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Chapter 8

“Wrap around Dr. Shen’s slender waist.”

The question was so sudden that Shen Qingshi was momentarily unable to answer.

“No, no, no, don’t misunderstand. It’s like this — our retest is definitely different from your medical field’s. We don’t really need specific experimental project results or how many SCI papers someone has published. What’s most important is the persona. The persona has to make the teachers find you interesting, attractive, memorable, and very unique. It’s not just about appearance,” Chu Zhixia twisted her fingers nervously and slowly explained to him.

In art colleges, the cultural test during the retest isn’t very different or crucial. If you dare to apply and dare to take the test, your professional ability probably won’t be too bad. The key factor is “eye affinity” — a vague, almost abstract concept.

It’s not like science and engineering which have relatively concrete data and more rational evaluation criteria.

“Eye affinity” is really abstract.

Shen Qingshi was silent for a few seconds and truthfully told her, “I studied in an eight-year program, never took graduate entrance exams, and I’m not clear about the selection criteria in art colleges.”

“I know,” she said.

Chu Zhixia took a step closer. She had looked up his information on the hospital’s page: an eight-year integrated doctoral program in stomatology, two years of exchange at Oxford, and a PhD in biomedical engineering—genuinely a dual-degree in two cutting-edge, highly sought interdisciplinary fields. He was outstanding beyond words. She tossed her fluffy long hair back and looked up at him, “So I just wanted to ask you simply — what do you think is the most attractive part of me?”

“I want to amplify that most attractive point.”

For a moment, the room was very quiet.

It was a spring afternoon, the laziest and most carefree time of day. Bright spring sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling window in streaks, coating her hair ends and cheeks with light.

They were so close that he could see the fine small peach fuzz on her face, her clear and clean complexion, and her slightly upturned apricot-colored eyes shimmering like spring water, wider than usual.

Her lips were soft and glossy like cherry blossoms, delicate and slender like a swan’s neck.

Shen Qingshi turned his eyes away.

“Sorry, I still have something to do.”

He glanced down at his silver wristwatch, then turned his back and walked straight to the shoe cabinet to change shoes.

“I’ll organize the papers and corpus you asked for and send them to you. Thank you for your hospitality,” he said, then unlocked the door, went outside, and pressed the elevator button.

Chu Zhixia: “…”

I didn’t even treat him to anything.

Watching the red numbers on the elevator rise, Shen Qingshi entered and nodded politely yet distantly and coldly to say goodbye.

She had no idea what she might have done to offend this young gentleman.

Feeling a little confused, Chu Zhixia watched the elevator go down, went back inside, closed the door, and sat on the sofa.

He had been quite warm at the start, even telling her not to call him “you” (formal).

Chu Zhixia thought for a moment, then gave up trying to think.

She hadn’t really expected an answer anyway.

Still, looking at the papers he had browsed through, she had originally planned to spend several days meticulously preparing and organizing English materials, but now it should be much easier.

It was quite a gain after all.

---

Shen Qingshi did as he said.

Three days later, around the time Chu Zhixia had another dental appointment, she received files from him divided into two compressed folders. The first was English papers related to drama, all aligned with her advisor’s research focus on CNKI papers, covering the latest foreign developments. The second was English corpus based on her previously compiled materials, including drama, traditional Chinese opera, theater, and also core English theories related to modern Western literary theory, sociology, aesthetics, and communication theory.

Perhaps worried she wouldn’t understand, some parts were even annotated in Chinese, such as “Althusser’s interpellation,” “Manovich’s database logic,” “Stiegler’s symbolic impoverishment,” etc.

Exactly the kind of jargon she needed.

But he was meticulous, seeming to try hard to help her understand the concepts. Chu Zhixia even began to doubt her memory — that day, had she offended him in any way?

On the contrary, she had been very hospitable to him?

[Thanks a lot, boss!]

As soon as she received it, Chu Zhixia immediately replied on WeChat.

But until she carefully finished reading all the English papers and corpus he sent, edited and reorganized them, and formed new, easier-to-memorize English Q&A, he didn’t reply.

