We didn’t stay long at the Sheng residence. Lin Yusen spent only about ten minutes in the study, collecting some books he had left behind before we departed. After spending the afternoon shopping for gifts, we went to his professor’s house for dinner.
While shopping for gifts, Lin Yusen gave me a detailed explanation of his professor’s achievements, which gave me a new appreciation for the elderly scholar’s prestige. Consequently, when I met him again, I felt somewhat nervous. The old professor asked curiously, “What’s wrong? Is the food not to your taste?”
I hastily shook my head.
Lin Yusen explained on my behalf, “How could the food not suit her taste when the Teacher’s wife is also from Jiangsu? She’s just a bit shy on her first visit. After she comes a few more times, you’ll see her true appetite.”
The old professor teased, “That’s not necessarily true. You know how it is with Jiangsu people—they don’t even acknowledge each other! Your teacher’s wife is from Changzhou. Young lady, where are you from again?”
I answered, “I’m from Wuxi.”
The professor immediately said, “You see! They’re from different places, so the food definitely won’t suit her taste.”
The professor’s wife smiled warmly, “It’s not that dramatic. Ever since you retired, you’ve been reading too many internet jokes. We Jiangsu people aren’t that divided. Though strictly speaking, I’m from Wujin, not Changzhou.”
I burst out laughing.
The other guests at the table—including Lu Sha whom I’d met before—all brought their family members, making for a lively gathering of more than ten people. Everyone joined in the laughter.
The atmosphere among doctors was quite different, similar to when we were with Dr. Su and others in Suzhou. I noticed they didn’t particularly avoid certain topics around Lin Yusen, freely discussing hospital matters, cutting-edge medical developments, and even hospital gossip.
Often, the whole group would burst into laughter mid-conversation, and amid the clinking of glasses, Lin Yusen had several glasses of wine. I couldn’t help but wonder if this meant I would end up driving him home.
My momentary distraction caught the professor’s wife’s attention. She peeled an orange for me, saying, “Year after year, they keep telling jokes that others can’t understand.”
“Mm.” I nodded, “I’m used to it now, it was the same when I was hospitalized.”
“Hospitalized?”
When she inquired about my hospitalization, I mumbled a brief explanation. She teased, “I heard from his professor before that Yusen was pursuing you. So it was true.”
“Our handsome Dr. Lin has been single for so many years, with potential mothers-in-law, fathers-in-law, and young ladies pursuing him like fish crossing the Yangtze, but he rejected them all. He’s known as the untouchable flower of Shanghai’s medical community,” a doctor sitting next to the professor’s wife had been eavesdropping and couldn’t resist joining the gossip. “Young lady, what’s your secret?”
“Oh, well…” Before I could think of a properly modest response, Lin Yusen interjected, “Oh well indeed, it’s all thanks to the contrast with my colleagues.”
His colleagues: ???
Well, he deserved all the drinks they were playing him with.
The lively gathering didn’t end until after nine, with everyone still reluctant to leave, though they didn’t want to keep the elderly couple up too late. However, Lin Yusen and I were asked to stay behind by the old professor.
The professor’s house was on the ground floor with a small courtyard. After seeing the other guests off and closing the courtyard gate, the professor walked a few steps with Lin Yusen, asking, “What you told me on the phone the day before yesterday about wanting to start over—is that true?”
I was walking behind them with the professor’s wife, who was telling me about the flowers in the courtyard. When I heard these words, I didn’t immediately understand their meaning.
Start over? What did he mean by starting over?
Several seconds later, an incredible thought crossed my mind. Could it be…
Was Lin Yusen planning to return to the hospital?!
This time, Lin Yusen and his professor talked privately for over half an hour. The professor’s wife and I finished looking at the flowers in the courtyard, then sat in the living room where she packed a large bag of the delicious snacks we’d had earlier.
I drove on the way back, unable to ask Lin Yusen about what had transpired because Shanghai’s roads were incredibly challenging. Up, down, left, right—one wrong turn meant having to circle again. After circling the same intersection three times, I finally couldn’t help but question my navigator.
“Are you giving wrong directions because you’re drunk, or are you doing this on purpose?”
“Probably because I’m drunk,” Lin Yusen leaned his head back against the passenger seat. “You even noticed I was giving wrong directions.”
He admitted it so shamelessly! I couldn’t believe it. “What’s the point? Do you think gas is free?”
“I just thought it was still early and didn’t want to take you back to the hotel so soon.”
Still early…
I looked at the dark road outside and all the bright headlights ahead, momentarily speechless, yet feeling a slight ripple in my heart.
This wasn’t a suitable condition for driving, so I decisively pulled over to the curb and seriously lectured him: “First, I’m driving you, not the other way around—I’m the one behind the wheel. Second, have you forgotten about those books in the trunk? I was planning to help you carry them, then you could walk me back to the hotel, and then walk home yourself.”
