Chapter 59: 59

While it wasn’t anything major, it wasn’t as minor as Tang Suoyan had assumed it was.

Having tagged the hospital’s official account, the post pointed fingers all around then ended off by thrusting the doctor-patient relationship and healthcare system into the hot seat. The public had a long history of grievances against hospitals, ranging from the bribery that doctors received to shirking responsibility and poor attitudes. Frightening accounts of horrific, heartbreaking stories were abound in the comment section. Although it wasn’t strictly related to San Hospital, considering the origin of the post, it still had a negative impact on the hospital image regardless.

Fans of the celebrity flooded the comment section of the post that Huan Ge had published for Tao Xiaodong yesterday, and the remaining minority were those who had come to sit back and eat popcorn and fans of the tattoo parlour.

Nobody knew better than Tao Xiaodong what kind of doctor Tang Suoyan was, and as such there was not a chance in hell that he would turn a blind eye to the accusations. The next morning, first thing at work, Tao Xiaodong made another post on Weibo.

—The hospital is no place for people to run amok. Registering at the counter and getting a queue number is a basic rule, if anyone can ignore that we might as well scrap the system. If you expect to be seen to and catered to wherever and whenever you go, then don’t go to a public hospital. Hire a private doctor, buddy.

The parlour’s official account had never posted anything apart from pictures and marketing related to the tattooing. Such a stand-out post rather caught everyone by surprise. A fan even quietly asked in a comment: Who’s manning this account? It can’t be public relations who posted this, by any chance…

Huan Ge responded: Director Tao posted it.

These fans were all aware that Director Tao didn’t use Weibo. Tattooing was a niche scene, but this account still boasted a few hundred thousand fans. The variety show that had run in the recent years caused a surge in followers to Dong Da Domain. The follower count didn’t matter much usually, but it did now.

It was precisely because of the account’s past record of never expressing opinions or getting involved that these two posts seemed even more credible.

Many at the hospital had taken photos and videos yesterday. In the comment section of Tao Xiaodong’s post, someone said: I’ve posted evidence on my profile, I videoed the incident yesterday. The post I made about what really happened got removed, hat’s off (sarcasm). The actor didn’t even register at the counter at all. I was there with my brother for an eye examination yesterday when the whole entourage beelined for the doctor’s office. I wanted to throw a fit; we spent a thousand yuan to buy an appointment number from a scalper. Then they got driven out by the doctor and the agent (I’m guessing, I’m not sure) kept cussing out the hospital and the doctor. Anyone who supports this guy can GTFO! The doctor we saw yesterday was super, super super nice. He talked so warmly to my brother during the consult. My brother is stranger-shy, but he easily won him over. The doc was so dreamy, too! He is not at all like what this guy has made him out to be! I’m so pissed at how some celebrities think the world revolves around them!!! The doctor-patient relationship is fucked over by people like you!!!!

Comments had a character limit, so she wrote several replies to her own comment to get out everything she had to say.

Huan Ge instantly gave her a like.

Tao Xiaodong didn’t understand how showbiz worked or how deep the muddy waters ran. One shouldn’t intervene in what one knows not, just as one shouldn’t run their mouths on social media.

But it was also because of his lack of awareness of the blurred lines in the entertainment circle that such rules meant fuck-all to him. Those malicious smearing campaigns were useless on him.

He was an uninvolved party speaking up for what was right. No one would care how much others tried to discredit him and no amount of hate from the celebrity’s fans would affect him. As if someone from the tattoo scene would give a damn what they thought. Whether they heaped insults upon his person or his tattoos, the domains were completely separate. Did those old farts in the tattoo scene give a rat’s ass who you were? The only name they acknowledged was Tao Xiaodong.

People like him were a publicity team’s greatest headache. He couldn’t be written off as a nobody, but it was impossible to buy off or delete his post. He had a wide influence and didn’t bow to the scheming games of showbiz. They couldn’t get a handle on him at all.

Once he started trending, the popcorn crowd flocked over, following the trail of breadcrumbs to watch the photos and videos of yesterday linked in the comment section.

