Chapter 17

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The mission was completed smoothly by half-past six in the evening. 

The hardest part of this experiment was the PCR method. Without the PCR, the process would be much easier than extracting DNA. 

After submitting the mission, Zhou Wen did not open up the loot box but stood aside and recalled the entire experiment’s procedures with close attention. He thought about the parts that he did not do well enough. 

About ten minutes later, he left the laboratory and headed to the cafeteria. 

Zhou Wen ordered a portion of boiled salted duck, stir-fried cabbage with beef, and a bowl of potato broth as a reward to himself. It was a scrumptious meal and his mouth was covered in oil from the food. 

Just as he was chowing down the food, the phone in his pocket rang. He took it out to see that it was from the lady-like woman, Wu Yan. 

“Mmm mmm… Hello, Senior Wu. Have you taken your dinner?” Zhou Wen spoke courteously through his puffed up cheeks. 

From the other end of the phone, Wu Yan chuckled and said, “I haven’t! Why? Are you going to buy me dinner?

“Sure. Come to the campus’ cafeteria. I’ll buy you dinner.”

“Sh*t… Here I am purposely giving you a call to give you secret information and you’re just going to entertain me with a simple meal from the cafeteria?”

“Heh-heh… I’m sorry. I’m so poor that I can only afford to buy you a meal from here.”

“For the sake of you being in such a piteous state, I’ll just leave the matter be today. We shall discuss further when you get your paycheck next time…”

Zhou Wen said in a surprised tone upon hearing that, “So you’re saying that your leader has agreed to my term?”

Wu Yan chuckled and replied, “Not yet. The leader thinks that you’re not being humble enough. He’s going to stretch you out for two days. I’m taking the risk of offending the leader to send you this secret information as your senior. Tell me, how are you going to show your appreciation to me?”

Wu Yan’s statement was only half true. She thought back about the day in detail in the afternoon and realized that her junior, Zhou Wen, was way too calm and composed. He was so confident and acted as if nobody else was worthy except him. 

However, as Zhang Shuguang pointed out, Zhou Wen was just an undergraduate student. Moreover, he was a biology student and had never published an article on any major journals before. He had no family background or ties to the institution, either. So what made him deserve to be so arrogant?

It was precisely due to this reason that Wu Yan decided to call Zhou Wen. 

Anyhow, if everything went according to plan, Zhou Wen would certainly become her colleague, so it was not a bad thing for them to be acquainted ahead. 

Zhou Wen had no idea about Wu Yan’s thoughts. He laughed innocently and said, “Thank you so much. When I get my paycheck, I will surely treat you to a scrumptious feast.”

“I shall wait for that then.”

They chatted for a while more before Zhou Wen hung up the phone. 

He was already in a good mood but was in an even better mood now. 

He bought two cans of beer out of excitement. 

Zhou Wen was still feeling very restless in the depth of his heart after finishing the beer. He needed to share his feelings with someone else. 

There was a saying of ‘not returning to your hometown after making good is as useless as strolling at night wearing a fine, silken robe’. At this exact moment, there was no doubt that his parents were the best candidates for him to speak his mind. 

Moreover, he was too embarrassed to call his family before this due to his lack of progress in his career. Hence, this would be a good reason to call. 

Zhou Wen lit a cigarette outside the lobby of his dormitory. Then, he dialed his mother’s phone number. 

“Hello, mom…”

“Hey, is this Little Wen?”

“Hmm, it’s me. Mom, what are you doing?”

“I’m working. The machine is buzzing so loudly that I can’t hear you well. Is there any reason why you’re calling me? Is it because you’re running out of money?”

“No…” Zhou Wen felt sad upon hearing his mother’s rather lethargic voice. “Mom, tell you something. I found a job…”

Zhou Wen and his mother chatted for half an hour. He felt as if he could still hear his mother’s joyous laughter when he hung up the call. 

He smiled so wide that the corners of his lips were almost touching his earlobes. The gloomy feeling that felt like a knot in his stomach had disappeared. Meanwhile, he returned to the dormitory room and found that Deer Maiden was the only person left, which was not a surprise.

Zhang Wei was busy working part-time jobs everywhere in addition to looking for a proper job. Liu Yukun was busy with his graduation project in addition to dating women. Ever since he lost his job some time ago, Chen Ziyuan had already turned into a complete slob. He spent every day playing games in the internet cafe akin to an internet-addicted youth.

Deer Maiden laid on the bed with a hand against his forehead. He said in a carefree manner as he said, “Someone delivered a letter to you earlier.”

Zhou Wen, who was packing up his toiletries in preparation to take a shower downstairs, asked out of curiosity, “Letter? What kind of letter? Where is it?”

“Here!” Deer Maiden stretched out his hand to feel under his pillow and pulled out a white envelope. Then, he held it up between his two fingers and swayed it around. “Someone is still sending love letters in an envelope. This woman is truly sentimental, huh…”

“How do you know that it’s from a woman?” As Zhou Wen was speaking, he placed down the plastic wash basin in his hand and walked over to take the envelope from Deer Maiden. 

“I know, of course. Smell the envelope. It’s the perfume scent from the Eau des Merveilles Bleue Eau collection that just came out at the beginning of this year. Generally, only women like this scent.”

Zhou Wen raised the envelope and took a sniff with the tip of his nose upon hearing Deer Maiden’s explanation. 

