Laura Clark is an attending physician in the same department, considered a junior to the two of them, and also one of the catalysts that further worsened the relationship between Eric Bennett and Brian Sullivan—because both of them are pursuing Laura Clark.

When rivals in love meet, things get especially tense, not to mention they never got along in the first place. Every time Laura Clark assists Eric Bennett in surgery, as long as Brian Sullivan isn’t too busy to get away, he’ll definitely wander into Eric Bennett’s operating room to get in his way.

Some doctors like to chat idly during surgery, and some even play music or tell jokes in the operating room. Brian Sullivan is talkative and funny, quite different from the quiet and sullen Eric Bennett during operations. Laura Clark actually enjoys having him around to liven up the atmosphere.

Eric Bennett’s gaze slowly shifted from the pen being pressed down to Brian Sullivan’s infuriating face. “Deal.”

*

On Tuesday, Eric Bennett left the operating room and glanced at the digital clock hanging on the wall.

Great, he could get off work on time today.

He quickly finished the Coke handed to him by his assistant, tossed it into the trash, and went to the locker room to change into his regular clothes. Today, he had specially brought a freshly ironed white shirt and black dress pants, buttoned all the way to the top, and tied his tie neatly. Suddenly, a discordant figure appeared.

“Yo, Dr. Jiang, why are you dressed so formally today?” Brian Sullivan was wearing a silk shirt with black, white, and blue vertical stripes, two buttons undone, the hem casually tucked into his pants, and his hair swept up from his forehead, making him look especially striking.

He teasingly hooked a finger around Eric Bennett’s tie. “Where are you off to?”

Eric Bennett yanked his tie back, straightened it in the mirror, his face clearly showing he couldn’t be bothered to respond.

Brian Sullivan crossed his arms, leaned against the wall, watching him tie his tie while asking, “Do you know why I fought you for the operating table the other day?”

Eric Bennett didn’t care at all what Brian Sullivan was up to. He only knew that the reason for the fight was because Laura Clark had asked him out to dinner tonight, so he had dressed up for the date.

Brian Sullivan followed him out, his face full of provocation. “So what if you got to do surgery with Laura Clark? She chose me in the end,” he said. “To be honest, Laura Clark asked me out to dinner today.”

Oh, no wonder he’s dressed up like a peacock in heat.

Wait—

Eric Bennett suddenly looked at Brian Sullivan with a complicated expression. “What did you just say?”

“Laura Clark asked me out to dinner,” Brian Sullivan boasted. “Don’t be jealous, Dr. Jiang, your turn will come.”

“……”

After a moment of silence, Eric Bennett said, “She asked me too.”

He watched as the smug look on Brian Sullivan’s face slowly froze. Eric Bennett sneered, “You’re just imagining things.”

“What the hell,” Brian Sullivan was stunned. “Why did she ask you? What does she see in you, your obsessive cleanliness or your deadpan face, or your cold personality?”

“You’re the one who’s cold,” Eric Bennett retorted. “With you, all you need is a tail to fan out like a peacock. Only someone blind would go for you.”

“Gentlemen… please stop arguing.” A gentle and pleasant female voice interrupted their bickering. Dr. Zhong stood in front of an SUV, raising her hand awkwardly to signal them to calm down. “Get in the car.”

The two associate chief physicians, who had just been at each other’s throats, instantly switched to polite and courteous expressions, nodding and smiling at Laura Clark in unison. “Thank you for your trouble.”

The SUV was spacious, the back seat especially wide, yet the two doctors sat as far apart as possible, as if there was room for a burly man with a big belly between them. Both stared out the window, as if even breathing the same air would kill them.

Laura Clark sighed.

She really didn’t want to get involved in the feud between these two. After thinking it over, she decided the best way to reject them was to be completely honest.

So, in the lavishly decorated restaurant, Eric Bennett and Brian Sullivan saw another woman with a high ponytail, looking crisp and capable. She naturally took Laura Clark’s arm and said to the two doctors, “I’ve heard you both have always taken good care of our Lanlan in the department. I’ve always been grateful.”

“No need to thank us, it’s what I should do.” Brian Sullivan naturally assumed the woman with the high ponytail was Laura Clark’s friend, and smiled at her. “We look out for each other.”

Eric Bennett glanced indifferently at Brian Sullivan, who had just said everything he wanted to say, and in the end just gave a polite smile to the woman with the high ponytail. “Hello.”

The woman with the high ponytail took in both doctors’ reactions, gave Laura Clark a meaningful smile, then raised her glass. “So, as her girlfriend, I’ve specially invited you both to dinner today to express my thanks.”

Eric Bennett, Brian Sullivan: “?”

--------------------

Author’s note:

It’s me again, starting a new story on a whim… I’m going crazy trying to come up with a title for this one, so I figured I’d just start and save my sanity. Anyway, it’s not my first time starting a story without a pre-announcement QAQ. This one should be pretty lighthearted. If you like it, please add it to your favorites. Authors who haven’t built up a pre-release list really need your support 555. Once it’s on the charts, I’ll update daily, and I definitely won’t drop it (my OCD can’t stand unfinished stories, so you can trust me).

Upcoming: “My Youth Returns, and the CP I Shipped Came True” synopsis:

Hot topic on a certain forum today: What’s the most unforgettable old-school CP you’ve ever shipped? Share with the OP!

No-food-in-the-fandom, heart hurts: [Thanks for the invite, Langhui fans reporting in, when it comes to old-school, it has to be our Ji Lang and Fu Xinghui—

Back then, the movie they starred in together, “Prime Years,” was a nationwide hit. The sensitive subject matter and unexpected popularity quickly pushed the two of them into the spotlight.