Shine on Me

We didn't stay long at the Sheng family's place. Lin Yusen spent just over ten minutes in the study before coming out with some books he'd left behind, and then we left. After wandering around the city all afternoon, we bought some gifts and headed to his mentor's home for dinner.

While shopping for gifts, Lin Yusen gave me a detailed rundown about his mentor, giving me a new appreciation for just how impressive the old professor was. So when I saw him again, I couldn't help feeling a bit nervous. The professor noticed and asked curiously, "What's wrong? Is the food not to your taste?"

I quickly shook my head.

Lin Yusen explained for me, "Shimu is also from Jiangsu—how could the food not suit her taste? She's just a bit shy since it's her first time here. After a few more visits, you'll see how much she can eat."

The professor teased, "Now, now, you can't say that. You know how it is with Jiangsu folks—they never acknowledge each other. Your Shimu is from Changzhou. Young lady, where are you from?"

"I'm from Wuxi," I replied.

The professor immediately said, "See? Not the same place at all. The food must not be to her taste."

Shimu chuckled, "It's not that exaggerated. Ever since you retired, all you do is read those internet jokes. We Jiangsu people aren't that divided. But strictly speaking, I'm from Wujin, not Changzhou."

I burst out laughing.

The table was filled with the professor's other students, like Lu Sha whom I'd met before, all with their families—a lively group of over a dozen people. Everyone laughed heartily at that.

The atmosphere among the doctors was different again, quite similar to when we'd been with Dr. Su and the others in Suzhou. I also noticed they didn't particularly avoid topics around Lin Yusen, still discussing hospital matters, cutting-edge medical advancements, and even hospital gossip.

Often, the whole group would erupt in laughter mid-conversation. Amid the clinking of glasses, Lin Yusen drank several glasses of red wine. I couldn't help wondering—was this setting me up to be the designated driver?

My momentary distraction caught Shimu's attention. She peeled an orange for me and said, "Year after year, they just tell jokes no one else understands."

"Yeah," I nodded. "I'm used to it. It was like this when I was in the hospital too."

"In the hospital?"

Shimu asked what had happened, and I mumbled an explanation. She teased, "His mentor already told me—Yusen was the one who pursued you. I knew it."

"Our handsome Lin has been single all these years, with mothers, fathers, and young girls lining up for him like a school of fish crossing the river. Yet he turned them all down—he's famously the 'unattainable flower' of Shanghai's medical world," said a doctor sitting next to Shimu, who had been eavesdropping before leaning in to gossip. "You must be something special, girl."

"Not at all, not at all..."

I was still fumbling for a modest response when Lin Yusen cut in, "Not at all—it's all thanks to my peers setting the bar low."

His peers: ???

Honestly, he totally deserved getting toasted after that.

The lively gathering didn't break up until past nine, with everyone reluctant to leave but not wanting to overstay their welcome. However, Lin Yusen and I were asked to stay behind by the professor.

The professor lived on the first floor with a small courtyard. After seeing the other guests out and closing the gate, the professor walked a few steps side by side with Lin Yusen. "That call you made the day before yesterday—about wanting to come back and start over. Did you mean it?"My mentor's wife and I lagged behind them as she pointed out the various flowers in the courtyard. When those words drifted past my ears, it took me a moment to process their meaning.

Start over? Start what over?

Several slow seconds passed before an unbelievable thought flashed through my mind. Could it be...

Was Lin Yusen returning to the hospital?!

This time, Lin Yusen and his professor spoke privately for over half an hour. After admiring the flowers in the yard with his wife, we went to sit in the living room where she insisted on packing me a large bag of delicious pastries we'd enjoyed earlier that evening.

On the drive back, I was too preoccupied navigating Shanghai's complicated roads to ask Lin Yusen what was going on. The constant ups and downs, lefts and rights—one wrong turn meant circling back. After going around the same intersection three times, I finally couldn't help questioning my navigator.

"Did you get stupid from drinking too much, or are you doing this on purpose?"

"Probably got stupid," Lin Yusen leaned back in the passenger seat, head resting against the headrest. "Didn't think you'd notice the wrong directions."

He admitted it without even trying to hide it! I found this unbelievable. "What's your game? Do you think gasoline grows on trees?"

"Just thought it was still early, didn't want to take you back to the hotel so soon."

Still early...

I looked at the pitch-black road outside and the sea of glowing headlights ahead, momentarily speechless, yet feeling subtle ripples stirring quietly in my heart.

This wasn't ideal driving conditions, so I decisively pulled over and lectured him sternly: "First, I'm driving you, not you driving me—I'm the one behind the wheel. Second, have you forgotten about those books in the trunk? I was already planning to help you carry them up, then you could walk me back to the hotel, then walk home yourself."

