FT DR Chapter 52: Practice Wasn’t Easy

Chapter 52: Practice Wasn’t Easy

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

A man who had lived half a century inevitably had some secrets he didn’t want others to know, and after that night, Wu Chenghe didn’t dare to touch Mu’s beard again, and Mu never brought up the matter again.

After confessing the secrets of the research center to Wu Chenghe, Mu no longer deliberately avoided him during experiments. Every time he dissected, sliced, or even attended meetings with Sienna and others, he would have Wu Chenghe by his side, assigning him some simple tasks like organizing important data, etc. It seemed like he had truly solidified his position as Mu’s “true disciple.” Of course, he still had to do chores like sweeping and cleaning, so Wu Chenghe became unusually busy.

There were often nondescript men and women who came to the research center for guidance or psychological counseling, or to obtain drugs to suppress pheromones. They were all accompanied by hidden guide animals, most of which were small and easy to conceal, like bees, ladybugs, or mice.

There were very few people who didn’t have obvious guide animals with them, and Wu Chenghe guessed they were probably invisible guides like himself. He had quietly observed one of them before and found that their guide animal was a chameleon, which usually stayed on their shoulder and occasionally played in the bushes. If it weren’t for a certain angle of light refraction one time, Wu Chenghe would never have noticed it.

The research center didn’t only serve guides. Most groups had normal research projects, with only Sienna’s directly supervised group undertaking this dangerous work. As Mu’s true disciple, Wu Chenghe was allowed to manage the secret pharmacy for guides, where a large number of guide pheromone inhibitors were stored, categorized by gender, age, ethnicity, and type of guide animal.

In the pharmacy, Wu Chenghe found an inhibitor specially formulated for Icarus butterfly guides. It was a semi-transparent milky liquid, and the instructions showed that adult Morpho butterfly guides needed to inject it once every hundred days to resist the attraction of most sentinels and control the release of pheromones. But as Mu had said, there was no one hundred percent effective inhibitor in the world. Even with regular injections, if they encountered a sentinel with too high compatibility, they would still be unable to control their estrus.

Unless they stayed away from crowds their whole lives, they couldn’t minimize this risk to the maximum. However, adult guides had a strong need for healing. If they stayed away from people for a long time and couldn’t help others, they would feel empty and meaningless in life, and might even develop severe depression. That’s why the research center provided psychological counseling for them.

Wu Chenghe’s previous understanding of guides had come from the Gabriel First Hospital database. In over a month at the Saint Martin Research Center, he had gained a systematic understanding of this knowledge. By the end of the internship, he fully understood how tough his life would be. Simply put, he was congenitally predisposed to be a weak, submissive M type, regardless of how tough he was inside. His genes had destined him to be a holy motherly submissive M!

The only advantage was that during the management of the pharmacy, he had played a little trick and secretly kept three doses of guide pheromone inhibitor. This way, after reaching adulthood, he would have at least a year of buffer to ensure he wouldn’t go into estrus. As for what to do afterwards, he didn’t know. Whether to confess his identity to Mu and seek the organization’s protection or to surrender to the guide school, neither seemed like a good choice.

Perhaps there was a third way, he could only console himself like this: where there’s a will, there’s a way. He would decide after a year.

On the last day of the internship, Sienna had him hand over all his work to her assistant, then called him into her office. Mu was also in the office, sitting on the sofa by the window, and handed him a stack of federal currency. “This is your reward.”

Wu Chenghe was startled. The stack of money was quite thick, estimated to be worth thousands of federal currency, far more than the few hundred subsidies he had agreed upon before the internship. He opened his personal terminal to check his account and found that a deposit of six hundred coins had already been made this morning, apparently the publicly acknowledged reward had already been given. He hesitated, “But the subsidy has already been paid, what is this money for?”

“Bonus, bribe, hush money… interpret it however you like.” Mu impatiently threw the money at him, “If you don’t take it, just jump out of the window yourself. I’ll give a eulogy at your funeral.”

Wu Chenghe was speechless. Did he have to put it so bluntly, even talking about killing and hushing up?

“Mu!” Sienna scolded him with a glare and then spoke kindly to Wu Chenghe, “Take it, child. This is the reward from the ‘Freedom Foundation’ for you, not just for you alone but for everyone who serves the free guides. Part of it is also a bonus from me and Mu. You’ve worked hard this month, and we both feel guilty about it.”

“Thank you, Director Sienna.” Wu Chenghe hesitated for a moment, then accepted the money. Refusing at this point might be interpreted as unwillingness to keep the organization’s secrets, which would definitely be a suicidal move.

“This is all well-deserved for you,” Sienna said lovingly. 

Mu, on the other hand, waved his hand impatiently, “Alright, hurry up and pack your things. We’re going home soon.”