[Bringing you milk tea tonight. ^ ^]

Her follow-up dental visit was an extra appointment, again in the evening. Chu Zhixia remembered promising “a little bit” last time.

[No need.]

This time, no more than an hour or two passed before he probably finished eating and replied.

[Thanks.]

A very polite refusal.

But Chu Zhixia had already placed the order and quickly replied, “[Dr. Shen, do you also study drama?]”

Dr. Shen’s memory was frighteningly good. He had glanced through her thick thesis once and remembered all its directions, the entire framework and key points of her corpus — she even wanted to ask if he took a photo, as she herself was confused.

Still, Chu Zhixia believed he must understand some of it.

“A rich young master, Oxford, UK, elite among elites” — these keywords combined didn’t sound like someone who’d never seen a play.

He might even have seen more drama than she had live.

But this time, Shen Qingshi didn’t reply again.

---

Hospital cafeteria.

“Senior brother, what are you looking at? Any important notices?” Li Dacheng — the person Chu Zhixia had once mistaken for Shen Qingshi — had retaken the college entrance exam for two years, got admitted to a top medical school, then went on to get a master’s and doctoral degree at University A. Though older than most, he was theoretically Shen Qingshi’s junior apprentice brother.

Shen Qingshi put down his phone and said, “Nothing.”

Li Dacheng found it odd. They had trained together for years and somewhat understood this youngest senior brother.

Though no one knew his family background and everyone tacitly avoided the topic, in day-to-day work and study, they could sense something very different about him.

More specifically, Shen Qingshi hardly ever used his phone at meals unless there was very important news.

But from the start just now, Shen Qingshi had checked his phone several times.

While eating, Li Dacheng glanced at him sideways, holding back curiosity, then finally asked, “Senior brother, have you run into something recently?” He wanted to ask about romance but restrained himself.

---

Li Dacheng asked very indirectly, but Shen Qingshi still caught it. He didn’t pay much attention, quietly glanced at him, and asked back, “What is it?”

He rarely spoke during meals.

Li Dacheng was just about finished eating, quickly shoveling the last few bites, then stood up holding his tray. Before leaving, he smiled and said, “I saw your dark circles and got worried about you.”

He held the tray with one hand and pointed to his own lower eyelid with the other, “You’re almost turning into a giant panda.”

Shen Qingshi: “…”

Li Dacheng quickly ran off.

This senior brother must come from an extraordinary background, but fortunately, he was gentle and considerate to everyone — whether fellow disciples or patients. He was caring and magnanimous, never angry.

But as the senior brother, he was not to be trifled with.

---

Evening.

After several consecutive sunny days starting Sunday, this morning had a gentle spring rain, which stopped by noon. The air was fresh and moist. It was a bit chilly in the evening, so Chu Zhixia worried the milk tea would get cold and timed it so the delivery guy would arrive at the hospital entrance just in time. She didn’t even know what he liked to drink, maybe he didn’t want any at all, but since she had offered, she wanted to follow through.

Besides, the English materials were really useful — they saved her at least three or four days of intensive, sleepless organizing and memorizing. She squeezed in studying whenever she could, feeling relieved and genuinely grateful to him.

She definitely wanted to treat him to a meal or thank him some other way — but she couldn’t think of how just yet. As for a meal, she already knew Shen Qingshi would 100% refuse.

So she decided to just buy the milk tea first.

Passing a bakery, she also picked up a cute little dessert.

The evening was quite chilly. Chu Zhixia wore a white camisole maxi dress with a light gray thin knit cardigan over it. She always felt he liked this look — her long hair simply tied up with a soft pink satin scrunchie giving a gentle misty feel.

Pure and lovely, but it was still too cold. Early March breezes slipped through, and she shivered. Fortunately, the hospital wasn’t busy in the evening, no waiting, she went straight in.

She had come a bit early to avoid being late. Walking into the clinic, Shen Qingshi was there facing away, tidying dental instruments.

His tall, slender figure in a white coat, straight back, broad shoulders tapering to a narrow waist, long legs, his slightly bowed head revealing a delicate, fair neck that looked impeccably clean and gentle to the bone.

