Yi Qingzhuo took a moment, then finished the bowl of noodles in one go. She stood up. “Mom, I’m sleepy. I’m going to my room.”
“Okay, get plenty of rest. Don’t go to the internet café tomorrow—isn’t Little Li handling things?” Yi Changhuan said with concern.
“Mm.” With a heavy reply, Yi Qingzhuo pushed the door open and went in.
Once on the bed, she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, not even drying her hair.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Shen Chaoyi finished looking up information on the computer.
She picked up her phone, which still hadn’t rung.
Something felt odd. It had been over an hour, and Yi Qingzhuo still hadn’t replied?
Could the phone number be wrong?
But her memory was excellent—she almost never made mistakes.
It wasn’t that Shen Chaoyi was giving Yi Qingzhuo special treatment. Whenever she encountered a patient who seemed unreliable, couldn’t remember instructions, or was older, the attending doctor would send a text with the care notes.
Normally, that kind of thing was left to the nurses, but since it was after hours and she’d earlier taken down Yi Qingzhuo’s number just in case—to have her come back for an MRI and check for internal injuries—she’d sent her a text on a whim.
But there was still no reply.
Shen Chaoyi figured she might have misremembered the number and didn’t think much of it. She threw herself back into her busy work.
Three days later, Yi Qingzhuo arrived at the hospital on time to have her bandages changed.
But Shen Chaoyi was still in surgery, and Yi Qingzhuo didn’t seem inclined to wait.
She just asked whichever nurse was available to do it.
“Doctor Shen, you’re off the surgery!” Chen Ya saw Shen Chaoyi from a distance and waved.
Shen Chaoyi smiled. “Yeah. Have you had lunch?”
“Already ate. You should go eat too, Doctor Shen,” Chen Ya replied.
Shen Chaoyi nodded, planning to check on yesterday’s surgery patients first before heading to the cafeteria.
When she turned around, she happened to see Yi Qingzhuo coming out of the consultation room, clutching her medical records.
“Yi Qingzhuo,” Shen Chaoyi called out, her voice warm as sunshine. “Feeling any better?”
“Mm.” Yi Qingzhuo gave an almost imperceptible nod.
Shen Chaoyi stepped closer and noticed she was holding a CT scan order form. “What’s wrong?”
“My back.” Yi Qingzhuo leaned slightly against the doorframe, tilting her head up to look at Shen Chaoyi.
Her lower back had been hurting more and more over the past two days, to the point where even painkillers weren’t working.
It had gotten so unbearable that Yi Qingzhuo had finally come to the hospital.
Otherwise, she might have even forgotten the every-three-day bandage change and just dealt with it at some random clinic.
Hearing that, Shen Chaoyi thought of the two messages she’d sent that had gone unanswered, and her gaze turned mirror-like.
It was as if she were saying, See? I warned you, but you ignored it.
“Then go ahead. Once you get the results, come find me in Clinic Room 3 on the second floor.”
“Do you know where the CT room is?”
Yi Qingzhuo was sparing with her words. “The doctor told me to come here.”
Deep down, she didn’t want to be tied to anyone.
“Your previous registration is still in the system. Just come straight to me—I’ll talk to the attending,” Shen Chaoyi said with a faint smile.
“Doctor Shen, three car accident victims just came into the ER. Director Zhou wants you to head down immediately.” Chen Ya hung up the phone and called out to Shen Chaoyi.
Shen Chaoyi, who had been heading toward the cafeteria, stopped mid-step. Turning back, she said, “I understand. I’ll be right there.”
“The CT room is on the fourth floor. Take the elevator, turn right, it’s the fourth door.” After leaving that instruction, Shen Chaoyi hurried downstairs to the first floor.
Yi Qingzhuo’s hand tightened on the order form. She lifted her eyelids, meeting the gaze of Chen Ya at the nurse station.
Chen Ya was visibly startled by her look, staring fixedly at Yi Qingzhuo.
For some reason, Yi Qingzhuo’s all-black outfit and the chill radiating from her made people want to stay far away.
This person… why does she feel familiar?
Puzzled, Chen Ya’s mind raced. Then a flash of inspiration hit her. She sat down, clicked open Shen Chaoyi’s outpatient system, and pulled up the list from three days ago.
She scanned through one by one and sure enough, found Yi Qingzhuo’s name.
That’s the one who killed someone?
Because Yi Qingzhuo had been wearing a hat and was covered in blood, Chen Ya hadn’t dared to look her straight in the face earlier.
Now that their eyes had met, she recognized this infamous figure.
But… Doctor Shen just told her to come back with the results? And she even said she knew her before.
How could Doctor Shen know someone like that?
Ignoring Chen Ya’s barely concealed shock, Yi Qingzhuo coolly withdrew her gaze and walked unhurriedly to the CT room.
At that hour, the CT room was packed. Yi Qingzhuo leaned against the wall, patient, closing her eyes to rest.
The place was buzzing with noise, but she was completely unaffected, as if she’d lost her hearing.
People came and went, most in pairs or groups. Few were alone like Yi Qingzhuo, standing at the back of the line, her baseball cap covering nearly half her face.
