Chapter 15 : Overtime with Director Chi

Just five minutes before quitting time, Zhang Pei suddenly clapped his hands and announced—

“Director Liu is treating everyone to dinner today. Anyone not working overtime has to go. It’s at that new Huaiyang cuisine restaurant across from our hospital. Wang Kai, are you ready?”

“I want to be, but I’m on the night shift today.”

“Then Ge Weiwei?”

“My mom called and said I have to go home for dinner today, or she’ll never be done with me~”

“Aiyo~ a filial child, you must go home for dinner then!”

Zhang Pei’s gaze shifted and landed on Tang Zhen— “Little Tang~ I know you’re not on duty. As a newcomer to our department, you have to go!”

“I haven’t finished my work yet, so I probably can’t go.”

Tang Zhen was telling the truth.
Although she could get off work on time, she still wanted to stay a little longer.
Of course, the most important reason was that she didn’t really want to go to this dinner.

The news of Liu Renzong and Chi Yuqin’s disagreement had spread throughout the inpatient department.
Liu Sisi mentioned it to her every day, always talking about self-preservation and watching from the sidelines.

At this time, Liu Renzong’s invitation to dinner made everyone more or less sensitive.

But for Tang Zhen, she felt she probably wasn’t important enough to be sensitive.
After all, in three years, who knew where she would be?
And judging by Chi Yuqin’s lack of confidence in her, it wasn’t even certain if she could last until her term was up.

But even so, Tang Zhen had to admit that no matter how much she poked at Chi Yuqin’s name with her finger, no matter how much she disliked her unpredictable moods, the scales in her heart still inevitably tipped toward her.

The reason was simple.
What Tang Zhen truly detested was the kind of petty person like Liu Renzong, who clearly pushed patients away out of fear of taking responsibility, yet spoke so righteously about it.

“Brother Zhang, I really can’t go. I have a pile of things to finish. I’ll have a headache tomorrow if I don’t.”

“Not going, are you? Fine, you can tell Director Liu yourself.”

Zhang Pei’s words cornered Tang Zhen completely.

As a subordinate, what right did she have to refuse a superior?
No matter how clueless Tang Zhen was, she knew this rule.

“Let’s go, let’s go, we can go together and keep each other company~”
Liu Sisi linked her arm with Tang Zhen’s.

“Hey~ that’s more like it~ Little Tang, you really need to learn from Sisi on this!”

And so, the matter of dinner was settled.

At quitting time, in the changing room.

Tang Zhen and Liu Sisi were changing clothes.

“Are you angry?”

“No.”

“Then why aren’t you talking?”

Tang Zhen turned around. “I really have a pile of things to do. I really don’t want to go.”

“Do you think you can refuse?”
Liu Sisi took off her white coat and stuffed it into her locker. “Just now, with that situation, Zhang Pei had already said so much, telling you to go and talk to Liu Renzong directly. I won’t even mention whether you dare to or not, the question is, can you go?”

“Then what about you? Why are you going?”

“I want to try that Huaiyang restaurant.”

Tang Zhen didn’t understand what she meant, her gaze full of confusion as she looked at Liu Sisi.

A smooth, fair forehead, fine baby hairs at her temples, eyes as clear as a cool spring.
Liu Sisi smiled… who wouldn’t be moved by such a face?
And with such a soft personality.

A girl’s beauty is important, but her innocence is even more so.

“What are you smiling at?”

“Smiling at how you have such a great natural advantage and don’t even know how to use it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m saying you’re pretty, good-looking, and everyone loves you.”

“Liu Sisi—”

“I’m done changing. I’ll wait for you at the hospital supermarket. See you later, little beauty~”

Just as Liu Sisi pushed open the door, she ran right into Chi Yuqin.
Although she always said she wanted to die every time she saw Chi Yuqin, in reality, whenever she met her face-to-face like this, Liu Sisi always greeted her with a smile.
Regardless of whether she was scared on the inside, on the outside, she never faltered.

“Hello, Director Chi~”

“Mm.”

Chi Yuqin nodded, stepped aside to let Liu Sisi go out first, then came in herself.

