Chapter 67

  After that, he went to order takeout. When the four of them sat down to eat together, they realized the atmosphere was off. Gu Wei and He Shou exchanged a glance, but neither of them made an effort to liven up the mood.

  Yuan Zhi has been heavily addicted to smoking and drinking in recent years. He hasn't eaten much food, but he's already downed two bottles of beer.

  He Xiu kicked him in the shin and said, "Want to drink yourself to death? You didn't even eat breakfast, fill your stomach with something before drinking."

  Yuan Zhi gave him a cold glance, as if he hadn't heard.

  Still consider Wei wise, turned his head towards He Sheng and nodded slightly, raised an eyebrow and blinked a few times, implying that those with some insight would understand.

  He Sheng stopped his chopsticks and stole a glance at Yuan Zhi. His exquisite profile was tinged with a hint of gloom, clearly revealing that he was in a very unpleasant mood.

  She hesitated and gently pulled his sleeve, Yuan Zhi's movements paused, without looking at her, he directly put down the bottle, turned to pick up a few dishes into He Song's bowl, and said in a light tone: "Eat quickly!"

  He Shou's mouth curved upwards, and he smiled with a raised eyebrow, saying: "It's rare to see you being so obedient these few years, tsk tsk tsk, now that you've found your niche, let's see how you'll continue to trouble me in the future!"

  He turned to He Song and complained, "Little He Song, you don't know, I've been bullied by him for two years, it's been so dark that I haven't slept well. You'd better tame him in the future, or he'll cause trouble everywhere."

  Everything was just a voiceover, and He Sheng had heard it before without much reaction. Now, however, he felt extremely embarrassed, and even lost his appetite for the food in front of him. Yuan Zhi also didn't seem to want to explain himself.

  "I..."

  "Eat this!" Yuan Zhi added another dish to her bowl with his chopsticks. "Eat your meal properly, don't talk."

  He Shou's face suddenly broke into a sly smile, as if he had returned to a very early time, and He Song's heart was filled with mixed emotions.

  After dinner, she occasionally looked out of the window at the western sun, but didn't mention going back to the hospital again.

  Until Liao Shi called, the staff in the clinic had already gone off duty. He took off his white coat and hung it on the back of the chair, standing by the window with one hand around his chest and the other holding the phone lightly against his ear, his voice clear and decisive: "Half a day has passed, bring He Song back."

  Gu Wei looked at Yuan Zhi, whose face didn't look good, and then turned to He Sheng, who had been hanging his head as if he had done something wrong, and asked, "Can we do it a bit later? After dinner, I'll send her back."

  "No way!" Liao Shi looked at a boy who suddenly appeared on the playground with a basketball, "You must come back right now, I'm waiting for you at the infirmary."

  "Liao Shi..." Gu Wei was in a difficult situation, not because he didn't want to send He Sheng back, but because he was afraid of being beaten by Yuan Zhi, even though he also didn't know why this person's mood had become even worse after seeing He Sheng.

  "Gu Wei, I've already reached my limit by letting you take her away for half a day without any reason. It's also because I respect that you were once her friends." He paused, "Shouldn't you also show some respect to me?"

  Gu Wei rubbed his face, feeling a bit hot.

  Liao Shi raised his wrist to look at his watch, "You have at most half an hour!"

  He hung up the phone and threw his mobile onto the office desk, gazing blankly at the boy bouncing around, exerting force to throw the ball. The ball rose to a certain height before falling down, each time not even touching the rim of the basket, clearly lacking enough strength.

  In this suite, several people were very quiet. He Shou Si pulled Gu Wei's arm and made a silent gesture with his mouth, "What kind of man is He Song dealing with now?"

  Gu Wei impatiently pulled out his arm, ignoring him, and stubbornly said to Zhuan Yi: "Let's go first, it's not proper to leave without saying goodbye, and Liao Shi has been taking care of He Shuang for so long, there are some things that need to be said in person."

  Yuan Zhi didn't even raise his eyes, "Liao Shi?"

  "That's the male doctor I saw during the day!"

  Yuan Zhi remained silent for a while before responding, turning to He Sheng with eyes streaked with bloodshot lines, "Was it this person who took care of you for three years?"

  He Sheng nodded, "Uh-huh."

  "Alright!" He stood up and pulled the person up with him, then shouted at the other two: "Let's go!"

  They had already put some distance between themselves and the hospital, so they hailed a taxi to hurry over. By the time they arrived, the sky was already somewhat dark, with only a faint pink glow lingering on the horizon. The small playground looked even more desolate than before.

  The entire hospital was dark and gloomy, with only one window shining a dim yellow light.

