Shen Gan was washing dishes in the kitchen with a groan when he saw Shen Chaoyi about to head out after finishing her meal.
He stuck his head out and said lazily, “Sister, you know the boss of that internet cafe is Yi Qingzhuo, right? Are you sure you want to go? Want me to come with you?”
Shen Chaoyi didn’t even look up, nor did she say she was going to see Yi Qingzhuo.
She gave Shen Gan a brief glance. “No need. I’ll be careful. Just finish the dishes and do your homework. Don’t think about going to the internet cafe.”
“Chaoyi, your brother isn’t wrong. That Yi Qingzhuo is not someone to mess with. I heard today when I was out shopping that she got into another fight. This time it was big—even the police showed up.” Wu Huiyi chimed in, supporting Shen Gan’s point. “If you can avoid going there, do so.”
Shen Chaoyi had a gentle nature, and Wu Huiyi was worried she’d get taken advantage of in a place full of all sorts of people.
As for Shen Gan, she couldn’t control him—he insisted on going to that internet cafe.
But because he was a boy, Wu Huiyi wasn’t as worried.
Shen Chaoyi opened the door. “Don’t worry. I’ll be careful.”
Redeemed Internet Cafe
Shen Chaoyi looked at the sign of the internet cafe, took a deep breath, and was about to step inside.
Just then, a figure flashed behind her. The next second, Yi Qingzhuo appeared out of nowhere, standing right behind her.
Sensing something unusual, Shen Chaoyi turned around and was startled, nearly colliding with her.
Fortunately, she quickly stopped her steps, widening the distance between them.
Yi Qingzhuo wore a baseball cap, hands in her pockets. Her dark eyes stared at Shen Chaoyi like an eagle’s.
In that instant, Shen Chaoyi’s hair brushed across Yi Qingzhuo’s cheek, sending an indescribable tingling sensation through the band-aid. Her eyelashes fluttered, and in a daze, all that remained was an indescribable faint fragrance.
Unlike the Shen Chaoyi she had seen at the hospital that morning—now without her white coat, dressed in a light chiffon blouse, long skirt, and trench coat—she looked gentle and graceful, with a subtle hint of perfume.
Parting her lips, Yi Qingzhuo’s voice was clear and cold. “Doctor Shen.”
She glanced at the paper bag in Shen Chaoyi’s hand. Without a doubt, it was the jacket she had left at the hospital.
She just hadn’t expected Shen Chaoyi to go out of her way to bring it to her.
“Miss Yi, you left your jacket at the hospital. You didn’t come for it all day, and since my home happens to be not far from here, I brought it over.” Shen Chaoyi regained her composure and handed the paper bag to her.
A polite smile hung on Shen Chaoyi’s face.
Yi Qingzhuo took the paper bag and nodded. “Thank you.”
She knew she had left her jacket at the hospital, but after leaving the hospital, she had gone straight to the police station and only just returned.
Naturally, it wasn’t that she didn’t realize she had left something behind—she simply hadn’t had the time to retrieve it.
When Yi Qingzhuo said thank you, she finally lifted her eyes, which had been lowered until then.
“You’re welcome…” Shen Chaoyi’s words trailed off as Yi Qingzhuo looked up, and she caught sight of a face that could only be described as a mess.
Compared to the minor injuries she had that morning, her face was now covered in black and blue bruises. It was hard to even make out Yi Qingzhuo’s original features.
“You…” Shen Chaoyi was shocked, her nerves tightening at the sight.
It was hard to imagine what that face had been through.
Almost immediately, Shen Chaoyi thought of what her mother had said when she left.
She had just had her wounds bandaged, and now she was fighting again?
Perhaps the shock and the way Shen Chaoyi stepped back stung Yi Qingzhuo’s pride. Her already cold eyes turned even more chillingly frigid.
She lowered the brim of her cap, covering most of her face.
Then, in a low voice, she said, “If there’s nothing else, Doctor Shen, please go home as soon as possible.”
She felt out of place here, like an outsider.
“Yi Qingzhuo.” Shen Chaoyi steadied her breathing.
“Let me treat your wounds.”
Out of a doctor’s compassion and tolerance, Shen Chaoyi couldn’t just turn a blind eye.
Even though she was somewhat intimidated by Yi Qingzhuo, she still spoke up.
Internally, she reassured herself: They were both women, and she meant no harm.
Yi Qingzhuo couldn’t be cold-blooded to that extent, right?
But another voice in her head reminded her of the things she often heard about Yi Qingzhuo.
“She’s a murderer. She could even bring herself to kill her own father. She doesn’t recognize kin—cold-blooded and ruthless. Stay away from her. Avoid her if you see her.”
Shen Chaoyi’s inner conflict was invisible to Yi Qingzhuo, who had her back turned. But just as Yi Qingzhuo was about to step into the internet cafe, she paused.
Her back stiffened. A flicker of something passed through her cold eyes. Her hands tightened in her pockets.
She didn’t turn around. Her voice was distant. “Thanks, but no need.”
“If you don’t treat it now, you’ll come to the hospital tomorrow, and I’ll be the one treating you anyway.” Shen Chaoyi spoke softly.
She had made a special trip to return the jacket, mainly to tell Yi Qingzhuo to come back for a re-examination.
No matter what kind of person Yi Qingzhuo was, she was still a woman. Shen Chaoyi couldn’t bear to see her covered in blood.
Shen Chaoyi’s persistence made Yi Qingzhuo—who was used to being ignored and avoided—grow inscrutable.
She turned around. Shen Chaoyi was outlined by the glow of the streetlamp, standing in the warm light.
When she smiled, her eyes curved like crescents.
