Chapter 492: Chapter 489: More Serious Now
"Things seem pretty good now. I will have a proper taste of your cooking soon, and if your skills aren’t up to par,"
"then you shouldn’t set foot in the kitchen too easily in the future. Leave it to me." He Qianhui said and then turned back into the living room.
Zhang Hao felt his culinary skills had always been quite decent, at least good enough in color, aroma, and taste—perhaps two out of three.
Two dishes were served on the table, and the rice was cooked, ladled into two small bowls. They sat at the dining table facing each other, eating.
It was a simple meal that required no special accompaniments. After eating their fill, He Qianhui couldn’t resist opening her mouth in a yawn.
She was still a bit sleepy and wanted to go to sleep. Even though it was still early, Zhang Hao couldn’t very well stop her when He Qianhui suddenly decided to sleep.
"Alright, go ahead and sleep. Leave the rest to me; I’ll take care of everything,"
He Qianhui went to her room to sleep, and naturally, the cleaning of the room fell to Zhang Hao’s arrangements.
Wiping tables and floors, washing dishes and scrubbing pots, he didn’t miss a single household chore.
Only when the kitchen and dining room were spotless did he finally return to his room to rest.
Thinking about having to work the next day, he dared not delay too much longer.
When he entered the bedroom, He Qianhui had already fallen asleep, so he moved more quietly.
Any noise might wake her up, which would be bad—so he lightly sat on the bed.
After charging his phone, he turned off the bedside lamp, and the bedroom instantly plunged into darkness.
It took a while before his eyes adjusted to the blackness of the room.
But now, having He Qianhui by his side, and sensing her breath, heartbeat, and body heat was reassuring.
It was a sense of security that simply couldn’t be described with words.
Until the next morning when Zhang Hao woke up, he found himself still holding He Qianhui in his arms.
And He Qianhui had draped a leg over his waist, perhaps finding this sleeping position a bit more relaxed and comfortable.
Seeing it was getting late, Zhang Hao softly spoke in He Qianhui’s ear, "It’s getting late, we should get up."
Upon hearing this, He Qianhui buried her head even deeper: "I don’t want to get up today. Can you call in sick for me?"
If she had been this sleepy during her business trip, Zhang Hao might have understood.
But now that they were back home, how could she still be so tired, almost as if she could never wake up?
This made Zhang Hao start to worry. He placed his hand on her forehead to feel her temperature.
It wasn’t hot; no fever, so probably not sick.
"Okay, then when you wake up, give me a call and let me know what you want for dinner. I’ll pick it up on my way home from work," Zhang Hao said.
He Qianhui slowly nodded her head, turned over, and fell asleep again.
Zhang Hao promptly called her manager and arranged for a day off.
He also rushed to the hospital. Patients he hadn’t been able to see yesterday had already arrived early in the morning.
He had just gotten to the department, not even having time to change his clothes, when patients already started coming in by themselves.
"Doctor Zhang, Doctor Zhang, I was here first. Could you see me first? My leg hurt terribly last night, and I hoped you could perform acupuncture on me."
"And my old man seems to be recovering okay recently. Does he need to come in for more acupuncture sessions?"
The patient was quite familiar to Zhang Hao at this point.
"Auntie, whether you need acupuncture or not, I still need to check your recovery situation. Acupuncture isn’t harm-free, please give me your hand."
The elderly lady quickly extended her hand, allowing Zhang Hao to take her pulse.
The office was still quite quiet, which allowed one to settle in and notice the distinct differences in the pulse.
A good while passed before he finally lifted his hand to end the examination.
"Auntie, your recovery is not bad. After one more session of acupuncture, you should take good care of yourself at home."
"As for your husband’s condition, he needs to come here himself so I can examine him and be sure."
The elderly lady nodded, "Yes, that old man is reluctant to come, but I don’t want to let my illness get more serious. One of these days, I’ll have to drag him here, even if it means tying him up."
After the elderly lady spoke, she was assisted by a nurse and left for the treatment room.
Zhang Hao took the opportunity to go to the treatment room and perform a simple acupuncture treatment for the lady.
Watching the silver needles gradually penetrate her skin and stimulate the acupoints, a glint of light flickered in the old lady’s eyes.
It is often said that the older one gets, the more ailments one has, and she had lived to a ripe old age.
The only discomfort was her legs, which would hurt during damp weather, sometimes even becoming sore and swollen.
She had seen many doctors and taken lots of medicine, yet never saw improvement.
It was only a mitigation on top of her existing condition until she met Zhang Hao.
After being treated with his needles a few times, it was like tasting sweetness, and she became unstoppable.
Zhang Hao also promised her that as long as she persisted with treatment and care, her legs could definitely recover.
After tending to the old lady, Zhang Hao rushed back to his own desk to see the next patient.
And the new patient, who Zhang Hao felt both love and frustration towards, turned out to be Xia Xin.
Today, her attire was rather plain, a white t-shirt washed to a paler hue, jeans, and a pair of white sneakers.
Finally, she wasn’t wearing that terrifyingly thick makeup anymore.
"Why is it you?"
"Why can’t it be me? Though, I really must thank you for that night. If it weren’t for you, those men would have probably gotten me drunk and taken me away."
Upon hearing her words, Zhang Hao quickly explained, "I didn’t do it to help you, so no thanks needed."
"Since you’re here now, I’ll take you to see Mr. Zhang, the Internal Medicine Director, so you can apologize to him in person."
Xia Xin quickly explained, "I came here for treatment, not to apologize. Can’t you just treat me first?"
Zhang Hao stared at her for a while, as if struggling internally.
Finally, he succumbed to her insistence. "Then extend your hand to me."
Xia Xin extended her hand, which the last time he saw had red nail polish on her fingers.
Today, her nails were neatly trimmed, and the red polish was gone.
However, Zhang Hao observed carefully, some traces of polish were still faintly visible in the grooves of the nail beds.
"Haven’t you been working these past few days?" Zhang Hao asked.
"I haven’t been working. After that incident, the manager decided to give me some time off and said he’ll notify me when to return."
"But I’m actually planning to find a proper job now. Are you hiring here?" Xia Xin asked.
"I’m just a doctor here, not in charge of recruitment. If you’re really interested, you could check with the administration department," Zhang Hao explained.
"But I’m neither a doctor nor a nurse. What kind of job could I do here? Surely I wouldn’t be reduced to cleaning, would I?" Xia Xin speculated.
Zhang Hao frowned and quickly raised his hand, "Your condition is more serious than before."
