Chapter 7

The two-person stretching session lasted for a full 20 minutes. During the process, Tang Feiwai could stare at the ground, or stare at the white wall behind Lin Ye, occasionally making accidental eye contact. She would quickly look away, as if she had been scorched by fire, and flee in a panic. Or, if the two were close enough, the other person’s breath would go straight into her nose, and she could only stiffen her back and mechanically perform the movements.

“Little Tang, why do I feel like you’ve entered the Pansi Cave? Why are you so tense?”

This was a sentence Lu Yuqing had said years ago when she acted as a light bulb, watching Lin Ye feed Tang Feiwai ice cream.

But now, the person who was once proactive was no longer proactive, while the nervous person remained nervous.

Finally, they reached the equipment training, and Tang Feiwai was relieved. She waited for the female coach to call them. But unfortunately, the coach brought four people, including her and Lin Ye. Tang Feiwai was annoyed and followed the others to the equipment area.

There was a new student today, and the female coach routinely asked, “Do you all have experience with strength training?”

“Yes.” Although Tang Feiwai had only started exercising last year, she went to the gym twice a week and was naturally more familiar with the equipment than most people who only went a few times a year after getting a membership.

Lin Ye was also doing strength training next to her. When she was doing the butterfly machine, Lin Ye was doing the seated rowing machine. When she was doing the high pull-down machine, Lin Ye was doing the Smith machine. So, during the 40-minute strength training session, Tang Feiwai kept her eyes straight ahead, her gaze as firm as if she was taking an oath of office.

Fortunately, the subsequent aerobic exercise and post-workout stretching could be arranged freely, so she and Lin Ye tacitly kept their distance, one on the first treadmill and the other on the last treadmill. For the 20-minute yoga stretch, one was in the first row, first position, and the other was in the third row, last position.

At 5:10 pm, Tang Feiwai finished showering and changed her clothes, finally escaping the gym. She reminded herself that it was only the first time she was nervous, and it would probably get better with more visits. After all, she had chosen a small class with a coach, and the 12,000 yuan annual membership fee had already been paid, so she couldn’t waste it.

Dinner was at Juhua Lou at 6 pm, 2.1 kilometers away. It was a 23-minute walk from the gym and a 6-minute taxi ride. Tang Feiwai pondered for a moment and finally chose to walk. Juhua Lou was located in the Haitian Building opposite the First Affiliated Hospital, which was convenient for Jiang Junli who worked nearby and also for Jiang Mu who worked at the Traffic Police Detachment, whose patrol area included the streets from the First Affiliated Hospital to the Second Affiliated Hospital, and Shujiang University.

After the heavy rain, the weather had cooled down slightly, but it was still a bit uncomfortable as the sun had started to set after noon. So, while walking on the side of the road, it was a bit unbearable in places where there was no shade from the trees. Tang Feiwai walked leisurely forward, not knowing where she got a plastic fan from, and kept fanning herself. Looking closely at the advertisement on the fan, it was xxx Anorectal Hospital. If you wanted to know where you could easily get advertisements for private hospitals, it would definitely be near public hospitals, where several old men and women would carry colorful bags filled with countless plastic fans and flyers.

After crossing a street and turning left, the pedestrians suddenly became crowded, mostly elderly grandparents, grandfathers and grandmothers, holding hands with their children who were only a few years old. The small backpacks on the children’s backs had the logo of Shujiang City Shatan District Experimental Kindergarten. Did kindergartens now dismiss so late? Tang Feiwai muttered to herself, taking two steps forward, but then slowed down and stopped.

Looking up, she saw Lin Ye, dressed in a light blue long skirt, standing under the banyan tree at the kindergarten gate. Her long hair, usually tied up in a bun, was loose and draped over her shoulders, a stark contrast to the aloofness she had shown when she was with Tang Feiwai. She was facing the kindergarten gate, with a smile on her face.

“Mommy.”

Tang Feiwai subconsciously took two steps back, putting some distance between them, but she could still see a little girl, about four years old, with twin pigtails, letting go of a middle-aged woman’s right hand and rushing into Lin Ye’s arms.

“Yangyang, happy birthday.” Lin Ye took a Disney rabbit doll from the bag she was carrying in her left hand and handed it to the little girl.

“Wow, StellaLou! Thank you, Mommy!” Lin Yangyang rubbed her cheek against Lin Ye’s side in gratitude, then obediently left her embrace and reached out to hold Lin Ye’s hand. The little girl had Lin Wenhui on her left and Lin Ye on her right. However, Tang Feiwai didn’t recognize Lin Wenhui. She thought she was the other party’s mother, and it seemed like the mother-in-law relationship was pretty good.