As soon as Tang Zhen saw her, her expression immediately became a little unnatural.

Although between Liu Renzong and Chi Yuqin… she was biased toward Chi Yuqin; between herself and Chi Yuqin… Tang Zhen was more biased toward herself.

Besides, this person had just told her to get lost not long ago.
She had clearly seen it outside.
With Chi Yuqin’s experience, Tang Zhen didn’t believe she couldn’t see that she was the one being put in a difficult position.

Tang Zhen didn’t know what others would do in her situation.
But for her… she couldn’t smile at all.

Her stubbornness was acting up again.

But not being able to smile was one thing.
She still had the good upbringing from her childhood.
Regardless of whether Chi Yuqin was her superior or not, just from the perspective of an elder, she couldn’t bring herself to ignore someone.

Tang Zhen quickly greeted Chi Yuqin— “Hello, Director Chi.”

Then she buried her head in her locker and busied herself.

Of course, Chi Yuqin could hear how reluctant that ‘Hello, Director Chi’ was.
She looked at Tang Zhen, who was about to drill half her body into her locker.

‘So you dare to be perfunctory with me, but you don’t dare to be perfunctory all the way?’

‘Really! What a wimp.’

‘You make a mistake and you don’t let people talk about it. And when they do, you feel wronged? Kids these days have so many bad habits.’

Chi Yuqin couldn’t be bothered.

Tang Zhen was moving slowly, her head down as she unbuttoned her white coat one by one.
If she went out this door, she would have to go to Liu Renzong’s dinner party.
If she didn’t go out this door… she would have to stay with Chi Yuqin.

Originally, she thought neither option was satisfactory.
But now, thinking about it again… it was better to just stay with Chi Yuqin.

Why have a dinner party for no reason?
Was Liu Renzong that idle?

As she took off her white coat, Tang Zhen sighed— “Sigh…”

It was a very light sigh, but it seemed to have sighed out all the strength in her body.
The feeling of helplessness was all too obvious.

The helplessness of a workhorse, and the lowest kind at that.

Chi Yuqin’s hand on the locker door inexplicably froze.
Her gaze also swept over with that light sigh.

Tang Zhen’s small, palm-sized face, her skin pink and tender.
Under the slightly open collar of her knitted shirt… her collarbone was fair and clean.

For some reason, Chi Yuqin’s heart felt as if it had been tickled by a kitten’s tail.
It was as if Tang Zhen’s sigh had been sucked into her own lungs…

Her heart was a little itchy, a little tight, all because of this girl’s barely audible sigh.

The white coat that had just been taken off was put back on by Chi Yuqin.

“Where are you going?”

“To eat…”

“You haven’t finished your work, and you’re thinking of going to eat? Is that your attitude?”

“…”

“Back to the department to work overtime.”

Being made to work overtime for no reason, Tang Zhen was actually a little happy.
She immediately sent a message to Liu Sisi— [Director Chi said I have to work overtime, I can’t leave.]

Liu Sisi replied in a second— [This is exploitation! Exploitation!!]

‘Exploitation is exploitation, at least this exploitation is a bit refreshing. It’s better than going to some messy dinner party,’ Tang Zhen thought.

Chi Yuqin walked ahead, her eyes sweeping over the person secretly laughing behind her.
She really was a child.
Just now, her brows were furrowed in reluctance, and now she was laughing about something.

With such a personality that wore everything on her face, if she really went to that Huaiyang restaurant, she would definitely be drunk under the table.

The thought she had earlier of minding her own business was instantly swept away.

Chi Yuqin took her to the office and took out a stack of documents from the drawer for her.

“Do you know how to read an ECG?”

“Yes.”

“Read.”

The office was empty, just the two of them.

They sat across from each other at a desk, almost face to face.
Tang Zhen didn’t want to go to Liu Renzong’s dinner party, but being alone with Chi Yuqin like this, she was a little flustered.
The image of this person scolding her would pop into her head from time to time.

“Can you understand it?”
Chi Yuqin’s voice was calm, her face showing no particular expression.
Although it wasn’t particularly friendly, it wasn’t so severe as to make one want to run away at first glance.

