Eric Bennett stood up abruptly, knocking over the chair behind him with a loud "clang."

Megan Young carefully set the chair upright. Almost all the doctors who had been chatting fell silent in shock, glancing at Eric Bennett, then at Brian Sullivan.

Are they going to fight again today? Who made them sit face to face? Shouldn’t someone compensate the masses for their emotional trauma?

Ryan Wright shot a glare at Brian Sullivan. He knew that Brian Sullivan's big mouth would get them into trouble sooner or later. While patting Eric Bennett on the back, he tried to calm him down: "Take it easy, take it easy." He said, "It's all my fault, senior brother. I was just talking to Brian about my wife's pregnancy symptoms, and he was just joking with you."

However, Eric Bennett, who had been staring intently at Brian Sullivan, suddenly fluttered his eyelashes at these words.

The words "pregnancy symptoms" from Ryan Wright pounded into his mind, rapidly occupying his thoughts.

Dizziness and fatigue, aversion to greasy food, nausea and vomiting... These are textbook pregnancy symptoms. As an OB-GYN himself, he was all too familiar with these signs, but he had never considered this possibility before.

Ryan Wright was already prepared to break up a fight, but to his surprise, after just one sentence, Eric Bennett... quietly sat back down.

Although he still looked a bit pale, the conflict had been resolved just like that. Ryan Wright looked at him in disbelief, then muttered to himself, "Am I really that persuasive? Should I quit and become a mediator at the police station?"

"Yes, the next Nobel Peace Prize is sure to go to Brother Wright." Brian Sullivan chimed in enthusiastically, also a bit puzzled—Eric Bennett was being unusually easygoing today.

But then Eric Bennett suddenly stood up again. Just as everyone thought he had made up his mind and was about to fight Brian Sullivan, he unexpectedly patted Megan Young on the shoulder and walked out of the break room.

Megan Young looked at him in confusion, then glanced at the others for help, only to find that almost all his colleagues were looking at him with encouragement and anticipation, as if their eyes were saying: "Go on, you can end this war."

So Megan Young's tired expression gradually became resolute. Finally, he straightened his back and followed Eric Bennett out, full of conviction, like a people's hero.

Then he saw Eric Bennett leaning against the wall, one leg braced against it, the other slightly bent. He hung his head, pinching the bridge of his nose, looking exhausted. The harsh white corridor lights shone down on him, and Megan Young suddenly noticed that Eric Bennett had lost a lot of weight recently—even his shirt looked loose on him.

When he saw Megan Young approach, Eric Bennett waved him over. Once he was close, Eric Bennett lowered his voice and asked, "If a patient had sexual activity two months ago and is now experiencing nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, fatigue, and dizziness, what could be the cause?"

Megan Young was used to Eric Bennett quizzing him on medical knowledge at any time, but he was a bit surprised at how basic this question was. Though puzzled, he answered without hesitation, "Pregnancy, obviously."

Eric Bennett took a deep breath, as if suppressing some strong emotion, and pressed further: "What if the patient is male?"

"..." This question was a bit out of left field.

"Maybe," Megan Young ventured, "run an hCG test just in case?"

Eric Bennett: "?"

Megan Young was sure that after he said that, Eric Bennett looked like he was about to throw him into the sea to feed the sharks, so he quickly changed his answer: "I was just kidding, maybe it's a digestive disorder."

Eric Bennett pinched the bridge of his nose and waved him off: "Tell them I'm not feeling well, I'm heading home."

"Oh..." Megan Young watched Eric Bennett leave, completely baffled.

He had followed Eric Bennett for many years, but this was the first time he'd seen him look like this. Watching Eric Bennett's thin, frail back—like he could be blown away by the wind—he suddenly wanted to tell him to eat more and not work so hard.

But OB-GYN doctors, like surgeons, are always rushing around because of all the surgeries. They walk so fast, it's like they're racing to be reincarnated. So by the time he opened his mouth, Eric Bennett was already far away. He sighed and went back to the break room.

Everyone was still at the dinner gathering, and the office was empty. Eric Bennett stared blankly at the literature on his computer. Ten minutes passed, and he was still on the first line. Feeling irritated, he shut down the computer, ready to go home.

It was already late outside, and when he looked up, he could still see the moon.

There was a very tall camphor tree outside the department. Deep in its branches was a bird's nest. The mother bird had just hatched a brood of chicks and was feeding them now, chirping noisily, making quite a lively scene.

Eric Bennett's gaze lingered on the nest for a moment, then shifted to the hospital building behind the tree.

After a while, Eric Bennett stopped in his tracks, sat back down in the office, closed his eyes as if making a decision, and dialed a number. "Is this the lab duty room?"

His voice was soft, like the night breeze.

A voice on the other end replied, "Yeah, what's up?"

"Are you guys busy right now?"

"It's okay."

Eric Bennett fiddled with his work badge, his gaze falling on his own photo. "I'm bringing up a urine sample now. Could you please run an hCG test for me? Put it on my personal account—OB-GYN, Eric Bennett."