On the flight from Nandu to New York, Gao Yuan sat by the window, clutching a thick stack of case docunts.
These materials kept him occupied during the flight—a case of simultaneous ACL and PCL rupture, combined with dial collateral ligant damage, multiple knee ligant tears, and combined niscus tear, leaving the patient’s knee nearly in a state of subluxation, indicating extre force at the ti of injury. This type of injury is considered a "catastrophic injury" in the field of sports dicine, not because it’s life-threatening, but because it often ans the end of an athlete’s career.
The plane crossed the twilight line over the North Pacific Ocean, and the clouds outside gradually turned gold from deep blue. Gao Yuan closed the case files and rubbed his eyes. He’s ntally rehearsed every step of this surgery many tis. Choice of approach, tunnel positioning, graft tension control, fixation angle grasp. Every detail has been scrutinized repeatedly. He closed his eyes, simulating the arthroscopic scene in his mind, his fingers unconsciously tapping gently on the armrest, like plucking so string only he could hear.
Upon arriving in the United States, it was already nightti local ti. The flight attendant approached, softly asking if he wanted dinner. Gao Yuan opened his eyes and asked for a cup of black coffee. He needed to adjust his biological clock before landing because there’s surgery to be perford tomorrow.
New York Kennedy International Airport, arrival hall of Terminal T1.
Robert stood outside the railing, holding a sign with black marker-written Chinese characters—"Welco Doctor Gao Yuan for guiding us." He glanced at the automatic doors every few seconds, betraying his inner eagerness.
Beside him stood a young Chinese student, Xiao Chen, an HSS trainee doctor. Xiao Chen looked at the sign in Robert’s hand, hesitated for a mont, but couldn’t hold back, "Doctor Robert, you don’t actually need the sign, Director Gao recognizes you."
"I know!" Robert replied in extrely standard Chinese, "But it’s customary; you Chinese people value ’having friends from afar, isn’t it delightful?’ I can’t let him get off the plane and be disoriented."
Xiao Chen paused, he’s been in the United States for three months and already knows about Doctor Robert’s level of Chinese, yet hearing it always jolts him. It’s not just the accuracy of pronunciation or grammar but the natural, effortless fluency that cos out, the precise grasp on the Chinese language’s sense, such as colloquial expressions like "disoriented," not learned but used.
Robert woke up at five this morning, an hour earlier than usual. The alarm hadn’t rung yet, but he was already shaving in the bathroom. His girlfriend turned over in her sleep and drowsily asked, "What ti is it?" He said, "It’s still early; continue sleeping," then quietly closed the bathroom door.
Later when his girlfriend got up, she found Robert had already made coffee and breakfast in the kitchen. She paused, then laughed, "Robert, are you going to pick up your brother at the airport or going on a date?"
Robert thought for a mont and seriously answered, "Picking up a brother! But even more solemn than a date."
To him, Gao Yuan is not just a peer, a partner in cooperation, a fellow student in dicine, as the Chinese say: kindred spirits appreciate each other.
The automatic doors swung open and close, waves of travelers pouring out. So were pushing luggage carts stacked taller than themselves; so were holding children; so were carrying huge backpacks adorned with little flags from different countries.
Robert searched through the crowd for that familiar Chinese face in his forties, whose eyes slightly squint when he smiles.
Gao Yuan’s flight was CZ699, direct from Nandu Provincial City to New York, nearly sixteen hours in flight ti. From Nandu Airport to Kennedy Airport, a route across half the globe. Last night, Robert installed a flight tracking app on his phone, frequently checking its notifications throughout the day.
Xiao Chen stood by, staring idly at the bustling crowd. He’s been at HSS for three months and this was the first ti seeing Doctor Robert so unsettled. Doctor Robert is usually very calm during surgeries, joking humorously with doctors and nurses.
Today, however, he seed like a child, restless, and Xiao Chen understood Doctor Robert and Director Gao Yuan shared a deep friendship, like brothers.
"Doctor Robert, is Director Gao’s flight delayed?" Xiao Chen asked.
Robert glanced at his phone, "No! It’s on ti. Already landed. But ’haste makes waste’, international arrivals need to pass customs and collect luggage, takes at least half an hour."
Twenty more minutes passed.
Robert’s gaze suddenly fixed. He saw soone coming out from the automatic doors, not tall, wearing a dark gray thin jacket, pulling a black carry-on suitcase, with a laptop bag over his shoulder, walking this way.
Gao Yuan!
Robert recognized his Chinese brother from afar, striding steadily towards Gao Yuan. At this mont, Gao Yuan also saw Robert, stopped, and stood still.
"My dear brother, it’s finally good to see you again, how have you been?"
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