Dr. Wang was furious. He thought to himself, ever since returning from overseas training and joining this hospital, his status and background had earned him respect. He spent his days in administration, drinking tea, and reading newspapers—who would dare challenge him or say no?
If it weren't for the shortage of staff and his own fondness for clinical work, why would he even bother to come down and see patients?
He was astonished that a mere nurse dared to talk back to him. His face darkened unconsciously as he coldly asked, "I don't believe I've seen you before. Who pulled strings to get you in here? Don't you understand the rules at all?"
The young nurse, under Dr. Wang's sharp gaze, turned beet red with embarrassment. Her mind went blank, and she stood there frozen.
Dr. Wang continued in a stern voice, "Not willing to answer? Then why aren't you continuing with your work?"
The nurse trembled, unable to move forward.
Alei, puzzled, took his grandfather's hand and tugged, indicating, "Don't worry. Maybe you're just nervous. If this hand shocks you again, I'll cut it off immediately."
Dr. Wang suppressed a smile as he stared at the nurse.
Alei extended his hand, giving the nurse an encouraging look. The nurse cautiously touched Alei's hand and, finding nothing amiss, nervously knelt back down.
"Please make a fist."
She inserted the needle with precision. After seeing blood return, she smoothly advanced the needle a bit more.
"Please relax your fist."
She released the tourniquet, loosened the regulator, and fixed everything with tape in one swift motion. Truly a top student from a medical school.
Dr. Wang, holding the prescription slip, advised Grandpa Lei that this neurotrophic medication, which would help with a quick recovery, was an imported drug and very precious. He told him to go pay for it immediately and retrieve the medicine.
Upon hearing that it was a nutritional drug, imported and expensive, Alei grew nervous and urgently asked, "How much does this medicine cost? If it's too expensive, forget it." He motioned for his grandfather to show him the prescription slip.
Dr. Wang replied casually, "Not much, just a few thousand yuan."
Alei exclaimed, "What! A few thousand yuan and you call that not expensive? What kind of miracle drug costs that much?"
Traditionally, patients never haggle over medical fees—the doctor's word is final. "Gold has a price, but medicine is priceless." And now, this young man was claiming the medicine was too expensive. Having encountered two disrespectful youngsters in one day, Dr. Wang felt deeply frustrated, and his expression darkened further.
Forcing patience, he asked, "Do you remember how you got to the hospital? Can you recall being struck by lightning? What happened before that? Tell me everything."
Alei's heart skipped a beat. He had already planned his response before coming to the hospital, so he smoothly replied, "I don't remember a thing. Thinking about it makes my head hurt."
Dr. Wang, feeling triumphant, said, "Exactly. This medicine is designed to treat your post-concussion syndrome and restore your memory. If you don't take it, you're on your own!"
But a few thousand yuan!
Alei, still stubborn, snatched the prescription slip from his grandfather.
One look and he was stunned. The doctor's handwriting—was it English or Chinese? Was it some kind of secret code? Could Dr. Wang be skilled in wild cursive script? Despite being a high school graduate, Alei could hardly make out a single word. He tried to hide his embarrassment as he guessed at the indecipherable characters, his face turning red with frustration.
Suddenly, the prescription slip in Alei's hand turned yellow, slowly emitting a faint smoke. In no time, it turned black and crumbled into ash, falling from his hand in pieces.
Alei stared at the remaining ash in his hand, dumbfounded and at a loss.
Both the nurse and Dr. Wang were speechless, staring blankly at the scene.
After a long while, Alei came to his senses and murmured, "What now? Does this mean I can't hold things anymore? Can't wear nice clothes? Can't date? This is serious."
Grandpa Lei's face changed as he listened, and he began to worry. This lightning strike was too strange.
Dr. Wang muttered to himself, "Could it be that the lightning strike triggered some incredible response in his nervous system? Or maybe it's just stress-induced—?"
Realizing the nurse was still standing by, Dr. Wang, despite his own confusion, felt the need to maintain his academic authority and snapped, "What are you standing around for? Get back to work!"
Why be so hard on her?
Alei was displeased with Dr. Wang's cold demeanor.
The nurse, looking at Alei with grateful eyes, said as she stood up, "Thank you. This is a call button. Press it if you need anything. I'll check on you regularly."
With that, she turned and left determinedly.
Once the nurse was gone, Dr. Wang reassured Alei, "This phenomenon is just due to your nervousness. Don't worry, it's temporary. We have a systematic treatment plan."
Grandpa Lei nodded and asked Dr. Wang to rewrite the prescription.
Alei, thinking about the thousands of yuan—his grandfather's wages for half a year and their basic living expenses—argued with his grandfather, saying, "Even if you write it, I'm not taking it!"
Grandpa Lei, irritated, said, "Not taking it? Then don't think about going home!" He then turned to the embarrassed Dr. Wang and said, "Please go ahead and write it. We'll follow the expert's advice."
After writing the prescription, Dr. Wang handed it to Grandpa Lei and asked if they needed anything else.
Grandpa Lei replied that they would follow the hospital's guidance as long as Alei's condition was cured without any lasting effects.
Everything returned to normal.
Alei quietly chatted with his grandfather, "Grandpa, don't you think that nurse looks like someone from our Lei Family Village? Like Aunt Chen's daughter, Fangfang? She studied at your village school, and you even taught her Chinese."
Grandpa Lei, feeling relieved that Alei's mind seemed clear, replied, "Girls change a lot as they grow. When she left the village school and moved with her mother, she was about eleven or twelve. I've taught too many students to remember clearly after all this time. But I did hear that she went to study in the city, excelled academically, skipped grades, and was accepted early by a top medical university."
Alei pondered, understanding his grandfather's unspoken thoughts. He knew that his dream of getting into college was just that—a dream. His stubborn brain hadn't kept up, and his grades never improved. He fell silent.
He thought to himself, "That nurse isn't too tall or short, about 1.67 meters, just the right height for me. When she held my hand earlier, a warm energy seemed to flow straight to my heart. Did I really shock her?"
When the nurse bent down to give him the injection, her sweaty face gave off a unique fragrance that still lingered in Alei's mind, leaving him lost in thought.
As Alei reminisced, he gradually drifted into a dream...
The nurse, silent for days, had always endured all kinds of grievances quietly, never complaining. In the duty room, she replayed the events of that day over and over in her mind.
During the wound cleaning, why didn't he shock me? Perhaps he was groggy at the time. But during the infusion, when the little monk was conscious, he shocked me? Was it really that powerful? Was this how it feels when a boy and a girl touch for the first time? If so, who would dare to fall in love?
And that ordinary prescription slip, how did it catch fire in his hand? It was unbelievable. The name on the medical record, Lei Tianlai, why does it sound so familiar? I just can't place it...
Passing by the duty room, Dr. Wang noticed that the call button was constantly beeping. Seeing the nurse lost in thought, he lost his temper and barked, "What are you daydreaming about? The patient in bed 24 needs an IV. Go now!"
"Oh, I'll go right away!"