Huan Ge liked not only these but also the contributions that San Hospital’s Ophthalmology Department had made to the field in recent years. Any randomly selected paper was impressive enough to turn the haters so shamefaced that they had to add disclaimers of “I admit there are some good doctors, but…” before making their point.

The tides swiftly seemed to turn. Healthcare personnel also had their own pent-up frustrations to air; there were too many that had suffered injustice. More and more of them started to speak up in the comments, using this opportunity to bring to light the many injustices collected over the years that they couldn’t vent without being misunderstood.

It was all Tang Suoyan would hear about in the operating room. Last night the celebrity came with guns blazing against San Hospital, even putting up Tang Suoyan’s picture, completely infuriating the department. The celebrity’s thoughtless post to vent his grievances had, in a single blow, damaged the reputation that the hospital had worked so hard to build.

Therefore, the post that Tao Xiaodong made in the morning had them delighted. All the doctors and nurses in the Ophthalmology Department active on social media shared the post. Tao Xiaodong had gone on medical mission trips with them for several years running; they were friends and also knew that he had a good relationship with Tang Suoyan.

Some with more smarts had long guessed the nature of the relationship between the two of them.

“Director Tao is so plucky, has such a strong sense of justice too,” said the attending physician.

“Mn,” hummed Tang Suoyan, “he was beyond mad.”

“Short-tempered, is he.” The attending physician had joined them on the mission trip last year and knew Tao Xiaodong, exchanging greetings every time they crossed paths.

Tang Suoyan spoke as he skilfully and carefully removed the capsule of the lens from the eye . “I wouldn’t call him that, he’s generally quite good-tempered.”

Tang Suoyan had caught wind of the Weibo posted in the morning. He’d initially considered calling and telling him not to get bothered over such a thing, afraid that his response would provoke backlash, but on second thought, he decided against making the call.

After getting so worked up last night, since he wanted to speak up maybe that he didn’t hold it in, it was unlikely to become problematic either way. It felt really good being protected by another, heart firmly cradled in another’s hands. It was a feeling one had to experience to understand. Tang Suoyan had already become accustomed to accepting this type of tender care from his partner.

Tao Xiaodong came over from the maternity wards to look for Tang Suoyan before off-work hours, and those in the department who saw the former gave him a thumbs-up. “You’re the best, Director Tao!”

Tao Xiaodong didn’t know how the situation had developed after leaving the studio, so he asked a nurse, “Did that guy say anything else?”

“He did!” The nurse stomped her feet in excitement, hands stuck inside her pockets, laughing brightly. “He apologised! He wimped out!”

They weren’t allowed to use their phones when on shift; the nurse had only just sneaked a look just earlier, whispering to him, “There’s no way he wouldn’t apologise, there were too many people after his head! Ahhhh, Director Tao, you’re awesome.”

“He apologised?” Tao Xiaodong arched an eyebrow. “Who did he apologise to? Did it include Consultant Tang?”

“It did! He deleted the photo, too!” The missy nodded her head vigorously, eyes gleaming even brighter. “You’re our idol in the future! We are all your fans, all of us are following you on Weibo! You’re too awesome, Director Tao!”

“Don’t follow me, I don’t use it much.” Tao Xiaodong laughed, waving at her, then went to the office to wait for Tang Suoyan to clock off.

He seriously hadn’t expected the apology. He had thought that the celebrity would obstinately maintain his ground. The truth that Tao Xiaodong didn’t know was that even people with chins lifted high would be forced to bow their heads under public pressure. After he put up the post in the morning, Huan Ge had orchestrated everything else—it was what he studied, after all—impelling unbiased netizens and medical personnel to speak up.

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Maybe this whole episode would have blown over eventually without Tao Xiaodong’s intervention. There were so many people present on scene yesterday that someone would have exposed the farce eventually. Tao Xiaodong was simply the opening show.

But oh, this opening show was so gratifying.

Tang Suoyan returned to the office to change. Seeing Tao Xiaodong at the door, he cracked a joke, “Welcome over, Director Tao. Did anyone ask you for your autograph?”

