Chapter 8: 8

Prelims; mock exams used to predict grades for the actual examination. Total score differs by province, can probably assume max here to be 750.

Tang Suoyan was never one to discuss these with others, no matter how close he was to them. There were several times that Tong Ning had openly displayed his displeasure with Tang Suoyan when around company. As a traditional macho man at heart, Chen Lin found it beyond childish. Whatever happened behind closed doors was their own business, but he couldn’t stand for getting publicly slapped in the face.

Tang Suoyan didn’t have any intention to talk about Tong Ning behind his back—he never had and he never would. Hence, he simply said, “Can we drop this? Do you need me to stitch your mouth shut before you stop?”

Chen Lin got the hint and let it go, changing to talk shop instead.

He wanted Tang Suoyan to put up his name and take a day every week to hold consultations at his private eye hospital.

This wasn’t the first time that he was proposing this. Tang Suoyan gazed at him levelly. “Does it look to you that I’ve the time?”

“Sure you do. Do you really think I’m unaware that you don’t take weekend shifts?” Chen Lin knew Tang Suoyan’s schedule inside out.

“Weekend shifts?” Tang Suoyan laughed. “I’ve two surgeries scheduled for Saturday and four for Sunday. That I’m not on shift is just on paper. Is it your first day as a doctor? Do I even have to tell you this?”

“Who cares.” Chen Lin said, completely unblushing, “I’m just after your reputation. If you don’t have the time, then don’t come. Even once a month would work. All I’m asking for is the three words ‘Tang Suoyan’ on my hospital roster.”

Tang Suoyan was exasperated. “There are so many excellent doctors out there, why must you hold out for me for so long?”

“Nonsense, aren’t we bros? Don’t you know how many professors are dying to practice in my hospital? Whereas when I offer easy money, you’re not even willing to take a slice of the pie. Have you gone rusty in the head from being a doctor, my good brother?”

At the end of it, Tang Suoyan still didn’t bite.

In all honesty, he had neither the time nor the energy left for a side hustle. If he really kicked back his feet, he would be doing Chen Lin a disservice; his name would only be up there for show. Moreover, it wasn’t as simple as putting up his name. While he had no issues with Chen Lin, it was difficult to guarantee the standard of the doctors that would be under his supervision at the hospital. If any mishap occurred, the one with the shiniest name would be the one pushed into the limelight. Even if Tang Suoyan didn’t participate in the management, he couldn’t bear this responsibility.

Regardless of how he looked at it, it was impossible for him to agree. It wasn’t that his head had gone rusty but that he was too level-headed.

Translated by luckykoi

Tang Suoyan had to report to the hospital at six in the morning. Consultations had to be completed before the ward rounds, so Xu lao arrived even earlier than he did.

There were six patients with consultations in total, each case thornier than the next. Their loved ones waited by the door, frantically pacing back and forth, trying to occupy the best position to be the first to receive the results when the doctors came out.

Yesterday’s case of optic atrophy wasn’t the most serious of the day. The most serious was a patient with a brain tumour pressing on the optic nerve, compounded by nasopharynx cancer cells invading the vessels, as well as bleeding in front of the eyes.

The patient was initially referred to the Ophthalmology (Eye) Department, then to the Neurology (Brain) Department, and today had to be transferred to the ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat) Department. One could only imagine the despair of the patients and their loved ones as they were kicked around hospital departments like a football. However, there was really nothing the Ophthalmology Department could do. Their hands were tied. The eye bleed was only an external manifestation of the brain and nasopharynx tumours; they couldn’t operate on the optic nerve, nor could they stop the eye bleed resulting from the nasopharynx cancer.

There was no hope to be given to the distraught family from today’s consultation.

Tang Suoyan’s schedule was tightly packed this week, with multiple surgeries arranged across the seven days. As he had to lead a team on a trip soon, he wouldn’t be taking surgeries from next week onwards.

Many patients had waited in the queue for a long time just for Tang Suoyan to handle their surgery. So, before he left, he had to perform surgeries on cases that couldn’t be deferred. The hospital arranged for other doctors to take charge of low-risk surgeries and surgeries for chronic eye conditions, but patients who insisted on waiting could continue to stay in the queue, providing that their condition was not time-sensitive.

The high school student with optic atrophy did eventually end up doing a vitrectomy. While waiting to be anaesthetised before the operation, the boy spoke in a low voice to Tang Suoyan. “Dr. Tang, I once wanted to be a doctor as well.”

Tang Suoyan hummed in response. “I heard that you’ve got good grades.”

“They’re pretty good. I scored 640 on my prelims.” By now, he was able to speak of this serenely. “My goal was the University of Medicine. I didn’t do that well in my prelims, but I was sure that I could make the cut.”

Tang Suoyan smiled, and his tone was relaxed. “You’ve come up a bit short of what I got back then.”

The boy appeared tempted to smile, but perhaps out of nervousness or taking care not to affect the surgical procedure, he kept his face as still as possible.

