DSMIS CH13

Chapter 13: Became Neighbors?

Stepping out of the restaurant, Shen Xing scanned the row of cars parked outside, but didn’t see the Land Cruiser:

“Where did you park your car?”

Jiang Lin pointed toward a direction two streets over diagonally:

“That’s the County Public Security Bureau. I walked over. Where’s your car?”

Shen Xing smiled: “What a coincidence—I walked over too. Are you heading back to get your car?”

“Nah. I live over that way—about a ten-minute walk.”

Shen Xing glanced in the direction he pointed; it was the exact same direction he was heading.

Jiang Lin took the initiative to walk on Shen Xing’s left side.

By nine o’clock, there were hardly any pedestrians left on the county town streets, and traffic was sparse. Most shops on both sides of the road had already closed up for the night. A chilly breeze picked up in the night air. With his hands shoved in his pockets, Shen Xing was trudging forward against the wind when he suddenly heard a amused voice beside him:

“Are you in a rush to get home to use the bathroom?”

Only then did Shen Xing turn his head, looking a bit dazed:

“Huh? Me? No.”

“Then can we slow down a bit? I ate too much—stuffed.”

“Oh, right, right.”

Both of them slowed their pace. Shen Xing looked around at this unfamiliar small county town he had ended up in by a twist of fate. It lacked the heavy traffic of big cities and the high-rise CBD building lights that met your eyes every time you looked up. Both sides of the street were lined only with four- to five-story residential buildings, their lights glowing in rows and blocks. Except for supermarkets and restaurants, almost all first-floor shops had closed at this hour. The passage of time seemed to flow exceptionally slowly in this small county town, without bringing dramatic changes. In a trance, he felt as if he had returned to his grandfather’s house twenty years ago.

He tilted his head back toward the sky. What met his eyes was a crystal-clear, deep ink-blue night sky—no smog, no light pollution. It had been a long time since he had seen stars this bright:

“Hey, is it because the altitude here is higher? I feel like I’m closer to the stars.”

Jiang Lin turned to look at him, seeing Shen Xing lean his neck back even further, tracing a smooth jawline. But in the very next second, he heard a crisp “snap.” Shen Xing’s body wobbled, and Jiang Lin instinctively reached out, catching him by the waist. Shen Xing had misstepped off the sidewalk curb and tumbled right into Jiang Lin. Jiang Lin felt a bit helpless:

“Did you get dizzy and see stars? Careful, there’s a step.”

Shen Xing quickly straightened up and stretched his neck:

“Blame it on eating too much just now—all the blood went straight to my stomach. It really has been a long time since I saw such a clean night sky. In my memory, it’s something I only saw as a kid. I genuinely want to lodge a complaint about the air quality back in Tianjin.”

Jiang Lin chuckled:

“Wasn’t Tianjin’s air quality pretty average back when we were kids too?”

“I didn’t live in Tianjin before starting school. Both my grandfather’s and maternal grandfather’s places were in the Northeast. The air there was amazing! As long as it was a clear day, the moment night fell, the stars looked like they were stuck right in front of your eyes—bright and twinkling. Hey, by the way, Hero, how did you end up taking the exam to come all the way out here as a police officer? Do you have relatives here?”

It was three thousand kilometers from Tianjin to this place—way too far. Was it easier to pass the public civil service exam here?

Jiang Lin suppressed the emotion flickering in his eyes, giving a slight shrug:

“No. My unit is in Tianjin too. Just like you, I’m here on an aid assignment to the border region.”

Shen Xing immediately turned to look at him:

“Ah! My mistake, my mistake! You were praising me so much back at dinner, but you’re the one making a true sacrifice here!”

Jiang Lin just smiled without saying anything.

Only then did Shen Xing realize the two of them had been walking together the entire way. He had reached the intersection where he needed to turn into his residential complex. Just as he was about to say goodbye, he noticed Jiang Lin turning right along with him. Assuming Jiang Lin thought he was unfamiliar with the route and was escorting him:

“Hero, my complex is right ahead. You don’t need to walk me—head on back!”

Jiang Lin rubbed his nose:

“I’m not walking you. I live in that complex right ahead.”

