"Off work, Senior?"

"Off work. See you tomorrow." Han Fangchi changed his clothes, grabbed his phone and car keys, and left the consultation room.

The Junior poked his head out: "Senior, I have a classmate who wants to see the dentist, but I see you don't have any appointments available tomorrow morning."

Han Fangchi said, "Tell him to come at noon."

"Thanks, Senior!" the Junior shouted loudly.

Han Fangchi gestured to him, "Why don't you shout a little louder and bring your professor over?"

The two of them shared the same mentor, a strict, stone-faced professor. The Junior made a gesture of pushing down with both hands and said softly, "Thanks, Senior—"

Han Fangchi waved his hand and turned to leave.

His calves, which had been wrecked from running over the weekend, had only calmed down today, Wednesday. They were still a bit sore, but not as strained as they had been for the first two days.

In the afternoon, a friend asked him to play badminton in the evening. After work, Han Fangchi replied: Can't, can't run.

The friend asked: Weekend?

Han Fangchi said: Can do.

Friend: Saturday?

Han Fangchi: Hold on.

He Lezhi had been off work for half the day. With nothing to do all afternoon, he had left work early and went to the supermarket to buy groceries.

When Han Fangchi's message arrived, He Lezhi was searching for a recipe for garlic mustard shrimp on a video platform.

Fangchi: Want to play badminton on Saturday?

He Lezhi: With who?

Fangchi: You don't know them.

He Lezhi: Okay.

Fangchi: Good.

Han Fangchi replied to his friend's message: I'm bringing a friend on Saturday.

Friend: OK, then I won't bring Xiao Song. It'll be me and Xiao Shang.

Han Fangchi: OK.

Because he had plans for Saturday, He Lezhi didn't go back to He Qi's place on Friday.

He Qi called him on Friday night and asked, "You're not back?"

He Lezhi said, "I have plans to play badminton tomorrow."

He Qi asked, "Who with?"

"Fangchi."

There was a hint of disbelief in He Qi's tone, "Are you intentionally not coming home just to prove you're not friendless?"

"Would I go that far!" He Lezhi took a screenshot and sent it over. "We really do have plans."

He Qi glanced at the picture, "Got it."

He Lezhi added, "I'll go to your place tomorrow night."

"What do you want to eat?" He Qi asked.

"Pork ribs," He Lezhi said.

Han Fangchi had always been a reliable friend. He wasn't that boisterous, wasn't annoying, and didn't like to make tasteless jokes.

At those noisy gatherings in the past, Han Fangchi and He Lezhi were always relatively quiet, often finding a peaceful spot to stay and play on their own phones.

Once, He Lezhi had specially brought two pairs of earplugs before going out. When Zhou Muyao and the others got so rowdy it felt like they were going to tear the roof off, the two of them each used a pair of earplugs, which was better than nothing for blocking out the noise.

On the weekend, Han Fangchi brought two rackets, while He Lezhi only brought a change of clothes and shoes.

The two friends they were playing with were former colleagues of Han Fangchi. Both were older than him; one had transferred to the City Stomatological Hospital, and the other had left a public hospital to start his own practice.

He Lezhi was on Han Fangchi's side. He didn't play badminton very often, while the two on the other side played several times a week and were at a very high level. The shorter one was said to have a childhood friend who was an athlete, now a coach for the provincial team. He Lezhi clearly had trouble keeping up with their pace. His reactions weren't fast enough, and he couldn't return some of the tricky shots, losing points whether he was at the front or back of the court.

In the first three games, their side was practically crushed, not winning a single one.

He Lezhi's back was soaked with sweat. He was being run all over the court, panting heavily as he said, "We can't beat them."

The shorter guy on the opposing team, named Ning Ken, said with a laugh, "You two should split up. Lezhi, come over to my team. Otherwise, you'll just keep getting crushed by me, no chance for a comeback."

He Lezhi looked at Han Fangchi, who asked him, "Want to go?"

He Lezhi leaned on his knees, bent over and looking up at him, "Do you mind me dragging you down?"

Han Fangchi chuckled, "Are we playing for houses and land? Let them win."

Ning Ken wouldn't have it, "No way, are we just winning for nothing? You at least have to treat us to a meal, Director Han."

He Lezhi said, "They're playing for a meal."

Han Fangchi took a sip of water, screwed the cap back on, and tossed the bottle aside. "Fine, a meal it is."

Ning Ken was the one who had left the hospital to start his own practice. He had a personality that couldn't stand being managed, was very talkative, and quite cocky. Regardless of whether he knew He Lezhi well or not, he showed no mercy. For the entire two hours, he didn't let their side win a single game, all while constantly taunting them.

At first, He Lezhi felt that his poor skills were ruining the experience for others. But later, seeing how happy Ning Ken was while winning and taunting, he stopped feeling embarrassed and became thick-skinned about it.

