Two months later.
The last page was projected on the big screen in the conference room, and Shen Fangyu, holding a laser pointer, smiled, "That's my report, do you guys have any questions?"
Director Cui commented on a few things and then said to the other participants, "Shen Fangyu's series on post-cesarean uterine pseudoaneurysm is very good; you all can say whatever you want."
Almost silently, all eyes focused on the figure sitting at the front of the room.
"Why are you guys looking at me?"
Jiang Xu noticed the gazes from all directions and subconsciously raised his eyes, completely unaware of how deeply traumatized his colleagues were due to his past with Shen Fangyu.
"Doctor Jiang, you... don't have anything to say?" The doctor on duty next to Jiang Xu asked him in confusion.
Every time Shen Fangyu or Jiang Xu gave a report, these two people were able to ask each other a series of questions clearly. If they did not study the cases or literature they were supposed to report carefully, they will not be able to withstand each other's attacks.
So everyone agreed that today's meeting would be another long meeting.
However, Jiang Xu only turned his pen around for a moment then said to Shen Fangyu, "Last Thursday, a case of pseudoaneurysm after double vaginal and double uterine caesarean section was reported in City C; you can add it to your case study."
After saying that, he closed his notebook and stuck his pen there, as if he had nothing more to say.
Even Shen Fangyu, who was on stage, was confused.
Director Cui glanced at Jiang Xu, then said, "So, that's all for today's meeting. There's one more thing, about the academic conference in Province H that everyone is anticipating," her gaze went back and forth between Jiang Xu and Shen Fangyu before finally falling on Shen Fangyu's face, "Fangyu, prepare yourself well and choose a couple of people who will go with us."
When the meeting broke up, Director Cui was always the first to leave, and as soon as she left, the conference room immediately became lively.
The conference mentioned by Director Cui was considered the top academic exchange meeting in obstetrics and gynecology, where almost all the top experts in the field from every country would attend to exchange ideas.
"You and Dr. Jiang have been fighting for this conference for a long time, right? I remember you two registered two months ago."
Shen Fangyu's friends and students were overjoyed, partly because they were happy for Shen Fangyu, and partly because they got an extra chance to come along, because Shen Fangyu would definitely choose the people in his group.
"Tomorrow I will pay for your morning coffee," Shen Fangyu said to the group, "don't forget to come to my office to get it." He then knocked on Jiang Xu's table and raised his eyebrows, then asked, "So, you guys are coming?"
Jiang Xu didn't want to pay attention to him; he took the folder and walked out. Yu Sang was busy following him, listening to the loud cheering behind them. Yu Sang rolled his eyes and said, "What's there to be thankful for? Director Cui brought us last year; this year he brought them; it's only natural."
However, after finishing speaking, he still said to Jiang Xu, "Jiang ge, I think your body condition has not been very good recently." Originally he wanted to say that even Director Cui could see it.
Jiang Xu didn't know what was wrong with him. At first he was just sleepy, as long as he was a little free, he could fall asleep standing up, and then his appetite disappeared. He went back and forth to the brain department and the gastroenterology department for MRIs and gastroscopy, and then even went to the psychiatry department, worried that he had anorexia.
However, the test results did not show any problems.
Although Jiang Xu usually stayed up all night and ate chaotically because of his profession, he always paid attention to any abnormal physical symptoms.
Dr. Jiang's motto is that there is no disease that cannot be cured as long as it is detected early enough.
Initially, he was able to continue drinking coffee to refresh himself, but later, the aroma of the coffee made him want to vomit. Except when he was undergoing surgery or examining patients, he could still rely on his iron will and career to stay calm and awake, but at other times he was too sick to even get up.
Every time he came home from work, he wouldn't even eat dinner if he wasn't on night duty, and he would fall asleep as soon as he got home, and wouldn't wake up in the middle of the night as he usually did.
