Chapter 25: Not During Work Hours

Unaware of all this, Shen Chaoyi glanced sideways at Yi Qingzhuo’s sharply defined jawline.

Walking side by side with Yi Qingzhuo, Shen Chaoyi once again truly felt it.

Yi Qingzhuo was really tall—among women, this height was outstanding.

Even Shen Chaoyi, who was 1.65 meters and wearing high heels, still fell a few centimeters short standing next to Yi Qingzhuo, who was only wearing a pair of flat slippers.

Her height really gave her a natural advantage.

Plus, during the surgery and the follow-up exams, Shen Chaoyi had noticed that Yi Qingzhuo’s figure was really good.

There was a thin layer of muscle on her arms, and the lines of her abdominal mermaid line were sharp and smooth.

A physique that could rival that of a model.

But she hid all these advantages under loose clothes, and most of her face was always concealed by a hat.

“I heard from Aunt that you used to really like playing badminton, and you were on the school team?” Shen Chaoyi initiated the topic.

Yi Qingzhuo, who was already walking slowly, took an extra pause when she heard this.

She pressed her lips together, and her long eyelashes concealed the gloom in her eyes. “In the past. I don’t like it anymore now.”

Yi Qingzhuo glossed over it with one sentence.

Very few people knew she liked playing badminton. Yi Qingzhuo hadn’t expected her mom to tell Shen Chaoyi even that.

It seemed her mom really did like Shen Chaoyi and hoped she would get closer to her.

“Ah…” Shen Chaoyi had been about to say, “I’m really good at badminton too,” but after hearing that, she swallowed the words back down.

“Don’t like it anymore now?”

“Actually, badminton is really good for exercise. Once your body has recovered enough, you could try picking it up again as a fitness activity,” Shen Chaoyi said.

“What else did my mom tell you?” Yi Qingzhuo didn’t respond to that and smoothly changed the subject.

She told her even something like that? How close were they?

Shen Chaoyi slowed her pace to wait for the limping Yi Qingzhuo.

When she asked that, Shen Chaoyi suddenly felt a playful impulse and decided to tease her a little. “About you. As for the specifics, I can’t disclose them.”

“Oh.” Yi Qingzhuo didn’t press further.

Step by step, she moved slowly and unhurriedly.

“Aren’t you curious?” Shen Chaoyi hadn’t expected Yi Qingzhuo to be so unpredictable.

When she said she couldn’t disclose, Yi Qingzhuo actually stopped asking.

Yi Qingzhuo’s expression was quite indifferent. “It’s about me. Why should I be curious?”

It was all things she had lived through—just over twenty years total, and Yi Changhuan had a ten-year gap.

There wasn’t much left to say.

“Yi Qingzhuo, has anyone ever told you that talking with you is a real conversation killer?” After failing to keep the conversation going twice in a row, Shen Chaoyi turned her head to look at the pale-faced Yi Qingzhuo.

She really didn’t like to talk. Every sentence was short and to the point, and she hardly ever asked questions.

Yi Qingzhuo seemed uninterested in almost everything.

Shen Chaoyi suddenly remembered when she was applying medicine in the internet café. Yi Qingzhuo had pulled out a few hundred-yuan bills at the end and said she didn’t want to owe anyone any favors.

An intense aura of alienation radiated from her entire being.

Back then, Shen Chaoyi had thought, how could there be such a straightforward person? Clean and decisive, clearly demarcating the distance between herself and others.

You couldn’t get close to her at all.

Now it seemed that was just her nature. In the nearly half a month she had been hospitalized, Shen Chaoyi had barely heard her say a few words.

Usually, Shen Chaoyi had to ask first, and then Yi Qingzhuo would respond.

Other than that, most of the time Yi Qingzhuo was either plugged into earphones with a thick novel in hand, or sitting by the window staring outside without moving.

She didn’t watch TV, didn’t use her phone to go online. Shen Chaoyi had never seen anyone so disconnected from society.

Yi Qingzhuo walked forward slowly. Hearing that, she replied in a calm tone, “No one has told me that.”

Because I don’t have any friends to talk to in the first place.

