Chapter 13

Of course.

It was the patient’s freedom to choose where she wanted her IV drip.

Xu Yueliang had gone out of her way, bypassing the cheaper and more convenient community hospital to seek premium service in their Youhai VIP Ward. How could Lin Qimian refuse?

She stared at those two lines of text for a long moment before replying: 【Okay.】

Messages popped up in quick succession from the other side—details on the approximate time for tomorrow, words saying she’d worked hard today and they’d see each other tomorrow, even a goodnight.

Finally, she asked once more about the milk tea.

-【I don’t remember.】

That was Lin Qimian’s reply.

After a brief pause, she added: 【Buy me milk tea tomorrow.】

Xu Yueliang agreed without hesitation.

With that, the chat ended. Lin Qimian returned to the hospital, changed out of her work clothes, and clocked out.

She had just reached the parking lot when Huang Xiaoyi’s call came through.

“Doctor Lin, you free tomorrow? Come with me to the Seaside Bathhouse for a soak with the beauties. Relax, it’ll just be the two of us—no extras, no distractions. Pure fun and unwinding!”

Lin Qimian pulled open her car door. “I’ve got nothing to unwind from.”

Huang Xiaoyi pressed on. “I do! This week’s been a rollercoaster. Remember when you told me to reach out to our Middle School classmates? Oh man, I uncovered so much—you wouldn’t believe it…”

Lin Qimian cut in. “Then I won’t.”

Huang Xiaoyi fell silent for a beat.

“…Qimian, are you still mad at me? It’s hard to explain over the phone, but I’ve got some real info. We should meet up and talk.”

“No need,” Lin Qimian said.

She started the engine. “I’m driving now. Find someone else to hang with tomorrow—I’ve been busy lately.”

Huang Xiaoyi started, “It’s about—”

Lin Qimian interrupted her. “Goodbye.”

She ended the call rather abruptly, but truthfully, she had no desire right now to hear about Xu Yueliang from anyone else’s mouth.

A person’s thoughts could shift dramatically in the span of mere days. Not long ago, she had hinted and probed everywhere because the long gap of time had turned “Xu Yueliang”—those three simple characters—into a hazy, indistinct image.

Lin Qimian couldn’t truly perceive her, understand her, or even recall her with any clarity… Memories, shaped by years of subtle mental suggestions, had a way of deceiving.

That was why she had craved outside information—logical facts, glimpses of Xu Yueliang through others’ eyes—to anchor the vague silhouette in her mind.

Now, there was no need.

She could summon Xu Yueliang to mind with perfect clarity: her smile, her tears, the sound of her voice.

Their chat history filled her phone; Xu Yueliang’s medical records sat on her computer.

She knew what medications Xu Yueliang took, and only she knew what milk tea she drank.

She could even anticipate some of her actions, reading the emotions unspoken in those wide eyes.

So what need was there to hear a secondhand version of Xu Yueliang, passed along like gossip?

Lin Qimian glanced down and swiped her phone. The notification dot on her alt account’s Moments had lit up again.

She tapped it open. There was Xu Yueliang’s fair, slender arm cradling a milk tea, the back seat of a car in the background.

No caption—just a single emoji: 【Red Heart】.

Lin Qimian pursed her lips. As she set the phone down and pulled out of the lot, she caught sight of her own face in the rearview mirror.

Her lips curved upward in a light, joyful arc.

The next day, Lin Qimian lounged at home through the morning and into the early afternoon before arriving at the hospital around four.

On her way to change, several colleagues spotted her and greeted her with faint surprise. She smiled back but offered no explanations.

This was her secret—and the more hidden it stayed, the more intriguing it became.

She and Xu Yueliang had agreed on five o’clock. This time, Lin Qimian didn’t go downstairs to meet her; she let her come to the New Building on her own.

Xu Yueliang arrived at the lobby right at 4:45—a perfectly polite time for an appointment.

-【The elevator needs a keycard to go up.】

She messaged Lin Qimian.

Lin Qimian stepped into the elevator, and somehow those words struck her as adorably pitiful.

She rode down to fetch Xu Yueliang. The elevator held just the two of them. Xu Yueliang clutched the straps of her backpack with both hands, sidling up slyly. “Doctor Lin, VIP really is on another level, huh.”

“Of course,” Lin Qimian replied. “You get what you pay for.”

Xu Yueliang leaned in a little closer. “Do big celebrities come here for their dental work too?”

Lin Qimian glanced down at her. “Mm-hmm.”

Xu Yueliang’s brows shot up. “Wow, then that makes me a big celebrity too.”

You’re not, though.

Born with natural beauty, a figure kept in perfect shape, professional skills honed to perfection, and an infectious enthusiasm for her work.

She had this little fan shelling out cash with zero resistance—one coax, and it was done.

Lin Qimian let out a faint “Mm.”

Xu Yueliang chuckled to herself beneath her mask for quite a while.

When they reached the ward, Lin Qimian slipped on a pair of gloves to give the big star another check-up.

But Xu Yueliang’s thoughts weren’t on her own face.

She shrugged off her backpack and set it on her lap, then dug inside and produced—a cup of milk tea wrapped in an insulated bag, a neatly sliced fruit platter, and a pile of assorted imported snacks.

Lin Qimian: “…”

Xu Yueliang looked up, beaming like a student awaiting praise. “Doctor Lin, this milk tea is the best I’ve ever had in S City. The fruit is the freshest of the season—I washed it spotless and cut it myself, so it’s the tastiest. And the snacks are all ones recommended by top internet influencers; I tried them myself, and they’re fantastic. You have to give them a try!”

