...
On the first day after moving out of Nanjin Royal Garden, Liu Zhi lay on the hotel bed, unable to fall asleep for a long time.
The moment she closes her eyes, all sorts of memories flood her mind.
Liu Zhi finally fell asleep in the middle of the night.
She had a dream. The dream partially overlapped with events that had actually happened in reality.
It was a day off, and in her dream she was still living with Meng Yang.
When she got up in the morning, she and Meng Yang stood in front of the sink together, brushing their teeth in front of the mirror. Meng Yang's hair was messy, and he even complained about Liu Zhi's messy hair in the mirror.
The black and white mouthwash cups placed together resembled their arms pressed together.
Meng Yang's hair only reached the tip of Liu Zhi's nose. She made a fuss, demanding that Liu Zhi lower his head so she could comb her hair. Liu Zhi deliberately stood on tiptoe, making it even harder for her to reach.
After washing up, they ate breakfast in their pajamas.
A pot of mutton, astragalus, and jujube porridge was simmering in the clay pot. When the lid was lifted, the aroma filled the room.
Meng Yang sat on a high stool, his toes touching the ground, and looked at Liu Zhi with a smile, resting his chin on his hand.
The dream was warm and sweet, which only made Liu Zhi's mood more desolate.
Grandma once told Liu Zhi that the sweeter the dream, the more likely it is to be something you can only dream of in reality.
At five o'clock in the morning, Liu Zhi sat by the window, wearing a coat, gazing at the distant Nanjing Royal Garden.
She sat there for a long time until the sun came out and the sky was completely bright.
In the morning, Liu Zhi and Meng Yang met at the entrance of the affiliated hospital.
Meng Yang pretended not to see her and walked away. Liu Zhi slowed her pace and followed slowly behind her.
Liu Zhi, with her long legs, quickly closed the distance. Meng Yang adjusted his bag and quickened his pace.
The situation between them made Liu Zhi uneasy. Liu Zhi wanted to apologize, but she didn't know how.
After handing over her shift, Liu Zhi led Dr. Jiang and the others on rounds.
Perhaps it was a case of desperation leading to hasty decisions. On the way back, Liu Zhi stopped Dr. Jiang.
"Xiao Jiang, how do you handle conflicts with your friends?"
Dr. Jiang subconsciously thought of Meng Yang and asked directly, "Did you have a conflict with Dr. Meng?"
Liu Zhi nodded.
“I usually bring food, would you like to try some?” Dr. Jiang said. “What does Dr. Meng like to eat? Think about it.”
Liu Zhi recalled the time she visited the old man's house and the image of Meng Yang at the dessert shop.
She seems to love sweets; her eyes are always smiling when she eats them.
"There's a dessert shop on the way from Nan Jing Royal Garden to the West District. Have you been there?" Liu Zhi asked.
Dr. Jiang frowned and thought for a moment before saying, "You mean Sweet Food Diary? Their Napoleon slice cake is delicious!"
"Thank you, I'll treat you to cake at noon." Liu Zhi had a preliminary plan in mind.
Dr. Jiang quickly waved her hand, "No, no, I'm on a diet and can't touch cake. Look at my double chin."
Dr. Jiang lowered her head, showing Liu Zhi her double chin.
"I'm going to finish my mission, I'm leaving now!" Dr. Jiang closed the door behind him.
There were just too many things to arrange, and Liu Zhi didn't have time to be distracted until after 11 p.m.
She ordered takeout from that restaurant and waited anxiously.
This was the first time Liu Zhi had ever ordered takeout at a hospital, and she was afraid it would have a bad impact.
There's a distance between the office and the hospital gate. Liu Zhi was just about to go to the cafeteria when the delivery guy called.
Sweet Food Diary's packaging was quite nice. As Liu Zhi carried the paper bag through the lobby, she attracted a lot of attention.
Liu Zhi felt uncomfortable under those gazes, so she quickened her pace and climbed the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator.
With limited lunch break time, and Meng Yang working on the fourth floor of the outpatient department, Liu Zhi couldn't help but speed up.
Perhaps it was just her imagination, but Liu Zhi always felt like someone was watching her.
It was a bit noisy on the fourth floor.
A crowd had gathered outside the clinic. Liu Zhi pushed through the crowd of patients and their families and approached, where she saw Meng Yang.
The person she was talking to was the old man's son.
The man blocked the doorway of the examination room, shouting angrily.
Meng Yang crossed his arms and looked at him coldly.
