A different insulator
It has been three days since Jiang Lin returned to Shilong Town Health Center. The familiar smell of disinfectant in the hospital is like an invisible film, temporarily covering up the sweetness and restlessness that Jiang Lin brought back from the city, which was almost overflowing.
After putting on a white coat and engaging in the familiar diagnosis and treatment process, he makes rounds, prescribes medicine, and deals with some common illnesses. He is still the calm and reliable Dr. Jiang who is trusted by the townspeople.
Only occasionally, when his fingertips unconsciously touched the tiny cut on his lower lip, or when his eyes swept across the familiar street scenes of the small town outside the window, and he thought of the figure holding the puppy and watching him go on the weekend, an imperceptible smile would quietly creep up on the corners of his eyes and eyebrows.
After get off work, Jiang Lin declined his colleague's invitation to dinner and drove alone to the restaurant at the town entrance where he and Gu Yansheng had been.
The originally peaceful and lively night market was now in a mess and tense situation in front of the "Qiangzi BBQ" stall. Several ruffian youths gathered in front of the stall, led by a gangster with dyed yellow hair and a cigarette in his mouth. He was a well-known ruffian in this town.
Overturned plastic stools and several skewers of burnt meat littered the floor. Zhao Qiang stood before the grill, his dark face etched with anger and stubbornness. He clutched a meat-cutting machete tightly in his hand—the tip of the knife pointed forward, more like a defensive stance.
"Zhao Qiang! Don't be so shameless! How many days have you delayed paying this month's 'cleaning fee'? Do you really think I'm a vegetarian?" Ah Fei spitted and reached out to push Zhao Qiang.
"Get lost! What the hell is this cleaning fee?! I earn my living by my own ability, I won't give you a dime!"
Zhao Qiang stiffened his neck, his voice loud but with a suppressed tremor, he guarded the simple stall behind him tightly.
"Fuck! If you don't accept my toast, you'll have to drink for me!" A short thug next to Ah Fei suddenly picked up an empty beer bottle on the table next to him and smashed it at the grill!
"Stop!" Zhao Qiang roared, and subconsciously used the arm holding the machete to block.
Chaos erupted in an instant! A fierce glint flashed in Ah Fei's eyes. Taking advantage of Zhao Qiang's moment to block the bottle, he reached out to grab the machete from his hand! During the struggle, the blade slashed across the outside of Zhao Qiang's arm, which was tightly gripping the handle!
"Ugh!" Zhao Qiang cried out in pain. A cut several centimeters long instantly appeared on his arm. Blood gushed out quickly, staining his sleeve red.
"Brother Qiang!" A terrified, tearful scream erupted from the small room behind the stall. Zhou Muyuan's face paled as he desperately rushed into the crowd, pushing aside Ah Fei, who was still trying to grab Zhao Qiang, and throwing his arms in front of the injured Zhao Qiang.
He was thin, wearing a washed-out shirt, and his glasses were crooked. Facing a few ferocious thugs, his body was shaking violently, but his eyes were extremely sharp and angry. "What are you doing! Is there any law or order? Get out of here!"
There were more people watching the excitement around, but they just watched from afar, whispered, and no one dared to come forward.
At this moment, a cold and penetrating voice rang out, carrying unquestionable majesty, "I've called the police! The police will be here soon!"
Everyone's attention was instantly attracted. Jiang Lin had gotten out of the car without anyone noticing. He was standing a few steps away from the crowd, holding a mobile phone in his hand. The screen was on, showing the "110" call interface.
He swept a cold look over Ah Fei and the others. His voice was not loud, but it was clearly heard by everyone, "Warning someone with a weapon, provoking trouble, the surveillance camera has captured it, none of you can escape."
The words "110" and "surveillance" were clearly quite intimidating. Ah Fei's face changed. They just wanted to collect some protection money, and there was no need to actually provoke the police.
He glared at Jiang Lin fiercely, then looked at Zhao Qiang, who was still bleeding, and Zhou Muyuan, who was standing in front of him, looking ready to fight to the death. He spat, "Damn it, you're so cruel! Zhao, and you, you meddlers, just wait for me!"
After leaving behind some harsh words, the leader Ah Fei and a few thugs quickly squeezed through the crowd and slipped away while cursing.
