Waiting for You in a City

Today’s weather was excellent, and the sky above Di City was a sea of blue.

The marble-white Ministry of Public Security building was square and magnificent.

The winter sun shone, the public plaza was flat, the roads were wide, and the building was reflected in the blue sky, making it even more solemn.

Song Yan entered the building, quickly found the office of the Seventh Bureau, and saw a police badge composed of dark blue, red, and silver hanging on the wall——

There were several Chinese characters written on the dark blue shield: “China Public Security Fire Fighting”; a shield-shaped red national flag in the center, and three iconic firefighting tools on top: a water gun, a safety hammer, and a ladder; underneath the silver Great Wall and an olive branch holding the shield, with three English words written.

The corridors were well-lit, and the hallways were clean. The building was built in a very upright manner.

Song Yan quickly found Director Chen’s office according to the location indicated on his phone. Just as he was about to knock on the door, he saw a few people inside sitting around with notebooks, as if they were in a meeting.

Song Yan stepped aside, stood by the wall and waited for a while.

After a few minutes, the people inside came out.

Song Yan knocked on the door, Director Chen looked up, smiled and waved: “Come in come in.”

The office had a common standard configuration, with office desks and chairs, sofa, coffee table, bookcase and water dispenser.

The unique feature was that there were many green plants, and everywhere he looked was green, which was very comfortable to look at in the winter.

There were several paintings on the wall, ink landscapes.

Song Yan sat down and took the tea poured by Director Chen. He was not ill at ease at all, let alone nervous.

Director Chen glanced at him with admiration, sat down, and said: “What do you think about that thing I talked to you about? It’s okay if you haven’t finished thinking it through, let’s talk face to face today, about what you’re thinking.”

Song Yan put the teacup in his hand on the coffee table and said: “I came here today because I wanted to talk face to face more seriously. I would like to thank Director Chen for your appreciation.”

His tone was sincere, and he expressed his gratitude simply, but to the point, without repeated pretentiousness, nor was he flattering or condescending.

Director Chen nodded with a smile, vaguely aware that he had other intentions.

Song Yan said: “It’s a really good opportunity to be transferred to work in the Seventh Bureau. To be honest, my own goal for my career is also to enter the Seventh Bureau.”

This time, Director Chen could clearly hear that there was a turning point in his next comment, and waited for him to speak.

“But compared to post-event inspection and management, what I really want to do is early prevention and mid-term operation.” Song Yan said with a serious expression, “My personal interest and expertise in fire protection lie in the technical standards, whether it is the technical standards for building fire prevention, or the technical standards for firefighters’ daily training and actual rescue operations. These areas are what I am best at, and what I want to fully develop in my career goals.”

He saw himself clearly, had clear goals, and was not distracted by short-term gains. These words came out naturally and clear, neither humble nor overbearing.

Director Chen accepted wholeheartedly that he had been rejected, and said with a smile: “Turns out that you don’t want to work under me. If you are willing, I can talk to the office next door and find a suitable position for you.”

Song Yan couldn’t help laughing, and said: “Thank you Director Chen. However, I think it’s better to train down there for a few years. It’s closer to the scene of the fires down there, more intuitive, easier to operate, and quicker to respond. I have been in the squadron for so many years. Although I am rich in experience, I have no working experience in the brigade, and the big picture needs to be fostered. I want to go step by step, although it will be slow, but as the old saying goes, only when you walk steadily can you walk far.”

When he talked about this, Director Chen stopped trying to persuade him, he admired him even more, and asked: “I heard from your instructor that you are going to be promoted to the brigade.”

“Right.”

“Alright. Keep your feet on the ground.” Director Chen kept nodding his head. He always judged people accurately and lamented that this kid would be limitless in the future, saying: “Then I’ll wait for you to come to the Seventh Bureau in two or three years.”

Song Yan smiled frankly: “Okay.”

Song Yan left after a brief visit, entered the elevator, and was about to go down, when someone shouted outside: “Wait a minute!”

He pressed the button.

“Thank you.”

Jiang Yu strode in.

The two looked at each other, their gazes were steady, they were both calm, and they quickly looked away.

The elevator door closed and slowly descended.

Jiang Yu came over and pressed the basement floor.

The eyebrows and eyes of the two were reflected on the elevator wall, they were so similar.

The two stood there, neither looking at the other.

It was quiet inside the car, and the air flow became sluggish.

Until the sound of “ding”, they had arrived at the first floor.

The door opened slowly, and Song Yan got out of the elevator without looking back.

