Liang Jianxing tilted his head back and smiled.
Even though He Doctor’s tone was clearly a dismissal, he still handled it gracefully, “Did you have a lot of surgeries today? I can tell you’re not in the best spirits, He Doctor.”
“But you still came down right away. I’m really touched.”
On He Dongli’s face was the very displeasure Liang Jianxing had guessed and that she couldn’t quite hide.
She calmed herself, asked again what he wanted, saying she still needed to return to the ward area to write up surgical notes.
Liang Jianxing nodded, indicating he could wait until He Doctor was off duty.
“I think that’s the sincerity needed to ask someone out.”
He Dongli immediately refused, “Liang Mister, maybe I wasn’t clear enough last time. I went on the blind date because of circumstances beyond my control, just like you can’t go against your parents’ wishes. I hope you can understand.”
“So this is your way of politely turning me down?”
“Yes.”
Liang Jianxing wasn’t angry, but laughed instead, “Mm, I knew before I came.”
He Dongli unconsciously tilted her head, looking a bit like a suspicious, scrutinizing cat in Liang Jianxing’s eyes.
The look in her eyes seemed to say, “You knew and still came?”
“I think someone who can be close friends with Zou Yan can’t be a shy, awkward person.”
Liang Jianxing actually meant: if you can be friends with Zou Yan, why do you have to insist we can only have a man-woman relationship?
But before he could finish, He Dongli seemed very protective of Zou Yan.
“Who I’m close with is my business. Whether I’m shy or not has nothing to do with my friends.”
Liang Jianxing sighed inwardly—of course it has to do with me!
Just because you’re defending another man, my prospects get ruined.
At that moment, he quickly noticed something—she really valued Zou Yan, at least treasured their friendship.
Zou Yan, on the other hand, might not reciprocate the same way.
Liang Jianxing, who’d been around the block, had a bit of a chauvinistic streak—he couldn’t stand men who needed women to stick up for them.
“Mm, He Doctor, don’t misunderstand. I wasn’t talking about you being shy.”
This was as simple as an exclusion question.
If it wasn’t her, it meant Zou Yan.
He Dongli found it curious—what kind of day was it today that everyone seemed set on criticizing Zou Yan?
But she was naturally contrary.
She’d never been one to accept others’ judgments of people.
“Yes, I meant Zou Yan,” Liang Jianxing said.
“He’s such a reserved person, yet he accompanied you so closely to a blind date. That shows you two get along well. For someone like Zou Yan, that’s rare—he’s never been enthusiastic about anything, especially after his twin brother had an accident in college…”
He Dongli’s heart trembled, like the string of a zither being plucked.
So Zou Yan wasn’t the only child of a wealthy family as she’d imagined—he had a brother, something he’d never mentioned.
Seeing He Dongli dazed, Liang Jianxing found it amusing.
Truly, even the most reserved women couldn’t resist listening to juicy gossip.
And indeed, she was clueless, only focused on defending him.
It was fine if she defended him, but she’d inadvertently ruined Liang Jianxing’s prospects.
That Zong fellow schemed to meet his old flame, but in the end, she stood with another man right in front of him.
Mr. Zong would probably cough up blood when he got home.
These days, whenever Liang Jianxing contacted Chen Xiangdong, it was all just empty talk.
He couldn’t even see Chen Xiangyang, let alone anyone higher up.
Men could be so petty.
Since things were like this, Liang Jianxing decided to use their own methods against them.
If he could use this to meet Mr. Zong, great; if not, he’d visit his ex-girlfriend instead.
He knew these rich boys couldn’t swallow such indignity.
Liang Jianxing could play that game too!
Enough with the idle chatter.
Liang Jianxing claimed he wouldn’t disturb He Doctor’s work for now, that he could wait.
Of course, he also had business with He Doctor.
“My sister-in-law will be coming over soon too. I hope you’ll do us the honor, He Doctor.”
After finishing her tasks and making rounds in the wards, it was nearly eight by the time He Dongli came down.
Liang Jianxing’s car was parked on the west plaza of the surgical building.
She had no idea how he’d convinced security to let him park for so long.
She planned to quietly pull up her hoodie and sneak away in the dark.
Liang Jianxing, sitting in his car, honked at her.
In the end, her conscience pricked her—besides, you can’t avoid someone forever.
He Dongli turned back.
The person in the car was on the phone, repeatedly calling someone “Chen General.”
He Dongli gestured to Liang Jianxing that she was off work and he should go home too.
The first thing Liang Jianxing said as he rolled down the window was, “Off work already? Half an hour earlier than I thought. Hungry? I know a great place for sand—”
“Liang Mister, I told you, you don’t have to wait for me…”
“It’s my sister-in-law who’s looking for you, He Doctor.”
Only after saying this did Liang Jianxing remember to greet the person on the other end of the phone.
After a brief exchange, he said he had some private business and would visit Chen General another time.
The night of the Liang family’s Start of Winter banquet, Tu Yumei, as a parent representative from No.1 High School’s PTA, had invited some other parents she was in contact with.
Tonight, one of those representatives was hosting a tea reception at Huadu Hotel.
Tu Yumei saw her younger brother-in-law really had brought He Dongli along.
