hot fire

thirteen

"Oh." Xi sighed at the phone screen and sat down in front of the computer.

"Can't you rest after taking a shower?" Qi asked, looking at Xi who was grasping the mouse with her right hand and wiping her hair with her left hand.

"Tomorrow, a patient's report, after waiting for three days, I finally received it, I have to read it quickly." Xi clicked on the attachment of the e-mail, frowning.

"Come on! It should be better after tomorrow."

"Well, I hope that the degree of return from abroad can reach the level he should have." Xi looked at the scattered and unfocused report, rubbing his temples and said.

"That's right? Last time you told me about the one who was studying abroad?" Qi recalled the phone that rang before the holiday more than a month ago.

"Well, it's the same school as you guys." Xi said.

"That should be excellent! Come on! After this night, at least you don't have to read the intern's report." Qi comforted Xi.

"I hope so..." Xi Bian responded to Qi, her hands were already busy running on the keyboard.

"Okay, let me take a shower instead." Qi said, stood up from the table, went into the room, took his clothes and went to the bathroom.

Xi nodded, indicating that he understood.

On Sunday night, the busy work didn't seem to stop the pressing man-marking due to the weekend holiday.

Not long after, there was the sound of the door being opened behind Xi.

Xi stood up from the chair suddenly, and the moment the visitor pushed the door in, she looked at the face that came into view with a pale face.

"Xi, I... am back." There is no need to confirm and verify, the key to her house, except for Qi, is owned by only one person.

There was a distance of several steps between the two, and they just looked at each other quietly.

"Xi," at the same time as the sound was made, the luggage in his hand was put down, and the distance began to shorten and draw closer.

"Don't come near me," Xi said, while reaching out to stop her approaching.

"Xi, I'm fine." At the same time, the door of the bathroom was opened, Qi happened to see this scene, approached and refused.

You don't need to take a second look, Qi knows who that person is.

That existence that has always been entangled in Xi's heart, like a shadow clinging tightly to Xi - Duan Xiaorong.

"I'm sorry... I... I don't know..." Qi's appearance made Xiaorong's face full of surprise and astonishment.

Do not know what is this?Didn't know Xi would let another person into her life?Do you think Xi is still waiting for her to appear like she did many years ago?Many questions flashed through Qi's mind with anger.

But Qi was silent, she knew that she should not speak in this space.

"Forget it..." Xi said, without any warmth.Then he turned to Kei, "Come and help me."

Qi nodded, and followed Xi to the end of the corridor, next to the storage room.

"I'll count to three, help me pull it down." Xi grabbed one end of the tapestry hanging on the wall, motioning for Qi to grab the other end.

The two of them tore off the heavy fabric from the wall together. Qi was surprised to see a strange door appearing in his sight.She never knew that behind the wall covered by Xi's tapestry, there was a past that Xi never mentioned.

Xiao Rong at the other end had the same surprise written all over her face.

"You should have the key, maybe you need to clean it up, and you should know where the things are, so that's it." Xi looked at Xiaorong, still expressionless, with a straight voice.

Xiao Rong nodded, as if she wanted to say something more.

"Walk with me." Xi turned to Qi, pleading in his eyes.

Without hesitation, Qi stepped forward and held Xi's hand. Without looking back, Xi took the key and went out.

Along the way, neither of them spoke.

Xi drove the car away from the urban area and went to a mountain in the suburbs, a mountain overlooking the airport where planes take off and land.

After turning off the engine, Xi got out of the car, and after closing the door, leaned against the door weakly, as if she had just escaped from a chaotic battlefield.

Qi was on the other side of the car, watching all of Xi's reactions, sighed heavily, suppressed his equally confused emotions, walked up to Xi, and hugged Xi into his arms without hesitation.

Just as Qi expected, Xi gently pushed her and struggled slightly.

She just became firmer and hugged Xi tighter.

Finally, Xi gave up resisting and leaned obediently in Qi's arms, then gradually relaxed and stopped trembling.

After a while, Xi raised her head, "You should, there are many things you want to ask me." She looked at Qi and said.

Qi didn't answer, let go of Xi, hesitated to speak, then she walked to the front of the car, quietly looking at the neat runway lights at the airport.

