“Let’s drink to that.” Jing Qichi raised his beer to break the silence, taking a small sip before saying, “Why aren’t you two dating yet?”
Song Cong was drinking and choked hard, coughing until tears streamed out. Du Man handed him tissues while patting his back, her face crimson and speechless.
Jing Qichi held back his laughter, lighting up his phone screen and holding it in front of them, “Four minutes left, or this matter will have to wait until next year.”
Eleven fifty-six, no, eleven fifty-seven.
Three minutes left.
Song Cong stopped coughing; he seemed to hear the second hand rotating.
“I don’t want you to be like me,” Jing Qichi said softly, “hesitating and missing many important moments.”
Du Man wanted to say something but Song Cong beat her to it. He covered the phone screen with his hand, looking at her intently, “It’s not because of this moment, it’s… Manman, I want to be with you.”
Du Man’s eyes immediately reddened.
“I’m not as good as everyone says, but I’m not that bad either.” Song Cong smiled at her, “You can treat physical ailments, you can fix other aspects too…”
Du Man’s eyes were still red, but there was laughter in them, “What physical ailments do you have?”
This question left Song Cong not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
“Dr. Du means she wants you to get a full physical before agreeing.” Jing Qichi pretended to search through his contacts, “My mom’s on duty today, let’s go now, I’ll ask her to squeeze you in.”
“Don’t need you.” Du Man tilted her head to look at him, “As a family, I can handle it myself.”
“Family, you hear that?” Song Cong took Du Man’s hand under the sofa, raising an eyebrow at his friend, “With your old arms and legs, you’ll get friend prices for appointments in the future.”
Du Man turned her palm up, their fingers interlocking—so his hand was this warm.
From classmates to friends to lovers, from strangers to familiar to understanding, they walked toward each other at a steady pace, not missing anything, not even a bit.
Jing Qichi gave them a look, thinking with some amusement that this must be karma—who told him to always be lovey-dovey with Huan’er before, making everyone say they were showing off.
“I’m going to shower, take your time.” He put down his empty beer can and stood up, but turned back after one step, “By the way, I’m planning to use my annual leave during Spring Festival to visit Huan’er.”
Song Cong asked, “Your leave was approved?”
“I got promoted, transferring to the R&D Center after the New Year.”
“What?”
Du Man was puzzled, “Changing jobs?”
“Their company’s R&D Center,” Song Cong hurried to explain, “Simply put, he won’t be staying in Beijing anymore, he’s going to Huan’er’s side.”
Du Man was briefly stunned, then broke into a hearty laugh, “Jing Qichi, that’s wonderful!”
“Good news indeed,” Song Cong’s expression was somewhat complex, “just very sudden.”
Precisely because he knew Jing Qichi better, he knew how much effort his friend had put in, how much more work and energy than others it had taken to get where he was today. While not exactly saying he had secured an irreplaceable position in Beijing, in his field, Jing Qichi was already outstanding among his peers.
“I’ve been thinking about it for a while, and an opportunity came up at the right time.” Jing Qichi watched the fireworks blooming in the distance outside the window, “Old Song, remember that winter break in the second year of high school when Huan’er and the three of us snuck drinks at the base? I think Aunt Li was working the night shift on the thirtieth, I was going to buy some firecrackers for us to set off together but you insisted it would be trouble if the security guard caught us so we bought alcohol instead.”
“That did happen.” Song Cong explained to Du Man with a laugh, “Would’ve been better to set off fireworks—after drinking, I got scolded when I went home and he nearly got beaten.”
“Couldn’t hold your liquor back then, right?” Du Man smiled, then sighed, “Time flies, it’s been ten years already.”
“Yes.” Jing Qichi watched the brilliance that rose and fell, “In the blink of an eye, it’s been ten years.”