Life is Like a Journey – Chapter 45
by Little PandaVolume 1: Rise
Accompany
Two people are always better than one
The bar lights were red and green at night, paper drunken gold fan1, the dancing lady swayed her enchanting body on top, sticking to the steel pipe occasionally making seductive postures, the crowd below cheered, someone jumped on stage to hot dance closely with her, as one song ended, Qin Xuan jumped off the stage, went to the bar and ordered a glass of whiskey.
The bartender looked at her with a difficult expression: “Sister, this is already your fourth glass…”
Qin Xuan pulled out a stack of RMB and placed it on the table: “Less nonsense, bring the wine.”
As soon as she finished speaking, someone approached her side, handing his tall glass to her: “Beauty, give me face and accompany me for a drink?”
Qin Xuan raised her eyes, coldly scrutinizing him, with his unremarkable appearance, short and also fat: “Get lost, who do you think you are…”
“You…” the man’s face flushed to the color of pig liver, he wanted to make a move but someone lightly patted his shoulder, seemingly not with much force, yet pinched his bone painfully, knowing he’d met a tough nut, so he silently swallowed his anger and left resentfully.
“F*ck, if you’re taken, say so earlier.”
Qin Xuan, with drunken and hazy eyes, scrutinized her for quite a while before recognizing it was Xiang Nanke, and then she grabbed and lifted her duckbill cap, her tongue couldn’t straighten: “F*ck… why are you dress like this…”
Wearing a wide sweatshirt that completely concealed her figure, with casual sports pants on the lower body, and again with a duckbill cap, with short hair, looking exactly like a delinquent boy, oh, no, girl.
“One glass of vodka, thanks,” she asked the bartender for a drink, her eyes briefly flashed past her face, and she beckoned her with a finger.
Qin Xuan leaned over to her ear.
Her warm breath exhaled by her ear: “Of course, to catch someone.”
Xiang Nanke’s peripheral vision landed on the dance floor, and as she put down the wine glass, she had already dashed into the crowd.
She pressed the miniature communicator on her collar: “Each team, prepare.”
The cleaning staff originally tidying up put down their brooms and quietly took over the exit.
From the back kitchen emerged a busboy carrying a tray with white wine on it, walking into the crowd.
Several pleasure-seeking guests also put down their wine glasses and encircled toward the center of the dance floor.
On the stage, a new hot dance lady appeared; she walked over and patted the shoulder of the man dancing closely, who turned his head impatiently. Xiang Nanke maintained a smile: “May I ask, are you Mr. Li?”
The man subconsciously nodded: “I am…”
The man suddenly shut his mouth as Xiang Nanke’s smile turned somewhat strange, his pupils contracted suddenly, and he turned to run.
Xiang Nanke swept a leg, tripping the person to the ground, and the man rolled and crawled off the stage. The crowd burst into commotion, with screams arising everywhere.
“Team one, team one, the suspect escaped toward the door!”
The plainclothes police (not in uniform) guarding the bar door closed in, and with no way out, the man looked around and directly pounced toward the bar counter.
Xiang Nanke pushed through the crowd, closely chasing after, and from afar, she saw Qin Xuan raise the wine bottle in her hand. She inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.
Smashing was momentarily satisfying, and after smashing, the man collapsed at her feet. The doctor blinked, looking a bit innocent: “18,000 red wine, troubling Officer Xiang to pay the bill.”
Xiang Nanke felt somewhat pained and gritted her teeth: “He is the suspect in the Chen Qiao’er case. I helped you catch the person you wanted, how about a discount?”
Qin Xuan kicked the middle-aged man collapsed on the ground like a dead dog and spat on his face.
“So it was him, wasting my good wine. 15,000 can’t be any less.”
The last sentence was said to her, as Xiang Nanke handcuffed the person and escorted him onto the police car.
“Alright, first write an IOU (a document that acknowledges the existence of a debt.).”
“You!” Qin Xuan was furious, but today she truly wasn’t in the mood to bicker with her. She didn’t know what she suddenly remembered, but her expression darkened, and she waved at her dismissively, turning to walk back.
“Team Xiang, they’re gone.” The prisoner was already escorted onto the car, and a colleague urged her. Xiang Nanke turned her head to glance, then jumped down and shut the car door.
“You all go back first, I still have matters.”
An officer caught up with her from behind: “You’re unhappy?”
