They had dinner at a place just outside the school gate.

In restaurants of that era, there was always a 21-inch color TV hanging on the wall. This one was playing Mango TV’s "Happy Camp."

"Done eating?" Chen Hao put down his chopsticks. "Let’s go, back to the library to grab seats. Cheng Xiyao should be back from dinner by now. If we’re late, we won’t get to sit across from her."

Jiang He stood up and slung his backpack over his shoulder. "I’m not going to the library."

Chen Hao froze. "Huh? Then where are you going?"

Jiang He said, "To study somewhere else."

Chen Hao quickly called out, "Check, please! ...Hey, Old Jiang, wait for me!"

The two of them walked out of the restaurant.

Chen Hao hurried to catch up to Jiang He, unable to resist turning to size him up.

"Old Jiang, something’s off about you."

"How so?"

"Are you deliberately avoiding Cheng Xiyao?"

"No, I just want to find a quiet place."

"Give me a break!" Chen Hao said. "I’m not blind. I could tell at the library today... She’s into you, I’m serious. Why did you stop me from telling her you’re the ’Internet Cafe God of War’?"

Jiang He said calmly, "There’s no need. I already have someone I like."

"Huh?"

Chen Hao looked Jiang He up and down. "Who? Someone in our class? Or from the nursing department? How come I’ve never seen her? You’ve never mentioned her."

Jiang He said, "Didn’t you just pay for something for me?"

Chen Hao blinked, his mind quickly replaying the Taobao order from that morning.

"That... down jacket? I thought you were sending it to your family... Holy shit, Old Jiang, are you in an online relationship?"

Jiang He neither confirmed nor denied it.

"Does she like you back?" Chen Hao pressed.

Jiang He thought about the current Shen Yu and shook his head. "Not yet."

"Tch—" Chen Hao waved his hand dismissively. "So after all that, it’s just unrequited love."

He patted Jiang He’s shoulder and said earnestly, "Old Jiang, Old Jiang. And here I was thinking you’d grown up these past couple of days. Turns out you’re still a total newbie when it comes to romance. What’s the use of having great chats online these days? If you don’t meet in person, it’s all just talk."

Jiang He just smiled.

"What are you smiling at? Am I wrong?" Chen Hao was exasperated. "Look at Cheng Xiyao. She’s real, someone you can see and touch. Why insist on chasing some netizen who’s a world away? What’s the point?"

Jiang He’s smile faded as he looked up at the northern night sky. "The point is that she’ll be your sister-in-law one day."

"..." Chen Hao was choked speechless by this inexplicable confidence. "Fine, fine, you’re the man. So have you two met?"

"Not yet."

"You haven’t even met and you’re sending her a down jacket? That’s three hundred and eighty yuan, man!"

"It’s worth it."

Jiang He paused, then said, "I’m planning to go see her during the National Day holiday."

"National Day?" Chen Hao mentally calculated the dates. "Isn’t that next week? Why the rush?"

"Yeah, I have to meet her." 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Jiang He knew what he was doing.

’That article about sugar making you dumb will probably only work on her for two or three days at most.’

’Once the novelty wears off, she’ll go back to her old ways.’

’To truly change her habits, a real person has to enter her life.’

’This person has to be a friend, someone she trusts.’

’So, transitioning from online friends to friends in real life is a necessary step to take.’

’And the sooner, the better.’

"This trip is going to be expensive, with travel and accommodation," Jiang He said, turning to Chen Hao. "I might need you to spot me some cash."

"Hah! Don’t you worry about money! My dad gave me strict orders. As long as you don’t break the law, I’ll cover you no matter how much it is!"

After saying that, Chen Hao leaned in close again. "But Old Jiang, what if you meet for the first time and she turns out to be ugly as a dinosaur, or some gross dude picking his feet? What will you do then? That three-hundred-and-eighty-yuan jacket will have been a total waste."

Jiang He just smiled without explaining.

’She’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen in this life. What’s there to even say?’

"Let’s go," Jiang He said.

"Where are we going, anyway?" Chen Hao followed behind him.

