Chapter 21 : A meal with the shy, blushing girl

When Tang Zhen came out of the inpatient department building, her face felt cool.
She looked up at the sky.
It was overcast.

“Is it going to rain?”

With that thought, her steps quickened.

But no matter how fast she was, she couldn’t outrun the Dragon King’s tears.
Just as she reached the hospital gate, the rain started to pour, pelting down like small stones.

Tang Zhen hid under the eaves of the security booth.

A small, thin person, almost curled into a ball.

On one hand, she was worried about getting wet.
On the other, she was thinking about how to quickly get from here to the subway station across the street.
She didn’t notice the car with its hazard lights flashing on the side of the road.

Just as Tang Zhen was about to make a dash for it in the rain, the car with its hazard lights flashing unexpectedly honked—

Beep beep!! Two sounds.

Tang Zhen was stunned.

Chi Yuqin was extremely speechless.
She had seen her from the moment she was hiding by the security booth.
The hazard lights had been on the whole time.
But she… with her two big eyes, just couldn’t see it.

Seeing her still stunned, Chi Yuqin was too lazy to shout.
She rolled down the window, stuck her hand out… and made a ‘come here’ gesture.

Only then did Tang Zhen come to her senses and quickly ran over.

Just as she reached her, the car door was opened from the inside by Chi Yuqin—the passenger seat.

Tang Zhen got in, half of her body soaked, but it was alright.
If she had really made a dash for the subway station just now, she would probably have been a drowned rat.

“Director Chi, do you have any tissues?”

“In the back.”

Tang Zhen turned around and took the tissues from the back seat, pulling out several sheets to wipe her face and body.

Chi Yuqin glanced to the side.
The light white fabric clung to her skin, revealing a faint pink hue, unusually sheer.

After wiping herself, Tang Zhen wadded up the used tissues and stuffed them into her bag, then put the unused ones back.
She turned to thank Chi Yuqin—

“Thank you.”

“No need.”

“You can just drop me off at the subway station.”

After Tang Zhen finished speaking, her eyes darted around, and she added—

“Sorry to trouble you.”

Chi Yuqin had been in a good mood, but Tang Zhen’s repeated ‘thank yous’ and ‘sorry to trouble yous’ made her annoyed again.

“Tang Zhen.”

“Yes?”

“If you say ‘you’ (formal) one more time, I’m leaving you here.”

Tang Zhen didn’t have much courage in front of Chi Yuqin, but sometimes she was brutally honest—

“Then what should I call you?”

“You’re asking me?”

“Then… Director Chi…”

Chi Yuqin felt she must be crazy to be wasting time on such a problem with her.
One ‘Director Chi’ after another, what was the difference between being on and off duty?

“Forget it. You can just call me whatever you want.”

“…”

Tang Zhen was also muttering to herself.
‘One moment like this, the next like that? What are you trying to do?’

“Are you cursing me?”

“No!”

Actually, if you excluded the strange reservation this girl had, she was still quite an interesting person.
For example, right now, she clearly felt she was being put in a difficult position, but she was still pretending that she couldn’t see it.

“Are you very afraid of me?”

“No!”

“You answered so quickly, without thinking.”

“I… really… am… not.”

Tang Zhen was too bad at hiding herself.
Chi Yuqin could see through her without her even having to say a word.

But… Chi Yuqin was also curious.
She was afraid of her?
What was she afraid of?

With that thought, the car drove past the subway station.

Tang Zhen immediately sat up straight—

“You drove past it!”

Chi Yuqin had no reaction, as if she wasn’t the one who had driven past it. “So what if I drove past it? It’s not the only subway station.”

With that, she glanced at the tense Tang Zhen again.

She stretched out her arm, and her hand rested on this person’s shoulder, pressing her back down—

“Sit back. Don’t block the rearview mirror.”

Driving past one subway station might have been unintentional, but driving past two was a bit deliberate.

Tang Zhen herself felt something was not right.
Where was she taking her?

The car drove steadily for a while longer.
Watching the route deviate further and further from her way home, Tang Zhen finally couldn’t help but ask—

“Where are you planning to go?”

“Guess?”

Tang Zhen thought, ‘it’s not possible that she’s taking me home, right?’
But looking at Chi Yuqin’s serious face, she immediately dismissed the thought.

‘How could that be? I wouldn’t even dream of it.’

“I can’t guess.”

Chi Yuqin held the steering wheel, her gaze shifting.
She quickly glanced at Tang Zhen’s face in the rearview mirror, a mix of fatigue and a hint of cuteness.

She remembered when this person first came, she was full of energy every day.
And in just this short time… the dark circles under her eyes were practically embroidered on her face.

“Have you had dinner tonight?”

“Not yet.”

“Do you have food at home?”

