Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
With a twinkle in his eyes, Shi Jin replied, “Wait for me? I need to wash my hands.”
“…Sure,” said Jiang Jiusheng.
Didn’t she not like dining with anyone? A filtering system for fans?
Xiao Lin’lin: “…”
Xu Qingbo: “…”
What else could be said? Another ground-breaking discovery.
One after the other, Shi Jin and Jiang Jiusheng left the office leaving Xiao Lin’lin standing rooted to the floor with a frown on her face and Xu Qingbo looking puzzled.
Since Xu Qingbo and Shi Jin were colleagues at the hospital, Xiao Lin’lin asked, “Has Doctor Shi ever accepted any dining invitations?”
A well-bred gentleman, Shi Jin was the epitome of grace. However, he always kept his distance and was courteous to the female doctors and nurses in the hospital at all times. He was a noble man and a gallant one, at that.
Rubbing his lower jaw, Xu Qingbo said, “To be more precise, he does not accept invites from women.” As an afterthought, he added, “However, if it was from a man, it would be acceptable if there was no physical contact.”
But that woman…
Xiao Lin’lin was deep in thought.
“That was his neighbor,” Xu Qingbo said with a laugh. “An exception.”
An exception after all these years? Of course, with his out-of-this-world good looks, Shi Jin had constantly been surrounded by women who found him irresistible and threw themselves at him. Born with natural talent and blessed with exceptional intelligence, Shi Jin had earned his doctorate in his early 20s, far ahead of his classmates—including Xu Qingbo, who was at least four or five years his senior. At that time, his dorm mates had wanted to break him out of his innocent persona by introducing him to “action movies.”
And what had been this guy’s response at the time?
“Oh,” he’d said. “The lab has just received two new cadavers. I will be kept busy.” At which point, he had risen and left to check on the cadavers.
Undeterred, his dorm mate had replied, “What’s so interesting about a cadaver?” Pointing to the computer screen, displaying naked men and women cavorting, he had asked, “Don’t you feel anything?”
Shi Jin had responded with elegance. “They are no different from the cadavers. In fact, the cadavers are of medical value to me while these…” Pausing, he continued in a slow, measured tone. “These don’t give me a hard-on.”
Xu Qingbo and his dorm mate had been speechless. That was when they’d all suspected that he had an erectile dysfunction condition.
Having obtained a double as a Doctor of Medicine, Shi Jin accepted an offer to teach clinical cardiovascular surgery at Yale University’s School of Medicine. During his tenure there, every single one of the blond-haired, blue-eyed girls in his class had been smitten with him.
Naturally, he had been inundated with offers. Shi Jin’s official excuse had been that he had to review their essays and therefore had no time to spare. He then would give the young lady a message to be conveyed to the rest of her cohorts: “In regards to cardiopulmonary bypass, please let your classmates know that I expect each person to hand in two papers before class starts. No excerpts or summaries of existing essays, and definitely no copy and paste.”
Since then, none of the girls had dared to ask Shi Jin out. Working on essays was no small feat, but striving for this forbidden fruit was a whole lot tougher.
Shi Jin’s table manners were impeccable. Eating her ribs, Jiang Jiusheng mused over how graceful he looked, slowly savoring his ribs.
Putting down his chopsticks, Shi Jin asked, “Want some water?”
Since her arm was in a cast, restricting her movement, she nodded.
Handing her a wet wipe to clean her hand, Shi Jin rose from the table and poured her a glass of warm water. When she finished drinking, he took the glass from her and placed it back on the counter. Since Shi Jin had taken over her responsibilities of running errands and providing companionship, the assistant, Xiao Qiao, had decided to make herself scarce so as to give the couple some privacy.
“You mustn’t eat too many pears or oranges,” Shi Jin said suddenly.
Jiang Jiusheng looked at the fruit basket on the counter, sent by Su Qing that morning. She did not respond, not understanding what he meant by not eating too many pears and oranges.
Shi Jin explained, “Recently, you consulted the gynecologist about your menstrual pains. Pears and oranges are fruit with a cooling effect and must be avoided so as not to aggravate your menstrual pain.”
