When The Snow Falls In Autumn Chapter 19

Chapter 19

The cafeteria was bustling with noise at noon, and the heat of the food and the voices of people mixed together into a warm background.Ye Qiulan and Ling Xueqing were sitting at a small square table in the corner by the window, with two simple dishes and one soup in front of them.Ye Qiulan ate a little absentmindedly, playing with the rice in the bowl unconsciously with his spoon.The matter of getting medicine at the school hospital was ordinary in itself, but Ling Xueqing’s offer to accompany her suddenly gave birth to a small, unprepared thorn in the ordinary, pricking her heart, which was used to shouldering the responsibility alone.

She raised her eyes and looked quietly at Ling Xueqing opposite.Ling Xueqing always eats with an upright posture, neither hurriedly nor slowly. She picks up a few green vegetables with the tip of her chopsticks, puts them into her mouth, chews them, and swallows them. Her movements are so concise and almost rigid.The sun shines through the greasy glass window and dances on her lowered eyelashes.She seemed to be completely immersed in this ordinary lunch, unable to notice the weight of confusion in Ye Qiulan’s eyes.

But Ye Qiulan knew that Ling Xueqing must have noticed it.She always sensed it.It’s like being able to detect the slightest fiber damage on ancient book paper.

Sure enough, Ling Xueqing swallowed the food in her mouth, raised her eyes, and looked at Ye Qiulan calmly.”Have you brought all the medicine sheets?” she asked, her tone as normal as if she was asking if there were any classes in the afternoon.

Ye Qiulan nodded and subconsciously touched the side pocket of the canvas bag. The edge of the hard paper touched his fingertips.”I’ve got it all. I opened it last month. This time I just took it according to the prescription.”

“Yeah.” Ling Xueqing responded and lowered her head to eat again.He didn’t ask any more questions about his condition or his father.It was a depressing minefield in Ye Qiulan’s family. Ling Xueqing never stepped into it easily, only guarding the border and passing a silent umbrella.This silent understanding is sometimes more heart-wrenching than questioning.

After the two of them finished eating, they packed up the tableware and walked out of the cafeteria.The midday sun shines down brightly, and the campus is full of students who have eaten their fill, are walking leisurely, or are rushing to the next activity.They crossed the noisy main road and turned onto the quieter tree-lined road leading to the campus hospital.The huge leaves of the phoenix tree screened the mottled light and shadow, and the cicadas chirped one after another.

The school hospital is an old five-story building with some mottled walls, and the air is filled with the smell of disinfectant and some kind of old board all year round.On weekend afternoons, there were fewer people in the hall than usual, but there were also a few waiting students sitting here and there, looking either tired or calm.

Ye Qiulan walked to the pharmacy window in a familiar manner.Ling Xueqing followed her half a step behind, neither side by side nor far away.There were two or three people lined up in front of the pharmacy window.Ye Qiulan stood still and took out the neatly folded medication list and campus medical insurance card from the side pocket of the canvas bag.Ling Xueqing stood diagonally behind her, his eyes calmly scanning the faded promotional posters, dusty plastic seats, and several half-dead pots of green plants on the windowsill in the hall.Her existence itself is like a quiet shadow, but it is strangely separated from the slightly decadent atmosphere of the surrounding environment.

The team moved forward slowly.In front of Ye Qiulan was a boy who kept coughing, and in front of him was a girl holding her waist and looking unhappy.There was a faint uneasiness in the air peculiar to illness.

It’s Ye Qiulan’s turn.She handed the medication order and health insurance card into the window.The pharmacist sitting inside was a middle-aged woman with a serious face. She took it, glanced at the medicine list, then looked up at Ye Qiulan, and tapped a few times on the keyboard with her fingers.

“Ye Jianguo?” The pharmacist confirmed the name.

“It’s my father.” Ye Qiulan explained in a low voice, “I will take his place.”

The pharmacist nodded and didn’t ask any more questions. He was obviously used to family members picking up the items on his behalf.She glanced at the medicine list again and frowned almost imperceptibly.”There seems to be something wrong with this month’s quota for ‘Peace Pill’. Please wait a moment while I check the system.” She said and turned to operate the computer.

Ye Qiulan’s heart sank slightly.Tranquilizer is a medicine that helps my father calm down and fall asleep at night. Although it is not under special control, strict records are kept every time it is prescribed.Quota issue?Did the doctor overprescribe, or was there an error in the system?Either way, it means trouble. She may not be able to get enough medicine, and may need to re-register with a doctor for confirmation… Time, energy, and the anxious imagination that her father may not be able to sleep at night because of this, instantly tightened her heart.

Her fingers unconsciously tightened the strap of the canvas bag, and her knuckles turned slightly white.My cheeks felt a little warm, not from heat, but from a kind of hot flash mixed with embarrassment, anxiety, and powerlessness.What she fears most is this kind of link, these unexpected troubles that require negotiation and dealing with others.She is used to facing silent ancient books, where there are clear steps and tools to solve problems, but the trivial troubles in reality often leave her at a loss.

At this moment, a hand stretched out from her side and gently pressed on her trembling hand that was tightly holding the strap of the bag.

It’s Ling Xueqing’s hand.The palm is warm and the force is steady.She didn’t speak, didn’t even look at Ye Qiulan, she just pressed it and spread her fingers that were almost pinched into the fabric bit by bit. Then, very naturally, she took out the medical insurance card that was a little wrinkled by Ye Qiulan’s fingers from her other hand.