There were two residential complexes ahead, and with the Public Security Bureau right opposite their hospital, it was normal for him to live here. Shen Xing didn’t say anything further, only to realize they were walking into the exact same complex:

“Your place is in this complex too?”

Jiang Lin nodded.

Then, they walked toward the exact same building, the exact same entrance unit, and turned to look at each other. Could it really be this coincidental?

Shen Xing pointed at the main door: “You’re in this entrance unit too?”

Jiang Lin: “I’m in 202.”

Shen Xing… was in 201. Suddenly remembering something, he spoke up in alertness:

“Hero, tell me the truth. Does the police force still think I’m a suspect, or that I’m in danger, so they assigned you to monitor and protect me?”

Jiang Lin was utterly amused by his wild imagination:

“Dr. Shen, the administrative procedures required for surveillance and protection are extremely complicated. You only arrived in this county town two days ago. If the police could arrange a apartment right across from your residence and assign a officer to monitor you in just two days… just how big of a crime would you have to commit?”

Knowing that even if he were under suspicion, he certainly wasn’t some major figure, Shen Xing felt a little embarrassed:

“That makes sense.”

“This building used to be staff housing for the hospital, and a few units were kept by the hospital as public housing. The Public Security Bureau only moved nearby a few years ago. When I was transferred here, the bureau leased a public housing unit from the hospital to arrange my living quarters. It’s likely that the hospital’s public housing units are adjacent to each other, which gave me the honor of becoming your neighbor. If you don’t believe me, you can ask the two households downstairs—I’ve been living here for three months already.”

Shen Xing scuffed his foot against the ground:

“I didn’t doubt you. Having an officer like you as a neighbor makes me feel way more secure! Come on, let’s head upstairs.”

This was an old building with four households per floor. Once they went upstairs, Shen Xing noticed that out of the four units, only his and Jiang Lin’s apartments had matching modern security doors. The other two units had the old-fashioned sheet-metal doors from years ago. It seemed those two units really were owned by the hospital.

The next morning, Shen Xing didn’t bump into Jiang Lin when heading out. He strolled toward the hospital alone, stopping by the tall, lean young man’s shop along the way to eat fried dough sticks and rice noodles. Then, holding his stuffed stomach, he ambled over to work. This feeling of being able to commute on foot was actually quite nice.

Over the past week, Shen Xing had gotten somewhat used to this low-efficiency way of seeing patients. Occasionally, he could even chat a bit with patients who spoke a little Mandarin. On this day, just as his morning outpatient clinic ended and he was about to grab a sip of water before eating lunch, he saw Hospital Director Yu Guiping walk in:

“Director Yu?”

Yu Guiping smiled warmly:

“Finished with morning clinic? Getting used to things?”

Shen Xing stood up and poured him a glass of water, smiling:

“It’s going great, thanks to Lobsang translating for me.”

As a junior doctor who had just become a full-fledged staff member, Lobsang was clearly not as relaxed around Yu Guiping as Shen Xing was. He stood aside, blushing and offering a shy smile.

“Did you come over for something, Director?”

“Ah, yes. The hospital cafeteria is starting renovations this Friday. I spoke with Chief Shen at the Public Security Bureau across the street—from now on, you can go to their cafeteria for both lunch and dinner. It’s not far, right across the street—just cross the traffic light.”

Shen Xing had thought it was something major. He had seen the notice regarding cafeteria renovations on his very first day eating there:

“No need, Director Yu. During renovations, I can just eat out for lunch or order delivery. There are plenty of small eateries downstairs—it’s very convenient.”

The one thing that was never lacking outside a hospital was small guesthouses and diners. Food was easy to resolve, and asking to leech meals off the police might be awkward for Yu Guiping to bring up.

Unexpectedly, Yu Guiping wouldn’t hear of it:

“How could that work? Your room and board are covered while you’re here. Don’t worry—their police bureau gets higher subsidies, and their food is way better than our cafeteria!”

Shen Xing laughed:

“Director, I’m not a picky eater. But since we’re two different organizations, it’s too much of a hassle.”

Yu Guiping waved his hand dismissively:

“No hassle at all! In a small place like ours, things are easy to arrange. Public security has been our neighbor for years. Sometimes when their dorms don’t have enough space, our hospital clears out living quarters for them!”

