After seven years apart, Shi Miao never expected to see Xu Zhinian again.
“Dr. Shi! I just saw Song Shu’s dad—you’ll never guess who he is!”
Shi Miao had just finished an eye surgery. The patient was Song Shu, the boy the nurse had mentioned—a well-behaved, beautiful little boy.
He’d come in for a checkup a month ago with a stye in his left eye. Conservative treatment hadn’t worked, so a minor surgery was performed.
During that month, the boy had come to every appointment accompanied only by an elderly, plump nanny. His parents never showed up once, and he never cried or fussed—so well-behaved it broke your heart.
Shi Miao had subtly asked the nanny why the child’s parents never came. The nanny said Song Shu’s father was extremely busy with work and could barely be seen even once a year.
As for the mother, the plump nanny didn’t mention her, only looked at Shi Miao with a rather complicated expression.
Shi Miao just thought it was rather pitiful—to be born into such a wealthy family yet lack his parents’ company.
She wanted to see for herself what kind of father could be so irresponsible.
Nurse Xiao Man, of course, had no idea what Shi Miao was thinking. Following behind her, her voice brimmed with barely contained excitement.
“Song Shu’s dad is actually the Second Young Master Song! Heir to the number one prestigious family! At 25, he carved out a bloody path on Wall Street and single-handedly founded Huatai Securities. At 28, his investment banking achievements landed him among the world’s 50 Most Influential People in Finance. He’s even been in the New York Times—and he’s devastatingly handsome!”
“Never mind, talking to an old fossil like you, Dr. Shi, who can’t keep up with the times, is a waste of breath… What a shame, his kid is already that big. I’m crying!”
At the door of the hospital room, Shi Miao raised her hand and knocked gently twice.
The man sitting in the chair looked up, and that familiar face crashed straight into Shi Miao’s eyes.
Xu Zhinian.
The shackles sealed deep in her memory suddenly burst open, humming loudly.
The moment their eyes met, Shi Miao froze, her breathing ragged.
The breeze lifted the snow-white curtains. The man sat with a straight posture, dressed in a low-key, expensive black suit, dignified and coldly handsome. Just sitting there, his presence was overwhelming.
Seeing the coldness and pride in his eyes, Shi Miao finally realized—he was no longer her Xu Zhinian.
The year he returned to the Song family to be recognized, he had changed his name to Song Hanzhou.
She still hadn’t gotten used to his new name.
“Dr. Shi, hurry in—the patient’s family is waiting for you inside,” Xiao Man urged softly.
Shi Miao quickly composed herself and stepped inside.
“You’re Song Shu’s attending physician?” The man extended a hand toward her. “Hello, I’m Song Shu’s father.”
The fingers hanging at Shi Miao’s side curled slightly. He hadn’t recognized her.
After seven years apart, and with her wearing a mask now, it was only natural that Song Hanzhou didn’t recognize her.
Her gaze fell on the man’s hand—long, cold-white fingers, a mole at the base of his thumb, and faintly visible old scar tissue over it, like a bite mark.
A plain band ring sat on his ring finger, and his platinum watch reflected a cold gleam.
“Hello, Mr. Song.” Shi Miao shook his hand without betraying anything, then withdrew her hand into the pocket of her white coat, clenching it tight.
At the sound of her voice, Song Hanzhou frowned almost imperceptibly, then glanced at the name tag on her chest. His previously mild expression abruptly turned several degrees colder.
His thin lips curved into a faint arc, but it wasn’t a smile. “Dr. Shi’s name reminds me of someone I used to know.”
Shi Miao stood facing him and said calmly, “Is that so?”
“But her surname was Cheng. Cheng Shimiao.” The name coming from the man’s mouth carried an indescribable undertone.
Shi Miao didn’t respond, her expression unchanged. She stepped forward to examine Song Shu’s eyes.
“Does it still hurt?” she asked gently.
Song Shu shook his head, acting like a little man: “Not at all.”
The man’s gaze followed Shi Miao’s every movement, as if he wanted to carve a piece of flesh right out of her.
Xiao Man inexplicably felt the air turn cold and glanced at the air conditioner in confusion. Twenty-six degrees—that wasn’t low at all.
When Shi Miao bent down, her bangs covered half her face. Her slender figure was wrapped in the white coat, and one could vaguely make out how narrow her waist was.
So narrow that a single palm could measure it.
She seemed even thinner than before.
