Chapter 19: Wisdom Tooth

The early spring sunlight poured through the third-floor floor-to-ceiling windows of the dental hospital, scattering across the beige marble floor.

I looked down at the dappled light and shadows beneath my feet, my knuckles pale from gripping my phone too tightly.

9:17 AM, February 3rd.

The sharp scent of disinfectant and the buzzing of dental drills rose and fell, announcing the absurd beginning of this weekend.

“Fine.”

Yan Dong must have caught the unspoken meaning behind my words.

He nodded slightly and said nothing more.

Compared to the suffocating air inside the car, the constant footsteps in the waiting area actually brought a strange sense of comfort.

I pulled up the unfinished electromagnetism slides on my phone.

As the video played, the derivation formula of the Biot–Savart law flickered nonstop across my retina.

Without Yan Dong bothering me, my study efficiency clearly improved.

Just as I was diving deep into the Biot–Savart law, Yan Dong suddenly reached out and blocked my phone screen.

“What is it?”

I absentmindedly brushed aside the long, well-defined fingers obstructing my screen, my eyes still glued to the magnetic flux density formula.

“It’s my turn.”

“Oh, got it.”

I wasn’t brushing him off because I was so studious, more like I was just irritated at being interrupted halfway through something.

And honestly, what did his dental appointment have to do with me anyway?

“Lin, come with me.”

That low, husky voice, carrying the scent of cedar, swept past me.

As I looked up, a lock of my long black hair slipped from behind my ear.

I tilted my head and stared at Yan Dong in confusion, what kind of weird thing was that for him to say?

Seeing that I wasn’t reacting, he just gave a soft cough and repeated himself.

“When I say come, just come. What are you hesitating for?”

Honestly, I couldn’t figure out why Yan Dong insisted I go with him.

What was I supposed to do while he got a tooth pulled, watch his mouth fill up with blood?

But he was so insistent, and I really didn’t have a good reason to refuse.

I sighed and shut off the halfway-loaded PowerPoint, casually tucking back another stray strand of hair.

Then I followed him into the exam area.

“Zone 4, Chair 1. Go straight to the end of the hallway, door on your left.”

“Thank you, nurse-jie.”

Following the nurse’s directions, we quickly found the assigned exam room.

Chair 1 was by the door next to the window, and two female dentists were already waiting there.

“The patient’s name is Yan Dong, correct?”

“Yeah.”

“You’ve had breakfast?”

“I have.”

“Alright, then please take a look at the panoramic X-ray we just took. I’m going to explain the risks involved in extracting your wisdom tooth. You see this impacted tooth in your lower left jaw? It’s growing in horizontally, so we’ll need to section it in the middle and remove it piece by piece.”

The female doctor paused.

Seeing that Yan Dong was listening intently, she pointed to the screen with the tip of her pen.

“But the root is only 1.5 millimeters away from the mandibular nerve canal. Because it’s so deep, there’s a risk that this minimally invasive surgery could damage the nerve.”

“If that happens, the worst-case scenario is that your lower left jaw could go numb. The numbness might last a few weeks to several months, or even become permanent.”

After going through the standard explanation of the surgical risks, all Yan Dong had to do next was sign the informed consent form before they could begin the extraction.

I had absolutely no idea why I was even here getting in the way.

The cold metallic gleam of the sterilized instruments glinted under the examination light, while I, bored out of my mind, kept staring at the “Post-Tooth-Extraction Instructions” poster on the wall.

Suddenly, I felt a slight tug on my sleeve.

Confused, I turned my head, only to unexpectedly meet Yan Dong’s somewhat pale face.

His fingertips were tightly clutching my sleeve button.

That instinctive and borderline intimate gesture left us both frozen in place.

He was the first to snap out of it, jerking his hand back like he’d been shocked, only to knock over the nearby tray of tools in his panic.

As the metal instruments clattered noisily to the ground, I glanced sideways at him and noticed his knuckles had gone white, and were trembling slightly for some inexplicable reason.

“……”

What the hell is this guy doing?

He could probably choke just drinking water, so why was he freaking out over the risk in a routine dental surgery?

Still, that little pre-op scene didn’t affect the process much.

Once Yan Dong was prepped, the lady doctor finally turned her confused gaze to me, still standing silently by the wall.

“Family member, you can leave now.”

“Mm, alright.”

I nodded and turned to go, but before I could take a step, that guy Yan Dong stopped me again.

“Wait. I need her with me the whole time.”

“…?”

My eyelid twitched so hard I didn’t even know how to respond for a second.

Even the doctor’s expression paused slightly.

But hey, a doctor who can’t handle ridiculous requests probably wouldn’t last in this profession.

She stayed perfectly calm and tried to reason with him patiently.

“Sir, I understand your need for emotional support, but even minor procedures carry infection risks. Having someone in the room could interfere with our work. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to increase the chances of a failed surgery, right?”

Professionals really do know how to get through to people.

From Yan Dong’s expression, it was clear he’d been convinced.

He nodded in agreement, but just as I thought I could finally breathe and leave, he dropped another bomb that left me speechless on the spot.

“Fine. But she has to stay on the phone with me the entire time.”

Even though I thought I’d seen it all by now, I still nearly lost it when I heard that line.

“You’ve got to be f….”

Forget it, forget it.

Not worth getting worked up over someone like this again and again.

I’ll just consider it a contribution to medical science, a valuable experience for the doctor to learn how to handle unreasonable patients in the future.

“Okay.”

And so, with nothing left to say, I slumped in a chair, grumpy as hell, and ended up on a half-hour voice call with him.

The moment I left the exam room and sat down in the waiting area, his voice came through the phone.

“Lin, don’t go far. What if something happens to me?”

“Got it. I’ll be right outside the door.”

“Good. When I call you later, you better show up within one minute.”

“Sure.”

Unbelievable.

He’s not a kid, why the hell does he act like he can’t do anything without a babysitter?

After that, the doctors probably started prepping the instruments.

Just before they gave him the local anesthesia, he spoke up again.

“Lin, are you still there?”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t leave until I’m out.”

That familiar sentence suddenly stirred up a memory that wasn’t all that long ago, Dad had said the exact same thing to me before he was wheeled into the operating room.

Back then, I had no idea that those would be his final words.

I just clutched the plastic button on my school uniform sleeve tightly, staring at the blinking emergency exit sign at the end of the corridor, until the lead surgeon stood in front of me with a look of regret and delivered the devastating news.

The screech of the cutting drill suddenly tore through the memory.

When Yan Dong’s muffled groan reached my ears, I tasted a faint hint of rust on my tongue, it was blood, seeping from a lip I must’ve bitten through without realizing.

It was only then that I noticed my hand, the one gripping the phone, was trembling ever so slightly.

Why was I letting my mind wander again?