The Enhanced Doctor-Chapter 518: The Boy Who Tilts His Head (Additional updates for "in the solitude of 671112" 7/8)
(Thank you to Wolf’s Sky W, firebat1980, Li Fubo for their monthly ticket encouragement)
Despite the coolness of the night, eating barbecue was quite enjoyable for them.
Anyway, Liu Banxia and Qiu Mingyuan were in charge of roasting, and everyone else was waiting in the house for the finished food. Despite it being a late-night snack, the barbecue was a substantial meal, and everyone had a blast eating and drinking.
"Get up quickly and help make breakfast."
Early the next morning, Qiaoqiao nudged Liu Banxia.
"Why don’t you get up? I’d like to sleep in too. I’ve been looking forward to lazing in bed with you," Liu Banxia said groggily.
"Oh my, staying in bed is too embarrassing. You go out first, then I’ll follow," Qiaoqiao said anxiously.
Although their cohabitation was tacitly permitted, they couldn’t be too blatant about it. It was already past eight; how embarrassing would it be if they stayed in bed any longer?
Liu Banxia was not about to get up, no matter how much Qiaoqiao nudged him. Let anyone say what they want; she’s my wife.
Qiaoqiao was quite distressed and pinched his nose. But she still couldn’t free herself from his arms, which held her tightly.
Fine, I’ll sleep a bit longer then, since it’s already like this. she thought. The saying goes, ’When lice become too many, you no longer itch; when debts accumulate, you no longer worry.’
They say that separation makes the heart grow fonder. Although they hadn’t gotten married yet, they were like an experienced couple fresh from a short separation.
Actually, everyone else was wishing they would just continue to laze in bed. After all, wasn’t it more important for them to hurry up and give everyone a baby?
They ended up lazing around until nearly eleven o’clock before finally getting up. Liu Banxia took on the duty of scouting ahead, and Qiaoqiao only managed to slip out a good ten minutes later.
Despite this, even Qiaoqiao, who usually had a strong presence, slipped out cautiously, like a new bride.
"You all haven’t had breakfast yet, so let’s eat lunch a bit earlier. This afternoon, you two can go out for a stroll. Qiaoqiao has been saying for ages that she hasn’t bought clothes," Liu Fengxia said with a smile.
"Auntie, why don’t you come with us? If you see any clothes you like, you can buy some too," Qiaoqiao suggested.
"Absolutely not, I won’t be able to bring any more back home. I already have so many; how many can I wear in a year? Our small town is not like the city. We still cook with wood fires at home," Liu Fengxia said with a laugh.
"Buy for me, buy for me," Liu Banxia said cheerfully.
"What’s the use of buying for you? You’re always wearing a white coat in the hospital. Tell me, what else can you wear?" Qiaoqiao shot him a look.
"That does make sense. Well, then I’ll buy for you. Today, we’ll use my money. I’ve saved up two months’ worth of wages. That should be enough for you to splurge," Liu Banxia said earnestly.
Qiaoqiao gave him a light punch on the shoulder. She knew full well that he was just teasing her.
"Hehe, I can smell the fish head and stewed fish. Thank you, Auntie Tong. I just mentioned it yesterday, and you remembered," Liu Banxia said.
"They’re fatheads that we brought over, and there are a few more in the freezer. They are easy to cook. If you want to eat them in the future, just send me a video, and I’ll show you how to cook," Lily responded with a laugh.
"Then we won’t stand on ceremony. After lunch, I’ll take Qiaoqiao and Xiaoyu out for a stroll. Otherwise, staying with you all isn’t much fun; you probably haven’t had a chance to really enjoy yourselves," Liu Banxia suggested.
"Just don’t buy too many sweets for him. He has quite a sweet tooth," Lily warned with a laugh.
"Alright, it’s almost time to heat the oil and pour it over the fish head, and then we can start our meal!" Qiao Xuezhi announced with joy.
What they ate wasn’t important anymore; what couldn’t they have if they wanted it? But the mood was different.
There weren’t many other dishes for lunch today. The Qiu family didn’t even come over to join in the fun; they wanted to let these two families have a quiet meal together.
"Banxia, would you like Maotai or Wuliangye?" Qiao Xuezhi asked once everyone was seated.
"I won’t drink today. In the afternoon, my duty is to be Qiaoqiao’s little servant, responsible for carrying her bags and driving," Liu Banxia said.
"You make it sound as if I always bully you. Here, have a piece of fish cheek," Qiaoqiao said, with apparent disdain, as she placed a tender piece of fish on his plate.
Liu Banxia didn’t hold back and immediately devoured it. He then served her a slice of steamed pork belly, more lean than fat, and even rolled it in the garlic sauce for her.
As for the elderly, seeing the young couple getting along so well made them happier than if they themselves were having a good time.
Moreover, Liu Banxia’s performance was commendable, not only because of his achievements in the emergency center. Since his return, he had always respected Lily and also didn’t forget to consider his future little brother-in-law.
This made Comrade Old Qiao even happier.
There were some things that Qiaoqiao found awkward to say. With Liu Banxia acting as a buffer in between, there were no problems at all.
A major problem that had troubled him for years was now easily resolved with Liu Banxia’s brilliant appearance. How could he not be happy?
