【024】
He stepped out of the study. “What is it?”
Fang Zhile said, “Yao Mu was attacked at the bar yesterday.” Fang Zhile kept it brief: one of Fang Zhixi’s classmates had a secret crush on her. Being a university student full of youthful vigour, upon learning that Fang Zhixi had been rejected by him, he flew into a rage and punched Yao Mu.
“Did Yao Mu lose?” Chen Ding asked indifferently.
“What on earth is this…” Fang Zhilè couldn’t help but laugh. “Could you show a bit less excitment? That boy wants to apologise to Yao Mu, but he can’t find him.”
“That boy wants to apologise to Yao Mu? Did Yao Mu say he’d call the police, or did Fang Zhixi force him to apologise?”
“My sister said that once he’d apologised face-to-face, he wouldn’t owe him anything anymore. Right, do you know any handsome ones? Could you introduce me to one?”
“Hold on.” Chen Ding opened the Second Hospital’s website, searched for Yao Mu’s appointment schedule, and glanced at it. “Yao Mu is on duty next Tuesday morning. Tell Fang Zhixi and that boy to go and book an appointment with him.”
“Right. Got it.”
As Chen Ding returned to the study, Zhuang Yiyi was also on the phone. “Senior said it’s not necessary, so let’s not do it. I don’t think you need to apologise to his face.”
Fang Zhixi said, “But I don’t want to owe him. If it weren’t for me, Mr Zhang wouldn’t have laid a hand on him, so I want to apologise in person.”
Zhuang Yiyi propped her chin up lazily. “Senior Brother is seeing patients next Tuesday morning. Go and book an appointment. It’s usually 15 minutes per appointment, and there are follow-up patients too, so try to be punctual.”
After hanging up, Zhuang Yiyi watched as Chen Ding leaned lazily against the door, smiling at her. “Darling, don’t you think the two of us are actually quite in sync?”
Zhuang Yiyi kept her eyes on him.
“Fang Zhile just called me, saying Fang Zhixi wants to bring that classmate along to apologise to Yao Mu. Guess what I told him?”
“To book an appointment at the hospital?”
“Mm.” Chen Ding nodded firmly.
Before they knew it, it was Tuesday again. Zhuang Yiyi was just about to have lunch with Han Rong when she saw Dr Zhang storming off towards the staff room, tugging a young boy by the ear. The boy staggered along, his face contorted in pain, both hands clutching the ear that was being yanked. A doctor who recognised him called out with a laugh, “Old Zhang, what has your son got up to now?”
“Him! He’s up to no good again!”
Zhuang Yiyi didn’t give the matter a second thought, but during lunch, Han Rong mentioned that it was this very boy who had hit Yao Mu.
Zhuang Yiyi immediately realised, “Dr Zhang’s son—is he at the Academy of Fine Arts?”
“Yes. They say he’s very talented; Old Zhang has put a lot of effort into nurturing him, but he’s just a bit of a handful.”
Han Rong received a phone call. After a few words, she said, “A friend of mine has come to Hangzhou today. I’ll be off then.”
“Shall I ask for time off for you?”
“No need. There’s no guarantee she’ll have time anyway.”
On her way back alone, Zhuang Yiyi happened to bump into Qian Zhang, who was heading to the canteen for a meal with a colleague.
Qian Zhang excused himself to his colleague and walked over to Zhuang Yiyi. As his colleague walked away, he cast a curious glance at the pair of them.
“Yiyi, are you going to the class reunion this Saturday?”
“No. I’d rather stay at home this Saturday.”
“All the classmates will be there. We haven’t seen many of them since our undergraduate days. Don’t you want to catch up?”
“Most of them are at the university, and I’ve been there all along. We see each other quite often.”
Upon hearing this, Qian Zhang’s expression darkened. “Yiyi, are you still holding it against me for going to Beijing back then? When I got the place at Peking University, my parents were absolutely over the moon. You know how much Peking University means to parents. I really couldn’t let my parents down.”
“I’m not holding it against you.”
Tears welled up in Qian Zhang’s eyes. “Yiyi, I knew you would say that. You’ve always been so understanding.”
Zhuang Yiyi’s lips twitched slightly. “I’m off now.”
Qian Zhang took Zhuang Yiyi’s hand, but she gestured for him to let go.
Qian Zhang said, “Yiyi, let’s go to the class reunion after all. It’s been ages since we’ve all seen each other. It’d be lovely to catch up together.
You used to enjoy hanging out with everyone, didn’t you?”
Zhuang Yiyi lowered her gaze, the corners of her mouth curving in resignation, as if she found his words a bit far-fetched. She looked up. “I’m not going. I don’t really like hanging out with my classmates.”
Qian Zhang frowned. “Yiyi, don’t let your classmates hear you say that. It’ll hurt their feelings.”
“If I don’t go, they won’t hear it.”
Back at the inpatient ward, Zhuang Yiyi spotted Fang Zhixi standing anxiously outside the door to Yao Mu and Old Zhang’s break room.
Zhuang Yiyi walked over. “Why don’t you go and wait in my break room for a while? This is a hospital; Dr Zhang won’t lay a finger on you. At most, he’ll have a few words to say.”
Fang Zhixi thought she had a point.
Following Zhuang Yiyi back to the break room, Fang Zhixi began recounting her misfortunes from that morning.
From nearly being knocked over as she left the house, to spilling the soya milk she’d bought on the ground, to being spotted by Mr Zhang’s father when she came to see Yao Mu, and on top of that, her period had suddenly started today.
Zhuang Yiyi moved the cup back to the hot water tap, filled it up, and handed it to Fang Zhixi. “Have a drink first.”
“Thanks.” Fang Zhixi set it down on the table. “But I don’t feel like drinking.”
