Chapter 3

The scorching 38°C heat swept through the summer afternoon. Looking up at the sky, you couldn’t see the sun’s outline, only feeling the white-hot sunlight enveloping the earth. Unlike the heat outside the window, the hospital interior always maintained a comfortably cool temperature. At 2:15 PM, Tang Feiwang, having finished her “battle,” finally had a chance to sit down and eat. She took off her white coat, wearing only a light blue scrub suit, her left hand holding the mouse, her right hand holding a spoon, scooping half a spoonful of fried rice into her mouth.

“Xiao Tang, what are you looking at? Be careful not to stuff the rice into your nose.” Liu Zhinan had just passed his 36th birthday. Because his first degree wasn’t from a 985 or 211 university, and he was missing one SCI paper, he hadn’t been promoted to deputy chief physician yet. But he had rich clinical experience and was easygoing, so the colleagues in the second group affectionately called him Old Liu.

Tang Feiwang swiped her mouse: “I’m browsing the medical history of the new patient we admitted half an hour ago, and I’m also looking up some related information.”

“Don’t worry about a few minutes, go eat in the break room later.” Liu Zhinan held a teapot and filled it with water from the water dispenser next to her, casually saying, “As the saying goes, a full stomach gives you strength to work. Lin Ye was just like you when she first came to our department. But look at her now? Sitting comfortably in the break room, eating her fill.”

“Okay, I’ll go another time.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Lin Ye walked into the office, carrying a washed lunchbox.

“Look, talk about the devil, and he appears,” Liu Zhinan’s usual smile appeared.

Lin Ye subconsciously asked, “What?”

“Nothing, I was just joking with Xiao Tang.” Liu Zhinan changed the subject, getting to the point, “Right, the patient who hit the sink, the exploratory laparotomy confirmed a splenic rupture. Fortunately, it was discovered in time, and he didn’t go into shock from excessive blood loss.”

Lin Ye responded in her usual calm tone: “Hmm, was the surgery successful?”

Liu Zhinan’s smile widened: “Successful, the family even said they’d send a banner to Xiao Tang when he’s discharged!”

“A banner?” Lin Ye had just walked in, and Tang Feiwang immediately buried her head in her food, not participating in their conversation. Now, she put her spoon aside and repeatedly refused, “Don’t send me one, if you want to send one, send it to the department.”

“How can that be, the patient’s family specifically wants to send it to you.” Liu Zhinan took a sip of water and continued, “If you hand in the banner, you’ll get a Moral Model Award from the hospital at the end of the year.”

As they chatted, the head nurse, Sun Qinhe, suddenly barged into the office, opening with, “Old Liu, if you want to imply that they’re getting stingier, just say it.” Indeed, she wasn’t wrong. In the past, as long as you collected three banners within a year, you’d get a 200 yuan bonus. This year, they suddenly changed the rules, giving out Moral Model certificates instead.

Liu Zhinan rubbed the lid of his teapot with his right hand: “I was just explaining things to the new colleague.”

“Where’s Zhou Qian from the third group? He’s not answering his phone or WeChat. Isn’t he always running to your second group?” Sun Qinhe looked around, not seeing him.

“He might be in the break room.” Lin Ye walked back to her desk.

Liu Zhinan curiously asked, “What’s he up to again?”

Sun Qinhe snorted: “The doctor’s orders, 10ml of medication, oral administration changed to intravenous push. Is he trying to get himself arrested, or does he want us to join him for a feast?”

Liu Zhinan flattered her: “Everyone knows he’s a bit careless sometimes, but luckily you guys are such responsible and professional partners.” Doctors and nurses have a collaborative relationship, there’s no such thing as doctors managing nurses.

Next came the usual introduction of the new colleague. After a few pleasantries, Sun Qinhe left, and Lin Ye was called away by the deputy director of the neighboring third group. Tang Feiwang finished organizing her medical records, put on her white coat, and went to the ward to do rounds on her own.

Except for the lunch break, everyone had been working continuously for eight hours. As the shift was about to end, everyone thought they’d be able to leave on time, but Sun Qinhe rushed in, breathless: “Director Lin, a patient was transferred from People’s Hospital, take a look.”

Liu Zhinan hadn’t returned from rounds yet, so Lin Ye motioned for Tang Feiwang to follow her, and the two of them rushed over.

They learned that the patient was 79 years old, surnamed Zhong, a retired professor from the Physics Department of Shuchuan University. His children were all working abroad, and the only one who stayed by his side was his wife, with whom he had shared a deep love for decades.

Sun Qinhe handed the medical record to Lin Ye: “Director Lin, here’s Professor Zhong’s medical record.”

Lower extremity arterial occlusion, muscle necrosis, he had undergone vascular recanalization surgery at People’s Hospital some time ago.

Sun Qinhe summarized for her: “The vascular recanalization surgery didn’t have much effect, the muscles are still severely necrotic, now he’s in a shock state with renal failure, coagulation failure, and respiratory failure.”

“Doctor, can he be cured? Director Bai from People’s Hospital suggested sending Old Zhong to your hospital, saying it’s his last hope.” The female family member, surnamed Zheng, had known Professor Zhong for 54 years, been married to him for 52 years, and was also a retired professor from Shuchuan University.

Lin Ye furrowed her brow in thought, Tang Feiwang also looked solemn, stepping forward, carefully lifting the blanket covering Professor Zhong, and doing a physical examination.

