17 - Rules

The pair naturally split up into two conversations. Ersan and Jing Bei had more in common and both were dedicated to the study of the arts.

Whereas, Wen Nali was naturally charmed by Li Yun's gesture and gentle smile. Li Yun found that when he smiled, his charm worked to its fullest potential.

"How do you know I am an English teacher? Most people can already guess that I'm not born here because of my accent."

"It's the way you carry yourself," Li Yun explained, but it was the slight cleft in her chin that gave it away. She had make-up to reduce it a bit, so it was a trait she did not want others to focus on. "Teachers are constantly in front of kids, so they need to control how they present themselves."

"So, what are you currently studying, psychology?"

"I'm a medical intern."

"Ah, I guess as a medical intern, you need to watch people's body language."

"I don't know about the other interns, but body language is part of both understanding mien shieng and meridian," Li Yun explained.

Wen Nali laughed.

"Any interesting story behind your scar?"

"Battle scar, being stupid in high school."

"Weren't we all?"

They were two people who can easily communicate things without being awkward, and enjoyed talking about various interests. They were also very well aware of dating rules.

It bothered Li Yun when women talked about their ex on the first encounter or first date. It usually signified that they were inexperienced dating or that they were still hung up on their previous relationship.

Li Yun liked that Wen Nali was sophisticated and open-minded, but wasn't overbearing with her opinions.

After midnight, Ersan and Li Yun escorted the two lady friends back to their apartment.

Li Yun kept in touch with Wen Nali on Ourchat even as he returned to his internship after the New Year celebration.

Bufu: You have a thing for teachers.

DaYun: Oh great, you're going to talk to me about relationships?

Bufu: I'm just stating FACTS.

Fatty: Oh, now that you mentioned it, two of your exes were in the education department.

DaYun: Why are you guys keeping track?

Ersan: Not specifically for you, you only have 8 of them. But we have a chart for Bufu.

Ju De: chart.img

Xuxu: Not surprised Bufu has exes in every department.

Bufu: *heading back to work*

Inside the hospital's intern lounge, Li Yun chuckled and closed out the app. He rested on the couch and closed his eyes.

"Li Yun, what the hell, couldn't you at least put in some effort?" Gu Ren glared at Li Yun.

Li Yun yawned and slowly got up into a sitting position. He was tired after preparing his residency applications and then using Zuowang to watch robotic surgeries.

However, Gu Ren looked worse than him. His face looked pale and his body was tensed. The stress from studying and work must have gotten to him.

The weather was also getting warmer, which resulted in more accidents and more work load.

Other than looking stressed and moody, there was also something odd about Gu Ren, his outfit.

Something clicked in Li Yun's mind. His face scrunched briefly as he cursed at himself silently.

"You're right, I was being a bit selfish for neglecting all the scut work. Do you need help writing the medical reports?"

"But they are assigned to me, do you want me to end up failing like you?"

"It's harder to fail than you think, it reflects poorly on the school, so the wouldn't do it. Give me half of the assignment."

"You're going to do them?"

"Yeah, sure."

Gu Ren hesitated. "Are you going to copy and paste?"

"I'm not that irresponsible. I might not be as detailed as you, but the important points are noted."

Gu Ren passed Li Yun some of his assignments, and they started furiously typing on the computer.

After sweating a bit, Li Yun changed out his dress shirt and into a plain white tee.

"Wouldn't it be more comfortable to change clothes? Your shift is over," said Li Yun.

"Ah, I'm fine," Gu Ren replied, shifting uncomfortably in the task-chair, but continued typing.

Li Yun looked at Gu Ren for a moment. Unlike Bai Wushen, Gu Ren had no strong backing. Everything about Gu Ren was average, except for his ability to follow orders. It wasn't a bad quality, but it also meant his type was easy to be taken advantage of. He was also the type who would eventually end up becoming bitter and tyrannical later in life like Doctor Huang.

"If your wrist hurts, stop and take a break," Li Yun advised.

Gu Ren subconsciously pulled his sleeves down and stared at Li Yun cautiously. Gu Ren had few encounters with Li Yun at the university, but he had heard rumors. It wasn't something that was known throughout the university, but through word of mouth, students would often seek out Li Yun to solve their problems.

Gu Ren didn't know if he should ask Li Yun for help.

"You're being harassed by Doctor Ping?" asked Li Yun.

"How did you!?" Gu Ren cried out, forcing his task chair to almost tip backward.

Once the thought of his secret being revealed sank in, he wanted to crawl under a dark corner of the Earth.

Gu Ren wondered how Li Yun could have known. He forced himself to calm down, maybe Li Yun meant something else. It wasn't common for women to sexually abuse men.

"It's common for women in power like the Director of Geriatric to abuse her power," Li Yun elaborated. "Women, like men, are also people with greed and desires. The reason why it isn't common is because it is only recent that women have attained such power. The other reason is because it is rarely ever reported by the male victims due to shame and embarrassment."

Gu Ren grabbed hold of his left wrist and crushed it tightly to calm himself down from panicking.

"How did you find out?" Gu Ren asked again after deciding to confide in Li Yun.

Li Yun thought it was a bit obvious. Even some of the nurses had noticed, but for them, it was easy to turn the other way. They had seen or experienced abuses themselves, and for a male to experience something like such, it didn't phase them as much. No one wanted to risk their jobs and livelihood for others.

If it had happened to a female colleague, they would still ignore it, but they would at least feel a sense of guilt. It was the same sort of double standard that made Li Yun neglect Gu Ren until now. He didn't think Gu Ren would be so traumatized.

"It doesn't matter how I know, but you should consider how you want to handle the situation. First, you can ignore the situation, and bottle up your resentment until you're in a better position to fight back. However, that resentment will turn you into someone like her. Second, ignore the situation entirely and switch careers. However, you'll end up always running away from problems and never achieving stability. Third, you confront her and face the consequences, possibly ending your career path. It will feel like you have hit the lowest point in your life and someday you might regret it. However, you will be able to start from scratch and hopefully the scars will be a distant memory."

Gu Ren held onto his wrist tightly. Underneath were scars he had inflicted on himself. Punishment for being stupid and naive.