Chapter 4: The Hospital

*

The deer drinks from the stream and shakes off her hand, "I won't accompany you, I'll sleep on the sofa."

Jane sat up, propping herself up with her hands and leaning against the headboard. She glanced at her with narrowed eyes and said softly, "The guest room is next door."

The implied meaning was for her to go and sleep in the guest room.

Deer paused for a moment by the stream, then turned around and walked away. After a few steps, she stopped again, turned back, and said, "I brought the medicine box with me."

Jane glanced at the medicine box that Deer brought over but ignored it. She lightly tapped the pillow beside her with her fingertips and said, "Yours, take it back."

The guest room was originally for the owner to rest in. In the first half of the night, the owner came over clutching a pillow, saying they were afraid of the dark and the cold, and wanted to share the bed with Jane.

Deer walked over, picked up the pillow, and cradled it in her arms.

In the icy gaze, tonight she was just a woman who came over with a pillow, seemingly intending to seduce, but hesitated at the last moment, slapped someone's face, and cursed them as being sick. She was a woman of indecisiveness, inconsistency, and unpredictability.

Deer felt so embarrassed that she wanted to dig a hole in the ground with her toes and bury herself in it.

Jane picked up the magazine from her bedside table, using it as a sleep aid. "Won't you leave? Do you want to stay?" she asked.

Still, with that cold tone, it seemed as though Deer failed to spark even the slightest interest in him/her, and there was a hint of disdain present.

Deer hesitated for a moment, holding the pillow, and gently reminded him/her, "Should we rewrap the wound on your left palm?"

Jane glanced at the wrapped left palm and then looked at Deer. After a moment of contemplation, she tentatively asked, "How much do you remember from the wound stitching I taught you yesterday?"

As these words were spoken, Deer stood frozen in place, desperately trying to recall the plot.

The original protagonist was a sophomore student in the School of Media Studies. Through a friend's introduction, they joined the filming crew of a medical drama jointly produced by the Health Commission, the Propaganda Department, and a film and television company.

Due to being a collaboration between national organizations, the task drama could not be too unconventional in terms of ideology, and the medical knowledge portrayed could not be too far-fetched.

So, the director specially arranged for the actors of the crew to intern at the hospital for two months.

Led by the Health Commission, the task drama was of great importance. Naturally, the hospital didn't dare to neglect its involvement and arranged for the Medical Education Department to pair doctors from various clinical teaching and research offices for one-on-one guidance.

Jianqing happened to be Deer's temporary mentor.

Deer looked into Jianqing's eyes, hugged the pillow tightly, and whispered weakly, "I've completely forgotten..."

She had studied medicine, but she dropped out after finishing her sophomore year.

In her first and second year of medical school, she only attended theoretical foundation courses such as Embryology, Biochemistry, Systemic Anatomy, and Regional Anatomy. Clinical skills like wound cleaning and stitching were introduced during her third year when she took the practical course in Surgery.

Jianqing's cold gaze swept over, making Deer even more uncertain. However, Deer still mustered up the courage to retort softly, "Even if I remember, I can't sew for you..."

During her second year, she was taken away by the training teacher for the clinical skills competition. She had practiced those skills, but after so many years, she had become rusty in her techniques.

"Even if I can stitch, we probably don't have any anesthesia at home. We can't perform local anesthesia like they do in TV shows; that would be too painful... How about going to a nearby clinic? I can drive; I know how. I'll take you there." At that moment, Deer no longer harbored any grievances towards Jianqing. Instead, she treated Jianqing as an ordinary patient with a left palm injury, doing her best to show her kindness.

Simplified and lowered his head to flip through the magazine, "No need, we'll talk about it tomorrow."

Seeing that Deer was being rushed, she nodded and responded, "Okay." She didn't forget to remind him, "Make sure to clean the wound again." With that, she walked out, holding a pillow, and casually closed the door behind her.

