Chapter 33

You Weiwei’s next hospital visit came quickly, just three days later. On Friday, Lin Qimian got a call from her colleague. “Your education patient is here.”

“Okay.” Lin Qimian finished up her work and stepped out of the clinic room. As usual, she swung by her colleague’s office first.

She’d check on You Weiwei’s condition, then wander down to the garden outside to look for Xu Yueliang.

She wasn’t holding out much hope.

That day had truly frightened Xu Yueliang. Back home afterward, Lin Qimian had reflected on it at length.

If your way of getting close to someone made them deeply uncomfortable, then that approach simply shouldn’t exist.

She had righteously shielded Xu Yueliang from such advances several times before. Yet when it came to her own turn, her head had spun and she’d lost all sense of proportion.

Such double standards.

So she’d told Xu Yueliang outright: if it scared her that much, then don’t come back next time.

She had laid it all out plainly—that she worked at this hospital. If Xu Yueliang was as sharp in real life as she was online, she wouldn’t put herself in harm’s way again.

As for what came next, Lin Qimian had no clear plan.

Approaching someone wasn’t like solving a math problem, with one right answer.

Before her colleague’s clinic room, Lin Qimian adjusted her expression into that of the gentle, upright Doctor Lin.

You Weiwei sat at the desk, chatting with her doctor. Aside from the assistant, the room was empty.

Lin Qimian smiled and nodded to her colleague. You Weiwei followed Doctor Zhao’s gaze, her eyes lighting up. “Doctor Lin’s here!”

“Mm.” Lin Qimian acknowledged her, making her stance clear from the start. “No education session today. You can head home right after treatment.”

You Weiwei looked crestfallen. “So no snacks then…”

Lin Qimian replied, “Once your teeth are better, you can eat them slowly.”

With that, she turned to leave the clinic room. Her foot had barely crossed the threshold when someone burst in, clad in a bright yellow baseball jacket that lit up the whole world.

Lin Qimian froze. Xu Yueliang’s twin ponytails swayed with her hurried strides. She halted just a step away, her eyes wide with the same shock mirroring Lin Qimian’s own.

Time seemed to hit pause. No one pressed forward. No words escaped waiting lips.

Xu Yueliang’s outfit was dazzlingly bold: a tight baseball tank top paired with a pleated miniskirt, soccer socks hugging her slender calves, and sneakers splashed with three or more colors—every detail drawing the eye.

Lin Qimian, by contrast, had her black hair tied low, her white coat rendering her plain enough to blend into any hospital backdrop. Fortunately, she’d had no warning to mask up today; her face alone was stunning.

Their gazes locked, rippling like stones skipped across autumn waters. Neither could bear to look away.

It might have been ages, or merely an instant—or perhaps long enough to etch that moment into memory, never to fade.

You Weiwei called out, “Moon!”

“Yeah!” Xu Yueliang replied.

She strained to pitch her voice bright and bold, but under Lin Qimian’s steady gaze, it trembled at the tail end.

“Did you get it?” You Weiwei asked.

“Got it.” Xu Yueliang swallowed, waggling the item clutched in her hand—a large toy hamburger, its soft material bearing dents from her pale fingers.

Lin Qimian reined in her stray emotions, tucking them deep away.

She smiled at Xu Yueliang. “What’s that?”

Xu Yueliang bowed sharply toward her. “Hello, Doctor Lin!”

“It’s a stress-relief gadget,” she rushed to explain, like a student answering her teacher. “You just hold it and squeeze it any way you like…”

Lin Qimian’s eyes settled on the hand Xu Yueliang held up in demonstration, the toy hamburger twisting into fresh shapes in her palm.

“Bounces back quick, nice feel,” Xu Yueliang said with forced cheer. “Weiwei was still scared, so I got this for her to hold. It fell in the car earlier—I called the driver to track it down.”

“Mm,” Lin Qimian murmured softly. “Looks fun.”

Xu Yueliang flicked her eyes up to meet hers, then darted them away just as fast. “I-I’m gonna give it to her…”

Lin Qimian shifted aside, clearing the direct path ahead.

Xu Yueliang passed by, her ponytails swaying and trailing a faint, sweet floral scent.

Lin Qimian turned to watch them.

