Zhou Chaosheng’s mind went completely blank for several seconds.
The sound of the rain continued, the wipers scraping, and time seemed to stretch infinitely in that moment—paused, stretched, paused again.
Back and forth, restless and unbearable.
He could feel the other person’s fingers sinking into his hair, long and strong, brushing against his scalp, sending a tingling current through him.
Jiang Yuanye let him go.
Light returned to his vision.
The breath that had been tangled in the air between them was fleeting.
He blinked twice.
His brain, now free from the haze, suddenly realized that his arch-enemy had kissed his thumb, not his lips.
Damn.
He was just joking…
But Jiang Yuanye really kissed him?!
"Does this... prove it?"
The arch-enemy met his gaze at such a close distance.
Outside, the white incandescent light sliced through the thin, heavy rain mist, reflecting in Jiang Yuanye’s unblinking eyes, staring right at him.
Zhou Chaosheng could feel his own reflection in Jiang Yuanye’s eyes.
Bright, full of life.
This whole scene...
Sure enough, the arch-enemy’s methods of disgusting him had reached a whole new level.
Zhou Chaosheng thought blankly.
No, he couldn’t lose to him.
He’d just kiss a dog for now.
Once they were done at the hospital, he would scrub his lips hundreds of times.
With that thought, Zhou Chaosheng’s gaze on Jiang Yuanye grew more and more off.
Being stared at so directly by the latter, Jiang Yuanye felt something was off.
At the moment of foreboding, Zhou Chaosheng’s face was already growing larger in his field of vision.
He tried to move away, but Jiang Yuanye didn’t give him the chance.
Zhou Chaosheng unbuttoned his shirt with his left hand, the seatbelt retracting from his chest to the right. Without the restraint, he braced his hands on the center console and leaned forward. His right hand reached up to grab the back of Jiang Yuanye’s neck—
Quickly, he kissed him.
The kiss was quick, then immediately parted.
Jiang Yuanye felt his whole body go numb.
The sensation on his lips was soft, warm, and full of that tingling electricity, sending waves of numbness from his head to his toes, again and again.
Damn...
Damn damn damn damn damn damn...
Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah he’s not clean anymore ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!
"You fucking..."
"Hmm?"
Jiang Yuanye paused, his expression twisted as he said, "Your lips are really soft."
Zhou Chaosheng: "...."
"Oh, thanks."
The car fell into an eerie silence.
After a long while, Zhou Chaosheng spoke, "My legs hurt."
Jiang Yuanye: "Tough it out."
Zhou Chaosheng glanced at him, "Are you angry?"
Jiang Yuanye: "…No."
Zhou Chaosheng: "So you’re not angry? Then it’s just that you don’t want to kiss me?"
Jiang Yuanye: "..."
Zhou Chaosheng: "Are we really a couple?"
Jiang Yuanye twisted his face in confusion, then reluctantly nodded, "Mm."
Zhou Chaosheng: "Then why, when I kissed you, did you look so unwilling? It was like I was a thief forcing you into prostitution."
Jiang Yuanye’s expression remained neutral. "You’re mistaken."
"Really?"
"Yes." Jiang Yuanye’s expression became somewhat impatient. "Aren’t your legs hurting? Let’s hurry up and see the doctor, or there won’t be any specialists left."
Seeing that he had completely angered Jiang Yuanye, Zhou Chaosheng couldn’t help but curl his lips slightly.
"Okay, I’ll do what you say."
Jiang Yuanye suddenly turned his head, panic on his face as he stared at him.
Zhou Chaosheng pretended to be clueless, "What’s wrong?"
Jiang Yuanye’s expression grew more complicated. "Are you okay?"
Zhou Chaosheng: "I’m fine."
Jiang Yuanye: "…Then why did you say that?"
Zhou Chaosheng countered, "Aren’t you my lover?"
Jiang Yuanye hesitated. "Yeah..."
Zhou Chaosheng smiled, "That’s how I treat my lover."
Jiang Yuanye: "Wait, you believe me now?"
Zhou Chaosheng nodded.
Jiang Yuanye widened his eyes. "Why? Just because I kissed you first?"
That’s way too easy to trick, he thought.
Zhou Chaosheng hummed. "I’m just temporarily believing you. I’ll need to keep observing."
Jiang Yuanye: "..."
It’s not like we’re doing a project, why keep inspecting everything?
"Forget it, just leave it like this." Jiang Yuanye suppressed the urge to wipe his lips, irritably thinking for a moment about unlocking the door. He said, "You stay here, I’ll go get the wheelchair for you."
He then reached behind the seat, fumbled around for a while, found the umbrella, and opened the car door to get out.
Zhou Chaosheng watched him get out of the car. After the door was closed and Jiang Yuanye turned to walk toward the back of the car, Zhou Chaosheng finally stopped smiling and, with a blank expression, pulled a tissue from the compartment in front of him. He wiped his lips hard, scrubbing several times.
