Although she had insomnia again the previous night, Yang Xueyi still went to the hospital with her lunchbox on her first day, full of energy.
Her makeup was as meticulous as ever, her clothes were deliberately chosen, her gaze filled with tender affection. The only difference—
Today’s lunchbox was empty.
With Ying Yun’s attitude, let alone accepting the food she made, he probably wanted to avoid even seeing her.
Yang Xueyi was certain that carrying four dishes and one soup back and forth only left her exhausted, with no benefit at all.
She might as well just bring an empty lunchbox and go through the motions.
When she got home, she could make herself something fresh and hot to eat anyway.
Today, Ying Yun was seeing patients in the outpatient clinic.
Afraid she might miss him, Yang Xueyi simply waited outside the consultation room with her empty lunchbox.
But the wait was much longer than Yang Xueyi expected.
After seeing all the scheduled patients, Ying Yun didn’t turn anyone away and continued to see additional patients.
So, what should have ended at eleven thirty dragged on until one thirty.
Yang Xueyi waited so long that she was starving and bored out of her mind, until she finally saw him send off the last patient, change his clothes, and walk out of the consultation room.
Yang Xueyi immediately stood up, slipping into character in a second, her eyes soft as water, looking expectantly and bashfully at Ying Yun, “Ying Yun! Why did you just finish your shift? You’ve worked so hard! There’s hardly anything left to eat in the cafeteria at this hour, but luckily I brought you a loving lunch…”
Sure enough, as soon as he saw Yang Xueyi, Ying Yun’s expression darkened.
He frowned at Yang Xueyi, his voice as cold and indifferent as ever, “Yang Xueyi.”
Great, the next thing he’ll say is to tell me to disappear!
Little Ying Yun, you’re too easy to handle!
But just as Yang Xueyi was about to put on a hurt expression and finish her little act, Ying Yun’s next words caught her completely off guard—
“You, come with me.”
Yang Xueyi was stunned.
Ying Yun turned back, looking at her somewhat impatiently, “Aren’t you coming?”
What was Ying Yun up to?
Could it be that he really worked too late today and was planning to eat the lunch she brought?
But her lunchbox was empty!
Ying Yun, have some backbone!
How could you eat my food!
Nervous and uneasy, Yang Xueyi followed Ying Yun to the hospital cafeteria.
Fortunately, Ying Yun still had some pride and didn’t intend to eat the lunch Yang Xueyi brought.
She saw him order a bowl of noodle soup at the noodle counter.
Yang Xueyi breathed a sigh of relief, but then grew wary.
Why had Ying Yun brought her to the cafeteria?
Shouldn’t he be avoiding her?
Could it be that he was moved by her persistence and was going to give her a chance?
After ordering, Ying Yun sat back down at the table.
His expression was indifferent as he lifted his eyelids, “You say you like me, and think I’m interested in you too.”
Yang Xueyi grew nervous, on high alert.
I absolutely can’t let Ying Yun soften and agree to try with me.
Yang Xueyi decided to disgust Ying Yun to the end, “Of course, Ying Yun, haven’t you thought about it? Why are you always targeting me? Isn’t that a form of special attention? It may look like you’re giving me a hard time, but at its core, it means you care. And caring comes from an unconscious fondness. You just can’t believe you’ve fallen for me, so you’re torn between your heart and your reason, and that’s why you treat me so extremely!”
“Sometimes, people shouldn’t fight fate. You should follow your heart. Liking me isn’t shameful! Just say it out loud. For the sake of our country’s next generation, let’s hurry up and fall in love!”
Yang Xueyi deliberately exaggerated her tone, but after she finished, Ying Yun didn’t refute her at all, nor did he seem surprised.
He just gave Yang Xueyi a calm glance.
“Is that so? I see,” he said quietly, “Then how much do you like me?”
Yang Xueyi couldn’t quite figure out Ying Yun’s game, but she still kept up her bravado, “I only recently realized my feelings for you. After growing up together all these years, I didn’t even know I’d already fallen for you.”
“Ever since I became aware of my feelings, I keep thinking about you, remembering every little moment we’ve shared. I can’t sleep at night, can’t focus on anything else, all I want is to let you know how I feel.”
