Xiao Jinyu walked out of the supermarket, the voice in his earbuds still buzzing.
"Ah Yu, why won't you accept Mom's WeChat request?"
He didn't stop walking. "How did you get my number?"
"I asked your academic advisor."
"You really went through a lot of trouble."
"No, I just—"
He hung up. He didn't want to hear any more. The earbuds went quiet, but the irritation didn't fade.
"Xiao—Xiao Jinyu!"
Hearing his name, he paused mid-step and turned around.
The girl came rushing over, her wispy bangs blown up by the wind, all fluffy. She was moving too fast to stop in time and nearly stumbled into his arms.
Xiao Jinyu took a step back.
She steadied herself, then hastily waved at him, her brows curving into twin crescents. "Hi there, we meet again."
Xiao Jinyu looked at her in silence, his eyes calm and unreadable, like a frozen pond in winter.
At such close range, looking at his face, Wen Li's heart thumped loudly. The opening line she'd rehearsed got stuck in her throat and completely slipped her mind.
Xiao Jinyu didn't speak either.
They stared at each other, surrounded by dead silence.
Wen Li bit her tongue, cursing herself inwardly for being such a lovesick fool.
"Um, you probably remember me, right? A few weeks ago we met at the entrance of the affiliated hospital, and you transferred me a hundred yuan."
Xiao Jinyu remained silent.
Under his unfamiliar gaze, Wen Li quickly understood—he didn't remember.
Was her face really that unmemorable?
"Alright, it's fine if you don't remember," Wen Li was good at comforting herself. "That day was actually a misunderstanding. I wasn't asking you for money. So, could you add me on WeChat so I can pay you back?"
As she spoke, she pulled out her phone from her pocket and showed him the hundred yuan he'd transferred last time, hoping it would jog his memory at least a little.
Xiao Jinyu actually did remember her.
Ji Cheng's girlfriend.
His gaze slowly moved from her face to the QR code on her phone, then to the shower caddy hanging from her elbow, which held a few bottles of conditioner and shampoo in garish colors.
Ji Cheng's girlfriend was… selling shampoo?
But he didn't use that brand—the scent was too strong.
Xiao Jinyu still wasn't saying anything, and Wen Li grew more nervous. She pressed her lips together, her heart pounding with anxiety. Strange, why was he staring at her for so long? Were her hair and clothes okay? She should have put on some lipstick before going out, so she wouldn't look so plain.
Xiao Jinyu was actually thinking: Ji Cheng wore a different pair of designer shoes every day. If he'd just bought two fewer pairs, he wouldn't need his girlfriend to work a part-time job.
Then he found the thought boring.
Someone else's girlfriend—why should he care?
His gaze finally lifted again, and he spoke slowly: "Not buying."
Wen Li: "?"
Not buying what?
After saying that, Xiao Jinyu walked away, leaving Wen Li standing alone in the wind, utterly bewildered.
Not buying?
Wen Li looked down at the shower caddy on her arm, then at her plain red polo shirt with no logo, and it slowly dawned on her—he thought she was a salesperson peddling shampoo on campus!
Ahhh, suffocating. She had never been so mortified in her life.
Wen Li was crushed. She really wanted to shout at his retreating back: Taking off your earbuds when someone talks to you is the bare minimum of politeness!
But the words got stuck in her throat. A nameless grievance welled up, her eyes turning red, which immediately drew a crowd—dozens of eyes all staring at her.
Wen Li's bravado deflated. Being rejected was embarrassing enough, but being mistaken for a shampoo salesperson on top of that?
She didn't want to humiliate herself any further.
Wen Li slunk away in defeat, and on the way back, her two roommates teased her the whole time.
Back in the dorm, she flopped onto her bed like a deflated balloon. Cheng Xiling came in after finishing her laundry and asked, "What's wrong?"
Wen Li: "I got my heart broken."
Cheng Xiling said quietly, "…I don't think you were ever in a relationship."
Wen Li felt even more miserable and kicked her leg in frustration.
