Chapter 31

Lin Qimian sent the message and stared at the chat screen, waiting for Xu Yueliang’s reply.

Today wasn’t one of her workdays, so the clinic room was empty—no colleagues, no patients. It was quiet enough for her to sit there lost in thought about this.

After a long while, a new message finally popped up on her phone:

-【What a coincidence!】

-【I got my teeth checked by Doctor Lin, and she’s such a nice person.】

-【Please don’t tell her about my fangirling, okay? It’s so embarrassing~~】

Lin Qimian: 【Okay.】

Xu Yueliang:

-【Thanks, 11!】

-【Running into each other twice and now a third time is so awkward~】

-【I won’t mention Doctor Lin in the live streaming room anymore, and please don’t bring up her name either. I don’t want to cause her any trouble~~】

Lin Qimian: 【Okay.】

Xu Yueliang:

-【Thanks again, 11!】

-【Cat bowing.gif】

Looking at the cute little cat emoji bowing politely, Lin Qimian knew the conversation was over.

The connection between z92565611 and Lin Qimian had come to a temporary end as well.

Yesterday, she’d lost control of her emotions; today, her overzealous enthusiasm had come on too strong and scared Xu Yueliang off.

When Xu Yueliang had come in for a dental checkup, she hadn’t wanted to reveal her job to a stranger. How much less would she want to do so in front of an old classmate she actually knew?

Imagine if an old schoolmate you’d once had an awkward encounter with suddenly showed up in your live streaming room. Acting totally out of character from real life, showering you with massive gifts day after day and openly showing their affection—it would make anyone’s hair stand on end. Anyone would back away fast.

Just as Xu Yueliang had said, running into each other a second and third time was too awkward.

Even if Xu Yueliang had gushed about the beautiful doctor a hundred times on stream, she’d never revealed which hospital or what her name was. That was all to keep her real life and online world completely separate.

Everyone wore some kind of mask online, to varying degrees—a place to let loose or hide away safely.

No matter how much Xu Yueliang believed that 11 wasn’t Lin Qimian, Lin Qimian had to respect that safe space.

She had no right to intrude right now.

As for their interactions in real life, that was simpler.

Doctor Lin had her professional way of handling things, and Xu Yueliang had her own approach to old classmates.

Lin Qimian took a step back, and Xu Yueliang immediately returned to her usual self. Though Lin Qimian couldn’t talk to her face-to-face, she could still sense Xu Yueliang’s relief.

That relief brought Lin Qimian a faint pang of sadness, but since the feeling had been gnawing at her for so long, she’d grown used to it by now. It felt perfectly normal.

Haste makes waste, after all. Lin Qimian could only take it slow.

At two in the afternoon, Xu Yueliang didn’t go live on time.

Lin Qimian sat in the clinic room with her earphones on, sorting through work files.

The door was ajar, and the room was perfectly still.

Finally, at three o’clock, Orange Live chimed with a notification: Moon was going live.

Lin Qimian tapped in and saw Xu Yueliang grinning at the camera. “Hi~~~ Sorry, everyone, I’m late today~~~”

Someone asked where she’d been; another viewer with a good memory chimed in for her: the streamer had gone with a friend to the hospital to see the beautiful doctor.

Xu Yueliang glanced at the barrage. “Nope, I just had something come up.”

Lin Qimian propped her phone on its stand and leaned back from the screen.

More viewers pressed for details. Xu Yueliang straightened her clothes and hair. She was dressed in a fresh light green outfit today, her makeup soft and pink—adorably cute.

She launched into full cuteness mode, leaning close to the camera, hand over her mouth like she was sharing a secret. In a tiny whisper: “I overslept~~~”

That did the trick. The stream’s vibe shifted instantly—no one cared about the real reason anymore.

Xu Yueliang giggled, her eyes crinkling with delight as she swayed to the music.

True to her word.

She’d said she wouldn’t mention Lin Qimian on stream anymore, and she’d even scrubbed any talk of the hospital visit from the conversation entirely.

Lin Qimian admired how decisively she handled things, no mess, no fuss. Even if that decisiveness was being used against her.

Lin Qimian sent a gift—the most standard, polite “hello.”

Xu Yueliang pressed her hands together and read off the thank-yous. When she got to 11, it was smooth and equally polite, no hesitation.

Lin Qimian watched the stream for a bit, then logged out.

Weiwei wasn’t like Xu Yueliang. If she had something going on but could make it in time, she’d stream without fail.

If she took a day off, she took it—no matter that her morning treatment hadn’t kept her from doing anything else.

She spent the entire afternoon playing games with her viewers.

