Chapter 25: Jealousy p3
Most people in the exhibition area were cosplayers, those in regular clothes looked out of place.
Shi An shook the wig, the texture was good, and the color was his favorite. Under their persuasion, he put on the “golden long straight wig.”
It was his first time wearing a wig, Shi An was a little uncomfortable and adjusted it.
The three people beside him were stunned.
Zhang Shuang’s eyes were like light bulbs, “Shi-ge, do you have a sister?”
Shi An said, “No.”
“If you did, I would chase her.”
“Get lost,” Shi An glanced at him, “Don’t disgust my unborn sister.”
Li Si chimed in, “Shi-ge, although you’ll probably scold me too, I still want to say, being fair-skinned really makes a difference, you look gorgeous.”
The vendor handed him a mirror, “Young man, you look absolutely stunning.”
“Stunning my ass.” Shi An took the mirror, “Do you all have… ?”
Shi An blinked, tilted his head, and looked at the person in the mirror, “Damn, is that me?”
The three of them said in unison: “Yes, you, you, you!”
“…”
Shi An put down the mirror, about to pull off the wig.
“No, wait, let’s take a picture.”
“The three of us together, as a souvenir.”
“Yes, yes, Shi-ge, you take the picture.”
Three grown men, each wearing a wig, purple, yellow, and black, appeared in Shi An’s front camera.
Shi An looked at his unrecognizable self, then at the two beside him, “You two are perfect for playing perverts.”
So disgusting.
“But you’re perfect for playing a beauty.”
“Shi-ge, you’re a goddess.”
“Stop disgusting me!”
“Okay, okay, let’s take the picture quickly.”
“My fake smile is about to crack.”
“You guys have to wait in line with me to buy figures later.”
“Okay, Shi-ge.”
“When the beauty speaks, everyone listens.”
“Princess Shi, please take the picture.”
“Click, click, click.”
The pictures of the three with long hair were saved in the album. Somehow, the wigs also ended up in their bags.
After buying the limited edition manga and figures, Shi An left satisfied, his backpack heavy, feeling like the trip was worth it.
It was 4 PM when they left the comic con. The other two happily went home, but Shi An had to work the night shift.
The emergency department was unusually quiet as the New Year approached. As dawn broke, Shi An was dozing off at his desk when there was a commotion at the door.
“Doctor! Doctor, please help my sister!”
Shi An jolted awake.
Zhong Yan picked up the coat that had been draped over him, “You rest, I’ll go.”
A young man and woman were standing at the entrance of the emergency department.
The man was wearing black-rimmed glasses, around thirty years old. The girl looked like a middle school student, with a ponytail, her face pale, hunched over and clutching her abdomen, supported by the man.
Zhong Yan walked over, “What’s wrong?”
The man answered quickly, saying that his sister had a stomachache before bed, with a temperature of 37.6 degrees Celsius. He thought it was a low-grade fever, gave her some medicine, and let her sleep. He didn’t expect the pain to worsen in the middle of the night.
Many conditions could cause abdominal pain and fever, such as acute gastroenteritis, appendicitis, and even pelvic inflammatory disease. More seriously, it could be intestinal perforation, cholecystitis, or mesenteric vascular embolism, further examination was needed to determine the cause.
Zhong Yan put on disposable gloves and pointed to the bed, “Help her lie down.”
The man didn’t move, instead asking Zhong Yan, “Are there any female doctors here?”
“Only male doctors tonight.”
Zhong Yan was used to this kind of situation. He pointed at the security camera on the ceiling and said to the patient’s brother, “No need to remove any clothes, you can accompany her throughout the examination.”
The man still looked hesitant and turned to the girl, “Mengmeng, just let this doctor take a look, okay?”
“No!” The girl’s eyes reddened, and she cried, “I hate male doctors, I hate them.”
“Little sister, your current condition is quite serious,” Zhong Yan said patiently, “I need to examine you to determine the cause.”