Lin Ye was walking in the same direction as her, so Tang Feiwai, suppressing the sourness in her heart, took a detour through the back path of the kindergarten. Her steps quickened, and her heart beat faster, but she still couldn’t forget the beautiful scene she had just glimpsed.

What was beautiful for Lin Ye felt like a knife stabbing into her chest, a heart-wrenching pain for Tang Feiwai. She understood that it was pointless to have this belated one-sided affection, knowing that the other party had completely forgotten the past. So she kept telling herself to be more carefree, to treat Lin Ye as a normal colleague, and to sincerely wish her well.

Turning right at the end of the alley and crossing the pedestrian crossing, she could see Haitian Building. Tang Feiwai, a mango enthusiast, bought a cup of mango pomelo sago with extra ice and sugar from a roadside stall. She chose to stimulate her taste buds with food to secrete dopamine, so that she could restrain her emotions. Otherwise, if she went to dinner with Old Tang with a long face, she would be questioned again.

Juhua Lou was located on the fourth floor of the Haitian Building’s dining area. Tang Feiwai arrived first. She sat down at the waiting area outside and sent a WeChat message to Tang Anhua: Teacher Tang, I’m here.

Tang Anhua replied quickly: Your mother had an emergency surgery this afternoon, so we’ll be late. This is Jiang Mu’s phone number, contact them first.

Call and contact? Wouldn’t it be awkward?

The facts told her that it would indeed be awkward.

Tang Feiwai took the initiative to dial the number. The call went through, and the other party spoke first: “Hello?”

“Hello, this is Tang Feiwai.”

“Hello, Jiang Mu.”

Tang Feiwai, who was originally not good at socializing and had forced herself to actively integrate into the new environment after returning to China, was at a loss for words. Fortunately, Jiang Mu spoke again: “I’m at the escalator on the third floor, I’ll be there soon. I’m wearing a brown short-sleeved shirt, a black baseball cap.”

“I’m at the waiting area outside Juhua Lou, wearing a light beige short-sleeved T-shirt.”

As soon as Tang Feiwai finished speaking, a person walked out from the escalator entrance not far from her left. She looked two or three centimeters taller than Tang Feiwai, wearing a brown short-sleeved shirt, light-colored trousers, a black baseball cap covering her long hair, a black rope around her neck with a silver skull pendant, and a black backpack on her back. She was a total cool girl. But unlike other people who were trying to be cool, she exuded a natural aura of heroism, and even had a hint of charm when she smiled.

Tang Feiwai tentatively called out: “Hello.”

Jiang Mu’s eyes curved: “Hello.”

Tang Feiwai finally managed to squeeze out three words: “Auntie.”

Jiang Mu immediately refused: “No, no, no, just call me by my name. I’m two years younger than you.”

She was the same age, and seemed to be a good person to get along with. Tang Feiwai became more talkative and sighed softly: “My mom said that the seniority can’t be messed up…”

“Whatever you want then.” Jiang Mu didn’t argue and sat down next to Tang Feiwai, taking out her phone to play independently.

The correct way for two strangers to get along for the first time was to play their own games.

Tang Feiwai also took out her phone and, with nothing to do, browsed the group messages of the second group. Someone complained that there was only one patient in the first half of the night shift, and then four patients were admitted almost simultaneously in the second half of the night. Someone complained that they hadn’t had time to publish their article, and they wouldn’t even be able to get a foot in the door for this year’s resident chief competition. Someone shared the success of saving a critically ill patient, full of a sense of accomplishment.

Jiang Mu, who was sitting next to her, suddenly asked: “Do you want some milk tea? I’ll order takeout.”

Tang Feiwai thanked her for her kindness: “No, I just had a cup before I came.”

“It’s okay to have another cup. Do you doctors pay special attention to health? You can’t eat this, you can’t drink that.”

Tang Feiwai shook her head with a smile: “No, milk tea, Coke, instant noodles, hamburgers, these foods that we tell patients to eat less often appear in our office all the time. Because it’s convenient, and because it makes us happy when we eat them, it can relieve stress. For example, staying up late. We tell them over and over again not to stay up late, but we have to stay up late when we’re on duty.”

“It’s pretty hard.”

They chatted casually, unaware that the two people who had just come out of the restaurant opposite to get cake had been staring at them for three minutes.

Lin Yangyang’s fourth birthday, Lin Ye also took the opportunity to invite Lu Yuqing out for a gathering. At this moment, Lu Yuqing was complaining with a black face: “You told me you had something to do tonight, and to schedule it for another time. But you’re meeting up with someone else. By the way, does Tang Feiwai play  same-sex dating website?”

