Chapter 23: Birthday
The emergency department didn’t have a fixed patient population. The daily workload depended entirely on luck, and Shi An always seemed to have bad luck.
On his first day back at work, critical patients arrived one after another. The emergency hall was as bustling as a market, and Shi An barely had time for a proper lunch.
By the time things finally calmed down, it was already time to get off work. Shi An passed by the resuscitation room, the door was closed, Zhong Yan was still inside.
He took out his phone. Zhong Yan had sent a text message ten minutes ago.
“Go home when it’s time.”
In theory, residents had to say goodbye to their mentors before leaving.
Shi An changed his clothes and ran into Chen Man, who was about to start her shift. He greeted her, “Dr. Chen.”
Chen Man said, “Leaving now?”
Shi An specifically checked the time, “Yes, it’s time to get off work.”
Chen Man lowered her voice, “Not waiting for your teacher?”
Probably only Chen Man in the entire department knew that he was renting from Zhong Yan. Everyone tacitly understood and didn’t mention it openly.
Shi An rubbed his nose, “Dr. Zhong is still busy, he told me to go home first.”
“Don’t say I didn’t remind you, it’s his birthday today.”
Shi An understood, “Okay, I’ll go help out so he can go home early to celebrate his birthday.”
“You silly boy.” Chen Man wanted to stomp her foot, “His family is busier than him, who has time to celebrate his birthday?”
Zhong Yan finished his shift and went to the locker room. Shi An was dozing off, leaning against the lockers.
“Why haven’t you left yet?” Zhong Yan took off his white coat and put on his own jacket, “Need a ride?”
Shi An yawned, “I guess so.”
Zhong Yan: “…”
What was this kid up to?
After leaving the emergency building, Shi An couldn’t wait, “Dr. Zhong, do you know what day it is today?”
“No.”
“Guess.”
Zhong Yan: “I don’t want to guess.”
Shi An: “…”
He was so boring.
“It’s your birthday,” Shi An said.
Zhong Yan paused, checking the date, “How did you know?”
“Dr. Chen told me.”
“Oh.” Zhong Yan’s smile faded, “So, have you figured out how to flatter me?”
Shi An: “No.”
“What about a gift?”
“Don’t have one either.”
Zhong Yan: “…What do you want?”
Shi An walked beside him, “Depends on how you want to celebrate.”
Zhong Yan put his hands in his pockets, “I haven’t thought about it.”
“How did you celebrate your birthdays before?”
“I’ve never celebrated my birthday.”
Shi An: “…”
That sounded a bit sad.
Shi An wasn’t very good at celebrating birthdays either. For Wang Duo’s birthdays, they would usually just have a meal, give him a pair of basketball shoes, or buy him a game skin.
But Zhong Yan lived in a mansion, drove a luxury car, and wasn’t short on money. Besides, he probably wasn’t interested in games.
After thinking about it, all he could offer was a small gesture with great sincerity.
“Dr. Zhong, if you don’t mind, come to my house for dinner. My mom and grandma are great cooks.”
“No thanks, I’m tired.”
“Then how about we eat out?” Shi An had just received his salary and bonus, he gritted his teeth and said, “My treat!”
Zhong Yan: “Do you really want to celebrate my birthday?”
“Of course.”
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have waited for him to get off work.
“Shi An.”
“Yes?”
Zhong Yan paused for two seconds, “Cook me a meal.”
Shi An readily agreed, “Sure, what do you want to eat?”
“Whatever you want to make.”
Shi An hadn’t cooked in a while, this was a good opportunity to show off his skills, “Let’s go to the supermarket first.”
Just as he finished speaking, Shi An hesitated, “Why don’t you go home and rest first, I’ll go by myself?”
Shopping and prepping wasn’t exactly relaxing either.
Zhong Yan: “Let’s go together.”
For Dr. Chen’s birthday, he only used basic seasonings like sugar, salt, and soy sauce, which severely limited his performance. This time, he would buy everything he needed and prepare properly.
Shi An rarely ate in the cafeteria during his residency. Whenever he wasn’t busy, he would go to Uncle Niu’s for meals. Sometimes Uncle Niu cooked, sometimes he did.
Uncle Niu didn’t charge him for meals, and Shi An didn’t want to eat for free. At first, he brought Little Snowman popsicles. After autumn arrived, he brought fruits and snacks suitable for the elderly, all bought from the supermarket across the street from Zhong Yan’s apartment.
Shi An liked this supermarket. It had a wide selection and frequent sales. Especially today, there was a big promotion.
Zhong Yan usually used specific brands of tissues, laundry detergent, toothpaste, and other daily necessities, which were quite expensive. Today’s sale was a good opportunity to stock up.
Shi An excitedly picked out items, and Zhong Yan followed behind, pushing the shopping cart, filled with a sense of novelty.
Before Shi An moved in, Zhong Yan hired a housekeeper, who was also responsible for purchasing daily necessities. Zhong Yan only realized today that even without a housekeeper, the apartment was still well-organized.
Not only was this his first time in this supermarket, but the number of times he had been to a large supermarket in his entire life could be counted on one hand. At this moment, he actually felt a sense of domesticity.
The shopping cart was full. Shi An double-checked everything, then said, “Let’s go, check out.”
“Aren’t you buying ingredients?” Zhong Yan asked.
The cart only contained seasonings, snacks, and daily necessities.
Shi An: “We’ll buy those at the market.”
“They have them here, why not buy everything at once?”
“The vegetables here are only delivered once a day, the ones in the afternoon aren’t fresh,” Shi An said, “Not to mention the meat, it’s all chilled, not as good as freshly slaughtered chicken.”
Shi An checked his watch, “I just contacted Aunt Yang, she’ll save an old hen and a young rooster for me.”
Zhong Yan didn’t quite understand, “There’s a difference between hens and roosters?”
“Of course, older hens have tougher meat, but higher fat content, suitable for making soup. Young roosters are tender and juicy, with thin skin and evenly distributed fat, suitable for roasting or frying. They’re very different.”
Zhong Yan smiled, “I’ll leave it to you.”
They walked one after the other. When they reached the next aisle, the sound of the shopping cart wheels behind him disappeared. Zhong Yan was gone.
He went back to look for him and found Zhong Yan studying a gray box in the previous aisle.
He walked closer and saw what he was holding.
Shi An’s ears burned, and he turned to leave.
Zhong Yan grabbed him by the collar, “Where are you running?”
Shi An: “…I wasn’t running.”
Zhong Yan handed him the gray box, “Don’t buy this brand of condoms.”
Shi An’s face remained expressionless, “I don’t need them anyway.”
He inwardly scoffed, did he think everyone was like him, enjoying one-night stands?
“You never know,” Zhong Yan continued, oblivious to his surroundings, picking up another brand, “Are you sure you won’t need them in the future?”
Shi An: “…”
He had a point.
Shi An wasn’t against relationships. If he met the right person, he would date and get married.
Shi An leaned closer and picked up the box Zhong Yan had mentioned, wanting to learn, “Is this one not good?”
Judging from the packaging, it was all-natural latex, no different from the others.
“Whether it’s good or not is besides the point, the quality isn’t good.” Zhong Yan leaned close to his ear, lowering his voice, “It breaks easily.”
Shi An froze like a charred piece of wood, feeling like he was about to combust.
Why was he discussing this topic with his mentor? What Zhong Yan did with others was none of his business!
But if he didn’t respond, the conversation would die.
Shi An forced himself to ask, “Then… which one is good?”
“Try them and you’ll know.” Zhong Yan pointed to another shelf, “Go choose, two boxes of each, except for this brand…”
“Get the large size.”