Jiang Yu glanced out silently, only to see the door closing slowly.

……

After Xu Qin recovered from the injury to her wrist, she went back to work in the hospital.

The professional title of attending doctor has been assessed, and the rotation work in the emergency department was coming to an end. After the Spring Festival holiday, she would be able to return to the outpatient clinic.

It was just that Chinese New Year was late this year, and she had to wait until mid-February.

When she was changing into her white coat, she remembered that she had to take off her ring, looked at the ring on her hand, feeling a little bit reluctant.

Speaking of that, this ring seemed to have magical powers.

After Song Yan proposed, she felt like someone who had been wandering for a long time finally had a home. She felt very happy everyday.

Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but sigh, there were so many jobs in the world, why did she choose one that always had to take off the ring?

But after thinking about it, wearing it once a day and reminding her once a day, don’t get used to it and don’t forget it, it wasn’t bad.

Just as she was about to take the ring off, Xiao Bei exclaimed: “Doctor Xu, are you getting married?”

A group of doctors and nurses looked over.

Xu Qin: “……”

“Oh, let me see the ring!” Xiao Xi skipped over and took her hand.

“Isn’t this the classic model of the XXX jewelry house? The diamond is so big?” Several female doctors were also shocked, “It’s very expensive, are you marrying a rich man?”

Xiao Bei hit back: “Doctor Xu’s family already has money, so it’s not an exaggeration to give such a big ring.”

Xu Qin looked at her hand that was held by everyone, and wanted to pull it back, but she couldn’t: “……”

“Do you have a photo of your fiancé? I want to see it.” Xiao Nan was curious about who had captured Doctor Xu’s heart.

“You guys have met before.” Xu Qin said, “Captain Song Yan of Shi Li Tai Fire Squadron.”

“Ah???” Everyone almost dropped their jaws, “When did you get together?”

“It’s been a long time.” Xu Qin pulled her hand back, thinking about washing her hands.

“The secrecy was maintained very well.” Xiao Dong sighed, and glanced at Xu Qin’s ring, “Buying such a big diamond, it seems that you will definitely not get divorced, otherwise he’ll be too at a loss.”

Doctor Zhang pushed her: “How can you talk like that?”

Xiao Dong stuck out her tongue, but Xu Qin didn’t mind.

Xiao Bei had doubts, and after pondering for a long time, she finally asked: “Doctor Xu, did your fiancé ask your opinion when buying the ring?”

Xu Qin: “No.”

Everyone exchanged glances, thinking she asked for it, and then asked: “Would you be reluctant for him to spend so much money?”

Xu Qin: “No.”

Everyone: “……”

Xu Qin didn’t quite understand why she should be reluctant.

She enjoyed it with peace of mind.

He said that he wanted to spoil her to death in this lifetime, so she should just be spoiled obediently with peace of mind.

On Saturday, Song Yan was not able to have a day off again.

There were soldiers in the team who were about to be discharged, and there would be a discharge ceremony that day.

But the night before, Song Yan called Xu Qin and asked her to go to the discharge ceremony the next day, and visit the fire brigade in the morning.

Xu Qin was quite surprised: “Can I go in to visit?”

Song Yan laughed: “You are a family member, so you can’t even have such benefits?”

This made her almost roll on the bed with joy.

Xu Qin got up at six o’clock the next day, thinking that she was going to meet his soldiers, so she had to dress up somewhat. After much deliberation, she picked a white sweater to match with a long gray skirt, and put on an apricot windbreaker over it. Her hair was washed and blown, and let loose smoothly. She also deliberately put on the lipstick that Song Yan gave her.

At two minutes to seven, she arrived at the door of the Shi Li Tai Fire Brigade, with great expectations in mind.

The soldier on guard glanced at her and looked away.

Xu Qin stood on the spot and slowly tiptoed, looking inside from time to time. Thinking of the last time she came here, she had listened to music in the bar, and came to him impulsively, but in vain.

It was summer at that time, and the trees on this street were lush, but she was so suffocated and desolated that she panicked.

And now,

The trees were withered and the streets were depressed , but her mood was as clear as the blue sky on the dead branches.

She stood at the sentry box for a while, when she saw Song Yan in military uniform, running from far away from the direction of the field to pick her up.

She couldn’t help laughing, she really felt like she was visiting a family member.

Song Yan saw her bright smiling face several meters away, and couldn’t help but take a deep breath.

He had to admit that he really missed her so much that he panicked.

She said on the phone that day: “It’s okay, I’ll just wait for you to come back.”

