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Chapter 9

Faint sweetness

She eased her breathing, quietly and slowly waiting for his answer, her chest rising and falling, fingers twisted together by her side.

But after waiting a long time, Shen Qingshi still said nothing.

“Come.” He bent down again. The root canal tools were ready. With two fingers, he held her chin, guiding her to slowly open her mouth. He pressed down her always-sensitive, curled-up tongue, then inserted the suction tube into her mouth.

The touch on her chin was warm, but before she could savor the feeling, Shen Qingshi released his hand, picked up the root canal tool, and focused calmly on his work.

Because of the cleaning, her mouth always tasted faintly of blood and grit.

Chu Zhixia couldn’t speak.

She could only quietly wait.

This procedure was supposed to be complex and painful. The drill looked quite intimidating — cold and thin, and just by the feel, she knew it was drilling around the nerves inside her tooth. But Shen Qingshi’s movements were gentle, precise, and steady. Chu Zhixia didn’t feel very scared or uncomfortable. In fact… she even somewhat enjoyed it?

She kept wanting to look at him but felt shy to do so openly, so she glanced secretly—and quickly noticed the dark circles under his eyes.

Their eyes met. Shen Qingshi’s hand paused, very close to her. His long lashes shaded his clear, calm eyes, but inside was an unmistakable worry and concern. He softly asked, “Does it hurt?”

Chu Zhixia shook her head quickly, her heart tightening.

She thought of the carefully organized papers and corpora he sent her earlier that morning, and felt even more guilty.

“Sorry.” After the treatment was done and her tooth was sealed with temporary material again, she pressed her right cheek, rinsed her mouth, took off her neck towel, sat up straight in the dental chair, and sincerely said, “Thank you.”

“No need to thank me.” Shen Qingshi cleaned the tools she had used. The second treatment was the hardest part—it was what he should do.

Chu Zhixia said, “I mean the English papers and corpora. Thank you so much.”

“It’s good if it helps you.” After cleaning up, he turned around, removed his gloves, and as usual, started organizing medical records on the computer while checking the schedule for the next appointment.

Chu Zhixia stood, hugging the small bag from the nearby table. Emotionally sensitive, she always felt something was a bit off since he suddenly left last time—a subtle coldness and distance under his cultured manner.

This time was the same. He was still very careful and patient during the treatment—she even felt he seemed to care more than before.

But…

Chu Zhixia bit her lip, looking at his dark circles. Not so naive, she said, “Of course it helped a lot. It saved me at least three days of all-nighters studying.”

Hearing “all-nighters,” Shen Qingshi finally couldn’t help but look up again, reminding her, “Rest well, don’t stay up late.”

“I know!”

Sure enough, he was really worried about her; his care during treatment wasn’t fake.

Take it slow.

Chu Zhixia said, “I drove myself today, so I won’t hold you up. I’ll head off first.”

“Okay, be careful on the road.”

He had already printed the registration form and appointment time. She could just pay at the machine outside, where the time would be displayed.

Shen Qingshi glanced at the corner of the table, thinking she’d forgotten something, “Your things.”

“These are for you,” Chu Zhixia looked around to confirm everyone left in the clinic was far away and wouldn’t notice. These things weren’t expensive and surely wouldn’t cause trouble, she said quietly, “If the milk tea gets cold, don’t drink it. But this cream puff is super delicious—you have to try it! And it’s really cute, pistachio flavor!”

She lifted the packaging like showing treasure, saying “super cute.” Shen Qingshi instinctively looked over—the puff was yellow and plump, with a crispy crust and a belly full of pistachio cream, pale green oozing out. Hard to say what was “cute” about it.

So that’s what he liked—cute things.

Chu Zhixia smiled, “Dr. Shen, be happy every day.”

“Senior Brother, be happy every day.”

For several days in a row, when Li Dacheng finished eating and carried his tray away, he’d always leave that cheerful phrase. That day in the clinic, Chu Zhixia spoke softly, but Li Dacheng listened carefully and clearly heard her.

Shen Qingshi: “…”

He paused with chopsticks in hand, then gently put them down.

The hospital had been busy lately, especially the Department of Endodontics where he worked—a key department of the A University Dental Hospital. It was among the first nationally recognized key clinical specialties, having received multiple national science and health ministry grants. The department demanded a lot from young doctors—not just top clinical skills but research, publications, and results. Shen Qingshi was the youngest attending physician in recent years with a bright future, and extremely busy.

He returned home close to eleven at night.

On a whim, he opened the fridge and took out the unopened box of pistachio cream puffs and the milk tea.

Of course, the milk tea was now undrinkable—it had been put in there casually when he got home. Why he hadn’t just thrown everything away or let the housekeeper take it, even he wasn’t sure.

The fridge had nothing else.

— Dr. Shen, be happy every day.

Maybe because Li Dacheng said it so many times, it stuck in his mind.

Her sparkling, round eyes like a precious gift.

The stubborn way she endured discomfort in the dental chair, not wanting to disturb him.

And that day—the sudden soft, delicate arm slipping around his waist through his coat… and even boldly teasing a little.

Thinking of this, his face suddenly felt warm. He quickly put those hot items back in and closed the fridge door tightly.

But finally, he gave in, opening it again. The orange light inside illuminated his pale, slightly flushed face. He first threw away the spoiled milk tea, then took out the box with the cream puffs, opening the wrapper on top.

Because of family reasons, he wasn’t allowed to eat sweets and rarely touched them.

He picked up one, stared at its crispy crust for a long time, checked the ingredient list carefully, then finally bit into it with eyes closed.