Moreover, Liu Qingdong and Peng Xiuqin, his in-laws, were also honest, simple folks. They didn’t have so many airs and graces, nor did they excessively emphasize their own pride.
This made getting along more pleasant. He also didn’t have to be overly cautious, afraid that a careless word might make them overthink.
When there’s a disparity between families, this point is easily magnified. For his daughter’s future happiness, he had to pay attention to it.
This wasn’t about doing business; this was about genuinely living life.
Everyone at the meal had a great time. The more Comrade Old Qiao thought about it, the happier he became. He drank a bit too much, so it was unlikely he could join the afternoon card game.
「Later, in the car」
Xiaoyu became much more lively. "Brother-in-law, you must be very skilled at the hospital, right?" he asked.
"Hehe, that’s a must. Otherwise, your sister wouldn’t have taken a liking to me the moment she arrived at the hospital and looked for all sorts of ways to go to the hospital to see me," Liu Banxia said with a gleeful smile.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Look at how smug you are. I’ll max out your card today," Qiaoqiao shot him a look.
But then she couldn’t help but laugh too.
Her encounter with Liu Banxia was rather interesting. She hadn’t expected them to end up together so haphazardly. Now, it was hard to say who had ’tricked’ whom into this.
When they arrived at the mall, Qiaoqiao said she would max out Liu Banxia’s card, but how could that be possible? Liu Banxia was, after all, the doctor who performed the most surgeries in the emergency center, and Qiaoqiao wasn’t that much of a spendthrift.
They had plenty of clothes, bags, and shoes at home; coming out was just to enjoy the fun of Liu Banxia accompanying her to the mall. The main shopper of the day turned out to be Xiaoyu. After all, he was her younger brother, sharing Old Qiao’s bloodline.
"Do you want to buy more clothes?"
After a bit of shopping, Qiaoqiao asked Liu Banxia, who was holding many shopping bags.
"It’s better to buy for you. You can wear them and let me see. I buy them and have no chance to wear them; it’s always the white coat," Liu Banxia said with a bitter smile.
"That’s true. Then I’ll look at some bags. It seems there’s not much left to buy," Qiaoqiao nodded; she was quite agreeable.
When they reached the floor selling bags and luggage, Qiaoqiao told Liu Banxia and Qiao Yu to rest on the side and be ready for her call.
"Xiaoyu, are you tired from studying?" Liu Banxia asked.
Xiaoyu nodded. "So tired. If I wasn’t here for the New Year, I don’t know how many cram school courses I’d have to attend."
"Hang in there! You’re in your first year of middle school now. Endure it for five more years, and once you get into university, it’ll be fine," Liu Banxia comforted him.
"Brother-in-law, why are you tricking me? Who said it’s easy after university? Don’t we still have to study for postgraduate exams? I don’t know when I’ll ever finish studying," Xiaoyu said with a bitter face.
"Haha, kids these days are so hard to fool, huh? Back then, my sole goal was to get into university," Liu Banxia laughed.
"Ugh... My mom is even stricter than my dad. Look at my phone," Xiaoyu said, taking out his phone.
This made Liu Banxia sympathize with him even more.
The phone was indeed a new model, but apart from communication apps, there was nothing else. Games, live streams, nothing of the sort.
"I sometimes don’t even know how to play with my classmates. I can’t join in on what they talk about," Xiaoyu said.
"This needs to be looked at in context. As for playing games, it depends on whether you can manage your time well," Liu Banxia said after thinking for a moment.
"That’s one thing. Also, for you who are still growing, spending too much time on the phone can impact skeletal growth and overall health."
"Brother-in-law isn’t saying this just to persuade you to study hard. Working in the hospital, I’ve seen far too many young patients."
"You’re still alright. Your eyes aren’t short-sighted yet. When you study, be sure to pay attention to the time. You don’t necessarily have to do eye exercises or anything like that; occasionally look into the distance to relax your eyes."
"Take a look at that child over there. That looks like a family of three. He’s walking while playing on his phone... He... not only will it be very dangerous, but he could also easily develop strange postures." 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚
After saying this, Liu Banxia frowned. He just wanted to give Xiaoyu an example, but the boy who had just walked past, not far away, had a neck that seemed to be tilted abnormally.
When some people play games, they might hold their phones and sway back and forth, or some might sway their bodies to adjust their line of sight. Initially, he thought it was something like that, but that child kept his head tilted to the right.
DING! Task Released: The Boy with the Tilted Head
Open-ended Task: The Host has observed a youth tilting his head while playing on a mobile phone and is unable to determine whether it is a congenital deformity or an acquired illness. Further diagnosis is required. Task reward will be issued based on the diagnostic results.
Looking at this task, Liu Banxia felt a bit troubled.
If he went up and asked them, "What’s wrong with your child’s neck?" he might really end up in a proper showdown during the New Year.
But he really didn’t want to give up on this task.
Because this task would most likely grant Honor Points, and his heart was also somewhat curious whether the child’s tilted head was indeed due to an illness.
Usually, if a child is born with a skeletal deformity, the parents will take them for correction. The couple walking ahead were talking and laughing, seemingly not taking it seriously at all.
After pondering for a moment, he turned to Qiao Yu.
Instinctively, Qiao Yu felt something was up. What on earth is this brother-in-law planning to do?