Lin Qimian: “…”

Lin Qimian: “Okay.”

Delighted, Xu Yueliang wriggled over to the far end of the sofa before finally pulling off her mask. “Doctor Lin, you’re a miracle worker. I woke up today, and the swelling was way down.”

Lin Qimian stepped closer and cupped her face. “It’s the antibiotics that are the miracle workers.”

Xu Yueliang: “Then…”

Lin Qimian: “Open your mouth.”

Xu Yueliang: “Ah—”

Everything looked fine, so Lin Qimian hooked her up to an IV drip.

Xu Yueliang kept only the needled hand still. As she watched Lin Qimian, the rest of her body fidgeted endlessly.

She twisted and turned, unable to hold back any longer. “Doctor Lin, come on, try some. Just try it.”

Lin Qimian gazed at that joyful puppy-dog face of hers, wondering if she’d still see it once she took off her own mask.

The happiness on display right now was plenty; she had no intention of gambling on more.

Bending down, Lin Qimian retrieved a large paper bag from the drawer and carefully packed away everything on the table.

“I’ll eat it in my office,” she said.

“Ah…” Xu Yueliang’s excitement deflated.

Lin Qimian: “I’ve got other patients.”

Xu Yueliang hung her head. “Oh…”

Lin Qimian finished packing and headed for the door, with Xu Yueliang trailing silently behind.

Just before opening it, Lin Qimian decided to tease her. “It’s not impossible for me to attend to you alone…”

Xu Yueliang: “Huh?”

Smiling, Lin Qimian added, “But it’d cost a fortune.”

Xu Yueliang: “…”

Xu Yueliang’s mouth puckered in a pout, her expression screaming she didn’t dare even ask the price.

All at once, Lin Qimian felt invigorated, light as air as she headed upstairs.

“I’ll swing by later,” she said.

The door clicked shut. Xu Yueliang flicked on the TV, while Lin Qimian made for the break room.

She drew all the curtains, locked the door behind her, and only then unpacked the treats and drinks, savoring them at a leisurely pace.

Xu Yueliang’s recommended milk tea was delicious; the fruit she’d cut was incredibly sweet.

Lin Qimian couldn’t finish all the meticulously chosen snacks, so she sampled one bag and stashed the rest in the locked cabinet.

That day, it wasn’t until the IV finished dripping—after Xu Yueliang had waited nearly two hours for an answer—that Lin Qimian finally obliged.

“Not bad,” she said. “The milk tea especially…”

She paused, drawing out the words with deliberate ambiguity. “Way better than the one I got you, probably.”

“Ah—” Xu Yueliang finally caught her blunder.

She flailed her hands in a panic, scrambling to explain. “No no no, Doctor Lin! The one you bought me is hands-down the best milk tea I’ve ever tasted. This good and that good—they’re not the same. The one I brought is just your standard, off-the-shelf stuff, all identical. But yours was special, one-of-a-kind, full of meaning—ahh, what am I even saying? Wuwuwuwu…”

Her face flushed crimson, her eyes turning glassy with embarrassment. She looked ready to burrow into the floor.

Lin Qimian fought to keep a straight face but lost the battle; her smile lifted her eyes and eyebrows in delight.

Xu Yueliang caught sight of it, clapped a hand over her face, and wailed in defeat. “Wuwuwu, Doctor Lin, you tricked me on purpose…”

“Mm,” Lin Qimian admitted without shame. As the elevator doors slid open, she shielded Xu Yueliang from view. “Head home and get some rest.”

Xu Yueliang stepped inside and nodded. “Mm.”

Lin Qimian waved with a smile. “See you tomorrow.”

Xu Yueliang bobbed her head vigorously. “Mm.”

Peng Xiaoshuai had been watching Lin Qimian for a long time now. Ever since the day he’d been shooed out of the consultation room, every ounce of his attention had been fixed on her.

Peng Xiaoshuai had come to believe that he knew better than anyone else when Lin Qimian ought to show up and when she absolutely shouldn’t.

For instance, she had no business being at the hospital during her time off, especially not in the evening.

She certainly shouldn’t have wandered through the Comprehensive Building only to vanish without a trace afterward.

Peng Xiaoshuai had sacrificed his own rest time for a bit of discreet tailing and learned that Lin Qimian had headed to the New Building, which had only been completed last year.

More precisely, to the VIP Ward on the fifth floor and above.

Yet the VIP Ward had no admissions recorded in the past few days. Peng Xiaoshuai had built a solid rapport with the nurses there, so he knew for a fact that she’d been twiddling her thumbs these last couple of days—essentially enjoying a paid vacation.

And above the fifth floor, aside from the wards themselves, there was only one special office. It belonged exclusively to their dean.

The man who truly held the hospital’s reins: Dean Zhang.

The same Dean Zhang who always greeted Lin Qimian with a warm smile.

Suddenly, everything clicked for Peng Xiaoshuai. It all made sense now—why this young, beautiful female doctor kept climbing the ranks in the hospital, why she strutted around with her nose in the air toward everyone, why she thought she could sweep her feud with that internet celebrity streamer under the rug without a second thought.

Reality was sordid and brutal, but that very fact thrilled him.

He resolved to step up as a fearless champion of justice this time, exposing this loathsome corruption for what it was.

Doctor Lin, I’ll see you tomorrow.