Chéng Xīnyán gathered up the scattered file and stuffed it into her satchel along with several syringes. She took a second look around the office before shutting the door and following the two men to the elevator. As they made their way to the parking garage, she had a thought.

She turned to Cong Bo, "We need to make sure everyone is at the apartment." He nodded then turned towards Lín Jìng. Lín Jìng nodded in understanding, pulling out his cell phone, and pressing the third name on his favorites list.

Cong Bo's hybrid was parked a few short feet from the elevator. Lín Jìng climbed into the passenger seat while he settled the distracted Chéng Xīnyán in the back. Cong Bo slid in behind the wheel and started the car. He waited until Lín Jìng had buckled his safety belt before pulling off. Maneuvering in and out of the evening traffic, they drove in silence towards the Chief's apartment.

Chéng Xīnyán stared out the window, over the passing scenery, and up to the grey sky. The air was charged. The clouds were fat and swollen. They looked as if the sky was ready to give birth at any time. But Chéng Xīnyán felt that the delivery would bring much more than just a spring thunderstorm. Goosebumps formed on her forearms as she crossed them in front of herself.

A fat droplet of water splashed eye-level onto the glass, causing her to flinch in surprise. Then a flash of lightning illuminated the skyline. Cong Bo sucked his teeth and turned on the windshield wipers just as the clouds released. Chéng Xīnyán chuckled, silently to herself. Something was coming their way; it had been for a long time now.

~~~~~~

It has been almost two years since Zhào Yúnlán suffered the head injury that caused his temporary blindness. At least, that is what his official medical record states.

At the time, Shěn Wēi, wanting to cover every base, took Zhào Yúnlán to the Dragon City Hospital Neurology Department for consultation. He requested Chéng Xīnyán, a neurologist, to conduct the consult. Chéng Xīnyán was only a fellow at the time, but she was a former colleague and a long-time friend.

On the day of the appointment, Shěn Wēi and Zhào Yúnlán arrived to find the appointment assigned to a different physician, by administrative decision. Chéng Xīnyán had been unable to override it. Frustrated, Shěn Wēi settled Zhào Yúnlán in a seat at the nurses' station and requested to speak directly with the hospital director. Chéng Xīnyán accompanied him but waited outside.

A few moments later, Shěn Wēi and the director came out of the office. The director advised Chéng Xīnyán to continue with the appointment and to manage and follow up care necessary for the chief of the SID. He even apologized for the confusion that was resulting from his causing the error!

Chéng Xīnyán knew that Shěn Wēi had only to look at the Director for him to acquiesce. However, she was curious as to what was the initial reason for the change. She asked Shěn Wēi about it. He told her that the hospital administration had feared repercussions from the Ethics Committee due to their close relationship.

Rumors from wagging tongues flew easily around any place of employment; the hospital was no different. Staff members had seen Shěn Wēi and Chéng Xīnyán often having lunch together. At times, Shěn Wēi would pick Chéng Xīnyán up and escort her home, especially on evenings she worked late.

Chéng Xīnyán and Shěn Wēi have been friends since high school. They both transferred in their senior year. Even with the new environment, both were popular, but for entirely different reasons. The quick-witted Chéng Xīnyán was boisterous and outspoken. She made friends easily because she was so comfortable with everyone. The intelligent Shěn Wēi was a polar opposite, painfully shy and reserved.

Shěn Wēi was gentlemanly and polite for a high-schooler, which made him stand-out. He was also ridiculously good looking with a doe-eyed innocence that made all the girls swoon. Chéng Xīnyán found it both intriguing and annoying how his polite rejections only served to frenzy the circling sharks. So she super-imposed herself into his life and became his defender against all things lecherous and giggly, known to be high school crushes.

She was not the least bit interested in Shěn Wēi romantically. The moment she first saw him, she only ever wanted to be his friend. Nevertheless, they were comfortable with each other and their relationship was such that normal interactions appeared almost intimate. Especially to those who knew how tightly wound Shěn Wēi could be.

Together, they graduated high school, attended the same college, and eventually the same medical school. Through the years, their professional paths diverged but they remained close. When people suspected romantic involvement, aside from the initial denial, they did little else to deter the circulating rumours. 

Chéng Xīnyán chuckled, shaking her head. "Some things never change," she said as they walked towards the nurses' station. A cacophony of giggles came from the waiting area next to the station.  And there, in a display of true Zhao-ism, was Zhào Yúnlán at the center of it.

"No." Shěn Wēi replied, looking slightly annoyed at the scene in front oh him.  "Some things never do."