“Then just sit here for a while.”
Fang Zhixi couldn’t sit still; after playing on her phone for a while, she started chatting with Zhuang Yiyi. They chatted about this and that, then she suddenly asked seriously, “Yiyi, do you think I’m stupid?”
“……”
Zhuang Yiyi looked at her intently and realised she was asking the question with genuine seriousness. She stopped writing the medical report. “Why would you think that? Who said that about you?”
“They’ve always said that about me. My parents, and my brother. But I know it’s true—I’m not very bright. My brother’s always been top of the class, but I’ve always been rubbish. I just can’t get the hang of maths, and then there’s English, and my awful physics, biology and chemistry. So I thought I’d find a clever boy to improve the genes of the next generation.” Fang Zhixi’s bright eyes fixed on her.
Zhuang Yiyi had thought she was simply confiding in her, but after all that build-up, it turned out she was hoping she could help set her up with a boyfriend.
The door creaked open, interrupting Zhuang Yiyi.
Zhuang Yiyi opened the door to find Chen Ding. When Chen Ding had nothing on his plate, he usually dressed very casually; he only wore a suit and black trousers on work days.
Zhuang Yiyi rarely saw him dressed like this. After a moment’s surprise, she said, “Weren’t you supposed to be busy today?”
Chen Ding’s gaze passed over her and slowly settled on Fang Zhixi, who had awkwardly stood up. She called out timidly, “Brother.”
Closing the door, Chen Ding looked at her and said, “Go and ring your brother to let him know you’re safe. He’s very worried about you.”
Fang Zhixi went to make the call.
Chen Ding said to Zhuang Yiyi, “Fang Zhile received a tearful call from Fang Zhixi. He’s not in Hangzhou at the moment, so he asked me to keep an eye on things.”
“Have you finished your work? Why don’t you go home first? I’ll stay here with her.”
“I’m done. You’re busy with work. Once she’s finished calling Fang Zhile, just tell her to get lost.”
Fang Zhixi quickly called her brother to let him know she was safe, only to be given a proper telling-off.
Turning around, she saw Chen Ding’s calm, unreadable gaze again. She gave a wry smile. “Bro, are you busy? Why don’t you go back to work?”
“Since you’re fine, you should go. Don’t hold Yiyi up.”
“Brother, I’m waiting for Mr Zhang. Once he comes out, I’ll leave. I won’t hold Sister Yiyi up.”
“Mr Zhang?” Chen Ding looked at Zhuang Yiyi.
Zhuang Yiyi gave a brief explanation, and Chen Ding nodded slightly. “I’m leaving now. Could you see me out?”
The two walked out of the hospital, keeping a normal distance between them, until they reached the car park. Chen Ding suddenly took Zhuang Yiyi’s hand and placed the newly bought earrings in her palm. “I went out of my way to find these. They’re exactly the same as the ones you lost before.”
“So, darling, can you tell me why you have seven piercings?”
Zhuang Yiyi saw the earnestness in Chen Ding’s eyes. After a few seconds, she withdrew her hands and said calmly, “I was young and foolish.”
Chen Ding smiled. “All right. If you don’t want to talk about it, I won’t press you. Did it hurt?”
“I’ve forgotten.” It had been so long that Zhuang Yiyi had almost forgotten.
“That’s good. At least it didn’t leave a lasting impression on you.”
Zhuang Yiyi suddenly noticed Chen Ding’s bare earlobes. “You don’t seem to wear earrings.”
“Mm. I used to, but now I find it a bother, and it’s not really suitable for work.”
“Was that during your bald phase?”
Chen Ding laughed. “How do you still remember that?” He felt a twinge of regret. “If I’d known, I wouldn’t have let you see it.”
“I’m heading back to the law firm first. Shall I pick you up this evening?”
Zhuang Yiyi shook her head. “I’m on duty today.”
“Why are you on duty again? Isn’t it only five days a month?”
“I’m covering for someone.”
“Do you need a little company tonight?”
“……”
“No, thanks.”
Chen Ding drove out of the car park, whilst Zhuang Yiyi headed towards the inpatient ward.
Wang Yimei, sitting in the car, had watched the entire exchange from start to finish.
She sat motionless, pondering the interaction she’d just witnessed, before dialling Han Rong.
“What’s up?”
Han Rong replied with a laugh, “Are you free tonight? Let’s grab a bite to eat.”
“Didn’t you say you had to work tonight?”
“It’s been postponed at the last minute. It’s been ages since we last saw each other, so the sooner we eat, the better.”
As soon as she finished work, Han Rong headed to the restaurant Wang Yimei had booked.
“Someone on the verge of becoming a partner really is something else. Treating me to such an expensive restaurant.”
Wang Yimei laughed. “Are you making fun of me? It’s not even certain I’ll be promoted to partner yet. What would you like to eat? Their clams are rather good.”
“A regular?”
Wang Yimei sighed helplessly. “Enough already. Don’t go on about that. What I’ve got here isn’t enough to impress you.”
Han Rong let out a long sigh. “It really is better to stick to studying. These days, even having a meal means weighing up your job.”
Wang Yimei’s smile held a hint of something else. “How’s work?”
“It’s just the same old, working yourself to the bone. No money, loads of hassle. Who knows when I’ll drop dead.”
“You really do look a lot paler than you used to.”
“You should get some light therapy done sometime. You really do look a bit worse for wear.”
“Ah. I remember you mentioned before that there’s a girl in your department who’s quite pretty and really capable; you even showed me a photo of her.”
“You mean Zhuang Yiyi? It’s all the same—none of us look as fresh-faced as we did before we started working. We’re all just withered old cabbages.”
“I reckon she’s nearly thirty now. Does she have a boyfriend?”
“No. But there are two men chasing after her at the same time.”