This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

Fourthly, some good news: Zhuo Mingde had already gotten approval in the meeting for this year’s funds for Du Heng—800,000 yuan. Furthermore, an additional 200,000 yuan would be allocated based on Du Heng’s published papers.

It was also stipulated that additional research funds, in varying amounts, would be provided later based on the research group’s achievements.

In other words, as long as they could produce results, funds wouldn’t be an issue.

Du Heng suspected another major reason everyone was bickering now was that they had their eyes on these funds; they wanted economic returns as well as research achievements.

After chatting with his colleagues at the Hospital, it was already ten o’clock in the evening. Du Heng realized that Wu Shengnan still hadn’t returned.

”Babe, what are you up to?” Du Heng answered the phone, using a very mushy term of endearment.

Wu Shengnan on the other end, however, seemed quite receptive to such a nickname. She said cheerfully, ”Qinqin and the others are with me at the beach. It’s so beautiful here! Husband, listen to the sound of the waves hitting the shore. Isn’t it lovely?”

Du Heng felt lines of frustration forming on his forehead. All he could hear through the phone were several women shrieking and yelling; there was no sound of waves, only the sound of their own boisterousness.

”When did you go to the beach?”

”At noon. We took Qinqin’s Car and drove straight to Green Island,” Wu Shengnan said gleefully. ”We’re enjoying the night view now, and later we’re going to drink beer and eat clams.”

Du Heng, bored, flopped down on the bed. ”Wasn’t Li Qin’s Car broken?”

”She borrowed a Car from her friend.”

”Alright, she certainly has a lot of friends,” Du Heng muttered under his breath. ”Didn’t you say you wanted to go see the southern sea with me? How come you went to Green Island by yourself?”

”Hmph, I’ve seen right through you. You never actually planned to spend quality time with me,” Wu Shengnan pouted playfully, then added cheerfully, ”It’s fine now, though. You go handle your business, and I’ll hang out with Qinqin and Susu. That way, neither of us holds the other back. It’s perfect.”

Hearing this, Du Heng’s Heart felt a slight twinge of discomfort; he felt he had let Wu Shengnan down.

He had been the one to suggest going out to have fun, but in the end, he was the one who released Wu Shengnan’s clam. This made him feel quite embarrassed.

”Um... well... didn’t you mention wanting to take wedding photos by the sea? Are we still doing that or not?”

”You don’t have time, and I don’t really feel like it anymore. It’s too tiring.” Wu Shengnan’s Voice sounded a little dejected, though it wasn’t very obvious.

However, Du Heng was attentive enough to catch that trace of dejection instantly. ”How can we not take them? Just wait, I’ll come find you tomorrow morning.”

”Really?” Wu Shengnan immediately exclaimed with joy.

Du Heng secretly wiped a bead of cold sweat from his brow and forced a smile. ”Of course. I can’t accompany you to have fun, so if we also couldn’t take the wedding photos, that would make me too inconsiderate.”

”Great! I’ll contact the wedding photographers right now. Qinqin and the others and I just checked one out here this afternoon, and we’ve already negotiated the price.”

Tsk, tsk. Listen to this disingenuous woman, Du Heng thought.

He felt that after spending a few days with Li Qin and Feng Su, Wu Shengnan had been led astray.

Moreover, she was gradually mastering the martial arts essence: ’to want is to feign disinterest, and to feign disinterest is to want.’

”It’s about three to four hours from Quan City to Green Island. I’ll find a Hotel now and have them arrange a Car. I’ll leave early tomorrow morning and try to arrive before nine.”

”Aww, I thought you were coming tonight,” Wu Shengnan sighed, a little disappointed. ”But alright, I’ll wait for you tomorrow morning.”

”Mhm, don’t worry. I’ll try to get there as early as possible tomorrow.”

”It won’t affect your job, will it?”

It would have been better if Wu Shengnan hadn’t said that; her words made Du Heng feel even worse.

Everything is already decided. Isn’t it redundant for you to say that now?

Sigh, women... they really do need to evolve eventually.

”It’s fine. The ten volunteers I needed to consult with—I’ve finished with all of them today. For the follow-up work, as long as the Doctors here don’t make any mistakes, I won’t have much to do. Besides, it’s just a one-day delay tomorrow; it’s no problem. I’ll contact the Hospital here now and arrange to be there on time tomorrow morning.”

”Husband, you’re the best!”

After hanging up the phone, Du Heng called Wang Qingpeng to tell him his whereabouts and also gave instructions regarding Guan Bo’s follow-up medication.

Actually, it wouldn’t have mattered if he hadn’t made this call, but it’s always better for people to see things through from beginning to end.