“I can no longer become a doctor, right?” the boy said. “It’s impossible for me now.”

Tang Suoyan said, “It’s not.”

The boy still seemed to be restraining his smile; the corners of his lips ticked upwards in an arc imperceptible to the eye. “I’ve already accepted it; you don’t have to comfort me. I’m going to be blind.”

The boy’s face was covered in sterile gauze, revealing only the eyes to be operated on. After testing that the anaesthesia had set in, Tang Suoyan asked him, “What type of doctor did you want to be?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t think too deeply into it. It’ll just be good to be a doctor.” When the boy covered in gauze spoke, his lips hardly moved.

Tang Suoyan said gently, “It’s possible if I say it is. Come and find me to discuss this issue after the surgery. I know many competent visually impaired people, and you’re much better than any of them, for they can’t score 640 on their prelims.”

His tone when speaking had a subtle upward lilt that made him sound relaxed, like they were discussing a very ordinary topic, in the midst of a casual chit-chat. The boy was initially tense as there was no saving his eyes after this surgery, yet a few words from Tang Suoyan had magically calmed him down.

It was necessary to ascertain the patient’s condition from time to time during the operation, so Tang Suoyan would occasionally speak to him and have him answer, which also served to soothe the patient’s nerves. The boy responded well and was very cooperative throughout. Later, when the anaesthetic began to wear off, he said softly, “Dr. Tang, it’s getting a bit painful.”

The anaesthesiologist came over to give him another dose. Tang Suoyan said, “It’s almost done, hang on a little more.”

“‘Kay.” The boy asked out of the blue, “Dr. Tang, what do you look like?”

While injecting the silicone oil, Tang Suoyan answered lightly, “Hm?”

The boy said, “I haven’t seen it. What do you look like?”

“Me?” Tang Suoyan pulled out the needle, smiling. “Pretty decent features, in any case.”

The young nurse operating the machines cut in from the byline. “Dr. Tang is unanimously acknowledged as the most handsome doctor in our hospital.”

The boy said, “It’s a pity that I haven’t seen him, then.”

With the surgery drawing to a close, the remaining work no longer required Tang Suoyan, so he stood to the side and said, “How’s that a pity? I’ll let you touch my face during ward rounds tomorrow. You can touch my brow ridge and my nose bridge, and then you should be able to feel how handsome I am.”

Everyone laughed at his joke, the boy as well, a real smile this time. Tang Suoyan’s voice and cadence were too gentle, wrapping people in a sense of security and stability. Moreover, no one was overly affected by the completion of the procedure; it went smoothly, without undue emotion.

“Why wait until tomorrow? How about just letting him touch it after the surgery is done?” the anaesthesiologist chortled.

Tang Suoyan said, “Not today. His palms are sweaty from the surgery, I can’t let him wipe them on my face.”

The boy’s laughter carried a hint of bashfulness. “They really are. My hands are drenched.”

“That’s for sure, when you’re both scared and in pain,” said Tang Suoyan.

The boy was surprised. “You know that it hurts for me?”

“Mn,” Tang Suoyan said quietly to him, “I know that it hurts for you.”

Translated on ninetysevenkoi.wordpress

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“Does it hurt?” Tao Xiaodong crouched down, checking his brother’s leg.

Tao Huainan’s eyelashes quivered. “It doesn’t.”

Tao Xiaodong dabbed it with medical cotton, and Tao Huainan didn’t hiss even once.

“Ku ge is going to be upset again when he gets back.” Tao Xiaodong was even a bit gleeful at the thought, sitting cross-legged on the carpet, cleaning the small cuts on Tao Huainan’s calf that were meshed together to cover an area.

“He already got upset just now, at me.” Tao Huainan smiled. “Ku ge‘s temper is as huge as ever, he got bent out of shape ’cause of me.”

Tao Xiaodong flicked his kneecap. “Don’t keep bullying him.”

“How dare I?” Tao Huainan’s smile was wry. “He hightails it the moment I talk back even slightly, not paying me any more mind.”

Tao Xiaodong asked, “Where did he go?”

“Dunno, he bolted.” Tao Huainan tapped his uninjured leg in thought. “Do you think he’ll be back?”

Tao Xiaodong laughed and said, How would I know?

Tao Huainan sighed. “What a huge temper.”

The duo had this dynamic since young. His younger brother, unlike his unassuming and docile appearance, was actually a fox cub. On the other hand, Chi Cheng had a fierce visage and a big temper. These two young ones had never once yielded to each other.

Chi Cheng returned at ten in the evening. Tao Xiaodong and Tao Huainan each occupied opposite ends of the couch, whilst Tao Huainan’s leg was resting on the couch, dressed in gauze by his brother.

Chi Cheng stiffened. Before even taking off his shoes, his voice carried over. “What happened to your leg?”

Tao Huainan, lounging over there, said, “Became lame.”

