Chapter 179: I Want to Help

"When I was looking for you just now, I ran into the head nurse from when I was getting my IV."
"You mean Nurse Cai? Yeah, she's the one who oversees us interns," Song Chenyi replied.
"It's such a relief that she doesn't hold grudges at all. I always feel so awkward whenever I see her, but she was the one who told me where you were."
"Don't worry, Nurse Cai is a wonderful person and she takes very good care of me." Song Chenyi reached out and lightly flicked the tip of her nose.
It tickled, and Luo Yixia reached up to rub it.
"When is your day off?" Luo Yixia rested her chin in her hands and looked at Song Chenyi after she finished eating.
"I have a day off in lieu tomorrow."
"Really?"
"But I have to work the night shift tonight." Song Chenyi paused his chopsticks and looked at her.
"Then I'll stay with you."
"It's too late. I'll book a hotel for you nearby where you can sleep, and I'll take you home tomorrow morning."
"I'm fine. I'll just wait in the office while you're on duty. Staying in a hotel all by myself is scary," Luo Yixia shook her head firmly.
"Then you can play on the computer in the office?" Song Chenyi was actually just worried she would be bored.
"Okay."
Song Chenyi took her to the dormitory.
Luo Yixia had brought quite a few snacks, which gave Song Chenyi a slight headache.
"I don't even like eating these."
"You'll be hungry after your shift and can eat a little. I've already bought them," Luo Yixia insisted stubbornly.
Chatting along the way, the two of them arrived at the dormitory.
"I'll go put these things away, you shouldn't go inside," Song Chenyi told her to stay outside the door.
"Okay."
As soon as Song Chenyi opened the door, he saw several roommates who had already finished eating and returned for a lunch break.
"Song Chenyi, I heard a girl came to see you today? Your girlfriend?" Someone teased.
"Mhm." Song Chenyi walked over to his bed and put his things down.
The dormitory was somewhat messy, but his designated area alone was very neat.
School dormitories were generally quite messy, but because he lived here, Yu Bin and the other roommates made an effort to keep things relatively tidy. However, things were different here.
"Where is the girl? Why didn't you bring her in for us to see?"
"I won't be coming back for lunch," Song Chenyi put his things down, left those words behind, and turned to leave.
After coming out, Song Chenyi took Luo Yixia's hand and walked toward the hospital entrance.
"Where are we going? Aren't you going to rest during lunch?"
"I'm taking you to a movie. Knowing you were coming today, I already bought the tickets." Song Chenyi took two tickets out of his pocket.
They were for a recently released film.
After passing through the ticket checkpoint, Luo Yixia bought popcorn and milk tea, and before long, the movie began.
There weren't many people in the cinema today, perhaps because this screening was a bit too early.
Anyway, when the two of them sat down and looked around, not a single seat near them was occupied. Besides, Song Chenyi had bought tickets for the back row.
As the movie started, the surrounding lights dimmed.
Luo Yixia had zero interest in the blockbuster American movie Song Chenyi had chosen.
It might be thrilling to watch, but with her low level of intellectual engagement, she only liked romance novels and domineering CEO stories; this really wasn't her style.
Sure enough, she hadn't been watching for long before her upper and lower eyelids began an unyielding battle.
Blinking her eyes open with effort, she looked at Song Chenyi beside her and was surprised to find that he had already fallen asleep.
He had fallen asleep with one hand gently propping up his chin.
He must have been terribly exhausted.
Luo Yixia felt a pang of sympathy.
Across the armrest, Luo Yixia leaned toward him, letting him rest his head on her shoulder.
Song Chenyi's eyelashes fluttered slightly, but fortunately, he didn't wake up.
When they came in, Luo Yixia had taken off her coat, and the indoor heating was turned up quite high.
She draped her oversized outer garment over both their laps like a blanket, covering them just right.
Luo Yixia had no idea when she had fallen asleep herself. When she woke up, the movie was already past the halfway mark and drawing to a close.
She looked at Song Chenyi beside her; he was still sleeping soundly.
His rhythmic breathing brushed gently against the skin of Luo Yixia's neck.
Song Chenyi's hair tickled the crook of her neck slightly, making it itch. Luo Yixia wanted to scratch it, but she was afraid of waking him up.
She only shifted slightly.
And then she clearly saw Song Chenyi's perfectly contoured chin, sharp and streamlined.
His slightly closed lips were right within touching distance.
Luo Yixia swallowed hard. It seemed that if she just moved the slightest bit, she could kiss him.
She had traveled all this way, made food for him, and now she had served as a pillow for half the day—surely stealing a tiny kiss would be fine...
Encouraging herself with these thoughts, she felt that kissing him was completely justified.
She gently licked her lips. *Do it, do it, it's just a kiss. He's fast asleep, it'll be fine.*
Just as their warm lips were about to touch, Luo Yixia instinctively shivered; his lips felt a bit dry.
The contact was fleeting, and Luo Yixia was just about to pull back.
To her surprise, a large hand pressed firmly against the back of her head.
At that moment, Luo Yixia's only thought was: *How did he wake up? I literally just kissed him.*
Without opening his eyes, Song Chenyi repeatedly pressed his lips against hers.
It was a lingering, passionate kiss that lasted so long Luo Yixia felt almost suffocated.
Only then did Song Chenyi release her.
Luo Yixia's lips were flushed and swollen, a sight that made his heart itch again. He leaned forward to peck her one more time before finally letting her go.
"When... when did you wake up?" Luo Yixia asked after taking several deep breaths.
"Right when you swallowed your saliva," Song Chenyi said with a smile.
