Chapter 123: The Collapsing Tower – 4
“Hey, Dr. Ren, why did we suddenly change rooms?”
The man lying on the hospital bed had a spinal injury from a car accident, so his whole body was in a protective metal frame. “It was so sudden. I was suddenly notified this morning that we were changing…”
“This is a normal bed rotation,” Ren Liqiong said, pinching her nose, a little guiltily. “Oh, it’s not bad to move here. Didn’t you always want a bed by the window?”
“That’s true…” he gave a wry smile and looked out the window. “By the way, Dr. Ren, my fingers have been numb since the surgery… will they get better? Will I be able to rock climb again?”
The pen suddenly stopped, and Ren Liqiong looked at him. From his eyes, she could clearly feel his desire for freedom of movement.
“The numbness is because your injury blocked the blood circulation, which affected the peripheral nerves… as long as you do your physical therapy well, there’s still a chance.”
“Really? I’m so scared…” he managed to lift his hand, and his twisted features showed that he had used all his strength, but his right hand could still only maintain a weak grip, “I can still only hold it here. But… I have to get better.”
“Yes, if you do your physical therapy seriously and cooperate with the treatment, your condition will gradually improve…” she continued to write, no longer making eye contact with the patient.
Leaving the hospital room, Ren Liqiong had only taken a few steps when she was surprised to see a woman walking toward her.
“Sister Liqiong, I finally found you.”
“Y-Yingli.”
“Ah,” Yingli waved in greeting, “can I ask you a few things?”
Because she was completely unprepared, Ren Liqiong was a little unable to adapt to her sudden questioning. “H-How did you get here? Are you looking for your brother?”
“Yes, and I also came to see you. I’ve asked a few places… you’re still as busy as ever.” She pushed up her glasses, and her rose-colored lips curved into a smile.
“How can you not be busy in a hospital? I’m going back to the emergency room. If you have anything to say, we can talk on the way.”
Knowing that Ren Liqiong did not have much time, Yingli had already planned to make it quick.
“Ah, a medical dis…” she pursed her lips, her fingers unconsciously tapping the elevator button twice. This was a sign of nervousness. “Hey, don’t you know this term… can’t be mentioned in a hospital?”
“I know, especially for you surgeons.” Yingli’s gaze was very sharp. “But I have to find out what surgeries Li Yuejiao had when she was hospitalized.”
“Li Yuejiao?”
“Yes, the patient whose medical records I asked you to get before…” Ren Liqiong’s pupils unconsciously dilated, and she heard Yingli say in a buzzing voice, “through connections, I got the photos of her before her plastic surgery… besides the minimally invasive wound from the ovarian polyp, she clearly had another surgery.”
Ren Liqiong was silent, and Yingli had to ask again, “Do you know which extra surgery she had, Sister?”
“I don’t know. I already answered the same question when you came before.”
The elevator doors opened, and they walked in together. Ren Liqiong pressed the button for the first floor. “Listen, there are some things we can’t talk about even if we know. Although you didn’t follow your parents’ wishes and study medicine, with Zhichao around, you should also know how closed and hierarchical this hospital environment is. I don’t have any ambitions myself… but that doesn’t mean I can tolerate any work or position changes.”
“I asked my brother first, and he also avoided the topic.”
“If even Zhichao doesn’t know, then you might have to ask someone else. To be honest, although emergency room doctors are often on the line between life and death, the work environment is relatively simple. Compared to me, Zhichao is closer to the hospital’s power core… don’t forget he has a former head of internal medicine as a backer.”
I almost forgot about Tang Yuzhong. “Alright… I don’t want to cause you any unnecessary trouble, Sister Liqiong. I’ll find another way.”
Ren Liqiong secretly breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m sorry, I really, really don’t know.”
“It’s fine.” The elevator was about to reach its destination. She pushed up her glasses and asked again, “By the way, there’s something I’ve always been curious about, and you definitely know the answer.”
“What is it?”
“How did you and my brother break up?”