“Uh, aren’t we going back to Twin City today?” Wu Chenghe asked, puzzled. “School starts the day after tomorrow. Don’t we need to go back to school?”

“Why go back to school? As soon as school starts, it’s social practice. For the next month, you’ll be on duty at Saint Martin Hospital…” Mu paused, then continued, “Didn’t I tell you?”

“…No,” Wu Chenghe said speechlessly. He couldn’t believe Mu had never mentioned such an important thing to him.

“I’ve been busy lately, probably forgot,” Mu knocked his head, saying, “Well, now you know, you can leave.”

“Okay,” Wu Chenghe had no choice. This was a decision made by the hospital, and he had no say in it. Moreover, Saint Martin Hospital was the top hospital in the federation, so being able to rotate there was excellent training. He bid farewell to Sienna and left.

As the automatic door closed, Mu sighed. “He still doesn’t trust me.”

“I think it’s your fault,” Sienna said impatiently. “Look at your attitude towards him. Even a timid girl would probably have cried countless times. Can’t you change your bad temper a bit? Your words don’t match your actions, it’s simply unbearable.”

Mu sighed again, “He’s not a girl, and you don’t know how tough his nerves are. I scolded him one moment, and the next moment he was singing and eating. He’s completely incomprehensible! He’s always daydreaming about me, prying into my private life… You only see me scolding him, but you don’t see him annoying me. I’m lucky I haven’t been driven crazy by him.”

“How come I didn’t notice how mischievous he is? Clearly, he’s sensible and obedient, and everyone in the group likes him. I think you’re just suffering from paranoid delusions,” Sienna couldn’t help but poke his shoulder. “Children need to be spoiled. He’s only seventeen. When you were his age, how did I spoil you? Learn a little from me as your teacher, will you? He’s your only family. If you drive him away one day, who will you cry to?”

“Are you making me jealous?” Mu smiled wryly. “Sienna, what magic does he have that makes you defend him so much?”

“Are you jealous of me or him?” Sienna smiled and asked. 

Mu rolled his eyes weakly, indicating he had nothing to say.

“Well, don’t be too discouraged. He’ll eventually feel your kindness. One day, he’ll open up to you,” Sienna knew what Mu was feeling and comforted him. “He’s a guide, it’s good to be cautious. If he’s wary of you, it means he’ll be even more vigilant towards others, which is his strength. And he’s taken three inhibitors, so he’ll be safe for the next year. Just pay attention to his condition a little more.”

Mu looked out the window with a sense of melancholy. After a while, he sighed deeply and said, “I know, I’ll take care of him.”

The following weekend, Wu Chenghe stayed at Mu’s house. The coldest season in Dunkirk was coming to an end, and there were signs of rejuvenation everywhere. Especially in York City, it was particularly warm because it was close to the equator, and the trees were budding with tender green shoots.

The two of them spent a day staring at each other blankly. The next day, Mu couldn’t stand it anymore and drove Wu Chenghe out to go shopping. “Go outside, at least get to know the city a bit. You’ve been here for a month and haven’t even been to the city center. You’re such a shut-in!”

Wu Chenghe had no choice. He drove his little flying saucer around Twin City, thinking that Jin Xuan’s birthday was coming soon and he had a lot of money in his account. He decided to buy him a gift.

Wu Chenghe had lived for two lifetimes but this was the first time he was buying a gift for a boyfriend. He felt a bit embarrassed. After wandering around the city center for half a day, he saw a roughly designed ring. He didn’t know what material it was made of, but it looked like Tibetan silver. The ring face was an old-fashioned whale spouting water, carved in a very masculine and whimsical style.

The ring was priced at two thousand eight hundred federal coins, equivalent to half a semester’s living expenses for him. But Wu Chenghe didn’t feel any pain. He had no concept of money whatsoever. However, when the salesperson wrapped it up for him and tied a beautiful rose to it, he realized he had made a big mistake—fucking hell, giving a ring wasn’t the vibe for proposing, was it? They were still at the stage of holding hands and kissing. Would this kind of gift drive Jin Xuan crazy?

Given Jin Xuan’s personality, it might!

“Do I have to kneel when I give it to him?” Wu Chenghe stood petrified at the entrance of the store with the ring in hand. After thawing out, he immediately ran back to return it, but unfortunately, the store said it was an art piece, unique in the entire universe, and once sold, it could not be returned.

Feeling miserable, Wu Chenghe had no choice but to pocket the ring and head home. He thought he might as well buy a cufflink or pendant tomorrow. He could just keep this one as a collectible.

The Queen was right after all; he was such an idiot…

Social practice was different from internships. This time, Wu Chenghe wasn’t alone. Their class was divided into five groups, and in the group rotating at Saint Martin Hospital, there was Wu Chenghe, Kikujiro, and the Balon brothers, among others. Unluckily, there were also several nursing students practicing here, and Miss Lancer was one of them.

