At that moment, he finally understood why the locals warned against staying out on the streets at night. Now, even if he wanted to return to his inn, he couldn't get through the endless stream of speeding motorcycles.
While he desperately tried to dodge them, exhausted, he was still knocked down by a motorcycle and lost consciousness.
...
The next day, at the desert camp.
Meng Yao's local phone, which she had activated with Hong Jiaxi, suddenly had a signal. A local call came in.
She had planned to find Hong Jiaxi to clarify things after leaving the camp, and she wanted to contact him.
But she found it strange that a local would know her phone number, so she answered.
"Hello, is this Jiaxi?"
The person on the other end spoke English. It was a doctor from a local hospital who had found her number on an injured person's phone and called her, asking her to come to the hospital.
Upon hearing this, Meng Yao knew Hong Jiaxi had been in an accident and wanted to rush to the hospital immediately.
However, the driver she had arranged with hadn't arrived yet, and there was no other transportation available. No matter how worried and anxious she was, she had to wait.
Fortunately, the driver kept his word. Although he was a bit late, he managed to get her to the hospital before dark.
She arrived at the hospital room and saw Hong Jiaxi receiving an IV drip, still unconscious.
The doctor informed her that Hong Jiaxi had been in a car accident and sustained an injury to his side, which wasn't particularly severe.
It was just that he hadn't been brought to the hospital in a timely manner. He must have been injured at night and was only discovered by passersby in the early morning.
Meng Yao asked worriedly, "Doctor, will he be alright?"
"He will recover. Fortunately, he's young, and his body's functions recover quickly," the doctor replied.
Hearing this, Meng Yao finally felt a little relieved and prepared to stay by his side to see if she could do anything for him.
As the doctor left the room, he said to her, "You should also be careful. Never stay out on the streets at night. Your friend was likely out at night when the accident happened."
"Okay," Meng Yao asked curiously, "Why are you all saying it's not safe to go out at night?"
The doctor explained, "After the war, various factions are still vying for power here in secret. Some factions have formed what they call 'speeding gangs' with restless youths. At night, these people ride their motorcycles recklessly on the roads, not caring if they hit anyone."
"Thank you, I understand."
Before leaving, the doctor looked at her again and suddenly asked, "Madam, have we met somewhere before?"
Meng Yao looked at him again but couldn't recall. To her, the men here all looked alike, with little distinguishing features.
"Are you Dr. Huangfu from the East?" the doctor asked.
Meng Yao nodded, then remembered something and said, "Did you work at the International Humanitarian Hospital before?"
"Yes, I was Dr. Doug's assistant."
"Mmm, I remember now." Meng Yao didn't recognize Dr. Doug's assistant, but she had a vivid memory of Dr. Doug himself.
At that time, she had just arrived in this unfamiliar place, feeling anxious and scared. The locals seemed fierce and unapproachable.
Dr. Doug had brought homemade flatbread from his home and warmly offered it to them. He also told the doctors from different places that they could come to him if they encountered any difficulties in their lives there.
Dr. Doug was a very compassionate doctor. When she and Song Jiaping finished their mission and were leaving, Dr. Doug escorted them all the way to the airport.
As they bid farewell, she had said a Chinese phrase to Dr. Doug: "送君千里，终须一别" (Sòng jūn qiānlǐ, zhōng xū yī bié - Though we travel a thousand miles together, we must part).
Dr. Doug had smiled and said, "Can you say that again? I want to learn this Chinese phrase."
Meng Yao repeated it three times, prompting him to follow along. When he learned it, he was as happy as a child.
He watched them board the plane, waving to them continuously, an image that remained etched in her mind.
Meng Yao asked the doctor excitedly, "Where is Dr. Doug now?"
Dr. Doug's assistant's eyes reddened as he replied, "He's gone. He died the day the hospital was bombed. He could have escaped, but he insisted on finishing surgery on a patient..."
Meng Yao could hardly believe that such a good person was no longer alive. Tears welled up in her eyes.
They all fell silent. Only those who had experienced war could understand the profound sadness and helplessness that such events bring.
Dr. Doug's assistant, fighting back his grief, said, "Dr. Huangfu, thank you for your selfless help back then. Take good care of your friend, and I will ensure he recovers quickly."
Meng Yao hummed in response, looking at the assistant who had now become a doctor himself, feeling that everything was beyond words...
Meng Yao stayed by the bedside all night and saw that Hong Jiaxi's vital signs were gradually improving.
Just as she was about to leave the room to inform the doctor, Hong Jiaxi woke up.
The moment he opened his eyes and saw Meng Yao, he was overjoyed.
"Jiaxi, how are you feeling?" Meng Yao asked with concern.
"Where did you go?" Hong Jiaxi tried to pull out the IV needle from his hand.
Meng Yao stopped him, "Lie down, don't move around. Did you get hit by a motorcycle because you were looking for me?"
Hong Jiaxi didn't answer her. He said, "I'm fine. As long as you're alright, that's all that matters. Where did you go?"
"I just went for a walk in the desert. Don't worry, I'm more familiar with this place than you are, having lived here for a year." Meng Yao told him to lie still and said, "You've studied medicine, how could you not take care of your own body?"
Hong Jiaxi stiffened, realizing something, and asked, "You, you remember everything now?"
"Yes, I remember everything," Meng Yao replied.
Hong Jiaxi grabbed her hand and said excitedly, "You know now, don't you? We are childhood sweethearts."
"I remember." Meng Yao withdrew her hand. In truth, she no longer had any feelings for him, but seeing that he was still injured, she decided not to tell him the truth right away.
"That's great! You know now that you like me, and that Song Jiaping was lying to you."
Meng Yao soothed him, "Your injuries aren't healed yet, you can't get too excited. Let's focus on your recovery first."
"Yes, I need to get better quickly. We'll go back, and when we get back, I'll propose to Uncle Huangfu," Hong Jiaxi said happily, lying down obediently.
Meng Yao didn't respond. She stood up and said, "I'll go find your attending physician and have him examine you again."
Saying this, she left the room, thinking it wouldn't be too late to explain everything to him once he had recovered.
...
Song Jiaping submitted his leave request to the HR department overnight. When he arrived at the company early in the morning, he found that his email reply stated that his request was not approved.
However, he had to go abroad to find Huangfu Mengyao.
Last night, he had suddenly received a text message from Mengyao in a foreign land.
As soon as he saw Mengyao's message, he knew she had gone to the country that had experienced war.
Although the war there had ended, the social situation was still unstable, which kept him awake all night with worry.
He looked at the computer on his desk and decided to print out his leave request and go directly to Huangfu Mengqi.