“I think so.”

“Either you do or you don’t. What do you mean, you think so?”

She had bought a few bags of instant noodles a few days ago, but whether she had finished them… she couldn’t remember clearly.

Tang Zhen looked out the car window again, her brain suddenly clicking into place. “Are you going to treat me to dinner?”

“I’m treating you?”

“No, no, no… I’m treating you.”

“Alright, you said it.”

If Chi Yuqin hadn’t said that, it would have been fine.
But as soon as she did, Tang Zhen felt she had fallen into a trap.
Chi Yuqin was clearly a person of refined taste.
Just from the Huaiyang cuisine she had treated her and Liu Sisi to last time, it was definitely not cheap.
Tang Zhen thought about the few bills in her pocket.
It would be a lie to say it didn’t hurt.

“Regretting it?”

“How could I! I’m so happy to be able to treat you to dinner.”

“Really?”

“It couldn’t be more real!”

Chi Yuqin’s face was expressionless, but she was laughing on the inside.
‘Are all young girls like this these days? Or is it just this one?’
The four words ‘don’t rip me off’ were practically written on her face, and she was still pretending to be fine?

Twenty-six wasn’t that young.
Even if she had just entered society and had no experience, she should have had some social interactions in school, right?
With her inability to hide her feelings… wouldn’t she really offend people?

But, with her wooden personality, she probably wouldn’t even know if she had offended someone.

Chi Yuqin really felt she was the best leader she could be.
Just watching Tang Zhen’s ‘two-faced’ act, she wasn’t angry.
Not only was she not angry… she was even patiently playing along.

Tang Zhen blinked—

“What do you want to eat?”

“Anything I want to eat is fine?”

“Fine.”

Tang Zhen said this ‘fine’ willingly.
She had already detached herself from the pain of her few bills.
A few hundred was a few hundred.
As long as it could keep Chi Yuqin from telling her to get lost at a moment’s notice, what was a few hundred?!
I’d even treat her to a few thousand!

Chi Yuqin didn’t even look at her.
Just a glance out of the corner of her eye, and she knew what she was up to—

“Don’t think that just because you treat me to a meal, I won’t scold you if you make a mistake.”

“…”

“A meal is a meal, a mistake is a mistake. If you mess up… I’ll scold you just the same.”

Tang Zhen’s little scheme was exposed.
Now she was deflated again, staring at the windshield wipers, silently tapping a rhythm to their movement…

Click… clack…

Chi Yuqin didn’t speak again.
The atmosphere became silent again.
Fortunately, they had arrived at the place to eat.

Tang Zhen was a little surprised—

“Here?”

“Or what? A three-star Michelin restaurant?”

“Actually, this place isn’t bad either… it has a lively atmosphere~”

Tang Zhen quickly got out of the car, looking rushed, as if afraid Chi Yuqin would change her mind.
A three-star Michelin restaurant… she’d have to pay in installments for months.

This place was a night market street, a long row of food stalls.

Even if it was raining, it didn’t matter.
Every stall had an awning, propped up, so people could eat and drink as they pleased, completely unaffected.

By the time Chi Yuqin parked the car and came over, Tang Zhen had already found a seat.

She had been sitting for a while and no one had attended to her.
Chi Yuqin had just arrived, not even at the table yet, when someone came over to greet her.
And it wasn’t a waiter, it was the owner—

“Dr. Chi is here! What are you eating today?”

“Don’t worry about me. I can get it myself.”

“Alright. Just give it to me directly later. It’s busy today, I’ll cut you in line.”

With that, the owner chatted with Chi Yuqin for a few more sentences before going off to get busy.

Tang Zhen looked at the two of them, their familiar manner.
Could it be that Chi Yuqin was a regular here?

“What are you overthinking now?”
Chi Yuqin tapped her on the head lightly.
“The fridge is over there. Go get it.”

With that, she sat down.

Chi Yuqin was wearing a vertically striped shirt, leaning back in her chair.
Her face was devastatingly beautiful.

Tang Zhen looked at her, her eyes involuntarily fixed on her.

“Chi… Director Chi—what are you eating?”

“I’ll eat whatever you get.”

Chi Yuqin was incredibly easygoing, and even smiled a little.

Tang Zhen’s heart was about to leap out of her throat…

‘This person can just talk… why is she smiling?’

Not only did the owner let them cut in line, but he also gave them free drinks.

With the rain falling like this, Tang Zhen didn’t feel moist at all.
Instead, her throat was dry as a bone.
She bit on the straw and drank half a can in one go—

“Do you often eat here?”

“Occasionally.”

“Then why did he let us cut in line and give us free drinks?”

“Probably because he’s afraid some cheapskate wouldn’t be willing to spend money.”

