Evening Stars Chapter 21 (Part 1)
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 21.1
After sending Fang Shiyou off, Xu Nanheng went back to the second-floor dorm. Right at the doorway, he saw a cardboard box that came up to his thigh.
He pushed the box inside and used a utility knife to open it. The coffee machine wasn't large, but it came with a lot of capsules. For a coffeeholic like Xu Nanheng, three cups a day was a basic necessity.
He tidied up and drank two large glasses of water. It had been a when since he exercised, and being at high altitude, he sat at his desk for a while to steady himself.
The desk lamp that Fang Shiyou had given him sat quietly across from him. Xu Nanheng felt that something wasn't quite right, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was. He had always classified Fang Shiyou's kindness toward him as normal interaction between close friends looking out for each other. But he was an adult, and he still had a basic awareness of boundaries in close relationships.
Then there was that cigarette. Honestly, he had only intended for Fang Shiyou to hold it for him so his student wouldn't see him smoking.
But he hadn't expected Fang Shiyou to continue smoking it. In his mind, he came up with countless reasons that could explain why Fang Shiyou would do this. He wasn't a naive teenager anymore. He didn't comfort himself with thoughts like ‘he was just going through the habitual motion of smoking.’
After a month of being together, he knew clearly that Fang Shiyou was a reliable person. And perhaps because he was a doctor, his gaze always carried a penetrating clarity and rational composure. Thus, smoking a cigarette that had already been in someone else's mouth could not have been merely a reflex or a habit for him.
Maybe…… Xu Nanheng clenched his fist. Maybe this kind of behavior was normal in close relationships. Times were changing, after all. Maybe the people today felt that good friends should share a cigarette together. Back in junior high, didn't a few mischievous kids without pocket money secretly share a smoke, taking a puff one after the other?
Yes, that must be it, Xu Nanheng told himself.
Then he went downstairs to call the students back for class.
Since arriving in Tibet, Xu Nanheng had gained an understanding of the students' proficiency level. Their foundation was too weak, so the pace couldn't be too fast. At the teacher's meeting on Friday evening, Teacher Budon and Teacher Tsering had also raised this issue, hoping Xu Nanheng would reduce the frequency of exams.
Many students grew increasingly discouraged as their scores came in. Even the best student in the class, Dasang Choedon, barely scored above the passing line.
Xu Nanheng rejected the teachers' suggestion. He said that starting next week, he would review everyone's mistakes, have the students copy them, and then rework similar types of questions. Not only would he not reduce the frequency of exams, but he also planned to continue administering tests the following week.
After the meeting, Principal Sonam asked him to stay behind. Time was passing. Last year, the snow started in early October, and now that it was mid-September, the weather was already getting cold.
The principal poured him another cup of water, sat down, and said, “I can sincerely understand how much you care for your students, but you really should consider the suggestions the teachers made today.”
“I can't, Principal,” Xu Nanheng said. “Please hear me out. It's September now. We'll soon have the National Day holiday, followed shortly by the winter break at the end of December, which lasts until March. During this period……”
“Teacher Xu, I know it's impolite to interrupt,” Principal Sonam said apologetically. “I understand everything you're saying. You're anxious, and so am I. But trust me, having worked here all these years, I want the students to succeed more than anyone.”
Xu Nanheng took a sip of tea. “There's usually a ‘but’ that follows a statement like that.”
Sonam Tsomo lowered her gaze, her fingers brushing her meeting notes twice. “Yes, but they need to stay alive first.
“Diki's wall was blown down by the wind, and their yaks got out. He was at evening self-study, and at home there was only his grandmother. She and his younger sister went to look for the yaks. By the time Diki finished class and returned, two yaks were still missing. It was too dark, and his sister injured her right shoulder.”
Xu Nanheng was momentarily speechless.
“And the yaks weren't even theirs. Someone else paid them to raise the cattle. That's one of their family's sources of income,” Principal Sonam said. “Teacher Xu, I never doubt your dedication to your students, but you know very little about life here. You need to adapt.
“That Saturday, the neighbor who usually looks after Choedon's grandfather went to the county. Choedon was at the remedial class at the time, and the teacher who went to help search for Diki's yaks thought the old man was being cared for by the neighbor. As a result, the old man went hungry for two meals.”
“This is the kind of ‘environment’ you need to adapt to and compromise with,” Sonam Tsomo said wistfully, looking at him. “Teacher Xu, I appreciate your teaching methods, but it can't continue like this.”
The office was the only lit room in the teaching building. Fang Shiyou could see it from the third-floor storage room of the hospital.
After a long while, Xu Nanheng silently stood, nodded at Principal Sonam, and left the third-floor office without a word. He went down to the second floor, sat in the dormitory, turned on the desk lamp, and then the computer. When the screen lit up, he felt lost, as if he had forgotten what he had intended to do.
On the other side, in Fang Shiyou's line of sight, the light in the third-floor office went out, and a light came on in one of the dormitory rooms on the second floor.
