Chapter 3 There was a long silence in the bright lights.
When Zhao Zhenzhen went to He Dongli to inquire about the outpatient complaints, she said that she had wasted her face.
If another boss had said this to He Dongli, she might have thought he was being sexist. However, the nun's words were worldly and sincere.
Zhao Zhenzhen sternly told He Dongli to stop being unconvinced. They'd seen all sorts of scars and tissue infections from burn repairs. "Tell me for yourself: which is more important, a full face or a full leg?"
When a patient comes to you to see a scar or a facial tumor, and you, as a traumatologist, straighten the patient's beautiful face and enhance his skills, how can this not be persuasive? I can't say it's persuasive, but at least you will be approachable.
Zhao Zhenzhen said this, picking up the glasses from the necklace on her chest and putting them on her nose, and continued to curse, "You've been to so many clinics, and you can't handle a situation like this?"
He Dongli's expression was full of procedural justice. "The return consultation system requires you to register and queue up again."
"I'm not talking about the system, I'm talking about your attitude."
"I never had any direct conflict with the patient or his family from beginning to end. I have already shown my ID and asked him to file a complaint."
"Yes, they went. Today it was the outpatient clinic, next time it was the medical department, and the next time it was the Health Commission or 12345."
He Dongli remained silent.
Zhao Zhenzhen held He Dongli's one-month work schedule in her hand. It showed almost no rest, and included two 24-hour shifts for others.
She had been ranked first in the open recruitment position and had been hired. Over the past few years, her experience as a resident, then a chief resident, had garnered widespread discussion within and outside the department, suggesting she was simply a legitimate successor to a powerful family. Zhao Zhenzhen had dared to secure this attending physician position for her, unfazed by the negative comments that came with her fame.
During the initial interview, Zhao Zhenzhen had immediately taken a liking to Old Cheng as her disciple. Afterwards, Old Cheng himself lamented that if Dongli hadn't insisted on going back, he would have intended to keep her in the academy.
Old Cheng smiled and teased Zhao Zhenzhen, asking if you still have some of the stubbornness you had back then.
Zhao Zhenzhen remained noncommittal until the hospital interview, when a very realistic life question arose: Do you have a partner? If so, will your family support you in the future when you get married and have children?
He Dongli answered no. As for the realistic balance of marriage and family, she said something a bit surprising: "I think at worst, I can still support myself."
This coincided with Zhao Zhenzhen's earlier experience. She returned to S City and insisted on working in surgery to prove that those who survived the rotation were winners. Less work, more money, and being close to home—she had to have one of these.
She didn't have those lofty ideals; instead, her career choice had to bring her happiness. She retorted to her parents' urgings, saying, "If I can't find a better one, why not find someone on par? Why must I settle for someone worse off than me?" If both parties could support themselves, the worst-case scenario was to break up and maintain their own lives.
At this moment, Zhao Zhenzhen scolded him angrily, and then brought up the old saying of turning the enemy contradiction into an internal contradiction.
Putting aside other things, if a patient cuts in line and interrupts, you should first ask those in line if they agree. Zhao Zhenzhen's point is that you figured it out right away. You need to know that there are some things patients can say that you can't.
The affairs of the masses must be left to the masses to supervise.
Everyone understands the truth; those who understand the truth are all scholars. The biggest fear is that scholars don't meet scholars, but soldiers. When you encounter an unreasonable patient, they will argue with you unreasonably. What's your attitude? You're just an ordinary patient, not even a specialist. What good will it do you to treat patients like this? Be careful, I'll file a complaint!
The truth is, He Dongli had her pay deducted for indiscriminate complaints, but even so, she never took the patients' anger towards her out on other patients. All she could do was treat everyone equally, and if she couldn't convince them, she could only ask them to complain to her.
She also knew the teacher's temper. If she scolded you harshly, it meant you could still be saved. On the contrary, the teacher never said a word about true stupidity.
This time, the outpatient complaint was resolved briefly. He Dongli took the initiative and politely chatted with the teacher about the project at hand. This tea treat was a gentle gesture. Finally, as she stood up to leave, Zhao Zhenzhen acted as if she had remembered something she hadn't mentioned.
Only after she finished speaking did He Dongli come to her senses: the nun’s purpose in asking her to go on a blind date was!
Director Yao of the Medical Department is nearing retirement. Her husband is a renowned orthodontist at the dental hospital. They have two sons. Late last year, Zhao Zhenzhen arranged for He Dongli to perform a mole removal and supertension suture on the thigh of the eldest son of the Liang family.
Director Yao and the eldest daughter-in-law both had some impression of He Dongli. The second son of the Liang family was also thirty years old this year, and he had been looking for someone but still hadn't found a partner. The other day, while playing cards with Zhao Zhenzhen, he asked her if she had any good matchmakers. Zhao Zhenzhen didn't like these clichés of matchmaking, and she didn't expect Dongli to be the one.
It's not known whether the Liang family's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had discussed it beforehand, but they were waiting in a roundabout way to "turn over" Dr. Xiao He.
