At two-thirty in the afternoon, the legendary beautiful female streamer finally arrived at Youhai Stomatology.
From the moment she checked in at the front desk, the messages in the WeChat Gossip Little Group hadn’t stopped flowing.
【She’s here, she’s here! Your goddess looks way too gorgeous today @Peng Xiaoshuai】
【Her figure is insane too. Same species, same planet—how does she get to be so tall?】
【I saw her, I saw her! How does she curl her hair like that? No salon could pull off that effect.】
【If you hadn’t said she’s a streamer, I’d swear she was some minor celebrity.】
Peng Xiaoshuai popped up, replying to a few mentions before sending out a red envelope and begging: 【Please, everyone, just keep this in the hospital group chat. Don’t post it online—god forbid some rabid fan shows up here. That’d be a nightmare.】
【Got it.】
【Thanks, boss. Got it, got it.】
【Xiaoshuai, what are you still doing holed up in the clinic room? Go welcome your goddess! Strut around in front of her a couple times—at least get on her radar.】
Peng Xiaoshuai stared at that message, his fingers clenching tight.
God, he wanted to.
His original plan had been perfect: the instant Little Moon stepped through the doors of Youhai Stomatology, he’d “accidentally” run into her, escort her straight to the clinic room, and stick around for the whole procedure.
But that wasn’t happening now. Little Moon’s attending physician had been switched to Lin Qimian, who had made it crystal clear to him: treat every patient equally, no exceptions.
This was the second time Lin Qimian had chewed him out over Little Moon. Peng Xiaoshuai didn’t dare make a move, terrified his meddling would backfire and make Doctor Lin hate Little Moon even more.
Forget greeting her—he didn’t even dare step out of the clinic room. Instead, he sat on the sofa, leg jiggling with anxiety as he waited.
Lin Qimian’s clinic room was right across from his at a diagonal angle. When her door stood open, he could catch glimpses inside. In stark contrast to his own frayed nerves, Doctor Lin moved with calm precision, everything business as usual as she chatted with an elderly patient.
The group chat kept up a running commentary, messages flying faster the closer she got.
Finally, someone appeared at the clinic room door, poking in half a head and asking softly, “Excuse me, is Doctor Fang in?”
Peng Xiaoshuai’s hand jerked, sending his phone tumbling into the sofa cushions. He fished it out in a frenzy before managing a response. “Yeah, this is the place.”
Xu Yueliang gripped the doorframe, her gaze sweeping the room. Seeing it empty, she eased half her body inside. “Can I come in? I’m Xu Yueliang—the one with the wisdom tooth extraction appointment.”
“Right, yes—please, come on in.” Peng Xiaoshuai finally pulled himself together and stood. “No one’s here at the moment.”
Xu Yueliang stepped inside. She wore a bohemian floral maxi dress, her steps small and featherlight, her pale golden locks swaying gently with the skirt’s hem like ripples across a pond.
As always, Peng Xiaoshuai couldn’t bring himself to look her in the face. His eyes darted around before he busied himself pouring her a glass of water.
“Take a seat.” He set the glass in front of Xu Yueliang and added, “Teacher Fang had to head out on a last-minute business trip. Your procedure will be handled by another attending physician in our department.”
“Ah?” Her fair, slender fingers froze midway to the glass. Xu Yueliang’s voice went quiet. “Doctor Fang’s not here? Then… maybe I should reschedule?”
Truth be told, Peng Xiaoshuai agreed—a different time might be better. Teacher Fang was warm and easygoing; with her around, even he felt more relaxed.
But before he could drop a hint or speak up, a figure glided past the clinic room door. A cool voice cut through the air, crisp as a handful of winter snow dumped down the back of his neck.
“You’re here? Time to prep for the procedure.”
Peng Xiaoshuai jolted upright. Xu Yueliang, seated across from him, jolted too.
Lin Qimian had merely passed by, her white coat fluttering for the briefest moment—but it was enough to send both of them into a panic.
Xu Yueliang stammered, “Th-this is the doctor who’s… gonna pull my tooth?”
Peng Xiaoshuai: “Y-yes.”
Xu Yueliang sat up straighter, her throat working. “She’s so… young…”
Peng Xiaoshuai rushed to reassure her. “Don’t let Doctor Lin’s age fool you—her skills are top-notch. She handles the toughest extractions we get around here…”
He didn’t finish. Xu Yueliang’s eyes were already brimming with tears.