「The next morning at 5:30 AM,」 Du Heng boarded the Car arranged by the Hotel, leaving Kang Zhirong behind, still sound asleep in the Hotel.

At 8:40 AM, Du Heng appeared at the door of Wu Shengnan’s Hotel room.

Wu Shengnan, who opened the door, was overjoyed. ”Husband, you really came!” Before she could finish speaking, she leaped onto him.

Seeing Wu Shengnan wearing only a slip dress, Du Heng quickly caught her and carried her into the room. ”Of course. When I promise you something, I definitely have to follow through.”

Wu Shengnan clung to him like a koala, refusing to get down, allowing Du Heng to carry her completely into the room. ”Husband, you weren’t here last night, and I couldn’t sleep at all.”

Du Heng, exasperated, tossed Wu Shengnan onto the bed. ”Alright, that’s enough. How come after spending just two days with Li Qin, you’ve become so unlike yourself?”

”Just tell me, do you like it or not?”

”I still prefer the old you—unreserved, free-spirited, with a kind of dashing and heroic spirit about you.” Du Heng plopped his Butt down beside Wu Shengnan. ”Not like now, all coy and clingy. It’s not like you at all.”

”Hehe, Susu taught me this.” Seeing Du Heng sit down beside her, Wu Shengnan habitually snuggled up against him again. ”She said that all men like women who have a feminine allure.”

”There are countless definitions of ’feminine allure,’ and besides, to each their own. I like the way you were before; you don’t need to change.” As he spoke, Du Heng gave her a customary pat, feeling that familiar springiness, and chuckled. ”Hurry up and get ready. The photographer you booked will be here soon.”

This was the first time in Du Heng’s life that he had seen the ocean in person. The feeling was completely different from anything one could experience watching it on TV or in movies.

Gazing out at the expanse, his Heart surged with emotion. He wanted to say so much, but as his Throat tightened, not a single word would come out. He even felt at a loss for words, unable to think of a fitting term to describe his feelings.

After struggling for a long while, he finally managed to blurt out three words: ”****, it’s huge.”

Once the initial awe subsided and they began taking photos according to the photographer’s instructions, Du Heng’s fondness for the ocean started to diminish endlessly.

By the time they took a break at noon, Du Heng had only one thought in his mind: I want to get out of here.

Du Heng recalled a song with lyrics something like, ”You love the salty scent of the sea breeze, treading on the damp sand...” After today’s experience, Du Heng knew: Unless one’s Heart is preoccupied with poetic notions, no one would actually enjoy this salty air.

Perhaps it was because he was a Northerner. This salty air was fine at first, but after a while, forget about liking it—a persistent nauseating sensation lingered in his Throat.

”Hello, Dr. Wang,” Du Heng answered the phone listlessly. He felt he wasn’t particularly suited for, or rather, fond of, traveling.

Wang Qingpeng’s Voice on the phone was low, as if he were speaking in a hushed tone. ”Doctor Du, is this a convenient time for you?”

”Quite convenient.” Du Heng glanced around; no one was nearby.

”We’ve found the reason for Guan Bo’s episode.” Then he began to rattle on, explaining to Du Heng, ”Sir Zhang said that if it’s convenient for you, you should come back tomorrow and check on Guan Bo again. That kid had a confrontation with his junior brother today and fainted again.”

Du Heng’s eyes stared blankly as he listened. He muttered, ”Good heavens, is this a spy-within-a-spy plot?”

”Doctor Du, never mind if it’s a spy-within-a-spy plot or not, do you have time to come back tomorrow?”

Du Heng shook his head. How did it get to the point where I seem like Guan Bo’s exclusive Doctor, on call whenever needed?

”I’m still a bit unsure, Dr. Wang.”

”Then what should be done about Guan Bo?”

”As long as he’s not mentally confused, it’s just due to physical weakness. Don’t panic; just prescribe medicine according to the prescription I gave you before,” Du Heng reassured Wang Qingpeng. ”What happened to Guan Bo’s junior brother?”

That was what interested him the most.

Wang Qingpeng said in a low voice, ”For now, he’s just been taken away by Sir Zhang. But he’s not a Doctor from our Hospital, so I don’t know how he’ll be dealt with.”

Du Heng hung up the phone, somewhat disappointed.

Considering the matter with the junior brother, Du Heng couldn’t for the life of him understand how Guan Bo, with his level of intelligence, had managed to win Zhang Dewen’s favor.

He had just hung up one call, and before he could even put the phone back in his pocket, it rang again.

This time, the caller was Wang Zhenzhen.

After answering the phone again, the smile that had yet to fully form on Du Heng’s face vanished instantly. ”Sis, don’t cry! I’m coming back right now!”