She didn’t know that on the other end, his heart softened into cotton, his eyes were red, it wasn’t that he was worthless, it was because he finally understood the feeling of home at that moment. It was just that there was a person, waiting for you.

He ran up to her in a few strides, and seeing her carefully dressed appearance, he couldn’t help smiling and said: “You look pretty.”

Xu Qin still didn’t admit it, and said: “It’s the same as usual.”

“It looks just as good.” He said, took her hand again, and asked, “How long have you been waiting? Are you cold?”

She glanced at the sentinel standing guard, moved his hand away, and whispered: “You are the captain, pay attention to your image.”

He just laughed and led her into the camp, turning to look at her from time to time.

It had only been a few days since they last saw each other, but it felt more like a few years.

She couldn’t stop smiling when he looked at her, and said angrily: “Why do you keep looking at me?”

He said: “The lipstick color is different from last time.”

“It’s the one you gave me.” She rolled her eyes and said, “If you want, I can pay you back some.”

“How?” he asked.

She smiled: “How do you think?”

Song Yan looked around, there was no one on the field, he lowered his head and quickly kissed her on the mouth, and asked, “Like this?”

Xu Qin giggled, couldn’t help but grab his hand hard, and let it go quickly.

After entering the camp, she still knew propriety, and walked beside him, very close to him, but she didn’t stick to him.

The grass on the playground was withered and yellow, and under their footsteps felt soft, with some roughness.

Xu Qin looked around, the huge place was empty.

The sky was high and the grass was yellow, there was only the two of them.

She asked: “Do you usually train here?”

“En. We’re always training when we’re not on duty.”

“What kind of training do you practice?”

“Physical training is the foundation. Things like climbing over walls and stairs are skills. In addition to these two categories, you also need to take social courses, learn physics and chemistry, they are all related to firefighting.” He answered her question very patiently, “In addition, you have to learn how to operate the rescue tools.”

She listened carefully, nodding from time to time, lamenting that they had so much to do.

As Song Yan spoke, he glanced at her, the north wind was blowing on her hair, slicing tendrils across her face.

He raised his hand to hook the hair on her face and pinned it behind her ear, and said: “When we have time later, I’ll take you to have a look.”

“Okay,” she said.

Almost at the dormitory building, Song Yan stopped for a while, rubbed her head, and said: “I’ll take you to meet the guys, don’t be nervous.”

“En.” Xu Qin followed behind him, thought about it, and fixed her hair.

Walking into a dormitory, a large group of young men were gathered inside, all in formal military uniforms, and four of them wore red flowers on their chests. They were the main protagonists who were to be discharged from the army today.

Seeing Song Yan walk in, the soldiers shouted in unison: “Captain Song!”

Song Yan nodded, and looked back, Xu Qin was standing by the door with her lips pursed, neither advancing nor retreating, her eyes seemed to have nowhere to rest.

The small space was crowded with men, and there was almost no open space, like a men’s den.

Song Yan smiled, and said to Jiang Yi and the other four: “You are leaving the army, I don’t know when we will see you again.” Speaking of this, his voice was a little low, and the dormitory was quiet for a second, but he laughed again, “So, I brought your sister-in-law over to show you today.”

“Oh!—” A group of big men jeered, slapping the bed, knocking on the table, stomping the ground, with great momentum, looking at the slender figure at the door.

Song Yan turned his head and looked at Xu Qin: “Come here.”

Xu Qin glanced at the crowded men in the room, her cheeks were flushed, her eyes were smiling, and she slowly stepped forward.

“Come here—” Song Yan said softly, and took a big step forward to hold her hand.

Just as the man’s rough and wide palm touched the woman’s petite white hand, in an instant, the dormitory was full of jeers again: “Oh!!!——”

The roof was going to be overturned.

All the young men stared with bright eyes.

Xu Qin leaned against Song Yan with a blushing face, pursed her lips and looked at everyone smiling, her eyes crooked.

Song Yan asked: “Is your sister-in-law pretty?”

“She’s pretty!” They were all soldiers, their voices were loud and high-pitched, like they were singing.

Song Yan: “Not going to call her?”

As soon as his voice fell, the soldiers sitting on the tables, chairs, and beds all jumped down and stood up straight, saluting the army in unison:

“Nice to meet sister-in-law!!!”

Xu Qin was overwhelmed by flattery, looking at the young and resolute faces in front of her, she was grateful but also apprehensive, not knowing how to respond with words, so she quickly raised her hand to beckon them, like a beckoning cat.