"I don't care," Qiao Weiwei huffed, "You have to pretend all the way. From now on, you are my boyfriend, and I am your girlfriend. You have to be responsible for me!"
"How do you want me to be responsible?" Li Se blinked, a sly grin spreading across his face. "Go through with the act?"
"You're disgusting!" Qiao Weiwei exclaimed angrily. "I mean, when we're in front of my parents, we have to pretend to be boyfriend and girlfriend!"
"Alright!" Li Se knew there was no other way.
Returning to the clinic for his shift, Li Se still had no patients requiring his medical intervention. He had more time to cultivate his relationship with Huang Shanshan. Taking her hand, he said, "Shanshan, from now on, we'll dispense herbs together."
"Many people are watching," Huang Shanshan said, her cheeks flushing. She didn't pull her hand away, though she was truly enjoying this life now.
Over this period, her smile had become more frequent, and her once aloof demeanor had significantly softened.
Old Man Huang noticed his granddaughter's transformation and stroked his beard with satisfaction. He was quite pleased with Li Se.
"Doctor, quickly save my master and young master!"
As the clinic was about to close for the day, someone pushed two wheelchairs inside. The person's face was etched with extreme anxiety.
Upon seeing the two patients, Old Man Huang and Old Man Hua exchanged worried glances. In normal circumstances, such severe conditions would be best treated at a major hospital, where immediate attention could be given. The primary reason was the advanced medical equipment available in Western medicine, which could alleviate the patients' suffering.
However, these two individuals were too gravely injured. Traditional Chinese Medicine had its limitations in emergency situations. Fortunately, Li Se was present.
"Let them go!"
Before Old Man Huang could even call out to Li Se, he had already approached, his voice casual.
"What's going on?" Old Man Huang asked, perplexed.
"I'm the one who caused their injuries," Li Se admitted without concealment.
The two individuals in the wheelchairs were none other than Sima Yong and Sima Liang, pushed by their secretary.
"It's you!" The secretary's expression changed drastically upon seeing Li Se. He truly hadn't expected Li Se to be at this clinic.
Sima Yong and Sima Liang, upon spotting Li Se, twitched in their seats, their faces contorted with boundless rage.
Although Old Man Huang and Old Man Hua were unaware of any conflict between Li Se and these individuals, knowing that Li Se had caused their injuries meant they would naturally refuse to treat them.
"Send them to a major hospital. It might alleviate their pain," Old Man Huang kindly advised.
"You are all doctors. You should have the compassion of healers. Is it right to turn away patients in pain?" the secretary roared.
"That depends on the person," Li Se retorted with a cold smile. "As Old Man Huang suggested, send them to a major hospital. It may alleviate their pain, but a full recovery is basically impossible."
The secretary's face turned extremely grim. If Sima Yong and Sima Liang were both crippled, what would become of the Sima family in the future?
"Li Se, I'll give you whatever amount of money you want," Sima Yong pleaded, suppressing the fury raging within him. His condition was identical to his son's. His son had already been sent to a major hospital, but to no avail. Perhaps only this clinic held any hope.
When one must bow their head, they must do so.
"How about the entire Sima family?" Li Se asked with a half-smile.
Sima Yong's face twitched, but after a moment, he said, "Fine. If you can heal me and my son, I'll give you the entire Sima family!"
"Then come find me after you've liquidated all of the Sima family's assets," Li Se waved his hand, losing interest in further conversation with Sima Yong.
Sima Yong felt like spitting blood. He had originally planned to leave Qingyun City immediately after Li Se cured him. But now, this fellow wanted to see the money first. How could he possibly liquidate the Sima family's assets? He glared at Li Se in fury and said word by word, "This matter is far from over!"
Shortly after, the secretary pushed Sima Yong and Sima Liang away.
Old Man Huang and the others didn't inquire further about what had happened. However, Huang Shanshan looked somewhat bewildered. "I've heard of this Sima family. They seem to be a prominent family. How did you get into conflict with them, and even cripple them?"
She was primarily concerned for Li Se, worried that the Sima family might retaliate, which would be a significant problem.
Li Se didn't hide anything from Huang Shanshan, recounting everything that had transpired. He added in a chilling tone, "It's good of me not to have killed people like that."
Li Se never showed mercy to those who wanted to kill him. However, lately, being targeted by that woman Tang Xi, he had to maintain a lower profile. Furthermore, Sima Yong and Sima Liang were already as good as useless.
"By the way, what's your relationship with that Qiao Weiwei?" Huang Shanshan suddenly changed the subject, her tone and gaze turning somewhat cold.
Li Se couldn't help but shiver. He hadn't thought much earlier and had mentioned Qiao Weiwei. Now, he didn't know how to explain.
"Speak. Besides Jiang Ranran, how many other women do you have?" Huang Shanshan questioned him with growing anger.
"Ahem, Shanshan, shouldn't you be concerned about whether I'm injured or something?" Li Se attempted to divert the conversation.
Huang Shanshan narrowed her eyes. "So, Qiao Weiwei is also one of your women?"
As the tension escalated, many could sense the murderous aura emanating from Huang Shanshan and instinctively moved away. Despite Huang Shanshan's significant changes and frequent smiles nowadays, her coldness was primarily directed at Li Se. Towards others, she remained as icy as ever.
Consequently, within the clinic, many had given her the nickname "The Cold Beauty of Herb Dispensing."
Now that the cold beauty was unleashing her fury, no one dared to approach.
Even Old Man Huang looked at Li Se with pity before feigning busyness.
"Shanshan, you've misunderstood..." Li Se hastily tried to explain to Huang Shanshan. "Qiao Weiwei simply needed someone to act as her boyfriend because someone was pursuing her. Nothing has happened between her and me."
"You're being honest!" Huang Shanshan snorted. Since Li Se said so, it meant there was indeed no connection with Qiao Weiwei.
"Shanshan, are you not angry anymore?" Li Se gently asked, holding Huang Shanshan's hand.
"This is a clinic..." Huang Shanshan said shyly.
"So it's okay if it's not a clinic?" Li Se asked with a mischievous grin.
As the two were engrossed in their tender moments, a luxurious car pulled up at the clinic entrance. Zhang Ming alighted from the vehicle. He was particularly dejected today. He had intended to use Qiao Guohua and his wife to drive Li Se away from Qiao Weiwei. Who would have thought that Qiao Guohua and his wife would actually agree? This baffled him completely.
However, he hadn't come to Qingyun City solely for women. He was also there for his grandfather's health. He had inquired and learned that the Jishi Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic had a miracle doctor capable of reviving the dead. Hence, he had come specifically to see.
"Let the most skilled divine doctor come out!" Zhang Ming, accustomed to his arrogance, believed that money could move mountains. After all, when he visited major hospitals, even the directors had to personally attend to him, let alone a small TCM clinic.