“What?”
Cen Xi only thought she had misheard. The rhythm of her heartbeat under her chest was so fast it felt like it might break through her limits. The room clearly had air conditioning on, but she still felt unbearably hot.
The palm covering the back of her pale hand slowly tightened its grip.
Shang Hanzhou said in a steady voice, “Mrs. Shang, we need to get familiar with each other.”
Two years had passed without contact. Today, after the old master’s visit, he had deeply realized the unfamiliar distance between him and Cen Xi.
In the darkness, Cen Xi lightly bit her lower lip. Her other hand unconsciously clenched into a fist. After a moment, she gave a soft response from her throat.
“Okay.”
The large hand holding her wrist immediately moved upward. His rough thumb joint circled her wrist as his shadow pressed down in front of her.
The deep, sharp scent of bergamot flooded into her breath.
Through the night, his refined and striking facial features appeared in her line of sight. Cen Xi slightly parted her lips, and his thin lips pressed down, sealing hers completely.
She trembled again, closed her eyes, and her throat grew even drier.
It was her first kiss.
Their lips pressed together, and for a long time, neither of them made the next move.
Cen Xi gathered her courage and pushed him away.
“Is it done?”
Shang Hanzhou supported himself with one hand above her head and said nothing. He then lay back down in his original position.
Cen Xi quietly tightened the blanket in front of her, exhaled slowly, and finally relaxed.
She had been so nervous she felt like she was about to die.
She had thought Shang Hanzhou would be very excessive.
But now it seemed… he probably wasn’t very experienced either.
Beside her, his breathing was steady and even. Cen Xi felt relieved and thought it was over. Sleepiness slowly flooded her mind.
Just as she was about to fall asleep completely—
A strong arm suddenly wrapped around her waist, pulling her into his embrace. His chest was burning hot.
Cen Xi instantly woke up.
“Shang—”
Before she could even finish the syllable, a violent kiss swept down like a storm.
He ground against her lips. No longer a simple touch—his tongue forced its way into her mouth. Their breaths tangled, saliva exchanged, and wet, intimate sounds echoed in the silent bedroom.
……
The next morning.
When Cen Xi got out of bed, even the slightest movement of her lips caused a faint sting.
She hadn’t looked at the time last night, so she didn’t know exactly how long Shang Hanzhou had kissed her. She only remembered that by the end, she was so sleepy she almost fell asleep, and he was still kissing her.
“Madam, milk.”
At the dining table, Aunt Fang had already prepared breakfast.
There were buns, fried dough sticks, coffee, and toast—far more varied than hospital cafeteria food.
She looked at the clock on the wall, quickly ate a few bites of pork bun, grabbed her milk, and rushed out in a hurry.
She was going to be late.
When Shang Hanzhou came out, Cen Xi was already gone.
“Sir, Madam just left.”
The elevator had only just gone down.
Shang Hanzhou casually buttoned his cuff, glanced at the breakfast on the table, confirmed she had eaten, and responded indifferently.
He usually only drank a cup of coffee in the morning.
The breakfast Cen Xi had not finished was still on the table. She did not like dry toast and preferred Chinese breakfast.
Almost unconsciously, the man who was used to coffee picked up the leftover pork bun.
“Sir, the coffee is over here.”
Seeing him reach for the bun, Aunt Fang thought he had not noticed the coffee and reminded him.
Shang Hanzhou still only gave a cold “mm.” He picked up the bun, took a bite, and the soft skin mixed with rich meat filling filled his mouth.
The taste was actually not bad.
A faint curve appeared on his thin lips as he slowly finished all the remaining buns Cen Xi had left behind.
Aunt Fang opened her mouth as if to say something, then closed it again.
Today, the sun might have risen from the west.
……
When Cen Xi arrived at the hospital, there were still three minutes before work started.
She ran in breathlessly and only managed to calm down after sitting in the office for a while.
After changing into her white coat, she went on ward rounds as usual.
A nurse accompanied her, about three years younger, just turned twenty-five. The moment she saw Cen Xi, her gaze immediately fell on her lips.
“Dr. Cen, what happened to your lips? It looks like they’re chapped.”
Cen Xi hadn’t put on her mask yet. Hearing this, she instinctively covered her mouth and said muffledly, “I accidentally bit it while eating breakfast.”
In reality, it was because Shang Hanzhou had kissed too forcefully last night.
His kissing skills weren’t very good.
Several times he had bumped against her lips, causing pain.
She spoke while quickly putting on her mask, thinking she could not let him act so recklessly again tonight.
He had gone too far.
The nurse did not get a closer look and casually said, “Dr. Cen, you really need to be careful when eating breakfast. If you’re too rushed, it’s easy to bite your lips. It can hurt for days. I’ve had that happen before—I couldn’t even eat properly.”
Cen Xi nodded. “Mm, I know.”
As they were about to head toward the ward, colleagues suddenly pushed several stretchers into the emergency room.
A car accident patient had arrived.
On the stretcher was a young woman with a scraped forehead, already bandaged and no longer bleeding. There were no obvious external injuries, but hidden trauma could not be ruled out, so a CT scan had to be arranged immediately.
The woman’s eyelids fluttered, and when she saw Cen Xi, her brows immediately furrowed.
“Why is it you?”
Cen Xi looked down. It turned out to be an acquaintance.
Not very close, though. She had grown up with Cen Ning, and that was the person she was truly close to.
Zhu Xinyao felt more awake after seeing her. She struggled to sit up, but was immediately pressed back down by the doctor.
“Don’t move.”
“I want to transfer hospitals! I don’t want to be treated here!”
The moment she saw Cen Xi, disgust filled Zhu Xinyao’s eyes.
“You still have the face to stay in Beijing? Ningning went abroad for treatment, and you took advantage of her absence to steal her man. You’re shameless!”
“Transfer me! Now!”
As a young lady of the Zhu family, she had always been spoiled and had a temper that was difficult to handle.
The nurse beside Cen Xi looked at her with obvious annoyance.
“Does she not care about her own life? The priority is getting checked. It makes us look like we’re trying to harm her.”
Everyone turned to look at Cen Xi. It seemed she knew the patient, but their relationship was not good.
Cen Xi kept her hands in her pockets. Even as Zhu Xinyao caused a scene, she did not react at all.
Her tone remained calm.
“Let her transfer.”
Then she simply turned and walked toward another patient.
There were plenty of patients waiting for her treatment.
Seeing her actually walk away, Zhu Xinyao froze. The pain in her head seemed to worsen.
“You…! You have no medical ethics!”
She had actually been left behind just like that.
Zhu Xinyao clenched her fists in anger.