Jiang Fuyue and the other two went inside.
They then saw X wearing protective clothing and a protective mask, counting supplies together with several medical staff from the vaccination site.
Catching sight of them from the corner of his eye, the man stopped talking and had the medical staff leave.
“Back?” The low voice carried a hoarse texture.
Jiang Fuyue couldn’t help but have her ear twitch, this was the first time she had heard him speak since staying in F Continent for so long.
“Mm, we’re back.” Meeting his gaze, Jiang Fuyue not only didn’t avoid it, but also carried a bit of probing and scrutiny.
Under the protective mask, the man was no longer wearing that silver mask.
More of the area around his eyes was exposed, faintly revealing a sense of familiarity……
Jiang Fuyue frowned, her gaze thoughtful.
In the end, the man took the initiative to avert his eyes, refusing to meet her gaze.
The expression on Jiang Fuyue’s face became even more subtle.
“Where did the three of you go?”
Jiang Fuyue answered honestly: “Maria Hospital.”
The other party was silent for a long time before speaking again: “……Pay attention to protection.”
After saying that, he turned and left.
Zhong Ziang and Yici didn’t speak the whole time, only sizing him up with curious looks.
Not until the man left and his back disappeared from their field of vision did they reluctantly withdraw their gazes.
“Dr. X?” Lin Shumo’s number one idol?
Zhong Ziang rubbed his chin, no three heads and six arms after all.
Yici: “Did he come over with us? How come we didn’t see him on the way?”
……
That night, Jiang Fuyue was arranged to stay in a temporarily built prefabricated room behind the vaccination site.
A room of seven or eight square meters, with a bed, a set of table and chairs, and a desk lamp.
There was no bathroom and no running water. If needed, ten meters away there was a public toilet and a well.
Before coming, Jiang Fuyue had already anticipated that the environment wouldn’t be very good; however, the actual situation was even worse than she had imagined.
But in extraordinary times, she had no complaints at all.
Before sleeping, she fetched a basin of water to wipe down the bed and table and chairs, then opened the door to ventilate. Only after everything dried did she lie down.
Early the next morning, she woke up again before six.
Jiang Fuyue got up, got dressed neatly, took a basin and towel, and went out to wash up.
Beside the well there was a temporarily built grass shed. Just as she hauled the bucket up, she heard a burst of movement coming from inside the shed.
Jiang Fuyue frowned, lightened her steps, and walked over. The next second, she couldn’t help but suck in a cold breath.
What met her eyes was the man’s bare back, his skin was very fair, yet not frail at all; on the contrary, his muscles were well-proportioned, his lines clearly defined.
He must have just rinsed with water; droplets clung to his back, crystal-clear as they rolled down.
Sunlight slanted in, illuminating everything more clearly and vividly, as if even the pores were infinitely magnified.
A layer of golden light enveloped his entire body.
Suddenly, the man seemed to sense something and abruptly turned around. His solid chest crashed into Jiang Fuyue’s vision without warning, and she froze.
Their eyes met. The man was wearing a silver mask, his gaze sharp.
Jiang Fuyue came back to her senses and immediately turned her head away, then took two steps back. “Sorry, I didn’t know you were inside.”
After saying that, she strode away.
Xie Dingyuan watched her back as she tried hard to stay calm yet couldn’t hide her fluster. Beneath the mask, the corner of his mouth silently lifted.
After that, he grabbed a towel, wiped the water off his body in a few quick motions, then put on his shirt and chased after her.
Jiang Fuyue returned to the well, picked up the basin and towel, and walked briskly toward her room.
But after only a couple of steps, a series of footsteps came from behind.
She turned her head, sure enough, it was X.
When she stopped, Xie Dingyuan also stopped. There was a distance of five meters between them.
“I already apologized,” Jiang Fuyue said.
“Mm.” He nodded. “I heard it.”
Then why did you still catch up?
“Is there something else?”
The man shook his head.
Jiang Fuyue looked baffled, turned around, and continued forward, quickening her pace.
Who knew the person behind would continue following.
She sped up, he sped up; she slowed down, he slowed down with her.
Only when she stopped in front of her room did Jiang Fuyue turn around and let out a cold laugh. “How long are you planning to follow me?”
A trace of astonishment seemed to flash through the man’s eyes; then it was as if he understood something. He didn’t reply, but instead walked straight past her and pushed open the door of the room next door.
Jiang Fuyue: “?”
So he wasn’t tailing her, nor stalking her, but rather…… just taking the same route?
Awkwardness fermented in the air.
But who was Jiang Fuyue? Even if her toes could dig out a three-bedroom apartment, her face could still remain calm and composed.
She calmly said sorry to the man, then calmly went inside and turned to close the door.
Everything was very proper.
If it weren’t for the fact that once inside she immediately pressed her back against the door and covered her face with both hands, it might have been even more perfect.
Meanwhile, Xie Dingyuan stood where he was, eyes smiling, the corners of his eyes lifting. His overflowing delight looked like it would spill out the very next second.