“Who would?” Tao Xiaodong fished around his pockets. “I was thinking about that, too. Would there be a crowd cheering me when I came today? I especially brought a marker pen for the occasion but didn’t find anyone who wanted my autograph. I can’t tell if all doctors are this good at suppressing their emotions.”

“Quick, sign one for me.” A nurse on the evening shift who had come over to look for Tang Suoyan to obtain a signature on a form happened to overhear this, extending a hand.

Tao Xiaodong smiled and waved her off. “I was joking around.”

Tang Suoyan signed the form for the nurse and slowly packed up. Tao Xiaodong asked him what he wanted to have for dinner, and Tang Suoyan said, “Anything you want, I’ll cook for you.”

“Why don’t we eat out? Don’t cook, it’s tiring.”

Tang Suoyan changed his clothes and hung up the white coat. “I’m not tired.”

Cooking at home also meant that they would have to clean up after that; it consumed too much time. Tao Xiaodong was secretly yearning to do something else and didn’t wish to waste too much time.

The two of them got into the car and Tang Suoyan asked him, “Do you have something on tonight?”

“Yeah.” Tao Xiaodong winked at him. “You do, too.”

At this, Tang Suoyan cottoned on, ducking his head with a smile. He started the car. “All right, Director Tao.”

Tao Xiaodong would be departing on a business trip tomorrow. If they didn’t get up to a little something tonight, there would be no opportunity for them to do it the rest of the week. It was a long time to go without.

At night, Tang Suoyan bit his ear, his deep voice boring into Tao Xiaodong’s ear. “The ladies in the department say that you’re really handsome, that they want to marry you.”

Tao Xiaodong pressed his forehead on his arm, unable to speak.

“—Director Tao, what do you say?” Tang Suoyan spoke in such close proximity to his ear that the exhales dyed the air around his ears with warmth, raising goosebumps on the small patch of skin that went away with the fading of his voice.

Tao Xiaodong stifled an indecipherable sound in his throat.

Tang Suoyan moved slightly closer. “Hm?”

Tao Xiaodong took a deep breath in, answering, “That won’t do… I am already spoken for.”

“You’re spoken for, are you?” Tang Suoyan straightened up, the ends of his lips quirking. “What a pity.”

The vicinity of Tao Xiaodong’s hips had gained more bruises in the shape of finger imprints. At the last moment, Tang Suoyan bent down and embraced him, huskily whispering a disyllabic nickname.

Tao Xiaodong’s breathing stuttered and the stimulation caused a prickly sensation to rapidly spread from the shell of his ear across his entire body. He heaved for breath, gulping air from his windpipe to fill his chest cavity. All of him felt numb from tip to toe, and the intense arousal shooting through his nerves had him whiting out for close to a minute.

Translated by luckykoi

Tang Suoyan came back from his shower and turned off the lights. Having showered first, Tao Xiaodong almost fell asleep during the few minutes that Tang Suoyan took to shower.

One of his ears was still blazing. He really couldn’t withstand Tang Suoyan calling him by that nickname, but this guy always did it right as he couldn’t hold out anymore—and whenever he did, Tao Xiaodong would basically always enter the state he had just now.

He was at an age long past having any notions of shame, yet for some reason, he seriously couldn’t hold out against that.

Nobody had really ever given Tao Xiaodong any sort of nickname, even his close friends simply calling him “Xiaodong”. Therefore, the first time that Tang Suoyan whispered that endearment in his ear, Tao Xiaodong had gone completely still for impossibly long, his whole face instantly burning up.

Such an endearment at a time like that was both intimate and improper.

“My ear is going to burst into flames,” Giving it up as a lost cause, Tao Xiaodong said with a sigh.

Tang Suoyan touched it. “It is rather hot.”

The two of them lay together in silence for a while before Tao Xiaodong groggily said, “I’ll call you when I touch down tomorrow.”

“Mm,” Tang Suoyan agreed and then told him, “Don’t tire yourself out, make sure to get enough rest.”

Tao Xiaodong responded with a hum. He rolled over, shifting closer on his side, falling asleep next to him.

 

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