CHAPTER 137: 137 START NEGOTIATION

Watching Chai Yi drink the medicine, Xu Pinglin and Du Heng exchanged glances before slowly walking back to their office.

Before Chai Yi had drunk the medicine, Du Heng had been 80% sure. However, when he saw Chai Yi take the first sip, he became 100% sure, because his system had already shown again that he had completed an effective disease record.

So, while they chatted in the office, Xu Pinglin, despite his calm facade, was inwardly anxious and highly stressed. He was ready to dash to the operating room the moment Dr. Hou came in and called.

Du Heng, on the other hand, was genuinely relaxed and even discussed Western medicine’s treatment methods for gastric ptosis with Xu Pinglin. He also noticed Xu Pinglin’s nervousness but couldn’t bring himself to reassure him. Saying too much might make others think he was insincere and boastful.

Time ticked by, but Dr. Hou didn’t come knocking. Xu Pinglin couldn’t wait any longer and gestured for Du Heng to go to the hospital room with him to take a look.

Du Heng understood this feeling. When he himself had treated Li Qiuhua, he hadn’t possessed Xu Pinglin’s composure and had even felt a frequent, urgent need to urinate at the time.

When the two arrived at the hospital room and saw the patient, Xu Pinglin’s extreme tension eased. Dr. Hou, who had been by the patient’s side, also looked relaxed.

Seeing Du Heng enter, Dr. Hou’s face was filled with admiration.

Du Heng also took a couple of steps forward to check the patient’s condition. Previously, the patient had been sweating profusely and breathing heavily. Now, the sweating was gone, and his breathing had calmed, almost returning to normal.

A faint smile appeared on Xu Pinglin’s face. After inspecting the patient, he asked Chai Yi, "How do you feel now?"

Chai Yi also looked relaxed. "Much better. I feel a current of qi slowly rising from the pit of my stomach. My stomach isn’t as bloated anymore; it’s much more comfortable."

"That’s good. As long as it’s working."

Xu Pinglin turned to Du Heng and asked, "Doctor Du, are there any other instructions?"

Du Heng thought for a moment and said, "Take another dose of the medicine in an hour. Don’t add any more red ginseng; that small piece from before was enough. After two doses, his stomach should mostly deflate and return to normal."

Dr. Hou had no more questions this time and immediately nodded to show he understood.

Xu Pinglin felt a twinge of jealousy seeing Dr. Hou’s expression. This kid has been with me for seven or eight years, and he’s never looked at me like that.

After leaving the hospital room, Xu Pinglin smiled and said, "Doctor Du, come on, it’s my treat. Let’s go get something good to eat. There’s a hand-grasping restaurant behind our hospital. They serve generous portions of meat, and the taste is absolutely fantastic."

Du Heng laughed too. An hour ago, he had invited Xu Pinglin to eat, but Xu Pinglin hadn’t had time. Now, an hour later, Xu Pinglin was inviting him. It really felt like the vicissitudes of life.

Xu Pinglin said he was treating Du Heng to a meal, but he still brought along several people from their Department. At the dinner table, the group was a bit reserved at first. However, since they were all young, they quickly broke through that slight awkwardness and began chatting happily.

When everyone learned that Du Heng was a doctor from the Health Clinic, their jaws dropped. Half-jokingly, half-seriously, they started suggesting to Xu Pinglin that he should get Du Heng transferred to their hospital. With the skills Du Heng had shown today, having him as a colleague would make their own jobs feel much more secure. Xu Pinglin just smiled and didn’t comment on the suggestion.

「On Saturday, Du Heng didn’t have to go to work or be on duty, a rare chance for him to sleep in.」

However, Wang Shuqiu was up early, bustling about.

The noise roused Du Heng from his drowsiness. He lay lazily on the bed and called out, "Honey, what are you doing up so early?"

The house wasn’t large, so he didn’t need to shout to be heard clearly.

Wang Shuqiu, clattering away in the kitchen, immediately replied, "I’m making lunch for you. Just eat it when you get up. I might not be back tonight, so you’ll have to buy dinner yourself."

Du Heng became a bit more awake and asked, puzzled, "Where are you off to?"

"I’m going back to my parents’ place to have a good talk with my mom."

"Then I’ll go with you."

"No, don’t. If you come, some things will be awkward to discuss. Be good now, go back to sleep."

Du Heng didn’t insist. After all, they weren’t married yet, and it really wasn’t appropriate for him to get too involved in her family’s affairs. Actually, even after marriage, it’s best to meddle less in your wife’s maternal family matters. If you can do more work, don’t talk; if you can eat more meat, then stuff your mouth full.

He couldn’t get back to sleep but didn’t want to get out of bed either. Du Heng idly scrolled through his phone, thinking he’d just look for a bit before getting up to read. But before he knew it, Wang Shuqiu had finished cooking, washed up, and gotten ready, and he was still there, scrolling. After all that time, what did I even look at? Damn! Two hours wasted, just like that, gone in a flash without me even noticing.

"Honey, how are you getting home?" Du Heng tossed his phone aside and quickly got out of bed to dress.

Wang Shuqiu was making her final preparations, standing before the mirror applying lipstick. She pressed her lips together, satisfied. "I’ll take the bus back."

Du Heng thought for a moment. The other day, when they drove, it had taken them over three hours. If she took the bus, adding the transfer in the county town, it would take at least five hours.

"Why don’t you drive the car back? It’s convenient and fast, and it’ll be easier if you want to take some things."

"Aren’t you going out today?"

"No, I’m not going out. I plan to sleep all day at home. Besides, if you drive, you should be able to get back tonight."

While he spoke, Du Heng finished dressing, and Wang Shuqiu slung her bag over her shoulder.

Hearing Du Heng, Wang Shuqiu said teasingly, "What’s wrong? Can’t I even stay at my parents’ for one night? You can’t bear for me to be gone that long?"

Du Heng looked at Wang Shuqiu, who was leaning in for a kiss, and gently pushed her back. "Hold on, I haven’t brushed my teeth yet. We can kiss later. Also, I’ve noticed you’ve been getting more and more..."

"More what?" Wang Shuqiu, not at all angered by being pushed away, looked at Du Heng with a smile.

Du Heng mulled it over for a long moment, but he didn’t dare say the word he was thinking. "More and more... radiant. Your clothes, your makeup, everything—the colors are much brighter than before. You seem more vibrant, more passionate overall."

"Don’t you like it?"

"I love it. I love you no matter what you look like." Seeing Wang Shuqiu about to lean in again, Du Heng quickly headed for the bathroom. "Wait for me, I’ll wash my face. Then I’ll go with you downstairs to buy some things to take to your parents and Xiao Fang."

"No need."

"What do you mean, no need? We should buy some food and drinks, and some fruit too."

As he spoke, Du Heng had already splashed his face clean with a couple of handfuls of cold water. Wiping his face with a towel, he said, "You might not think it’s necessary, but as your future son-in-law, I have to be thoughtful. Listen to me, there’s a fruit shop just downstairs. It’ll be quick."

Although Wang Shuqiu said it wasn’t necessary, seeing Du Heng so considerate of her parents made her very happy inwardly.

Once Du Heng was ready, she finally got her sweet kiss.