Ah! What to do when your girlfriend is too cute?
Want to kiss~
……
After Jiang Fuyue finished breakfast, Zhong Ziang and Yici were already sitting in the car waiting for her.
The three headed to Maria Hospital once again.
On the vaccination-site side, under Dr. X’s direction, people had already begun lining up to receive vaccinations.
After arriving, Jiang Fuyue first greeted Dr. Wang, the head of the medical team, told him the news that there was a new vaccine at the vaccination site, and then, as usual, entered the intensive care area.
Three hours later, all the remaining patients had finished sample collection.
Jiang Fuyue boxed up the sterile culture tubes with labels affixed, then returned to the vaccination site and stored them collectively in the cold storage, just like she had handled yesterday’s batch of samples.
In the afternoon, she found X. “Other than Maria Hospital, are there any other large areas where severe patients are concentrated?”
“What do you want to do?”
“Sampling.”
“Suma Hospital, Edesto Clinic.”
“Thank you.”
After leaving, Jiang Fuyue didn’t delay and immediately went to the two places the man mentioned.
But upon arriving, Jiang Fuyue was disappointed.
Suma Hospital mostly admitted mild cases, while Edesto Clinic was too small in scale, with very limited capacity for patients.
Neither place met Jiang Fuyue’s requirements of being “large-scale” and “concentrated with severe patients.”
Why did X lie to her?
Could it be just because she saw him naked this morning?
So he gave false information to make her run around for nothing?
But deep down, Jiang Fuyue felt that given this person’s status and breadth of mind, his tolerance shouldn’t be so narrow.
With such doubts in mind, Jiang Fuyue only did simple sampling at the two places before having Zhong Ziang drive back to the vaccination site.
At dusk, a lone plume of smoke in the desert, the long river under the setting sun.
The afterglow of the sunset spilled over the golden desert, stretching endlessly, carrying a unique sense of grandeur and tranquility.
The car stopped outside the vaccination site. The long line for vaccinations had dwindled to very few, and the medical staff were still busy.
Jiang Fuyue passed through the vaccination isolation area at the front, lifted the curtain, and went straight into the rest room at the back.
X was indeed here, but he was unbuttoning, preparing to change clothes.
Seeing someone naked twice in one day, absolutely outrageous.
Jiang Fuyue was a bit dazed; the man was also stunned.
The next second, the former turned her head away, and the latter turned around as well, quickly putting on his shirt and fastening the buttons.
“All done. Did you need something from me?” The man’s low voice came through.
Jiang Fuyue turned her head back. Her gaze inadvertently swept over the topmost button on the man’s shirt, and she couldn’t help raising an eyebrow.
He’s also used to buttoning all the way up to the last one?
The thought flashed by, and the next second she remembered the matter at hand. Her gaze suddenly turned cold. “Why did you trick me?”
He didn’t speak.
“Suma Hospital and Edesto Clinic don’t meet the requirements at all. You did it on purpose? Made me run around for nothing.”
But the man said, “Those are the only two places I know.”
Jiang Fuyue’s brows tightened sharply. “Are you sure?”
“Sure.” The silver mask reflected a cold metallic texture.
Jiang Fuyue laughed in anger. “You’re really something!”
With that, she turned and left.
If at that moment she could have turned back and taken a look, even just one glance, she would have discovered that the expression in the man’s eyes was incomparably complex……
Since X had given her false information, it was likely he didn’t want her to know the correct location. Jiang Fuyue simply bypassed the people under him.
After night fell, she directly found the local medical staff who had originally worked here. “Do you know where the severe patients are being placed?”
“Generally, they’re sent to Maria Hospital.”
“Other than that? Is there anywhere else?”
“As for hospitals…… there’s also Suma and Edesto, but neither has as many patients as Maria.”
“No more?”
The nurse shook her head. “No more. Locally, we only have these three hospitals.”
Jiang Fuyue frowned.
Could it be that X didn’t lie to her?
But that shouldn’t be the case…… before coming, she had already checked. The number of infections in the Duhe area was far more than this. So where were the other patients sent?
Jiang Fuyue voiced her doubts.
Only then did the medical staff suddenly realize. “That’s the crossfire zone. You’re not allowed to go there.”
Jiang Fuyue was stunned.
Previously, when they mentioned the tense situation, it was actually because this area frequently erupted in riots, with mixed forces and frequent gunfire in some places.
“I’ve heard that the situation over there is far worse than at Maria Hospital. Those faction leaders don’t care whether civilians live or die. They’ve concentrated the patients and locked them up, without providing treatment.”
“My god! What about cross-infection?”
“What can be done? They can only wait to die. The previous two new strains were discovered there.”
Jiang Fuyue’s eyes lit up.
The next day, just as she was preparing to set out, Dr. X suddenly appeared, standing in front of the car.
A pair of dark, heavy eyes looked at her. “Get down.”
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