Although Wu Chenghe didn’t care much about the conflicts among these classmates, it felt annoying to always have a few guys who regarded him as an imaginary enemy surrounding him. Balon was tolerable because of his reverence for “those protected by the President,” so he at least pretended to be friendly. But Miss Lancer couldn’t be bothered to put on a polite face; every time she saw him, she looked like she wanted to strangle him. Wu Chenghe even thought about inviting her to see a psychologist: What kind of grudge did she hold against him to hate him so much?

But there was also good news: After enduring a month without seeing him, Jin Xuan couldn’t resist and came to find him. Somehow, the Strategy Academy also assigned a five-person group to practice at Saint Martin Hospital. Of course, they weren’t there as medical staff but as maintenance personnel for the hospital’s AI medical system, which was about to be used in military hospitals. 

Wu Chenghe and his classmates worked in shifts with the doctors, working three days and resting one. During working hours, they had to stay in the hospital for twenty-four hours, eating and sleeping in the break room, and couldn’t leave their posts except for medical rounds. Jin Xuan and his students worked in three shifts, rotating every eight hours. As a result, their schedules were always mismatched, making it almost impossible for them to arrange a date without being interrupted.

Wu Chenghe was rather dull in matters of the heart; he was just happy to occasionally see Jin Xuan. Whether they had a date or not didn’t make much difference to him. Jin Xuan, on the other hand, was miserable. As a lion-hearted person genetically embedded with a lion fragment, spring was the season when he was most restless. Moreover, Wu Chenghe had been forbidden to visit him during his internship, so after enduring for a month, he finally found an opportunity to come to his side, only to find out that he could see him but not touch him. It was simply torture!

In the first week, Wu Chenghe was in thoracic surgery. Jin Xuan restrained his urges and only pulled him into the storage room for a kiss when no one was around on Wednesday night. In the second week, Wu Chenghe was transferred to orthopedics, and Jin Xuan couldn’t help but drag him out for supper for three consecutive nights, attracting various gazes. Some even started spreading rumors that they were having a teacher-student romance.

Wu Chenghe gradually heard about these rumors, but he had no time to deal with these trivial matters. The reason was that in the third week, he was transferred to a thunderous department—the male pregnancy ward.

Although men could also give birth these days, it was still very rare. Out of thousands of men, only one could encounter such an opportunity. Therefore, ordinary hospitals didn’t have male pregnancy wards. But as the top hospital in the federation, Saint Martin Hospital was the authority in male pregnancy in the entire galaxy. So, almost all expectant fathers on the continent would come here for examinations. Some families with good conditions, even if they were on other planets, would come here for a major prenatal examination.

With the door to a new world opened, Wu Chenghe saw so many pregnant men coming for check-ups and therapy every day. Just the thought that he, a man, also had the miraculous ability to give birth made him feel uneasy.

Unfortunately, Jin Xuan came to join the fun, “Wow… pregnant men… that’s so amazing!” Like a country bumpkin, he stuck to the glass wall of the waiting area, his eyes almost popping out. After staring at others, he turned to stare at Wu Chenghe, looking at his abdomen thoughtfully and murmuring, “So thin, so small, how is it possible…”

“Get out!” Wu Chenghe knew what Jin Xuan was fantasizing about. Subconsciously covering his belly, he whispered, “Stop staring, stop fantasizing, and don’t come here looking for me again, or I’ll kill you!”

Jin Xuan wanted to discuss the next generation’s issues in depth, but ended up being beaten with holographic medical records by Wu Chenghe several times. He had to leave with his big lion and his huge imagination. Watching his resolute figure, Wu Chenghe was trembling with anger. As a transmigrator, he couldn’t remain as calm as a native like Mu in the face of childbirth. Just the thought of himself, one day, standing in line among these expectant fathers, waiting for childbirth with a big belly and a kind face, made him feel utterly hopeless about life!

Despite the despair, Wu Chenghe was still very dedicated to his work. He suppressed the discomfort in his heart for the rest of the week and earnestly learned from the rotating doctors. By the weekend, he had gained a preliminary understanding of some common illnesses in expectant fathers.

Perhaps because someone saw him beating up Jin Xuan in the corridor that day, rumors about a “teacher-student romance” spread even more vividly. By the weekend, when Wu Chenghe was off duty, he had heard several versions. For example, he used to fawn over Jin Xuan even when he was with him on Gabriel; he seduced Jin Xuan while Teacher Jin was in class; he even played both sides, pursuing Jin Xuan while getting involved with Dean Mu, who was over thirty years older than him…

By Monday, the rumors had escalated to unbearable levels. Wu Chenghe was labeled as the number one schemer in the medical school, with descriptions like “white lotus,” “green tea bitch,” appearing innocent on the surface but being lecherous inside, specializing in seducing teachers and cozying up to the powerful… Wu Chenghe unwittingly acquired a bunch of scandalous labels and became the most scheming man in the medical school.

