Chapter 9

The flow of air seemed to halt instantly, and both fell silent.

Tang Feiwan didn’t understand why Lin Ye was suddenly upset. Lin Ye, after calming down, also felt there was no need for it. They had been apart for years; there was no reason to vent her dissatisfaction now. Then again, she had rarely expressed her emotions in front of Tang Feiwan before. Even their breakup had been a quiet endurance until she finally sent a single message:
“Tang, since it started with me, let it end with me. Take care of yourself abroad.”
The next day, she received a simple “Okay.”
On the eighth day, she blocked and deleted all of Tang Feiwan’s contact information.

Time ticked by, prolonging the awkward atmosphere. Lin Ye, drenched in sweat from the pain, clenched her teeth and endured, keeping her expression composed and her tone as calm as possible.
“I can do it myself, thank you.”

“You really don’t ” Before Tang Feiwan could finish, Lin Ye raised her hand and pointed to the car’s grab handle, signaling her to step back. Tang Feiwan hesitated for a moment before taking a step back. In the next second, Lin Ye shut the car door.

Still uneasy, Tang Feiwan watched as Lin Ye started the engine, turned the steering wheel, and backed out of the parking space. Only then did she jog over to her motorcycle, put on her helmet and gloves, swung her leg over the seat, and twisted the throttle.

A car and a motorcycle, one in front of the other, exited the parking lot. Dressed in an all-black Adidas sports outfit with a black helmet, Tang Feiwan almost blended seamlessly into her dark-colored motorcycle. She followed behind Lin Ye’s car at a steady distance, staying in her right rear quarter. The city’s bright lights blurred past, but her mind was focused entirely on the person in the vehicle ahead.

At first, Lin Ye stepped on the gas a few times out of spite, bringing her speed up to 60 km/h. But when she caught sight of the figure trailing behind in her side mirror, despite the lingering frustration in her chest, she instinctively worried about the other person’s safety. She was afraid that if she drove too fast, something might happen. So, as she turned left onto Yuntong Avenue, she lightly tapped the brakes, slowing down.

The route from the Second Affiliated Hospital to the residential area of Shujiang University required crossing a bridge and passing three streets, about a 15-minute drive. Tonight, Lin Ye wasn’t feeling well and drove slower than usual. It was nearly 8 PM when she finally pulled into the outdoor parking lot opposite her apartment building.

Not far behind, Tang Feiwan also turned off her engine, parking by the roadside. She got off and hid behind a plane tree.

From this distance not too near, not too far she watched as Lin Ye got out of her car, still clutching her stomach. Her steps were unsteady, clearly still in pain.

But Tang Feiwan couldn’t approach. What if she was rejected again? What if she ran into someone Lin Ye wasn’t ready to see?

So she simply stood there, under the tree, waiting. Watching as Lin Ye reached the first floor, then the second, then the third. When the security door finally shut with a clank and the sensor lights on the second floor flickered on, she knew Lin Ye was safely home.

She stood frozen for another half a minute before turning to leave. Just as she turned around, the phone in her pocket buzzed lightly. She took it out and saw a new WeChat message.

“Go home. Thank you.”

A second message followed quickly:
“You’re on duty tomorrow. Please keep an eye on the new resident, Gu Yan.”

And then a third:
“Thank you.”

Polite. Detached. Completely professional like a message meant for any ordinary colleague.

Tang Feiwan looked up, her phone still in her right hand. The curtains on the third floor were tightly drawn, but against the warm yellow light, she could see two figures standing close together.

She quickly looked away. Her lips twitched slightly but soon relaxed. She replied with a simple, “Okay.”

The crescent moon hung in the sky, blending into the soft night. Tang Feiwan swung her leg over the motorcycle again, pressing her hands against her helmet, about to put it on when an elderly voice called from behind.

“Dr. Tang.”

She turned to find Professor Zheng and her family standing nearby. Getting off the bike, she gave a slight nod.
“Professor Zheng, my condolences.”