"My dad wouldn't let me contact you when he died. He was such a good man, and you, a quack doctor, ruined his life!" The man became more and more agitated as he spoke, pointing up and down with his index finger.
"Can you distinguish between palliative care and drug treatment?" Meng Yang asked calmly, but with a hint of helplessness in his eyes. "Patient care provides end-of-life care, which is different from medical assistance."
"Don't give me that nonsense, don't try to shift the focus of the problem! My dad got sick because he drank your medicine! It's your responsibility, don't try to shirk it!"
The old man's son was quite refined-looking and spoke in a scholarly manner, appearing to be a professional in law or education.
The onlookers whispered among themselves, as if they had seen through everything.
“Calm down first,” Meng Yang said. “Your father is eighty-four years old this year, has stage four liver cancer, and has been paralyzed for a long time.”
"The hospice and your community have partnered to launch a hospice care program, and I volunteered to provide assistance without charging any fees," Meng Yang explained, trying to remain calm and composed as he suppressed his anger and frustration.
“I rarely use medication, and the prescriptions I write are very mild, intended to alleviate pain,” Meng Yang said. “If you want to find out the cause of the old man’s death, you can apply for an autopsy, and I will provide the necessary materials.”
"Don't bring this up..."
"What's wrong?" The doctor from the medical department arrived, and the crowd pushed aside to make way for him.
The man ignored him and turned his back to make a phone call.
Meng Yanghe communicated with the doctors in the medical department.
Liu Zhi walked around to a less crowded area and placed the paper bag on a seat in the waiting area.
--------------------
Author's Note:
The little bundle of milk nestled in Liu Zhi's suitcase asked, "Mommy, did I do the right thing?"
Meng Yang: "That's right! Come and give Mom a stick of incense!"
Ahem, this is a sweet story, the slight angst is just to make it even sweeter.
Dr. Liu needs to step up!
Chapter 25 Farce
After the man hung up the phone, a number of people poured out of the stairwell.
These people claimed to be the old man's relatives and that they had come today to seek justice for him.
They repeated a few lines as if reciting lines from a script, but every line revolved around one phrase—treating human life like dirt.
The doctor from the medical affairs department already had a clue: this man had contacted a "professional" medical dispute team, intending to extort money from the patient.
The other party had a large number of people and was seriously disrupting normal medical order. The hospital security guards also came over and tried to persuade them to leave.
Seeing the seriousness of the situation, the onlookers quickly left.
The man was clearly prepared; he held up his phone, displaying a string of numbers.
"I'm going to call the media and expose you!"
When staff members who were near him tried to stop him, the man pushed them away.
"What are you doing? Trying to hold me down and restrict my personal freedom? I've recorded you all. Let's see who dares to come near me!" The man huddled in a corner, pointing at the passing staff.
Regardless of whether it's just or not, once a matter is manipulated by marketing accounts, white can turn into black, and black can turn into white.
The social impact of public opinion pressure is very significant. The Capital Medical University Affiliated Hospital attaches great importance to public opinion. The staff members near him stood still, hesitant.
Liu Zhi walked against the flow of the crowd, trying to get closer to Meng Yang.
In the midst of the scuffle, a woman holding a three- or four-year-old child sat down on the ground and burst into tears.
"My uncle, how could you be in such a miserable state..."
"Is there no justice left?!"
"Don't you have any medical ethics at all?"
...
The scene became even more chaotic.
Meng Yang leaned against the wall, the chill creeping up his shoulders and back to the top of his head.
She had only seen such things online and never thought she would encounter them herself.
The old man's son was named Zhang Jude. Before this, he had always treated Meng Yang with utmost courtesy and gratitude.
When Zhang Jude told her that Meng Yang was heartbroken when the old man passed away.
The old man lived a carefree and easy life in the first half of his life, but fell into poverty in the second half. However, he remained optimistic and positive throughout his life.
Meng Yang's relationship with him was more like that of an elder and a junior, rather than that of a patient and a doctor.
Zhang Ju was frantically insisting that it was Meng Yang's fault. No matter how Meng Yang explained, he wouldn't listen.
At that moment, Meng Yang felt an overwhelming chill in his heart.
She managed to calm herself amidst the noise and chaos, and pondered a solution.
The reason Zhang Ju came to cause trouble was actually very simple—he wanted money.
Zhang Jude invested all his life savings and his parents' retirement savings into the company's operation. After going bankrupt, he was penniless and burdened with heavy debts.
The old man sold his old house to pay off his debts, and his family squeezed into a cramped rental apartment. His wife couldn't bear the huge change and divorced him.