They were big eyes to begin with, dark pupils gleaming bright. As the tears welled up, they sparkled like sunlight dancing on a clear spring.
Peng Xiaoshuai’s words died in his throat. Xu Yueliang sniffled, fighting to keep the tears from spilling. “Is mine… one of the tough ones?”
Peng Xiaoshuai floundered, inside and out. “Yours is pretty standard. Good incision placement, and it might pop right out with a pry—probably won’t even need the drill…”
At “pry” and “drill,” Xu Yueliang: “…”
Peng Xiaoshuai said, “Hey, don’t cry. Doctor Lin just saw you. She knows you’re here today to get your tooth pulled. You can’t just run off right in front of her. She’s very…”
Xu Yueliang: “???”
Peng Xiaoshuai swallowed hard. “Serious.”
Xu Yueliang: “Wah—”
She burst into full-on tears.
She had a history with this—once she started crying, it was hard to stop.
The more she thought about having her tooth pulled, the more terrified she became. Peng Xiaoshuai fumbled in a panic to hand her tissues. Xu Yueliang was scared of both the extraction and the serious doctor; this time, she didn’t even dare entertain the idea of fleeing.
Tears streamed down her face like beads on a string. Peng Xiaoshuai’s heart ached as he watched her. “How about we push it back a bit?” he asked.
But Xu Yueliang shook her head wildly, flinging teardrops everywhere.
Sobbing, she told Peng Xiaoshuai, “You get ready…”
Then she lay down on the treatment table herself.
Lin Qimian leaned against the corridor wall, having overheard most of the conversation.
Xu Yueliang was such a scaredy-cat. Xu Yueliang cried at the drop of a hat. Xu Yueliang thought she was too young and was afraid she’d botch the tooth-pulling.
She’d reviewed Xu Yueliang’s dental X-ray: an impacted wisdom tooth, tricky but not impossible.
Lin Qimian had extracted hundreds, if not a thousand, teeth before.
A nurse rounded the corner at the end of the corridor and greeted her. “Doctor Lin.”
Lin Qimian acknowledged her with a nod, and all sounds from the clinic room abruptly ceased. She slipped on her mask, adjusted the glasses perched on her nose, and strode into the clinic room with the classic doctors’ hands-in-pockets gait.
Without so much as glancing at Xu Yueliang on the treatment table, she approached Peng Xiaoshuai. “Is the anesthetic in?” she asked him.
Peng Xiaoshuai kept half a meter’s distance. “Yes.”
Lin Qimian leaned over to check the patient’s record on the computer screen, confirmed everything was in order, and said, “Go fetch the meds.”
Peng Xiaoshuai shot her a look.
Patients usually picked up their own medications after paying at the counter—unless it was an emergency or an inpatient case, which got billed later.
Lin Qimian had talked a big game about treating everyone equally, but here she was already making exceptions. Peng Xiaoshuai grew deeply concerned.
He hesitated for several seconds. Lin Qimian turned, meeting his eyes.
Her expression was utterly… serious. Peng Xiaoshuai shrank back a step.
Lin Qimian spoke up by way of explanation. “Can she go like that?”
Xu Yueliang, lying on the treatment table, had been listening with bated breath. At the mention of herself, she even stopped sniffling.
She went so quiet it was as if she’d stopped breathing altogether.
“Right, right.” Peng Xiaoshuai agreed twice over, snatched up the prescription slip, and hurried out of the clinic room.
Now it was just Lin Qimian and Xu Yueliang in the room.
Lin Qimian turned and leaned against the desk, gazing at Xu Yueliang.
From this angle, all she could see was Xu Yueliang’s beautiful cascade of light golden hair and the hem of her skirt draping down.
Bright, vivid colors leaped out against the sterile chill of the hospital, transforming the surroundings into something strangely unfamiliar.
Lin Qimian wondered if Xu Yueliang would recognize her.
Setting aside the Middle School fantasies she’d once been lost in—fantasies that had never been real—to recall things objectively and rationally, her actual encounters with Xu Yueliang amounted to just that one time.
Twilight filtered into the empty classroom. The other students had all gone off to take their graduation photos. Xu Yueliang had a knack for picking these perfect moments.
