CH 48.1

Jiang Xu came out of the bathroom after showering and saw Tang Ke leaning against the balcony with his elbows in his hands, looking very guilty. He walked around Tang Ke and threw the clothes into the washing machine, only to hear him say quietly, “Shen Fangyu keeps calling me.

Jiang Xu’s hand pressing the power button paused, and after a long moment, he covered the top lid of the washing machine, finished adjusting the water level and mode, and pressed start. The sound of water soon came from inside, and he turned to Tang Ke, saying, “He thinks I’m going to get rid of the baby to hug the hospital president’s thigh.”

He sat down on the sofa and took a sip of hot water, “In all these years, even when I doubted his medical skills, I never doubted his character,” his voice was soft as he lowered his eyes, “but he actually thought that about me.”

Tang Ke sat next to him and patted Jiang Xu’s shoulder, saying, “Perhaps you misunderstood.”

“Are you speaking for him now?” Jiang Xu asked.

“No, I just think it’s a bit strange.” Tang Ke looked a bit hesitant. “The Jiang Xu I know wouldn’t get so angry that he would leave home in the middle of the night just because a colleague he hadn’t dealt with for over ten years said such a thing.”

He paused and asked tentatively, “Are you really just angry at this one remark?”

Seeing that Jiang Xu didn’t answer, he continued, “Or… are you looking for an excuse for something else?”

“You’re thinking too much.” Jiang Xu interrupted him.

Tang Ke paused at his words but didn’t say anything else.

After a moment of silence, Jiang Xu placed the cup on the coffee table and said, “I’m going to bed; I have surgery tomorrow.”

The door was closed, and the surface of the water in the cup shook and rippled. The gentle ripples gradually spread out and disappeared.

Tang Ke glanced at his back with a complicated expression.

There was nothing wrong with friends saying angry things to each other, and it was understandable for rivals to speak in anger.

But there was one exception.

–If the person who spoke was someone one cared about, the hurtful words might become unforgivable.

Tang didn’t dare guess further, he thought he might be a little too sensitive. Jiang Xu himself probably hadn’t even thought about it, he was a bit of a worrywart, a bit of an overthinker.

After adjusting his mood, he dialed Shen Fangyu’s number again. The latter must have been waiting, and almost as soon as he dialed, the other side picked up.

“Can I come over?”

Tang Ke walked to the balcony, closed the glass door, and lowered his voice. “Have you thought of what you’ll say?”

Shen Fangyu didn’t have an answer.

“You haven’t even thought about what to say when you come over,” Tang Ke said, “He’s asleep, pregnant people shouldn’t stay up all night, hospital night shifts are unavoidable, let him rest today.”

“…Okay.”

Hearing the disappointed tone on the other end of the phone, Tang Ke reached out and touched the curtain, sighed, and said, “Shen Fangyu, I’ve never liked you because you and Jiang Xu didn’t get along, but I’m going to say a few words because of Jiang Xu.”

“A year or two ago, one of the students under Jiang Xu told him that he wanted to enter a private hospital. You know Jiang Xu, he is very strict with his students but will help as much as he can. At that time, he was so busy, but he took time to treat me to a meal with that student, and asked him to learn from me.”

“During the meal, that student probably wanted to flatter him, so he deliberately said that your skills aren’t that good. That you can only stand on equal footing with him purely because you flatter the teacher, flatter the leader, and even give them gifts.”

“At that time, Jiang Xu’s face went cold, and he criticized that student mercilessly, saying that sowing discord was a sign of a bad heart. That student started sweating, I guess he didn’t expect Jiang Xu to speak out for you when your relationship was so bad.”

“Do you know what Jiang Xu said about you?” Tang Ke said, “He said you weren’t that kind of person, and that you got to where you are today with your strength.”

“Jiang Xu’s not as discerning as you are, so he sees people sincerely and straightforwardly. You’re tactful and sophisticated, and you put on a filter that makes you think you can see through everything. He hates you, but even when he hated you that much, he was clear about public and private matters and never doubted your character.”

