Love in the Illusion

1

Chapter 1

At six in the morning, the sparrows on the telephone poles flapped their wings, shattering the quiet of the alley entrance. The rain from the night before had battered the osmanthus flowers into disarray, like overturned jars of honey spilling across the damp ground.

The dampness crept in through the gaps in the window. Xu Su lay sprawled on the desk, her shoulders instinctively hunching. She struggled to lift her head, rubbing her face with her hands to shake off the drowsiness.

Xu Su had just completed two surgeries yesterday and pulled an overnight shift that kept her at the hospital until now. Beneath her long, dark lashes, the exhaustion in her eyelids was unmistakable.

In the restroom, Xu Sui held mint-flavored mouthwash in her mouth, turned on the faucet, and splashed a handful of water on her face for a quick wash.

At seven fifty, the department gradually filled with people as everyone exchanged morning greetings. Xu Sui quickly finished a croissant right on schedule, with a black coffee beside her, which someone replaced with a bottle of milk.

Xu Sui looked up to see the new intern, a young man who scratched his head sheepishly. "Dr. Xu, drinking too much coffee isn't good for your health," he said.

"Thank you," Xu Sui smiled, glancing at the time. "Let's go, it's time for rounds."

Most patients in the inpatient department liked it when Dr. Xu came for rounds—gentle, patient, and willing to listen to their occasional complaints.

Several resident doctors followed behind Xu Sui as she made her rounds from room to room, the hem of her coat fluttering slightly. Following the line of sight, a blue ID badge was pinned on the left side of her chest—Xu Sui, Surgeon at Puren Hospital.

When checking on a young female patient who had just had her appendix removed two days prior, Xu Sui took extra care to give her a few more instructions, advising her on dietary restrictions and rest.

The young girl, full of energy again not long after the surgery, rolled her big eyes and declared she would die if she had to keep eating such bland, tasteless food.

"Dr. Xu, can I have bubble tea?" the young girl asked cautiously.

Xu Sui paused her pen over the blue folder, looked up into a pair of hopeful eyes, and relented: "Just a little."

"Why? But I'd rather have Yihetang," the girl said with a troubled look in her eyes.

"......"

The intern behind couldn't help but laugh. Xu Sui spoke expressionlessly, her voice carrying a hint of cruelty, "Now you can't even have a little sip of this."

The young girl belatedly realized her mistake and said regretfully, "I was wrong, Doctor!"

After finishing rounds, Xu Sui walked back to the office with her hands in her pockets, running into her mentor—also the head of the surgery department—in the hallway.

"Finished with rounds, Xu?" the other person asked her.

"Mm," Xu Sui nodded, noticing the director seemed to have something to say, so she proactively asked, "Teacher, is there something you'd like to talk about?"

"You've indeed been very busy lately, the hardest-working in this department, just like I was back in the day," Dr. Zhang smiled warmly. "But you should also remember to balance work and rest. Your mother even called me, asking me to look after your 'big matter.'"

Xu Sui was stunned, never expecting that her repeated refusals to go on blind dates would lead her mother to enlist the director's help in pressuring her. She steadied herself and said, "Teacher, do you know what my mother's dream has been since she entered middle age?"

"What?"

"Practice being a matchmaker on me first." Xu Sui pointed at her innocent self.

"Oh, you kid," Director Zhang laughed, his tone helpless, then abruptly changed the subject, "There's a nice young man in the residential compound where I live, with good conditions..."

Xu Sui's eyes swept over him before she changed the topic: "Teacher, why do I smell tobacco on you? It's quite strong."

Everyone at Pu Hospital knew that Dr. Zhang was highly skilled and authoritative in his field, but also famously henpecked. His wife, the head nurse of the pediatric department, often came to check on him. Every time she caught a whiff of tobacco on him, she'd threaten that if it weren't for his hands being needed to save lives, she'd have snapped them in half.

"I haven’t had time to smoke today, maybe it’s from the patient’s family," Dr. Zhang grabbed his collar and sniffed, his face full of panic. "No more talking, I need to go wash my hands first."

After the teacher left, it wasn’t until eleven in the morning that Xu Sui finally got off work. She went home to catch up on sleep, dozing off into oblivion. When she woke up, the sky had completely darkened, and scattered neon lights were already flickering in the distance.

Xu Sui zoned out for a while, then got up to close the window. She connected her phone to the speaker via Bluetooth and played a raucous rock song, stepping onto the acupressure mat to relax.

Most people might think standing on an acupressure mat would be painful, but for Xu Sui, it was a great way to relieve stress. Her phone let out a "ding," and with a light sweat on her forehead, she sat right down on the mat to grab it.

Xu's mother sent a long string of messages, essentially telling her to go on a blind date.

Light as a Breeze: ["This young man is really good, two years older than you, and he's a lawyer—a successful professional with good looks. The matchmaker says he's responsible and outstanding."]

Light as a Breeze: ["Go meet him tomorrow? Don't make excuses; I know you're not on duty tomorrow night."]

