“Shen Fangyu,” Jiang Xu introduced to Yu Xin, “a colleague from my office.”
“Hello, Yu Xin.” Yu Xin extended her hand with poise and a polite smile. “I’m Jiang Xu’s blind date, but we haven’t developed into boyfriend and girlfriend yet.”
Shen Fangyu gave an “Oh,” and Yu Xin wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but it seemed that after she finished speaking, that faint, almost imperceptible sharpness in the man’s presence eased, as if he’d breathed a sigh of relief.
“That’s good, then.” When Shen shook her hand, he smiled, his tone carrying a teasing roguishness, and spoke without mercy: “Jiang Xu, this deadpan clean-freak with an icy,” Because of certain heated memories, Shen smoothly swallowed the last adjective and, with a straight face and steady heartbeat, finished, “doesn’t deserve you.”
Yu Xin: “…”
It was the first time Yu Xin had seen a colleague cut someone down like this. Just earlier, Yu Sang and the others had been heaping praise on Jiang Xu’s diligence, hard work, and spotless personal life. But what surprised her more was that Jiang Xu actually tolerated Shen speaking about him that way, and the next second, Shen casually put an arm around Jiang Xu’s shoulders and pulled him slightly into his embrace.
Yu Xin’s phone slipped from her hand onto the table.
In the parking lot of Jihua Hospital, affiliated with A Medical University, Yu Xin touched the phone she’d picked back up and excitedly called her best friend. “I met that doctor, he’s really handsome in person, and he even gave me a parking card!”
“Seriously? Seriously?!” her friend exclaimed. “Then why aren’t you making a move?”
“No, no, no,” Yu Xin said, sounding even more thrilled. “I think he might be gay… This ridiculously handsome guy actually told me he’s never had a girlfriend, and said he can’t date right now because of some personal reason he hasn’t told his parents. Come on, like I’d believe there’s nothing fishy about that? And the craziest thing is, after we finished eating, this super-hot guy suddenly came over, like he was staking a claim, you know?”
“Damn! These days, handsome guys either have girlfriends or they’re gay. Do you have a photo?”
Yu Xin quickly sent one. Jiang Xu had originally wanted to see her downstairs, but she insisted on leaving by herself. After they parted ways, she quietly snapped a photo at the elevator entrance, of Jiang Xu and Shen Fangyu from behind.
“And listen to this, after I left, that hot guy pulled the doctor over to the window and started questioning him, like a whole dramatic confrontation scene!”
Her friend laughed wickedly. “He’s jealous, he’s jealous!” She opened the photo, two tall, elegant men standing by the window, one leaning against it with a hint of helplessness on his face, the other with arms crossed, back to the camera, expression unseen yet radiating a sense of pressure.
Shen Fangyu fixed his gaze firmly on the man before him. “Did you enjoy your love-packed lunch?” he asked coolly.
Jiang Xu glanced at him.
“What, cat got your tongue? You were eating so happily just now.”
Pressing his fingers to the bridge of his nose, Jiang Xu lowered his hand and looked at Shen Fangyu. “What’s gotten into you?”
“So that’s why you’re so eager to run off to the U.S. for surgery? For a blind date?” Shen’s smile didn’t match the chill in his tone. “I underestimated you, Jiang Xu.” He paused, his voice taking on a subtle, gritted edge. “Are you that desperate to get married?”
“What’s with that attitude?” Jiang Xu’s eyes went cold. “Is this an interrogation?”
“Do I need to interrogate you?” Shen’s jaw tightened. “She came here looking for you. Things are moving pretty fast, aren’t they, Jiang Xu?”
His smile was like it had been drawn on, without a hint of warmth, his eyes full of mockery. “From now on, you can cover your own night shifts. I’m no saint. I didn’t do you a favor just so you could rest up and then take my girl to meet someone else.”
“Shen Fangyu,” Jiang Xu snapped, his patience gone. He shot Shen an impatient glance. “I already gave you plenty of face in front of outsiders. Who are you taking your anger out on right now?”
He stepped right past Shen toward the exit. As they brushed shoulders, he shoved him aside with his own.
“Work it or don’t. No one’s begging you.”
“Jiang Xu!”
Left behind, Shen Fangyu called after him. “So it’s fine for you to eat with someone else on a blind date, but I can’t say a word?” Dropping his smile, he kicked the small stool by the window hard. “Do you even have a conscience?”
Jiang Xu pointed up at the camera above Shen’s head. “Damaging public property, you can pay for it.” Without looking back, he stepped into the open elevator and, face blank, pressed the close-door button.
Following Jiang Xu’s gesture, Shen glanced up. The oversized security camera seemed to catch his eye, its tiny red light blinking like a sympathetic wink.
Shen, furious, gave the innocent little stool another kick. “Damn it.”
For several days in a row, the atmosphere in the OB-GYN department of Jihua Hospital was unusually tense.
Not long ago, Dr. Jiang and Dr. Shen’s relationship had finally begun to thaw, only to plunge back into a deep freeze. Whenever the two appeared in the office together, it was like being dropped into a frozen wasteland, an incoming mosquito would be iced solid in an instant, leaving everyone else stiff and silent.
Fortunately, the two of them were usually so busy they were rarely in the same frame. Still… Yu Sang glanced over at Jiang Xu, who had moved his computer into Office No. 3. When the gods fight, it’s the little devils who suffer.
