BURN Chapter 12

Translator: Abo Dammen

Chen Kaiji had stepped on a rusty nail on the road—a long nail that had deeply embedded itself into the sole of his foot. Blood seeped continuously from the wound, and Chi Zhao quickly performed emergency first aid. As a clinical student, this was second nature to him. From internships to practical training, Chi Zhao had practiced these skills countless times.

Stopping the bleeding and bandaging the wound, Chi Zhao worked methodically. Chen Kaiji opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but Chi Zhao, thinking he was still in pain, said in a soft tone, “Hang in there a little longer. It’ll be over soon.”

Chen Kaiji’s lips quivered as he watched Chi Zhao’s precise movements. In the end, he simply nodded silently.

They weren’t far from the clinic where they were staying. After briefly treating the wound, Chi Zhao slung Chen Kaiji’s arm over his shoulder and half-carried him back to the clinic’s courtyard.

As they entered, a senior approached. “What happened?”

“He stepped on a nail,” Chi Zhao replied, still holding the groceries he had bought. He handed the bag to the senior. “It’s nothing serious. You all go ahead and eat. I’ll take him to get the wound properly treated.”

The team was mostly composed of psychology majors—mostly counselors, with a few who had transitioned from clinical practice but were long out of touch with hands-on medical work. Fortunately, there was an experienced doctor at the clinic with basic tools and equipment who could help treat Chen Kaiji’s wound. Chi Zhao helped Chen Kaiji onto the bed, and the old doctor instructed him to lie back while he removed the nail, cleaned the wound, and stopped the bleeding. Chi Zhao assisted by handing over the necessary tools.

The old doctor, with his wealth of experience, quickly bandaged the wound. “All done.”

A female senior schoolmate who had been watching still seemed uneasy. “Is that really enough?”

Although they had been told to eat first, the others couldn’t just ignore Chi Zhao and Chen Kaiji. The one who had spoken was Zhou Ruoyao, the female senior schoolmate Chen Kaiji had a crush on. She was indeed gentle—no wonder Chen Kaiji was so taken with her. She kept checking on Chen Kaiji’s condition, even though the hotpot was ready, making multiple trips back and forth. She asked the old doctor, “Doesn’t he need a tetanus shot for this kind of injury?”

The old doctor nodded, his tone somewhat resigned. “Yes. The wound is quite deep. But we don’t have that here. You’d need to go to Dawang Village next door for that.”

Vaccines were difficult to store, and the clinic they were at clearly didn’t have the facilities for it.

“What should we do then?” Chi Zhao frowned slightly. “Should we head to Dawang Village now?”

“Wouldn’t that be too much trouble?” Chen Kaiji hesitated. “We have to visit another village tomorrow. I don’t want to delay everyone’s plans.”

Despite his somewhat spoiled and arrogant demeanor, Chen Kaiji had a strong sense of responsibility and didn’t want to inconvenience the whole team. As they debated, Fu Nan’an, who had been silent until now, spoke up, “Dawang Village? That’s on our itinerary. I can coordinate with the other teams and have us go there tomorrow instead.”

Chen Kaiji still hesitated. “Wouldn’t that… be too much trouble?”

But Fu Nan’an was firm. “It’s fine.”

If they didn’t do the switch, Chen Kaiji would have to return to the county town for the vaccine, but the team still had tasks to complete and wouldn’t be able to accompany him. Fu Nan’an, however, wouldn’t leave him behind. That wasn’t his style.

“Let’s just do it this way.” Fu Nan’an said decisively, quickly making a call to coordinate the change in schedule. “I’ve discussed it with the other departments. We’ll go to Dawang Village tomorrow.”

This was clearly the best solution for now. Chi Zhao nodded in agreement. “Then we’ll go to Dawang Village now for the tetanus shot and meet up with everyone there tomorrow.”

“I’ll go with you,” Fu Nan’an said. “I’m not comfortable letting you two interns go alone.”

Both Chi Zhao and Chen Kaiji tried to decline, but Fu Nan’an insisted. So, the three of them set off for Dawang Village together. The village wasn’t accessible by car, so the old doctor called his son to take them on a motorcycle. The evening wind whistled past their ears as the four of them quickly arrived at Dawang Village’s health station.

Fu Nan’an had already called ahead, and a woman in her forties, whom they called Auntie Zhao, greeted them and led them into the health station.

“Just call me Auntie Zhao,” she said, examining Chen Kaiji’s wound with a kind smile. “How did this happen?”

“I wasn’t paying attention and stepped on a nail on the road,” Chen Kaiji said, lowering his head. “Thank you for your help.”

“Be more careful next time. These little things are common in rural areas,” Auntie Zhao said, cleaning the wound with iodine before administering the tetanus shot. “There, you’re all set. The wound was treated promptly, so it’s nothing serious.”

The timely treatment was largely thanks to Chi Zhao. Chen Kaiji glanced at him, wanting to say something but holding back.

Since the entire team was coming to Dawang Village the next day, the three of them decided to stay overnight at the health station. It was late, and the health station only had two rooms available. Fu Nan’an, as the professor, took one room, leaving Chi Zhao and Chen Kaiji to share the other.

Chi Zhao still wasn’t entirely comfortable being alone with Chen Kaiji. He folded his blanket and climbed into bed, hesitating for a moment before awkwardly saying, “Get some rest.” Chen Kaiji hummed in response and quietly got into his own bed.