The crisis was temporarily resolved, and Zhou Muyuan's tense body softened instantly, but he didn't care about himself. He immediately turned around and supported Zhao Qiang. Looking at the hideous wound on his arm, tears came down. "Brother Qiang! How are you? Does it hurt? You've lost a lot of blood..." His voice was shaking.
Zhao Qiang endured the pain and wiped his face with his uninjured hand. Looking at Zhou Muyuan's pale face, he tried to force a smile to comfort him, "It's okay, just a superficial injury. Muyuan, don't cry..."
"Stop talking! Go take care of the wound first!" Zhou Muyuan interrupted him, his voice tough but still full of tears. He looked up at Jiang Lin with gratitude and eagerness. "Doctor Jiang! Please..."
"Get in the car."
Jiang Lin spoke succinctly and quickly opened the back door of his car. He helped Zhou Muyuan carry the nearly exhausted Zhao Qiang into the back seat. In the rearview mirror, he could see Zhou Muyuan tightly holding Zhao Qiang's good hand, whispering comforting words, his body still trembling slightly.
Jiang Lin had discovered before that Zhao Qiang and Teacher Zhou Muyuan had a special relationship. In this relatively closed town, their relationship was low-key but not a secret. Jiang Lin had seen Zhou Muyuan come to help when closing the stall countless times. The tacit understanding between the two of them that did not require much words always made him feel a sense of calm warmth.
Jiang Lin started the car and drove smoothly and quickly to the clinic. The suppressed sobs in the back seat and Zhao Qiang's painful gasps mixed together.
Back in the hospital's treatment room, the bright light made the wound even clearer. Jiang Lin swiftly put on gloves and began cleaning, disinfecting, and suturing Zhao Qiang's wound.
The wound was not particularly deep, but the skin and flesh were turned outward, which looked scary. Zhou Muyuan had been standing by, his face pale, biting his lower lip, watching Zhao Qiang's muscles twitch when the alcohol cotton ball wiped the wound. His body trembled as well, and his nails dug deeply into his palm.
The suturing process was very quiet, with only the slight clinking of instruments. After treating the wound and administering the tetanus shot, Jiang Lin explained the precautions: "Keep the wound away from water, change the dressing on time, and remember to take anti-inflammatory medicine. Don't exert force on your arm for the next few days."
"Thank you, Dr. Jiang. Sorry for bothering you." Zhao Qiang thanked him honestly, with cold sweat on his forehead from the pain.
"It's my duty." Jiang Lin nodded and began to pack up his equipment.
At this moment, the emotions that had been suppressed all the way seemed to finally find an outlet. Zhou Muyuan looked at the gauze wrapped around Zhao Qiang's arm, and his voice broke out with uncontrollable trembling and fearful anger.
"Zhao Qiang! Were you crazy just now? You dare to fight with them for a few hundred dollars in protection fees? They had knives in their hands! Do you know how dangerous it was just now! What if... What if..." He couldn't continue, his eyes were red again.
The naiveté on Zhao Qiang's face faded, replaced by the stubbornness and helplessness typical of the lower class. "Muyuan, this isn't just a few hundred yuan! This is just bullying! I gave it to them today, and they're asking for a thousand tomorrow! They're going to destroy my stall the day after tomorrow! These local tyrants, the more you fear them, the more they'll bully you! I can't start this! If I back down, how can I survive in this town in the future?"
He glanced at Zhou Muyuan and swallowed the rest of his words, but his meaning was very clear.
"Stay put? How can you talk about finding a place to stay if you don't even want to live?"
Zhou Muyuan's voice suddenly rose, carrying the confusion and anger of the city intellectuals facing this kind of "foolish bravery." "You try to reason with them? Do they? They're desperate criminals! You're unarmed, and they have knives! This time it was your arm, but what about next time? Have you ever thought about what I'd do if something happened to you?!"
His questions were sharp and painful, filled with a sense of powerlessness towards reality and extreme fear of heartache for his lover.
"Then what do you want me to do? Pay the money like everyone else? Watch them ride on my head and shit on me?!" Zhao Qiang's anger also rose. His voice was low but full of suppressed anger. "I, Zhao Qiang, am not that kind of coward! I would rather stand and bleed than kneel and beg for food! You...you don't understand the way to survive here at all!"
