88. You’re welcome, Mr. Yu

Unexpectedly, they reached the station so quickly. Zhong Mingtong remembered how incredibly long the journey had been. "When are you going back to Beijing?" he turned to Ling Ling and asked. "I was thinking of going tomorrow, but I haven't had time to buy a ticket. I wonder if there are any left," Ling Ling said. Zhong Mingtong glanced at the 12306 app on his phone, his lips curling up. "There are still quite a few tickets left, and there's only one train tomorrow. I'll change my previous ticket and see if we can ride together so we can have someone to look after us on the way back to the city." "That's great!" Ling Ling also felt a strong affinity with Dr. Zhong. Having him accompany her on the return train would surely ease a lot of her sadness. Zhong Mingtong actually bought a ticket for them to ride together. "Then I'll take a taxi to pick you up early tomorrow morning, and we'll go to the train station together." "Then I'll meet you at the village entrance so your car doesn't drive any further in." "You don't have to be so polite to me." His smile revealed the familiarity of someone who seemed to have known each other for a long time. On the way back, they discovered that each other had changed their attire, donning the same clothes they had worn in Beijing. This finally played out the scene of Cuihua and Fugui abandoning their old identities and entering the city. Zhong Mingtong, a straight man, finally realized the magic of clothing: Lingling, who he had once considered simple and innocent, now had the alluring allure of a city beauty after remodeling. For Lingling, Zhong Mingtong was incredibly grateful to be by her side throughout the entire journey; otherwise, she would have felt a sense of emptiness, as if she had been a couple when she left, and now she was all alone. Zhong Mingtong kept trying to find topics to talk about, and she discovered that this gentle man had a certain hidden gem, dabbling in astronomy, geography, humanities, and history. When the conversation got off to a tangent, they returned to their respective work and lives. Ling Ling asked him, "Is your hospital over there on the overpass? My roommate in college also lived there, so I'm pretty familiar with the area." "Yes, I'm still in the old campus. Our hospital built a new campus in Shunyi. Two years ago, when the new campus was built, they built supporting residential buildings. Many doctors and I bought houses there. I don't know if there will be rotation in the future. But now the daily commute to work is quite far. Fortunately, there is a shuttle bus, so I don't have to worry about missing my stop if I fall asleep on the bus. But the funny thing is, there have been several times when I fell asleep on the shuttle bus, and just as the driver woke me up at the stop, I received a call from the emergency room. I closed my eyes and had to sit back down again without even having to change my sleeping position." Zhong Mingtong was telling this as a joke, but Ling Ling felt sorry for him. This line of work is really...

I didn't expect to reach the station so quickly. Zhong Mingtong remembered that the road here was extremely long.

"When will you return to Beijing?" he turned and asked Ling Ling.

"I wanted to go tomorrow, but I haven't had time to buy a ticket. I don't know if there are any tickets available," said Ling Ling.

Zhong Mingtong glanced at the 12306 app on his phone, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up slowly. "There are still quite a few tickets left, and this is the only train tomorrow. Then I'll change the ticket I bought earlier and see if we can ride together. We'll have someone to look after us on the way back to the city."

"That's great!" Ling Ling also felt that she had a good relationship with Dr. Zhong. If he accompanied her on the return train, it would probably ease a lot of her sadness.

Zhong Mingtong really did buy a train ticket for the two of them. "Then I'll take a taxi to pick you up early tomorrow morning, and we'll go to the train station together."

"Then I'll wait for you at the village entrance in advance, so that your car won't drive any further in."

"You don't have to be so polite to me." His smile showed the familiarity of someone who seemed to have known each other for a long time.

On the way back, they discovered that the other had changed their attire, donning the same clothes they wore in Beijing. This finally played out the drama of Cuihua and Fugui abandoning their old identities and entering the city. Even Zhong Mingtong, a straight man, finally realized the magical power of clothing: Lingling, who he had originally considered simple and pure, now had the alluring allure of an urban beauty after re-dressing.

For Ling Ling, it was fortunate that Zhong Mingtong was always by her side along the way, otherwise, Ling Ling would always feel empty in her heart. It felt like when she left, the Ling family was still a couple, but when she came back, she was all alone.

Zhong Mingtong kept trying to find topics to talk to her about, and she discovered that this gentle man had a bit of a treasure boy vibe, with extensive knowledge of astronomy, geography, humanities, and history.

After talking about something irrelevant, they returned to talking about their work and life.

Ling Ling asked him, "Is your hospital over there by the overpass? My roommate in college also lived there, so I'm pretty familiar with the area."

"Yes, I'm still in the old campus. Our hospital built a new campus in Shunyi. Two years ago, when the new campus was built, supporting residential buildings were built. Many doctors and I bought houses there. I don't know if there will be rotation in the future. But now the daily commute to work is quite far. Fortunately, there is a shuttle bus, so I don't have to worry about missing my stop if I fall asleep on the bus. But the funny thing is, there have been several times when I fell asleep on the shuttle bus, and just when the driver woke me up at the stop, I received a call from the emergency room. I closed my eyes and had to sit back down again without changing my sleeping position."

Zhong Mingtong treated it as a joke, but Ling Ling felt sorry for him because his job was really not easy. "We in the advertising industry are suffering and scolding, and you as doctors are really suffering and crying."

"Haha, sometimes I laugh with tears in my eyes, just like the book I'm reading now..."

Zhong Mingtong's words were interrupted by the ringing of Ling Ling's cell phone which was placed on the small table. He accidentally glanced at the caller ID and saw "Yu Chuanbei".

