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

Shen Ruo clamped her legs tightly together.

"relax."

"I...I'm nervous..."

"I know, sweetie."

He kissed her eyelids, but his actions didn't stop.

My fingertips touched it and it was wet.

"Ruoruo".

"……Um?"

"May I?"

Shen Ruo opened her eyes.

He hovered above her, sweat beading on his forehead, his eyes a restrained red.

Her eyes were unfocused, glistening with tears, and she nodded gently.

This nod made Qi Wenshen even more excited.

The body slowly sank down

the phone is ringing.

He ignored him and continued what he was doing.

Shen Ruo heard it too, but at that moment her mind was a complete mess, and all she wanted was him.

The phone kept ringing, one ring after another.

That's such a killjoy.

The arrow is on the bowstring, ready to be released at any moment.

Qi Wen buried his head in the crook of her neck, breathing heavily.

Reach out and grab the phone on the coffee table.

This is the hospital's emergency room number.

He closed his eyes.

Shen Ruo's voice was hoarse and unlike her own, "Answer it, just in case..."

"I know."

He pressed the answer button, his voice already steady. "Speak."

The call was urgent, and Shen Ruo couldn't hear clearly, but she did see Qi Wenshen's expression change.

"I'll be right there."

He hung up the phone, leaned over her, and pressed his forehead against hers.

"Emergency room, multiple injuries, requires open-chest surgery."

Shen Ruo heard it too.

In that level of urgency, a minute's delay could mean a life.

"Go quickly."

Qi Wenshen looked at her face, which was flushed and had tears still glistening in her eyes.

He kissed her tenderly, from her brow to the tip of her nose, and then to her lips.

Dragonflies skimming the water.

"I don't know when I'll be done working. Take a taxi home and text me when you get there."

"Um."

Shen Ruo pulled the blanket up and nodded.

He walked to the door, then suddenly turned back, his eyes filled with reluctance and apology.

Shen Ruo smiled at him, "Go on, the injured are waiting."

Shen Ruo slumped on the sofa, the Stella Bear pattern digging into her back, and she was too weak to move.

It was so close.

Just a tiny bit.

She felt an overwhelming emptiness there.

What a terrible thing to do.

The fire didn't come down; instead, it burned even more fiercely.

She recalled a saying she saw online: "Men shouldn't marry teachers, and women shouldn't marry doctors."

Teachers have to take care of other people's children, and doctors have to take care of other people's lives.

He's available whenever needed, rain or shine. He'll be dragged out of bed in the middle of the night for a phone call, leaving his woman behind to rush to the hospital.

Once or twice is fine, but if it keeps happening, it's no wonder he'll cheat.

She wants to cheat on her husband right now.

Oh, no, she hasn't even gotten on the right track yet. The prerequisite for cheating is to get on the right track first.

Shen Ruo got up and went into the shower room naked.

The water in the shower room was very cold.

Shen Ruo stood under the showerhead, her mind clearing up.

The person in the mirror had swollen, red lips and red marks on their collarbone. Thinking of the burning heat he had just pressed against there…

Oh, damn it!

She quickly lowered the water temperature again.

After getting dressed, I took one last look at the lounge.

His scent still lingers in the air.

She walked over and buried her face in the bear's belly.

"There is ample time."

She said to herself.

One day, she will get to eat Qi Wenshen.

They're completely obsessed with it.

Shen Ruo arrived home after nine o'clock.

She pushed open the door; the entryway light was still on, casting a warm yellow glow on the shoe cabinet.

She's been through so much tonight, she's exhausted and hungry now.

He took his phone out of his bag and sent a message to Qi Wenshen.

[You're home! Are you done with your work?]

I knew he wouldn't reply right away after I sent it.

Cell phones are not allowed in the operating room.

The living room lights were also on.

Shen Ruo walked over and immediately saw Shen Yulan curled up on the sofa, holding a remote control in her hand. The TV was on, but the volume was turned down so low that it was almost inaudible.

But she wasn't watching TV; her eyes were closed, the remote was on her knees, and she was slumped against the cushions, looking like she was asleep, or perhaps not asleep at all.

Shen Ruo called softly, "Auntie? You're still awake?"

Shen Yulan opened her eyes, saw Shen Ruo, sat up straight, and rubbed her eyes.

She glanced behind Shen Ruo, where it was empty, then looked at the doorway and sighed.

"You're back? Where's Wen Shen?"

Shen Ruo walked over and sat down on the sofa. "There's an emergency surgery at the hospital, Auntie. You don't need to wait for us. Get some rest."

Shen Yulan shook her head, put the remote control on the coffee table, leaned back on the sofa, her gaze fell on the TV screen, but her focus was elsewhere.

Her expression was somewhat dazed.

"Ruoruo."

Shen Yulan suddenly spoke.

"Um?"

"Do you think he would be different now if I hadn't let him study medicine?"

Shen Ruo was stunned for a moment.

She looked at Shen Yulan's profile.

My aunt is always smiling, and she gets very animated when she talks about gossip.

Shen Ruo had never seen her like this before.

Quiet, somber.

Shen Ruo spoke softly, "Aunt, what do you mean by that? My cousin is a very good doctor, a top-notch orthopedic surgeon. Everyone in the hospital says he's very skilled. Why do you regret letting him study medicine?"

Shen Yulan remained silent for a while.

"Your uncle was diagnosed with a cervical spondyloma when he was in high school in Wenshen."

As Shen Yulan recalled the events, she organized her thoughts, "It was benign. The doctor said the success rate of the surgery was very high, and everything would be fine after the procedure. We found a good doctor, made an appointment, and completed all the hospital admission procedures."

Shen Ruo remained silent, listening quietly.

"The doctor said the success rate of the surgery was very high, over 90%, but we were caught in that 90% chance of an accident, and the surgery failed."

Shen Yulan paused slightly, as if she were still in that scene.

Shen Ruo's breath hitched.

"I had massive bleeding that wouldn't stop. The doctor came out and said a lot of things, about complications, probabilities, and that they had done their best. I didn't understand, and I didn't want to understand. All I knew was that I would be without a partner for the rest of my life."

The living room was so quiet that you could hear the ticking of the clock on the wall.

"How old was Wen Shen back then? He was a high school sophomore, seventeen years old. Before his father passed away, he suffered a lot. The pain in his cervical spine is unbearable, and Wen Shen saw it all."

"Later, when Wenshen was filling out his college application, he chose medicine. I asked him if he had thought it through. He said, 'Mom, I'll make up for that few percent for Dad.'"

Shen Ruo's hands unconsciously tightened.

She recalled Qi Wenshen's demeanor on the operating table: focused, calm, and precise.

She used to think it was a talent, muscle memory developed from tens of thousands of surgeries.

Only now do I understand that this is a regret that a seventeen-year-old boy will spend the rest of his life trying to fill after losing his father.

She remembered that the original novel had mentioned Qi Wenshen's family background, but at the time she was skipping over the romance plot and didn't read a single word of it.

Shen Yulan glanced at her and, seeing her stunned expression, assumed she had frightened her.

"Oh dear, why am I telling you all this? You're just a young girl, it must be making you feel terrible. It's alright, it's all in the past, more than ten years ago."