Chapter 224: 223: About Last Night, Is It Convenient to Talk?
Chapter 224: Chapter 223: About Last Night, Is It Convenient to Talk?
In the morning, Yu Zhiming was at Ning’an Hospital’s postpartum center, where he performed positional adjustments for twelve expectant mothers experiencing difficult labor.
Afterwards, accompanied by the siblings Gu Qingran and Gu Qingning, he headed to a new restaurant on the shores of Ning’an Lake for lunch.
“Dr. Yu, I need to apologize to you.”
Gu Qingran explained with a sincere expression, “It wasn’t my intention to hide Qingning’s identity.”
“It’s just that I failed to make it clear at the beginning, and the longer it went on, the more awkward it became to bring it up.”
Yu Zhiming nodded, indicating he understood.
“Dean Gu, you should hurry up and find a woman you like to marry.”
“Qingning said your big house is cold and empty, without any feel of a home. She said it’s scary to live there.”
Gu Qingran, who had just been inexplicably urged to get married, couldn’t help but shoot a sideways glance at Gu Qingning.
’My place is deserted? And scary?’
’Where did that even come from?’
He saw that rascal Gu Qingning lower her head, take two steps away from him, and scurry over to Yu Zhiming’s other side.
Gu Qingran felt an inexplicable tightness in his chest. ’It seems I’ll have to disown this sister of mine.’
He sighed inwardly and changed the subject. “Dr. Yu, my parents still think very highly of you.”
“That day, they were just extremely worried, and on top of that, there was a misunderstanding. That’s why their words were a bit harsh.”
Yu Zhiming grunted in acknowledgment. “Dean Gu, I don’t blame them at all. I can understand how your parents felt.”
Not wanting to dwell on the topic, he casually asked, “How is that guest from the other day doing?”
Gu Qingran looked ashamed. “It was our oversight. We should have updated you on the matter sooner, Dr. Yu.”
“Thanks to your decisive actions, Dr. Yu, that guest was lucky to escape with his life. After being sent to the hospital, he was treated by specialists who cleared the pulmonary embolism and also eliminated the risk from the deep vein thrombosis in his left leg.”
“However, he later developed a rather serious lung infection. After several days of treatment, he has recovered quite a bit.”
“He’s expected to be discharged in a few more days…”
As they spoke, Yu Zhiming and the Gu siblings arrived at a Northeast-style restaurant by the lake.
The restaurant’s decor had a rustic Northeast farmhouse feel, with corn cobs, green onions, and the like hanging on the walls.
Inside the simply decorated private room, the original dining table had been replaced by a large, wood-fired cauldron.
Gu Qingran ordered chicken stew with mushrooms as the main course, along with a few other house specialties like cold-cut dried venison and lion’s mane mushroom with old duck soup.
Gu Qingran explained, “I never really paid this place much mind before, but I came here to eat by chance a while ago.”
“I found it has a unique charm.”
“I hear the mushrooms they use here are all wild mushrooms picked from the mountains in the Northeast and flown in. They’re exceptionally fresh.”
As he spoke, Gu Qingran attentively poured Yu Zhiming a cup of light red tea.
“This is their schisandra tea, another Northeast specialty. They say that besides nourishing the heart and calming the mind…”
“…it’s also very good for men, you know.”
As he said this, Gu Qingran gave Yu Zhiming a meaningful wink.
Yu Zhiming just smiled, unconcerned. “A lot of health supplements nowadays focus on two main selling points: either they nourish yin and enhance beauty for women, or they strengthen the kidneys and consolidate the essence for men.”
“It’s all just a marketing gimmick, catering to what people want to hear.”
“In reality, your own body is what’s most fundamental. Those emperors from the Ming Dynasty, did they skimp on their supplements? They still had a hard time producing heirs.”
Yu Zhiming offered his humble opinion, then picked up his cup and took a sip. It was sweet and sour—not bad at all, and quite appetizing.
Just then, a waiter came in, lit the fire for the cauldron, and added a basin of chicken stew with mushrooms to the pot…
After fussing about for a bit, the waiter told them it would be another twenty minutes before the chicken and mushrooms were cooked through.
