CH 4

After dealing with his reckless ex-boyfriend, Ji Yao’s night shift was winding down.

Ji Yao’s professional ethics and psychological resilience were evidently commendable. He hadn’t taken revenge on his exploitative ex-boyfriend, instead he had treated him and even arranged for a nurse from the hospital to help him find a caregiver.

He hadn’t slept all night. After the surgery, instead of returning to his office, he sat in the corridor for a while. The bright lights lit the shiny tiles, and staring at them for too long made his head spin.

A nurse approached and asked if he felt unwell. Ji Yao shook his head and replied that he was fine. The nurse left without saying anything more.

Ji Yao’s index finger, which had been tending to the stitches, felt a bit itchy. He rubbed his fingertip and leaned back on the chair.

During the emergency room visit, Ji Yao had initially thought that Jiang Heng was suffering from acute gastric bleeding due to excessive drinking. However, during the surgery, it became clear that he had been suffering from stomach problems for a while. It wasn’t a minor ulcer, but it wasn’t currently active. It seemed that Jiang Heng had been taking good care of himself for some time, but a reckless meal and too much drinking had pushed him back to a condition worse than before.

However, Ji Yao distinctly remembered that when he had broken up with Jiang Heng, Jiang Heng had been in good health and had no such delicate issues.

Ge Xing had mentioned some time back on the phone that Jiang Heng had gone abroad. Ji Yao wondered why he had suddenly left and how he had been doing these past few years.

Lost in thought for a while, Ji Yao suddenly realized that he was trying to trace Jiang Heng’s history. He clicked his tongue, shook his head, and cleared his mind of those thoughts.

Lack of sleep really made one’s mind wander, Ji Yao thought.

He rested for a while longer and pondered the unfinished report about the intern doctors’ training. Only when the concern about Jiang Heng was overshadowed by his worries about incomplete work did Ji Yao stand up refreshed. He walked with light steps to hand over his duties.

After briefing his colleagues, just before leaving, driven by his professional ethics, Ji Yao checked Jiang Heng’s room again. He saw that the hospital’s nurse was already there, so he didn’t enter and turned to leave.

When Gao Jingyi arrived at the hospital the next evening, Jiang Heng was sitting on the bed with two thick pillows behind him. He had glasses on his nose, a stylus pen in his hand, and was occasionally scribbling on the screen.

A nurse was crouched near the foot of the bed, adjusting the askew bedsheets.

Gao Jingyi stood by the door with a fruit basket and knocked on the door.

“This is too formal,” Jiang Heng glanced at him and said with a smile, “I can’t eat the things in your basket now. You might as well give me cash directly.”

“Being too realistic is boring,” Gao Jingyi took the stylus pen from Jiang Heng’s hand and complained, “Rest up, model worker, the world won’t stop spinning.”

The nurse glanced at Gao Jingyi, picked up the transparent water bottle on the bedside table, and told Jiang Heng that she was going to fetch water before leaving them alone.

Observing him for a moment, Gao Jingyi noticed that Jiang Heng looked okay and his complexion seemed fine. He felt relieved and put down his guard.

“Where did you find that nurse? She seems pretty capable.” Gao Jingyi said.

“She’s a personal connection.” Jiang Heng replied.

“Huh?” Gao Jingyi was puzzled, “A personal connection can be so efficient?”

“I didn’t mean her.” Jiang Heng closed his Pad and leaned back against the headboard, grinning, and pointed at himself, “I meant I’m the one with a personal connection.”

Gao Jingyi: “…”

Jiang Heng smiled without saying anything more. He didn’t intend to explain about Ji Yao. He casually placed his things on the bedside table and asked, “Why are you here?”

“I called you earlier, but your phone was off. Then I called the front desk at the law firm and found out you were hospitalized,” Gao Jingyi said. “You really are something. You don’t even inform me about such a big matter. Even if I was out of town, wouldn’t you just call my wife?”

“Give me a break,” Jiang Heng chuckled. “You weren’t home, and I can’t just call your wife in the middle of the night. Can you imagine how weird that would be?”

Gao Jingyi clicked his tongue, looking quite dissatisfied. He took a shallow breath and seemed about to start a lecture. Jiang Heng preemptively raised his hand to stop him and asked, “What do you want?”

“Oh, right,” Gao Jingyi’s intended output was interrupted before it even began. He quickly got distracted by Jiang Heng and said, “Actually, it’s nothing. Xiao Liu from the law firm had an accident. She fell into a maintenance well on her way home yesterday. She’s not seriously hurt, but her leg is broken. You know, both you and her, having incidents back to back. What kind of luck is this? We should go to the City God Temple and pray sometime.”

“Did she report it as a work injury?” Jiang Heng asked.

