"Deputy Chief, are you alright? You seem to have had a nightmare," Chen Lihua said to him as she stared at him with a facade of a smile.

Why would he be screaming like a frightened cat so early in the morning?

​​

He must have been chased in the dream because of his evil deeds by the people he offended.

"Yes, I had a nightmare... You- you are the nightmare," the deputy chief replied, but said the second half of his sentence to himself.

"I see....," Chen Lihua trailed off.

"What are you doing in my office by this time?" the deputy chief asked with a frown etched on his face.

Chen Lihua rarely came to his office, so he was surprised to see her, and then annoyed because she was his enemy.

"The Chief is asking if you are still interested in performing the surgery today, seeing that you are still sleeping by now," Chen Lihua conveyed the Chief's message.

The deputy chief said as he jumped to his feet, "Of course I'm interested. I will not let anyone take my place."

After saying his piece, he left his office.

Chen Lihua glanced at his departing figure in confusion.

"Who wants to take his place ...me?" Chen Lihua asked herself as she made her way to the door of his office.

'What a tacky taste,' Chen Lihua said as she clicked her tongue after taking two seconds to look at his office. Then, she walked out of the room to join the other surgeons.

".....so the heart is a perfect match," one of the doctors said to the Chief Surgeon.

That was the piece Chen Lihua managed to hear when she approached them.

The surgeon was talking about the heart to be used for the heart transplant.

The donor team will inspect the heart to ensure it's suitable for a transplant and match the patient.

Everyone, there was paying attention, except the deputy chief who had his eyes glued to Chen Lihua.

He already had a not too harmful plan hatched in his mind, to stop her from participating in the surgery.

The Chief dismissed them and asked them to get dressed for the long-awaited surgery.

As they were scrambling out from the Chief's office, Chen Lihua removed the glasses she hanged on her shirt and was about putting it on when she was pushed by one of her colleagues, so the glasses fell to the floor.

Her colleague, who was responsible for that act, apologized guiltily before walking away.

Chen Lihua sighed and bent down to pick the glasses, but it was then kicked to the back.

Chen Lihua became a little angry and turned towards the direction her glasses was kicked too. And just as she stretched her hand, and she was about making contact with it, someone stepped on them.

The next thing Chen Lihua heard was a crushing sound as a foot stepped on it.

"Oh my! What did I step on?" the deputy chief asked with exaggerated actions.

Chen Lihua recognized the voice, but she was still staring at her crushed glasses.

She didn't know how to feel, but her heart was pained, and there was anger in her heart as well.

As her heart was beating furiously, she slowly looked up at the annoying voice she heard and then stood up.

"Dr. Chen, what happened?" the Chief asked curiously as he walked towards them when he noticed how Chen Lihua was glaring at his Deputy.

Chen Lihua ignored the Chief as she opened her mouth to ask the Deputy.

"Deputy Chief, what did you just do?" she asked in a low and cold voice.

"Sorry I didn't see it. I was in a hurry to get into the OR. You know, I don't want to be late for the surgery," the deputy chief replied with a smug look on his face, before changing his expression to that of feeling sorry and guilty.

After saying his part, he tried to walk away but was held back by someone's hand.

Seeing that he was trying to walk away after crushing her second eyes (glasses), Chen Lihua held his arm firmly, as she could barely hold her anger in.

"Where do you think you are going to, deputy chief?" Chen Lihua asked as a cold expression formed on her face.

Meanwhile, the other surgeons that still remained in the same space as they, stood in a corner to watch the drama that was about unfolding.

Each of them watched with keen interest and was trying to see the deputy chief's facial expression and actions at the end of the drama.

So, they watched from one corner of the room while trying to make themselves invisible.

The Chief figured out the reason for Chen Lihua's sudden anger.

He was annoyed while looking at his Deputy's facial expression. He knew that he disliked Chen Lihua right from day one, so he was sure he crushed her glasses on purpose.

And who didn't know that the glasses were like Chen Lihua's second eyes, and she couldn't work in the OR without them?

So, the Chief was sure the deputy chief crushed her glasses on purpose to stop her from performing the surgery as his assistant, thereby taking her place.

So he could, in any case, feel Chen Lihua's pain at the moment.

"Of course, to the OR," the deputy chief answered shamelessly while staring at Chen Lihua with a smile.

Then he looked down at the hand that was still holding unto him and tried to shrug it off, but Chen Lihua refused to bulge, and still held unto it tightly.

"Dr. Chen let go," the deputy chief said to her, a bit annoyed at the stubborn young lady.

"Not until you go back to time to when you were thinking of crushing my glasses to remove those evil thoughts, or you get me another pair right this minute, or you do not partake in today's surgery as a punishment for what you... did," Chen Lihua said in a serious tone, as she meant each and every one of her words.

"What?! Are you out of your mind?" the deputy chief asked while staring daggers at Chen Lihua.

'Not to partake in the surgery? Humph! What a joke!'