Xu You soaked in the warm water, her eyes somewhat unfocused.
It had been two years since she had taken a hot bath.
When Senior Brother Liang had first passed away, his family couldn’t bear the blow and took their anger out on her. They refused to let her use hot water and made things difficult for her at every turn. She endured it until she eventually got used to it.
Later, when she returned to the hospital, she was busy with work, and the water room was far away, so she got used to cold water as well.
When the water had completely cooled, the familiar chill enveloped Xu You, jolting her mind into exceptional clarity.
She remembered how Shen Xu had hurriedly grabbed her hand. That familiar sensation of being enveloped reminded her of the man in her dreams.
She wanted to know whether the dream was really just a dream.
She also wanted to find out whether that man dreamed the same strange dreams as she did.
At the basketball court.
Shen Xu was playing basketball with his brothers, but his eyes kept drifting toward the row of bungalows in the first row.
It had been nearly an hour.
Why hadn’t she finished bathing yet?
The water was probably almost cold by now. Could she have fainted in the bath?
He had heard that the hospital had been extremely busy today. Could she have collapsed from exhaustion?
Shen Xu tossed the basketball to the brother farthest away, then casually asked Fang Zhiyang beside him, “How long does a female comrade usually take to bathe?”
Fang Zhiyang was lifting the hem of his undershirt to wipe his sweat when he nearly choked in shock.
“Cough, cough, cough! A-Xu, you have a girlfriend?!”
“You don’t even have a girlfriend. Where would I get one?”
Everyone had come out to play basketball together, yet Fang Zhiyang was the only one wearing a white undershirt, constantly lifting the hem to wipe his sweat. Just looking at that behavior, he clearly wasn’t a decent man.
“Then you must have a crush on some female comrade!”
Fang Zhiyang thought he had figured out the truth. He kindly patted Shen Xu on the shoulder.
“Listen to your brother. A proper man doesn’t worry about how long a female comrade takes to bathe. He just silently prepares the bathwater and adjusts the temperature for her.”
Shen Xu frowned.
“What nonsense are you talking about? Can’t I simply be helping someone out of kindness?”
Fang Zhiyang gave him a look that said, I understand now.
He hooked an arm around Shen Xu’s shoulders.
“I’m seriously curious. You’re at the base every day and hardly ever see a woman’s face. So who exactly is this mysterious woman?”
Shen Xu pushed his arm away and was about to argue when he saw the door of the bungalow in the first row open.
Xu You had braided her still-wet hair into a long braid. She made several trips, carrying out the bathwater and pouring it away.
Fang Zhiyang slapped his forehead.
Only now did he realize that Shen Xu had been distracted while playing basketball, occasionally glancing toward the bungalows.
The mystery was solved.
Fang Zhiyang lowered his voice and earnestly tried to persuade him.
“Brother, that’s your subordinate’s girlfriend!!!”
“Are you sick? Do you think I don’t know that without you telling me?”
Seeing that Xu You was fine, Shen Xu was relieved. He jogged off to retrieve the ball.
Fang Zhiyang was left standing there in complete confusion, struggling internally.
In the end, he made up his mind.
He was going to save his good brother, Comrade Shen Xu!
He couldn’t just stand by and watch Shen Xu make a mistake!
After Xu You emptied the bathwater, she let her hair dry for a while before getting into bed.
She pulled the light cord, and the sounds from the basketball court outside also disappeared.
Xu You was a little curious. The comrades who played basketball seemed to be going to bed earlier lately.
Xu You yawned.
Ever since she had started drinking the traditional Chinese medicine, those bizarre dreams had become less frequent.
That night, Xu You deliberately didn’t drink the medicine.
Sure enough, as soon as she fell asleep, she was pulled into the dream.
In the dream.
The sexy sound of a man’s heavy breathing rang out.
“You drank the medicine.”
“You don’t want to see me.”
The man rubbed his head against her neck, sounding aggrieved.
Xu You sighed.
The dream was becoming more and more realistic. It could even interact with events from real life now.
Xu You didn’t say anything, so the man bit her neck in punishment.
He bit right over her pulse, making her scalp tingle.
“Here. You’ll bite me to death.”
“You don’t want to see me. I just want to bite you to death.”
Xu You coaxed him for half the night, swearing that she wouldn’t drink the medicine again before she finally managed to make the man smile again.
Once the man was happy, they both bloomed together.
