Renting Yang Xueyi’s place was already a mistake, and now he’d ended up with a dishwashing job.
Ying Yun kept a straight face, half wanting to fire both his mouth and his stomach.
How had he ended up selling his soul for a bite to eat?
He couldn’t figure out what was wrong with Yang Xueyi, and never expected to be shoved into a wardrobe by her without warning.
Naturally, he couldn’t go back now.
After some thought, Ying Yun turned and went to a newly opened Forest Café near the hospital, planning to order a coffee.
This café had a unique vibe.
The lighting was dim and cozy, and now at dusk, the atmosphere was ambiguous and blurry.
Other than the scented candle on each table, you couldn’t really see people’s faces unless you got close.
The “forest” part came from the lush plants surrounding each seat, creating a sense of privacy and a woodland feel, even though there were no private rooms.
Ying Yun ordered a coffee and had just settled in when he heard voices from behind the greenery beside him—
“So that annoying tattletale you complain about all the time is actually Ying Yun?”
Ying Yun frowned, a bad feeling rising.
The next second, his premonition came true—
“Sorry, Qianqian, I didn’t mean to hide it from you. I just didn’t want to be associated with that annoying guy, so I didn’t mention it. Just now, I stuffed him in the wardrobe because I didn’t want anyone to know I knew him. He’s just such bad luck!”
It was unmistakably Yang Xueyi’s voice.
How ironic.
He’d come to the café to avoid these two, only to run into them here.
The two across from him clearly didn’t know the person they were discussing was right nearby.
“But Xiaoxue, you always seemed to care a lot about him when you cursed him all the time. I didn’t think much of it before, but since this person is Ying… tell me the truth, do you actually like him? Why else would you take him in right after he fell on hard times?”
Yang Xueyi’s denial was immediate.
“Like him? No way! I took him in because I hate him! What could be more satisfying than seeing your old rival down on his luck? He used to give me the cold shoulder, and now the tables have turned. He’s the one living under my roof, and he’ll have to watch my face from now on—so satisfying!”
Ying Yun let out a cold laugh, his face darkening.
Yang Xueyi was still the same as ever—she hadn’t changed a bit in ten years.
Ying Yun just felt stupid.
People shouldn’t step into the same river twice, but with Yang Xueyi, he’d thrown himself into the same muddy pit again and again.
He must’ve been a pig in his past life.
Only a pig would be unable to resist a mud pit.
He’d really thought she’d felt sorry for him after his family’s misfortune.
Even after paying his debt for ten years, he’d still believed her.
Kindness, sincerity, compassion—did Yang Xueyi even know what those were?
Most likely, her offer for him to wash dishes and the six thousand yuan were just her latest humiliating tricks.
Ying Yun’s face grew colder.
He stood up, determined to go back to the apartment and pack his things immediately.
But as if bad luck truly haunted him, just as he was about to leave, he heard the sound of a chair scraping loudly behind the greenery on his other side.
A group of people sat down, and a familiar teasing voice rang out—
“Did you hear? Ying Yun isn’t even his dad’s biological son.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard. He used to act all high and mighty. The Miss Director had her eye on him, but he turned her down, acting like he was above everyone. I bet he regrets it now. If he’d latched onto the Miss Director, he’d have no worries about his future.”
“He always put on an act, pretending he was rich, always paying for patients who couldn’t afford surgery, acting all noble and selfless. He spoiled the patients so much that last time, one of them yelled at me, saying, ‘Why can Dr. Ying pay, but you can’t?’”
“And they said the medicine Ying Yun prescribed was cheap and effective, and questioned why mine was so expensive. Give me a break—Ying Yun doesn’t lack money, but I do! If I prescribe cheap medicine all the time, what am I supposed to live on?”
“I can’t stand hypocrites like him. Makes us all look bad.”
“He only became an attending physician so young because he used to be the Young Master of Yuanyang Logistics. Think he’s actually that talented? It’s just because he always took everyone out to dinner to buy people’s loyalty…”
Ying Yun knew he wasn’t a wad of cash—there was no way everyone would like him.
But he hadn’t realized so many people saw him as an eyesore.
These male doctors mocking him behind his back had always been the first to accept his dinner invitations, and now…
Heh.
The coldness of human nature—Ying Yun was experiencing it firsthand.
His colleagues were like this, and so was Yang Xueyi.
There was really no difference.
Those male colleagues, thinking Ying Yun wasn’t on duty tonight and couldn’t possibly be here, spoke even more freely.
“And what’s with all the young female interns and nurses at the hospital liking him? Even some female patients and their families—unbelievable.”
“Nobody will like him now. With his family in shambles, and without the Young Master aura of Yuanyang Logistics, who would bother with him…”
Ying Yun didn’t want to listen anymore and was about to leave when suddenly, behind him, he heard the harsh scraping of a chair.
Someone stood up abruptly.
Then came the sound of a hand slamming the table, followed by Yang Xueyi’s familiar voice—
“Why wouldn’t anyone like him?”
“You think people like Ying Yun just because he’s the Young Master of Yuanyang Logistics?”
Yang Xueyi’s voice was filled with anger, each word like a firecracker thrown in their faces.
“People like him because he won’t sacrifice his future to marry the Miss Director; because even when he’s rich, he still has compassion for poor patients and isn’t heartless! He would never prescribe outrageously expensive drugs just for kickbacks!”
“He became an attending physician so young because he works harder than anyone. While you idiots are sneering behind his back, Ying Yun is rushing to the hospital for his patients—even on his day off!”
“It’s hard to admit someone is better than you, but he really is more promising than you leeches who only know how to freeload off his meals!”