Fu Qin excitedly grabbed her: "Lingling, huge gossip, huge gossip! Do you know who Lili's crush is?"
Cheng Xiling's gossip senses were also ignited: "Who?"
Fu Qin teased her, making her guess for a while before revealing the answer: "Xiao Jinyu!"
Cheng Xiling let out an "Ah!" and looked shocked. "Xiao Jinyu from the medical school?"
Wen Li was puzzled: "How do you two both know him?"
Fu Qin shrugged: "You injured your arm freshman year and didn't come to campus much, so you wouldn't know. Xiao Jinyu's reputation at this school is huge—almost as big as yours."
Wen Li's brain short-circuited: "Is he also into weightlifting?"
"No, not that. You made your name through brute force; he's famous for his brains." Fu Qin told her: "Xiao Jinyu was the provincial top scorer back in the day, the untouchable flower of the medical school. He's been ranked first in his major for five straight years, and at the start of freshman year, he secured the title of campus heartthrob with just one ID photo! He gets stacks of confession letters every year. You just left the beginner village and went straight for the final boss—of course you'd hit a wall."
"Really?"
"You know Dean Wu of our affiliated hospital, right? He's a visiting professor at twelve universities and widely renowned. Senior Xiao caught his eye as soon as he started his sophomore year. He took him on as his direct disciple, mentoring him personally. By graduation, he's basically expected to inherit his legacy."
She'd heard about this from Ji Cheng before. Dean Wu had always been Ji Cheng's idol—he was pursuing his PhD specifically to get into Dean Wu's research group. But Dean Wu only took a very small number of graduate students each year, and the competition was fierce. Ji Cheng had fought tooth and nail just to secure an internship opportunity, only to find out that Xiao had been hand-picked for the spot back in his sophomore year. Who wouldn't be pissed about that?
Wen Li sighed. "He's that impressive… so what type does he like?"
Fu Qin shook her head. "No idea. But I'd guess someone with a personality that cold would prefer the quieter, more reserved type."
Wen Li immediately put her crossed leg down. "I'm pretty quiet too."
Fu Qin didn't believe that for a second.
Wen Li pouted, a little indignant. "I really can be! You guys just know me too well and have a fixed impression of me. The first time anyone meets me, they all say I'm a sweet Japanese-style girl."
That part was true. Wen Li's personality and her looks were completely mismatched. She had the face of a quintessential southern girl—round face, big eyes, and a small dimple on her cheek that made everything she said look sweet whenever she smiled.
Back when Fu Qin first learned that Wen Li had trained in weightlifting at a sports school in middle school, she nearly dropped her jaw. For the first few weeks of the semester, she didn't even dare to strike up a conversation with her. It wasn't until military training's icebreaker session that she discovered this girl had a fantastic personality—she could chat with anyone and had zero airs about her.
Jiang Zao leaned in to join the conversation. Wen Li was startled by the face suddenly so close to hers, her thick, curled lashes fluttering. "What are you doing?"
Jiang Zao rubbed her chin and said, "Just looking at your face, you do seem pretty well-behaved. If worst comes to worst, why don't you just fake it?"
"Fake it how?"
"First, your voice needs to be softer. Here, try talking in a cutesy voice so I can hear."
Wen Li didn't hesitate. She pitched her voice high and squeaked out, "Big brother~"
"No, no, no." Jiang Zao waved her hands immediately. "When you do that, it gives off this weird 'Lu Zhishen burying flowers' vibe."
"HAHAHAHA." Fu Qin slapped her thigh, laughing until tears came out.
Wen Li: "…"
"Forget it, I'm done talking to you two." Wen Li huffed. "When I get married, you two aren't getting a seat at the table."
Fu Qin laughed. "If you can actually marry Xiao Jinyu, we'd be fine sitting with the dogs."
Wen Li was feeling restless and irritable. She lay face-down on her pillow, brooding for a long time.
She thought they were wrong. A cold, aloof, gorgeous guy like Xiao Jinyu definitely wouldn't be short on quiet admirers. She'd been this proactive and he still couldn't remember her. At this rate, she'd be pining after him until the cows came home!
