A Lifetime Love

"Dr. Sam, have you really forgotten me?" It was the 281st time that Wendy Li had asked Sam Lu this question ever since she became an intern at the First Hospital.

Sam Lu knitted his eyebrows together.

"Miss Wendy, I really couldn't remember you."

"How could you?" Wendy Li scowled, crossing her arms against her chest. "Why are you so forgetful?"

Their first encounter was not as romantic as the ones in the movies. It wasn't an unexpected turn of events or a casual glimpse in a coffee shop. No. They actually met in a hospital...

Three years ago...

"Wendy, wait for me, okay? I'll get out of work soon!" After graduation, Wendy Li traveled to City A to visit her cousin, Sherry Qiu, who worked as a nurse in the First Hospital.

"Sure."

Wendy Li wandered around the nursing station. The pungent smell of disinfectant slipped into her nostrils, making her scrunch up her nose in disgust. Without having anything else to do, she decided to take a nap on the table.

"Wendy, are you tired? Why are you sleeping?" Sherry Qiu gently shook her awake.

"What?" Wendy Li smiled, embarrassed. Although Sherry Qiu was a little worried about her cousin, she was too busy to take care of her.

Wendy Li had nothing to do but glance around. She then found a nurse uniform next to her and wore it.

"Well, it's a bit small for me, and the buttons don't close." Wendy Li took a deep breath, tightening her stomach. However, it was to no avail. Suddenly, a voice came behind her. She gaped with someone rushing over to her.

"Are you the nurse on duty today? Come here!"

She was taken to the ICU before she could react. Her eyes widened, taking in the sight that greeted her. Doctors and nurses were surrounding a lying patient as they readied for another operation.

The sound of clinking and drilling filled her ears. She flinched.

"What are you doing? Test the patient's vital signs!"

Wendy's eyes widened as she stared at the patient. It was her first time seeing an unconscious body. Swallowing hard, she clutched her stomach.

"I–" she stuttered out.

"What? Hurry up!" the man snapped as he was performing a CPR.

"I'm not exactly a nurse." The ward was dead silent as they all shared confused glances. After all, she was wearing their uniform.

After a few seconds, he shoved her out. "Get out!"

As Wendy was being thrown out of the ICU, she could feel her heart doing flips.

Later, when everything had finally calmed down, Sherry Qiu told her that the man's name was Sam Lu. It was his last year of internship before he stepped in as an actual surgeon in the team.

Wendy wasn't one to believe in love at first sight before, but after meeting him, she realized that she loved him. Her goal was to be with him one day, and that stubbornness sent her through the bloody trek to nursing school.

However, it seemed that the faiths weren't in her favor. Sam Lu had not taken her seriously after all.

"Dr. Sam, this is the routine examination report of the patient in the first bed," Wendy reported seriously, wanting to look smart in front of him.

Sam Lu didn't even bother to look at her or even stretch his hand to grab the document.

"Put it on the table."

Wendy gaped at him, widening her eyes in disbelief. She quickly placed the document on the table, but she still didn't move. As if finally noticing her presence, he lifted his head.

"Anything else?"

"Dr. Sam, are you free tonight?" she said expectantly.

Sam took out his small notebook and shrugged.

"I'll be busy." 'Why is he so cold?' Wendy plastered another flattering smile on her face.

"Tomorrow night then?"

"I'll be having an operation." Sam picked up his case records and walked out of the office. Wendy ran to catch up with him.

"The day after tomorrow then? Or two days after tomorrow? Or how about the day after that? I mean, there should be one day when you aren't that busy, right?"

"Miss Wendy! Please respect my privacy." Sam finally turned his head to look at her. Wendy paused for a bit. When Sam was about to lift his foot, she quickly grabbed his coat.

"How about tomorrow noon?"

she asked cheekily. Sam ignored her and continued on his daily rounds.

"Damn it!" Wendy cursed to herself, shaking her head. It seemed that she had lost again.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Lily was also one of the interns in the First Hospital. She was returning to the nursing station when she saw Wendy leaning against the wall.

Knowing her very well, Lily shook her head.

"I'm guessing you've seen Dr. Sam?"

"Don't even mention that asshole to me. He thinks that he owns the world with how cold he's being!" Wendy scowled, grabbing a charcoal pen from her pockets and proceeded to stab the head onto the notebook.

"You really love him, don't you?" Lily sighed, shaking her head.

"He's an idiot! I mean, hello? It's not like I'm ugly. Can't he see who's standing right in front of him?" Wendy scowled.

"Have you seen the other girls running after him? They're gorgeous. You're probably nothing compared to them." Lily snorted jokingly.

"Bitch," Wendy snapped, pouting. "You owe me for that." "Fine, fine.

How about some hot pot?"

"You called it," Wendy warned, smiling.

"Wendy! Lily!" An elderly nurse quickly walked over towards them, shaking her head.

