Better Than Summer: A Marriage Before Love Romance - Chapter 3

Shen Tingxia drove out of the residential complex and onto the main road. She called her mother, intending to ask her to supervise the repairman fixing the hot water heater. Unexpectedly, she heard the sound of a hospital registration number being called over the intercom in the background.

Under her persistent questioning, Shen Tingxia discovered her parents were at the hospital.

They were pressuring me about blind dates on Saturday, how did they end up at the hospital by Monday?

Shen Tingxia ran a hand through her hair, pushing it back, took a deep breath, and first called the repairman to reschedule. Then, she verbally requested time off from her boss, promising to send the required materials before the meeting.

After making those two calls, Shen Tingxia tried calling Xi Chengnan. He didn’t answer. Assuming he was busy, she didn’t disturb him further.

As she neared the hospital, her phone rang. She glanced sideways. The screen clearly displayed four words: Free Duck. Her expression remained unchanged as she answered. “Hello?”

“I just stepped out, didn’t have my phone. Did you need something?” A low voice sounded in her ear.

Shen Tingxia flicked on her left turn signal, watching the traffic ahead. She skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point. “Are you doing outpatient clinic today?”

“My clinic day is Friday.”

“Oh. Then I’ll hang up.”

“Is something wrong?” The low, slightly raspy voice came again.

After turning left, the hospital came into view. Shen Tingxia answered without preamble. “No, nothing’s wrong. I’ll call if I need you. Bye.”

With that, she decisively ended the call.

Her mother had registered at Zhongshan Hospital’s Neurosurgery department. And Xi Chengnan was a neurosurgeon at Zhongshan Hospital.

If it had been his clinic day, she could have discreetly pulled some strings for her mother. But it wasn’t. Shen Tingxia wasn’t particularly keen on marching openly into the doctor’s office to ask for favors…

Soon after, Shen Tingxia arrived at the hospital parking lot. She parked, grabbed her bag, got out, and headed towards the outpatient building with practiced ease.

Entering the main lobby, the sharp scent of disinfectant hit her. Shen Tingxia paused for a moment to adjust before striding towards the elevators.

On the third floor, west wing – Neurosurgery – she spotted her parents among the rows of metal chairs. She hesitated for a second, catching her breath before walking over.

“Dad. Mom.”

Hearing their daughter’s voice, Shen Luying and Qu Xianglan both looked up.

Just then, the overhead speaker announced: “Patient number 47, Qu Xianglan, please proceed to Consultation Room 3.”

Shen Tingxia instinctively glanced towards the consultation rooms. She quickened her pace to her parents’ side, adjusting the heavy bag threatening to slip off her shoulder. “Mom, it’s your turn.”

Mrs. Qu sat in the consultation room, describing her symptoms to the doctor. After some back-and-forth, Shen Tingxia was handed several test requisition forms. She took her mother for bl00d work, endocrine function tests, and an eye exam, finally ending up in the Imaging Department.

After all the tests were done, Shen Tingxia told her father to take her mother for breakfast. They didn’t need to come back; she would collect the reports and go straight to Neurosurgery.

While sitting on a chair waiting for the results, Shen Tingxia pulled out her laptop and sent the PowerPoint presentation she’d stayed up late working on to her boss.

A reply came quickly: Can you make it this afternoon?

The results would be ready in about half an hour. Even assuming the worst-case scenario requiring hospitalization, things should be settled by the afternoon.

Shen Tingxia replied: Yes.

Kev: Meeting moved to 4 PM.

Shen Tingxia sighed. She knew he hadn’t even opened the file she sent, let alone looked at it carefully.

She was about to reply when another message popped up: Squeeze in time to make a French version too. We’ll review it with HQ tomorrow.

Faced with this sudden increase in workload, Shen Tingxia took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to swear. She typed back with thinly veiled impatience: Okay, Kevin.

Closing the chat window, Shen Tingxia started working on the bilingual PowerPoint.

About forty minutes later, Shen Tingxia closed her laptop, ready to use the barcode to collect the reports. She had just stood up, laptop not yet stowed in her bag, when a man walked towards her.

The man wore a white lab coat, its buttons neatly fastened. A blue disposable medical mask covered most of his face. Yet, Shen Tingxia recognized him instantly as Xi Chengnan.