She pulled out her phone and messaged Ji Cheng: [DD, you there?]
Ji Cheng wasn't asleep either. He replied instantly: [?]
Big Pear: [Send me Xiao Jinyu's WeChat]
Ji Cheng: [?? What are you doing?]
Big Pear: [Last time I mistakenly thought he beat you up and sent you to the hospital, so I went to confront him. Then he transferred me a hundred yuan. I don't want to owe him, so I want to pay him back]
The reasoning was solid, and Ji Cheng didn't suspect anything. He quickly shared a contact card. Wen Li didn't hesitate for a second and tapped right in.
[This user has enabled privacy settings and cannot be added via contact card]
Pretty privacy-conscious. He must get way too many add requests—he'd gotten so annoyed that he turned off the contact card method.
What a clean-living, self-respecting man. Worthy of praise.
She went back to Ji Cheng's chat.
Big Pear: [Can't add via the card. I'll take his phone number then]
The phone number came through. Wen Li eagerly copied and pasted it into the search bar and hit add.
[This user has enabled privacy settings and cannot be added via phone number]
Wen Li: "??"
Why can't I add him by phone number either?
She tried searching by his WeChat ID instead—still nothing. Refusing to believe it, she held her phone and pasted it over and over again. Finally—
She believed it.
Had he turned off every single way to add him on WeChat? How could there be a man this difficult to get to in the world? The phrase "cut off all romantic ties" might as well have been tailor-made for him.
Slightly losing her mind, Wen Li rolled back into Ji Cheng's chat.
Big Pear: [Maybe you know his home address…]
Ji Cheng: [Should I just send you his birth chart too? /smile]
Big Pear: [Can you?]
Ji Cheng: [/knife /knife /knife]
Okay, so that was a no.
No matter. The scheming pear still had more tricks up her sleeve.
Big Pear: [Just kidding, hahaha! Send me your duty schedule. To show my gratitude, I'll bring you a meal I made myself tomorrow at noon]
Ji Cheng: [You can cook?]
Big Pear: [I personally… ordered takeout]
Ji Cheng: [Why not just have the takeout delivered directly? Why do you have to bring it?]
Big Pear: [Why do you have so many questions? You're getting free food and still being picky. Just send me the schedule!]
Ji Cheng: [/picking nose]
Big Pear: [Forty-meter machete.jpg]
Ji Cheng: [Fine, I'll send it to you in a bit]
Once she received the duty schedule, Wen Li quickly scanned through it from top to bottom. Seeing Xiao Jinyu's name on tomorrow's list, she locked her phone and fell asleep at ease.
The next morning, she got up early, grabbed a breakfast from Yuan Ji Dumpling Shop, packed it in a thermal container, and happily carried it to Haida Affiliated Hospital.
When she arrived at the orthopedics department, she found the office completely empty—no doctor on duty, no nurse on shift, and Xiao Jinyu was nowhere to be seen.
Where was everyone? She was puzzled, placed the lunchbox on the duty desk, thoughtfully left a sticky note with her name on it, then went to the lobby to wait.
Suddenly, hurried footsteps echoed through the corridor.
She quickly stood up and saw two burly men storm into the office. Without a word, they started smashing things—desks, chairs, computers, and equipment all destroyed, paper scraps flying everywhere.
Wen Li had just reached the doorway when a metal box whizzed past her ear, accompanied by a string of curses. Her mind was filled with one thought: "Damn it, my lovingly prepared breakfast!!"
"What do you think you're doing!" she shouted.
The man turned around, a fruit knife glinting silver in his hand. He had a buzz cut and a fierce face: "Mind your own business!"
A knife! Wen Li instinctively assumed a defensive stance.
At that moment, a hand gripped her shoulder from behind—not with force, but with an undeniable pull that dragged her out.
In an instant, she caught a familiar scent.
It was Xiao Jinyu.
He shielded her behind him.