Professor Zhong’s memorial had concluded earlier today. His children had spent two days persuading Professor Zheng to move abroad with them, and she had finally agreed.

“Thank you,” Professor Zheng said. Her left arm was still wrapped in mourning cloth, and her face looked weary.

Tang Feiwan always told herself not to get too emotionally involved, but under Lin Ye’s influence, she had been the one to personally print out Professor Zhong’s final ECG and announce his time of death. She had even comforted his children when they arrived.

“It was my duty,” she replied.

Professor Zheng’s son suddenly asked, “Dr. Tang, do you live nearby?”

“No, my colleague does.”

“Director Lin?” he asked. “She lives right across from us I only found out today.”

Lin Wenhui had attended Professor Zhong’s memorial earlier, staying for a brief conversation afterward, so it was natural for them to know.

Tang Feiwan gave a quiet “Mm.”

The professor’s son continued, “We’re planning to sell the apartment. Originally, I wanted to ask Dr. Tang about the housing prices in this area.”

His sister, an economics and finance graduate working at a bank abroad, interjected, “The second-hand housing market isn’t great right now, and since everyone knows our father just passed, they’ll be even less likely to buy. We’re in a rush to leave, so it’s better to rent it out first and deal with selling it later.”

Tang Feiwan had spent eight years in Heidelberg and had only recently returned she had no clue about the current market prices. So she simply responded politely.

Professor Zheng and her family had been exhausted from the long day and soon wrapped up the conversation. They exchanged goodbyes.

A doctor’s work knows no time whether it’s morning or night, the calls come when least expected. Sometimes, just as you take your first bite of a meal, the nurse’s phone call interrupts, forcing you to set the food aside and rush off to save a life.

Tang Feiwan was on a 24-hour shift today. Early in the morning, she handed over the previous shift to the night doctor, then sat at her computer, typing up medical records.

A nurse knocked on the door.
“Dr. Tang, Bed 2’s blood pressure is dropping you should come take a look.”

“Okay, coming.” Tang Feiwan fastened the buttons of her white coat, which she had undone earlier due to sweating from eating noodles, and got up to head to the EICU ward. When she arrived at the bedside, she first observed the ECG monitor, then performed a physical examination on the patient before saying, “Administer some norepinephrine.”

After giving the order, another patient nearby suddenly experienced complications. The resident doctor spoke urgently, “You start CPR, I’ll go get Dr. Tang or Dr. Liu.”

“Oh, oh.” Due to nervousness, Gu Yan’s hands trembled slightly and wouldn’t obey her commands. But once she made contact with the patient’s chest, she quickly focused and performed compressions with full concentration. Beside her, the experienced head nurse, Sun Qinhui, fired off several questions: “Do we need to give some sodium bicarbonate? Should we add some amiodarone? Should we check the ECG first to see if the ischemia has worsened?”

“Forget it,” Sun Qinhui realized that Gu Yan was just a resident-in-training, and asking her was pointless, so she went to get the ECG herself.

Tang Feiwan disinfected her hands, pulled aside the curtain between the two beds, and let Gu Yan continue the chest compressions while she issued orders for medication.

In less than three minutes, the patient regained a heartbeat.

“Heart failure is worsening. The family should be prepared at all times,” Tang Feiwan said in a low voice. This was the third patient under her care an 85-year-old with acute heart failure, who was no longer a surgical candidate and could only wait for the inevitable in the EICU.

As she walked out of the ward, Gu Yan followed and thanked her, “Thank you, Dr. Tang.”

Tang Feiwan was puzzled. “Why are you thanking me?”

“For teaching me clinical skills.” Gu Yan flipped open her notebook, which was densely filled with notes on emergency procedures. A bright smile appeared on her face as she asked, “Dr. Tang, do you remember me?”

Tang Feiwan frowned slightly, showing little recognition. She interacted with too many patients and medical staff every day it was already impressive if she could remember all her colleagues in the department.