“Your brother and this nurse will be with you throughout the examination.” Zhong Yan showed his gloved hands, “I’ll only press on your abdomen over your clothes, and if you feel uncomfortable, I’ll stop immediately, okay?”
“No, no!” The girl cried and writhed in pain, “Go away, don’t touch me, no!”
He couldn’t go against the patient’s wishes. Zhong Yan initially suspected acute appendicitis, but suspicion wasn’t a diagnosis.
She couldn’t lie flat, making other examinations difficult.
If they were unlucky and it was a malignant acute condition, the consequences could be dire.
Zhong Yan instructed the nurse to give her pain medication and ordered a blood test and ECG to confirm his suspicion.
Nurse Lin stayed with the patient in the resuscitation room, and Zhong Yan called the patient’s brother outside.
Before he could speak, the family member spoke first, “Doctor, please help me find a female doctor to treat my brother, he’s in so much pain, I can’t bear to see him like this.”
“Brother?” Zhong Yan thought he misheard.
The man confessed directly that the “girl” lying on the bed was actually a boy. He liked to dress up as a girl since childhood and hated being treated as a boy.
In this situation, it would be even more difficult to persuade him.
Zhong Yan looked at his watch, “We really don’t have any female doctors today, you can take him to the Third Hospital nearby.”
“We’ve been to the Third Hospital, and several other hospitals nearby, none of them have female doctors on duty tonight.” The family member was sweating anxiously, “Doctor, he really can’t walk anymore, if we wait any longer, I’m afraid he’ll…”
Zhong Yan took the ECG report and said to Nurse Lin, “Call Dr. Chen and see if she can come over.”
Nurse Lin ran into Shi An in the office.
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
There was quite a commotion outside, and Shi An had overheard some of it.
“A boy dressed as a girl has a stomachache and insists on a female doctor. Director Zhong asked me to call Dr. Chen.”
Shi An was confused, “A boy dressed as a girl?”
“Yes, I was startled when I did his ECG.” The nurse looked through the contact list, “It would be one thing if it was a girl, but a young man asking for a female doctor, what’s that about?”
“He’s almost in shock from the pain, and he’s still making a fuss.” Nurse Lin stomped her foot in frustration, “We have to call Dr. Chen quickly.”
“She’s out of town, she can’t come back.” Chen Man had posted on her WeChat Moments last night, and Shi An had seen it.
“Then who else can we call?” Nurse Lin was so anxious she almost tore the phone book.
The emergency department was demanding, high-pressure, and very hard work, with relatively few female doctors.
“Don’t bother calling anymore.” Shi An snatched the phone book, “Tell them Dr. Shi will be right there.”
The “girl” was extremely resistant to Zhong Yan and wouldn’t let him enter the resuscitation room. The preliminary treatment was only addressing the symptoms, not the root cause, and was just a temporary fix.
While they were anxiously waiting, Nurse Lin rushed back, “Dr. Chen is out of town, but Dr. Shi said he’ll come.”
“Xiao Shi?”
Zhong Yan’s expression was complex, and Nurse Lin’s was no different. She was also confused.
Within two minutes, a familiar yet slightly strange voice came from the door, “What’s going on? Calling me over so early in the morning.”
A tall doctor with long, blond hair, wearing a blue mask, stood at the entrance of the emergency hall.
Everyone was stunned, even the patient’s brother couldn’t look away.
Shi An hadn’t expected that the wig he bought would come in handy.
The situation was urgent, and everyone played along with Shi An’s act.
Afraid of being exposed, Shi An barely spoke, maintaining a cold and serious demeanor. After the examination, it was confirmed to be acute appendicitis, a simple appendectomy would do.
The patient’s brother expressed his gratitude to Shi An and asked if he would be performing the surgery.
Shi An had obtained his medical license after completing his undergraduate internship. An appendectomy wasn’t a complicated surgery, he wanted to do it and believed he was capable, but he didn’t have the authority.
