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Chapter 20: Beast

Tan Qishen looked down at her, dark strands of hair falling over his forehead, obscuring the unreadable emotions in his eyes.

The dean, deputy dean, and seven or eight attending-level doctors were all gathered inside Yan Man’s hospital room.

The dean, a man in his fifties, clearly savvy enough to have reached such a position, instantly noticed the unusual relationship between Tan Qishen and the young woman lying on the bed. Speaking with polite respect, he said, “Mr. Tan, perhaps we should wait outside and allow the doctors to examine the young lady.”

Tan Qishen glanced at Yan Man, then turned and walked out of the room.

The group followed after him.

Tan Qishen’s expression was somber, his aura intense and unapproachable. No one dared speak a word. Even the dean and doctors standing nearby felt uneasy.

About twenty minutes later, the doctor who had examined Yan Man walked over. Tan Qishen immediately reacted and asked, “How is she?”

The doctor removed his mask and explained, “It appears Miss Yan had an allergic reaction.”

Tan Qishen frowned. “To what?”

The doctor thought for a moment and then asked, “Mr. Tan, has Miss Yan consumed anything unusual in the past 24 hours? Food, drinks, or medication she hasn’t had before?”

Tan Qishen narrowed his eyes, seemingly recalling something. He dismissed the others, leaving only Luo Xi and Uncle Nan in the room.

He looked up, his deep black eyes fixed on the doctor. His voice was low and hoarse. “Does contraceptive medication count?”

“……”

Uncle Nan was dumbfounded. He had no idea what had happened last night, or why Miss Yan had returned to the Banyan Hotel.

Still, a weight lifted off his heart — at least the medication had been meant for Miss Yan, not some other woman.

Luo Xi widened her eyes and wanted to curse at Tan Qishen but held back.

She reminded herself: He’s the boss. He’s the boss.

The doctor, unfazed, responded in a calm tone, “That explains it. Miss Yan is allergic to an ingredient in the medication. That caused the dizziness, breakthrough bleeding, and other symptoms.”

“If I may ask, Mr. Tan, when did she take the medicine?”

“Just after 3 a.m. today,” Tan Qishen replied without hesitation.

Luo Xi shot Tan Qishen a look that said she wanted to kill him — like she was staring at her worst enemy.

Beast.

Tossed her best friend around till 3 a.m., and didn’t even use protection!

Uncle Nan sensed it was time for outsiders like them to leave. He gave Luo Xi a look, and the two quietly exited the room.

“When was her last period?” the doctor continued.

“Last Monday,” Tan Qishen answered without a second thought.

Even he was surprised at how clearly he remembered something like that about Yan Man.

The doctor nodded. “Thank you, Mr. Tan. Miss Yan needs to stay for observation for a day or two. If she shows no further symptoms after waking up, she can be discharged.”

Tan Qishen nodded.

——

After identifying the allergen, Yan Man was moved to the gynecology ward.

Tan Qishen sat by her bedside, watching her sleep, feeling guilty and frustrated.

The IV needle was inserted into her pale hand, and Tan Qishen waited beside her the whole time.

He didn’t leave the hospital room at all. Even important company documents were personally delivered by his assistant Wen Bo for signing.

By evening, Yan Man finally woke up.

Tan Qishen was in the middle of a video conference but kept watching her from the corner of his eye. When he noticed movement, he immediately removed his headset and got up. “How do you feel? Still dizzy? Should I call the doctor?”

The rapid-fire questions left Yan Man stunned. She blinked, still unclear on what had happened.

She had never seen Tan Qishen this anxious about her.

She instinctively shook her head.

Tan Qishen breathed a sigh of relief, lowering his gaze to look directly at her.

There was a hint of something subtle in the air.

Tan Qishen realized he had just lost control and quickly straightened up, returning to his usual distant demeanor.

Yan Man sat up and spoke hoarsely, “What happened to me?”

“…Sorry.”

Tan Qishen’s voice was calm as usual but carried a rare sincerity. He personally handed her a warm glass of water from the bedside table.

“Huh?”

Yan Man was confused by his apology and imagined a hundred possible reasons for it.

“You had an allergic reaction to the medicine.”

“…Huh?” Yan Man frowned slightly and tried to recall what medication she had taken. Slowly, a faint blush rose on her cheeks.

She had never heard of someone being allergic to that kind of medicine — and yet here she was, the chosen one.

Tan Qishen sat casually on the nearby sofa, his black shirt sleeves rolled up, cufflinks undone. His long fingers rested on the armrest as he looked at her and said, “It was a one-time thing.”

Although what happened last night was an accident, it was still his mistake.

“You’re not entirely to blame…” Yan Man lowered her head — after all, she’d enjoyed herself, too.

“So let’s just call it even. I’m not mad, and you’re not allowed to be mad at me either,” she said suddenly, lifting her head. She didn’t know if he was still angry about what happened, and she still didn’t fully understand what exactly he had been angry about.

“You’re good at settling scores,” Tan Qishen sneered, crossing his legs. He still hadn’t completely cooled down, so he didn’t respond directly.

Then he called Uncle Nan over. “Tell Luo Xi that Yan Man will be resting for the next couple of days.”

“Yes, sir.” Uncle Nan nodded.

Tan Qishen turned to Yan Man. “You’re staying overnight for observation.”

“No need. I feel completely fine now. I can be discharged.”

She really did feel better — no more dizziness or sense of disorientation.

Tan Qishen spoke with finality, “No. I’m not comfortable letting you leave.”

Yan Man didn’t know what to say.

She wasn’t used to Tan Qishen being so overly concerned.

In the end, she had no choice but to stay. Fortunately, she didn’t have any engagements in the next few days, just a training class in two days.

“If you’re busy, you can go,” she said, knowing how packed his schedule usually was. He’d spent the whole afternoon with her, and she figured his work must be piling up. Besides, she wasn’t too eager to have him around at the moment — he was kind of irritating.

“I’m handling everything from here.”

He did have a dinner engagement tonight, but he had already canceled it.

Tan Qishen put his headset back on and resumed the meeting.

Yan Man, seeing him busy, fell silent and reached for her phone.

A flood of messages came in.

Leading the list were missed calls and texts from someone saved as “Ge” (Brother).

[Ge]: Yiyi, how’s Beijing? Mom and Dad miss you. When do you have time to come back?
[Ge]: If you’re too busy, I’ll come to Beijing.

The messages were sent around 2 p.m. — right when Yan Man had fainted and was being rushed to the hospital. Her phone had been on silent, so she hadn’t seen any of it.

Her “brother” was clearly anxious. He had called more than ten times and bombarded her with messages.

[Ge]: Why aren’t you answering? Is something wrong?
[Ge]: I’m coming to Beijing tomorrow.

That last message was from half an hour ago. Yan Man quickly replied:

[Yan Man]: Brother, I’m fine. I was just asleep this afternoon.
[Yan Man]: You don’t need to come. I’m really okay.

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