So Lin Tianran now sat comfortably in the black Mercedes-Benz's passenger seat.
He nervously gripped the seatbelt, the medical report resting on his thigh. He maintained a meek posture, sitting as if he were a well-behaved elementary school student.
The faint scent of air freshener in the car was pleasant. The soft leather seats were incredibly comfortable, almost lulling him to sleep. The radio softly played current events, but it couldn't mask Li Yicheng's fluctuating breathing.
Lin Tianran felt like he was in a dream.
His clothes were disheveled, and his shoes were muddy. No matter how you looked at it, he didn't belong in this luxurious car. How had he ended up inside? He could only feel like a naive rabbit who had wandered into a wonderland, timidly refraining from speaking.
"What are you thinking?" Since Lin Tianran wasn't talking, Li Yicheng initiated the conversation.
"N-nothing."
"What happened to your knees?" Li Yicheng asked again.
"After work yesterday, I saw your car and tried to catch up with it, but I accidentally fell," Lin Tianran replied honestly.
"I'm sorry; it's all my fault." Li Yicheng reached out from the steering wheel and held Lin Tianran's small hand. "I promise next time, I will definitely notice you."
"It's not a big deal." Lin Tianran felt both honored and awkward, unaccustomed to someone caring for him like this.
"No, it's a big deal to me." Li Yicheng looked at him with determination.
"Um." Lin Tianran didn't know what to say, so he blushed and lowered his head.
"By the way, what's hanging around your neck?" Li Yicheng suddenly asked.
"???" Lin Tianran hadn't processed it yet when the photo of his neck, facing outward, was already flipped by Li Yicheng.
The man's expression changed more brilliantly than a kaleidoscope, making it hard to drive steadily.
Throughout the journey, Lin Tianran exhausted his lifetime of eloquence and vivid gestures to explain everything.
When they arrived at the hospital entrance, Li Yicheng's face was still not pleasant.
He just said, "I'll take this photo." and made no further comments.
Lin Tianran got out of the car at the hospital entrance, and the company's large bus happened to arrive.
"Thank you, General Li. I'm heading over there now." He pointed to the crowd of colleagues. After receiving Li Yicheng's consent from inside the car, he went to report for his medical examination.
This hospital seemed quite impressive! Lin Tianran felt like Liu Laolao entering the Grand View Garden. Normally, when he was ill, he would go to a small clinic. He had barely visited a big hospital like this, where the whole building was air-conditioned, escalators everywhere, and he felt like he had entered a maze.
"It's such a good deal for the annual check-up this year. There wasn't even a bone examination last year, but this year, they added a bone density test. It's really impressive," everyone discussed enthusiastically.
"Yeah, that's right. There are several other new items added this year, like this one, the nutritional test. I heard a nutrition expert will examine you and provide a list of the most suitable nutrition foods for your body!"
"Wow, then I have to ask the doctor later about what to eat to stay slim and not lose nutrients!"
While they were engrossed in chatting, a nurse walked out of the examination room and shouted, "Is Lin Tianran here? Lin Tianran, come in for your check-up!"
"I'm here! Coming!" Lin Tianran promptly raised his hand and replied.
"It's your turn, go on in," Lina smiled and waved as she watched Lin Tianran go inside.
"Huh?" Lina looked at the young doctor who had just been examining her colleagues and was now walking out, and then, quickly, a foreign doctor was led in by the nurse to take over.
This foreigner... looks very familiar."
Lina quickly opened her phone to check, and it was him!
Professor Jackson, the renowned American orthopedic expert!
He had just been nominated for the Nobel Prize in Medicine!
Just as she was about to follow to see what was happening, someone tapped her shoulder.
"Manager Fang?" Lina turned around.
"Lina, have you finished your examination?" Manager Fang looked around, his eyes a bit secretive, and then asked, "By the way, did Lin Tianran go in?"
Already nervous about the examination, Lin Tianran became even more anxious at the thought of a foreigner touching his body.
"Relax," the foreigner had been advising him, but he remained as tense as a dried fish. After lying down on the examination bed, he couldn't relax at all.
The foreigner used his hands to knead and manipulate Lin Tianran's left leg. He used various cold instruments in the examination room on Lin Tianran's left leg, manipulating them for a long time.
Lin Tianran found it strange. Why was this foreigner so focused on his injured leg? He wanted to ask but couldn't speak. He didn't know English, so conversing with foreigners was like talking to a brick wall, and he didn't have the courage to do so.
