Chapter 82: Internal Benefits

Chapter 82: Chapter 82: Internal Benefits

The next morning, Gu Qingning was woken by a strange sound.

She opened her eyes and saw him. That detestable guy, the one she loathed so much she wanted to take a chunk out of him, was right in front of her, stretching and doing exercises.

The next moment, their eyes met.

Gu Qingning’s face instantly flushed red, the color quickly spreading to her neck and ears.

It was because she once again recalled last night’s scene—one so mortifying she wished she could crawl into a hole, one that made her want to commit murder.

But the next second, Gu Qingning let out a shriek, her voice high-pitched with terror. "AHH!"

At the same time, she wrapped the blanket around herself, trembling as she shrank into a corner of the sofa.

"Where is this?"

"Yu Zhiming, what did you do to me last night?"

Just then, Yu Xiangwan, wearing an apron and holding a spatula, rushed out of the kitchen.

"Qingning, what’s wrong?"

"You don’t remember anything about last night?"

Seeing Yu Xiangwan, Gu Qingning looked as if she had found her anchor, and the fearful expression vanished from her face.

She put on an expression of someone trying hard to remember.

"Sister Xiang Wan, I think I drank too much last night. I only remember walking with you, but nothing after that..."

"Sister Xiang Wan, did you bring me back here?"

Yu Xiangwan nodded. "Last night, not only did you drink too much, but you also threw up..."

"All over yourself!"

Yu Xiangwan glossed over the details, then continued, "I was the one who gave you a bath and changed your clothes."

"Don’t worry, my brother didn’t get a chance to take advantage of you."

Gu Qingning, who was wearing Yu Xiangwan’s pajamas, got up from the sofa without any awkwardness.

She gave a slight bow to the coolly observing Yu Zhiming. "I just woke up and panicked when I realized I wasn’t at my own home. That’s why I screamed and questioned you without thinking."

"Dr. Yu, I absolutely didn’t mean to doubt you. I still trust your character."

Yu Zhiming gave a faint smile. "I can completely understand a girl overreacting in a tense situation."

That was what he said, but inwardly, he rolled his eyes at the girl more than once.

’They say women are born actresses, and I’m truly seeing it for myself.’

’Last night she pretended to be drunk, and this morning she’s pulling the "I blacked out and don’t remember a thing" act.’

’Impressive. Truly a master at work. She’s something else.’

’Let’s see how you’ll play this out...’

At 7:30, Yu Zhiming was called out of his bedroom for breakfast. He found Gu Qingning had already changed back into her own clothes—a small T-shirt and denim shorts that showed off her figure and youthful energy.

Binhai was still hot in early August. The washed clothes had dried completely overnight.

Breakfast was pan-fried dumplings, red date and millet congee, boiled eggs, and a plate of braised beef.

Because Gu Qingning was there, Yu Xiangwan also stir-fried two of her specialty dishes: scrambled eggs with tomato and stir-fried green beans with minced pork.

Gu Qingning noticed that this guy, Yu Zhiming, hadn’t brought his phone to the table, and she suddenly recalled something.

Last night, when he came out of his bedroom, he didn’t have his phone, either.

’Then that camera shutter sound last night...’

Gu Qingning glanced at Yu Xiangwan’s phone on the dining table, and a lie slipped out effortlessly.

"Sister Xiang Wan, my phone is dead, and I just remembered something work-related I need to ask a colleague about."

"Can I borrow your phone for a second?"

Yu Xiangwan didn’t think much of it, unlocked her phone’s pattern lock, and told Gu Qingning to go ahead.

Gu Qingning took the phone into the bathroom and stayed there for a full five minutes before coming out with a huge smile on her face...

After breakfast, Yu Zhiming tidied up a bit and left for work.

After walking out the door, he suddenly turned and beckoned to Gu Qingning in the living room with his finger.

When the girl came closer, Yu Zhiming whispered to her, "That very memorable photo... I’ve already sent it to my email and saved it somewhere special."

"I’ll help you remember all those things you’re so desperate to forget."

Looking at Yu Zhiming’s mocking face, Gu Qingning seethed with rage.

As Yu Zhiming turned to leave, she raised her foot and aimed a vicious kick at his butt.

