CH 3

In Ji Yao’s emotional experiences, Jiang Heng was the first ex-boyfriend to reappear in front of him after their breakup.

And his timing was too quick, too coincidental, and too specific, as if he had precisely struck Ji Yao’s “professional ethics” bottom line. leaving Ji Yao feeling awkward apart from the usual “saving lives and aiding the wounded” thoughts.

“If I had known he would end up in the hospital where I work tonight, I should have accepted my colleague’s shift change request,” Ji Yao thought.

However, life is often dramatic, and things that fall right in front of your eyes can’t be ignored, and things that come knocking on the door can’t be avoided.

Ji Yao considered himself a doctor with good professional ethics, and he truly didn’t have any interest in seeing his ex suffer. So, he sighed inwardly and reluctantly pulled down the bedsheet, wiping away the trace of blood at the corner of Jiang Heng’s lips.

“Let’s try to stop the bleeding first,” Ji Yao naturally knew why he was called to the emergency room. He turned to ask the nurse for basic information, then thought for a moment and said to the on-duty doctor opposite him, “If we can find a medication to stop the bleeding at the source, it’s best not to resort to surgery.”

After that, Ji Yao took a step back, giving way to the digestive specialist. He turned his head and casually asked, “Any family members?”

The nurse standing at the end of the bed looked at Ji Yao with hesitation and shook her head, saying, “No family members. He said no one can come.”

“What about friends or colleagues?” Ji Yao asked, “Who brought him here?”

“He called the ambulance himself,” the nurse said, “There’s no one else. We asked him earlier, and he said he just arrived in Shanghai and doesn’t have any relatives or friends here.”

Listening to this—Ji Yao’s first reaction was that it sounded absurd. With Jiang Heng’s personality, not to mention him already being settled in Shanghai, even if he had just landed from a flight three days ago, he could have already established a network of connections from every nook and cranny.

But the fact that he had no one to accompany him at the moment was true. Not being able to extract more information from the nurse, Ji Yao had no choice but to turn back and ask Jiang Heng himself.

In the few minutes that passed, Jiang Heng was clearly in a lot of pain. His eyes were half-closed, he kept swallowing, suppressing the urge to vomit, and trying hard not to curl up.

Ji Yao walked to the bedside, bent down, and nudged his shoulder, asking, “Jiang Heng, the hospital needs to contact a family member. Can you provide someone’s name so the hospital can reach out?”

When they were together, Jiang Heng rarely mentioned his family and parents. Although Ji Yao didn’t know what had happened between them, he could guess that their relationship wasn’t great.

At least, Jiang Heng didn’t want anything to do with them.

So Ji Yao thought for a moment and added, “If there really are no family members, friends or colleagues would do.”

Jiang Heng managed to open his eyes slightly, looked at Ji Yao, and said, “None.”

Ji Yao furrowed his brows, a hint of disagreement appearing on his face. He was about to urge Jiang Heng to cooperate when he saw Jiang Heng’s lips curl into a bitter smile.

“Dr. Ji,” Jiang Heng said, “I just returned to the country. Although I do have a job, I’m barely acquainted with my colleagues. It’s the middle of the night, should I really go begging favors from them?”

“Then other friends would do,” Ji Yao paused for a moment, seeming to save face for Jiang Heng. He lowered his voice slightly, leaning closer to Jiang Heng’s ear and said, “Fling, or anything else—like that guy you met at the bar last night.”

Jiang Heng was taken aback and hadn’t even figured out how Ji Yao knew he had been to a bar last night when Ji Yao continued, “Your situation is quite serious. You definitely need someone to accompany you for the upcoming tests and procedures. You can’t handle it all by yourself.”

After Ji Yao finished speaking, Jiang Heng had just come back to his senses. He wasn’t sure if he had heard Ji Yao’s last sentence, but he still managed to curl his lips and muster a wry smile.

“Dr. Ji, my colleagues are merely acquaintances. It’s a bit unrealistic to expect me to ask them for help, especially at this hour.”

Ji Yao realized that he might have misunderstood the situation. He had projected his own impressions of Jiang Heng onto him, forgetting that his view of Jiang Heng was based on their relationship they had three years ago.

With a slight frown, Ji Yao inwardly reflected on his assumptions.

“Dr. Ji,” Jiang Heng took a deep breath, then said, “If there’s a need to pay or complete any formalities, could I trouble you for that?”

