"Hey, the results for 'China's Best Singer' are out!" Tian Tian was scrolling through official updates on her phone, tutting. "The reigning diva is still the diva; taking first place is well-deserved indeed!"
"Huh?" She continued scrolling. "Mei Mengran is actually ranked second?!"
She couldn't help but sigh in admiration. "Putting other factors aside, Mei Mengran's face alone earns her so many extra points. This really is an era of judging by appearances!"
Hearing her assistant muttering softly beside her, Mei Ran paused in reviewing her records. For once, she was distracted enough to wonder: what had Mei Mengran looked like at sixteen or seventeen?
Hmm... pretty rough.
Dark, thin, high cheekbones, thick lips—when she smiled, her eyes weren't really eyes, and her nose wasn't really a nose. It was practically worlds apart from how she looked now.
The change had to be traced back to when Mei Mengran was still Shen Mengran.
Back then, at sixteen, she had drifted her way from her hometown to the Mei family, completely out of place among all the unfamiliar surroundings. Her schoolwork was severely lagging, so her adoptive father, Mei Qingyuan, sent her abroad for some "gold plating." Three years later, she debuted as a trainee, quickly gaining popularity with her innocent looks and sweet voice. Another three years passed, and she returned to the country, all glittering with success.
"Whoa!" A sudden gasp from Tian Tian interrupted Mei Ran's reverie. Before Mei Ran could ask, her young assistant had already bounced over, visibly excited.
"Senior Sister, Senior Sister! Do you remember me saying yesterday that Fu Shijin's name sounded a bit familiar? Oh my god! Such a big shot... I've been utterly blind!"
Seeing Mei Ran's lack of reaction, she clutched her chest, nearly hopping up and down. "He's that famous antique collector! It was even in the news before—he donated a white jade imperial seal to the A City Museum..."
As it seemed she still hadn't sparked a strong enough response, Tian Tian dropped the bomb directly. "Senior Sister, do you know how much that white jade imperial seal sold for at auction?"
Mei Ran played along and shook her head.
The assistant theatrically stretched out nine fingers. "Over a hundred million! All real cash and silver, donated without even blinking an eye," she sighed repeatedly. "I, toiling away diligently, probably won't even earn a fraction of that in my whole life..."
"But just thinking I can see him in person makes me so happy I might faint!"
Mei Ran had been lost in thought, but hearing this, she couldn't help but chuckle and gently patted her arm. "Easy now. He's not coming for his follow-up appointment until next Monday."
After the teasing, she took the medical interns for the morning's routine ward rounds.
Things went smoothly at first. When checking on an elderly lady, Mei Ran noticed something was off. After asking some questions, the old woman hemmed and hawed, unable to give a proper explanation even after a long while.
A nearby nurse explained softly, "Yesterday... one dose of IV medication wasn't used."
"Preposterous!" Mei Ran's face instantly turned cold. "What exactly happened?"
The interns exchanged looks. The nurse whispered again, "The patient herself strongly insisted on not using it... said she had some financial difficulties..."
The medicine was imported from Germany. Its efficacy was excellent, but the price was steep—a single dose cost nearly a few thousand yuan. Ordinary people basically couldn't afford it.
Mei Ran fell silent.
The nurse then quietly told her about the old woman's situation: husband deceased long ago, she survived on a meager cleaner's wage. In old age, plagued by a multitude of illnesses—it was truly a bleak twilight.
Among the vast population, there existed distinctions of status and fortune; not everyone was equal.
This time, she genuinely hadn't considered everything thoroughly... but... this medication was essential.
"Use the medication as prescribed. I'll cover the medical expenses."
The nurse nodded in acknowledgment, then seemed hesitant. "Doctor Mei, this elderly lady probably also needs a hired caregiver."
Mei Ran was puzzled. "Doesn't she have a granddaughter?"
The nurse sighed. "A sickbed breeds no filial sons over time. And this isn't even a biological granddaughter."
