160. Another Road Not Taken
Ling Ling breathed a sigh of relief after watching Long Jia disappear down the hallway. Seeing the needle wound on the back of her hand nearly bleeding, she quickly applied pressure to the vein with a piece of medical cotton from the bedside table and rang the call bell for the nurse on duty. The nurse, observing her condition, scolded her. Lying quietly in bed amidst the clamor of treatment, Ling Ling recalled Long Jia's final words before he passed away: It turned out he had been hiding the true nature of her condition. If he hadn't been so worried at this critical moment, he wouldn't have dared to tell her the truth. Could the tumor on her liver be malignant? Was she actually that close to death? If she had rushed through life, would she have any regrets? Of course she would. There was too much to regret. Even if one had chosen this path consciously and voluntarily, the other path not taken would always be a legitimate regret. Thanks to Long Jia, her hospital room was a private one. The cool moonlight at night left her feeling lonely and melancholy. Gazing at the pale moon in the dark sky, she wondered what her life would have been like if she had chosen a different path. That other path would have been to marry Yu Chuanbei and have children. The letter he left her before he left mentioned his plans for a deep dive, the seabed his confessional. She tried closing her eyes, feeling the encounter with his confession in the deep blue waters. Would she make a different decision now? Ling Ling slept fitfully throughout the night, feeling depressed, but still groggy when she woke. At 8 a.m., the attending physician began his rounds. A group of white-coated doctors entered, and the one in front looked at her intently, his eyes as calm as ever. It seemed he'd known she was there, but she, of course, had no idea she'd one day be operated on by Zhong Mingtong. "Did you sleep well last night?" His question felt somewhere between the normal concern of a doctor and the familiarity of an old friend. "Uh, well, fine." She couldn't react quickly enough and had to lie to cover up her embarrassing situation. But he seemed to see through her at a glance, and said with a faint smile: "You need to rest more today. The main cause of your illness is fatigue. Have you told the patient about the precautions of fasting and not drinking water?" He turned to the student holding a pocket notebook next to him and said. The other party responded cautiously and fluently recited a few preoperative requirements. He nodded to the student with satisfaction, then glanced at the ward and asked Ling Ling: "Wasn't your friend who was with you yesterday away?" "He had an emergency at home and left early. But it doesn't matter, I will go and ask for a nurse in advance." Ling Ling tried to make her words sound relaxed and cheerful, as if everything was under control. Zhong Mingtong's eyes darkened a little...
Only after watching Long Jia disappear in the corridor did Ling Ling breathe a sigh of relief. Seeing that the needle hole on the back of her hand was almost bleeding, she quickly took a piece of medical cotton cloth from the bedside and pressed the blood vessel, and rang the call bell for the nurse on duty.
Seeing her in this state, the nurse chided her. Amidst the clamor of treatment, Ling Ling lay quietly on her bed, reflecting on Long Jia's final words before he passed away: He had been hiding the truth about her condition. If he hadn't been so worried at this critical moment, he wouldn't have dared to tell her the truth. Could the tumor on her liver be malignant? Was she actually that close to death? If this life had been rushed, would she have any regrets?
Of course there are. There is too much reluctance. Even if one chose this path consciously and voluntarily, the other path that was not taken will always become a regret with a clear conscience.
Thanks to Long Jia, her hospital room was a single room. In the cool moonlight at night, she felt lonely and sad. Gazing at the pale moon in the dark sky, she wondered what her life would have been like if she had chosen another path. That other path would have been to marry Yu Chuanbei and have children.
In the letter he left her before he left, he said he was going deep diving, and the bottom of the sea was his confession room. She tried to close her eyes, feeling the encounter with his confession in the deep blue sea. Would she make a different decision now?
Ling Ling slept fitfully all night, but awoke feeling rather tired. At 8 a.m., the attending physician began his ward rounds. A group of people in white coats crowded in. The one in front looked at her intently, his eyes as calm as ever.
It seems that he already knew she was here, but she naturally didn't know that one day she would be operated on by Zhong Mingtong.
"Did you sleep well last night?" His question gave people the feeling of being somewhere between a doctor's normal concern and that of an old friend.
"Uh, well, it's fine." She couldn't react quickly enough and had to lie to cover up her embarrassing situation.
He seemed to see through her, and with a faint smile, he said, "You need to rest more today. The main cause of your illness is fatigue. Have you told the patient about the precautions of fasting and drinking water?" He turned to the student holding a pocket notebook nearby. The student responded cautiously and fluently recited a few preoperative requirements.
He nodded in satisfaction at the student, then glanced around the ward and asked Ling Ling, "Isn't your friend who was with you yesterday here?"
"He had an emergency at home and left early. But it doesn't matter, I will go and hire a nurse in advance." Ling Ling tried to make her words sound relaxed and cheerful, as if everything was under control.
Zhong Mingtong's eyes darkened a bit, but his tone remained steady and gentle. "We have a few more preoperative tests today. I'll ask the nurse to take good care of you. Judging from your current indicators, your liver hemangioma is likely benign and self-healing. Some will shrink and disappear over time. However, because your tumor is growing, combined with your current physical condition, we have determined that surgical resection would be safer. However, this is only a minimally invasive procedure. Since your tumor is located at the edge of the liver, the lesion is not large, and the location is superficial, the prognosis will be very good. Don't worry."
