Chen Ruo Yu has seriously thought about this matter and concluded that it must be because she felt apologetic for slandering Meng Gu, which was why she had such a dream. But why is it that after waking up, she"s thinking about him again?

It was because of the words that Meng Gu said in her dream, "The number of girlfriends that I"ve had, can queue up from the hospital"s main entrance to your front door." Did he really have that many girlfriends?

Although Chen Ruo Yu disliked him for gossiping about her behind her back, she still couldn"t help but think about it again and again. At this time, she just realized that although she had made Meng Gu as her target before, from the time she started pursuing him till the time she gave up, she still didn"t understand this man at all.

What type of person is Meng Gu?

Uncouth mouth, thick-skinned, arrogant.... of course, his group of friends know that.

But when he"s in the hospital, the face he shows amongst his nurses and patients is different. At least as far as she can see, after the man puts on his white coat, he is changed into a decent human being. His way of talking is relaxed and humorous, making the people around him feel they are surrounded with the spring breeze. His medical skills seem to be good as the number of patients consulting him seem to be high. In the inpatient ward, he"s also someone who"s popular and sought after.

Other than this, what else does she know about him?

She realized she actually didn"t know much or anything about him except deliberately inquiring whether he has a girlfriend or not. As to his family background, his emotional experiences, his preferences, etc.... she totally draws a blank.

What a woman ah...only she would blindly, absentmindedly and foolishly pursue a man without even basic knowledge about him. As a result, she created all sorts of problems for herself.

All in all, she has learned her lesson, this has served as a warning that such stupid actions should not be repeated.

Furthermore, for her peace of mind, this matter between her and Meng Gu must be settled.

So, on Friday night, Chen Ruo Yu set her alarm clock for 4 am the next morning. When it went off, she climbed out of her bed to call Meng Gu, as she listened to the dialing tone, her hearted drummed with excitement.

After a little while, she heard a voice on the other end, "Chen Ruo Yu, do you know what time is it right now? For your sake, this call better be important!!" Meng Gu"s voice was hoa.r.s.e and sounded irritated, obviously, he had just woken up and was in a bad mood.

So fierce! Her head became numb, under pressure she felt her potential rising up, giving the boost she needed.

"This is very important. I"m sincerely apologizing to you for bad-mouthing about your s.e.xual orientation. It"s true that it was wrong of me to say those words. My original intention was not to do that, but I don"t know how it ended up that way. Anyway, it was my fault. Since I dared to say it, I"ll take the responsibility and apologize to you."

"You choose this time of the day to apologize to me?" Meng Gu raised his voice even louder, Is she playing with him? 

"Well, I specifically chose this particular time, it feels really good to wake you up, it can be considered that I have avenged myself. Anyway, you were not sincere to me either, so with this, our matters can be considered to be resolved. You don"t have to inconvenience yourself when you see me in the future, because I also don"t want to see you, so if we, unfortunately, run into each other in the future, please turn your head and look the other way and pretend you don"t know me."

"Chen Ruo Yu....". Meng Gu seems to be wide awake now and his voice sounded surprised and angry, "Do you really lack the RMB3.50 to see a doctor? You can come early tomorrow morning, I"ll help you to jump the queue at the registration counter. You have to hurry up, mental illness is not a trivial matter. Your life still has hope if you get treatment early."

"Don"t be so courteous. Tomorrow is Sat.u.r.day. I don"t have to work so I"m goi tong sleep in. Dr. Meng, you are so hard working. You must work hard tomorrow to earn more money."

"Not only do I have to work tomorrow morning, but I also just finished an emergency surgery, I"ve just slept for less than half-an-hour when in an outburst of your mental illness, you called me. You just wait! The person who dares to treat me this way has yet to be born."

Ah? he actually had an emergency surgery in the middle of the night and he still has to conduct his visiting rounds in the morning. Aiya... it"s really hard on him. Chen Ruo Yu gritted her teeth and erased all her compa.s.sion for him.

"Dr. Meng, obviously you have not thoroughly studied the issue on human birth. I"ve finished saying all that I wanted to say to you. In summary, you should do a review on yourself,  Let"s not meet again."

With that, she hung up the call.

Unexpectedly, Meng Gu immediately called back, when the phone rang, Chen Ruo Yu"s heart jumped, she quickly ended the call but he dialed again and again.

