Path of Medicine With a System

Zhang Fan didn’t drive too quickly, so there was a light breeze coming through the open car windows. It was now sunset, and golden light was reflected on the river. Zhang Fan kept thinking to himself on how to start a conversation. ‘Should I ask if she’s been busy with work? No, this isn’t special at all. What about asking her if she ate to her full? That sounds rather foolish. Ask her if her mother is alright? I’ve already asked her that.’

“You’re already being invited to other hospitals to perform surgery just two years after you graduated? You must have been an excellent student before.” Shao Hua started the conversation instead as the atmosphere was getting a little awkward in the car. She had waited for quite a while with Zhang Fan saying nothing for all this time.

No matter how shameless Zhang Fan was, he still wouldn’t dare to call himself an excellent student. In the past, his studies were only barely passable due to always being busy trying to earn tuition money. With his current knowledge, perhaps he counted as an excellent student, but Shao Hua was asking about before. “No, I’m not an excellent student. It’s just that I previously went to Bluebird City for a study program at their hospital. The hospital there was really large and well-equipped, and I got many chances to practice and improve.”

“Ah, is Bluebird City beautiful? I’ve never been there before.” Shao Hua was currently gazing at Chasu River, which was right outside the car window. Zhang Fan snuck a look at her, and felt that Shao Hua looked especially beautiful with a faint glow from the sunset illuminating her face.

“Beautiful, really beautiful.”

Shao Hua turned around and slightly glared at Zhang Fan. He hurriedly and awkwardly returned to looking in front of him. Then, he hurriedly said, “Still, the ocean over there isn’t quite blue. Maybe it’s because of the Yellow River entering the ocean there. It’s not deep blue at all. Thank you for today.” Zhang Fan finally said what he really wanted to the most at the end.

“No need for thanks. Do you often go out to perform surgeries elsewhere? Are you really busy?”

“Not really. It’s just on occasion. I’m not super busy. It’s just that some days are busier than others. It’s not like patients can notify us beforehand that they’re going to get sick. Patients might also arrive at any hour of the day.” Zhang Fan slowly drove the car down a riverside road.

“Why did you come to this border province? Where are you originally from?”

“Sigh! My college loosened their recruitment restrictions, so we had too many undergraduate students. The local area was unable to provide enough jobs, since there were about three times as many students as usual. Thus, my college signed the extra students up for the government’s western rural area support program. That’s how I came here. I’m originally from a small city in S Province.”

“How long have you been away from home? You don’t intend to try and get sent back there?”

“I’ve been gone for two years. I’m preparing to visit home this May as my younger sister is taking her college entrance examination. I want to go see her, otherwise I won’t feel reassured. Since hospital employees don’t count as government employees, I can’t just get myself sent anywhere I please. Besides, I don’t intend to leave here just yet.”

“What about the future?”

“The future? Maybe I’ll go check out some bigger hospitals once I get promoted to the rank of attending physician, and see if they have better medical treatments. Who knows?” Zhang Fan felt like exclaiming over his limited options. Right now, he couldn’t leave here even if he wanted to. His younger sister was going to college soon, and his income here was pretty good. He needed to financially support her.

“Do you think that this place is too small? Are you unwilling to stay here? Actually, I really like it here. It’s not overpopulated, and there are four distinct seasons. There’s also not that much pressure. I can still do whatever I like after getting off from work. It’s not like being super busy every day in a big city. Although people in bigger cities make more money, it’s too suffocating there.”

“Yeah, Chasu City is a nice place. I was rather unsatisfied when I first graduated. I felt that my tuition money had been wasted as I wasn’t able to get a good job right after graduation. But, over the past two years, I’ve learned that my decision to come here was correct. It’s bad for young people to be too relaxed. Our parents are getting older, and we’ll be having children in a few years. No matter who you are or where you are, pressure will always come uninvited. My family’s financial situation isn’t very good, as both of my parents are blue-collar workers. Not only that, my younger sister is going to college soon. Her grades are excellent.”

