PDGUT - 31

Yu Tian originally planned to complete the ophthalmology medical science popularization feature in one go, but unexpectedly, things kept piling up.

Her mother and Old Dai were getting along better and better, quickly entering a honeymoon period with signs of heading towards marriage. They introduced each other to their relatives and friends. As a result, Yu Tian was invited to accompany her mother to several wedding banquets and full moon celebrations hosted by Old Dai’s relatives. Her free time was filled with these social events.

On the other hand, just today, her university counselor reached out to Yu Tian, inviting her to participate in Rong Medical University’s newly organized fun charity auction event—

“Simply put, it’s a school activity. You know that our alumni resources and networks at Rong Medical University have always been strong, and we regularly hold gatherings. So, we thought about innovating the format of these regular meetings into a fun charity auction. Besides the alumni who graduated in previous years, all current students can also participate.”

“Our charity auction isn’t about selling expensive antiques, calligraphy, or heirlooms. Instead, it has an entertaining aspect. For instance, you could auction off your class notes from a particular course during your school days, key review points before exams given by a professor, or even your second-hand books...”

The counselor was very enthusiastic about this event, speaking with great passion: “All proceeds from the auction will be donated to various major hospitals in Rong City to help cover surgery costs for some impoverished patients...”

Yu Tian wanted to participate, but...

“This is quite meaningful, but I already gave away all my notes and second-hand books to juniors when I graduated. I don’t have anything now that I can use for a charity auction.”

“Yu Tian, broaden your thinking! Besides physical items, intangible assets work too!”

Yu Tian felt a bit lost as she listened to her counselor continue—

“Opportunities to dine with successful alumni or to have them provide career guidance to current students can be auctioned. Isn’t the time of you older graduates the most valuable intangible asset? Why can’t it be auctioned? Our current freshmen are very interested in this.”

The counselor was always a decisive person and immediately asked, “Just give me a straightforward answer: are you coming or not?”

With such direct words, Yu Tian naturally didn’t hesitate: “I’m coming!”

Who cares? It’s always good to contribute. Even if it doesn’t fetch a high price, participation itself is important.

The fun charity auction would take place on Saturday evening, so she couldn’t do anything else that night.

As for what exactly to auction, Yu Tian didn’t dwell on it. In short, she decided to auction off a small portion of her time. She informed the counselor that she had one hour available after the charity event and provided a personal photo as required by the counselor. Then, feeling lazy, she left the decision on what to auction entirely to the counselor.

Yu Tian was busy, and Yan Ming was no exception.

“I say, Yan Ming, what’s going on with you recently? In the past, although you added extra appointments for patients, you still took normal lunch breaks. At most, you only worked overtime after the clinic to see those extra patients. But why are you now using your lunch break to see these additional patients?”

In response to Jiang Yuming’s question, Yan Ming simply raised his eyelids: “Aren’t you busier than me?”

Hearing this, Jiang Yuming immediately laughed heartily: “Well, I’m helping Ren Yali film educational videos!”

Yu Tian was right; handling five episodes of the educational series indeed spawned many other tasks, especially for Jiang Yuming, to the point that Yan Ming couldn’t even schedule a meal with him recently. He always claimed he had plans with Ren Yali to coordinate orthopedic educational content.

Yan Ming didn’t know how far along they were in their program, but he did know that they had watched all the movies currently showing in theaters and almost every well-known restaurant near the hospital had seen both of them “check-in.”

Compared to these two, Yu Tian wasn’t as proactive.

Since their last meeting, she hadn’t initiated any contact with Yan Ming.

And she said she wanted to film educational videos for the public—what kind of work ethic was this?

She’s such a three-minute enthusiast, Yan Ming felt almost deceived.

And Jiang Yuming continued to add fuel to the fire. He teased Yan Ming with a mischievous smile: “Are you trying to ask someone out for dinner every evening but failing? Otherwise, why are you working through your lunch break every day, as if deliberately leaving your evenings free?”

Yan Ming calmly and indifferently dismissed Jiang Yuming’s baseless speculation: “That’s not the case.”

“But since you’re pretty free in the evenings now, are you going to the school-organized charity auction?”

This time, Yan Ming didn’t even raise his head: “No.”