Ling Xueqing took half a step forward, almost side by side with Ye Qiulan, facing the window.Her voice was low, but clear and calm: “Teacher, what is the specific problem? If the system quota is wrong, we can contact the attending doctor now to confirm. The medication order was issued by Dr. Li during the follow-up visit last week, so there should be no problem.” She spoke at a steady pace, enunciated clearly, and said the word “we” naturally and firmly.

The pharmacist raised his head from behind the computer screen, looked at Ling Xueqing, and then at Ye Qiulan, who was pale and biting his lower lip. His serious expression relaxed slightly.”Oh, it was prescribed by Dr. Li. Wait, let me check the department signature again…” She started operating the computer again.

Ling Xueqing stood there, her back straight, and the lines of her profile looked a bit cold in the light coming from the window.Her hand had moved away from the back of Ye Qiulan’s hand, and instead rested gently on the edge of the window sill. Her posture was relaxed, but it carried an invisible and calming aura.She didn’t push anymore, just waited quietly.

Ye Qiulan stood beside her. The confusion and panic that surged up just now were firmly caught and blocked out by Ling Xueqing’s few steps forward and a few words.She looked at Ling Xueqing’s profile and her calmly waiting posture, and the tip of her nose suddenly felt sore for no reason.It’s not a grievance, but a sense of vulnerability… like being relieved of a burden after being held firmly, mixed with deep dependence.Ling Xueqing was always like this. When she was about to be overwhelmed by the trivial and heavy reality, she would reach out to pull her up, and use her own calmness to open up a small dry space for her to breathe.

In the window, the pharmacist seemed to have found the problem.”I found it. It’s because the system synchronization is delayed and it shows that the quota is insufficient. In fact, there is still more. I’m sorry, classmate.” Her tone softened a lot and she began to dispense the medicine quickly.

Ling Xueqing nodded slightly: “Thank you, teacher.” She handed the medical insurance card in again, then turned her face and glanced at Ye Qiulan.The look in his eyes was calm, with no special emotion, just to confirm whether she was okay.

Ye Qiulan quickly lowered his head, covering up the moisture that instantly surged in his eyes, and nodded lightly.

The medicine was quickly prepared, and several medicine boxes and a bottle of oral liquid were put into plastic bags and handed out.Ling Xueqing reached out to take it, thanked her, then turned around naturally and handed the bag to Ye Qiulan.

Ye Qiulan took it. The bag was not heavy, and the medicine box inside had sharp edges.”…Thank you.” Her voice was a little hoarse.

“Let’s go.” Ling Xueqing said, turning around and walking out of the hall first.

Ye Qiulan followed her through the slightly empty hall and walked into the bright afternoon sunshine again.The cicadas are still noisy, and the light and shadow on the tree-lined road are still mottled.Everything seems to be the same as when it came.

But it’s different.The handle of the plastic bag in my hand pinched my fingertips. Inside was my father’s medicine and the weight of life.The figure walking in front had just saved her from a small trouble, and silently shared some of this weight.

They walked in silence for a while.When approaching the fork in the road, Ling Xueqing slowed down and waited for Ye Qiulan to come to her side.

“I can return the lab books tomorrow.” Ling Xueqing suddenly said, looking at the road ahead, “Where you live… do you need me to accompany you back?”

Ye Qiulan’s heart skipped a beat.Go home with her?This means that Ling Xueqing has to step into a more specific realm filled with the smell of medicine and sighs, to see her haggard father on the sick bed, and to face her mother who always wears an apologetic and tired smile.It was a more private and heavier space than the campus hospital window.

She almost subconsciously wanted to refuse.I don’t want Ling Xuequing to see that, and I don’t want her to be contaminated by that too specific gloom.But when the words came to her lips, she hesitated again when she saw the unmistakable seriousness on Ling Xueqing’s calm profile.Ling Xueqing’s eyes told her that this was not a polite inquiry, but a prepared decision.

“No need,” Ye Qiulan finally shook his head and said in a very soft voice, “I’ll just go back by myself. You…don’t you have to go to the laboratory tomorrow?” She found an excuse, an equally lame “drop-in” negative excuse.

Ling Xueqing did not insist.She nodded, as if it was just a casual mention.”Okay.” She stopped and stood at the fork in the road.One road leads to the old dormitory building in the west area and the bus station outside the campus, and the other leads to the laboratories and graduate student apartments in the east area.

“Be careful on the road.” Ling Xueqing said.

“You too.” Ye Qiulan looked at her.

The two stood at the intersection for a few seconds, neither of them moved first.The afternoon sun cast their shadows below their feet, briefly overlapping them.

Then, Ling Xueqing turned around and walked towards the east road.Ye Qiulan watched her straight back disappear behind the shade of the trees, then slowly turned around and walked towards the west.The plastic bag containing the medicine in his hand swayed slightly with his steps, making a small crackling sound.

The chirping of cicadas formed a dense web overhead.The sun is still hot.The brief twists and turns at the pharmacy window just now, that moment that only they knew and was caught firmly, were like a small pebble thrown into the lake of their hearts and sank to the bottom, leaving only a few almost invisible ripples on the surface before disappearing into the long silence of the afternoon.But the stone was already there, carrying the warmth of the other person’s palm.