Finally, after enduring every second and minute, Lin Tianran heard the nurse announce that the examination was over. He quickly put on his shoes and left the orthopedics department like he was escaping.
Manager Fang led Lina to the hospital's café.
"Your favorite cappuccino, am I right?"
"Thank you." Lina picked up the cup and took a big sip. "It smells so good."
"Can you please keep today's events a secret?" Manager Fang pleaded with her.
"Oh, so the coffee is a bribe for me." Lina pretended to suddenly realize.
"Don't worry, I know what to do. I didn't see anything today, okay?" Lina was a clever girl who understood social nuances. She made a zipper gesture over her mouth, causing Manager Fang to burst into laughter.
"You, you're still as cute as ever." Manager Fang looked at her, infatuated.
"Cough, cough, I have to go. I haven't finished my examination yet." Sensing the change in the atmosphere, Lina wanted to leave quickly.
"Lina!" Manager Fang urgently called her back. "Between us..."
"It's just a colleague relationship." Lina immediately interrupted him, wanting to dispel his fantasies.
Watching the fiery departure of the woman, Manager Fang mumbled, "Can it really only be a colleague relationship?"
Five years ago.
"Lina, I really like you. Please be my girlfriend!" Holding a large bouquet of roses, Manager Fang kneeled down outside the marketing department's entrance, in front of everyone, to express his affection for Lina.
"Agree to him, agree to him, agree to him!" Everyone cheered.
But the heroine, with a furrowed brow and a hand on her forehead, said, "Manager Fang, for me, my boyfriend must be at the manager level or higher. I won't consider someone like you, a basic-level employee!"
"Lina, if I become a manager, will you agree to me?" Manager Fang asked, unwilling to give up.
"Let's talk about it when you become a manager." Lina resolutely turned her head.
"All right, please believe in me. I will work hard!" Manager Fang clenched his fist excitedly.
After this storm settled, Manager Fang transformed as if he had shed his skin. He was no longer an aimless young man, but a diligent and responsible young man who was actively striving for success. He not only worked hard during office hours but also frequently volunteered for overtime. He treated the company like a home and work like a calling. Finally, five years later, with his sweat and efforts, he sat in the position of HR manager.
At this point, Manager Fang was no longer the young man who had just entered the workforce five years ago, full of recklessness. Years in the workplace had tempered him into a mature man who was steady and responsible.
But would Lina like him?
Could he hold a beautiful woman like her?
Lin Tianran had finally completed all of his examinations and could finally relax.
He flipped open the examination form and carefully reviewed it again to ensure that all the items were completed. Then he went to find Manager Fang and submitted the form.
"The company bus is in the hospital parking lot. You can go there now." Manager Fang, as if worried, double-checked the form for him.
"Thank you, Manager Fang." Lin Tianran politely thanked him and then casually went to the restroom before heading to the bus.
"Huh?" As soon as he left the hospital entrance, Lin Tianran saw a black Mercedes-Benz parked by the roadside, and it immediately started driving towards him.
Lin Tianran glanced at the license plate, 6888.
"Have you finished your examination? Get in the car." Li Yicheng lowered the car window and waved to him.
Lin Tianran had initially wanted to decline because the company bus was parked in the adjacent parking lot.
"Hey, this is a lane, no parking allowed!" a security guard shouted.
Lin Tianran could only hurry and get in the car.
"Seatbelt." Li Yicheng pointed at it thoughtfully.
"Oh." After fastening his seatbelt, Lin Tianran thought about Li Yicheng's presence. He felt that asking directly might be inappropriate, but he couldn't resist, "Mr. Li, were you waiting for me?"
"Yeah." Li Yicheng replied matter-of-factly. "I've said, don't call me Mr. Li, it sounds so unfamiliar."
"Oh... Yicheng." Lin Tianran shyly corrected himself. His name sounded incredibly pleasant when he said it out loud.
"Good." Li Yicheng smiled and agreed, seeming to enjoy hearing it.
"Yicheng, aren't we heading back to Huamao?" Lin Tianran noticed that they had taken a different route from the company bus in front. The bus continued straight, while they switched lanes onto an overpass.
"We're not going back for now. It's a rare trip to the city; I'll take you around." Li Yicheng was in a very good mood, even humming a tune.
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