It was those distinctive, captivating phoenix eyes – one single eyelid, one double. She’d seen them at least a thousand times.

Xi Chengnan walked steadily towards her, removed his mask, and naturally took the stack of papers from her hand. He scanned them, noting the tests ordered and the referring doctor, found the barcode, and asked casually, “Who’s the patient?”

Shen Tingxia answered, “My mom.”

As she spoke, she slipped her laptop into her bag.

When she looked up again, Xi Chengnan had already retrieved several reports.

Shen Tingxia stepped closer to him. The reports were held at his eye level. She leaned in slightly, looking over his arm to read them.

Various numerical values swam before her eyes. Before she could decipher any meaning, his voice sounded near her ear: “Did she get the MRI?”

Shen Tingxia looked up, meeting those bright eyes. She held up the white imaging folder. “Yes.”

But she also saw Xi Chengnan’s slightly furrowed brow. Anxiety pricked her. “What’s wrong with my mom? Is it serious?”

“Where is your mother?”

Xi Chengnan spoke while taking the folder and walking to the film printer. He scanned the barcode. The screen indicated the films weren’t ready yet.

“They went to get breakfast with my dad,” Shen Tingxia said, watching his actions. “The doctor told me I didn’t need to wait for the films; I could go back to him as soon as I had these reports.”

As the words left her mouth, Shen Tingxia noticed Xi Chengnan looking directly at her, his brow furrowing even deeper.

“…Oops.” She’d forgotten he was the doctor. He knew this procedure better than anyone.

Just then, Mrs. Qu called. Shen Tingxia answered. “Hi, Mom.”

“Your dad and I are back, sitting in the Neurosurgery waiting area. Are the results out yet?”

Shen Tingxia replied, “Just got them. I’ll be right there.”

Hanging up, Shen Tingxia held out her hand towards Xi Chengnan. “Give me the reports. You go ahead with your work.”

“You called me earlier because of this?” Xi Chengnan didn’t hand over the reports. Instead, he posed the question.

There was no point hiding it. Shen Tingxia nodded.

Xi Chengnan lowered the hand holding the reports, gave Shen Tingxia a sidelong glance devoid of obvious emotion, and said flatly, “You could have just said so.”

With that, Xi Chengnan strode towards the escalator.

His legs were long, his steps swift and purposeful. Shen Tingxia, burdened by her heavy bag, followed behind, struggling slightly to keep up. “It’s the same if I take my mom to see another doctor.”

In the short walk from Imaging to the escalator, several hospital staff members spotted Xi Chengnan. They greeted him respectfully with “Dr. Xi!” He responded with polite nods.

Shen Tingxia wasn’t sure if he’d heard her last comment. Either way, she received no reply.

Reaching the west wing of the third-floor outpatient department (Neurosurgery), Shen Tingxia saw her parents. “Dad. Mom.”

Mr. and Mrs. Shen stood up. Together with Shen Tingxia, they approached the door of Consultation Room 3.

A patient was still inside. They waited outside briefly.

Qu Xianglan noticed something: the reports that should have been in her daughter’s hands were now held by a tall, well-built male doctor. She had also seen Shen Tingxia arriving with this man.

She subtly scrutinized him, nudged Shen Tingxia’s arm, and whispered in a hushed tone, “Who is that?”

Though her mother’s voice was low, no one present was deaf…

Shen Tingxia looked from her mother to Xi Chengnan, only to find herself caught in the depths of his dark, unreadable eyes.

She averted her gaze calmly and didn’t introduce him to her mother. Instead, she said, “You should focus more on your own health right now.”

Just then, the previous patient exited the consultation room. Xi Chengnan withdrew his gaze from Shen Tingxia and entered the room. The others followed.

The doctor seated at the consultation desk looked up, surprised to see Xi Chengnan. “What brings you here?”

His gaze shifted past Xi Chengnan to the patient he’d just seen earlier.

A knowing, slightly teasing smile spread across his face as he looked at Xi Chengnan. “What’s the situation?”

Xi Chengnan ignored the teasing. He placed the reports directly on the desk. “Pull up her scans.”

