That afternoon, the emergency department battled to save a drowning child. Despite the full efforts of both Li Yajun and Zhang Ming, the child was lost. A somber cloud settled over the ER.
Death was no stranger to the emergency ward—but for the interns, it was still a bitter pill to swallow.
Xia Tian sat silently in a corner, lost in a heavy, depressive haze.
Just then, an elderly man knocked gently on the door, his voice hesitant and humble.
"Excuse me... is Doctor Xia Tian here?"
Xia Tian lifted his head at the sound.
"That's me. How can I help you?"
The old man was the father of the patient with a broken leg.
"Uncle, what brings you here?" Xia Tian asked, standing up.
"Your son is already admitted to orthopedics. Don't worry—his leg will be fine. He just needs to stay in the hospital for about a week for some anti-inflammatory treatment. After that, he can recover at home for a few months."
The old man shook his head, gratitude lining every wrinkle on his weathered face.
"Doctor Xia, I didn't come to ask about his condition," he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a thick stack of bills. He carefully counted out 3,000 yuan and placed them gently on Xia Tian's desk. "The foreman has paid the medical expenses. This money is yours—I'm here to return it."
Xia Tian looked at the stack of cash. Honestly, he never expected to get the money back. When he gave it, he had already considered it gone.
"Uncle, please keep the money. Use it to buy your son some supplements. With a fracture, he'll need calcium and good nutrition."
The old man, a simple soul from the countryside, panicked at Xia Tian's refusal. His body trembled with anxiety, as if he had done something terribly wrong.
"I... I can't... No, no, this isn't right..."
"I can't accept your money, Doctor Xia. It's not proper. Please…"
The touching scene brought warmth back to the gloomy office. Li Xiaohong quietly took out her phone and began recording.
"Doctor Xia pays out of his own pocket to save lives—this is what it means to be a doctor with a heart of gold."
In the video, the old man knelt and bowed deeply, tearfully thanking Xia Tian. Li Xiaohong only recorded a short clip before uploading it to Douyin.
She was a typical young woman who enjoyed posting short videos online. Usually, she'd get a few dozen likes, maybe three or four hundred at most. After uploading, she set her phone aside and went back to work.
Emergency work could swing from overwhelming to idle.
After the drowning case, they had a whole hour of quiet. Then, two patients came in needing stitches, but those were handled by others. Bored, Xia Tian began scrolling on his phone.
Suddenly, a video notification popped up.
"Doctor Xia Tian spends his own money to save a patient."
Curious, he clicked. The video showed the exact moment the old man knelt before him. Emotional music played in the background, tugging at the heartstrings.
It was going viral.
Over 2 million likes.
More than 100,000 comments.
Shared 80,000 times.
And it had only been posted an hour ago. The numbers were climbing fast.
He tapped the comments.
Top comment:
"Doctor Xia is so handsome!"
Other comments flooded in:
"He didn't worry about liability. He saved someone. He paid out of his own pocket. This is the kind of doctor we should all look up to."
"While others hesitate to help, fearing scams, Doctor Xia acts without hesitation. A true hero."
"It's him again! Xia Tian! This guy is incredible!"
Then he checked the uploader.
Xiaohong.
"Xiaohong! You filmed me?" Xia Tian called out.
Her cheeks turned red with embarrassment. "I, uh… I just filmed a bit when the patient's father came in. If you mind, Tian-ge, I can delete it."
"It's too late now…" Xia Tian muttered.
The video had already taken off. After the earlier viral clips—digging out a bullet by hand and the livestream exposing his ex—this latest video threw him back into the spotlight. It had been reposted tens of thousands of times.
There was no stopping it now.
Xiaohong let out a small scream.
"Ahh! How did this happen?"
"I actually went viral!"
"Tian-ge, you're an internet celebrity now! Everyone's praising you!"
But Xia Tian, seasoned by two previous waves of fame, remained calm. He sipped his tea and said flatly,
"Internet fame lasts at most a month. People will forget soon enough."
"Anyway, it's after hours. Let's go eat."
As the saying goes, if you're not excited about getting off work, something's wrong with you.
At the mention of food, everyone dropped their white coats and changed into casual clothes. In less than ten minutes, the office was empty.
At the hotpot restaurant, they gathered around a bubbling pot of spicy beef oil soup. Their faces were flushed from the heat, cold beers flowing as freely as their laughter.
They were young.
A get-together without drinks wasn't a real get-together.
Two drinks, a few tall tales—that's what life was about.
But tonight, with Li Yajun present, they restrained themselves. No cursing. No crude jokes.
Wang Xiaobei grinned and popped open a beer. "Li-jie, would you like a drink?"
He was only trying to pour her a glass. To everyone's shock, Li Yajun took the entire bottle and chugged down half in one breath.
The interns stared, stunned.
"Li-jie is a legend!!"
"So badass!"
"Come on, Li-jie, drink with us!"
The drinks flowed freely. After five or six bottles, Li Yajun's cheeks were rosy, and a rare smile danced on her face.
"Youth is wonderful. I envy you all."
"If I were ten years younger, I'd be out drinking every night too."
Wang Xiaobei chuckled and topped off her glass. "Li-jie, you are young. Honestly, you look no older than thirty."
Li Yajun was 38. She hadn't married or had children. Compared to her peers—married, kids, busy lives—she looked years younger. Not a wrinkle on her face. Emergency work kept her sharp and lean. Saying she looked thirty wasn't far off.
Her eyes sparkled.
"Really?"
All women love compliments. She was no exception. A pink blush crept across her face.
"Of course! Truer than gold!" Wang Xiaobei declared, slapping his thigh.
Back in school, he was the class clown with a silver tongue. A few clever lines had already opened Li Yajun's heart.
Seizing the moment, he asked a question every intern was dying to know.
"Li-jie, you're so beautiful and capable—surely you've had countless admirers. Why haven't you married?"
The moment he said "married," Li Yajun's expression shifted.
Everyone froze.
They were doomed.
They'd asked the one question they shouldn't.
Would she be angry?
As one of the most senior staff in the ER, Li Yajun's evaluation carried real weight. For an intern to stay at the hospital, they needed a good review.
Offending her might very well mean the end of their future here.