Feng Ling didnât understand what Mrs. Feng meant. She raised her head and looked at her seriously. âWhat do you want to ask, Mrs. Feng?â
âAre you really a... boy?â Mrs. Feng probably thought that her question was indeed too abrupt and didnât respect him very much, so she said somewhat apologetically and euphemistically. âPlease donât take me wrong. Itâs just because youâre so pretty that I...â
Feng Ling didnât change her expression and her eyes were calm. âYou donât have to feel sorry. I am often mistaken as a girl by the people of the base. Thatâs probably because I am indeed much smaller than my peers. It is common for people to have doubts about this.â
Mrs. Feng froze for a moment. âSo you mean ...â
âI am a man.â Feng Ling answered without hesitation.
Mrs. Feng looked at her, unable to utter a word but she wasnât satisfied with this answer, so she could only look at her. âYou ...â
âMrs. Feng, just now Miss Qin said youâre not feeling well. I have nothing to entertain you in this ward. When Miss Qin returns, let her take you home for a rest. I am still recuperating and also need to rest.â Feng Ling didnât want to say too much and simply showed Mrs. Feng the door.
At her age, Qin Qiu was sophisticated enough to sense the indifferent and wary attitude of this boy to her and know that he was asking her to leave.
She thought that perhaps her question was too abrupt, so she smiled at Feng Ling apologetically. âSorry.â
Feng Ling just looked at her indifferently, not laughing or frowning. âPlease greet Granny. We donât belong to the same world but are only strangers passing by each other. I think we may never see each other again.â
âActually, my mother likes you very much. If you want, you can visit her often. My mother has no children at home. You said that you are an orphan? Maybe she can adopt you as her...â
âMrs. Feng, thank you for your kindness. I am used to being alone.â Feng Ling interrupted her again.
Qin Qiu had to shut up awkwardly and sat on the sofa waiting for Qin Shuke to return.
During this period, Feng Ling received a call from the base. Tam asked her what she needed in the hospital and said he could help her buy them and bring them over after the training in the afternoon. Feng Ling said she didnât need anything and hung up the phone after briefly chatting with him about what was going on in the base in the last few days.
Then neither of them said anything. Only when their eyes met, Mrs. Qin smiled faintly at her. Feng Ling still looked at her deadpan and then withdrew her gaze. She picked up the brochure about the base that Xiao Xu brought her a few days ago and sat on the bed to read it casually to kill time.
Qin Shuke didnât know where to buy fruit and didnât come back after twenty minutes.
Qin Qiu had just taken the meditation given to her by the doctor. After sitting on the sofa for a while, she leaned on the sofa, closed her eyes with her chin in a hand, and unconsciously fell asleep.
In her dream, the endless dark sea relentlessly swallows the crying baby girl wrapped in swaddling clothes, and, in an instant, the child disappears on the sea. The rolling waves roared like wild beasts. Although she cried on her knees like crazy on the wet deck, the baby still disappeared in the huge waves.
Feng Ling didnât like a stranger staying in her place that would make her feel uncomfortable. She was used to being alone from childhood. She found Mrs. Fengâs existence in the ward hard to endure, although she knew that she bore her no malice and was just waiting for Qin Shuke to come back, but she still turned to look at Mrs. Qin who was sleeping on the sofa and suddenly sweating profusely.
Wondering if Mrs. Qin was unwell or had anything wrong, Feng Ling looked at her for a while, put down the brochure in her hand, lifted the quilt on the bed, and got out of bed. When she walked over, she saw that Mrs. Feng was asleep with her hands grabbing tightly on the scarf on her shoulders that looked a little old. Looking at the scarf, for some reason, Feng Ling wanted to touch it, but her reason stopped her from doing that. She just put her hand gently on Mrs. Fengâs forehead.
âMy baby...â Mrs. Feng opened her eyes at the moment when Feng Lingâs hand touched her, and looked in panic at a certain spot in the room with her eyes losing focus. She stared at that spot for quite a while before her eyes slowly returned to focus. And when she saw the person standing in front of her, she looked at Feng Lingâs face in a trance.
âMrs. Feng, are you having a nightmare?â Feng Ling asked indifferently, moving her hand away from her forehead.
Qin Qiu looked at her for a while before she seemed to come back from her dream, and she gradually calmed down. âYeah, itâs a nightmare. Iâve been having the same nightmare over and over again over the years. I didnât expect to fall asleep by sitting here. Iâm sorry for disturbing you.â
âItâs OK.â Feng Ling said and glanced at the scarf on her shoulder again. âAlthough it is a little cold this season, there is no wind. Isnât it hot for you to have been wearing a scarf all the time in the room?â
What she wanted to say was that she saw Mrs. Feng wearing this scarf the last time she met her and this time she saw her wearing it again. Although the scarf was already very old, she knew she shouldnât say it because it was not polite, so Feng Ling didnât say it.
Qin Qiu smiled and touched the scarf on her shoulder. âThis scarf is my second daughterâs favorite. The wind was strong in the fall of the year when she was born. Every time I took her out, I would put this scarf over her face gently so as to prevent sand from entering into her eyes. Then I found that every time she cried, if I just put this scarf over her face, she would laugh, and later...â
Qin Qiu paused, stopped reminiscing about the past and only said with a smile, âLater I used to keep this scarf with me. In fact, this scarf was red before, but after so many years, it was washed far too many times and its color turned yellowish. Do you think this scarf is very old and ugly? â
âNo, everyone has something to cherish. This scarf has been with you for so many years. It can be seen that you must love your second daughter very much.â With that, Feng Ling didnât continue to speak. She was ready to go back to her bed after making sure Mrs. Feng was all right.
âFeng Ling.â Mrs. Feng suddenly called her.
Feng Ling looked back at her.
When their eyes met, Mrs. Feng couldnât help clenching the scarf on her shoulders and looked at her with complicated emotion. âNothing. I just had something to ask you but suddenly forgot it.â
Feng Ling looked at her suspiciously. It wasnât until the door of the ward suddenly opened that she retracted her gaze and turned to look at the door.