Five Years of Studying Medicine, Three Years of Flirting With Guys - Chapter 23

Chapter 23

“What is it that you have no other way for?” Tang Linsheng stopped worrying about the passersby and squatted down in front of the girl, asking softly, “Is it a financial problem?”

Hearing the girl ask that, Tang Linsheng guessed that what was crushing her was likely a family financial crisis. The girl was thin and frail, her clothes clean but simple. Although her father had been wearing a suit when he was brought to the hospital, it was heavily wrinkled, and perhaps because he had been stumbling around drunk, he was covered in dust.

The girl seemed a bit tired from crying. She fell silent for a moment and then choked out, “It’s… it’s not just that. There’s also my mom…”

As she cried, she told Tang Linsheng about her family situation. Perhaps because her desire to find someone to share the burden was so urgent, her words were a bit fragmented. Tang Linsheng listened patiently while connecting the dots, finally piecing together her family’s circumstances.

The girl had originally planned to go home to get some things, but as soon as she reached the subway station, she received a call from her mother’s attending physician in the monitoring unit. They said her mother was refusing treatment and wanted to be discharged immediately. She panicked instantly, wanting to explain to her mother, to tell her to feel at ease and accept the treatment, and that just getting her health back would be enough. Her mother’s voice was weak as a thread, but her attitude remained firm: “Leave the money for Wang Bo, I don’t want the treatment!”

She was already in the late stages of liver cancer; her time left with her family was short. Instead of lingering on the brink of death, she would rather give the money to her husband so he could receive better treatment and have the proper medication and check-ups during his recovery.

Tang Linsheng’s heart skipped a beat. Late-stage liver cancer…

When the girl had left her father’s ward today, he had tentatively asked if there was any news about her mother. Her eyes had reddened instantly, but since she had promised her mother to keep the secret from her father, she pretended to be indifferent and said there was no news. Little did he know that the reason her mother had pushed for a divorce was entirely because she had been diagnosed with late-stage liver cancer. At that time, the situation was still slightly optimistic, and her mother had thought about accepting treatment, hoping for the day she might get better.

But the pain in her liver became more and more apparent, and the increasing edema in her lower limbs made her lose confidence in her treatment. On the morning before she was hospitalized, she placed the signed divorce papers in her husband’s briefcase. Once he had left for work, she endured the pain and went to the hospital to check into the bed she had previously reserved.

The girl had been upstairs taking care of her mother that day, only to be woken from a nap in the middle of the night by a phone call. Trembling, she ran down the stairs to the emergency room to sign the surgical consent form for her father.

As a young woman running between two sides to care for both parents, she had been fired from her job because of the time off she took. The family was relying solely on their savings, but the costs of her mother’s cancer and her father’s stents made the money disappear like water down a drain.

“I can go out and earn more money, but I don’t want my mom to give up on treatment…” she sobbed. “As soon as my mom found out my dad had several stents put in his body, she refused to accept treatment. She wants my dad to live well so he can stay with me, but I want them both to live well and both be with me.” At this point, the girl broke down into tears again.

Tang Linsheng felt a pang of sorrow in his heart, but he didn’t know what he could do. A hospital is not a charity, and medical expenses for patients cannot be waived at will; he himself didn’t have enough capacity either. He couldn’t make empty promises to the girl saying things like “Your father will definitely get better, have faith” at this moment would be like throwing a stone at a window, shattering it into a floor full of glass shards.

He quietly felt his backpack. Aside from a few coins, an umbrella, a transit card, and his house keys, there was nothing.

He hesitated, wondering if he should just transfer some money to her online. Though it wasn’t much, it was still money. To his surprise, after having a good cry and venting to him, the girl seemed to have resolved a major burden. She took a tissue to wipe her face, blew her nose, handed the remaining tissues back to him, and even managed a slight curve of her lips, saying, “Thank you. I’ve really troubled you today, making you listen to me cry and complain here.”

Tang Linsheng pushed the tissues back and said, “You keep them. I… I’m also very sorry I couldn’t be of much help. How about I—”

“No need,” the girl interrupted him. With red, swollen eyes, she pushed the tissues back to him and said with a smile, “I’m giving the tissues back to you. If I keep them, it’s like leaving myself a backup plan. If I want to cry later, I’ll have tissues to wipe them. If I don’t have tissues, I won’t cry!”

The girl stood up, patted herself off, and gave him a wide smile. “I have to rush home to get things. Thank you!” Without waiting for him to say anything, she ran toward the subway station.

Tang Linsheng looked at the tissue pack in his hand, which contained only one single tissue. He carefully put it into his bag.

