Chapter 95: Did My Heart Rate Quicken?
Chapter 95: Did My Heart Rate Quicken?
The department head was wondering why on earth Cheng Xi would even bother fighting with Cai Yi over a patient if she was this well connected. Couldn’t she just ask the Lu family to withdraw their investment? Since they were the main sponsor of Cai Yi’s laboratory, it wasn’t like Cai Yi would fight with them over a mere patient.
He had really wasted his time worrying about her affairs!
And to think that he had even called the patient’s family member over to help her quell those rumors…… Just how foolish was he?
Cheng Xi also understood that the head was genuinely trying to help her, and she was naturally very touched by his actions. With eyes brimming with tears, she tried to assuage his despondency. "Head, you’re really a good person. With you as a boss, it’s no wonder our psychiatry department is so great! Don’t worry, I’ll work hard and won’t bring shame to you or Renyi!"
Unable to hold his emotions back, the head brusquely waved his hands. "Stop, stop. It’s enough if you don’t cause trouble for me. Just think about what you’ve done in the last two years……"
Cheng Xi quietly protested, "But I haven’t done anything wrong." She carried out her duties, behaved ethically, worked hard, and was undoubtedly a model citizen and excellent worker.
The head glared at her.
Cheng Xi blinked. "Then, can we change topics?" It actually wasn’t too hard to persuade the head to her side; she just had to tell him the truth. Despite his recent proclivity towards bureaucracy, he was ultimately still a doctor of psychiatry at heart.
After Cheng Xi finished explaining her story, he finally understood what was going on. However, he only became even more concerned, and his response was to coldly laugh and say, "With this sort of affair in your history, how many people do you think you can date in your lifetime?" He was almost starting to feel resentful. "Do you really think that you can avoid the gossip? And even if you’re not afraid of gossip, what if he really starts to like you after he’s cured? What do you plan on doing then? I can see that his grandmother very much likes you—she can hardly wait for you to sign a marriage certificate with her grandson tomorrow, and I bet she thinks that the best thing would be if a child popped out right away!"
……The department head wasn’t the head for nothing, as his eyes were particularly discerning. Lu Chenzhou’s grandmother was as he described. Cheng Xi joked, "If so…… then I guess I’ll become Miss Lu."
The head stared at her, unable to speak for quite a while. Finally, he shouted one word. "Scram!"
And so Cheng Xi scrammed away. During her afternoon break, she visited Lu Chenzhou again. He had finished his shots in the morning, and was currently resting.
There was no one in this massive ward besides him, His eyes were closed and his body lying in bed, while he had earbuds in, clearly listening to something.
His resting posture was reminiscent of Chen Jiaman’s when she had first entered the hospital: straight and
Cheng Xi didn’t know whether or not he was asleep and was standing there, hesitating, when his long eyelashes fluttered and he slowly opened his eyes.
It was the first time that Cheng Xi had realized how pleasing it could be to watch someone open their eyes; it was like watching a flower slowly bloom. In that tranquil moment, it felt almost as if she could hear the rustle of flowers swaying in the breeze.
He was handsome enough to violate common sense, Cheng Xi thought as she sighed.
If a person like this didn’t have any mental issues, then even if he didn’t have power or wealth, girls would still chase after him in wave after wave, wouldn’t they?
She walked over, and Lu Chenzhou looked at her.
"You’ve changed the time of your visits."
Cheng Xi smiled. It was very much like him to notice details that others would overlook.
"Are you not used to it? Sorry, but I’m not your doctor anymore. I can only come see you after work."
He didn’t say anything, though he seemed to silently accept this change.
Cheng Xi asked him, "What are you listening to?"
He handed one earbud to her, and Cheng Xi a long speech in English. Cheng Xi was about to praise Mr. Lu for being studious and hardworking, and then she heard the contents. "……I dreamt of him, his gaze, his uniform, his long legs, his slender fingers, and his mysterious atmosphere……" The syntax was suspiciously evocative of a cheesy romance novel.
She took the earbud out. "What’s this? A novel?"
"Yes."
"Its title?" She asked somewhat innocently.
"Fifty Shades of Grey."
Oh my god! Cheng Xi almost choked on her own saliva. She knew this book, as it was a famous foreign erotic romance novel; of course, she hadn’t personally read it, but there was a time when Rou had been fervently proselytizing it in their group chats. She had even run around trying to find a place to watch the movie upon its release, which was about all Cheng Xi knew of it.
She restrained her shocked expression and calmed herself down, shifting her facial expression to one of curiosity. "How did you end up listening to this kind of book?"
Lu Chenzhou continued speaking in his usual calm tone. "Baldy recommended it. He said that it would be suitable for me and you."
"……"
A tyrannical CEO and a debutante dipping her toes in high society, was it? What in the world was Baldy thinking? Cheng Xi caressed her forehead as she wearily asked, "And what do you think of it?"
Lu Chenzhou frowned. "It was hard to read."
"And because it hurt your eyes to read it, you chose to listen to it instead?"
Lu Chenzhou raised his eyebrows; clearly she had guessed correctly. Cheng Xi couldn’t help but laugh, but after she finished, she pitied him a bit. Lu Chenzhou might not have said it, but he must have been truly lonely in his heart. His inability to understand other people’s happiness and anger, or sorrow and joy meant that he had resorted to reading books and studying so that he could still pretend to understand everything, and that he didn’t lack those emotions.
He was neither crazy nor a freak. Sighing in her heart, Cheng Xi asked, "If it’s too hard to read, then how does that make it easier to listen to? If it hurts your eyes, then it’ll also hurt your ears. You should just stop listening to it." After saying that, she leaned over to pull his other earbud away. When she stretched her hand out, he instinctively tried to block her hand half-heartedly. It was an action born from his subconscious revulsion when others came near him, but he quickly caught himself and put his hand down, pretending that nothing had happened as he craned his head to look at her.
Cheng Xi smiled, also pretending that nothing had happened as she took his earbud off. This time, she was successful, but he still moved a little, and her fingertips brushed by his ear.
That ear immediately turned red!
Cheng Xi blinked once, took a second glance in case she had seen wrongly, and momentarily froze, unable to look at him.
She was too innocent; her first thought was that she’d accidentally hurt him, but Lu Chenzhou’s expression was very calm. His lips curled up slightly and he didn’t give off his usual oppressive feeling, which meant that he had to be in a pretty good mood.
Cheng Xi tried hard to think of a topic to talk about when Lu Chenzhou suddenly said, "My grandmother’s back."
"Hmm?" She turned around, but didn’t see anyone enter, so she asked, "Are you saying that she went to our department and then came back here again?"
"Yes."
"Are you happy?"
"The usual."
"Oh. That means that you must not like me that deeply, or that your interest towards me is unrelated to your feelings because otherwise, you would’ve been elated to hear her words and subsequently experience excitement, emotion, a quickening in your heart rate……"
Lu Chenzhou suddenly grabbed her palm and placed it against his chest.
Cheng Xi expressionlessly finished her sentence. "......and other similar reactions."
Lu Chenzhou looked at her seriously. "Did my heart rate quicken?"
"……"