"Why, don't ask anything?" Xi walked to Qi's side and looked at the runway lights with her.

"What should I ask?" Qi said calmly, turning to look at Xi, "or, what am I qualified to ask?"

Xi didn't answer, but Qi was right. No one had ever given a clear "positioning" to their relationship, and everything was established in a "tacit understanding".

Qi is not qualified to ask anything, and likewise, she has no position to ask Qi to stay.

"I think, I should know, Jun Yoo told me without authorization..." After a while of silence, Qi spoke first, "Her name is Duan Xiaorong, she is the person you have dated most seriously, but also because of her seriousness." , after you broke up, you were in so much pain that you almost died...and it made you decide to live in isolation...Knowing this, is it enough?" Finally, she looked at Xi and finished speaking.

Xi's gaze was still looking into the distance, as if she was thinking about something, speechless.

"Do you think we will have a future?" Xi asked after a long time.

"What?" Qi was confused by Xi's question.

"That was the last question she asked me before we broke up," Xi began.

"I always thought that the future we both worked hard for was the same...Maybe it was at the beginning, but she changed without me noticing...As a young girl, she finally chose to go back to meet her parents' expectations ...Indeed, that is the future that I cannot give her." The first time I heard Xi talk about her past, from the understatement of the words, Qi felt that Xi had spent many years and effort to calm down and suppress the pain.

"I used to think that no matter what difficulties we encountered, we could discuss and solve them together. No matter what happened, we would face it together...that was what I believed in." Xi kept looking into the distance.

Qi didn't say anything, but walked behind Xi and quietly circled her.

"Should it be said that she betrayed my trust? I, who always believed that problems can be solved together, and her, who faced the dilemma of family and lover, I think the future they see in the eyes of the two people is no longer the same... ...What I saw was naively thinking that as long as two people hold hands and work hard, nothing is insurmountable; what she saw was that one day she would give up on me because of her family... We will Gradually there is no intersection..." Xi relaxed in Qi's arms.

"Then why is she showing up again now?" After Xi finished speaking, Qi asked this question, which Xi didn't know how to answer.

There was another silence, Xi turned around, looked at Qi with complicated eyes, and lightly covered Qi's cheek with her hand, "Maybe... because I once promised that as long as she wants to come back, I will always reserve a room for her..."

This sentence made Qi understand why Xi never promised her anything, because for Xi, the promise to Xiao Rong was already tantamount to everything.

"Now, I just want to ask you one thing, do you want me to leave?" Ignoring the look in Xi's eyes, Qi looked at Xi and asked.

"I... have no right to ask you to stay or leave." Xi avoided Qi's gaze, she knew she was afraid.

"Xi," Qi gently held Xi's face, forcing her to look directly at him, "I didn't ask you to make a decision, just "want" or "don't want". Xi, do you want me to leave?" Qi asked again once.

Xi shook her head.

"I see. Go home, you have to go to work tomorrow." After Qi finished speaking, he walked to the car.

When they got home, the door of Xiaorong's room was closed, Xi didn't do anything, didn't say anything, she just quietly went back to the computer, finished reading and correcting the report, and then went back to her room to sleep.

After finishing her own affairs, Qi also lay back on the bed. After getting along with her for a long time, she knew that Xi was still awake without making a sound. However, at this moment, she chose to remain silent when she didn't know what to say.

The appearance of Xiaorong makes Qi and Xi have to face up to the things they always choose to avoid, the relationship between the two, Xi's past, and the future of Xi and "them".

Not long ago, Qi began to feel Xi's strong possessiveness towards her, but what she didn't expect was that she had the same feeling towards Xi.

If what Xi is avoiding is his feelings for Qi; then what Qi doesn't want to admit should be his desire to have Xi.She always used her experience many years ago to warn herself that she should not and could not have such "violative" desires. She knew that she liked Xi, and even, she loved Xi, but that was all.

If Xi allows her to approach, she will approach; if Xi needs her, she will be there; perhaps it is such a peaceful day, that she almost thinks that their life is really only her and Xi, and it also makes her almost feel that Xiaorong's love for Xi The influence is gradually weakening, and it will disappear one day... If Xiao Rong didn't show up today.

