“Ding-dong.”
Meng Yu was reading in his study when the doorbell suddenly rang. He got up to answer it, and when the door opened, a beautiful woman in professional attire stood outside. She had waist-length wavy hair and a fair, delicate face wearing a standard professional smile.
“Miss, who are you looking for?”
Looking at the handsome man in casual home clothes, Venus introduced herself politely. “Hello, I am Venus, the secretary for President Lu of the Fang Sheng Group. Under President Lu’s instructions, I am here to deliver a document to Mr. Meng.”
Venus handed over the file with both hands. Meng Yu took it and said, “Thank you.”
“You are welcome, Mr. Meng. President Lu mentioned there are two copies inside. Please sign one so I can take it back to fulfill my assignment.”
“Alright.” Meng Yu hesitated for a moment. Inviting a woman in while he was alone felt inappropriate, but leaving her outside seemed rude.
Sensing his dilemma, Venus smiled and said, “Take your time, Mr. Meng. I will wait outside.”
“Okay, one moment.” Meng Yu left the door ajar and went to his study. He opened the envelope and found two copies of a Plaything Agreement.
Seeing those words printed in oversized font at the top, Meng Yu felt a pulse of frustration in his temples. That Lu Shian.
Helplessly, Meng Yu flipped through the content. It was short, only two pages, and largely matched what they had discussed that morning. He hesitated with the pen but eventually signed and added his thumbprint. If this was the only way they could be tied together for now, he would accept it. Giving in for love was not a defeat in his eyes.
As he prepared to put one copy back into the envelope, he discovered a card inside. He pulled it out to find eleven digits handwritten on it. Meng Yu figured this must be Lu Shian’s private number. Thinking of this, he felt slightly better.
After returning the agreement to Venus and seeing her off, he looked at the number and intended to call. However, the hospital called first. There was an emergency surgery, and they were short-staffed.
Though it was his day off, he was on standby. He quickly changed and headed out. A family of six had been in a car accident; the elderly and children were seriously injured. After a multi-department consultation, Meng Yu spent the entire time in the operating room.
By the time he finished, it was 2:30 AM. He decided to stay at the hospital rather than go home, as he had morning clinic duty and needed the rest. He had already memorized the number on the card. He entered it into his phone but decided not to call, assuming Lu Shian was asleep. He saved the contact instead.
The next morning at the clinic, he saw a patient every seven or eight minutes. He was so busy he did not even have time to go to the restroom, let alone call Lu Shian.
Office of the Chairman, Fang Sheng Group
Lu Shian emerged from his morning meeting and spent two hours handling paperwork. He checked the time; it was nearly noon. He put down his work and opened his phone. There were no missed calls.
It had been nearly twenty-one hours since Venus brought back the signed agreement. Meng Yu had not called once, nor had he sent a text. Feeling an inexplicable irritability, Lu Shian lit a cigarette and cursed silently. Meng Yu was not a very dedicated lover. Other playthings would be rushing to please their sugar daddy, but this one signed the papers and then left the boss hanging.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. Did he, the benefactor, have to be the one to reach out? This lover of his certainly put on a lot of airs.
After finishing his cigarette, Lu Shian considered calling Qi Lei in but decided on Venus instead.
“President Lu, any instructions?”
Lu Shian sat upright with a serious expression. “If you wanted to know someone’s phone number, what would you do?”
Venus replied, “Ask them directly.”
“What if the person is not around, but you want to know right now?”
Venus asked, “President Lu, what is this person’s occupation?”
“A doctor.”
Venus thought for a moment and quickly provided an answer. “If they are an attending physician or higher, they usually have a personal professional service line you can call.”
Lu Shian remained silent for a moment. “Help me find the line for Doctor Meng Yu in the Orthopedics Department at the Beijing University Affiliated Hospital.”
Hearing the surname Meng, Venus immediately understood. She quickly found the number. “President Lu, shall I place the call or will you?”
“I will do it myself.” Lu Shian took the number and gestured for her to leave.
He dialed the number, and a cold mechanical female voice answered.
“Hello, welcome to the professional service line for Doctor Meng Yu, Attending Physician of Orthopedics at Beijing University Affiliated Hospital. This line is limited to ten callers per day. Today’s slots are full. You may book for next month or use the paid priority channel. Press 1 for next month, press 2 for paid priority.”
Damn! It was only the 10th, and the next twenty days were already booked? Lu Shian began to question reality. Was Meng Yu really this popular? The people booking him must all be young girls!
Frustrated, Lu Shian pressed 2.
“Please enter the recharge amount and press the pound key to confirm.”
Lu Shian thought for a moment and entered 500.
“Based on your amount, you have been scheduled for the 15th of this month. Press 1 to confirm, press 2 to re-enter.”
Lu Shian pressed 2. He was inexplicably furious. Once the prompt repeated, he decisively entered 50,000 and pressed the pound key. The transaction was successful.
“Recharge successful. Connecting you to the service line now. Please wait.”
A long series of beeps followed.
In Consultation Room 3 of the Orthopedics Department, Meng Yu had just finished seeing a patient and was writing a prescription. The desk phone rang, and Tang Linyan answered it.
“Doctor Meng, there is a priority consultation call coming through,” the staff member on the other end said.
Tang Linyan replied immediately, “Sister, it is not consultation time right now. Doctor Meng is busy.”
“The caller recharged fifty thousand yuan. The call was put through directly. If Doctor Meng is not in surgery, please have him take it.”
“Holy crap!” Tang Linyan’s jaw nearly dropped. “Master, someone dropped fifty thousand just to talk to you. Which rich woman did this? What a grand gesture!”
Meng Yu frowned slightly at the mention of fifty thousand. He still had a patient, an elderly man in an urgent condition waiting for his prescription, so he said, “Tell them to wait.”
Tang Linyan relayed the message. The service line did not disconnect Lu Shian; they kept him on hold. The beeping in Lu Shian’s ear lasted nearly three minutes. His patience was exhausted. He felt like strapping on a bomb and blowing up the hospital. Just as he was about to hang up and drive there himself, Meng Yu’s voice finally came through.
“This is Meng Yu, Attending Physician of Orthopedics at the Beijing University Affiliated Hospital. What is your question?”