Fortunately, the other dishes Gu Qingran had ordered were brought out one by one and arranged around the cauldron stove.
They could eat while they waited…
Twenty minutes later, as the lid was lifted, a rich aroma wafted over them.
Yu Zhiming picked up a piece of chicken to try and found the flavor to be exceptionally rich, far beyond anything he could stew at home.
“The aroma is rich and the taste is authentic. It’s really quite good,” Yu Zhiming praised, his chopsticks moving like a blur…
Their lunch break was rather short. The three of them ate for less than an hour before settling the bill and leaving the private room.
Yu Zhiming felt like he had eaten a bit too much.
As he walked slowly through the main hall, he overheard a middle-aged man settling his bill at the front cashier.
“Two eighty-eight. Just give me two eighty.”
“How much? Two eighteen?”
“Two eighty-eight. I’ll take two eighty from you.”
“Two thirty-eight?”
“Sir, it’s two eighty-eight,” the cashier said, getting a little anxious and raising her voice.
“Oh, two fifty-eight…”
Gu Qingning couldn’t help but stifle a laugh. “Art really does imitate life. It turns out those comedy sketches about people mishearing things are real.”
She lowered her voice. “He’s not doing it on purpose, is he? Trying to tease the young cashier to get her attention?”
Yu Zhiming stopped and looked toward the cashier’s counter.
He saw the cashier, who was tall and long-legged with a pleasant, wholesome face, looking quite helpless as she gestured with her hands and repeated loudly once more.
“Two eighty, sir. I’ll take two hundred and eighty from you.”
Seeing this, Gu Qingning puffed out her cheeks, took a step to the side, and blocked Yu Zhiming’s view.
“Yu Zhiming, you’re going too far! Am I not as pretty as that cashier?”
“You haven’t even won me over yet, and you’re already thinking of chasing other women?”
Without a second thought, Yu Zhiming reached out and flicked Gu Qingning on the forehead.
Only after the flick did Yu Zhiming realize it was inappropriate.
Although he was somewhat familiar with this girl, he couldn’t be as casual with her as he was with Xiaoxue.
He quickly explained, “What are you imagining? I was trying to get a look at the man settling the bill.”
Gu Qingran pretended not to see the gesture from Yu Zhiming, which seemed like a punishment but was actually an act of affection.
He asked with a straight face, “Is there something wrong with that man?”
Yu Zhiming nodded and said softly, “He looks to be in his early forties, but he repeatedly misheard the numbers the cashier said.”
“If he’s not doing it on purpose, then he has some hearing loss. You could call it a hearing impairment.”
While the three of them were discussing it in low voices, the man had already paid his bill, rejoined a mother and daughter, and the family of three walked out of the restaurant together affectionately.
Gu Qingning watched the family’s retreating backs. “His wife and daughter are with him, so he’s definitely not doing it on purpose.”
“Then it’s most likely hearing loss.”
“Zhiming, should we go after him and give him a check-up?”
Yu Zhiming shook his head. “Let’s not. With such obvious hearing loss, he must have noticed it himself.”
“We shouldn’t get involved.”
“Let’s go. Back to the hospital…”
The family of three was ahead of them, strolling along the edge of Ning’an Lake and enjoying the scenery.
Yu Zhiming and the Gu siblings soon passed them, walking quickly toward Ning’an Hospital.
After a few dozen more steps, Gu Qingning suddenly stopped.
“Zhiming, our meeting them was fate. I think we should give them a reminder. What if it’s a blind spot for them and they haven’t realized it?”
Seeing the clear sincerity in Gu Qingning’s eyes, Yu Zhiming chuckled softly. “Then you go remind them.”
“Just don’t come crying to me if you get told off or yelled at.”
Gu Qingning giggled, then turned and ran toward the family of three.
Yu Zhiming watched as Gu Qingning chatted and laughed with the family for a moment before running back.
Her face wreathed in smiles, she said, “Zhiming, I found out!”
