The handover of the intern nurses would certainly not take place in the ward.
The nurse outside was looking for someone; once she found the head nurse, the whole group headed back to the nurses' station.
Tang Yaoting wanted to follow them all the way, but after the head nurse glared at him, he could only stand longingly at the ward's doorway. Grasping the doorframe, he stared after her receding figure like a devoted husband turned to stone.
He was excited yet anxious, thrilled yet timid. For a moment, a whirlwind of emotions tangled in his heart, leaving him at a loss for what to do. He could only turn to Yu Jin for help.
“Yu Jin, what should I do?”
Normally at a time like this, Yu Jin would throw cold water on Tang Yaoting.
Tang Yaoting was used to it. He knew he was mostly just talk and rarely genuinely fell for someone, but this time was different. The moment he saw her face, he truly felt his heart racing.
Yet, he was also afraid this was just a shallow illusion of lust, so he wanted his brother to douse him with a bucket of cold water to snap him out of it and help him re-evaluate his feelings.
To his surprise, Yu Jin didn't try to dampen his enthusiasm at all. Instead, he just looked at him and quietly uttered two words.
“Full offensive.”
“!!??”
The instant he heard those two words, Tang Yaoting widened his eyes in disbelief.
But immediately after, a rush of joy surged straight to his head. He was practically certain that this woman who had suddenly burst into his life was his destined soulmate!
Otherwise, how could she have won the approval of two men!
Even Yu Jin thought she was the one!
She was definitely the one!
Tang Yaoting's expression turned solemn, as if he were taking on some monumental mission, and he nodded firmly.
“Full offensive!!”
“Full offensive where?”
As the two were talking, the patient from the neighboring bed returned.
He was a very delicate and handsome youth, not very tall, wearing a hospital gown. His short, messy yet styled light brown curly hair gave him a rather scholarly aura.
Holding a stack of books, he greeted Tang Yaoting at the door. Seeing a stranger in the ward when he walked in, he was taken aback for a moment, but quickly recovered, waving at Yu Jin and greeting him shyly:
“Hello, my name is Chi Yu. Are you a new roommate?”
Yu Jin shook his head, but before he could speak, Tang Yaoting slung an arm around Chi Yu, leaning his entire weight onto the youth's rather frail-looking shoulders. In an exceptionally good mood, he introduced him to Yu Jin:
“This is the little writer I told you about.
“Little writer, this is my brother, Yu Jin.
“Strictly speaking, your bed actually belonged to Yu Jin. He was discharged early to do you a favor, which is the only reason you got to stay here. So, shouldn't you be thanking my brother?”
“...”
Hearing this, a dark look passed over Yu Jin's face, and he wished he could just gag Tang Yaoting.
If anyone in this ward was actually taking up a patient's bed, it was none other than Tang Yaoting himself.
However, Chi Yu was quite naive and seemed to take it at face value.
He quickly bowed to offer his thanks, forcing Yu Jin to step forward to steady him.
“Don't listen to his nonsense. I don't have any illness, so how could I occupy a patient's space?”
Yu Jin said this intending to drop a hint to Tang Yaoting, but to his surprise, Chi Yu froze and blinked his eyes.
“Uh... Brother Jin, you misunderstood. I'm not sick either.”
“?”
Yu Jin was taken aback.
Chi Yu said sheepishly:
“I just came to the hospital to find some inspiration.
“You guys probably know that writing is something that requires the perfect alignment of time, place, and people. A lot of times, you have the right time and place, but the people... ahem, basically, you're out of inspiration.
“That's why I change my working environment every once in a while to see if I can squeeze out some inspiration.
“This time, I ended up at the hospital. Honestly, I really should thank you, Brother Jin. If you hadn't vacated this bed, I wouldn't have met Brother Yaoting. Brother Yaoting has such an active mind; he's given me quite a lot of inspiration.”
Tang Yaoting had an active mind?
True enough.
When it came to being absurd, his mind was indeed incredibly active.
Yu Jin didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but Tang Yaoting didn't see anything wrong with the comment at all. He proudly thumped his chest and said:
“Naturally! If you ever get stuck in the future, just come to me. If nothing else, I can guarantee you a steady flow of inspiration.”
Chi Yu nodded vigorously, his eyes shining. He was as pure and simple as a student.
Perhaps because both his “love life” and “career” had peaked today, Tang Yaoting refused to leave well enough alone and pushed further:
“Oh, right, little writer. Don't you have your books here? Quick, sign one and give it to my brother.
“Expressing thanks with just words is useless; you've got to take some real action.”
“Oh, right, right! I almost forgot.”
Chi Yu scrambled over to the bedside, pulled a book from the headboard, and picked up a pen to quickly scribble his name. Leaving the signed page open, he presented the book to Yu Jin with both hands.
Yu Jin shot Tang Yaoting an annoyed glare but found it hard to reject Chi Yu's enthusiasm. He accepted it with a smile and looked at the signature, which read "Chi Yu."
The character “Chi” was written out, while the “Yu” was drawn as a little fish.
Somewhat surprised, he asked, “Is your pen name your real name?”
Chi Yu nodded. “Yeah, I was too lazy to think of anything else, and my real name is quite nice.”
Indeed, "Chi Yu" did sound like the name of someone in literature. After all, the idiom went "the fish in the moat are affected when the city gate catches fire," and great literature was often born from suffering... So, did this author write about realistic struggles and tragedies?
He was so young; did he really have that many profound life insights?
Letting his thoughts wander, Yu Jin closed the title page and focused his gaze on the cover. A massive question mark instantly appeared in his mind.
He froze.
Because the title that greeted his eyes was:
《Slay the Evil Dragon, Save the World: The Dragon-Slaying Youth Ultimately Becomes the Princess》
“?”
For a moment, Yu Jin doubted his own eyesight. He rubbed his eyes and looked again.
It hadn't changed.
“...”
It was over.
The literary world was completely doomed.
Not knowing what expression to make, he looked at Chi Yu with a deeply conflicted gaze and asked in an incredibly strange tone:
“The dragon this youth slayed... was it a big dragon or a small dragon?”
Chi Yu pondered for a moment, then replied solemnly:
“An old dragon.”
“...” Yu Jin choked on his breath, feeling the youth was dodging the main point. So, he rephrased his question. “Then, this youth becoming a princess... is it physically or psychologically?”
Chi Yu had absolutely no prejudice against his own work, replying with complete candor:
“Ethically.”
“...”
What in the actual hell did “ethically” even mean in this context?
Did ethics even apply to a book like this?
That ship had sailed a long time ago.
Yu Jin's mouth twitched, and he quietly put the book away.
A book this outrageous was something he definitely had to examine and criticize thoroughly when he had the time.
But right now, he didn't have that much time to waste.
“Yaoting, I have to go for my checkup now.
“Remember, you can put off anything else, but you can never stop going on the offensive!”
Yu Jin patted Tang Yaoting on the shoulder, giving him an “I believe in you” look.
Tang Yaoting's fighting spirit was instantly ignited. He patted Yu Jin's shoulder in turn and declared solemnly:
“Leave it to me, don't worry!
“Starting today, I will become a dragon-slaying hero until I slay this fierce dragon called love!”
“...”
Hearing this, Yu Jin's eyelid twitched violently, and his grip on the book tightened involuntarily.
How could he possibly not worry?
A dragon-slaying youth just turned into a princess, and now you're telling me you want to slay a dragon too...
Yaoting, buddy, maybe we should find a different metaphor?
Slaying a dragon... doesn't that feel a bit too ominous?
...
Rate on N.U.
