Outpatient Building, Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Jiang Xu had changed into a clean white coat, the cuffs buttoned neatly, a cool stethoscope hanging around his neck, and a blue-and-white job badge pinned to his breast pocket.
Compared to how he’d been just moments ago in front of Shen Fangyu, his demeanor was now much gentler.
He took a sip of tea, adjusted his cool-toned half-rim glasses, quickly scanned the number of registered patients, and pressed the button to start calling names.
The first few cases were all follow-ups from earlier that morning, likely patients who’d gotten their test results and came straight back. The first non-follow-up patient was a woman of about forty.
She stepped inside and stood in front of Jiang Xu, tucking back the hair at her temples, looking somewhat ill at ease.
“Sit,” Jiang Xu said.
“Oh… okay.” The woman held the chair as she sat down.
Jiang Xu glanced at the name displayed on his computer screen and confirmed with the patient, “Ruan Xiufang?”
The woman nodded. “Yes, that’s me.” She seemed a little nervous and self-conscious.
“What’s bothering you?” Jiang Xu shifted his gaze from the computer to her.
“I… I…” Ruan Xiufang’s lips moved, but she didn’t manage to say it for a while.
“Just say it directly, it’s alright.”
Every time Jiang Xu held clinic, he would encounter many such patients. Unlike other specialties, gynecology carried a built-in sense of shame for many women steeped in outdated, conservative ideas. Older women with little education and teenage girls alike often reacted with fear and avoidance when it came to gynecological issues.
Shao Le glanced at Jiang Xu holding his pen. With his mask on, only his eyes were visible. He waited calmly for Ruan Xiufang to speak, his gaze behind the lenses showing neither impatience nor aggression, it was a listening gaze, one that, without reason, made people want to trust him.
The way Jiang Xu was with patients was very different from how he was with students. Shao Le had noticed this from the very first time she shadowed him in clinic.
Back then, Jiang Xu had told her that patients’ psychological state was often fragile, and that many who came to the gynecology department were already being very brave just by coming.
“They’re not students, you don’t need to strictly ‘teach’ them anything. The only thing you need to do is help them with everything you can.”
Sure enough, after hesitating for a bit, Ruan Xiufang kept her head down, staring at the desk, and began speaking in a low voice: “It’s just that every time… I’m with my husband, it hurts a lot. I don’t know why.” She looked distressed. “I don’t want to sleep with him, and then he gets angry with me.”
“How long has this been going on?” Jiang Xu lowered his head and began writing her medical record.
Ruan Xiufang rubbed her hands together. “Two or three months.”
“Any bleeding after intercourse?”
Ruan Xiufang looked surprised. “Doctor, how did you know?” Once she started talking, the words came more easily. “Also, my period is irregular. I don’t know if it’s because I’m going through menopause.”
“Any history of HPV infection?” Jiang Xu asked.
“Yes, but that was more than ten years ago. The doctor back then said it was because my immune system was too weak.” Ruan Xiufang’s head dropped lower and lower, as if she were about to bury it in her clothes. “Is that the reason? But the doctor said I was cured.” She looked very puzzled.
Jiang Xu paused for a moment, then set down his pen and exchanged a glance with Shao Le. He gestured toward the adjacent exam room. “Let’s do an examination to take a look. Do you want a female doctor to accompany you?”
Some patients didn’t want to be examined alone by a male doctor, and some doctors preferred to have as few observers present as possible, so Jiang Xu usually asked about the patient’s preference.
Ruan Xiufang looked at Shao Le and, after some hesitation, nodded.
Shao Le closed the clinic door, pulled aside the exam curtain, and guided Ruan Xiufang to lie down on the bed. Jiang Xu went to the sink to wash his hands, put on gloves, and was just reaching for the instruments when the outer door banged open. Jiang Xu instinctively pulled a sheet over Ruan Xiufang, and a man reeking of alcohol yanked the curtain aside and stepped in.
“Who’s Jiang Xu?” The man’s voice was vicious.
“I am.” Jiang Xu shot him a puzzled glance. “Step outside for now, we’re in the middle of an examination. Whatever it is, we can talk about it later.”
But the moment the words left his mouth, the man grew even more aggressive. He strode forward a few steps, looking ready to swing a punch. “What the hell is wrong with you? A male doctor in gynecology, what the hell are you up to, you son of a bitch?”
His crude language made Jiang Xu frown, but the woman on the bed suddenly sat up. “Ma Hao, what are you doing here?”
“What am I doing here?” The burly man quickly turned his wrath toward her. “If I hadn’t shown up, were you just going to let this man examine you? Have you no shame?”
“Ma Hao, watch your mouth!” Ruan Xiufang’s voice already carried a sob, high and sharp with anxiety. “He’s a proper doctor, and I’m here for a proper medical check-up!”
