Chapter 201: Chapter 199: Washing a Cucumber
Xia Jing’s hands were extremely quick, and before Zhang Hao could stand up, she was pressing him back into his chair, her fingers exerting an even pressure that was neither too light nor too heavy.
But their actions were somewhat intimate and didn’t quite fit the setting.
"Xia Jing, could you go to..."
Lin Wan couldn’t finish her sentence before she paused for two seconds upon seeing their gestures.
"Never mind, I’ll go myself."
Zhang Hao seized the chance to quickly get up, "Wait, I’ll go with you, it’ll be nice to get some fresh air."
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Zhang Hao stood up and followed Lin Wan out of the office together.
"Thank goodness you came back just in time. One of these days I’ll have to figure out a way to get rid of that Xia Jing."
Carrying a thick medical file, Lin Wan gave Zhang Hao a sidelong glance, seeing the embarrassed look on his face, "Why the sudden change of heart?"
Glancing back at the office door, Zhang Hao shuddered all over.
"That Xia Jing can’t be shaken off, and I suspect there’s something wrong with her brain."
Lin Wan couldn’t help but laugh out loud in the relatively empty corridor, "Who was it that said Xia Jing was naive and uncalculating, that it wasn’t someone with too much smartness, was it you?"
Bearing an embarrassed expression, Zhang Hao forced a bitter smile, "It seems everyone can be mistaken sometimes, you can’t blame me for that."
While speaking, the head nurse suddenly came over and saw Zhang Hao and Lin Wan chatting and laughing in the corridor.
"Not working diligently at your posts, but here chatting, aren’t you afraid relatives will see and complain about you two?"
The head nurse was only thirty years old, highly skilled, and had already trained several good nurses.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have become the head nurse at such an age.
"Nurse Chen, we’re human, not machines. You arrive just as we exchange a couple of words," Zhang Hao said with a look of grievance.
"I’m here to talk to you, can we step aside?"
Before Nurse Chen could finish, Lin Wan tactfully said while holding the file, "Then you two chat here, I’ll go archive the medical records."
Once Lin Wan was gone, Nurse Chen finally explained to Zhang Hao why she had come.
"My husband hasn’t been feeling well lately. Could you prescribe a remedy for him?"
"What’s troubling your brother?" Zhang Hao inquired further.
Nurse Chen hesitated before answering, looking around to make sure no one else was nearby, then she explained the situation to Zhang Hao.
"Actually, this has been a problem for a long time. I heard from Mrs. Wang yesterday that you wrote a prescription for her husband."
"Mrs. Wang said the medicine you prescribed worked well, and her husband’s health has improved a lot. That’s why I’d like you to write a prescription too."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Hao understood; it seemed that this was a common midlife crisis issue.
People always look for various ways to ensure their vigor remains unbowed.
"Then have him come to the hospital for a check-up. These things vary from person to person, I wouldn’t dare to just scribble down a prescription. If it causes any problems, I couldn’t take that responsibility," Zhang Hao said.
But Nurse Chen hesitated, "Your brother is concerned about his face. He would feel embarrassed to come to the hospital specifically for this."
"How about this, tonight you come over to our place. Take a look at him and see, I surely won’t shortchange you for this."
Zhang Hao didn’t see any trouble in this; after all, it wasn’t the first time he had made a house call.
"Money is a minor matter. I’ll find you after work and we can go back together to take a look," he replied.
As soon as Nurse Chen heard how readily Zhang Hao agreed, a smile spread across her face.
"Then great, I won’t disturb you at work any longer."
Just as Nurse Chen was about to leave, Zhang Hao suddenly added, "Nurse Chen, aren’t you afraid that after your brother takes this prescription, he’ll wear you out to the point you can’t get out of bed?"
"I wish your brother could make me unable to get out of bed. It’s just unfortunate that with age, some things don’t work as well as they used to."
"Don’t laugh at me, but it’s been over half a year since I’ve been intimate with your brother. If this keeps up, I’m going to go crazy," she confessed.
Seeing Nurse Chen speak like that, Zhang Hao suddenly said, "If big brother can’t do it, you can look for me, I’m young and strong, maybe I can satisfy you."
Nurse Chen gave Zhang Hao a glare and quickly walked away.
Back at the department, Lin Wan saw that Zhang Hao was still nonchalant and asked out of curiosity.
"It looks like you must have been scolded by Nurse Chen."
"She wouldn’t have the guts to scold me, but I did say something wrong that probably made her angry," Zhang Hao said.
"But what did Nurse Chen say to you? It couldn’t have been about Nurse Xia, could it?" Lin Wan guessed.
Zhang Hao shook his head; news doesn’t travel that fast in this world, they had just spoken and Nurse Chen already knew.
"It’s a private matter."
"If it’s a private matter, then I won’t ask. We shouldn’t pry into other people’s privacy."
At seven o’clock in the evening, Zhang Hao followed Nurse Chen, Chen Li, to her home.
Upon entering, Chen Li found the house empty.
"Looks like your big brother hasn’t finished work yet. Find a place to sit; I’ll give him a call."
After saying that, Chen Li went to the bedroom, changing her clothes while dialing her husband’s number.
After a few rings, he finally answered.
"Qian, where are you? Didn’t we agree you’d be home by seven today? Doctor Zhang from the hospital has come over. Why haven’t you come back yet?"
"Something came up at the company, I’ll be late, maybe tomorrow," the man’s voice on the phone sounded rushed.
"You think we at the hospital can always finish work on time? I’ll ask Doctor Zhang if he has other arrangements tonight. Hurry up," she said.
After hanging up the phone, Chen Li came out of the bedroom.
"Mr. Zhang, I’m really sorry, my husband has some last-minute work and might be late. Could you wait a bit? Meanwhile, I’ll go get some groceries, and you can have dinner with us tonight," she said.
Zhang Hao readily agreed, "Sure, I don’t have any plans for the evening anyway."
Chen Li changed her clothes and then left home with her purse.
She was quite at ease leaving Zhang Hao alone at home.
The grocery shopping didn’t take long; Chen Li was back in less than half an hour.
As soon as she returned, she plunged into the kitchen to start cooking.
Only then did Zhang Hao start looking around the modest two-bedroom apartment.
"Nurse Chen, where’s your child?"
"The child is at my parents-in-law’s house; it’s closer to school and convenient for studying. Qian and I are busy with work on weekdays and have no time to take care of him," she replied.
"We only visit on holidays or weekends. Mr. Zhang, have some fruit first. The meal will take a while longer to be ready."
For some reason, whenever she was alone with Zhang Hao, Chen Li felt a strange sensation.
Looking at the hospital staff, excluding those old doctors and professors in their fifties or even sixties,
Zhang Hao was an outstanding figure among the young people. Not to mention his capabilities and personality,
what was most key was his warm heart.
"We’re all colleagues, no need to be so formal. How about I wash a cucumber to munch on for now?"
Without giving it much thought, Chen Li turned around, took a cucumber from the basket, and started washing it under the tap.
But the more she washed, the more something felt off. Her hand was moving up and down, rubbing the evenly thick cucumber.
At the same time, she felt a burning gaze from behind her.
Halfway through washing, she suddenly snapped the cucumber in two, and Chen Li let out a yelp, quickly fishing it out of the sink.
