Chapter 81

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Protagonist:

Lu Feng

Thinking of this, Zhang Xianyang picked up his mobile phone again and called the nurse on night shift.

"What is it, Doctor Zhang?" Nurse Xiao Zhang's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"I ran into a patient who sneaked out of the hospital here on Food Street. Go to Orthopedics and ask if there's a patient named Wu Xiaofei." Zhang Xianyang spoke extremely fast.

Hearing this, Xiao Zhang on the other end immediately realized the seriousness of the situation and replied at once: "Okay, Doctor Zhang, I'll go verify right away. Please keep that patient there for now."

After Xiao Zhang finished speaking, she hurriedly hung up. Zhang Xianyang put away his phone, his gaze fixed on Wu Xiaofei.

Wu Xiaofei also realized he had caused unnecessary trouble for the hospital. He lowered his head, not making a sound.

Seeing Wu Xiaofei seemed to realize his mistake too, Zhang Xianyang's tone softened somewhat: "Wu Xiaofei, it's not that I don't want to help you. I'm thinking of your safety. Besides, the hospital has a cafeteria. Why did you have to sneak out in the middle of the night to buy food?"

"Doctor, you work at the hospital too. You should know what the cafeteria food tastes like. I really just wanted to come out and eat a portion of fried noodles. I absolutely had no intention of causing trouble for the hospital." Wu Xiaofei looked helpless, shaking his head involuntarily at the mention of the hospital cafeteria.

Hearing Wu Xiaofei say the hospital cafeteria food was bad, Zhang Xianyang actually felt some empathy.

To ensure patients' dietary health, the cafeteria dishes were basically all boiled in water, and salt was used as sparingly as possible. The taste was naturally indescribable.

When he first came to this hospital, after eating the cafeteria food a few times, he never went back. Every time he bought his own food outside.

He'd also heard many patients complain to him about the bad cafeteria food, but there was nothing he could do. Besides, the hospital was doing it for the patients' health.

Zhang Xianyang sighed, his tone softening a bit more: "Even if the hospital food tastes bad, you could have your family help buy it. Did you have to sneak out yourself in the middle of the night?"

"Doctor, my family are all back in our hometown." Wu Xiaofei lowered his head, his eyes showing some loneliness: "Afraid they'd worry, I didn't dare tell them about my fracture. They're all pretty busy back home too."

Zhang Xianyang felt a pang in his heart after hearing this.

Alone, leaving his hometown to struggle in a strange place, injured and hospitalized with no one to care for him — it was truly miserable.

Zhang Xianyang was about to say something more when the mobile phone in his pocket rang.

"Doctor Zhang, is that patient still with you?"

Zhang Xianyang had just pressed the answer key when another nurse's voice came from the other end.

"The person's still here. Are you from Orthopedics?" Zhang Xianyang nodded.

"Thank goodness!" The nurse on the phone sounded like she breathed a sigh of relief, then said gratefully: "Sorry, Doctor Zhang. It was our negligence. We don't know when the patient left. We've been searching for half a day. The on-duty doctor searched the whole building and was about to call the police. Luckily your side's nurse said you ran into that patient. Thank you so much!"

"It's fine. I just happened to come out to buy food and ran into him by chance." Zhang Xianyang smiled: "You hurry over and take him back. This patient has no family with him. Please take extra care of him from now on."

The nurse on the phone agreed repeatedly, thanked him again, then hung up.

Zhang Xianyang put away his phone and looked at Wu Xiaofei: "Your family isn't with you, so you need to be even more responsible for your own body. If you want to buy something in the future, tell the nurses. They'll help you."

Wu Xiaofei nodded repeatedly, then asked a bit embarrassedly: "Doctor, when the hospital people come later, could you tell them to let me buy the fried noodles first before going back with them?"

Zhang Xianyang frowned. From the Orthopedics nurse's tone just now, if they didn't take Wu Xiaofei back immediately tonight, the whole department probably wouldn't get any peace. They likely wouldn't agree.

"Do you have to eat this shop's fried noodles tonight? You've never eaten it. What if it's not good?" Zhang Xianyang asked somewhat helplessly.

Wu Xiaofei shook his head vigorously: "Impossible to be bad! Doctor, I haven't eaten it, but I've smelled it. This morning when I went to the cafeteria to get food and came back, I smelled an especially fragrant scent. Following that smell, I saw a takeout box in the garbage bin by the Rest Room door on the first floor. Don't know who ate it, but the box was clean as if a dog licked it. How could it possibly be bad?"

Zhang Xianyang was stunned for a moment after hearing Wu Xiaofei's description.

That wasn't the one I ate this morning and threw away, was it?

Come to think of it, what's this "clean as if a dog licked it"? I just ate it cleanly, didn't I?

"Then how did you know this shop operates at dawn?" Zhang Xianyang asked another question.

"Uh..." Wu Xiaofei looked at Zhang Xianyang a bit embarrassedly, stammering: "At noon... I sneaked over once. The shop wasn't open. I asked people nearby."

Zhang Xianyang looked at Wu Xiaofei somewhat speechlessly. So this kid had snuck out of the hospital more than once already.

Looks like if he doesn't eat this shop's fried noodles tonight, he might sneak out again in the future.

Zhang Xianyang thought for a moment, then proposed a solution: "How about this. When the people come, you go back with them first. When the shop opens, I'll buy a portion for you and bring it back."

"Thank you, Doctor!" Wu Xiaofei was happy at first, but then thought of something. He hesitated, then asked carefully: "Doctor, you're here to buy fried noodles too, right?"

"Mm." Zhang Xianyang nodded.

"Then it's difficult. Just now I heard the people queuing here say this shop limits each person to one portion." Wu Xiaofei's face showed some difficulty.

"Limited purchase too?" Zhang Xianyang was stunned. Feng Jiao hadn't mentioned this to him this morning.

"Right. Heard it's so more people can eat it. Otherwise it'd sell out all at once." Wu Xiaofei could tell this doctor in front of him probably really wanted to eat this shop's fried noodles too. Otherwise he wouldn't be queuing here at 3 AM.

Zhang Xianyang looked at the shop's tightly shut gate, then at Wu Xiaofei's somewhat disappointed eyes. He stood in place considering for a while.

"Forget it. You behave and go back with them. I'll bring my portion back for you."

Although it was a bit of a pity not to eat fried noodles tonight, as a doctor, between fried noodles and a patient, Zhang Xianyang still chose the latter.

"That's too embarrassing." Wu Xiaofei waved his hands repeatedly: "Doctor, you came specially to eat it. How can I eat your portion?"

Zhang Xianyang was about to speak when he suddenly felt someone pat his shoulder from behind. He turned his head to look back.

"You two, I've been listening for a while. How about this: I happen to have an urgent matter in a bit and no time to eat here. Why don't I buy a portion for this young man instead?" The fat uncle behind Zhang Xianyang came over, smiling broadly.

If Feng Jiao were here at this moment, she would definitely recognize this uncle at a glance.

"Really, Uncle? Thank you so much!" Wu Xiaofei beamed with joy, thanking this kind-hearted uncle.

Zhang Xianyang also sighed on the side: Who says society is cold and indifferent these days? There are still plenty of kind people!

Unexpectedly, the uncle then held up a finger, smiling, and said: "Fried noodles one portion fifty, proxy purchase fee one hundred."