Cheng Liang wasn’t a superstitious person, but since their department’s project went south, he found that he became so unlucky that even drinking cold water gave him a toothache^[1]an expression used to describe extreme misfortune.. New socks had holes as soon as he opened them, the washing machine leaked when he did laundry, he cut his face while shaving, and the meat buns he bought at the cafeteria were just skins without filling…

As for work, it was even more unlucky that he didn’t even want to mention it.

Director Lin and his project went down the drain, while the project next door was in full swing. They didn’t feel that their previous means of grabbing resources were too ugly, and they openly asked for people, resources, and data from their department, saying that were all from the same department, so there was no need to differentiate between the first department and the second department.

So, as the representative of their department, Deputy Director Li took several doctors to join the project of the second department. The ripple effect was that Xiao Sun, the student whom Cheng Liang had previously thrown to Deputy Director Li, had come back to Cheng Liang after a full circle. Cheng Liang had finally managed to get rid of this guy who loved to play petty tricks out of his surgical team, and he had only been happy for less than a month, but this guy came back again.

But this was not the worst of it.

What was even worse was that the teaching plan of Lucheng Medical University had been changed, and the original six-month rotation frequency had been extended to eight months. In other words, Xiao Sun, who was supposed to leave after two months, would now have to stay for another four months, still under Cheng Liang’s supervision.

Whether it was Cheng Liang or Xiao Sun, both saw their future four months as bleak.

“You can continue with the things you were doing before.” At this point, Cheng Liang had no kind words left for Xiao Sun. “If you can transfer to the second department within four months, it’ll be good for both of us.”

Xiao Sun’s face was ashen, and he remained silent.

He originally thought that by giving the data to the second department, they would definitely take him over this time when they were asking people.

But…

After Cheng Liang said this, he really didn’t care about him anymore. They weren’t on the same path, and there was no such thing as turning over a new leaf. Xiao Sun certainly didn’t think he was evil, he would only feel that life was difficult.

But Xiao Sun wasn’t the only source of his bad luck.

When he wanted to write something, he couldn’t find a pen, the cholecystectomy surgery patient had a short bile duct, every emergency surgery, he was sprayed with blood, the anesthesiologist he collaborated with started his wedding leave, and the current one was mainly focused on another surgical team. Several times, Cheng Liang had already entered the operating room, but the anesthesiologist hadn’t arrived yet.

His life was a mess from inside and out.

At night, he wanted to watch a live broadcast to relax, but he found that the playlists of the streamers had recently seemed to be possessed by ghosts. Despite being in a study room, the music they played was either hip-hop or death metal, and he almost went deaf wearing headphones.

Moreover, his favorite streamer, Sheng Xia, had just been discharged from the hospital and was still recuperating, so her live broadcast room was empty.

He switched from the live broadcast section to the documentary section but found that the few documentaries he had saved before had been removed from the shelves, and the newly uploaded documentaries were also noisy as hell.

So, the whole Hepatobiliary Surgery Department knew that Doctor Cheng Liang had been depressed lately. He didn’t steal pens or eat candy, nor did he joke around. He had a dark face all day long and a mop of messy hair. When he saw the head nurse who believed in Buddhism, he would ask her in a melancholy tone, whether the nearby shabby temple was any good and if he should pay a visit and pray.

Then, in the midst of this gloom, Cheng Liang met Sheng Xia again.

Sheng Xia came to have her stitches removed a week after her discharge. When Cheng Liang saw her, she had already had her stitches removed by the resident doctor and was ready to leave, with a backpack on her back.

From afar, Cheng Liang stopped in his tracks and subconsciously wanted to tidy his hair, but he put his hand back awkwardly halfway through.

So face that was already dark became even darker, and he stood there motionless, watching Sheng Xia.

Sheng Xia was dressed up in her usual style, wearing a well-fitted T-shirt and jeans, and carrying a simple canvas bag. When she saw Cheng Liang, she smiled and greeted him, “Doctor Cheng.”

Her face was fair and her complexion was rosy. Just looking at her, one could tell that this girl definitely ate regular meals, slept well, and probably exercised regularly.

