Xander was on his way to the surgical department to check on Yera when he bumped into Dr. Candice Yao in the hallway.
Dr. Yao was the newest addition to their hospital's pediatrics department. She was not only beautiful but also sociable and easy to approach. She was an excellent fit for the department because she could easily appease the young patients, who were also known to be the most difficult patients to deal with, with her warm personality.
"Hello, Dr. Yang!" greeted Candice cheerfully, with her usual bright and white smile. Then she added in a honeyed voice, "Have you had lunch already? If you haven't, can I ask you to join me?"
Xander noticed that the woman was often trying to chat him up ever since the day she started working at their hospital. Not that he was complaining, because he also liked to talk to people. But when it comes to the matter of the opposite sex, he was not dense at all. He knew when a woman was interested in him, and Dr. Yao fit every bit of descriptions of someone who was trying to hit on him.
But it could also be her natural friendliness that could often be mistaken for flirtiness by judgmental people.
Wait, was he also one of those judgmental people who mistook Dr. Yao's conviviality for her fondness of him? Xander shook his head and laughed his thoughts off as he scolded himself for being too quick on judging others.
He smiled back at Dr. Yao and casually answered, "Sorry, Dr. Yao, but I already have someone to eat lunch with." If it were entirely up to him, he would proudly tell her that the person he was going to eat lunch with was his wife. But then again, he couldn't do that, for fear of Yera's safety.
Dr. Yao smiled back and said, "Alright, Dr. Yang… Probably next time. Enjoy your lunch then, and see you around."
Xander walked past her and failed to catch the wicked smirk on Dr. Yao's face as she turned around to watch his back.
Xander sneaked into the surgical department to see how Yera was doing on her first day at work. But unfortunately, Yera was nowhere to be found. 'Has she gone to lunch without me?' he murmured as he took out his phone and dialed Yera's number.
Meanwhile, Yera was in the middle of having lunch with her team. She could not say 'No' when Dr. Ye and the others asked her to eat with them. They were having a good chat as they waited for their orders when her mobile phone rang.
'Oh, shoot!' she gasped upon seeing the name that appeared on her phone. Then her lips unknowingly formed into a playful grin because of the name she picked to save as Xander's number.
Yera excused herself and went far enough to take the call, making sure her team couldn't hear her.
"Yes?" she simply said upon answering her phone.
Blood rushed to Xander's ears as he repeated Yera's indifferent way in answering his call, "Yes?"
How could this woman be so uncaring even on the phone?
"What?" Yera asked curtly as she creased her forehead upon hearing Xander's upset tone.
Xander let out a long sigh and appealed, "Darling… Could you please be a bit sweeter to your husband? Anyway, let's eat lunch. Where are you?"
"Oh, I'm already having lunch with my team at a restaurant nearby. We're just waiting for our orders." Yera answered, still in an unsympathetic tone, which made Xander's shoulders slump further down.
'What the...? Didn't it even cross her mind to ask me if I wanted to have lunch with her or not?' He lamented before he replied in a dry voice, "Alright, darling, enjoy your lunch and eat well. See you later then…"
Then he hung up. Yera frowned and wondered, "What's with him and his voice?" She could sense a tinge of disappointment in Xander's voice. 'Was he disappointed because he didn't get to eat with me? But we can't eat together because it would look suspicious,' she speculated as she walked back to her team.
Rui was going to ask Xander for lunch but got startled upon seeing Xander's face when he entered his office. "Yoowww, Dr. CEO, let's have lunch together. Wait… What's with the long face?"
Xander blurted everything out, like a sulky child who was just telling his parents on another child that just stole his toy. Rui responded with a roar of laughter. "What's with you? Of course she wouldn't approach you at the hospital because it would look too suspicious! You might as well go public with the news of your marriage with her if you want to flaunt how close you are with her. Which wouldn't be good for Yera right now..."
"But she could have at least told me she was having lunch with her team! Or at least be considerate enough to ask whether or not I've already eaten when I called her. She was so cold and unfeeling!" Xander kept protesting. Rui could only laugh at him.
"Stop sulking! Let's just go and eat. You're just cranky because you're hungry. Or maybe it's your natural talent to be a clingy husband!" Rui teased with a grin.
Xander's nostrils flared as he threatened Rui, "Maybe I should consider changing my shrink…"
Rui shrugged his shoulders and said, "Yes, please do! That would be awesome! Oh, I can't wait for the day when I can finally enjoy my vacation without any disturbances..."
Xander frowned but couldn't think of anything as a retort. So he irritably said, "Let's go, you, slothful psychiatrist!"
"After you, our esteemed Dr. CEO…" said Rui, still grinning as he held the door open for his friend, who obviously had fallen head over heels for his new wife. He wanted to spill it out for Xander, but he restrained himself. He knew Xander would just deny it and insist that he only liked Yera. But as a psychiatrist, he could see that it was more profound than just a feeling of fondness.
"Stop giving me that look!" Xander hissed. He felt uncomfortable as he could sense what Rui was thinking.
Rui smiled meaningfully and confronted him, "Tell me then, our dearest Dr. CEO… What kind of look am I giving you?"
Xander walked past him and hissed with an arched brow, "Starving look! What else?"