The elevator doors opened, and Ren Liqiong’s face was turned to the side, her emotions unreadable in the light and shadow.
“Although you’re already married… it’s a little embarrassing to ask this question, but when I heard you two had broken up, my glasses almost shattered.”
Ren Liqiong’s expression was complicated, and she snorted. “I guess you asked Zhichao… what did he say?”
“He said you were the one who broke up with him.”
“Ha, I was the one?” she chuckled, “he has the nerve to say that, that guy.”
The facts the two of them had recounted were clearly a little different. Yingli’s index finger on her glasses, “Isn’t that right?”
“That’s right. I was the one who made the final decision, so it’s not wrong for him to say I broke up with him… you know, we had been in a long-distance relationship for so many years, and in the end, I wasn’t in a hurry, and he wasn’t in a hurry, but my family was. They think a woman should get married early, before she can still have children normally… that concept of having many children and grandchildren, you’re about that age now, you should understand.”
She sighed softly. “I understand.”
Ren Liqiong was amused by her expression, and the two of them walked to the corridor leading to the emergency room. She continued, “I thought it was fine to live like that, but I was so annoyed by my family… speaking of which, don’t your parents rush Zhichao? He’s already forty-two.”
“They’re more focused on their daughter now.” Yingli pursed her lips. “And then?”
“In any case, I was so annoyed by my parents that I had to bring up the topic of marriage with him, but he clearly had no intention of it, and even thought it would be fine to consider it when I was forty.”
“Do you want to get married, Sister?”
Although she had said “it’s fine,” from her subsequent actions, Ren Liqiong seemed to be the one who was more eager for a family.
“I actually really like him… although I’m a little sorry to my husband.” She stuck out her tongue. Perhaps it was because she was thinking of the past, but Ren Liqiong’s eyes were a little distant. “I’ve known him since my second year of medical school, this dazzling ‘senior.’ We were together for over ten years, and in the end, we broke up… it would be a lie to say I wasn’t sad… of course I hoped he would say yes.”
“But he didn’t agree?”
“He just wouldn’t say anything.” Ren Liqiong’s tone became stronger. “In the end, he even became a little cold to me, and it was only then that I realized he seemed to be a little distracted at that time… it made me suspect that the reason he wouldn’t say yes was because he was seeing another woman behind my back.”
Yingli said reservedly, “My brother doesn’t seem like that kind of person.”
She bit her lip. “That’s how it looks now. But at that time, I was really pushed to the point of losing my reason, especially since my family was always putting pressure on me.”
“So you had to break up, Sister?”
“Yes, what else could I do?” she threw up her hands, but her expression instantly became relaxed, “but it was also because of that that I met my husband. Do you know that when we were on a blind date, he actually told me directly that it was love at first sight? So cheesy.” She grabbed Yingli, her face filled with genuine happiness.
“Isn’t that romantic? For a science girl like you, of course you need to have your reason swept away in an instant. That’s how you’ll say yes.” she said, pushing up her glasses.
“What are you talking about? Aren’t you a science girl too? Then have you met a man who made you lose your reason in an instant?”
Her rose-colored lips gradually lost their upward curve, and she shrugged. “Thanks to you, Sister, at least I’m still very rational.”
“Huh? So you’re saying… you’ve never been in a relationship.” Ren Liqiong clicked her tongue.
“Ah, that’s right.” Yingli was suddenly reminded of the wedding ring Tang Zhichao had held before her. She was suddenly a little curious, whose ring size was that? “I see… then that’s strange.”
“What’s wrong?”
The two of them paused at the entrance of the emergency room. “Since my brother didn’t end up with anyone else, then why was he so passive in dealing with your relationship, Sister?”
“Speaking of which, after we broke up… or rather, on the eve of our breakup, I gradually began to feel that Zhichao had changed.”
“Changed?”
Ren Liqiong’s expression was a little stiff. “Yes, perhaps it’s because of his family background. He doesn’t have to worry about promotions like other doctors. But from his student days until before, he has always been very driven and passionate. He’s very concerned about his patients and their families, and he’s also particularly dedicated to improving his medical skills… simply put, he is a ‘doctor.’”
