"Xiao Du, wait a moment." Wang Zhenzhen called out to Du Heng, who was about to leave.
Du Heng stopped in confusion and looked at Wang Zhenzhen in the window, asking, "Is there something else, Wang?"
"Well, tomorrow is Saturday, and the Dean is on duty this week, so you don't have much to do. If you're free tomorrow, let's have a meal together. I'll introduce you to my cousin."
Du Heng was taken aback. To be honest, he was a bit reluctant.
The blind date before the New Year had left him rather apprehensive.
What if it's another one who starts by demanding 188,000 yuan? He wouldn't know what to do.
But seeing Wang Zhenzhen's earnest expression, Du Heng didn't know how to refuse.
"What, are you getting shy now that it's come to it?" Wang Zhenzhen looked at Du Heng with amusement, thinking he was embarrassed. "Don't worry, it's just an introduction. Whether it works out or not is up to you two to discuss. Your brother-in-law is off tomorrow, so you can meet him then too."
Oh well, he'd just gotten on good terms with her; he might as well go. "Alright, you guys decide the place, and I'll treat," Du Heng offered.
"You're really earnest, aren't you? Got too much money to burn?" Wang Zhenzhen chuckled. "You don't need to treat. Just make sure you look sharp."
Du Heng smiled along. "Then I'll be troubling you, Wang."
"Alright, go on with your work. I'll call you tomorrow."
Wang Zhenzhen waved him off and lowered her head to continue studying the acupoints Du Heng had mentioned.
Du Heng pinched his nose. He just wanted to get a few more pathogens from Wang, so how did he end up getting roped into this himself?
He was still trying to figure out how the situation had developed this way when he ran into a grim-faced Zhang Jinlian at the second-floor stairwell, descending from the third floor.
Zhang Jinlian's face was longer than a donkey's. Du Heng took one look, noted she was coming from the third floor, and guessed that woman hadn't gotten any advantage from Song either.
Serves her right! Let her be arrogant, let her bully people!
Du Heng nearly burst out laughing and quickly stepped aside. He didn't want to invite trouble; an angry Zhang Jinlian was a powder keg—one touch and she'd explode.
Zhang Jinlian saw Du Heng dodge her, snorted coldly, glared at him, and then brushed past him, heading downstairs.
HMPH. To hell with you.
Du Heng paid her no mind and sauntered off to the hospital room.
In the hospital room, Wu Buwei was helping a patient drink medicine, while Li Nating stood nearby, pouting.
The patient's mouth was severely distorted, so he could only drink the medicine lying down, fed by a spoon.
Du Heng saw there were no issues and, looking at Li Nating, asked, "What's wrong with Tingting? Did that rascal Buwei bully you? Tell me, and I'll teach him a lesson for you."
"No, it's not that!" Li Nating stomped her foot lightly, putting on a slightly coquettish air. She pulled Du Heng out of the hospital room and whispered, "Doctor Du, I'm on duty tomorrow. Why did you admit another inpatient? I wanted to slack off a bit."
"You can't blame me for this." Du Heng pointed at the patient in the hospital room and whispered back, "The Dean had him admitted; it really has little to do with me."
"I don't care. Since you're the one treating him, you have to compensate me."
Du Heng, who had graduated from university at 22 and had been celibate for five years, found himself unable to resist this coquettish young woman's soft, breathy voice; he instantly felt his sphincter tighten.
Seeing Li Nating's pout and her cute, spoiled expression, Du Heng uncomfortably took a step back. "Fine, fine, I'll buy you milk tea when I come to work on Monday."
"Hmph, that's more like it."
With that, she walked into the hospital room with a proud look on her face and began helping Wu Buwei feed the patient his medicine.
Li Nating had been at the Health Clinic for two years, and this was the first time she had shown such an attitude towards Du Heng. For a moment, Du Heng couldn't quite process it and stood dazed at the hospital room door.
All of this was witnessed by Wang Lili, who was busy organizing equipment on the second floor.
Seeing the dazed Du Heng, Wang Lili pushed her cart over to him and asked with a smile, "What's wrong? Still savoring the moment?"
"Ah..." Du Heng laughed awkwardly. "No, Lili, don't talk nonsense."
"Tingting isn't married yet; why don't you hurry up and make a move? Once she's married, you'll have lost your chance."
"Don't be ridiculous; she wouldn't be interested in me."
Wang Lili glanced into the hospital room; Li Nating's words from that morning still echoed in her ears. Now, seeing these little maneuvers, as a woman, Wang Lili understood perfectly. Du Heng wasn't some top-tier man, but as a marriage partner, he was definitely qualified. Li Nating pulling this stunt was simply because she saw Du Heng as a 'chicken rib'—tasteless to eat, yet a pity to discard. She'd use some minor tactics to string him along for now. To put it simply, she was lining him up as a spare tire, in case one day her own pursuits fell apart and she needed someone to pick up the pieces, right?
Looking at Du Heng, Wang Lili's expression turned serious. "We may only be colleagues, but you and my boyfriend are classmates and get along well. Listen to my advice: Li Nating isn't your type."
"What are you talking about? You know what kind of person I am; I don't have any such intentions," Du Heng said righteously, then walked into the hospital room. "You should get back to your work."
Truth be told, when Li Nating acted coquettishly, Du Heng's heart had hammered in his chest for a fleeting moment. However, he knew his own situation; a girl like her was simply not someone he could handle. So, what he told Wang Lili was his true thought.
Du Heng was a man with a firm grip on reality.
Upon entering the hospital room, Du Heng didn't disturb the two feeding the medicine but instead observed the patient carefully.
Facial paralysis can be caused by many factors other than direct injury to the facial nerve. These include conditions like rheumatism, chronic otitis media, or other diseases such as tumors and cerebral hemorrhage.
Now that Du Heng had the system, his pressing financial needs were a thing of the past. His greatest wish was to alleviate his patients' suffering as much as possible, ideally by nipping certain insidious diseases in the bud.
After a simple physical examination, Du Heng, while performing pulse diagnosis on the patient, quietly asked, "Do your joints usually hurt? Places like your wrists, shoulders, or knees."
Although the patient's facial distortion had eased slightly, their speech remained indistinct; they could only communicate by nodding or shaking their head.
The patient shook their head, then grunted and gestured toward their waist.
Back pain?
Du Heng lifted the patient's clothes to check and pressed a few spots, finding only a mild lumbar muscle strain.
He then checked the patient's ears but still found no signs of any lesion.
This was both good news and bad news.
If there were no significant organic lesions, it might just be a simple facial nerve injury. In that case, treating the facial paralysis would suffice.
However, if it was caused by a tumor or other brain disease, Du Heng couldn't find the cause due to the Health Clinic's limited facilities.
Especially brain diseases; those couldn't be diagnosed merely through pulse diagnosis.
Moreover, the patient currently couldn't speak and had facial paralysis, so relying solely on syndrome differentiation was very unreliable at this point.