Jiang Yuming didn’t waste time persuading Yan Ming because Ren Yali sent another message inviting him to visit a store that night. He threw down the detailed list of auction items he had just received and said, “Yali has something planned for me on the night of the auction, so I can’t make it. If you’re interested, you can go instead, spend some money, and show some love.”

He pointed to the printed details of the auction on the table: “This is insider information. I’ve been working hard in the alumni association to get this first-hand news. It’s said that the school, to expand its influence and scale, invited many single beautiful alumnae. Many of our single senior students are getting excited.”

After saying this, Jiang Yuming quickly left with a big smile.

Yan Ming ignored his words, but the “insider information” on the table caught his attention.

With just a quick glance, Yan Ming furrowed his brow and picked up the detailed list of auction items.

When he opened it, he realized he hadn’t been mistaken.

Indeed, Yu Tian’s photo was printed on it.

This document was printed in black and white, with not very high resolution, but it still didn’t detract from Yu Tian’s vivid beauty. The photo chosen was one of her casual pictures; in it, she was smiling brightly. Even with such poor print quality, her eyes still appeared sparkling.

Below her photo were her name, year of enrollment, and the content of the auction, written in the first-person perspective—

“The successful bidder can take me for a drive after the charity event. Thank you in advance for your kindness, sending love.”

Unconsciously, Yan Ming tightened his grip, leaving crease marks on this “insider information.”

No wonder she hadn’t found time to contact him about filming the special video; she had been busy.

Yan Ming felt that he had indeed been too idle recently at night. He flipped through Jiang Yuming’s materials and decided to make himself busier, more meaningfully so. After all, showing love by auctioning off amounts entirely donated to impoverished patients was quite meaningful.

The charity auction was held in the grand hall of Rong Medical University. Yu Tian arrived early in the afternoon and helped the counselor and junior students prepare.

After finishing her tasks, she wanted to rest in the dressing room backstage of the auditorium.

The dressing room window overlooked a small balcony of the auditorium. If Yu Tian remembered correctly, there used to be a small café there, always with several tables. At this moment, probably a few alumni were there drinking coffee and chatting. The dressing room window was slightly ajar, so she could clearly hear what they were talking about.

A group of men, mostly working in the medical field, were chatting about their recent work and complaining about strange hospital regulations. Yu Tian wasn’t paying attention until a female voice interrupted—

“Senior Chen Ming, it’s been a long time since we last contacted each other. I heard you are at the research institute. I might go there next year. Can we add WeChat for future communication?”

The girl’s voice was stuttering, obviously very nervous.

Yu Tian had heard of this senior, Chen Ming, a once-prominent figure two years ahead of her. He was good-looking and part of the basketball team, and many girls chased after him.

From the nervous tone of the girl’s voice, it was evident she had a crush on Chen Ming. Thus, taking advantage of this charity auction meeting, she mustered the courage to ask for his contact information.

She had clearly gathered all her bravery.

After a brief silence, Chen Ming’s voice came with a smile: “Sure, scan my QR code.”

They added each other on WeChat and exchanged some polite words. The girl probably had something to do, so she left quickly.

Yu Tian leaned back on the recliner in the dressing room, gazing at the small patch of blue sky visible through the slightly-open window. She suddenly felt nostalgic for campus life, as if time had always been the verdant memory she cherished.

For some reason, she suddenly thought of Yan Ming. She hadn’t contacted him these days because she’d been busy, and he hadn’t reached out to her either.

Previously, she had actively and enthusiastically taken care of him by bringing him an umbrella and meals, treating him like a brother. But once her mother and his father’s middle-aged matchmaking failed, he retreated with such decisiveness and calmness.

Yu Tian felt a bit angry, though she didn’t know why. Suddenly thinking that Yan Ming during school might have attracted even more admirers than Chen Ming made her feel even angrier.

Why should that be?

It’s just based on his looks.

Humans are really so shallow.

But her random thoughts were soon interrupted by the conversation on the small balcony below the window.

“Chen Ming, how come you attract people so much? You haven’t been at the research institute for long, and already three women have confessed to you there. Coming to the alumni association for events still attracts confessions. You sure have a way.”

After the girl who asked for contact information left, several guys couldn’t help but tease and joke: “I see this junior is pretty cute. Didn’t you say you just wanted someone cute? Why not keep her?”