The two lay side by side, neither of them spoke, and both knew that the other was not asleep.

I don't know how long it took, Xi took the initiative to turn over and hug Qi, "Good night, kitten." She said.

Qi hesitated for a moment before reaching out to hug Xi. After all, when can I accept this situation?

Feeling Qi's hesitation, Xi sighed so lightly, is the time coming soon?

The next morning, when Xi pushed open the bedroom door, what she saw was the back of Xiao Rong preparing to go out.

"The breakfast on the table is for the two of you, Xi, I remember you like ham quiche with corn and cheese, I hope I remember correctly. Let's go first, break." After she finished speaking, she put on her coat and went out up.

Xi stared blankly at the two boxes of egg cakes and two cups of milk tea on the table.Indeed, that used to be what she was most used to eating in the morning...but after the breakup, she seemed to subconsciously not eat those foods and drinks that she "before" loved... because it reminded her of Xiao Rong .

"What's the matter? I was in a daze early in the morning." Qi also left the room at some point, perhaps staring at Xi for a while.

"It's nothing, let's have breakfast." Xi said, pushing Qi's share in front of her, and then pulled a chair and sat down.

Qi opened the lunch box, and inside was food that she had never eaten or seen Xi eat.

"This is..." Qi seemed taken aback by the omelet with a lot of fillings.

"I used to eat it." Xi replied simply, then finished the food silently, and went into the room to prepare for work.

The two of them still went out together as usual, but the silence in the car made them feel uncomfortable when they hesitated to speak.

"At noon, come find me for dinner." Xi said before parking the car and getting out of the car.

Qi nodded, indicating that he understood.

Xi entered the office fifteen minutes before the morning meeting as usual, and Emily also arrived shortly after. The two took the materials and walked to the meeting room together.

Pushing open the door, Xi was stunned again, she saw Xiao Rong talking and laughing with the director in front of her.

"Yuxi, let me introduce you. This is the psychologist who started working with you today—Duan Xiaorong..." After that, what the director said was not important to Xi, and she didn't listen to it.

"Hi, please give me your advice." Xiaorong stretched out her hand to her.

"Hello." Xi held her politely, then let go.

Afterwards, without saying anything, he walked to Emily's side and sat down in her seat.

"I feel that the new therapist is very powerful, we should be more relaxed, right?" Just as she sat down, Emily leaned over and asked softly.

"Well, she's very powerful." Xi nodded.

"Senior sister know?" Emily continued to ask.

"I worked with you during my internship before." Xi replied simply, not wanting to say anything more.She knew that with Emily's personality, if she knew something, she would definitely "report" it to Qi.

After the morning meeting started, Xi tried her best to focus on the case to be discussed today, but her eyes couldn't help but look in Xiaorong's direction, fortunately, Xiaorong didn't notice.

"Senior sister, that therapist sneaked a peek at you." Emily leaned next to Xi suddenly and said.

It turned out that Xiao Rong was doing the same thing as Xi.

Xi glanced at Emily angrily, maintaining her usual reaction to cover up her disturbed feeling.

Before the meeting adjourned, the director stood up and announced that everyone would go out for dinner together at noon today.

"Yu Xi, you're coming too." As if knowing that Xi didn't like to attend such social gatherings, the director reminded her before announcing the end of the meeting.

"Okay, I understand." Although she was very reluctant, but in such a public place, she couldn't refuse the director in public, so she could only nod her head in agreement.

"Sister, you've been called again..." After packing up her things, Emily said as she walked beside Xi.

Xi shrugged helplessly.

"Xi," Xiao Rong's voice sounded behind Xi, she turned her head, Xiao Rong pulled out a report from the file folder, "This is the evaluation report of your outpatient case today. The interns first passed it to me, I changed it, you can look at it, it should be much better than before.”

"Well, thank you." Xi was familiar with Xiaorong's work attitude and sense of responsibility, so she took it without being surprised.

"Wow! Psychologist, you are too professional! You can definitely help us relieve a lot of burden." On the other hand, Emily showed a "should" reaction.

