“Don’t bite.”
A long, slender finger rubbed against her lips, while the sound of hurried, heavy breathing filled her ears.
Xu You let out a soft, breathless moan.
“Mm.”
She wanted to turn around and see the man behind her, but he possessively wrapped his arms around her and gently bit the side of her neck.
Her entire body felt as though an electric current had passed through it, leaving her tingling unbearably.
“Gently… gentler—”
“If I go any gentler, someone else will steal your man away.”
Xu You opened her eyes, the seductive look in them not yet faded, when the office door was suddenly slammed open.
Wang Shu saw Xu You sitting on the army cot with a flushed, dreamy expression.
“You dreamed about that man again? He’s been dead for two years. It’s time you moved on.”
Xu You gently shook her head. She still had some dignity, so she didn’t tell her that lately, she had been dreaming about a completely unfamiliar man.
Wang Shu, however, misunderstood her denial.
“I’m an obstetrician and gynecologist. I could tell at a glance that you were worked up just now. Even your eyebrows were practically screaming—sexual frustration?”
Xu You bent down to put on her shoes, her voice still somewhat airy.
“You interrupted me before I could find out.”
“I did it for your own good!”
“What’s so satisfying about something happening in a dream? We’re adults. If you’re going to do it, you might as well enjoy the real thing.”
“I asked my husband about it. Your man, Battalion Commander Chen, is handsome and capable. Do you have any idea how many women have their eyes on him? You’d better put some effort into it and try to win him over this year.”
Wang Shu pulled Xu You to her feet.
“Come on, get up! I heard your man rescued a woman from the river. She should be in the emergency department by now.”
The two hurried to the emergency department, where they saw Chen Qingsong carrying a woman on his back.
As an emergency physician, Xu You immediately began giving orders to the young nurses.
“Bring the stretcher over and take the patient to the resuscitation room.”
Xu You took the white coat a nurse handed her and put it on as she walked.
Then she turned to Chen Qingsong.
“Where did she fall into the water? How long was she submerged? Did you perform any water drainage or CPR after pulling her out?”
“The river beside the family compound…”
Chen Qingsong loosened his grip and placed the woman on the hospital bed. Unexpectedly, the woman struggled and fell straight onto the floor.
Bang!
The impact was heavy.
Xu You frowned and looked toward the woman’s buttocks.
Even with plenty of flesh to cushion the fall, that must have hurt.
Her gaze moved upward, and she noticed that the woman was wearing Chen Qingsong’s jacket.
“Doctor Xu, we were supporting the patient just now. She struggled on her own and fell.”
The young nurses’ faces had gone pale. They were all interns, and if they made a mistake and got fired, they would be sent to the countryside.
Their families had spent a great deal of money and pulled many strings to get them these internship positions. None of them wanted to lose them.
After explaining themselves, the nurses crouched down to help the woman up.
But the woman shook their hands away and crawled toward Xu You. Then she slammed her forehead against the floor three times.
“Doctor Xu, please, I beg you. Give me a way to live. When Qingsong pulled me out of the river, he touched me all over.”
Xu You lowered her eyes. Only then did she realize that the woman Chen Qingsong had rescued was his widowed sister-in-law, Chu Ying.
Chen Qingsong frowned when he heard this.
“Sister-in-law, I was only performing CPR on you. It was an emergency. I was trying to save your life.”
Chu Ying bit her lip and looked up with tear-filled eyes. Gritting her teeth, she suddenly pulled off Chen Qingsong’s jacket.
Her soaked white shirt clung tightly to her body, clearly revealing the mandarin-duck design of the undergarment beneath it.
It depicted two mandarin ducks entwined together.
Chen Qingsong turned his face away, refusing to look at his sister-in-law. Instead, he looked at Xu You.
“Doctor Xu, saving the patient is what matters.”
More and more people were gathering around, which was bad for everyone involved.
Xu You’s voice unconsciously turned cold.
“Comrade Chu Ying, although you were rescued after falling into the river, you still need a thorough examination to prevent a lung infection.”
