After her dramatic cousin stopped acting up, the aloof doctor got anxious.

She didn't ask any more questions because she knew she wouldn't get any answers.

But she kept thinking about it.

Until a few days ago, when she heard from the hospital director that the military hospital was going to send people to the city's No. 1 Hospital for study and exchange, she immediately volunteered.

She repeatedly assured the hospital director that she would study hard and not bring shame to the hospital, which finally made the director relent.

As soon as the dean agreed, she couldn't wait and came ahead of time.

She walked into the outpatient hall, went straight to the front desk, and said with a sweet smile, "Hello, I'm looking for Dr. Qi in orthopedics. Could you tell me which way to the consultation room?"

The receptionist looked up at her and said, "Dr. Qi isn't at work; he's on leave."

Su Yu was stunned. "Taking leave? Why is he taking leave? When is he coming back to work?"

"I don't know, he took a long leave."

The receptionist lowered her head and continued organizing the orders in her hand.

What?

Have you taken a long leave?

She came all the way here, only to find it was empty.

Su Yu grew anxious, "Then do you know where he lives?"

The receptionist looked up at her again, her gaze lingering on her face for a moment, her tone polite but distant, "I don't know."

Su Yu's expression was not good. "Does your hospital not even register doctors' addresses?"

The receptionist remained calm, saying, "This is a matter of personal privacy; the hospital does not provide this information to the public."

Su Yu was speechless.

She straightened up, disgruntled. "What kind of lousy receptionist is she? She doesn't know anything when I ask her questions!"

The receptionist's tone softened slightly. "If you need to see Dr. Qi, you can contact the department. But if it's a personal matter, I can't help you."

Su turned and left in a huff, her back view haughty.

The receptionist rolled her eyes as she watched Su Yu walk away. Once Su Yu was out of sight, she lowered her voice and muttered to her colleague, "What's wrong with you? I'm not your personal secretary. I don't have to find out everything for you."

A colleague sidled up, her gaze following Su Yu's exquisitely tailored dress and her haughty back, and whispered, "Who's that? One of Dr. Qi's suitors?"

The receptionist snorted coldly, her face full of disdain. "Dr. Qi already has Shen Ruo. Look at her compared to Shen Ruo, even a blind person would choose her."

"It's not that I want to speak up for Shen Ruo, it's just that what she said later angered me. What kind of attitude is that? She can't even figure out her own mess and she's blaming others."

Su Yu walked out of the outpatient hall, stood by the flower bed at the entrance, took out her phone and dialed Qi Wenshen's number.

It rang a few times, then went busy.

She dialed again, but it was still busy.

She stomped her foot in anger, feeling wronged and annoyed. "Qi Wenshen, you can run away today, but you can't run away tomorrow."

Unbeknownst to her, Qi Wenshen had already blacklisted the number the moment he hung up on her.

In the ward, Qi Wenshen put his phone back on the table.

Shen Ruo leaned against the headboard, her gaze falling on his face, and asked, "Is there something urgent at the hospital that they need to contact you? I've seen your phone ringing a lot."

Qi Wenshen sat down on the edge of the bed, picked up the glass of warm water next to him and handed it to her. "No, it's not a harassing call."

Shen Ruo took the water glass and took a sip.

She had just put down her cup when Qi Wenshen's phone rang again; this time it was Wei Jing calling.

He glanced at the screen, picked up the phone, and held it to his ear. "Old Qi, come to my office. I need to talk to you about something."

"it is good."

Qi Wenshen hung up the phone, stood up, bent down to take the glass of water from Shen Ruo, and put it back on the bedside table.

He went to the bathroom, wrung out a hot towel, and wiped her face with practiced and gentle movements.

Shen Ruo closed her eyes and let him wipe her.

Her lowered eyelids trembled slightly.

Looking at those tightly pursed red lips.

Qi Wenshen's throat felt a little dry.

He knew it wasn't the right time to do something else.

He forced himself to look away.

Qi Wenshen squeezed toothpaste for her, fetched warm water, and supported the back of her head.

Shen Ruo obediently opened her mouth, occasionally protesting, "Brother Wen Shen... you've been scrolling for too long."

"Two minutes, standard time."

Shen Ruo: "..."

After brushing my teeth.

Qi Wenshen took a wooden comb from the drawer and sat down on the edge of the bed.

He reached out and lifted the long hair at the back of her head, the comb slowly sliding upwards from the ends, stopping when he encountered a knot, pinching that small section of hair with his fingertips to separate it little by little, and then continuing to comb downwards.

Shen Ruo didn't think much of it at first, but when the comb went through her hair, she suddenly realized a serious problem.

She hadn't washed her hair for many days.

After lying down for so long, her hair was already greasy and stuck to her scalp. She touched it once, and the feeling made her want to jump up and rush into the bathroom immediately.

And I've been lying down for so many days.

Sweating, changing dressings, and all sorts of other things inevitably leave some unpleasant odors in the hair.

She could smell it herself, so Qi Wenshen, being so close, must have been able to smell it too.

Her body tensed slightly, and her head involuntarily shifted to the side.

The comb teeth slid out from her hair, bringing a slight pulling sensation, but the scalp that was touched felt sensitive and tingly, making her shrink back.

"Um... I don't need to comb my hair, it'll just get messy if I lie down."

Qi Wenshen's hand froze in mid-air as he looked down at her slightly reddened earlobes. "Did I hurt you?"

"no."

"Then don't move around too much, it's almost done."

Shen Ruo bit her lip and stopped dodging, quietly letting him slowly straighten the knotted ends of her hair.

After combing through the last strand of hair, Qi Wenshen didn't stop immediately. Instead, he used his fingers to gently flatten the few stray hairs sticking up on the top of her head.

After she lay back down on the bed, Qi Wenshen lowered his head and gently touched her forehead. "I'm going to my office. I'll be right back. If you need anything, just ring the bell for Xiao Chen."

Shen Ruo nodded, still huddled under the covers, and watched him push open the door and leave.

Not long after the door closed, Xiao Chen came in carrying a tray for changing the dressing.

She glanced at Shen Ruo's face, which had regained its color, then at the glass of warm water on the bedside table, and the corners of her mouth slowly turned up.

"Oh my! Your lips are practically curled up to your ears. What kind of sweet talk did Dr. Qi give you this time?"

"Shen Ruo, judging from the way you get along with Dr. Qi now, I can imagine that when you get old, Dr. Qi will definitely take care of you. You just need to say a few words and he will take care of everything for you."

Shen Ruo glared at her. "My injuries haven't even healed yet, and you're already cursing me?"

As Xiao Chen helped her remove the bandages and change the dressing, he laughed and said, "I wasn't cursing you, I was just envious. When I say 'serving you,' I mean you don't have to lift a finger. Just say the word and Dr. Qi will take care of everything for you."

"I'm not that lazy. I'll definitely do what I can do myself."

While bandaging her waist, Xiao Chen deliberately pinched the soft flesh on her side lightly. "Do you think I don't know how lazy you are? Back in the nurses' station, Zhou Lan even had to get you a glass of water."

Shen Ruo laughed, "That's not laziness, that's sisterly affection, helping each other out."

"You're full of twisted logic."

She wrapped the bandages properly.

"Alright, you lie down and rest. I'm going to check on the next patient. Press the call button if you need anything."