【010 You Make Me Feel Sick】
Fang Zhixi stared at Chen Ding in bewilderment, scratching her head; Yao Mu frowned slightly, finding the whole thing irritating; Zhuang Yiyi saw determination in Chen Ding’s eyes.
She let go of the handle and said, “Thank you.
Chen Ding deftly took hold of the trolley handle and began pushing it forward. The three of them walked on. Fang Zhixi was left standing alone in the same spot, looking completely bewildered.
She hurried to catch up, squeezing in beside Yao Mu and pushing the trolley. “Let me help you too.”
“No need.”
Fang Zhixi smiled sweetly. “Yes, I do. You’re already helping the other girl.”
Yao Mu looked at Fang Zhixi in surprise. He could tell the girl was a bit slow on the uptake, but he hadn’t expected her to miss something so obvious.
After paying, Yao Mu held out his hand to Chen Ding, who was holding Zhuang Yiyi’s shopping bag. “Give it to me. Yiyi and I are going out for a meal.”
“What are you having? Is it any good?” Fang Zhixi was a real foodie.
Chen Ding looked at her. “Do you fancy some?”
“But I don’t know if it’s any good…” Fang Zhixi hesitated.
“They’ve made a special effort to come for dinner after work, which means the restaurant must be decent.” Chen Ding emphasised the words “made a special effort”, “If you’re not coming, I’ll go.”
Listening to their conversation, Yao Mu felt both exasperated and amused. “We haven’t agreed to anything. If you want to eat, you can go on your own.” The words “ The word “alone” was emphasised once more.
Chen Ding didn’t even bother to pretend; he ignored Yao Mu and looked straight at Zhuang Yiyi. “What do you think?”
Zhuang Yiyi glanced at Chen Ding, then at Yao Mu. Neither side was backing down, and as far as she was concerned, going with Yao Mu would be more advantageous for her. She said, “I’ve already agreed with Senior Brother. Why don’t you two just go and eat on your own? ”
Chen Ding wouldn’t back down. “You’d already agreed to go with me; you’ve stood me up. I didn’t ask you to stand him up—it’s just two extra people. Or is there something between the two of you that requires us to step aside?” His tone was calm, his face expressionless.
Yao Mu disliked Chen Ding’s aggressive attitude. “Whether Yiyi chooses to refuse or accept at the last minute is entirely her own business. Besides, I’m sure Yiyi had something to do at the time, which is why she chose not to have dinner with you. You shouldn’t speak to her in that tone.”
Chen Ding chuckled softly. “She finishes work at half past five. From the Second Hospital to here, including the metro ride and getting ready, that’s an hour. If you’ve been out for an hour, it’s only just—” Chen Ding glanced at his mobile, then held the screen up to Zhuang Yiyi so she could see the time. “7.28.”
So there was nothing going on at the hospital after all; Zhuang Yiyi had simply made up an excuse to stand him up, then rushed over to go supermarket shopping with this man.
Zhuang Yiyi sensed that Chen Ding was genuinely a bit annoyed about this. If she took Chen Ding at her word, she really had no ground to stand on. If her mother found out, she’d be the one apologising and getting a telling-off.
“No.”
“After I finished our call, I worked for over twenty minutes. Then I took the metro over, which took just over an hour in total. Add in the time spent shopping. That’s how the time should be calculated.”
“If it only took 20 minutes, why didn’t you just call me?”
“I wasn’t sure of the time.” Having said this, Zhuang Yiyi realised she was backing down bit by bit, explaining herself step by step. She took the bulging bags from Chen Ding’s hands. “Senior, shall we go for a meal together?”
Chen Ding watched as Zhuang Yiyi and Yao Muyuan walked away.
Fang Zhixi was still in a daze. Once they’d gone, she asked Chen Ding, who was still standing where he was, “Bro, what was that all about just now?”
Chen Ding snapped out of it and glanced at Fang Zhixi. “How could you possibly like someone like that?”
Faced with this rebuke, Fang Zhixi said, feeling wronged, “He’s good-looking. And he’s highly educated.”
Fang Zhile learned the whole story from Fang Zhixi. When he went to look for him, he found Chen Ding sitting in a booth, staring blankly at his mobile phone.
“Shall I join you for a drink?”
Chen Ding shot him a withering look. “What’s there to drink? It’s not as if my wife stood me up on purpose.”
Fang Zhile chuckled. “Then why are you sitting here pretending to be deep in thought?”
“……”
“Go on, then. What’s on your mind? I can’t solve your relationship problems, but I’m happy to listen.” Fang Zhile refrained from commenting on his love life.
Chen Ding leaned forward to open a bottle of wine, but just as his lips touched it, he set it down again. Seeing this, Fang Zhile suggested, “Why not call a designated driver?”
“No, thanks.” Chen Ding leaned back into the booth. “I’ve been thinking. My wife and I are still a bit too unfamiliar with each other.”
