Chapter One: A Sudden Encounter (2)
Date: 2009.3.5
On the fifth day after the operation, after breakfast, Mom came to take over so I could rest. I took an apple and a knife out of the ward and slowly peeled it while leaning against the handrail in the corridor.
Compared with eating fruit, I enjoyed the process of peeling it more. Constantly adjusting the angle of the blade, watching the thin peel slowly fall in one complete circle after another, was a good way to soothe my emotions.
I was halfway through when, as if struck by a sudden stroke of inspiration, I looked up. Doctor Gu was five meters away, walking toward me, his shoulders still slender, his footsteps as silent as a cat’s.
I flexed my wrist and hurriedly tried to finish what I was doing, but in my haste, the peel broke... Heaven knows what kind of blank expression I had on my face at the time.
He stopped in front of me, his gaze traveling once between me and the peel on the floor. He pursed his lips and smiled politely. “Peeling an apple?”
Doctor, you’re really polite…
His beautiful eyes dazzled me again. In a sudden burst of impulse, I held out the apple in my hand. “Want some apple?”
He laughed. “No, thank you. I’m making my rounds.”
It wasn’t until his white coat disappeared behind the door of the neighboring ward that I realized the apple in my hand wasn’t finished yet…
At 9:30 in the morning, the ward door was pushed open, and someone dressed entirely in green surgical clothes, with his cap and mask covering him from head to toe, walked in.
I held my forehead and thought, I can recognize a man I’ve only known for less than two days so easily from that far away, based on his back, his footsteps, even my sixth sense. What does that say?
Doctor Gu glanced at the sleeping Teacher Lin, walked over to me, handed me a folder, and said quietly, “There have been some adjustments to the IV fluids your father is starting today. Take a look.”
The medication names and effects were clearly marked on the treatment plan. I went through them one by one, confirmed there were no problems, and signed. Doctor Gu was looking down at me as I signed, with his entire face hidden except for his eyes. So when I looked up, I fell straight into his eyes without the slightest preparation.
It was the sensation of my brain suddenly going completely blank, as though I had fallen into a gigantic floating bubble.
His eyes blinked twice. I quickly came back to myself and handed him the folder. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He put the folder away and left. After taking two steps, he turned back. “You can get a little rest while he’s asleep too.”
After Doctor Gu left, I looked troubledly at the sleeping Teacher Lin. Would he think I was being too unreserved?
Date: 2009.3.6
On the sixth day after the operation, Teacher Lin started drinking rice broth. He had made it through the most painful few days, and now he was in very good spirits.
When Doctor Gu came on his rounds, I was sitting at the foot of the bed massaging Teacher Lin’s Zusanli acupoint.
Zusanli (ST36) is a major acupunture and acupressure point located about three to four finger widths below the outer side of the kneecap.
Doctor Gu: “How’s the supplementary food going today? Any gastrointestinal discomfort?”
Teacher Lin: “Bloating.”
Doctor Gu: “That’s normal. If there’s no vomiting, nausea, or anything like that, you can increase the amount of rice broth tomorrow. Don’t make it too thick, and don’t increase the amount all at once. Just increase the frequency.”
He was standing less than thirty centimeters away from me. I was caught between wanting him to leave quickly and wanting him to stay a little longer, until the back of my neck had started to heat up.
Doctor Gu kept smiling, his gaze turning toward Teacher Lin. “Let me ask you something. At home, do you normally not do any housework?”
The two of us, mother and daughter, instinctively answered a very earnest “Mm.”
Teacher Lin was looking a little embarrassed. “I do work. I do work.”
Mom: “He cooks occasionally.”
Doctor Gu’s smile grew wider, revealing a row of white teeth. “Is it that your wife washes and cuts everything, and you only have to put it in the wok and give it a quick stir-fry?”
I was practically worshipping him at that point. You had only been involved in one of his surgeries, and for the rest of the time, you spent no more than five minutes a day in our ward on average, yet you could still figure this out. So, without thinking, I blurted out, “Do they teach criminal investigation and deduction at medical school now…”
The moment I finished, I was mortified. The doctor laughed, and Mom laughed too.
Embarrassed, I turned back and glanced at him. The curve of his jaw was truly beautiful.
Doctor Gu said goodbye and left. After a while…
Mom: “What are you grinning like an idiot about?”
Me: “Huh? Ah… Oh, come on. Even the doctor can tell that we’ve spoiled Teacher Lin way too much. Hahaha.”
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Doctor’s handwriting: At the time, I thought you two spoiled him far too much. Then one day, after four surgeries in a row, I was sitting in the office entering data, so tired that I thought, If only someone would spoil me like that too.
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Date: 2009.3.8
From getting out of bed for the first time on the third day after surgery to taking his first faltering steps on the fifth, Teacher Lin’s progress was remarkably fast.
At the same time, Doctor Gu and we gradually became more familiar with one another. When he saw us in the corridor, he would even joke with Teacher Lin: “Wherever you go, you’ve got two VIP private nurses following you.”
On the eighth day after surgery, Teacher Lin was already walking very smoothly. He didn’t need me to support him and could even walk in a straight line. When we passed the entrance to the doctors’ office during our walk, he tugged at my hand. “Quick, look.”
My heart gave a sudden jump. “Could Teacher Lin have noticed...?” I glanced inside rather guiltily. A young man in a white coat was sitting in Doctor Gu’s seat.
Teacher Lin: “See that young fellow? Quite handsome.”
