With no clothing to cover her, Wang Hong's face couldn't help but redden, yet she was still trying to appear natural.
More mature, Wang Hong could bear with such a scene.
But Zhang Xueying was different; she was the type of woman who was extremely shy. Glancing at Wang Hong's naked body, she turned away, too embarrassed to keep looking.
Chen Yang, seeing the perfect body before him, swallowed hard. After glancing at a few key areas, he took the silver needles and sat down beside Wang Hong, starting to administer acupuncture as directed by the "Medicine King's Canon" in his mind.
"Auntie Wang… this process might still hurt a bit, please bear with it."
"Mmm…"
Chen Yang began the needling process, his hands gently exploring her body to locate the acupuncture points.
Chen Yang continued to insert needles, and before long, Wang Hong's body was filled with silver needles.
When Chen Yang inserted the last needle, Wang Hong couldn't help but scream out, then she passed out.
Having inserted hundreds of needles, it was a massive undertaking, and only when the final needle was placed and Wang Hong had passed out did Chen Yang finally exhale deeply, feeling a sense of relief.
"Phew."
Chen Yang wiped the beads of sweat on his forehead: "It looks like the acupuncture is working. By tomorrow, the snake poison in Auntie Wang's body should be expelled."
"Chen Yang, does that mean Auntie Wang will be saved?" Zhang Xueying asked excitedly from the side.
Zhang Xueying had been by his side throughout Chen Yang's needling process.
Watching Chen Yang's skilled needling technique and his earnest attitude, Zhang Xueying found him particularly charming.
"Yes, tomorrow I'll prepare two more types of medicine for Auntie Wang. That should be nearly enough," Chen Yang said with a smile, then packed up the remaining silver needles and set them aside.
By this time, it was almost dawn.
"Xueying, the work is done and it's already so late. Why don't you stay here for the night instead of going back?" Chen Yang said after washing his hands, turning to Zhang Xueying.
It was the middle of the night, pitch-black outside without any lights. Chen Yang was not at ease letting Zhang Xueying go back alone, so he simply suggested that she stay at his place.
However, when Zhang Xueying heard this, her face flushed immediately, thinking Chen Yang meant for her to stay over and sleep with him…
"Yes! I'll do as you say, Brother Chen Yang," Zhang Xueying nodded shyly, her initial thoughts having been abandoned due to the day's events. But now with Chen Yang making such an offer, naturally, she wouldn't refuse.
What she didn't anticipate was that Chen Yang hadn't meant that at all.
"Alright, then I'll go make the bed. You'll just have to put up with it for one night."
Having said that, Chen Yang turned and walked towards the clinic's interior room, which was his living area.
Chen Yang's clinic was connected to his living space; the front part served as the clinic, while the back part housed living facilities.
Since Zhang Xueying was going to stay, it was natural for Chen Yang to make the bed for her.
"Ah? You're going to make the bed?" Zhang Xueying was taken aback. When she heard "make the bed," she suddenly realized what Chen Yang had meant. She had thought too much, and Chen Yang had not intended to sleep with her…
Realizing she had thought too much, Zhang Xueying, already shy, felt an even greater sense of embarrassment and her cheeks turned redder.
"Yes, what's wrong, Xueying? Why has your face suddenly turned red? Are you feeling unwell?" Chen Yang asked with some confusion, looking at Zhang Xueying.
"No… Brother Chen Yang, I'm not feeling unwell, it's just a little stuffy in here," Zhang Xueying replied, enduring her embarrassment.
"Oh, is that so? Then I'll bring a fan over for you in a moment." Chen Yang honestly believed her, without giving it a second thought. He walked into the depths of the clinic and, in the room opposite his own, he made up the bed for Zhang Xueying.
He even brought the only fan from his house into Zhang Xueying's room.
"Xueying, the bed is ready. Come in and sleep," Chen Yang called out after making the bed.
"Alright," Zhang Xueying responded, then walked straight in.