“She is cute, but didn’t you see? Her little finger on her left hand is missing a segment.”

Chen Ming’s voice lost its previous gentlemanly politeness and took on a condescending pity: “Pretty pitiful.” He sighed as if truly empathetic, “But I definitely won’t choose her. My family wouldn’t accept someone with a disability, especially a hand disability. It not only affects daily life, but it’s also obvious at a glance, and taking her out would be embarrassing...”

The group laughed and joked, not genuinely caring about the nervous girl who had asked for contact information earlier. Though they spoke of sympathy and pity, their tone lacked true emotion and respect.

Yu Tian raised her injured hand, feeling stifled inside.

Only when she herself got injured did she realize the difficulties of disabled people in society. It doesn’t require severe disabilities—just mild physical inconvenience can lead to being treated “specially” in many places.

Most people are good at pretending. For instance, Chen Ming appeared polite on the surface, but deep down, he looked down on those with mild disabilities or physical inconveniences.

Being secretly evaluated like this by someone you like or value—if that girl knew, how hurt she would be.

Yu Tian knew she shouldn’t let her thoughts wander, but she couldn’t help it.

Her injured hand had made her sensitive and insecure. She couldn’t stop thinking whether Yan Ming viewed her the same way behind her back—finding her pitiful but not genuinely sympathizing with her.

However, just as Yu Tian was feeling troubled, she heard a cold and stern male voice—

“If you can’t respect women with mild disabilities from the bottom of your heart, I suggest you clearly communicate that to them instead of hypocritically enjoying their admiration.”

Yu Tian was startled.

That was Yan Ming’s voice.

Yu Tian didn’t know why, but her heart raced, becoming both elated and chaotic. She crawled to the door and peered down through the window.

It really was Yan Ming.

He was sitting at a table not far from Chen Ming’s group, with coffee and a medical journal in front of him. Yu Tian couldn’t see his face; from her angle, she could only see the back of his head with dense hair.

Clearly, the conversation among Chen Ming’s group had nothing to do with him.

Yet Yan Ming’s tone was firm, his voice calm: “Gossiping behind people’s backs is very distasteful.”

Yan Ming usually kept a low profile. Although he might not be older than Chen Ming, he graduated much earlier and disliked attending alumni activities. Most people only knew him by reputation without ever seeing him.

Chen Ming naturally didn’t recognize who he was and assumed he was a younger alumnus. His tone wasn’t particularly polite: “Everyone can talk about morals from a high ground. But when it comes to yourself, would you date someone with a hand disability? Wouldn’t you also reject them just like me? Stop pretending.”

Yu Tian’s heartbeat quickened, and she became conflicted and entangled.

For some reason, she secretly hoped for Yan Ming’s response but seemed afraid and resistant to hearing it.

Then she heard Yan Ming’s voice—

“I don’t reject it.” His voice was faint. “If the person I like happens to be imperfect.”

Chen Ming chuckled lightly: “But you would never truly like a disabled person.” With scrutinizing eyes, he sized up Yan Ming: “You’re younger than me, right? Junior, frankly speaking, with your appearance, you have plenty of choices for partners, no need to consider disabled people.”

“When you’ve worked a couple more years, bought a house with a mortgage, married, and had children needing care, and when you need someone agile to prepare meals, then you’ll realize that if your partner has a disability, it’s really a burden. After all, due to their disability, it’s hard for them to find decent jobs with good pay, and they may not be able to handle household chores well.”

“No.”

Facing Chen Ming’s patronizing “advice,” Yan Ming remained calm. He slightly lifted his head, allowing Yu Tian to see his expression—it carried certainty and coolness but none of the condescension and contempt Chen Ming displayed towards others.

Yan Ming was very serene, a calmness stemming from his upbringing and confidence.

“Childcare and household chores should be shared equally by both men and women. If being your wife means bearing all the childcare and household duties alone, and even having to earn money to subsidize the mortgage, what role do you play in this marriage and family? Don’t you think you resemble more of a disabled person who depends on others to live, draining their labor to support yourself?”

At this point, Yan Ming smiled and corrected himself: “Perhaps describing someone as disabled is disrespectful to the disabled. Using ‘crippled’ or ‘good-for-nothing’ might be more appropriate.”