Chapter 20.1 - Charming, Whether She's Teasing or Not (1)
At lunchtime, Wen Shaoqing specially sent a WeChat message to check in on his neighbor—just two simple words:
“Win or lose?”
Cong Rong replied just as simply:
“Lost…”
Wen Shaoqing looked at those two words and could almost sense her frustration.
But what he didn’t know was—her frustration had nothing to do with winning or losing.
Tan Size had just finished ordering and handed the menu to the waiter. Turning around, he saw Cong Rong staring blankly at her phone and leaned in nosily.
“What are you looking at?”
Cong Rong quickly locked her screen.
“Nothing. Oh, right. I lost the case and I’m in a bad mood. I’m going to take a few days off to regroup. I’ve got a few clients I’ll transfer to someone else.”
Tan Size was taken aback.
“Come on, sis, what lawyer hasn’t lost a case before? And losing to an old veteran? That’s nothing to be ashamed of. Using this as an excuse is a bit of a stretch, don’t you think?”
Cong Rong frowned.
“Is it that much of a stretch? Well, I can’t think of another reason right now, so just take it as it is.”
She raised her hand and rubbed her temples.
“Going up against an old pro in court feels like it aged me ten years.”
Tan Size shook his head.
“I refuse.”
Cong Rong replied expressionlessly,
“I appeal.”
Tan Size kept shaking his head.
“Overruled. Verdict upheld.”
Cong Rong thought for a moment, then turned her head and pointed at the back of her own head.
“I’m sick! I’ve got a big bump from hitting it. Don’t believe me? Feel it!”
Tan Size quickly put his hands behind his back, looking at her warily.
“No way! Cong Rong, don’t try to trap me. The moment we have any physical contact, it gets complicated! You’ll definitely accuse me of harassing a female colleague or something. We’re both in law, let’s not hurt each other.”
Then he turned to the innocent interns nearby:
“Cong Lawyer’s little tactic here is worth learning—very effective. Just don’t try it on me.”
So Cong Rong’s vacation plan fell through, and she lost her appetite too. After a few bites, she headed back to the firm. Fortunately, the weekend was coming up, so she could at least relax a bit.
That afternoon, after getting off work, Cong Rong passed by the neighborhood grocery store, paused, then went in to buy some ingredients—just like Wen Shaoqing mentioned the other day. She bought bread and pumpkin, planning to send them over to Wen’s place.
When she got home and saw his door tightly shut, she suddenly remembered—he had told her that morning he’d be on night duty. She looked down at the groceries in her hands and sighed faintly before heading inside to shower and sleep early.
Meanwhile, Wen Shaoqing’s night shift was absolute chaos.
In the middle of the night, an emergency patient arrived. He and Chen Cu teamed up and rushed into surgery.
The operation lasted nearly six hours. Once the critical part was over, the assisting doctors looked exhausted but remained tense.
Wen Shaoqing and Chen Cu were veterans of this battlefield and knew this was the easiest time to make mistakes. After exchanging a glance, Wen suddenly said calmly,
“Dr. Chen, how about a joke to lighten the mood?”
After hours of intense mental focus and physical strain, the assistants and nurses all looked at Chen Cu with anticipation.
He obliged. Though his mask hid his expression, his smiling eyes gave him away.
“Peach Blossom and Chrysanthemum went on a trip together. At airport security, Peach Blossom passed through, but Chrysanthemum didn’t. Know why?”
Everyone leaned in. “Why?”
“Because Chrysanthemum is an explosive item.”
(Wordplay: In Chinese, “chrysanthemum” is sometimes slang for a certain body part.)
Having been influenced by his playful girlfriend, Chen Cu now delivered dirty jokes in a warm, soft tone.
Everyone burst out laughing.
A new intern looked shocked.
“Dr. Chen, you’re really something underneath that calm exterior!”
Chen Cu laughed.
“My girlfriend tells me these.”
The head nurse chimed in,
“I can vouch for that. Before he met her, all he told were lame puns. Like this one:
‘Once there was a panda who went to a restaurant, ordered food, ate, pulled out a gun, fired a few shots, and left. The owner asked why. The panda said, “Check the dictionary.”
It said: Panda: an animal, eats shoots and leaves.’
He used to tell that kind of joke in the OR—it felt like we were in a morgue.
Then one day, during a live-streamed surgery, he suddenly dropped a dirty joke. The whole room exploded.
Afterwards, the director pulled him aside and awkwardly said, ‘Next time we record, no more dirty jokes.’
Even the hospital dean asked me who his girlfriend was. Said, ‘He used to be such a wholesome guy!’”
The room roared with laughter.
The anesthesiologist nudged Wen Shaoqing,
“Dr. Wen, your turn.”
Wen replied calmly as he finished up,
“Know what’s the shortest and dirtiest conversation in history?”
Everyone: “What?”
Wen didn’t even look up, and said slowly:
“‘Oh.’ ‘No.’”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
“What does it mean?”
Wen raised an eyebrow. The younger doctors quickly caught on and smirked as they explained.
“That’s filthy!”
“What are you scared of? You’re in medicine!”
“Professor Wen really is the full package—proper or improper, serious or hilarious!”
“Got more? Got more?”
Wen replied while working,
“Does ‘a soft smile’ count?”
The room exploded again.
“The meaning’s clear!”
The previously tense atmosphere vanished. The team dove back into the operation energized. Wen and Chen Cu exchanged a grin—mission accomplished.
