Cheng Liang, Sheng Xia

The loud bang just now was because the electrician blindly touched the short-circuited wire. As soon as the power was connected, the ceiling light in Xiao Zhou’s living room exploded, followed by a crackling sound from the circuit breaker in the corridor.

It was quite lively, like setting off fireworks.

“Oh no!” The muscular but innocent-looking electrician turned his head and asked Cheng Liang with a puzzled expression, looking somewhat aggrieved, “Why is the short circuit in 301 when it’s supposed to be in 302?”

Cheng Liang: “……”

How the fuck should he know why?!

“Did you rent these two apartments to the same person?” Another electrician analyzed the situation seriously for Cheng Liang. “But why would they want to modify the wiring? I think the previous setup was very scientific, and there didn’t seem to be any deficiencies.”

Cheng Liang: “……”

If he ever hired workers based on psoriasis ads again, he’d strangle Xiao Zhou.

“What do we do now?” Cheng Liang could only pull the topic back, otherwise these electricians might veer off into a suspense plot.

“Fix it,” the electrician who directly caused the power outage in the entire building was very calm. “What else can you do?”

“But this might need major repairs,” another electrician said. “It’s about time your building has a major overhaul. The tenants come and go, and you don’t know what alterations were made when they rented, so it’s a good time to check everything at once and eliminate hidden dangers.”

If it weren’t for the fact that the electrical box was still smoking, it would have been quite convincing.

“How long will it take to fix?” Cheng Liang asked, feeling disheartened.

“About a day,” the muscular electrician waved his hand confidently. “With four of us, we can go over all the electrical work in your building in a day.”

“Don’t look for anyone else. We’ll start now, and we can finish it by 10 pm if we hurry.” Although the electrician was muscular, he was also considerate and gentle. His tone was sincere. “If you look for someone else, it’ll just delay things. Whoever comes to do this job will do the same thing. We’re already familiar with the setup. We’ll give you a discount, so if you ever have any electrical issues in the future, just call us, and we’ll quickly fix it.”

Cheng Liang: “……”

These words blocked Cheng Liang inside and out, and they even secured a big deal for themselves effortlessly.

Sure enough, it was a breath of fresh air that could stand out in such fierce toilet advertisements…

Cheng Liang nodded tiredly and took out his phone to call the property management to ask them to notify the tenants of the building.

After everything was arranged, he looked at Sheng Xia and the others who were still standing at the door.

Both 301 and 302 were now cluttered with tools. After Cheng Liang nodded, the electricians spread their tools all over the floor. A large part of the wallpaper in Sheng Xia’s living room had also been peeled off, and it looked like it would be messy all day.

“If you have nowhere to go,” Cheng Liang spoke up, “you can go to my place and sit for a while.”

***

Cheng Liang didn’t know why he made the invitation.

But he knew that Sheng Xia wanted to refuse at first. She was shaking her head halfway, but after seeing Tang Caixi beside her, she instantly changed her shaking into nodding.

Following Sheng Xia’s gaze, Cheng Liang looked at Tang Caixi, then followed Tang Caixi’s gaze and looked at Xiao Zhou.

“Did you know Tang Caixi before?” Landlord Cheng Liang finally invited his tenants into his home. While he was busy in the kitchen washing fruits for the two ladies, he lowered his voice and asked Xiao Zhou.

The cautious Xiao Zhou didn’t answer immediately. He pushed his glasses up and asked a question first: “When you were a resident, did you ever scare a patient so much they transferred? How did you handle it afterward?”

……

Cheng Liang looked at him expressionlessly. “Apologize, write a report, face a deduction in evaluations.”

After a moment’s thought, he added: “I was smoked by Director Lin.”

Xiao Zhou: “Oh.”

“Spill it,” Cheng Liang crossed his arms and leaned against the refrigerator.