The second son of the Liang family happened to be there. After looking at He Dongli's ID photo, he jokingly said, "She must have photoshopped it. She doesn't look like someone who studies medicine by sewing skin."
Director Yao spitted at his youngest son, "What's that like? The people you hang out with talk like they haven't eaten."
Liang Er argued with his mother, "No, what did I say? I was praising the people in your courtyard, and you started making personal attacks."
Liang's mother didn't care. She grabbed the cards and lectured her son in front of her old friend, "Personal attacks are too light for you. It's better to find a stronger one and come back to strangle your mouth."
Liang Er didn't know whether he was satisfied with Dr. Xiao He or was just trying to cheer up his mother. "Oh, then it would be best to find a plastic surgeon. At least he can sew it up nicely for me."
Zhao Zhenzhen couldn't get over the awkwardness of their relationship over the past ten years, so she just agreed to arrange for the students to go and have a chat.
He Dongli looked at the nun with some embarrassment. Zhao Zhenzhen saw it and said that if Dongli really didn't want to go, she would go back for her.
Before He Dongli could speak, Zhao Zhenzhen added, "Don't put all your eggs in one basket. You're stuck in the hospital all day long. Finding a partner, let alone friends, is hard. Having more friends in the underworld always opens up more paths. The Liang family has good family backgrounds. The second son, aside from being a bit rough around the edges, is basically pretty good. His older brother is a second-generation doctor, and the second son runs his own business."
Zhao Zhenzhen didn't say it explicitly, but He Dongli understood that since she had just arrived, it might be easier for the Liang family's son to look down on her than to offend the leaders of the medical department.
Finally, He Dongli nodded in agreement. Zhao Zhenzhen looked very pleased. A worldly-wise person, she advised her student, "The Liang family held a Beginning of Winter banquet that day. They were also worried that others would see that they were busy looking for a daughter-in-law. There are many men of the same age. If Liang Laoer is not the one they like, they can still choose someone else."
He Dongli: "Ah. Teacher, this is not good."
"What are you afraid of? A girl from one family will be sought after by hundreds of families."
The next day, He Dongli and Zou Yan met while queuing in the cafeteria. Zou Yan stopped her and asked her not to queue anymore, and he would fight for her.
While eating, they talked about the Liang family's dinner party on Saturday. Zou Yan had been busy all morning and was very hungry. He picked up the plate and took a mouthful of rice to his mouth. As he chewed, he looked down on He Dongli, "You are willing to go to Liang Laoer, who is so handsome."
"What does it look like?" He Dongli thought to himself, at best he had high aspirations, at best he could not disobey his mother's (teacher's) orders, so everyone just went through the motions and went home.
The Zou and Liang families previously lived in the same compound, and later bought villas in the same complex, becoming neighbors. Zou Yan's parents also received an invitation from the Liang family. "He's lazy, ignorant of food, and doesn't recognize his relatives. He's a scumbag. In a nutshell, you can't catch Liang Laoer. His house is like a kang."
He Dongli picked up a piece of stir-fried chrysanthemum with chopsticks and put it into his mouth, smiling nonchalantly, "You and the nun are talking about completely different things."
Zou Yan glared at her with contempt, "Do you believe Zhao Zhenzhen? She and Liang Er's mother are so close that they almost live on the poker table. Besides, she's seen a lot of Liang Er's tricks."
He Dongli calmly argued, "Have you seen it?"
Seeing her stubborn attitude, Zou Yan's face flashed with displeasure. "I'm having a pre-operative conversation with you, and you think I'm joking, right?"
He Dongli was serious for a second, "Don't worry, if what you described is true, then the other party will not be interested in me."
Zou Yan blamed He Dongli for not getting the point yet, "I don't think you should waste your time with people who are obviously not my kind."
He Dongli smiled. She wanted to argue, but a second-generation medical student like Zou Yan probably wouldn't understand. Not everyone has the rebelliousness to do whatever they want. In the end, she had to admit ambiguously that this was not the first time she was introduced to a blind date. She had been introduced before during her doctoral studies. The relationship was much closer to her master's wife's aunt than to the master's wife. Fortunately, the other party was not interested and the matter ended in nothing.
Zou Yan still didn't understand. He Dongli, who he saw as a maverick and even a bit cautious, shouldn't have been manipulated into going on blind dates like this, and again and again. Putting down his chopsticks, he peeled an orange and ate it, saying, "Honestly, have you ever been in love?"
A drop of juice from the orange peel splashed into He Dongli's eyes. She was dazed and didn't wait for her to answer. Zou Yan continued to judge, "Never?"
He Dongli was eating by himself, not paying attention at all. She asked, "What does it feel like to have talked about it?"
Zou Yan felt he was overstepping his bounds. "Nothing much. What I meant was that Liang Er and his kind aren't your ideal."
The next second, someone confessed, "We talked about it."
"Um?"
"I said I've been in a relationship, I have a boyfriend."
Zou Yan was stunned for a moment, perhaps a little surprised. After a moment, he felt that He Dongli's obviously distant yet open-minded personality was very refreshing, "What's it like?"
"As you said, it's not ideal, so we broke up."