“Sinus bradycardia, ST segment depression in V4, V5, V6…”

“The second one is below.”

Tang Zhen quickly looked at the second one. “Still depressed… is it a myocardial infarction?”

“Judge for yourself.”

“Oh.”

Then she looked at the third one. “ST-T elevation in V7 to V9, indication for emergency PCI.”

Chi Yuqin didn’t ask any more questions and looked up at Tang Zhen.

At this glance, Tang Zhen was no longer flustered.
If she had answered incorrectly, she probably wouldn’t have just looked at her once.
She would have likely kicked her out.

“Do I need to add the contraindications and indications?”
To be safe, Tang Zhen asked again.

“No need.”

When Chi Yuqin wasn’t speaking, no one could guess what she was thinking.

For example, now, she suddenly stood up from her chair and walked over to Tang Zhen’s side.

Actually, Chi Yuqin wasn’t thinking about anything.
She just thought of the embarrassing way this person had been put in a difficult position by the patient this afternoon.

The distance between them was barely a fist’s width.

Chi Yuqin’s gaze fell on Tang Zhen’s face.

Tang Zhen blinked, her nose catching a pleasant, clean scent.
This person always had this smell on her.
Although it was very faint… she could always smell it.

Chi Yuqin looked at her for a while, and Tang Zhen didn’t hide.

The question just now had given Tang Zhen confidence.
That was just how she was.
When scolded, she would be silent.
When she answered correctly, her back would straighten.

A bit of a childish personality, but also very real.

“You—”

Tang Zhen wanted to say, ‘Do you have anything else?’
But she had only said one word before she was interrupted by Chi Yuqin.

Chi Yuqin was different from just now.
The expression on her face had loosened.
She rubbed her chest—

“Doctor, my heart is uncomfortable.”

Tang Zhen paused for a moment, then immediately reacted— “Standardized patient?”

Chi Yuqin nodded and continued from where she left off, “Chest tightness and pain, shortness of breath, palpitations.”

“When did it start?”

“Three months ago.”

“Have you had this before?”

“I had heart surgery when I was seven. Two years ago, a follow-up check found aortic regurgitation, and I had another surgery. The chest tightness and shortness of breath only started recently.”

“Is it like this every day?”

“Yes, every day. It’s less during the day, and very uncomfortable at night.”

As Chi Yuqin spoke, she moved closer to Tang Zhen.
Her raised left hand moved slowly forward, her slightly curved fingertips swaying back and forth.
With a casual flick, the back of her hand led her fingers, from Tang Zhen’s lower back upward… brushing against her back.

If it had been any higher, it would have hooked her bra strap.

Tang Zhen was stunned for a moment.

But Chi Yuqin’s calm expression made Tang Zhen think… it was probably an accident.

“Do you still have the case history?” Tang Zhen continued to ask.

“No.”

“Then—”

Chi Yuqin leaned back, her left arm holding her right, her right arm lazily resting in front of her.
Her palm was facing up, and with something like a knee-jerk reflex, it landed squarely on Tang Zhen’s butt.

Tang Zhen immediately turned to look at her.

Chi Yuqin’s hand moved quickly, her expression even calmer than when she had almost hooked her bra strap—

“What’s wrong, doctor?”

“Nothing.”

Chi Yuqin clutched her chest with her left hand, as if she couldn’t breathe, and started coughing violently.
She bent over, and just as Tang Zhen was about to help her, her free right hand suddenly shot up.
This time, it was aimed straight at Tang Zhen’s chest…

Tang Zhen didn’t dodge, but she didn’t let her succeed either—

She grabbed Chi Yuqin’s wrist.

She looked at Chi Yuqin, her face full of disbelief.
But how could she explain this hand that was reaching for her?

“Director Chi, are you conducting a compliance test?”

Chi Yuqin looked at Tang Zhen’s slightly open collar, her gaze moving inch by inch upward, locking onto her innocent eyes.
She spoke in a cool and cold voice—

“Are you referring to the patient? Or me?”