Shen Xing immediately thought of his neighbor, Officer Jiang. It seemed that his apartment really was owned by the hospital.

Yu Guiping stood up and patted his shoulder:

“It’s settled then, Dr. Shen. Just consider it earning back the value for our hospital!”

Shen Xing was caught between tears and laughter.

“Alright then.”

“Go over there for lunch tomorrow. Chief Shen said he’d send someone over to pick you up.”

“No need, I can walk over myself. It’s right across the street—I’ve been there before.”

Yu Guiping made a sweeping gesture with his arm:

“It’s fine! Chief Shen and I are old acquaintances. Since he said he’s sending someone, don’t be formal!”

With that, Director Yu clasped his hands behind his back and walked off.

On Friday morning, while Shen Xing was seeing patients in the clinic, Head Nurse Sangji suddenly rushed over to call him:

“Dr. Shen, there’s a fracture patient in the emergency room whose condition isn’t looking good!”

Arriving at the emergency room, Shen Xing rapidly performed a physical examination on the patient while asking the first-responding ER doctor:

“Patient details?”

Fulan County Hospital didn’t have a dedicated emergency department. The ER was staffed daily by rotating personnel from different departments; today’s on-duty doctor was an attending physician from Obstetrics and Gynecology.

“The patient is Zhang Chumei, 62 years old. She underwent hip joint surgery a month and a half ago. She had a fall today, reporting severe pain in her left leg and an inability to move it. We suspect an issue at the fracture site. Do you think we should send her for an X-ray first?”

Shen Xing lowered his head to examine Zhang Chumei’s leg. The leg was swollen. Shortly after, he noticed her rapid breathing, pale complexion, and slight choking cough. He placed his hand over her sternum:

“Does it hurt here?”

Zhang Chumei nodded, her breathing visibly labored. Strongly suspecting PE (Pulmonary Embolism), Shen Xing’s expression darkened slightly:

“Order an expedited renal function test! If the results are clear, perform a pulmonary angiography immediately and request an internal medicine consultation!”

The moment the words left his mouth, Sangji, who had followed him over, spoke up in a low voice:

“Director Shen, our hospital can’t perform pulmonary angiography.”

Shen Xing froze, having forgotten that many county-level hospitals lacked spiral CT scanners with 64 slices or more.

“First, get a lower extremity venous ultrasound, a plain chest CT, and an ECG. Urgent blood draw—add a D-dimer test. Make it fast!”

The patient was elderly, obese, and at high risk for deep vein thrombosis post-surgery; he strongly suspected a lower extremity venous thrombosis.

The internal medicine doctor also hurried downstairs at this moment. After a brief discussion with Shen Xing, he also suspected PE. However, a definitive diagnosis required pulmonary angiography; all other tests were merely supplementary. He recommended transferring the patient immediately to Baoshan.

Transferring a patient to a higher-level hospital when a lower-level hospital could not reach a definitive diagnosis was indeed the safest standard procedure. The problem, however, was that this wasn’t an intra-city transfer. Reaching Baoshan from here took at least three hours—a road Shen Xing had driven on himself. Pulmonary embolism was an acute medical emergency; once the window for treatment was missed, the mortality rate was exceptionally high.

Under these circumstances, transferring the patient was legally and procedurally bulletproof. Even if something went wrong on the road, it wouldn’t be the lower-level hospital’s fault. Without a definitive diagnosis, they couldn’t administer medication unauthorized. On the other hand, if they kept her here for thrombolytic therapy and something went wrong, that would cause massive trouble. Shen Xing had arrived in this town precisely because he had gotten dragged into trouble before.

After a moment’s reflection, he laid out a plan:

“Contact the green channel first. Afterward, we’ll review the test results. I suspect she has a thrombus in her lower extremity veins as well. If a deep vein thrombosis in the lower limbs is confirmed, it can serve as clinical support for initiating anticoagulant therapy.”

Even if it was just to stabilize her condition before transferring her, it was far better than loading her straight onto an ambulance to gamble with her life.

Meanwhile, Jiang Lin arrived at the hospital on schedule to pick Shen Xing up for lunch at the cafeteria, only to find his outpatient room completely empty. Upon asking around, he learned that Shen Xing was currently down in the emergency room.