Chapter 41: Waiting for Me?

Shen Chaoyi waved at Yi Qingzhuo. “Let’s go, you should get back to your ward. Sitting here too long isn’t good for your wound recovery.”

“Mm, okay.” Yi Qingzhuo straightened up and shot a deep look at Han Yecheng. Expressionless, she followed Shen Chaoyi out of the office.

As if emboldened by Shen Chaoyi, Yi Qingzhuo raised an eyebrow and walked with a sway, like a victorious general brimming with confidence.

“Didn’t you have something to tell me?” Yi Qingzhuo remembered why Shen Chaoyi had kept her there.

Shen Chaoyi’s steps were light. At the words, she stopped and turned around. She wanted to say something, but before a single syllable came out, she just looked at Yi Qingzhuo. Actually, there was nothing important to tell her; she just wanted to keep her there. She wanted to hear her clarify things with Han Yecheng and didn’t want her to overthink.

Shen Chaoyi’s eyes darted, then she suddenly smiled. “I wanted to tell you to sleep well.”

“Huh?” The unexpected words surprised Yi Qingzhuo. What kind of thing was that to need to deliberately keep her there? So Shen Chaoyi had purposely made an excuse to keep her there.

The chill that Han Yecheng had brought to Yi Qingzhuo vanished like smoke. The corners of her lips turned up slightly, not hiding her pleasure. “Mm, thanks. Then you have sweet dreams.”

Shen Chaoyi laughed softly and shook the medical records in her hand. “I’m afraid I won’t be having sweet dreams. You just have good dreams.” She was on duty tonight and wouldn’t get any sleep.

Yi Qingzhuo nodded. “If it’s not too busy, you can close your eyes and rest for a bit. You have an on-call break room, right?” Running nonstop would be too much for her body.

“Thanks for your concern.” Shen Chaoyi nodded.

Yi Qingzhuo didn’t deny it. She watched Shen Chaoyi get on the elevator before turning and heading back to her ward.

However, it seemed that neither Shen Chaoyi nor Yi Qingzhuo’s good wishes came true. Yi Qingzhuo didn’t sleep well, and Shen Chaoyi didn’t have sweet dreams.

Tossing and turning, Yi Qingzhuo didn’t sleep well all night. On one hand, her mind was full of Shen Chaoyi keeping her there and the conversation she’d overheard between herself and Han Yecheng. On the other hand, it was that inexplicable knot in her heart regarding Shen Chaoyi.

She could feel her own abnormality toward Shen Chaoyi, and she could also sense Shen Chaoyi’s obvious concern for her. But she didn’t understand whether Shen Chaoyi was just acting as a doctor helping a patient, or if there was something more. She was afraid that after a long drought, she’d mistake a drop of rain for a deluge. For so long, no one had stood in front of her and shielded her without reason. Now, meeting Shen Chaoyi, with just that bit of care, she might misinterpret it as Shen Chaoyi having ulterior motives. In the end, she’d just be flattering herself.

Yi Qingzhuo had never been willing to take that step and break the balance. So, after thinking so much, weighing all the factors, she restrained all her feelings and stayed in her lane.

So at dawn, unable to sleep much, Yi Qingzhuo got up. She quickly washed up in the bathroom, changed out of the plain hospital gown, and took a black baseball cap from the wardrobe. It was the same familiar casual outfit; she walked with a breeze.

Meanwhile, Shen Chaoyi, who had also barely slept, had just come down from the ICU. She saw that familiar dark figure at the office door. Just like the first time Yi Qingzhuo had come to the hospital, she was casually leaning against the wall, her long, straight legs crossed, the black baseball cap covering most of her face. But her tall figure and aloof aura—Shen Chaoyi knew it was Yi Qingzhuo without even seeing her face. She had gotten used to seeing Yi Qingzhuo in that loose hospital gown, pale and weak. Now, seeing her again in a black outfit with a white T-shirt, that cold, distant demeanor was back.

Shen Chaoyi blinked her dry eyes, placed the medical records at the nurse station, and wrote out some orders for a while. Only then did she put down her things and walk over to Yi Qingzhuo, who was waiting quietly.

