Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
At five o’clock that morning, Ling Ran sprung awake.
He used to sleep early and wake up early. During his student life, Ling Ran liked to wake up at four or five o’clock before dawn to memorize some texts or study English. He had to. If he did all this in the afternoon or at night, there would always be some girls surrounding him, strangers included. They would initially say that they wanted to study or do homework together with him, but they usually ended up talking non-stop.
Of course, most of the girls were quite thoughtful. But there would always be a group of girls who came to him.
If one of the girls was talkative, she would disturb the peace among them, or if everyone spoke one or two sentences, he would also waste a lot of time, because there were a lot of people.
But the period before dawn was totally different.
Predawn was a wonderful period of time.
During this time, most people’s brains stopped thinking. Only some would have a very clear head.
If the operational capability of the people in the world was set in stone, and the people can only have their minds operate for a certain number of hours before it shut down, then it must be because there was a larger number of people who stopped thinking during predawn, causing a small number of people’s operational capabilities to increase, because they were awake at predawn.
And during this period of time, most girls would choose to sleep.
Ever since the concept of beauty sleep overlapped with the definition of laziness, the sleeping time for girls was largely lengthened.
The only thing that Ling Ran had not adapted to was his unfamiliarity in Shanghai.
If he were at Yun Hua Hospital, Ling Ran could start performing surgeries early in the morning. If he were at Yun Hua University, he could have memorized twenty new words. But in Shanghai… Ling Ran could only jog around Fuyuan Stadium for a while.
When he was finished, the sky still looked dark.
Ling Ran could not find the energy to go back to the hotel again, so he went straight to the operating theater to take a bath and changed into a set of scrubs.
The scrubs in the hospital were reusable and could be disinfected repeatedly. The leaders would even love to see their doctors put on scrubs all the time and be at the ready to work in the operating theater at all times.
“Are there even fewer surgeries arranged today?” Ling Ran looked at the printed sheet on the door in boredom. It was just one thin sheet of paper, and it showed that the operating theater was really going to be empty most of the time today.
The nurse who worked at the entrance to the surgical floor smiled and laughed, “The center has never performed many surgeries daily, anyway. But it’s true that recently, we have reduced the number of surgeries.”
The Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center had only around thirty doctors. Among the attending physicians, associate chief physicians and chief physicians, there were only some of them who were able to perform surgeries. Sometimes, they even needed to travel around the country. Normal postgraduate students and visiting doctors would not be able to perform many surgeries, except Ling Ran.
Ling Ran pursed his lips and felt grateful that he worked in a tertiary Grade A hospital. Otherwise, he would have to wait for a very long time for patients.
“The cafeteria is not opening either, right?” Ling Ran looked at the quiet dining area again. The lights were not even turned on.
The nurse nodded and said, “No one is performing surgeries, after all. We usually don’t provide supper for doctors who work night shifts.”
It was impossible for a small research institute like this to be like Yun Hua Hospital, which kept providing food day and night.
In the surgical floor of Yun Hua Hospital, tens of surgeries needed to be performed at night when they were busy. Meanwhile, the Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center would already start complaining that they were busy if they had to perform three surgeries for one night.
Ling Ran glanced at the operating theater sadly. Then, he quietly got himself a chair, took out his phone, and started to place a delivery order.
Plain porridge. Did not feel like eating.
Deep-fried dough sticks. Did not feel like eating.
Buns. Dared not eat.
In the end, Ling Ran chose Chinese pancakes and Tofu pudding from among several shops that were still operating nearby. The Chinese pancake would probably be a little on the soft side upon arrival, but it should not be a problem. As for whether Tofu pudding was a good match with Chinese pancakes? Ling Ran did not think much about that.
It was already good for him to be able to eat while he worked outstation.
He continued to play his game and waited quietly.
The hospital at predawn was as quiet as a haunted house. Any moving sound could be frightening to anyone.
Ling Ran turned on the music of the game and played it in the spacious reception hall. This made the room become livelier.
“Doctor Ling, you came so early?” Yu Yuan rubbed her eyes. She was sleepy, yawned, and sat in front of Doctor Ling.
Ling Ran nodded and asked, “Why are you here?”
“Because I want to be a chief resident.” Yu Yuan could not help but say, “I predicted that you’ll be waking up very early, but isn’t this too early? There aren’t any surgeries scheduled today.”
“Yes. There aren’t any surgeries to be performed.” Ling Ran nodded his head viciously, and he slammed his phone against his leg. He looked to the front and fell into deep thought.
“I’ll go wash my face. Don’t wander off randomly now.” Yu Yuan rubbed her face. She was very sleepy.
She knew that Ling Ran was used to waking up early, but she still underestimated the time that Ling Ran would wake up.
In comparison, Yu Yuan used her phone to watch the CCTV of her house from her phone yesterday and also the videos she recorded beforehand. Then, she read research papers until midnight before she went to sleep. So, obviously, she did not get enough rest.
Ling Ran nodded, unbothered. Where else could he go? A hospital that did not have any surgeries at predawn was like a hospital without any soul. A normal individual would probably feel empty when he stayed in it.