This type of disease with strange symptoms but no known cause, leads to two extremes: either there is nothing wrong, or it is a serious disease that cannot be cured.
Although Jiang Xu didn't want to live a pessimistic life, he couldn't avoid his thoughts tending towards terminal illness, so he didn't even have the energy to fight with Shen Fangyu anymore. If he did not spend the last few months of his life arguing or fighting with Shen Fangyu, then he could die peacefully.
But in life, there are always people who are happy and there are also people who are sad. At the end of the day, one of the doctors on duty, who was a few years older than them, looked at his cell phone and called out to the entire office, "Don't rush home tonight; I'll treat everyone to fried chicken. The people next door can come to the waiting room and eat with us. Those on duty can tell me what they want; I'll buy it for them and send it to their seats."
"Wu-ge, is there any happy event?" Shen Fangyu asked.
Wu Rui used to be a student of Medical University A. Although he was not as fast as Sheng Fangyu and Jiang Xu in climbing the title ranks, he was patient and had helped them in the early days, so both Shen Fangyu and Jiang Xu had a good relationship with him.
"That's a secret for now," Wu Rui smiled so wide they could barely see his eyes, "I'll tell you later."
He took out his cell phone and said, "Just tell me what you want to eat. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so don't miss it!"
Physically active doctors, especially those who perform surgery and stand for hours without eating or drinking, love fast foods such as fried chicken and cola, which are high in salt and oil and high in energy.
Wu Rui patted Jiang Xu on the shoulder, and Jiang Xu woke up. Wu Rui didn't know that Jiang Xu was sleepy and thought it was because he didn't want to eat with Shen Fangyu, so he smiled warmly and said, "Do me a favor and don't argue today."
Jiang Xu was confused for a moment before finally remembering that they were just talking about dinner. He didn't know what happened, but he was only distracted for a moment and fell asleep again, as if he was possessed.
Although it was true that he did not want to meet Shen Fangyu, Wu Rui was a kind person. He wouldn't refuse when his older brother asked sincerely, so he drowsily replied "Okay, shi-ge, I promise as long as he doesn't provoke me."
".." Wu Rui thought to himself, Easier said than done
He glanced at Shen Fangyu, who was joking with the people around him. He's handsome, but it's a shame he has a sharp tongue. Dr. Shen is usually not rude to others; he was only interested in being rude to Jiang Xu. He was sweet to everyone, so he didn't know what he was thinking.
There were a lot of people at this dinner party, and some people came just to buy food. They set aside food for the doctor on duty first, then put the rest in the living room. Red boxes were scattered on the table, and the aroma of golden fried chicken and grilled wings, as well as refreshing soda filled the living room, making people's fingers tingle.
Shen Fangyu sat next to Wu Rui, and without hesitation, he took a fried chicken thigh from the red paper bag in front of him. The crispy skin matched the tender chicken meat, he took a bite and asked Wu Rui, "So, what's the good news?"
Wu Rui smiled mysteriously, "This is a happy moment, my wife is pregnant."
"Wow-"
A single rock creates thousands of waves.
The group of doctors who had been bored for a long time smacked their tables and applauded. Luckily, Jihua Hospital had a conscience and had created separate buildings for entertainment rooms, gyms, and so on, so they weren't afraid of making noise for the patients and protecting the doctor's image.
Even though they are used to seeing a new life, it is still nice to hear news like that every now and then, especially if it comes from coworkers they spend time with. They were really looking forward to the birth of the lucky baby.
"Congrats!"
"Congratulations to Wu-ge!"
A loud sound of blessing was heard.
"Thank you, thank you!" Wu Rui rubbed his hands together, his face flushed with excitement, as he happily accepted everyone's blessings.
Jiang Xu also took a cup of Coke and toasted Wu Rui, "Congratulations, shi-ge," he said, "If you're too busy, just let us know."
Jiang Xu is a cold man who doesn't talk much, but he is very wise and directly touched Wu Rui's heart.
