He cursed under his breath, glanced at the number, and his expression turned cold. He walked away and answered, speaking coldly: “What is it?”
From his tone, it was probably an ex-girlfriend calling. “Yes, I’m busy.”
Ye Zhengchen leaned against the wall, kicking the cement floor. When someone is fully focused, they unconsciously make small movements.
“Okay, next month, I’ll try to find time to come back,” he said.
He stopped and stood up straight. “What?!”
His face darkened, growing increasingly gloomy as he listened to the person on the phone.
“No! I don’t agree!”
He shouted angrily, “Don’t think just because you’re my father, you can decide everything about my life!”
I was stunned. It was his father.
He suddenly turned and smashed the phone against the wall, aggravating his wound, and cold sweat rolled down his forehead.
I had never seen him lose his temper like this.
I rushed to his side. “Was that your father? What happened?”
“Nothing!” He ran his hands through his hair, looking both furious and helpless.
“Whatever it is, we can discuss it slowly. Getting angry won’t solve anything!”
“I want to discuss it, but he never gives me a chance! He makes decisions about everything without asking if I want it! Now he even…” He took a deep breath and stopped short.
“He’s doing it for your own good! He won’t harm you.”
He remained silent. I sat down beside him, leaning against the wall.
“My father is the same, always making decisions for me without asking what I want.”
He sat closely next to me, listening.
I shared my experiences: I’ve hated hospitals since childhood, with their sounds of suffering and disinfectant smell. When applying for college, I wanted to study traditional Chinese painting, but my father forced me to apply to medical school, believing that art offers no job prospects while medicine has a future. I was so angry I didn’t speak to him for a month.
“Did you compromise?” he asked.
I nodded. “Looking back, he was right. He has more experience… Studying medicine isn’t bad; it offers a high income and respect. Those suffering sounds and bloody smells, I’ve gotten used to them.”