In truth, that one tissue wouldn’t do much if the girl started crying again.

Tang Linsheng’s originally good mood suddenly became heavy. Often, the hardest part of working in a hospital aside from being misunderstood by patients — is seeing conditions you consider commonplace, which for patients and their families might be the final straw that breaks the camel’s back.

Not every family can be like those in TV dramas, where they just accept treatment the moment it’s suggested. Their refusal and hesitation often stem not just from the disease itself or their own awareness, but from the family’s economic pressure.

Tang Linsheng returned home in low spirits. Just as he lay down on his small sofa, the door opened. His mother walked in, still wearing her work apron from the shop. Seeing his gloomy state, she walked over and stood before him, asking, “What’s wrong? Was the night shift too exhausting?”

Tang Linsheng sat up and said, “No, it’s just that I ran into a patient’s family member on the way today…” He told his mother what had just happened at the subway station, expressing how the feeling of being willing but unable to help really upset him.

Tang’s mother listened and thought for a while before saying, “Lin Lin, you were right not to give her money.”

Tang Linsheng: “Why? Shouldn’t I have helped her?”

Tang’s mother sighed softly. “According to what you said, this girl actually has a very strong character. If you gave her money, it might make her feel insulted.” Tang’s mother was experienced in the ways of the world and had extracted important information from his words. She said, “However, you could help her find a charity. And I’ve seen on my WeChat feed that everyone is seeking donations online for help nowadays, right? If the girl is willing to accept that, we can help her through a charitable organization.”

Tang Linsheng’s eyes lit up upon hearing this. Right! Why hadn’t he thought of that!

Seeing that her son was convinced, Tang’s mother didn’t waste any more words and quickly headed out to the shop to get busy.

Tang Linsheng didn’t have the girl’s phone number, so he had to contact the staff in the East Wing (8th floor) to ask if they had any contact information for her. But since this involved patient privacy, the nurses couldn’t just give it out. They could only tell him they would ask her when she returned to the ward.

Tang Linsheng kept this matter in his heart. He clearly wanted to catch up on sleep, but he couldn’t fall asleep no matter what. He tossed and turned on the sofa a few times, then rolled around on his bed for a bit, eventually taking out his phone to start researching how charities handle such cases.

It wasn’t until his phone reminded him that the battery was down to 20% that he put it down and rubbed his aching eyes. He wanted to close them but felt uneasy, so he went on WeChat to check, only to be told the girl hadn’t returned yet. Tang Linsheng thought she might be upstairs visiting her mother, so he decided to wait a bit longer.

During the wait, he scrolled through his Moments and found that Tang Linsheng (the senior) had actually posted something. He clicked on the image wow, the people standing with the Senior were all big names, and the layout on the backdrop behind them looked very high-end.

He gave the post a “like.” After thinking for a bit, he opened their chat box and asked about Wang Bo’s condition out of concern.

Tang Linsheng: Professor Tang, how is Wang Bo’s physical condition now?

It happened to be the lunch break. Tang Linsheng (the senior) had been in meetings all morning; he hadn’t slept well the night before and had been staring at reports all morning. Seeing Tang Linsheng’s message, he wanted to close his eyes and rest, so for convenience, he initiated a voice call.

Tang Linsheng (the junior) had just finished asking the question nervously when his phone started vibrating, accompanied by the voice call notification.

Tang Linsheng: !! A voice call? He wasn’t prepared!

He quickly cleared his throat a few times and pressed the answer key.

“Professor Tang… what made you think of calling via voice?”

“It’s more convenient. When I did the rounds yesterday, Wang Bo’s condition was quite stable. After the stents were placed…”

Tang Linsheng (the junior) listened as the Senior narrated Wang Bo’s condition concisely and accurately. While feeling relieved, he also felt that the Senior’s tone sounded a bit tired.

He asked quietly, “Professor Tang, did you not sleep well last night?”

“…” Tang Linsheng (the senior) closed his eyes, and after a moment of silence, said, “Mhm.”

Hearing this, Tang Linsheng (the junior) didn’t dare disturb him further and said hurriedly, “You’ve worked hard! You should get some rest then, don’t you have the volunteer clinic this afternoon?”

Although his mouth was saying he was about to hang up, Tang Linsheng (the junior) was a bit reluctant. This was the first call the Senior had ever made to him! The very first call! He was thinking of waiting for the Senior to hang up first before he did.

Tang Linsheng’s (the senior) magnetic voice, laced with a hint of a smile, came through the phone: “Covering someone with a quilt is indeed quite tiring.”

Wa… Watt?

Tang Linsheng (the junior) froze, holding the phone: He wouldn’t be talking about me, right?!