TL: Hua
Yu Qingtang went to bed early last night but slept very late; the “culprit” was Xu Baizhang’s voice message. He hated himself for clicking on it hundreds of times, but he had to admit that the other party’s voice was too captivating.
After listening to “good night” for half the night, Yu Qingtang was woken up early by a phone call.
Without even a prelude, his mother, Ms. Chen, came up and started questioning, “Does the whole world have to see him and know about him before you let your dad and me see him?”
Yu Qingtang huddled under his covers, his voice still hoarse. “Mom, what are you talking about?”
Mother Yu snapped, “I’ve sent the photo to your phone. Take a look yourself.”
Yu Qingtang clicked on it and saw a photo of him and the children taken at the Science and Technology Museum yesterday.
Ms. Chen, retired and at home, often chatted with neighbors downstairs. Having moved in half a year ago, she had almost added all the contact information of people her age in the community. It wasn’t surprising for parents with children among the neighbors to post photos on their WeChat Moments.
Besides the large group photo, there were also smaller group photos of the children. Yu Qingtang and Xu Baizhang accidentally became background figures, standing shoulder to shoulder, their faces not visible but easily recognizable to acquaintances.
Mother Yu interrogated him like a cross-examination. “Duoduo’s grandma told me everything. Duoduo said you personally admitted that the person with you is your boyfriend.”
Yu Qingtang: “…”
That’s how rumors spread.
Fortunately, he had confirmed the relationship last night, so Yu Qingtang was uncharacteristically relaxed. “Yes, he’s my boyfriend, Xu Baizhang.”
He couldn’t see her expression through the phone, but Yu Qingtang knew his mother must be ecstatic. She continued to appraise him over the phone, “His back looks good, tall with long legs, and neatly dressed. What does he do? How old is he?”
“He’s a traditional Chinese medicine doctor, works at the provincial hospital, is two years older than me, and has a very good personality and temper.”
“Good, good, a doctor is good. It’s a good workplace. The provincial hospital is hard to get into.” Mother Yu was very satisfied. “When do you two have time? Invite him over for a meal.”
“Maybe when we’re not so busy. Things have been pretty hectic recently.”
Mother Yu clearly wasn’t buying it. “You have time to visit the science museum and time to take photos with children, but no time to bring Xiao Xu to meet your dad and me?”
Knowing his mother was hard to fool, Yu Qingtang told her truthfully, “Let us get to know each other a bit longer.”
He and Xu Baizhang had only met twice and hadn’t gotten to know each other deeply. He wasn’t sure if Xu Baizhang would be comfortable meeting his parents suddenly.
“You’ve been together for so long, what’s there left to get to know? You’ve always had high standards, so anyone you approve of must be good.” Mother Yu continued, “Besides, if you can’t find any faults in three months, you definitely won’t find any later. Just bring him back so your dad and I can give our advice.”
Yu Qingtang: “…”
He shouldn’t have boasted about those three months in the first place.
Mother Yu didn’t give him a chance to refuse. “It’s settled then. Go ask Xiao Xu if he’s free this weekend. If not, then a weekday evening. Your dad and I are free any day; just give us a day’s notice, and we’ll see him then.”
Looking at the phone that had been actively hung up, Yu Qingtang felt a dilemma. The problem was, they hadn’t been dating for three months; they had only known each other for three days.
—
Room 3 of the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine of the Provincial Hospital.
Xu Baizhang wore a white coat and rubber gloves commonly used in surgical operations. His fingers were arched, pressing his index finger against the inner side of the high bone behind the palm, slowly touching the radial artery at the wrist, and finally placing his index, middle, and ring fingers respectively on the cun, guan, and chi positions, carefully taking the pulse. [Note]
After diagnosing both hands, Xu Baizhang looked at the tongue coating. “Which department are you from?”
“Huh? What?” The patient was stunned.
Xu Baizhang: “Which department do you work in?”
Although the person was wearing civilian clothes, a disposable mask with the provincial hospital logo was peeking out of their pocket.
The girl pursed her lips. “Respiratory medicine.”
Xu Baizhang didn’t ask further, focusing on writing the prescription.
The girl tried twice, then gathered her courage. “Dr. Xu, why aren’t you wearing your glasses today?”
Xu Baizhang seemed not to hear.
The girl tried again, “Dr. Xu, you look really cool in a suit, like a celebrity.”
Xu Baizhang finally reacted. “Are there any other symptoms?”
The girl squeezed her throat. “My throat keeps bothering me, especially after autumn starts. It hurts so much when the weather gets dry. If I keep taking your medicine, can it be completely cured?”