“On the day Sheng Xia had surgery, I was in Operating Room 3,” Xiao Zhou said. “It was Deputy Director Li’s surgery, a liver resection due to liver cancer. I had to take out the resected tissue to show it to the patient’s family, and when I shouted the patient’s name at the window, the person who came was Tang Caixi…”

Cheng Liang: “?”

“I guess she was too nervous. She was young and quick to act, so when she heard someone shouting for the family of the patient, she rushed over.” Xiao Zhou helped explain for Tang Caixi. “I then showed her what was in the tray.”

Needless to say, the rest didn’t need to be said.

Tang Caixi originally thought that she would see the stones in Sheng Xia’s stomach, but Xiao Zhou showed her a tumor instead.

Tang Caixi confirmed with Xiao Zhou four or five times. She asked him where the stones were, and he said there were no stones, only a tumor. After confirming so many times, he became annoyed and blurted out, “Right now, all we know is that it’s malignant. We’ll have to wait for the last results for the specifics.”

Tang Caixi was naturally frightened to tears.

In the end, the nurse came over and found that the two of them had been chatting on different frequencies the whole time. Tang Caixi was so scared that her legs went weak, while Xiao Zhou broke out in a cold sweat and called the patient’s family again.

“You didn’t double-confirm the patient’s name with her?” Cheng Liang detected the issue.

“Yes,” Xiao Zhou didn’t hide it, “I forgot at the time.”

If Tang Caixi really made a fuss about this, Xiao Zhou would be the one responsible, not to mention that there were other family members involved.

“Find a time to apologize to Tang Caixi alone,” Cheng Liang said, unusually serious. “Let’s not stir up trouble for Director Lin recently.”

Moreover, the two of them lived across from each other now.

And, he was the landlord.

“Let’s do it today,” Xiao Zhou said, “I don’t have to go to the hospital today.”

“Aren’t you on duty in the ward today?” Cheng Liang frowned.

“The ward assignments changed,” Xiao Zhou said. “The schedule was changed last month, and Director Lin has not been in the hospital recently, except for the surgeries he had previously scheduled.”

“The people in our department have also been quite idle lately.”

“So idle as if the people in Lucheng who need hepatobiliary surgery are gone,” Xiao Zhou laughed to himself.

Cheng Liang gave Xiao Zhou a sidelong glance: “Our hospital is not the only hospital in Lucheng, and we’re not the only hepatobiliary surgery department in our hospital.”

“I’m not as stable enough,” Xiao Zhou pointed, “I can’t be as calm as you.”

A dead kid who was not normal and would believe in small ads in the toilet.

Cheng Liang clicked his tongue and didn’t say anything.

“Aren’t you worried at all?” Anyway, since they’d broached the topic, Xiao Zhou didn’t hide it anymore.

He was relatively close to Cheng Liang, but most of the time, he didn’t really understand this person.

Cheng Liang acted too light, indifferent about everything. For someone who was good at joking and scolding, it was always difficult to see his sincerity.

“Director Lin hasn’t done anything,” Cheng Liang said, suppressing his smile. “His wife earns all the money in their household. Aside from his salary and bonuses, he hasn’t received a penny of gray income in the past few years.”

“All we need to know is that,” Cheng Liang looked at Xiao Zhou. “The rest doesn’t matter.”

Xiao Zhou didn’t understand: “Then what if the stuff the second department took out is deliberately planted?”

“We just need to know that Director Lin hasn’t done anything,” Cheng Liang slowed down his speech and repeated himself.

They couldn’t control the outcome of the investigation. Even if the outcome of the investigation wasn’t the truth, someone needed to remember the truth.

Xiao Zhou finally understood.

After understanding, he didn’t speak again.

Cheng Liang didn’t continue the topic either. He finally straightened up and opened the refrigerator, staring at the empty fridge in a daze.

Before coming in, he told Sheng Xia that he would bring them some fruit.

But now there wasn’t even water in the fridge.

“Do you have anything to eat in your bag?” Cheng Liang looked at the backpack that Xiao Zhou was carrying.