The door closed, and the room fell into silence once again. Jianqing lowered his head and flipped through the magazine, reading an article about multiple personality disorder.

She had never taught Deer how to suture wounds, so how could she forget everything?

*

The next morning, Jianqing packed her luggage directly and rushed back to the urban area of Jiangzhou City with Deer from the countryside villa.

It wasn't just about stitching up palms, but also about the critical condition of several patients and the lower-level doctors struggling to handle it. She made dozens of phone calls throughout the night, supposedly seeking advice and reporting, but actually sending a distress signal - "Please come back quickly, I can't handle it."

The New Year's holiday was ruined.

Ever since she started working, Jianqing had already become accustomed to the normal routine. With a little thought, she brought Deer to the hospital as well.

In the hospital, Jianqing always had a cold and serious demeanor. She hardly ever smiled or laughed. But suddenly, she appeared in the hospital with a faint palm print on her face and a 5cm cut. Her colleagues saw it and quietly giggled, wanting to ask but too afraid to approach.

Jianqing ignored the situation and pointed at a doctor with a baby-like face, saying, "Wei Mingming, come and stitch it up."

Wei Mingming quickly grabbed the suture kit and was deeply moved. "Sniff sniff, boss, you are really kind. Those patients, seeing that I am wearing a postgraduate badge, don't want me to do anything. Even my colleagues look down on me. Last time when Dr. Zhao got scratched, I volunteered to help, but she didn't trust me..." Suddenly changing the topic, unable to resist gossiping, "By the way, how did you get such a big cut? And on your face, who is so audacious..."

Deer lowered her head, trying hard to minimize her presence, and chuckled silently in her heart, "That's the price one pays for being too fond of attention."

"Cutting fruits," Jianqing glanced sideways at Wei Mingming, not answering the question about the palm print on her face. Instead, she asked her, "Do you enjoy stitching? Then next month, you can rotate to the emergency department."

"I don't dislike it, I only enjoy serving you, Boss," Wei Mingming shook her head like a tambourine, afraid of being assigned to the emergency department. She kept flattery, saying, "Look at this wound, it was treated promptly, not a trace of infection. Clearly, it was handled..."

"Be quiet."

Wei Mingming instantly fell silent.

*

In the evening, Jianqing swapped shifts with someone else.

She worked the second shift, which allowed her to be on call from home or sleep in the duty room at the hospital. She would only step in when there were problems that the frontline doctors and the chief physician couldn't solve.

Today, the frontline doctor on duty is five months pregnant. The ward also has critically ill patients, so she stays at the hospital, keeping watch.

The night shift in the Oncology department is relatively calm, at least compared to the Surgical department. There are no surgeries to be done and not many patients coming in through the emergency department that need attention.

Cancer patients would encounter various critical situations, sometimes even facing challenging rescue operations. Unfortunate as it may be, the doctor on duty hardly gets any sleep at night.

Most of the frontline doctors can handle critical situations, especially with assistance from the chief physician. Wei Mingming lends a helping hand, while Jianqing quietly searches for relevant references and develops treatment plans for the patients.

Lu Yinxi was overwhelmed with a thick stack of documents handed to her by Jianqing.

She had left the medical field for five long years. Now, inexplicably, she found herself in this unfamiliar world, back in the familiar medical environment. Deep within her heart, she felt a sense of confusion and unease.

She couldn't help but doubt once again, was this a strange and peculiar dream?

She found herself transported to a world from within a book, where she was suddenly 20 years old again, back in the hospital, and embarking on a fresh journey of relearning medical knowledge.

Lu Yinxi had often dreamed similar dreams during countless nights, but she had never experienced anything as real as this before.

She bit her wrist with all her might, feeling a piercing pain shoot through her arm. A deep bite mark was left on her wrist.

Lu Yinxi looked at the bite mark and her eyes nearly welled up with tears.

