Chapter Twenty-Three Xie Yuxin

  June 6, 1916

  Chen Shao and Wang Xiaoshan left the inn in high spirits and began to stroll around Guangzhou City. Chen Shao had originally planned to return to Qinghe Village today, but after getting used to the hustle and bustle of city life, he thought that since they had finally come out this time, it was uncertain when they would be able to do so again next time, so he gave himself a day off to have some fun and take a look at what Guangzhou City was like during this period.

  There were many pedestrians on the road, mostly porters and peddlers, as well as horse-drawn carriages coming and going, and occasionally one or two foreigners could be seen. Chen Shao, who had adapted to the fast-paced lifestyle, still felt very fresh seeing these scenes. Walking east and west, he had unknowingly gotten the guards who were secretly protecting him all confused.

  Young people at that time mostly wore long gowns, and only wore suits on very formal occasions. At that time, even in a big city like Guangzhou, suits were only worn by a small group of people, and even if they could afford to wear them, it was only on special occasions. When not wearing them, they would carefully store them away. However, along the way, although many people wore long gowns, there were occasionally some young people wearing suits, but in Chen Shao's eyes, they looked out of place, a bit like "Chinese-style Westerners". They wore suits on their bodies, Chinese shoes on their feet, wrote English on envelopes and Chinese inside, and had Chinese-style houses filled with Western furniture. This feeling was hard to describe, but at the root of it, it was still unmistakably Chinese. If you put it nicely, it was a combination of East and West, but if you put it badly, it was incongruous. On the other hand, Chen Shao's suit, leather shoes, and tie made him stand out from the crowd.

  Chen Shao wandered aimlessly without a purpose and unknowingly walked to the front of a large gate. The horizontal banner on the gate read: South China Medical University, five big words. Chen Shao was familiar with South China Medical University, which had evolved into Zhongshan Hospital in every city in later generations. (Hmm, at least that's what the author thought.)

  Nanfang Medical School was expanded into South China Medical College in 1904. After the Xinhai Revolution, it was suspended and only irregular nursing classes were held to train nurses. In early 1930, according to the requirements of the American church, it was transferred to Lingnan University for management. In 1934, the board of directors of Lingnan University established Sun Yat-sen Memorial Medical College in memory of Mr. Sun Yat-sen. In July 1936, Boji Hospital and other schools merged with Xia Ge Medical College to form Sun Yat-sen Memorial College, which also served as the medical college of Lingnan University. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, it belonged to South China Medical College. In 1954, Guanghua Medical College was merged into it. In September 1956, it was renamed Guangzhou Medical College. In 1957, it was renamed Zhongshan Medical College, and Boji Hospital became the second affiliated hospital of Zhongshan Medical College. In 1985, it was renamed the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhongshan Medical University. On November 21 of the same year, with the approval of the Ministry of Health, it was renamed Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital of Zhongshan Medical University.

  In front of the medical school, Chen Shao let Wang Xiaoshan wait here, and he walked in directly. Strangely, no one came to stop him. Inside the medical school, it was probably still class time, and the entire campus was eerily quiet. The lush green tree-lined path, with the distant sound of cicadas chirping clearly, gave Chen Shao a feeling of being at home here. The elegant and natural environment made people's hearts completely relaxed, and Chen Shao hadn't felt this way for a long time. Since coming to this world, he had been busy non-stop, and one person was not enough to split into two to use, with no time to relax at all.

  There was a bamboo chair with a backrest on the edge of the shaded path, Chen Shao walked over and sat down, leaning against the chair to relax completely, the gentle breeze made Chen Shao's eyes close unknowingly.

  After school at noon, Xie Yuxin ordered a lunch and walked back to her bamboo chair placed on the shaded path. She ate there every day at noon and read a book. However, today was different. From afar, she saw someone sitting in her chair, which everyone knew belonged to her, and people usually wouldn't sit there randomly. But when she got closer, she realized it was a stranger, not a student from the academy, and students from the academy wouldn't wear suits on campus either. She initially wanted to wake him up, but the young man on the chair let out a soft snore, indicating that he was asleep. Xie Yuxin didn't want to disturb him, so she put her book on the ground and prepared to sit down temporarily. However, before she could do so, Chen Shao suddenly woke up, his year of military training giving him an alertness that ordinary people lacked.

  When he felt someone beside him, he jumped up directly and looked at the comer with vigilance. However, when he saw that the person beside him was just a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl, his vigilant heart was put down, but his astonished heart was raised instead. Because the girl in front of him was a very beautiful woman, even Chen Shao, who had browsed countless beauty photos on the internet in the future, thought that no one could be as beautiful as this female student in front of him.

  A tailored beige dress that fits her body, a slender figure slightly taller than her peers, a small melon seed face, hair tied with a small bow, a calm and serene face, without makeup but with a lively spirit, sparkling like water, as if untouched by dust.

  Especially those eyes, bright and clear, without the slightest hint of worldly cunning and cleverness, but a kind of gentle and light, sparkling and full of spirit.

  It's hard to imagine that in the original impression of this era, a 17 or 18-year-old Republican girl should have had short hair and ears, wearing a short jacket with rolled edges on top and a long skirt below her knees, always holding a beloved book in her hand.

  But the girl in front of him was wearing an outfit that was extremely unconventional for this era, with a stunningly beautiful angelic face, and a calm demeanor like still water, completely overturning Chen Shao's impression of girls from the Republic of China era.