Qin Xuan shook her head, bypassed her and walked forward, suddenly someone grabbed her wrist. In the moonlit, silent, deserted alley, her eyes shone brightly, with a trace of concern looking into the depths of her soul.
“It’s very dangerous for a drunk person to wander alone on the street,” she flipped out her wallet and drew a stack of red bills, placing them in her palm.
“18,000, to buy you to go home.”
“Zhiyou,” Yu Gui’s voice was very tired, still wearing green scrubs, leaning on the ambulance while talking on the phone with her.
“Opo is really a very difficult job, on one side saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda, on the other bringing a person down to a nine-layer hell.”
The young doctor supported her forehead with her hand: “The guilt is pressing on me so much I can’t breathe. I’ve been often thinking lately whether I’m really suitable for this job…”
The sound of keyboard tapping accompanied her speaking voice transmitted through the receiver: “Xiaogui, have you ever thought that those people who die saving others will go to the Western Pure Land2? Only those who are greatly evil and wicked will go to Avici Hell3. Miaomiao is so kind; she won’t.”
Yu Gui raised her head, looking at the square in front of the hospital, where wives in patient clothes walked hand in hand with men, and elderly couples pushed wheelchairs. The streetlights reflected on them, and everything was beautiful and serene; this is the true human world.
“Sometimes I wish she weren’t so kind, as long as she’s living… living is enough…”
Hearing the soft sobbing from the other side, Fang Zhiyou suddenly became nervous: “Don’t cry… I’ll go see you next month…”
“Fang Zhiyou, are you still playing or not! Hurry up! The boss’s aggro has all transferred to me!” From the headset came a teammate’s roar, and Fang Zhiyou, having no time to type, directly sent a voice message.
“Sorry, I’ll be right there.”
She tightly covered the receiver and softly said goodbye to Yu Gui: “I’ll stop talking to you for now. I’ll find you after I finish playing.”
She hung up the phone and then turned her gaze towards the screen. Someone had privately messaged her, it was the team’s red-haired healer.
Shangshanruoshui4: 「Turns out you’re a girl, huh.」
And a girl with a very nice voice.
Wulikanhua5: 「…Then let’s fight monsters.」
Fang Zhiyou touched her chin and thought for a moment, then added: 「Is it so strange to play as a gender-bender character?」
The opponent, while healing her, replied very quickly: 「Not strange, there are all kinds of people in the game.」
Wulikanhua: 「True… don’t you work? How come I see you online every day?」
Shangshanruoshui: 「Aren’t you the same?」
Of course, it’s not the same. She is a full-time game booster, and besides this one main account, she also has many small accounts used to hoard gold to exchange for RMB. Every time, she’ll also fight for boss drops and rare items to sell for money, but Shangshanruoshui seems to have no interest in these things, yet expensive costumes and mounts are never lacking. She’s truly an RMB player.
Maybe she’s not a tycoon, just a rich second generation, Fang Zhiyou thought to herself. One round ended, and she called Yu Gui back, but again, there was no answer, probably busy again.
She sighed deeply, feeling slightly desolate.
Lu Qingshi framed the painting that He Miaomiao gave her and hung it in the living room. She didn’t know when Miaomiao painted it, maybe before she entered the ICU, at that time, she could still pick up colored pencils and sit on the bed.
“Miaomiao, why did you want to paint Doctor Lu?” Mother He fondly touched her daughter’s head.
“Because…” the small child used a drawing pen to support her chin, in a childish voice: “Auntie Lu always frowns and isn’t happy at all.”
“So, you want to make her happy, right?” Mother He looked at her daughter with eyes full of affection.
He Miaomiao vigorously nodded her head: “Mm!”
She drew a simple stick figure, with a wide grin, then added a stethoscope on the stick figure’s neck, pointing to show her mother.
“This is Auntie Lu, this is me.”
Beside the little figure, there is also a smaller figure, also wearing a white coat, with a big hand holding a small hand.
“When I grow up, I want to be a doctor too, like Auntie Lu, a super amazing doctor!”
Lu Qingshi, touching the painting, could even imagine He Miaomiao’s confident look at that time, but ah, the super amazing Auntie Lu in your eyes, ultimately failed too.
In the end, He Miaomiao’s liver allowed a child with congenital biliary atresia6 to regain health.
Her kidney then allowed a long-term dialysis uremia7 girl to remove the dialysis machine.
The corneas allowed a severely burned child to see the light again, exactly the child saved by Yu Gui in the Loutai apartment fire.