I had it all planned out. “So we still have plenty of time. So, Lin Yusen, could you please stop giving wrong directions?”
“Oh.” Lin Yusen nodded contentedly, casually lifting his chin, “Drive on then, straight ahead and turn left.”
He’d been telling me to turn right all this time!
How childish!
Lin Yusen took advantage of my offer to help carry his books.
Though he carried the large box and I the smaller one, books are heavy regardless! After huffing and puffing our way to his place, he still had me help organize them onto the bookshelf.
Standing on tiptoe to insert books, I couldn’t help but critique, “Free driver and porter—you’re a qualified capitalist.”
After inserting the last book in my hands, I noticed all the books he’d brought this time were medical texts, none of them new. I randomly pulled one out and opened it, discovering it was his university textbook. The title page clearly showed his name—Lin Yusen, Clinical Medicine Class 1, Year XX.
“Is this your university textbook?”
“Yes.”
As I flipped through it, a piece of paper fell out. I went to pick it up—it was a class schedule, packed full of courses. I glanced at it, immediately filled with awe. “Were your classes this packed?”
“For medical students, it’s not unusual.” Lin Yusen took the paper from my hands, lowering his gaze, his eyelashes casting shadows in the light.
I quietly watched him, remembering how he said he started university very young, and couldn’t help imagining a spirited young man walking through the medical school campus with his books.
I softly asked him, “Lin Yusen, what did the professor mean about starting over? Are you going back to the hospital?”
His eyelashes flickered, but he didn’t immediately answer. He took the book from my hands, flipped through it a few times, inserted the schedule, and returned it to the bookshelf.
His gaze swept across the bookshelf as if lost in a distant time and space. “I have a very good memory. Would you believe that when I was studying, I could recite many of these books by heart?”
I looked at the bookshelf in shock—so many thick books?
…I didn’t quite believe it.
Lin Yusen raised his eyebrows: “I might still have some residual memory. Want to test me?”
Well, I had nothing to lose. “Want to bet?”
“Sure.”
“What do I get if I win?”
“Whatever you wish.”
“Oh.” I pretended to be casual as I looked away and started seriously choosing a book. What should I pick? As my eyes searched the bookshelf, they suddenly lit up.
I immediately pulled out that book and waved it in front of him, “Sun Simiao’s ‘Essential Formulas for Emergencies Worth a Thousand Gold’—traditional Chinese medicine in classical Chinese. You might as well give up now.”
Lin Yusen conceded in a second, “Indeed, I can’t do that one.”
I was extremely pleased: “Why do you even have traditional Chinese medicine books?”
“Such a classic medical text should of course be included, though I can only recite ‘The Great Physician’s Sincere Heart.'”
“‘The Great Physician’s Sincere Heart’? Where is it? Well, don’t say I’m taking advantage, but recite that passage you mentioned. If you don’t make a single mistake, I’ll count it as your win.”
“Volume One, Medical Theories, Second Essay.”
I flipped through the book for a while, “Found it. Begin.”
He smiled slightly and began reciting in a low voice: “For all great physicians treating illness, they must calm their spirit and settle their will, be without desires or wants, and first develop a heart of great compassion and sympathy, vowing to relieve the suffering of all living beings. When those with ailments come seeking help, one must not question their nobility or humility, wealth or poverty, age or beauty, whether they are friend or foe, Chinese or foreign, fool or wise—treat them all equally, as if they were your closest kin. One must not look before and after, worry about personal fortune or misfortune, or be concerned about one’s own life. See their suffering as if it were your own. Feel deep sorrow in your heart, do not avoid danger, whether day or night, in cold or heat, hungry or thirsty, exhausted or weary. Rush to save with single-minded purpose, without thought of gaining merit or leaving traces. Such can be called a great physician for all living beings; the opposite is a great thief of life.”
When he first started reciting, I was carefully checking each word for mistakes. However, after two or three sentences, I was completely struck by this oath from traditional Chinese medicine, all thoughts of winning or losing were forgotten, left only with a sense of profound impact.
He stopped, and the room fell silent. I lowered my head and carefully read through the passage again before letting out a breath, “Being a doctor is a noble profession.”
“Noble might be too strong a word, but many of my colleagues are very dedicated and principled.” He paused before saying, “During the college entrance exam, I was originally planning to apply to business school.”
I was somewhat surprised.
“Did your family ever tell you about my parents?”
I nodded, thought for a moment, and reached out my hand to him.
He smiled gently and took my hand, “It’s okay, it was a long time ago. Do you want to hear about it?”
“Do you want to tell me?” I asked carefully.
He held my hand and walked to the water dispenser in the living room, poured me a glass of water, “It might take a while to tell.”