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Chapter 203: Chapter 203 Duties and Responsibilities
Si Chen’s team stayed in Shuitang Town for four days, with locals sending over people who were seriously injured each day, knowing there were doctors present. The team was as busy as spinning tops, searching tirelessly day and night for potential survivors. Si Chen would go to the surrounding villages to aid them during the day, returning at night.
Unfortunately, having waited too long, eight or nine out of ten people they unearthed showed no signs of life. Gradually, many began to head toward the relief Base, and the number of people in Shuitang Town dwindled. By the fourth day, they had originally planned to evacuate, but Si Chen requested to stay one more day.
Lin Man found this peculiar. She noticed that whenever Si Chen encountered survivors passing through from various places, he would always ask about a certain rescuing female. She wanted to ask who this person was, but Si Chen was always tight-lipped. Whenever she spoke up, Si Chen would just leave. He was extremely apathetic and unwilling to hold any unnecessary small talk.
Therefore, taking advantage of Si Chen’s absence, she asked the health workers who had come with Si Chen about him. Unfortunately, she didn’t learn anything. These people hardly knew Si Chen, only knowing that he was a doctor from Li City who had come to Kyoto to study and had coincidentally arrived here after the Qing City earthquake.
Once they arrived in Qing City, everyone was busy with rescue work, with no time for casual chatter, thus naturally didn’t know about Si Chen’s circumstances.
In those days, everyone saw that Lin Man had feelings for Si Chen. They even encouraged Lin Man to pursue him, saying the two of them were a good match. The idea of expressing her feelings filled Lin Man with joy, however, at that moment, her companion, who had come with her, found the place.
"Where have you been these past few days? We’ve been going crazy looking for you. Didn’t we tell you not to wander off?" Shi Yan was both stunned and exhilarated to see Lin Man. His worried heart finally settled down after days of tension.
They had lost track of Lin Man on their second day in Qing City. While they had agreed to rescue people with Lin Man taking care of the injured, Lin Man had vanished. They searched for several days and were on the verge of desperation.
"How can I get lost?" Upon finding Shi Yan, however, Lin Man didn’t look pleased. Instead, she seemed somewhat impatient.
Seeing her attitude, one of Shi Yan’s friends said, "Lin Man, Shi Yan has been worried sick about you these past few days, even calling your name in his sleep, blaming himself for not protecting you." Everyone knew that Shi Yan liked Lin Man, and usually, friends would try to set them up together. However, Shi Yan was only fervently dedicated to her.
As his friends, they felt sorry for Shi Yan and couldn’t help but speak up for him.
"I’m an adult. I don’t need anyone to protect me." Lin Man was clearly not receptive to Shi Yan’s affections. Shi Yan was a good-looking man with prominent features and decent height. But she didn’t feel the same about his doggedly affectionate pursuit.
Seeing her so cold, the joy on Shi Yan’s face faded. He then suddenly noticed the wound on her forehead, instantly furrowing his brows with worry, "How did you get injured?"
"While trying to rescue people, I was trapped under a collapsing wall. Thanks to Dr. Si, I was saved. He also got hit by a plank while saving me."
Speaking of this, Lin Man’s eyes lit up. She introduced them to Si Chen in the tent, who was busy nursing the wounded. She instantly shifted from her previous cold demeanor, cheerfully introducing him, "This is the doctor who saved me. If not for him, I would’ve definitely been crushed to death or, at least, hit so hard I’d have a cracked skull."
Seeing Lin Man’s drastically different attitude toward Si Chen, Shi Yan sensed a crisis, his face turning somber instantly.
"His life-saving actions are just him fulfilling his duty. No matter who the victim would be, he would always rescue them. It’s not because you were the one being saved. Don’t overthink it."
Although these words were the truth, they left a bad taste, especially when spoken in front of others - it was rather rude. After all, it was a fact that Si Chen had saved Lin Man. Shi Yan’s friend stood awkwardly, unsure of how to react.
The rescue, which Lin Man had seen as a stroke of good luck, had been dismissed so casually by Shi Yan. This immediately changed her mood. Just as she was about to retort, Si Chen suddenly spoke up.
"Indeed, that’s the case."
His casual comment clearly defined his stance. 𝑛𝘰𝘷𝑝𝘶𝑏.𝑐𝘰𝘮
Lin Man looked at Si Chen despairingly, her lips practically turning white from biting them so hard. Meanwhile, Shi Yan’s mood seemed to be getting better - even looking at Si Chen became more pleasing to him. At this moment, he instantly transformed into a righteous young man trying to pay back his debt of gratitude.
"Regardless, thank you for saving Lin Man." Anyone could see that he was asserting his territory.
In a flat tone, Si Chen said, "Just doing my duty." He had been busy dressing a wound for a patient all this while without even glancing at Shi Yan once. It was obvious he didn’t give a thought about what they were discussing.
Listening to their conversation, Lin Man stamped her foot agitatedly and hastily left the tent. Seeing this, Shi Yan quickly followed her.
Even a fool could tell that Lin Man felt differently about the young doctor. Shi Yan knew he was not as handsome as the doctor, but he had liked Lin for two years. Even a rock would have warmed up by now, right?
He couldn’t accept the fact that the woman he had been pursuing for two years was being taken by someone else. Therefore, he said, "Lin Man, stop throwing tantrums. We’ve also been here for several days. Those who could be saved have been saved, and those who couldn’t be saved need no saving anymore. We should leave the rest to the government! Let’s go back!"
"If you want to go, then go. I’m not leaving." Lin Man huffed and angrily returned to the tent. However, Si Chen was nowhere to be seen, and even his medical kit was gone. She arched her eyebrow and asked the friend of Shi Yan still in the tent, "Where’s Dr. Si?"
Seeing this, Shi Yan quickly signaled his friend.
Shi Yan’s friend scratched his nose and said, "He’s evacuated."
"Left?" Upon hearing this, Lin Man immediately panicked, "How could he just leave like that?"
After speaking, she ran out of the tent to look around. After several laps and confirming that Si Chen had indeed left, she looked utterly despondent. After confirming with the other health workers that Si Chen had genuinely evacuated, she borrowed a piece of paper and a pen, wrote a note and left it behind, instructing them to definitely pass it on to Si Chen. Only then did she reluctantly leave Shuitang Town with Shi Yan.
Si Chen was a doctor from Li City, and she feared they wouldn’t meet again after this farewell. However, she was not content with this, so she made one last attempt.
She left her address and phone number and expressed her feelings. If Si Chen was interested in her, he would surely contact her after returning. If he didn’t, it would confirm his lack of interest, and she would give up on him.
Of course, she wrote this little note behind Shi Yan’s back, because if Shi Yan found out, he would definitely try to sabotage it. She wasn’t oblivious; he had intercepted love letters meant for her before. The reason she didn’t care was that she wasn’t interested in the senders of those letters.
