Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Secretly Drugging
The woman took the initiative to introduce herself, but Zhang Hao acknowledged her with an "Oh," still unable to recall where he had seen her before.
Since joining this hospital, it seemed he had only visited the gynecology clinic on the first day, then after that, he had been wandering in his own surgery clinic.
"It was you who saved us that day when the doctors and nurses in the gynecology clinic fainted, wasn’t it?" Zhao Qing asked.
Zhang Hao nodded without hesitation.
"Yes, it was me. Is there something wrong?"
Back then, only the leader and Zhang Hao himself knew about the treatment method.
When those doctors and nurses gradually regained consciousness, they were told that everyone was given an injection, and that was glossed over.
He hadn’t expected them to ask for details later on, and now that the question had come up, Zhang Hao had to think of a way to smoothly deal with the matter.
"I came here to thank you personally. If it weren’t for you that day, our department would have been completely wiped out."
"Are you on the night shift tonight? If you’re not, could I invite you to dinner?"
Looking at the time and seeing it was almost the end of his shift, Zhang Hao said, "I’m not busy today, shouldn’t be on night duty."
"Great, see you after work then." After saying that, Zhao Qing left first.
This Zhao Qing was a straightforward person, never beating around the bush in the way she acted or spoke.
Zhang Hao had a rather good impression of her.
After work, the two didn’t go to any fancy restaurants.
They simply found a food stall near the hospital and took a seat.
"You don’t mind eating at a street stall, do you? As you know, working at this hospital, except for the director, everyone’s salary isn’t that great—I can’t afford to treat you to anything fancier."
Zhang Hao waved his hands and said repeatedly, "I’m not that picky; the simpler, the better."
While he said to keep it simple, Zhao Qing felt she should still properly show her gratitude.
They ordered a variety of dishes, and learning that Zhang Hao would drive home, she swapped out alcohol for soft drinks.
"How did you come to work at this hospital, Doctor Zhang?" Zhao Qing asked, curious.
Zhang Hao didn’t want to reveal too much, so he touched on some reasons without going into detail.
Zhao Qing didn’t pry further, and after a few drinks, they had almost finished off the barbeque.
"Nurse Zhao, where do you live? Do you need a ride home?"
Zhao Qing shook her head, saying, "My place isn’t far from here; it’s a quick ride back on an electric scooter."
"Besides, I’m married, and it’s not convenient to have a male colleague drive me home—in case my husband finds out, he would get jealous."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Hao found it odd—since Zhao Qing clearly understood the need to maintain a distance from male colleagues.
Why then did she invite him for dinner? Wasn’t that unnecessary?
Zhao Qing saw the puzzlement on Zhang Hao’s face and explained, "My husband asked me to do this."
"He said that without Doctor Zhang’s timely rescue, he would have lost me."
"He was supposed to come along today, but sudden work at his company kept him away."
"So I had to come alone. In the future, I’ll introduce you two; I think you’ll become good friends."
Zhang Hao wasn’t very interested in this. Since Zhao Qing didn’t need a ride home, he would just drive back himself, saving on gas money.
When Zhang Hao got home, he saw his parents weren’t there, so he simply took a shower, ready to rest.
He had just lain down when his sister-in-law called, inviting him warmly over to their house for dinner over the phone.
But having already eaten, there was no more room in Zhang Hao’s stomach to cram in even another bite or half.
He considered refusing, but the phone was snatched by his cousin: "Hao, come over quick. I’ve bought something good today; once you miss this chance, there’s no other shop for it."
Unable to decline his enthusiastic cousin, he took his electric scooter to his cousin’s house.
As soon as he entered, he saw his cousin drinking heavily at the dining table, already somewhat inebriated.
He Qianhui’s face immediately showed a faint smile when she saw Zhang Hao arrive.
"Hao, no need to change shoes, come and eat something first."
The tableware had already been set, and Zhang Hao took his seat directly.
Looking at the dishes on the table, they really weren’t bad.
"No idea what kind of dumb luck your cousin ran into, but he hit the lottery yesterday, won two thousand bucks."
"He just went to a restaurant and brought these dishes home. Hurry up and try them, otherwise, it would be a waste."
Zhang Hao forced himself to take a bite, his stomach was really too full.
"Why didn’t you call me earlier? If I had known, I wouldn’t have gone out to eat with my colleagues."
After hearing this, He Qianhui’s expression tensed, "With a man or a woman, are you with that nurse from the hospital again?"
At this thought, He Qianhui’s face slightly changed; that little nurse at the hospital was both pretty and gentle.
No telling how many men were vying to marry her, and compared to her, Qianhui felt old and faded.
Zhang Hao noticed the slight change on his sister-in-law’s face and explained:
"It’s just someone from my department; we just went out for some barbecue after work, both men and women were there."
After Zhang Hao’s explanation, He Qianhui’s face relaxed quite a bit.
"Look at your cousin, as soon as he drinks, he can’t stop; he’s going to get drunk again today. I really have no way to deal with him."
Zhang Hao always felt there was a hidden meaning in his sister-in-law’s words, but he dared not probe further.
"Don’t worry, when the cousin drinks too much, he just sleeps. He doesn’t go crazy with the alcohol, you know that, sister-in-law."
He Qianhui shook her head helplessly, really not wanting to say anything.
Liu Gang, after a few drinks, began to feel buzzed and started to make fun of Zhang Hao right at the dinner table.
"Hao, tell the truth to your brother, do you feel good when you do that with my wife?"
This sudden question made Zhang Hao somewhat uncomfortable, yet his cousin’s expression was very sincere.
"Husband, what are you talking about? You’re drunk; stop drinking."
He Qianhui tried to defuse the awkwardness, but at this dinner table, women weren’t really given a chance to speak.
As soon as she opened her mouth, she was immediately glared back into silence by her husband.
"Hao, just satisfy your brother this once, and I promise you, if your sister-in-law has a baby, it’s still yours to raise. I just want a child of my own, you understand?"
Zhang Hao looked down, silent. He Qianhui poured him a drink, and while he wasn’t paying attention, she dropped a blue pill into the drink.
"Zhang Hao, have some drink!"
Zhang Hao, suspecting nothing, picked up the cup and drank. Halfway through, he noticed something in the cup.
He instantly recognized what it was, pretended he didn’t see it, and swallowed it with the drink in one tilt of his head.
"Hao, just this once, hurry up and get your sister-in-law pregnant with a Liu family baby, otherwise your brother’s family will fall apart."
Zhang Hao knew his cousin was talking nonsense, but he also knew he was sincere, and he found he really couldn’t refuse.
"Cousin, you’re too drunk; let me help you back to your room to rest. You don’t have to worry about anything else."
On hearing this, Liu Gang laughed with a he-he, then looked towards his wife:
"You saucy wench, you can do that with Hao again. Just keep it down, don’t wake me up."
He Qianhui blushed with embarrassment from his words, and under the table, she stomped hard on his foot.
It was not easy getting the cousin back to the room, and as the effects of the pill hadn’t come on yet for Zhang Hao, He Qianhui naturally began to clean up the dining table.
As she was washing the dishes in the kitchen, she felt Zhang Hao approaching. She turned around to see him standing right behind her.
"Sister-in-law, there’s no need to secretly use that kind of thing in my cup."
He Qianhui bowed her head in silence, and as Zhang Hao watched her cheeks slowly flush, he knew she was also embarrassed.