Hearing him say this, Ling Ling felt greatly comforted. The whole night's insomnia was now cured by him. She smiled at him gratefully.
Zhong Mingtong nodded at her restrainedly and led the medical students away.
"Teacher Zhong, didn't you say too much just now? It might cause disputes in the future." A student asked him timidly.
"That's right. From now on, you can't make unconfirmed promises to patients like I did. But, I know her."
When the ward became quiet again, Ling Ling couldn't help but laugh. Destiny is truly an incredibly magical journey. You never know when, where, and under what circumstances you will meet or reunite with someone.
After Zhong Mingtong successfully performed the surgery on her, it must have been the 59th time he had done something he hadn't dared to do before. She couldn't quite remember the exact number.
All day, she followed the doctor's instructions for preoperative preparations, and under the spell of Zhong Mingtong's morning rounds, she slept soundly that night. The next day, the surgery went smoothly, and the first thing she thought of when she woke up was to send a message to Long Jia to let him know she was safe.
She saw a man in a white coat with his back to her, so she said in a hoarse voice, "Doctor, can you give me your phone?"
The other person turned around, and Ling Ling saw that it was Zhong Mingtong.
She was stunned, but Zhong Mingtong acted naturally and appropriately. "Do you want a phone?" He picked up the phone on the bedside table. "I just charged it. I guess you'll need it when you wake up."
He helped her raise the headboard and handed her the phone. She took it, but felt powerless, so she asked him for help: "Please send a message to Longjia, the one pinned to the top of my WeChat account, telling him that the operation went well and that he should not worry."
She wanted to tell him the password of her mobile phone, but he had already unlocked it. That's right, she hadn't changed the password of her mobile phone in the past two years, but she didn't expect that he still remembered it.
"Is he your boyfriend?"
Zhong Mingtong discovered that Long Jia wasn't hard to find in her phone's address book, as he had dozens of unread messages from him. Naturally, he hadn't read them, simply replying with a quick message to let her know he was safe. After showing her his phone again, he locked the screen and placed it by her bedside. Ling Ling saw Long Jia's latest message, saying his mother had just undergone heart bypass surgery and that everything was going well, but he couldn't take care of her any longer. Hearing that his mother had survived, Ling Ling breathed a sigh of relief.
She responded to his question: "No, it's just because he is my only friend."
"He must love you very much. When he first came to the hospital and saw you unconscious, he was particularly worried about you." Zhong Mingtong said seriously.
Ling Ling smiled weakly and said, "Do you think I'm too pitiful now that I'm alone, and want me to be a successful matchmaker?"
"No, I--" Zhong Mingtong didn't know what to say for a moment. His emotions were too complicated and his words were too insufficient.
Ling Ling shook her head without any concern and said, "Long Jia is my college classmate. We have known each other for many years and have supported each other like family."
Mingtong nodded, feeling it was inappropriate to discuss her personal affairs any further. He returned to his professional field, feeding her water while saying, "Your surgery was very successful. The hemangioma was completely removed, and the pathology results show it is benign. You can be discharged after two or three days of observation. Honestly, your illness has a lot to do with work pressure and lifestyle habits. Are you still staying up all night drinking?"
Ling Ling shrugged like a primary school student who had made a mistake and said, "The doctor caught me."
He opened his mouth to lecture her again, but she stopped him in time. "Okay, I know everything. It was my body sending me a distress signal. I was just lucky to have a brush with death. Thank you, Dr. Zhong, for operating on me. You are so noble."
Mingtong couldn't help but laugh, "Indeed, I never thought I'd dare to operate on my ex-girlfriend on the operating table one day. This is the 55th thing I've done that I once didn't dare to do!"
"Isn't it the 59th one?"
"Of course not, how could I remember it wrong?" After saying that, Mingtong lowered his head dejectedly, and the frame of his glasses obscured his eyes.
Ling Ling changed the subject and said, "You're off work now, right? Go home. I've already asked the nurses for a caregiver."
"You just had surgery, and you'll be in pain after the anesthesia wears off. I'll stay with you for the first night. I'm worried about using a nurse." He took off his white coat and hung it on the hanger. After helping her re-level the bed and set him down to sleep, he rolled up his sleeves and set up the folding bed.
Seeing that he lay down without saying anything, Ling Ling stopped trying to dissuade him. The two of them lay separately in the dimly lit hospital beds, with the white light from the corridor leaking in like an invisible surveillance.
Ling Ling heard him cough twice, probably still awake, so she couldn't help asking, "Why did you come to work in this hospital?"
Mingtong didn't reply for a long time, Lingling even thought he fell asleep in an instant?
The silence was so long that Ling Ling had given up waiting for a reply, but he suddenly responded, "Lu Yan and I are married. It's a bit inconvenient for us to work in the same department, and this hospital happened to have a program to attract young talents, so I came here. I also sold my house in Shunyi and moved to the city. You don't have to be afraid of running into me in the Shunyi community anymore."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