“I’m not…”
Tang Zhen was embarrassed.
“You’re joking with me again.”

Chi Yuqin was indeed joking with her.
The reason she was familiar with the owner was because two years ago, she had been driving past here when the owner had fainted at the entrance.
There were plenty of onlookers, but not a single one was willing to get involved.
Chi Yuqin had given him simple first aid, then called an ambulance, saving his life.
Later, she learned that the owner had two children in school and four elderly family members to support.
It was a good thing Chi Yuqin had seen him, or a whole family would have been destroyed.

Chi Yuqin had never told anyone about this.
Saving lives and healing the wounded was a doctor’s duty in the first place.
There was no need to talk about doing things within her scope of duty every day.

Chi Yuqin didn’t speak, and Tang Zhen didn’t know what to say either, so she just lowered her head and ate.
After a few bites, she received a message from Liu Sisi—

[Get on the intranet, quick.]

[What’s wrong?]

[The video of the surgery on bed six is out! This girl is amazing!]

Tang Zhen quickly logged onto the intranet to watch.

Chi Yuqin was sitting across from her.
She thought this girl was really something, just laying her phone flat on the table like that, not at all afraid of being seen.

Of course, Tang Zhen wasn’t afraid.
She was learning from someone’s surgical practice right in front of them.
What was there to be afraid of?
Besides, even if she saw something else, it didn’t matter.
She didn’t speak ill of people, nor did she discuss gossip.
At most, she would just scroll through the trending topics.
Her phone was just like her, clean and tidy, unable to hide a single secret.

The video started, and Tang Zhen’s expression was focused.
Occasionally, she would frown.

Taking advantage of her frown, Chi Yuqin asked—

“Can you understand it?”

“Didn’t you say before that you would take the blood vessel from the calf? Why did you change to the chest wall?”

“What do you think?”

The surgery had taken six hours, and the plan had been changed at the last minute.
Without a doubt, something must have gone wrong midway.

“Want to hear?”

“Yes.”

Chi Yuqin moved the grill pan on the table aside, clearing a space in the middle, and then placed Tang Zhen’s phone there—

“There are two types of commonly used blood vessels for bypass surgery. One is a vein graft, and the other is an artery graft. But if the vein wall is thin, has many branches, and a narrow diameter, it’s very dangerous to use a vein for the bypass. It will lead to insufficient blood flow. Without a good graft, the bypass is basically a waste of time, understand?”

“But harvesting from the chest wall is also very dangerous. If that one is also damaged, then wouldn’t it be…”

“Exactly. That’s why I took six hours. Did you think I was just playing around in there?”

“You’re really amazing.”

“Are you flattering me?”

“No, I mean it from the bottom of my heart.”

The baby hairs on Tang Zhen’s forehead were fluffy, making her look like a rabbit or a cat.
Her two eyes were wide and round.

This person was clearly twenty-six, but sometimes her expression was still like someone in their early twenties.

Chi Yuqin suddenly laughed.

She raised the drink in her hand and took a very small sip—

“Alright, I believe you.”

The hot wind became damp in the rain, and the soda in the can was fizzing.

Tang Zhen’s phone was still vibrating.
Liu Sisi kept asking her— [Have you seen it! Isn’t she amazing! Isn’t she beautiful!]

But she only looked at Chi Yuqin.
Indeed, very amazing, very beautiful.

The blush and racing heart had been foreshadowed, but it was more obvious than ever before.
Tang Zhen hazily pushed aside the veil of mist in front of her eyes.
She saw a beauty born in the south and raised in the north.

Chi Yuqin’s one hand rested on the armrest of the chair, while the other moved from the button on her chest, her fingertips resting on the end of her right eyebrow, gently caressing it.

She looked calmly at the person across from her—the Tang Zhen whose mouth could no longer keep up with her brain, whose breathing was a mess.

Her thin lips curved into a light smile. “Am I amazing? Am I beautiful?”

Boom! Thunder roared.

A bolt of lightning seemed to explode in Tang Zhen’s mind!

Immediately after, the drink on the table was knocked over by her arm.
The fizzing bubbles flowed in a regular path from under Tang Zhen’s feet to under Chi Yuqin’s feet.

“So… sorry…”

Tang Zhen quickly grabbed a tissue and wiped the table frantically, her ears so red they looked like they were about to drip blood.

The table was wiped clean.

The two of them ate in silence, seemingly no different from before, except for Tang Zhen’s face.

Chi Yuqin looked at Tang Zhen.
At this moment, she suddenly felt an indescribable sense of ease.

No romance, no worldly thoughts, and no feelings.

Perhaps it was the wind blowing on her face that was very comfortable, or perhaps it was…

She hadn’t had a meal with a shy, blushing girl in a very, very long time.