Nuptial Chamber Next Door

Chapter 52

In any case, I was a doctor and it was against my professional ethics to bully the patient.

I tried my best to suppress the sinful ideas in my head. I gently bent over and touched the patent’s cheek and comforted him, “Senior, you are thinking too much. I will not mistreat you.”

The expression on his face was both fascinated and curious, when the door was pushed open and the nurse walked in

The three of us stared at each other.

A handsome man injured, his shirt open and his hand tethered to the infusion stand. I was sitting on the side of the bed, one hand on his waist and the other on his face. He had called out just a few second back. It wasn’t very difficult to imagine a scenario completely unfavourable to me.

The nurse gulped nervously and then reminded me , “ This patient is grievously injured.”

I didn’t do anything. I was framed, I swear!

The culprit who had framed me immediately explained, “The doctor was just checking up on my wounds.”

I was ashamed and embarrassed. I quickly stood up and looked at Ye Zhengchen. “You rest now, I will leave.”

Ye Zhengchen smiled at me, “Where are you going? You promised Dr Lin that you would take care of me twenty four – seven.”

Dr Lin needed to take care of him. He would not last for even twenty four minutes!

“ I am going home.”

I had just turned my back to him when Ye Zhengchen grabbed my wrist. My heart instantly softened. “ Take a break. Go home and get some clothes and come back here quickly.”

Then he handed me the car keys lying on the table. “ Take my car.”

I took the keys and walked to the door. I looked at the nurse’s badge carefully. She was assigned to the VIP ward. No wonder she was so diligent in patient care!

I drove first to my hospital. I wanted someone to take over my shifts, then request for some leave. As I walked towards the office, I heard some people gossiping

“ How is that possible? Secretary Zhong is going to marry Dr Bo soon. Don’t talk nonsense!”

Another voice spoke out, one I was not very familiar with. Maybe she was from another department.

“ I am not saying anything. My friend, who works with the government, told me that Secretary Zhong is seeing someone else now. She is the granddaughter of a senior government official.

“ Wow, isn’t that betraying someone just to climb the career ladder?”

“ Do you think Dr Bo knows? She looks so happy these days.”

A third voice spoke up, “ Have you noticed that Dr Bo’s engagement ring is no longer there ?”

“Yes. I noticed that as well. I thought she must have forgotten to wear it. Do you think she knows? Then why does she look so happy these last few days?”

“ Maybe she is just showing a happy side to the external world.”

“ That makes sense. How can Secretary Zhong do this to her? Men are animals”

“ Well, his earlier boss is now behind bars. Secretary Zhong has no backing. Maybe this is his way to find some support..”

I finally pushed the door open and walked in, alarming the people inside.

I smiled at them. There was pin drop silence in the office.

Dr Li looked up and smiled at me , “ Dr Bo, aren’t you off duty today ?”

“ I need to take some time off for a private matter. I need a week off. I just heard you guys talking about me. Don’t mind me. Please continue.”

The nurses looked at each other and tried to sneak away

“ It really doesn’t matter but I just wanted to set the record straight. Secretary Zhong did break up with me but it wasn’t because of him…”

The nurses sat back again and looked at me with undisguised curiosity.

“ I broke up with him first.”

“ Why?” someone could not help but ask.

I tried to sound sincere, in case they thought I was lying just to save face.

“Because my ex returned to China..”

One of the nurses remembered something and her eyes shone with knowledge. “ Is he a soldier? He is so handsome!”

I looked at her, astonished, “ How did you know?”

“ He came to the hospital a month ago to look for you. I told him you were visiting the wards…”

“ Ah!”, another nurse chipped in , “ I remember him. Is that your former boyfriend?”

Looking at their expressions, I was very sure it was Ye Zhengchen. No other man could create such excitement among so many women. ( Miumiu – ha ha isn’t she so proud of her boyfriend?)

“ Dr Bo, when he came to see you, did he tell you he wanted to get back with you?”

Everyone looked expectantly at me, waiting for an answer.

I looked down at my watch, unconsciously brushing my fingers across the name engraved on it.

“ Yes, We’ve had some misunderstandings in the past , but it’s all resolved now.”

They looked at my watch and seemed to understand what was going on

I didn’t delve into the subject any deeper and turned to Dr Li

“ Dr Li, would you be able to take over my shifts?”

“ Sure”

“ Ok. In that case, I will request the director for some time off.”

I walked out of the office and could hear the whispers start again. But I didn’t want to listen anymore. I quickly walked towards the director’s office.

My leave request was granted. Next, I went home to pack up some things. As soon as I entered the house, I saw my mother.” Mom, a friend of mine is hospitalised. I need to be at the hospital to take care of him.”

“ Bing, who is sick?”

I hesitated, “ Ye Zhengchen.”

She looked at me with questions in her eyes. “ What happened to him?”

“ Nothing much. Just a little accident. He needs to be in the hospital for a few days.”

“  You are going to stay in the hospital with him?”

“ Yes. He has no relatives or friends in Nanzhou.”

“ Bing”, this time it was my mom who hesitated, “ Do you still like him?”

“ Yes”, I nodded.

“ What about him ? Does he still have the same feelings/”

“ He treats me very well.”

I put down my luggage and clasped her hands, her face and then her shoulder.

No matter how thin my mother was, her shoulders always gave me a sense of protection. “ Mom, in the last three years, I have never forgotten him. I want to be with him.”

“ I know. In your dreams, I have often heard you mutter his name, over and over again. The day you and Zhong Tian got engaged, you drank a few glasses of wine and got drunk. You were crying. You held my hands and constantly asked me…”  At this point, my mother’s voice broke “.. Why didn’t he come back ? Did he forget all about me?”

“ Mom…”

“ Bingbing, if I knew he would come back, I would never have pushed you to your engagement with Zhong Tian. I know what I did was wrong, but I was worried about your father…”

Like a child, I burst into tears and hugged my mother tightly. I cried and cried till my voice broke.

Mom held me and patted my back. Dad heard me. He came in the room and sat on the opposite sofa with a sigh.

When my weeping subsided, mom went to the kitchen and gave me a bowl of ginseng soup, It was still hot and smelling heavenly. I drank it with one sip. She handed me another bowl.

“ Take this to the hospital. This is a good tonic.”

I smiled and wiped the tears on my face. “ Mom, you are awesome!”

“ Go now. The soup will get cold.”

When I went back to the ward with my duffel bag and the bowl, my eyes were still red. I was quite sure Ye Zhengchen was suspecting I had a fight with my parents and had run away from home.

“ Why are you crying ? Did you have a fight with your parents?”

“No. I just feel hapy with life.”

I handed him the bowl, “ Here. This is some ginseng soup my mother made.”

When Ye Zhengchen heard this, he finished the soup with one sip. I knew he was not particularly fond of ginseng.

“ Was it ok?”

“ No wonder you are such a good cook. You learnt from an expert – my future mother in law!”

I had never seen such a shameless person. “ Who are you referring to as your future mother in law?”

“ You are my fiancé. Of course, your mother is soon going to be my mother in law.”

When did I agree to marrying him?

Then I remembered that I had, in exchange for Zhong Tim’s future. But I still hoped that he would formally propose to me. Perhaps on his knees, under a cherry tree, he would very solemnly ask me , “ Will you marry me?”

Then I would tell him “ Yes!

But alas! Knowing Ye Zhengchen, he was lazy enough to take any shortcut available.