Chapter 16 : Great Escape

Even if Tang Zhen’s mind was racing, she didn’t believe Chi Yuqin was taking advantage of her.

“Of course, it’s the male patient who’s taking advantage.”

With that, she let go of her hand and took a step back.

Chi Yuqin looked at her, then down at her own wrist that had just been held.
The force wasn’t strong, but it was enough to protect herself.
And this person was finally no longer blushing or breathing heavily.

“You can do it well, can’t you? When facing a difficult patient, or even a difficult and harassing patient, you are a medical student. You have to trust your own instincts as a doctor, not just give up like you did in the ward this afternoon. If the patient complains about you, what will you do? No one will care if you really wrote those orders. As long as the patient complains, the responsibility will definitely be on you. You’re still in the residency training phase. If you have a complaint on your record, do you want to throw away your future?”

Chi Yuqin’s pace was slow, her tone even.
Although her expression was the same as usual, still so serious, at this moment, her voice, her words… sounded incredibly pleasant and gentle to Tang Zhen’s ears.

It gave Tang Zhen the feeling that Chi Yuqin was teaching her.

“You have to remember, in front of the patient, you are the one in charge. Don’t be led by them. You have to have your own rhythm, you have to learn to take control. Otherwise, at your pace, you won’t see many patients in a morning, and all your time will be wasted on talking.”

After Chi Yuqin finished, she saw Tang Zhen’s dazed look again—

“Don’t stare at me. If you understand, speak up. A nod is fine too.”

“I understand.”

“Alright then, get off work.”

“We’re getting off work now?”

“Or what?”

“Didn’t you just say we had to work overtime?”

Tang Zhen’s serious expression made Chi Yuqin really think this girl was a bit stubborn.
The overtime schedule had been set long ago.
Was she the one who could add or remove people from it?
Did she own Renhua?

“If you really want to work overtime, then work overtime. Anyway, I’m getting off work.”

With that, Chi Yuqin walked past Tang Zhen and out of the office.

The door was already open, and Chi Yuqin had one foot out when Tang Zhen came to her senses and quickly followed.

She wasn’t stupid, nor was she not smart.
She just had a strange kind of humility and respect.
But could you say she was a soft persimmon, easy to handle?
When she was really cornered, she could grab your wrist like she just did, as vigilant and defensive as a hedgehog.
But could you say she wasn’t easy to handle?
The moment you frowned, she would be flustered and at a loss.

Just like now, carefully following behind Chi Yuqin the whole time.

Actually, Tang Zhen didn’t feel she was being careful.
She was just embarrassed by her own narrow-mindedness.
She had thought Chi Yuqin would hate her, but she didn’t expect her to say these things to her.
In fact, Chi Yuqin didn’t have to say these things to her at all.
After all, these matters involved neither professional skills nor technical knowledge.
She could have just let her hit a wall, but she didn’t.

Suddenly, Tang Zhen understood why she had been scolded in the hospital corridor.
She even felt that when Chi Yuqin knocked on the door and called her out… she had given her enough face.

Now, looking at Chi Yuqin’s back, she didn’t find this person annoying anymore.
She was just a bit strict, but definitely not nitpicking.
Compared to those leaders who were pleasant to your face but treated you like a cheap workhorse behind your back, Chi Yuqin was countless times better.

Tang Zhen thought of what Old Tang had said again—

Admit your mistakes when you make them, and stand up straight when you’re punished.

As Chi Yuqin walked, her hair tie broke again.
This time, Tang Zhen didn’t just stand and watch like last time.
She quickly took two steps forward and took out a black telephone cord hair tie from her pocket, handing it over with both hands.

“It’s new, I haven’t used it.”

“Okay, thank you.”

“You’re welcome, no need to thank me.”

The two of them walked to the elevator.
Tang Zhen pressed the button again, holding the door with her hand as she went in.
When Chi Yuqin came in, she immediately moved to the side.

“Basement one?”

“First floor.”

“You didn’t drive?”

“I did, I parked outside today.”

Chi Yuqin wasn’t a talkative person.
Besides Zhao Qin, whom she could talk to more, she rarely spoke at other times.

After pressing the elevator button, Tang Zhen retreated to the side.

Chi Yuqin glanced at Tang Zhen in the reflection on the elevator wall—her two hands were neatly folded in front of her, looking incredibly well-behaved.

This made her think of the night Tang Zhen first got in her car.
She was standing pitifully on the side of the road, unable to get a car.
Even though she had offered her a ride, she kept emphasizing that she lived far away, not at all afraid that she would throw her out of the car.
The seat was so big, but she only dared to sit on two-quarters of it.
She was so sleepy her eyelids were fighting… she told her to sleep, but she didn’t dare to.
She would rather use the cold air to ward off her sleepiness than say a single word like, ‘I’m so tired today, I’m so sleepy.’

The delicacy of a young girl seemed to be completely absent in her.
Just as Liu Sisi had said, she clearly had such a great natural advantage, yet she refused to use it at all.

