Just My Luck to Meet You

Part3 A

Who's really stirring the pot here?

He pulled his phone out of the toilet and spent a long time blowing up the rubber gloves, then used a hair dryer to dry them for what felt like an hour. In the end, he decided to put his SIM card into another old phone that was just lying around for the time being.

The next day was surgery day at the hospital, and he kept running until dinner time before changing clothes and checking his phone, only to realize he forgot to tell Wang Li about why his phone suddenly shut off last night.

However, after a while, she called him, saying her foot had twisted and she was near the hospital, wanting to come over.

The issue with the phone falling into the toilet seemed less important now.

Gu Lin didn't know how severe her injury was, so he borrowed a wheelchair to wait for her outside the door. Seeing her limping towards him with a smile, he figured it couldn't be too serious—at least she could still smile.

She wore a white V-neck shirt and black knee-length skirt, no makeup, looking like she had just finished a class, more mature than when he met her yesterday.

Pushing her back to the office, Old Zhang was there too. Gu Lin thought if the girl came all this way to see a doctor, telling her "Your foot is fine, just go home and rest for a couple of days" would sound pretty indifferent. So, he let Old Zhang help her instead.

Then he appropriately showed some concern and gave some daily care instructions.

But the girl stubbornly asked if he couldn't diagnose her, and Gu Lin held back his laughter.

Old Zhang wasn't a straightforward guy either; holding Wang Li's ankle, he pretended to be serious, "How about we take you to get an X-ray, just to be safe."

Gu Lin glanced at him but didn't expose him. Seeing Wang Li deep in thought, worried about her foot, he pushed the wheelchair forward, "No trouble, I'll push you there."

Before leaving, he closed the door behind him and saw Old Zhang making faces at him, as if creating such an opportunity for him was a big deal.

Not just Old Zhang, from registration to the X-ray room, every five steps a nurse, every ten steps a doctor—those who knew him well were curious about Wang Li. Gu Lin couldn't introduce her as his blind date, so he simply greeted everyone and hurried away.

Wang Li seemed oblivious to those prying eyes, still worrying about whether he could diagnose or not. Gu Lin felt utterly helpless; he couldn't say, "I think it's nothing serious, you're overreacting," or "I suspect you just wanted to see me and I don't want to call you out on it."

Of course, if Wang Li's situation was the latter, Gu Lin would feel honored. The girl went to such lengths to see him; he must have quite the charm.

So, Gu Lin made an excuse, "I never date colleagues or patients."

It wasn't exactly a lie. He indeed drew clear boundaries between work and relationships, including rarely letting girlfriends visit the hospital during their relationship.

Of course, this also related to his short dating cycles; changing girlfriends so often made him fear awkward moments if his colleagues mistakenly called out the wrong name.

Wang Li seemed to believe him, looking up with a strange expression and asking, "Wouldn't you treat your girlfriend if she were sick?"

"First my girlfriend, then a patient, that's okay; first a patient, then not my girlfriend," Gu Lin explained the order of things.

Wang Li followed up, "So, I can be your girlfriend only if I'm not your patient?"

"Correct." Gu Lin nodded.

Wang Li suddenly realized something, frowning and glaring at him, "What do you mean 'correct'!"

Gu Lin happily braked the wheelchair at the entrance of the radiology room, "Anything goes."

After seeing the X-ray results himself, Gu Lin found nothing major wrong. He didn't bother Old Zhang again and looked at Wang Li, who refused to sit in the wheelchair anymore, and gentlemanly asked her, "Do you want me to send you home directly or take you out to eat first?"

Wang Li's walk was still slightly off, and she limped ahead of Gu Lin, "I can go home myself; don't bother."

"Come on, it doesn't look urgent, so humor me and let me treat you." Gu Lin liked Wang Li and planned to invite her out these days anyway since she hadn't come to the hospital today.

Wang Li politely declined, and Gu Lin thought maybe her leg hurt and she wanted to rest at home, so he dropped it, "Alright, I'll treat you once your foot gets better."

Gu Lin parked the car near the hospital entrance and helped Wang Li into the passenger seat. On the way, noticing her difficulty walking, he supported her arm and helped her into the car.

A particularly congested stretch delayed them significantly. Gu Lin noticed Wang Li seemed quiet and possibly tired, so he played some music. After a while, he noticed the quietness and glanced over to see Wang Li seemingly dozing off.

Confused, Gu Lin softly called out, "Teacher Wang?"

Wang Li immediately opened her eyes, "Oh, I'm here."

Approaching a traffic light with slow-moving cars ahead, Gu Lin waited until they moved, then continued driving while talking to Teacher Wang, "I know you're here; how did you fall asleep?"

Wang Li sat up straighter, "I get sleepy in slow-moving cars. Did we drive for half an hour? Haven't we passed the bridge yet?"

"Almost there, just two more green lights. Once we get through this area, it'll be smooth sailing." Gu Lin turned off the music, "If you're tired, take a nap."

"I won't nap; if my sleepiness rubs off on you and affects your driving."

"I'm not much older than you, don't keep calling me 'you all'." Gu Lin added, "Just call me by my name."

Wang Li nodded, seemingly lost for words and fell silent.

Finally passing the busy area, the road ahead cleared up as Gu Lin predicted.

Feeling lighter without the congestion, Gu Lin wanted to chat with Teacher Wang about her family, "Are you an only child?"

"No, I have an older brother, always away for studies and work since I was young. He got married early, had a kid, then divorced. When I was ten, he left his daughter with my parents." Wang Li succinctly outlined her family dynamics.

Hearing this, Gu Lin observed her quietly, noting her complaints yet smiling lips.

So Wang Li started taking care of others from her teens; she seemed the homely type.

While pondering over Wang Li's character, Gu Lin heard her ask, "Can I ask why you're going on blind dates? With your good looks and status, you should easily find someone."