Dr. Meng is inviting me to 'enter his home,' huh...
"A clinical doctor's 'after night shift' means coming off duty after the previous night's shift and then finishing rounds and other tasks the next day before actually leaving."
"So that's only half a day off?" Jiang Ruoqi bit on her iced coffee straw, her boneless arm draping over the bench. "Pay is low, work is plenty, and worst of all, the person doesn't even go home." She licked her lips and murmured softly, "This is practically heaven-sent compatibility."
On Saturday morning, the outpatient department of the First Municipal Hospital was closed, but the emergency room was bustling with people and vehicles non-stop. Next to the ER was the inpatient building. Jiang Ruoqi had been sitting out front for nearly half an hour, yet she still hadn't seen Meng Shang, who should have gotten off work long ago. She looked down at her phone, the latest message lingering on the chat screen.
[Meng Shang]: Something came up in the ward. I might be half an hour late.
After receiving the message, Jiang Ruoqi finally thought to look up what "after night shift" meant. Literally, it wasn't hard to understand—the work hours were longer than she had expected. Thinking that Meng Shang had been up all night and would have to sacrifice his rest time right after getting off work, she felt it was truly cruel.
Jiang Ruoqi hesitated. She did need someone's help in making a decision, but she could also manage on her own. Since she was already nearly at the hospital, she decided to let Dr. Meng go.
[Seven]: Dr. Meng, maybe you should just go home and rest. Working after a night shift, and then being dragged to see apartments by me—that feels so cruel...
Jiang Ruoqi's thoughts wandered. When she sent that message, she felt a sense of guilt, like she was forcing someone to stay awake against their will.
Meng Shang had just finished his shift handover when he got held up by a patient's family member whose surgery was imminent. He patiently explained the situation and calmed them down before he could extricate himself. By the time he saw the message, he paused mid-step as he was about to go change clothes, pondering the word "cruel" seriously.
He looked up and glanced around. The dim yellow lights flickered even during the day, and the breath brought the familiar smell of disinfectant. He thought, if anyone was being cruel, it wasn't her. Last night was Christmas Eve, and he had managed to catch a short nap, so he wasn't particularly sleepy. Besides, during truly busy times in the department, they would rotate through day, night, and off shifts, and occasionally work 24 hours straight.
Somehow, even though he had already typed "It's fine," Meng Shang didn't send it. Dr. Meng focused, feeling more conflicted over Jiang Ruoqi's message than over any difficult medical case. He hesitated—about the subject, the tone, the content. At over thirty, he understood how to show goodwill, but it wasn't his usual style, and he had never practiced it. Yet Jiang Ruoqi was his best choice—a choice that fate had placed before him.
[Meng Shang]: The cruelty is from the work.
[Meng Shang]: But if Miss Jiang feels sorry, you can buy me a coffee.
Jiang Ruoqi tilted her head, sensing that this wasn't something Meng Shang would typically say. She pressed her thumb against the callus formed from writing on her middle finger, planning to ask Ada more about Meng Shang's recent situation when she had a chance. But buying a coffee was no big deal for now.
She herself drank at least two cups a day, and if she wanted to be pretentious, she could even talk about the nuances of different coffee beans. But she didn't know...
Jiang Ruoqi looked down at the paper bag beside her. She didn't know Dr. Meng's taste preferences, so she'd bought both iced and hot. Her plan was simple: let Meng Shang pick the one he wanted, and she'd take the other. After all, she was lacking sleep—a single Americano would only be enough to reduce water retention, but two cups' worth of caffeine would barely be enough to perk her up.
But the half-hour stretched into over an hour. The iced coffee turned warm, and the hot coffee went cold, but she still hadn't seen him. Truly, men's words are as deceitful as ghosts. Even on weekends, he was this busy. Great—he was even more like her perfect match.
"Sorry, I got held up again just as I was leaving. Sorry to keep you waiting."
Jiang Ruoqi was silently complaining when she suddenly caught a whiff of a sharp disinfectant smell. When she looked up, Meng Shang was standing right in front of her. He was tall with good proportions, wearing a black cashmere coat, a dark gray turtleneck underneath, and a navy blue scarf. At first glance, he looked like a male model standing there. But how had he appeared so silently, without making a sound?
Jiang Ruoqi slowly stood up, her gaze discreetly glancing over his collar. Meng Shang's neck was long and slender, and the turtleneck didn't make his neck look short at all; rather, the dark color contrasted with his skin, making him look even paler. No wonder it was voted the sexiest outfit for men.
"Dr. Meng, you're so busy at work, yet you still find time to help me. I already feel terribly sorry. How could waiting just a little while be considered long?" Jiang Ruoqi said unhurriedly, tightening her coat. "I can wait as long as it takes."