“Upper respiratory tract infection. Pay more attention to your diet, avoid spicy food, don’t eat too much cold food, and stick to bland meals.” Xu Baizhang stopped typing. “The symptoms aren’t severe; a box of medicine from your department can also cure it.”
There was no need to go through so much trouble just to get his consultation.
The girl said, “Western medicine only treats the symptoms, not the root cause, right? I thought I’d take some Chinese medicine to properly regulate myself for a while.”
“Whether it’s Chinese or Western medicine, the ultimate goal is to relieve the patient’s discomfort. From that perspective, there’s no essential difference.” Xu Baizhang handed her the consultation card. “A total of five doses. Decoct with cold water, take once in the morning and once in the evening, half an hour after meals.”
“Thank you, Dr. Xu.” The girl tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’ll come back in five days.”
“You should be cured in five days; no need to come back.”
After seeing off the last patient, Xu Baizhang removed his rubber gloves, changed back into his loose practice clothes, and walked upstairs.
About seven or eight meters from the dean’s office, he heard a harsh voice, “Only fifteen appointments a day! Do you know how many people across the province, even the whole country, are waiting? Now, at least half of the appointments for the next week have been taken internally. Don’t you leaders feel ashamed?”
“If you don’t feel ashamed, I, as the dean, do! Do we have to wait until things blow up and the higher-ups start investigating before we act?”
“Dean Yang, we’ve checked. The ones who registered for Director Xu are all new interns. No regular employees of our hospital went.”
“What about interns? Do they work at the provincial hospital? Do they wear our provincial hospital’s uniforms? Oh, so according to you, interns aren’t part of our hospital. Then don’t complain about staff shortages, don’t ask for more people from above, and don’t assign all the dirty and tiring work to the interns!”
“When you need them to intubate, catheterize, enema, and work night shifts, they’re useful, but now you’re shirking responsibility?”
“I’ll say it again, whether they’re interns or official staff, as long as they’re here at our provincial hospital for a day, they’re part of the hospital!”
“Dean Yang, they all used their off-duty time to queue up and register themselves. They didn’t use backdoors or connections.”
The provincial hospital has over sixty departments and nearly a thousand outpatient doctors. Xu Baizhang is one of the few experts whose appointments cannot be booked online. There are also strict requirements for booking his appointments: besides patients under fourteen or over seventy and those in extremely poor health, patients must personally register with their ID card.
This is to reduce the possibility of scalping and ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to see a doctor.
Mentioning it only made Dean Yang angrier. “Don’t think I don’t know. They get a cold or a fever and go register for Xiao Xu’s appointment. What does that mean? Do they think other TCM doctors are incompetent, or do they think other departments can’t cure them?”
“The common people are waiting for Dr. Xu to treat difficult and complex diseases, and they’re using appointments to see him for colds, fevers, and sore throats?” Dean Yang grew angrier as he spoke. “Do you really not know what their intentions are?”
The head nurse lowered her head. “Dean Yang, I understand. I will strictly enforce rules in the future and absolutely prevent such incidents from happening.”
“Don’t talk about the future with me. Solve this problem first.” Dean Yang said, “Go back today and check every department. Any appointments held by patients who aren’t critical or severely ill, release them all!”
“They are young and haven’t graduated, so they don’t understand the situation. But you, as teachers, superiors, and leaders, should manage them! This is a hospital, a place for treating illnesses and saving lives. Don’t bring in messy practices.”
With the matter mostly resolved, Xu Baizhang returned the way he came, and in the stairwell, he received a WeChat message from Yu Qingtang.
Qingtang: [Are you off work yet?]
[Yes. /smile]
Immediately, Yu Qingtang’s call came in. “Dr. Xu, I need to confess something.”
“What’s wrong?”
“The photo of us at the science museum was seen by my mom.”
Xu Baizhang’s heart tightened. “Auntie, she…”
“Don’t worry, my mom didn’t mean anything by it. I told her we’re dating, and she wants to meet you.”
Yu Qingtang continued, “I called to get your opinion. After all, we just met. Do you mind?”
Xu Baizhang ran his finger along the metal frame a couple of times and said, “I don’t mind. When?”
“Sunday? Before lunch?”
“Yes, I’ll pick you up.”
—
After saying goodbye to Xu Baizhang, Yu Qingtang called Liu Siyan. “Any tips for meeting the parents for the first time?”
“What?!” Liu Siyan’s howl could be heard over the phone. “You two are already at this stage?”
Yu Qingtang had a headache. “My mom caught us red-handed, so I just had to go for it.”