The rich pistachio cream instantly filled his mouth, though clearly not very fresh.

But…

He lowered his head, quickly put the rest back, swallowed carefully, rinsed his fingers with cold water, and had to admit—

The taste was indeed acceptable.

With a faint, almost imperceptible sweetness.

…

After that dental visit, Chu Zhixia stayed home and studied quietly for a while. She didn’t bother Dr. Shen anymore. But when tired, she couldn’t help opening his WeChat avatar and Moments, checking what he posted next.

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They were all just forwarded posts from public accounts, probably required by the leadership—things like “United in Medicine — Launch of the Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases,” “Heart Distance! Successful Multidisciplinary Consultation on Difficult Oral Cases in Remote Areas,” “Bethune-Style Good Doctor”… very boring.

Before she knew it, it was already March 20th, the day the lists for the written exam results and the re-examination were released. If she didn’t get in now, there really was no point in taking the exam anymore, as many schools had already started their re-examinations.

Once the list was out, the re-exam schedule and detailed arrangements quickly followed, which meant only eight or nine days remained.

The atmosphere was completely different now. There was none of the initial joy and pride that came with good preliminary exam scores. Back then, she had just started studying, hadn’t fully gotten into the groove yet, and was still enjoying a relaxed winter break, with time to flirt and explore romance.

Now, Chu Zhixia woke up with study on her mind every day, running back and forth between rehearsal rooms and home—practicing oral English, monologues, and dancing. She even became obsessed with scoring calculations, taking scraps of paper to do math whenever she had time.

A University still valued practical skills a lot. The preliminary and re-exams each counted for 50%, but the preliminary was out of 500 points while the re-exam was out of 200. Converted, each point in the re-exam was much more valuable than in the prelims.

Zhou Haoying was a little genius. After returning to school, she investigated many institutions and dug into the backgrounds of all those who made it to the re-exam list with her.

There were 9 candidates, but only 3 would be admitted.

They would be ranked by the total of preliminary plus re-exam scores, but failing the interview meant an automatic veto.

Chu Zhixia was ranked only fifth. She always thought her score—over 380—would put her comfortably in the top three.

Except for her, almost everyone else was a professional fresh graduate. Zhou Haoying even shared official photos from their performances. Chu Zhixia glanced briefly and saw they were typical good-looking art exam candidates—pretty or handsome.

Four males, five females.

But maybe because Chu Zhixia had looked at Shen Qingshi’s godlike handsome face so many times, she felt that although the boys were handsome, something was missing.

As the exam got closer, Chu Zhixia found herself wanting to see Shen Qingshi more and more.

That feeling grew stronger and stronger.

The last dental appointment had been scheduled in the afternoon due to timing conflicts with a vocal teacher who often changed her schedule. Chu Zhixia had no choice but to ask Dr. Shen to postpone it.

Dr. Shen, as always considerate of patients, naturally understood. The third and fourth treatments weren’t much, so they could be combined.

Thinking like that, there was only one treatment left.

Only… one last time?

Chu Zhixia circled March 24th on her calendar with a pen. Suddenly, she felt that everything must have an ending—it always does.

Like her dental treatment, like her exams.

If the endings are destined, one must still walk through the whole journey. The only thing that can change is how you try your best on this path.

No regrets, and that’s enough.

Thinking this gave Chu Zhixia an immense courage. She clenched her phone, opened WeChat, clicked on Shen Qingshi’s avatar, and quickly typed a message:

“Dr. Shen, the date got postponed. I keep feeling some discomfort in my tooth. Could it be that I bit into the temporary filling when eating cucumber last time? TVT”

She had a premonition but thought it wouldn’t be so unlucky, and she had a follow-up appointment soon anyway…

“But I really can’t find time to go to the hospital now. TVT So many teachers every day.”

After sending, she brushed her long hair hanging behind her, studying lines while waiting patiently.

It must be late.

So late she was a little sleepy, rubbing her eyes.

Suddenly her phone vibrated on the carpet.

“Wait for me.”

Before Chu Zhixia could react further, heart racing, another message quickly popped up:

“I’m off work soon, I’ll come over in a bit.”

Ahhhhhh!

Chu Zhixia gripped her phone tightly, rereading the two messages twice, feeling her palms heat up, and her heartbeat race wildly.

“You, you’re coming to me?”

After sending, she felt a little silly—where else would he go so late? Surely not the owners’ center.

She glanced at the time: already past nine.

She’d been waking at 5 a.m. daily for early training lately, no wonder she was so tired and sleepy.

Seeing no reply, guessing he might be driving, she quickly added:

“Can you wait for me a bit? After rehearsing all day, I’m soaking with sweat and must shower. If you get there early, have the housekeeper let you in and wait downstairs for a bit. I’ll be quick.”

After sending, she tossed her phone aside and rushed into the bathroom.

She hurried to shower and do skincare, with no time for makeup. Dressed and ready, she rushed downstairs but was still a little late.

The housekeeper sent her several WeChat messages saying there was a visitor—the handsome guy from last time!!! She had already opened the gate and he was waiting on the first floor.

Chu Zhixia replied “Okay!!!” while frantically pressing the elevator button to go down.

She waited anxiously inside the elevator, never regretting more buying an apartment on the top floor—so high up.

Finally, the red number hit 1.

The elevator dinged and slowly opened.

Through some fresh green plants, Chu Zhixia caught sight of a tall, slender figure standing beside the crimson sofa.

She held her breath and hurried toward him—