“Don’t eat anything too greasy this month, and come back to the outpatient clinic for a follow-up visit in a month. If your wound oozes or hurts, you should also seek medical attention immediately.” Cheng Liang paused for half a minute before speaking.

He knew that Sheng Xia would definitely follow his instructions.

After being a doctor for so many years, he rarely encountered patients who followed doctor’s instructions as diligently and had such high self-discipline. When he encountered such patients, the doctor usually didn’t mind saying a few more words.

“Eat on time and don’t stay up late,” he reminded her. “I usually sit for a consultation on Wednesdays. If you want to come for a follow-up visit, just make an appointment on the WeChat official account a week in advance.”

“Okay, Doctor Cheng.” Sheng Xia had her hair tied up in a ponytail, looking fresh and bright, and her smile radiant.

Cheng Liang felt inexplicably irritable again. He scratched his head, nodded at Sheng Xia, and put his hands in his pockets, intending to pass by her.

“Doctor Cheng,” Sheng Xia called out to him.

Cheng Liang halted, standing directly in front of Sheng Xia.

There was a significant height difference between them, and Sheng Xia had to tilt her head to look up at him. Even so, she maintained a serious and earnest demeanor.

“Has Aunt Liu’s surgery fee been raised?” She probably felt that she might be overstepping by asking, so she added, “When Aunt Liu took leave to raise money, I was in surgery and didn’t get a chance to get her contact information.”

She didn’t properly bid farewell either.

She had been thinking about this for the past few days. When she came to have her stitches removed, she deliberately took a detour to the ward area to check on Aunt Liu, but she wasn’t there.

Cheng Liang stared at her for a while.

She was lamenting the fact that she didn’t exchange contact information with her fellow patient, while he, who had given her his WeChat twice, had not heard a peep from her yet.

“The money has been raised, and the surgery is scheduled for next month.” Cheng Liang was still the professional doctor who answered all questions, but inside, he was itching to grab her ponytail and demand why she had taken his WeChat but hadn’t added him. Was she crazy?

Sheng Xia breathed a sigh of relief, her eyes sparkling brighter.

“Thank you, Doctor Cheng.” She actually wanted to ask if Aunt Liu had chosen a trustee, but this question was not appropriate. It would be a violation of patient privacy, and Cheng Liang would be put in a difficult position.

He was a good doctor, and she didn’t want to put him in a tough spot.

Cheng Liang nodded.

A few days after Aunt Liu returned to the hospital, she suffered from a shock and had internal bleeding, and she was still in the ICU. She had really listened to Sheng Xia and found someone no one expected to act as her trustee.

It was indeed unexpected.

Aunt Liu actually asked her daughter-in-law, who had barely appeared at the hospital a few times, to be her trustee.

What was even more surprising was that this daughter-in-law, after Aunt Liu was admitted to the hospital again, really acted like a real daughter, signing medication forms without blinking an eye and tirelessly taking care of her.

But there was no need to tell Sheng Xia about this. She was just a fellow patient, and Sheng Xia had already done everything she could to help.

“Then…” Sheng Xia adjusted the straps of her eco-bag and gestured toward the direction of the elevator. “I’ll go ahead.”

She felt that something was off with Doctor Cheng today. He seemed to be in a very bad mood.

In the past, after greeting her, he would saunter away leisurely, but today, even after their conversation ended, he remained rooted in place, motionless.

It seemed…

Like he was harboring some resentment.

“I… I’ll go first,” Sheng Xia said again.

“Take care.” Cheng Liang finally spoke, stepping aside to make way. “Pay attention to rest.”

He watched as Sheng Xia walked away, waving at him with a smile on her face, her ponytail swinging freely and effortlessly.

He stood there in the corridor for a while.

The irritability in his heart wasn’t because he had given Sheng Xia his WeChat and she hadn’t added him. His irritability was because of Sheng Xia’s enviable vitality and positivity.

She was like her name, disciplined, full of positive energy, and intelligent, like a lush green tree in the summer.

And he had none of these qualities.

Not only did he lack them, but he also envied a patient, and was so angry that he almost grabbed her ponytail.