Maybe some things really have their determinations in fate, just like after eleven years of a long love run, she and Fang Zhiyou ultimately parted ways.
Just like Lu Qingshi and Gu Yanzhi, knowing each other for only a short year, can remain together and understand each other.
Just like Xiang Nanke and Qin Xuan, two originally non-intersecting parallel lines also found an intersection.
Before fate turns its gears, none of us knows what will happen next.
This summer is very hot, with unbearable heat. Lu Qingshi hasn’t gone outside for three days, nor has she gone to work. Her car is obediently parked in the parking space, and Gu Yanzhi, carrying a watermelon in hand, knocked on her home’s door.
For a long time, no one responded.
She cleared her throat: “Doctor Lu, if you don’t open the door, I’ll unlock it myself.”
She took out a wire from her pocket; special operations subject secret infiltration was easily handled.
“Clack—” the security door opened a crack in front of her, and Lu Qingshi poked out her head: “What are you doing?”
Before the words fell, she had already wedged one foot into the door crack, stopping her from closing the door.
Lu Qingshi, helpless, could only step back, covering her mouth and lightly coughing: “Checked, not dead, you can go back.”
In just three short days, Lu Qingshi had thinned a circle, her eyes full of red blood vessels, hair casually loose, face with an abnormal flush, and the room’s low air conditioning made her shiver.
Gu Yanzhi put down the watermelon, pressed her palm on Lu Qingshi’s forehead, then touched her own forehead, and pulled her wrist towards the door: “Go with me to the hospital, you have a fever.”
Lu Qingshi brushed away her hand, coughed two more times: “Not going.”
The good-tempered fire instructor got somewhat angry, furrowing her eyebrows: “Should I carry you, or will you walk yourself?”
Lu Qingshi’s face suddenly flushed red, as she bent over, violently coughing and gasping, the sound truly heart-wrenching.
Gu Yanzhi sighed deeply, really having no way with her, and walked over to gently pat her back to ease her breathing.
“Where are you uncomfortable?” Today, Yu Gui was in the clinic, busy the whole morning, without a sip of water, head down writing medical records, not even looking up.
Lu Qingshi, covering her mouth, coughed: “Upper respiratory tract infection, two days of fever with nasal congestion and runny nose, throat swollen and painful…”
She hadn’t finished her words when Yu Gui suddenly raised her head, her words not fluent: “Lu… Teacher Lu…”
The other party seemed really very uncomfortable, not wanting to speak, barely nodding her head.
Yu Gui quickly took the stethoscope from her neck and pressed it on her chest, the half-open collar exposing a thin collarbone, with skin so white that bluish blood vessels were faintly visible.
For some reason, Yu Gui was a bit nervous, and with her continuously coughing, the breath sounds were very noisy, making it hard to hear clearly.
Lu Qingshi raised her head, her voice intermittent: “Give… give me…”
“Ah?” Yu Gui was still in a daze when Lu Qingshi had already taken the stethoscope from her neck, put it on herself, and pressed it on her chest.
Yu Gui was wide-eyed and speechless; there was actually this kind of action.
Following behind, Gu Yanzhi couldn’t help but burst into laughter: “Little Doctor Yu, you’re still too inexperienced.”
Yu Gui rolled her eyes; in front of Teacher Lu, who dares to call themselves experienced?
“Arrange for me a blood routine and biochemistry. You decide on the medicine to prescribe; regular antibiotics are enough.”
After confirming nothing serious, Lu Qingshi removed the stethoscope and threw it back to her.
As soon as she finished speaking, she began to cough violently again.
Yu Gui swiftly wrote the examination order for her, and Gu Yanzhi supported her to draw blood.
As Lu Qingshi walked, she was really annoyed by her: “The illness has also been checked… you can go back… don’t support me! Cough cough cough…”
Gu Yanzhi remained unmoved, even wrapping her arm around her shoulder, afraid she would fall, holding her as they walked forward.
“No way, I must accompany you to finish the injection. Who knows if you might run away halfway.”
“…”
Lu Qingshi was speechless; this fire instructor really is treating her like a child.
“I won’t…”
“You wouldn’t lock yourself at home for three days, catch a cold, and not see a doctor, dragging it to become so serious?”
“I…” Lu Qingshi turned her face away, her eyes somewhat dim: “I just don’t know what to do… whatever I do, I will think of…”
For every death case, Renji Medical University will form an expert group to investigate if there’s any irregular operation and invite health planning committee officials to supervise, so the hospital quickly granted her a small long vacation.