“I don’t know.” Lin Ye’s expression was calm.

Lu Yuqing was thinking wildly and told Lin Ye: “Think about it, neither of them are straight, what are they meeting up for dinner for?”

Lin Ye’s emotions didn’t fluctuate much: “Maybe they know each other.”

“Know each other? One just came back from abroad, and the other was just transferred from a rural town on July 20th.”

Lin Ye seemed unconcerned, but actually bit her lip gently: “Didn’t you say yesterday that before you two went your separate ways, Jiang Mu promised to only date you? Don’t you believe her?”

“I was just a netizen with her, we were dating for mutual benefit, and we didn’t know each other’s personalities.” Lu Yuqing was stunned for a moment, then said, “I’ll just send her a WeChat message and ask.”

Having dinner?

The message was replied in less than 10 seconds: Yeah, with a relative.

Lu Yuqing was furious and pointed at her phone: “See, she lied to me and said Tang Feiwai was her relative. What kind of relative is that?”

“Maybe she really is a relative.” Lin Ye noticed that Jiang Mu deliberately avoided Tang Feiwai when she replied, not telling Lu Yuqing, because both reasons made sense. But Lu Yuqing also saw it, “She deliberately avoided Tang Feiwai when she replied, she definitely doesn’t want the other party to know about my existence.”

“Tang Feiwai’s mother also has the surname Jiang, maybe…”

“Are you believing her again unconditionally? Forget about her saying she was busy and didn’t reply to your messages, but then she went out to play with some foreigners until late at night?”

“I…” Lin Ye was hit where it hurt and couldn’t refute, so she changed the subject, “Okay, Doctor Lu, Yangyang’s birthday, we’re waiting for us to go back.”

“I’ll definitely ask her clearly another day. If she doesn’t tell the truth, then bye-bye.” Lu Yuqing was pulled back to the restaurant by Lin Ye and immediately changed her expression, walking towards the reserved private room with a beaming smile.

The short vacation was over, and new challenges were about to come. The motorcycle had been parked in the parking lot for two days, and Tang Feiwai took Tang Anhua’s car, so she arrived earlier than usual.

As soon as she turned on her computer at her desk, she heard a colleague greeting Lin Ye from behind. Lin Ye responded with a polite “good morning” to each of them, and Tang Feiwai also politely called out, but unexpectedly, she didn’t get a response.

Tang Feiwai suspected that her voice was too soft, and since she had work to do, she didn’t pay much attention. She finished her shift and was drinking water to quench her thirst when Sun Qinhe’s urgent words interrupted her: “Doctor Tang, where is Director Lin?”

“Making rounds.”

“There was a car accident on Wenkai Road, three people were sent here, they’ll be here in 5 minutes.” Emergency patients sent by 120 were like opening a blind box, you never knew what kind of pain they would be suffering next. Sun Qinhe relayed the message and went to the other two groups to call for help.

Three car accident patients, just one for each group.

Tang Feiwai arrived at the emergency room beforehand, and the medical staff were making emergency preparations.

Three minutes later, the first patient was wheeled in, directly to bed number four, which they were responsible for.

Tang Feiwai asked the accompanying doctor: “What happened?”

“He was too close to the car, the steel bar went straight through the car, causing a penetrating injury to the driver.” The accompanying doctor said briefly, helping to transfer the patient to the emergency bed, “The firefighters have already cut off the excess steel bar on the car, the rest they dare not move.”

Tang Feiwai leaned down and patted the patient’s shoulder, listening to his chest with a stethoscope: “Do you know who you are?”

The patient slightly opened his mouth, blood gushing out from the corner of his mouth.

“Suspected lung injury, which will affect the respiratory system later, intubation first.” Tang Feiwai examined the patient, her brow furrowed slightly, “Difficult airway.”

The resident doctor next to her quickly said, “I’ll go call Doctor Lu.”

“Come back, intubation is on me.” Tang Feiwai was facing the patient’s head, her hands moving constantly, “Head nurse, please call for a surgical consultation.”

There were more than ten medical staff working busily in the emergency room, while outside, the family members were crying and begging for the Buddha’s protection. Jiang Mu, wearing her uniform, had just finished talking to the perpetrator and was about to leave when Lu Yuqing, who was passing through the lobby, stopped her and asked bluntly: “Jiang Mu, who was the relative you had dinner with last night?”

“Huh? Tang Feiwai, Doctor Tang, from your hospital.”

She didn’t hide it at all. Lu Yuqing’s eyes flickered, guessing, “Cousin?”