"Chen Dong, in the village ... villagers ... they all say that the ancestral massage techniques passed down in your family can induce lactation ... "
"I ... I want to try."
Chen Dong took a careful look at Wu Meiling, who had a plump figure. Her white blouse was stretched tight across her chest, the buttons strained as if they might burst open at any moment.
"Sister-in-law, have you lost your milk supply?"
Wu Meiling replied softly, "I don't know what happened."
"Since the beginning of this month, my milk supply has gradually decreased, and by last night, there was none at all."
"My daughter has been hungry for almost a day."
As Wu Meiling spoke, her cheeks flushed hot and red. She lowered her head, too shy to look at Chen Dong, her hands nervously twisting the fabric of her clothes. Her family was not wealthy; they didn't even have the money to buy formula for her child. Now that her milk had dried up, she could only hope that Chen Dong would help her.
Otherwise, her daughter would just have to go hungry.
Chen Dong's face showed hesitation; the massage technique passed down in his family did indeed have the effect of stimulating lactation, and it used to be his mother, Sun Honglan, who performed it.
But just yesterday, Chen Dong's parents had an accident while returning to the village from the county, and were now lying in the hospital ICU, under intensive care. Chen Dong was supposed to be at the hospital, watching over his parents.
He had only rushed back home to get money because the hospital was pressing him to pay for medical treatment, and it was then that he ran into Wu Meiling at the clinic. He planned to treat Wu Meiling's wounds and then hurry back to the hospital.
"For inducing lactation, our family's ancestral massage does indeed have that effect."
"But it's always been my mother who did it, and now with her in the hospital, I'm afraid she can't help you."
Wu Meiling became anxious; she didn't have money for formula, and if her milk supply didn't come back, her daughter's hunger could become dangerous if it persisted. "Then ... then ... what should we do?"
"My daughter has been hungry for a whole day now ... if she continues to go hungry ... I'm afraid it's going to be life-threatening ..."
"Chen Dong, your sister-in-law is begging you ... please think of a solution ..."
As Wu Meiling spoke, she was about to kneel before Chen Dong.
Chen Dong hurriedly grabbed Wu Meiling, who was bending down to kneel before him, and as he did so, his eyes inadvertently caught sight of a bottomless deep white cleavage.
When Wu Meiling bent over, her white peaks strained the collar open, exposing them right before Chen Dong's eyes, extremely tempting.
Chen Dong, being a young man full of vigor, had never seen such a scene before and suddenly felt a rush of heat surge through his body.
"Chen Dong, please have mercy on your sister-in-law."
"Think of a way for me."
Wu Meiling's eyes brimmed with tears, pleading pitifully.
Chen Dong was aware of Wu Meiling's family situation. Wu Meiling's family used to be quite wealthy, with a small liquor factory. He couldn't fathom why her husband, Brother Zhuzi, became addicted to gambling, not only losing the family factory but also squandering all the savings and valuable things, eventually racking up over a million in high-interest debt.
Unable to bear the tremendous pressure, Brother Zhuzi drank pesticide and ended his life, leaving everything behind. The shock was too much for Wu Meiling's in-laws; they fell severely ill and passed away one after the other.
Now only Wu Meiling and her daughter, just a few months old, remained. If not for her daughter, Wu Meiling probably wouldn't have had the courage to carry on living.
Chen Dong clenched his teeth and said, "Sister-in-law, I grew up with Brother Zhuzi, he was a year older than me. Although we weren't blood brothers, we were closer than real brothers. Brother Zhuzi's daughter is like my own daughter, and his wife is like my own wife."
"If my daughter has no milk, I can't just ignore it."
Wu Meiling's ears grew hot with embarrassment. "Chen Dong, what are you talking about?"
"I'm your sister-in-law."
Chen Dong looked awkward and coughed a few times. "I mean, I won't stand by and do nothing about your problem, but there's only one way right now."
"I'll induce lactation for you."
Wu Meiling was stunned, her face blushing so much that it seemed like water might drip from it, stammering, "Ah ... isn't ... isn't there any other way?"
Chen Dong shook his head; this method was currently the best. There were other options, like Chen Dong giving Wu Meiling the money to buy formula.
But that would only solve the immediate crisis and not the underlying problem. Besides, with Chen Dong's parents seriously injured and in the hospital, with the culprit of the accident nowhere to be found, Chen Dong still needed money to pay for their lifesaving treatment.
Right now, every penny had to count.
"Sister-in-law, as it stands, the only way to solve the problem once and for all is for me to induce your lactation."
Wu Meiling bit her lip, struggling internally, but eventually nodded. For her daughter's sake, she had to set aside her concerns, and said in a barely audible voice, "Then ... then ... alright ..."
Chen Dong pointed to the single bed beside him: "Sister-in-law, take off your top and lie down."
This must be the most embarrassing moment in Wu Meiling's more than twenty years of life, finding herself bare in front of a man nearly her age under the broad daylight.
"Take ... off my clothes?"
Chen Dong replied, "Yes, take off your clothes."
Wu Meiling stuttered, "Can ... can I not take them off?"
Chen Dong shook his head, "No, for an immediate and fast-acting effect, you must take it all off."
"Sister-in-law, don't feel burdened. Just think of me as the doctor, and you are the patient. This kind of situation is very common between doctors and patients."
Wu Meiling thought over Chen Dong's words and found them to be reasonable. After all, in hospitals, male doctors don't refrain from treating female patients due to gender differences, do they?
Male surgeons don't refuse to operate on female patients, right?
That's impossible.
"Hoo!"
Wu Meiling took a deep breath, psyching herself up, "You go lock the door."
Chen Dong went out to lock the clinic's main door, then came back and closed the door to the massage room, "Sister-in-law, let's get started."