"I've already told you hundreds of times that it's important to observe a patient's reactions after an operation, and look at what you're doing!"

Alas! She couldn't go a day without someone trying to scold her.

Wendy sighed inwardly. Once the elder nurse walked away, Lily placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Ignore them. They're just jealous of your cousin. It will all be over after the internship." Lily was well aware of their attitude. Wendy's cousin, Sherry, had been promoted to the head nurse. Given that she was promoted at such a young age, there were many nurses who thought that she didn't deserve it. Since she was assigned to study, other nurses seized the opportunity to bully Wendy whenever they felt like it.

Wendy was the type of woman who never backed down without a fight, but with a fear that her cousin might get involved, she swallowed her anger and moved on.

"Lucy Li, it's time to set up a drip." Since they were interns, they only did the basic practices like setting up a drip, or pulling out a needle, and so on. However, most of the time, they were usually other nurses' lapdogs.

"Nurse, what's the name of my drip? Why does my arm ache?" The patient was named Lucy Li. She was a middle-aged woman.

Wendy smiled and explained, "Auntie, you have hypoglycemia. I've followed the doctor's instructions to give you an infusion of fructose. This medicine would help stimulate your muscles, so your arm would be feeling a little sore for a while. I can help slow down the drip, if it will make you feel better."

Wendy turned down the gear before looking expectantly at the patient.

"How do you feel?"

"Yes. I feel much better. Thank you. Hi, Dr. Sam!" Lucy looked at the doorway where Sam had just entered in, holding a pile of documents.

Wendy's lips inched up, but he went straight to the bed. He didn't even bother to look at her.

"Auntie, how are you feeling today?" he asked kindly.

"Much better. You can thank this nurse for taking great care of me." Lucy Li looked at Wendy, chuckling.

Wendy was about to reply when he cut her off.

"Of course. It's her duty to take great care of you." His voice was still as cold as ice.

'Ass.' Wendy rolled her eyes secretly.

"And why are you still here?" Sam straightened his back to stare at her. He scowled.

"I just saw your instructor looking for you. Be careful. Those women are probably going through their menopause," he joked, trying to relieve the tension.

Menopause. Wendy couldn't help but laugh. Her instructor was actually still in her early thirties, but she was always prone to tantrums. She shook her head. It turned out the cold fool wasn't that much of an idiot after all.

"Hey, found money or something? Why are you so happy?" Lily asked suspiciously after seeing the smirk that threaded across Wendy's lips.

"It's better than money," she sang.

"Look, there's a dormitory gathering tonight. Phoebe practically begged us to come, so we need to go." Lily displayed the amount of times Phoebe He had called her in her phone.

"So are you going?"

Wendy shrugged. "Of course."

"Really?" Lily asked.

"Dr. Sam didn't agree to be your date?" she teased. Wendy retracted, frowning.

"Shut up! I'm still planning to ask him again." Wendy puffed out her chest. However, after a thousand times of her asking him out, it was as if she had just tied herself to failure. She sighed. When would he ever accept her?

"Well, don't stop now! You got this in the bag." Lily patted her friend on the shoulder.

"Ugh, why are you getting off work already?" Wendy pouted.

"That's because I'm not on night shift today, silly. I'm on day duty," Lily said proudly.

Wendy finally stood up, having enough of their conversation. "I'm going to see Sam."

Lily stumbled up, eyes widening. "Didn't he just reject you? Don't you think you should rest for a while? Or, I don't know, wait for him to chase you?" she suggested.

Wendy snorted, waving her arms exasperatedly. "Please, I'm shameless as hell."

Lily shook her head and ignored her. Besides, she was already used to Wendy's persistence.

Outside the meeting room, Sam was discussing something with the doctors. Wendy stood outside a window, trying to peak at his face. When he turned around, he could see Wendy's burning gaze on him. He glanced away, as if he had just seen a stranger. Wendy sighed, taking a step back.

She then passed by a ward when she heard an agitated cry.

"Darling, wake up!"

Realizing that there might be something wrong with a patient, she rushed inside.

She placed her right index finger and middle finger on the patient's carotid artery. His pulse was weak. Without another thought, she placed her head on the patient's chest and abdomen. He wasn't breathing.

Wendy prepared herself to perform CPR.

"Don't worry, Auntie. Did he eat anything after the operation?"

The old woman shakily pointed at the leftovers beside them.

"I–I made some Ginseng soup for him. I didn't expect this!"

Wendy quickly alerted the doctors.

Fortunately, the ward wasn't far from the meeting room. Soon, Sam and his team of doctors came rushing in.

It was a good thing Wendy acted fast. His breathing had already returned to normal, and the doctor in charge of him proceeded to do his regular checks. When everything was checked in, the doctor turned to the old woman. "Miss, the operation has just finished. It would be best if you don't give him any food for a while," he advised. "Just let him rest."