The commotion outside had drawn a large crowd in the lobby, but no one dared approach. Only two security guards stood with riot forks, shouting nervously: "If you have demands, you can state them—everyone, stay calm…"
The leading man said: "Song Yan! An eighteen-year-old girl who had fracture surgery at your hospital last month—and ended up having her leg amputated! We're her relatives, and we're here for an explanation today!"
"An… explanation?" the guard asked.
"Two million. Not a cent less."
At those words, the crowd erupted in murmurs—it was clearly a shakedown.
Wen Li tensed up as well.
This was a hospital disturbance?
"Song Yan, right," Xiao Jinyu stepped forward. "Left tibial plateau fracture. Limb ischemia for over six hours, one hundred percent muscle necrosis. You brought her in too late—enough time for two amputations."
The man: "Bullshit! It was clearly a surgical error on your part!"
"Surgical records, progress notes, pre-operative consent signatures—everything is documented." Xiao Jinyu cut him off. "The amputation plan was signed off by the family. If you're really her relatives, you should know this better than I do."
The leading man's lips trembled twice, unable to respond.
"And you still want two million? I suggest you go upstairs to neurology and get your heads checked."
At that, someone in the crowd laughed. The man's face cycled through shades of pale and red, his embarrassment turning to fury: "Who the hell do you think you are? Get your supervisor out here!"
The man brandished the knife at him. Xiao Jinyu quickly sidestepped, seized the man's knife-wielding right wrist, and twisted it backward.
With a clatter, a flash of silver—the fruit knife hit the floor.
The man's face contorted in pain as he cursed: "Fuck you, I'll stab you first!"
Xiao Jinyu had little patience. He kicked the man's knee, forcing his left leg to buckle involuntarily, while the man continued spewing curses at his entire family.
A nurse rushed over frantically: "Dr. Xiao, the police have been called—they'll be here soon. Please don't use force!"
Hospital policy prohibited conflict during disturbances—aside from necessary self-defense, physical contact was to be avoided, and fighting was strictly forbidden. It was precisely because of this that many troublemakers acted with impunity, betting that the hospital would settle quietly to protect its reputation.
But Xiao Jinyu didn't care. He was just an intern, not on the payroll, and those rules didn't apply to him.
He yanked the man's arm back again with force.
Behind him, the man's fallen companion scrambled up from the ground.
His eyes bloodshot, completely unhinged, he grabbed the fruit knife that had fallen nearby and lunged viciously at Xiao Jinyu's back.
"Ah, watch out!" the nurse gasped, covering her mouth.
You bastard—don't you dare touch my idol!
Wen Li snatched the riot fork from the security guard, gripped it with both hands, and slammed it hard into the man's waist. The sudden force sent him stumbling backward several steps.
Wen Li advanced with the fork, and though the man tried to resist, he couldn't move an inch—she drove him all the way to the wall.
Xiao Jinyu turned around to see the heavyset man pinned to the wall like a gecko, both feet off the ground, legs flailing wildly.
Xiao Jinyu: "…"
A few minutes later, the police finally arrived, and both troublemakers were arrested.
Wen Li finally breathed a sigh of relief, and before she could even recover from the shock, she found herself surrounded.
"Sister, you're amazing!" a young nurse grabbed her arm, eyes full of admiration: "You look so delicate, but you pinned that two-hundred-jin guy to the wall with one fork! Which department are you in—doctor or nurse?"
"Oh, neither. I was just passing by."
"Have you trained? Martial arts or something? That was so cool—can you teach me?"
"Not at all." Wen Li touched her neck, feeling a bit embarrassed by the praise, a faint blush gradually spreading across her cheeks.
Xiao Jinyu had remained silent the whole time, his gaze fixed on her leg. Seeing her still chatting and laughing as if nothing had happened, he frowned involuntarily. "Does it hurt?"
"Huh?" Wen Li's wandering thoughts were finally pulled back by his words.
Only then did she notice that her knee had been cut by a knife at some point—a long gash on her fair skin, still bleeding.
She had been a mischievous child, and minor injuries like this were nothing new to her. She was used to it. She reached into her bag for a tissue. "It's fine, doesn't hurt much."
The next second, her wrist was caught. "Come with me."