In a place filled with the smell of disinfectant, a faint, crisp scent of gardenia slipped into the nose first.
Song Hanzhou’s pupils contracted slightly.
The stack of medical records in Shi Miao’s hands scattered across the floor with a clatter. She murmured an apology before bending down to pick them up.
The black leather shoes before her were from a high-end niche brand—unassuming in appearance, but actually worth seven figures, a stark contrast to the two-hundred-yuan canvas shoes on Shi Miao’s feet.
A shadow fell over her.
The man crouched down, his well-defined fingers brushing over the scattered papers as he silently helped pick them up.
“No need, I can do it myself…” Shi Miao said, then paused mid-sentence.
Their hands accidentally touched, both grabbing the same file.
Seeing that familiar platinum wristwatch and the black mole on the back of his hand, Shi Miao’s eyelids twitched violently.
No way it could be this much of a coincidence?
She looked up and met the man’s eyes, dark as night.
Song Hanzhou withdrew his hand first and stood up, one hand tucked in his trouser pocket, his face wearing its usual cold aloofness as he looked down at her.
Shi Miao tucked the remaining file into her arms, then reached out and took back what was hers from his hand.
The woman’s fingertips brushed across his palm—a tingling sensation, like a small electric shock.
Song Hanzhou discreetly moved that hand behind his back and flexed his fingers.
Shi Miao wasn’t wearing a mask. She calmly tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and said a distant “thank you.”
There was no further conversation or pleasantries. She turned and walked straight into Consultation Room 1 without a sideways glance.
Two people who had once been closest to each other were now worse than strangers.
The story of President Song playing the hero and saving the beauty quickly spread through the hospital. Every department was discussing it, and several versions had emerged within a single day.
“You don’t know, President Song was so brave at the time. Without a word, he rushed in and killed the bat, then personally helped Dr. Su up from the floor and comforted her—so gentle!”
“President Song must have fallen for Dr. Su. I heard he originally booked an appointment with another doctor in the same department, but switched to Dr. Su at the last minute. It must have been President Song’s doing.”
“Huh? But I heard they’d already been dating for a while. Why else would President Song be so anxious? He must have been worried about his girlfriend being in danger.”
Shi Miao had heard these rumors too. While getting food in the cafeteria, Xiao Man came over to vent to her.
“President Song falling for Su Jiani? People actually believe such an absurd rumor? When they get old, I’m going to sell them insurance!”
Another nurse, Tangtang, said leisurely, “I bet these rumors came out of Su Jiani’s own mouth, nine times out of ten.”
The cafeteria wasn’t crowded, and the air conditioning blew a cool breeze.
As Xiao Man kept talking, she suddenly noticed that Shi Miao’s face looked rather pale, her lips drained of color. She put down her chopsticks and asked with concern, “Dr. Shi, haven’t you gotten over your cold yet? Why do you look so terrible?”
Tangtang added, “You still have the night shift in the ER tonight, right? Can you hold up?”
Shi Miao had barely touched the food in front of her. She pressed her fingers against her heavy temples and shook her head gently. “I’m fine. There isn’t much going on in ophthalmology anyway…”
But as luck would have it, what she feared most was exactly what came.
The phone rang abruptly. The moment Shi Miao answered, Director Zhao’s anxious voice came through: “Shi Miao! Get back to the department right away! We just got an emergency patient with a penetrating eye injury—it’s critical, and Dr. Su can’t handle it!”
Shi Miao’s expression changed. “I’m on my way.”
By the time she changed into sterile scrubs and rushed to the operating room, Shi Miao found Su Jiani looking completely flustered and at a loss.
Su Jiani had graduated with a master’s degree from Capital Medical University—an impressive résumé—but her lack of hands-on experience had left her mental fortitude wanting as well.
The others in the operating room looked at Shi Miao as if she were a lifeline.
Wearing a mask, only her cool, calm eyes visible, Shi Miao stepped forward quickly. Her gaze swept over the numbers flickering on the monitor, and she wasted no time on pleasantries: “What’s the patient’s condition?”
The assistant hurried over to report: “Dr. Shi, the patient is a 25-year-old female, injured in a car accident. Penetrating injury to the right eyeball with iris prolapse. She’s already under general anesthesia. Dr. Su was about to debride the wound but found the damage involves the macular region and didn’t dare proceed.”
Shi Miao nodded, took the scalpel the assistant handed her, and said to Su Jiani, “You’ll assist me.”
Su Jiani froze, as if she couldn’t believe her ears.
Shi Miao—this woman—actually dared to order her around as an assistant?!
But Su Jiani knew this wasn’t the moment to make a scene. She gritted her teeth and held her tongue for now.
She refused to believe Shi Miao was really that good. With an injury this severe, what option was there besides removing the eyeball?
She would just wait to watch her fail!
The surgery lasted until ten o’clock that night.
When the final stitch was placed, a collective sigh of relief rippled through the operating room.
Su Jiani could hardly believe it—Shi Miao had actually pulled the patient’s right eye back from the brink and saved it!
When Shi Miao pushed open the door of the operating room and stepped out, her clothes were already soaked through with sweat, as if she’d been fished out of water—she could have wrung it out.
Director Zhao rushed over, and upon learning that the patient was not only out of danger but would most likely retain vision in her right eye, he let out a long breath of relief.
Only then did he learn that the patient brought in tonight was no ordinary person—she was the youngest daughter of the Meng family of Changsheng Medical!
Their private hospital was backed by none other than the Changsheng Group.
He patted Shi Miao’s shoulder gratefully and said no more: “Shi Miao, get some good rest.”
Shi Miao nodded, drained of strength. She rested alone on a bench in the corridor, pulling off her mask.
It revealed a face drained of all color, yet flushed with a sickly, feverish red.
…
“Hanzhou, thank you for bringing my little sister to the hospital. I’ll remember this favor.”
As Meng Chuyue spoke, she realized the man’s gaze wasn’t on her at all.
Following his line of sight, she turned her head and found him intently watching a woman—a doctor, to be precise.
She was just about to ask if Song Hanzhou knew her when he already looked away, his expression perfectly composed: “It was on the way. Just a small favor. I have things to attend to, so I won’t stay.”
Meng Chuyue thought nothing of it and nodded. “Sure, I won’t keep you from work. Let’s get together sometime.”
Song Hanzhou walked away without looking back, his steps quick and steady, his back ramrod straight.
Only the hand hanging at his side, its knuckles unconsciously tightening, betrayed him.
How she was living now had nothing to do with him. He repeated this to himself over and over in his heart.
Don’t bother. Don’t look.
Don’t get any closer to that woman.
On the way home.
Shi Miao bought a seaweed rice ball and a bottle of water at the self-service convenience store next to the hospital. The rice ball was half price—six yuan in total.
Just as she stepped out of the store, a tall figure suddenly appeared in front of her, blocking the light from the streetlamp.
Shi Miao frowned slightly and turned to sidestep him, but the man reached out and blocked her path.
“Dr. Shi, it’s me! Don’t you remember?”
“…And you are?”
The man’s lecherous gaze slid down from Shi Miao’s face. “It’s me, Chen Zhigao! I’ve been sending you flowers for a whole week! Remember now?”