Chapter 41: Director, You're an Angel

At the hospital entrance, an ambulance was parked early.

Deputy Director Li stood by the ambulance, a light drizzle dusting his slightly haggard face. Although joy should bring good spirits, the presence of the two psychiatric patients in the hospital had made him uneasy.

He casually wiped the rainwater from his face, inadvertently revealing his meticulously crafted, popular electronic watch worth several hundred yuan.

An air of understated elegance subtly emerged.

"Deputy Director, it's raining. You should go back inside. I'll take them to the mental hospital."

The humble driver showed concern for the Deputy Director, hoping to gain his approval. If he could be recognized, his life would change dramatically.

He had seen the articles the Deputy Director posted on his Moments (WeChat social feed), sincere and filled with noble ideals, subtly hinting that Deputy Director Li would soon become the Director.

The "Deputy" prefix would soon disappear into the annals of history.

He wanted to casually leave a seemingly ordinary yet deeply moving comment on the Deputy Director's Moments.

Thinking of the gap between himself and the Deputy Director, he suppressed his inner restlessness. Being able to see the Deputy Director's Moments was already an honor. How could he leave such a crude message on the Deputy Director's Moments? He didn't even have the right to like the posts.

"You…" Deputy Director Li looked at the driver, shaking his head. "I need to personally escort them, to see them return to the青山 Mental Hospital with my own eyes, then I can rest easy."

"You truly are a dedicated and responsible director," the driver said.

As long as the flattery was well-placed, a meteoric rise was within reach.

He had once been an upright man who wouldn't stoop to flattery. He had worked in the emergency center for many years, his driving skills honed, possessing the ability to drift while hugging the sewer grates.

But he had worked for ten years and was still just a driver.

And that young man who joined the team a few years after him, relying on flattery and sycophancy, had become his superior in just two years.

He was不服. I'm better than him, I'm more capable, my driving skills are better. Why can't I be promoted?

Until one day, the leader, drunk, patted his shoulder and said:

"You're very capable, very excellent, I see it all. But I can't do without you. If you leave, where will I find such an excellent subordinate? So just stay here with me, work until I retire."

"As for him, he has no real skills, just knows how to flatter and sweet-talk, making me feel good. Him leaving that position has no impact on me."

"Anyone can leave, but you can't."

From that day on, he had an epiphany. It wasn't that he wasn't excellent enough, but that he was so excellent that others couldn't let him go.

Deputy Director Li remained expressionless, but his mood was quite good. He offered the driver a White Liqun cigarette.

The driver accepted the cigarette with flattered surprise, as if lighting a priceless treasure. He carefully lit it, then slowly took a puff, his eyes widening in intoxicated delight.

"Good cigarette, excellent flavor, alluring color, pure tobacco, a truly good cigarette."

He wasn't smoking a cigarette, but an opportunity to flatter.

"Fourteen yuan a pack, strong, not a particularly good cigarette."

Deputy Director Li took a drag, his gaze fixed on the distant hospital entrance. He was looking forward to those two figures, to sending them back to the mental hospital and finally finding peace.

The driver said sincerely, "Director, you've saved countless lives, like a holy angel descending upon the earth. Your fingers, as you offer a cigarette, carry a celestial fragrance. It's my honor to smoke a cigarette offered by you, a feeling from the bottom of my heart."

Deputy Director Li patted the driver's shoulder, once again inadvertently revealing his understated yet popular electronic watch. He didn't say anything, but his eyes conveyed a clear message.

You… are quite good.

At that moment, the figures he had been longing for appeared.

Several doctors pushed a gurney towards them. They marveled that the only people Deputy Director Li would personally drive to pick up and drop off were these two special VIP clients.

"What's going on?"

Deputy Director Li saw Old Zhang lying on the gurney and was a bit confused. He wasn't injured, why was he taking up space?

The doctor explained, "There's no other way. He insisted on lying down, otherwise he wouldn't go. We had to let him lie down."

Deputy Director Li was exhausted. Are they even human?

Our hospital doctors worked tirelessly to save you, brought you back to life, bouncing with health. We can forgive you for not expressing gratitude, but you can't keep taking advantage of our hospital's resources.

Forget it!

Forget it!

As long as we can send you away, two free gurneys are a small price to pay.

Since Lin Fan had donated hematopoietic stem cells, the doctors gave him a full body check-up, just in case there were any problems. No matter how unwelcome they were, as doctors, they had to perform a thorough examination.

It's not that we don't want to see you.

It's just that you come too frequently, so frequently that our bodies can't keep up.

Distance makes the heart grow fonder. Occasional encounters strengthen relationships.

Frequent meetings make everything become bland. We hope you understand.

Lin Fan lay on the gurney, gazing calmly at the overcast sky. He raised his arm, reaching for the raindrops. Why doesn't it hurt when raindrops fall from so high up in the sky onto my face?

Would it hurt if a person fell from the sky?

This was a question worth pondering.

His qigong cultivation method circulated, the energy particles floating in nature slowly flowing into his body.

"Load them up, let's go."

Deputy Director Li stubbed out his cigarette and waved his hand impatiently. Then he looked at the driver and said, "You sit in the passenger seat. I'll drive today."

The driver said, "It's my lifelong honor to learn driving techniques from the Deputy Director."

Deputy Director Li didn't say much.

His current thought was simple.

Even if the sky were to fall and the earth to shatter, even if the heavens were to crack open, nothing could stop him from sending these two psychiatric patients back to the青山 Mental Hospital.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

The ambulance sped out of the hospital, moving quickly. Deputy Director Li's driving skills were quite good. With a skillful flick of the wheel, he disappeared from the sight of the many doctors.

Deputy Director Li carried a heavy responsibility. If there were news reporters present, they would surely take a picture of the taillights.

And it would make the headlines the next day.

"Hospital Deputy Director Personally Escorts Hero Home"

The doctors standing there seemed to hear voices coming from the ambulance.

"Deputy Director, your driving skills are amazing! I've never seen such impressive driving."

"Could you teach me?"