Chapter 21: Putting a Coat on Her

Yi Qingzhuo withdrew her gaze and said calmly, “Half because I can’t go back on my own, and half because I don’t want to.”

It was better to be here alone in the cool breeze than to be cooped up in the ward.

Shen Chaoyi made a sound of acknowledgment. “Do you want to go back then? I can help you.”

You’ve been sitting in one place for so long, your tailbone must be stiff.

“No need. My mom will be here soon.” Yi Qingzhuo refused.

As expected, Shen Chaoyi didn’t insist. She nodded, maintaining proper boundaries. “Alright. But I still need to remind you—even though your condition has improved and you can move around a bit, sitting for long periods like this is still not good. It’s not conducive to your recovery. After you’ve been up for a while, you need to lie back down immediately.”

Even as a healthy person, she would find it unbearable to sit for so long. Let alone Yi Qingzhuo, who was still injured. Shen Chaoyi had been impressed by Yi Qingzhuo’s pain tolerance ever since the first time she treated her wounds.

Yi Qingzhuo lifted her chin slightly. “Got it.”

She never said “okay,” always “got it.” She never made promises, always leaving herself an out.

Seeing her like this, Shen Chaoyi was silent for a moment, then got up and walked into the break room. She took out a jacket from inside and placed it directly in Yi Qingzhuo’s arms. “Put it on. Catching a cold would be bad.” To accommodate Yi Qingzhuo, Shen Chaoyi had deliberately picked a black jacket.

Yi Qingzhuo looked down at the jacket in her hands, her muscle memory urging her to refuse. “No need. I’m not cold.”

“I’m wearing so many layers, and you’re only wearing one. How can you not be cold? Put it on. Getting cold won’t help your recovery, and in the end, I’ll be the one treating you. I’m just taking precautions to prevent an increase in my workload.” Shen Chaoyi argued convincingly, trying to persuade Yi Qingzhuo.

Yi Qingzhuo lowered her head, thought for a moment, and said, “Thank you.”

Shen Chaoyi was slightly shorter than Yi Qingzhuo, but fortunately the jacket was loose-fitting, so it fit Yi Qingzhuo perfectly. It seemed to be a jacket Shen Chaoyi wore often. Besides a faint perfume scent, there was also an indescribable subtle fragrance. It wasn’t the disinfectant smell from Shen Chaoyi’s white coat, nor the crisp perfume she wore. It didn’t smell like industrial fragrance. Strands of fragrance entered her nose, leaving a deep impression. Yi Qingzhuo silently inhaled, but couldn’t identify what the scent was.

“It fits perfectly.” Shen Chaoyi smiled as she looked her over.

Yi Qingzhuo shrugged uncomfortably, a sound escaping her throat. “Mm.”

Shen Chaoyi propped her chin on her hand, her gaze darkening as she looked at the MP3 player in Yi Qingzhuo’s hand. “You seem to really like listening to music, always wearing earphones. I’m curious—what kind of music do you listen to?”

Shen Chaoyi had initially thought that someone as aloof as Yi Qingzhuo would listen to gentle, slow melodies. But to her surprise, Yi Qingzhuo held out her hand, offering the earphones to Shen Chaoyi with an enigmatic smile.

Shen Chaoyi tentatively took the earphones and, under Yi Qingzhuo’s gaze, put them in her ears. There was nothing inside. In those three seconds of silence, Shen Chaoyi felt like she could only hear her own accelerating heartbeat. Her tense expression relaxed. Shen Chaoyi was confused. “You weren’t listening to anything?”

“Then why have you been wearing earphones all day?”

“Because it’s too noisy, so I wear earphones,” Yi Qingzhuo said, withdrawing her hand. “Even music is noise.”

In prison, she had gotten used to sitting in her spot, hugging her knees, staying quiet and alone. So now, even music felt noisy to her.

“You…” Shen Chaoyi was momentarily speechless, unsure how to react. What a strange person. She pressed her forehead, composed her expression, and suppressed her shock. “If that’s the case, I suggest you buy some earplugs. They block out sound better than earphones.”

Yi Qingzhuo coughed, her voice growing hoarse. “Just bought whatever.”

“Actually…” Shen Chaoyi started, but was interrupted by a phone ringtone. Shen Chaoyi immediately stood up. “I have something to do. I’ll be going now.”

“Shen Chaoyi, thank you,” Yi Qingzhuo said. The voice was low, but it still reached Shen Chaoyi’s ears.

Shen Chaoyi thought she was referring to the jacket, so she waved a hand dismissively. “Go back to the ward soon. Don’t catch a cold.” In her hurry to leave, Shen Chaoyi didn’t notice anything unusual.

It was the first time Yi Qingzhuo had called her by her name, “Shen Chaoyi.” Those three short words, spoken by Yi Qingzhuo, were lighter and softer than the usual indifferent “Doctor Shen.” Nor did she hear Yi Qingzhuo’s restrained voice afterward: “I wasn’t talking about the jacket.”