“That man is an engineer on a ship. He often works in a high-noise environment, which has caused his hearing to decline.”
Yu Zhiming said, “Oh,” and continued toward the hospital.
After another ten or so steps, the three of them stopped again.
This time, it was Yu Zhiming who stopped walking.
“No, that’s not right. He can hear people talking, but he can’t hear them accurately. That shouldn’t be caused by hearing decline.”
“It’s more like a temporary or intermittent loss of hearing.”
Yu Zhiming turned to look back at the family of three. “Qingning, that man really does need to get a hearing test.”
Just then, the family of three looked over and even waved at them.
Yu Zhiming sighed. “Meeting them is fate, I suppose. I’ll do a good deed today and give him an examination.”
With that, Yu Zhiming strode toward the family of three.
Gu Qingran and Gu Qingning exchanged a look. He whispered an instruction, “You can’t let a great guy like this get away. Qingning, use your charm and win him over soon.”
“I’ll handle Mom and Dad for you.”
Gu Qingning made a grabbing motion toward Yu Zhiming’s back, giggled, and chased after him.
The conversation with the family went very smoothly. After Yu Zhiming introduced himself as a doctor, he easily gained their trust and received permission to perform a hands-on examination.
Yu Zhiming placed his hands behind the man’s ears and carefully examined the area for a moment, arriving at a rather unpleasant conclusion.
“It’s very likely an acoustic neuroma. I suggest you go to a major hospital to get a definitive diagnosis…”
At 5:30 in the afternoon, Yu Zhiming finished the physical examinations for fifty people at Ning’an Hospital and drove back with Gu Qingning in the car.
About four-fifths of the way there, Gu Qingning suddenly realized they weren’t on the road back to the Zijin Garden District.
“Zhiming, where are you taking me?”
Yu Zhiming glanced at Gu Qingning and saw her batting her eyelashes, as if trying to flirt with him.
“Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not taking you out for fun. I have to go somewhere to see a few people.”
Gu Qingning pouted in frustration.
A dozen or so minutes later, the car stopped in front of a motorcycle repair shop that looked quite well-decorated.
“Qingning, wait for me in the car.”
Yu Zhiming said, then got out and walked into the motorcycle repair shop.
As soon as he entered the shop, he saw Xu Jin in greasy work clothes, as well as the red-haired young man, Pu Xinhua, who had once been misdiagnosed with lung cancer.
Yu Zhiming had found this place by having someone look up the medical records Pu Xinhua had left at Huashan Hospital.
At the time, their group had been three men and one woman. Yu Zhiming scanned the shop but didn’t see the other two.
“Where is Lu Xiaoqing, the one who had a motorcycle chase with a lunatic last night?”
Yu Zhiming had learned this from Jin Feng.
It also confirmed for him that last night’s events were definitely not an accident.
Meeting Yu Zhiming’s gaze, Xu Jin gave an awkward laugh. “She went out to deliver food. She’s not back yet!”
“Deliver food?”
Yu Zhiming repeated, then asked with a serious expression, “What exactly happened last night?”
“Can you talk about it?”
Pu Xinhua was the first to speak. “Dr. Yu, of course we can. There’s nothing we can’t say.”
“After we heard you were being threatened by some psycho, we wanted to teach him a lesson for you.”
“Last night, we heard that guy went to a bar, so we went too, planning to pick a fight and teach him a lesson.”
“Unexpectedly, that guy was audacious enough to touch Sister Qing’s leg first, which started an argument.”
“After arguing for a bit, Sister Qing noticed something was off with the guy, so we left on our motorcycles.”
“We didn’t expect him to chase after us on his own motorcycle. He was acting incredibly crazy, it was really scary.”
“We didn’t expect that to happen, so we called the police.”
“What followed was a chase. Sister Qing followed the police’s instructions and led the guy to a less crowded area.”
“The police cars set up a roadblock, but the guy must have really lost his mind. He didn’t stop at all and crashed right into it…”
PS.
Thanks to “Book Friend 20210425012646821” for the rewarding support!