Meng Shang was a man of few words, and now he was even more at a loss for how to respond. "Let's go."
"Where to?" Jiang Ruoqi followed.
"To get the car," Meng Shang added. "The agent gave three addresses. It'll be more convenient to drive ourselves."
That reminded her—she had a Hong Kong driver's license. She needed to find out if she could directly exchange it for a mainland one. She'd have to make time to ask.
Meng Shang led the way to the garage. He took long strides and walked fast, but fortunately he remembered that Jiang Ruoqi was following, so he kept his pace such that they could walk side by side.
Jiang Ruoqi didn't find it difficult to keep up, but after a while she remembered she was still holding the coffee bag, so she held it out to him. "Almost forgot—your coffee."
Meng Shang paused, taking it instinctively, but dared not look at her. "You actually bought it."
"Of course," Jiang Ruoqi replied, noticing that Meng Shang hadn't looked up, which she thought was more in line with his controllable state. Her tone became more matter-of-fact. "When you ask for help, you have to be sincere. Just buying a cup of coffee—I had to come through."
"Thank you." The apology felt a bit dry, and Meng Shang sensed he ought to say something more. Belatedly, he noticed the bag felt heavier than it should, so he opened it. Finally finding an opportunity to look directly at Jiang Ruoqi, he asked, "Both cups are for me?"
"Of course not." Jiang Ruoqi leaned in, and they both looked into the bag, then simultaneously raised their eyes. "I didn't know if you preferred cold or hot, so I bought both. You pick one, and I'll take the other."
Meng Shang didn't speak. His gaze drifted to the empty cup in Jiang Ruoqi's hand, its ice not even fully melted, and lingered there for a moment before moving away. Jiang Ruoqi could sense a look of scrutiny, as if waiting for her to explain.
She shook her coffee cup. "It's just two cups. You have no idea—people in my line of work, even if we're sick and getting an IV drip, the bag has to be filled with iced Americano."
Meng Shang couldn't help but smile. "I'd like to know which doctor prescribed you a medicine that's iced Americano."
"Definitely not Dr. Meng," Jiang Ruoqi said, reaching for the iced one.
"Mm, not Dr. Meng." Meng Shang pressed down on Jiang Ruoqi's hand, took out the latte that had gone lukewarm, and handed it to her. "Dr. Meng prescribes hot. Drink it."
Jiang Ruoqi sniffled, holding the still-warm paper cup, feeling that Meng Shang seemed different from what she had thought. This wasn't right—she really needed to pump Ada for information sometime.
Seeing Jiang Ruoqi's movements, Meng Shang thought she was dressed too thinly but too shy to say so. "Are you cold?"
Jiang Ruoqi hadn't processed the question and nodded blankly.
"The humidity in Xinhai is high in winter, so it feels colder. You should wear more when you go out." Meng Shang reached up to undo his scarf and carefully draped it over Jiang Ruoqi's shoulders. "I just changed this scarf yesterday. It can double as a shawl."
Jiang Ruoqi was enveloped by a clean scent of laundry detergent, carrying Meng Shang's body heat and a very faint trace of disinfectant. She had been through the romantic scene before—her ex-partners had done all sorts of considerate things. Scarves and coats offered when it got cold, brown sugar ginger water during her period, heartfelt homemade lunches. Others were always straightforward, whether out of love or out of ulterior motives. Only Meng Shang did things he was utterly unskilled at, making it awkward and odd.
"Dr. Meng..."
Meng Shang also felt he had overstepped, interrupting her before she could finish. "It's cold outside. Let's get in the car quickly."
Fine, this man was still thin-skinned. Jiang Ruoqi wasn't upset by the interruption. She used one hand to slide the backpack strap that had slipped off her wrist back onto her shoulder, intentionally falling two steps behind, her eyes crinkling with a smile. "Dr. Meng, slow down. I can't keep up."
Meng Shang said nothing, but his pace noticeably slowed.
The agent had found three apartments for Jiang Ruoqi, all in popular areas of the city center, ranging from a hotel-style serviced apartment to a two-bedroom-one-living-room old house. They were all just a few subway stops from her company, with commutes generally under half an hour, which perfectly met Jiang Ruoqi's need for sleep.
"This serviced apartment offers 24-hour concierge service. Behind the lobby, there's a café and an indoor swimming pool. The subway station is 800 meters away. The surrounding area has complete amenities like shopping centers, hospitals, and it's convenient for commuting—perfect for an elite like Miss Jiang."
The agent, smooth-tongued and confident, rattled off everything high-paid white-collar workers in Jiang Ruoqi's age group loved to hear. He looked at her expectantly, but she was frowning, not showing any signs of signing the contract on the spot.
"Thank you for today. I'll look around some more."