Aiya... must his fighting spirit be so strong? He just finished performing surgery and should be sleeping. Why is he chasing after her for? She turned off her phone and slipped it under her pillow, then let out a sigh of relief and nestled back under her blanket.

Excellent...women also have dignity. Even if she is an ordinary woman who is not flashy, her dignity will also occasionally s.h.i.+ne through.

****

Since then, Chen Ruo Yu did not run into Meng Gu again. Her life was tranquil like a serene lake. She worked hard as an insurance agent and was running around every day to look for clients. She had to earn money, although her family does not need her support, she still sends some money home every month, for nothing else but the sake of saving face...her parents" and her own face.

**("face".. basically means a person"s dignity, honor, pride, respect, reputation, etc..)**

Chen Ruo Yu is not someone who is vain, but it"s just the place she grew up in, her hometown C-city, all her relatives and friends there like to compete with each other. In small towns, gossip spreads faster, everybody knows everybody"s business. Originally, she was not bothered by it and not interested in getting involved in these types of comparison games as it was not her business at all. But, three years ago, something happened. Her good friend Gao Yu Lan was accused by one of the "friends", Qi Na of cheating on her boyfriend. Qi Na also orchestrated a show of catching Gao Yu Lan red-handed with people, because of this, Gao Yu Lan was disliked and rejected by her friends and was also tragically dumped by her boyfriend Zheng Tao because of the "betrayal"

In a small town, for a girl to cheat on her partner was considered very serious and Gao Yu Lan was also caught red-handed by people. In addition to that, Qi Na"s excellent lines of reproach and condemnation, plus Zheng Tao"s image of a heartbroken man, most people severely reprimanded Gao Yu Lan at that time. Those who did reprimand her, clearly drew a line, separating themselves from her to avoid trouble and never offered any help.

Chen Ruo Yu and Gao Yu Lan were close friends and because of Gao Yu Lan"s close friends.h.i.+p with Qi Na - this also made Qi Na her good friend too. The people who condemned Gao Yu Lan were also her friends too. When that incident happened, Chen Ruo Yu had witnessed everything.

Gao Yu Lan had said that they had misunderstood her and that she did not cheat on her boyfriend, but no one believed her. In her heart, Chen Ruo Yu believed her, but at that time, in that situation, she did not defend or speak up for her good friend instead she kept quiet and did not say a word.

She did not dare to as she was afraid of being rejected and isolated. In a small town, a circle of friends is a big deal.

She had stood on the side of that group of so-called righteous friends and in the end, she lost her close friend, Gao Yu Lan. Eventually, Gao Yu Lan left C-city, left this group of so-called righteous people and went to city.

That is a thorn that was lodged deep in Chen Ruo Yu"s heart. She felt that Gao Yu Lan was forced to leave and that she was an accomplice. The thorn p.r.i.c.ked her painfully inside and p.r.i.c.ked into her conscience and it was very difficult to get rid of it.

One day, Chen Ruo Yu could no longer stand the pain, faced her misdeeds and spoke up to everyone that Gao Yu Lan was not that kind of person and that there must be a misunderstanding somewhere regarding this issue.

If this incident was really a misunderstanding, then it would mean that Qi Na and Zheng Tao were the culprits. Certainly, as victims, Qi Na and Zheng Tao received lots of sympathy and support from everyone. Therefore, they would not allow anyone to dispute this matter and so, Chen Ruo Yu who had stood up to voice her thoughts alone was expelled from their circle of friends.

The result of this expulsion was that all of her actions and everything she did was gossiped about by those people...saying she had grown fatter, she was wearing old clothes, she didn"t have a good job, she couldn"t find a boyfriend and so on...

The words people speak can be like poison and Chen Ruo Yu was bitten all over and was bruised, and so like Gao Yu Lan fled to A city.

She and Gao Yu Lan finally resolved their misunderstanding and became the best of friends again, but the grudges she left behind in her hometown did not end with her escape to A city. So, she tried her best to hide her personal information, as she didn"t want others to gossip about her job, her position, how much money she earned or the people in her life.

In a small town, having a job like selling insurance is not something to boast about. When she came to A city, her job search was not going well, so she ended up joining the insurance business. When she went home for the new year, she was questioned by a group of relatives who were keen on getting gossip information about how she was living, she was pressured into holding back the words, "selling insurance" and told them she was working in a trading company instead. 