Shen Fangyu was silent on the other end for a long time before he said, “I’m not doubting his character.”

He looked at the cold moon outside the window and lay on the bed on the floor, which was noticeably softer after Jiang Xu had given him an extra mattress, but the bed next to it was empty.

Shen Fangyu knew he shouldn’t have said what he did, and spoken out of turn.

It was just too sudden.

If he had been given a break, he could have pushed his selfishness down, spoken kindly, and even been more open about whatever decision he was making, including getting rid of the baby.

If he had been given more time, he could even have calmly accepted going back to their previous relationship where they were rivals and not two fathers living together for the sake of their baby.

He knew it was right to get rid of the baby, that they should never have had this relationship in the first place, and that it was the best thing for Jiang Xu.

But it was too sudden, and Shen Fangyu didn’t have time to hide his selfishness or think rationally.

Now, Jiang Xu could get rid of the child and himself at any time.

If it had been a few months ago, when Jiang Xu had just found out he was pregnant, this might have been a happy outcome for everyone, but now, Shen Fangyu couldn’t feel happy at all.

It was almost painful to realize that he didn’t want Jiang Xu to leave him, get married, and start a family.

What he wanted was not only for the child to stay but also for Jiang Xu to stay.

Just like the previous ten years or so, they were each other’s only rivals, and no one else could interfere, nor could any other person influence their competition.

Although he did not understand why he was so possessive of Jiang Xu.

Shen Fangyu knew Jiang Xu never had intentions of initiating a relationship with the president, but his possessiveness and insecurity made him speak out of turn, and although such speculation was difficult to hear, it was the best way to test the waters; otherwise, he would have asked Jiang Xu: “Do you want to get rid of me?”

He just didn’t expect Jiang Xu to get so angry.

“Tell him I was wrong and I’m sorry,” Shen Fangyu exhaled slowly, “I shouldn’t have said those things, and I shouldn’t have been drinking.”

He had gotten drunk before, and they conceived this child, which made Jiang Xu angry, and once again, he had gotten drunk and said things he didn’t want to say, which also angered Jiang Xu.

“Let him not take it personally,” Shen Fangyu looked at the pink rabbit on Jiang Xu’s bed and closed his eyes, saying, “Okay?”

———————

Jiang Xu listened as Tang Ke relayed Shen Fangyu’s apology in the morning and couldn’t help but twitch the corners of his mouth. “Next time you can just record it, you don’t have to repeat it vocally.”

“I thought it was novel,” Tang Ke said. “That’s Shen Fangyu! In all the years I’ve known him, I’ve never heard him speak in such a low voice.” As he said this, he regretted, “I should have recorded it and played it in the class group, it would have been a shock.”

Tang Ke couldn’t help but ask, “Jiang Xu, what kind of ecstasy did you pour him?”

Jiang Xu lifted his eyes, not knowing how to answer Tang Ke. He was also surprised that Shen Fangyu would say so many apologies. He was relieved that Tang Ke had only made a casual comment and didn’t want to hear the reason why.

When he sat down, he realized that this wasn’t his table, it was empty, and there was no breakfast that Shen Fangyu had bought.

He had bad eating habits. In the past, he’d always skip breakfast, and it was only after Shen Fangyu moved in with him that he was forced to eat breakfast every day.

It was only after Shen Fangyu moved in with him that he was forced to eat breakfast every day. It was strange to say that it had only been a few days, but Jiang Xu had developed a new habit.

After a long moment of hesitation, he asked Tang Ke, “What do you usually eat in the morning?”

“I go to the hospital canteen,” Tang Ke was oblivious to his thoughts, “Let me tell you, the food at our hospital canteen is delicious, much better than A Medical University.”

Jiang Xu: “……”

He picked up his briefcase and chose to return to his old life.