Light as a Breeze shared a contact card with you. Xu Sui clicked on the guy's profile picture and commented: ["With that pose—arms crossed in front of his chest—he doesn't look like a success guru, more like a salesman."]

Mother Xu could tell at a glance that Xu Sui was trying to change the subject as usual, hoping to muddle through—this attitude was problematic. Feeling somewhat angry, Mother Xu couldn't be bothered to type this time and sent a series of deadly voice messages instead.

Light and Breezy: ["You're 27 this year, almost an old maid. How can you still act so unconcerned?"]

Xu Sui replied: ["Mom, I don’t really want to get married right now."]

At least that was her current mindset—being single was easy and carefree. Plus, with Xu Sui’s busy work schedule, she truly had no energy to think about such matters.

The breeze is light, the clouds are pale: [So what do you want to do?]

Before Xu Sui could reply, 'The breeze is light, the clouds are pale' sent another message: [Then do you want to become a nun?]

Xu Sui was about to reply with a chuckle when a notification from Zhihu suddenly popped up on her phone screen. She clicked into it—years later, someone had liked and even replied to her old answer.

The question was: 'What was the funniest thing you did during your unrequited love in school days?'

On a whim, Xu Sui replied anonymously:

In my second year of high school, a foreign film was released, and I loved it so much that I bought its merchandise—a blue T-shirt.

On the first day I wore it to class, I suddenly noticed he was also wearing a blue T-shirt. Though his was just an ordinary blue tee, my heart raced unmistakably, secretly believing it was a matching couple's outfit.

Perhaps God saw how hard my crush was and gifted me this sweet coincidence.

From then on, I often wore this piece of clothing. Even the night before, I would fantasize about whether he might wear a blue T-shirt the next day. He sat in the second-to-last row, while I was in the second row from the front. Every morning during early class, just to catch another glimpse of him, I would deliberately enter through the back door, pretending to pass by him casually. Occasionally, from the corner of my eye, I'd see him lazily resting his head on his arms, his hair disheveled, the sharp outline of his thin shoulder blades under the blue fabric—my heart would race inexplicably, filling me with inexplicable joy for the entire day.

Later, I found out that this shirt was just a random 9.9-yuan T-shirt his girlfriend had thrown in while shopping at the supermarket to meet the minimum order. Yet this carefree guy didn't mind wearing it every single day.

I snapped out of it instantly, as if suddenly realizing one thing: he might never see me.

Xu Sui's reply received the most upvotes, even topping the list, with many people commenting underneath: "Not funny at all, why does it feel so heartbreaking?" "Sending hugs, sis."

Xu Sui was stunned. As she was about to hide her years-old answer while staring at it, a new reply popped up: "Do you still like him now?"

The bitterness in her eyes deepened bit by bit. Sitting on the acupressure mat, Xu Sui somehow felt a dense, all-encompassing pain radiating through her limbs, leaving her breathless.

Xu Sui didn't reply. She exited the app and responded to her mother: ["Okay."]

The next evening, Xu Sui dressed up deliberately. Following the address her mother had given, she arrived at the restaurant where her date was already waiting.

The man's name was Lin Wenshen, who worked at a law firm. He left a much better impression on Xu Sui than his photo had suggested, with fairly regular features and a modest, amiable demeanor.

The conversation between the two went quite well. After the meal, Lin Wenshen suggested taking a walk nearby. Xu Sui thought since she had already come out for the blind date, there was no need to be overly reserved, so she nodded in agreement.

At ten in the evening, under the bright moonlight, Xu Sui and Lin Wenshen walked side by side, exchanging occasional words in a comfortably relaxed atmosphere.

Along the snack street, blue and red awnings lined up in a row. On the grill, eggplants sizzled on aluminum foil as the owner sprinkled cumin, the oil and flames making a crackling sound. Nearby, charcoal-grilled saury turned golden, its tender aroma wafting through the air.

A light bulb hung overhead, with fine dust floating around it, casting a dim glow.

Chengyou brought a plate of skewers and sat down in front of the man. They drank a little and began chatting intermittently. Chengyou handed him a beef skewer, his tone somewhat cautious. "Boss, don't stress too much. This time... just take it as a break."

Zhou Jingze was biting into a skewer when he heard this. He lifted his eyelids to glance at him and chuckled softly. "What pressure could I possibly have?"

"Good to hear that." Chengyou let out a sigh of relief.

Zhou Jingze sat across from Cheng You, his foot casually propped on the crossbar under the table. He had barely settled in when he already drew sidelong glances from several tables of girls nearby.

Yet he couldn't even be bothered to lift his eyelids, a cigarette pinched between his fingers, smoke curling lazily upward—exuding a roguish, aloof charm.

Cheng You, sitting with him, could already feel the weight of gazes from all directions and was bursting with pride. Add to that his tendency to ramble when drunk, and the nonsense poured out: "Hey, boss, gotta say, these years flying all over the world as a pilot, I never really took the time to look. But when it comes to places with the most beauties, our Jingbei City still takes the cake."

