...
After paying the check, Qin Zhi'ai and Lu Bancheng left together. Not wanting him to drive her home, she asked him to drop her off at the subway station near the hotel.
It was just past eight thirty in the evening. The city was lit up with lively hustle and bustle in all directions.
The early spring evenings were getting warmer, and winter jasmine was blooming on both sides of the street. The breeze spread their fragrance to Qin Zhi'ai.
Qin Zhi'ai's emotions were stirred up by what Lu Bancheng had said at dinner. She stood at the entrance of the subway station for a few moments with her purse in her hands. Instead of walking into the station, though, she walked slowly along the street without any destination in mind.
With comfortable flats on, she wasn't tired from walking even after some 30 minutes had passed. Looking around to see where she'd wandered, she realized she was just 500 feet from Old Master Gu's hospital.
