10 Mixed Signals

The demon lord felt his breath catch as his eyes met those of the mortal who was so close that he could see the iris of his eyes.

"..."

"Excuse me, can you tell me your name?"

Mesmerized by the looks of the young doctor, the demon lord continued to gaze at him only to be brought back to the present by the voice of Ji Shizhen.

"Who are you?"

Lord Nezha broke eye contact to look around him, noticing the peculiar way everyone was looking at him after speaking to the man that was neck to neck with him.

"I'm one of the doctors working at the hospital, My name is Ji Shizhen. I'll will be looking after you while you are at the hospital."

As he spoke to the man that he was taking care of, Ji Shizhen extended his hand to shake those of the demon lord.

Lord Nezha had a baffled look in his eyes when he saw a gesture he couldn't recognize.

"Are you not going to shake my hand?"

"Shake your hand? What is that?"

The young doctor with a meaningful look in his eyes, moved from where his hand was positioned to those of the demon lord whose hand were by his side on the hospital bed.

"Don't you know it's considered rude not to return a greeting?"

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Lord Nezha tentatively reached for the hand of Ji Shizhen, unsure of what the other wanted him to do with the stretched out hand. Playing it by ear, he placed the palm of his hand against those of the young doctor.

"Anyone looking at you would think that you didn't know what I meant. Now I see you were only just shy!"

Ji Shizhen smiled broadly at the demon lord whose face became one of discomfort at being spoken to casually by someone he had no clue about.

"This is how you do it, put some strength into the handshake!"

Gripping the hand of the demon lord, Ji Shizhen pumped it with vigor much to the displeasure of Lord Nezha.

"You must have a name, isn't it? Can you tell me?"

Drawing conclusion that the man he was conversing with was a shy person, Ji Shizhen intently gazed into the dark eyes of the demon lord.

"I-I don't know...."

He spoke so softly that the young doctor had to strain his ears, but even at that he couldn't quite make out what he was saying.

"I didn't hear you clearly! Can you repeat what you said?!"

"I DON'T KNOW!"

Lord Nezha shouted right in the face of Ji Shizen, startling him and in the process he almost fell to the microorganism infested floor of the unit.

Unknown to Ji Shizhen this set into motion the essence of the demon lord which was transferred into him during their brief kiss, causing the unsuspecting human to be marked by the demon lord.

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The demon lord fell limply back on the bed, as he lost consciousness after shouting at his doctor.

"What is wrong with him? How can a man that young have so little strength?!"

"Is he seriously sick?! Does he have one of those horrible disease? I overheard they took him to radiology maybe he has a tumor!"

"What a pity if he has such a disease, when are they going to find a cure?!"

"My friend's friend from my hometown said that his teacher's son died from that disease!"

"What an unfortunate man, to face death at such a young age!"

Whether it was true or not, visitors to the unit began to gossip about the demon lord.

"Because I asked for your name, that's why you decided to pass out on me? You don't have to tell me your name until you're ready, rest for now and I'll check on you soon. I'll see what radiology has for me and possibly discharge you today."

When Ji Shizhen saw that there was nothing physically wrong with the demon lord except for mild exhaustion. He carefully arranged the body of the demon lord in bed so that he could sleep soundly while he went about to do his business.

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"Dr. Ji! I was just about to page you that the result of the CT scan is ready for you to look through!"

Ji Shizhen gave a casual wave at the departmental head who was a woman in a white shirt and navy blue shirt. She had her hair held in a ponytail and a gold hoop earrings and bright makeup.

"Thanks, Ms. Chen. I'll borrow your station for a little while to look at them."

Chen Ailing smiled softly at the young handsome doctor that had come to her department.

"It's all yours Dr. Ji. I'll be here should you need any clarification."

Ji Shizhen hardly paid any notice to what she said as he keenly looked at the images that was spread out on the screen of the computer. A mix of dark and grey showing parts of the skull, brain and facial structures.

"No abnormalities noted, he is good for discharge!"

"I thought as much, Dr. Ji that was why I didn't want to say a word without you looking at the result first."

Ji Shizhen rose up to full height from having to bend his head to look at the images on the screen.

"That's fine by me. I'll be taking my leave, Ms. Chen. Thanks for lending me your work station."

It was at that moment that Chen Ailing walked over from the wall she was leaning against to place her hot pink fingernails against the shoulder of the doctor.

"How about joining me for a cup of coffee after work?"

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Chen Ailing allowed the hand that was placed on Ji Shizhen to trail down until they met the naked skin of the back of his hand.

Ji Shizhen was struck by a revolting sensation, he could feel his skin begin to crawl, as though he wanted to throw up after being touched by a colleague.  An attractive woman for that matter!

"Dr. Ji?"

The face of the young doctor had gone pale after the contact, his dazed expression was not missed by the eagle eyed radiologist.

"Yes?...."

It took a moment for Ji Shizhen to shake off the nauseating encounter with Chen Ailing.

"Dinner, Dr. Ji? Would you mind joining me? You can bring a friend with you!"

Chen Ailing hurriedly spoke to the handsome young doctor whom she had set eyes on for quite a while.

"Ms. Chen doesn't look too bad....but why do I want to scrub my body clean?! What's with that?!"

Alarmed at the feeling of disgust by a beautiful woman. Ji Shizhen wanted to smoothly turn down the invite of Chen Ailing without making the other feel offended.

"I'll love us to have dinner together, but I don't want my girlfriend having a wrong idea about us."

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Ji Shizhen fled from the radiology department, leaving a stunned Chen Ailing behind.

When he had put enough distance between himself and his supposed admirer, Ji Shizhen pulled out his pager to keep his superior informed on the latest development with his new charge. Within seconds, the pager was answered by Wu Jiaxuan.

"Dr. Wu, this is Ji Shizhen radioing to let you know that I'll be doing an early discharge of the patient that I'm monitoring! His CT result came out clear and he is free to leave."

"That's good, Dr. Ji...but are you going to hand him over to the hospital security or the police to find his identity."

Wu Jiaxuan was the doctor that mentored Ji Shizhen during his residency days as a graduate doctor. The two formed a close knitted relationship even after he became a permanent staff at the hospital. To Ji Shizhen, the present head doctor of the emergency was a colleague he deeply respected and sought advice on medical related issues.

"I'll take him to the police, whatever happens after I'll let you know."

"That's not how it's done! That's why we have hospital security! Let them handle this! Don't try to meddle into things that you're not sure of! He could be a hooligan or cutthroat! What if he robs you at knife point?! I've heard of people been victims while trying to be good samaritans!"

Wu Jiaxuan pleaded passionately with his mentee to take his hands off what was considered a risky situation.

"I have everything under control, Prof. Wu and I promise to keep you posted. Enjoy your evening Sir."

Ji Shizhen politely ended page, he refused to adhere to the warning of the other doctor.