“Didn’t you tell Auntie before that you found a boyfriend…” Liu Siyan paused for two seconds. “You didn’t admit that he’s the one you’ve been with for three months, did you?”
Yu Qingtang curled up in bed. “What else could I do?”
Liu Siyan cackled. “Auntie’s a divine assist!”
“Laugh later. It’s only two days away. Help me brainstorm some ideas.”
Liu Siyan: “Dr. Xu is good in every aspect, so he will definitely pass Auntie’s test. The main problem is how to disguise knowing each other for three days as dating for three months in two days.”
Yu Qingtang: “Do you have any ideas?”
Liu Siyan pondered for half a minute, then slowly said, “How about you two get a hotel room for two days and have a deep emotional exchange?”
Yu Qingtang: “…I’m going back to sleep. Bye.”
“Hey, wait, wait, wait.” Liu Siyan said, “No matter what, you have to confess this to Dr. Xu beforehand.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Even if Liu Siyan hadn’t mentioned it, he would have brought it up himself to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.
Both of them were busy, and they hadn’t had time to deepen their relationship until the weekend arrived.
Yu Qingtang got into Xu Baizhang’s car as planned and confessed everything: lying about having an ex-boyfriend with a doctorate degree who he had been dating for three years and fabricating a story that they had been in a relationship for three months.
Before saying it, he was inevitably nervous, as it wasn’t an honest act.
Xu Baizhang didn’t mind and even comforted him, “I didn’t realize you’ve been so stressed these past few years.”
Yu Qingtang felt a wave of relief. “Yeah, I feel pretty guilty. I regret lying to my parents. I was so anxious that I moved out, and I even avoided my mom’s calls for dinner.”
Xu Baizhang said, “Since Auntie was so insistent, why didn’t you find someone in previous years?”
“At first, I was busy with work and didn’t have time.”
Xu Baizhang gripped the steering wheel tighter. “And later?”
Yu Qingtang turned his head and met Xu Baizhang’s profile, wearing glasses. “I just never met the right person.”
Xu Baizhang relaxed his grip slightly, a faint curve appearing at the corner of his mouth.
Yu Qingtang asked in return, “What about you, Dr. Xu? Were you also busy with work?”
“No, I only have one reason.” Xu Baizhang slowly said, “I’ve been waiting for the most suitable person.”
The car stopped in front of his parents’ house.
Before getting out of the car, Yu Qingtang reminded him again, “Don’t forget we’ve been dating for three months. My mom is very smart, so try to be more affectionate and absolutely don’t let anything slip.”
“Yes, I know.”
Opening the door to get out, Xu Baizhang walked towards the trunk.
Yu Qingtang guessed he wouldn’t come empty-handed, but when he saw the expensive gift boxes, he still marveled at how generous and proper his boyfriend was, truly perfect and beyond reproach.
Yu Qingtang offered to help carry them, but Xu Baizhang took them back. “I’ll do it. It’s not heavy.”
Yu Qingtang didn’t insist but placed a hand on his shoulder.
They stood facing each other, less than half a meter apart.
Yu Qingtang helped him adjust his crooked tie, his fingertips brushing lightly against the shirt, like a gentle breeze rustling feathers.
Xu Baizhang enjoyed the feeling, his gaze fixed on Yu Qingtang’s eyelashes. “Do I look alright dressed like this?”
“A dark checkered suit with a light-colored tie is low-key and steady, which is very consistent with my mother’s aesthetic.” Yu Qingtang adjusted the tie buckle and went to get the tie clip. “She must like it very much.”
“What about you?” Xu Baizhang’s lingering gaze left his eyelashes to find the curve of Yu Qingtang’s lips. “Does it match your aesthetic?”
His fingertips slowly slid against the metal clip, his voice like budding green grass. “Asking the obvious, that’s too much.”
Yu Qingtang tilted his head, catching a glimpse of Xu Baizhang’s reddened earlobe. Through the cotton fabric, he gently brushed the edge of his collar. “But… I think this tie would suit a Kelvin knot better on you.”
“I only know how to tie this one.”
“I’ll teach you next time.”
“Okay.” Xu Baizhang met his gaze, hoping to get closer. “Thank you in advance, Mr. Yu.”
“Wait a moment.” Yu Qingtang lowered his hand, his fingertips accidentally grazing Xu Baizhang’s chest. “If we’ve been dating for three months, isn’t ‘Mr. Yu’ a bit too formal?”
“Or…” Xu Baizhang tightened his grip on the gift bag, his thumb secretly rubbing against Yu Qingtang’s sleeve. “Can I call you Qingtang?”
“Yes, you can, Baizhang.”
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