The moment Lin Qimian logged on, an invitation pinged in almost instantly.

【Bigshot, Bigshot, wanna team up?】

Lin Qimian joined the squad.

Weiwei: “Bigshot’s on early today.”

Lin Qimian: 【Weekend.】

Weiwei: “Oh right, I totally forgot.”

She herded everyone into the match while chatting idly. “On a big weekend like this, who’s still stuck at work besides us entertainers and folks like doctors and cops?”

Her teammates chimed in, and a good ten minutes slipped by with Lin Qimian gleaning no useful info.

In the end, she had to send her own message: 【Weiwei streaming tomorrow?】

Weiwei blinked at it in surprise. “Bigshot suddenly cares about little old me?? Aah, I’m seriously flattered.”

“But tomorrow I’ve got the hospital. My teeth aren’t done yet, so I probably won’t be able to stream.”

Lin Qimian: 【Mm.】

Weiwei: “Tuesday. Tuesday should work. There’s a new map dropping Tuesday with a treasure chest event. Bigshot, I’ll ping you before I go live.”

Lin Qimian: 【Mm.】

Weiwei bubbled with excitement a bit longer, but she didn’t drop a single specific detail about her hospital trip.

Lin Qimian wanted to ask if anyone would be going with her, but under the circumstances, that felt too risky.

She’d pulled back for a reason—no need to show her hand and risk tipping her tail.

She held out until the end of the match. Weiwei claimed chicken dinner and bounced around in glee.

Lin Qimian gifted her the latest vehicle skin—a pink Maserati—hoping it might carry Xu Yueliang in Weiwei’s car to the hospital tomorrow.

Weiwei logged off and promptly posted to Moments, tagging Lin Qimian with thanks for Bigshot’s generosity.

Almost immediately, a red notification dot appeared on Lin Qimian’s phone. “Little Moon” had liked the post.

Lin Qimian popped into Xu Yueliang’s stream room. She wasn’t in frame—probably taking a quick break.

What a phone addict, Lin Qimian thought.

On Monday, Lin Qimian arrived at the hospital as usual.

The instant she stepped into the clinic room, Zhenzhen called out, “Teacher Lin! Haven’t seen you in two days, and you look amazing!”

Lin Qimian: “？？？？”

Lin Qimian: “Was I not good-looking before?”

Zhenzhen: “Ah, you were good-looking before too. It’s just… today you’re especially different.”

“Fine by me,” Lin Qimian said, pleased with the effect.

Zhenzhen watched her settle in without putting on her glasses and asked curiously, “Teacher Lin, are your glasses broken? Can you even see clearly like that?”

“Clear as day,” Lin Qimian replied. “The old pair was just plain lenses for blocking blue light.”

It took Zhenzhen a moment, but then realization dawned. “Oh! I get it! You’re just like those TV heroines—gorgeous but forcing themselves to look plain with glasses, and then bam, they take them off and stun everyone!!!”

Lin Qimian smiled.

Gathering her courage, Zhenzhen whispered, “So… where’s your male lead?”

Lin Qimian twirled her pen between her fingers, then pulled out her phone to message a colleague.

-【Let me know when that You Weiwei from yesterday shows up.】

-【She’s cooperative with the outreach events. I wanna milk a bit more out of her.】

The events were a real thing the hospital ran—back during summer vacation to drum up more patients. The hype had died down by now.

Lin Qimian didn’t need to handle this sort of thing herself, but her colleague found it odd yet didn’t pry.

After all, with Lin Qimian’s position, she might just be getting hands-on experience for planning the next round.

Not their concern, anyway—not when they were punching a clock for a steady paycheck.

Sure enough, the moment You Weiwei stepped through the treatment room door, the message hit Lin Qimian’s phone.

Lin Qimian gauged the timing, finished up with her current patient, and headed out of her own room.

You Weiwei lay on the treatment table, clutching her shirt in a death grip.

Lin Qimian stepped in and took up position by the table. You Weiwei’s eyes lit up, and she waved with a pitiful little expression.

Lin Qimian smiled. “Hey there.”

The colleague mid-treatment paused and had You Weiwei rinse. “Doctor Lin’s here, and I’m still nervous.”

“No need to be. I’m just popping in to say hi.” Seizing the moment, Lin Qimian asked, “Weiwei, you here alone again today?”

You Weiwei: “Nah, my friend’s with me—waiting outside!”

Lin Qimian: “Mm. Sounds like your friend’s really chicken.”

You Weiwei: “Yeah! She came all this way but won’t come in. Can’t even drag her. It’s not that scary!”

