Race the Rain, Chase the Sunset / Yizhan

Chapter 3

Life at the hospital has gone back to its usually hectic hustle and bustle, leaving Xiao Zhan with little to no time to actually think about the patient he would have liked to get to know better. He hurries from one examination room to the next and one night there’s an accident on the highway which brings a never-ending stream of victims to the emergency room.

That night Xiao Zhan works long past the end of his shift and it all ends in frustration when he can’t save all the lives he wants to and has to admit that even modern medicine sometimes reaches its limits. After working for more hours than he cares to count, Meng Ziyi finally tells him to at least take a break for half an hour. She knows it’s no use to send him home because he won’t go as long as there are still patients waiting for treatment. Even if they just have a few cuts and bruises.    

That’s how Xiao Zhan finds himself in the break room way after midnight with his phone in his hand to distract himself from what’s going on in the ward. A part of him wants to go back but Meng Ziyi has threatened to tie him to a chair if he returns before half an hour is over and he doesn’t dare cross that woman. So instead of being a pain in the ass for his boss, Xiao Zhan scrolls through Weibo looking for news about his favorite dramas.

It’s precisely 00:47am when his phone vibrates with a WeChat message that Xiao Zhan almost drops the device. Who in their right mind would text him at a time like this? Yang Zi already knows that he’s going to work late today and won’t be home for a while.

Curious, Xiao Zhan opens the message only to almost drop the phone a second time in a row. It’s Wang Yibo. Wang fucking Yibo texted him at 00:47am.

From Wang Yibo : Hey Xiao yisheng . I hope you haven’t forgotten me. It’s Wang Yibo. Sorry for not writing sooner. And sorry for writing so late. How are you doing?

Xiao Zhan stares at the message as if it’s a hallucination that will disappear any second. But it doesn’t. It’s still there even after he blinks at it. Several times. What the fuck?

To Wang Yibo : Hello Wang laoshi . I’m fine. How are you doing? I don’t mind the long silence or the late hour. It’s okay.

Xiao Zhan reads the text twice, wondering if it’s okay like that. Casual enough but not too friendly. But also, not too distant. He reads it a third time before pressing the ‘send’ button. A part of him is sure that he won’t receive an answer anymore and that Wang Yibo just played a trick on him or only felt bored for a bit and needed a distraction, but that doesn’t actually make sense.

His phone vibrates again with another message not even a minute later and who else would it be? It’s Wang Yibo of course.

From Wang Yibo: Ah, I’m doing fine too. No more headache. Back in training. Have you ever been at a racing track?

The question has Xiao Zhan furrow his brows. At the racing track? Of course not. But why would that be of any interest to Wang Yibo? It’s not like it makes a difference to him, does it?

To Wang Yibo: I’m glad you’re feeling well. Means I’m not entirely bad at my job. I have never been to a racing track, why?

Is it appropriate to make a joke like that? Or is that too familiar?

From Wang Yibo: I think you’re pretty good at your job. Wanna come to the Golden Port Circuit tomorrow evening? I wanna show you around

To the circuit? Wang Yibo wants to show him the circuit? As in a private tour? With just him and the star racer? No, that can’t be it.

To Wang Yibo: I’m free tomorrow. Is there a special event?