He was so angry last night, and his emotions were so up and down, that he took a taxi for fear of having an accident while driving. Jiang Xu deliberated for a moment between the two options of taking a taxi home to pick up his car and taking a taxi directly to the hospital and decisively chose to take a taxi to the hospital.

Because of Shen Fangyu, he didn’t even want to see his community for the time being.

Tang Ke’s house was a little far from Jihua, and when Jiang Xu entered the office, many of his colleagues were already there, making coffee and eating breakfast. The atmosphere in office number two was very lively; they were discussing yesterday’s shocking article.

“Brother Xu,” Yu Sang greeted him when he saw him coming, “did you read the article yesterday?”

Jiang Xu glanced at Shen Fangyu’s seat. The two of them were sitting on opposite corners of the office at the farthest distance, and from his angle, he could only see Shen Fangyu’s back. The other party didn’t even turn around when he heard Yu Sang call him.

“I did.” Jiang Xu finished and went to his seat. He put down his briefcase, only to find soy milk and steamed buns on his desk.

He immediately recognized the packets as those used by the breakfast shop below his house.

“We’ve all been talking about this today,” Yu Sang was still rambling in his ear, “I didn’t know it until I checked, but I was shocked when I did. I didn’t think some men could get pregnant. I could only find a few cases, and they were all abroad, the previous operations had all failed, except for that article yesterday, which was successful.”

He said, “Why do you think we haven’t come across such cases? Does it have something to do with racial genetics?”

Jiang Xu gave Yu Sang a silent look.

It probably had nothing to do with racial genetics; there were also such cases in China, and one was right in front of him.

He ignored Yu Sang’s words and asked, “Have you had breakfast yet?”

“No, breakfast in the canteen is awful, I’ll just have some coffee.” As expected of a student who had been with him for the longest time, Yu Sang had picked up Jiang Xu’s bad habits to a tee.

Jiang Xu put the soy milk and steamed buns on Yu Sang’s table and said, “Eat.”

“Wow!” Yu Sang said, “You’re too kind, Brother Jiang.” He didn’t think twice about it and took two big sips of the soy milk, saying, “What a day, you actually brought me breakfast.”

Jiang Xu didn’t have time to make a sound when there was a sudden knock on the office door. The doctors who were making jokes put down the things in their hands and looked over to see that the visitor was Director Cui.

“Good morning, Director.”

The crowd greeted one after another.

Director Cui responded with a smile, “I just heard you all discussing that article from yesterday at the door, it’s good that you’re motivated to learn!”

As one of the top hospitals in the country, the department would organize discussions on the latest scientific research, and peers would exchange ideas with each other when they had time before group meetings. So for such a new case, everyone’s interest was naturally high.

“Jiang Xu, Shen Fangyu.” Director Cui called out the names.

Both of them spoke at the same time, “Yes.”

Jiang Xu pursed his lips when he suddenly heard Shen Fangyu’s voice overlap with his.

“What’s the matter, Teacher Cui?” Shen Fangyu asked.

“Have you two read Dr Kenn’s article, and watched the surgery video?”

Shen Fangyu: “I did.”

This time, in order not to collide with Shen Fangyu’s voice, Jiang Xu deliberately paused for a second before answering, “Yes.”

“Good,” Director Cui nodded in satisfaction, “take the time to prepare, the whole department will hold a meeting tomorrow at 4 o’clock to study this case. You two will give a presentation one at a time.”

She finished her task and left in a hurry, and the quiet office resumed its bustle, with Zhong Lan lamenting to one side, “It’s thanks to you two that you have to do a presentation in such a short time.” She said, “It was eight or nine o’clock when that article came out last night, and you two still watched the operation for over four hours?”

Not bad for the kings of Jihua Hospital.

“I just happened to see it.” Jiang Xu said.

Shen Fangyu gave him a look, not saying that he(Shen Fangyu) had actually seen it more than once last night.

Wu Rui smiled and took a sip of his wolfberry tea, saying, “It’s just a piece of cake for them.”