Chapter 1.2  Flash Marriage Partner

He Wenqian was dead serious. “Don’t laugh. I’m not wishing you ill, but my wife handles cases like this every year. She told me to share this with colleagues, and I didn’t take it seriously until now.”

His wife was a police officer. Influenced by her work, he often shared fraud prevention tips with their department.

Grateful for his concern, Shi Miao reassured him. “My—” She hesitated, unable to say the word “husband.” “My spouse is a decent person.”

“…”

He couldn’t argue further. Pointing to her noodles, he said, “Eat quickly. They’re getting soggy.”

After sending her mother a photo of the marriage certificate, Shi Miao put away her phone, tidied up her dinner, and headed to the director’s office.

“Director, you wanted to see me?”

Gu Changshen was eating a boxed meal. He glanced up. “You’re done eating already? Sit down.”

“Did Jiang Yang lodge a complaint about me?”

“Well-informed, aren’t you?”

“It’s hard not to know. He didn’t exactly keep it a secret.”

Since the director was also her mentor, Shi Miao didn’t bother with pleasantries. “What exactly did Jiang Yang report about me?”

Gu Changshen simply said, “Reschedule the night shifts for the first-line team.”

As expected, it was about the scheduling.

Shi Miao maintained her stance. “I didn’t single him out. In fact, he’s doing fewer night shifts next month.”

“No one said you were targeting him. But when Jiang Yang rotated through other departments, he only had the occasional night shift. Now that he’s in your team, he’s been assigned several right away.”

He wanted Shi Miao to get along well with Jiang Yang. After all, Director Jiang had invested heavily in training his son, and it was clear that all resources would be funneled to support him in the future. Jiang Yang himself had potential and talent, so his prospects were bright.

Of course, Jiang Yang had his flaws—enough to irritate even the most patient—but he wasn’t beyond hope.

Transforming someone like Jiang Yang wasn’t something that could be achieved overnight; it required a gradual approach.

As Gu Changshen finished his meal and tidied up the takeout box, he changed the subject. “Your mentor’s wife asked about you yesterday. She wanted me to tell you that you’re nearly halfway through your year as chief resident—light is at the end of the tunnel.”

Shi Miao was speechless.

The director knew her too well. Bringing up his wife was like playing the ultimate card, leaving her with no room to argue.

Being able to study under the renowned cardiac surgeon Gu Changshen was partly due to Shi Miao’s talent in medicine, but the other part was thanks to his wife.

In her youth, the director’s wife had aspired to become a cardiac surgeon herself. Unfortunately, no mentor was willing to take her on back then, and she had to settle for internal medicine instead.

When Shi Miao interned in internal medicine during university, she caught her mentor’s wife’s eye. Upon learning that Shi Miao wanted to specialize in cardiac surgery, her mentor’s wife introduced her to Gu Changshen. That connection set the foundation for years of mentorship.

Not only was the mentor’s wife Shi Miao’s benefactor on her medical journey, but she also frequently guided her in her career. She was often worried that Shi Miao’s youthful arrogance and impatience might harm her future.

With no other choice, Shi Miao relented and stood up. “Director, you should head home early. I’ll go reschedule the night shifts.”

Gu Changshen waved her off, signaling her to get on with her work.

Sitting at the computer, Shi Miao struggled for a while. Ultimately, she had no choice but to take half of Jiang Yang’s assigned night shifts for herself.

Just as she finished, her phone rang. It was the emergency department requesting a consultation.

That night, they admitted two new patients, keeping her busy until three in the morning.

When she finally managed to doze off for a bit, her alarm clock rudely interrupted her sleep for the morning shift handover.

A colleague brought her breakfast—two cups of coffee and a tray of steamed dumplings. As Shi Miao ate, He Wenqian returned from the wards. “The family of the patient in bed six… sigh.” He let out a heavy sigh.

Bed six was one of the newly admitted patients from last night.

“What’s wrong?” Shi Miao asked.

“They got into an argument with the other families in the ward. They just arrived, so how much trouble could they possibly have? They even made the nurse cry first thing in the morning.”

“By the way, who’s the attending for this patient?”

Shi Miao answered, “Jiang Yang is the assigned doctor for bed six.”

He Wenqian fell silent.

After handing over her shift, Shi Miao finally began her rare day off. Still, she had to keep her phone on and be ready for any emergency calls.

Leaving the hospital, Shi Miao was too exhausted to walk to the subway station, so she hailed a taxi. As she leaned back against the seat and watched the bustling crowd heading to work, Jiang Yang’s name kept popping into her mind.

Covering Jiang Yang’s night shifts wasn’t a sustainable solution. She worried it might lead to burnout. But reassigning his shifts to other colleagues would only earn her more enemies.

Performing surgeries and conducting research never fazed her, but the complex interpersonal dynamics of the department left her utterly drained.

Thinking of this, Shi Miao’s thoughts wandered to her newlywed husband, Min Ting.

Min Ting managed a massive corporation. Surely, he had mastered the art of navigating relationships. Maybe she could ask him for advice.

Since they got their marriage license, the two hadn’t been in touch.

Shi Miao opened their chat: “Are you back from your trip?”