"Teacher Liu, we've just finished our pediatrics and ICU internships, and now you're dragging us here to be laborers. Is that really okay?" Liu Yiqing asked helplessly on their way to the medical college.
"What else can we do? It's like they say: in battle, you rely on your brothers; on the field, fathers and sons fight together. I have to bring some little helpers," Liu Banxia answered. "I could only think of the six of you, and I couldn't bring everyone. You two are typical examples, I suppose. As for Xu Yino and Li Hao, they're the lucky ones who drew the winning straws."
Xu Yino rolled her eyes. She liked to have fun, but she didn't want to be Demon King Liu's prop.
"Liu, Su, you two also need to work harder. Yesterday, Qing Kewa successfully performed a small-incision appendectomy. You two need to pick up the pace!" Liu Banxia added.
"Teacher Liu, you should have let us rest peacefully for a couple of days before starting work again. Now we don't even have the mood to rest. Our lives are so bitter," Su Wenhao grumbled.
"HEH HEH, as a doctor, if you can't even manage your mood, this job becomes even harder," Liu Banxia said, chuckling.
One listen to these words and you knew he was definitely doing it on purpose; that's why they called him Demon King Liu.
Upon arriving at the medical college and parking the car, they made their way to the main auditorium under Xu Yino and the others' guidance.
They had arrived a bit early; it was set to officially start at seven o'clock in the evening, and it wasn't even six yet. Even so, many students had already begun to gather there.
"Oh, Teacher Liu is here!"
It's unknown who had such sharp eyes, but someone suddenly shouted.
This was no small matter; a surging crowd instantly surrounded their group of five.
"Teacher Liu, what are you going to talk about today?"
"Teacher Liu, are you selecting people directly today?"
"Teacher Liu, can we take a photo first?"
"Those in front, make way! Teacher Liu, look here! HAHAHA..."
...
The enthusiastic students started chattering all at once.
Liu Banxia considered himself a veteran of many battles; he'd been besieged by patients' families and had even fought with them. But right now, he just felt his head ache, his mind buzzing, and he hadn't clearly heard what these people were saying.
"Everyone, please quiet down, quiet down! You're too enthusiastic; your enthusiasm has me sweating!" Liu Banxia shouted, raising his hands high.
The chaotic crowd slowly quieted down.
"Today, we have plenty of time. Later on stage, there will be a Q&A session. At that time, whatever questions you all have, you can ask me. You can prepare them well now," Liu Banxia continued.
"Teacher Liu, can we take a photo together?" someone shouted from outside the crowd.
"Judging by the current situation, we can only take a 'group-together' photo," Liu Banxia said with a straight face.
The students paused for a moment, then burst out laughing. It was the first time they had heard the term "group-together photo," but looking at the current situation, it seemed that was indeed the only way.
"I don't know if you've bought tickets, but if you sit wherever you like, and you go in late, you won't get a good seat. It's just like attending a lecture; if you want to ask questions, sitting at the front gives you a higher chance," Liu Banxia said.
"Teacher Liu, the introduction said you're going to make adjustments to the internship process. Is that true?" a student at the side asked.
"That's for sure, otherwise, wouldn't I have come for nothing? But I can't tell you now; we have to be fair to the audience members who worked hard to grab a seat," Liu Banxia replied with a straight face.
"Alright, everyone, please go in quickly. Teacher Liu performed three surgeries today and rushed over right after eating," Xu Yino shouted.
Perhaps this girl usually held some sway at school, or perhaps everyone sympathized with Liu Banxia for having performed three surgeries. In any case, after Xu Yino shouted, the crowd made way.
"Thank you all for your support. I'll try to do a few more encores today, and we can talk more about things the TV stations don't let us broadcast," Liu Banxia said, waving to everyone.
The students laughed happily again.
Their impression of Liu Banxia was solely based on legends and the information Xu Yino and the others had relayed back; they had never had a clear concept of him. Now, it was quite good; at least the meeting just now had been very pleasant.
"Teacher Liu, you're really something now. This is the first time I've seen everyone so actively rushing to the auditorium," Liu Yiqing said.
"See? That's my personal charm. Director Xia is here. Let's go over together," Liu Banxia said, a hint of pride in his voice.
The interns shook their heads helplessly. In terms of medical skills, Teacher Liu was truly beyond reproach. But in terms of conduct? Demon King Liu was sometimes genuinely unprofessional.
"I saw quite a crowd gathered here earlier; I figured you must have arrived," Director Xia said with a smile.
"I planned to come a bit early to rest, but it turns out everyone was quite looking forward to my arrival. Thank you, Director Xia; you've also worried a lot about this matter," Liu Banxia said.
