Chapter 345: Chapter 342: Xia Jing’s Phone Call
Zhang Hao felt that the conversation between these two people was a bit nonsensical.
There really wasn’t anything between him and Xia Jing; even he couldn’t understand why Xia Jing had taken such a dislike to him at first.
Just a few days had passed, and she seemed like a completely different person.
Before leaving work, Zhang Hao received a message from Xia Jing: the late-night snack planned for that evening might have to be canceled.
Since she was getting off work on time today, they had decided to change the late-night snack to dinner.
But Zhang Hao had already informed He Qianhui that he would be coming home for dinner tonight.
Now he was faced with two dinner plans overlapping.
"Thank you so much, Miss Xia, but dinner is already prepared at home, so I’m afraid I won’t make it," he replied.
After sending the message, Zhang Hao picked up his car keys and headed to the hospital parking lot.
When Zhang Hao got home and was changing his shoes at the door, Xia Jing’s call came through.
"Doctor Zhang, is it really okay for you to stand me up like this? It’s rare for me to finish work on time, and I wanted to invite you out to dinner as a thank you, yet you reject me."
Zhang Hao remained calm, "Haven’t I already made it clear? We’ve prepared dinner at home."
"Wouldn’t it be a waste if I didn’t come home to eat? I’ll treat you to dinner some other time when I’m free, let’s leave it at that for now."
He hung up the call, tossed his phone aside, and to avoid disturbing his time with Xiaohui, he especially set it to silent mode.
"You just got home and already received a dinner invitation call. Must be one of the patients, right?"
He Qianhui, by now, knew too much about Zhang Hao’s professional life.
Besides patients coming to seek treatment, there were also plenty of non-patients seeking him out at the hospital.
However, He Qianhui was quite busy with her own work and scarcely had time to keep up with Zhang Hao’s whereabouts.
But owing to a woman’s intuition, she still felt Zhang Hao was hiding something from her.
"It’s the sister of that little girl from the mall that I helped. She insists on inviting me to dinner as a thank you."
"I heard her sister has regained consciousness and her life was saved."
He Qianhui was doubtful, "Is it really that simple? If she really wanted to thank you, she could have just sent a banner of appreciation to hang in your department—that would be the best kind of publicity."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Hao laughed heartily, "Sending a banner is up to the patients’ own will."
"Where would you find a doctor like me bringing it up? Anyway, she wanted to invite me for dinner, but I’ve already turned her down."
"Let’s treat the declined offer as if it never happened. Don’t take it to heart."
He Qianhui shook her head, "How could I take it to heart? From the very first day you became a doctor, I knew that we would often encounter such situations,"
"After all, there isn’t a woman who doesn’t like a handsome man, especially someone like you, who even three-year-old girls, upon seeing you, would wish to marry you when they grow up."
Seeing that she was getting a bit carried away, Zhang Hao quickly interjected.
"Please don’t say that. If a three-year-old little girl really wanted to marry me, by the time she’s of marriageable age, I’ll have turned into an old man."
After dinner, Zhang Hao took his phone to charge it and just as he picked it up, he saw that someone had called him.
It wasn’t Xia Jing; it was a colleague from the hospital.
"What? Okay, I’ll be right there. About ten minutes. Hang in there," he said.
He Qianhui, just out of the shower, saw Zhang Hao at the doorway changing his shoes.
"Where are you off to this late? It’s time to go to bed."
"You go ahead and rest. The hospital just called for my assistance; I might not come back tonight. You should go to sleep early."
"You’re not coming back? Should I leave the door unlocked for you?"
Zhang Hao hesitated for two seconds, "No need, I have my own key."
Watching him rush out the door, He Qianhui became cautious, locking the door from the inside and securing the windows.
Although Zhang Hao wasn’t with her to rest together tonight, He Qianhui had already started getting used to this situation.
There were always emergencies in the hospital, and the place they rented was a stone’s throw away from the hospital.
With one press of the accelerator, Zhang Hao had arrived at the hospital in the blink of an eye, rushing into the surgery clinic without even properly parking his car.
The surgical director, who hadn’t left work yet, was discussing the patient’s condition with several doctors.
"If we rush into surgery, there’s a high chance of severe bleeding. It’s better to have the head of obstetrics take a look."
"Should we induce labor first for the child in the womb? After all, it’s already seven or eight months."
"After inducing labor and sending the newborn to the incubator, it would definitely survive. But if we just go straight to the operating table, the child might suffer from lack of oxygen."
Zhang Hao, who had just arrived, was puzzled by what he heard, but looking at the woman lying on the bed with a big belly, he knew what was going on.
"Mr. Zhang, what do you think about this?"
"The patient’s child in the womb is already full-term. Let’s first have an obstetrician perform an induction."
"We can’t save the life of the adult while ignoring the life of the fetus in the womb."
"And look at the patient’s medical records," he continued, "it notes that carrying this child has been very hard."
Detail-oriented as always, Zhang Hao always noticed things that others did not.
The other doctors also believed that Zhang Hao’s decision was the most accurate.
"Quick, go see if the head of obstetrics has arrived?" the director said.
No sooner had he spoken than the head of obstetrics hurried over.
After examining the pregnant woman’s condition, they began preparing for the surgery.
It was the same old belief, children are always innocent.
Zhang Hao hadn’t expected to return home that night, but the operation was smoother than expected.
Zhang Hao dragged his exhausted body back home.
When he tried to use his key to open the door, he found it was double-locked from the inside.
He had no choice but to call He Qianhui, thinking she had gone to bed.
The phone was answered after just two rings.
After waiting a moment outside the door, He Qianhui came to open it for him.
"Didn’t you say you weren’t coming back tonight?"
"The surgery finished early, so naturally, I had to come back, or I would have had to sleep in the office," he replied.
With that, He Qianhui let out a hum and yawned as she walked toward the bedroom.
Seeing her like this, Zhang Hao felt a pang of pity.
"Alright, I’m back now, so don’t be mad," he pleaded. "The patient tonight was in a somewhat perilous condition. If I hadn’t gone, it could have been two lives lost."
Upon hearing that, He Qianhui immediately became tense.
"Two lives lost? Is it that serious? You better not be lying to me."
"Why would I lie to you? I’m going to wash up; my eyelids are so heavy I can’t keep them open."
To help Zhang Hao sleep better, He Qianhui poured him a cup of milk.
Because of the last-minute overtime, Zhang Hao wasn’t in the best state of mind when he arrived at work the next day.
He endured until noon, skipping lunch, and dozed off at his desk.
Right as he was deep in sleep, Xia Jing suddenly called...