Shao Hua, who had been looking out the car window, suddenly turned her head and faced Zhang Fan directly for the first time since getting on his car. “I really couldn’t tell that you were the type to think about things so far in the future. I heard from Jia Suyue that you’re particularly popular at the hospital? You also don’t look like someone whose family has a poor financial situation. You already have a car and a house. You count as someone successful!”

Women of the same age would typically be more mature than men, both physically and mentally. Understanding someone would be about more than just what was on the surface. You would also need to understand his way of thinking, as well as worldview.

Shao Hua was slowly learning about Zhang Fan’s worldview through their conversation, and understood that he wanted to be prepared for the distant future. Since Zhang Fan had a car and even already purchased a home, he seemed like the type whose family was really rich. Shao Hua had been subconsciously on guard against him.

They were both adults. It wasn’t that being rich was a bad thing, but rather that those who were rich would have more choices. Maybe Zhang Fan would get bored of her and suddenly decide that he was interested in another woman, for example. They were both working adults who had long passed the age where they could make decisions so easily.

“Haha! That’s really not the case. I gave some massage treatments to the president of a large real estate company. She felt that my massages were really effective, so she gave me a house and car as her treatment fee. But, I had to take out a loan for the house, which she sold to me at base price. You know about that part already. My family’s financial situation is truly ordinary. I almost wasn’t able to come up with enough tuition money for my last year of college,” Zhang Fan told her honestly.

“You really charge such a high treatment fee! You didn’t even take any treatment fees for treating my mother. Did you think that we offered you too little? My parents both work at a farm, and I’ve only been working at an ordinary job for two years. We’re just an average family. We don’t have a house and car to give to you.” Shao Hua then stared at Zhang Fan.

“Of course not! How could I possibly take money from your mother?” Obviously, Zhang Fan would refuse to take any money. That was because he wanted Shao Hua!

“Alright, please take me home now. It’s getting late. You also must be tired from working such a long day. You should go to sleep early as you still need to go to work tomorrow.” Shao Hua had achieved her objective of learning more about Zhang Fan, so she now wanted to go home. This was the way that she had been raised by her family.

“Okay, then.” Zhang Fan agreed since he saw that Shao Hua seemed quite insistent on going home. When they were almost at her home, Zhang Fan suddenly said awkwardly, “Um, so, would you be willing to be my girlfriend then?” Zhang Fan had finally realized during the drive that Shao Hua was trying to learn more about him! Since she had learned more about him, he felt that he might as well ask directly what she thought.

“Have you really considered things yourself?” Shao Hua smiled in response to Zhang Fan. She then said, “Do you really understand me? Come ask me again when you’re absolutely certain. Right now, you’re just asking on an impulse.”

After dropping her off, Shao Hua then stood by the roadside and watched as Zhang Fan drove off.

“Why do you say that I haven’t considered things yet? How am I being impulsive?!” Zhang Fan mumbled to himself in his car. But, to be honest, Shao Hua really was more mature and logical in her thinking than Zhang Fan was.

When Zhang Fan returned to his apartment, he hurriedly took out his cell phone and texted Shao Hua. “I’ve returned safely to my apartment.”

Shao Hua had told him before he left to message her when he got back safely.

Not long after, Shao Hua texted him back. “That’s good. You should hurry and rest. A waterfall is ferocious and fast, but won’t last long. I’m not in a rush. Let’s talk about things after you’ve truly considered everything. There’s no need to reply to my message. Have a good night, and rest well.”

Zhang Fan didn’t even think much as he was soon summoned to the realm of sleep due to his fatigue. The next morning, he went for a jog before work as was his routine. When he arrived at work, he greeted Vice Director Chen.

A patient requiring a major hip replacement surgery had arrived this month. Chen Qi had finally managed to act as the primary surgeon for the first time ever on such a surgery with Zhang Fan’s assistance. Thus, he was now treating Zhang Fan incredibly politely.

Yesterday, Wang Yanan forcefully obtained a patient with a fractured collarbone from Yuan Tao. Yuan Tao had secretly investigated her and learned about Wang Yanan’s backing, so he didn’t mind one bit that she had rather forcefully taken the patient from him.

The patient’s collarbone had an oblique fracture which only required a metal plate. It would be quite simple. Wang Yanan wanted to personally act as the primary surgeon for once.