Waiting for You in a City

Chapter 1

At 4 o'clock in the morning, tranquillity resumed in the emergency hall once again.

Xu Qin, in a white coat, walked through the hall with her hands in her pockets.

The cleaner took the mop, dipped it in disinfectant, and forcefully mopped the bloodstain on the floor.

Xu Qin was absentminded and only came to when she reached the cleaner's side. The cleaner couldn't avoid her in time, and the mop pushed the blood slop over, covering Xu Qin's shoes.

The cleaner hurriedly apologized: "I'm sorry, Doctor Xu, I'm sorry." Right after that, the cleaner subconsciously rubbed her hands with the cleaning rag.

Xu Qin quickly pulled out her hand and stopped the cleaner from squatting down: "You don't need to, it's okay."

"But..."

Xu Qin gently interrupted: "It was my carelessness that inconvenienced you."

Hearing this, the cleaner became increasingly embarrassed: "No such thing. Why don't, I think I'd better help you wipe it off."

Xu Qin stopped her once again, and smiled very slightly, "I can take care of it myself."

The cleaner felt guilty as well as grateful, "Doctor Xu, you're a good person."

Xu Qin continued walking forward.

The cleaner grasped the mop tightly and stared at Xu Qin's back – a slender and tall figure, the white coat further added a hint of quietness and exquisiteness, her hair cinched together over the shoulders with a rubber band, a few tendrils sprang loose on both sides.

The cleaner hesitated for a moment, and lightly called out, "Doctor Xu!"

The spacious and empty hall echoed.

Xu Qin's footsteps halted and turned around: "Yes?"

"The person that was sent here just now, was he saved?", the little cleaner asked, subconsciously glancing at the bloodstains under her feet.

At this moment, the emergency hall was deadly calm, you could hear a needle drop, who would have imagined the weeping and hubbub not too long ago, a ball of chaos and disorder.

(fēng píng làng jìng lit. breeze is still, waves are quiet (idiom); tranquil environment / all is quiet / a dead calm (at sea))

Xu Qin said, "Managed to save."

The biggest smile broke out on the cleaner's face. "That's awesome. Doctor Xu," she bowed towards Xu Qin, "you've worked hard."

Xu Qin nodded slightly in response, and turned to leave.

Four o'clock, it's the darkest hour of the night.

The deathly pale lights shone down the hospital corridor, the distinctive flavor of life and death filled the air, bitterness, impossible to get rid of.

Xu Qin put her hands back into her pockets as usual, passed through the corridor where there's not a soul in sight, entered her office, and stood still. She lowered her head and fixed her eyes at the dirty shoes on her feet, a hint of distaste in her eyes. She frowned, and felt extremely disgusted. The blood slop seemed to be able to seep through the surface of the shoe, oozing through the instep and entering the body.

(T/N: kōng wú yī rén – not a soul in sight (idiom))

Xu Qin quickly sat down on the chair, took off her shoes and threw them into the rubbish bin. The socks were clean, yet she paid no attention to the familiar sight but yanked them off and threw them away as well. She also opened the drawer, pulled out the wet wipes, and vigorously wiped her instep. The skin was rubbed until it became red then right before the skin peeled, she stopped.