Through the lush greenery, Ying Yun heard Yang Xueyi’s clear, forceful voice, burning with righteous anger.
“Even if Ying Yun is dirt poor, there are still plenty of people who’d like him. It has nothing to do with whose son he is.”
“Because us young women, when it comes to romance, we look at the face first!”
“He’s way more handsome than you losers! His looks alone put him miles ahead!!”
“Even if you all ended up begging for food, he’d get more than any of you!”
Ying Yun didn’t know why he’d ever be out begging, but his heart still pounded at Yang Xueyi’s words, her voice rising and falling with emotion.
He had to press his hand to his chest to calm the turmoil inside.
***
Yang Xueyi’s sharp tongue and fervor mowed down the enemy like a machine gun—none were left standing.
The male doctors who’d mocked Ying Yun all shut up.
Unable to meet her gaze, they mumbled, “Forget it, not worth arguing,” and “She’s just been bewitched by Ying Yun’s face,” then awkwardly found an excuse to escape.
Yang Xueyi quickly sat back down, victorious but still angry.
“What is wrong with people!”
“Alright, alright, drink some water,” Qiao Qianqian urged.
After gulping down some water, Yang Xueyi looked up to see Qiao Qianqian watching her with a complicated expression.
“Didn’t you just say you hated Ying Yun and wanted to see him suffer? So why’d you jump out the second someone talked bad about him next door? I couldn’t even stop you.”
“That’s different!”
Yang Xueyi cleared her throat.
“I just can’t stand people who kick someone when they’re down and talk behind their backs. I’d stand up for anyone in that situation!”
“Oh please, don’t I know you? You act all tough and shrewd on the outside, but you’re just a softie inside. You actually feel sorry for Ying Yun, don’t you?”
Yang Xueyi squirmed.
“Who feels sorry for him! I just wanted to humiliate him! I even paid him six thousand to wash dishes and do chores for a year!”
“You’re unemployed, have a mortgage, and still gave him six thousand, even making up an excuse to let him save face and accept it with dignity. There’s only the two of you—how many dishes and chores can there be? Xiaoxue, I really can’t with you.”
Qiao Qianqian rolled her eyes.
“Six thousand to get Ying Yun to wash dishes? You’d be better off spending six thousand for a night with him. What a waste.”
Qiao Qianqian liked to talk nonsense, but she was actually warm-hearted and righteous.
Ignoring her “six thousand for a night” joke, Yang Xueyi started worrying about money and job prospects again.
“Sigh, if I’d known, I wouldn’t have quit in a moment of impulse. Money’s so hard to earn, and eating crap isn’t so unbearable after all.”
She looked pitiful.
“Qianqian, do you have any part-time jobs for me?”
“You barely spend money as it is. Why are you so anxious to find a side gig?”
Qiao Qianqian glared at her.
“What, are you really planning to support Ying Yun? If he’s broke, can’t he get a part-time job himself?”
Yang Xueyi sighed.
“You know how it is—people like us are used to being poor, so staying poor isn’t so hard. We’re used to putting up with crap at work.”
“But someone like him, who’s always been rich, can’t handle suddenly being poor. He has to face all those snobs like earlier, and it’s exhausting. If he takes on a side job too, he might just lose it. Depression is so common now, with self-harm and suicide. I can’t just watch him go down that road.”
“I mean, he’s so annoying, always acting like I’m trying to climb up to him. But seeing him like this now, I just feel sorry for him.”
Yang Xueyi tapped the table and declared, “So besides translation gigs, I’ll even consider modeling jobs. I never wanted to before, but now I think earning money isn’t shameful!”
“Still no hiring news from Zhongtian Medical Translation? Didn’t you want to get into that company?”
Yang Xueyi sighed.
“No hiring yet, but I signed up for their upcoming translation training course. Hopefully, I can meet Zhongtian and hand in my resume…”
On the other side of the plants, Ying Yun was silent, feeling conflicted.
He hadn’t realized that Yang Xueyi’s six thousand wasn’t meant to humiliate him—it was truly all she could give.
Yang Xueyi wasn’t as bad as he thought.
Ying Yun was a little moved.
And then, Yang Xueyi’s friend asked the question that had also been nagging at Ying Yun’s heart—
“Xiaoxue, so what does Ying Yun mean to you now?”
What indeed?
A friend?
Half a family member?
Or…
For some reason, Ying Yun felt a little nervous.
So much had happened, and even if Yang Xueyi liked him now, he couldn’t immediately respond.
It was all too fast, and his heart was a mess after everything he’d just experienced…
He hoped Yang Xueyi wouldn’t say anything that would put him on the spot.
But in the next second, he heard Yang Xueyi’s answer—
“A poodle!”
Yang Xueyi’s voice didn’t hesitate for even a second.
“To me, he’s like one of those purebred poodles born into a wealthy family, enjoying a good life, but then abandoned and turned into a stray with no survival skills. If you leave him alone, he’ll die.”
“I mean, I don’t have the means or money to take care of him long-term, but out of kindness, I’ll take him in for a while. Once he’s back on his feet, I’ll find him a new rich owner, and my job will be done.”
Yang Xueyi sounded wistful.
“Of course, if this poodle could be grateful and repay me, that’d be even better. I really hope that when he gets rich again, he’ll repay my kindness a hundredfold and just throw a few million at me.”
Yang Xueyi wasn’t that bad, but maybe she wasn’t that good either.
Yet, Ying Yun was hopeless.
Even if Yang Xueyi saw him as a poodle, he couldn’t stop his heart from racing.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.