Ling Ling picked up the phone. "Hello, Chuanbei, you just landed too. No need to pick me up. I can take the subway back by myself. Doctor Zhong is with me, so don't worry...Okay, I get it. You had a confidential meeting to discuss the project, so it's normal for your phone to be confiscated. I really don't mind it. Go home and have a good rest and wait for me...Are you coming this way already? Okay then, we're almost at the station..."

Zhong Mingtong's eyes fell on the pages of the book, but he didn't turn them. The phone call next to his ear let him know two pieces of information: Yu Chuanbei was her boyfriend; they lived together.

Ling Ling hung up the phone but was still holding it to read the message he had sent her before, with a sweet smile on her face.

"Is Yu Chuanbei your boyfriend?" Zhong Mingtong asked.

Ling Ling was momentarily dazed, but quickly regained her composure and responded, "Yes, that's right. He was the one who contacted a friend and asked you to come and see my brother."

"Oh, I've only ever heard it was 'Mr. Yu' who asked for it. Turns out his full name is 'Yu Chuanbei'."

"Yeah." Ling Ling smiled sheepishly, feeling a little awkward about making a sweet phone call to her boyfriend in front of strangers after a long period of longing. To ease the awkwardness, she continued the previous topic: "What is the book you mentioned just now about?"

"Hmm, this," Zhong Mingtong flipped the book over, revealing the cover. "It's called 'Absolutely Hilarious: The Diary of a Retired Doctor.' It's full of funny stories, lighthearted yet helpless, warm yet sad. It should help the public better understand the medical profession. Otherwise, doctors are often portrayed as the male protagonists in idol dramas, young leaders in their field, dressed to the nines, free 24/7 for romance, and still wearing full makeup at work. Haha, the truth is, doctors are exposed to all sorts of bodily fluids every day. That alone should be enough to shatter girls' dreams of them being their ideal male idols."

"Such an interesting book, I also want to read it, let me search it online quickly." Ling Ling opened the mobile phone app and was about to find the same one.

Zhong Mingtong interrupted her and said, "If you don't mind, I'll give you the book I've read. I've read this book twice, and I didn't bring many books with me this time, so I can only read these two over and over again."

"Really? Thank you so much, Dr. Zhong!" Ling Ling took the book overjoyed, opened the title page, and saw his name and date written on it.

Zhong Mingtong said apologetically, "I'm used to writing the date I first read each book. When I look back on those days, I feel like I wasn't wasting my time and I'm not alone."

Ling Ling also said: "Well, the words in a book can really be like the most intimate friends by your side, and you can understand each other's thoughts."

They smiled at each other in tacit understanding again.

The train began to announce its impending arrival. Zhong Mingtong felt that the time he spent with Ling Ling was always so short that it made him lose track of time.

Yu Chuanbei was already waiting at the exit. Ling Ling ran towards him quickly, but because there were outsiders present, she had to remain reserved.

"Hello, Dr. Zhong, I'm Yu Chuanbei. Thank you for your hard work on cousin Lingling's matter." Yu Chuanbei shook hands with Zhong Mingtong and expressed his gratitude.

"Mr. Yu, you're welcome. I didn't help much. So I feel honored to meet Ling Ling." Zhong Mingtong said with a calm smile.

Yu Chuanbei was sensitive to the question, but he couldn't figure it out. Under the circumstances, he could only continue to politely say, "Well, I drove here. Let's take you home. You've had a hard time on this trip."

Zhong Mingtong waved his hand and said, "No, I live in the suburbs, so it's probably not on my way. I can take the subway. You just got back from a business trip, so you should have a good rest. Lingling, please accept my condolences and take care of yourself."

Zhong Mingtong nodded to them politely, then turned and left.

Yu Chuanbei looked at the look in his eyes when he looked at Ling Ling. His man's intuition made him instantly understand an unsettling fact: just after getting rid of Ge Fei, here comes Zhong Mingtong.

After taking the elevator up and down, Zhong Mingtong took a last look at Yu Chuanbei and Ling Ling. She was already nestled in his arms, and he was kissing her head, comforting her wholeheartedly.

*~*~*~*~*~*~

After Ling Ling returned to Tuo Wu, Mei Xiao's attitude toward her cooled somewhat. It was no wonder; she had been assigned to Team A for less than a year, hadn't made any significant contributions, and yet had already taken two long vacations. Naturally, this displeased her immediate superior.

But a newcomer, Shao Yao, came and helped her move out of the bottom of the food chain in Group A, which relieved a lot of her pressure.

After Shao Yao came to Group A, her position was to replace Shi Wenjin's strategy position. However, because she looked so rustic from the inside out that no amount of foundation could hide her appearance, Mei Xiao didn't think she could survive in the fashion-forward advertising circle, so she let Bai Yihan use her as a comprehensive B-role.

Bai Yihuan wasn't entirely without talent; after all, there were certain requirements to get into Tuowu. It's just that her talents weren't used for actual work, but for pushing work. She never took on anything beyond her responsibilities, and in her mental map of the workplace, no work was hers. She consistently applied double standards when it came to determining her responsibilities, never accepting work that was hers impartially and according to her job description. Instead, she used her position as a lever to push all work away. When she argued with colleagues over the division of labor, she shifted the subject, used specious arguments, and used smooth talking. Others generally didn't want to argue with her, and her boss only cared about team harmony and peace, so she always prevailed. If she was in a good mood, had some free time, wanted to show off her presence, or needed to earn some performance during her assessment period, everyone would coax her into taking on any new work, otherwise the aura that kept her willing to work would vanish at any moment.