Whoa…! Subject matter that was highly private. However, coming from Shi Jin, it was simply a doctor’s professional advice and was not embarrassing at all.
Jiang Jiusheng could not help taking a jab at him. “Doctor Shi is also knowledgeable in gynecology?”
At this moment, he looked slightly uncomfortable and, keeping his head down, said softly, “Just a little.”
“Is there anything you don’t know?” asked Jiang Jiusheng, raising her brows in a smile. “Our multi-talented Doctor Shi.”
She had only been in the hospital for less than two days and had been inundated with talk about Shi Jin from the nurses about his good nature, excellent upbringing, and intelligence, in addition to the fact that he was a talented doctor whose medical knowledge and skills extended beyond his area of specialization. Oh, and one couldn’t forget about his culinary skills. And he was a dog lover to boot.
If Jiang Jiusheng were forced to name one inadequacy of this man, the fact that he was her secret fan would have had to be it.
But then again, he had lovely hands.
And that makes up for the little inadequacy I just identified, thought Jiang Jiusheng as her gaze shifted to Shi Jin’s hands.
For a long while, Shi Jin did not reply to her humorous question. Finally, he replied in earnest, “There are many things that I cannot do. For example, the rock music and the musical instruments that you play so well. For now, I have not decided whether I would want to pick up those skills, but I could safely say that if I did, I would at least know the basics. However, there is definitely one thing that I cannot and will not be able to do.”
Curious, Jiang Jiusheng asked, “And what would that be?” For the life of her, she could not think of a single thing that the multi-talented Shi Jin could not master.
Solemnly, he replied, “Give birth.”
Jiang Jiusheng said nothing. A lame joke from the talented surgeon.
Silently, Shi Jin picked the pears and oranges from the fruit basket and put them in a bag. He then gave the bag to the two bodyguards standing guard at the entrance.
Jiang Jiusheng remained silent. Judging from his meticulous care of her, Shi Jin was, without a doubt, her secret fan.
Having disposed of the offending fruit, Shi Jin looked at his watch and asked, “Do you want some yogurt? I have some yellow peach-flavored ones in my office.”
“Yes,” she replied, adding, “Thank you.”
Smiling slightly, Shi Jin said, “You’re welcome.”
After placing another glass of warm water by her bedside cupboard, Shi Jin turned and left the room. At that time, Jiang Jiusheng heard a noise outside the room.
“Sheng.”
It was a man’s voice, filled with gentle warmth.
Jiang Jiusheng looked toward the door and saw the two men eyeing each other.
“Hi,” Shi Jin extended his hand. “I’m Shi Jin.”
Taken aback, the man at the door stood still in stunned silence for a few seconds before shaking his hand.
Jiang Jiusheng got off the bed and walked toward them with her arm in the cast.
“Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be in class?” she asked Cheng Hui.
Cheng Hui nodded politely to Shi Jin before turning to Jiang Jiusheng, speaking casually in his familiar manner. “I heard from Mo Bing that you had been hospitalized, so I took time off from school and came over.”
At that moment, Jiang Jiusheng suddenly remembered to introduce them, saying to Shi Jin, “This is my brother.”
When she’d first joined the industry, she had specifically asked Yuwen Chongfeng not to mention her family at all. So, except for a few people who were close to her, no one else knew that she had an older brother.
Cheng Hui had taken their father’s surname while she had taken her mother’s. Born four years apart, they bore no resemblance to each other. Like their father, Cheng Hui was tall, his scholarly demeanor accentuated by his frameless glasses. By contrast, the beautiful Jiang Jiusheng had a wildness in her eyes and, unless she smiled, exuded an air of aloofness. And that was how she had come to be nicknamed “Sheng Ye.”
Shi Jin nodded by way of greeting.
Turning around, Jiang Jiusheng introduced Shi Jin to Cheng Hui. “This is my friend,” she said, then added quickly, “and neighbor.” She neglected to mention the fact that he was a secret fan.
Nodding, Cheng Hui offered a “How do you do” and stepped aside to let Shi Jin pass.
Long after he had left, Cheng Hui just stood there, staring at the space outside.
“Do you know Shi Jin?” Jiang Jiusheng asked.