She had sat here all afternoon, unable to figure out why Shen Chaoyi was so different from anyone she had ever known. She was so gentle; even with a mask on, you could tell she was smiling. The first time they met must have been the coldest Yi Qingzhuo had ever seen her. After that, Shen Chaoyi was like a warm autumn sun, as if she never had a cold side. But just now, in the moment Shen Chaoyi handed her the coat, Yi Qingzhuo understood.

Some people are born with kindness, and with the scholarly aura of higher education, every word and action exudes gentleness. And some people are simply not suited for kindness, shaped by their environment—like her. The Eight Trigrams of Taiji, the two poles of yin and yang.

After waiting a long time, Yi Changhuan still hadn’t arrived, so Yi Qingzhuo had to endure the severe pain and get up on her own. Step by step, she slowly moved toward the ward.

“Chaoyi, the patient on bed four has an appointment—…you?” Han Yecheng’s hurried voice came to an abrupt halt. He had come over in a rush and only saw Shen Chaoyi’s jacket, and since she was near the nurse station, he didn’t think twice. But on closer inspection, he realized he had mistaken her. It wasn’t Shen Chaoyi, but Yi Qingzhuo. He awkwardly looked over the clothes on Yi Qingzhuo and furrowed his brow in confusion. “Sorry, I mistook you for someone else.”

Although he was displeased with Yi Qingzhuo, Han Yecheng forced himself to apologize despite his annoyance.

Yi Qingzhuo stopped her already slow pace, turned back, and said a casual “Mm.” Having said that, she nodded slightly and turned to continue walking.

Feeling ignored, Han Yecheng’s eyes flashed with contempt. He took two steps past Yi Qingzhuo and tossed the documents in his hand onto the nurse station with a moderate thud, half-turning. “Chaoyi is just too kind. She treats everyone with goodwill, but she doesn’t know that some people aren’t worth a single bit of her attention.” Perhaps because he saw Yi Qingzhuo wearing earphones, he spoke loudly. After finishing his words while looking at Yi Qingzhuo, he turned and lifted his chin at Chen Ya. “Don’t you think so, Chen Ya?”

Chen Ya, who had witnessed the whole scene, exchanged a glance with the head nurse beside her, then looked at Yi Qingzhuo, who had her head down and an unreadable expression, and stammered a response. “Ah…” Why was she being thrown such a deadly question?

“Someone’s calling. I’ll go change the dressing first.” The head nurse beside Chen Ya clearly didn’t want to get involved in this. With that, she pushed the cart and left, but stopped at the corner, pretending to be busy organizing the medicines on the cart while actually pricking up her ears to observe the scene at the nurse station.

“Hey? You…” Chen Ya watched her leave helplessly, leaving her alone at the nurse station. At that moment, Han Yecheng called out to Chen Ya again. “Chen Ya, you haven’t answered me yet. Don’t you think I’m right? Chaoyi is just too soft-hearted. She goes soft on everyone.”

Chen Ya bit her lip awkwardly and forced herself to say, “Uh… yeah.”

In fact, it wasn’t just Han Yecheng who recognized the jacket; Chen Ya also found it strange. She had also seen Shen Chaoyi wear that jacket, and now Yi Qingzhuo was wearing an identical one. Could it really be such a coincidence? It happened to be Yi Qingzhuo, and Shen Chaoyi had worn it recently. Chen Ya couldn’t figure it out. But would Shen Chaoyi just give her own jacket to Yi Qingzhuo for no reason? She remembered that this afternoon, when she mentioned Yi Qingzhuo sitting alone in the sun over there, Shen Chaoyi had just left without saying anything, seemingly indifferent. Although she was suspicious, Chen Ya couldn’t be sure.

Hearing Chen Ya’s response, Han Yecheng leaned on the nurse station with one hand and turned to look challengingly at Yi Qingzhuo, who remained expressionless. He didn’t believe a woman could do anything to him, especially one who was so severely injured.

Feeling that malicious gaze, Yi Qingzhuo paused for a moment, her face devoid of expression. The next second, she raised her hand and pulled down her hat, completely blocking Han Yecheng’s line of sight, not even a glimpse from the corner of her eye.

To Han Yecheng, such an action undoubtedly appeared as feigning ignorance. Han Yecheng’s face darkened, and even his provocative smile vanished.

“Yi Qingzhuo.”

He called her full name directly, undisguised disgust in his voice. Because of her, Shen Chaoyi had embarrassed him in front of so many people. Because of her, Shen Chaoyi had been ignoring him these past few days, always making excuses about department business when he asked her to eat. Because of her, Shen Chaoyi had become the center of gossip in the department. Han Yecheng blamed everything on Yi Qingzhuo.

He didn’t understand why someone like her deserved such good treatment. She had already killed someone, yet she could still live peacefully in this world. Han Yecheng loathed Yi Qingzhuo from the bottom of his heart.

“You got lucky this time. Next time, if you don’t run into a doctor as good as Chaoyi, your life won’t be so fortunate.”

Yi Qingzhuo stopped walking, having just moved to the corridor wall. She turned around, leaning slightly against the wall to catch her breath. She took a deep breath, then raised her eyes and looked coldly at Han Yecheng.