Visual Encounter

  I've never taken a girl to the hospital before. I didn't think it would be so much fun... and troublesome, bringing Tang Jiao along.

  I sat in front of the emergency doctor and simply said, "Fell off the slope." She looked at me disapprovingly, then spoke with gestures: "Doctor, it's a cliff that high. The ground is uneven, with tree roots and rocks. When I arrived, he had been unconscious for at least 5 minutes."

  The doctor was a young man with a good face and temperament. Upon hearing this, he became interested: "Oh? Fell so heavily? How did you fall?"

  I was just about to say "let's not bother", and end this conversation that didn't make much sense. Tan Jiao let out a "hey" and pulled up a chair beside me, saying: "Doctor, I shouldn't be telling you this - we're after a thief. He chased him down, and ended up getting hurt like this."

  Doctor: "Oh......oh......turn around, let me take a closer look."

  Looking at the doctor's eager gaze and also her shining eyes beside him, I turned around silently.

  I think she's different from when I met her a year ago. At first, she was bright and cheerful, but also had a bit of chilliness and thorns. But now that we've spent more time together, I realize those thorns were just her defenses against strangers.

  She is warm, lively and gentle.

  The simple treatment process that followed was like this, the doctor carefully examined my wound and asked about my physical reaction, but she wasn't asking me, she was asking her. For each question, she answered with more than 100 words, detailed and meticulous, with a lively and accurate tone. She's indeed a writer.

  Finally, the doctor asked us to have a CT scan.

  She can't go in, I finally have a quiet moment. When I come out, I see her big eyes shining brightly at me. We sit at the CT room door waiting for the result, after sitting for a while, suddenly hear her say softly: "It will be fine."

  I wasn't worried about this in the first place. Turning my head to look at her, her expression seemed very determined and calm. Her black hair fell down, hanging beside her pure white face, adding a kind of quiet beauty.

  I suddenly feel what she said before makes some sense.

  Having someone accompany you to the hospital, every dull and quiet moment suddenly becomes filled with fragmented vitality.

  She asked me if I care or not. But at this moment, I have no other answer.

  We took the CT report to show the doctor, and indeed there was nothing wrong. However, the doctor instructed: "Although the current photo results are good, it's hard to say about intracranial hemorrhage. Just because there is no bleeding now doesn't mean it won't appear later. So in the next few days, we need to observe carefully whether there is dizziness, blurred vision, nausea and vomiting. If anything goes wrong, come to the hospital immediately."

  The words were naturally directed at Tan Jiao, and there was no room for me to speak. As expected, I saw her face darken a bit, then she whispered: "On the way to the hospital, he fell asleep in the car." The doctor's expression tightened, saying: "Really?" She said: "Yes, handsome, I'm telling you..."

  I had to interrupt them: "Tan Jiao, I'm exhausted and sleepy."

  Tang Jiao and the doctor chimed in unison: "Oh..."

  As I walked out of the hospital, I was carrying medicine and other things in my hand, while she held a stack of receipts, her eyebrows slightly furrowed, muttering to herself as she counted the money. The money had been taken from my wallet by her, running back and forth to pay for everything, and finally she folded up the receipts, turned around and asked: "Do you think Shen Shiyan will reimburse you for this?"

  I: “……”

  "She said: 'Over 400 yuan, you... it's not easy to make money now.'"

  "My tone turned cold: 'Why go find him to settle accounts?'"

  She said matter-of-factly: "You were injured while performing a heroic act in the line of duty. Isn't the police responsible?"

  "I said stiffly: 'No need, don't look for him.'"

  Tan Jiao slightly pursed her lips and didn't say a word, probably feeling that my tone was cold.

  She thinks it's easy, just find Shen Shiyan to settle the bill?

  Am I still a man?