Luo Yixia: "..."
She wanted nothing more than to bang her head against a wall and die—it was just too embarrassing.
By now the movie had ended, and the ending credits were rolling.
The scattered audience members had all begun to file out.
Song Chenyi picked up her coat and helped her put it on.
"Let's go back."
They hadn't watched anything during the two-plus hours of the movie, sleeping through the whole thing—oh, and they had swapped a kiss. What a waste.
The popcorn and milk tea had gone cold and undrinkable, and Luo Yixia had lost her appetite for them anyway.
"Let's go get something to eat, I'm hungry."
"It's barely past three, and you're already hungry?" Song Chenyi asked.
"Hungry, hungry, let's go get afternoon tea."
Luo Yixia searched her navigation app and eventually found a nearby dessert shop, where they ate a little bit.
However, Song Chenyi wouldn't let her eat too much.
It was past four o'clock when they returned to the hospital.
The two of them took a stroll around the hospital grounds.
It seemed that no matter where they walked, people kept greeting Song Chenyi.
"Are we being a bit too flashy?" Luo Yixia felt a little strange; nearly everyone who greeted Song Chenyi looked at her with curious, examining eyes.
"If I'm a bit flashy now, life will be a bit more peaceful for me later," Song Chenyi said with a helpless chuckle.
Luo Yixia instantly understood what he meant and laughed so hard she couldn't straighten up.
"So this was your trouble all along? Shouldn't the feeling of being pursued by everyone be wonderful?"
"But I only want to be pursued by you," Song Chenyi looked at her with deep affection.
That made Luo Yixia's eyes turn instantly warm and red.
Song Chenyi changed into his white lab coat, settled Luo Yixia in, and went out to start his shift.
Luo Yixia busied herself watching TV shows on the computer to pass the time.
There was not a soul inside the office.
Luo Yixia was quite content with the peace and quiet.
During this time, Song Chenyi came back and ordered delivery.
"You didn't eat much earlier, so have a little now, or you'll get hungry later."
Song Chenyi sat down as well and ate a bit.
Suddenly, a young nurse stumbled into the room.
"Dr. Song, Dr. Song, it's an emergency!" The young nurse's eyes were practically red.
"What's wrong?" Song Chenyi stood up.
"There's been a car accident on National Highway 511, and a lot of casualties are being brought in..."
"How many patients are there?" Song Chenyi stood up and walked out with the nurse.
"Ten people have already been sent over."
Thinking that he was going to be busy again, Luo Yixia could only silently pack up the leftover food on the table and wait right there.
Stretcher after stretcher was wheeled in, and many doctors and nurses hurried past in a rush.
The sea of blood in scene after scene stung Song Chenyi's eyes.
"There are hardly any doctors on duty tonight, and suddenly so many people are arriving at once. Several of them are critically injured and need immediate surgery," the young nurse said, panicking.
"Go call the other doctors first, I'll go help out," Song Chenyi said as he followed a wheeled stretcher.
"Where is the patient injured?"
"Severe head trauma with multiple fractures. Craniotomy may be required."
Even sitting inside the office, Luo Yixia could hear the hurried footsteps outside.
Song Chenyi pushed the door open forcefully, came in to grab his phone, and made a call.
Seeing the bright red blood stains on his clothes, Luo Yixia felt a wave of nausea rise from her chest, making her want to vomit.
She could even faintly smell the scent of blood lingering in the air.
Song Chenyi's phone call was rushed and urgent; the hospital was clearly short-handed.
After hanging up, Song Chenyi noticed Luo Yixia standing off to the side and sighed softly, "There was a car accident outside, and there are a lot of casualties. I'm very busy right now. If you're sleepy, just take a nap."
"I... I can help out," Luo Yixia bit her lip.
Song Chenyi frowned deeply, "You have no experience."
"I'll just help out with odd jobs. I can still handle IVs and things like that." It was nighttime, and with very few doctors and nurses on duty, manpower must be critically low.
"I'll take you out to ask, but I don't have the final say." Although Song Chenyi agreed to let her help, he lacked the authority to make that decision alone.
"Okay," Luo Yixia nodded.
As soon as they stepped outside, they ran into the head nurse rushing by.
"Nurse Cai," Song Chenyi called out.
Nurse Cai was carrying a handful of alcohol and disinfecting supplies.
"Xiao Song, we're desperately short-handed outside right now. We can talk about other matters later."
"She's also a medical student at A University. Since we're short on staff, she wants to help," Song Chenyi suggested.
Luo Yixia immediately spoke up, "Although I don't have much experience and usually don't know much, I do know how to check temperatures, disinfect, and administer IVs."
Nurse Cai hesitated for a moment, then nodded firmly, "Alright, come with me."
With a shortage of hands, every extra person mattered.
The sirens of ambulances outside the hospital wailed urgently and intensely.
Luo Yixia felt a bit nervous; she genuinely wanted to help, but at this moment she deeply regretted not studying harder in the past.
As soon as they reached the lobby, the smell of blood became even more pungent.
Luo Yixia looked at the scenes unfolding before her, feeling a sudden wave of dizziness.
The people lying on the stretchers were covered in blood and gore, their clothes almost unrecognizable beneath layers of crimson.
"Head nurse, a child was just brought in over here," a junior nurse cried out as she ran over upon spotting the head nurse.
Nurse Cai led Luo Yixia to that spot.
The child's injuries weren't critically severe, mainly cuts on the arms and face from shattered glass.
"Can you clean his wounds first?" Nurse Cai asked.
"Okay," Luo Yixia nodded.