"No need to apologize," ca her father’s voice by her ear.
She looked up, and her father stood before her, still maintaining that stern countenance, yet his tone contained an imperceptible softness.
"The generous harm not others for their gain, and the benevolent put not others in jeopardy for fa."
He looked at Lu Tong, "My daughter of the Lu Family, well done."
Lu Tong’s vision blurred again.
Despite not crying much these years and feeling that she had gradually toughened up, she never expected that in front of her family, she would revert to the Lu Min of years past, who would tear up at the slightest provocation.
"Don’t cry, third girl," her mother approached, wrapping her in an embrace and gently hugged her, "It’s getting late, you should go back."
She suddenly shivered, "No, I won’t!"
"I don’t want to go back!" Lu Tong clutched at the corner of her mother’s clothes, "I want to stay here, I want to be forever with Dad and Mom, my sister and elder brother!"
She detested separation, abhorred goodbyes, witnessing a reunion, how could she just let it end like this?
"Tong Tong," her mother looked at her, her voice gentle and loving, "You’ve grown up. When children grow up, they have to leave their parents, leave ho, and now, you’re such an impressive doctor."
"There is soone waiting for you," she wiped Lu Tong’s tears, jokingly, "Have you forgotten your little beau?"
Little beau?
Lu Tong was taken aback.
"My daughter has suffered much in the past," her mother caressed her hair with affection, "She has grown up, beco smart and beautiful, strong and brave. She has accomplished all the things we couldn’t."
"Don’t dwell on the past, one must look forward. Dad and Mom, your sister and brother all love you, and there are more people in this world who love you. The daughters of the Lu family have always moved forward, right?"
"I don’t want to move forward," she cried, clinging to an impossible outco, "I want to stay here, I want to be with you..."
A layer of white mist gradually appeared before her eyes, turning the figures in front of her ethereal. She suddenly realized sothing, attempting to reach out but grasping at nothing, and heard a faint sigh in the air.
"Tong Tong..."
It was her parents’ voice, "Move forward, don’t linger in the past."
It turned into an admonition from Lu Qian and Lu Rou.
"Be braver, keep moving forward."
Suddenly, darkness engulfed her surroundings.
She gazed at the void, couldn’t help but crouch down, and began sobbing uncontrollably.
Why was she still left behind? Why could it never be complete? She was ho at last, having seen her dad, mom, and siblings, yet why couldn’t she hold onto them.
People should move forward, but the past is too heavy, the future too uncertain. Longing and dependence seed like a line connecting her to reality, and she clung to that line, unwilling to let go.
But she had to let go.
"Knock knock—"
In the silence of death, a knocking sound suddenly arose.
She paused for a mont, looked up, and in the pitch darkness all around, a window suddenly appeared.
Soone stood at the window.
A handso young man in a bright red brocade robe, like a warm light in this dark abyss, bright and comforting. Through the window, he shook a bamboo tube filled with sweet syrup in front of Lu Tong, then spoke with a smile.
"How long do you plan to hide in here?"
Lu Tong was montarily stunned.
The next mont, as if impatient, he entered the room and pulled her up from the ground.
"Co out," he said.
The door was pushed open.
He pulled her, and she stumbled out of the house. The thick fog slowly dissipated, and the surroundings once again beca noisy. The young man’s voice was as carefree as the wind, "Have you forgotten West Street?"
West Street?
The na sounded so familiar. Along with this phrase, she saw not far away, at the corner of the alley, a lush lychee tree in strong sunlight casting dense green shadows, and on the sign shielded by its branches, the words "Benevolent Heart" were written neatly.
The young shop owner rested his chin on his hands, sitting at the counter looking utterly bored, while the Resident Doctor, with dim eyes, leaned in to read the characters in the dical books, rubbing his aching legs. A young lad stood on a stool, diligently polishing the golden banner on the wall, and an even lovelier girl at the tailor’s shop across the street was seriously haggling over a green plum-patterned cotton skirt with the shopkeeper.
The girl turned her head, saw Lu Tong, and imdiately broke into a smile, "Miss has co back—"
The sunlight was intense and dazzling, and she again heard the voice of the young man, laughing softly, "Have you forgotten the dical Officer Institute?"
The dical Officer Institute?
Then she saw it again, the institute she once loathed to enter following her strategy.
She saw the handso, refined man in the dispensary bending over to pick up the scattered dical texts from the floor, carefully sorting various manuscripts into the dical chest. She saw the kindhearted Chief Physician, holding a roster of nas for an epidemic relief effort in Su Nan, arguing stubbornly with soone, insisting on adding her na to the list.
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