“Aren’t you afraid of me?” After mulling it over, the words circled in her mouth before finally coming out as this.
Yi Qingzhuo leaned against the doorframe, half her face hidden in the shadows, light and dark interweaving on her face.
It was the polar opposite of Shen Chaoyi, who stood in the light.
Shen Chaoyi couldn’t read Yi Qingzhuo’s expression because her cap was pulled low; she could only see the sharp lines of her jaw.
Clearly, Yi Qingzhuo’s lips curved upward, as if she was smiling.
But that smile carried no warmth.
Shen Chaoyi’s eyes glistened like water. Her voice was soft. “You are a patient. I am a doctor. That’s all.”
No entanglements. Just for the peace of mind of being a doctor. That was all.
Hearing this, Yi Qingzhuo turned around and left only a straight, tall back and the words, “Come in.”
The internet cafe was noisy—the clatter of keyboards, shouts of triumph, and smoke hanging in the air.
Shen Chaoyi wrinkled her brow at the strong smell of smoke, covered her nose, and coughed lightly as she followed Yi Qingzhuo to the front desk.
Why was Shen Gan so obsessed with a place like this?
After driving away Li Hengyang, Yi Qingzhuo casually placed the paper bag next to the computer, bent down, and pulled a medical kit from under the drawer.
“Thank you.”
Even before Shen Chaoyi had treated her wounds, Yi Qingzhuo said thank you first.
Thinking back to their brief interactions, it seemed that “thank you” was what Yi Qingzhuo said the most.
Shen Chaoyi couldn’t help but glance at her. With practiced movements, she found the gauze and tools.
“Take off your cap,” Shen Chaoyi said calmly.
Yi Qingzhuo sat in the boss chair and removed her cap, revealing the full extent of her face.
If Shen Chaoyi hadn’t seen her ID card, she wouldn’t have been able to imagine Yi Qingzhuo’s original appearance.
Black and blue, a chaotic mess of injuries. Shen Chaoyi didn’t even know where to start.
Such a beautiful face, ruined like this at Yi Qingzhuo’s own hands.
Peeling off the blood-stained band-aids, Shen Chaoyi disinfected the wounds and checked if any facial bones were damaged.
Her warm fingertips gently held Yi Qingzhuo’s chin. Yi Qingzhuo endured the discomfort of being touched, clenching her fists and staying silent.
“Does this hurt? Can you move it freely?” Shen Chaoyi pressed on Yi Qingzhuo’s jaw, avoiding the open wounds.
Probably from fists—most were blunt force injuries.
It was likely, as Wu Huiyi had said, a fight.
That was Shen Chaoyi’s thought.
Yi Qingzhuo gritted her teeth and let out a muffled grunt. “It doesn’t hurt.”
When she clenched her jaw, the nerves in her cheek tightened, pulling at the wounds.
Shen Chaoyi observed carefully. “Just put on band-aids. No need for stitches or bandaging.”
“Mm.” Yi Qingzhuo’s voice came through her nose as a response.
When she looked up, her entire field of vision was filled with Shen Chaoyi’s collarbone and the fair skin around it.
Without the restriction of her white coat, Shen Chaoyi’s top had come loose, offering a glimpse of skin.
Perhaps accustomed to the neatness of her white coat, Shen Chaoyi hadn’t noticed her own clothing while treating the wounds.
Yi Qingzhuo’s throat felt dry. She stiffly turned her head away.
But Shen Chaoyi was holding her chin, and any small movement was corrected.
Yi Qingzhuo’s brows furrowed deeper. She lifted her eyes to look at Shen Chaoyi’s face.
With clear vision, Yi Qingzhuo could almost see the fine fuzz on her cheeks and a few loose strands of hair.
Clearly, Shen Chaoyi was oblivious to her own loose clothing, her attention fixed on Yi Qingzhuo’s face.
The veins on Yi Qingzhuo’s clenched fists stood out. She had no intention of prying into someone else.
She leaned back slightly, but the faint scent of Shen Chaoyi filled her breath, distracting her.
Her mind raced. Yi Qingzhuo couldn’t figure out why Shen Chaoyi was doing this.
Why go out of her way to return her jacket? Why offer to treat her wounds? Why not be afraid of her?
Accustomed to being regarded as strange, to knowing her own pains, to being alone—Yi Qingzhuo had always only had herself.
No one ever approached her willingly.
Could Shen Chaoyi not know about that incident?
“Don’t move.” Shen Chaoyi’s spine tingled under Yi Qingzhuo’s gaze, and she finally spoke.
Finally, Shen Chaoyi straightened up and put the remaining band-aids back into the medical kit.
She examined Yi Qingzhuo’s face, which now looked slightly better than before, for three seconds.
Just as she was about to speak, Yi Qingzhuo put her cap back on, blocking Shen Chaoyi’s view.
“Thank you.” Yi Qingzhuo took out her wallet from the paper bag and pulled out three hundred-dollar bills, placing them on the table.
Shen Chaoyi was stunned for a moment, then took a few seconds to realize what Yi Qingzhuo meant.
Her face immediately paled. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Sorry for the trouble, Doctor Shen, to return my jacket. Thank you.” Yi Qingzhuo stood up and gave a slight nod.
She was polite, just cold.
Holding the money, Yi Qingzhuo handed it to Shen Chaoyi.
There was a strong sense of boundaries—so strong that Shen Chaoyi was momentarily speechless, unsure how to react.
She let out a wry laugh. “I treated your wounds not because I wanted a fee. You misunderstood.”
“No misunderstanding. I want to give it,” Yi Qingzhuo said slowly.
Gratitude should be practical. She didn’t want to owe anyone a favor, so this was the best way.