Office No. 1 was the director’s office, No. 2 belonged to the associate chief physicians and attending physicians, and No. 3 was mainly for residents and standardized training doctors, with the occasional interned graduate student. Almost all the students under Jiang Xu’s supervision were in Office No. 3, so when their mentor suddenly moved in with them, the students spent each day on edge, as if treading on thin ice.
“Xiao Shao.” Jiang Xu pushed the door open in a rush, and the office, just buzzing with discussion, instantly fell silent. The girl who’d been called froze and turned stiffly to raise her hand. “What is it, Teacher Jiang?”
“Come with me to the outpatient clinic. I’ll wait for you by the elevator.” Without even stepping inside, he headed straight down the hall.
Shao Le shot up from her chair like a spring, grabbed her notebook and pen, and hurried after him. The moment she stepped out, she heard a voice with a hint of a smile: “Slow down, don’t trip.”
Normally, that kind of concern would have touched her. But right now, she didn’t dare move.
Her mentor was standing by the elevator ten meters away, and next to her was said mentor’s archrival, Dr. Shen, who either had zero self-awareness or was deliberately provoking him, swaggering along right beside her. Leaning down, he asked with feigned innocence, “Xiao Shao, heading to clinic?”
Jiang Xu was right there, but instead of asking him, Shen came to question her, the lowly training doctor.
Shao Le went numb.
She murmured a tiny “Mm,” but Shen went on, “Oh… I’m in clinic today too. If Dr. Jiang doesn’t teach you well, you can come to me.”
Jiang Xu shot him a sideways glare. “I heard the bottom two scorers in the recent departmental knowledge exam were both your students. I suggest you worry about yourself, Dr. Shen.”
“It was just a quiz,” Shen retorted. “Why don’t you mention that unlucky student of yours who, during the surgical skills exam, was so scared by your cold face that they almost dropped the model? Looks like you’re aiming to keep your title as OB-GYN’s scariest teaching doctor this year. Xiao Shao, make sure you vote to help your teacher achieve his dream.”
Shao Le thought despairingly, Please, great masters, spare me—I’m just a small doctor.
Finally, the elevator chimed. Shao Le let out a long breath, pinning all her hopes on the crowd inside. The inpatient elevators were always jam-packed, once everyone pushed in, these two sworn enemies would naturally be separated.
Sure enough, the doors opened to a mass of doctors and patients’ families, chattering and jostling. Shao Le was shoved into a corner, thinking she could finally relax, until she looked up.
Dr. Jiang had been pushed to the edge of the elevator, and Dr. Shen was practically face-to-face with him, pressed close.
Shao Le stared blankly and covered her ears, chanting in her head, Please don’t fight, please don’t fight, please don’t fight.
Jiang Xu glared at Shen Fangyu, who was nearly caging him in, and lifted a foot to kick him. Shen, using the cover of the crowd, hooked his leg around Jiang’s.
“Don’t move,” he murmured right by Jiang Xu’s ear.
The warm breath tickled his ear, making it itch. Jiang pressed his lips together. “Stay away from me.”
“If I weren’t worried our daughter would get squashed, I wouldn’t bother protecting you,” Shen said, hitting the sore spot on purpose.
“You—”
“What about me?”
Jiang shot him a daggered look.
The elevator stopped again, another wave of people poured in, and Shen set a hand on Jiang Xu’s shoulder, drawing him in as if in an embrace. Jiang, disgusted, tried to push him away, but the crush was so tight his hand got stuck halfway.
“Ahem…” Shen turned his head, cleared his throat, and lowered his voice. “Could you move your hand a little? Or at least change where you’re putting it.”
Jiang jerked his hand back, saw Shen’s shifty gaze, and couldn’t stop himself from hissing, “Damn it,” before pinching his waist. “What kind of garbage do you keep in that head of yours?”
Shen flinched at the pain. “How is it my fault? You’re the one putting your hands where they don’t belong.”
Expressionless, Jiang turned his head away, forcibly swallowing his irritation, eyes fixed on the descending floor numbers.
“Jiang Xu,” Shen said, as if making an amusing discovery, staring at the ear that had come into view, “You have a mole on your earlobe.”
“Oh.”
“And your ears are red.”
“Get lost.”
At last the elevator reached the ground floor. Shao Le noted that the two men had kept their voices low the whole time, and at least hadn’t come to blows.
Except…
Jiang Xu all but bolted the moment the doors opened, his long legs carrying him almost out of sight in seconds. Shao Le hurried after him, only to see Shen strolling leisurely behind, hands in pockets, a satisfied, scheming smile on his face.
“Xiao Shao,” Jiang asked suddenly when she caught up, “Are my ears red?”
She looked at him oddly. “No.”
Jiang drew in a deep breath and turned to glare at Shen, who, as if expecting it, raised a hand in a mock finger-gun gesture, though before he could “fire,” Jiang had already turned away.
“When clinic is over today, go to logistics and apply to get another elevator installed for the inpatient wing.”
“Huh?”
“If the budget’s not enough, deduct it from Shen Fangyu’s account,” Jiang said briskly. “Tell them it was my suggestion.”
Shao Le: “…”
Author’s note:
Jiang Xu, responds to gentleness, not force.