Chapter 46: Doctor Shen’s Tease

“Mm, no tearing, no oozing. The wound is healing well. It might be because you’ve insisted on bed rest.” Shen Chaoyi looked at the centipede-like scar straddling her waist, and her heart clenched.

Her fingertips traced the wound she had stitched herself. It was one finger’s length from top to bottom. Every stitch had been sewn with extreme care.

Her suturing technique was already perfected—she could handle any situation with ease, and the healing results were excellent. But with Yi Qingzhuo, Shen Chaoyi had to adjust her breathing more than once, treating her like a priceless treasure.

She didn’t want any imperfections.

“Hiss…”

When Shen Chaoyi’s fingers touched the wound, a trace of coolness seemed to invade every cell of Yi Qingzhuo’s body.

Even though Yi Qingzhuo was trying her best to endure, her muscles tensed. Every inch of skin that Shen Chaoyi touched felt like it was on fire.

And yet Shen Chaoyi meticulously stroked from top to bottom. Yi Qingzhuo clenched her teeth, but Shen Chaoyi still managed to pry her mouth open, and she let out a muffled groan.

“Does it hurt?” As soon as she heard Yi Qingzhuo’s voice, Shen Chaoyi withdrew her fingertips as if shocked.

Her fingers curled one by one. Shen Chaoyi looked up in shock.

The beautiful, delicate face so close to her made Yi Qingzhuo freeze for a moment.

She licked her dry lips, her eyes shimmering. “Doesn’t hurt. It itches.”

“You’re ticklish.” Shen Chaoyi lowered her eyelids and smiled faintly.

So Shen Chaoyi reached down again, pressing precisely on that mermaid line.

Unsurprisingly, Yi Qingzhuo’s originally expressionless face instantly changed.

She leaned her upper body back and suddenly grabbed Shen Chaoyi’s hand on her waist.

A flame flickered deep in her eyes. She hissed in a low voice, “Take it off.”

It was different from how she scolded Xia Qinyu. Although the tone was similar, there was an added hint of embarrassment and anger.

It was shame, it was annoyance—so she used a harsh tone to stop Shen Chaoyi’s actions.

Yi Qingzhuo had entered that cage at the age of eighteen. Although she had come out nearly thirty, in the end, she had never experienced this kind of subtle teasing.

Especially in front of someone she was slightly attracted to.

She was quiet and seemed mature and steady, but her romantic experience was a blank slate.

Yi Qingzhuo’s sudden glare made Shen Chaoyi lose the desire to tease her. But her wrist was still held. Shen Chaoyi tried to pull back.

Yi Qingzhuo didn’t let go.

Shen Chaoyi pursed her lips. “Then let go first. You have a strong grip.”

Shen Chaoyi’s warm breath kept blowing on Yi Qingzhuo’s ear. She suddenly released her grip.

She turned her head away. “Doctor Shen, even outside the hospital, you should maintain your professionalism.”

Using the wound check to tease a patient.

Unprofessional.

Shen Chaoyi glanced at her reddened wrist. She raised her hand and propped it on the edge of the table, tapping her fingers on the surface.

She leaned forward, pressing down slightly, and said nothing.

Yi Qingzhuo was forced to look up because of her movement. Her tense jawline trembled as she swallowed.

“What are you doing?”

Shen Chaoyi’s face was full of smiles, sending a chill down Yi Qingzhuo’s spine.

Smiling at someone without saying anything was very unsettling.

Shen Chaoyi subtly glanced at the messy necklace on her collarbone. Her left hand slid around Yi Qingzhuo’s waist.

Yi Qingzhuo instinctively wanted to push away the person pressing down on her.

But the next second, Shen Chaoyi withdrew her hand and used the other to take a roll of gauze.

“As you wish, I’ll exercise my professionalism.” Shen Chaoyi’s lips curled with a radiant smile.

Yi Qingzhuo nearly ground her molars to dust. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Shen Chaoyi carefully tied a bowknot, smiled, and put the remaining gauze roll back into the medical kit.

Yi Qingzhuo quickly pulled on her clothes and zipped her jacket all the way up. As if to cover it up, she also put on a hat and pulled the brim down low.

She turned and leisurely packed up the medical kit before closing it.

The softness on Shen Chaoyi’s face froze in her eyes as she glanced at her calm, breeze-like profile. She turned and unlocked the door.

Xia Qinyu was pressed against the door, ear to the wood, trying to hear what was happening inside. But after listening for so long, not a sound came.

