Chapter 4: Face to face with the ex-boyfriend's current boyfriend
Zhou Cheng bought the next high-speed train back home, to Yingjiang, his hometown, which he hadn't visited in almost two years. Last year, he was scheduled for the night shift on Lunar New Year's Eve. The reason was simple: everyone else in the department had wives and children, and he was the only one single—a rational yet illogical reason. Zhou Cheng didn't want to understand the complexities involved, convincing himself that not going home for the Lunar New Year was fine, avoiding pressure from relatives, both known and unknown, to get married. Furthermore, every Lunar New Year holiday was a nightmare for the hepatobiliary surgery department, with cases of cholecystitis and pancreatitis pouring in. The Spring Festival holiday was spent working day and night to see patients and perform surgeries.
This year's Spring Festival is probably about the same. Zhou Cheng made a quick decision and decided to take advantage of his vacation to go home and visit.
Zhou Cheng's parents are both university professors, now nearing retirement and enjoying a leisurely life. When Zhou Cheng opened the door to his house, he saw his mother pruning flowers and his father grinding ink for writing.
"Old Zhou! Mingming is back!" Mother Zhou put down the scissors in her hand and walked quickly to the entrance.
"Mom and Dad, I brought back some local specialties." Zhou Cheng said while changing his shoes.
Father Zhou took off his reading glasses and walked out of the study.
"Why didn't you tell me you were coming back? I didn't even cook dinner." Mother Zhou took the gift box from Zhou Cheng's hand and put it aside.
"Corey was originally planning to go out for a week, but his leader suddenly had something to do, so we were free to do whatever we wanted." Zhou Cheng hugged his mother and opened his arms to his father who was walking over.
"The older you get, the more clingy you become." Zhou's father's usually serious face relaxed a little, but he did not respond to Zhou Cheng's hug.
"What's wrong with your face?" Mother Zhou asked worriedly when she saw his red and swollen left cheek.
"I accidentally fell while skiing this morning. I'm fine."
Zhou Cheng was in such a hurry to come out that he didn't even think to look at his face. When he saw himself in the mirror under the pretext of washing his hands, he realized how clumsy his lie was.
This kid is too cruel.
The warm and harmonious family atmosphere lasted until the end of dinner. As the three of them sat in the living room, watching TV and eating fruit, the old topic came up again.
"It's not that I don't want to have a relationship, I'm just too busy with work and I don't want to find someone in the same profession." Zhou Cheng knew that this topic would come up sooner or later, so he tried to speak calmly.
"When you meet someone you like, you will find time to talk to them no matter how busy you are at work." Mother Zhou hit the nail on the head.
Well, that's true, but where is that person?
Zhou Cheng changed his posture and tried to support his cheek with his hand, but a dull pain made him frown.
"You should go to the hospital. It looks more swollen than before." Mother Zhou said with concern.
"You've forgotten what your son does," Mr. Zhou suddenly interrupted.
Zhou Cheng still went to the hospital. His purpose was not to see Xiao Han's face, but to ask him who he was going to marry. He couldn't lie to another girl.
Zhou Cheng was looking at the layout map on the first floor of the inpatient department of Yingjiang Central Hospital.
"Hello, which department do you want to go to?" A sweet voice sounded beside me.
"Oh, hepatobiliary surgery." Zhou Cheng turned around and saw a little girl dressed as a nurse, looking at him with a smile.
Zhou Cheng was not sure which department Xiao Han was in now, but he was in hepatobiliary surgery when they broke up.
"The hepatobiliary surgery department is on the 17th floor. Are you coming to visit relatives or friends?" It was obvious that the young nurse wanted to chat more.
"Yes, thank you." Zhou Cheng nodded to her and left.
It was past 9 p.m., and the elevator was empty. Zhou Cheng continued studying the department layout map posted in the elevator, planning to either visit the hepatobiliary surgery department or go downstairs to the gastrointestinal surgery department.
"Hello, is Dr. Xiao Han here?" Zhou Cheng walked to the nurse's station and asked the nurse on duty, and as expected, he saw the nurse's eyes brighten and her smile bloom.
"Doctor Xiao is currently in surgery and should be leaving soon. What do you want to see him about?"
"I'm his friend."
"Then you can sit at the nurse's station for a while, or go to the doctor's duty room and wait for Dr. Xiao."
Zhou Cheng sometimes felt that he should be grateful for the face his parents had given him, like a universal pass, but now it hurt. Zhou Cheng touched his left cheek, which was typically red, swollen, hot, and painful, and then pushed open the door to the doctor's office.