"Should be. Then, see you at noon, Xi, goodbye." After Xiaorong finished speaking, she waved to them, then turned and walked towards her office.

"Sister, do you know each other well?" After Xiaorong left, Emily leaned over and asked.

"Huh?" Xi responded to Emily while flipping through the report Xiao Rong handed over.

"She's the same as Qi, she calls you Xi..." Emily stared at Xi and asked.

"I met him during my internship in the psychiatric department before, and we got along for a while at that time, so I'm familiar with it." Xi said with a guilty conscience.

"Oh, no wonder..." Emily nodded, but seemed to have something to say.

"How many cases do you have today?" Xi didn't want Emily to ask more about Xiaorong, so Xi took the initiative to change the topic.

The two discussed the situation of each other's patients and walked all the way back to the office.

Xi took the opportunity to pass the line to Qi before the outpatient clinic. During the lunch time of the two, they were "hand-picked" by the director to attend the entertainment.

Qi∣Well, I see. See you after get off work.

After receiving Qi's response and confirming that she knew, Xi put her mobile phone in her pocket and began to face patients one by one.

After the consultation in the morning, Qi went directly back to the office from the consultation room, continuing to be busy with endless business.

"Kaiqi, why didn't you have dinner with your senior sister at noon today?" Xiaojie pushed open the office door, surprised to see Qi busy inside.

"Senior sister has a dinner at noon today." Qi answered briefly.

"You haven't eaten yet, have you?" Xiaojie asked.

"Not yet, I don't feel hungry after the consultation in the morning, I want to come back and do some work." Qi still focused on the things in front of him.

"It's almost one o'clock! Even if you don't have a doctor in the afternoon, it's time for dinner." Xiaojie looked at the clock on the wall.

"Okay, got it, I'll go after reading this report." Qi said as if to perfunctory Xiaojie.

"Did Zhao Lingcheng come to see you?" Xiaojie asked as she sat down.

"I don't know. Several people knocked on the door, but I didn't answer." Qi picked up the pen on the table and made a mark on the report he was reading.

"Are you pretending you're not here?" Xiaojie continued to ask.

"It's okay, anyway, you have the key." Qi shrugged and said indifferently.

"You are really..." Xiaojie looked at Qi silently.

"Okay, I'm going out to buy something to eat." After finishing speaking, Qi stood up and walked out of the office. After hesitating for a while, he decided to go to the fast food restaurant opposite the hospital for a quick lunch.

Unexpectedly, when he stepped into the gate of the hospital, he met the person he least wanted to meet.

"Kaiqi! Long time no see, I'm so lucky to meet you." Zhao Lingcheng's voice came from behind her.

Qi did not stop and continued to move forward.

"You are so busy and so hard to meet! And you are too low-key!" Zhao Lingcheng walked beside her with a cup of coffee in his hand, following her footsteps.

"Excuse me, what's the matter?" Qi stopped slightly sullenly, staring at him and asked.

"Don't keep rejecting people thousands of miles away..." Zhao Lingcheng said shamelessly.

"Then please don't bother me anymore. If you can't catch me, you will change your target when you see Senior Sister Yuxi; if you still can't catch Senior Sister, you are bothering me now... Don't you think this is kind of ridiculous?" ?” Qi said coldly.

"My fair lady, a gentleman is so sweet." Zhao Lingcheng responded as a matter of course.

"Then trouble you to find another partner! I think there are many ladies in the hospital with better conditions than me. I can't bear your "love"." After Qi finished speaking, he walked forward and left quickly, but saw Xi and Emily from the other side. A door came in, and walking beside Xi was Xiao Rong.

At the same time, Xi looked up, saw Qi, and Zhao Lingcheng beside her.

Xi's face darkened, Qi watched her walking straight towards him, Emily and Xiao Rong were puzzled.

"Are you free? Take a step to talk." Xi spoke in front of Qi, and without waiting for Qi's response, she directly dragged Qi to the nearby stairwell.

Zhao Lingcheng wanted to follow shamelessly, but after meeting Xi's cold eyes, he left wisely.

"Why are you with him?" In the stairwell, Xi let go of Qi's hand and asked.

"I went out to eat, and when I came back, I was stalked by him at the door." Qi explained.

