The Surgeon's Studio

“How do you know?” Zheng Ren was surprised.

“Nothing a single guy like you would understand,” Su Yun said, “What did you see in the girl’s eyes?”

“Eyes?” He tried his best to recall.

There was nothing unusual about her eyes. Pupillary light reflex? He had not performed the test on her, but the reflex pathway ought to be responsive. Furthermore, there were no constrictions on her pupils, both of which were equal in size…

At Zheng Ren’s confusion, Su Yun barked, “You must be thinking about her pupils being of equal sizes!”

“Yeah, what else?” Zheng Ren was perplexed.

“Bah!” Su Yun was left speechless and looked at Zheng Ren with pity.

His gaze was sorrowful, as if that of deities and Buddhas who had descended to earth and looked upon mortal suffering.

“…”

“Can’t you see the girl’s dreamy eyes yearning for romance?” Su Yun said after a few seconds of silence.

“No…”

There was no book that could teach Zheng Ren how to see such a thing.

In the institution called society, Su Yun would be a top student and graduate with perfect scores.

“Let me put it this way; what time did your dormitory close during your school days?” Su Yun asked.

“Ten.”

“That’s all there is,” Su Yun chuckled and said softly, “Didn’t you notice that the girl checked her phone three times within ten minutes after your consultation?”

“I did, but I thought that was insignificant,” Zheng Ren said.

“Anything unrelated to illness would be deemed useless to you, right?” Su Yun was aghast.

“You could say that. We’re doctors; what else would we do other than treat diseases? Practice physiognomy?”

“Why did you threaten the boy on the operating table yesterday, then?”

“To treat his blindness,” Zheng Ren argued.

The more Su Yun said, the more Zheng Ren believed the man’s judgment. The girl was pretending to be ill and waiting for their dormitories to close at 10 p.m.

Where would these two youngsters go if their dorms were closed?

How lovely, Zheng Ren thought to himself.

Why was Xie Yiren not this forward? He had gathered the courage to offer her a hug twice but had been rejected both times…

Su Yun crept up to him as he ruminated, smirking and whispering, “Are you shamelessly wondering why Little Yiren doesn’t take the initiative?”

Zheng Ren was stunned. Could Su Yun read his mind?

“How shameless can you be? Can’t you take the first step?” Su Yun berated him angrily.

“I did make a move, twice even, but she blew me off both times,” Zheng Ren said in embarrassment.

“You should keep at it. Start by holding hands. Do not rush. Little Yiren is quite shy and grew up in a strict household. You can’t jump right into hugs,” Su Yun said, “One step at a time. Also, are you aware of the move where you corner her by placing your hand on the wall?”

“Yeah.” Zheng Ren nodded.

As a young adult in the modern era, even though he had never made the move before, he had seen it in videos online.

“You can try it if you get the chance. Girls like Little Yiren have high compliance. You only need to be slightly more aggressive, erm… like the way you take control of the operating table. You’ll be able to handle ten Little Yirens.”

Operating room… simulation mannequins… Zheng Ren’s thoughts ran wild into the unknown like an unleashed dog.

A voice interrupted his fantasies. “Doctor.”

He turned around and saw the girl still holding her stomach, but straight-backed with no visible signs of pain.

Zheng Ren checked the time. It was exactly ten o’clock.

“I think I’m feeling better,” she said, blushing.

“Oh, that’s good,” Zheng Ren said in a daze. His mind was caught up with scenes unsuitable for children.

“We’ll leave, then,” the girl said.

“Are you really okay? I think it’s better if you stay the night and remain under observation,” the boy asked worriedly.

“It’s fine, truly.” She seemed slightly desperate.

“Okay, no worries. Go home and drink more warm water. Everything will be okay,” Su Yun said, “Just be careful not to catch a cold. Stay safe.”

The last sentence was a tease; the boy was oblivious but the girl’s face turned red instantly. She nodded, a movement so slight it was barely visible.

The boy held onto her as they walked out, continuing to nag at her as he did.

“It’s already late at night, what if something happened to you?”

The girl pretended to be surprised as she took out her phone to check the time. “Ah, it’s already ten o’clock.”

“We can’t go back to the dorm…”

“What should we do? What if my stomach hurts after I go back?” she said pitifully.

As they got further and further, the scenario played out exactly according to her plan.

A purposeful smile appeared on Su Yun’s face and he tapped Zheng Ren’s shoulder. “Are you envious of them?”

“Yeah,” Zheng Ren replied subconsciously.

“Don’t be. Others should be envious of you. On that note, you’re really lucky. How did Little Yiren fall for you? Peculiar,” Su Yun said.

There was a turmoil of emotion within Zheng Ren when Xie Yiren’s name was mentioned.

After spending an hour in the emergency department, they returned to the emergency ward after ensuring no other misdiagnoses.

Zheng Ren took his phone out to chat with Xie Yiren.

She had returned home. Chu Yanran had the night shift and had followed Xie Yiren back to the mansion near the hospital.

Zheng Ren had so much to tell her. They could converse smoothly and joke around in WeChat, but Zheng Ren was tongue-tied whenever they met face-to-face.

The ward was very quiet. Su Yun went to take a bath in the operating room. Zheng Ren washed up quickly and laid on his bed while continuing to chat aimlessly with Xie Yiren.

Their conversation was bland, but Zheng Ren felt content.

He felt a sense of security and his heart was no longer hanging in the air.

Corny as it was, home was truly where the heart lay.

The meaning of that saying had never felt more applicable to Zheng Ren.

Home is where the heart is.

When Su Yun returned, Zheng Ren was still texting and ignored his arrival.

He was still engrossed in his conversation when Su Yun laid down.

Even after Su Yun had fallen asleep, Zheng Ren kept texting.

Only when he dropped his phone on his face did he notice that it was already the wee hours of the morning.

They wished each other goodnight, unwilling to let the other end the conversation. Their standoff kept going on for a while until Xie Yiren could not stay awake any longer and drifted off to sleep. Only then did Zheng Ren go to bed with a sweet smile on his face.

Tonight, there was no interruption by the professor. Zheng Ren felt blessed by the Night Shift God.

It was peaceful, as if all the emergency cases had been relegated to the previous evening.

After a good night’s sleep, Zheng Ren opened his eyes. The first thing he did was to check his phone for any messages from Xie Yiren.

“Hurry and freshen up, the newcomers will be reporting in soon.” Su Yun leaned against the wall and said coolly, “You should leave a good impression on them or you might lose your authority as chief resident.”

Zheng Ren was still in bliss; even Su Yun did not seem as irritating as before. He laughed and got out of bed before making it, then took his toiletries to the operating room to wash up before work.

A new day had begun.