About twenty minutes later, the little girl trotted back and handed a collar to Bai Jimu.
It still carried the scent of the Pomeranian.
Qiqi looked at Bai Jimu with hope-filled eyes. “Big Brother, you’ll help me find Nuomi, right?”
“Don’t worry, I will definitely find Nuomi for you.”
Their conversation reached Bai Yanzhou’s ears. He tilted his head slightly to look at them, raising an eyebrow with interest.
When Bai Jimu returned, Bai Yanzhou propped his chin on his hand and asked, “My Little Bi has grown up. How do you plan to help her find the dog?”
Bai Jimu lifted his head proudly. “With my nose, of course.”
As a dog, he was extremely sensitive to scents. As long as the dog was still in this county town, he would definitely find it!
Luckily, it had been sunny these past few days. If it had rained, the scent would have been washed away.
Bai Jimu reverted to his true form and sniffed the collar the girl gave him.
The scent was faint; it seemed the dog really had been missing for a couple of days.
If he didn’t find it soon, it would be too late.
After searching for two days straight, Bai Jimu still hadn’t found anything.
Feeling defeated, he lay beside Bai Yanzhou, the chatter of the TV filling his ears.
“Still haven’t found it?” Bai Yanzhou stroked Bai Jimu’s head comfortingly. “Need my help?”
Finding a small dog wasn’t easy, especially since Bai Jimu was relying solely on his own sense of smell.
It wasn’t that Bai Yanzhou didn’t want to help, but on second thought, this was good training for Bai Jimu.
It would also help temper his impatient nature.
However, seeing Bai Jimu running around under the blazing sun for days, his face flushed red, Bai Yanzhou did feel a pang of heartache.
Hearing that Bai Yanzhou was willing to help, Bai Jimu’s eyes lit up at first, but soon he shook his head.
“No, Bro, you have to watch the shop. I can do it myself!”
Truly, a Beagle who isn’t destroying the house is the best little angel.
Lying in Bai Yanzhou’s arms, Coal Ball lazily lifted his eyelids, glanced at the big goofy dog, and silently rolled his eyes.
What a dumb dog.
Searching like that, he won’t find it until the year of the monkey.
I don’t know what Teacher sees in this idiot.
“Alright. If you need help, just ask. No need to be shy with your big brother.”
Bai Jimu nodded vigorously. But when he looked up again, he saw Coal Ball lying lazily on Bai Yanzhou’s lap, giving him a mocking smile.
“!!!”
Bai Jimu’s eyes widened. “Bro! He’s laughing at me!”
“Hm?” Bai Yanzhou looked down, meeting a pair of large, watery green eyes.
What mockery? Coal Ball doesn’t understand anything. He’s just a little kitty.
Bai Yanzhou was successfully charmed. He grabbed the kitten and showered it with kisses. “Good baby, good baby, let Daddy give you a kiss.”
Little Coal Ball had been here a week, and no one had come to claim him.
Bai Yanzhou had happily claimed him as his own and accepted his new role as “Daddy” without any burden.
Bai Jimu puffed up his cheeks in anger. Hearing his brother call himself Coal Ball’s dad made him even angrier.
Wait. If Bro is Coal Ball’s dad, doesn’t that make me… Coal Ball’s uncle?
Yes! I win in seniority!
Having successfully comforted himself, Bai Jimu threw himself back into the dog-finding mission.
Inside Baizhou Hall, Coal Ball let out a protest, desperately pushing his paws against Bai Yanzhou’s approaching face.
The result was that his paws were captured and kissed thoroughly.
Coal Ball looked like he had lost the will to live, eventually just letting the man do whatever he wanted.
Perhaps because the clinic was too quiet today, Bai Yanzhou let his guard down and didn’t notice the footsteps entering the shop.
“Ahem.”
A light cough interrupted Bai Yanzhou.
“Hello, are you Dr. Xiao Bai?”
Hearing someone arrive, Bai Yanzhou immediately looked up, adjusted his glasses, and returned to his professional mode in a second.
“I am. How can I help you?”
Bai Yanzhou’s gaze was drawn to the man’s shining golden hair, finally landing on the face completely covered by sunglasses and a mask.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
What is this guy here for? To assassinate me?
“It’s like this, Doctor.” The blond man walked to the counter, his tone a bit weak.
“I’ve had insomnia lately. I can’t sleep well. I heard your medical skills are excellent, so I wanted to come and see.”
Coal Ball narrowed his eyes at the man.
By coincidence, the man looked at him too.
After making eye contact, Coal Ball was the first to look away.
Lin You stifled a laugh inside.
I never expected Xiao Duchuan to turn himself into this and lie in Teacher’s arms, acting cute.
Shameless.
Coal Ball felt his cheeks heat up and jumped onto the floor to hide in the cat bed.
Even though it was just a clone, having Lin You see him in such an embarrassing state was humiliating.
Running here without saying a word—what is this guy planning?!
Bai Yanzhou sized up the fully armed man before him.