When the woman straightened up, Song Hanzhou’s gaze returned to her face, revealing nothing unusual.
“The little one just had surgery, so mild post-operative pain is normal. Keep the dressing dry when you get home. Don’t lift it off or rub it yourself, and definitely don’t press on it. Try to rest with his eyes closed.”
Shi Miao tucked her hands into her pockets. “As for diet, keep it light as much as possible. And remember to come back for a follow-up in a week.”
With her thoughts back on work, Shi Miao had completely calmed down, displaying the professionalism expected of a doctor.
Once she had said everything that needed saying, she prepared to leave.
As she walked out of the ward, she heard the man coolly instruct the nanny: “Go to a different hospital for the follow-up. We won’t be coming back here.”
Shi Miao’s steps faltered for just an instant, then she left without looking back.
Director Zhao happened to be walking up to the door and heard it, her heart lurching.
The Song family had donated a great deal of medical equipment to the department just last month—each piece worth over a million. They couldn’t afford to offend this money tree!
With no time to call Shi Miao back, Director Zhao hurried inside, smiling obsequiously and carefully: “Um, President Song, I heard the surgery went very smoothly. May I ask why you want to transfer hospitals? Is there something about Dr. Shi that dissatisfies you?”
Without waiting for Song Hanzhou to speak, Director Zhao continued: “She just looks a bit young, but she’s actually very professional. She studied abroad, you know. You can trust her with confidence.”
Director Zhao assumed the man thought Shi Miao was too young and worried she couldn’t cure his precious son.
But the next second, the man gave a cold snort: “She looks dishonest.”
This answer was completely beyond Director Zhao’s expectations.
It was the first time he’d ever heard anyone call Dr. Shi dishonest.
Everyone knew that Shi Miao was the most honest, dutiful person in the entire hospital—she even had an honest-looking face. What was wrong with this President Song’s eyes?
“That Song Hanzhou is so baffling. What gives him the right to say you’re dishonest, Dr. Shi? What nonsense!” Xiao Man defended Shi Miao indignantly, her earlier lovestruck demeanor completely gone.
Shi Miao boiled a kettle of water, and in between took a call from a debt collector. Exhausted at heart, she didn’t bother thinking about her reunion with Song Hanzhou.
Xiao Man suddenly asked, “Dr. Shi, do you know President Song or something?”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Shi Miao said, “I don’t.”
“Really?” Xiao Man had been observing closely. “But he kept staring at you today.”
Shi Miao calmly pushed up her black-framed glasses. “Maybe he thinks I’m pretty.”
Xiao Man: …
Su Jiani from the same department walked in just in time to hear it and couldn’t resist sneering, “President Song thinks you’re pretty? You must think he has terrible taste and will take anything he can get. Why don’t you look in the mirror and see what you actually look like?”
“Besides, President Song already has a fiancée—the mayor’s daughter, no less. She’s the one who’s truly beautiful. You can’t even compare to a single strand of her hair!”
Xiao Man found these words utterly nasty and frowned, disagreeing.
Sure, Dr. Shi’s family background couldn’t match the mayor’s daughter’s, but looks-wise, Dr. Shi was hardly lacking, okay? The point was, at 27, her skin was fair and flawless, without a single blemish on her face.
And her hair was especially silky and thick, like satin. Xiao Man, a member of the hair-loss club, was dying of envy!
But Su Jiani was related to the vice president of the hospital, so Xiao Man didn’t dare talk back to her. Only after she left did she say to Shi Miao, “Dr. Shi, don’t mind her. That’s just how she talks.”
Half a year ago, when Shi Miao returned from abroad and started working at this private hospital, Su Jiani had inexplicably taken a grudge against her, frequently making snide remarks. Shi Miao couldn’t care less.
To her, Su Jiani was just a colleague, and so was Xiao Man—once off the clock, they were strangers.
There was no need to care about what strangers said.
Shi Miao walked over to the side and filled her thermos with hot water. Her long lashes lowered as she gazed at the steaming spout, lost in thought.
He… already has a fiancée? Is the current mayor’s daughter… Bai Zhiyao?
Nothing strange about that, really. Wasn’t Song Shu the one Bai Zhiyao had given birth to for him?
Just then, Xiao Man blurted out abruptly, “Dr. Shi, I suddenly think Song Shu looks a lot like you!”
Shi Miao’s hand trembled, and the overflowing hot water scalded the back of her hand.