~~~~~~~~

Shěn Wēi left for class and Zhào Yúnlán stayed with Chéng Xīnyán to wait for Da Qing. She had a scheduled appointment so Zhào Yúnlán wondered around the nurses' station until it was through. When Chéng Xīnyán came to retrieve him, she found him bragging about the house he had bought for his 'future wife.' Chéng Xīnyán puzzled by the remark said nothing.

"Cheng yisheng, how can I help you?" One of the young nurses asked.

"I came to take Chief Zhào off of your hands." Chéng Xīnyán said lightly.

"Ah, let me update my emergency contact information before I forget." Zhào Yúnlán said to one of the nurses behind the desk. When Zhào Yúnlán gave Shěn Wēi's information, it looked as though the poor girl's eyes were going to pop out of her head.

Chéng Xīnyán could barely suppress her smile as she guided him back towards her office. It was clear the reason Shěn Wēi chose her for the consult was less about their old relationship and more so about his new one.

~~~~~~

"Chéng yisheng, have you always wanted to be a doctor?" As he was being directed towards the chair from earlier. Chéng Xīnyán smiled knowingly.

She had heard about the SID's Chief Zhào Yúnlán and his 'disarming charm.' He asks questions that seemed unrelated to matter at hand to make a person feel comfortable enough to slip into the truth. He was also thorough in is investigations. So she did not doubt that he already knew her minor was in psychotherapy.

In their relationship, Chéng Xīnyán and Shěn Wēi shared certain truths. Some discovered accidentally, some revealed deliberately. And some, told to in desperate moments of drunken loneliness, never to be spoken of again. An accidental truth was what seeded their friendship but the deliberate ones sustained it.

"I cannot say that I always wanted to be a doctor, but I always wanted to take care of people." Chéng Xīnyán stated, settling herself into her own chair. "My mother was sick a lot after I was born, but I can't say that I thought about it seriously until college."

Zhào Yúnlán's phone rings. "Excuse me. I should take this."

Chéng Xīnyán absentmindedly played with a toy syringe that she kept on her desk. It was pink and yellow and had a faded picture of a cat on it, the remnants of childhood.

It was after school, she and her father were on their way to visit her mother. They were walking hand-in-hand along a garden path. They carried umbrellas because of the swollen sky.

As they walked, Chéng Xīnyán had noticed a tall man with pale skin dressed in a dark blue suit standing under a nearby tree. His face was solemn. Although she knew it to be rude, she could not help but stare.

The man looked up and for a split second, their gazes locked. Not so much frightened as embarrassed, Chéng Xīnyán tore her gaze away. The look on his face had not been cold, but empty. His eyes dark eyes appeared almost black and seemed to be both swirling like the coming storm and vacant like a black hole.

After a few moments, Chéng Xīnyán found the courage to look again towards the man's direction. He was no longer looking her way. He had sat down on the small bench beneath the tree. His back was straight, but his head bowed. Chéng Xīnyán could not understand why he looked so tiny.

Suddenly lightning flashed across the sky and thunder clapped. The rain came quickly. She struggled with her umbrella and just as she got it open, the wind came and snatched it from her grasp.

"Don't worry Ba, I'll get it!" she tossed over her shoulder as she trotted back to chase it. She grabbed it before it got too far away and started walking back towards her father. Recalling that she had not seen an umbrella with the man from earlier, she looked in his direction. She was shocked at the sight.

The man was no longer sitting on the bench. He was kneeling in a puddle. His clothes, drenched. His arms, wrapped around himself and he curled forward with his forehead nearly touching the ground. Lightning flashed again and as the wind howled, thunder vibrated the ground. The sound of the pounding rain grew even louder but none of it was enough to drown out the man's sobs.

Before she had realized what she was doing, Chéng Xīnyán had walked the few short feet over to the man and stood beside him. There were a few seconds before he realized that the rain no longer fell onto his back. He looked up into a pair of curious eyes. They stared back at him with an immense amount of compassion. The storm then seemed to quiet.

Suddenly the sound of shouting rose above the sound of the pounding rain. The two broke eye contact and turned towards it. A man ran towards them.

"A'Yan come away! Chéng Xīnyán, did you hear me? What are you doing?" He grabbed her wrist to pull her away. "I am so sorry, sir! My daughter has always been the curious type. She is young and has no one to teach her how girls should behave. She didn't mean to..." Her father's voice trailed off as the kneeling man stood and met his gaze. Chéng Xīnyán's father gasped slightly, taking a frightened half-step back. He fought the instinct to run solely because he could feel Chéng Xīnyán pulling against him.

