Chapter 527: Chapter 524: Kept in the Dark
He didn’t know when he had fallen asleep, but by the time he woke up the next morning, it was already past eight.
The housekeeper had already prepared breakfast, but since Zhang Hao hadn’t come out of his room, she dared not wake him.
However, breakfast was kept warm in the pot. By the time Zhang Hao finally ate, the temperature was just right.
The housekeeper threw his dirty clothes into the washing machine shortly after he finished his breakfast.
The hospital’s leadership came to pick him up for work soon after, and once he left, he was gone for the better half of the day.
Seeing the fifteen patients didn’t go quickly. Between the serious and the minor cases, it was already six or seven o’clock in the evening before he finished.
After finishing and under the strong insistence of the leadership, he left work for home, a routine that had lasted for about four or five days over the course of a year.
Just as Zhang Hao had become accustomed to this lifestyle, he suddenly received a phone call from He Qianhui.
Her business trip had ended early, and she would be home that very evening, just as Zhang Hao happened to be in the hospital office.
He still had seven or eight patients left to see, but there was only just over an hour left until the end of his shift.
At best, it would take him about two hours to finish with all the remaining patients.
Then, rushing back in a hurry, he was afraid his secret might be revealed.
Zhang Hao was worried about this but dared not show it directly. After all, it was his failure to balance his personal and work life.
If he had told He Qianhui earlier about his work at the hospital, it would have been better for her to be worried or upset than suddenly finding out today.
But even if she found out and got angry today, it was still better than his worry over the past few days.
At least he was still standing before her, in good shape.
As expected, when Zhang Hao finished seeing his patients and left work, it was already eight o’clock.
When the leadership personally drove him home, the moment he entered the house, he saw He Qianhui sitting on the couch with a stern face.
The leadership helped Zhang Hao into the house, and upon seeing He Qianhui’s serious demeanor, they knew something was amiss.
Zhang Hao grabbed hold of the hospital’s leadership, asking him to stay for a while before leaving.
Why he should stay a bit longer was clear enough to the hospital leadership.
After all, it was he who had asked Zhang Hao to work. But he had requested him to come to work due to patient demands.
He had no choice, but he still agreed to sit in Zhang Hao’s house for a while.
The housekeeper was there to take care of him during his seven-day recovery, and even with He Qianhui’s unexpected return, the housekeeper’s duties were not yet complete.
The housekeeper brewed several cups of tea and served some fruit.
He Qianhui, however, wasn’t in the mood to eat and instead started questioning Doctor Zhang’s leadership.
"His leg is injured right now, and you still have him working. That’s a bit unreasonable," she said.
The hospital’s leadership also knew that having someone with an injury work wasn’t very humane.
But everything had to be viewed in the context of the actual circumstances.
It was just impossible to turn away those patients. In medical work, the most heart-wrenching thing is to see patients miss the optimal time for treatment because of delays.
"If anyone’s to blame, it’s him because he is a good doctor and a decent person," the leadership retorted.
"He has already built up his reputation. You don’t know how many people come to the hospital every day specifically looking for him."
"He hasn’t been at work for a month and a half, and at least half of those patients have made wasted trips."
"Even though we strongly recommend other doctors to consult them, in their minds, only Zhang Hao can cure their illnesses."
As an observer, He Qianhui didn’t believe what the leadership said.
"Then it would be quite a bother for the hospital to train more excellent doctors and give them the chance to stand on their own," she replied.
"Instead of making my husband take on more responsibility, it wouldn’t have been a big deal if he’d worked a bit harder before he got hurt."
"But now, in this state, I just can’t seem to feel at ease."
The hospital leaders knew what He Qianhui was concerned about, so they assured her over and over again.
"Don’t worry, his workload isn’t heavy right now. He only sees fifteen patients. After he’s done with them, whether it’s early or late,"
"I’ll personally make sure he gets home. That’s how it’s been these past few days."
Initially, He Qianhui hadn’t been very upset, but hearing the leader say that this had been going on for the last few days
made her sharp gaze fixate on Zhang Hao once again.
Which meant, in the day or two after she had left, he had already gone back to work at the hospital.
And she was only finding out now. He had really kept her in the dark.
It seemed the leader had sensed the invisible tension between the two
and hastily found an excuse to slip away, reminding Zhang Hao on his way out:
"Doctor Zhang, tomorrow happens to be the weekend. You can rest well at home, and I’ll come to pick you up on Monday. Get some rest early, and don’t wear yourself out."
As soon as the door closed, He Qianhui suddenly stood up, arms crossed in front of her.
Looking down at Zhang Hao, she said, "Impressive, going to work without telling me, and then putting on an act, telling me you’ve been resting at home, as if I’m a stranger to you."
Zhang Hao was also aware that his sudden work trips,
once discovered by He Qianhui, would certainly lead to questioning about why he had kept it a secret.
He was prepared to explain himself properly.
"Xiaohui, don’t be mad. I was actually planning to tell you about this,"
"But I was afraid you’d worry about my safety while you were on your business trip, so I didn’t tell you."
"I thought, as long as I’m standing here safe and sound when you get back, I could just placate you, and it’d all blow over," said Zhang Hao.
He Qianhui, glancing at the cast on his leg, lifted her hand and gave the cast a smack.
"Safe and sound, this is your idea of being safe and sound? Although I know the rear-end collision that broke your leg wasn’t due to carelessness on your part,"
"I certainly don’t want your injured leg to heal improperly. If your leg doesn’t heal well,"
"when you’re old, won’t I have to push you in a wheelchair everywhere we go?"
"By then, don’t blame me if I’m dancing with other old men in the square."
Zhang Hao furrowed his brow: "How can you dance with other old men? The only person who should be dancing with you is me."
He Qianhui snorted dismissively, "You, dance with me? Dream on. I’m telling you, this isn’t going to end that easily."
"At first, I planned to let the nanny keep working at our home, but seeing how sprightly you are right now,"
"I don’t think that’s necessary anymore. You’ll take care of me for the next few days. It’ll be good exercise for you and speed up your recovery—two birds with one stone."
Zhang Hao, hearing He Qianhui say this, quickly grabbed her hand, saying, "I want to keep the maid not for my convenience,
"but for both of us. Look at how late you get off work on usual days."
"When both of us get home, most other families are already getting ready for bed,"
"yet we haven’t even had dinner, and you’re not fond of takeout food."
"You always prefer to cook something yourself, but that ends up taking so much time."
"By the time we can really rest, even if it’s on the early side, it’s already eleven or twelve."
"If you come up with ’ideas’ that I need to fulfill, the few hours we have left are hardly enough for rest."