“On Tuesday, you performed CPR on a heart attack patient at the back entrance. I was the one who called for the stretcher.”

“Oh, I remember now.” Tang Feiwan recalled the incident. Wasn’t she the one with long hair? When did she cut it short? The Gu Yan in front of her now had a fresh, ear-length haircut, making her look much more energetic than before.

It turned out that after receiving Lin Ye’s notice yesterday, Gu Yan had immediately grabbed a stack of study materials and rushed out to get a haircut a symbolic gesture of determination, vowing not to give up until she achieved her goal. Tang Feiwan advised her to spend more time in the ward, observe, ask questions, and especially build a good relationship with the nurses.

Gu Yan diligently took notes.

Time passed quickly during a shift. At 5 PM, Tang Feiwan held a cup of iced dessert she had just ordered, ready to take a short break, when a doctor from the general internal medicine team in the emergency department came looking for her.

“Is Director Lin on duty today?”

Tang Feiwan took a spoonful of the dessert, swallowed it, and then replied, “She’s working the night shift. She should be arriving soon.”

The doctor said, “We have a difficult case and want to transfer a patient to your ICU team.”

“Tell me about it.”

The doctor gave a brief summary: “The patient was admitted four days ago with fever and cough. White blood cell count was 17×10⁹/L, and neutrophils were also elevated. We initially thought it was just a bacterial pneumonia and started antibiotics, but they haven’t been effective.”

A high white blood cell count typically rules out fungal or viral pneumonia. Tang Feiwan followed up, “Which antibiotic was used?”

“Piperacillin-tazobactam.”

With a strong antibiotic like that, a typical bacterial pneumonia should have improved. Taking the case more seriously, Tang Feiwan asked, “What’s the patient’s current temperature?”

“Almost 39°C, with chest pain, muscle pain, and increased sputum. That’s why I came to find you.”

Tang Feiwan quickly finished her iced dessert, got up from her seat, and said, “Let’s go. Take me there.”

When they arrived at the ward, the 50-year-old female patient, Zhang Yan, was being helped by her 17-year-old daughter as she coughed up phlegm. Once the patient lay back down, Tang Feiwan stepped forward to examine her.

Thick, bloody sputum. She immediately asked the doctor beside her, “Has tuberculosis been ruled out?”

“A chest X-ray was done it doesn’t look like TB. We’ve also tested the sputum twice, both negative.”

“We still need a CT scan to rule out other lung conditions,” Tang Feiwan said as she slightly leaned forward and used a stethoscope to listen to both lungs. There were crackles. Chest pain, bloody sputum, persistent high fever these symptoms didn’t yet warrant an ICU transfer, so she recommended a CT scan and further observation.

The patient reacted strongly to the mention of the ICU, repeatedly refusing, “Doctor, I don’t want to go to the ICU. I heard it costs several thousand a day.”

Her daughter held her hand, “Mom, as long as you can get better, we’ll pay whatever it takes.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. Your college tuition costs money, and your sister-in-law’s second child will need money too.”

Zhang Yan had an older son running a small food stall, while her daughter was still in high school. She had lived frugally all her life and couldn’t bear the thought of spending thousands a day on medical bills.

“I’ll just wait for the diagnosis, then go home and take some herbal medicine.”

Patients with such beliefs weren’t uncommon. Both Tang Feiwan and the general internal medicine doctor were used to it. They ordered a CT scan first.

Half an hour later, the scan results were displayed on the computer. The findings ruled out tuberculosis and other lung diseases. A respiratory specialist was consulted, and the preliminary diagnosis was an unresolved bacterial pneumonia progressing into a lung abscess. However, the respiratory department had no available beds, so the patient remained in emergency internal medicine, continuing antibiotic treatment with bronchoscopy-assisted sputum drainage for further testing.