The man was younger than he had expected. Maybe in his mid-twenties, but his style of dress was that of someone much older. This and his demeanor gave him an air of naturally respected authority. However, looking at him in his current state made one's heartache.

The man's clothes were soaked through, his hair now plastered to his forehead. He held a pair of spectacles in the long thin fingers of one hand. His face was pale, making his puffy red-rimmed eyes stand out. Although his expression was stoic, his grief seemed both oppressive and cavernous. Chéng Xīnyán's father could not be very certain if they stood before a ghost or a man. He tried to swallow past his dry throat.

"Ba it is raining and gege forgot his umbrella," Chéng Xīnyán's small voice stated determinedly while her extended arms presented a white and pink Hello Kitty umbrella to the stranger. The rain had eased just as quickly as it had come but the sky still held the promise of more. "Gege, you can borrow mine until the rain stops!"

The pale man looked down, meeting the Chéng Xīnyán's eyes for the third time. His look was gentle and a small smile curved the corners of his mouth. Although the man spoke with an air of authority, his voice was soft and comforting. "Thank you... Chéng Xīnyán?" the girl nodded. "But isn't this your favorite one?" The girl nodded again. "I wouldn't want you to part with it."

Tears immediately welled up in the Chéng Xīnyán's eyes threatening to spill. "But Gege if you catch cold and become sick, who will take care of you?"

The man's heart twisted a bit, but he was touched. "How about this, I shall go to the vendor over there and buy a new umbrella. Then you won't have to worry. Will that be okay?"

"But it is still raining from here to there." Chéng Xīnyán responded. The man's smile broadened at how clever the girl's remark was.

"Chéng Xīnyán!" her father snapped. The young man chuckled.

"If it is okay with your father I will borrow your umbrella to go purchase my own and I will return it when you are ready to leave." He turned to Chéng Xīnyán's father and bowed slightly "Shu, I apologize for troubling you..."

"No, no trouble! It is we who have troubled you. Please take the umbrella! I will just buy another for her later." He said quickly, still desperate to get away from the pale man. He took the umbrella from Chéng Xīnyán's hands and handed it to the man. He bid him a hasty farewell and quickly continued up the previous path pulling his daughter along. When her steps started to hesitate, he picked her up into his arms.

Chéng Xīnyán looked back over her father's shoulder. She watched as the pale man opened the umbrella and sat, once again, on the bench. He pulled what looked to be a lollipop from his pocket. With his eyes closed, he removed the wrapper and placed the sweet into his mouth. A single tear fell, but the smile on his lips remained. She strained to see more but her father turned a bend and the man was no longer in sight.

When she and her father had finished their visit, they made their way back down the path. The rain had stopped and the sun was trying to break through the clouds. They walked towards the large tree. The man was gone but on the bench in his place were her umbrella and a gift box with a pink and white bow.

Written in fine calligraphy, there was a notecard. "Ba, what does it say?" Chéng Xīnyán asked curiously. Her father removed the card from her small fingers and read the note, tears coming to his eyes.

Chéng Xīnyán looked at her father expectantly. He wipes away a falling tear. "He says thank you for making his heart feel better."

"Can I open it?" He nods. She carefully removes the ribbon and the box lid. Inside is a Hello Kitty toy medical bag. Chéng Xīnyán squeals in delight and hugs it to herself. Hello Kitty really was her favorite.

"So you kept the toy all this time not knowing that you would be a doctor one day?" Zhào Yúnlán asked. He was leaning forward in the chair. In telling the story of the syringe, Chéng Xīnyán had said something that piqued his interest. At one point, he quickly masked an emotion that accidentally slipped onto his face. She decidedly pretended not to have noticed.

"Coincidentally, I found this piece when I moved back into my childhood home." Chéng Xīnyán chuckled "I played with it until some of the pieces broke, carried it with me until most of the others were lost. I don't live in a Disney movie and have no romanticized notions about the toys' influence on my career choice. I kept it no longer and no better than any other child would at that age," she said shrugging. "Eventually, other interests and responsibilities took priority and the toy became like other childish things."

"I guess that can be said about most things." Zhào Yúnlán sat back in his chair and pulled out a lollipop. "So tell me, what was Shěn Wēi like in school?"