Lin Qimian nodded with deep understanding. “No, it’s really not.”

You Weiwei resumed her treatment, and Lin Qimian slipped out of the room. She strolled down the corridor once, then took the elevator down.

Xu Yueliang probably wouldn’t even dare set foot in the building, judging by how she’d shown up twice before and hidden both times.

But Xu Yueliang was the kind of person who was utterly sincere and enthusiastic toward others. Since she was here to keep her company, she’d want to do it from as close as possible.

Those two factors intersecting narrowed the search area considerably.

Lin Qimian stepped out of the building and followed the green belt circling it. Turning left at the garden entrance, she spotted someone in the covered bridge from a distance.

It wasn’t that Xu Yueliang was hiding poorly; it was simply that, in Lin Qimian’s line of sight, Xu Yueliang stood out more vividly than anything else.

Dressed in a long skirt and sitting in the garden’s covered bridge, she was as impossible to miss as she’d been back in her school uniform, blending into a teeming crowd.

Lin Qimian didn’t go any closer. Instead, she retreated a step into the shadow of a tree.

From afar, she watched Xu Yueliang—catching glimpses of her profile and the back of her head as she clutched her phone, bowed low over it.

Just like all those times she’d watched Xu Yueliang from hidden corners in the past.

Back then, it had been pure, unadulterated joy—a quiet, wordless bliss. Now, it felt like gripping a long pole while stepping onto a tightrope strung high in the air.

Xu Yueliang was afraid of her. She was avoiding her.

Having torn through that flimsy window paper, she didn’t even have the courage to come face her or call out “Doctor Lin.”

It was clear the misunderstanding from years ago with Lin Qimian had only grown more mortifying for Xu Yueliang.

After a long moment, Lin Qimian’s phone rang. She turned away and picked up.

A colleague let her know You Weiwei’s treatment was finished and she could come deliver the educational talk.

“Mm.” Lin Qimian headed back inside and made for the break room first.

She grabbed the special snacks set aside for Xu Yueliang, then handed them over to You Weiwei as a “reward” for the talk, using the same awkward ploy as before.

You Weiwei clutched the big bag of soft candies, grinning from ear to ear.

“Doctor Lin, you’re the best,” she gushed. “This hospital event is amazing.”

“Mm.” Lin Qimian reminded her, “No eating them yet, though.”

“I won’t, I won’t—my teeth are still aching.” You Weiwei said, “My friend swiped all yesterday’s snacks anyway.”

Lin Qimian’s brow twitched faintly, and her heart gave a little skip. “Swiped… by a friend?”

You Weiwei nodded. “Yeah! She’s a total foodie—can’t pass by snacks without grabbing them. She came to keep me company yesterday and hadn’t even eaten breakfast.”

Lin Qimian’s fingertips stirred. “Then… why not have your friend come listen to the talk too? Besties together, double the prizes.”

You Weiwei’s eyes lit up. “Wow!!!”

Lin Qimian added, “She wouldn’t be scared of doctors, would she?”

You Weiwei waved her hands frantically. “No way, no way—she’s not that timid.”

She whipped out her phone right away, ready to call Xu Yueliang.

It wasn’t just about the snacks, really. They were free, and she’d hit the jackpot with this gentle, caring, gorgeous doctor—she had to share the win.

Otherwise, it’d be like all her bragging falling flat.

Lin Qimian stopped her, though. “Don’t let her come inside. She might freak out if she hears voices.”

You Weiwei blinked. “Ah…”

Lin Qimian fished two more bags of candy from the drawer. Her gaze snagged on the mask tucked in the corner; she hesitated a beat, then pulled it out.

She tore open the packaging and slipped it on, draping that hypocritical veil of window paper back in place. “I’ll go out with you. Quick talk, quick finish.”

You Weiwei was floored by her selfless thoughtfulness. “Ah—”

They hurried toward the exit, Lin Qimian not breaking stride, You Weiwei keeping pace. For a moment, it was impossible to tell who was more eager.

They reached the building’s exterior in no time. Lin Qimian turned the corner, and You Weiwei followed without a second thought.

The garden was right there. The covered bridge was right there. You Weiwei waved vigorously at it, and the figure finally turned.

“Moon—” You Weiwei yelled, dashing forward. “Hurry up! Doctor Lin’s gonna give you the rundown!! Snack gift bag reward!!!”

Xu Yueliang froze in place. Lin Qimian drew nearer, step by measured step, until she stood right in front of her and could clearly see the panic etched across her face.

“So it’s you.” Lin Qimian smiled gently, every inch the familiar Doctor Lin. “Little Moon, long time no see.”