Chi Yuqin didn’t think she possessed certain masculine traits, but she couldn’t deny that if Tang Zhen had whimpered and shown weakness to her, she might have… given in to her because of her delicacy.

After all, the four words ‘cherish the fairer s*x’ were not exclusive to a certain gender.
Women were the same.

…

Before they even got out of the elevator, Tang Zhen’s phone rang.
It was a WeChat message from Liu Sisi—

[Call me! Quick!!!!]

Four exclamation marks in a row.
Liu Sisi was rarely this anxious.
Tang Zhen didn’t dare to delay and quickly called her.

As soon as the call connected, before Tang Zhen could speak, Liu Sisi shouted urgently from the other end— “Hello? Director Chi! Okay, okay! I’ll be right there!”

With that, she hung up.

Liu Sisi’s ‘Director Chi’ was so loud, and Chi Yuqin wasn’t deaf.
How could she not have heard?

“What’s wrong?”

Tang Zhen was also confused. “I don’t know.”

She didn’t know… but Chi Yuqin did.
Liu Sisi had gone to Liu Renzong’s dinner party, but this girl was resourceful and knew how to handle things.
She was much more adept at handling interpersonal relationships than her peers.
In all the time she had been at the hospital, Chi Yuqin had never seen her at a disadvantage.
Her evaluations from all sides were also very good.

She definitely wouldn’t be at a disadvantage.
She probably just ran into a little trouble, or she wouldn’t have used her name.

Chi Yuqin wasn’t offended.
Using a leader’s name when necessary to avoid unnecessary trouble was also a form of adaptability.

“Ask her if she needs someone to pick her up.”

“Ah?”
Tang Zhen hadn’t expected Chi Yuqin to say this, but even if she hadn’t, she was planning to call her back anyway.
After all, Liu Sisi’s call just now was too strange.
“I’ll ask her then.”

Before Tang Zhen could call her back, Liu Sisi called again, cursing in Beijing dialect—

“That bastard! This Liu Renzong is so cheap! He said he was treating us to Huaiyang cuisine. I was already there, and then he changed it to some all-you-can-eat hot pot. I’m so pissed!”

“Sisi, you… you should lower your voice…”

“What’s wrong?”

Tang Zhen glanced at Chi Yuqin next to her.
She couldn’t say outright that Director Chi was right next to her, which would make it seem like she was avoiding something.
So she could only hint—

“My phone is on speaker.”

“What’s the big deal~ Let it be on speaker~”

Seeing that Liu Sisi didn’t understand, Tang Zhen changed the subject. “Did you drink? Do you want me to pick you up?”

“I didn’t drink or eat. Come on, we can go for skewers.”
Liu Sisi tapped on her screen and added, “I’ve sent you the location. Hurry up, I’m starving.”

After hanging up, Tang Zhen looked at Chi Yuqin, hesitating—

“She said—”

“I heard.”
Chi Yuqin nodded and took her car keys out of her pocket. “Let’s go.”

Having had the experience of riding in her car before, Tang Zhen was very tactful this time and sat in the back.
Still as well-behaved and obedient as ever.

Chi Yuqin glanced at her in the rearview mirror.

Tang Zhen’s hands were resting on her knees, her posture straight and proper.
She looked at the eyes in the rearview mirror… and grinned—

“Thank you~”

Chi Yuqin had always thought it was just a title and never took it seriously.
But for some reason, as if it had suddenly occurred to her, the word ‘you’ (formal) coming from Tang Zhen’s mouth sounded a bit unpleasant, as if it made her seem so old.
The distance between them was instantly stretched to a hundred thousand miles.

“You—”

“Hmm?”

Tang Zhen’s eyes were wide open, her pupils as dark as ink, without a single impurity, as pure and clean as a blank sheet of paper.

Chi Yuqin was a little confused by these eyes.
The thought of correcting her pronunciation of the title was instantly suppressed.
She just felt it was inexplicable.
In the hospital, anyone with a lower rank than her, even if they were older, would use the formal tone.
Let alone a newcomer like Tang Zhen—

What was there to correct?
It was expected of her.

“Buckle up.”

“Oh.”

The car slowly started.
Tang Zhen was still sitting so straight, her eyes occasionally glancing at Chi Yuqin.
She felt that this person’s aura was different from before she got in the car.
Now she had become very serious again.

Tang Zhen didn’t think she was the kind of person who could see through anyone, nor did she have such sharp eyes.
But she wasn’t completely clueless either.
But she really couldn’t understand Chi Yuqin.
One moment she was fiercely telling her she wasn’t good enough, the next she was using the excuse of overtime to keep her.
And when Liu Sisi called, she could still drive to pick someone up without finding it troublesome.

I don’t get it… I really don’t get it…

Tang Zhen felt this person was like a tumbler.
You never knew which direction she would lean in next.

Were all capable people like this?

Probably.

Unfathomable, unpredictable.

Even if they were arrogant and eccentric, you would still feel it was very appropriate.