"The bed is made, so make do for tonight. The conditions here are poor, and I've even brought the only fan for you," Chen Yang chuckled as he patted the fan twice before turning to leave.
However, at that moment, Zhang Xueying suddenly hugged Chen Yang from behind.
"Chen Yang, bro... let's not... not sleep separately tonight, okay?" Zhang Xueying's cheeks were burning, and she felt her face was on fire as she spoke these words.
She truly liked Chen Yang and wanted to be his woman.
If she weren't genuinely fond of him, her shy nature wouldn't have led her to offer herself to Chen Yang time and again...
Chen Yang also knew about Zhang Xueying's true feelings.
But due to the complicated nature of their relationship, Chen Yang really struggled to accept this in the short term.
If it were any other woman, Chen Yang would have done what needed to be done in a minute, but this was his childhood friend's wife.
Chen Yang sighed internally, wanting to refuse, but also fearing that he would hurt Zhang Xueying's self-esteem, so he fell silent for a moment, then replied softly, "Xueying... it definitely can't happen tonight, Auntie Wang is still outside. What if she wakes up?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xueying was slightly stunned, and then she too felt it made sense.
With Auntie Wang still in danger outside, potentially waking up at any moment, and since Chen Yang didn't seem to strongly reject her, there would surely be other chances in the future, wouldn't there?
There was no rush for this particular night.
"I'm sorry, Chen Yang, bro... then you should go outside and check on Auntie Wang. I'll just go to sleep." Zhang Xueying, thin-skinned, let go of Chen Yang immediately upon realizing nothing would happen that night, and slid into the covers with her face so red she dared not look at Chen Yang.
At the same time, she felt secretly delighted in her heart that Chen Yang didn't despise her.
Watching how bashfully Zhang Xueying behaved, secretly thrilled, Chen Yang felt utterly helpless.
"Xueying actually fell for me, which I never expected," Chen Yang said, shaking his head helplessly before pulling the door closed and returning to his own room.
Lying in bed, Chen Yang found it hard to fall asleep.
Even though he was somewhat resistant to what had just happened, it was impossible for him not to feel stirred inside. When a woman as beautiful as Zhang Xueying threw herself into his arms, any man's body would react!
In fact, once back in his room, Chen Yang was somewhat regretful, but as soon as he thought of Chen Zhuang's face, the desire in his heart was instantly extinguished.
He could take any woman, but he truly couldn't bring himself to cross that line with his childhood friend's woman.
That night, both Chen Yang and Zhang Xueying lay awake without sleep.
They both lay in bed, thinking about each other.
Zhang Xueying's thoughts were of the future's long journey, while Chen Yang pondered how he would face Zhang Xueying in the days to come.
As they lay there thinking, dawn unknowingly arrived outside.
At that moment, Auntie Wang, who was lying in the medical clinic, woke up.
As soon as she regained consciousness, she saw her body was covered with densely packed silver needles.
"Yang Zi, come quickly and check on Auntie Wang, can these silver needles be taken out now?" The awakened Auntie Wang called out to Chen Yang's room at the top of her lungs.
Hearing this, Chen Yang, who had not slept a wink all night, immediately got out of bed.
"On my way on my way," he said.
Chen Yang slipped on a pair of sandals and went to the clinic's inner room.
There, Auntie Wang still lay in the same position as the night before, with nothing on her body but the silver needles.
Since Chen Yang had to apply the needles in a rush the night before, he hadn't had the chance to appreciate the scene.
This early in the morning, when a young man's body is particularly aroused, facing such a breathtaking sight, Chen Yang felt his mouth dry, his tongue tied, and his pulse racing.
Standing at the entrance, he found his eyes and body could not move.
"You little rascal, what are you staring at? Hurry up and help your auntie take out the needles. Auntie is almost in pain to death, oh my," Auntie Wang said, blushing and rebuking him.
Feeling embarrassed by Chen Yang's wolfish gaze, Wang Hong couldn't help but feel self-conscious.