After parting at the school gate that day, his interactions with Xu Nanheng had become somewhat strange. That evening, Fang Shiyou was the first to send a message. He said on WeChat that the temperature was going to drop soon, and since he was going to the county town on Monday, he asked if Xu Nanheng wanted him to bring back a thicker blanket.
Xu Nanheng replied that it wasn't necessary. Next week he would take the students to the county school for an experiment, and he could buy it himself then.
The second exchange was initiated by Xu Nanheng. He asked Fang Shiyou how many hours the pain-relief patch should be worn before being removed.
Fang Shiyou felt equally confused.
What had he been doing at the time? Xu Nanheng had only wanted him to hold the cigarette for a moment because he didn't want the student to see him smoke, so why did he put it in his mouth and continue smoking it?
How was this different from sexual harassment?
Fang Shiyou finished tidying the desk and prepared to go downstairs. The hospital's third floor stored some nursing and office supplies. He carried the A4 paper he needed and turned off the lights before heading down.
But just as he reached the corner of the stairs, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He had a strong premonition that the message was from the teaching building across the way.
Fang Shiyou held the A4 paper in one hand and carried the rest of the items. Behind him, the third floor was dark. In front, the second floor was lit. He took his phone from his lab coat pocket and unlocked it.
On WeChat:
[Xu Nanheng: Are you busy right now? ]
Fang Shiyou stared at the message, and in an instant, his heart was a whirlwind of emotion.
It was obvious that Xu Nanheng wanted to talk to him. But it was even more obvious that he was panicking.
He never panicked. He didn't panic during his first anatomy class, and he didn't panic the first time he assisted in an emergency for a patient with a myocardial infarction. Yet now, he was panicking.
He felt as nervous as a student being told, ‘The teacher wants to see you in the office.’ Though to be fair, Xu Nanheng was a teacher.
Fang Shiyou: [Not busy. What's up?]
Unexpectedly, right after he sent his reply and put down the items at the nurse's station on the second floor, a call came up from the first floor.
Nurse: “A worker from the tunnel site was brought in. The left side of his chest near the heart was pierced. Over a meter of rebar went through his back shoulder blade.”
“Tell me on the way.” Fang Shiyou put away his phone and grabbed a mask from under the nurse's station.
He walked down to the first floor with the nurse.
The nurse walked down to the first floor with him. “His coworkers drove him here. He's still conscious. We asked about his medical history. He's had lung surgery.”
“Did you call the county hospital's 120?”
“Yes, the ambulance is on the way.”
“Fire department?”
“Yes, them too. They're en route.”
The patient was in the emergency room. Because of the impalement, he couldn't lie down. When Fang Shiyou put on gloves and approached, the man was sitting. His face was filled with panic, but after seeing the white coat, his eyes changed a little. He opened his mouth but didn't speak, likely stunned by the shock.
Fang Shiyou bent down to check the bleeding. The amount wasn't much. It seemed the coworkers had been careful when bringing him in. The door opened again, and Yang Gao entered. Neither doctor showed surprise. The nurse had already cut away the clothing around the impalement site.
“What kind of lung surgery did you have before?” Fang Shiyou asked.
The patient stammered as he replied, “Lung…… lung cancer radical resection.”
“Left or right lung?” Fang Shiyou asked.
“Left.”
“Upper or lower lobe?”
“Upper lobe.”
Fang Shiyou straightened and quickly instructed the nurse, “Call 120 again. Tell them the patient has extensive pleural adhesions and a history of left thoracotomy. He cannot be transported. Tell them to turn back to the hospital and bring two surgeons and an anesthesiologist. We can only remove the rebar here.”
The small hospital didn't have an operating room. Fang Shiyou glanced at Yang Gao. “We have to use this emergency room.”
Yang Gao understood and nodded. In a limited emergency situation, saving the patient left no choice.
Still, he was concerned. He exchanged a look with Fang Shiyou. If they waited here for the county hospital ambulance, and anything happened to the patient during that time, there would be no one to blame but circumstance. After all, the hospital lacked surgical facilities.
But if they performed the emergency procedure here, and an accident happened while opening the patient's chest to remove the rebar, the patient's family could pursue legal action.
“Have someone push him for a CT,” Fang Shiyou said. “Sterilize the emergency room. As soon as the 119 arrives to cut the rebar, the surgery will start. Dr. Yang, call Beijing and ask for advice on how to administer anesthesia in this situation.”
“Wait a minute!” Yang Gao followed him out of the emergency room.
At that moment, Xu Nanheng arrived and crossed paths with the two coming out of the room. He guessed something serious was happening. Two unfamiliar vehicles were parked in the hospital.
And just before the emergency room door closed, he caught a quick glimpse of the man inside with a rebar piercing his chest. Xu Nanheng was immediately stunned and looked over at Fang Shiyou.
“Uh,” Xu Nanheng said. “You…… you go ahead.”
He had messaged on WeChat saying they should talk in person. He felt he was stuck in a deadlock, and in this situation, he didn't necessarily want Fang Shiyou to provide an answer for him. He just wanted to talk.