Su Chengyu knew she was asking him to leave, so he touched his head and said, "My head feels much better after your treatment. To show my gratitude, how about I treat you to lunch today?"
Her body paused slightly. Shen Xi replied without looking up, "No need. This is my job. You should go now."
Su Chengyu glanced at his watch. "Why the rush? It's already after work, and you don't have any patients waiting."
Annoyed by his persistence, Shen Xi put down what she was holding with a clang and walked towards the door. Su Chengyu followed closely behind. "You refuse me so strongly, could it be because of Qin..."
Before he could finish the last two words, he heard Qin Si Yue's voice from the end of the corridor, "Sister Xi, you're finishing work right on time today. Come on, let's grab a meal together."
Upon hearing this, Su Chengyu immediately put on his mask, lowered his head, and quickly walked away in another direction. Shen Xi let out a soft sigh of relief, smiled, walked towards Qin Si Yue, and linked her arm. "Okay, let's go."
Qin Si Yue, however, looked back in the direction Su Chengyu had gone with surprise. "Who was that? So shifty."
"I don't know him, just a regular patient," Shen Xi replied against her will, her body pausing slightly. She had no reason to hide the fact that she had treated Su Chengyu. However, she didn't want the Qin siblings to know that she had any contact with him.
"Oh." Qin Si Yue withdrew her gaze and thought no more of it. The two walked forward side by side. "My brother is really something. He promised to treat us to lunch today, but then he changed his mind at the last minute."
"He had urgent company matters. It's good that we two can eat together and chat privately," Shen Xi said with a smile.
But Qin Si Yue felt her brother had handled the situation poorly. He had come all the way to the hospital, and then he had broken his promise so easily – wasn't that just playing with people? She wondered how he could ever win Sister Xi over. She had already planned to find an excuse to not join them, so they could have lunch alone and she could create a good opportunity for them to spend time together.
"How about I treat you to eat out?" Qin Si Yue said with a hint of guilt.
"No need. I think the cafeteria food is quite delicious. Let's go quickly, or all the good dishes might be gone if we're late," Shen Xi said, pulling her along.
At five in the afternoon, Shen Xi had just finished seeing her last patient when she received a WeChat message from Qin Si Ye.
"Your dedicated driver has arrived at the agreed location. May I ask when Miss Shen will be able to come down?"
Shen Xi's heart skipped a beat, and the corners of her lips curved upwards. She hadn't expected the usually serious and stern President Qin to have a playful side. He didn't know that Qin Si Ye had only ever said such things to her in his life, and that he had only lowered himself to be a driver for her.
"In a moment," Shen Xi immediately typed, walked into the inner room to change, and then headed downstairs. To avoid being seen by her colleagues, Shen Xi had specifically arranged with Qin Si Ye in the morning for him to park in a temporary spot by the roadside, 200 meters away from the hospital, to wait for her.
From a distance, Qin Si Ye saw Shen Xi walking towards him gracefully, wearing a light blue dress. A charming smile immediately appeared on his face, and he honked the horn. As soon as she got into the car, Qin Si Ye looked at the parasol in her hand and said with a touch of concern, "It's a bit far from the hospital, and it's so hot today. I'll pick you up from the underground parking lot next time."
"No, it's fine. I have my umbrella," Shen Xi replied, glancing at him and decisively refusing. If they met in the underground parking lot, it was hard to guarantee she wouldn't be seen by her colleagues. Qin Si Ye's status was special, and he was a major shareholder of An Kang. It was likely that no one in the entire hospital didn't know him. If they saw them together, who knew what they would gossip about behind their backs.
"Alright." Qin Si Ye had guessed her concerns and wanted to persuade her a bit more, but he held back the words. Seeing that she seemed a little better than she was in the morning, he didn't want to upset her.
The car drove towards Century Kindergarten at a normal speed, and the two chatted intermittently along the way. Recalling that she had performed acupuncture on Su Chengyu that morning, Shen Xi couldn't help but steal glances at him, her dislike for Su Chengyu growing. Her unusual behavior did not escape Qin Si Ye's sharp eyes, and he frowned, asking, "Is there something on my face? Why do you keep sneaking glances at me?"