He only stopped when the pain in his lips became too much. His peripheral vision caught the reflection in the rearview mirror, faintly seeing Jiang Yuanye take out the wheelchair, close the back door, and then stuff the tissue into his coat pocket.
The car door was opened from the outside, and a cool breeze with fine rain blew across his face. Zhou Chaosheng blinked, the long lashes brushing away the misty droplets.
A black umbrella opened above him, casting a small shadow on the ground.
Three bodyguards quickly ran up from behind Jiang Yuanye, and the umbrella expanded like a massive canopy, shielding Jiang Yuanye completely.
One of the bodyguards held the umbrella with one hand and helped Jiang Yuanye unfold the folding wheelchair with the other.
Jiang Yuanye’s umbrella was the standard size, just enough to cover two people. With the addition of the wheelchair, it felt a bit crowded.
So, a thoughtful bodyguard handed Jiang Yuanye a larger umbrella.
Jiang Yuanye took it, his hand that had been holding the umbrella tilted slightly, and he quickly exchanged it, extending the large umbrella out of the car door.
"Come down, my young master."
Though the words were teasing, the tone sounded almost as if he were offering something with reverence.
Zhou Chaosheng’s ears twitched slightly, feeling inexplicably itchy.
Even though he had been called "young master" for twenty-six years, hearing it from Jiang Yuanye’s mouth somehow felt different this time—awkward, yet also unfamiliar.
"Don’t treat me like that."
"Why not? Aren’t you the young master?"
Jiang Yuanye paused, feigning sudden realization. "Oh! I get it~ You want me to call you ‘baby,’ right?"
"Why didn’t you say so earlier, baby~ baby baby~"
The bodyguards standing by: "!"
Zhou Chaosheng, who had just been assisted into the wheelchair: "...."
—
This week’s shift schedule had Zhong Mei and Ai Jingqing working together.
They sat at the front desk, greeting and assisting patients with their basic appointments, keeping a sweet smile on their faces. When their smiles started to stiffen, they’d rub their faces and take a sip of goji berry tea to soothe their throats.
The morning was fine, but by afternoon, it became harder to maintain their smiles. Their bodies were filled with the numbness and exhaustion of a long workday.
When there were fewer patients in the hospital, they’d finally have some time to chat and gossip.
But since they were at work, their conversations were limited to idle chatter.
Without sunflower seeds, they felt the gossip wasn’t as satisfying as usual.
"Do you think Director Liang’s promotion from deputy to full-time has anything to do with last month’s surgery?" Ai Jingqing asked.
"I don’t know, but I’ve been hearing a lot of people talking about it lately. It must be true," Zhong Mei replied.
"Director Liang is really lucky," Ai Jingqing said with some envy.
"Why do you say that?" Zhong Mei feigned confusion.
"I heard from a little birdie that the patient Director Liang operated on was a young master from the Zhou family in Kyoto, with deep connections and immense power. Director Liang successfully saved their only son’s life, which means he’s definitely climbed a big ladder," Ai Jingqing said.
Zhong Mei lowered her eyelashes.
She, of course, knew who the saved person was, and she had known from the beginning.
She had grown up in Kyoto and knew the people in that circle very well. Becoming a nurse here was just a way to gain experience. She had originally planned to be promoted and transferred to Kyoto three months ago.
But Zhou Chaosheng’s arrival made her reconsider this plan.
When Zhou Chaosheng first arrived, she had been looking for a chance to approach him, but the man was elusive, never giving her an "accidental encounter."
It wasn’t until a month ago when he got into a car accident.
She seized the opportunity, going to his hospital room every day to change his bandages, administer medicine, and give him IV drips—just to get familiar with him.
But all he remembered was her title. Every time he spoke to her, it was always "Nurse."
Zhong Mei felt disheartened and, turning to the family group chat, typed, "Dad, Mom, I really tried my best (╯_╰). In front of Zhou Chaosheng, even my phone is more attractive than me."
Her dad sent a lazy expression emoji: "Pathetic."
Her mom, always comforting, replied, "Sweetheart, you’re so beautiful, if he doesn’t notice you, it’s his bad luck."
Zhong Mei immediately responded with a crying emoticon.
There was also her younger brother in the family chat, who was sixteen. He grew up hearing stories about Zhou Chaosheng and could be considered a half-hearted fanboy. After seeing their discussion, he jumped in, saying, "Sis, I heard Zhou Ge has amnesia now. How’s he doing? Is he okay? If possible, could you get me his contact info?"
Zhong Mei, still mired in her disappointment over "not catching the person," snapped in frustration and sent a "go away" emoji with the text: "Go away."
Her younger brother, being mischievous, teased, "My Zhou Ge has high standards, he wouldn’t look at you anyway."
She replied with a "smash" emoji.
The two of them started arguing, and their mom, used to this by now, didn’t intervene and quietly retreated from the conversation.
In the end, feeling vexed, Zhong Mei typed, "I suspect Zhou Ge has some underlying condition. If you ever get his contact, tell him to stop hiding his illness."
For some reason, when her younger brother saw this, he became unusually quiet.
That argument ended with Zhong Mei winning.
