23 – Exam

From Li Yun's phone, an unread message from Qinbei Hospital appeared in bold letter, 'Residency Program Results.' He clicked on the email as his heartbeat raced in anticipation. He could pretend to be confident during the interviews and convince himself that it would work out in the end, but a tiny bit of doubt and fear could snowball into monstrous tangle of nerve. It was how all graduates felt as they searched for a job, whether they were first in class or last in class.

He breathed out a sigh of relief when the word congratulation appeared and he was accepted into the residency program. Now, the only thing left was to finish the rest of his internship.

Doctor Ping’s scandal and subsequent arrest had faded into everyone's memories as the hospital returned to the usual cycle. Aside from the mudslide in a local village, nothing eventful happened during the remaining weeks.

Many interns neglect the last few weeks because they had already secured a residency. Likewise, Li Yun focused on Zuowang and studying for his medical license exam. The exam had two parts, clinical skill and a general written test. His clinical skill test was scheduled for a week after his internship ended and the general written test was scheduled later in the fall.

The clinical portion wasn’t difficult as long as the procedures were performed as described in the book, but he skipped his graduation to focus on studying. After a few weeks of studying and restless nights, he passed the exam with relative ease.

Laying in bed, Li Yun opened his eyes and looked at the sun entering the unfamiliar hotel room. He got dressed, and hugged Wen Nali sitting in front of the dresser.

“Morning. Want me to drop you off later?” Li Yun asked.

Wen Nali softened her lipstick and shook her head. “Beibei is going to pick me up.”

“All right, have fun.”

Wen Nali looked at her boyfriend in the mirror. Out of all her relationships so far, her relationship with Li Yun was probably the most comfortable. There were rarely any arguments between them. Even though he was busy most of the time, he would make an effort to see her whenever she felt lonely. He was neither demanding nor clingy, and knew how to create a good atmosphere.

“Are you going to work nearby?” asked Wen Nali.

“The Qinbei Hospital is an hour away.”

Wen Nali nodded, but her mind was occupied by something else.

“Nali, don’t be too nervous,” Li Yun handed her a good luck charm.

Wen Nali looked at the charm and smiled. “I saw your friends with the charms, and I was a bit jealous.”

Li Yun laughed.

“You have probably already guessed why I’m heading to York City.”

Wen Nali thought that Li Yun could be considered a good boyfriend, but there were times when his ability to read her mind frightened her. After Wen Nali left, Li Yun took a cab back to the apartment.

Upon returning, his family treated him with homemade soup, and they played several rounds of mahjong. His mother swore that she had improved, but after the first few rounds, Li Yun really wondered if the other family members had been going easy on her.

“Are you sure you’re not cheating?” asked Lu Suyin.

“Really ma, you really think your son is the type to cheat?”

Lu Suyin nodded.

Li Yun wasn’t particularly good at mahjong, but he played enough with every family member to know their strategies and discard habits. His mother was a particularly rash and poor player.

“Mom, maybe try to use your head when playing,” Li Yun jabbed as he stole her game tile.

Lu Suyin readied her foot to kick his shin, but he outmaneuvered her.

“Ho, ho, Little Yun, I heard you have a girlfriend!” Aunt Xu remarked loudly.

Li Yun turned to look at his Aunt Xu, and wondered who had been gossiping behind his back. He cursed Wu Bin under his breath, whatever happened to client’s privileges?

“What, keeping your girlfriend a secret?” asked Uncle Sho.

Uncle Sho lived in the apartment unit near the ground floor, so everyone knew him before he married Aunt Xu. Back in high school, Li Yun remembered him as a pale and wrinkly man who looked older than his actual age. His sadness and grief lines were the most prominent features on his face.

In recent years, those lines were starting to fade. It could be attributed to his marriage with Aunt Xu. When Aunt Xu and Uncle Sho married, everyone was a bit surprised. They were both loud and boisterous people, so everyone thought it would be difficult for them to connect.

“I’ll introduce you some other time, Nali went back to visit her parents,” Li Yun replied.

“Why are you introducing her to them and not your own parents?” Lu Suyin scowled.

Li Yun rolled his eyes. If he introduced anyone to anyone in the apartment complex, it was the same as introducing them to everyone. There was no such thing as secrets in an apartment complex full of gossipers.

Lu Suyin turned to her husband. “Honey, isn’t there something you need to do?”

Li Fan looked a bit confused on the sofa, but then put down the paper he was reading. As his father walked into the game room, formerly Li Yun’s room, both grandpa Lu Yan and grandma Lu Nai stopped watching the news.

“Little Yun,” Li Fan returned with a small present and handed it to Li Yun. “Congratulations on graduating and getting a new job.”

Li Yun took the little box and opened it, inside was a car key.

“We all chipped in to buy you a new car,” said Li Fan, giving his son a hug. “It’s just a simple domestic car, but we hope it will be useful.”

“Thanks everyone,” Li Yun knew they had been saving up for quite some time to get him a car after he had gotten a driver’s license.

They walked down to the garage and showed him a simple blue compact car. Although it wasn’t expensive, it was practical. After a test ride, everyone headed back home.

For Li Yun, it was still early, so he drove downtown and stopped by an outdoor food stand. The dark street was partially lit by the street light, and only a few people were out walking about. Li Yun remembered sitting by the food stand during high school, watching people pass by to train mien shieng. Again, he was watching people as they passed by.

Before, it was difficult to guess what the other person was like. He still had problems, but he learned to trust his initial judgment than to second guess. Although people were unique, they were also creatures of habits and patterns. Once a pattern was discovered, it was easy to see what they’d done in the past and what they will do in the future.

Li Yun watched the young man approaching him. This particular young man looked average and blended in with the crowd. If Li Yun were to analyze him, he would come up with a list of things.

College student, living with a girlfriend, average grades, good friends, a kickboxer, and an accounting major. However, Li Yun knew that the young man was the son of a psychopath. Anyone who had close contact with a psychopath must have a few loose screws as well. The pattern and background did not match. This meant that the pattern was fake, and that the real pattern was hidden. This was how psychopaths could live and operate normally in society.

Ju De sat across from Li Yun and grabbed the beer in front of him. “Bro, heard you’re back, why didn’t you call everyone?”

“I went to visit Nali first. Are you working?” Li Yun greeted Ju De, tapping the bottom of the beer bottles.

“Got a job as a clerk in a small office. Going to start in a couple of days.”

“Little Nin is well?”

“She’s working as an intern in a fashion magazine. Are you here to show off your car or did something interesting happen?”

“Shut-hup.” The car wasn’t impressive, but it was practical. “Old Bu called me the other day about a case.”

“Oh?”

“Two women in the past thirty days.”

“If Old Bu called you, then he must think it’s some crazy serial killer?”

“Could be, they never revealed the details of the first case, and the second case was very similar. The women were kidnapped from their home, and found raped and murdered in the hotel room.”

“No clues on the perpetrator?”

Li Yun shook his head.

“What did the perp take?”

Li Yun frowned, he had promised Old Bu he wouldn’t reveal the information.

“I remembered seeing the news on one of the women. Was the other one also married?”

Li Yun nodded.

“If Old Bu could identify it immediately as a serial case, it must be something more shocking. A body part?”

Li Yun nodded.

“I’m going to guess the ring finger, it has a poetic nature to it.”

Li Yun snorted, only Ju De would had guessed it right, the sick bastard.