Her parents showed satisfied expressions and her relatives couldn"t find any flaws to pick on or gossip about. At that time, Chen Ruo Yu let out a sigh of relief, but a lie can only be covered up with more lies, therefore, Chen Ruo Yu rarely returned home or contacted her family.

Actually, Chen Ruo Yu is very pleased with her job. Her schedule is flexible and there is room to do as she likes and to some extent, she"s able to help people and make money too and the money she earns enables her to lead a comfortable life and so she is satisfied. She not only sells insurance but she works very hard to serve her clients with the best customer service.

For example, this day,  one of her clients had a car accident and was admitted into the hospital, with one phone call, Chen Ruo Yu rushed to the hospital. She went to inquire about the details of the accident to prepare to help her client to make an insurance claim.

Unfortunately, the hospital her client was admitted to was Dr. Meng"s hospital. The name of the doctor in charge of the ward her client was in was also Dr. Meng.

Although, she had the mind to pick a time when she was not likely to b.u.mp into Meng Gu in the ward, Unfortunately, she still encountered him and was cornered in the tea room.

"Chen Ruo Yu, you still dare to come here?"

"The hospital is a public place. Why can"t I come? Anyway, this room is rather hidden and it inappropriate for us, a man and a woman, to be alone here. Since, Dr. Meng is so busy, it is best for you to go about to heal the sick and help the injured, the world needs you."

"What mental breakdown did you have, that you called me to scold me in the middle of the night?"

"I didn"t scold you.. Obviously, I called you to apologized.."

"Is that it?". Meng Gu folded his arms across his chest with a disbelieving expression.

Is he going to waste his time with her? Chen Ruo Yu frowned, put the hot water flask down and folded her arms across her chest in a challenging stance.

Meng Gu raised an eyebrow at her and loudly said, "Oh, you have improved. I gave you a chance to speak, but look at you now, you"re the one who committed the wrong, yet why is that you are still so smug?"

She didn"t say anything as she couldn"t think of any sharp words to win against him, so she remained silent, thinking that stifling him with silence can also be considered a victory.

As expected, Meng Gu was unhappy and said, "What did you mean when you said I was insincere? Is it because I told you not to attend the gathering and to reject Gao Yu Lan"s invitation? You should also clearly know what you did at that time, did you expect me to smile and thank you for slandering me? I am a man, I cannot stand by and let others smear my reputation...I don"t care what others do in their lives as it is their own freedom, but for you to insult my male dignity, it is a very serious matter." 

So what? She also has her female dignity. He had also bad mouthed about her in front of his nurses saying she is not good, she is also hurt too.

"You didn"t reflect on your mistake but instead hara.s.sed me in the middle of the night. Why? Are you trying to attract my attention?"

She shot him a fierce glare.

"What? Didn"t I say it right? Then why were you running around the hospital every day before?"

Her wound was exposed. Chen RuoYu blushed in embarra.s.sment.

Meng Gu didn"t care and continued scolding her,  "You are a woman that changed too quickly, I don"t understand what you are thinking. It"s alright and good that you stopped coming suddenly and stopped wasting hospital resources, but why are you treating me like an enemy? Suddenly ignoring and insulting me, are you messing with me? Let me tell you, in this matter, you are in the wrong. A man"s dignity is just like a woman"s body and cannot be ridiculed."

He"s still saying that she"s wrong? Is she the one changing quickly? Is it correct for him to gossip about others behind their backs? He can even call himself a man!

Chen Ruo Yu was full of anger and blurted out, "Dr. Meng"s meaning is that a man"s body cannot be casually teased, right? That it is not good. What is so great about being a man? You think only men have dignity but women do not? Dr. Meng values himself so highly and treats other people so lowly. Do not do unto others what you do not want to be done to you, has Dr. Meng never heard of this before? You should understand the meaning of this. I have done wrong and so dared to apologize. Does Dr. Meng dare to? Why is a man"s dignity more important than a woman"s? Let me tell you this...a woman"s dignity is just the same as a man"s **...Weakness can only bring pain and hardness can bring pride."

She spoke the string of words without pausing. Meng Gu was taken aback, then finally reacted and started laughing.

What"s there to laugh at? So annoying...

"You are great, Chen Ruo Yu...you"re awesome, you even have a **"

What? What? Stinky rogue!!!