In the final week of rotation, Wu Chenghe was assigned to the emergency department. He hurriedly reported to the attending doctor early in the morning, received the task list for the morning, and was immediately dragged into the break room by Kikujiro.

“Do you know they’re spreading gossip about you?” Kikujiro asked anxiously. 

Wu Chenghe sighed inwardly and said lightly, “You know it’s just gossip, so why bother worrying about it?”

“But isn’t it too nasty? You’re clearly not that kind of person!” Kikujiro complained indignantly. “And they’re even slandering Dean Mu and King! I can’t stand it!” This kid was also a loyal fan of King.

“Let them say what they want. A clear conscience fears no slander,” Wu Chenghe knew who was spreading these rumors. Besides the Balon brothers, it was Miss Lancer. At first, when he heard about it, he was hot-blooded and wanted to expose them or even publicly announce his relationship with Jin Xuan. But after calming down, he found his thoughts laughable—why punish himself for the stupidity of brain-dead people? Since the three parties involved wouldn’t be affected, why should he care about the opinions of those “ponds”?

Responding to these rumors now would only add fuel to the fire and prolong their circulation.

“Just focus on your work. The truth will shut them up,” Wu Chenghe patted Kikujiro’s shoulder and went out to work. Even if the truth couldn’t silence them, the other two ruthless parties involved would probably do the job.

Sure enough, three days later, Mu came to Saint Martin Hospital with the vice dean and secretary for inspection. After questioning the attending doctors, he summoned eighteen students from the medical school into his temporary office.

“The following students whose names I’ll mention now, immediately leave your current posts and transfer to the dental department,” Mu said expressionlessly, mentioning a few names, including Miss Lancer and the Balon brothers. He gave them a stern look and said, “During the final stage of your internship, I hope you can learn from the dentists in the dental department how to manage your mouths and tongues, make them behave and stay within bounds, so that you can live longer, healthier lives—without decay, without cancer, and without necrosis due to overwork.”

The faces of several people turned red and then white alternately, completely understanding what he meant. They dared not lift their heads and simply answered, “Yes.”

As for Jin Xuan, he dealt with them more directly. One dark and windy night, when the Balon brothers were on the night shift, Jin Xuan simply beat them up with a burlap sack. Their heads swelled up like pig heads, especially their mouths, which were smeared with something and swollen into two fat sausages.

However, he was more lenient with Miss Lancer and didn’t retaliate. Afterward, he even explained to Wu Chenghe very considerately, “She has done too many good deeds. I couldn’t bear to take action against her. Please forgive her this time, for my sake.”

Wu Chenghe: “…”

However, even so, Miss Lancer was deeply shocked by the fate of the Balon brothers, and she never spoke ill of Wu Chenghe again afterwards.

The chaotic social practice passed in the blink of an eye. On the last day of the internship, Wu Chenghe had just finished breakfast when he received an urgent call from the on-duty doctor. He rushed back to the emergency room in three quick steps, only to see all the emergency doctors changing into their outdoor work uniforms. Doctors from the surgery, orthopedic, and inpatient departments were also summoned, along with hundreds of nurses and caregivers, standing ready as if something big had happened.

“What’s going on?” Wu Chenghe asked nervously, turning to Kikujiro. 

Kikujiro’s face was a bit pale. “We received an emergency dispatch notice. There has been a major traffic accident at the Black Pearl Spaceport. Two zero-gravity fusion-powered starships collided, and over six thousand passengers are missing or dead.”

Wu Chenghe was stunned for a moment before he reacted. “Direct collision? Where did it happen?”

“It happened at the port. It probably wasn’t a head-on collision, maybe a side scrape,” Kikujiro said, his hands trembling as he carried the first aid kit. “They say a fifth of the entire port was destroyed, and the scene is like hell. Many people probably can’t even find their bodies… It’s too terrifying. How could zero-gravity fusion-powered starships deviate from their routes? Aren’t they supposed to be the most accurate automated starships?”

“Accidents can happen in everything. Don’t be nervous,” Wu Chenghe reassured him, squeezing his shoulder. “Later, we’ll stick close to the on-duty doctors. There might be all sorts of accidents at the disaster scene. We’re just students, and our first priority is to protect our own safety and not slow down the medical team.”

“I understand.” Hearing his calm instructions, Kikujiro gradually calmed down and said, “I’ll stick close to you later.”

“…Okay.”

 

 

 

 

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