A gush of cold, light scent filled his nasal passage at once. It made him think of the woman wearing a white dress under the moonlit night sky. She raised her head and looked up to the blue full moon in the sky in quite an exquisite yet natural manner. 

Zhou Wen tore open the envelope and took out a piece of folded paper. A few words were written on the paper. It said ‘Seven o’clock tomorrow morning, see you at the field. Yours truly, Your creditor.’

Deer Maiden said curiously with an outstretched neck to read the letter, “Who is that?”

Zhou Wen read the words on the paper and he could roughly figure out who it was. “The person was seeking to collect a debt.”

Upon saying that, he folded the envelope and tucked it underneath his pillow. Then, he went to take a shower with the plastic basin in his hand. 

…

The next morning, Zhou Wen arrived at the field by 6:30. 

He jogged for half an hour accompanied by the rising sun. At seven, he saw a girl dressed in black sports attire with a tall figure and long legs in the distance. She was standing next to the railing outside the field. 

Zhou Wen squinted his eyes. The scene before his eyes zoomed closer immediately as if a super telescope was installed on his eyes. He looked closer and found that it was precisely Xu Shuangyu, the woman whom he bumped into half a month ago. 

Under the morning sun, her face was still slightly chubby from the baby fat that seemed to be tainted with a layer of red glow. She appeared especially delicate and charming. 

“Hey… Hello, hello to you.” Zhou Wen jogged over to Xu Shuangyu’s side and panted while greeting her. “How’s your leg?”

Xu Shuangyu was still feeling rather shy at first. Yet, rage filled her chest at once as soon as Zhou Wen mentioned her leg. 

“What do you think?” said Xu Shuangyu with cheeks puffed up from anger. 

Zhou Wen had no idea what triggered Xu Shuangyu’s anger. In reality, he found it rather strange. He had just bumped into her once and yet she still came looking for him after half a month. Could it be that she got pregnant from the bump?

“What’s going on, is your leg still in pain?” While he was speaking, Xu Shuangyu looked toward her leg. 

Xu Shuangyu said in a rage with clenched fists, “How dare you! Do you know how my life has been for the past half a month? I can only stay in the dormitory all day every day. I can’t go anywhere, basically. I have to beg for my roommate to bring me three meals a day. I could not attend many of my classes. I could not even go back to my home to prevent my mom from being worried about my situation. Moreover, you’re obviously a student from the biology program, yet you lied to me that you’re a medical student. Tell me, how should you be punished?”

Upon hearing Xu Shuangyu’s allegation, Zhou Wen finally realized the reason behind her anger. “Alright, it’s truly my fault. I shall apologize to you.”

Xu Shuang grunted once. “I don’t accept your verbal apology.”

Zhou Wen continued, “What do you want from me then? I don’t have much money, so I can’t financially compensate you. How about this… Let me buy you a meal.”

Xu Shuangyu looked at him and said, “You don’t have money, yet you still want to buy me a meal?”

Zhou Wen chuckled and said, “I can’t afford to take you to a luxurious restaurant, but it’s still fine for me to take you to a small eatery. What do you think about this proposal? I just found a job, and I’m planning to treat my roommates and seniors from the same school to dinner tonight. Would you like to join us?”

“Is there anyone who buys someone a meal in this manner? You make me look like I’m begging for a meal.” Xu Shuangyu rolled her eyes and then she turned around and said, “I shall consider it.”

Upon saying that, she asked for Zhou Wen’s Wechat number and then walked away with her hands clasped behind her back. 

Zhou Wen cracked into a smile. The girl did not have a huge chest but certainly had a huge temper. 

…

At nine in the morning, Zhou Wen arrived at the First People’s Hospital in Jiangzhou District. 

Wu Yan told him yesterday night that the leader was still considering his proposed term. As a result, she called him again at eight in the morning and told him that the leader agreed for him to come in for an interview today after communicating with her. 

Zhou Wen felt mixed emotions swarm over his heart as he stood at the door of the solemn outpatient department. 

Frankly, he had never even dreamt that he would stand a chance to work in the First People’s Hospital in the Jiangzhou District immediately after graduating from university. Destiny was simply too marvellous. 

He thought about it for a while. Then, he casually asked a patient’s caregiver that passed by him, “May I know where the laboratory department is?”

“The laboratory department building is at the back.”

“Thanks…” Zhou Wen expressed his gratitude. Then, he was about to head over there when his senior, Wu Yan had, had already come to him. 

“I waited for you for a long time. Follow me.” Wu Yan led Zhou Wen to the laboratory department. 

As compared to the steady stream of people entering the outpatient department building at the front and also the bustling, noisy inpatient department building, the laboratory department appeared to be cold and desolate. When seen through the glass wall, the lobby on the first floor was all empty. Not a soul could be seen. 

“Tap tap tap…”

The crisp sound of footsteps echoed in the eaves of the veranda. 

In the sterilization chamber located at the entrance of the lobby, they changed into their lab coats and went through the sterilization process before they got into the elevator to ascend to the sixth floor. 

It was no longer walls that came into view when the elevator door opened, and it was not an administrative office either, but a long passage. The two sides of the passage were lined with rooms separated by glass. There were seven to eight laboratory technicians busy with tasks with lowered heads in each of the rooms. 

The rough estimation was no less than 100 people. 

Zhou Wen was shocked by the scene before his eyes. He knew very well that these were the unsung heroes of the hospital. They were not as glorious as doctors, and they did not receive the same respect of the people, but they were still protecting the safety and lives of countless people from behind the scenes.