I really wanted to complain. Getting sick has changed your interests, hasn’t it? You’re actually standing at the door with your daughter checking out men now. Could it be that you’ve been assimilated by all those middle-aged women...?
I took another look. Fair skin, a square face, a pair of glasses. I gave a fair assessment. “Average.” I supported him and prepared to leave.
Teacher Lin immediately became serious. “He’s handsome enough to be a movie star.”
Right. With your eyesight, which can’t even tell Tony Leung Chiu-wai from Liu Qingyun, that assessment is pretty worthless.
Without another word, I supported the man and walked away. “You’re exaggerating. He’s really just average.” I genuinely thought that if someone caught me again lurking at the entrance of the doctors’ office checking out handsome men, I’d be mortified beyond words. So I dragged and half-carried the old child away. “Let’s go, let’s go. What’s there to look at?”
Teacher Lin was very insistent. “He really is handsome.”
I kept my arm around him as we continued walking. “Not as handsome as Doctor Gu.”
When we reached the elevator area, we turned around and headed back.
Teacher Lin began to argue. “Doctor Gu is very sunny too, but this young fellow’s features are more defined.”
Me: “It’s not like they’re building blocks.”
Teacher Lin: “He’s younger than Doctor Gu.”
Me: “Doctor Gu spent three more years studying than he did. In this day and age, the technically skilled type is more reliable.”
Teacher Lin: “The young fellow really is quite good.”
Me: “Doctor Gu is better!”
Just as I said this with absolute conviction, a nurse passed by us and gave me a strange look. My heart skipped a beat. I turned around.
Doctor Gu was one meter away from us, smiling brightly. Rarely was he not wearing his white coat. He had on a black down jacket, a gray cashmere sweater, casual pants, and sneakers, with a bag slung over his shoulder. He looked fresh-faced enough to be a college student.
At that moment, I desperately wanted to bite my tongue off and die...
Doctor Gu was perfectly composed. “Teacher Lin seems to be in good spirits today. How’s the incision?”
Teacher Lin: “I slept well last night. The incision hurts a little.”
Doctor Gu: “I’ll take a look at the incision in a moment. If it’s healing well, the drainage tube should be ready to come out.” He nodded with a smile and went into the office.
Throughout the entire exchange, my gaze wandered everywhere as I did my best to appear calm.
Teacher Lin: “Mm, this Doctor Gu really is a good young fellow.”
I thought to myself, Who said he was old? It’s clearly the white coat that adds years, all to create the image of a mature and steady doctor.
Date: 2009.3.9
I was carrying a thermos out of the hot-water room when I passed the doctors’ office. The door was open, and for some reason, I glanced inside. Doctor Gu had his back to me, typing data into the computer. His fingers were long and clean, his wrist nimble.
I had always felt that Doctor Gu had a slight stoop, probably because he was thin and often bent over and lowered his head while working. Still, it didn’t affect his tall, slender, upright bearing. He had just gotten his hair cut, making his neck look long and refined.
I stood there chewing the apple in my hand while admiring the handsome man before me… It was probably because the Fuji apple was so crisp that the sound of my biting was too loud. He turned his head, and I froze, caught red-handed.
I have a particular trait. Inside, there may be a raging storm, but it never affects the calm surface. I was simply one of the countless people coming and going through the corridor. He wouldn’t think anything of it. While calming myself down, I lifted my leg, preparing to walk past as though nothing had happened.
Doctor Gu, sitting there, looked at me and smiled.
And so I missed my chance to pretend to be a passerby and ended up standing there stupidly. The smile at the corners of his mouth spread into the corners of his eyes, and those beautiful lips uttered two words:
“Apple.”
I fled in humiliation.
Was I just too ridiculous-looking while biting the apple? Or did he remember the half-peeled apple I had tried to give him last time?…
I thought about it for half a day but couldn’t figure it out. So I gave up thinking and decided that from then on, whenever I wanted to eat apples, I would only eat them on the balcony. Otherwise, in other places, this strange fruit always seemed capable of exposing me in all my abnormal, embarrassing glory…
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Doctor’s handwriting: I saw you when you went to get water. At the time I thought, This is a hospital. Why are you acting like you’re strolling through a park? And how many apples do you eat in a day?
(I swear I really don’t eat that many. It’s just that every time I eat one, you happen to catch me…)
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Date: 2009.3.10
It was nearly one in the afternoon. Most of the patients were taking their afternoon naps, and the entire ward was very quiet. I was in the preparation room using the microwave to make steamed egg custard when a voice suddenly came from behind me.
“Still making food this late?”
I jumped and turned around. Doctor Gu was standing in the doorway, still wearing his surgical clothes because he hadn’t had time to change.
“Teacher Lin was hungry.”
“Hungry?” His eyebrows lifted slightly. “He’s recovering that well?”
“Well, he does have two VIP private nurses.”
He lowered his eyelashes, a smile spreading fully across his face.
At six in the evening, I came out of the preparation room and happened to run into Doctor Gu, who was getting ready to go home.
“I’ve been assisting with surgeries all day and didn’t make my rounds. How’s your father today?”
I answered solemnly, “Lively and kicking.”
He glanced at the lunch box in my hand. “Pigeon eggs?”
I nodded. “Two a day. At fixed times.”
Doctor Gu: “Teacher Lin’s level of treatment…” He raised his eyebrows slightly.
Looking at the corners of his mouth curling upward, I realized that doctors weren’t always so serious after all.
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