Director Xia waved his hand. "This is inherently part of my job. I've always hoped the children could have a good internship environment."
"Nuonuo, I ran into Director Wu yesterday. I heard him mention that you haven't been home in a long time, right? You should go home and visit."
"Uh... Director Xia, do you know Little Xu?" Liu Banxia asked in surprise.
"You don't know? Nuonuo's mother works right here at our medical college," Director Xia said, now his turn to be surprised.
Liu Banxia shook his head with a wry smile. I never inquired. This girl's mouth is sealed tight enough for an intelligence agent; she never mentioned it once.
"Oh my god! Wasn't it because you, old sir, didn't ask? That's why I'm so frustrated. How did I end up being the one drawn today?" Xu Yino grumbled as well.
Director Xia didn't know what to say. It was the first time he'd seen such a clueless teacher-student pair. One was teaching with his eyes covered, and the other was learning with her eyes covered.
"Alright, let's go inside and rest for a bit first. There's still some time before it officially starts," Director Xia called out.
Liu Banxia nodded and then led his small group inside.
"Alright, old sir, if there's anything you want to ask, just ask directly." After they reached the lounge and Xu Yino saw Liu Banxia's beaming smile, she couldn't help but speak up.
"HEH HEH, first question. Did all three of you know?" Liu Banxia asked, holding up one finger.
The other three little ones nodded in unison.
Liu Banxia could only roll his eyes. So, it turned out he was the only one who didn't know?
With this thought, he asked his second question, "Then, in our emergency center, who else might know?"
This time, the other three looked towards Xu Yino; only she could answer.
"The director knows. He knew my mom originally. This isn't some big secret," Xu Yino said.
"Then why didn't you say so earlier?" Liu Banxia asked.
"Teacher Liu, how would you have me say it? Should I have come up and told you who my mom is and what she does? What would be the point of that?" Xu Yino asked, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "You're also to blame. You're already supervising students, how can you not even try to understand their backgrounds? Shouldn't that be the first thing to grasp? You didn't bother to find out yourself, and now you're blaming me for not telling."
"HAHAHAHA... I did hear Wang Chao mention once that you seemed to have some connections, but I didn't pay much attention to it," Liu Banxia chuckled drily.
This was a huge misunderstanding. When he heard Wang Chao say it, he had assumed her connections were outside the hospital system. Who would have thought they were right within the medical college? No wonder this girl picked things up so quickly.
"You must work hard. From now on, you need to redouble your efforts," Liu Banxia said again with a straight face.
Xu Yino pouted. "Are you trying to fool a kid? Which day am I not working myself to death? Oh my god, I regret this so much now."
This amused the other three little ones greatly.
She was the third one to declare her intention to stay in the emergency center and learn from Liu Banxia. Want to regret it now? Forget about a door, there wasn't even a window.
"Teacher Liu, it seems you're very popular at the medical college. My phone has received a lot of messages from people asking me about you," Liu Yiqing said at this moment, shaking her phone.
"Asking about what? Height, weight? I'm no longer single; you all have a teacher's wife now. We don't play that secret marriage game; when we start a family, it has to be open and above board," Liu Banxia said earnestly.
This earned him four pairs of rolling eyes.
"I know, Teacher Liu. Are you a bit nervous?" Su Wenhao asked suddenly.
"I really don't know what 'nervous' means," Liu Banxia said.
The four little ones all pursed their lips; the slightly stiff expression on his face had already betrayed his true feelings.
"Sigh... how could I not be nervous? After all, this isn't some perfunctory product promotion. I'm facing people who are about to become doctors. I'm afraid I'll mislead them," Liu Banxia sighed. "As you've seen, I seem to be quite popular. This is genuinely not a very good situation. When they listen to me speak, they might very well lose their objective judgment."
"Ahem, let me ask, aren't you guys nervous? We're going to be facing a lot of people down there. I've never spoken in front of so many people."
"Why should we be nervous? We're just products here to be the background," Xu Yino said casually.
But after she said it, she was stunned, because Liu Banxia's gaze was clearly not right.
The hearts of the other three also leaped into their throats; it seemed they had been fooled.
Because what Liu Banxia had told them was merely that they were to accompany him. After all, they were the first batch of interns in the emergency center, so when Liu Banxia made introductions, he could talk about their situations to avoid forgetting his lines.
Their most important function, supposedly, was to be the background plus a human teleprompter.
But what was the situation now? They had definitely been tricked. Not only would they have to be the background and teleprompters, they'd probably also have to help Demon King Liu dupe people.
"Teacher Liu, it's too late to leave now, isn't it?" Li Hao asked with a wry smile.
Liu Banxia nodded very readily, revealing a brilliant smile.