Chapter Thirteen: I Went to Find Her

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Ji Leqing cracked the eggs into the bowl. Hearing my words, she paused mid-stir but didn’t turn to look at me.

“You’re my patient now, and it’s my responsibility to take care of your health. Don’t overthink it.”

“Mm, sorry about that…”

I stood close to Ji Leqing, so near that I could hear her slightly rough, heavy breaths.

“Jiang Jian, we have a somewhat unpleasant past, but that’s all behind us now.”

“Whether you see me as your doctor or your friend, just please stop apologizing, alright?”

Ji Leqing turned around. The emotions in her eyes were so complex I couldn’t decipher them.

“Jiang Jian, you don’t have to be so humble and cautious around me. I’m not Xu Zhixia; you don’t need to be like this.”

“You act as if you’re constantly reminding me how much you owe me. So many years have passed—reopening old wounds isn’t meaningful anymore.”

As she spoke, I noticed her eyes slowly reddening.

She had never shown a hint of vulnerability in front of me—always gentle like the moon, with a hint of coldness and distant calm.

To me, gentleness, strength, and rationality had always defined Ji Leqing. I had never seen her like this before.

So she does have a fragile side…

I instinctively wanted to apologize, but recalling her words, I swallowed the words back in time.

Yet, aside from apologizing, it seemed there was little else I could do for her.

Ji Leqing took a deep breath, seeing right through my thoughts.

“If you really feel bad inside, could you help me take the tableware from the cabinet and set the table?”

“Ah, ah, sure.”

After setting the table, I sat down and watched Ji Leqing cook. Her movements were skillful, completely different from the clumsy image I had in my memory.

I wasn’t sure what she threw into the pan, but suddenly flames leapt up. I instinctively stood up, but saw her calmly flipping the pan.

Before long, three dishes and a soup, light yet full of color and aroma, were placed on the table.

“You’ve gotten so good now.”

“Mm, I boiled a stomach-nourishing soup in the health pot. It’s for later tonight, but try a bite first.”

“Stomach-nourishing soup?”

“Yeah. Although I research tumor treatment abroad, I don’t rely entirely on Western medicine. Traditional Chinese medicine is also very important.”

“They say Western medicine treats the symptoms, Chinese medicine treats the root. Combining both treats both symptoms and causes. In fact, this combination can work miracles on some complicated diseases.”

“And you need that kind of miracle right now.”

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“I’ll be visiting a few well-known Chinese medicine professors specializing in tumors in the next few days, so I’ll be away from Tianhai for a while.”

“Ah?”

Ji Leqing nodded. “But don’t worry, I’ve asked Lin Xingfan to come stay with you for a few days.”

“With your temper, you’d probably take your medicine three days on, two days off. I don’t want my efforts to go to waste.”

Caught by Ji Leqing’s words, I covered my mouth and coughed to hide my embarrassment.

She was right. I never really hoped for a full recovery, but I didn’t want to disappoint Lin Xingfan or her efforts.

“Okay.”

After dinner, I offered to wash the dishes. Ji Leqing stacked the bowls and chopsticks and rolled her eyes.

“There’s a dishwasher. And do you want your hands to look like tiger claws? First bake, then soak—do you want me to get you some marinade?”

I was at a loss for words and could only sit awkwardly on the living room sofa.

Ji Leqing pulled out a first aid kit and began treating my wounds.

After bandaging, my hand felt like it was wearing a boxing glove; even gripping was a struggle.

I couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

“Pfft!”

Ji Leqing gave me a disapproving look. “What’s so funny?”

“I’m just saying, Lin Xingfan should be the one doing this. He’s a surgeon and better at it than me.”

“If you think it looks ugly, I can redo it for you now.”

I quickly waved my hand. “No, no, this is good!”

While we were talking, Ji Leqing’s phone rang. Lin Xingfan’s voice came through the speaker.

“Miss Ji, can you come out to get me?”

“Tell the security you’re Miss Ji on the 30th floor of Building A, and they’ll let you in.”

Lin Xingfan arrived surprisingly fast. Was he not working today?

Soon, I heard the elevator ding, signaling his arrival.

“Looks like you two get along pretty well.”

Unlike me, who was reserved, Lin Xingfan walked straight over and sat beside me. His eyes landed on my heavily bandaged hands with a smirk.

“What happened to your hands? Planning to enter a boxing match?”

Lin Xingfan’s sarcasm was as sharp as Ji Leqing’s. Sometimes I wondered how they didn’t poison themselves with their own biting remarks.

Before I could respond, Ji Leqing spoke first.

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“Who knows? It’s only been a few hours since I last saw him, and he’s hurt himself again.”

“Again?”

Ji Leqing nodded. “Yeah. He went to get a divorce from Xu Zhixia and ended up covered in injuries.”

“Don’t know what happened, but he burned his hand again.”

Lin Xingfan frowned, looking at me with a mix of anger and helplessness. “You really are a live wire!”

“Are you trying to prove that cancer cells can’t kill you by rushing to self-destruct?”

“Alright, alright, stop talking about me. I’ll be more careful from now on, okay?”

I covered my face with my hands, not wanting to hear any more teasing from these two, but it only made me look even more ridiculous.

Lin Xingfan sighed. “Tell me, how did it happen?”

I pointed to the box on the table. “Look for yourself.”

Lin Xingfan recognized the erhu case immediately. He had helped a lot when my father was hospitalized.

From the critical condition to his passing and the funeral arrangements, Lin Xingfan was there with me.

“Isn’t this the erhu Uncle Jiang left you? Why are you giving it to me now? Something’s not right with you.”

Lin Xingfan, usually a bit goofy, fell silent the moment the box was opened.

I didn’t say anything, bowing my head, unwilling to face the fact that my father’s heirloom had been damaged.

Ji Leqing, sensing the tension, looked between us without speaking.

Lin Xingfan’s voice trembled with suppressed rage. “You burned your hand trying to save it from the fire, didn’t you?”

“Yeah.”

His hands holding the box began to shake. If he hadn’t recognized the case, he might have thought it was just some leftover firewood from a burned pile.

“Who burned it? Was it that bitch Xu Zhixia?!”

“Damn it, that filthy woman Xu Zhixia! I’m going to find her. How dare she burn Uncle Jiang’s heirloom? Is she even human?!”

Though Lin Xingfan is now a surgical attending physician at Tianhai’s top hospital, deep down, he’s still that boy from a mountain village—fierce and bold in spirit.

After speaking, Lin Xingfan grabbed his jacket and was about to leave. I stopped him.

The Xu family, Xu Zhixia’s family, holds considerable influence in Tianhai. Offending them would ruin all the years of Lin Xingfan’s hard work since college.

“Stop. If you go after her, what about your job? Don’t you want to keep it?!”