170 Hug

Zheng Ren hurried upstairs and saw Xie Yiren in the master bedroom on the second floor, sitting on the ground and holding her head in confusion.

The loud thump had startled Chu Yanzhi, but after noticing that Xie Yiren was alright, she immediately burst into laughter.

"It's true!" said Chu Yanzhi.

"Huh?"

Zheng Ren and Xie Yiren were puzzled.

"There was once a joke about a medical practitioner who had become comatose for a long time, and when there was a resuscitation going on, the staff shouted "prepare for resuscitation" and they immediately opened their eyes," said Chu Yanzhi while laughing out loud.

Zheng Ren had heard of that story, but did not find it funny at all.

His heart rate had gone up to 100 beats per minute when Chu Yanzhi shouted about an emergency surgery.

Even though he knew it was just a joke, his knee-jerk response to emergency resuscitation and surgery had been deeply rooted in his soul.

Vocational habits were considered a type of disease that had to be treated as well.

"Huh? Chief Zheng, why are you here?" Xie Yiren asked, still slightly disoriented and massaging her head after waking up and seeing Zheng Ren running up the stairs.

"I… I'm here to check on you," replied Zheng Ren.

"How is Little Hua?" Xie Yiren's worry for her best friend soon brushed the remainders of her fatigue away as she sat on the floor.

As if reporting a case to Old Chief Physician Pan, Zheng Ren seriously explained everything about Miao Xiaohua's condition in the ICU to her treatment plan to Xie Yiren.

Chu Yanzhi laughed like a blooming flower.

Xie Yiren sighed in relief after knowing that Miao Xiaohua would most likely be safe. She climbed up from the floor onto the bed, hugged a pillow with a cartoon print on it and asked for the details again.

"Hey, you haven't eaten for a day. What do you want for dinner?" Chu Yanzhi asked, interrupting the 'case discussion'.

"I…" Xie Yiren seemed afraid and, after some hesitation, asked, "Nothing will happen, right?"

"What could happen?" Chu Yanzhi was bewildered.

"Just like Little Hua…" Xie Yiren was obviously traumatized.

Zheng Ren smiled bitterly and explained the situation to Xie Yiren.

Once a foodie who loved to enjoy life and delicious food was mentally traumatized, it would impact her future significantly and negatively.

Xie Yiren was aware of the truth, but words coming from others' mouths were usually more convincing.

Especially Zheng Ren, who was an omnipotent man in Xie Yiren's heart. After listening to his explanation, she instantly felt much better.

Of course, his omnipotence was limited only to the medical field.

His incisive mind and calm demeanor, especially in the operating theater, was reassuring.

"Xiao Jun Gan Hotpot has just recently opened, why don't we give it a try?" Chu Yanzhi suggested.

Xie Yiren, whose mind was a blur, agreed to Chu Yanzhi's proposal. As long as Xie Yiren was happy, Zheng Ren had no objection as well since he was uninterested in food.

Chu Yanzhi planted herself in the driver's seat of Xie Yiren's red Volvo XC60 without letting her take the wheel.

"Ha!" shouted Chu Yanzhi childishly, diluting Xie Yiren's dejection with her cheerful mood.

A good car engine had a greater backward force. Zheng Ren clung onto the grab handle as the vehicle accelerated and thought, 'Chu Yanzhi's driving technique is scary!'

Zheng Ren wanted her to slow down, but fought the urge to do so after noticing her great pleasure.

They were not in an operating theater, so the probability of Chu Yanzhi listening to his advice was less than ten percent. More importantly, his words would most likely fuel her rebellious attitude, and she would probably slam on the accelerator even further.

However, he had failed to anticipate that Chu Yanzhi was actually an experienced driver.

Despite her fast acceleration, the car did not exceed the speed limit, and there was no emergency braking along the way. Around ten minutes later, they arrived at the restaurant.

Even though it was already dinner time, there were only three to five occupied tables in the restaurant.

Xiao Jun Gan Hotpot, a popular restaurant in Sichuan, was somehow unappealing in the northeast. This had something to do with the smaller population, especially youngsters, in the south.

In addition, elderly people usually cared about health and seldom consumed such spicy food.

Zheng Ren was busy assisting Chu Yanzhi with orders. Seeing the mountain of food skewers on the table, he was caught in a trance. Could the three of them finish all these?

A hint of sadness still tinged Xie Yiren's expression. Even delicious food could not overcome her dejection.

Even so, indulging in food could still alleviate it to some extent.

The atmosphere gradually became more lively following the conversion of the food mountain into a stack of bamboo skewer sticks.

Chu Yanzhi regaled Zheng Ren and Xie Yiren about the drinking competition where the contestants—Chang Yue and Su Yun—had drunk eleven boxes of Snow respectively.

Zheng Ren had once imagined the situation, but after Chu Yanzhi shed more light on the incident, described onlookers' surprise and told them the owner of the crayfish restaurant had even given them a VIP card, something money could not buy, he finally realized that that night had become legend.

However, Zheng Ren did not envy becoming a legend through binge-drinking.

He had been worrying about his phone ringing throughout dinner, but fortunately, it seemed exceptionally peaceful tonight as Yang Lei did not call him to return for emergency surgery.

It was almost nine o'clock when the women finally had their fill. In the presence of delicious food and Zheng Ren's constant, professional consolation, Xie Yiren's mood was obviously improved.

The cold breeze and snow mercilessly slammed into his face as soon as he stepped out of the restaurant.

It was painful.

Zheng Ren subconsciously wrapped his clothes more tightly around himself to keep warm.

"Huh? Chief Zheng, why are you still wearing a thin coat?" Chu Yanzhi was surprised.

"I haven't returned home ever since I've been promoted to chief resident, so I don't have a change of clothes yet. Besides, there isn't enough time for me to return home since I only have a few hours," said Zheng Ren.

"Tut-tut, you live a tough life. There isn't anything else that piques your interest apart from surgery, is there?"

"Who said so? I read novels in my free time, too." Zheng Ren tried to defend himself, but his words were so unconvincing that they seemed to blow away with the cold wind.

"Don't tell me you're going to wear this type of outfit when you visit Imperial Capital in a few days. Let me tell you this: you don't need a suit with leather shoes, but you have to be nicely dressed as a sign of respect to the professors," Chu Yanzhi nagged as she started the car.

'Looks like I've to buy a new set of clothes in my free time,' Zheng Ren thought.

Before the women returned home, they first dropped Zheng Ren off at Sea City General Hospital.

Zheng Ren suddenly developed a lack of motivation to work as the emergency building got closer.

Although the food just now tasted almost the same, his mood during the meal was calm and comfortable.

When the vehicle stopped at the entrance of the emergency building, Zheng Ren got out of the car and waved goodbye.

He developed an inexplicable reluctance to leave when the Volvo XC60 started up again.

The car suddenly came to a halt, and Xie Yiren in a red down jacket got down and ran toward him, giving him a big hug before he could react.

Her soft, thin hair danced with the wind and gently caressed Zheng Ren's cheek. It itched a little.

"Thank you, Chief Zheng," Xie Yiren whispered into his ear.

Hers was a soul-stirring voice.

Zheng Ren was rooted to the spot. He tried to come up with a response, but his thoughts were seemingly frozen by the cold weather as he savored the light fragrance lingering in his nostrils.

After an eternity, or perhaps only a brief moment had passed, Xie Yiren turned around and darted back to her car, waving goodbye with her arm high in the air.

Even as the Volvo XC60's beautifully curved, streamlined body slowly vanished from Zheng Ren's vision, he still stood petrified in front of the emergency building, unable to move.

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