Ji Yao hesitated for a moment. His initial instinct was to refuse.

But Jiang Heng seemed to regret saying that. He quickly realized that he had presented Ji Yao with a difficult choice. If Jiang Heng were in better condition, he wouldn’t have made such a “blunder.” Unfortunately, he was still in pain, and most of his energy was being used to endure the stomach ache, leaving him little capacity to think things through.

However, retracting his request wasn’t practical at this point, especially with Ji Yao and a bunch of doctors around. It felt like things wouldn’t sit right no matter how deeply they were analyzed.

“That would work too,” the doctor from the Gastroenterology Department, unaware of the underlying tension, affirmed the feasibility of Jiang Heng’s proposal. He then turned to Ji Yao and asked, “Is that convenient for you, Dr. Ji?”

Ji Yao couldn’t really leave him alone in the situation. He sighed inwardly and compromised.

“Alright,” Ji Yao said to his colleagues, who were unaware of the situation. “I’ll take care of this.”

He then lifted the sheet and took Jiang Heng’s wallet from his clothes. Without needing to ask, Jiang Heng thoughtfully provided the relevant information.

“Industrial and Commercial Bank of China,” Jiang Heng said. “The password is what you know, and it hasn’t been changed.”

Ji Yao glanced at Jiang Heng but didn’t say anything, considering the busy emergency room environment. He took the wallet and left.

The queue at the payment area wasn’t too long. Ji Yao gave up his spot halfway through the line to an elderly man who had difficulty moving and returned to the back of the line. He took Jiang Heng’s bank card from the wallet.

The “password” Jiang Heng mentioned was the date they officially became a couple. Jiang Heng always had a knack for romance. When they were together, he seamlessly integrated his partner into every aspect of his life, as if he was fully prepared to spend the rest of his life with them.

It was as though he had a separate brain that stored all these related details, and Ji Yao had even wondered how Jiang Heng managed to never mix up these numerical pieces of information.

The card Ji Yao held was covered with a protective film, looking like it had been replaced not too long ago.

Jiang Heng’s heart seemed like it was made of glass, vibrant and beautiful, yet not quite within reach. Ji Yao had been in a relationship with him for almost three years, but he didn’t dare claim that he fully understood Jiang Heng.

For instance, Ji Yao couldn’t understand why Jiang Heng had kept a part of their relationship as a remembrance even after getting a new card.

Ji Yao thought for a moment and then returned the card to the wallet. He paid Jiang Heng’s medical expenses out of his own pocket.

After a short delay at the payment area, Ji Yao returned to the emergency room just as Jiang Heng finished getting his stomach washed. The medication hadn’t stopped the bleeding; the blood he vomited was bright red, indicating a significant loss of blood.

“Let’s proceed with surgery.” The doctor from the Gastroenterology Department said to Ji Yao, “He vomited again just now, and we couldn’t get a clear view with the gastroscope.”

“Alright,” Ji Yao agreed. “I’ll admit him. Wake him up, and have him sign the surgery consent form.”

The head nurse of the emergency room was swift. She quickly fetched the surgery consent form. Ji Yao changed places with the on-duty doctor from the Gastroenterology Department. He bent down and pushed Jiang Heng’s shoulder, initiating the procedure of explaining the surgery risks to him.

Having been through a night of discomfort, in pain and feeling nauseous, Jiang Heng was on the verge of passing out. Now, forcefully awakened by Ji Yao, he looked at him as if he were facing an emotionless, unfeeling character from a play.

He reluctantly listened to the lengthy explanation of the surgery risks, then nodded with difficulty, signing his name on the consent form.

Ji Yao took the papers from him and barely spared him a glance, turning to the head nurse and instructing her to take him away on a stretcher.

As he watched Ji Yao’s departing figure, Jiang Heng mentally crossed out the option of emotionless character from a play; it seemed more like a ruthless brothel madam who took the contract but then turned her back on you. Jiang Heng thought.

He quickly realized that he had oddly cast himself in the role of a “poor helpless fallen girl” in this sarcastic drama script. He found it quite amusing and couldn’t help but chuckle.

When Ji Yao heard the sound, he turned his head and stared at Jiang Heng with an expression that seemed to say, “Are you kidding me?” He then rolled his eyes discreetly, pushing down Jiang Heng’s hands that were moving around.

“stay still, you’ll be in less pain this way.” Ji Yao said in exasperation.