Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Li Tianhong had started carrying out rehabilitation exercises, and he was getting better by the day.
He was only a little over twenty years old. Coupled with the fact that he was an athlete, his body’s ability to recover was a few times better than that of ordinary people.
The only question mark was, how much of his athletic capabilities could be recovered?
Someone had even opened a thread about this on the official forum of his football team. That person posted updates and made speculations every day, and the thread enjoyed great popularity. As the days went by, more and more fans visited Li Tianhong in the hospital.
“Tianhong, your fans seem to care about you quite a bit. Look, so many people are visiting you. It’s not my intention to make comparisons, but I reckon that even Liu Weichen did not get so many visitors when he was hospitalized.” When the manager saw that Li Tianhong was wearing a gloomy expression, she quickly consoled him.
Li Tianhong who was lying on the bed snorted and said, “They’re probably just here to check on the object of their bet.”
“Hey, don’t put it this way. People only make bets regarding your condition because they care about you. They won’t even bother to do so with other people.” The manager tried her best to comfort Li Tianhong.
Li Tianhong pursed his lips. “By this line of argument, those betting on horse racing certainly care about the racehorses very much. Besides, as you can see, more than half of the betters put their money on me quitting the national team.”
“The national team will never win any trophy anyway. What’s wrong with quitting it?”
Li Tianhong stared sternly at his manager.
The manager said diffidently, “I was just joking…”
“I know that you were joking. I can’t believe that you of all people are joking about my injury.”
“No, I was just trying to say that…”
“I was just joking too.” Li Tianhong cut his manager off. There was not a single hint of a smile on his face, and he turned away.
The manager sighed. She knew athletes like Li Tianhong very well. Li Tianhong had been running a few miles a day ever since he was young, and no movement in the world was too hard for him. Now that he was suddenly injured and had to receive surgery, not only was he stuck in bed, he was not even able to go to the bathroom by himself. It was only normal for him to be in a bad mood.
People who were in a bad mood often took their anger out on other people, and those closest to them suffered the most. In this case, the manager was the victim.
“I’ll ask Doctor Ling Ran to check on you and ask him when you can be discharged.” The manager was trying to flee the scene.
Li Tianhong hummed and said, “There’s no need to ask him about this. It’s not like I’ll get better instantly after you talk to him.”
“Still, I’ll ask him to check on you.” The manager put on an act of ignorance and giggled. Her main priority right now was to get out of the ward, as the atmosphere here was becoming icier.
She hurried out of the ward and quickly went to the doctors’ office.
Even though her main intention was to escape the moody Li Tianhong, it was true that she wanted to ask Ling Ran about when Li Tianhong could get discharged.
Among all the athletes managed by her, Li Tianhong was the one with the brightest future. Hence, the manager was very concerned about the extent to which Li Tianhong could regain his athletic capabilities and how long he would take to recover.
As usual, the doctors’ office was so empty that it looked like a grazing land.
A houseman looked a little lost as he wandered around the office. Even though he was new and had not gotten used to the environment to the office yet, he was left to fend for himself in the barren office.
“Hello, how may I address you?” The manager did not immediately ask him about Ling Ran’s whereabouts.
“My surname’s You.” The houseman recognized her though and went straight to the point. “You’re here for Doctor Ling, aren’t you? He’s not usually in the office at this time of the day.”
“I see. What time approximately would he be back?” The manager laughed a little.
Houseman You smiled. “Who knows? You have Doctor Ling’s phone number, right? You can just give him a call if there’s anything you want to ask him.”
“It’s not really an urgent matter.” The manager did not dare to offend Ling Ran. Hence, she would not disturb Ling Ran by calling his cell phone unless the circumstances really called for it.
Houseman You reckoned so too. Hence, he did not say anything else.
Calling senior doctors was a very big deal, and Ling Ran was practically a super senior. Houseman You would never call Ling Ran unless it was absolutely necessary. Moreover, Ling Ran might be carrying out a surgery right now.
“Can I sit here for a while?” The manager did not feel like going back to the ward immediately.
Houseman You did not object. He took a seat too.
“Care for a smoke?” The manager held out a box of Chunghwa.
“You’re not allowed to smoke in the hospital.”
The manager glanced at Houseman You’s fingers and waved the box of cigarettes before him. “It’s 330RMB per box. I asked someone to buy it for me.”
Urban legend had it that Chunghwa cigarettes which had a price that started with the number ‘3’ tasted even better than usual Chunghwa cigarettes. The ones that cost 330 RMB tasted especially good.
Houseman You could not help but rise and say in a hushed tone, “Come with me.”
Two minutes later, Houseman You and the manager arrived at a small room that had not been renovated. They stood beside the window and exhaled puffs of smoke.
“Every single time I arrive at a new place, I would first scout for places where I can smoke,” Houseman You said earnestly, “There are often unused rooms in large places like hospitals. Of course, there aren’t many empty rooms in Yun Hua Hospital.”
“What was this place used for?” The manager was a little curious as he glanced around the small room.
“You mean it’s actual use?”
“Yeah.”
“It used to be a temporary mortuary before.”
“Ah!” The manager immediately leaped out of her chair.
Houseman You laughed out loud.
The manager said in resignation, “Can’t you make a more proper joke?”
“I was just trying to scare you.” Houseman You laughed so hard that there were tears in her eyes. She then continued. “Besides, I wasn’t lying. This place was really a temporary mortuary.”
The manager’s hands were trembling so violently that ashes kept falling off the end of her cigarette.
“I’m heading outside.” The manager had no choice but to waste her precious 330RMB Chunghwa cigarette.
The manager waited outside the office for a few hours before she caught sight of Ling Ran.
“Doctor Ling, can we talk privately?” The manager immediately went forward.
There were a few patients’ family members trailing behind Ling Ran. They were also here to ask Ling Ran’s questions.
Not all patients and their family members were made the same, and they each had their own personality. Like the manager, certain patients and their family members would only feel at ease after asking the doctors the same questions repeatedly.
“Is it something that the doctor-in-charge isn’t able to help you with?” Ling Ran had just performed three surgeries, and he did not really feel like putting on a show of politeness in front of the manager.
“Yeah,” the manager said hastily. “As we value our athletes’ privacy very much, can you communicate with us through email…”
“Ling Ran!”
“Doctor Ling.”
As the manager spoke, she saw Department Director Hong from the Respiratory Medicine Department charging toward them.
As Department Director Hong was a heavy smoker who smoked three packets of cigarettes a day, even though he was charging at full speed, he was going slower compared to speed walkers.
“Doctor Ling, I have a favor to ask.” Department Director Hong had no time for pleasantries. He stood before Ling Ran and said, “My oldest brother’s daughter is experiencing postpartum hemorrhage. The doctors at the local hospital are unable to stop the bleeding, so she’s being sent to Yun Hua Hospital now. Can you help out?”
Ling Ran was puzzled and said, “Since she’s experiencing postpartum hemorrhage, shouldn’t you consult the Gynaecology Department?”
“But I have more confidence in you when it comes to bleeding control,” Department Director Hong said, “Doctor Ling, please do everything you can to save her.”
Since Department Director Hong was pleading Ling Ran so desperately, there was no way that he could say no. He headed straight to the Gynaecology Department.