“Doctor Cheng?” He had been standing for too long, and the nurse who had made a round in the ward to change the patients’ IV fluids came back and couldn’t help but call out to him.

“Huh?” Cheng Liang, who was stupefied by the knife, was lost in thought.

The nurse pushed the cart against the wall, trying to slip past Cheng Liang cautiously.

“You say…” As she passed by, Cheng Liang murmured softly, “should I change careers?”

“Huh??” The poor little nurse was startled and almost dropped the cart.

“It’s nothing.” Cheng Liang finally came back to his senses. “I was just talking to myself.”

“Oh…” The nurse replied weakly, suppressing the turbulent waves in her heart.

Doctor Cheng actually wants to change careers!

I wonder if he’ll be beaten to death by Director Lin before he changes careers!

***

There are no secrets in the hospital.

Cheng Liang’s idea of changing careers was quickly shut down by Director Lin. Thanks to the little nurse’s ability to spread gossip, the news that Cheng Liang had stood in the corridor of the inpatient department for more than ten minutes lost in thought, muttering to himself about changing careers, quickly spread throughout the entire hospital.

When Director Lin heard the news, Cheng Liang was still tossing and turning on the small bed in the duty room, unable to sleep. Director Lin barged in like a bear, grabbed the blanket on the bed, and pulled it down, his eyes bloodshot and his breath heavy, glaring at Cheng Liang.

Cheng Liang was almost scared out of his wits: “What’s wrong?”

His first reaction was that something had happened in the ward.

“What do you want to do?” Director Lin countered.

“……Sleep?” Cheng Liang answered cautiously, glancing at Deputy Director Li, who was frantically saying something with his eyes behind Director Lin.

“…I’m on night duty today, and I want to sleep until eight before going back to the ward.” He couldn’t understand Deputy Director Li’s meaning, so he could only pitifully tell the truth.

Director Lin exhaled, inhaled, exhaled, and then inhaled again. Finally, he slapped the bed heavily: “Fine! It’s just a project. If it’s been robbed, so what? I’ll show my old face and make trouble with the hospital. The data originally belonged to our department. I’ll go and demand justice for you!”

“……Huh?” Cheng Liang was confused, and could only tightly hold onto Director Lin, who was really about to leave after finishing speaking. He looked for his shoes while sweating profusely, and looked at Deputy Director Li.

This guy, can he say something instead of just giving him looks?!

He wasn’t his wife! How could there be a tacit understanding!

“Don’t stop me!” Director Lin’s face was red, and his neck thickened. “I really didn’t know this would have such a big impact on you. If I had known, I wouldn’t have agreed to give up the project so easily.”

“Director!” Director Lin was serious, and Cheng Liang had to hold on tightly to prevent him from leaving. He was confused and had just woken up. He could only call out repeatedly, “Director, Director, Director, calm down, calm down, what’s going on exactly?”

“Isn’t it because you said you wanted to change careers!” Deputy Director Li finally spoke this time.

“Ah??” Cheng Liang was dumbfounded, and his hands loosened.

Director Lin gasped heavily, broke free from Cheng Liang, and headed straight out of the door.

Cheng Liang was shocked and wanted to rush out to stop him, but because he hadn’t put on his shoes properly, his feet slipped and he fell backward.

The old inpatient building was already very old, and the duty room was even more dilapidated. The bunk beds had been slept on by several young and strong male doctors for many years, and it was already on the verge of collapse.

In the instant Cheng Liang fell backward, he reflexively grabbed the ladder of the bunk bed, and then, there was a loud bang.

Boom!

The bed collapsed.

The upper bunk of the metal frame bed hit Cheng Liang directly, and the lower bunk fell apart. Cheng Liang was crushed between the upper and lower bunks, feeling like he had turned into a pancake.

Director Lin, who was like a bull, heard Deputy Director Li’s voice was off and rushed back. Seeing this scene, he was also dumbfounded.

“Director.” Cheng Liang, the calmest of the three, breathed in the cool air. “…my shoulder might be broken.”

……

So, the next day, there was a new story at the Affiliated Hospital of Lucheng Medical University.

The director of the first department of Hepatobiliary Surgery Department beat the doctor who wanted to change careers and broke a bone……