Yang Xueyi said affectionately, “Ying Yun, we’ve already been together for ten years as friends. For the next ten years, let’s spend it together in a whole new way!”
Afraid she hadn’t scared Ying Yun enough, Yang Xueyi added with passionate sincerity, “Ying Yun, think about it, we’re not just rivals, we’re childhood sweethearts. This is fate, we’re a match made in heaven, destined to be together.”
“You might not be able to trust my feelings right away, I understand. Your coldness now is just a test, an observation! I won’t give up, I’ll keep trying!”
After such an over-the-top confession, not only did Ying Yun not run away, he sat there as calm as ever, even with a faint look of understanding on his face.
Yang Xueyi’s heart pounded.
Was her eloquence so good that she’d brainwashed Ying Yun?
Or had Ying Yun secretly liked her all along and was just waiting for this chance?
No way!
Nervous, Yang Xueyi watched as Ying Yun took out a slip of paper from his pocket, wrote something down, and handed it to her.
There was a name written on it.
Ying Yun’s voice was cool, “Go register for his specialist appointment.”
Yang Xueyi was confused, “Why? I’m not sick, what department is this?”
“Psychiatry.”
Ying Yun pursed his lips, “Excitability, talkativeness, insomnia, inability to concentrate, thinking others like you, interpreting every word and action as a sign of love, believing that rejection is just a test of love.”
“Yang Xueyi, this is classic ‘Erotomania’, also known as ‘de Clérambault’s syndrome’. Your symptoms are pretty severe. Take your meds and get treated early.”
Now it was Yang Xueyi’s turn to explode, “Ying Yun!”
She forced herself not to lose her temper and kept up a forced smile, “I’m not sick, I really just like you, that’s all. I’m not one to beat around the bush—when I like someone, I go after them boldly. When I see you working so hard, I just want you to eat well, that’s why I brought you food. If I caused you any trouble today…”
Yang Xueyi showed a wounded expression, “Then I’ll come again tomorrow.”
The situation wasn’t good.
Better to retreat for now and plan for the long game.
She put on an act, “It’s just a shame about the food, I really put my heart into making it.”
But as Yang Xueyi picked up her lunchbox and stood to leave, her movement was too sudden and she bumped right into a doctor who was hurrying past behind her.
She was fine, but her lunchbox fell to the floor, and one of the containers popped open, revealing—
An empty bottom, not a single grain of rice.
Sure enough, when Yang Xueyi looked up, she saw Ying Yun staring at her with a blank face.
That annoying guy curled his lips, chuckled lightly, and said sarcastically, “So this is the ‘loving lunch’?”
“There’s nothing in it, is there?”
Ying Yun sneered, “Is this how much you like me?”
At times like this, you have to stay calm. Yang Xueyi resisted the urge to run and decided to go all out.
She blinked and lied with a straight face, “Isn’t it packed full?”
Opportunities are for those who are always prepared!
She hadn’t managed to scare Ying Yun off just now, but here was another chance, wasn’t it?
Yang Xueyi gazed at Ying Yun with deep affection, “Ying Yun, can’t you see? It’s full of my love for you.”
For every trick, there’s a counter.
In this world, thick skin is the secret to survival.
Just moments ago, Ying Yun was calm and collected, but now even he couldn’t keep a straight face anymore.
“Yang Xueyi, go get your head checked, or I’m telling your mom.”
He said this, got up to protect his noodles, and walked away with a black face to pick up his takeout noodles at the counter, then strode off.
[He told me to get my head checked!]
Yang Xueyi went home, fuming, and messaged the forum user who’d been giving her advice to vent her frustration—
[It worked a bit at first, but now the more I try, the less he’s afraid! He even threatened to tell my mom! He’s not scared off at all!]
Coincidentally, the other party was online, but before giving any advice—
[Why don’t we add each other on WeChat? I’m abroad, and with the time difference, I can’t always remember to log onto this forum. I’m afraid I won’t reply in time.]
The other person seemed like a very enthusiastic girl.
These days, besides asking her for advice, Yang Xueyi sometimes shared daily life tidbits with her.
Surprisingly, they got along really well, like friends who’d known each other for years without ever meeting.
Yang Xueyi didn’t hesitate.