"Has he started to bother you again? Why didn't you tell me?" Xi asked again.

"Xi, calm down. Is it necessary to be so nervous about this matter?" Compared to Xi's hasty tone, Qi seemed calm.

Xi couldn't answer for a while, Qi was right, why was she so nervous?Or maybe, it's not nervous, but... Angry?

"Xi," Qi paused, took a deep breath before continuing, "I know you want to protect me, but we both know that I can't have your protection everywhere, and you won't let me follow you all the time. There are some things around you, mine, it’s better for me to handle them myself?”

Xi looked at Qi in disbelief. She never thought that Qi would think this way, but she couldn't deny that Qi was right, at least for now.

After a while, Xi said, "I hate seeing you with him."

"I don't want to see you with her either." Qi replied as if reflexively.

The two were stunned at the same time, and no one thought that the truth in their hearts would be spoken under such circumstances.

They didn't speak, and they looked at each other for a long time.

"I plan to go home and tell you about this..." Xi spoke first.

"Actually, you don't need to explain to me...we don't have the right to interfere with each other, do we?" Qi said, interrupting Xi.

"Qi..." Xi still wanted to say something, but at this moment the business jet in his pocket rang.

Xi frowned and looked at the electronic products in her hands that kept making harsh noises.

"Go back first, I'll wait for you in the car after get off work." After Qi finished speaking, he reached out to shake Xi's hand, pushed the door and left the stairwell.

On the way back to the office, Qi felt annoyed at what he had just blurted out.

I crossed the line again... this time, what will happen?But what does Xi mean by that sentence... Is it time to part again?When alone, cranky thoughts can always make people fall into unspeakable panic.It was Emily who pulled her out of that panic.

Emily∣How are you and senior sister doing?The expression on her face when she entered the office was... Nine lives would be scared to death.

On the phone screen, Emily's words made Qi's expression relaxed.

Qi∣No, you are living a good life, aren’t you?She's just seeing me unhappy with that guy...and maybe work, I think.

Qi responded in his usual slapstick way.

Emily∣Working...it should be a lot easier because of the new psychologist!She is also a talent. I heard from my senior that they had practiced together before, and they seem to know each other very well. She is called "Xi" just like you!

Qi looked at the phone, those words suddenly appeared dazzling, and the image of Xiaorong and Xi walking into the hospital together came to mind again.

Qi∣Yes, I will ask her again tonight.Work first, talk later.

In the end, Qi decided to play dumb.

For the first time, Qi felt that time could go so slowly. Throughout the afternoon, she tried her best not to think about Xiao Rong's appearance, but the glimpse that only appeared for a few seconds, she couldn't bear it anyway. don't go.

The hospital is very big, but when two people are in the same department, it seems that it is not so big. On the contrary, it is so small that they can even meet in the toilet.

"Is that girl your current partner?" Xiao Rong's voice came from behind when Xi Xi lowered her head and washed her hands.

Looking up, Xiaorong's face that seemed to be smiling but not smiling appeared in the mirror.

"Is it important?" Xi asked the person in the mirror.

Xi did not expect that she would say these four words so calmly.

"It's important, and it's not important." Xiaorong stepped forward, turned on the faucet, and never took her eyes off Xi in the mirror.

Xi shook the water off her hands slightly, took out a tissue to dry her hands, and prepared to leave without looking at Xiao Rong.

"Xi, do you hate me?" When Xi threw the paper into the trash can, Xiao Rong stretched out her hand to grab Xi who was about to leave.

"It's not important anymore." Xi pulled her hand away without hesitation, and opened the door to leave.

But as if remembering something, he stopped at the door.

"I don't know why you showed up, and I don't know why you're here, but I think you did it on purpose, right?" Xi didn't look back, her tone of voice was cold.

"I can't control what you want to do, but please stay away from Qi." There was no room for Xiao Rong to answer the words, Xi continued to finish speaking coldly, pushed the door and left without looking back.

Throughout the afternoon, Xi felt impetuous like never before.

What the hell am I bothering about?Is it because he is afraid that Qi will misunderstand?Or was it because she saw her walking with Zhao Lingcheng?Why, Xiaorong appeared at this time?And why, she chose the same hospital as me?What is she trying to do?Like Qi, Xi also fell into her own wild thoughts.

