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

Before Sister Chen could finish speaking, the door had already closed.

Shen Ruo jogged to a taxi, gave them the hospital's address, and then leaned back in her seat to let out a long sigh of relief.

They escaped.

But she knew it was only temporary.

You can dodge the morning, but you can't dodge the night.

Living under the same roof, seeing each other all the time, she can't possibly never go home again.

Who cares? I'll just hide for one more day.

Twenty minutes later, Qi Wenshen's alarm clock rang.

He got up a little later than usual today.

I had insomnia until after 2 a.m. last night; both my body and mind were protesting.

He turned off the alarm clock, lay on the bed for a few seconds, and then got up to wash up.

After changing my clothes and going downstairs, I found the restaurant completely empty.

The seat that Shen Ruo usually sits in is empty.

Qi Wenshen glanced at the empty seat, his eyebrows twitching slightly.

Still not awake?

Did she also have insomnia last night?

He sat down, picked up his chopsticks, but didn't eat immediately.

He glanced at the direction of Shen Ruo's room upstairs, then at the time on his phone.

7:50.

If she doesn't get up soon, she'll be late for work today.

Qi Wenshen put down his chopsticks, got up and went upstairs.

He walked up to Shen Ruo's door and raised his hand to knock.

"Mr. Qi..."

Sister Chen's voice came from behind him, and Qi Wenshen turned his head to look at the stairwell.

Sister Chen stood below, holding a glass of freshly squeezed juice, looking up at him.

"Miss Shen left half an hour ago, and she left in a hurry. She ignored me when I called her to have breakfast."

Qi Wenshen slowly lowered his hand, his expression unchanged, but Sister Chen felt that the temperature around them seemed to drop by two degrees.

"understood."

His voice was flat.

I turned around, went downstairs, returned to the dining table, sat down, picked up my chopsticks, and began to eat breakfast.

His movements were neither hurried nor slow, exactly the same as usual.

But Sister Chen, watching from the side, felt that something was off.

After finishing breakfast, Qi Wenshen picked up his phone, opened Shen Ruo's chat window, and sent her a message.

Why didn't you wait for me?

After waiting a while, he picked up his phone and glanced at it.

The message has been read, but there has been no reply.

Read.

No reply.

Qi Wenshen stared at those two words for five seconds, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly.

Oh.

Avoid him?

Last night, although he intentionally tried to get closer to her, it was Shen Ruo who kissed him first.

She tiptoed, wrapped her arms around his neck, and pressed her lips to his.

Now that you've bullied him, are you hiding?

He had a lot he had prepared to say, but he didn't.

I was ready to tell her last night on the sofa that she had run away.

Back in my room, after taking a shower, I was still thinking about what to say, and I thought about it for most of the night.

As a result, she deserted.

He picked up his phone and sent another message: "Let's talk when I get back tonight."

Read.

No reply.

Qi Wenshen's eyes gradually darkened, like the last ray of light at dusk being swallowed by darkness.

He picked up his car keys and went out.

Qi Wenshen gripped the steering wheel, staring straight ahead, his face expressionless.

Shen Ruo, you should hide.

Let's see how long you can hide.

At the same time, in the hospital's nurses' changing room.

Shen Ruo leaned back in her chair listlessly, yawning. Her phone vibrated, and when she took it out, she saw it was a message from Qi Wenshen.

Shen Ruo's heart pounded wildly, and her face began to flush again.

She patted her cheeks.

"Shen Ruo, stay calm. You're a supporting female character; you can't get too entangled with the male lead."

The phone vibrated again as soon as I finished speaking.

Let's talk when I get back tonight.

Her mind was in turmoil.

talk?

What are we talking about?

They say we're cousins, so we should keep our distance.

He said last night was a misunderstanding and that he had no romantic feelings for her whatsoever.

Countless possibilities flashed through Shen Ruo's mind, each one leading to a worse outcome.

She threw her phone back into the locker and slammed the door shut.

Zhou Lan, who was standing nearby, was startled by the noise. "Are you taking the cabinet apart?"

"Slip of the hand."

Shen Ruo said expressionlessly.

Zhou Lan glanced at her, then her eyes slowly narrowed.

Why are your lips swollen?

Shen Ruo's face flushed red. It was all Qi Wenshen's fault; he even bit her back later.

