Proofreader & Editor: Lotas
Ye Qiu arrived at the hospital early in the morning and, after checking in at the caregiver station, he went to the cafeteria to buy breakfast for Lin Jingzhi.
A caregiver is essentially a nanny, responsible for all sorts of tasks.
As he left the cafeteria with the breakfast in hand, he bumped into Zhang Lili at the entrance.
Ye Qiu chose to ignore her and walked past her.
"Stop right there!"
Zhang Lili shouted.
Ye Qiu pretended not to hear and kept walking.
"Ye Qiu, I said stop!" Zhang Lili shouted again.
Only then did Ye Qiu halt, turning to look at her and asked, "Are you talking to me?"
Zhang Lili was fuming: "If I'm not talking to you, do you think I'm talking to a dog?"
"Spit it out if you have something to say!" Ye Qiu replied bluntly.
Her face turning a shade of iron blue with anger, Zhang Lili said sternly, "Ye Qiu, I advise you to go apologize to Shaocong immediately, or else you won't even know how you died."
"Are you worried about me?" Ye Qiu's tone softened a bit, thinking Zhang Lili was concerned about him getting revenge from Guo Shaocong.
But Zhang Lili's next words made him realize he was mistaken.
"Worried about you? Hmph, why should I worry about a bastard like you? I want Shaocong to get better quickly. He hates you to death right now. If you kneel and apologize to him, maybe his anger will subside, and he'll recover faster."
"Is that all?"
"What else do you think I would say to you? Let me tell you, if it weren't for Shaocong, I wouldn't even glance at you."
"Zhang Lili, I have something to tell you too. Don't think too highly of yourself and don't look down on others. When you were my girlfriend, I could tolerate your whims and pamper you like a treasure. But from now on, in my eyes, you are… nothing but crap!"
After saying that, Ye Qiu swaggered away.
Zhang Lili stamped her feet in anger, cursing at Ye Qiu's retreating figure, "I must have been blind to have fallen for a loser like you."
***
In the VIP ward.
Ye Qiu said, "Sister Lin, I didn't know what you liked, so I bought you some steamed dumplings."
"Steamed dumplings, my favorite!" Lin Jingzhi exclaimed with a surprised and grateful look, "Ye Qiu, thank you."
"Don't mention it, it's what I should do."
"Ye Qiu, I have another small request, could you grant it?"
"Sister Lin, go ahead."
"Could you feed me?" Lin Jingzhi pouted, looking at Ye Qiu with a pitiful and adorable expression.
Ye Qiu felt a headache coming on and said, "Sister Lin, can I refuse?"
"No, you can't." Lin Jingzhi squinted her eyes, a charming smile on her beautiful face.
With no other choice, Ye Qiu sat by the bed, picked up a steamed dumpling with chopsticks, and brought it to Lin Jingzhi's mouth.
Lin Jingzhi ate slowly, taking small bites and occasionally casting flirtatious glances at Ye Qiu, her demeanor reminiscent of a certain film's leading lady.
What a seductress!
Ye Qiu dared not look at her.
After eating half a dumpling, Lin Jingzhi said, "Ye Qiu, could you do me another favor? Could you finish the other half for me?"
Ye Qiu glanced down at the dumpling, noticing Lin Jingzhi's lipstick still on it.
If he ate it, wouldn't that be…
An indirect kiss?
Ye Qiu hesitated.
"Come on, eat it," Lin Jingzhi urged.
"Sister Lin, I've already had breakfast, I'm not hungry right now."
Ye Qiu felt this was inappropriate. His relationship with Lin Jingzhi was merely that of a patient and caregiver, not boyfriend and girlfriend. If someone saw this, it would look bad.
"Ye Qiu, do you think it's dirty because I ate half, so you don't want to eat it?" Lin Jingzhi asked.
"Sister Lin, you've misunderstood, I…"
"You're disgusted by me!" Lin Jingzhi got angry, her beautiful eyes filling with tears as if she would cry at any moment.
Ye Qiu quickly said, "Sister Lin, I really don't find you disgusting…"
"Then eat it." Lin Jingzhi insisted, "If you eat this half dumpling, I'll believe you."
Ye Qiu still hesitated.
"I'll feed you!" Lin Jingzhi took the initiative, picked up the half dumpling with chopsticks, and brought it to Ye Qiu's mouth.
Ye Qiu was in a dilemma.
To eat or not to eat? That was the question.
"Open up." Lin Jingzhi's voice was gentle, like a dutiful wife feeding her husband.
Ye Qiu reluctantly opened his mouth.
After finishing the dumpling, Lin Jingzhi gently wiped the corner of Ye Qiu's mouth with a tissue and asked, "Is it good?"
"Mhm."
"Do you want more? We can split the remaining dumplings, half for you and half for me, how about that?"
"Sister Lin…"
"Cough, cough!"
Suddenly, a series of heavy coughs came from the doorway.
Ye Qiu turned his head to see Bai Bing standing at the entrance of the ward, her tall figure wrapped in professional attire, her hair pulled back, her face cold.
"Director Bai," Ye Qiu quickly stood up and asked, "When did you arrive?"
Bai Bing glanced coldly at Ye Qiu, then turned to Lin Jingzhi, "How are your injuries?"
"I'm not dead yet." Although Lin Jingzhi spoke with a smile, her tone was also filled with coldness.
Ye Qiu looked up at Bai Bing, then at Lin Jingzhi, and asked, "Do you two know each other?"
"It's none of your business!"
Both women said in unison.
Feeling like he had asked for trouble, Ye Qiu simply chose to stay silent.
"Bai Bing, did you come to see me on purpose?" Lin Jingzhi asked with a smile.
"Don't call me by my name, we're not that close. I'm here for Ye Qiu," Bai Bing said coldly, "Ye Qiu, come with me."
"Oh." Ye Qiu responded and followed Bai Bing out the door.
"Wait a minute!" Lin Jingzhi spoke up, "Director Bai, Ye Qiu is my caregiver now. If you're taking him away, shouldn't you let me know?"
"I'm the Director of Surgery, and Ye Qiu is a probationary doctor in my department. I don't need to inform anyone when I call him," Bai Bing said firmly.
"But he's no longer a probationary doctor, he's my caregiver now."
"So what? I can command every caregiver in this hospital," Bai Bing continued, "Lin Jingzhi, let me remind you, Ye Qiu is unreliable and doesn't take his work seriously. You'd better find another caregiver."
Ye Qiu looked at Bai Bing in astonishment.
What did she mean?
Didn't she know that if he lost this job, he'd have to leave the hospital?
Ye Qiu felt a bit dissatisfied with Bai Bing in his heart.
Lin Jingzhi laughed and said, "Thank you for the reminder, Director Bai, but I like Ye Qiu. Not only is he handsome, but he also takes great care of me."
"Perhaps all you see is an act by Ye Qiu. Don't be deceived by appearances," Bai Bing said.
Ye Qiu glanced at Bai Bing again.
What was Director Bai's problem today? Why was she bad-mouthing him over and over?
Fortunately, Lin Jingzhi didn't believe Bai Bing's words. Lin Jingzhi said, "I trust my eyes. These days, good men like Ye Qiu are rare. It would be great if he were my boyfriend. Ye Qiu, do you want to be my boyfriend?"
Ye Qiu was stunned. Although he knew Lin Jingzhi was joking, he couldn't help but feel a flutter in his heart.
What if she was serious?
Seeing Ye Qiu's daze, Bai Bing became even more irritated and snapped, "Ye Qiu, get out here!"