"What you reading?"
Wang Shi raised the book up, "Internal medicine. I have got a very mysterious case in hand and the person with whom I was handling it, stood me up," He resumed reading, registering the subtle shift in her expressions she thought he didn't notice.
"Their words were harsh,"
His action of marking stopped as he smiled in a cold and distant way, realizing she was talking about Gu Feng's parents. "Isn't that normal? Doctors can be both God and slayers; it depends on the outcome. These words will change once I cure their son but would become harsher if…." Trailing the sentence he lifted his phone kept on the side as if to check something but put it back with unhindered disappointment.
Zz was still offline!
"Looks like you are waiting for someone's call," Suyin gaze slide over the cabinet near the bathroom where she left her handbag, and she instantly left the warmth of the blanket to fetch her phone. Barefoot.
"The friend who stood me up…. Tsk… SLIPPERS….The floor's cold," He reminded.
"Just one minute…." She checked her phone. Blank screen! Opened the back flap. Wet! There's no way for her to become Zz without it. Though there was Wang Shi's desktop, the risk of being exposed was too high. "Damn! It's not working," she deflated back on the couch.
"Use landline. If you want to access the internet, use the desktop. There's already a guest account on it, Honey uses it to play games. Password is 'HONEY'"
"No it's fine," She breathed, finding herself in a painful situation. She wanted to help him yet she cannot, despite being stuck in the same room with him. How ironic! Either she can help him or save herself from getting exposed….. but not both! Nevertheless, human life was at stake! She might have left the profession years back, but cannot let someone die on her.
"Ahem," She pointed at the file with Gu Feng written over it, "You mind if I take a look? Actually I've studied medicine a little, how about I give my inputs on the case?" Initiating this conversation made her feel miserable but she could only hope things would go smoothly.
That's it! That was what Wang Shi wanted to hear. Thank God she asked herself!
He came out of the momentary shock of the usage of the word 'Little'. Her resume was anything but little! However, it raised Wang Shi's curiosity, as no cheater would dare to volunteer in front of him. The chances of getting caught are…. um…. within a minute!
"Sure," He nodded, maintaining his calm composure. "Coffee?"
"Black. No sugar." Without a delay, she picked the file. Though she was aware of everything written in it word by word, she has to put on a facade.
*****
"Hmm… Adolescent Mosaicism, with pelvic pain and unconsciousness," She mumbled, "He had no history of these symptoms but everything started suddenly and got worse with treatment. Maybe he did something that night which triggered the initial symptoms,"
"Alcohol, sex, infected food… His girlfriend shared everything, but she's fine." He countered.
"Yeah… but she's not a case of mosaicism and compromised immune system." She bites the pen between her lips, "What type of alcohol did he took? Did you spoke to his girlfriend?"
"It was a college party. They mixed their drinks… variety of alcohol, in short." He answered, trying to look into her eyes instead of the damn pen between her lips. "His girlfriend told me they left the party early and later had more drinks and ordered beef from five star at his apartment. Later he suddenly collapsed after…. Cough…. ejaculation."
She ignored how Wang Shi felt awkward and continued, "What about their history? Did she notice any problems before....i mean while having sex? Or if he takes any drug or medicine to increase stamina?"
One of the side-effects of testosterone was impotence, ejaculation and erection issues, decreased amounts of semen, and testicle size. To cope up with that desperate people take medicines.
"Blood tests came clear. But she mentioned that he often felt sad and unsatisfied with his body. He even raised this issue to his father, but the latter brushed him off with the usual words…. It will be fine once you grow up."
She sighed, but his parents are the least of her concerns. She flipped the page and mumbled, "It can't be ZE, there's no tumor. Whatever it is, its systemic." She raised her brows, "Scleroderma? It fits the symptoms,"
She waited for his opinion but he looked at her with narrowed eyes. Silently! His curiosity was its peak.
One thing was sure…. She was not a cheater. Nope! There's no chance! Her resume was true in every sense! Then why did she accept it in front of the medical council? Was she threatened?
"Wang Shi?"
"I'll start him on antibiotics for Scleroderma. Hopefully, it helps him," He got up, straightened his wrinkled scrubs, "Lunch?"
"Nope," She looked back at the files, "I'll re-read it from scratch, we are not sure yet. What if we missed something?"
"Careless,"
She heard him as he walked out.
"…"
*****
An hour later he came and found her munching on energy bar while three empty cups of coffee was placed at the table.
"Suyin, I thought you were an excellent doctor but obviously you are not,"
"WHAT…" Panic popped out stronger as his words strike her emotions. Her eyes widened, her fingers curled on the blanket. "I-I…"
"Why so scared?" Easing the atmosphere he walked up to her and placed the tray he was holding over the books. He pointed at the empty cups, taking away the half-eaten energy bar. "This is bad. Eat something solid."
She saw him lifting the lid of the bowl, serving a portion of cheese pasta, and garlic bread on a plate. "I'm not a doctor." She reminded.
"Half doctor it is! Happy? Now eat," He passed the plate, and served one to himself, "I've started Gu Feng on antibiotics,"
"Yummm…" She murmured after the first bite, realizing how hungry she was. Now that she's able to help Wang Shi with the case, she could eat with a relaxed mind.
"Isn't it? This hospital makes best pasta. Too bad we cannot advertise it," he pouted adorably while taking a seat across her.
They both looked at each other for a second before breaking into laughter. It felt good to get a company over food.
He paused eating, concentrating on her face. Her laughter was bright and cheerful like kids dancing in the rain happily. It was infectious that rung wind chimes in his ears, and all he could do was joining her.
"You should laugh often, Suyin. It suits you." He complimented.
"And you should pout often. In fact, you do it better than girls and can make anyone envious." She wiped the sauce from her lips. "Where did you learn it from?"
"Who else could it be? Yuyu and Lan. Those two force everyone to pout when taking pictures. You know…. Let me show you something," He picked his phone and passed it to her, "Honey is a pro. That brat practiced it watching Angelina Jolie."
She set the spoon down accepting his phone, "Oh my God, this is Honey!? So cuteee." It was a cute picture where Yuyu and Lan photo bombed Honey's picture with Wang Shi, annoying the latter.
She returned his phone, "Can't believe this little tsundere has this side. Where is he?"