  When Chen Shao jumped up, Xie Yu Xin was also startled by Chen Shao's movement, and the lunch box in her hand almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, she grabbed it in time, otherwise her lunch would have been ruined. However, seeing the handsome man in front of her staring at herself with a stern expression, sharp features, and a strong jawline, made her feel a little nervous. But Xie Yu Xin didn't feel annoyed or unhappy about the man staring at her, perhaps it was his boldness that made her curious, and she found herself secretly glancing at him with her head down.

  After a moment, Chen Shaocai came back to his senses and realized that staring at someone like this was very impolite. He then noticed the book on the ground, walked over to pick it up, and placed it in front of her, saying: "Sorry about that, I didn't mean to scare you just now. It was just a conditioned reflex, a normal reaction. Don't mind it too much. Is this your book?"

  "Ah, never mind, it's my book." Perhaps a bit tense, Xie Yu Xin's voice trembled slightly as he spoke, but he still took the book and held it to his chest. Maybe even he himself didn't realize it, but his grip on the book was too tight, his fingers turning pale white. Maybe out of shyness, he lowered his head, a flush rising to his face.

  "Hey, don't be nervous, I'm not a bad person." Chen Shao thought the other party was nervous about what kind of rascal he was and hastily explained.

  But it's unclear whether Xie Yuxin didn't hear or was too embarrassed to respond, she didn't make a sound.

  "Look at the lunchbox in your hand, is it noon now?" Chen Shao felt a bit awkward and leaned in again.

  "Ah!" A soft voice escaped from her mouth, but it was only a single word.

  "Are you a student of this college?" This question is a bit stupid.

  "Ah!"; still one word

  "Are you studying nursing?" This is Chen Shao's guess when he picked up the book and saw the title.

  "Ah!"; Another character

  "My name is Chen Shao, I'm an overseas Chinese who has returned to China. What's your name and where are you from?"

  The other person kept spitting out one word at a time, Chen Shao didn't know what he wanted to say, so he decided to give a self-introduction instead.

  "Thanks, Yuexin!" This time it was much better, just three words. However, the 17 or 18-year-old Yuexin looked a bit shy, only reporting her name, slightly biting her red lips, and not saying anything else.

  At this time Chen Shao was completely speechless, just as he was about to bid farewell to the shy little woman in front of him, he saw Wang Xiaoshan running from a distance.

  Wang Xiaoshan waited outside for a long time alone. At noon, some students came out from inside, but he didn't see his team leader come out. Just then, a security guard ran over to say that Mr. Cai and Mr. Jiang were waiting for them at the hotel to have lunch together. Wang Xiaoshan's heart was getting anxious, so he directly ran into the campus and fortunately soon saw Chen Shao.

  Wang Xiaoshan ran to Chen Shao's side and ignored the girl next to him, opening his mouth directly: "Captain, I think you haven't gone out for a long time, and I thought something had happened to you. Now it's almost lunchtime, shall we go back? Mr. Cai and Mr. Jiang are still waiting for you at the inn to have lunch together."

  Xie Yuxin heard someone else's voice and only then realized that a tall man had appeared beside her at some point. Moreover, the man was calling the young person in front of her "Team Leader". Xie Yuxin's curiosity grew even stronger - what kind of Team Leader was this? Could it be that this young person was a soldier? But to already be a Team Leader at such a young age, how impressive!

  "You go out and wait for me for a moment, I'll be right back"

  Wang Xiaoshan heard Chen Shao's words and immediately turned around and left.

  "Sorry, I still have something to attend to, I'll come visit you again if I have the chance." Chen Shao said as he walked towards the college entrance. He had only taken less than ten meters when he heard...

  "I, I..."

  Looking back, Xie Yuxin's pure and elegant face was slightly red, standing there with her head slightly lowered, her left hand grasping the book, and her right hand holding the lunchbox hidden behind her.

  "Thank you, Yu Xin?" Chen Shao turned around and walked a few steps, stopping three steps away from her.

  "What did you want to say?" The sunlight at noon shone through the leaves onto his eyebrows, and his entire face looked even more handsome.

  Xie Yuxin slightly avoided the sunlight and looked at this handsome man. She seemed to have made a big decision, raised her head, and a beautiful, pure face made Chen Shao's heart tremble. "I want to ask, are you a soldier?"

  "Hmm!"

  Chen Shao was pretending to be calm, but his heart kept thinking about taking a look at the 17 or 18-year-old little girl next to him. A 1916 girl was still a bit precocious compared to her own era. And on her body, there was something very special that always subtly attracted herself, perhaps it was the refreshing scent of lotus like a gentle breeze.

  "So where are you serving in the army now?" Xie Yuxin was still a bit nervous, but when she asked this question, it seemed like she had put down a big stone in her heart, making her feel much more relaxed, and not as awkward as before.

  "Alright then, when you graduate, I'll come pick you up and take you to where I am, and by that time, you'll know where I'm serving my military duty."

  "Ah, okay, then if I want to write a letter to you, where should I send it?" When Xie Yu Xin asked this question, she even startled herself, wondering when she had become so bold. Her face, which had already recovered somewhat, turned an even deeper red, and her head hung down almost to her chest.

  "When the time comes, you can just give her the letter... I'll also write a letter to you, so I'll go first, bye bye"; Looking at the ostrich-like girl in front of him, Chen Shao suppressed a fluttering heart, it's not the time for romantic feelings yet.

  "Ah! Bye bye!"

  Xie Yuxin stood under the tree shade, watching the man in front of her slowly walk away into the distance, his back to her, and she was lost in thought.