Yes, Zhou Lan is still pursuing her cousin.

Is she about to become a mistress?

Not really, because Zhou Lan wanted to pursue him, but her cousin didn't seem to be interested in her.

But I still felt a little guilty.

She quickly put on a mask, covering half of her face, saying, "I'm feeling hot and bothered; I've been eating too much spicy food lately."

After saying that, she turned and left, walking so fast it was as if a dog was chasing her.

Zhou Lan stood there, holding her nurse's cap, watching Shen Ruo's hasty retreat, and the corners of her mouth slowly, slowly curved into a smile.

Is it due to internal heat?

Oh.

You're trying to fool a three-year-old; she's all too familiar with that kind of redness and swelling.

Those were lips that had been kissed hard.

Zhou Lan put her nurse's cap on her head, shook her head with a smile, and slowly followed after them.

Hmm, she wanted to see which pile of cow dung Shen Ruo, this beautiful flower, had been stuck in.

The smell of disinfectant at the nurses' station was as pungent as ever. Shen Ruo held a stack of medical records in her hand, pretending to organize them, but her eyes kept glancing at Zhou Lan.

She had been holding back for a long time.

Ever since that kiss last night, one question has been swirling in her mind.

Does Qi Wenshen have feelings for her?

If so, why didn't you confess your feelings after kissing last night?

If not, then what does it mean that he kissed her so passionately?

She needs a frame of reference.

Zhou Lan, on the other hand, is the reference point for Qi Wenshen's unsuccessful pursuit of her.

Shen Ruo moved closer to Zhou Lan, pretending to look at the medical records, and said, "Zhou Lan, I have a question for you."

"explain."

Zhou Lan didn't even look up; she was signing the IV drip form.

"How's your pursuit of Qi Wenshen going? What stage have you reached?"

Zhou Lan paused, then looked up. "Why are you bringing up something you don't want to talk about? You always seem to hit a nerve. Why did you ask that?"

Shen Ruo's eyes darted around. "I was just curious and asking casually."

Zhou Lan put down her pen, leaned back in her chair, and let out a long sigh.

"Your cousin is a tough nut to crack."

Shen Ruo's eyes lit up for a moment, but she quickly suppressed them again.

"How difficult is it to chew?"

"Aside from work, we didn't talk about anything personal. I said, 'Dr. Qi, you've had a hard day,' and he said, 'Yeah.' I asked, 'Dr. Qi, have you eaten?' He said he had. I asked, 'Dr. Qi, what are your plans for the weekend?' He said, 'On duty, on duty, it's always on duty.' Do you think he's really on duty or just doesn't want to talk to me?"

Shen Ruo silently answered in her heart: It's probably the latter.

But what she said was, "He is indeed quite busy."

Zhou Lan seemed quite philosophical about it, shrugging her shoulders. "What's there to be busy about? He's just not interested in me. I've sent him hundreds of messages, and he hasn't replied to a single one. How am I supposed to pursue him?"

Shen Ruo pursed her lips, trying hard not to let the corners of her mouth turn up.

Okay, we have a frame of reference.

Qi Wenshen gives zero response to people he is not interested in.

He kissed her for so long last night, so he must have been interested, right?

Zhou Lan slapped the table, as if she had made a major decision, "So, I've made up my mind."

"Decid what?"

"Give up on Qi Wenshen and pursue Wei Jing instead."

Shen Ruo almost dropped the medical record in her hand.

"What? Are you sick?"

Zhou Lan quickly covered her mouth, looked around, and lowered her voice, "Keep your voice down, what are you yelling about? The whole courtyard can hear you."

Shen Ruo pulled Zhou Lan's hand away, her eyes wide. "You're pursuing Wei Jing? Didn't you say he was a wolf in sheep's clothing?"

"What's wrong with a big bad wolf? He's handsome, and I know he likes you, but you don't like him, so if you don't want him, then let me have him."

Shen Ruo didn't know what to say for a moment.

This logic seems wrong at first glance, but it also seems to make sense at first glance.

It took Shen Ruo a while to finally manage to say, "Your heart changes way too fast! Yesterday you were saying he was playing with girls' feelings, and today you're going to pursue him?"