“Let’s try CRRT.” Lin Ye quickly made a decision, actually, Tang Feiwang was thinking the same thing, but hadn’t spoken yet.

Through CRRT plasma exchange, they would clear Professor Zhong’s necrotic substances and inflammatory factors. Lin Ye hoped to seize a glimmer of hope.

After starting continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) for Professor Zhong and finishing the handover, it was already past 8 PM. Tang Feiwang pressed the power button on her computer, looked up, and Lin Ye’s warm smile happened to meet her eyes.

This was the first time in over 12 hours that Tang Feiwang had seen Lin Ye smile so brightly, just like years ago, when she smiled at her, it would make her feel like a tiny little boat, being gently pushed and rowed by waves in a crystal-clear green lake.

Tang Feiwang reminisced about the past, her eyes and brows unconsciously tinged with a smile, until she heard Lin Ye’s next words, and her smile instantly froze.

“Mom will be back soon, you go wash up first.”

Mom? She was talking to her child on the phone? She’s married? When? Who is her husband? How come no one mentioned it? It was unbelievable, confusion and bewilderment filled her mind, catching her off guard. Even when Lin Ye left and said goodbye, she didn’t respond.

At that moment, Tang Feiwang sat there, her mind buzzing, her heart in turmoil. After a while, she smiled silently, mocking herself for overestimating their relationship, mocking herself for thinking that the other person wouldn’t get married, wouldn’t start a new family, mocking herself for not taking the initiative to win her back when she lost her, but instead pretending to be sad and acting affectionate now.

But it really did hurt. Tang Feiwang clutched her chest, trying to control her emotions.

“Dr. Tang, not going home yet?” The doctor on duty passed by the office, saw her slumped over the desk, and kindly asked.

Tang Feiwang took a deep breath and replied, “I’m just about to leave.”

Because of her profession, the doctor on duty asked another question, “Are you feeling unwell?”

“No, thank you.” Tang Feiwang straightened up. After the doctor on duty walked away, she bent down, opened the lower right cabinet, and took out her helmet and backpack.

Go home.

There’s no hurdle you can’t overcome.

Night fell, in the basement parking lot of the hospital, Lin Ye got into her car and started the engine. As soon as she did, the passenger door was pulled open, and a tall, slender figure slipped in, sitting beside her.

The person said, “Give me a ride, I didn’t drive today.”

“Dr. Lu, how was the date yesterday?” Doctors are busy during the day, and only now did she remember to ask about her best friend. Lin Ye said as she shifted gears, released the handbrake, and lightly stepped on the gas pedal to start driving.

Lu Yuqing was the same age as Lin Ye, 34 years old, both born in 1984, both with birthdays in August, the difference being one was a Leo and the other a Virgo. They were in the same class and dorm for undergraduate clinical medicine, and even though one chose anesthesiology and the other emergency medicine for graduate school, they were still roommates, so they talked about everything and knew each other best.

Lu Yuqing waved her hand: “Don’t mention it, you know what they say, no enemies, no meeting.” Her shoulder-length hair was curled outwards at the ends, she was wearing a red and white striped shirt and light-colored trousers, a perfect retro Hong Kong style.

Lin Ye listened attentively: “Enemies?”

“Yesterday, didn’t I go to the convenience store to buy water? It was just around dinner time, so I was stuck in line for a few minutes and got a ticket, right?”

Lin Ye nodded: “You complained to me about it, what’s that got to do with the date last night?”

Lu Yuqing blushed: “The person I went on a date with was the female traffic officer who gave me the ticket!”

“Quite a coincidence?” Lin Ye was surprised. She knew that Lu Yuqing, having seen too many scumbags, even scummy women, didn’t want to get into a relationship, so she was always talking about only wanting sex, not love. But after two years of talking about it, she finally registered on a certain same-sex dating website last month and met a user through a wink. Luckily, they hit it off, their values aligned, they exchanged photos the day before yesterday, and they found each other attractive, so they agreed to meet last night.

Lu Yuqing sighed: “What kind of coincidence, it’s a karmic connection, right? After sleeping with her, I realized she was the one who made me lose 200 yuan.”

“You slept with her?” Lin Ye thought they should at least meet a few more times, get to know each other better.

It seems like she only wants sex, not love.

Lu Yuqing blurted out, “Yeah, she’s pretty good at it.”

“So?” Lin Ye suddenly realized that the other person wasn’t complaining, but bragging.

“Long-term,” Lu Yuqing turned to face Lin Ye, asking the question that had been weighing on her mind for hours, “Don’t just talk about me, tell me what’s going on with you.”

Lin Ye controlled the car’s speed and replied, “What do you mean?”

“Tang Feiwang, you know, around 3 PM, I finished assisting with an emergency surgery and had just sent the patient back to the ward when I saw her doing rounds. I discreetly asked around, and she’s actually in your second group.”

At the mention of Tang Feiwang, Lin Ye’s upturned lips instantly flattened into a straight line: “Hmm, yes.”

Lu Yuqing pressed on: “Aren’t you going to explain?”

Lin Ye remained expressionless: “Explain what?”

“You specifically requested her?” Lu Yuqing shook her head, “That’s impossible, so she wants to win you back!”

There were only 5 seconds left on the green light before it turned red, and Lin Ye, who was dozens of meters away from the crosswalk, was dazed for two seconds before reacting and slamming on the brakes. The car came to a stop, and she calmed down a bit, softly saying, “We’re just ordinary colleagues.