Chapter 1

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In the early morning 04:00 a.m., The emergency hall is so peaceful and quiet.

Angela Wang is wearing her doctor’s coat and walks over from the main hall with her hands inside her pocket.

The sanitation worker is holding a mop, she is dipping the mop on the bucket full of disinfectant. Then she wipes the bloodied floor with great energy.

Angela is unfocused, she just regains herself by the time she passes that sanitation worker. The sanitation worker has no time to dodge from her. The mop, which is smeared with blood, covers Angela’s shoes.

The sanitation worker apologizes quickly: “I’m sorry, Doctor Wang. I’m sorry.” She says it and immediately takes a rag to wipe it.

Angela is quick, she stops the sanitation worker to kneel down to wipe her shoes. “No need, it’s okay.”

“But……”

Angela cuts her off gently: “It’s my mistake. I make a trouble for you.”

The sanitation worker feels even more abashed when she hears her words. “What are you talking about? If not, let me help you to clean this.”

Angela once again stops her and smiles faintly: “I could do it by myself.”

The sanitation worker feels guilty but thankful: “Doctor Wang, you are a good person.”

Angela Wang continues to walk forward.

The sanitation worker holds the mop tightly and examines the back figure of Angela. Angela is tall and slender, with her doctor’s coat, she looks even more beautiful and elegant. Her hair is tied in a ponytail.

The sanitation worker hesitates for a moment and calls after her: “Doctor Wang!”

Angela stops walking and turns her head: “Em?”

“The patient before, is he okay?” The young sanitation worker says and peeks at the blood on the floor.

This moment the emergency hall is quiet, it’s too peaceful; who knows this place is full of cries and howls before.

Angela says: “He is okay now.”

The sanitation worker smiles brightly: “It’s great. Doctor Wang.” She bows down toward Angela: “You should go through a great trouble to save him.”

Angela nods lightly as her reply toward her, then she turns her body to leave.

At 04:00 a.m., the deepest night.

The light on the hospital corridor is so dim, the air is filled with life and death scent. It is depressing and bitter. It seems impossible to get rid of it.

Angela’s hands are used to be stuffed in her pocket. She passes the desolate corridor and gets into her office room. She looks down at her dirty shoes and shows her disgust to it. She frowns and feels it is so disgusted. The muddy water and that blood feel as if they could penetrate to the inside of her shoes, it even seeps into her instep.

Angela sits down quickly and takes off her shoes. She throws it to the bin. Her socks are still clean, yet she ignores it and takes it off too. She immediately throws it to the rubbish bin. She opens up her drawer and pulls out a wet tissue. She wipes her foot and stops till it turns red.

Angela’s mood just calms down, she tries hard to control her breath. She throws away the tissue and opens up her cupboard. She changes into her spare shoes then goes to the vanity unit. She switches on the tap and uses the soap to wash clean her both hands. She does that for three times.

Angela does all of that in order. Then she picks out her phone out of her pocket. It’s just 04:10 a.m., the sky is still dark outside from what she sees from the office window.

The emergency department is so quiet like tonight would pass so calmly.

She has a missed call and a message, both of them are coming from Dylan Shen. “On the weekend come back home.”

Angela could see her tired black eyes on the screen. She has already worked continuously for 22 hours. She feels numb.

She puts the phone back and then her finger knocks lightly on the cigarette box and lighter that she had in her pocket. She glances at the warning sign “Please do not smoke”.

She looks at it fo a while, then she smiles. She stands up and goes to the balcony.

Angela leans on the fence and on the dark night, she lights on one cigarette.

When she just enjoys half of her cigarette, she could hear someone calls after her: “Doctor!”

Angela stands up and throws away her cigarette, she closes the balcony door. Then she goes inside to wash her hands three times again. The time she switches off the tap, a sloppy man with ashy clothes come inside: “Doctor, please help!”

Angela examines her and notices that this man is not injured: “What is your problem?”

That square-faced man is out of breath, he waves his hand: “Not me, Friend, he—“

The time he is still explaining, around three to four messy-looking men come inside the room. Their body are full of smoke and sweat scent. That group of men are wearing a standardized army green vest and trousers. All of them are tall and muscly. They are covered with ash.

That square-face man tries to control his breath and points at a man behind him; Angela looks over, she couldn’t know for sure which man is he pointing to.

“He, his tooth is aching so badly.”

Angela stops: “Toothache?”

The square-face man is still pointing: “Doctor, come over and take a look at him….”

Angela cuts him off: “In the emergency department, we don’t have department of dentistry, you guys should go to the outpatient clinic to register.”

“But the outpatient clinic is still close at this time.”

Angela: “Then wait till it’s open then you guys could go there.”

Angela goes to her own chair and sits down. She lifts up her head and looks at the group of men, who are still watching her.

At that moment, Angela looks at the ‘sick’ man around the group. He is wearing a surgical mask. His eyebrows are thick. He is also watching her, his gaze is keen and bright.

With just a gaze, Angela could see that he is completely different from those men around him.

Angela looks at him without any fear: “Could you hear me? We don’t have any dentist here, you should go to outpatient clinic.”

He doesn’t say anything;

Anyway that square-face man is so worried that he starts to get temperamental. He says furiously: “Now the outpatient clinic is still close, what should we do?”

Angela: “Bear with it.”

“You!” That square-face man clutches his fist and bites his lips. “Then give him a bit of painkiller.”

Angela leans back on her chair and stuffs her hands inside her pocket. “I couldn’t prescribe it here.”

“Why couldn’t you prescribe it? You are a doctor, you should know it could kill someone when having a toothache?!”

Angelaanswers calmly: “It wouldn’t kill him.”

That square-face man thinks that she is provoking him, he raises his voice: “What’s up with your attitude?”

Angela looks at him. “I am answering your unreasonable demand patiently.”

That square-face man is so angry: “I think you are….”

One of the older man pulls that man back, he tries to smooth thing over by explaining: “Doctor, there should be misunderstanding. We are not only coming over because of the toothache. It’s not because of the decayed tooth. But during our work, our Brother is hurt. He bumped and hurt his teeth. Could you take a look…..”Then that man wants to take off the ‘sick’ man’s surgical mask.

Angela lowers her head and opens up her own case file. “Don’t take it off. I’m not a dentist. I couldn’t check it.”

“Could you give him a bit of painkiller? To stop the pain.”

Angela closes the file: “I couldn’t. How many times should I tell you about it?”

Hearing that, the square-face man couldn’t control his feeling any longer. He takes a large stride and points at Angela. “Do you believe that I–“

“Yance!” A cold voice calls after that square-face man. It’s from that ‘sick’ man with a surgical mask.

That voice is low and patient. It sounds different, Angela unconsciously lifts up her head and looks at him.

That eyes are looking at her too.

He stands up: “Sorry to disturb you.”

Angela says nothing.

The ‘sick’ man with a surgical mask comes forward and stops. He asks: “What time is the outpatient clinic open?”

Angela: “08.00 a.m.”

That man: “Thank you.”

Angela: “No need.”

That man stands up and just walks out, Yance is unhappy and follows him out: “Captain Nero, this—“

Nero has came out.

All of the men are following them to go out, Yance is so furious. He points at Angela and goes out with angry steps.

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