Free Web NovelChapter 34: Chapter 34: Woke Up in a Hotel
Although Jiang He had been a top surgeon in hepatobiliary surgery in his previous life, that didn’t mean he was clueless about orthopedics.
On the contrary, back when he was a resident physician at the Provincial People’s Hospital, he had rotated through the emergency trauma surgery department for a full eight months.
He had long since developed muscle memory for dealing with acute sprains and joint impingement.
"Don’t worry, I’m here."
Jiang He’s voice was exceptionally calm.
Tears were welling up in Shen Yu’s eyes from the pain, but hearing his steady tone, she surprisingly felt much more at ease.
"Is it broken?" she asked.
"No, it’s just a minor sprain. The joint is a little dislocated."
"Then... then what do we do?"
"I’m going to stretch it for you a bit. After I do, the throbbing pain will immediately lessen a lot."
"Okay... I trust you. Go ahead."
"By the way, what kind of music do you usually listen to?" Jiang He asked suddenly.
"Huh?" Shen Yu was taken aback for a moment. "Uh... Jay Chou, I guess..."
"I like him too." Jiang He nodded. "Alright, I’ll count down from three. When I get to one, tell me your favorite song."
"Okay." Shen Yu began to think.
"Three."
Before the word was even out of his mouth, Jiang He’s hands suddenly moved!
His left hand gripped her heel, pulling to provide counter-traction, while his right hand executed an extremely fast yet steady, slight outward rotation.
A soft POP.
The impinged synovial membrane and the dislocated joint instantly slipped back into place.
"Ah—"
The cry had barely escaped Shen Yu’s throat when she felt the sharp, stuck feeling that had been plaguing her vanish by more than half.
She snapped her eyes open, panting heavily as her chest heaved.
"Love in BC! Uh, is it... is it done?"
"Mhm, all good."
Jiang He let go.
Shen Yu tried wiggling her toes. Although the area around her outer ankle was still swollen and sore, it was much more comfortable than the piercing pain from before.
"But... didn’t you say you’d count to one?" With tears still clinging to the corners of her eyes, she couldn’t help but protest plaintively.
"If I counted to one, your muscles would have tensed up, making it harder to fix," Jiang He explained calmly.
It was a classic trick of the seasoned veterans in the emergency department.
Chat with the patient to distract them, then make your move in the split second they’re completely off guard. Minimal pain, maximum success rate.
Jiang He stood up and took off his windbreaker.
The early autumn in the Capital City was a bit chilly.
He only had a thin short-sleeved shirt on underneath, but he didn’t seem to notice the cold at all.
He wrapped the main body of the jacket around Shen Yu’s injured right ankle, then crossed the two long sleeves, wound them around, and pulled them tight to create a makeshift brace.
"The joint is back in place, but you’ve strained the ligaments. You absolutely cannot put any weight on it now. It needs to be iced immediately."
Jiang He tightened the sleeves, turned his back to Shen Yu, and crouched down slightly. "Get on."
"No, no!" Shen Yu was startled and quickly waved her hands. "I can just hop back on one foot, or you could help support me. My dorm isn’t too far from here..."
"Cut the nonsense. Get on."
Jiang He didn’t even turn his head, his voice firm and commanding.
Shen Yu was intimidated.
She shrank back slightly, looked at Jiang He’s back, hesitated for two seconds, and finally, obediently, climbed on.
Jiang He’s hands firmly supported the backs of her knees. With a slight exertion of strength, he stood up with ease.
In that instant, however, his eyes couldn’t help but sting with tears again.
In his past life, during the last six months of Shen Yu’s life, he had often carried her on his back just like this.
From the hospital bed to the wheelchair, from the chemotherapy room back to her ward. freёwebnoѵel.com
Back then, she had been ravaged by cancer until she was nothing but skin and bones, as light as a dried leaf that could be blown away by the wind at any moment. Her bony frame dug painfully into his back.
But now, the one on his back was a healthy Shen Yu.
Her weight pressed down on his spine, a tangible presence, yet to him, it felt like the most reassuring weight in the world...
"Where’s your dorm?" Jiang He asked.
"East District, Building Three," Shen Yu said from his back, her voice small. She was clearly still a bit embarrassed.
Her hands rested primly on Jiang He’s shoulders, not daring to move.
The two of them walked along the tree-lined path of the campus.
After walking for a bit, Shen Yu suddenly remembered something and reached into the pocket of her sweatshirt to fumble around.
"Oh no..."
"What’s wrong?" Jiang He didn’t break his stride.
"I think I forgot my keys," Shen Yu said, a trace of panic in her voice.
Jiang He: ?
"Is anyone in your dorm?"
"No, they all bought tickets to go home." Shen Yu sounded less and less confident as she spoke, pulling a Sony Ericsson slide phone from her pocket. "I’ll call the dorm manager and see if she can help me open the door."
She dialed the landline number for the front desk of the dormitory building.
RING... RING... RING...
The phone rang for a long time until it automatically disconnected. No one picked up.
"The dorm manager probably went to the backyard to sunbathe or to the cafeteria to eat..." Shen Yu surmised.
During the long National Day holiday, there were probably very few people in the entire dormitory building, so of course the dorm manager wouldn’t be sitting at her post the whole time.
Jiang He thought for a moment.
Shen Yu’s ankle desperately needed to be iced to reduce the swelling. If it stayed swollen, it would be extremely detrimental to her ligament’s recovery.
Making her stand on one foot in the cold wind waiting for the dorm manager was absolutely not an option.
"We’re not going to the dorm," Jiang He decided decisively.
"Huh? Then where are we going?"
"I’m taking you somewhere you can rest properly."
"Hey, Dr. Jiang, are we going to the hospital?... You really don’t have to go to all this trouble. You can just put me down on a bench in the cafeteria or somewhere. I can wait for the dorm manager to come back myself..."
"I’m the doctor. You’ll listen to me."
Jiang He’s tone was extremely blunt, cutting her off completely.
Shen Yu opened her mouth, but in the end, she obediently shut it.
She didn’t know why, but even though this person she had just met was being very assertive, even a bit domineering, she didn’t feel the slightest bit of aversion or fear.
On the contrary, leaning against his broad back and smelling the faint scent of soap on him, she felt an unprecedented sense of security.
It was as if, as long as he was there, he could hold up the sky if it fell.
The warm afternoon sun shone down on the two of them.
As the initial shock and sharp pain gradually faded, Shen Yu’s tense nerves slowly began to relax.
Then, she rested her cheek on Jiang He’s shoulder, quietly found a comfortable position, and actually fell asleep just like that.
Hearing the steady breathing from his back, Jiang He slowed his pace.
He turned his head slightly, catching a glimpse of the girl sleeping soundly on his shoulder out of the corner of his eye. His stern expression instantly softened.
’How is my wife like a little piggy? She can fall asleep anywhere... and is she drooling...?’
「Ten minutes later.」
Jiang He carried Shen Yu to a budget hotel, stopping at a convenience store on the way to buy two bags of ice and a few bottles of ice water.
Once in the room, Jiang He gently laid Shen Yu flat on the bed, propped her right leg up with two pillows, then wrapped the ice in a towel and carefully applied it to her outer ankle.
Feeling the cool, soothing sensation on her ankle, Shen Yu groggily opened her eyes.
She stared blankly at the ceiling, then looked at Jiang He, who was sitting by the bed holding the ice pack for her, and mumbled, "...Where is this?"
Jiang He answered, "A hotel."
Shen Yu was instantly wide awake. She subconsciously covered her chest with her hands. "...Eh???!"
