Hesitant, embarrassed, conflicted. With the phone in his hand, Du Heng couldn’t bring himself to press the call button, nor did he know what to say.
"RING!"
Du Heng was startled by the sudden ringtone, his hand trembling slightly.
When he saw the caller ID on his mobile phone, a tingling sensation shot up from the base of his spine.
"Teacher."
"Xiao Du, I’m sorry."
Li Jianwei, on the other end of the line, began with an apology, his tone quite sincere.
Did the girl confess to her family?
Du Heng was slightly alard. While admiring the girl’s courage, he quickly said, "It’s alright, Teacher. You didn’t an for it to happen."
"Ah," Li Jianwei sighed heavily. "That girl has been spoiled by her family. She’s read too many books, has too many of her own ideas, and is too headstrong.
"She insisted on finding soone with a Ph.D., saying they would have more in common. Xiao Du, this is my fault. I didn’t ask clearly enough. It’s her loss that she doesn’t appreciate you.
"Don’t worry, I’ll help you find soone else—soone younger, prettier, and more sensible."
Hearing this, Du Heng breathed a quiet sigh of relief. So, it wasn’t what he had thought.
Although the reason wasn’t entirely convincing, it was plausible enough.
After all, it was understandable for highly educated intellectuals to be a little particular.
Du Heng instantly felt a weight lift from his shoulders, and his tone relaxed. Since the girl had already co up with an excuse, he wouldn’t need to go to the trouble of fabricating a lie himself.
"It’s alright, Teacher. These things are a two-way street; there’s no right or wrong."
"That’s good. As long as you understand." Li Jianwei’s tone also noticeably eased.
After thanking Li Jianwei again, Du Heng took the initiative to end the call, using the excuse that he was still driving.
At 4:20 PM, Du Heng returned to the Health Clinic.
Just as he had changed his clothes and was about to visit the hospital rooms, he received several phone calls, all about finding him a partner. There were calls from his Big brother, Zhu Fanzhong, and An Chunhui. Everyone seed to have called around the sa ti, almost as if by prior agreent.
Du Heng, sowhat bemused, agreed to all of them and scheduled eting tis.
His luck in love seed especially strong today. Was it brought on by his fake relationship with Wu Shengnan? Or was Sir Tian compensating him for the PhD girl by pulling a few extra red strings of fate for him?
After a self-deprecating chuckle, Du Heng walked into the Outpatient Hall and headed for the stairs to go up to the hospital rooms.
But just as he turned, he saw a familiar face.
"Liang, what are you doing here?" Du Heng couldn’t help but stop and greet him.
The man at the door of the consultation room turned around. Seeing Du Heng, his face lit up with pleasant surprise. "Du! President Du! I’m here with my mother; she needs to see a doctor."
Du Heng walked over. "What’s wrong with Auntie? Is it serious?"
Liang Yichang shook his head. "My wife accompanied my mother upstairs for a check-up. I ca down to pay the fee. I’m just waiting here for a bit."
"Co, let’s go into the consultation room and sit down to talk."
Just as Du Heng finished speaking, a woman’s voice called Liang Yichang’s na from behind him.
Turning back, he saw a woman helping an elderly lady down the stairs.
The old lady walked very carefully, her body held stiffly to avoid any swaying. Her left arm hung unnaturally, and she cradled it gently with her right hand.
Seeing the posture of Liang Yichang’s mother, Du Heng quickly opened the consultation room door. "Auntie, what happened?"
Liang Yichang was a bit clumsy, wanting to help his mother but not knowing where to take hold. He held out his hands for a long mont before letting them fall, looking dejected.
"Today, a relative of ours was getting married, so my mother took a tricycle that was passing through our village. On the way, the vehicle overturned, and my mother was pinned underneath it."
Liang Yichang said, then glanced reproachfully at his mother, who was still clutching her arm. "At the ti, she didn’t think much of it, just figured her arm was bruised and the muscle was injured, and that it would get better after a while.
"By noon, her whole arm was badly swollen. When she finally got ho, she didn’t even call us. She just took so painkillers and went to bed. If my aunt hadn’t called , I still wouldn’t know."
Yu Haiting was in the consultation room. Seeing Du Heng and Liang Yichang talking, he rely nodded in acknowledgnt before turning to his computer to look at the CT scans that had been uploaded.
After Liang Yichang finished speaking, Du Heng walked over to Yu Haiting’s side, and they both looked down at the images.
The images were straightforward: a CT scan of the left arm. The injury was imdiately apparent—a transverse fracture of the mid-shaft hurus with slight displacent.
Du Heng glanced at Liang Yichang’s mother. The old lady’s pain tolerance gave him a new perspective.
"Du, is my mother’s condition serious?" Liang Yichang asked nervously.
"It’s a transverse fracture of the mid-shaft hurus with slight displacent. That ans the bone in her upper arm is broken in the middle."
"Broken?" Liang Yichang looked at his mother, his expression a mixture of heartache and reproach. "You should have called imdiately! How could you bear that much pain?"
Liang Yichang’s mother gave a sheepish smile. "I just thought it was a bruise, that I’d only injured the muscle. Besides, everyone else on the tricycle was fine. It couldn’t be that I was the only unlucky one, right?
"And you’re all so busy with work. Calling you would just disturb you, and your bosses wouldn’t be happy."
Liang Yichang looked at his mother, who always seed to have an answer for everything. He sighed softly and said nothing more to her. Instead, he turned to Du Heng and asked, "Du, do you have a solution?"
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