Ye Sichen had never considered that the force of the slap he dealt that day would actually drive Tang Su away.
Instead, he didn't understand why Tang Su was so furious?
Wasn't it just a slap in a moment of impulse?
She cursed at him too.
And—
Tiantian got killed by a large dog because of her negligence, right? She did something wrong, yet didn't admit it, and cursed at others recklessly. Was she in the right?
"Ye Sichen, listen to me, I hold grudges."
"..."
After Tang Su finished speaking, she hung up the phone.
Being harassed by Ye Sichen caused Tang Su to lose the mood for dinner with Lu Han.
She didn't want Lu Han to see her in a bad temper.
She turned around, offering Lu Han an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry, Doctor Lu, I came here with a friend today, I almost forgot about her just now. Another day, I will treat Doctor Lu to a meal to express my thanks."
"No need, doctor's salaries aren't high, but I can still afford my own meals, thanks." Seeing her low spirits, the usually reserved Lu Han said a little more.
Tang Su was momentarily taken aback when she heard this and found the meticulous Doctor Lu's attempt at a wry joke quite comical.
The gloominess in her heart quickly dissipated quite a bit.
"Then, Doctor Lu, goodbye."
"See you next time, don't forget your follow-up visit," Lu Han reminded her again.
"Yes."
Leaving Doctor Lu's office, Sun Qing came over, "Are you okay?"
"Hmm, Doctor Lu said to take the medicine for three days first."
"What about after three days?"
"A follow-up visit after three days."
Sun Qing nodded, "That bastard Ye Sichen even had the nerve to call my phone just now; I gave him a piece of my mind."
"He called me just now too."
"Huh?" Sun Qing raised her eyebrows slightly, hardly believing that the scoundrel had the audacity.
Just then, Lu Han stepped out of the door, and seeing they hadn't gone far, he quickly approached them, "Tang Su, with your hearing not being well these few days, avoid driving to and from work. I suggest taking the bus, subway or taxi instead."
"Okay, Doctor Lu, thank you."
A doctor calling a patient by their name was a professional habit, and Tang Su understood this; she wouldn't overthink it, as her parents did the same with their patients.
"You're welcome."
Lu Han strode off swiftly.
His office was on the second floor, which wasn't very high, so he used the stairs.
Watching the handsome Lu Han, Sun Qing's eyes gleamed with admiration, "Cough cough cough, so that was Doctor Lu just now?"
"Yeah."
"My goodness, such a young expert, it's a rare sight. And he's so handsome too; I thought all experts were old, bald men." Sun Qing was thrilled.
Tang Su: "..."
Fortunately, he was far away; how embarrassing would it have been if Doctor Lu had heard that?
Tang Su didn't keep anything from Sun Qing, but she decided to temporarily withhold the fact that Lu Han was the cold senior who had stirred her feelings eight years ago, leading her to be absent-minded all the time.
"What do you want for dinner? Did Doctor Lu mention any dietary restrictions for these few days?" Afraid that Tang Su couldn't hear clearly, Sun Qing spoke slowly and loudly.
"No, but still, I definitely can't touch anything fishy, spicy, or stimulating for now." Coming from a family of doctors, Tang Su was immersed in medical knowledge from a young age.
"Okay, then let's go have some seafood wontons, they're definitely mild and not irritating."
"Great, you can use my car for commuting these days; I shouldn't be driving anyway."
Tang Su handed her the car keys—she had to be a well-behaved patient who followed the doctor's orders obediently.
Only if the patient is obedient will the doctor be happy.
It's just like how parents are happy only if their children are obedient.
"Then, thanks," Sun Qing didn't stand on ceremony with her.
Sun Qing had only gotten her driver's license three months ago. She had always wanted to buy her own car, but her grandfather thought she was too inexperienced and feared it would be unsafe for her to drive alone, so he refused to buy her one. Throughout these three months, it was Tang Su who lent her car to Sun Qing for practice.
Tang Su truly lived up to being her childhood friend. On her first day driving Tang Su's car, she scraped the paint off Tang Su's beloved car, but Tang Su didn't blame her.
After getting into the car, Tang Su's phone started vibrating again.
She took out her phone to check, and it was a multimedia message.
Sun Qing glanced at it and rolled her eyes in disbelief, "Who even sends MMS these days? Someone's really flush with cash."
"..."
Tang Su kept silent. She hadn't added the other party as a WeChat friend and hadn't saved their phone number. They wanted to give her a hard time again, so isn't it only natural they'd spend some money to send an MMS?
While Sun Qing was fastening her seatbelt, she glanced at it once more, catching sight of the person in the photo. Her eyes instantly widened, "Ye Sichen, this jerk, has moved on to a new love so quickly?"
In the photo, Ye Sichen sat face-to-face with a woman at a window-side table in a restaurant, with the man smiling affectionately and the woman looking tender and charming.
"It's not a new love; that woman's name is Shen Tiantian." Tang Su's gaze turned icy as she looked at Shen Tiantian's beaming, smiling face.
Just a moment ago, Ye Sichen had called to confront her about standing him up, and she had really thought Ye Sichen was waiting for her outside the civil affairs bureau all afternoon.
If that had been the case, perhaps she might have felt some tenderness and leniency towards him.
Now, how long had it been since they hung up the phone?
And he's already cozying up with Shen Tian?
"Shen Tian? That's Ye Sichen's ex-girlfriend?" Sun Qing also knew that Ye Sichen had an ex-girlfriend from several years ago, but Shen Tian was career-driven and didn't want to marry so soon, which had given Tang Su a chance.
"Yeah."
"Qimeng Restaurant? Wow, Ye Sichen even takes her to a couple's restaurant for dinner? Let's go, sister. I will take you there right now to settle the score with that jerk."
"..."
Tang Su's lips moved twice, but in the end, she didn't utter the words of refusal.
She also wanted to see what exactly Ye Sichen was up to with this?
Thus, Sun Qing drove to Qimeng Restaurant with righteous indignation, and neither of them took the time to consider who exactly had sent that MMS.
**
Qimeng Restaurant.
Shen Tian looked at Ye Sichen, whose mood was still not lifted, and felt deeply distressed.
After learning about Tiantian's death from a dog bite, she immediately flew to Hua City. Over the past two days, she had been accompanying Ye Sichen as they negotiated a resolution with the owner of the large dog. For now, a temporary agreement had been reached.
The large dog had been taken away, and its owner had been strictly forbidden from keeping large dogs any longer.
This result, provided by the police officer handling the case, pleased the rest of the residents in the neighborhood immensely.
The fear was that the large dog might lose control again someday, not just biting other dogs this time but people—that would be a disaster.
Ye Sichen only realized that everything Tang Su had told him was true after checking the surveillance footage, which is why he had softened his tone when he called her, but Tang Su had refused even to give him face.
Shen Tian had another reason for her return this time—she learned that Ye Sichen was getting married, and she wanted to fight for one last chance for herself.
Although it was she who had initially given up on him, deep down she still hoped that Ye Sichen would wait for her a little longer, just one or two more years.
She wanted to make one last push to be the leading lady and win an award like the Hundred Flowers Awards so that she could settle down and marry him without worries.
She had been nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the end of last year's Hundred Flowers Awards. Although she didn't win in the end, her agent encouraged her not to give up—the nomination last year implied a chance to win this year.
Recently, she accepted a script for "First Love," a film about campus romance, in which she would play the female lead.
The crew would start shooting early next month, with Hua City as the location.
Following this, she would have many more opportunities to meet Ye Sichen.