The group of interns shot dagger-like glares at Wang Xiaobei.
"Could you not run your mouth for once?"
"Way to hit the sore spot. Congrats, you've doomed us all."
"Wang Xiaobei, if I don't get to stay in this hospital, I swear I'll curse you forever!"
Wang Xiaobei looked like he was about to cry.
How was I supposed to know that was off-limits?! This is too much!
The usually chatty young man was suddenly at a loss for words. Despair filled the room. Just when everyone was ready to scream for help, Li Yajun elegantly lifted her glass, took a slow sip, and began speaking, her eyes laced with sorrow.
"We were together for eleven years—from high school through graduate school."
(Studying medicine is brutal—five years undergrad, three years postgrad. Total madness.)
"He was my first love, and my only love. Once I chose him, my heart never wavered. Plenty of people pursued me—smarter, better looking, more successful—but to me, they were invisible."
"When I choose, I choose forever."
"After graduation, I stayed in the ER while he took a job at the city hospital. Naturally, we began to talk about marriage."
"I'm an only child. My parents asked for a dowry of 300,000 yuan, a fully paid house, and a car."
"They felt they'd spent a lifetime raising me right—I couldn't be handed over so easily. The 300,000 wasn't negotiable."
"You can probably guess what happened next."
Another love destroyed by the heavy weight of tradition.
To be fair, 300,000 yuan a decade ago was no small sum. In today's terms, it would be equivalent to over a million.
Everyone around the table nodded knowingly.
So average, yet so confident.
They were all top medical graduates—who was truly better than whom?
All over 300,000 yuan.
"I thought we were family. Eleven years together—I thought it was forever. I didn't care about the money, the house, or the car. I was ready to marry him even if we had nothing."
"But then he broke up with me."
"A month later, he had a new girlfriend. Three months later, they were married."
"They have a kid now. He's over ten."
"Damn," Wang Xiaobei muttered, then shouted, "Total scumbag!"
"Yeah! What kind of man just bails like that?"
"Trash. Not worth a single tear."
Li Xiaohong leaned forward, intrigued. "Which doctor at the city hospital? Who's this heartless jerk?"
Li Yajun glanced at Xia Tian. Her gaze carried a storm of unspoken pain.
Xia Tian's stomach dropped.
No way... not this kind of drama...
He vaguely remembered there was a Doctor Xia Tian at the city hospital too.
"He's Xia. Xia Tian."
Oh, come on...
Instantly, all eyes turned to him.
Wang Xiaobei cracked open another beer and poured a full glass for Xia Tian.
"Scumbag, drink up."
"Three glasses minimum. Apologize to Li Jie and let bygones be bygones."
What the hell?
He wasn't that Xia Tian. He was just an intern. What beef did they have with him?
Fatty Yang nudged him under the table and winked.
What are you waiting for? Apologize, man!
Clearing his throat, Xia Tian stood, lifted his glass awkwardly, and gave the performance of someone "reluctantly taking one for the team."
"Li Jie, the past is the past. That jerk wasn't worthy of you."
"As someone who shares his name, let me apologize on his behalf. Cheers."
He downed the drink in one go.
Li Yajun's gaze softened ever so slightly.
"You did nothing wrong."
"He did."
"I've been cold to you before. As your senior, I owe you an apology as well. From today on, we're colleagues. Let's work well together."
She raised her glass and drank.
A drink to drown sorrow, a toast to make peace.
Xia Tian exhaled in relief. Facing Li Yajun's icy stare every day was pure torment. More importantly, she held the fate of the interns' evaluations in her hands. Whether he stayed on at the hospital depended on her approval.
Now, it was all sorted.
Time to celebrate!
"Come on, let's drink! It's on me tonight—drain his wallet!"
"Order anything you want. I'm paying!"
For once, Xia Tian played the generous host.
The dinner dragged on for three to four hours. By 10 p.m., they were finally ready to settle the bill.
Wang Xiaobei peeked at the receipt and yelped.
"Holy crap, 980 yuan?!"
"I'm gonna ask if they can knock off the change."
Interns were poor. A thousand bucks was a fortune.
"Boss, can you round it down?"
"Come on, eight people, nearly a thousand yuan—that's steep."
The restaurant owner, a middle-aged woman, rolled her eyes. "You guys drank two cases of beer. You think alcohol is free?"
"No discounts, but I'll throw in two bottles of soda."
Wang Xiaobei kept pushing.
"Okay, no round-down, but maybe 30 yuan off? How about 950? You're the best!"
The boss scoffed, unimpressed.
"Flattery won't work."
"This is business, not charity. No discounts!"
Wang Xiaobei pouted. Usually, his charm worked wonders. But not this time. Just then, Xia Tian stepped in, patting him on the shoulder with a chuckle.
"Let it go. Go grab the sodas. I'll pay."
"Boss, where do I scan?"
Xia Tian pulled out his phone, ready to pay. The boss stared at him for a moment, then suddenly gasped.
"Oh my god, you're Doctor Xia, aren't you?"
"You're that Xia Tian from the provincial hospital, right?!"
Ever since his heroics at McDonald's, Xia Tian had become something of an internet celebrity. Even earlier during dinner, people at the next table had been whispering about him.
Xia Tian smiled politely.
"Hello, yes—I'm Xia Tian."
The boss lit up like a fangirl meeting her idol. She stepped out from behind the counter, phone in hand, glowing with excitement.
"Can I get a picture with you?"
"My daughter loves your videos. She says when she grows up, she wants to be a doctor just like you!"
"If I can send her a photo, she'll be over the moon!"
Xia Tian was more than happy to inspire young minds.
"Of course, let's take one."
The boss raised her phone to the perfect 45-degree angle, snapping several pictures enthusiastically.
Just then, Wang Xiaobei returned with two icy Cokes, still grumbling.
"Boss, every other place gives a discount. You—"
Before he could finish, the boss waved her hand grandly, full of pride.
"This meal's on the house!"
"When Doctor Xia eats here, how could I possibly take his money? Go on, you're all free to go."
Wang Xiaobei stood frozen.
He looked at the boss.
Then at Xia Tian.
He'd begged, pleaded, even tried puppy-dog eyes—just for two sodas. But Xia Tian?
He showed his face, and the whole bill vanished.
We really are not the same....