CHAPTER 157: 157 THREE HEROES FIGHT LV BU?

Qiaoqiao slept soundly, but upon waking, she was a bit confused. This wasn’t her room, and her waist felt stiff from how she’d slept. This wasn’t her quilt either; in fact, there was no quilt at all.

Where am I? What happened to me? These two questions instantly cleared Qiaoqiao’s mind.

Thinking carefully, it seemed she hadn’t encountered any of those legendary incidents rumored online. Memories gradually filled her brain, and she understood; she must still be in the hospital.

She fumbled for her phone; it was already past six in the morning. Had she really slept that long?

She tiptoed to the door, opened it, and saw Liu Banxia sitting nearby, reading a book.

It was this jerk who made her wait in the treatment room yesterday. Fine, wait, but you should have come back! If you had come back, I wouldn’t have fallen asleep.

Tomorrow... no, today, what am I going to tell Yanzi? If I tell her I slept on a hospital bed all night, will she believe me?

She wanted to slip away unnoticed but was afraid Liu Banxia would spot her, which would be even more embarrassing. Gritting her teeth, Qiaoqiao approached Liu Banxia.

"Awake?" Liu Banxia looked up and asked with a smile.

Qiaoqiao wrinkled her nose. "Don’t you guys sleep when you’re on duty?"

"How could I not sleep at all? I just woke up too," Liu Banxia said.

"After the surgery finished, I saw you were asleep, so I didn’t disturb you. The patient’s surgery was very successful. With some rehabilitation, it won’t affect his normal life."

"And it’s not like he intentionally hid it; he was mainly worried we’d refuse treatment. I chatted with him a bit too. He won’t hold this against you. But the treatment fees must be paid, and some compensation needs to be given as well."

"The mere mention of that guy makes me furious. He was practically asking for it!" Qiaoqiao’s anger meter was full again.

"Isn’t he a menace? With that kind of illness, he should just stay home quietly. Why go out and harm others? Doesn’t the law do anything about people like this? Why is that?"

"Calm down first, sit for a while," Liu Banxia said with a wry smile.

"This is also a form of legal protection for the vulnerable. Let’s put it this way: if we detected it during a premarital check-up, we could only inform the patient, not anyone else."

"See, that’s why it’s unfair! Who can the people he harms turn to? Isn’t that something that affects them for life? Right, what about our store’s employees?" Qiaoqiao finally remembered.

"Don’t worry, they’re all fine. It’s not that easily transmitted, so no need to worry. And your bathhouse, regular disinfection is enough. It was done during the day, so it won’t affect business," Liu Banxia said.

Hearing him say this, Qiaoqiao finally relaxed. "Sigh, I don’t know if I’m just unlucky. I’d only been managing Langtaosha for less than a week when there was a sudden power outage. Now that things have finally settled down, this happens."

Liu Banxia touched his nose; I was the culprit for the first incident.

"Um, I’m going to head back now," Qiaoqiao said.

"Have breakfast before you go. The cafeteria should be open by now," Liu Banxia said casually.

"Breakfast, huh? Is it good?" Qiaoqiao asked curiously.

"It’s just breakfast. There’s millet porridge, steamed buns, fried dough sticks, soy milk, and stuff. Don’t tell me you skip breakfast too?" Liu Banxia asked curiously.

Qiaoqiao nodded. "Sometimes I can’t get up, so I can’t be bothered to eat."

"That won’t do. Breakfast is very important. Skipping breakfast for a long time will more or less lead to some stomach problems in the future," Liu Banxia shook his head.

"It doesn’t actually take much time; you guys are just too lazy. No matter how busy we are, we try our best to eat something, or we really can’t last the whole morning."

"Come on, I’ll treat you. Having some millet porridge for breakfast, with steamed buns and pickles, is really much better than burgers and whatnot. It would be best if you also apologized to that patient... On second thought, never mind."

Seeing Qiaoqiao’s eyes flare up again, Liu Banxia quickly cut himself off.

"Oh, Dr. Liu, you’re here so early today," Zhou Qiang greeted him enthusiastically as they arrived at the cafeteria.

"Manager Zhou, I’ve noticed you can endure more than we can. Can you handle it?" Liu Banxia asked.

"I have to, even if I can’t. Breakfast isn’t that busy. If I come over to help, we can manage with one less person. Actually, I just arrived not long ago myself," Zhou Qiang said with a smile, glancing towards Qiaoqiao.

He was quite struck. Handsome guys sure are popular. Look at Dr. Liu now, even for breakfast, he has a beauty accompanying him. Not to mention lunch and dinner, there are two of them then!

Liu Banxia understood Zhou Qiang’s look but couldn’t be bothered to explain. Seeing the prepared food, he directly ordered a pile of it.

"Eh? This millet porridge seems to taste really good," Qiaoqiao said in pleasant surprise after trying a mouthful.

"Eat up. Manager Zhou puts a lot of effort into the cafeteria; he doesn’t cut corners at all," Liu Banxia said.