  Liao Shi didn't come out to greet them, among the four people, He Sheng was most familiar with the environment. Under Yuan Zhi's cold gaze, she took the lead and walked out, pushing open the door and heading towards that office.

  The office door was also ajar, she pushed it open slightly and carefully peeked inside to see Liao Shi sitting comfortably at his desk reading medical books.

  His eyes were fixed on the book page, and his mouth said, "Don't come in yet?"

  He Sheng hastily walked in and pushed the door open with a sweep of his hand. The three people behind him followed immediately.

  The small office suddenly became much more crowded.

  Liao Shi looked up, his gaze slowly sweeping over them, put down the book, raised his hand slightly, "Sit." Then he opened the drawer and took out two cotton balls, placing them on the table, looking at He Song, the meaning was self-evident.

  He Sheng hesitated and stepped forward, pulled over a cotton ball and asked: "Can't we go home and pinch it again?"

  "No way." Liao stood up and took out a few disposable cups from the counter to pour them water, "I don't have tea leaves here, so I can only offer you plain boiled water."

  "It's nothing." Gu Wei took it from his hand.

  Liao Shi placed two more cups in front of Yuan Zhi and He Shou Si, and when he looked up, his eyes inadvertently met with Yuan Zhi's. The other party's probing gaze with a hint of malice made him narrow his eyes slightly, and then he turned around and walked back behind the office desk.

  He Sheng pinched up after saying those two words, his expression a bit gloomy. He Shou Si was the least able to keep his mouth shut, and his curiosity was especially heavy.

  "Is it Dr. Liao?" After nodding when he saw Liao, he pointed to He Sheng's left hand, "What's this?"

  "Exercise."

  He Shou Si smiled and said, "What's the point of exercising your arm if you have nothing better to do?"

  Liao Shi looked at He Song, who was hanging his head, and said after a few seconds of contemplation: "He Song's car accident injured his left hand, so he needs to exercise to prevent muscle atrophy in his arm."

  Several people were momentarily stunned, and He Shouci was dazed, "Still... still not good?"

  Yuan Zhi stared at He Sheng's back, and suddenly got up and walked to her side. His face was pale as if he had just recovered from a serious illness. His fingertips trembled slightly as he pinched her left shoulder, his voice floating vaguely: "He Sheng, you tell me yourself, what's wrong with your hand?"

  Liao Shi furrowed his brow, while He Sheng's eyes darted back and forth, licking his dry lips without making a sound.

  "What's wrong with your hand?" He stared at the back of He Song's head, "Speak!" After a pause, his voice was even lower and slightly trembling, "Is it crippled?"

  After a while, He Sheng licked his dry lips and looked up at him, comforting him: "Actually, it's fine, nothing happened."

  Yuan Zhi picked up a thick and somewhat worn-out dictionary from the table and threw it in front of her, "Try holding it with one hand."

  He Sheng stopped his action of kneading the cotton ball, pursed his lips and blinked rapidly with his eyes, while others kept silent with a serious expression.

  "Take it, why aren't you taking it?" Yuan Zhi said with a somewhat unstable tone.

  He Sheng quickly glanced at him with a pleading and wronged look in his eyes.

  "Are you done yet? Why do you still want to deceive me?" He raised his hand and patted his chest heavily, "Do you know how sad I am? What makes me sad is not that your hand is crippled, but why don't you trust me?"

  Why go so far as to deceive him? Yuan Zhi expressionlessly retreated a step, sat back in the chair, and propped his forehead with his hand, not looking up again.

  He Shouzi patted his shoulder, stiffly pulled the corner of his mouth, and said in a pale tone: "Don't be sad, now that medicine is so advanced, there must be a way."

  But it's been three years and still hasn't healed; everyone knows the opportunity is slim.

  He Shuang lowered her head, holding a cotton ball motionless in her hand, looking like a child who had made a big mistake and didn't dare to speak. Her wronged expression was so pitiful that Liao Shi couldn't help but feel some heartache. He had never seen her look this way before, even at her lowest point she only looked despairingly gloomy. This time he couldn't help but feel some sympathy for her. He lightly exhaled and gently lifted her sleeve to massage it.

  He Sheng was stunned for a moment before he came back to his senses and cast his gaze on him, Liao Shi said in a low voice: "Didn't you notice that it's swollen?"

  She looked at her arm again, and the joints were indeed slightly swollen. She remembered the long run in the afternoon, which had hurt a bit at the time. Liao Shi had repeatedly warned her not to engage in intense exercise. She said softly: "I... I didn't do it on purpose."

  "This is an exception."

  "Good."

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