Even with her legs weak, Xu You still remembered why she had entered the dream.
“Your hand wrapped around mine.”
The man embraced Xu You from behind, his large palm interlocking with her fingers.
Xu You coquettishly said, “Try wrapping your big hand around mine.”
The man’s breathing suddenly stopped.
His voice turned cold.
“Which man are you thinking of me as this time? Did he touch your hand?”
“Listen to me explain—”
“All right. Explain.”
“Wrap your hand around mine first.”
“I refuse.”
Xu You became so angry that she woke up.
She got out of bed with a blank expression, gulped down a mouthful of water, and started boiling her medicine.
After waking up, Xu You prepared the traditional medicine first.
As for the nonsense she had promised the man in her dream, of course it didn’t count.
It was all dream nonsense. How could she take it seriously?
Besides, a man who wouldn’t even let her touch his hand didn’t deserve to appear in her dreams.
Xu You drank the medicine and went to the hospital.
As soon as she arrived, she heard an announcement over the loudspeaker.
“Tomorrow, the entire military will begin its comprehensive physical examinations. Only doctors on duty in the emergency department and inpatient department will remain on duty. Other medical staff are not permitted to take leave. Please inform one another accordingly.”
Dr. Pan regretted it terribly.
The duty roster for the month had already been arranged, and all his shifts were night shifts.
That meant he had to undergo his physical examination during the day and work the night shift afterward.
“Xiao Xu…”
Xu You looked at Dr. Pan with a bright smile, waiting for him to continue.
Dr. Pan asked, “How about we switch shifts?”
“No. I’m young and can’t handle hardship. I can’t sleep well in the office at night.”
Dr. Pan was left speechless.
Those were exactly the words he had once used to shut Xu You down.
Xu You smiled sweetly.
“If Doctor Pan needs help, I can also cover your shifts for a fee.”
“Double pay?”
Xu You nodded.
“Of course, double pay. When Doctor Pan covered one hour for me, you charged me two hours’ wages. I’d like to experience that kind of happiness too.”
Dr. Pan hurriedly waved his hands.
He felt that Xu You was looking at him like a piece of fatty meat.
“This level of overtime is nothing. I can handle it. Back when I was in surgery, I worked during the day and went into the operating room for five consecutive nights. I wasn’t even sleepy.”
Dr. Pan had never expected it.
Normally, the emergency department wasn’t very busy at night.
But that particular night, it was insanely busy.
He only managed to sleep for three hours.
Then, during the physical examination the next day, he was assigned to draw blood.
Director Yang’s reason was that Dr. Pan had been especially fast and skilled at drawing blood the previous year. Besides, most of the doctors at the military hospital were older, and their eyesight had deteriorated, making it easy for them to miss the vein and stick the needle into flesh.
Xu You remained behind in the emergency department.
It was rare for the department to have so few patients during the day.
“Doctor Xu, is the emergency department busy? Could you come help us in the inpatient department?”
Xu You readily agreed, leaving a nurse on duty to watch the emergency department.
“If a patient comes in, have someone from the security department come get me.”
The security department at the military hospital was different from those at other workplaces. The guards were soldiers from the base who took turns standing watch.
Xu You went to the inpatient department and was asked to keep an eye on the first floor. That way, it would also be convenient for her to return to the emergency department.
The first room was occupied by Deputy Commander Li’s wife, Wang Lanyue.
Their tiny baby girl was crying softly in the crib. Wang Lanyue was anxious, but every time she moved, the surgical wound on her abdomen hurt so badly that her face changed.
“Don’t move.”
“Didn’t the doctor on duty tell you to call someone if you needed anything?”
Wang Lanyue hurriedly defended the doctor on duty.
“The doctors have all been taking very good care of me. I just couldn’t bear to ignore my baby’s crying.”
Xu You placed the medical chart aside and walked over to the crib. After checking, she found that the baby hadn’t wet herself.
“When did you last feed her?”
“She ate at six this morning. She drank a little millet porridge.”
Xu You frowned.
“Didn’t the doctor give you a premature-birth certificate? With the certificate, you can buy infant formula. Don’t be reluctant to spend the money.”
Wang Lanyue was astonished.
“I didn’t know I could buy formula.”
“The pediatrician may have been too busy and overlooked it. I’ll write you a certificate now. Have someone go buy some.”
Wang Lanyue thanked her profusely, then pulled a ten-yuan bill from underneath her pillow and handed it to Xu You.