Moments later, she added her on WeChat—[A Tangerine Blossom].
And the other girl was very dedicated.
As soon as Yang Xueyi accepted the friend request, she sent over new suggestions in a flurry of messages—
A Tangerine Blossom: [He’s not running because he doesn’t believe you really like him. He’s seen right through you and thinks you have ulterior motives.]
A Tangerine Blossom: [If he really believed you liked him, if you wanted to date and marry him, to tie him down, no guy wouldn’t run!]
A Tangerine Blossom: [You have to make him realize you truly love him! Then he’ll run for the hills! Forget tattling to your mom—he’ll want nothing to do with you at all!]
A Tangerine Blossom: [Keep it up! You’re just one step away from success!]
Yang Xueyi closed her laptop, thinking the other girl made sense.
She’d been too careless.
Before, she was always too cold to Ying Yun.
That guy was cunning and guarded—no way he’d believe she’d changed her tune so quickly.
Now that he’d found out the lunchbox was empty, Ying Yun was bound to be even more suspicious.
No inexplicable hate, and no inexplicable love.
She needed to lay some groundwork.
If she wanted to convince Ying Yun she’d fallen for him, she needed solid evidence.
Yang Xueyi looked at the stack of “Ying Yun’s Crimes” notebooks on her bookshelf and suddenly had an idea.
Those seven notebooks detailed Ying Yun’s misdeeds over the past ten years—real, detailed, and convincing.
So if she fabricated a “Ying Yun Crush Diary,” filled with notes showing her concern and budding feelings for him, wouldn’t that work?
Then she’d “accidentally” leave it somewhere Ying Yun could find it, and once his curiosity got the better of him…
Once he believed Yang Xueyi truly liked him, Ying Yun would definitely avoid her at all costs.
Yang Xueyi wasted no time.
She found an empty notebook, opened her laptop, and started searching for “crush diary” as a keyword.
The internet is such a wonderful thing!
Looking at all the sample materials, Yang Xueyi was delighted.
She quickly picked out a few and began copying them into her empty notebook.
But while others might have a stroke of good luck, Yang Xueyi’s was the opposite.
She was copying so much her shoulders ached, starting to question the meaning and legitimacy of her actions, when she suddenly received a call from Yang Meiying, who scolded her as soon as she picked up—
“I told you not to hang around with those wild boys, and now you’ve dislocated your shoulder! Yang Xueyi, when will you understand! It’s better to find a reliable man than some flashy troublemaker who fights over you, gets into brawls, and even pulls your arm out of its socket!”
Yang Xueyi was furious, “Ying Yun told on me again?!”
“Watch your mouth! Xiao Yun isn’t that kind of person. He was just video-chatting with Mrs. Ying today and mentioned you went to see him at the clinic. I overheard while cooking and asked him about it, that’s all.”
Yang Meiying had been completely taken in by Ying Yun’s “good boy” act, convinced he was kind and pure.
But Yang Xueyi wasn’t stupid—Ying Yun was clearly using her mother to get back at her!
Not “by accident” at all!
He did it on purpose!
Sure enough, when Yang Xueyi criticized Ying Yun, Yang Meiying immediately defended him, “Your biggest problem is you think too highly of outsiders and too poorly of Ying Yun.”
What do you mean I think too poorly of Ying Yun! Yang Xueyi gritted her teeth.
If anything, she hadn’t thought badly enough of him, which was why she kept falling for his tricks!
No matter how she tried to explain, Yang Meiying wouldn’t believe her, “Wait till I get home and see how I deal with you! From now on, you’re not allowed out at night! Stop hanging out with those shady people!”
And with that, at the ripe age of fifteen, Yang Xueyi was officially grounded for the evenings by her mother, who then hung up.
Yang Xueyi took several deep breaths, thinking that even doubting the legitimacy of her actions for a second was an insult to herself!
Ying Yun!!!
Just you wait!!!
Thinking about her impending curfew, even though Yang Xueyi always played by her own rules, she still had to deal with Yang Meiying’s spot checks.
Yang Xueyi wanted nothing more than to storm into Ying Yun’s room and challenge him to a final showdown.
This was a blood feud!
If she couldn’t have it easy, neither would Ying Yun!