Zou Yan was stunned again. He still couldn't imagine what kind of man He Dongli could love or like. Finally, before the two of them cleared their plates and returned to their respective departments, Zou Yan asked earnestly, "He Dongli, what is your ideal value?"
Someone may answer irrelevant questions, or she may be joking and not want to take you seriously, but she will not fail to respond, "neither gathering into drops nor flowing down in streams."
Saturday is the beginning of winter.
He Dongli got off work from the weekend clinic on time. She went to the villa area where the Liang family lived. She had to change subways and take a taxi after getting out of the station.
Zou Yan, dressed in formal attire, stood in the dark and windy night waiting for He Dongli to meet him.
On her way here, Zou Yan sent her a message saying that he would also be there in the evening.
He Dongli jokingly asked him if he also wanted to find a suitable ideal value?
Zou Yan was disdainful and claimed that he was there to laugh at her.
People who are in a state of meditation never seem to waste their time internally. Well, see, if you enjoy it.
Watching her get out of the online taxi, He Dongli was wearing a single-breasted blue long-sleeved shirt and casual straight-leg trousers. Over the shirt he only wore a neutral vest sweater vest, and a windproof jacket draped over his arm.
Her long hair was tied into a low bun, which was the most convenient for commuting. It was obvious that He Dongli had dressed up a little today, but not with all her strength.
Their neutral and capable outfit fits the stereotype of outsiders about female surgeons wielding knives.
Zou Yan, however, could see through the surface to see the essence. At least He Dongli's coolness was fake. It was rare for her to put on such a serious look. The first thing Zou Yan said when they met was praise, "This is what the beauty of our First Affiliated Hospital should be like."
He Dongli naturally knew what they were saying about her behind her back, so she wasn't too complacent. She adjusted the pearl earring on one of her ears; she hadn't worn them in a long time. She was hesitating whether to take it off when Zou Yan stopped her, thinking she was annoyed by his joke, "Don't take it off, it looks pretty good."
After He Dongli told him, Zou Yan helped her carry her bag and clothes and watched her take off her earrings. He then moved a little closer and examined her under the streetlight, "It's really a little red, don't you know you're allergic?"
"I haven't worn it in a long time."
"Well, why are you so serious and putting on such detailed makeup?"
Women who love beauty need to correct their men's cognitive misunderstandings: "We wear makeup to even out our skin tone and please ourselves."
"What if he falls in love with you?"
He Dongli didn't ask who it was, and said calmly and indifferently: "I will refuse."
Zou Yan continued to argue, "Doctor He, you don't seem like someone who is good at socializing." As he said that, he returned the clothes and bag in his hand to her.
He Dongli casually put the two pearl earrings she took off into the pocket of her sweater vest. Before she could say anything, she heard a car speeding past her ears.
It's really a bit rude to speed on such an inner ring road.
Zou Yan had no choice but to swallow a mouthful of dust and curse, talking about the incident in their community last month where a car hit an old lady and fled the scene. Finally, the two of them walked to the door of the Liang family and found that the car of "A Fei" was parked in front of the Liang family's gate.
The Liang Erzheng mentioned by Zou Yan personally came out to greet the guests. The magnificent Liang residence was ablaze with lights and bustling with activity. There were too many cars for the banquet tonight, and Liang Erzheng joked with one of the guests driving a car, saying that the upper roundabout was too full to accommodate the cars, and the property across the lawn wouldn't allow them to park, so they had to use the temporary garage downstairs.
The guests in the car were in no rush to respond, instead interrupting Liang Er with chatter. It's not easy to come here, Liang Lao Er, and you're putting on airs with me. I asked you to meet up, and you dragged your old man here.
While they were talking, several more cars came from behind.
Liang Er was very familiar with the people in the car, so he asked him to stop making trouble and park the car quickly. If it doesn't work, he will park it for him. He will be satisfied now, right?
He Dongli, walking side by side with Zou Yan, didn't want to hear much. She had just approached and noticed the blue license plate on the car was indeed Chen Xiangyang's, but the person speaking inside wasn't Chen. As she walked up the steps to the Liang residence, she heard the man in the car say, "Take Mr. Zong in first. I'll go park the car."
Immediately afterwards, there was a sound of a car door being opened and closed behind his ear, followed by a formal and complimenting greeting, but He Dongli never turned around.
But the sound of someone behind Chen Xiangyang's car connecting with his own was the most reliable proof.
He Dongli was stunned for a few seconds, and the person behind her passed her first.
Zou Yan walked quite a distance before he realized that He Dongli had not followed him. Before he could say anything, one of the two men in suits turned around and remained silent for a long time in the brightly lit room.
Even though He Dongli was facing against the light, his height and the perfume he hadn't changed in all these years were enough to identify him.
Liang Jianxing was puzzled when he saw Mr. Zong suddenly stop, and then he noticed a girl in a blue shirt next to him.
He glanced back and forth, and Zou Yan, who had returned, interrupted and called the girl's name, "Dongli, what's wrong?"
Liang Jianxing heard the name clearly, but before he could react, Mr. Zong withdrew his gaze and walked inside without saying a word.
The author has something to say:
----------------------
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