Later, as Zhong Mei carefully reflected on the situation, she came to realize there were probably two main reasons for it.
The first was that Zhou Chaosheng was known in the industry for his clean personal life, unlike others who had messy private lives. Even her sixteen-year-old brother, who went to an international school, had already been with girls, leading many in the circle to speculate that Zhou Chaosheng might have issues in that area.
The second reason was his background in medicine, which gave him more credibility when it came to matters like this. Zhong Mei’s brother likely believed the rumors, and that's why he didn't say anything and just remained cautious.
Zhong Mei imagined her brother’s expression upon hearing this and couldn’t help but laugh quietly.
"Xiaomei, what are you laughing at?" Ai Qingqing asked.
"I…" Zhong Mei was about to reply when, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a few familiar figures walking into the hospital. Her words stopped abruptly.
"Isn't that... Zhou Chaosheng?"
She raised an eyebrow in surprise, but her gaze was soon drawn to the person behind him, pushing his wheelchair.
Jiang Yuanye? What’s he doing here?
Seeing familiar faces, Zhong Mei couldn’t help but call out, "Senior!"
Zhou Chaosheng turned toward the front desk at the sound of his name. With his vision above 5.0, he naturally saw who it was. At first glance, he thought she seemed familiar, and then he remembered her as the nurse who had been changing his bandages during his hospital stay.
Many patients around them started whispering, wondering why this nurse was being so loud and calling someone out in front of everyone.
Ai Qingqing, standing next to Zhong Mei, had her eyes light up, and she discreetly tugged at Zhong Mei’s sleeve. In a low voice, she said, "Xiaomei, how come you didn’t introduce such a handsome guy to me?"
After a pause, she shifted her gaze to Zhou Chaosheng, lowering her voice even more, "And, by the way, it seems like your senior has a special connection with him. Want to inquire a bit? We could get to know each other..."
Zhong Mei, still frustrated with herself for calling out loudly, responded with a bit of irritation, "Let’s talk about it later."
She then buried her head deeply, as if trying to find a hole to hide in.
Just as she did, Jiang Yuanye turned his head and glanced over at her. He was also a little surprised to see her here.
He thought of her as someone who had helped him during a key point in his career. Since it had been a while, it was only natural to greet her. With that in mind, he turned the wheelchair and pushed Zhou Chaosheng toward the front desk.
Zhou Chaosheng asked, "Do you know her?"
Jiang Yuanye replied, "Yeah, she’s my junior from university, a year younger than me."
Zhou Chaosheng raised an eyebrow. He remembered that the medical school and computer science department were in separate buildings, and they hardly had any connection. How did these two know each other?
"Xiaomei, long time no see," Jiang Yuanye said, gently setting Zhou Chaosheng down by the front desk before walking over to Zhong Mei to chat.
Zhong Mei peeked her head out and awkwardly greeted him, "Hi, Senior... It’s really been a while."
"Why are you here instead of Kyoto?"
"I'm just a newbie, of course I need to gain some experience before I can make it in Kyoto."
Jiang Yuanye smiled and tapped the table with his finger, "When do you have time? I'll treat you to a meal?"
"Sure, Senior. I won't be polite then."
Zhong Mei paused for a moment, then asked, "Why did you come to the hospital? Is something wrong with your health?"
Jiang Yuanye shook his head, "No, I brought a friend."
Only then did Zhong Mei's gaze fall on Zhou Chaosheng, "Senior, your friend is quite handsome, just like you."
Jiang Yuanye raised his brows slightly, complimenting him, but putting him and his rival together just felt a bit strange, especially after they had shared a kiss in the car earlier.
"What's wrong? Are you interested in him?" Jiang Yuanye asked.
"If I like him, Senior, can you be the middleman and introduce us?" Zhong Mei said.
"Sure."
Before he could finish his sentence, a clear voice interrupted them.
"Are you done yet?"
Zhou Chaosheng maneuvered his wheelchair closer to them.
Zhong Mei smiled and softly said, "Mr. Zhou, long time no see. Are you here for a follow-up appointment?"
Jiang Yuanye looked at Zhong Mei, his gaze silently expressing, "Why didn’t you say you knew him earlier?"
She looked back with a smile, indicating, "I know him, but we’re not close."
Jiang Yuanye: "...."
Zhou Chaosheng glanced at Zhong Mei, nodding lightly.
Zhong Mei seemed used to Zhou Chaosheng's aloofness and indifference. She shrugged and turned her attention back to Jiang Yuanye, giving him a look that said, "You go ahead, he doesn't even acknowledge me."
Jiang Yuanye: "...."
He couldn't do anything about it.
Zhou Chaosheng suddenly asked, "How do you two know each other?"
Jiang Yuanye felt uneasy.
He was about to speak, but unexpectedly, Zhong Mei spoke faster than him, "At a networking event in university."
Zhou Chaosheng glanced at Jiang Yuanye faintly. His voice was very light, almost a whisper, and he repeated the word slowly, emphasizing each one.
"Networking?"