Chapter 2: Betrothal Broken on New Year's Eve

“Aunt, as long as he quits this bad habit, he’ll recover quickly. It’s nothing serious,” Lin Nan said again.

“All right, I understand. Thank you, Doctor,” the woman hurriedly expressed her gratitude.

Lin Nan then looked seriously at the young boy and warned, “Remember this, young man: a little indulgence brings pleasure, but excessive indulgence turns to dust.”

“I… I got it,” the boy replied quickly, embarrassed to the point of wanting to disappear.

“Okay, you two can get ready and leave now,” Lin Nan said with a faint smile.

After the mother expressed her endless thanks to Lin Nan, she finally left the ward with her son.

Bai Yunxiao looked at Lin Nan and asked, “How did you figure that out?”

Lin Nan smiled. “There are many reasons for physical weakness. If it were caused by hard labor, the patient would feel muscle soreness. But after my examination, there was no such reaction. Anemia usually shows symptoms like cold hands and feet, muscle weakness, and mental stress mainly causes confusion and lack of concentration. Physical weakness is secondary.”

“I checked the patient’s kidney area just now and noticed he occasionally held his waist, showing signs of soreness and weakness. That’s why I concluded the patient has a habit of rewarding himself regularly and quite frequently,” Lin Nan explained.

Li Qin and Jiang Yuan listened attentively, nodding silently.

“So that’s how it is,” they thought.

“Old Jiang, do you think Old Lin has been secretly working harder than us?” Li Qin whispered.

“Likely,” Jiang Yuan nodded. “No way, I have to work harder too. I must catch up.”

Bai Yunxiao nodded slightly, eyes full of admiration.

Lin Nan’s physical examinations were meticulous and his professional skills solid.

This time, Lin Nan’s performance made a strong impression.

It seemed he had been diligently studying in private all along.

“Lin Nan, you did very well this time,” Bai Yunxiao patted Lin Nan’s shoulder and looked at him deeply. “Keep it up.”

“I will,” Lin Nan replied humbly.

Bai Yunxiao smiled again and then led the way out of the clinic.

Once Bai Yunxiao had gone a good distance, Li Qin relaxed and stretched. “Director Bai is too strict. I don’t dare to even fart in front of him, so I have to hold it in.”

“Well, now you can let it go,” Jiang Yuan shrugged.

Li Qin gave him a glare and complained, “It’s New Year’s Eve today. I didn’t expect to have to stay on duty. What a hard life.”

As soon as he said this, he looked at Lin Nan and chuckled, “But it’s not so lonely with you here to keep me company on duty.”

Lin Nan smiled faintly.

His parents died in a car accident when he was fifteen, so he had spent nearly every New Year’s Eve alone. Being on duty in the hospital wasn’t so bad—at least he had someone around.

Jiang Yuan said leisurely, “Then you two can stay here all cozy and loving tonight. After work this afternoon, I’ll be going home to celebrate.”

After attracting attention, Jiang Yuan ignored Li Qin’s glum face and left with satisfaction.

Li Qin’s phone rang. After a brief exchange, he told Lin Nan, “I need to check a patient’s room. I’m off now.”

With that, he hurried out of the clinic.

After they left, Lin Nan headed to his office, pondering his current situation.

The affiliated hospital of Linhai University where he worked was a respectable Class A tertiary hospital.

According to the original life’s career trajectory, he had little chance of making a breakthrough. With luck, he might retire as an associate chief physician; without it, he would remain a resident physician at best.

But now that he had transmigrated, he was determined to change his life path.

In his previous life, he was a workaholic who outworked the entire medical field. In this life, he intended to be the workaholic king again, surpassing everyone in the hospital.

This thought cleared his cluttered mind, and a glint appeared in his eyes.

At that moment, his phone rang.

Lin Nan glanced at the caller ID and raised an eyebrow.

It was Weiwei Xu!

She was his childhood friend—their families had been close for years.

The original Lin Nan liked Weiwei very much, but she was outstanding in both talent and beauty, always surrounded by many excellent peers. In contrast, he was mediocre; apart from good looks, he had little else. Surrounded by such talented peers, he seemed even more insignificant. Weiwei had always looked down on him and treated him coldly.

After college, Weiwei started her own company and did well, earning the reputation of a beautiful CEO. That only made her look down on the original Lin Nan more—a doctor with a dead-end future and a fixed salary.

Lin Nan pressed the answer button.

“Tomorrow is Lunar New Year’s Day. Don’t forget to come to my house for the celebration,” Weiwei’s cold voice came through immediately.

Lin Nan was puzzled.

In previous years, Weiwei never called to remind him about the New Year. Why this year?

Weiwei’s voice came again, dripping with coldness and distance: “I have never acknowledged the engagement between us. Whether you agree or not, tomorrow I will tell my parents to break off the engagement. You must come.”

Hearing Weiwei’s indifferent tone, Lin Nan’s heart stirred.

Their parents were old family friends, and long ago arranged their marriage to happen when they came of age.

Weiwei’s father rose to a high-ranking official, while his father remained a low-level civil servant. The gap between the families grew.

After his parents died in that car accident, he became an orphan. Yet, due to Weiwei’s father’s insistence, the engagement remained.

However, the Xu family’s continued recognition of the engagement did not mean they regarded him as a worthy son-in-law.

Given the Xu family’s status today and his double orphanhood, he no longer matched Weiwei. They would want a suitable husband for their daughter.

The Xu family had not publicly broken the engagement only to avoid the stigma of unreliability, as their past behavior suggested.

But the original Lin Nan was naive and unaware of this. Could he be so clueless?

No wonder Weiwei called today—to announce publicly tomorrow that she intended to end the engagement.

To choose New Year’s Eve for such a thing, Weiwei really was ruthless.

Fine. Since that was the case, he would take the initiative to break the engagement when visiting the Xu family for New Year.

Weiwei was determined to sever ties, and the Xu parents were insincere; it was better to let go of this marriage.

Lin Nan smiled faintly. “I’ll come tomorrow. If there’s nothing else, I have to hang up now—I still have work.”

He hung up without hesitation.

The original Lin Nan liked to kiss up to Weiwei, but he would not!

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

The original Lin Nan was careless and always thought the car accident that killed his parents was just an accident. But he felt it had come too suddenly and seemed suspicious.

He suspected that the accident might have been orchestrated.

Someone wanted to kill his parents.

Lin Nan took a deep breath, his gaze sharpening.

Since he had a second chance at life, he would not let his parents die in vain. He must uncover the truth behind the accident and bring justice to his parents.

Meanwhile, Weiwei sat in her office, staring at the phone after it went dead, her expression stunned.

Lin Nan hung up on her first?

Until now, she had always been the one to hang up first.

She was a woman in her mid-twenties, strikingly beautiful, with long wavy hair cascading naturally. Dressed in a business suit and black heels, her long, fair legs were on full display—both capable and enchanting.

Weiwei placed the phone on the desk, her face darkening.

This was the first time Lin Nan had hung up on her.

Moreover, he gave no indication that he wanted to delay breaking off the engagement, which made her restless and deepen her hatred for him.

Lin Nan was just a resident physician with no background and limited prospects. His life would amount to nothing.

But she was different. She had a successful career, a thriving company, and boundless future.

Lin Nan was not worthy of her. She, Weiwei Xu, deserved a better, more outstanding man.