Tao Xiaodong glanced between them. He laughed on the inside, but he didn’t say a word, keeping mum.

Chi Cheng dashed over but didn’t dare to touch the leg. He peered down at Tao Huainan’s face, his expression dreadfully stormy. “How did it happen? Exactly how did it happen?”

Tao Huainan lifted his face in that direction. Feeling that the other was really about to explode from anger, he reached over to pat his arm. “I tripped. Did a roll from the top of the stairs and tumbled my way down four flights of stairs. It’s fine, it didn’t become lame.”

Chi Cheng didn’t speak. He stared at Tao Huainan’s face in silence, his lower jawline pulling extremely taut.

Tao Huainan patted his arm again. “It really didn’t become lame.”

Even the undulations of Chi Cheng’s chest had increased in magnitude. Tao Xiaodong finally had a place to step in after watching the whole shebang. He mediated, “Don’t argue. Ku ge, take it easy.”

Tao Huainan said towards his brother. “Who’s arguing? My Ku ge and I are doing A-Okay.”

Tao Xiaodong huffed in laughter and stood up, going to shower. Two children, he thought, sixteen and seventeen years of age, with equally childish tempers.

Though the two little ones grew up alongside each other, they also had their conflicts. Tao Xiaodong basically stayed out of their hair. It wasn’t too bad in recent years. Chi Cheng used to get into fights often when they were younger, but whether or not he was at fault, Tao Xiaodong had never reprimanded him.

He was quite able to accommodate children, spoiling the children under his wing. Tao Xiaodong had a soft spot in this area, so he wasn’t that strict with them.

But this didn’t mean that he was a mild-mannered person. He never had much love for other children, treating them rather with indifference.

On this day, Tao Xiaodong rejected another offer that didn’t sound like much. This was shared anonymously online by a customer who was having his tattoo done in the shop at that time, and Tao Xiaodong received yet another wave of ridicule from the internet.

It involved a university student who had been Tao Xiaodong’s fan for two years now. He followed his and the parlour’s Weibo accounts. As long as it was a tattoo done by Tao Xiaodong, he would share it with great zeal. This fan was a fine arts student, hailing Tao Xiaodong as his god.

He had made many enquiries to Huan Ge, and Huan Ge had also quoted him many prices. There was once that the student remained ‘typing…’ for a long time, finally to ask: Does the store do events? Promos and stuff like that?

Huan Ge said that they didn’t.

Alright, the other party replied, and didn’t ask again for a long time afterwards. Tao Xiaodong’s five-figure per hour rate was a luxury for students still schooling.

The previous day, he came by to ask again. Like before, Huan Ge gave him a rough estimate of the price, thereafter receiving no response.

When Huang Yida heard about it, he heaved a sigh, saying, “Since the kid likes you so much, just give him a tattoo and be done with it. I feel sorry for him.”

Huan Ge looked at Tao Xiaodong, not daring to make a peep. Their Dong ge normally didn’t write off the smallest amount, not even allowing thousands off a six-figure tattoo. It was because of this that outsiders called Tao Xiaodong a cold bastard, exuding a penny-pinching, miserly aura from head to toe. Even if the tattoo that the student wanted wasn’t big, it was impossible for their Dong ge to agree to do it for free.

As expected, Tao Xiaodong didn’t agree, retorting, “Why should I give him one?”

Huang Yida heaved a sigh again, admonishing, “What are you haggling with a kid for?”

Tao Xiaodong still shook his head. “My tattoos are worth that much, not a single cent less.”

In this regard, Tao Xiaodong had never let up. When he said no, he really meant no.

And so, Huang Yida told Huan Ge with a smile, “Forget it, then. Your Dong ge isn’t willing.”

Due to this incident, Tao Xiaodong became the laughingstock of the circle again. His stinginess wasn’t a thing of a day or two now, they said, the kid had poor taste for liking Tao Xiaodong’s tattoos, tainted with the stink of paper bills.

Huan Ge was infuriated to see his Dong ge being mocked.

Tao Xiaodong watched him shut his eyes ever so often in anger over there, and went over to pet his head. Huan Ge looked up, and Tao Xiaodong asked him, “What are you reading that’s making you look so expressive?”

Inclining his head, Huan Ge looked all aggrieved at Tao Xiaodong, “Dong ge, they’re slamming you.”

Tao Xiaodong burst into laughter. “Isn’t it fine if you just don’t look at it?”

Huan Ge’s brows furrowed. “I can’t help it, okay?”

Tao Xiaodong mussed his hair, unconcerned. “Go on and look, then. When you’re done looking, move on. They’re not worth your temper.”

Huang Yida said that Tao Xiaodong just didn’t know how to paint himself in a good light. How easy it was to be lauded with praise, yet he just had to choose to walk the road of scorn. Even if paltry, there was money to be made from that kid’s tattoo, he didn’t have to insist on haggling over this.

To which, Tao Xiaodong calmly said, “Why should I? I’m no philanthropist.”

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