“Hmm.”
“We’ve only been married for just over three months, but the time we’ve actually spent getting to know each other properly is probably less than a month. So when she didn’t ring me after finishing work today, I felt a bit guilty.”
“Hmm.”
“But the thing is, she’s so busy with work and has to keep things confidential from the hospital; she simply doesn’t have any spare time to spare.”
“Mm.”
Chen Ding looked at him. “You’ve gone quiet.”
Fang Zhile spread his hands in exasperation. “You’ve sorted it all out yourself. What can I say? Clap for you?”
“Never mind.” Chen Ding stood up. “I’m heading home.” He pointed at the barely opened bottle of wine. “Put it on your tab.”
On his way back, Chen Ding bumped into Zhuang Yiyi and Yao Mu.
He was quite surprised himself.
He sent Zhuang Yiyi a message: “I’ve spotted the two of you.”
Then he explained, “I really wasn’t following you on purpose. I just wanted to get out for a bite to eat, and I happened to see you having a meal.”
“When will you be finished? I’ll wait for you in the car park.”
Zhuang Yiyi refused again.
This time, Chen Ding persisted, “It’s no bother. I’m in no rush anyway.”
He sent her the location of the car park.
Chen Ding waited for nearly an hour; he’d grown bored of playing on his phone when Zhuang Yiyi finally arrived, carrying a large bag.
Chen Ding hurriedly got out of the car and took the bags from her. “Why did you go so far to do your shopping today?”
“It was a shopping voucher from the hospital.”
Chen Ding nodded slightly.
Once they were in the car, Chen Ding didn’t start the engine straight away. He said, “About what happened tonight…”
Zhuang Yiyi cut him off. “Haven’t we already discussed it?”
“That was just the surface reason. I’ve been thinking, and it seems you’ve been a bit too polite to me. If something like this happens again, you can text me once you’ve finished. If I’m free, we can go ahead with our date. If I’m busy, I’ll let you know. Most of the time, I should be free.”
Zhuang Yiyi suddenly recalled what Fang Zhixi had said: “You earn ten million a year?”
Chen Ding laughed. “She made that up.”
Zhuang Yiyi also thought it was impossible. Chen Ding seemed to have plenty of free time; if he were that idle, he could earn that much. She really did feel a bit regretful about studying medicine.
“What do you think of what I just said?”
“No objections.”
Chen Ding held out his hand, making a ‘pinky swear’ gesture. They clasped fingers, and Chen Ding kissed her. On the lips.
Zhuang Yiyi sat up straight and froze as she looked ahead. Yao Mu, who should have already left, was standing not far away; he had witnessed the whole thing with his own eyes.
Yao Mu had originally intended to drive Zhuang Yiyi home, but she had refused. He hadn’t pressed the matter. On his way to the car park, he’d received a phone call and chatted for a while; when he returned, he’d seen this very scene. Chen Ding had kissed Yiyi. Yiyi did not resist. The two of them were still sitting in the same car.
Yao Mu felt betrayed both emotionally and morally. Rage burned within him.
Zhuang Yiyi also saw the fire in Yao Mu’s eyes. She pushed open the door, walked over to him, and tried to explain.
Yao Mu merely glanced at her. “You make me feel sick.”
Zhuang Yiyi turned pale. Chen Ding, who had just walked over, heard this remark too. He frowned—what right did Yao Mu have to accuse her?
He glanced at the pale-faced Yiyi but kept his thoughts to himself.
The journey home was spent in silence.
Once home, Chen Ding wanted to speak to Zhuang Yiyi, but after changing her shoes, she went straight into her room.
Chen Ding waited in the living room for over two hours, but Zhuang Yiyi still hadn’t come out.
He knocked on the door, but there was no answer.
Never mind, he’d deal with this tomorrow.
Early the next morning, Chen Ding still couldn’t catch up with Zhuang Yiyi. She had gone to the hospital first thing.
Chen Ding took a frustrated bite of his steamed bun. He understood that Yao Mu was, after all, her senior colleague, and they had a bond, but Yao Mu knew she was married—what was the harm in mentioning that he was her husband?
Zhuang Yiyi saw Yao Mu during her ward rounds.
Before she could even utter the word ‘senior brother’, Yao Mu had already coldly averted his gaze. By the time the rounds were over, neither of them had exchanged a single word.
Zhang Zhang had also noticed the unusual tension between them. As Zhuang Yiyi handed the ward notes to the nurses’ station, Zhang Zhang asked, ‘What’s going on between you and Dr Yao?’
Zhuang Yiyi replied, “Just a bit of a misunderstanding.”
“It’s nothing,” Zhang Zhang reassured her. “It’ll blow over by tomorrow. After all, they have a child together.”
“What are you talking about?”
Seeing the puzzled yet composed look in Zhuang Yiyi’s eyes, Zhang Zhang was taken aback. “Eh? Isn’t that right?”