"Damn, check out those long legs," Cheng You marveled.

Without even looking, Zhou Jingze sneered, "Keep staring and I'll tell your girlfriend."

Cheng You reluctantly averted his gaze, but midway his eyes lit up as he nudged Zhou's arm, "Boss, look across—there's a real beauty, definitely a southern girl by the looks of her."

At the mention of "southern," Zhou Jingze instinctively looked up, his dark eyes scanning the scene before pausing in surprise. The girl indeed had the classic southern features—fair skin, almond-shaped eyes brimming with warmth, dressed in an apricot knit dress with thin straps that revealed her pale shoulders.

"Tsk, she's got a boyfriend, but the vibe between them screams 'just met'—probably on a blind date. Both got that refined air about them, though. Kinda suits each other," Cheng You remarked.

As Cheng You spoke these words, he felt the surrounding air instantly grow colder. A pang of panic struck him, and with a sideways glance, he saw his brother silently snap a bamboo skewer in his hand without uttering a word.

Xu Sui didn't notice the commotion nearby. She was walking side by side with Lin Wenshen through the snack street, nearing its end when the sounds of a struggle reached them from the alley's entrance.

It turned out that an elderly woman selling sweet soup was being harassed by a group of drunken hooligans who were about to wreck her stall, claiming the food was terrible. Xu Sui had no intention of meddling, but the old woman's desperate pleas suddenly reminded her painfully of her own grandmother.

Just as Xu Sui was about to step forward, Lin Wenshen grabbed her arm, his tone shrewd, "Don't go over there now. If you get scammed by those hooligans or the old lady, you'll be in deep trouble."

"I like being blackmailed," Xu Sui said with a faint smile, then glanced at Lin Wenshen's hand gripping hers, prompting him to awkwardly let go.

The elderly woman was shoved to the ground by the leader of the thugs. Xu Sui walked over to help her up, her voice calm: "How much? I'll pay."

The red-haired thug's eyes lit up at the sight of Xu Sui, placing a hand on her bare shoulder: "Since it's little sister pleading, we'll let it slide. Come have a drink with me."

"Don't... don't get any ideas, I'm a lawyer... y-you let go..." Lin Wenshen adjusted his glasses, too nervous to string a coherent sentence together.

Seeing Lin Wenshen as an easy target, the thugs waved their iron rods and taunted, "What, looking for a fight?"

Lin Wenshen took a step back, glanced at Xu Sui, then gritted his teeth and ran away.

The thug's hand lingered on Xu Sui's shoulder, even daring to give it a bold stroke. In less than a second, Xu Sui twisted his wrist with a sharp "crack."

"f**k, you b***h—" The red-haired thug yelped in pain, his face darkening completely. As he raised his hand to strike, suddenly, a slender, well-defined hand appeared out of nowhere, firmly intercepting the thug's fist.

It's Zhou Jingze.

"I thought it was a woman's hand—soft and weak," Zhou Jingze said with a reckless tone, utterly unruly.

His words were nothing short of a provocation. The other guy swung a fist at him, but Zhou Jingze dodged, grabbed the redhead's arm, and knocked him to the ground with a punch, eliciting a pained scream.

The group of them clashed, and a brawl broke out instantly.

Xu Sui crouched down, helped the old woman up, gathered her belongings without a word, and silently saw her off.

The chaotic fight came and went quickly. Zhou Jingze took on four by himself, sending the thugs fleeing in disarray. He stood under the streetlight, his long shadow stretching toward her.

Only then did Xu Sui raise her eyes to look at him carefully.

Zhou Jingze wore a flight jacket with four stripes on the shoulders, his neck straight and imposing. He had single eyelids, extremely short hair, sharply defined facial contours, and a fresh red scar on his chin. His dark, piercing eyes were fixed on her.

Xu Sui's heart clenched under Zhou Jingze's gaze, and she instinctively took a step back. At that moment, a cold breeze swept by, lifting roadside leaves and a plastic bag into the air, where they teetered precariously.

Recognizing her familiar demeanor, Zhou Jingze scoffed, pressing his tongue against the inside of his left cheek.

The man tilted his head to spit a b****y mouthful into the trash can, then tapped a cigarette out of the pack. His slender fingers rolled the filter before he clamped it between his teeth, the silver lighter emitting a sharp click.

Still the same careless, indifferent look as always.

He was waiting for Xu Sui to speak.

Xu Sui averted her gaze, her tone unexpectedly distant: "Thanks for tonight, I'll be going now."

After speaking, Xu Sui herself was taken aback. She had imagined countless scenarios of their reunion, never expecting that when it actually happened, they would skip even the pleasantries.

Xu Sui turned to leave, but Zhou Jingze took a step closer. The scent of tobacco on him was unmistakable, his sharp presence rendering her immobile.

From the ground, his shadow suddenly encircled her. His lashes lowered, casting a faint shadow under the light, his tone carrying a hint of gritted teeth:

"You're on a blind date?"