The emergency doctor didn’t come back to seek an ICU transfer, assuming the patient would gradually improve with proper treatment.

With a short break in her shift, Tang Feiwan casually flipped through a medical journal, The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, skimming an article newly published by the cardiac surgery director, Dr. Wang. She recalled that two years ago, she had published an article in this same journal. That night, she had been so excited that she couldn’t sleep.

“Dr. Tang, come with me for a moment.” Chief Gao walked by and called her over.

Since joining the hospital, this was the first time Chief Gao had personally summoned her to his office. Tang Feiwan felt slightly nervous. She set down the journal, got up from her desk, and quickly followed Gao Zongxiang into his office.

Would you like me to refine any parts further?

Chief Gao smiled warmly. “Have a seat, Xiao Tang.”

When a leader calls you in privately, it’s rarely for anything good. Sure enough, as soon as Tang Feiwan sat down across from him, Chief Gao asked, “You’re not seeing anyone, right?”

Before she could respond, he continued, “There are plenty of single men and women in the emergency department. Even the hospital leadership is worried about you all. So, we’ve partnered with Shujing University’s faculty union to organize a social event, giving young talents like you a chance to meet.”

“Is it just for our emergency department?” Tang Feiwan, missing the main point, asked.

“There are two other departments involved, and staff from other departments can also sign up.” Chief Gao, seeing her interest, pulled up a registration form. “Xiao Tang, your birthday is in January, right? You just turned 30 this year?”

Now understanding his intent, Tang Feiwan quickly tried to decline. “Chief Gao, I…”

“Is that incorrect?”

She gave a wry smile. “Chief Gao, this is voluntary, right?”

“In principle, yes. But I hope you all can be a little proactive. You’re always busy with work and have no time to meet new people. This is a rare opportunity.”

Realizing she had to be firm in her refusal, Tang Feiwan lied. “Chief, I actually like someone already. I’m trying to pursue them.”

Chief Gao sighed. “You young people always use the same excuse. Xiao Lin said the same thing five years ago ‘seeing someone’ yet five years later, she’s still single. Now she’s 34.”

“Huh?” This time, Tang Feiwan caught an important detail and quickly asked, “Director Lin is still single? But doesn’t she have a daughter?”

“Yangyang is a child she adopted. Now that she’s older and has a child to care for, it’ll be even harder for her to find a husband. She’ll probably have to marry a divorced man.”

“Single,” “adopted” these words echoed in Tang Feiwan’s mind, completely drowning out the rest of what Chief Gao was saying.

“Xiao Tang? Xiao Tang?” Chief Gao noticed her zoning out and called her name twice.

“Yes, Chief.” Tang Feiwan straightened up and explained, “I was thinking about the patient I admitted this afternoon.” After a two-second pause, she added, “You don’t need to worry about me. I’m still young and want to focus on my career for now.”

“Well, I can’t force you.” Chief Gao had done his part in encouraging participation. Whether they chose to take the opportunity or not was out of his hands.

After thanking him, Tang Feiwan excused herself, saying she had work to do in the ward, successfully making her escape. She was in such a good mood that her smile was impossible to hide. Even a passing resident doctor noticed and asked nosily, “Dr. Tang, did something good happen?” She just smiled without answering.

Back in the office, she ran into Lin Ye, who had just finished her shift. Unable to resist, she flashed her a bright smile only for Lin Ye to walk past her, focused on a medical record, without even reacting.

That’s okay, that’s okay. There’s still plenty of time. Shujing University’s faculty housing, Professor Zheng, neighbor…

Tang Feiwan was a woman of action. Once she decided on something, she wasted no time. Sitting at her computer, she searched through patient records for contact details, found Professor Zheng’s number, and successfully dialed it. As soon as the call connected, she spoke:

“Hello, Professor Zheng? This is Tang Feiwan from the Emergency Department at the Second Affiliated Hospital. I wanted to ask has your old house in the Shujing University faculty housing been rented out yet?”