The Stranger in the Passenger Seat

Near closing time, the registration hall was deserted. Just the two of them.

No waiting in line.

Photos, forms, signatures, stamps. Everything went smoothly.

Soon, Nora had the marriage certificate in her hands.

She hadn't brought a bag, so she slipped it into the folder with her medical reports.

Adrian's car was parked in the lot across from the courthouse.

They walked side by side toward the curb. No conversation to speak of.

Red light.

Standing at the edge of the crosswalk, Nora noticed Adrian still showed no sign of saying goodbye.

She turned to him. "Do you need me to come home with you now?"

If so, the leave she'd gotten from Dr. Vaughn wouldn't be nearly enough.

...Ask for another two hours? But chief residents weren't supposed to take leave lightly.

Nora frowned.

Fortunately, Adrian had no such intention.

He looked at her sideways, answering with a question. "Doesn't a chief resident need to be back at the hospital at night?"

Nora nodded. "Yes."

Chief resident was essentially the department chair's right hand. Beyond schedules, rounds, and charts, there were consultations and nighttime emergency surgeries. One person doing the work of eight.

Of course she needed to get back.

Adrian gave a slight nod. "Then we'll wait until you're free. No rush."

"Fine." Nora exhaled in relief.

She didn't like dragging out commitments. She ran through her upcoming surgeries in her head.

"This Sunday should work. I think I can get the day off."

"We'll see when the time comes." Green light. Adrian's answer was offhand. He gestured forward and stepped off the curb.

Across the street.

Nora wasn't planning to follow him to the parking lot. The road in front of the hospital was always jammed.

Not wanting to inconvenience him, Nora said, "It's easy to grab a cab back to the hospital. You don't need to drive me."

"Not appropriate."

Adrian glanced at her.

"It's on the way. Get in."

He'd barely finished speaking when his phone rang.

Doctor's habit — phones never go on silent. Adrian pulled his out immediately.

The ringtone kept going. He glanced at the caller ID but didn't answer.

Nora thought it was strange. She turned her head, accidentally catching the name on the screen: Vivian.

The screen stayed lit for over ten seconds, then went dark when the call dropped.

A few seconds later, it lit up again.

This time as the ringtone blared, Adrian held the phone, his expression tight with irritation.

He seemed to notice she'd glanced over and looked at her.

"My mother."

Nora had been focused on typing an address into her ride-hailing app.

Hearing Adrian's words, she instinctively interpreted it as a request for help.

"Do you need me to take the call?"

"Not just yet."

Adrian's eyes met hers as he answered — a polite, formal meeting of gazes.

Nora's fingers paused. It dawned on her...

He wasn't asking for help. So he'd told her specifically — was that an explanation?

Explaining that the woman calling was just his mother.

Nora returned a small, polite smile. "You don't need to explain, Dr. Cross."

Not that she trusted him. It was basic logic.

From a cost-effectiveness standpoint, if Adrian already had a suitable woman in his life, he wouldn't have needed a blind date in the first place.

They'd reached another silent understanding on the bachelor status.

Adrian looked at her and gave a faint nod.

The ringtone went off for the third time, stubborn as ever.

The person on the other end clearly intended to keep calling until he picked up.

"Excuse me."

Left with no choice, Adrian nodded toward Nora and answered the call.

"Mom."

His voice was laced with resignation. "What's wrong with your heart now?"

Whatever she said on the other end, Adrian replied, "I don't have time right now."

"I need to drop—"

He turned instinctively. Nora, who'd been standing beside him moments ago, was now at the curb.

A taxi was pulling up in front of her.

She caught his eye and pointed at the dashboard clock.

"Dr. Cross. Another time."

And then nothing but a decisive silhouette disappearing into the back seat.

Adrian let out a low laugh.

"Nothing," he said into the phone.

—

"So you two haven't been in touch since getting the license?"

The more Zoe heard, the more absurd it seemed.

