Chapter 5: She’s a Total Vixen

The little girl called out “Mommy” again and again.

This scene caught Xia An completely off guard.

‘So, she was already married…?’

Although Xia An didn’t know Ye Jin’s exact age, thinking about it carefully, it was only natural for someone like her to be married.

She was surprised mostly because she had simply never considered the possibility.

Recalling the situation when they met at Night Colors a week ago, Xia An had assumed she was single.

“I’ve got it.”

Xia An snapped back to her senses and rushed to pay first.

She reached into the machine’s dispensing slot and pulled out a carton of orange juice, handing it to Ye Jin.

As if she still didn’t quite believe it, she asked with a testing smile, “Your daughter?”

“Yes,” Ye Jin replied.

She caught the look of disbelief in Xia An’s eyes, but then again, almost everyone reacted this way upon learning she had such a large daughter.

Ye Jin was an advocate of non-marriage; it had to be said that Ye Wan’s existence saved her from a lot of trouble.

Receiving a positive answer made Xia An’s heart feel suddenly empty.

Was it emptiness?

Logically, one only feels let down when expectations aren’t met, so what exactly had she been expecting?

Xia An couldn’t put it into words.

Ye Jin placed the orange juice into Ye Wan’s hands and lowered her head to say, “Say thank you to the auntie.”

Xia An watched Ye Jin as she spoke to the little girl.

Though it was her usual style—perhaps even a bit serious—Xia An could sense a rare tenderness in her eyes.

It was the first time she had seen this side of her.

It made sense; coldness was reserved for outsiders, while she would naturally be different toward the ones she loved.

Elegant yet refined, cold yet gentle.

How could such a woman not be attractive?

Xia An suddenly envied Ye Jin’s partner; they must be very happy to have such a graceful wife and such a cute child.

In front of a stranger, Ye Wan was initially a bit shy.

The little one stared at Xia An with wide, round eyes for a long time before saying, “Thank you, Auntie.”

A child’s smile was truly the most heartwarming thing; when those liquid eyes smiled, they turned into little crescents.

Xia An patted Ye Wan’s soft cheek.

Using a tender, child-like tone, she said, “You’re very welcome. Auntie will buy you more next time, okay?”

“Okay.”

Little Ye Wan nodded and proactively held out her pinky finger toward Xia An.

“Auntie, let’s pinky-swear…”

“Okay, pinky-swear.”

Xia An cooperated with the little one and extended her own pinky, showing immense patience.

When Miss Xia had been an intern in the dreaded Pediatrics department, she had been quite popular; she definitely had a way with kids.

Ye Wan was usually introverted and afraid of strangers, yet she got along well with Xia An, which surprised Ye Jin.

Her gaze swept over Xia An’s profile; as she hooked fingers with a four-year-old, laughing like a big kid herself, Ye Jin recalled her “thousand-cups-not-drunk” persona at the nightclub…

Two completely different faces.

Ye Jin couldn’t help but wonder: ‘Is this Miss Xia a drama queen?’

Watching the two of them, big and small, having fun, the corners of Ye Jin’s lips inadvertently curled up.

Xia An glanced up and found Ye Jin staring at her face.

As their eyes met, that subtle sensation returned.

She pretended to be casual and asked, “Is there something on my face?”

President Ye was indeed President Ye; she never showed a trace of panic.

Even when caught staring, she looked perfectly entitled.

She continued to gaze into Xia An’s eyes and calmly replied with two words, “There isn’t.”

“President Ye, even though I work part-time at a nightclub,” Xia An felt it necessary to explain, as she felt there was some hidden meaning in the way Ye Jin looked at her, “I don’t just do anything…”

Xia An only said half of what was on her mind.

“Is that so?” Ye Jin arched an eyebrow.

“Of course. I have principles.”

Recalling the way Miss Xia had teased her that night with her eyes and tone—looking like a complete little vixen—Ye Jin looked Xia An over and suddenly said, “From what I saw, you’re quite skilled at it.”

“I…”

‘Quite skilled?’

Xia An was caught between laughter and tears again; she had only been flashy that one time, and the woman had already etched it into her heart.

This President Ye either didn’t speak at all or spoke so pointedly that people were left speechless.

“Doctor Xia.”

Hearing her be called that so suddenly, Xia An wasn’t quite used to it.

Ye Jin said calmly, “My grandmother is being discharged today. Thank you for taking care of her during this time.”

Xia An smiled. “It’s my duty.”

Xia An was always meticulous when dealing with patients.

Ke Rochu admired Xia An to no end; many people started their majors full of fighting spirit, but after a few years of torture, their passion was ground down to nothing.

Only Xia An could maintain that enthusiasm from beginning to end.

Because every step was something she had fought for, she cherished every opportunity even more.

Xia An didn’t have many close friends; even Ke Rochu, who was closest to her, didn’t know what she had been through.

There were many things Xia An didn’t like to talk about, such as complaints.

She was just ordinary; she didn’t think herself particularly unfortunate or lucky, as there were plenty of people who surpassed her in both categories.

“Doctor Xia…”

“Hm?”

Ye Jin wanted to ask Xia An why she appeared at Night Colors.

It wasn’t hard to guess why someone would work part-time at a nightclub.

Ye Jin had originally thought she was looking for shortcuts, but it didn’t seem that way now.

She seemed more real when she was at the hospital.

She probably wasn’t as pure and simple as her smile suggested, yet she gave off an air of being open-minded; that was Ye Jin’s impression of Xia An.

“What’s wrong?” Xia An wondered, seeing her remain silent.

“Goodbye.”

Ye Jin didn’t ask after all; she realized she was meddling too much.

Yet it was the first time she had felt an irrepressible curiosity to understand someone.