"I'll treat later, it was all my fault we lost," He Lezhi said, breathing heavily.

"That's your business. In any case, we're getting our meal. Whoever wants to pay can pay," Ning Ken said, twirling his racket.

"What do you want to eat?" Han Fangchi asked.

Ning Ken said, "I've already picked the place. I'll send it to you later."

Han Fangchi said to He Lezhi, "Don't worry about it, I already owed him a meal from before."

"Hey, hey, you can't count them together. With today, that's two meals," Ning Ken swatted a dead shuttlecock and hit Han Fangchi on the shoulder. "Don't you dare cheat me out of a meal."

"He won't," He Lezhi said with a smile. "One thing at a time."

He Lezhi didn't manage to pay for the meal; Han Fangchi didn't give him the chance.

Han Fangchi seemed closer to these two friends than the two from the hike. They often played badminton together, were former colleagues, and talked about patient cases during the meal.

Ning Ken had opened his own dental hospital but wasn't very ambitious. He took his skills and left just for freedom and money. He'd push difficult cases directly to Han Fangchi and even tell people, "The clinics out here are no good. You should hurry up and get a proper appointment, don't delay your treatment. Go see Doctor Han at the Provincial Stomatological Hospital."

"I really have you to thank for that," Han Fangchi said, his face expressionless.

"Well, I really can't treat those cases. I don't have the skills," Ning Ken said with a laugh.

"Not just the Provincial Stomatological Hospital, it has to be Doctor Han at the Provincial Stomatological Hospital," Han Fangchi glanced at him. "They come and repeatedly emphasize that Director Ning sent them. Am I supposed to feel indebted to you?"

"Hahahaha, isn't it because they can't get an appointment with your professor? Getting an appointment with you is the same," Ning Ken laughed mischievously.

Shang Qi, sitting next to Ning Ken, said, "You have no qualms about making money out there, but you come here to save people money at Fangchi's expense."

Ning Ken lowered his head to chew on a lamb chop and said shamelessly, "If they've come to my place, it means they didn't plan on getting an appointment at a hospital to get their teeth fixed. If I don't make the money, someone else will. So I might as well be the one to make it. At least I can guarantee the materials and skills aren't a rip-off. Isn't that all honest money? Why should I have any qualms?"

"There's no reasoning with you." After going to the City Stomatological Hospital, Shang Qi had also been promoted to associate director. Two associate chief physicians from public hospitals, doing more work than others, yet their salaries were negligible compared to his.

"We're different. You guys have ideals. It's not the same thing, hehe," Ning Ken said.

He Lezhi listened to them talk as he ate, and after finishing his food, he sat there drinking soup.

Doctor Shang explained to him, "Fangchi's professor only sees patients two days a week. His appointments are expensive, and so are his surgeries. If you get an appointment with Fangchi and he can't solve the problem, he'll go to his professor. It's the same thing."

"My professor asked me if I'd started an online account, wondering why so many difficult cases were specifically coming to get appointments with me. He told me not to mess with that stuff, asking if I wanted to be an internet celebrity," Han Fangchi said to He Lezhi.

He Lezhi burst out laughing.

Han Fangchi's professor was a traditional and rigid man. Han Fangchi was handsome, and back when he was a student, his professor was afraid he would be flighty and unreliable, that he wouldn't take being a doctor seriously. The internet was absolutely off-limits.

"You should be thanking me. How else would you be so skilled at such a young age? It's all because I helped you practice on hard mode," Ning Ken said.

"Thank you so much," Han Fangchi said. "Last winter, work almost made me depressed."

"I remember," He Lezhi said, looking at Han Fangchi. "During that time, you wouldn't come out no matter who asked."

Han Fangchi hummed in agreement and said, "That was the time."

Shang Qi had the look of someone with experience in his eyes. He smiled and said, "Fangchi is still young, and soft-hearted."

Han Fangchi had already changed out of the quick-dry clothes he wore for sports. He was now wearing a loose T-shirt and shorts, sitting relaxedly with his arms resting on the edge of the table. He fiddled with a wet wipe packet in his hands, still facing He Lezhi as he spoke.

"Last year, whenever a patient came in and said Director Ning sent them, I didn't even want to ask what was wrong. I was afraid they wouldn't say it was about their teeth."

"Fangchi, think about it. I can handle most dental issues myself," Ning Ken said.

"If not for their teeth, then for what?" He Lezhi asked.

Han Fangchi said, "Ulcers, tumors, bleeding... as long as it wasn't for teeth, any case he sent over was a bad one."

He Lezhi blinked and asked softly, "Tumors?"

Han Fangchi said, "Oral cancer, gingival cancer, maxillofacial tumors... any difficult oral cases he encountered, he sent them all to me."

