"Is there a reason why you're in the inpatient room for three weeks?" Li Yun asked as he looked at Qi Sho. "You know how expensive it is to stay in the hospital?"

"I could go home, but my parents are forcing me to stay," Qi Sho replied as he was packing his things to leave. "I'm discharging today."

"If it was the old you, you would have walked out already, are you sure you're not here because you wanted to see Mi Xuan?"

"Why would I do that?" Qi sneered in response. "My parents are forcing me to stay because of her."

"They know her?" 

"My mother works with her parents at our middle school."

"Were you close to her in high school?"

"She was a childhood playmate in elementary and middle school, but we grew distant in high school."

"Why was that?"

Qi Sho shrugged. "It's just how things are? She was always intense and focused on schoolwork. I was rebellious, so we didn't really get along."

"You mean she was always yelling at you?"

"She was very annoying in high school."

"I can imagine. I didn't start hearing about you until junior year. Is that when you started acting out? Why? It doesn't seem like you lack attention. Did you want to piss off your parents to get them to stop running your life?"

"You're an ass***, you know that? Anyway, I'm heading off."

"Not going to even wait for Mi Xuan to see you off?"

"Tsk, like I care."

"Wait, let me get your contact."

"Why?"

"In case of animal emergency?"

Li Yun took Qi Sho's contact information before he returned to the ER. The ER was relatively calmed. The residents were checking on incoming patients and the nurses were treating patients with minor injuries. Doctor Hao was in the OR dealing with a patient who had fell off a ladder.

Chief Gao took the day off to spend some time with his daughter. Chief Gao was divorced, and his daughter stayed mostly with the mother. It wasn't often that his daughter stayed with him.

Li Yun glanced at the waiting area, and no one looked like they had anything pressing. He took the next chart and read the report.

"Hey boss, I heard you're heading to Imperial City," Jui Ling said as he approached Li Yun.

"One moment," Li Yun read the chart, but it wasn’t anything urgent or something he could cure. Migraine was a complicated chronic condition. Since it also involved neurology, it was difficult for Li Yun to treat, even with TCM and acupuncture. All Li Yun could do was provide temporary relief. Li Yun put down the chart and looked up. "Yeah, what's up?" 

"Please don't tell me you're abandoning us!?" Lui Jing always wondered when Li Yun was planning to leave.

"Why are you guys acting like I'm scouting out another job? I'm just going there as a visiting surgeon."

"So they aren't digging you up in Imperial City?"

"No, do you think I am famous or something?"

Lui Jing let out a sigh of relief, but Li Yun pulled back a grin. He was concerned that the residents were growing overly dependent on him. Every time they ran into a problematic patient, they immediately went to him for help. Doctor Hao looked too scary to approach and Chief Gao was an authoritative figure, so it was easier to consult with Li Yun.

"You guys were fine when An Luchang and I were away in Magic City," Li Yun said.

"No we were not, do you know how stressful it was during that week?"

"And you don't think I feel stressed out?"

"Uh? Boss, you don't look like it."

"The key to not stressing out is to look confident when you're not. There's a saying, fake it until you make it."

Their pager peeped as Li Yun was talking. Li Yun and Lui Jing rushed to the front. They weren't sure whether to be glad Chief Gao was there, or if they should take over. Chief Gao was rushing in along with the EMT, who was pushing a gurney carrying a male in his 50s.

"Prepare the angiography suite for a thrombectomy," Li Yun called out to the resident.

Lui Jing and a nurse rushed off to prepare the suite.

"Whoa, Chief Gao, never seen you in a t-shirt and jeans before!" Li Yun joked.

Li Yun noticed a teenager by Chief Gao side whom he assumed was Gao Ahna.

"Shut up, just look at the patient," Mr. Gao responded.

"Okay, I'll handle it, you can leave."

"Already ordering me to leave?"

"You're not on duty, so technically you're just part of the public. Members of the public shouldn't be loitering in the ER."

"You're going to be tied up, so who's going to oversee the ER without you around?"

"Chief Resident Han?"

Chief Gao rolled his eyes as Li Yun left to perform the thrombectomy. Before the hour was over, Li Yun returned to the ER. Chief Gao was looking over a patient while Ahna was on her phone.

"Ah, are you doctor Li?"  Ahna asked as she put away her phone.

"Hi, you must be Chief Gao's daughter," Li Yun greeted her. "How was your trip with your dad?"

"It was typical. We went to the amusement park, and then someone collapsed. My dad, being the way he is, took it upon himself to bring him to the hospital."

"Are you on break?" Li Yun asked.

"No, I am doing an analysis of medical malpractice."

"Ahem," Lui Jing cleared his throat by the side, and spoke up from the side. "Hi, I'm Doctor Jing."

Lui Jing was surprised that Chief Gao's daughter looked completely different from the father. She was slim and dainty. And, she was a college student! From the way Chief Gao often spoke of her, everyone thought she was in high school. Ahna was already a freshman in college studying law like her mother. Ahna greeted him back, but she seemed more interested in talking to Li Yun.

"Doctor Li, have you encountered any lawsuit during your time as an intern and resident?" Ahna asked.

"Nope," Li Yun curtly responded. 

"Do you feel that it is unreasonable that doctors have to deal directly with malpractice rather than the hospital?"

"A bit, but I'm not the best person to ask."

After Chief Gao finished looking after the patient, he walked toward them.

"Ahna, ready to leave?" Chief Gao asked.

"Dad, just interviewing Doctor Li for a moment," said Ahna. "Could we invite Doctor Li over for dinner?"

"No, Doctor Li has no life outside of work," Chief Gao blankly stated. "He spends 15 minutes eating and the rest of the time in the ER or sleeping."

"Why are you making me sound like a workaholic?" Li Yun pretended to be offended.

"Like you aren't?"

"It takes one to know one," Li Yun didn't need another workaholic to put a label on him.

"How about the weekends?" Ahna asked.

"You're already leaving on the weekends, let's go," Chief Gao dragged his daughter out and Li Yun thanked the good doctor in his heart.

"I can't believe Chief Gao's little girl is actually so grown up!" Lui Jing couldn't help crushing on Ahna. "But why didn't you agree to her interview? It's not like you're seeing anyone."

Li Yun hated that Lui Jing was in the groupchat. "Can you imagine having Chief Gao as an in-law? No thank you."

Lui Jing sighed. "Must be tough getting hit on by women all the time."

"It's because you're a poor meat shield!" Li Yun thought. 

Lui Jing was plain, but his problem was his overall aura. He had side character aura all around him. Sometimes, Li Yun missed having Bufu around.