying in the bed was sleeping sweetly when her cell phone screen on the pillow lit up twice, a bright light gently illuminating the girl’s beautiful eyebrows.
The next day was the first day of the summit. Jiang An spent the morning listening to the organizer’s speech at the venue with her ntor. After lunch, her ntor took her to et several esteed figures in the dical field. The girl followed her ntor in high heels all day and returned to the hotel utterly exhausted in the evening, falling straight into bed. She took out her cell phone only to discover the ssage Gao Chuan had sent the night before, her heart racing, she quickly replied: "I went to sleep early last night, just saw your ssage now."
About two minutes later, the man replied.
Gao Chuan: Where are you now?
Jiang An’s heart skipped a beat, telling Gao Chuan she had returned to the hotel.
The weather in City Z was unlike Jing City; just running around the venue for a day had left her completely drenched. Jiang An pinched the corner of her clothes and slled the sour scent emanating from her body, fretting about having to go out to an exhibition the next day.
The girl was about to get up to take a shower, but her cell phone suddenly vibrated. Jiang An picked it up and saw it was a call from Gao Chuan. A trace of confusion flashed across her face as she answered in a fluster, "Hello, Dr. Gao."
From the other end ca the man’s familiar "Hmm," as if he was right beside her.
Jiang An didn’t know why the man had called. As she was about to timidly speak, she heard the voice transmitted to her ear along the electric current: "Done with your day?"
Jiang An replied: "Hmm, just got back to the hotel."
Gao Chuan was staying for a night shift at the hospital, having just finished examining a patient and returned to his office when he received the girl’s reply. He slowly paced to the balcony, gazing at the distant and vast night sky, suddenly noticing that tonight’s moon was especially large and round.
The man asked again, "What did you do today?"
Jiang An had gotten up from the bed and simply changed into her pajamas. As she was asked, she gradually began to recount her day’s events. "First, I went with my ntor to the opening ceremony where the organizer’s leader kept talking for two hours. Our ntor was so annoyed, then we all exchanged ideas at the venue, and everyone had lunch together..."
She spoke carefully, her voice clear as water, each drop falling into the man’s heart. Gao Chuan had lit a cigarette, the smoke spiraling and disappearing into the night as he silently stood and listened to the girl’s narrative, realizing that she could turn an ordinary and busy day into a vivid story, making his day’s exhaustion fade away.
Perhaps even he didn’t realize he liked hearing Jiang An’s "chatter" in his ear. Initially, it was slightly annoying, but then he felt unexpectedly uneasy when he suddenly couldn’t hear it.
He was a person who particularly liked quietness, yet at this mont, he longed for her noisy presence.
"Tonight, my ntor took out for dinner, cautioned a lot regarding tomorrow’s outdoor exhibition, and after we finished, we ca back to the hotel." Jiang An knew she tended to talk a lot, strangely especially so in front of Dr. Gao, her mouth constantly moving as she could go on without stopping. After finishing her recount of the day, she belatedly critiqued herself for talking too much, wondering if Dr. Gao on the other end would patiently listen to it all, probing cautiously: "Dr. Gao, are you still listening?"
The duration of a cigarette passed, and the man gently extinguished the butt in his hand, the glowing tip disappearing. His face rarely relaxed, he patiently replied: "Hmm, you speak, I am listening."
Jiang An heard his deep response, and for so reason, her face suddenly flushed. She glanced at the ti, her expression panicked, and said: "Dr. Gao, I won’t keep you anymore, I need to sleep, I have to wake up early tomorrow."
The man, still listening by the phone, frowned montarily. Having heard about Jiang An’s day, he felt she must be completely exhausted now. After a few seconds of thought, he replied lightly: "Hmm, then... good night."
Jiang An paused, a shallow smile erging in her eyes, "Dr. Gao, good night."
Gao Chuan continued to listen to the "doo-doo-doo" of the phone hanging up before finally setting down the cell phone from his ear.
A long, endless night, the man dressed in a white coat stood against the wind, his dark pupils rging with the night.
On the other end, after hanging up, Jiang An hurriedly took a hot shower before lying back down in bed. After turning off the overhead light, the room plunged into darkness. She tossed and turned, suddenly finding herself unable to fall asleep, her mind full of the recent conversation with Dr. Gao.
Could this be the first ti Dr. Gao had actively called to check up on her? Did this an Dr. Gao might actually care about her sowhat? She then thought about how it had been two days since she last saw Dr. Gao and felt a bit of longing, wondering if Dr. Gao might also be thinking of her? With这 thoughts, the girl shyly buried her head into the blanket.
As the night stretched on, so did her longing.
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