Hearing this, the old lady's eyes were already brimming with hot tears. The nurse felt even more troubled and looked away, lowering her voice. "She has no children of her own. That so-called granddaughter was picked up from a dumpster. The old lady struggled to raise her, never expecting to have reared an ungrateful viper who refuses to bond... She doesn't care how ill the person is. Every time she visits, she demands money. If she doesn't get it, she curses and scolds, even goes so far as wishing death... and gets physical. See that patch of bruises on the old lady's hand? She pinched it."
Mei Ran listened, silent for a long time.
Only after a long while did she say, "Then hire a caregiver." She then gently comforted the old woman, "Grandma, just focus on recuperating. Don't worry about anything else."
Grateful, the old woman grasped her hand, tears streaming down, choked up and barely able to speak. "Good person... may you... have peace... all your life!"
Not long after Mei Ran went on her rounds, a young girl arrived at the Traditional Chinese Medicine department. She carried a backpack and was looking around curiously.
Hearing the movement, Tian Tian poked her head out from behind the medicine cabinet. "Hello, do you have an appointment?"
"No," the girl shook her head. "I'm here looking for someone. Is Doctor Mei Zai here?"
Tian Tan was utterly confused. "Not... there's Doctor Mei Zai... here?" What does that even mean? First thing in the morning, are you sure you're not just joking?
"The one with long black hair," the young girl gave a simple description, "oval face, big beautiful eyes, looks very much like a classical beauty! That Doctor Mei!"
Tian Tian quickly caught on. "Oh, you mean Doctor Mei Ran, right?"
"Ah?" The girl flushed red with embarrassment. "Oh, it's 'Ran' not 'Zai'? Sorry, I was in too much of a hurry earlier and misread it." She had previously found it strange that someone would have such an unusual name.
Tian Tian poured a glass of water and placed it on the table. "What is your business with her?"
"Well, I'm a student from A University's Academy of Fine Arts. We recently have a sketching assignment with a theme of classical beauties. I heard from classmates that there's a doctor at the People's Hospital's TCM department who fits the requirements perfectly, so I wanted to invite her to be my model."
"Doctor Mei is on ward rounds. You might have to wait a while."
Half an hour later, Mei Ran returned with the interns. The girl explained her purpose once more, and truly finding it hard to refuse such earnestness, Mei Ran privately arranged a time with her, and the girl left.
It was an hour with no scheduled patients. In her office, Mei Ran flipped through the ward round records the interns had compiled, meticulously annotating them with a pen in the margins.
Suddenly, her phone lit up, a series of WeChat messages flashing on the screen.
Yu Sheng: OMG, I'm dying of laughter!
Yu Sheng: We were recording 'China's Best Singer' this morning. No idea what your cousin got up to last night, but two little horns appeared on her forehead, symmetrically, one on each side, like a baby reindeer!
Yu Sheng: They stick out way too obviously; not even thick makeup could hide them! The cameramen hardly dared to give her close-ups. When the lens zoomed in... that image was too stunning for me to watch!
The reigning diva was noble and aloof in public, but a completely different person privately—Mei Ran was long used to it. She put her phone away and had just remembered she wanted to drink some water when her assistant led someone in.
The person was wearing a baseball cap, mask, and sunglasses, but Mei Ran recognized her at first glance anyway.
Clearly, Tian Tian also knew who it was, excitedly mouthing silently, "Mei, Mei Mengran!"
Mei Ran's tone was somewhat flat. "What business brings you to see me?"
Mei Mengran took off her mask and sunglasses. "Mei Ran, my throat hurts a bit. Get me some medicine."
Upon hearing this, Mei Ran's gaze lightly fell on the baseball cap pulled low over her eyes. "In that case, you should have registered for otolaryngology."
Mei Mengran casually sat down in a chair, sweeping a glance around. "Aren't you proficient in both traditional and Western medicine? Just prescribe me something, anything is fine."
Beside them, the little assistant stared dumbfounded. These two... know each other?! What is their relationship? And also... can I get an autograph later?
Seeing her indifferent attitude, Mei Ran was crystal clear in her heart: this likely wasn't a genuine visit to see the doctor, but rather to show off.