Whether she was actually asleep or not, no one could tell.
So two hours passed—from one o’clock to three—and Yi Qingzhuo still hadn’t been called.
Shen Chaoyi walked out of the emergency room, removed her mask, and glanced at her watch.
Exhausted, she returned to her office.
After taking a sip of water and nibbling on some bread, she suddenly remembered Yi Qingzhuo.
Without delay, she went down to the second floor and back to the consultation room. No one was inside. The hallway outside was empty too.
She left?
Puzzled, Shen Chaoyi checked the time. “Nurse Chen, did that patient of mine come back?”
Hearing that Shen Chaoyi was actively looking for Yi Qingzhuo, Chen Ya quickly pulled her aside, looked around, and lowered her voice. “Doctor Shen, do you know who that woman in black was?”
“I know,” Shen Chaoyi said, confused by Chen Ya’s caution.
“Do you know she killed someone before? Her own biological father. She spent ten years in prison—it’s Yi Qingzhuo.” Chen Ya’s face was dead serious, as if revealing a huge secret.
Shen Chaoyi frowned slightly. “I know.”
So what? Does that make Yi Qingzhuo a dangerous person?
What did that have to do with her? She was just a doctor, and Yi Qingzhuo was just a patient.
Even if she were a vicious criminal, as long as she came to the hospital, out of professional duty, Shen Chaoyi would treat her.
Seeing how calm Shen Chaoyi was, Chen Ya tilted her head in confusion. “Then why are you getting so close to her? And even telling her to come find you?”
“Doctor Shen, you need to use your kindness in the right place.”
Shen Chaoyi’s thin lips curved into a gentle smile. “It’s just that her previous injury was handled by me, and she’s still my patient in the system. That’s why I told her to come to me. It’s not as serious as you think. Go back to work now.”
Chen Ya opened her mouth to say something, but her gaze froze and she suddenly shrank back.
“I’ll get back to work.”
She scurried away so fast that before Shen Chaoyi could react, she was already gone.
Shen Chaoyi sighed at Chen Ya’s impetuous nature. She lowered her hand and turned to go back to her office.
But when she turned around, a dark figure was standing right behind her, stiff and straight, nearly causing Shen Chaoyi to crash into her again.
Squeezing back the urge to scream, Shen Chaoyi patted her chest and squinted in lingering fright.
Every time I meet Yi Qingzhuo, it always starts with her suddenly appearing.
Does she make no sound when she walks?
“Appearing behind someone out of nowhere like that is really scary.” Shen Chaoyi’s face had gone pale.
Especially since Yi Qingzhuo looked like a cold-faced death god, the visual impact was huge.
Yi Qingzhuo’s voice was faint, carrying a chill. “You were the one too absorbed in your chat.”
Hearing that, Shen Chaoyi’s expression shifted. “How long were you listening?”
Did she hear everything Chen Ya said?
“Just arrived.” Whether Yi Qingzhuo really hadn’t heard anything or was simply used to it, she gave the same noncommittal answer.
Her eyes were downcast, making it impossible to read her emotions.
“Come inside.” Without probing the truth of her words, Shen Chaoyi led the way into the consultation room.
“Let me see the scan results.” Shen Chaoyi extended her hand.
Yi Qingzhuo passed her the results. With her left hand in her pocket, she leaned against the wall, long legs slightly crossed, head lowered, eyes hidden as usual.
Shen Chaoyi glanced at her, then focused on the CT results in her hand.
After about two minutes, she said in a serious tone, “Based on the results, it’s a lower back muscle strain. No bone damage.”
“I’ll prescribe some topical medication. Go home and apply it on time, rest plenty, avoid strenuous exercise, and don’t sit for long periods.”
“Take good care of it, got it?”
Yi Qingzhuo gave a slight nod. “Thank you.”
Hearing another “thank you,” Shen Chaoyi raised an eyebrow and said softly, “Don’t just say thank you—actually listen. I just checked on the healing progress of your hand. To be honest, it’s not good. The wound keeps reopening and bleeding.”
The recovery of Yi Qingzhuo’s right hand was basically at zero.
It was already going to scar. If she kept being careless and didn’t treat it carefully, there might even be long-term effects.
“Lift your head. Let me see how the facial injuries are healing.” Yi Qingzhuo remained silent, so Shen Chaoyi exercised her professional authority.
Yi Qingzhuo sat down, about to say that the previous doctor had already checked it, so there was no need.
She opened her mouth. “No need…”
“I’m your treating doctor now.” At the first word, Shen Chaoyi guessed what she was going to say.
After a long silence, Yi Qingzhuo took off her hat, revealing her refined, striking features.
Now only her nose bridge and above her eyebrows were covered with bandages. The rest was just slightly bruised.
Yi Qingzhuo herself exuded a broken beauty—dangerous yet mysterious, sharp yet alluring.
She could have played the lead in a youth angst movie without even trying.
Shen Chaoyi looked up. Before she could even touch her, Yi Qingzhuo jerked backward, as if by reflex.
Her deep eyes were filled with alertness. Her fists clenched, and the stray strands of hair across her brow carried a flicker of coldness.