Su Yi (苏易) entered the name from the reports into the system. Qu Xianglan’s MRI images appeared on the screen. Xi Chengnan’s gaze fixed on them. Su Yi glanced down at the reports and said to Xi Chengnan without hesitation, “Cushing’s disease.”

The elderly couple spoke in unison: “What disease?”

Su Yi let out a small sound of acknowledgment. He turned to the older couple and began explaining Cushing’s disease and the treatment plan in simple, layman’s terms.

By the time Shen Tingxia bought lunch and returned, her mother was already hooked up to an IV drip.

Setting the food down, Shen Tingxia headed to the nurse’s station. A nurse was there. Shen Tingxia asked, “Hello, excuse me, is Dr. Xi available?”

She wanted to ask about precautions for the disease. Earlier in the outpatient clinic, there had been other patients waiting, so Shen Tingxia hadn’t wanted to take up too much time.

The nurse looked up. “Dr. Xi is at lunch.”

Shen Tingxia felt an inexplicable pang of disappointment, but she managed a small smile. “Thank you.”

Returning to the ward, Shen Tingxia saw her mother looking dejected. She walked over to console her. “It’s okay, Mom. Didn’t the doctor say? Benign. Once they operate and remove it, it’ll be fine.”

Qu Xianglan glared at her daughter. “Easy for you to say! Surgery has risks!”

“Xi Chengnan has done countless surgeries far more difficult and risky than this. Yours is nothing in comparison,” Shen Tingxia retorted, intending to reassure her mother.

Instead, her words earned her a scolding: “Shen Tingxia! Am I your mother? Go away! Don’t stand there making me angry. I don’t want to see you right now.”

Everyone knew surgery carried risks. Yet, for some reason, when Xi Chengnan had told her this was a straightforward procedure, she had believed him completely.

Shen Tingxia exchanged a look with her father and shrugged. She picked up her bag and left the ward.

If she doesn’t want to see me, I’ll leave. No point risking giving her high bl00d pressure. Besides, she still had work to do.

At 12:40 PM, her colleagues were still at lunch. Shen Tingxia swiped her card and sat down at her workstation.

“Huh? Tingxia, is everything at home sorted?” asked a subordinate sitting near her.

Shen Tingxia set up her laptop, replying with a nonchalant, “Mmm.”

The subordinate continued, “You weren’t here this morning, and the director wasn’t either. The weekly meeting got moved to the afternoon. Did you know, Tingxia?”

Shen Tingxia looked up, her expression calm. “Yes, Kevin told me.”

The brief exchange over, Shen Tingxia returned to polishing her bilingual PowerPoint.

Close to 4 PM, a message popped up in their work group chat: [Meeting room. Now.]

Shen Tingxia took a deep breath, feeling a sense of grim resignation. She stood up, unplugged her charger, closed her laptop, picked it up, and walked towards the meeting room.

Once seated, she plugged the projector cable into her laptop, opened the PowerPoint, and began presenting the meeting materials she’d prepared the day before with practiced ease.

An hour later, the meeting ended. Kevin asked Shen Tingxia to stay behind in the conference room for a private discussion.

It was 8 PM by the time Shen Tingxia finally left work.

She visited her mother at the hospital but didn’t go home. Instead, she drove towards Xi Chengnan’s apartment.

The day’s events had left Shen Tingxia feeling irritable. Work had been frustrating, she couldn’t even take a hot shower at home, and her mother was facing surgery soon.

Yet, the more stressed she felt, the more Shen Tingxia craved something… less than proper.

Shen Tingxia stood outside Xi Chengnan’s door, a bag containing a few bottles of alcohol in her hand. She pressed the doorbell.

A few seconds later, the door opened. A young, beautiful face appeared in Shen Tingxia’s line of sight.

“Who are you looking for?”

Shen Tingxia checked the floor number, then the apartment number. It was definitely 2501. Xi Chengnan’s place. Yet, she found herself saying to the woman before her, her voice filled with apology, “I’m sorry, wrong door.”

With that, Shen Tingxia turned to leave. But a familiar voice wrapped around her like a vine: “What are you doing here?”

Shen Tingxia froze, mortification washing over her. I wish the ground would swallow me. She turned back, resigned to her fate, only to find Xi Chengnan standing there, looking at her with a distinctly mischievous glint in his eyes.