If he had known this toothache would be so aggressive, He Lezhi would have definitely gotten it pulled out sooner.

It had been aching faintly for a few days, but He Lezhi ignored it. Half a month later, it suddenly started hurting one morning without any warning. The wisdom tooth inflammation got so bad that half his face swelled up. He couldn't eat and had to get an IV drip every day.

Forced to have a liquid diet for a week, He Lezhi looked even thinner.

His colleagues urged him to get it pulled quickly, but He Lezhi, clutching his face, said he had to wait for the swelling to go down first.

Even speaking was difficult for him. He couldn't move his gums in the slightest; every movement was painful.

Every morning it was milk, and for lunch and dinner, he drank porridge through a thick straw. Previously, one of his projects required someone to be on-site because some details were unclear. The drawings were done by He Lezhi, and the client called him many times a day. He Lezhi couldn't open his mouth to speak clearly, so he decided to just make a trip to the site.

His boss couldn't even bear to watch him go on a business trip in this condition.

“I'll go, you shouldn't,” his boss said.

He Lezhi mumbled, “You shouldn't. They have some trouble understanding things. You'll just get angry if you go. It's better if I go.”

“Can you manage?” his boss asked, looking at him with pity.

He Lezhi couldn't manage a smile, so he made an ‘OK’ sign with his hand and said, “No problem.”

“Then you go. I've been allergic to people who don't understand things lately. I get heart palpitations whenever I encounter them,” his boss said.

He Lezhi managed a difficult smile and said, “Okay.”

A photovoltaic project in Inner Mongolia. He Lezhi took the high-speed rail. In his suitcase were two boxes of anti-inflammatory medicine. He couldn't get IV drips anymore, but he couldn't stop the medication.

The client warmly welcomed him and gave him a lot of beef jerky. He Lezhi pointed to his face and said, “I can't chew.”

“It's okay, take it back for your family to eat,” the other person said.

He Lezhi thanked them and accepted it, thinking he didn't really have any family who would eat it. He Qi never ate things that required forceful chewing, afraid of developing her masseter muscles. Zhou Muyao used to love it, but that person was no longer in his home now.

He Lezhi was gone for over a week. When he returned, the swelling in his tooth had gone down.

He shared the beef jerky with his colleagues and immediately booked an appointment online at the Dental Hospital for the next afternoon, preparing to have the tooth pulled.

He had to get this tooth, which he had put off for a long time, pulled. Actually, he had a wisdom tooth pulled when he was in school, and the experience was too terrible to recall, otherwise he wouldn't have procrastinated for so long this time. However, the recent toothache was truly frightening, and he didn't want to keep it for another day.

The Dental Hospital wasn't far from him. The next day, He Lezhi didn't drive; parking at the hospital was difficult, so he took the subway.

His appointment was for one in the afternoon, but he arrived a little after eleven.

The dental departments were highly specialized, and he didn't know which one was for tooth extractions. Looking at the doctors' introductions, it seemed they all covered it. He Lezhi hesitated while looking at a few photos on the hospital's mini-program and finally booked an appointment with a director from the Department of Cariology and Endodontics.

The doctor he booked was on a lunch break. The guide nurse told him he could wait in Director Wang's waiting area, where the sofas were more comfortable and there was air conditioning.

He Lezhi smiled, thanked her, and went to Director Wang's clinic area.

A few people were sitting in the waiting area, all waiting for their afternoon appointments.

He Lezhi chose a single sofa and sat down, his heart still a little uneasy. The last wisdom tooth took a long time to pull. He could feel the nerve pain throughout the process, and by the time it was out, He Lezhi's head was covered in sweat.

A message came on his phone. He Lezhi opened it and saw it was from Zhou Muyao.

——Lezhi, are you back? I've packed your clothes, I'll bring them over to you.

He Lezhi replied to him: I'm back, I'll go get them another day.

He Lezhi hadn't deleted Zhou Muyao's WeChat, but he had blocked his number because Zhou Muyao used to call him many times a day in the beginning. He had also muted his WeChat notifications at that time. Recently, because Zhou Muyao had restrained himself a lot, he had unmuted him.

After all, they had been together for many years, and some things couldn't be cut off cleanly all at once. Occasionally, they had to communicate, like asking for the password to a certain account, or when people who didn't know they had broken up asked them to pass on messages to each other.

At times like these, it was easier to just help pass on the message than to specifically emphasize that they had broken up.

There were people in Director Wang's office. Peeking through the not-fully-closed Venetian blinds, he could see two or three other doctors in white coats.

They seemed to be chatting about something and were having a good time; laughter could be heard from time to time.

