When Lin Xiao first met Zhou Qichen, she was going through a particularly difficult period in her life.
That day, as soon as she entered the house, she was called back by the head nurse to go on duty. She was a nurse at the 201 Hospital. Normally, there was less work in the Navy Hospital, and most of the patients who came for examination were active or retired soldiers. But among the patients she was responsible for, there were two veterans in particularly critical conditions. She worked overtime several times in a row and went home very late every day. She was originally a volunteer at a crisis psychological hotline in Beijing every week, but the intensity of her job was too high, so she could only work until the early morning. After a few days, even Xu Weiran, who was a teacher, had some complaints.
Xu Weiran is her girlfriend, or should I say partner. They have been together for seven years and have lived together for more than four years. Recently, the two have been arguing about big and small things, and they are afraid that they have reached the seven-year itch. This is another reason for her anxiety.
However, the head nurse called to say that a naval pilot who had broken eight bones during a parachute jump had been brought in by helicopter and needed to be looked after around the clock, and they were really short-handed, so Lin Xiao had no choice but to go back.
When Lin Xiao first entered the ward, she pushed the door open and saw Zhou Qichen wrapped like a mummy, still unconscious even though the anesthesia hadn't worn off. Her anxiety flew out the window. Lin Xiao was a very compassionate person, and when she saw Zhou Qichen... he was just too miserable.
But the pilot lying on the bed spoke the first sentence, which made Lin Xiao laugh again.
He said, "Are you good at math? Check for me. Make sure your arms and legs are all there."
Lin Xiao smiled and said, "It's okay, everything is fine. The operation was successful, don't worry, just lie down and recover." She opened the computer and looked at the man's X-ray. It was an exaggeration to say that he broke eight bones, but in fact, he also had five bones in his lumbar spine, clavicle, ribs, thigh, and shoulder, plus a severe contusion of his hip. The lumbar spine and clavicle were more serious, and steel nails were implanted in them, but fortunately there was no nerve damage.
"That's reassuring." He turned his head with all his strength and asked her, "What's your name?"
"Lin Xiao," she said, "what about you?"
"Zhou Qichen," the mummy said, "this is a special situation, so we won't shake hands."
Lin Xiao couldn't help but reached out and gently patted Zhou Qichen's shoulder. Zhou Qichen turned his head to look at her, and she realized that it was not appropriate, and suddenly pulled her hand back.
At that moment, perhaps because the anesthesia had not worn off yet, he felt light and carefree, and could ignore everything. "Don't be afraid, I don't like girls." Zhou Qichen said with a smile.
Lin Xiao also smiled at this moment. She smoothed her short black hair and said in a low voice, "It's okay. I don't like men either."
In the first three nights after the operation, Lin Xiao saw with her own eyes that he couldn't sleep the whole night because of the pain. Although he was constantly receiving intravenous drips containing painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs, he didn't want to increase the dosage of painkillers and sedatives in order not to affect his athletic performance. Lin Xiao moved a stool to sit next to him, watching the sweat run down his cheeks and back. Every morning, the bed sheets were soaked with sweat. She had previously taken care of a young girl who broke her elbow. The girl cried loudly in pain on the first night after the operation. She only broke a bone, while Zhou Qichen's was five or six times hers. Moreover, he broke too many bones, and it involved the lumbar spine, so he could basically not move for the first two weeks. Lin Xiao really felt sorry for him, so she brought him a tablet computer to watch things, and tried to sit down and chat with him when she was on duty, hoping to divert his attention. But Zhou Qichen's mentality has always been good. He gritted his teeth and endured the pain. Instead, he cared about her emotional state and wanted to listen to Lin Xiao's story about her and Xu Weiran. Normally, she shouldn't share her private life with her patients, but Lin Xiao made an exception and told him about it.