She’d slipped into Lin Qimian’s classroom, crept up to her desk, and like a thief, fished something out from inside her school uniform jacket before stuffing it into Lin Qimian’s desk pocket.
Lin Qimian had walked in and seized her wrist.
If she could relive that moment, she absolutely wouldn’t have grabbed that slender wrist—so fragile it seemed boneless—nor stared into those wide, pure doe eyes brimming with panic. She wouldn’t have worn that smug smile and asked, “What are you doing?”
“I-I-I… It was my brother! He made me do it! He likes you, it’s got nothing to do with me, aaaaah…”
It was like eagerly unwrapping a gift you’d waited ages for, only to open the card and find it wasn’t meant for you.
Love and hate fade quickly; embarrassment lingers forever.
Lin Qimian still remembered the frantic rhythm of her heartbeat in that instant, every stammered word from Xu Yueliang’s lips, the icy chill that had cascaded from her scalp, stiffening her limbs.
She squeezed her eyes shut, shoving the memory from her mind, then took a long stride forward and drew the curtain around the treatment table.
Blue curtain, blue treatment table. Xu Yueliang lay there before her, neck rigidly straight, feet pressed tightly together—like a exquisite statue frozen in place.
Her hands were clasped over her chest, her breath held with effort, but the dam soon broke. Tears welled ceaselessly from her misty eyes, her chest rising and falling, setting her fingers to a faint tremble.
Radiant with life and allure.
Lin Qimian’s mind chose that most inopportune moment to flash with those words, bringing with it an inexplicable surge of satisfaction.
It felt just like settling a long-held grudge, transforming her from the helpless victim of years past into the one now holding the knife.
“Hello,” Lin Qimian said.
Xu Yueliang’s eyes couldn’t quite focus on her. Her mouth opened and closed as she stammered out apologies in broken bursts. “Doctor… doctor, I’m sorry. I… I didn’t mean to cry. I couldn’t help it. I didn’t want to cry… waaah…”
Lin Qimian struggled to keep her lips from curving upward. She was grateful for the mask and glasses that concealed her face, letting her maintain the facade of a righteous, impartial physician.
Xu Yueliang gave a loud sniffle. Lin Qimian turned sideways, drew two tissues from the dispenser on the treatment table, and draped them over Xu Yueliang’s face.
Xu Yueliang’s breath hitched to a sudden stop. “Wipe it off,” Lin Qimian instructed.
Xu Yueliang snatched up the tissues and scrubbed at her face haphazardly.
At last, her face was clean and her eyes clear. As Lin Qimian turned back around, their gazes locked.
Beneath the glare of the shadowless surgical lamp, Lin Qimian could clearly see Xu Yueliang’s pupils dilate ever so slightly.
It was an unmistakably surprised expression.
Footsteps burst into the room. Peng Xiaoshuai yanked back the curtain. “Teacher Lin, I’ve got the stuff…”
Lin Qimian’s temple throbbed faintly as she took the items from his hands. Peng Xiaoshuai moved to the side, scrubbing up at the sink while reassuring her patient. “No need to be scared. Once the anesthetic kicks in, you won’t feel a thing…”
“Go tend to something else,” Lin Qimian cut in abruptly.
Peng Xiaoshuai froze. Lin Qimian grabbed the sterile drape, leaned down, and told Xu Yueliang, “Lift your neck a little.”
Xu Yueliang stared at her in a daze but obediently tilted her head back. Lin Qimian threaded her fingers through the woman’s hair, fastening the drape securely.
In that instant of closeness, a faint, sweet fragrance wafted up.
It grew even more pronounced as Lin Qimian straightened.
Peng Xiaoshuai was still standing there, dumbfounded. Lin Qimian’s face remained impassive as she issued her command. “Call Zhenzhen over.”
Their agreed-upon plan had unraveled right there on the spot. Peng Xiaoshuai couldn’t make sense of it, but he had no choice but to comply.
He stormed out of the treatment room in a huff. Once more, the small blue-curtained space held only Lin Qimian and Xu Yueliang.
Those were words that should have come from her. Lin Qimian slipped on her medical gloves and face shield, her lips curving faintly as her voice softened like a gentle spring breeze. “Don’t be afraid. I won’t let it hurt.”