Xu Yueliang shoved the toy into You Weiwei’s hands and bent low to whisper, “Be good and listen to the doctor.”

You Weiwei nodded. “I will, super obedient. You can sit in the chair next to me, or out in the corridor if you want. Looks like it’ll take a while today.”

“Mm.” Xu Yueliang glanced at the chair, her gaze drifting past the hem of Lin Qimian’s white coat.

She sat on the chair in the clinic room, prim and proper, her colorful backpack placed neatly across her perfectly aligned legs.

Lin Qimian didn’t leave the room again. She simply watched Xu Yueliang.

Xu Yueliang’s answer seemed straightforward enough, but Lin Qimian didn’t dare jump to conclusions.

This time, not only had she accompanied You Weiwei here, but she’d boldly entered the hospital too. Didn’t that mean she wasn’t all that afraid of seeing Lin Qimian anymore?

When she’d bumped into Lin Qimian’s face head-on, she’d panicked, sure—but she hadn’t run away. Instead, she’d earnestly answered Lin Qimian’s unimportant question. Wasn’t that a sign she was open to normal conversation with her?

She could have chosen a seat farther from Lin Qimian, yet she’d picked the closest one. Could Lin Qimian take that to mean Xu Yueliang was giving her a chance to keep talking?

So, what should she say?

What could she say that would stay within Xu Yueliang’s comfort zone—something that would make her smile easily, rather than tense up and start sweating?

Lin Qimian wasn’t much for socializing, but she’d never felt so utterly devoid of social skills as she did in this moment.

It was like tackling something entirely new, with zero experience to draw on. The uncertainty of right and wrong made her downright trepidatious.

She lowered her gaze, pondering.

Xu Yueliang’s eyelashes fluttered. She lifted her eyelids just enough to sneak a glance at Lin Qimian—then another.

In the end, it was Xu Yueliang who spoke first.

Her voice was soft and gentle: “Doctor Lin, am I in your seat?”

“Hm?” Lin Qimian looked up at her.

Xu Yueliang stood. “Do you want to sit here?”

There weren’t many seats in the clinic room, and with Lin Qimian standing there without leaving, it was easy to misunderstand.

“No need. You sit.” Lin Qimian replied to her, casually pulling a brochure from the rack nearby and flipping it open.

Xu Yueliang clutched her bag, hovering as if unsure whether to sit or not.

While Lin Qimian read the brochure, Xu Yueliang kept her eyes fixed on Lin Qimian. You Weiwei climbed onto the treatment table, fiddling with that little toy and waving it around. “Moon, this is gonna take forever—they’re gonna grind my teeth down. You should wait for me outside. Even hearing it makes my teeth ache.”

“Ah, okay.” Xu Yueliang responded, finally seeing a way out. She trotted from the clinic room and settled on a bench in the hallway outside.

Lin Qimian slid the brochure back onto the rack and stepped out of the clinic room as well.

This time, she didn’t hesitate. She went straight to Xu Yueliang. “Want to come sit in my office?”

“Ah?” Xu Yueliang looked up at her.

Lin Qimian said, “I think there are some things we should clear up.”

Xu Yueliang froze for a few seconds, then stood and followed behind Lin Qimian.

Lin Qimian led her down the hall, neither of them forcing small talk. The silence between them felt like a soft, yielding wall.

Lin Qimian brought her into her own office—a place that wasn’t entirely unfamiliar to Xu Yueliang.

No patients were inside, just Zhenzhen at the computer, sorting through case files. She glanced up, and her eyes went wide at the sight of Xu Yueliang.

Lin Qimian said, “Go to the copy room and print out those materials I gave you yesterday.”

Zhenzhen stood. “Oh, right.”

As she headed out, her eyes lingered on Xu Yueliang. Xu Yueliang gave her an embarrassed smile, and Zhenzhen blurted, “Moon looks so pretty today!”

Xu Yueliang: “Thank you, thank you! You’re pretty too~”

Zhenzhen scampered off with a giggle.

Lin Qimian pointed at Zhenzhen’s chair. “Have a seat.”

Xu Yueliang sat obediently, perching on just the edge.

Lin Qimian said, “Relax when you’re in my office.”