Before he could ask, he heard Zhong Yan say to the family member, “We’ve already contacted another department, Dr. Yun from General Surgery will perform the surgery. Dr. Yun has over a decade of clinical experience, and the other surgical staff will also be female.”
After everything was arranged, the patient was transferred to General Surgery.
Zhong Yan searched around and found Shi An in the office. He was still wearing the wig, his head drooping, sitting in a corner.
“Unhappy?” Zhong Yan handed him a cup of hot chocolate milk.
Shi An held the cup, “Why would I be unhappy?”
“I didn’t let you perform the surgery.”
“It’s my fault,” Shi An said stiffly, “I didn’t earn your trust, I’m not even capable of such a small surgery.”
“It’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s that you can’t perform surgery dressed like this,” Zhong Yan said, “If you’re discovered, it will be troublesome.”
Shi An realized belatedly, “Did I do something wrong again?”
The situation was urgent, and this was the best solution Shi An could think of, the most considerate of the bigger picture.
“You did well, you saved his life.”
Even if it was just acute appendicitis, if not diagnosed and treated promptly, the consequences could be dire.
Shi An sipped his milk, relieved, “Why be so fixated on the doctor’s gender at a time like this?”
“There are all kinds of people in the world, we can only do our best.”
Zhong Yan sat beside him, watching him finish the milk, his obedient demeanor endearing, “There’s another reason why I didn’t let you perform the surgery.”
“What?” Shi An licked the milk stain on his upper lip.
“For your first surgery, I want to be there with you.”
Shi An heard his own heartbeat, pounding in his ears, jumping in his chocolate milk-filled stomach.
Zhong Yan lifted the wig, “I can’t dress up like this and be your first assistant, can I?”
Shi An couldn’t help but smile, “No need.”
Zhong Yan ruffled his golden wig.
Shi An pulled his hand away, “The princess’s hair is not for sale, no touching without lobster.”
“Aren’t you taking it off?” Zhong Yan gently twirled a strand of the wig, “Haven’t had enough fun?”
“I’m afraid he’ll come back.”
If he was exposed, it would be a huge problem.
“He’s already been transferred to General Surgery, if he comes back, just say you’re off duty.”
“That’s true.” Shi An pulled off the wig and put it back in the bag, “It’s so hot.”
Zhong Yan helped him smooth his real hair.
“I have to keep this,” Shi An sealed the bag, “It might come in handy again.”
Zhong Yan: “Where did you get it?”
“Bought it at a comic convention,” Shi An said.
Zhong Yan’s gaze shifted downwards, stopping at a certain spot, “Then what’s this…?”
Shi An noticed his gaze, “Oh, I almost forgot.”
Shi An pulled out an IV tube from behind his neck, with a bun tied to each end, “Luckily I brought a snack, it came in handy.”
Zhong Yan: “…”
Shi An tore open the plastic bag and took a big bite, “I’m hungry.”
He offered the other bun, “Dr. Zhong, want some?”
Zhong Yan: “…….”
An hour later, the “girl” underwent an appendectomy. The surgery was successful, and she was discharged three days later.
Everyone thought the matter was over, but an unexpected twist occurred. Shi An was being “pursued.”
Near the end of his shift, Nurse Lin rushed into the office, “The lovesick man is here again, what should we do?”
“Lovesick man” was the nickname everyone gave to the appendicitis patient’s brother. The day after his “sister” was discharged, he returned to the emergency department, specifically asking to see Dr. Shi.
At first, they thought he just wanted to express his gratitude in person, so the nurses told him that Dr. Shi was off duty.
However, he was persistent, coming every day for a week. Today, he even brought a bouquet of roses. He didn’t come in, just stood at the entrance of the emergency department.
His intentions were obvious, no one was fooled.
Chen Man turned to Shi An, smiling, “What kind of love potion did you give him?”
Shi An’s heroic act had spread throughout the department the next day.
“I didn’t even look at him directly.”
Shi An couldn’t understand either. He was wearing a wig and a mask that covered half his face, only his eyes were visible. How could he still be noticed like this?