A guy crashes someone else's blind date. Gets the marriage license. Then vanishes completely.

What kind of man was this?

Still fired up from that morning's video, Zoe now viewed every man as guilty until proven innocent.

"Even if you got the wrong guy — he couldn't have gotten it wrong, right?" she asked.

Did Adrian get it wrong?

Nora ran the probability in her head. Then remembered the look Adrian had given her the moment she sat down.

She had to admit it. "...He probably didn't."

As for why he'd gone along with a mistaken blind date — maybe he also happened to need a spouse? That was Nora's theory.

Zoe was furious. "Then this is textbook marriage fraud!"

Her chest was heaving. Nora knew she was worried on her behalf.

But fraud? Adrian Cross? Not a chance.

Put them side by side — one was a top cardiothoracic surgeon. The other was a junior attending with no car, no house, and no attending promotion yet. What exactly was Adrian supposed to be scamming her for?

Nora opened her mouth to tell Zoe about Adrian's credentials, to put her mind at ease.

The duty phone cut her off.

"Nora! Transfer from a community hospital!"

"On my way."

Nora hung up and strode out. "Zoe, we'll finish this conversation later."

—

"Oh, so Dr. Adrian finally has time now?"

Adrian had barely stepped through the door when Vivian hit him with the sarcasm.

On the sofa, Vivian was in peak form, flipping through a book. When she saw Adrian, she huffed and turned her back.

"Mom."

Adrian walked over.

"Don't."

Vivian spun around, her frustration spilling over. "You've been back in the country for two weeks and haven't shown your face once. Now you're calling me 'Mom.'"

Adrian was used to Vivian's temperament. He said nothing, just sat on the opposite sofa.

"How's your heart feeling now?"

Vivian shot him an exasperated look. "Dr. Cross, my heart was bothering me last night. It's been over twelve hours. Waiting for you to check on me — I'd be cold in a box by now."

Adrian looked at his mother and chose not to call out the lie.

He stood up, as if to leave. "Well, if you're feeling better, keep reading. I have things to do."

"Stop right there!"

Vivian's eyes widened. "I'm not finished."

She slapped the book in her hand onto the coffee table, cover side up.

Two titles stared back at him:

Andrology and Sexual Medicine, and The Self-Help Guide to Improving Sexual Function: A Therapist's Manual.

Adrian scanned the covers. His lips twitched. He exercised considerable restraint.

Vivian put her hands on her hips and looked at him. "Son, tell me the truth. Are you avoiding relationships because of a hardware problem or a psychological issue? We have money. We can fix it!"

Adrian turned to leave, speechless.

Vivian stopped him again. "Fine. No problems at all, then. So why didn't you go on that blind date?"

In the two weeks since he'd returned, Mrs. Cross had arranged no fewer than eight setups. Adrian had run out of excuses.

No time. No interest. Don't want to.

He was bored of saying it. Vivian was bored of hearing it.

Guessing he was about to recycle the same lines, Vivian cut him off.

"What about Dr. Quinn yesterday? Medical family. Gorgeous. I heard she's liked you for years. Still no?"

Vivian was on a tirade. Adrian's head was starting to pound.

"Mom, I don't need a blind date—"

Vivian was too worked up to hear it. She slammed the table. "Don't need a blind date? Then find someone on your own!"

"I don't care who. Any woman will do."

"Tall, short, plump, skinny. Gentle, lively, twenty, thirty — hell, if you want someone sixty, I'll accept it!"

"Mom." Adrian frowned.

Vivian glared at him, her stance absolute. "This is not up for discussion."

"You're pushing forty. Keep this up and you'll be an unwanted, overripe cucumber."

The "overripe cucumber" — thirty years old by Western count, thirty-one by Chinese — had clearly grown accustomed to Mrs. Cross's creative rounding methods.

Vivian was on a roll, no room for interruption.

So Adrian chose to pull the marriage certificate straight out of his pocket.

"Mom. When I said I don't need a blind date, I meant I'm already married."