Xiao Zhou: “……”

***

Sheng Xia and Tang Caixi looked at the three apples on the coffee table. They should have been red when fresh, but now they were yellowish-red due to oxidation, and the skin was wrinkled. Cheng Liang had arranged them in a row.

“Eat.” Cheng Liang very calmly offered them, “They were taken out from Xiao Zhou’s bag. They shouldn’t be rotten.”

“Thank you,” Sheng Xia also calmly took an apple, took a bite, squinted her eyes, and confirmed, “It’s not rotten.”

Tang Caixi: “……”

One really dared to say and the other really dared to eat.

“How are you feeling now? I have a patient recipe here that should be suitable for you,” Cheng Liang looked at Sheng Xia, and the topic changed exceptionally abruptly.

“I want to borrow two books from you,” Sheng Xia also spoke almost simultaneously.

All four of them were momentarily stunned, then they all understood. Sheng Xia and Cheng Liang were probably thinking of the same thing—to give Tang Caixi and Xiao Zhou a chance to be alone together.

It’s just that…

This excuse was too lame!

It was just like those three apples that were so neglected they were almost turning into dried fruit!

Tang Caixi almost convulsed at the corners of her mouth as she watched Sheng Xia and Cheng Liang leave the living room one after the other, then turned her head to look at Xiao Zhou.

Xiao Zhou sat there, his hands clasped together, his expression sincere: “I’m sorry about that day. I should have double-checked, but my lack of experience made me forget.”

Tang Caixi: “… It’s okay, I was too nervous and didn’t hear the family member’s name.”

She had been floating through the whole surgery that day. If she hadn’t seen Xiao Zhou again today, she probably wouldn’t have remembered it.

She just thought of that bloody tumor the moment she saw Xiao Zhou, and subconsciously avoided it.

Xiao Zhou: “……”

Tang Caixi: “……”

So why did those two have to clear the scene when everything could be resolved with just a few words?

“They…” Xiao Zhou cleared his throat. “…have a pretty good relationship.”

“Right!” Tang Caixi perked up.

……

…………

“The atmosphere seems okay.” In the study, Cheng Liang looked at the living room.

Standing next to him, Sheng Xia also looked outside. Her ponytail brushed against Cheng Liang’s arm, and he took a step back.

“What books do you want to borrow?” he asked her.

Although he knew that borrowing books was just an excuse for Sheng Xia, he didn’t know why, but he felt that Sheng Xia should be able to come up with a book title.

“Do you have any books related to the life of surgeons? Or books you guys usually read?” As expected, Sheng Xia was prepared.

Cheng Liang raised an eyebrow.

“Our school is having a documentary competition next year, and the spare time of doctors is one of my options,” Sheng Xia explained. “It’s okay if you don’t have any. I can go to the library and find them myself.”

A documentary, huh…

Cheng Liang’s raised eyebrow went up a bit higher. “Why did you choose such a topic?”

“I thought of it when I was hospitalized,” Sheng Xia was still straightforward as ever. “At that time, I was curious about what doctors’ lives were like after taking off their white coats. I thought it would be a good topic.”

“You can just read books to make a documentary?” Cheng Liang asked again.

“I’ll read books first to narrow down the topic,” Sheng Xia answered. “Eventually, I’ll definitely have to find a few doctors to film, but that will have to wait until the topic is finalized.”

She had prepared five or six topics, and she was still fishing in the sea.

Cheng Liang still looked at Sheng Xia.

Should he continue to ask this question or not?

He asked himself.

“Why are you curious about the doctors’ private lives?” He heard himself ask anyway.

Sheng Xia looked at Cheng Liang, her gaze passing over the fixed bandage hanging around his neck.

“Because of you,” she replied.

He made her curious.

The way he faced the patients, the expression he had when he faced the medical dispute, and the sudden loss of control of his emotions the night before her surgery—all of this made her curious.

Cheng Liang lowered his head and smiled.

“You’re really……,” he searched for an adjective. “fucking blunt.”