A simple doctor who only wanted to save lives, not one who had been assimilated by this huge system and had become more interested in the pursuit of power and the importance of fame and fortune than in caring for his patients.
“Only until ‘before’? Then what about now?”
“The Zhichao of now…” she took a deep breath, “I can’t say he has compromised with reality. He is still continuously improving his medical skills, but… I can’t put my finger on it. He just lacks that passion, and it’s as if he’s just going through the motions every day. It feels like he’s tired. And…”
“And?”
“He’s also started to have some resistance to this system. Including a surgeon who was quite close to him before who suddenly…”
“Dr. Ren.” A nurse rushed over. “So you’re here…”
Ren Liqiong immediately tensed. “What’s wrong?”
“There was a patient just now… it seems he jumped from a building, and he hit a rain canopy and his face is covered in blood. He was just sent to the emergency room.” The nurse’s eyes were darting around, and she was clearly in a state of panic. This was very unusual for a relatively experienced emergency room nurse. “After he arrived, we found out that the person was… was…”
“Calm down.” She put a hand on the nurse’s shoulder to comfort her. “Take your time. What’s wrong with the patient?”
“It’s Dr. Yao.” The nurse’s face was pale, and she managed to take a deep breath and say, “The one who was transferred before… the surgeon, Dr. Yao.”
**
So that’s what it felt like to be a little drunk, so relaxed and comfortable.
After work, Jinglin waited for Cai Yuwei for a while, and when he rushed over from the special task force room, looking as if he were afraid she would run away, she couldn’t help but find it funny.
Cai Yuwei’s friend’s hotel was in the Dazhi area. It was a small shop, a small bar that could accommodate about ten people, but the light meals were exquisite, and the prices were also quite reasonable.
When she ordered a few bottles of imported fruit beer to try, she found that Cai Yuwei had ordered sparkling mineral water. “You’re not drinking?”
“I’d be drunk driving if I did. You drink. I’ll drive you back later.”
Before this, she had only tasted the red wine Tang Yingli had hidden, and it was only now that she discovered that beer could be so sweet and delicious. Perhaps it was because she was relaxed, but she had drunk three bottles in a row.
With a slight buzz, Cai Yuwei suggested they go for a walk nearby. She agreed.
“Jinglin, are you okay?” She had drunk three bottles without even noticing.
“I’m fine.” Her steps were a little unsteady, but her mind was still clear. “I never thought beer could be so delicious… hiccup.” She let out a loud hiccup without covering her mouth. “Sorry, I think I drank a little too much.”
“A little too much.” He gave a dry laugh and led her to a small park nearby. Looking up, she could see the dazzling Ferris wheel.
They sat down on the steps, and a group of basketball players were gathered under the hoop. Cai Yuwei’s arm was lightly linked with hers, and she did not refuse. “A little fresh air will help you sober up.”
“It’s so beautiful,” Jinglin said, looking at the slowly turning giant machine. “I’ve never noticed it before… it lights up at night, and it’s quite pretty.”
“Isn’t it? That’s why I’ve always wanted to bring you here.”
“Yes, before, because I was living at Tang Yingli’s place, I was usually the one who cooked dinner, and when I got back there, it was just resting, listening to music, or watching her read academic papers and find information, at most talking about cases. So I almost never had any other appointments.”
“You and the teacher are too close,” he couldn’t help but mutter.
“Ha, that’s right… oh, let’s not talk about her.” The thought of Yingli made her sad.
They were silent for a while. Cai Yuwei was waiting for the right moment, and finally, he gathered his courage. “That… Jinglin.”
“Hm?” she covered her mouth and let out another hiccup. This simple little action was inexplicably charming.
“I have something to tell you.”
“Okay, what is it?”
He silently took a deep breath, his intertwined arms still in the same position, and finally, he chose to gently hold her hand.
“I like you.”