I had it all perfectly arranged. "So we still have plenty of time today. So Lin Yusen, could you please stop giving wrong directions on purpose?"

"Oh." Lin Yusen nodded contentedly, casually lifting his chin. "Drive on then. Go straight, then turn left."

When he'd been telling me to turn right this whole time!

Childish!

Lin Yusen truly took me at my word about helping with the books—he actually made me carry them.

Though he took the large box while I had the smaller one, books are heavy! By the time we'd huffed and puffed them up to his apartment, he even had me help shelve them one by one.

Standing on tiptoe to slot books in place, I kept up my critique: "Free chauffeur plus moving labor—what a model capitalist."

As I placed the last book, I noticed this batch was all medical texts, none particularly new. I randomly pulled one out and flipped it open—it was actually his college textbook, his name boldly inscribed on the title page: Lin Yusen, Clinical Medicine Class 1, Year XX.

"This is your college textbook?"

"Right."

A slip of paper fell out as I turned the pages. Bending to pick it up, I saw it was a class schedule packed edge-to-edge with courses. Scanning it filled me with awe. "Your schedule was this packed?"

"Medical students—not unusual." Lin Yusen took the paper from me, lowering his eyes as his lashes cast shadows in the lamplight.

I watched him quietly, remembering how he'd mentioned starting college unusually early. My mind conjured an image of a confident young man striding across a medical school campus with arms full of books.

Softly, I asked him: "Lin Yusen, what did the professor mean about you starting over? Are you going back to the hospital?"His eyelashes fluttered slightly, but he didn't answer me immediately. He took the book from my hands, flipped through a few pages, tucked in the class schedule, and returned it to the shelf.

His gaze swept across the bookshelves as if lost in distant memories. "I have an excellent memory. Believe it or not, during my student days, I could recite many of these books by heart."

I glanced at the shelves in astonishment—so many, and so thick?

...Not really buying it.

Lin Yusen raised an eyebrow. "I might still have some residual memory left. Want to test me?"

Why not? I had nothing to lose. "A bet?"

"Sure."

"What do I get if I win?"

"Anything you want."

"Oh." I feigned nonchalance and looked away, carefully selecting a book. What should I pick? My eyes roamed the shelves until they suddenly lit up.

I immediately pulled out the book and waved it in front of him. "Sun Simiao, Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold for Emergencies —Traditional Chinese Medicine, classical Chinese. You might as well surrender now."

Lin Yusen conceded instantly. "Okay, this one I can't do."

I was triumphant. "Why do you even have a book on TCM?"

"Of course I'd have such a classic medical text, though I only remember the 'Great Physician's Sincerity' section."

"Great Physician's Sincerity? Where is it? Well, don't say I'm being sneaky—if you can recite the passage you mentioned without a single mistake, I'll count it as your win."

"Volume One, Medical Discourses, second essay."

I flipped through the book for a while. "Found it. Begin."

He smiled faintly and recited softly:

"Whenever a great physician treats illness, they must first calm their spirit and settle their will, free from desires or demands. They must first awaken a heart of great compassion and sympathy, vowing to universally relieve the suffering of all sentient beings. If a patient comes seeking help, they must not inquire about status, wealth, age, beauty, or ugliness, nor hold grudges or favor friends. They must treat all equally, as if they were their own kin. They must not hesitate or worry about personal fortune or safety, nor cling to their own life. They must see the suffering of others as their own, feel deep sorrow in their hearts, and not avoid hardship, whether day or night, in heat or cold, hunger or thirst, fatigue or exhaustion. They must rush to aid with single-minded devotion, without thought of reward or reputation. Only then can they be called great physicians for all living beings. To act otherwise is to be a great thief of sentient lives."

At first, I carefully checked each character against the text to see if he made any mistakes. But after a few lines, I was completely awed by this oath from traditional medicine, and all thoughts of winning or losing vanished, leaving only profound reverence in my heart.

He stopped, and the room fell silent. I lowered my head and carefully reread the passage before exhaling. "Being a doctor is a truly noble profession."

"Noble might be too strong a word, but many of my colleagues are deeply dedicated and principled." He paused before adding, "When I took the college entrance exams, I originally planned to apply to business school."

I was surprised.

"Did your family ever mention my parents to you?"

I nodded, then after a moment's thought, reached out my hand to him.

He smiled and took it. "It's fine. It was a long time ago. Do you want to hear it from me?"

"Do you want to tell me?" I asked cautiously.

Holding my hand, he led me to the water dispenser in the living room and poured me a glass. "This might take a while."