She didn’t say anything but was inwardly suspicious—what was he up to?
Besides, that night at home, it was obvious that this He Doctor and Mr. Zong had some undercurrents between them.
Just based on that, she figured nothing could come of He Dongli and her brother-in-law.
When He Dongli arrived, Tu Yumei greeted her with a beaming smile, stretching out her arm affectionately.
Tu Yumei introduced everyone, “This is Yue Madam, and this is little He Doctor.”
Yue Madam’s husband was in the hotel’s room management.
She greeted He Doctor politely, adding that her husband would join them soon.
“Sorry for troubling you to come so late, He Doctor. But I heard from Liang Jianxing’s mother that all the lady doctors at your hospital are like Mulan—each busier than the next. We could only squeeze in a moment to invite you for a cup of tea.”
He Dongli smiled, letting herself be guided to a seat and handing her coat to the attendant.
Amid the warm atmosphere, her serious demeanor signaled to Yue Madam that she could speak freely; if it was within her ability, she’d do her best.
Yue Madam gestured for the tea master to pour tea, but He Dongli politely declined, saying it was too late.
Yue Madam said it was aged Pu’er, but if He Doctor wasn’t used to it, she could order something else.
He Dongli readily agreed, “Then just bring me a coffee.”
Yue Madam and Tu Yumei both laughed, “Can’t drink tea, but coffee is fine?”
“Mm. Coffee is already desensitized; tea, not yet. I can drink several cups of coffee without a problem, but if I have tea today, my mind will be harder to settle than my body.”
Liang Jianxing sat with He Dongli, speaking up for her, “Doctors seem to hate bright lights, and treat coffee like water.”
Yue Madam glanced at Liang Jianxing, “Oh, it’s rare to see you so well-behaved. Thanks for bringing He Doctor over tonight.”
Liang Jianxing replied slickly, “Whether it’s for you or for my sister-in-law, it’s all the same.”
The Yue family had indeed sought out He Dongli because of Tu Yumei’s recommendation.
Yue Madam had seen the recovery from her own child’s mole removal—there was barely a trace of the suture.
So she thought it safest to go with a doctor introduced by someone she knew.
Her brother wanted to have his daughter’s pigmented mole removed from her brow bone.
After comparing options, she said she trusted Director Zhao’s arrangements, and also trusted the students of Professor Cheng.
After all, in plastic surgery, a doctor’s aesthetic sense is a gift.
He Dongli received local photos of the patient and an external ultrasound report.
Since she hadn’t seen the patient in person, she didn’t make any definitive statements, only suggesting that it’d be best for the child to come to the hospital for an in-person consultation if possible.
Yue Madam took this as He Doctor agreeing.
Not long after, the topic shifted.
She began talking about another matter—half a month ago, before morning reading class, her daughter’s school suddenly called.
Minmin and a classmate had gotten into a conflict in the dance studio.
Not only was her forehead bruised, but her hand was also stabbed with a compass.
The compass needle had slipped under the skin, leaving a tiny pinhole.
When the school accompanied the student to the emergency room, no one mentioned this detail.
It was the female doctor on duty that night, helping with cosmetic sutures, who noticed and carefully removed the foreign body.
Yue Madam had been focused on dealing with the school and hadn’t noticed these details.
After suturing, the doctor had gone back to her department.
That doctor was He Dongli.
She remembered the case—the girl had lain on the gurney, eyes unfocused.
He Dongli had asked her name and address, and joked that school uniforms were much nicer now than in her day.
When the compass needle was removed, the first thing He Doctor said to Minmin was, “If there’s something you can’t solve, let your parents handle it, or call the police directly. Want me to help you call the police?”
Yue Madam couldn’t understand why her daughter was being bullied, or why Minmin wouldn’t tell them.
In the past half month, Minmin hadn’t gone to school; she’d fallen behind in her classes.
The campus Police Officer came to ask questions, but Minmin kept silent.
She refused to see the Psychologist.
Yue Madam was at her wit’s end.
The only thing Minmin had said in days was about a black marker in her uniform pocket.
When the Madam tidied up, she’d thrown it away, thinking sharp objects shouldn’t be near the child.
Who knew Minmin would suddenly fly into a rage, accusing them of never respecting others.
She demanded the Madam return the pen.
The Madam dug through the trash and finally found it.
The name on the label wasn’t Minmin, but He Dongli.
Minmin stubbornly insisted she had to return it to He Doctor.
At this point, Yue Madam was in tears.
She was here to beg He Doctor, whether to treat or prescribe medicine, she pleaded for help.
To this day, they still didn’t know if Minmin had other hidden injuries.
Yue Madam, ever the worrier, feared her child had been offended or violated but wouldn’t speak up—what should she do?
Tu Yumei, also a mother, forgot her airs and handed tissues to Yue Madam, comforting her, “Don’t think like that. The child’s just having a hard time emotionally right now.”
With tears streaming down her face, Yue Madam looked up at He Doctor, “He Doctor, Miss He, I know this is abrupt, but—”
He Dongli didn’t wait for her to finish, calmly and sharply pointing out, “Minmin’s mom, maybe Minmin doesn’t care whose pen it is. What matters is that her things need her permission.”
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.