Yes, wasn't this exactly what Mei Mengran had always loved doing most?
Judging by this stance, if things didn't go her way, she'd probably be pestering endlessly. Weighing her options, Mei Ran made a decision.
After an examination, she did find that Mei Mengran's throat had mild burns. She asked, "How has your diet been recently? Did you eat anything irritating?"
Mei Mengran answered in a low voice, "Ate vinegar." Her voice grew softer and softer. "A lot... a lot of vinegar."
Mei Ran froze, as if unable to believe it.
"Gah! Don't ask anymore!" Mei Mengran sounded impatient. "Prescribe me some medicine! Price is no object; what matters most is that the efficacy must be good!" Right now, even swallowing saliva hurt a bit, and she still had to record programs in a few days.
In the end, Mei Ran prescribed several types of mild traditional Chinese herbs, instructing her to keep her diet bland and eat more soft, liquidy foods. Mei Mengran agreed absentmindedly; it was unclear whether she'd heard any of it.
After seeing Mei Mengran off, Mei Ran received a call from a scheduled patient, who informed her of an emergency matter that kept him from coming. They rescheduled for another time.
After hanging up, she glanced at her phone and noticed a few new WeChat messages. She opened them one by one.
Yu Sheng: Oh, by the way, I'll tell you something else funny!
Yu Sheng: A few days ago during the program recording, Mei Mengran approached me privately, asking if I had any way to make her voice have more texture. Since she asked so sincerely, of course I had to pull out my own secret recipe!
Yu Sheng: So, I told her drinking vinegar was good for the throat.
Yu Sheng: Never expected she'd actually go drink it! My god! Heard she even injured her throat, so naturally her ranking in the second program recording was at the bottom. Her manager must have been furious... Heaven knows I just said it offhand!
With that, the whole chain of events made sense.
Mei Ran thought it over and still sent a reply: "Sheng Sheng, I know you dislike her because of me. Jokes are fine, but don't go overboard."
A pouting emoji came back promptly.
***
The weekend passed in the blink of an eye.
Early Monday morning, Tian Tian walked in with dark circles under her eyes, her eyes also red and swollen. Mei Ran hurriedly asked, "What happened to you?"
The assistant started whimpering, sniffling for a while before her emotions stabilized.
Turns out, yesterday she'd gone to attend MR's memorial gathering. The event gathered many MR fans who had come from all over the country, even from abroad. Everyone reminisced first, then chorused MR's hit song "You Are the World's Best Encounter." In the emotional parts, people clung to each other, weeping...
Seeing her crying so sorrowfully, Mei Ran felt somewhat distressed and comforted her. "Perhaps the person you speak of hasn't actually passed away?"
Tian Tian wiped her face with the back of her hand, her eyes still reflecting tears. "If she is still in this world... then... why hasn't she appeared all this time? Everyone... everyone loves her so much!"
A voice that could be remembered by so many people, held in memory for seven whole years—what did that signify?
Mei Ran remained silent, inwardly sighing.
"Perhaps she has her own difficulties as well."
That morning brought many patients. Mei Ran was so busy she didn't even have time to drink water. Tian Tan also quickly adjusted her state and threw herself into the busy schedule.
Busy until the noon lunch break, most patients had left, and the Traditional Chinese Medicine building finally grew quiet.
Mei Ran and Tian Tian ate at the hospital cafeteria, then rested for about half an hour. It was almost time to start work again.
Fortunately, fewer people came in the afternoon. Mei Ran took the opportunity to go to the payment office to settle the old woman's medical fees. After briefly explaining to her colleague, she returned to the TCM department. All she saw was her assistant standing behind the counter, frantically winking and blinking at her.
For a moment, Mei Ran didn't understand. The assistant grew anxious and pointed with her finger, "Mr. Fu has arrived. He's in your office right now."
Little Tian was emotional—upbeat one minute, anxious the next—right now she clutched her chest, panting heavily. "Even handsomer than last time... so handsome he breaks the scales!"
"No, no... I think I might really faint!"