***
But when others found out she was a forensic doctor who dealt with the dead, they kept their distance from her, unwilling to get close.
This made her stand out even more in a crowd, alone and out of place.
You Bei eventually gave up on trying to pull her into large social gatherings, only making sure to keep her company often herself.
Mai Xiaomai knew that You Bei had her best interests at heart and was touched that her good friend cared for her so much, never shunning her.
She knew that without You Bei, her life would have had many more regrets and been even lonelier.
She cherished You Bei, and You Bei cherished her in return.
The two of them seemed to have completely different personalities, yet they became best friends who talked about everything and were exceptionally close.
Perhaps this was what people meant by "opposites attract".
"Miss Xiaomai, why did you choose to be a forensic doctor, a field most people dare not venture into?"
Feng Qinglang saw a hint of distraction in her eyes, as if she were reminiscing, and continued to ask.
Mai Xiaomai collected her thoughts, looked at Feng Qinglang, whose eyes were brimming with charm, and said with a faint smile, "The dead are better to talk to than the living, more honest, and more conversational."
"Tsk tsk, that's a strange thing to say. Aren't the so-called dead, well, dead? How can you interact with them? How can they speak honestly? You don't seem like the reclusive type, so why don't you like interacting with the living?"
Feng Qinglang looked at her with an inquisitive gaze, as if trying to dig out even more from her.
It was then that the four dishes Mai Xiaomai and Chen Dadao had ordered arrived.
Mai Xiaomai picked up her chopsticks and said to Feng Qinglang, "Let's eat! We can talk about this topic while we eat."
"Heh, so you still can't discuss corpses while eating, can you?"
Feng Qinglang also unceremoniously picked up another pair of chopsticks, selected a piece of meat from the stir-fried cucumber, and dangled it in front of Mai Xiaomai with a somewhat sly grin, "Does this slice of meat remind you of the bodies you dissect by hand?"
Despite having overcome the psychological barrier of thinking about dead bodies when eating meat, Mai Xiaomai couldn't help but recall the dismembered body case she had recently investigated; her stomach started to churn involuntarily, and she felt a suffocating sensation and the urge to vomit.
Yet as a forensic doctor with many years of experience, this feeling of nausea was only momentary and didn't affect her appetite.
Having not eaten for several hours, her stomach was growling with hunger, so she began to pick up dishes and eat.
Nevertheless, she subconsciously avoided the meat and only took vegetables.
"Tsk tsk, you still have an appetite, which means you're a pretty good forensic doctor,"
Feng Qinglang chuckled, tossed the piece of meat into his mouth, and began to eat, teasing Mai Xiaomai as he went along.
Mai Xiaomai occasionally responded with a few words.
The atmosphere between them seemed quite harmonious, like that of fairly close acquaintances.
However, Mai Xiaomai didn't take the initiative to inquire about Feng Qinglang's identity. She simply answered whatever he asked, keeping silent when she didn't want to respond.
Feng Qinglang was adept at managing the mood; noticing her silence, he quickly switched topics to avoid any awkwardness in the conversation.
"Chutian, who is that woman? Young Master Feng seems quite familiar with her?"
Seeing Feng Qinglang and Mai Xiaomai getting along so well, and noticing that Qiao Chutian, who usually never gave other women a second look, was occasionally glancing at Mai Xiaomai and even seemed a bit distracted, Lin Na felt a bit uncomfortable and couldn't help but ask.
***