Zhou Lan tossed her hair, looking nonchalant. "That's called assessing the situation, you know? If Qi Wenshen's path is blocked, I can't hang myself on one tree, can I? Wei Jing is at least a vice dean, not bad-looking, and has a nice way of speaking. I won't lose out if I get him."

Shen Ruo frowned. "You know he's a playboy, yet you still go after him. What if you get burned? Wouldn't that be a huge loss?"

Zhou Lan glanced at her, and a mysterious smile slowly curved her lips.

That smile sent a chill down Shen Ruo's spine.

Zhou Lan said slowly, as if stating a truth, "Wei Jing is good-looking, with regular features, over 180 cm tall, and has no family history of hereditary diseases."

"so what?"

"Therefore, the child born will definitely be good."

Shen Ruo froze, her mouth agape in a perfect "O" shape.

She blinked, then blinked again.

Shen Ruo's voice trembled slightly, "You...you haven't even started pursuing me yet, and you're already asking about marriage-related questions?"

Zhou Lan rolled her eyes. "Who said they wanted to marry him?"

She leaned closer to her, her eyes flashing with a light that Shen Ruo found both strange and exciting. "What are you thinking? I'm just going through my youth, having a relationship with him, experiencing it all. By then... hehe."

Her smile widened.

"Leave the father, keep the son."

These four words exploded like four bombs in Shen Ruo's mind.

The father left, the son remained.

She had heard the word online.

But when the word came from the mouth of a living person next to her, and said so confidently, she was still shocked.

"Are you serious?"

Shen Ruo snapped out of her shock.

"When have I ever not been serious?"

Zhou Lan countered with a question.

Shen Ruo thought about how Zhou Lan usually pursued Qi Wenshen.

Sending messages, creating chance encounters, delivering coffee, and helping with overtime work—she was indeed quite dedicated, even though she didn't win him over.

Shen Ruo thought of a practical question, "What about your parents? If you get pregnant out of wedlock, won't your parents break your legs?"

Zhou Lan scoffed.

"My parents are so eager for a grandchild that their eyes are red with envy. Every time I go home, my mom talks about how Aunt Wang next door already has a grandson. My dad then pulls out my childhood photos and says, 'Look how cute you were when you were little. When are you going to give me one too?' I told them I don't plan to get married in this life, and my mom almost kicked me out of the house. Now that I'm offering to have a child, they're overjoyed. Break my legs? They'd have to treat me like royalty."

Shen Ruo listened, completely stunned.

This logic is actually a closed loop.

Zhou Lan tossed her head with a flourish, displaying a touch of chivalrous spirit. "So, I'll set an example for you first."

Prototyping.

Do we need to make a sample for this kind of thing?

"come on."

Shen Ruo said that the voice was like a robot's, devoid of emotion.

Zhou Lan patted her shoulder, smiling confidently, "Absolutely, just you wait and see. Within three months, I'll hollow out that fickle Wei Jing."

Shen Ruo watched Zhou Lan's proud and imposing figure walk towards the ward, standing there, still processing Zhou Lan's bold words in her mind.

She looked down at her phone.

Qi Wenshen sent two messages, but she didn't reply to either.

She looked up and glanced again at Zhou Lan's retreating figure as she disappeared at the end of the corridor.

The father left, the son remained.

A scene suddenly flashed through Shen Ruo's mind.

A little boy who looked like Qi Wenshen said with a serious expression, "Mom, this medical record is wrong."

She shook her head violently, trying to banish the image from her mind.

She's gone mad, she's gone mad! Zhou Lan has driven her insane!

But that scene, how should I put it?

It doesn't seem to work?

Shen Ruo didn't dare go to the cafeteria at noon.

She sat in a chair in the lounge, her hands supporting her chin.

Admit it, she's a coward.

They kissed and ran away last night. I read your message this morning but haven't replied. Are you going downstairs for lunch now?

If she were to run into Qi Wenshen in the cafeteria, and his cold face stood in front of her, she was afraid she wouldn't even be able to hold her chopsticks properly.

There were a few small bags of bread and a bottle of milk in the drawer; enough for one meal, it wouldn't kill anyone.

Shen Ruo took two bites of bread; it was dry and crumbly, like chewing paper.

She picked up her phone and texted Zhou Lan: "Please bring me two big chicken drumsticks when you come up, thank you, darling."