The lights were off, and the room was pitch black. Chi Zhao, exhausted from the day’s events, was almost asleep when he heard Chen Kaiji softly call out, “Chi Zhao?”

Chi Zhao stirred. “Huh? Are you calling me?”

Chen Kaiji was silent for a while before saying, “…I’m sorry.”

Chi Zhao was still a bit confused. Chen Kaiji continued, “I’m sorry for what I said before.”

The topic was awkward. The two had been at odds for weeks. Chi Zhao had already come to terms with it, realizing he didn’t need to compare himself to the psychology interns, but he couldn’t completely dismiss Chen Kaiji’s harsh words. Being looked down on and mocked for lacking ability wasn’t something anyone would enjoy—it was only human of them not to.

Chen Kaiji knew this and continued to explain, “I really didn’t understand why clinical students were interning in the psychology department. Later, when Professor Fu told me to apologize to you, I felt a bit wronged, like he was favoring you.”

This was the first time he’d said something like this, and his words came out haltingly, tinged with embarrassment. “It wasn’t until just now that I realized—every field has its specialties. Even though we’ve had clinical skills training, it’s not the same. When it came down to it, I panicked.”

Experience was the best teacher. After this minor incident, Chen Kaiji had come to understand this truth. Though he could be a bit arrogant at times, he wasn’t unreasonable. He took the initiative to apologize and extend an olive branch to Chi Zhao. “We’re bound to run into all sorts of situations in the future. Let’s help each other out and learn from each other. You’ll have to bear with me a bit, okay?”

His words were sincere, so Chi Zhao nodded. “Alright.”

They were both in their twenties, so things weren’t overly complicated. Once things were out in the open and apologies were made, Chi Zhao quickly forgave him. The purpose of rotating through different departments as interns was precisely this—to learn from each other and complement each other’s strengths. The two chatted late into the night, and whatever lingering resentment there had vanished without a trace.

The next morning, Chen Kaiji was already calling Chi Zhao “Chi-ge”. “Chi-ge! Time to get up!”

Chi Zhao was half a year older, so the title was appropriate. The two folded their blankets and stepped out of the room, just as Fu Nan’an happened to be coming out.

Since the health station wasn’t designed for lodging, the water tap was in a small corner at the end of the hallway. Worried that Fu Nan’an might not find it, Chi Zhao offered, “Professor Fu, let me get some water for you. The tap’s a bit hard to find.”

Before Fu Nan’an could respond, Chen Kaiji chimed in, “Chi-ge, you rest! I’ll handle this!”

Despite his injured foot, Chen Kaiji moved quickly, striding down the hallway to fetch the water, leaving Chi Zhao and Fu Nan’an standing there.

“What’s gotten into him?” Fu Nan’an asked, amused. “Since when is he so enthusiastic?”

Chi Zhao, equally surprised by Chen Kaiji’s sudden change, could only blink and say, “I have no idea.”

Fu Nan’an asked, “Did you two make up?”

“Yeah,” Chi Zhao said, touching the tip of his nose, still thinking about how Fu Nan’an had helped mediate their conflict. “Sorry for worrying you before.”

“It’s fine,” Fu Nan’an said with a smile, leaving it at that.

Chen Kaiji soon returned with the water. The rural conditions were basic, and the three of them washed up quickly. Chi Zhao, worried about Chen Kaiji’s foot, didn’t let him move around too much and went to pour the dirty water outside himself.

While Chi Zhao was gone, Chen Kaiji cleared his throat and approached Fu Nan’an. “Professor Fu, there’s something I want to say to you.”

Fu Nan’an raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

Chen Kaiji scratched his head, a bit embarrassed. “I… I just wanted to apologize. I shouldn’t have said those things about Chi Zhao before.”

As the top student in the psychology department, Chen Kaiji came from a good family and was one of Fu Nan’an’s favored students. Fu Nan’an was well aware of Chen Kaiji’s spoiled tendencies, so this apology came as a surprise. “What made you change your mind?”

“I realized Chi Zhao is really capable. Watching him bandage my foot, he was so skilled,” Chen Kaiji said with an embarrassed smile. “I used to think you were favoring him, but now I see you were right. Every field has its own strengths. You can’t judge everyone by the same standard. Like, if you asked me to bandage a wound, I wouldn’t be able to do it as well as he did.”

—So it was Chi Zhao’s doing. That explained it. Fu Nan’an had never doubted Chi Zhao’s abilities.

“You’re both excellent students. You should get along and learn from each other,” Fu Nan’an said steadily.

Chen Kaiji nodded eagerly. “Absolutely! From now on, Chi Zhao is my Chi-ge. I’ll definitely get along with him!”

The enthusiasm of youth was written all over Chen Kaiji’s face and echoed in his voice as he enthusiastically described Chi Zhao’s virtues, wondering why he hadn’t noticed them sooner. Male friendships could form quickly, and after a night of chatting, Chen Kaiji truly saw Chi Zhao as a brother. Fu Nan’an listened with a gentle smile, though a faint, almost imperceptible emotion flickered in his heart.

It was like a tiny needle pricking his heart—subtle, yet leaving behind an indescribable feeling.

Chi Zhao was indeed a likable person, warm and welcoming to everyone.

Fu Nan’an’s fingers subtly traced the handle of his cane as he said, “That’s good.”