Chapter 33

The four-day academic conference had ended, and after the flight landed, Lin Yuxi and her fellow doctors took a car back to the city. 

She was a step slower getting into the car, not rushing like the others, and ended up in a seat that no one else wanted.  

In the back sat Director Qiu and the Head of the Medical Department. The younger doctors were all nervous about sitting with the higher-ups. 

With no other choice, Lin Yuxi sat in the front passenger seat. 

The snow had gotten heavier since they left, and although the roads had been cleared, the male colleague driving the car still slowed down. 

He was very good at socializing, chatting and laughing with the two leaders the entire way. Lin Yuxi, however, stayed out of the conversation, replying only to a few important messages on WeChat. 

Tan Xingchen, whose eye surgery had long since healed, still sent her messages daily. The little princess was probably bored from her hospital stay, constantly asking when Lin Yuxi would be back. 

“Why are you ignoring me?” 

“Did you get sold off to Myanmar or something?” 

“My eyes haven’t been feeling great lately. The internet says it could be a side effect. Are you sure you’re skilled enough as a doctor?” 

The goading worked. Lin Yuxi, who normally didn’t bother with her nonsense, replied. 

“During the surgery, there wasn’t enough space, so I had to take out your IQ. You should check if you’re mentally impaired now.” 

Tan Xingchen replied: 

“I’m gonna kill you!!!” 

The message was followed by a sticker of a fierce-looking kitten holding a knife. 

“Director Qiu, Head Zhang, do you two have plans for tonight?” 

The male colleague driving was eager to please. “How about I book a restaurant? I heard that the new Wangyuelou restaurant is pretty good. You both work so hard, and I rarely get a chance to dine with you. Since everyone is here today, how about we invite the colleagues from the other car too and relax over a meal?” 

Both leaders agreed to the suggestion. 

The male colleague then turned to Lin Yuxi. “Dr. Lin, will you join us? We always invite you to group dinners, but you never come. Surely, with Director Qiu and Head Zhang here, you can’t refuse this time?” 

With the invitation extended this far, Lin Yuxi had no reason to refuse. 

“I don’t have any plans tonight, and there’s a case I’m a bit unsure about. I’d like to get Director Qiu’s advice.” 

Head Zhang complimented in a timely manner, “Our Director Qiu may not be the top in ophthalmology, but he’s definitely among the top three. Dr. Lin, you should learn as much as you can from him. Among all the young doctors, Director Qiu thinks the most highly of you.” 

Director Qiu responded, “Dr. Lin is much stronger than I was at her age smart and quick to understand. She has a bright future ahead.” 

The male colleague joked, “That’s for sure! Every unmarried male doctor in the hospital wants to marry Dr. Lin.” 

Lin Yuxi replied in a joking tone, “You know, for women these days, that kind of comment is more of an insult.” 

The cars arrived at the restaurant together. As Lin Yuxi and her colleagues were heading inside, Xu Songwan, who had come with friends, was just walking out. 

“Yuxi?” Xu Songwan was surprised. 

Lin Yuxi stopped to chat, “What a coincidence. You’re eating here too?” 

“It’s my birthday today, so I’m having dinner with some friends,” Xu Songwan said. “I wanted to invite you, but Yunfan told me that the second young master and Shi Tang went skiing, so I thought you were with them and didn’t call you.” 

She seemed apologetic. “I should’ve called you.” 

“No worries, I just got back from a business trip,” Lin Yuxi replied. “Happy birthday.” 

After exchanging a few polite words, Lin Yuxi went inside. 

Before entering the private room, she pulled out her phone and scrolled through her WeChat Moments. 

Unlike Zhou Shengan, who had been groomed as an heir since birth, the Zhou family didn’t seem to have high expectations for Zhou Yanjing. Their hopes for him were likely just to live a carefree, luxurious life.  

While Zhou Shengan had studied economics, finance, international relations, and sociology, Zhou Yanjing didn’t need to. Instead, he was an expert in all the expensive hobbies astronomy, geography, skiing, sailing… mastering them all. 

He was excellent at skiing. When they had planned to go to Iceland for their honeymoon, he had even said he would teach her to ski. 

Unfortunately, that trip never happened. 

Lin Yuxi had a feeling Jiang Nan would be part of this skiing trip. 

Shi Tang’s Moments were often filled with up to ten posts a day, so if they went skiing, he would definitely post something. She wanted to confirm, but unexpectedly, she first saw Jiang Nan’s Moments. 

