Mangshan Sanatorium got its name because it was located near Mangshan Mountain. Mangshan was a 4A-level national scenic area far away from the city center. Although it was nowhere near as bustling and lively as downtown, the place was nestled against the mountains and beside the water with great air, which was precisely what the modern metropolis lacked the most and what patients needed the absolute most.
Moreover, the hospital was built to a very high-end standard. In particular, its measures for protecting the safety and privacy of patients were top-notch nationwide. Therefore, when many wealthy people contracted relatively serious chronic illnesses, their first choice was to go there for medical treatment and convalescence.
Chu Xichen stood by the car, waiting for a man named Wan Aiguo. Bureau Li had said that he was also a doctor at Mangshan Sanatorium who had returned from his annual leave and was resuming his post today. The sanatorium’s director, a friend of Li’s, had mentioned that Wan could lead Chu Xichen to the hospital to report for duty. Mainly, the journey was too far, as driving took over four hours, and traveling in pairs by taking turns driving would make it much easier.
Before long, a tall, handsome, mixed-race boy walked briskly toward him with a beaming smile.
“Senior Chu! What an absolute honor, I finally get to see the real you today!”
The man’s eyes shone with stars as he enthusiastically extended both hands toward him.
Chu Xichen reached out to shake his hand politely. “Are you Wan Aiguo?”
He found it quite astonishing that someone with such an old-fashioned name could turn out to be such a trendy-looking person.
“Yes, Senior! I returned to my homeland to root my family tree when I was three years old, and this is the name my great-grandfather gave me. But if possible, I hope Senior will call me Wan Ai, or Guo Ai.” Wan Aiguo smiled with the brightness of the sun.
“Wan Ai? Guo Ai?”
“That is right! Wan Ai means gathering ten thousand kinds of love in one body, and Guo Ai, of course, means that people all across the country love you. Haha!”
Chu Xichen felt a line of black sweat run down his forehead. Harboring a rare trace of teasing amusement, he asked, “Are you sure you have already graduated from medical university? I think you would be much more suitably named Wan Chu-er.”
“Of course, Senior! I graduated last year, I am twenty-five years old, and I am already a mature and extremely charming young male adult.” Wan Aiguo smiled and blinked his pretty brown eyes at him.
Chu Xichen suspected that he might be a peacock turned into a spirit, and looking at him gave him a bit of a headache.
“I will drive for you, you go sit in the back and rest!” Wan Aiguo volunteered himself.
“Alright then, you drive first.” Chu Xichen handed him the keys and lay down in the back row. “I am going to sleep for a bit, wake me up to switch in two hours.”
“You are going to sleep already?” Wan Aiguo turned his head and blinked his brown eyes as he asked. “Could it be that you are not curious at all about the place you are about to head to? Do you not want to ask me for some background information?” He really wanted to chat more with this senior whom he admired so much.
“Wont we find out everything once we arrive later?” Unmoved, Chu Xichen gave him a faint glance and closed his eyes.
“Oh…” Wan Aiguo shrugged and shook his head helplessly. “Fine then, there will be plenty of chances to chat in the future anyway. Senior, rest in peace, driving is left to me.”
“Then many thanks!” Chu Xichen said with his eyes half-closed.
Yesterday, after getting into a fight with Ning Anyu, he had been subjected to a lengthy ideological lecture by his mother upon returning home because of the blind date. Combined with the thoughts of reporting to a new place today, he hadn’t slept well the night before. Chu Xichen was indeed exhausted, so he decided to take this opportunity to catch up on some sleep.
Several hours later, the two of them finally arrived.
The entire sanatorium was encircled by a tall wall and guarded by layers of security defenses, including manual sentry posts, electric fences, infrared beams, and surveillance cameras. Inside, aside from first-rate medical staff, there were specially trained armed guards responsible for preventing snooping, protecting patient safety, and other duties. Furthermore, the management here was extremely strict, and they did not accept temporary walk-in emergency registrations, only admitting hospitalized chronic patients with prior appointments.
Guided by Wan Aiguo, Chu Xichen went to report to the director and afterwards went to check out his studio. The patient areas here were generally divided into three sections: A, B, and C. Each section had its own dormitories, cafeterias, medical facilities, and other amenities. Chu Xichen was assigned to the C Medical District.
After inspecting his workplace, he went to look at his living quarters. It was located in Area E, the temporary accommodation zone for high-ranking professional staff.
The rooms here uniformly consisted of single-suite units. That meant they had a bathroom and a kitchen, but no separate living room, because the bedroom and living room shared the same space. Fortunately, although relatively compact, it came fully equipped with brand-new household appliances, and the protective film on the television hadn’t even been peeled off yet. The windows were bright, the lighting was good, and the floors and walls were pristine and shiny, indicating that no one had lived there before. Chu Xichen was reasonably satisfied.
That very afternoon, Chu Xichen officially plunged into his work.
That night while taking a shower, Chu Xichen suddenly discovered that the jade pendant he always wore around his neck was missing.
When had this fallen off? Chu Xichen panicked a little. That was a keepsake left behind by his father, as well as an heirloom passed down through generations in the Chu family.
He had no idea that the jade pendant had fallen off at Ning Anyu’s boxing gym yesterday.
With so many things on his mind after returning home yesterday, on one hand, his mother’s dissatisfaction with his hasty departure from the blind date, which she nagged him about until he felt annoyed, and on the other hand, his inexplicable emotions regarding Ning Anyu and his transfer, his mind was an absolute mess while taking a shower, and he hadn’t noticed that the item on his body was missing.
Now that he realized it was lost, he grew anxious, assuming it must have dropped somewhere inside the hospital grounds today. He took a hasty rinse, threw on his clothes, and went outside to search for it. The result, of course, was completely fruitless.
At noon the next day, Wan Aiguo knocked on the door of Chu Xichen’s already open consultation room and said with a cheeky smile, “Senior, are we still going to the cafeteria for lunch today, or should we eat outside?”
“You are certainly punctual.” Chu Xichen pressed the save button on his data files, stood up, and walked over. “You do not have much spare time outside of your work anyway, why do you not spend it on things that matter? Is it not a huge waste to always hang around with me?”
“Isn’t this spending it on what matters?” Wan Aiguo raised an eyebrow. “I think accompanying Senior for lunch is also a very interesting thing to do. Of course, if there were pretty girls around here, I suppose I would be more willing to spend my time on them.”
“Does that mean the crowd of female guards here all fail to meet your Young Master Wan’s standards?” The two chatted as they stepped into the elevator.
“That is indeed the case. Almost all of them are middle-aged aunties. The women willing to come work here basically have no young ones among them, and even if there happens to be a rare young one, she is ugly…”
The word ugly had only been half-uttered when the elevator doors, about to close, were pressed open, and two women wearing security uniforms stepped inside. One was around forty years old with a stern, deadpan expression, while the other was young, sporting a wheat complexion, delicate facial features, a graceful figure, and eyebrows and eyes brimming with youthful vitality.
This person was none other than Ning Anyu’s younger sister, Ning Xiaofei.
The four of them exchanged glances, and Ning Xiaofei’s gaze swept over Chu Xichen with a trace of slight surprise. Of course, she did not recognize Chu Xichen, as she merely thought she hadn’t expected to find such a strikingly handsome man here. His style was completely different from her brother’s, yet they were evenly matched.
Although Wan Aiguo was also quite handsome, standing next to Chu Xichen made him look rather less conspicuous.