Five Years of Studying Medicine, Three Years of Flirting With Guys - Chapter 25

Chapter 25

The nurse leaned closer to him and whispered, “I heard his wife passed away in the ICU early this morning. The ICU called the daughter in the early hours, but he ended up picking up the phone.” She shook her head and continued, “He didn’t seem to know about his wife’s condition. As soon as he heard the news, he clutched his chest and fainted from the shock. Luckily, Director Gao had just come out of the ICU, so the resuscitation was a bit more convenient.”

Tang Linsheng asked, “Then, where are they now?”

“Not too sure,” the nurse replied. “It’s been a while since they left. Wang Bo was recovering quite well after his surgery; he could have actually been discharged today. If it hadn’t been for the shock of this news, his bed might have been vacated in a few days, but now he’ll probably need more observation.”

Thinking about the girl he had seen crying alone by the subway station a few days ago, Tang Linsheng felt quite unsettled. He made an excuse about needing to get to work and didn’t stay to chat with the nurse any longer.

The elevator was coming up from the basement, so he pulled out his phone and checked his messages again; the girl still hadn’t replied to him.

Tang Linsheng wanted to send another message to follow up, but he felt it might be too intrusive. After hesitating back and forth, he didn’t send a single word.

The elevator doors opened, and as Tang Linsheng looked up, he came face-to-face with Wang Bo’s daughter. Both were momentarily stunned. Tang Linsheng didn’t know what to say for a moment, so he simply nodded to her.

Wang Bo’s daughter had just come up from the farewell room and was heading upstairs to get her mother’s death certificate from the doctor. She was in deep sorrow and had no heart for greetings; she kept her head down in silence, waiting for the elevator doors to close.

Tang Linsheng watched the elevator go up and sighed. Back in school, he had been taught that death is the final stage of life, an indispensable one. However, while the outcome is the same for everyone, the emotions triggered by it differ greatly depending on the circumstances.

Even though he had encountered it many times, Tang Linsheng’s mood would always remain low for a long while whenever a patient passed away in the hospital.

Listlessly, he arrived at the operating room and checked the list of surgical patients. It was Thursday, and just as the Senior had said, there were indeed many people scheduled for angiograms. Since he was the scrub nurse and had to scrub in for surgery, he could already foresee his miserable state after work.

Moreover, the surgeon in this room today wasn’t the Senior but Director Wei, which made Tang Linsheng’s mood drop even further.

Director Wei had several students with him and explained things to them while operating; thus, the day wasn’t particularly boring. Although Tang Linsheng hadn’t fully adjusted his mood, he performed his duties professionally and cooperated well in every surgery.

As expected, it was another day of overtime.

At three in the afternoon, one surgery finished, and the next patient hadn’t been brought down yet, giving Tang Linsheng a bit of free time. He ran to the pantry and opened his phone to see if he had missed any messages. Upon checking, he saw that Wang Bo’s daughter had finally replied.

“Nurse, thank you for being willing to listen to me vent at the subway station. I had originally wondered if I could trouble you to help me contact the hospital to seek help from medical charities, but it’s no longer necessary.”

“Although my mom passed away suddenly, it’s a form of relief for her. I didn’t want to see her being tortured by the pain of illness anymore. She had asked the ICU nurse to help her write down what she wanted to say to me and my dad long ago; I will live well with my dad just as she hoped. I’m sorry, my emotions weren’t adjusted yet when I ran into you in the elevator just now. Please forgive me.”

There was a significant gap between the two paragraphs. By the time Tang Linsheng saw the messages, nearly an hour had passed since the last one was sent.

Tang Linsheng sighed and quickly typed a reply, but after typing a long string of words, he scratched his head and deleted it all. He sent back just one simple sentence: “You must continue to live well and stay strong!”

“Xiao Tang, why are you sighing at such a young age?”

While Tang Linsheng was feeling overwhelmed with emotion, Director Wei walked in and asked casually upon seeing him like this.

“It’s just that a previous patient passed away.” Since it involved patient matters, Tang Linsheng didn’t feel it was right to elaborate unless the patient had said it themselves, so he kept it simple.