“What decent man works in obstetrics?” Ma Hao jabbed a finger at Jiang Xu’s nose. “I can tell you’re up to no good.”
With that, he charged straight at Jiang Xu. Shao Le quickly stepped in to block him, but Ma Hao shot her a glare and raised his hand, aiming a slap at her face. The next second, a powerful grip twisted his wrist. The 1.8-meter-tall man was slammed face-down onto the desk by Jiang Xu.
“What the—!?”
He tried to struggle, but Jiang Xu’s hand clamped down on the back of his neck, the other arm wrenching Ma Hao’s arm up behind his back while his leg pinned him in place. “Move again, and I’ll dislocate your arm right here.” He shifted his grip as if ready to snap the joint.
The man’s face was pressed hard against the desk. The sudden reversal left him stunned. “Aren’t you supposed to be a doctor? Doctors are supposed to heal people, why the hell are you hitting me?”
Jiang Xu let out a short laugh, more from exasperation than amusement.
“Fine.”
He switched the hand pinning Ma Hao, and with the other, quickly unfastened the buttons of his white coat. In one smooth motion, he shrugged it off and tossed it over the back of a chair. Before Ma Hao could react, he was forced back down, harder than before.
Underneath, Jiang Xu wore a crisp white shirt with a subtle pattern. He rolled up the sleeves neatly above his wrists, revealing lean, strong forearms. The veins stood out against his pale skin from the force he exerted.
“Let me reintroduce myself,” Jiang Xu said evenly, his voice revealing no emotion. “My name is Jiang Xu, a member of A City’s Close-Combat Martial Arts Association. Now, am I allowed to hit you?”
“…” Ma Hao: Why aren’t you following the script?
Before Ma Hao could answer, Jiang Xu briskly dislocated his wrist.
A scream tore from Ma Hao’s throat. The sudden pain left him wide-eyed with shock and despair. Moments ago he’d been flexing his muscles with swagger, but now he was utterly deflated. “Doctor… Dr. Jiang… I’m begging you, please put my hand back… it hurts…”
“Good,” Jiang Xu said coldly. “If it hurts, then remember this, don’t do to others what you wouldn’t want done to yourself. Next time your wife says she’s in pain, I hope you’ll recall exactly how you feel right now.”
Tears welled in Ma Hao’s eyes. At that, he started nodding rapidly without a second thought, all trace of earlier bravado gone.
“Dr. Jiang…” Shao Le was frozen in shock beside them. It was her first time witnessing anything like this, and she didn’t even know what to say. “Is this… really okay?”
Back when she was in school, all the doctors during her internship had told her: if you run into a violent patient, the best thing is to get away. This was the first time she’d seen someone go head-to-head like this.
Jiang Xu, his long fingers locked around Ma Hao’s wrist, glanced at her and asked, “Are you talking about him or me?”
“…” Shao Le: I’ll pretend I didn’t ask.
“Quite the scene.” Shen Fangyu strolled in, leaning lazily against the doorway with his arms folded, enjoying the show.
“Dr. Shen…” Shao Le blinked at him in surprise.
He smiled at her. “If you’re really worried about Dr. Jiang, now’s not the time to be standing around watching, you should be calling security.”
That jolted her back to her senses. Jiang Xu looked so in control that she’d forgotten to get help, just standing there in a daze.
She was about to run off when Shen Fangyu stopped her. “No need. The moment I heard the door being kicked in, I called the security office.” He looked over at Jiang Xu, raised his brows, and said in an exaggerated tone, “Kindhearted Dr. Shen has once again repaid evil with good. How do you plan to thank me?”
Jiang Xu shot him an unreadable look.
By now, Ruan Xiufang had gotten down from the examination bed. She glanced at her restrained husband, then at Jiang Xu, unsure what to say. After a pause, she told Ma Hao simply, “Serves you right.”
“That’s what you get for disrespecting the doctor,” Ruan Xiufang said. “Got yourself beaten, didn’t you?”
“Wife…” Ma Hao was thoroughly subdued now, all his bluster gone. “Please, beg Dr. Jiang to put my hand back…”
Before he could finish, several uniformed security guards holding batons pushed the door open. They stopped short at the scene, exchanging baffled looks before turning to Jiang Xu.
“Dr. Jiang, what’s going on here?”
Jiang Xu casually released Ma Hao and pointed at him. “He tried to hit me.”
Shen Fangyu raised a hand. “I can testify, that’s exactly what happened.”
Shao Le: “Me too—”
Ma Hao: “?” Never mind the girl, who the hell was this guy leaning against the wall at the door, taking pictures of Jiang Xu?
Shen Fangyu curled his lips in a faint, meaningful smile.