There was a man sitting on a chair in the duty room, typing something on the computer with a serious look on his face.
Doctors working overtime
Zhou Cheng was stunned for a moment. After all, he sometimes didn't wear a white coat when writing medical records in the duty room.
"Hello, I'm here to look for Xiao Han. If it's not convenient, I'll go out and wait for you." Zhou Cheng said and was about to go out.
"What do you want to do with Xiao Han?" The other party raised his eyebrows and asked him with a strong aura, as if interrogating him.
Zhou Cheng gritted his teeth, wondering why he kept running into these explosive firecrackers. Finally, considering that this was Xiao Han's department, he decided not to cause him any trouble and forced himself to swallow his anger.
"Classmates, let's reminisce." Zhou Cheng said this and turned to leave the duty room.
"Zhou Cheng! Why are you here? I just got off the stage and the nurse told me someone was looking for me. I thought it was a patient's family member." Xiao Han opened the door and almost bumped into Zhou Cheng.
It’s this “old classmate” again. He called yesterday and showed up today?
Feng Junchi stood up, tapped his fingers on the table quickly, and stared at Xiao Han without saying a word.
What the fuck is going on?
Xiao Han cursed inwardly when he saw Feng Junchi. This was not the scene he had expected for their meeting.
"Brother Chi, this is my classmate Zhou Cheng, the doctor who will perform surgery on my father next week. He is taking advantage of his vacation to come and see the details." Xiao Han walked around Zhou Cheng and came to Feng Junchi, then tugged at his sleeve.
Zhou Cheng immediately understood the situation, closed the door, walked over and extended his hand to Feng Junchi.
Feng Junchi's expression didn't change much as he shook hands with Zhou Cheng.
"Let's go eat. I'm starving." After changing his clothes, Xiao Han pushed Feng Junchi out, then shook his head slightly at Zhou Cheng.
They went to the casserole porridge restaurant next to the hospital.
"Zhou Cheng, don't be in a hurry to leave. I'll treat you to a big meal tomorrow. Just make do with what you have today."
Xiao Han and Feng Junchi sat on one side, and Zhou Cheng sat opposite them.
"You guys eat, I've already eaten at home." Zhou Cheng looked at Xiao Han's boyfriend and found that he was also looking at him. Neither of them avoided looking at each other, just staring at each other blatantly.
"This is my boyfriend, Feng Junchi, a lawyer who now works in the company's legal department." Xiao Han felt the atmosphere was about to heat up, so he quickly spoke up. "This is Zhou Cheng, my college classmate. He's now working in the First Affiliated Hospital of our university, and he's also a hepatobiliary specialist."
"Doctor Zhou, I'm sorry to bother you with my father's surgery in a few days." Feng Junchi said solemnly to Zhou Cheng.
"It's a small matter, no trouble." Zhou Cheng picked up the water cup and took a sip, thinking that since these two people, this hellish combination, can get together and fall in love, it must be true love.
In the end, Zhou Cheng didn't ask what happened at Xiao Han's wedding. After exchanging contact information with Feng Junchi, they parted ways. Watching them leave, Zhou Cheng felt that this winter was a little too cold.
It was almost dawn when I got home, and I finally lay down on my bed which I hadn't seen for a long time.
Zhou Cheng felt as if he were completely immersed in icy water. The biting cold wrapped around his neck and chest like a water snake, gradually making it difficult for him to breathe. He struggled to swim upwards, but the surface of the water was covered with a thick layer of ice. The cold penetrated deep into his bones, and the feeling of suffocation became more and more intense. No matter how hard he struggled, he could not break free from the confinement. At this time, something seemed to be running towards him quickly on the ice, shaking the ice surface and causing it to begin to loosen. Just when Zhou Cheng felt that he was about to pass out, the ice above his head cracked, and he struggled to stick his head out.
Zhou Cheng opened his eyes and breathed deeply. The room was pitch black. He stared at the ceiling, the damp, cold feeling still lingering. As he slowly began to even out his breathing, he realized the ice pack he'd applied to his face before bed had melted, and the water had flowed down his neck and onto his chest and back.
He had been so busy every day that he had no time to feel sad. But now that he had some free time, all the negative emotions flooded in. Zhou Cheng took a few deep breaths and tried to pull himself away.
But the reality is that everyone around me is moving forward, and only I am stuck in the same place.
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