He tugged his lips' corners for a bit as he changed the subject of the conversation.
"It has nothing to do with you. It's his own health issue."
Only then did Yan Nian feel relieved.
She was mulling over this issue earlier. What should I do if the other party insists on me bearing all of his father's medical expenses? It'll probably be a bottomless pit.
"Since everything is fine, I shall take my leave now."
"Did I permit you to leave?"
With a hand in his pocket, Jiang Beiyuan smiled and poked his slender index finger on the woman's forehead. "Don't you know you have a big swell on your head?"
She was baffled by that question.
She raised a hand to her forehead.
Oh.
It probably occurred from her bumping into the old man earlier.
She waved a hand at him dismissively as she adjusted the fringe on her forehead to cover it. "It's fine."
'It's fine'?
If it were her past self, she would not be saying that right now. Instead, she would probably have long grabbed the old man's collar and growled at him, saying, "Compensate me for the injury on my head!"
At the thought of this, his gaze shifted. He had experienced her stubbornness and waywardness in the past and knew that the woman now wanted to live a peaceful life without causing any trouble, so it was useless saying anything more. It was more practical to just pull her over to the sofa.
He had a medical kit in his office, which had everything he needed— medical gauze, alcohol, and cotton swabs.
"There's no need for any treatment. It's just a swell!" she hastily said as he lifted a hand and smeared medication on the corner of her lips.
The latter merely snorted and held her head still. "I'm a thoracic surgeon. I'm more than capable of putting a bandage on your head."
And so, she fell into a silence.
This face that was so close to hers had such sculpted features and good looks.
The slight disinfectant smell mixed with his body scent smelled cool and refreshing, not at all awful-smelling.
The man suddenly caught sight of a pink coffee cup on his desk.
He expressionlessly retracted his gaze. "Did someone drop by my office?"
Although she was clueless about how the doctor came to know of it, she decided to just confess the truth.
"One of your female colleagues: pretty-looking with a good figure."
Nothing seemed odd about her tone, and it was just as if she was only talking about the weather.
He stared keenly at her face, trying to discern a trace of jealousy from her look.
Alas, there was no such emotions.
It upset him so much he retracted his hands.
"Leave. I have to get back to work."
She nodded eagerly in response.
She was not fond of being in places like hospitals, and so, she quickly left the place without even looking back.
...
Three o'clock in the afternoon.
In Ning City Central Hospital, the thoracic department was conducting their routine rounds.
Leading the department was Jiang Beiyuan with his hands placed in the pockets of his clean white coat and a stethoscope around his neck. With his straight figure and pretty face that had distinctive features, he appeared to be very imposing as he made his rounds with the group of colleagues who were of lower rank trailing behind him.
Everyone was trembling in fear. For reasons unknown, they found the doctor to be especially cold today.
"Has the body temperature of the patient with injured lungs on Bed 1 been taken?"
"Yes. Everything is fine, Dr. Jiang."
"Who's in charge of Bed 2?"
His footsteps halted and he turned his head slightly to the back.
Everyone exchanged knowing glances.
The person-in-charge of Bed 2 was probably going to get in trouble for having made the doctor halt his footsteps.
Upon seeing his frigid look, the newbie intern raised his hand in trepidation as he braced himself for what was about to come. "I-It's me… Dr. Jiang."
"Didn't I tell you to immediately stop with the
"Y-Yes, you did…"
"Then don't make me repeat it for the third time."
"Yes, yes. I got it."
The young intern patted his chest as he heaved a sigh of relief.
This doctor is truly a cold person, indeed. He's exactly as aloof, mean, and unreasonable as rumored.
It's such a pity that he has such good looks when his demeanor is so cold and fearsome.
"Dr. Yu, is Dr. Jiang always like this?"
The intern instinctively turned to the female doctor beside him.
Yu Lili gave him a half-smile. "It doesn't seem to always be the case."
"What do you mean?"
She did not explain further, though.
Right then, Xu Kuangjie walked out of the elevator and approached them while twirling his car key with his finger. He was here to have a meal with his friend.
The other doctors all left except for the woman, who remained rooted to the spot.
She was the only person who was unafraid of Jiang Beiyuan's aloofness.
She then approached Jiang Beiyuan and lifted her hand to tease his fringe with her long slender fingers.
"Dr. Jiang, are you free tonight? A new French restaurant opened downstairs in the hospital. I heard from Xiao Liu that the food there is pretty good."