"You got it! It’s rare to hear praise from Dr. Liu. Small business, here are two tea eggs, on the house," Zhou Qiang interjected, bringing over the tea eggs.

"It seems you’re quite popular. When are you going to treat me to a meal?" Qiaoqiao asked.

"You pretty much experienced a typical day in our emergency department yesterday, right? Although you slept soundly later, that’s how it is for us; a patient might come in at any time," Liu Banxia said.

"And I also need to make time to go to other hospitals for surgery to earn extra money. I’m trying my best. When the time comes, don’t you treat me; let’s just go to my patient’s barbecue stall. He’s been asking me to go for a long time."

"You can earn extra money outside? Then come earn it at our place," Qiaoqiao said.

"Don’t be silly. My extra income is from treating illnesses and saving lives, not giving massages. That’s just a side gig of my side gig. Can’t you finish your steamed bun?" Liu Banxia asked.

Qiaoqiao nodded, embarrassed. She had just found the millet porridge delicious and had unwittingly finished the entire bowl. But her appetite was limited, and with a tea egg as well, the steamed bun was a bit much.

"Can’t waste it. Give it to me," Liu Banxia said, casually reaching over and taking it.

Qiaoqiao froze. Although she had broken off pieces to eat it, wasn’t this guy being a bit too forward?

"Dr. Liu, Dr. Liu, I have pickled cucumbers here!"

Just then, Qing Kewa’s voice sounded from the cafeteria entrance. As her words fell, Qing Kewa, with her long legs, ran over to Liu Banxia.

Liu Banxia wasn’t polite; he opened the box, took out a pickled cucumber, and took a bite. It had to be said, the taste was excellent.

Qiaoqiao secretly glanced at Qing Kewa, her brain performing a rapid scan. From a comprehensive assessment, it seemed she herself was slightly lacking.

This was a European style, especially those blue European eyes; they almost captivated her soul. The only thing she could do was discreetly puff out her chest; this was her current strong point.

"Why are you up so early?" Liu Banxia asked.

"I don’t have to work at night, so I wake up early. Dr. Liu, you can wait for me for breakfast in the future. Tomorrow I’ll bring you caviar. It’s a pity my cooking skills are terrible, or I could have made breakfast and brought it for you," Qing Kewa said very seriously.

"Er... no need. The cafeteria’s breakfast is also very good." Liu Banxia almost choked. Anyway, he didn’t understand the logical connection in Qing Kewa’s jumble of words.

Qing Kewa glanced at the table, then also trotted off to get her breakfast.

"TSK TSK. So that’s why it’s so hard to treat you to a meal; someone’s always providing food," Qiaoqiao said, a sour taste starting to fill the air.

Liu Banxia, munching on his pickled cucumber, didn’t take it to heart. He even handed Qiaoqiao a pickled cucumber. "You know, this is the first time I’ve eaten this, and it tastes really good. It’s completely different from our smashed cucumbers or soy-sauced cucumbers here."

Qiaoqiao glanced at him. Was this guy genuinely not understanding, or was he playing dumb?

Just then, Qing Kewa also came back with her food, the same selection they had: a bowl of millet porridge, a steamed bun, and a tea egg.

"Dr. Liu, do you like beef?" Qing Kewa asked after taking a sip of millet porridge.

"It’s okay. I can eat anything, as long as it fills me up," Liu Banxia said casually.

"Good! When we have a day off, I’ll make beef for you. The beef I make is excellent; it’s the only dish I know how to cook," Qing Kewa said happily.

"What’s your name?" Qiaoqiao spoke up.

"Hello, my name is Qing Kewa. I’m Dr. Liu’s student," Qing Kewa said.

"Do you like Dr. Liu a lot?" Qiaoqiao pressed further.

Qing Kewa nodded without even thinking. "Yes, Dr. Liu is amazing."

"Haha, don’t flatter me like that. When we’re on the operating table today, pay close attention. Diabetic foot cases can be very troublesome to handle. You should have similar patients in Russia; diabetes is pretty much a global disease," Liu Banxia said cheerfully.

Qiaoqiao, however, pursed her lips. In her heart, she firmly believed he was just feigning ignorance.

"Oh, you’re all here so early."

At that moment, Liang Xiaolin’s voice came over.

Upon seeing Liang Xiaolin, Qing Kewa waved enthusiastically.

She was the friend Qing Kewa was most familiar with, apart from Liu Banxia. Liang Xiaolin had accompanied her for a walk just yesterday.

"Try this pickled cucumber, it’s very good," Liu Banxia said.

"Qing Kewa will give me a big jar," Liang Xiaolin said, casually glancing at Qiaoqiao.

She was inwardly quite scornful. This Liu Shoutian is getting more and more outrageous. Is he being this blatant now?

Women all have a sixth sense. After Liang Xiaolin arrived, Qiaoqiao felt the atmosphere was a bit off, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on how exactly it was off.

Zhou Qiang, helping at the cafeteria window, was quite struck. Is this going to be a case of Three Heroes fighting Lv Bu? It seems when I get the chance, I’ll have to ask Dr. Liu how he manages his time. That’s a real skill!