"Can't be helped. Who told you to be in maxillofacial surgery? The longer you work, the more you see." Before leaving the hospital, Ning Ken was in the implantology department. Although dentistry is finely specialized, he could basically handle anything except for difficult cases, and he used to see all kinds of patients.

Han Fangchi gave a self-deprecating smile and said frankly, "I didn't adjust well last year. My mental state collapsed."

Han Fangchi didn't usually talk about his personal affairs with people; he almost never brought them up. Therefore, He Lezhi had never heard him talk about work. Today, because his other two friends were also in the same profession, He Lezhi seemed to have inadvertently opened another door into Han Fangchi's life.

"It's normal." Both Shang Qi and Ning Ken were older than him, especially Ning Ken, who was already forty-five and had seen more. Shang Qi said, "As doctors, we always want to cure every single patient we can. But some, you can tell at a glance, came too late, and the prognosis is foreseeably poor. Your heart hasn't hardened yet. Everyone goes through this stage; you can only adjust on your own."

The thin wet wipe packet was folded back and forth between Han Fangchi's fingers. His shoulders weren't held straight; he was slouching slightly.

When he spoke, his chin was slightly turned towards He Lezhi. His voice was flat but carried a low undertone, "This person is sitting in front of you, able to walk and move, with no symptoms visible to the naked eye, perfectly healthy. But you know his life might already be on a countdown. That cauliflower-like mass in his mouth could be what takes his life."

Han Fangchi's eyes were downcast, his voice calm yet deep, "Much of the time, you're helpless. They drag it out until it's so late. Originally, a simple surgery would have been enough, but now, even with surgery, it would take a miracle... and there aren't that many miracles. But they lack the awareness, and there's nothing to be done about that."

Although Ning Ken was in private practice, he still viewed the state of the industry from a hospital's perspective. "And those are the ones coming from my place. Even in that state, they still go to outside clinics. To put it nicely, they're all dental hospitals; to put it bluntly, they're just clinics, and they're everywhere. Who knows how many of them are reliable."

Doctor Shang seemed to have a milder temperament. He said, "It's hard to see a doctor. Everyone has a fear of going to the hospital to get an appointment. A trip to the hospital is indeed a hassle. At least the outside clinics are convenient."

"Hard my ass. Specialist appointments are hard to get, but regular appointments aren't even fully booked. Is it hard at your City Stomatological Hospital? I see you guys have appointments available anytime. How many cases of gingival cancer are caused by shoddy dental work? It's all for the sake of temporary convenience and cheapness, and it's not even necessarily cheaper," Ning Ken said with a frown.

"Alright, alright, let's not talk about this. Fangchi just barely managed to adjust," Doctor Shang said with a laugh. "He'll go silent again in a bit. We need to take care of our young doctor."

"It's not that bad," Han Fangchi said with a small smile. "I'm over it."

He Lezhi looked at him. Han Fangchi had always been relatively mature among his peers. At an age when everyone loved to play and be noisy, he was more like a companion, and he still was. Today, in front of two older colleagues, he was the younger one, his mindset more tender.

Now he sat there silently with downcast eyes, his mood sinking a little from discussing a helpless topic. This was a slight deviation from the Han Fangchi that He Lezhi usually saw.

Yet, it wasn't inexplicably out of place; it corresponded with He Lezhi's perception of him.

He Lezhi raised his hand and patted Han Fangchi on the back.

Han Fangchi didn't turn around, only tilting his head slightly to glance at him.

He Lezhi patted his back up and down a couple of times, then withdrew his hand and said to Ning Ken, "Last time, it only took him six minutes to pull my tooth. I was wondering how he was so skilled. Turns out you were the one who trained him."

"An impacted tooth, right?" Ning Ken asked.

He Lezhi said yes.

Ning Ken wasn't from the same academic lineage as Han Fangchi, and he deliberately made his tone sour, "If it wasn't an impacted tooth, he wouldn't even need six minutes. His professor trained him well during his residency."

"Amazing," He Lezhi praised sincerely.

At this point, Han Fangchi chimed in from the side, "Can't compare to—"

"Shut up." He Lezhi immediately cut him off, saying with a laugh, "Don't mention Director Wang."

"Ah, Lezhi knows Director Wang too?" Ning Ken asked.

He Lezhi waved his hands, signaling him to stop asking.

Han Fangchi shot him a sideways glance and snorted with a laugh, "He knows him better than he knows me."

The two across from them were both surprised. "There's that connection too? Director Wang is from out of town, how does Lezhi know him?"

He Lezhi was stared at by three pairs of eyes, and for a moment, he could only regret the mistake he'd made back then.

"...Met him by getting an appointment," He Lezhi replied, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

To prevent Han Fangchi from bringing this up again next time, He Lezhi wanted to use a meal to shut him up.

On the way home, He Lezhi asked from inside the car, "Are you free tomorrow? Let's have another meal together. Once you've eaten my food, you can't mention Director Wang ever again, agree? Say you agree."