“She did, you can rest assured,” Gao Jingyi said. “The HR department has also visited the hospital. I contacted you because she had just handed over a case to me. Now I need someone to take over. The rest of the law firm is too busy, and I’m also dealing with matters at Li’s Shenzhen branch. I wanted to ask if you were available, but seeing you like this, I guess that won’t be possible.”

“It’s okay,” Jiang Heng said. “I’m recovering well. I’ll be discharged the day after tomorrow.”

“Don’t bother,” Gao Jingyi said. “We’re not that desperate yet. Don’t make yourself work with an injury.”

“Zhang Lu specializes in criminal litigation, not to mention Wang Lu, who already has two cases on hand. One is a tort liability dispute, and the other is an inheritance dispute between legitimate and illegitimate children. Both are hectic. The latter even involves some embezzlement. It’s a mess. With all this, he doesn’t have the time.” Jiang Heng logically laid out the harsh reality in front of Gao Jingyi. Finally, he spread his hands and said, “So, which of the us are you counting on?”

Gao Jingyi’s expression twisted as he was taken aback. He really didn’t want to involve Jiang Heng, but he wouldn’t have mentioned this case to him if he weren’t in a tight spot. If they had just received the case, he could have withdrawn, but the case had already started its process, and backing out now would damage their reputation.

“Can you handle it?” Gao Jingyi frowned, genuinely concerned. “Truly?”

“I can handle it,” Jiang Heng said confidently. “What kind of case is it?”

Gao Jingyi also knew that he couldn’t pull Jiang Heng into this if it wasn’t absolutely necessary. He hesitated for a moment and eventually gave in, “I haven’t seen the details yet, but it’s a civil dispute. It shouldn’t be too difficult. After you’re discharged, I’ll have the secretary send the materials to your office.”

“That’s a hassle,” Jiang Heng chuckled. “Why not have her send them to me now? I’m just idling around anyway—”

Before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted as his phone in his pocket suddenly rang. He pulled it out and glanced at the caller ID, hesitated for a moment, and then silenced it.

However, the persistent caller immediately hung up and the phone vibrated again. Gao Jingyi was interrupted twice in a row, which made him forget what he wanted to say.

You should go if you’re busy.” Jiang Heng looked at him with a somewhat unbearable expression, “I’m not missing any limbs, no need to stay here to observe me.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk.” Gao Jingyi scolded with a laugh, “Are you sure you are not waiting for me to leave so you can work yourself to death—?” Gao Jingyi said as he snatched the I pad and stylus pen from him.

“Okay fine, “Jiang Heng sighed in resignation. “Hurry up and leave.” he urged, “How many times do I have to say it? Even my cleaning lady at home isn’t as naggy as you.”

Gao Jingyi took two steps back as if he was about to leave. However, he still wasn’t at ease. He rambled on for a while, giving a couple of “call me if you need anything” reminders. Seeing that Jiang Heng was almost getting up from the hospital bed to see him off, he finally collected his wits, turned around three times, and left.

As he left, the nurse entered the room, carrying a water bottle. Jiang Heng wasn’t sure whether the timing was spot on or if they had waited outside the door until he finished talking.

With Gao Jingyi having taken his work tools, Jiang Heng suddenly felt somewhat idle. He held his phone, unlocked it and checked his emails and messages.

It was his habit, but unexpectedly, when he opened the messaging app, he realized that the most recent SMS from his bank was from two days ago, and it was a bill from the bar he had treated others at.

Jiang Heng was taken aback and stared at the message for a while. He pondered it for a moment and then pressed the lock button again. He opened his email and messages and looked around.

He had been caught off guard by those few thoughts that rapidly flashed through his mind. Yet, he didn’t show any emotions on his face. After a moment, he calmly turned off the screen, seemingly unbothered by it. He shifted the topic by asking casually, “By the way, is Dr. Ji here?”

The nurse put down the water bottle, thought for a moment, and said, “Today is Dr. Ji’s shift, but when I passed by his office earlier, I didn’t see him. However, his computer was on at his workstation, so he should be here.”

“Where did he go, do you know?” Jiang Heng asked.

“I don’t know,” the nurse honestly shook her head, placed the water bottle on the bedside table, and asked, “Are you looking for him? Should I go and find him for you?”

Jiang Heng thought for a moment, shook his head, neither confirming nor denying anything. He simply asked, “Can I go out now?”

“You can,” the nurse said, “It’s good to move around a bit after the surgery, it can prevent the wound from sticking.”

“That’s good,” Jiang Heng nodded, then changed the subject and said, “In that case, I’ll go find him myself.”

He held his phone in his hand, hesitated for a moment, then decided to put it back in his pocket. He exited his room and started walking down the corridor, heading in the direction of Ji Yao’s office.