The two walked through the bustling student life area, their path becoming more and more remote.

Finally, an old, dark-red building covered in ivy came into view.

Chen Hao stopped in his tracks.

He managed to choke out, "...Old Jiang, don’t tell me we’re going to study in there."

This was the laboratory building of the School of Basic Medical Sciences.

Or, as the students called it, the anatomy building.

"That’s right," Jiang He said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "It’s quiet, cool, and no one will bother us. It’s a great spot."

"I’m not going!"

Chen Hao’s whole body recoiled. "Are you nuts, coming to a place like this at night?! It’s full of... full of those..."

"Silent mentors," Jiang He said.

"I know they’re ’silent mentors’!" Chen Hao said. "Old Jiang, can we please find somewhere else? I... I can’t handle this today."

The purplish, swollen face of the guy from last night, the sensation under his hands of ribs that felt like they could snap at any moment... The memories were still fresh in his mind.

Being forced to face these cold bodies now would make it hard for him to breathe.

"What’s there not to handle?"

Jiang He saw right through him but didn’t call him out. He just walked over and grabbed his arm.

"You’re not a freshman anymore, you’re scared of this? Besides, the silent mentors are our predecessors who donated their bodies to medical science. They deserve respect. It’s not like they’re going to jump up and bite you."

"You can’t be sure about that! I’ve played Resident Evil..."

"Cut the crap. We’re already here."

Without another word, Jiang He dragged Chen Hao straight through the main entrance.

The moment they stepped into the hallway, the temperature dropped sharply.

Several of the voice-activated lights in the corridor were broken.

The classroom doors on both sides were shut tight.

Through the small glass windows on the doors, you could faintly see rows of dissection tables covered with white cloths.

In the empty corridor, only the sound of their footsteps echoed.

Chen Hao stuck close to Jiang He.

"Old Jiang... can’t we just find a classroom on the first floor..."

"The first floor is for systemic anatomy. That’s for first and second-year students. Too basic."

Jiang He didn’t stop, heading straight for the stairs. "We’re going to the third floor. There’s a specimen display room and a study room for regional anatomy. It’s perfect for cross-referencing with the real thing. You’ll remember it better."

"We... we have to look at the real thing?"

They reached the third floor.

The smell of formalin was even stronger here.

Jiang He searched as he recalled the layout, then pushed open the door to a specimen room.

As the door opened, the lights flickered on.

Rows of floor-to-ceiling glass cabinets came into view.

And inside each of the glass jars filled with a yellow liquid were various parts separated from the human body.

Chen Hao took one look and his stomach churned. The heart-pounding panic from the previous night rushed back.

He instinctively wanted to close his eyes.

"Chen Hao, come here."

Jiang He’s voice called out from ahead.

Chen Hao took a deep breath, forced his eyes open, and walked over.

Jiang He pointed to a glass jar in front of them.

"This is a specimen of emphysema. It’s what that patient’s lungs looked like yesterday."

Chen Hao looked.

Submerged in the fluid, the lung lobe was a morbid grayish-white. Its surface was covered in bubble-like protrusions of various sizes, some spots as thin as a cicada’s wing.

"It’s... that thin?" It wasn’t Chen Hao’s first time seeing a lung, but it was the first time he had ever looked at one so intently.

He couldn’t help but reach out and gently touch the spot through the glass.

"Yes, that thin," Jiang He said softly. "This is why I told you yesterday that if you had pushed down, he would have died for sure."

Chen Hao stared at the specimen for a long, long time.

His hand was trembling slightly, the fear still present in his eyes.

But gradually, mixed in with the fear, something new appeared: a sense of awe.

’So human life really is as fragile as paper.’

"Old Jiang."

"Yeah?"

"Where’s the book?"

Jiang He handed him the copy of *Surgery* he had brought.

Chen Hao took it, pulled out a chair, and plopped down.

"Fuck it..."

Chen Hao cursed:

"If I don’t master this Chapter on pneumothorax tonight, I’m your goddamn grandson!"