She smiled lightly, looking tired and spent. “Were you waiting for me?”

Yi Qingzhuo looked up at the sound. “Mm, I was waiting for you.”

Shen Chaoyi nodded. Up close, she saw the line of Yi Qingzhuo’s collarbone, which carried a silver necklace—a key-shaped pendant.

“Then come in and talk.” Shen Chaoyi said as she walked toward her desk. A night without restful sleep had drained some of the warmth from her eyes, now filled with faint red veins.

“Why did you change out of your hospital gown? Are you going out?” Shen Chaoyi saw Yi Qingzhuo come in from the corner of her eye, her gaze on the computer as she handed over the shift, but she asked anyway.

Yi Qingzhuo opened her palm, revealing a slightly crumpled leave slip. During treatment, a patient needs the attending physician’s signature to go out, so Yi Qingzhuo had waited for her. “I need to go to the police station for a bit. I’ll be back by the afternoon. I need your signature.”

Shen Chaoyi took the slip and smoothed it open. Yi Qingzhuo had already filled in her basic information with a fountain pen. All Shen Chaoyi needed to do was sign.

Shen Chaoyi pulled a pen from the holder and studied Yi Qingzhuo’s handwriting. She had written in black ink—the strokes were steady and heavy, yet the tips were sharp, each stroke carrying a martial elegance. The handwriting was full of character, just like the person. It showed Yi Qingzhuo’s unyielding nature.

Shen Chaoyi’s fingertip brushed lightly over the paper’s surface before she signed her name at the bottom. “Shen Chaoyi”—those three characters, delicate and neat, settled at the end.

“Okay. Be careful, don’t overexert yourself. Come back on time in the afternoon.” Shen Chaoyi handed the paper back to Yi Qingzhuo, adding a couple of reminders.

Yi Qingzhuo took the paper and casually put it in her pocket. She nodded. “Thanks.”

“Your handwriting is really beautiful.” After a pause, Shen Chaoyi said with a smile. No wonder Yi Changhuan had told her that Yi Qingzhuo not only excelled in her studies but also in everything else—calligraphy, badminton, guitar, piano, and so on. She was the type who, if she took an interest in something, would actively study it until she reached a certain level of mastery before easing up. And Yi Changhuan doted on her daughter dearly; as long as Yi Qingzhuo liked it, no matter how expensive the class, she would find a way to send her. Yi Qingzhuo lived up to expectations—getting certifications was never a worry. Yi Qingzhuo always pushed forward. And also, Yi Qingzhuo, a falling star.

Yi Qingzhuo had been looking down. Hearing Shen Chaoyi’s words, she looked up in surprise. For just a second, then she turned away stiffly. “I’ve written a lot, so it naturally turned out this way. It’s not really beautiful.”

Yi Qingzhuo’s modesty made Shen Chaoyi purse her lips in a smile. “Why are you so modest? Auntie said you deliberately practiced for a while. You even won awards in competitions later. Is that still not beautiful?”

Hard to imagine that even after Yi Qingzhuo had withdrawn her sharp edges, she was still caught up in trouble with those bizarre relatives, stirring up a fuss.

“That was a long time ago—competitions from my student days. Not enough to be a talking point now.” Yi Qingzhuo’s gaze was light, without much ripple. Indeed, nothing worth boasting about. Yi Qingzhuo wasn’t one to show off. If Shen Chaoyi hadn’t brought it up today, she would have almost forgotten. During her student years, she had won many awards and was a source of pride for her head teacher. But that was in the past.

Shen Chaoyi put the pen back in the holder. “But it really is pretty.”

Then she stood up, unbuttoning her white coat as she walked toward the changing room. “It just happens to be time for my shift handover. I’ll give you a ride on the way. You’re not in a good position to take the bus—you might bump your wound and cause unnecessary trouble.”

“Wait here for me. I’ll change.” Without waiting for Yi Qingzhuo to refuse, Shen Chaoyi walked into the changing room, leaving the door open.