Everyone in the general hospital knows that Dr. Bolton is highly skilled and well-respected, but he’s also famously afraid of his wife. Dr. Bolton’s wife is the head nurse of pediatrics and often comes by to check up on him. Every time the teacher’s wife smells smoke on him, she threatens that if it weren’t for the fact that his hands are still needed to save lives, she’d love nothing more than to break them.

“I haven’t even had a chance to smoke today, maybe it’s from a patient’s family member,” Dr. Bolton grabbed his collar and sniffed it, looking flustered. “Enough, I’m going to wash my hands first.”

After the teacher left, it wasn’t until eleven in the morning that Samuel Clark finally got off work. She went home to catch up on sleep, dozing off so deeply that when she woke up, it was already completely dark outside, and neon lights were twinkling in the distance.

Samuel Clark zoned out for a while, then got up to close the window, connected her phone to the speaker via Bluetooth, and played a loud rock song, relaxing as she stood on an acupressure mat.

Most people think standing on an acupressure mat would be painful, but for Samuel Clark, it’s a great way to relieve stress. Her phone chimed, and with a bit of sweat on her forehead, Samuel Clark sat down directly on the mat to grab her phone.

Mrs. Clark had sent a long string of messages, basically telling her to go on a blind date.

Yun Dan Feng Qing: [This guy is really nice this time, two years older than you, and he’s a lawyer—a successful man and good-looking too. The matchmaker says he’s responsible and outstanding.]

Yun Dan Feng Qing: [Go meet him tomorrow? Don’t make excuses, I know you’re not on duty tomorrow night.]

Yun Dan Feng Qing sent a contact card. Samuel Clark tapped on the profile picture and complained: [This pose with arms crossed in front of the chest doesn’t look like a success guru to me, more like a salesman.]

As soon as Mrs. Clark saw Samuel Clark trying to dodge the issue, she knew her daughter was up to her usual tricks. This attitude was a problem. Mrs. Clark got a bit angry and, too lazy to type, sent a barrage of voice messages.

Yun Dan Feng Qing: [You’re 27 this year, almost an old maid, how can you still act like you’re not in a hurry?]

Samuel Clark replied: [Mom, I really don’t want to get married right now.]

At least that’s how she felt at the moment—life was easy and free on her own, and with Samuel Clark’s busy job, she really didn’t have the energy to think about it.

Yun Dan Feng Qing: [Then what do you want to do?]

Before Samuel Clark could reply, Yun Dan Feng Qing sent another message: [So do you want to become a nun or something?]

Samuel Clark couldn’t help but laugh and was about to reply when a notification from Zhihu suddenly popped up on her phone. She clicked in, and after all these years, someone was still liking and replying to her old answer.

The question was: “What’s the funniest thing you did during your secret crush in school?”

Back then, on a whim, Samuel Clark had replied anonymously:

In my second year of high school, a foreign movie came out that I really liked, so much that I bought some movie merchandise—a blue T-shirt.

The first day I wore it to class, I suddenly noticed he was also wearing a blue T-shirt. Even though his was just an ordinary blue T-shirt, my heart was pounding, and I secretly thought it was a couple’s outfit.

Maybe God saw how hard my secret crush was and sent me this sweet coincidence on purpose.

After that, I wore that shirt often. Sometimes, the night before, I’d even imagine that maybe he’d wear blue again the next day. He sat in the second-to-last row, I sat in the second row. Every morning during early class, just to catch a glimpse of him, I’d go in through the back door and pretend to walk past him by chance. Occasionally, I’d catch a glimpse of him out of the corner of my eye, lazily resting his head on his arm, hair messy, his thin shoulder blades casting blue shadows, and my heart would race, making me inexplicably happy all day.

But later I found out that his shirt was just a 9.9 yuan T-shirt his girlfriend bought as a random add-on at the supermarket. Such a careless guy didn’t even mind wearing it every day.

I sobered up instantly, and it hit me: maybe he would never notice me.

Samuel Clark’s answer got the most likes, even reaching the top spot, and many people replied under her post: “It’s not funny at all, why does it feel so sad? Hugs, sis.”

Samuel Clark stared blankly, and as she was about to hide her years-old answer, a new reply popped up: “Do you still like him now?”

The bitterness in her eyes deepened. Sitting on the acupressure mat, Samuel Clark suddenly felt a prickling pain all over her body, as if she couldn’t catch her breath.

Samuel Clark didn’t reply, exited the app, and messaged her mom back: [Okay.]

The next evening, Samuel Clark dressed up a bit and went to the restaurant at the address her mom gave her. The other party was already waiting.

His name was Edward Green, and he worked at a law firm. He made a much better impression in person than in the photo—his features were decent, and he was polite.

The two of them had a pleasant conversation. After dinner, Edward Green suggested taking a walk nearby. Samuel Clark thought, since she was already here for a blind date, there was no need to be shy, so she nodded.

At ten o’clock at night, under the bright moonlight, Samuel Clark and Edward Green walked side by side, chatting from time to time. The atmosphere was quite comfortable.