Shen Chaoyi walked out slowly and opened the hospital room door.
The moment she stepped out, she caught Yi Changhuan looking flustered and startled. “Doctor Shen…”
Perhaps it was the guilt of having been eavesdropping just now, but Yi Changhuan didn’t dare meet Shen Chaoyi’s eyes.
Shen Chaoyi saw right through her but didn’t call her out. “Aunt, I still have work at the outpatient clinic, so I’ll take my leave now.”
“Oh, right, right. Doctor Shen, you go ahead. Sorry for the trouble,” Yi Changhuan said hastily.
“It’s my duty.” Shen Chaoyi’s expression remained unchanged.
But as soon as she turned the corner and was out of Yi Changhuan’s sight, she patted her chest in relief.
She had been startled too.
She pulled out her phone and tapped on Yi Qingzhuo’s profile picture—she hadn’t had a chance to look at it carefully earlier.
The moment she clicked, Yi Qingzhuo accepted the friend request.
Shen Chaoyi stared at the chat interface, her fingers hovering over the keyboard for a moment. She opened Yi Qingzhuo’s profile picture—a white background with black artistic English letters.
Redeemed
Salvation.
It was also the name of Yi Qingzhuo’s internet cafe. The name didn’t quite match her personality.
Yi Qingzhuo obviously didn’t have a Moments feed either; it was completely empty.
Shen Chaoyi stared at her profile picture for a long time.
A faint, indescribable feeling welled up in her chest. She didn’t even need to check to know her heart was racing, faster than when she was calm.
It was just adding a contact. Why was she so excited?
Even Shen Chaoyi couldn’t figure herself out.
“Doctor Shen? Chen Ya was just looking for you. She’s waiting for you to start the outpatient clinic,” Wang Shiye said, spotting Shen Chaoyi leaning against the wall and calling out to her.
Shen Chaoyi’s nerves were wound tight as a string, and Wang Shiye’s sudden appearance startled her. She instinctively pressed her phone against her chest.
She fumbled for words and finally managed, “Okay… I’ll be right there.”
“Doctor Shen, about this morning… what are you planning to do?” Wang Shiye probed, trying to fish for information.
But Shen Chaoyi let out a long breath, turned off her phone, and stuffed it into her pocket. “What are you talking about?”
With that, Shen Chaoyi shoved her hands into her pockets and walked away quickly.
Wang Shiye watched her slender figure retreat and let out a cold snort.
She muttered under her breath, “Fine, don’t say anything then.”
Soon, dusk fell, and stars dotted the sky.
The night was as cool as water, the bright moon hung high, and a cold wind howled.
The emergency department was bright with lights every day of the year, just like clockwork. Those who were off-duty went home; those on duty took over.
Every day was the same. Although the morning’s incident had its parties in an uproar, for the emergency department—which dealt with all kinds of patients and witnessed countless things every day—drama was just something to watch and then talk about over tea.
No one cared about the developments. Drama was there to be watched; just watch the show.
Yi Qingzhuo sat by the window, legs crossed, gazing at the scenery outside.
She had changed rooms, so instead of the old view she’d gotten sick of, she now saw a lake next to the hospital.
Almost everyone walking around the lake was wearing hospital gowns.
After staying in the hospital for a long time, you eventually had to go out for some fresh air, or else your mood would only get gloomier.
Soft piano music played through her earphones.
Just as Shen Chaoyi had said, the gentle piano melodies suited someone like her, who preferred solitude and quiet.
Her thoughts gradually cleared. Yi Qingzhuo wasn’t sure if it was because of the piano music Shen Chaoyi had given her, but she kept picturing Shen Chaoyi standing in front of her, defending her.
It had been a long time since anyone had stood before her like that.
Without asking anything, without saying a word, just protecting her.
Yi Qingzhuo could feel that Shen Chaoyi’s heart was on her side.
It was genuine—a feeling she had never experienced before.
It was like walking through a desert for a long time, with no water or food, about to die, all hope lost.
Then, in the distance, she saw a wisp of smoke rising.
That smoke was the warmth of mortal life—hope, a destination she was set on reaching.
Shen Chaoyi’s words kept popping into her head without reason.
Sometimes it was her blocking Xu Jiangqin and saying, “Please watch your language.” Other times it was what she had said in the ward earlier—that she didn’t care about gossip.
Buy me a meal, Yi Qingzhuo.
What should we eat? Where? When?
Yi Qingzhuo couldn’t help but start looking forward to the promise she had made.
She had only flipped through a few pages of the book in her hand all afternoon, and she couldn’t remember a single word of it.
Her eyes fell on the text, but it was as if they pierced through the words to see a face of extraordinary beauty.
Even in her simple green clothing, her elegance was bone-deep.
It was hard to imagine how someone could possess both stunning looks and a gentle temperament—how captivating she was.
A white moonlight, like stars imprinted on the heart.
The white coat she wore every day couldn’t constrain her beauty.
Time and again, Yi Qingzhuo tried to pull her thoughts back, but she couldn’t help thinking about her.
She should have been planning countermeasures for her current situation.