Wu Rui looked at him gratefully and said to the group, "Actually, there is another reason for inviting everyone to dinner today." Wu Rui was a little embarrassed to say, "My wife is also working hard, I want to spend more time with her, and in the future, with how things are going in the department... in order to free some time for her, I... I might have to trouble everyone, so I want to apologize in advance."
This issue is actually a bit sensitive, after all, no one wants their workload to increase, but fortunately, the relationship in the department has always been harmonious, and Wu Rui usually helped everyone. So as soon as he opened his mouth, everyone smiled and waved their hands and said, smiled and waved their hands and said, "Don't worry, if you can't take care of it, just call us."
"I just...huu..." Wu Rui saw his colleagues so enthusiastic; the mood was right, and he became emotional for a moment. He suddenly couldn't help covering his face; even his voice was a little choked. "I'm usually too busy... and don't have time to accompany her properly."
Seeing that the atmosphere had suddenly turned towards melodrama, Shen Fangyu immediately unwrapped the chicken wings and directly stuffed them into Wu Rui's mouth, patted him on the shoulder and said, "It's okay, Wu-ge. We all understand that work is important, but the wife is more important, right? But right now, nothing is more important than the fried chicken in your mouth."
Just as he finished speaking, he saw Jiang Xu looking at him.
Wu Rui's sadness was suddenly disturbed by the fried chicken, his eyes were still red, but his mouth couldn't help but laugh, so he reached out to take the fried chicken from his mouth while scolding him with a laugh, "Naughty boy."
The almost awkward atmosphere of the banquet returned to a calm state because of the burst of laughter. When Jiang Xu saw Shen Fangyu catch him looking at him, he casually adverted his gaze and commented, "Quite a fast response."
This was a credit to his ability to set the atmosphere.
Shen Fangyu felt so blessed that he took another chicken wing and fed it directly to Jiang Xu's mouth.
The thick and oily scent invaded his senses, and Jiang Xu took a step back with a jolt, his face changing.
In fact, he had been feeling unwell ever since he first came in. He usually liked fried chicken, but the slightest smell of oil made him nauseous these days, so he just drank a little coke and ate one french fry.
However, the oily chicken wing was now stuck to the tip of his nose, and the strong smell of oil and meat swept across Jiang Xu's vulnerable nostrils.
He glanced at Shen Fangyu and suddenly lowered his head to cover his mouth.
"Bleh-"
A dry, held breath.
Doctor Jiang didn't want to embarrass himself, but he couldn't help it. He went straight to the bathroom while covering his mouth, leaving Shen Fangyu, who was holding a messy chicken wing, where he was.
"Is this his new way of insulting me?" Shen Fangyu spoke stiffly while grabbing a chicken drumstick.
After a long time, he asked Yu Sang, who was sitting next to Jiang Xu, "Do I look disgusting?"
"You should ask Dr. Jiang; maybe it's because you stole his place at the conference and he was too angry to see you."
Never mind, I know the people around Jiang Xu are all the same. Dogs can't take out the fangs from their mouths.[1]
He quietly withdrew his hand from holding the chicken drumstick and pretended nothing had happened, but Wu Rui said thoughtfully, "My wife is like that too, she often vomits, but can't vomit most of the time. We didn't think much about it at the time, we thought it was some kind of illness, but it turned out she was pregnant."
Shen Fangyu thought about it, so after Jiang Xu returned from his third trip to vomit, he eagerly leaned over and approached Dr. Jiang, who looked a little weak, said, "Jiang Xu, vomiting like that, you're not pregnant, right?"
---
Author's note
Wu ge: I'm happy to say that my wife is pregnant.
Shen Fangyu: I'm happy too, my wife too– Damn, don't hit people in the face, thank you.
Jiang Xu: I am your father.
Translator Notes:
[1] This proverb means that people who speak badly can never say anything good.