Despite the disguise, he couldn’t hide his noble air.
Bai Yanzhou felt a sense of familiarity.
Lin You sat on the chair in front of the consultation desk, his body stiff. He subconsciously avoided Bai Yanzhou’s gaze, even through his sunglasses.
“Insomnia?” Bai Yanzhou put down the soft cloth in his hand and gestured to Lin You. “Put your hand here. Let me check your pulse.”
Lin You hesitated before slowly taking off his black leather glove, revealing a fair, slender hand with well-defined knuckles. He carefully placed it on the pulse pillow.
His fingertips curled slightly, as if he were nervous.
Bai Yanzhou’s fingertips gently touched his wrist.
The cool sensation made Lin You tremble imperceptibly.
The consultation room was quiet for a moment, save for the curling smoke from the incense burner.
Bai Yanzhou lowered his eyes, feeling the pulse beneath his fingers.
Strong, rhythmic… and even a bit fast, carrying the vitality unique to young people, as well as a restlessness that felt like guilt.
This was definitely not the pulse of someone suffering from blood deficiency due to long-term insomnia or Qi deficiency from overthinking.
Interesting. A very faint smile flashed across Bai Yanzhou’s eyes.
He withdrew his hand, his tone remaining gentle and professional. “How long have you had insomnia? What exactly happens? Is it hard to fall asleep, or do you wake up easily?”
“Uh… a long time!” Lin You said quickly, his voice muffled by the mask. “It’s just… when I lie in bed, my brain plays like a carousel, I can’t calm down. I keep my eyes open all night until dawn. It’s really painful.” He tried to make his tone sound haggard.
“Oh?” Bai Yanzhou nodded slightly, his gaze seemingly inadvertently sweeping over the jawline that even sunglasses couldn’t hide, and the visibly healthy physique under the hoodie.
“Looking at your pulse, your heart fire is a bit high, and your liver Qi is stagnated. Let me see your tongue coating.”
Lin You froze. Crap, I have to show my tongue?
He stalled, extremely reluctant to take off his mask.
Even just looking at the lower half of his face, one could tell he was exceptionally handsome.
Lin You quickly stuck out his tongue and immediately retracted it, putting his mask back on so fast his movements were a blur.
But that split second was enough for Bai Yanzhou.
Tongue pink and moist, coating thin and white. Absolutely no abnormalities.
In fact, his complexion… was almost too rosy and healthy.
Bai Yanzhou understood immediately.
This kid. It’s been a thousand years, but those little nervous tics when lying haven’t changed.
He kept his composure, picked up his pen, and began writing on the prescription pad, his tone becoming even more gentle and caring. “I understand the situation. You have ‘floating Yang’ and a restless spirit. The problem isn’t too serious, but it needs proper regulation. I’ll prescribe some herbs to calm the spirit and submerge the Yang into Yin.”
Lin You breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he had gotten away with it.
But then he heard Bai Yanzhou continue slowly, “However, just taking medicine might be slow. Since you are in such pain, I’ll add acupuncture. The effect is immediate; you should be able to sleep well tonight.”
“Acu… Acupuncture?” Lin You’s voice pitched up before he quickly lowered it. “No, no need, right, Doctor? I think medicine is fine…”
“It is necessary.” Bai Yanzhou interrupted him, his smile gentle yet firm. “A healer has the heart of a parent. Seeing you suffer so much, I naturally want to use the fastest method. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt. Go lie down on the treatment bed over there.”
Lin You: “!!!”
He was riding a tiger and couldn’t get off. He could only bite the bullet and, with stiff limbs moving in coordination (same arm, same leg), slowly inch over to the treatment bed and lie down, feeling like a fish about to be gutted.
Bai Yanzhou fetched his needle kit, sanitized his hands, and stood by the bed.
His shadow loomed over Lin You, carrying that cool, familiar scent of herbs, causing Lin You’s heart to race uncontrollably.
“Relax,” Bai Yanzhou’s voice came from right next to him, carrying a meaningful tone that made Lin You’s scalp tingle. “I will treat you… properly.”
The cold alcohol swab wiped across the skin of Lin You’s head, making him shudder violently.
Bai Yanzhou’s fingers accurately found the acupoints in his hair.
As he inserted the needle, he whispered—seemingly unintentionally—at a volume only the two of them could hear:
“For this sleep-inducing acupoint, the depth and force are very particular. Too shallow and it won’t work. Too deep… well, it might make one dream a ‘particularly memorable’ dream. For example, dreaming about… things from a long time ago, or… people you haven’t seen in a long time.”
His fingertips paused slightly, and his tone was casual, yet it brushed against Lin You’s tense nerves like a feather.
“I wonder… are you afraid of having that kind of dream?”
Lying there, Lin You’s entire body went rigid. He felt like the slender needle wasn’t piercing an acupoint, but his fragile heart.
He’s done for. He might, probably, definitely… has been recognized!
Teacher is absolutely doing this on purpose!