Director Wei took a sip of water and sat in front of him with a fatherly expression. Looking at him, he said, “I was wondering why a lively and outgoing kid like you was so quiet today; so that’s why.”

Tang Linsheng: “…Yes, thinking about them makes me feel they’re quite pitiful.”

“Which patient who comes for hospitalization isn’t pitiful?” Director Wei said. “If you were to pity them one by one, when would you ever stop?”

Tang Linsheng’s lips moved a few times, but he didn’t know what to say.

Despite his words, Director Wei still poured a cup of water for him from the nearby dispenser. “Alright, have some water and adjust your mood. Let’s hurry up and finish the remaining patients.”

Seeing the Director pour water for him, Tang Linsheng was a bit overwhelmed by the favor as he took it, nodding quickly. “Don’t worry, Director, I’ll adjust my mood right away.”

Only then did Director Wei shake his hands, which were tired from the day’s work, and walk back toward the operating room.

Tang Linsheng took a small sip of water. He had to go back to the operating table soon, and drinking too much would make it inconvenient if he needed to use the bathroom. He took a deep breath, blinked, and returned to the operating room.

It wasn’t until around five in the evening that Tang Linsheng got off work. Wearing his white coat, he went all the way up to the eighth floor, swiped his card, and entered. He just wanted to go back to the West Wing of the 8th floor to change and leave. However, the moment he pushed the door open, he saw Tang Linsheng (the senior) turn his head at the sound. Seeing it was him, the Senior even gave a gentle smile and a greeting, all while his hands continued the motion of buttoning up his shirt.

Within a few seconds, the remaining two or three buttons of the shirt were done.

In Tang Linsheng’s (the junior) mind, his tiny inner self slumped with a downturned mouth, kneeling on the ground and beating his chest in regret.

What a pity! I should have walked in one minute earlier!

Seeing someone push the door open and realizing it was him, Tang Linsheng (the senior) said with a smile, “Off work?”

Tang Linsheng (the junior) gave a soft “mhm” and opened the locker next to him to take out his clothes. But as soon as his hand touched his clothes, he felt a bit shy.

Changing clothes right in front of the Senior? He-he-he-he was a bit afraid he wouldn’t be able to control his bashfulness.

He turned his head toward Tang Linsheng (the senior) and decided to chat first. “Professor Tang, are you on duty today?”

Tang Linsheng (the senior) had finished buttoning his shirt. He closed the locker door and put on his white coat; his aura was elegant and his demeanor extraordinary, making Tang Linsheng’s eyes sparkle as he watched.

The Senior wasn’t just advanced in his “software” (personality/skills); even his “hardware” (looks/physique) was incredibly attractive.

“Yes,” Tang Linsheng (the senior) said. “Was the operating room busy today?”

“Super busy!” Tang Linsheng (the junior) nodded and squeezed his own arm. “My hands are so busy they’re aching; I feel like I can’t even lift them anymore.”

Tang Linsheng (the senior) laughed. He reached out and squeezed the junior’s arm that was exposed from the short sleeve. Feeling the soft texture under his hand, he said, “The muscle stiffness isn’t too bad. Remember to give yourself a massage later.”

As he spoke, he squeezed a few more times, demonstrating the correct technique for massaging and relaxing muscles. “When I first started doing surgery, I was just like you. It gets much better with more practice.” He politely withdrew his hand, his gentlemanly manner making it seem as though he was simply sharing his experience with Tang Linsheng.

However, Tang Linsheng’s heart felt like a string of firecrackers going off, leaving him only able to subconsciously reply with a “mhm.”

No, it’s too late, I’m about to lose control!

Seeing Tang Linsheng’s face suddenly turn red, Tang Linsheng (the senior) didn’t point it out. He said goodbye and left for his shift.

As he closed the door, he pursed his lips and smiled.

Tang Linsheng (the junior) stared blankly at the closed door, rubbing his left arm where it had been squeezed. His face was as red as a monkey’s bottom.

What a miscalculation! I should have chatted while changing my clothes just now! I actually missed such a great opportunity to flirt!

This time, Tang Linsheng (the junior) was truly beating his chest in regret.