“Well, let me tell you then. When chatting with people, don’t just answer their questions. You also need to ask questions yourself, so the conversation can keep going.” Shen Chaoyi turned slightly to look at her.

Yi Qingzhuo focused on the steps under her feet, her expression unchanged.

Just when Shen Chaoyi thought she wasn’t going to answer, Yi Qingzhuo’s low voice came through, “Do you care this much about all your patients, Doctor Shen?”

This was already the second time Yi Qingzhuo had asked her that.

Shen Chaoyi didn’t understand why Yi Qingzhuo was so fixated on whether she treated other patients the same way.

But she still answered truthfully, “It’s my job to get you all recovered and discharged in the shortest time possible. So sometimes I do say a few extra words to soothe a patient’s mood. A good mood and active cooperation with the doctor’s treatment naturally lead to faster recovery.”

“Does your job also include taking patients for walks?” Yi Qingzhuo asked again, a hint of inquiry in her eyes.

Shen Chaoyi squinted slightly, the corners of her mouth curling up. She didn’t answer directly. “You seem to have reversed the order. Right now, you’re walking with me. I invited you, Yi Qingzhuo.”

Yi Qingzhuo caught sight of the smile on Shen Chaoyi’s face from the corner of her eye. “This isn’t work time.”

She emphasized it, though not obviously.

She just wanted to make it clear to Shen Chaoyi that right now, Shen Chaoyi had no work-related responsibility toward her.

But they were walking together.

“Your answers sometimes feel a bit off. Do you automatically filter out questions you don’t want to answer in your head and selectively skip them?” Shen Chaoyi laughed. “It really isn’t work time, so thank you for walking with me.”

At Shen Chaoyi’s words, Yi Qingzhuo shrugged. “So how much farther is it?”

“About ten minutes,” Shen Chaoyi replied.

It would normally take only five or six minutes to get there, but Yi Qingzhuo was walking very slowly, step by step, so it would take twice as long.

It was just a garden-like place next to the hospital, right beside it.

They walked out through the side door of the hospital and passed through a corridor to get there.

Shen Chaoyi led Yi Qingzhuo, and after about fifteen minutes, they arrived at an open space surrounded by a fence. They walked in, and crisscrossing stone paths led to different flowers.

Standing at the doorway, they could see yellow, pink, and white flowers clustered together.

The air was mixed with various fragrances, but because it was open on all sides, the scent was faint.

Only when a breeze blew past did they catch a light whiff.

Clearly, these flowers were carefully tended, as the branches extending to the paths were neatly trimmed.

Large patches of camellias, without a single weed in sight.

It was a pleasing sight, bright and refreshing.

At the front of the flower nursery was a small pavilion with bamboo chairs and a stone table.

Shen Chaoyi pushed open the gate of the fence and headed toward the pavilion, saying to Yi Qingzhuo, “This flower nursery was maintained by the previous old dean. Originally, this was where medical waste was dumped. Living garbage and hospital waste piled up here, and over time, the smell affected the hospital, so they built a dedicated waste sorting area. This place was left empty. After the old dean retired, with nothing else to do, it took him several years to get all these transplanted flowers to survive. On usual days, he’d come here to drink tea, play chess, and do tai chi with some friends.”

“What do you think? The environment is pretty nice, isn’t it?” Shen Chaoyi placed the chicken soup on the stone table and turned to ask Yi Qingzhuo.

Yi Qingzhuo looked around. She had been a little surprised that this kind of place existed on the hospital grounds, but when she heard it was maintained by the previous director, a hint of astonishment appeared on her face.

Having such leisurely interests after retirement.

Setting up this flower nursery beside the hospital.

Couldn’t let go of the hospital and wanted to keep an eye on it?

“Mm.” Nodding, Yi Qingzhuo pulled out a bamboo chair and carefully sat down while bracing herself against the edge of the table.

The environment was good, but the main thing was the fresh air.

Sitting here, a gentle breeze brushed past, making the stray hairs on her forehead fly in all directions and messily fall across her cheeks.

It was much better than the stuffy hospital.

Yi Qingzhuo pulled off her hat, and her black hair flew even more freely.