The location was a ski resort in the northern suburbs. Outside the window was a snowy landscape, and in her selfie, she had accidentally captured others in the background, with Zhou Yanjing right in the center of the frame. 

He was wearing a white ski suit, and the casual, sporty outfit highlighted his tall and well-built physique. His hair naturally fell loosely across his brow, giving him a laid-back appearance. 

It seemed like he was talking to someone nearby, holding half a cigarette between his fingers, with a slight smile on his lips. 

He looked to be in a good mood. 

Lin Yuxi’s eyes fell on Jiang Nan’s caption: 

“First time skiing, so happy~ Thanks to my coach, the young master with precious patience dOge.” 

The tone was obviously referring to Zhou Yanjing. 

Lin Yuxi couldn’t deny feeling a bit down as she looked at Jiang Nan’s smiling face in the photo. 

In truth, Zhou Yanjing hadn’t exactly broken his promise he had just fulfilled it with someone else. 

During the dinner, as expected, there was drinking. At some point, someone brought up Lin Yuxi’s divorce. 

She was beautiful, and almost everyone in the hospital knew her, so her personal gossip spread far and wide. 

“Dr. Lin is so pretty, capable, and has a great personality. Her husband must have been blind to go after someone else. Is that other woman some kind of goddess?” 

“Let me tell you, men are just like that. No matter how good things are at home, they’re never satisfied. Take our Head of Anesthesiology, Director Hu, for example he got involved with a nurse, and that nurse isn’t even as good-looking as me.” 

“I heard he’s even been with escorts. His wife is so classy, and her father works at the Prosecutor’s Office. She comes from a great family too.” 

The more the women talked, the angrier they became. Some of the male colleagues around the table looked uncomfortable, and one of them cleared his throat to change the subject. 

“Dr. Lin won’t have any trouble finding someone new, even if she’s divorced, so you all don’t need to worry.” 

The male colleague from earlier, whose face had turned beet red after just a few drinks, used the alcohol as an excuse to make a bold joke: 

“Dr. Lin, how about considering someone from our own team? What do you think of me?” 

He was quickly shot down by a blunt female colleague: “I think you’re like a pile of cow dung!” 

The table erupted in laughter, leaving the male colleague looking even more embarrassed, his face reddening further like a liver. 

Since they were all colleagues and higher-ups from the same hospital, when someone offered her a drink, Lin Yuxi couldn’t refuse, and by the end, she was tipsy. 

She politely declined a male colleague’s offer to drive her home and instead called for a taxi herself. 

Feeling a bit dizzy, she leaned back in the car to rest. When the driver announced they had arrived, she got out of the car, only to realize she wasn’t at Songyun Bay, but at a villa in the northern suburbs. 

She must have really been drunk and given the wrong address. 

Lin Yuxi was a sentimental person, which was why, when Zhou Yanjing had given her the chance to make a request, she had chosen this villa. 

The value of the house was one thing, but more than that, it had once held great significance for her. 

But unfortunately, Zhou Yanjing had refused to give it to her. 

Since she was already there, Lin Yuxi walked up the steps and unlocked the door. 

Over the past two years, she had come here alone a few times, mostly in the period right after Zhou Yanjing had moved to New York. 

Eventually, as she moved on, she came less frequently. 

Though no one lived in the villa long-term, the property manager would come regularly to check on it and clean. In the winter, the floor heating was always turned on, so the place would be ready for its owner to stay anytime. 

The corresponding property management fees were expensive, and Zhou Yanjing wasn’t wrong her salary really couldn’t cover it. 

Without turning on the lights, Lin Yuxi walked to the living room and sat on the sofa. 

The wine she had drunk at dinner left her feeling slightly buzzed, and she lazily curled up on the sofa. The familiarity of the place brought back memories. 

For those six months back then, Zhou Yanjing had been so good to her, unbearably gentle, like sweet honey so sweet it became addictive. She hadn’t realized it was laced with poison. 

Suddenly, a burst of light stung Lin Yuxi’s eyes. Instinctively, she raised her arm to shield them. 

When her eyes adjusted to the light, she sat up from the sofa. 

Seeing the man coming down the stairs in a robe, she froze for a moment, unsure if she was hallucinating from having drunk too much. 

The black silk robe draped smoothly over Zhou Yanjing’s body. He had loosely tied the belt, revealing glimpses of his muscular chest and abs, hinting at the strength of a mature man.