Just as she was getting frustrated, Shen Chaoyi opened the door. Xia Qinyu immediately leaned in, almost colliding with Shen Chaoyi.

Meeting Shen Chaoyi’s questioning gaze, she asked, “Doctor Sister, what were you two doing in there? Is there something I shouldn’t hear? Why did you hide from me?”

“Ah…” Shen Chaoyi heard this, and the image of her fingers pressing on Yi Qingzhuo’s mermaid line flashed in her mind. Her heart suddenly heated up, and even her step on the stairs paused for a second.

Shen Chaoyi felt inexplicably guilty, as if she and Yi Qingzhuo had done something shameful in there. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Yi Qingzhuo deleting the surveillance footage. She said casually, “We didn’t say anything, just changed the dressing.”

Xia Qinyu muttered suspiciously, “We’re all women, what’s there to hide?”

Although her voice wasn’t loud, every word fell into Shen Chaoyi’s ears. Before Shen Chaoyi could figure out how to handle it, Yi Qingzhuo, having finished deleting all evidence, turned her chair and said in a deep voice, “Nothing for you to see. You’re just a kid, always so curious.”

“I’m twenty-two, Sis.” Xia Qinyu was exasperated.

That age—the prime of adult life. And Yi Qingzhuo called her a child.

Xia Qinyu felt a lump of frustration in her chest, blushing with anger.

Yi Qingzhuo’s expression didn’t change. “To me, you’ve always been a child.”

“You…” Xia Qinyu was momentarily speechless. Before she could think of a retort, Yi Qingzhuo had already stood up. “Let’s go home.”

Clearly not wanting to take Xia Qinyu along.

Xia Qinyu was an unstoppable ball of energy. She followed Yi Qingzhuo and casually shoved the keys back into Yi Qingzhuo’s jacket pocket. “No, I’m going with you. You’re still injured; I’ll take care of you.”

Yi Qingzhuo’s brows furrowed slightly, as if recalling something from the past. She stopped walking and asked in undisguised doubt, “You? Take care of me?”

“Yeah, what’s wrong with that?” Xia Qinyu patted her chest, looking like she had it all under control. She turned and smiled at Shen Chaoyi. “Don’t worry, Doctor Sister. I’ll make sure my sister recovers and gets discharged soon.”

Shen Chaoyi responded with a smile, looking at Yi Qingzhuo’s reaction with curiosity. Why did she look like she was facing a great enemy?

There was no trace of a smile on Yi Qingzhuo’s face. She almost gritted her teeth. “Then I’m afraid I’ll never recover and leave this hospital.”

When she was in her third year of junior high, little Xia Qinyu, only a few years old, insisted on taking her tree climbing to steal bird eggs. She called it “relocating the birds to a new coordinate.” Yi Qingzhuo couldn’t argue with her, so she stood under the tree, looking worried as Xia Qinyu, wearing a princess dress and looking every bit the little girl, somehow managed to climb that large locust tree in just a few moves without any tools.

Xia Qinyu was a small but clever imp; she refused to come down after having her fun. Instead, she took the entire nest of eggs and hugged it to her chest, refusing to let go. Hanging on with just one hand, Xia Qinyu soon found it difficult. Yi Qingzhuo stood under the tree, constantly looking up, wanting her to come down. She refused.

When she was about halfway down, about three meters from the ground, she ran out of strength. Even then, she wouldn’t let go of the bird’s nest, so she fell with the nest. Right onto Yi Qingzhuo.

At that time, Yi Qingzhuo tried to protect Xia Qinyu, so they collided. Xia Qinyu was completely fine except for a scraped knee. But when Yi Qingzhuo fell, her entire right arm broke from the force.

That whole night, Yi Qingzhuo screamed in agony from the bone setting, while Xia Qinyu’s butt got spanked and she howled.

That was just the beginning. The next day, to make up for her mistake, Xia Qinyu trotted after Yi Qingzhuo, saying she wanted to take care of her so she would get better soon. Yi Qingzhuo couldn’t avoid her, so she let her follow.

But that same noon, they were lying on the same bed for a nap. Asleep, Xia Qinyu rolled over and directly landed on Yi Qingzhuo’s injured arm. From then on, it left an indelible shadow on Yi Qingzhuo.

Now, whenever she hears Xia Qinyu say the word “care,” her right arm aches faintly.

“Sis, what about your trust in me?” Xia Qinyu didn’t remember those incidents much, but she knew she had caused Yi Qingzhuo a lot of trouble as a child.

Yi Qingzhuo said firmly, “None.”