Gu Yanzhi turned her body, letting her directly look into his eyes: “So I can’t let you stay alone even more. From now on, I’ll accompany you; two people are always better than one.”
Lu Qingshi’s expression softened a bit, and she said nothing more, her lips slightly curving when her hand wrapped on her shoulder again.
After work, hearing Yu Gui say Lu Qingshi was in the emergency observation room getting an IV, Qin Xuan hurriedly took off the white coat and rushed over to see her.
“Lu…” She pushed open the door and had just said a word when someone softly stopped her: “Shh, she just fell asleep not long ago.”
Qin Xuan nodded, and Gu Yanzhi gently put the person sleeping soundly on her shoulder down, using clothes to make a pillow under her head, then tiptoed out and gently closed the door.
“Is everything okay?” Qin Xuan pointed inside.
“The fever has already receded, but in her heart…” Gu Yanzhi pointed to her own chest, then walked to the door to smoke.
Qin Xuan also sighed deeply, and mentioning this slightly reddened her eyes: “Forget it, don’t mention this. Bringing it up makes everyone sad, not to mention the emergency room is now a cloud of gloom, and the ICU is also lifeless.”
He Miaomiao’s death is a heavy stone pressing on the chests of all who participated in her treatment, suffocating, with a Health Planning Committee watching like a tiger.
Even if the family doesn’t pursue responsibility, as a provincial hospital, they still must produce an accident identification report.
Before finishing a cigarette, a luxury car stopped at the hospital entrance, and someone rolled down the car window and shouted Qin Xuan’s name.
She threw away the cigarette in her hand, rushed over in seven-centimeter high heels, hugged the man’s neck in public, and offered a passionate kiss: “Old Bao, you finally came to pick me up, wuwuwu.”
Gu Yanzhi shook her head; Doctor Qin really is warm and overflowing to everyone, unlike someone who is like a stone, no matter how much warmth, won’t warm up.
Thinking like this, she took out a lighter again to light a cigarette, and when she raised her eyes, the flame flickered in her eyes.
She saw a person standing in the corner across the road, just in Qin Xuan’s blind spot.
Gu Yanzhi took a puff and slowly exhaled a smoke ring, finding the police officer a bit interesting.
Footnotes
- Paper drunken gold fan (紙醉金迷): A Chinese idiom that describes a scene of excessive luxury and indulgence. It conveys an atmosphere of hedonism and extravagance, often associated with opulence and lavish spending, particularly in nightlife settings. The idiom captures the sense of being intoxicated by wealth and material pleasures, where “paper” references money, and “gold” signifies luxury. This phrase is used to depict environments where people are engrossed in lavish and often superficial pleasures.
- Western Pure Land: In Buddhist belief, the Western Pure Land, or Sukhavati, is a paradise where people can be reborn if they have faith in Amitabha Buddha. It is considered a place of ultimate bliss and peace, free from the sufferings of the earthly realm.
- Avici Hell: Avici Hell is considered the most severe of the Buddhist hells, where the worst sinners are sent. It is a place of continuous suffering, often described as a realm of unending torment for those who have committed unforgivable acts.
- Shangshanruoshui (上善若水): This phrase comes from the Daoist classic “Tao Te Ching” by Laozi. It translates to “The highest good is like water” and suggests that the highest virtue is akin to water, which benefits all things without competing, adapts to its environment, and seeks the lowest places, embodying humility and selflessness.
- Wulikanhua (霧裏看花): This phrase translates to “seeing flowers in the fog,” and it metaphorically describes a situation where something is unclear or difficult to understand, much like trying to view something obscured by mist. It suggests a sense of ambiguity or uncertainty.
- Congenital Biliary Atresia: This is a serious liver condition in infants where the bile ducts are blocked or absent. Bile, which helps digest fats and carry away waste, cannot flow from the liver to the gallbladder, leading to liver damage and scarring. It’s a life-threatening condition that often requires surgery or liver transplantation.
- Dialysis Uremia: Uremia occurs when waste products build up in the blood because the kidneys are not functioning properly. Dialysis is a medical treatment that mimics kidney function by removing waste products and excess fluid from the blood. In the context of “dialysis uremia,” it refers to a condition where a person with kidney failure relies on dialysis to manage uremia.
I hope Fang Zhiyou doesn’t cheat on her and actually just simply break up with her if that’s how it’s going end.