As a witness, Nurse Lin was the most qualified to speak, “Dr. Shi was really beautiful at the time, super focused during the examination, didn’t speak, very aloof. If I were a man, I would have fallen for him too.”
“Shi-ge, when are you wearing the wig again?” Zhao Kang’s eyes twinkled, “I want to see it too.”
Shi An glared at him, “Get lost.”
“Alright, stop teasing Xiao Shi,” Chen Man said, “Let’s figure out how to deal with the lovesick man first.”
Nurse Lin said, “How about we just tell him the truth about your gender and let him give up?”
Chen Man: “Not a good idea. We were forced into that situation, if it gets out and he causes trouble, we won’t be in the right.”
Others agreed: “Maybe it’s true love, he likes both men and women, we still won’t be able to get rid of him.”
“Then what should we do? We can’t keep this up forever.” Nurse Lin thought for a moment, “How about we say Xiao Shi was transferred?”
Chen Man: “With someone this persistent, even if you say you were transferred, he’ll ask where you were transferred to, it will never end.”
Everyone discussed heatedly but couldn’t come up with a solution.
Zhong Yan hadn’t participated in the discussion, but he suddenly spoke, “I’ll handle it.”
Chen Man raised an eyebrow, finally, “How?”
“No need for anyone else,” Shi An said confidently, heading towards the locker room, “I dug this hole, I’ll fill it myself.”
Avoiding him wasn’t a solution, it was better to just tell him the truth face to face. Although he hadn’t been in a serious relationship, he had rejected people before.
Putting on the wig, Shi An cleared his throat and put on a gentle voice.
He turned around and saw Zhong Yan, one hand in his pocket, leaning against the doorframe, looking at him with an intriguing expression.
Shi An felt his gaze pierce through him, his heart pounding, “What? Can’t outsiders watch a princess change clothes?”
Zhong Yan handed him the IV tube with the buns tied to each end, “Princess, you forgot your equipment.”
Shi An touched his chest, almost exposing himself. He thanked him and stuffed the “equipment” inside his white coat.
Zhong Yan was still standing there, “Figured out what to say?”
“Don’t worry, the princess has her own methods.” After preparing everything, Shi An smoothed his hair in front of the mirror, “Alright, the princess is going out now.”
The princess was stopped at the door. Zhong Yan handed him a disposable mask, “Put this on before you go out.”
Shi An: “…”
Damn, he almost forgot again.
Shi An’s plan was perfect, firm and decisive, giving no room for hope.
But when the lovesick man stood before him, polite and humble, speaking impeccable words, Shi An was at a loss.
“Dr. Shi, let me apologize first.”
“I brought roses only to express my sincerity, I don’t mean to force you to accept them.”
“I know I’m being presumptuous and impolite, but I felt my heart skip a beat the moment I saw you.”
“I’ve never been in love before, and I don’t expect your affections. I just don’t want to miss the only time my heart has ever fluttered in thirty years. I want to be friends with you, and if I have the chance, I also want to try to pursue you.”
“If I make you uncomfortable, please tell me.”
“I’m not good with words, and I’m a bit nervous, please don’t laugh at me.”
The man hid the roses behind his back, “Dr. Shi, my name is Feng Hui, I’m an engineer, I work at the design institute across the street. Thank you for saving my brother, I want to be friends with you, and if you’re willing, could I invite you to dinner?”
“I’ve made a reservation at the restaurant next door.”
Shi An: “…”
You call that being bad with words?
That was a perfect confession!
Shi An thought of his own dull and uninspired rejections, it would be embarrassing to say them out loud, too amateur.
Whatever, he’ll just wing it.
“I’m sorry, I…”
There were footsteps behind him, and then his waist was grabbed, a tight, possessive grip, pulling him sideways, pressing him against a warm body.
The man wasn’t wearing a mask, revealing an expression Shi An had never seen before. His arm wouldn’t let go, his voice possessive, “Mr. Feng, is there something you need from my wife?”
