Give Me Another Smile

7-8 minutes 18.01.2023

Gao Rang just happened to have arrived outside Zhao Yu’s ward when Wen Tao said, “I advise you not to think so highly of yourself.” For some inexplicable reason, hearing these words incensed him, and his anger nearly took over his sense of reasoning. However, when he saw the young man quietly leaning against the hospital bed drinking water, his heart quickly calmed down, seemingly afraid to disturb the other party.

After walking over to the bed, Gao Rang suddenly asked, “Have we…met somewhere before?”

Zhao Yu was a little stunned by Gao Rang’s random question, but he still pondered over it earnestly. Then, he answered, “The first time we met was outside the ICU, and the next time we met was when I came to visit Zhao…Brother Zhao.”

While the young man was earnestly analyzing his question, Gao Rang fixed his gaze on the young man’s lips. When he saw the bright red lips that had just received moisture, he inexplicably got an urge to leave his mark on them…

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“Why are you asking this all of a sud…den…” Before Zhao Yu could finish speaking, Gao Rang had already hurried out of the room. All he managed to see was the corners of Gao Rang’s white coat disappearing from the ward’s entrance. Then, silence returned to the room.

“…”

Zhao Yu was stunned for a few seconds. Then, he wondered if an emergency patient had arrived at the hospital. Out of curiosity, he looked out the door, then out the window, but failed to hear anything worthy of note.

…

On the other side, Gao Rang, who had sought shelter in a dark stairwell, irritably took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. Then, he took a cigarette out and simply held it in his mouth. Although the smell of tobacco sickened him a little, it also worked to calm his heart.

He wasn’t a smoker. He had seen his buddies smoking with relish during his teens, so he had tried smoking out of curiosity. As a result, he nearly threw up after taking his first puff.

The corners of Gao Rang’s eyes were a little red. When that thought took shape in his mind just now, he even had the urge to kill himself, the logical part of his mind screaming at him:

You lunatic! You’re worse than a beast! He’s only sixteen! He’s still a minor! Not to mention…he’s a boy…

After staying in the stairwell for an unknown amount of time and scaring off several patients, Gao Rang finally returned to his office and made a call.

“Hello…Doctor Wang, I want to make an appointment for a psychological consultation… OK, thank you.”

…

Zhao Yu’s injury was limited to only his arm, so he wasn’t restricted to his bed or ward. Because of this, he would often wander around the inpatient department and occasionally visit the bored Yin Zhao-an for a chat.

It was a sunny day today. But, perhaps because it was already nearing the end of summer, the weather was neither too hot nor too cold. The sound of leaves rustling against the gentle breeze also started to give off autumn vibes.

Amidst this gentle breeze, two teenagers sat next to each other in the hospital’s courtyard garden. One sat in a wheelchair while the other sat on a bench.

“Do you…still remember that you owe me an answer?” Zhao Yu started the conversation in a lukewarm tone, his brows and eyes looking soft under the sunlight.

“You are a wonderful person, so you deserve better,” Yin Zhao-an curtly replied. If Zhao Yu had asked her this question some time ago, she might have given him a different answer. But now…she had already figured out her heart’s desire.

Zhao Yu had long expected such an outcome. He had also mentally prepared himself for rejection. Even so, he still couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed, and his eyes warmed up outside his control.

“Can I still call you Brother Zhao?” Zhao Yu asked with a reassuring smile, his voice regaining some of its childish tone when they used to play together during childhood.

Yin Zhao-an’s heart warmed up, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly as she said, “Of course.”

“But…” Pursing his lips, Zhao Yu hesitated a moment before he asked, “Can I know who that person in your heart is?”

A face with a gentle smile flashed in Yin Zhao-an’s mind when she heard Zhao Yu’s question. Even the look in her eyes grew gentle when she recalled this gentle smile.

Zhao Yu caught the change in Yin Zhao-an’s expression. While fiddling with a leaf that had just fallen onto his lap, he asked, “Is it Big Sis Tang?”

“No,” Yin Zhao-an instinctively responded yet again before her mind could even process the question. At this point, it was as if her mouth was hard-coded to automatically give such an answer whenever she was asked such a question.

Meanwhile, Zhao Yu froze when he heard the unexpected answer. He originally thought Yin Zhao-an liked Tang Yu romantically, but he didn’t expect Yin Zhao-an to give a negative response so firmly and without hesitation. 4887

“Uh…” Zhao Yu awkwardly looked up at the sky. “I was just making a random guess, so don’t mind it too much, Brother Zhao.”

Yin Zhao-an felt a throbbing pain in her heart, her hands tightly clenching onto the blanket covering her legs. She even started to have difficulty breathing, and she felt like something had grabbed her heart and crushed it thoroughly.

Meanwhile, Zhao Yu caught a glimpse of a figure passing one of the hospital’s balconies, the person’s back looking quite familiar to him.

Doctor Gao?

Throughout the past few days, Zhao Yu only met Gao Rang during morning check-ups. Never did Gao Rang show up before him at any other time. It was as if the young doctor had suddenly become busy.

The reason Zhao Yu noted this change wasn’t because he was being sensitive. Instead, it was because Gao Rang was the only person willing to chat with him to relieve his boredom during his hospitalization. Not to mention, during the first few days of his hospitalization, Gao Rang would often visit his ward with medical records in hand. Gao Rang’s visits were so often that he couldn’t help but wonder if the other party was actually a doctor.

When Zhao Yu could finally get out of bed and walk around, he saw the information of the attending doctor above the inpatient department’s entrance. Meanwhile, Gao Rang’s name and photo were in the second position, and his date of birth was also listed.

When Zhao Yu initially saw Gao Rang’s date of birth, he immediately got the urge to call out Gao Rang for being shameless. After all, Gao Rang was already 27 this year, yet he wanted him to refer to him as “Big Brother?” It’d be more appropriate to call him “Uncle” instead!

Though, this “Uncle” was indeed a little too young and handsome…