Ling Ran was one of those who felt utterly hollow.
He raised his hand and looked at his phone. He was banned from the game again. His gaming sense was too bad.
Ling Ran thought about it and decided to register a new account.
“Doctor Ling, your breakfast is here.” When Ling Ran was still thinking, he saw a delivery boy with a yellow jacket come to him.
“How do you know I’m a doctor?” Ling Ran looked at him in a strange way.
“Aren’t you wearing the attire that doctors usually wear?” the delivery boy said in a muffled voice. He then asked, “You’re Ling Ran, who ordered the meal, right?”
“It’s me.” Ling Ran nodded and put his phone away.
Although Chinese pancakes were rather common, these smelled particularly good. He still had to give full respect.
“Your breakfast has been upgraded.” The delivery boy took out his phone and read the text out loud, “After you placed the order, you just so happened to get the supreme grand prize of our breakfast shop. So, you have been upgraded to the supreme meal set.”
Meanwhile, another delivery boy ran over and put down a foldable round table before him.
The delivery boy who was talking to Ling Ran also put down the food bag from his hand. Then, he went back to the motorbike with the other delivery boy before both of them carried a big bag of food over and put them on the table. They said, “Enjoy your meal. Please give us a five-star rating when you’re free.”
“They do this for deliveries now?” Ling Ran felt there was something off about this. His luck had always been good. Just like what Madam Tao Ping said, the luck of a good-looking man would not be too bad. But from what he saw in front of him, the breakfast shop was running a losing business.
“I have no idea. We just deliver the breakfast.” The delivery boy gave a tongue-in-cheek reply and quickly left.
Ling Ran hesitantly opened one of the plastic bags. He saw a big black box sealed with tape, and a white ‘Monbento’ mark had been stamped on the tape. It was beautiful.
Ling Ran could not help but think of the comments he saw from the internet. He thought to himself. ‘It is not easy to set up a shop nowadays.’
After he removed the tape on the sealed box, he found that the breakfast box was made up of plastic and rubber. It was a two-layered structure, and in it was carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, various candied fruits, black fungus, chinese cabbage, celery, smoked fish, and some side dishes.
Every side dish was so little that it could be finished in three bites at most, and the amount of each side dish was not even comparable to the size of a big dumpling.
Ling Ran took out a side dish and placed it on the table, and very soon, he covered half the table with dishes.
Then, he opened up another two plastic bags, and he saw a stack of nicely packed red metallic breakfast boxes with the words Supreme on it. Similarly, there was very little food in the box.
There were various types of steamed buns, dumplings, and steamed shaomai dumplings. Besides, there were also some meat, eggs, and fish which were cooked in different methods, as well as various types of desserts.
Ling Ran looked at where the delivery boys had vanished and could not help thinking. ‘Is this breakfast shop owner a fool?’
Yu Yuan came over at this time. She looked slightly more awake after she washed her face. Then, she felt puzzled when she saw the food boxes on the table.
“Delivery,” answered Ling Ran directly. He then asked, “Do you want to have breakfast together?”
“Sure.” Yu Yuan did not feel shy at all. She took her seat and picked up a metallic box. She sized it up and asked doubtfully, “Supreme?”
“Hmm?”
“Someone must have sent you this food, right?” Yu Yuan started to bend her back. She started to feel the power of responsibility.
Ling Ran picked up a piece of beef and ate it with a small gold steamed bun. Then, he picked up another piece of cabbage and ate. Soon, he emptied three boxes. He then casually piled up the empty boxes and said, “I’m not sure, too. It’s the delivery boys who said I won a prize.”
“Then, you must have the grand prize.” Yu Yuan chuckled and looked around warily. She said, “Supreme breakfast boxes have been on the news before. One box might cost at least 1,600 RMB, did you know that?”
“I don’t.”
“Hey, one box costs 1,600 RMB! It’s not 160 RMB. Bah! Even 160 RMB is way too expensive. One breakfast box costs at least 1,600 RMB, and just count, how many boxes do you have here? How much money is needed to buy this?” Yu Yuan counted with her fingers.
Her task was too hard!
Yu Yuan moaned in her heart, looked at Ling Ran, and said, “Doctor Ling, don’t you feel weird? You won a prize after you ordered the delivery meal, and you even got THE grand prize?”
“Of course I wondered about it. But, there will always be some strange things that happen in our life. The prize I won is called the supreme grand prize.” Ling Ran picked a steamed shaomai dumpling and bit into it. He realized that the shaomai contained Spanish mackerel and pork belly, and the texture was very fresh and tender. Once he ate it, he a small pork rib and a small thumb-sized corn, and with it, he finished another three boxes.
Yu Yuan had lost her interest in eating the breakfast. She scratched her head, annoyed. Then, she said, “Alright, even if you won the supreme grand prize, or if you feel that your life is full of strange things… Yet, you only ordered a delivery.”
“When I used Didi to grab a car, I even managed to get a ride with a Rolls-Royce.” Ling Ran was composed. He looked at Yu Yuan calmly and said, “Remember to wash your hands before the meal, okay?”