But unexpectedly, Yu Zhiming sidestepped at just the right moment, perfectly dodging it.

Gu Qingning’s kick, however, missed. Her right foot shot forward, forcing her into the splits. With a THUD, she slammed onto the floor.

Yu Zhiming first took out his phone to snap a picture, then teased, "Perfect splits. Have you had practice?"

Facing Yu Zhiming’s utterly detestable smiling face, Gu Qingning got up with a deadpan expression.

"The splits? That’s nothing!"

She declared stubbornly, "I started practicing dance when I was six and haven’t stopped since."

Yu Zhiming let out a soft "Oh," put away his phone, and stepped into the elevator.

The instant the elevator doors closed, Yu Zhiming finally heard someone’s unrestrained cries of pain...

Walking into Huashan Hospital again, Yu Zhiming clearly noticed a difference.

The security guards at the hospital entrance, the unfamiliar doctors and nurses he passed, and other hospital staff—they either gave him friendly looks or proactively came over to wave and greet him.

This treatment made Yu Zhiming feel as if the world had changed overnight. He felt like a superstar, overwhelmed by the sudden attention.

When he arrived at the Qi Yue Medical Research Center, this feeling became even more pronounced. Everyone Yu Zhiming met was especially enthusiastic, some even fawning over him...

Yu Zhiming was summoned directly to the director’s office, where he saw Teacher Qi, who had arrived at the hospital even earlier than he had.

To his surprise, he also saw Dean Li Yao and his still-charming wife.

Come to think of it, this was the first time Yu Zhiming had met the dean in person since officially joining Huashan Hospital.

’Now that the dust has settled, has the dean come with his wife to personally offer me some comfort and encouragement?’

Just as Yu Zhiming was secretly pondering this, Li Yao said with a serious expression, "Dr. Yu, I’m here to abuse my authority for personal gain."

After a moment’s pause, he laughed heartily. "Dr. Yu, do you have any idea how many calls I received last night?"

"They were all from some old-timers, hoping to pull some strings with me to get you to give them a comprehensive check-up."

Qi Yue chimed in with a smile, "Zhiming, after that announcement last night, you’ve completely blown up."

"Those guys are all sharp."

"Your ability to detect cancer in its earliest stages, to see the big picture from the smallest signs, has them all incredibly excited."

"You have to understand, even the most thorough full-body physicals have trouble detecting cancer in the early stages of development, when the symptoms aren’t obvious."

Yu Zhiming gave a small, humble laugh. "I can only really sense problems in the few organ systems I’m more familiar with, like the heart, lungs, stomach, liver, kidneys, and intestinal system."

"I can’t detect cancer in every organ."

Li Yao chuckled. "Not arrogant or rash, but humble and prudent. The true bearing of a great physician."

He then pointed to his wife beside him and said, "Dr. Yu, the reason I brought my wife today is precisely to abuse my power. I’d like to ask you to give the two of us a check-up first."

"Is that a problem?"

Yu Zhiming laughed in agreement. "You’re the dean of the hospital. Who would dare say it’s a problem?"

"At least, I wouldn’t dare."

Li Yao laughed heartily. "Dr. Yu, there’s one more thing I’d like to discuss with you."

"Given the overwhelming demand, I was thinking we should take advantage of our position and have you, Dr. Yu, give check-ups to the hospital employees and their families, as well as our retired staff."

Hearing this, Yu Zhiming grimaced inwardly.

’He knew Huashan Hospital had over three thousand active employees. Add in the retirees and their family members, and that would be tens of thousands of people, right? Just me alone? How long would that take? Would I even have time to do anything else?’

Li Yao saw through Yu Zhiming’s thoughts and chuckled lightly. "Dr. Yu, Director Qi and I just discussed a simple plan. Why don’t you hear it out and see if it’s feasible?"

"We’ll only do check-ups for employees and retirees over the age of forty, and their immediate family members."

"You’ll only need to set aside one workday per week. The rest of your time, you can schedule as you see fit."

After a moment, Li Yao added, "This series of check-ups is an internal benefit arranged by the hospital, so of course we can’t let you do all this work for free, Dr. Yu."

"For each person you examine, the hospital will give you an additional subsidy of fifty yuan. What do you think?"