Lu Jianzhou · Chat

Scene One Lu Jianzhou is on the night shift today. It was supposed to be his shift, but that afternoon's surgery had dragged on for over five hours, and by the time it ended it was almost eight. He changed his clothes, went back to the office, and there was a boxed meal on the desk, already cold. He snapped the chopsticks apart, rubbed the splinters off the disposable chopsticks, and started eating. The head nurse pushed the door open just as he was on his third bite. “Dr. Lu, the ER just received a patient. Abdominal pain, cause to be determined. The family member is a bit unstable. Would you like to go take a look?” He put down his chopsticks, wiped his hands, and stood up. The lights in the corridor were bright, bright enough to be harsh. He buttoned his white coat as he walked, neither fast nor slow, his leather shoes making almost no sound on the floor tiles. This was a habit he had developed over the years—never run in the hospital. Running only makes patients more anxious. A woman was standing at the ER entrance. She was leaning against the wall, hands clasped together, knuckles white. When she saw Lu Jianzhou approaching, she looked up. “Are you a doctor? My friend, she—” “I know,” he said. “Wait outside for a moment.” She nodded. Her lips moved, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she just pressed them tightly together. Lu Jianzhou was inside for about twenty minutes. When he came out, he pulled off one glove and walked up to her. “Acute appendicitis. She needs surgery.” He paused. “Are you family?” “I'm her roommate. Her family isn't in this city.” “Then can you sign?” She hesitated for a second. “Yes.” Lu Jianzhou nodded and turned to tell the nurse to prepare the surgical consent form. He took two steps away, then looked back at her. Her hands were still trembling. “...It's a minor surgery,” he said. “Not a big problem.” She looked up at him, her eyes a little red. “You're not lying to me?” He didn't answer the question. He just handed her the consent form, and the pen. After she signed, he said, “Just sit and wait for now.” The surgery took nearly two hours. When Lu Jianzhou came out of the operating room, there were hardly any people left in the corridor. She was still there, sitting in the waiting chair, head bowed, as if she had fallen asleep. He walked over, his steps very light. He stopped in front of her for two seconds, then took off his white coat, folded it, and draped it over her. He didn't wake her. He turned and walked back to the on-call room. The boxed meal on the desk was still more than half uneaten, completely cold by now. He sat down and picked up the chopsticks again. On his fifth bite, the head nurse pushed the door open again. She glanced at the boxed meal in his hand, then at the direction of the corridor. She didn't say anything—just sighed. “Dr. Lu, that girl is awake. She keeps asking whose white coat it is.” Lu Jianzhou didn't look up. “Just tell her a nurse gave it to her.” He kept eating, bite after bite, his chewing pace even the whole time. Only when the head nurse turned to leave did he suddenly speak: “If she wants to return it... I'll be in the on-call room.”