“My innocence is already gone. What’s the point of continuing to live?”
Chu Ying looked utterly miserable. She knelt on the floor and knocked her forehead against it three more times.
“Doctor Xu, please, have mercy and give me a way to live. We’re both widows. Why should one widow make things difficult for another? Right? You… you can just give Qingsong to me!”
Xu You tossed her white coat to Wang Shu, who was standing nearby watching the spectacle, and replied expressionlessly,
“Commander Chen and I aren’t married. There’s no question of me ‘giving’ him to anyone.”
Chu Ying remained kneeling, refusing to get up. She was counting on the fact that, soaked through as she was, ordinary men wouldn’t dare touch her.
She simply wanted to attract the attention of the leaders and force them to give her an explanation.
Unfortunately, Xu You had no intention of giving her that opportunity.
“Even if I’m lucky enough to marry Commander Chen, the three of us will be family from then on. Once we close the door, the three of us can live our lives together and make things work. That’s better than anything else.”
There was a moment of confusion on Chu Ying’s face.
Who wanted to close the door and live as a family of three with you?
What family had three people living together like that?
Taking advantage of Chu Ying’s momentary distraction, Xu You immediately ordered,
“Lift her up and take her to the resuscitation room for examination.”
As she briskly put her white coat back on, Xu You continued giving instructions to the young nurses.
“If the patient starts struggling again, restrain her. I suspect she may have suffered some kind of psychological trauma after falling into the water. Get the head of the psychology department here for a consultation.”
Chen Qingsong watched Xu You walk away, his eyes filled with admiration.
Back then, what had won him over was precisely Xu You’s decisive and efficient command when she was working.
Seeing Chen Qingsong’s eyes practically glued to Xu You’s retreating figure, Wang Shu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed Chen Qingsong hadn’t been seduced by his widowed sister-in-law.
“Commander Chen, have you fallen for our Doctor Xu?”
Chen Qingsong nodded openly.
Wang Shu gave him a look that seemed to say, At least you have good taste.
“Our Doctor Xu has plenty more surprises in store. You’re a lucky man.”
She certainly wasn’t going to tell him just how graceful and alluring Xu You’s figure was beneath that white coat.
He could discover that for himself after they got married.
Inside the resuscitation room, Chu Ying’s coughing could be heard from time to time.
Xu You looked at the examination report.
“Fortunately, you were rescued in time. There’s only a small amount of water in your lungs. You may experience coughing and chest tightness. You’ll need IV fluids for a few days, and you should gradually recover. If your symptoms worsen or you feel particularly unwell, tell the doctor or nurse. Delayed drowning can be fatal.”
Chu Ying coughed so hard that her body doubled over.
“Keep observing her for now. Have internal medicine take over the patient.”
Xu You left the resuscitation room and informed Chu Ying’s family member, Chen Qingsong, of her condition.
Chen Qingsong let out a sigh of relief, then explained himself to Xu You.
“Today is the anniversary of my brother’s death. I had just returned from a mission when I saw my sister-in-law secretly releasing a lotus lantern by the river. I was afraid someone with ulterior motives might see her, so I called out to her. She got frightened and fell into the river…”
Xu You hadn’t expected Chen Qingsong to openly tell her about Chu Ying’s superstitious behavior.
That kind of behavior could get her taken away for ideological education. In serious cases, she could even be sent for labor reform.
Yet Chen Qingsong had told her everything without hiding a thing.
He was making his position perfectly clear:
He had chosen Xu You.
Xu You was very satisfied with his honesty.
“If I had been passing by and saw someone fall into the water, I would have saved her too.”
The weight in Chen Qingsong’s heart finally lifted.
He liked Xu You’s clear-headed nature. But because she was so rational, he sometimes felt as though she didn’t really care whether she had him or not.
Then again, he thought, no matter how outstanding Xu You was, she was still a widow.
He had never been married, and at such a young age, he was already a battalion commander.
For Xu You to marry him would already be marrying above her station.
How could Xu You possibly regard him as someone she could take or leave?