"Yes! I don't understand! I don't understand your barbaric 'way of survival'! I only know that you almost got yourself into trouble!" Zhou Muyuan was so angry that he was shaking all over, and finally couldn't help but tear up and rolled down.
He looked at Zhao Qiang's stubborn face. His disregard for his own safety made him feel chilled and powerless. He stood up suddenly, his voice choked with despair. "Okay! I don't understand! I will never understand! You want to be a hero? Go ahead! I can't control you!"
After saying that, Zhou Muyuan wiped away his tears fiercely, without even looking at Zhao Qiang and Jiang Lin beside him, he turned around and rushed out of the debridement room. The sound of his footsteps quickly faded away in the silent corridor and finally disappeared outside the door.
The debridement room instantly fell into a dead silence. Zhao Qiang slumped in his chair, his injured arm hanging limply, his other hand clutching his face in agony, his shoulders heaving slightly. The man who hadn't flinched from the machete moments before now exuded a profound sense of defeat and sadness.
Jiang Lin did not interrupt from beginning to end. He quietly washed his hands by the sink, the cold water washing over his fingertips.
Every word of the heated argument just now fell clearly into his ears. He did not intend to eavesdrop, but the small space and intense emotions made the conversation impossible to hide.
The sound of running water was heard. Jiang Lin turned off the faucet, took out a tissue and slowly dried his hands. He walked to Zhao Qiang and stretched out his hand. After hesitating for a moment, he finally gently placed it on Zhao Qiang's uninjured shoulder.
The touch was light, with a non-instinctive, slightly stiff temperature.
Zhao Qiang looked up in shock, his red eyes filled with surprise. How could this Dr. Jiang, who was always calm and aloof and only talked about the patient's condition,...
Jiang Lin didn't meet his eyes, his gaze fixed on the pale wall opposite. His voice was still as steady and low as usual, without any ups and downs, but it was clearly heard by Zhao Qiang. "He is worried about you too."
He paused, as if considering the words that seemed to "cross the line" for him, "You two... should have a good chat."
After saying this, Jiang Lin almost immediately withdrew his hand from Zhao Qiang's shoulder, as if that little bit of warmth had exhausted all his "meddling" capacity.
He didn't offer any extra comfort or explanation. Instead, he gave another verbal medical order in a calm voice: "Be careful not to get the wound infected. Stay away from the stall for the next few days and get some rest."
Zhao Qiang raised his head, his eyes red. He took the tissue and said hoarsely, "...Thank you, Dr. Jiang."
Jiang Lin picked up his things and quickly left the treatment room like a silent shadow, leaving Zhao Qiang alone. Facing those short but to-the-point words, he fell into deeper confusion and complicated thoughts.
The lights in the corridor of the clinic were pale. He took out his cell phone and the screen lit up. The screensaver was a snapshot of Gu Yansheng holding Xiaofei and smiling at him at the door before he left. The sun was shining brightly.
I swiped my finger across the screen and clicked on the pinned chat box, the contact with the cute puppy avatar.
He lowered his head, quickly typed a line of words, and clicked send.
Jiang Lin: I just finished an emergency. We're celebrating the sea god this weekend. What would you like to eat? I'll reserve a table for you.
Jiang Lin: (Sent a photo of the street scene in Shilong Town at dusk)
After sending the message, he leaned against the cold wall, raised his head and breathed a sigh of relief. A slight stinging sensation came from the damaged part of his scabbed lower lip, which made him clearly remember the bloody and unforgettable kiss at the entrance.
The quarrel between Zhao Qiang and Zhou Muyuan seemed to still echo in my ears.
What should I do if something happens to you?
You don’t understand at all…
Jiang Lin raised his hand and unconsciously rubbed the small wound on his lower lip with his fingertips. His eyes looked deep and complex in the dim light of the corridor.
Love is a sweet yet heavy thing. It makes people fearless but also vulnerable.
Arguing...Will he and Gu Yansheng be like this in the future... Those childhood family scenes suddenly burst into his mind. Jiang Lin's eyes darkened and he quickly left the clinic...
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