Scattering your kindness, while sowing your lies.

It was the policewoman who stepped in to shield Bai Haonan. The moment she stood up, the surrounding voices dwindled unconsciously, mostly due to her height. Bai Haonan had always thought Chen Sufen was tall enough and silly enough, but this policewoman was easily ten centimeters taller—if she stood in the town square, she would have a deterrent effect just by her presence. Like a crane among chickens, she could send a chill down someone’s spine with a single glance. As she rose and strode forward, even her colleagues fell silent. “Alright, if you want to play football, just ask any player on the field. He's a paid coach—arranging matches is a different matter. Let’s go for a walk. Don’t interrupt!”

Bai Haonan had never been so obediently led away by any woman, but the policewoman’s tone, though conciliatory, made him nod quickly. Facing one was certainly better than facing a crowd. As they walked off, he glanced back and realized those policemen genuinely wanted to play a match with them; they were off consulting with the doctors but still sneaking glances at him and giving him encouraging thumbs up.

He also caught sight of a few familiar nurses whispering about him, no doubt the policewoman had made him unpopular.

But the policewoman wasn’t as forceful as she appeared. Walking a few steps along the edge of the pitch, she spoke softly, “Sorry, first about you and that girl—there’s been a lot of embellishment. My mom thinks you’re a good guy: you saved my dad and are so deeply loyal… She thought you might be similar to me.”

The medical university was beautifully landscaped. Bai Haonan, dressed in a coach’s t-shirt, sports shorts, and ordinary sneakers, stood with the policewoman under the shade of roadside trees. There was a strange sense of compatibility. He looked up at her, truly looked up—he was sure the policewoman was taller than him. Of course, she wore semi-high heels when in uniform, and he couldn’t quite bring himself to look down. “Similar in what way?”

The policewoman drew herself up again, her slender frame making her seem even more upright and proud. “My fiancé was also a police officer. He died in a similar case investigation. It's been over two years now. Isn’t that almost like your story about the brain tumor? With my mindset and my height, it’s hard to find the right person. That’s always been my mom’s worry. When my dad woke up after surgery, the first thing he said was that you’re quite tall…” She laughed as she said this, “Apparently, even while unconscious in surgery, he was concerned about it. So today, they all encouraged me to come see you, to put their minds at ease. Don’t take it to heart.”

Bai Haonan had never felt anything special toward police officers; lately he even avoided them. But before her smile, he sensed a wave of sadness washing over him. With his practiced sensitivity in reading women, he felt almost suffocated, as if her emotions were deep enough to drown someone. That sorrow was hidden behind her seemingly strong and generous smile, but when it leaked out, it was overwhelming.

With his limited culture, Bai Haonan could only grasp the meaning of “sorrow.” He hesitated, then chose an unusual topic. “Was he tall?”

Her courteous smile was tinged with sunlight. “Taller than me. I’m one eighty-five.”

Bai Haonan knew turning away was the best choice for himself, but after that sadness, seeing the sunlight in her smile, he couldn’t bear to leave. A competitive gleam sparked in his face. “The tallest girlfriend I ever had was one ninety-four. I had to stand on tiptoe to kiss her!”

The policewoman’s incredulous expression was vivid. “Really?”

Bai Haonan boasted of his glory, “She was on the volleyball team. I wanted to challenge even greater heights, two-oh-one, but she was so unattractive I couldn’t bring myself to try.” He even stretched his face into a long, ghostly shape. Some very tall people, due to growth hormones, do have elongated facial features.

The policewoman nearly burst into genuine laughter but restrained herself, a primal suppression that morphed into criticism. “You shouldn’t judge by appearances! And…” And she seemed to think he was disrespecting women or feelings, but held her tongue.

Bai Haonan shook his head, defending his freedom, “I’d have no psychological barriers with someone like you, but with that ugly upturned nose…”

The policewoman’s face darkened. “How can you be like this! Looks are given by parents. Mocking someone’s appearance is extremely rude and vulgar.”

Unexpectedly, Bai Haonan replied, “You can say that because you’re good-looking. It’s comfortable to see yourself in the mirror. Nowadays, looks are everything; being unattractive really does spoil the cityscape. I’m rude, I’m vulgar, but you’d have to be desperate to stoop so low. I’d never compromise when choosing a girlfriend—my life is my own, I should have that freedom at least.”

The policewoman had never encountered such brazenly shameless rhetoric—or those who dared to speak like this had already been detained by her colleagues. At least, the ones she met were always reasonable. Bai Haonan’s blend of indirect flattery and unabashed cheek was unfamiliar. “You… You really have issues!” With that, she strode off, fuming.

Bai Haonan didn’t call after her, held back from offering any comforting words, and finally disgusted her enough to leave. He slipped back to the edge of the football field, saw the police had left too, and breathed a huge sigh of relief before joining his teammates for dinner. When they asked if he wanted to play a couple of matches against the police team, he brushed it off ambiguously. “Probably not a good idea, you guys are making too much noise with half-empty buckets.”

The doctors quickly guarded against any bad influences, promising to train well and only shine when playing in city competitions.

On the way to shower and then to the restaurant, this was the main topic. In fact, though the First Affiliated Hospital had lost, the other side was a combined team of four hospitals and medical university faculty, essentially pooling the best from each unit. They were much stronger. If each unit fielded its own team for health system competitions, they’d be far weaker than the First Affiliated. So there was a touch of envy.

Bai Haonan, ever shameless, said offhand, “Why not just put together a team? Whether you’re from the same unit or not, that’s up to you.”

The First Affiliated immediately criticized their coach for creating strong rivals. Bai Haonan retorted that without opponents, they wouldn’t improve; only strong rivals push you to grow. The intellectuals agreed he had a point and resolved to drink well tonight.

They went to a rather upscale Sichuan restaurant, almost booked out entirely. The nurse-led cheer squad and a few family members had already ordered and arranged seating. The men arrived and ate heartily, but after a few rounds of drinks, something unexpected happened.

Xiu’er—the girl who had pretended to have a brain tumor—finally seemed to summon her courage, holding her glass and approaching Bai Haonan in front of several doctors. She raised her glass and said, “Brother Hao, be my boyfriend.”

Bai Haonan wore a look of someone witnessing a foul. “No way!”

Surrounded by the encouragement of several girlfriends, the girl tried to insist, “I want a definite answer!”

Bai Haonan replied in his true colors, “Definitely not!”

The girl promptly splashed her drink in his face, then turned and stormed off. Bai Haonan actually grinned, turned to the players who were half eager for drama, half embarrassed, and waved, “Come on, let's drink!”

For a rascal like Brother Hao, such minor turbulence was nothing at all.