That night, Jiang City.
After the hustle and bustle receded, the city’s splendor remained.
Under the neon lights, two figures walked briskly along the sidewalk, one after the other.
At some point, Shen Zhongming had also put on a hat, hiding most of his face.
He moved quickly, dragging his luggage, deliberately keeping a distance from Shen Cheng who followed behind.
They had walked a long distance, without any exchange between them.
Upon seeing the words "Jiangcheng Hospital" on the building ahead, Shen Cheng raised her hand and lowered the brim of her hat.
Shen Zhongming glanced back at her, then crossed the street and entered the hospital.
Shen Cheng flagged down a taxi, and as soon as it stopped, she quickly got in.
"Driver, take a few detours, go the long way around."
In the back seat, Shen Cheng took off her cap, tied her long, shoulder-length hair up with a hair band, and put the hat back on.
She then fished out a dagger from her backpack, lightly brushed her fingers over the blade, and tucked it back into her pant pocket.
The driver, catching sight of her actions in the rearview mirror, immediately broke into a cold sweat, "Miss, night drivers like us don’t have it easy. We don’t get many fares in a night, not much money to be made."
He tried to make his voice sound calm, but couldn’t stop it from trembling.
"Do you take me for a robber?"
This was the first time in Shen Cheng’s life that she’d been so overestimated.
"You’ve misunderstood, miss. What I mean is that there’s a surcharge for nighttime rides, at least double..."
Although the driver was denying it with his words, his thoughts were clear: If you’re not a robber then why are you dressed in black, wearing a black hat, and carrying a dagger in the middle of the night!
"Then why are your hands shaking?"
Shen Cheng leaned back lazily in the back seat, squinting at the driver’s hands trembling fiercely on the steering wheel, her lips curving into a smirk.
The driver hurriedly rubbed his hands and exhaled a breath of warmth, "It’s a bit cold tonight..."
Calling it cold on a hot night? Shen Cheng found the lie so convincingly desperate that she felt like giving him some credit.
She took out five hundred yuan from her bag and tossed it to the driver, "Driver, after this trip, go back and warm yourself at home."
The driver was startled for a moment, and only after inspecting the authenticity of the money did he dare to look back at her, "Miss, this is too much."
As he spoke, he pulled out three one-hundred yuan bills intending to return them to Shen Cheng.
Shen Cheng didn’t take them, merely saying, "Didn’t you say it doubles?" and then closed her eyes.
Having no other option, the driver pocketed the money, adjusted the meter, and drove off.
An hour later, the taxi circled back to the original spot.
Watching Shen Cheng walk away after getting out of the car, the driver heaved a long sigh of relief.
These days, you come across all kinds of people.
With many emotions stirring, he turned the car around and left.
Outside the hospital, Shen Cheng pulled out an old cellphone to call the dean, inquired about her location, and then hurried into the hospital.
Knocking on the dean’s office door, a voice from inside said, "Come in."
Pushing the door open, Shen Cheng locked it behind her in passing.
Seeing her enter, Shen Zhongming hurriedly approached, anxiously asking, "Girl, are you sure no one followed you?"
Shen Cheng uttered a sound of affirmation, then shifted her gaze to the dean in front of the office desk, a woman over fifty wearing a white lab coat and reading glasses.
Her lips quirked in what could pass for a smile, yet it held not a trace of warmth.
"Chengzi is here." The dean stood up with a smile, her gentle eyes twinkling with a benevolent light, "We haven’t seen each other for almost a year, right...?"