But she had sat there all afternoon, and all she had done was think about Shen Chaoyi.
Every winding thought led back to her.
Yi Qingzhuo felt she had truly been bewitched by Shen Chaoyi’s “I’m single” and had fallen under her spell.
When Yi Changhuan returned from the police station, she saw Yi Qingzhuo sitting like that.
Judging by her posture, she had probably been sitting there for a long time.
“Oh dear, why are you sitting up? Didn’t Doctor Shen tell you to lie down and rest more?”
Without thinking, Yi Qingzhuo replied, “I’ve been lying down too long, so I got up for a bit.”
“Get back in bed soon. Don’t take your body lightly.” Yi Changhuan patted the blanket and placed the file folder on the bedside table.
Yi Qingzhuo stretched her legs. Since she had been sitting cross-legged for a long time without moving, she leaned slightly against the windowsill.
She closed the book and set it aside casually. Her slender, well-defined hand rested on the cold, porcelain-white windowsill, while the other hand—still with the IV cannula—removed her earphones and set them on the book’s cover.
Her spine curved slightly. “Chen Yao called me earlier. I’ll go over tomorrow, so you won’t need to go to the police station.”
Some documents still needed her signature as the involved party before they could be processed.
“Alright. I went to see your aunt and her family today.” Yi Changhuan poured herself a glass of water, downed half of it in one gulp, and finally caught her breath.
A look of sorrow gathered between Yi Qingzhuo’s brows, and her attitude was firm. “I won’t sign a letter of leniency.”
She didn’t need to ask to know what would happen.
She could even hear their words echoing in her ears.
The same old lines, over and over.
Not only were they unoriginal, but they also just made her irritable.
Yi Changhuan was satisfied with Yi Qingzhuo’s stance. “Mom knows. I definitely won’t agree either.”
“Mm.” Yi Qingzhuo swayed slightly, then slowly moved to the edge of the bed.
Just as she sat down on the bed, a knock came at the door.
A flicker of hope shone in Yi Qingzhuo’s calm eyes.
But unfortunately, when the door opened, it wasn’t that person.
It was Zhou Jinglong.
Yi Changhuan quickly said, “Director Zhou, please, come in.”
Director Zhou nodded and took a couple of steps inside.
“Director Zhou,” Yi Qingzhuo greeted him.
Director Zhou had a kind face. He adjusted his glasses and said, “Feeling better now? I heard from Chaoyi that you’re in good spirits.”
“Much better.” Yi Qingzhuo’s eyes were deep and bright.
Director Zhou studied Yi Qingzhuo for a moment, remembering how she had stood up for Shen Chaoyi earlier this morning, regardless of the consequences.
And because of her, Shen Chaoyi had taken a punch.
He knew that Shen Chaoyi had worked in the emergency department for years and had encountered all kinds of unexpected situations.
But she had always managed to smooth things over. Getting hit like that today was a first.
Director Zhou’s heart ached for her.
“Get plenty of rest, cooperate with the doctors, and don’t worry. It’ll pass soon. By the way, Chaoyi said you two knew each other before?” Director Zhou didn’t waste time with more pleasantries.
Ever since he had mentored Shen Chaoyi, he had never heard her mention having a friend like this.
Shen Chaoyi’s unusual behavior because of Yi Qingzhuo made Director Zhou curious about her.
“Knew each other before?” Yi Changhuan was surprised and looked at Yi Qingzhuo.
Since when?
Neither Yi Qingzhuo nor Shen Chaoyi had ever mentioned it.
Yi Qingzhuo paused for a second, unable to figure out why Director Zhou was asking this. “We’ve met once before.”
It must have been at the internet cafe.
Director Zhou was even more puzzled by this answer. “Just once?”
“Director Zhou, does the hospital have a rule that a patient and doctor can’t have a therapeutic relationship if they already know each other?” Yi Qingzhuo stopped answering and looked at Director Zhou expressionlessly.
It seemed as if he had touched on something she was unwilling to share.
Director Zhou smiled. “Of course not. I apologize if I offended you.”
“Actually, it’s because Chaoyi mentioned you recently. From the way she talked, it sounded like you two were quite familiar.”
After saying this, Director Zhou carefully observed the expression on Yi Qingzhuo’s face.
These were secondary concerns.
The main thing was that earlier today, when the medical department had come to question Shen Chaoyi about the incident, Director Zhou had heard her correct them more than once about Yi Qingzhuo’s identity.
She insisted that not everyone who came out of prison was a bad person.
At the very least, Shen Chaoyi was clearly defending Yi Qingzhuo.
But as far as Director Zhou knew, when the incident happened ten years ago, Shen Chaoyi was still a university student in another city.
And Yi Qingzhuo had only been out of prison for the past six months.
There was no overlap in their lives. How could they be so close?
Director Zhou saw Shen Chaoyi as his own daughter, so he was a bit concerned about this.
But Yi Qingzhuo only reacted at his last sentence, dropping her hands to her sides unnaturally and clenching them into fists. “We’re not close. I already told you, we’ve only met once.”
