Ji Zhouye frowned.
“Don’t say things like that.”
“Really? But I’ve never seen you this concerned about any other patient.”
Shen Yunchuan was a member of the Shen family, one of the four major families in the capital. He and Ji Zhouye had grown up together. If it weren’t for their relationship, he would never have agreed to Ji Zhouye’s request to come to Jiangcheng and practice medicine.
This young master had always been cold and aloof since childhood. But after that incident, he had developed an emotional detachment.
So when Shen Yunchuan learned that Ji Zhouye had actually called him over for the sake of a woman, he immediately knew that the child in her belly had to be his good friend’s.
Thinking about how the Ji family would react when they found out, Shen Yunchuan secretly grinned.
Ji Zhouye suddenly turned toward him. His icy gaze seemed capable of stripping him bare.
“Don’t get any funny ideas. She’s just my patient.”
Shen Yunchuan shrugged.
“Exactly. Since she’s your patient, shouldn’t you help her when she runs into trouble?”
Ji Zhouye’s gaze fell on Nan Xin.
She had already returned to the training session. Wearing the training diaper, she was struggling to pull it off.
It wasn’t that she was clumsy. The course was originally designed for expectant parents to complete together, requiring both partners to cooperate. Nan Xin was alone and had no experience, so naturally, she appeared a little awkward.
Nan Xin herself was getting a headache.
She had been surprised when she saw Ji Zhouye earlier, but after thinking about it, she figured that since he was an obstetrician-gynecologist, he had probably just come over to take a look.
So she lowered her head again and continued struggling with the practice baby, quickly becoming completely absorbed in the exercise.
However, just as she pulled at the diaper and the baby nearly slipped from her hands again, a large hand reached underneath and firmly supported the baby.
Nan Xin looked up and met Ji Zhouye’s calm, composed face.
When did he come in?
“Watch.”
Ji Zhouye supported the baby’s body with one hand. With his other hand, he removed the diaper with practiced ease, almost as if he had done it countless times before.
Nan Xin was secretly amazed.
Although Ji Zhouye was an obstetrician-gynecologist, his movements were so skillful that it looked as though he had actually raised a baby himself.
Having a professional personally guide her was a rare opportunity, so Nan Xin immediately asked, “Dr. Ji, can I try again?”
“I’ll hold the baby. You do it.”
Just like the other expectant fathers, Ji Zhouye supported the baby in his hands.
Nan Xin imitated the movements Ji Zhouye had just demonstrated. This time, she successfully put the diaper on and then took it off just as smoothly.
After trying several more times, her movements became increasingly skillful.
Nan Xin couldn’t help looking up at Ji Zhouye, happiness showing at the corners of her eyes and brows.
“Dr. Ji, I did it!”
“Mm.”
Ji Zhouye looked down at her, his voice unconsciously becoming gentler.
“You’re very smart.”
His expression remained impassive, but there was a trace of warmth hidden in his eyes.
With Ji Zhouye patiently guiding her, Nan Xin’s movements gradually became smoother.
Occasionally, their fingertips brushed against each other by accident. The warmth of his palm made her heart tremble slightly, creating an indescribably intimate atmosphere between them.
His knowledge of childcare was far more extensive than Nan Xin had imagined.
But because this was a course for expectant parents, the two inevitably had to stand close to each other during the exercises. Nan Xin was also extremely sensitive to smells.
When they were farther apart, all she could smell was disinfectant. But whenever they moved closer, a faint woody scent emanating from Ji Zhouye drifted into her nose.
They had been physically close before, but she had always been too tense to pay attention to such details.
Perhaps because they were now working together more naturally, she finally noticed that faint woody fragrance.
It was so familiar, almost as if…
A scene from seven months ago at the hotel suddenly surfaced in Nan Xin’s mind.
When she had been in pain and desperately clinging to that man, his scent had been exactly the same as the one she was smelling now.
In fact, Nan Xin had wondered about it at the time.
Fu Beichen had always worn only cologne. From the day they met until then, he had never changed his usual scent. Yet that night, the man had carried a woody fragrance.
Nan Xin had planned to ask about it the next day, but she had never found the opportunity.
While she was lost in thought, someone gently patted her shoulder twice.
Nan Xin immediately snapped back to reality.
The instructor who had been teaching the class was now standing in front of her.
“Mrs. Nan, you and your husband work very well together. Would you and your husband be willing to come up and demonstrate for everyone?”
Nan Xin turned toward Ji Zhouye, only to hear the instructor smile and say, “Dr. Ji said it’s up to you.”
Nan Xin was a little confused.
She had been distracted the entire time and hadn’t noticed what they had been discussing.
Since the instructor had put it that way, she could hardly push the decision back onto Ji Zhouye.
Nan Xin opened her mouth to refuse, but then she suddenly remembered that Ji Zhouye was an obstetrician-gynecologist. Refusing might make things awkward given his professional role.
After hesitating for a moment, Nan Xin nodded.
“Okay.”
The exercise they were practicing now was how to feed a baby and burp it afterward.
First, the expectant mother had to feed the baby using the proper technique. Once she finished, she would hand the baby to the expectant father to burp.
The expectant mother needed to learn both breastfeeding and formula feeding, as the positions for the two methods were different.
By now, Nan Xin was already quite familiar with the techniques. She skillfully held the baby in her arms and assumed the correct feeding position while the instructor explained and guided her from the side.
Within a few minutes, she completed the demonstration smoothly.
“Next, please hand the baby to the expectant father so he can burp the baby.”
When they exchanged the baby, their bodies were extremely close, their arms almost touching.
Ji Zhouye had rolled up his sleeves. Nan Xin accidentally brushed against the outside of his forearm and felt a raised area that seemed to be a scar.
She froze.
After Ji Zhouye took the baby, her eyes instinctively fell on the spot she had just touched.
There was a very noticeable scar on the outside of his forearm. Perhaps it had not been treated properly at the time, because the scar tissue had grown quite badly, leaving a distinct raised mark.
Boom!
Nan Xin’s mind instantly went blank.
The man from that night had a raised scar in exactly the same place on his arm.
His scent. The scar on his arm…
Could there really be this many coincidences in the world?
Even after they left the stage, Nan Xin remained dazed.
She actually found it difficult to believe that the man from that night could have been Ji Zhouye.
Given Fu Beichen and Nan Yu’s personalities, they would never have arranged for such an outstanding man to be with her.
Besides, Dr. Ji had only arrived in Jiangcheng last month. It was clearly stated on his appointment profile.
When the class ended, Ji Zhouye checked the time.
“I’m off work. I’ll take you home.”
“No need, Dr. Ji. I have something to do tonight, so I may go back a little later.”
Nan Xin shook her head, her mind preoccupied with everything she had just realized. She then said goodbye to Ji Zhouye.
Ji Zhouye watched her leave, his brows drawing together slightly.
She had been distracted ever since the class began. It seemed she was hiding something from him.
Ji Zhouye didn’t pursue the matter. He returned to his office, changed out of his white coat, and was preparing to leave when his phone chimed with a text message.
It was from his assistant.
Assistant: Sir, I’ve found information about Miss Nan Xin’s whereabouts on that night seven months ago. I’ll send it to you now.
A compressed file was sent immediately afterward.
Ji Zhouye’s eyes suddenly darkened.
His long fingers hovered over the screen for a moment before he finally opened the compressed file.