Did That Doctor Successfully Remarry Today?

Night falls, street lamps light up, neon lights on both sides of the street flicker, interlacing colors sketch out rainbow bridges one after another.

Just when Gao Chuan was thinking of driving home, he realized upon reaching the underground garage that his car had been towed away for repairs by Song Li, leaving him no choice but to walk back to the hospital entrance to hail a taxi home.

After a day's toil, the man changed into his own clothes, carelessly leaving two buttons of his shirt collar undone, a dark grey coat draped over his arm. He stood tall and straight, with chiseled features, and a slight furrow of worry between his brows.

He recalled the words of the girl named Jiang An in the office: "Dr. Gao, I believe in you."

Such grateful and expectant eyes, yet inexplicably heartbreaking.

Others see doctors as deities, yet never consider that in the face of life and death, they too are sometimes helpless.

A taxi stops in front of him, Gao Chuan opens the door intending to get in when a sharp female voice suddenly comes from not far away.

He halts and looks in the direction of the voice. Across the street, two figures dash by, one of them, a girl shouting at the top of her lungs, "Catch the thief, catch the thief..."

Despite the dim light, Gao Chuan still recognizes the girl shouting about a thief as Jiang An, whom he had just been thinking about.

Tsk, that girl.

Without even thinking, he closes the taxi door and runs towards the fleeing shadow, dodging through traffic like a stream. He has to first sprint to the pedestrian walk ahead to cut off the person being chased.

Clearly exhausted, Jiang An's energy is waning, her speed slows considerably, she missteps and falls hard onto the ground, pain surges through her body, she struggles to stand up, and only then does she see the scuffle happening not far ahead.

As night deepens, the blurry figures grow closer, Jiang An hobbles forward, the thief has already been subdued by Gao Chuan and a few helpful passersby, and pedestrians crossing the road also stop to watch, applauding.

Gao Chuan and two men beside him press down hard on the thief's shoulders, the thief kneeling with hands clasped begs for mercy.

"Call the police," says Gao Chuan calmly to the surrounding onlookers, then turning to notice Jiang An already standing by his side, he hears her continuous gasps for breath, heavy with exhaustion.

"Dr. Gao, it's you! You're...so impressive."

"Your belongings." Gao Chuan hands out a shoulder bag he had just retrieved from the thief into Jiang An's hands, his husky voice creating ripples in the evening breeze.

Jiang An takes it and explains, "This isn't mine, it belongs to that sister over there..."

As she turns to look back, the empty sidewalk bears no one.

Gao Chuan observes her puzzled expression, his brow furrows with concern, chasing so fervently for someone she doesn't even know.

It isn't long before the police arrive in time to take the thief away, one of the officers approaches to take someone in for a statement. Knowing that Jiang An was the first to spot the incident, they ask for her opinion first.

Suddenly, Gao Chuan steps forward to block in front of Jiang An, his expression solemn, "I'll go with you, I caught him just now."

His tall figure envelops Jiang An, she looks up at the back of Gao Chuan's head, surprised to find she only reaches his shoulder.

"Let's go back to the hospital first to treat your wound, your mother needs taking care of," Gao Chuan turns and says, his eyes resting on the girl's bruised leg.

"Okay, thank you, Dr. Gao."

Jiang An watched Gao Chuan get into the police car and leave before starting to walk towards the hospital. After a busy day, he finally found time to check his phone for messages. Finding that there had been no calls, a fog of doubt rose in his heart.

Gao Chuan finished giving his statement at around nine o'clock in the evening. When he left the police station, he saw Gao Yu leaning against a white Mercedes, idly smoking and looking bored. Gao Yu's solemn expression relaxed a lot when he saw Gao Chuan tiredly walk out.

"Why are you here?" Gao Chuan walked straight over and asked expressionlessly.

Gao Yu put out his cigarette, and the thick white smoke dissipated. "Mom asked me to come check on you after Uncle Wang told her you were brought in."

Both men got into the car, and Gao Yu started the engine. Suddenly, Gao Chuan sitting in the driver's seat asked, "How's grandma doing?"

"Not good, the doctor still recommends she goes home to recuperate. You should visit when you have time."

"You know," Gao Yu said as he slowly turned the steering wheel, "if you really cared about grandma, you'd marry a wife for me sooner. You're not young anymore, and you know grandma has always been worried about this." He glanced over and saw the exhausted Gao Chuan had slumped in his seat with his eyes tightly closed.

This guy, always pretends to be asleep when marriage comes up...

Gao Yu drove all the way to Gao Chuan's place. Just before getting out of the car, a just-awakened Gao Chuan suddenly asked, "How much would it cost if this car got scratched?"

Caught off guard by the odd question, Gao Yu asked in return, "What? Did you scratch someone's car?"

Gao Chuan had already opened the car door and gotten out, grunting, "No, just asking."

With that, he went inside the building, leaving behind a confused Gao Yu sitting in the car.

The next day.

Because it was his turn for the night shift, Gao Chuan didn't arrive at the hospital until the afternoon by taxi. After completing a surgery that lasted nearly five hours, he dragged his weary body into the empty office.

Outside the window, night had fallen, and a pale crescent moon hung in the east, its light shimmering.

He went out to make a round and saw nothing unusual, then returned to the office to make do with a cup of instant noodles for dinner. Halfway through pouring hot water, he was stopped by a nurse on duty who informed him that a patient had suddenly gone into shock.

He rushed over and found it was a middle-aged woman in the same ward as Fang Qing. When he arrived in the chaotic room, Jiang An and another nurse were administering emergency measures. Seeing Gao Chuan come in, they moved aside consciously.

Gao Chuan checked the patient's breathing and ordered sternly, "Take her to the emergency room, prepare for defibrillation."

In the crowded ward, Jiang An stood still, watching as several people rushed the patient in shock away, their retreating figures seemingly racing against death, where every second counted.

"Anan, you go and follow up. Xiaochen's family isn't here," Fang Qing said as she sat up in bed and urged Jiang An.

After the rescue, Gao Chuan casually walked out of the emergency room. Jiang An, who had been waiting outside, immediately stood up, her face full of anxiety and her deep chestnut brows furrowed tightly.

"How is it, Dr. Gao, is Aunt Chen alright?"

Gao Chuan gently removed his mask, locking eyes with Jiang An, his handsome face showing a calm expression, "She's out of life-threatening danger now, but she needs further observation. Let's send her back to the ward."

After speaking, he went back to the resting room without another word. In the quiet resting room with only a desk lamp on, the hazy light was faint. Gao Chuan slumped into the chair and weakly tilted his head back.

Closing his eyes, he fell into an endless darkness, shutting out all the noise.