"Masaki."
Chiba raised his head and greeted Valenti with a smile, "Why are you here?"
"I just heard that you made an appointment for today's surgery at the base, so I came to take a look."
"Don't come over yet." Qianye whispered.
Valenti cooperated very well and stood still. It wasn't until Elu had packed up all the documents on the hospital bed that she slowly walked to Chiba and sat down.
"Didn't you say you would take a good vacation in these two months?" Valenti frowned slightly, "Are you taking on another mission?"
Chiba waved gently to Elu, gesturing for him to go out. Elu bowed to Chiba and Valenti, and then closed the door from the outside.
"A new wave of chelates has appeared in a wasteland in District 5," Chiba's voice sounded a little hoarse. "It feels a little strange. There happened to be a request for help from there, so I went over to take a look."
"Has that been resolved?"
"Well, it's all solved." Qianye looked at her, "You came just in time. Help me tell Hesta tomorrow that she won't be going out the day after tomorrow. Let her stay in my ward."
"What do you want her to do?"
"If you don't do anything, just stay by my side." Chiba replied, "Otherwise, I won't be able to complete the time quota for spending time with her this month."
Valenti's expression was serious, "...do you know what vacation is for?"
"Rest." Chiba replied immediately.
She understood what Valenti wanted to say, but the two just looked at each other for a while. Chiba reached out and grabbed a handful of hair, "Can you do me one more favor?"
"What?"
"My coat should be outside, the head nurse and the others have put it away," Chiba lowered his voice, "There should be half a pack of cigarettes in the inner pocket of my jacket -"
Valenti frowned, "Do you think I will help you?"
"Okay." Chiba leaned back and reached out to hold the iron railing at the head of the bed, "But I'm fine, Valenti. These are just normal injuries. I will be discharged from the hospital soon -"
"If you continue to fight at this frequency, you may not live to be thirty-five years old - this is the diagnosis my father gave a few years ago." Valenti tilted his head, "Chiba, what are you thinking about? "
Chiba didn't answer. She stretched her legs straight, her entire upper body relaxed completely, and her long hair gathered on her chest.
The absence of a cigarette in such an occasion always made Chiba feel that something was missing. Her fingers tapped the sheets uneasily on the edge of the bed.
Qianye looked forward, "That's still too long."
A trace of surprise flashed in Valenti's eyes: "What do you mean? Do you want to commit suicide slowly in this way?"
Chiba was startled for a moment, then laughed, and waved her hand towards Valenti, "Death is inevitable, Valenti, but I will not take the initiative to walk towards it... I will never do this thing."
As if she felt that her question just now was too abrupt, Valenti blushed slightly. She stood up and arranged the fresh bouquets on the table next to her to avoid Chiba's gaze.
"My dad was talking to me about you a few days ago. He said that among all the patients he has come into contact with, no one has a stronger will to live than you."
"That's right," Qianye leaned on the bed, "I'm just unlucky and have a few habits that are slightly more destructive. You don't have to worry too much... How are you doing, Dr. Viking recently?"
"It's still the same." Valenti said softly, "He should have been patrolling several wilderness areas in the south with the Union Army recently. At the current rate, he may come to Tan Yi in two weeks."
"Your father is truly a brave man."
"Do you want to meet then?"
Chiba calculated the time in his mind and whispered: "It will depend on the situation then."
The two chatted for a while, and before leaving, Valenti turned back immediately as soon as she walked out of the room, "By the way, Ms. Anna's manuscript... I almost forgot to give it to you, it's so thick..."
As he spoke, Valenti took out a four-finger-thick stack of manuscripts from his black satchel. It was full of long and short sentences typed out on a typewriter, densely packed but very neat.
From the moment she heard the name "Anna", Chiba's expression became a little subtle.
"My dad is now Ms. Anna's attending physician." Valenti said softly, "We won't have to go to as much trouble to get Ms. Anna's manuscript in the future. He can now visit her every month."
Chiba silently took over the manuscript. The cover of the manuscript was added extra, and Valenti's father wrote "When the Forest Sings, Part 2" in cursive script.
"She is still writing these useless things." Chiba murmured, "No one will read it."
"I just read it," Valenti argued with a smile. "I felt very inspired after reading it. I have never seen anyone who can write about forest science in such an interesting way as she does."
"How is she doing, now?"
"It's fine in the short term, but not optimistic in the long term," Valenti whispered. "She had a minor surgery on her knee last month. If she recovers properly, she can stand up in the future. My dad mentioned it to the coalition government. Many times, what Ms. Anna needs in the future is not to continue to rest, but to return to normal life as soon as possible. She is always imprisoned in one place, even if it is a palace, it will not help. Fortunately, she can still write now, at least when she writes, she be free."
Chiba didn't respond. She looked back at the manuscript and said, "Is this thing... still handed over to the editor in District 14 last time?"
"Yes, there are two manuscripts here. One is given to the editor and the other. Ms. Anna hopes that you can keep it for her. She is worried that if the manuscript is left in her own hands, the next time the coalition government comes for a surprise inspection It will still be snatched away directly.”
"Okay." Chiba quickly found the dividing page in the stack of manuscripts, "I understand."
"Is there anything you want to pass on to her? Like—"
"No."
"It doesn't matter, my dad will have to wait another two weeks to arrive anyway. You can think about it again." Valenti stood up again, "When my dad comes to Tan Yi, the next stop will be back to the core city. He won't Gonna stay here too long.”
"Okay." Chiba looked up at Valenti, "Thank you for your hard work."
"Nothing." Valenti also looked at her, "I heard from my father that Anna's life is very lonely now. If someone can write her a letter, it should be a great encouragement."
"...You can write one," Chiba said. "When Anna gave us an introduction to natural history before, you always followed her and asked various questions - she must be very impressed by you."
"I've already written it." Valenti said with a smile, "But we haven't seen each other for almost four years, so I don't have much to write. You know that life in the base is regular and monotonous. No matter how much I write, I can’t write flowers, but if it were you——”
"I can't write flowers either," Chiba replied. "Many of the things I do are inconvenient to say. If the letter is intercepted midway, it will cause unnecessary trouble to her... Don't persuade me. "
Valenti sighed softly, but she soon laughed again, "That's right, I'm just giving you a suggestion, don't feel embarrassed."
After Valenti left, Elu walked into the ward again and saw Chiba sorting out the manuscript with one hand. Elu asked the reason, and Chiba told the truth.
"Do you need any help?" Elu asked, "I can send it out for you tomorrow."
"No, I have to go to District 14 next month." Qianye lowered his eyes, "I'll do it myself."