Their laughter made He Lezhi feel a sudden sense of sorrow. The patients in the waiting area all looked anxious. Getting dental work done was such a terrifying thing. Everyone waiting had their nerves stretched taut, their expressions tense, while the doctors inside were chatting and laughing cheerfully. The joys and sorrows of doctors and patients were not shared.

He Lezhi touched the side of his face. Thinking about what he was about to go through, his palms felt cold.

At twelve-thirty, a few doctors finished their chat and came out of Director Wang's office. It looked like they were heading back to their respective clinics to rest a bit before calling numbers in the afternoon.

He Lezhi closed his eyes and leaned back on the sofa, mentally preparing himself.

A voice suddenly rang out, with a hint of surprise: “Lezhi?”

Startled by the familiar voice, He Lezhi opened his eyes, which then widened. “Fangchi?”

“What are you doing here?” Han Fangchi asked him.

He Lezhi didn't know whether to laugh or cry and could only answer, “I'm getting a tooth pulled.”

“You...” Han Fangchi slowly raised an eyebrow, looking at him. “He Lezhi.”

The other two doctors with him turned to look, and the few patients in the waiting area also looked up at them. The handsome doctor was standing in someone else's waiting area, seemingly looking at someone else's patient with dissatisfaction.

The scene was rather awkward. He Lezhi put his hands together and smiled, a gesture of begging for mercy.

Han Fangchi tilted his head, his eyebrow still raised. “Still sitting?”

“Coming, coming.” He Lezhi picked up his phone, immediately stood up, and followed him.

Director Wang heard the noise, poked his head out of his office, and asked provocatively, “What's the meaning of this, Director Han?”

Han Fangchi didn't even turn his head. “Canceling one of your appointments.”

Director Wang also looked quite young. He asked with a smile, “On what grounds?”

Han Fangchi said again, “None of your business.”

He Lezhi walked with Han Fangchi. The other two doctors were walking ahead. They turned back and asked, “You know him?”

Han Fangchi said, “My friend.”

After speaking, he glanced at He Lezhi and added, “Or maybe it's just one-sided.”

He Lezhi quickly said with a smile, “We're friends, we're friends.”

The two doctors went upstairs first. Han Fangchi took He Lezhi to the registration desk.

“Director Han.” The girl at the registration desk greeted him first.

Han Fangchi took the patient card from He Lezhi's hand, handed it over, and said, “Cancel his appointment and book him under me.”

“Okay.”

He Lezhi stood obediently behind him, not daring to make a peep. Afterwards, he just obediently followed along.

Han Fangchi was now an associate chief physician at the Dental Hospital. He Lezhi hadn't told him in advance that he was coming. He had seen his photo when booking the appointment but hadn't booked with him. This was purely because He Lezhi currently didn't want to bring up the topic of Zhou Muyao with anyone, finding it too troublesome. However, now that he'd been caught red-handed, there was nothing to say. The awkwardness had already occurred and was inescapable, so he could only obediently follow the arrangements.

“I was wrong, Director Han.” Upon entering Han Fangchi's office, He Lezhi began to apologize sincerely with a smile. “I was going to book an appointment with you, but then I had a brain fart...”

Han Fangchi bent over to use the mouse and ordered a dental CT scan.

“Well done,” Han Fangchi said.

He Lezhi followed Han Fangchi to pay the fee. Amused by Han Fangchi's sarcastic tone, he couldn't help but laugh and had to say again, “I was wrong.”

Han Fangchi personally took him to get the CT scan and returned to the office with his dental images. Han Fangchi was in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, and his photo on the light box by the door was quite handsome.

There were also a few patients in his waiting area. It wasn't time for appointments yet, so Han Fangchi said to them, “Please wait a moment.”

He took He Lezhi directly into the operating room inside and gestured for him, “Go lie down.”

Working hours hadn't started yet, so Han Fangchi was the only doctor in the operating room. He Lezhi lay down and watched Han Fangchi make pre-op preparations, and he started to feel nervous.

At this moment, Han Fangchi was no longer a friend, but a terrifying doctor holding a needle.

“Don't be nervous.” Before administering the anesthetic, Han Fangchi adjusted He Lezhi's position and said, “Relax.”

He Lezhi's mouth was open, so he couldn't speak. He blinked his eyes at Han Fangchi instead.

After injecting the anesthetic, Han Fangchi said to him, “Wait a bit.”

He Lezhi: “Mm.”

The pain from the anesthetic wasn't that bad. He Lezhi felt as if he had already entered the battlefield, so he wasn't as nervous anymore.

An intern poked their head in and asked, “Do you need me?”

Han Fangchi said, “Not for this one.”

“Okay, then I'll go downstairs to get a package,” the assistant said.

Han Fangchi: “Go ahead.”

The air conditioner was on in the operating room, but it was still a bit hot. He Lezhi was sweating a little.