Chapter 24

One day, he accepted my WeChat request, but we didn’t chat. His name just quietly lay in my contacts.

Even more frustrating, he didn’t have a Moments page.

It was a pointless addition.

Days passed, and I thought Ryan Chen, after experiencing the awkwardness of that day, would never contact me again.

However, one day after work, I saw a crowd gathered on the roadside.

I walked over and saw him.

He was performing emergency aid on an elderly woman who had collapsed on the ground.

Seeing the woman’s tattered clothes, I realized she was the grandmother who collected trash near our area.

Her life was quite pitiful; at her age, she still had to rely on collecting trash to make a living, and her children didn’t care for her.

I stopped nearby, quietly watching.

The crowd grew larger, and everyone seemed tense.

But some people were murmuring:

“At her age, she’s long been plagued by illness. Who knows if mouth-to-mouth would spread something.”

“Poor thing, even if she’s saved, who knows how many days she has left.”

“Living is suffering.”

…

I wanted to say something, but faced with this kind of spectator mentality, I felt a bit sad and powerless.

In the end, the woman was saved. Ryan Chen helped her up and said he would take her home. When he looked up, he saw me.

“I know where she lives. I’ll go with you.”

“Okay.” He seemed surprised to see me.

After escorting the woman, he walked me home, and we both remained silent.

“Is it dangerous for doctors to save people like that?” I couldn’t help but ask.

He paused, “Are you worried about infectious diseases? Yes.”

“Generally, during emergency aid, it’s best to place a piece of gauze over the patient’s mouth before performing CPR,” he explained.

“But earlier… you didn’t have any.” Like everyone else, I was a bit concerned.

“I know everything,” he paused, “but that was a life. As a doctor, at that moment, saving a life is all that matters.”

I stood there, a sense of reverence for doctors welled up inside me, and I felt ashamed of my thoughts.

“You don’t need to worry about me. As a doctor, I know many prevention and treatment methods,” he was clearly comforting me, giving me an out.

“Alright, then I’m relieved.” I smiled.

We continued walking until we reached my building, and he hesitated to leave.

“Last time, Liam Evans…” I struggled to speak, “He’s your cousin, right?”

“Yes.” He smiled bitterly, “He’s doing well over there. Going abroad was a relatively good choice for him.”

“Yeah, that’s good.” I didn’t know what else to say.

“Mr. Chen, let’s be friends from now on,” I straightforwardly suggested.

He paused for a long time before saying, “Okay.”