“Goodbye, Auntie~” Ye Wan said goodbye to Xia An obediently.

“Goodbye, little cutie.”

Xia An lingered in place, watching that elegant and beautiful back.

The smile on her face shifted from helplessness to a sense of relief.

Even though she still only knew her surname was Ye.

It was enough.

Xia An had originally thought Ye Jin was just an accidental and beautiful interlude in her life that would fade with a laugh, but she was wrong…

For the next few days, Xia An didn’t run into her—not at Night Colors, and certainly not at the hospital.

Occasionally, while drinking soda water, Xia An would think of that face.

6:45 PM, Cardiology Department, Changnan Hospital.

“Xia An, your boyfriend is here to pick you up.”

A young nurse holding a treatment tray stood at the office door, speaking to Xia An half-jokingly.

“Stop teasing.”

A man also wearing a white coat stood at the office door.

Even though he said that, Tang Zhen was delighted every time he heard romantic gossip about him and Xia An in the department.

“Xiao Xia, so Xiao Tang really is your boyfriend. You two kept it hidden well.”

The supervising doctor teased Xia An while drinking tea.

“Hurry up and get off work. Go on, cherish the time you have to date while you can.”

“Teacher, you’ve misunderstood.”

Xia An tried to use a smile to diffuse the awkwardness.

“Then Xiao Tang needs to work harder to officially claim the goddess of our Cardiology department. we’re rooting for you.”

Others joined in the teasing.

In truth, most people knew Tang Zhen was interested in Xia An, so they were all trying to give him a push.

Tang Zhen walked up to Xia An. “Doctor Xia, shall we go grab dinner?”

Xia An stood up; no matter how many times she explained, she couldn’t stop the office gossip.

Walking out of the office, Xia An looked up at Tang Zhen with a weary face.

“Don’t come looking for me anymore, so people don’t misunderstand.”

“Just don’t take it to heart. Let’s go eat first. If I didn’t come for you, would you even eat?”

As he spoke, Tang Zhen reached out to take Xia An’s hand.

Xia An sensitively dodged him.

Tang Zhen stood there in awkward silence.

Both Xia An and Tang Zhen were from Dongcheng; they had grown up together as childhood friends.

When Xia An chose Nancheng Medical University for her college application, Tang Zhen followed suit without a second thought.

Although Tang Zhen always referred to himself as an older brother, Xia An wasn’t a block of wood; she knew exactly what he was thinking.

In the hospital cafeteria.

“Your father’s surgery is coming up soon, right?”

“Yes, a suitable bone marrow match has been found.”

Tang Zhen took a bank card from his pocket and placed it on the table.

“There’s a few tens of thousands here. Take it for now.”

Xia An didn’t take it, simply saying, “I have money.”

“How could you possibly have money?” Tang Zhen questioned.

He knew very well that between her scholarship and the tiny stipend from her residency, it wasn’t even enough for a few rounds of chemotherapy.

“Xia An, can you stop being so stubborn? Can’t you occasionally rely on someone else?”

“No need.”

Xia An pushed the card back, her tone remaining cold.

She didn’t want to owe Tang Zhen any favors; otherwise, things between them would become even more complicated.

“Since your father entrusted you to me, I must take good care of you. How am I supposed to explain things to him otherwise?”

Tang Zhen’s emotions became increasingly agitated as he spoke.

“I think you’ve misunderstood; I can take care of myself.”

This was what frustrated Xia An the most—every time, he brought up her father.

She stood up and dropped a final sentence: “I have an experiment tonight, I’m heading back to school.”

“Xiao An…”

Xia An had told a lie; she was actually going to Night Colors tonight, as she finally had enough time.

At 7:30 PM, Xia An returned to the dorm.

After showering, she changed into a dress and reapplied light makeup, preparing to head out.

On the bus, she sat by the window and sent a WeChat message to Ke Rochu:

[ I’ll be back a bit late today. ]

From 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM, several emergencies came in, leaving Ke Rochu so busy she had no time to check her phone.

It wasn’t until after 10:00 PM that Ke Rochu managed to find five minutes to eat instant noodles.

One look at her pinned WeChat messages and she knew Xia An had gone to Night Colors again.

Ke Rochu immediately wanted to call her, but she hesitated before dialing.

She knew Xia An wouldn’t listen to her.

After agonizing over it, Ke Rochu still made a call, but not to Xia An—instead, she called Tang Zhen…

Even though she really didn’t want to make this call.

Ke Rochu knew Tang Zhen liked Xia An and that Xia An didn’t want to be too close to him.

She had also promised Xia An not to tell him about the nightclub.

But Ke Rochu couldn’t find any other way; Xia An was always like this, and if something ever happened, Ke Rochu would regret it for the rest of her life.

After weighing her options, she made the call.

– Rochu?

– There’s something I need to tell you…

At 10:30 PM, Ye Jin was driving past the bar street in the Jinglin District.

While waiting for a red light, she looked out the window and happened to see the sign for Night Colors.

‘…I can keep you company and have a drink.’

‘Just for drinking?’

‘Then, Sister, what else… would you want me to do with you?’

For some reason, Ye Jin suddenly thought of this.

She frowned at first, but when the face surfaced in her mind, she smiled slightly.

Ye Jin turned the steering wheel, veering off her original route, and finally parked the car in the underground garage of Night Colors.

When she was in a bad mood, she also felt like having a few drinks.

“Gorgrous, do you have a reservation?”

It was still a headache-inducing environment.

Coming alone this time made Ye Jin feel even more uncomfortable; after all, she almost never came to places like this.

If she wanted to drink, the atmosphere of a quiet bar suited her better.

“No appointment? Then I’ll arrange someone…”

Under these circumstances, Ye Jin spoke: “I’m looking for Xia An.”