Xu Yueliang’s rigid spine instantly slumped, as if to demonstrate just how relaxed she was.

Lin Qimian couldn’t help but laugh. She’d planned to sit down properly and have a real talk, but now standing there, looking up at Xu Yueliang’s face, felt pretty nice too.

She tilted her head slightly, keeping her tone light and easy. “It’s been so long. You haven’t recognized me?”

Xu Yueliang’s throat bobbed. She squeezed the strap of her bag. “I have.”

Lin Qimian: “When?”

Xu Yueliang: “Last… last time, in the garden.”

Lin Qimian: “Not before that? When I pulled your tooth.”

Tears began to well up in Xu Yueliang’s eyes. “I thought you looked familiar, but… but…”

Her words trailed off, and her gaze dropped.

Those eyelashes fluttered twice, as if she were on the verge of tears.

Lin Qimian’s heart gave a little leap. How could she bear to let her cry?

She picked up the thread herself. “But you weren’t sure, right? It’s been a while—seven or eight years, at least?”

Xu Yueliang nodded, keeping her face down.

Lin Qimian shifted her stance to a standing position. She walked aside to pour a cup of water for Xu Yueliang, adopting the relaxed posture and casual tone of old friends catching up after years apart. “I didn’t recognize you right away either. It only clicked when I saw you in person and thought your face looked familiar. But since you didn’t seem to know me, I didn’t dare bring it up.”

She set the glass of water on the table beside Xu Yueliang’s hand. “I felt pretty guilty about how badly you reacted after the surgery.”

Xu Yueliang finally looked up and met her gaze.

Lin Qimian smiled. “Good thing you’ve recovered so well.”

She tilted her head, examining Xu Yueliang’s face from both sides. “Very pretty. It hasn’t affected the symmetry at all.”

Xu Yueliang jumped in right away. “It’s perfect, Doctor Lin. Your technique is outstanding—I don’t feel any discomfort anymore.”

Lin Qimian nodded. “That’s a relief.”

Xu Yueliang broke into a smile, sweet and radiant. In that moment, Lin Qimian sensed her tension easing just a little.

Sometimes it was better to clear the air than let it fester. She decided to lay it all out in the open.

Lin Qimian pivoted smoothly. “But recognizing me made you uncomfortable, didn’t it?”

Xu Yueliang’s smile froze on her face.

Lin Qimian’s own smile broadened, easy and unburdened. “So you still remember the old days—and pretty vividly, from the looks of it.”

Xu Yueliang grew flustered. She couldn’t stay seated and shot to her feet, stammering an apology. “I’m sorry, Doctor Lin. I was so stupid back then. I didn’t understand anything…”

Lin Qimian cut her off gently. “It’s fine.”

She looked at Xu Yueliang and repeated, “It’s fine.” Those buried memories from their youth seemed to scatter like mist in a soft breeze.

“It’s fine,” she said again.

“Who wasn’t an idiot at that age?” Lin Qimian added with a laugh. “Don’t dwell on the past.”

She recalled Huang Xiaoyi’s little speech and thought it fit the moment perfectly. “It’s been so long, and here we are, bumping into each other in the same city. What a coincidence.”

“We should hang out sometime.”

Xu Yueliang stared at her, tears brimming in her eyes until the whole world blurred.

She couldn’t make out Lin Qimian’s face clearly, nor could Lin Qimian read her expression. The only sound was the crisp tear of tissue paper from the box.

Lin Qimian draped the thin sheet over Xu Yueliang’s eyes, just as she had during their first reunion.

Her fingertip pressed lightly against it. The tissue soaked up the tears and veiled the storm of confusion, shame, and mortification beneath.

It gave her a moment to breathe, a chance to preserve a shred of adult dignity.

Xu Yueliang sniffled. Her rigid posture trembled.

“Why are you such a crybaby?” Lin Qimian teased, pulling out two more tissues and pressing them into her palm. She grinned. “If you’re still this scared of me, I’ll put the mask back on.”

“No!” Xu Yueliang’s fingers clenched tight as she blurted the word, her voice cracking. She wadded up the tissue in her hand and scrubbed fiercely at her eyes. “I’m not crying.”

She forced her lips into a smile. “Doctor Lin took such good care of me. I still owe you dinner.”