It was also Emily who pulled her out.

"Senior sister, are you okay? You look very bad this afternoon." Emily looked at Xi carefully and asked.

"It's nothing, things are a bit busy." Xi casually found an excuse to prevaricate.

"Psychiatrist Duan will gradually get better after she comes, I think she is very good!" Emily said again.

"Well, yes, she is very good." Xi said, she has never doubted Xiaorong's major, since the internship many years ago, Xiaorong at that time was just like her in the eyes of the teachers. After many years of training, looking at Xiao Rong's report, Xi has to admit that what comes out of Xiao Rong sometimes surpasses the level of a "psychologist", even better than some newly graduated inpatients. Physicians are more professional and objective.

Before leaving get off work, Xi opened the mailbox for final confirmation as usual.As she expected, tomorrow's outpatient evaluation report will appear in the mailbox on time, and the sender is Xiao Rong.

Subject: Tomorrow's outpatient case evaluation report

Recipient: Xia Yuxi

Sender: Duan Xiaorong

曦：

The attached file is the evaluation of tomorrow's outpatient cases. You can see if there are any problems, and if there are any, you can bring them up for discussion.

Xi didn't click on the attachment, and didn't intend to reply to the letter. She just pressed the small square on the upper right corner of the screen, closed the window, turned off the phone and left.

When she walked to the parking lot, she saw Qi opening the door and getting into the car, her facial muscles relaxed naturally, the corners of her mouth slightly raised, and she also got into the car without hesitation.

"Have you been waiting long?" Xi asked as soon as she got into the car, even though she already knew the answer.

"No, I just got in the car." Qi looked at Xi, with a stiff smile on his face.

Xi looked at Qi who didn't say a word, and Qi turned his gaze out of the window.

"Let's eat first, okay?" Xi asked proactively.

Qi nodded, and Xi drove the car away from the hospital, the smoky place.

Not long after, Xi took Qi to a restaurant on the mountainside in the suburbs.

"Let's go." Xi took Qi's hand and entered the restaurant.

There are many problems in Qi's mind, mixed with intricate emotions, but what he wants to say is always swallowed abruptly after realizing that there is "no relationship" between them.

During the dinner, no one spoke, allowing the silence to condense the air between the two.

Finally, Xi put down the knife and fork and looked at Qi.

The sound of tableware colliding stopped Qi's movements, but she never raised her head to look at Xi.

"Little cat, don't think too much, nothing has changed, and it won't change, okay?" Xi's voice came from the opposite side.

Qi slowly raised her head, and looked at Shang Xi with an unprecedented anxiety and eagerness, which made Qi hurriedly turn her gaze out of the window, she didn't know how to face such Xi.

What are you talking about that doesn't change?How do you feel about her?How do you get along with me?How long can we go on like this?How long can I stay by your side?Qi kept these to herself, and finally responded with only four words: "I see." She said.

As if feeling Qi's bewilderment, Xi sighed softly, raised her hand to find the waiter, and said dessert was ready.

Until Xi parked the car in the garage, neither of them spoke.

"Little cat, don't you have anything to say or ask?" Xi asked before turning off the car lights and ignition.

"What do you want to ask? What do you want to say?" Qi asked, and his eyes never met Shangxi.

Xi was speechless, she knew that Qi was right.

"I haven't forgotten our rules, and please don't force me to cross the line again." After Qi finished speaking, he unlocked the car door and got out of the car.

Xi looked at Qi's back and sighed softly. How could she not know what Qi was talking about? It was she who set the rules at the beginning, and she used this "rule" to push Qi away...

Before the elevator door opened, Xi put her hand around Qi's waist from behind, "I'm sorry." She said.

Qi was stunned, but at this moment, she didn't want to continue to indulge in the warmth Xi gave her. She watched the elevator door slowly open, "Let's go, the elevator is here." After finishing speaking, she stepped forward and left Xi's room. Between the arms, there was no hesitation, as if he had forced himself to leave Xi's tenderness.

That night, Qi fell asleep with his back to Xi for the first time.