Feeling lost and helpless, Lu Yinxi's heart was once again filled with a sense of fear and anxiety, but she dared not show it, unable to shed any tears.

Jianqing seemed to have awoken from a daze. She turned her head and looked at Lu Yinxi with a cold and distant expression.

Her presence was overpowering, and when she remained silent with a stern expression, it was as if the air around her became suffocating, making people too afraid to breathe loudly.

Lu Yinxi lowered her head, afraid to meet her gaze. She tried to push her feelings of fear and anxiety into a corner, hoping that no one would notice.

Jianqing stared at Lu Yinxi for a few seconds. After a moment of contemplation, she took a candy from the pocket of her white coat and, without saying a word, put it into Lu Yinxi's pocket.

Lu Yinxi froze in surprise, looking up at the beautiful yet cold face. She then glanced down at her pocket and hesitated for a few seconds. Finally, she reached out, picked up the candy, peeled it open, and put it into her mouth.

Sweetness spread from her mouth.

Jianqing took out another one and put it in her pocket.

Lu Yinxi suddenly remembered her childhood when her grandmother used to carry her on her back while visiting relatives. Her grandmother would also like to keep a few candies in her pocket.

The journey was long, and she felt bored while being carried on her grandmother's back. She pouted and felt like crying. Her grandmother felt the same way and kept feeding her candies, one by one.

Then, she peeled another one and put it into her mouth.

The childhood memories brought by the candy dispelled some uneasiness. Lu Yinxi whispered a thank you to Jianqing.

Jianqing took out the third piece of candy from her pocket.

This time, Lu Yinxi reached out her palm to receive it.

Their right and left hands touched briefly, one feeling cold and the other warm.

Jianqing handed over the candy, withdrew her hand, and continued tapping on the computer.

Lu Yinxi had a candy in her mouth, slowly calming her emotions. Her gaze fell upon the pile of documents on the table, trying to shift her focus.

Whether it was a dream or not, she should calm down and quickly become familiar with this environment, in order to survive in this unfamiliar world.

Jiangzhou University Affiliated First Hospital, was the top-ranked tertiary hospital in Province A's capital, and also the largest teaching hospital in the entire province.

The hospital had constructed a dedicated building for comprehensive cancer treatment.

The Department of Oncology, Radiation Therapy Department, Interventional Department, Hematology Oncology Department, and the Tumor Center Laboratory are all established here, collectively referred to as the "Comprehensive Cancer Treatment Center."

In the Oncology Department, there are three wards. Jianqing is the associate chief physician of Ward 2, specializing in the diagnosis, treatment, and research of lung and esophageal cancer. She also handles the diagnosis and treatment of malignant tumors in the stomach, liver, breast, and other parts.

Deer sipped from the creek, silently memorizing these bits of information. Midway through, she took out her phone and secretly searched for Jianqing's previously published papers, paying special attention to those where she was the first author and papers listed in SCI Zone 1 and 2.

Her parents were both doctors, and she grew up in the hospital's staff quarters. She had always aspired to work in the medical field and was no stranger to this profession.

Cancer is a hot topic of research in the medical field, and relatively speaking, it is easier to publish papers on this subject.

However, the quantity of papers doesn't necessarily reflect the level of research proficiency. It takes at least two to three years to produce meaningful results in a good study. Some individuals simply flood publications in lower-ranking journals without making substantial progress. Ill-informed media outlets also spread unfounded promotions, such as the notion of young medical geniuses publishing over 20 SCI papers.

The industry insiders were left astounded – could there truly be such a remarkably talented young boy?

Upon investigation, they realized that all of them were low-quality journals, like water flooding a mountain of gold.

The deer sipped from the stream and opened Jianqing's neatly written paper, carefully reading through each one.

"Doubt my academic integrity?"

A crisp and cold voice reached his ears, causing Deer Drink Creek to straighten his spine. He turned his head in the direction from where the sound came.

Their noses almost brushed against each other.

They nearly kissed each other.