Outside, the early evening lights contrasted with the quiet, aloof air about him.

No, how could anyone look so good even while working—

She deliberately kept her footsteps light, seeing that he didn’t seem to notice and the clinic was nearly empty, she stepped closer and couldn’t resist lightly wrapping her arms around his narrow waist from behind, as if to tease him.

“Dr. Shen!”

Her voice was soft and coquettish close to his ear.

— Fingers tightly intertwined, having visited his home, patted his shoulder — Chu Zhixia just felt he wouldn’t get angry.

Maybe he wouldn’t even dislike it?

Sure enough, the man only tensed slightly. Chu Zhixia felt his lean waist tighten, his broad back stiffen slightly, his breath held, but he didn’t reflexively push her away.

Afraid of being seen, she quickly withdrew her hand after only a second or two.

The man’s crisp and pure scent made her a little dizzy. After calming down, she put the bags with the milk tea and dessert beside his computer, gave a small nod as if nothing had happened, and sat down in the dental chair, fiddling with her hair.

In truth, her heart was pounding hard, her cheeks flushed, and she didn’t dare meet his eyes again.

After a while, Shen Qingshi still faced away, no response.

The clinic was very quiet; the only sound was the slight noise of his long fingers touching the instruments.

Outside, the wind stirred the treetops with rustling sounds.

And inside, her heart continued pounding uncontrollably.

Shen Qingshi kept organizing, deeply silent. As time ticked by, Chu Zhixia became a bit anxious, gripping the chair — had she really misjudged? Had she made a mistake?

If she hadn’t seen his ears flushed bright red under the light, or the somewhat flustered, unnatural sounds of him tidying things, she might have knelt and admitted fault…

But still—

After waiting a while longer and seeing he still didn’t speak…

Damn it!!!

Whether she had misread or misunderstood, anyway — Dr. Shen was clearly displeased.

“Dr. Shen, I—”

She was wrong, really wrong. She shouldn’t have been so bold and rude to a handsome man—

“I… I… just now…”

Seeing her stammer, Shen Qingshi was silent for a moment, then put down the instruments and finally turned around.

He wore a white medical mask, pressing the edge lightly, revealing a sharp nose line. His eyes were black as ink, a bit dim, showing no emotion.

Chu Zhixia sighed slightly in relief. Seeing him like this didn’t seem angry or upset.

“Working hours.” Shen Qingshi stepped closer, voice low and calm, almost emotionless but with a trace of helplessness.

“Mm, I know. It was my fault.” Chu Zhixia played with her hair, lowered her head, obediently and sincerely apologized.

“I just saw you so agitated, I couldn’t control myself…”

She was reflecting!

Shouldn’t be blinded by beauty!

Hearing her say “you” again, Shen Qingshi looked down at her briefly, faintly frowned, then sighed softly.

Seeing him sigh, Chu Zhixia opened her eyes wide, her lashes trembling, but his tone remained calm, with no clear displeasure or anger.

“I already told you — no need to call me ‘you’ (formal).”

“Won’t next time.”

“Mm.” He said no more, didn’t mention the gentle hug again, as if it was just a harmless little prank. Sitting beside her, long legs on the floor, he switched on the dental light, drawing closer.

Because of that little incident, Chu Zhixia behaved very well the rest of the time.

The second root canal treatment was supposed to be a bit uncomfortable—using thin long files drilling inside her teeth, accompanied by the buzzing of the drill echoing through the skull. It was not only physically unpleasant but also mentally tormenting, so many patients jokingly called it the “soul extraction surgery.” But Chu Zhixia’s mind was full of wondering whether Dr. Shen had been angry just now, paying no attention to anything else.

“Dr. Shen.”

Finding a moment, Chu Zhixia got up to rinse her mouth, spit out the bloody foam, wiped the corner of her lips with a neck towel, then turned to ask him, “Were you angry just now?”

“No.”

Shen Qingshi met her moist, watery eyes and said firmly, “No.”

Having gotten the answer, Chu Zhixia finally relaxed, leaned back her neck, stared at a spot on the ceiling, but couldn’t help asking, “Then, are you happy?”