On Sunday morning, Shen Keqin hesitated for a long time before finally taking Liu Ma’s bone broth to the hospital.
This time, however, she brought it in a lunchbox.
Miao Ziai adored Shen Keqin, especially the food from Shen Keqin’s home. Upon seeing Shen Keqin enter with the lunchbox, she excitedly made a goofy dog-like expression.
After taking the lunchbox, she smiled and asked, “Not bringing food for Dr. Ye today?”
“We’re just friends. What would it look like if I kept bringing him food?”
Miao Ziai let out a dissatisfied "tsk," “With your attitude, you still want to find a partner and fall in love? Dream on.”
“Oh, I’m eating your food!”
Miao Ziai chuckled and began to feast.
At the same time, the door to the adjacent hospital room was knocked.
“Please come in.”
“Mr. Jian, are you feeling better today?”
The visitor was nurse Xie Fangfang, who entered Jian Mubai’s room holding a lunchbox.
“Much better, thank you for your concern.”
Jian Mubai remained as distant as ever, his aloof demeanor making it difficult for people to approach him.
Xie Fangfang mustered her courage and walked in, placing the lunchbox on the table. “My mother made bone broth this morning. I thought you must be tired of eating instant noodles all day with little nutrition, so I brought you some from home.”
“No…”
Before Jian Mubai could finish his refusal, he caught a familiar aroma.
By then, Xie Fangfang had already brought out the bone broth and dishes. Two dishes and one soup. Jian Mubai knew whose cooking it was without even tasting it.
A slight smile played on Jian Mubai’s lips. He said, “Thank you,” and picked up his chopsticks to eat.
Seeing him eat, Xie Fangfang was somewhat relieved.
She didn’t know who this Mr. Jian was. Although he was hard to approach and always gave off a cold, distant vibe, his noble and gentlemanly bearing made one’s heart flutter involuntarily.
While Jian Mubai was focused on eating, she secretly took out her phone and snapped a picture of him eating, then sent it off.
In the adjacent room, Shen Keqin’s phone suddenly rang. She glanced at it, quickly silenced her phone, and put it back in her bag.
"Hmph, didn't he say he doesn't accept gifts from others?
"He seems to be enjoying it quite a bit, doesn't he?"
For the next few days, Xie Fangfang delivered meals to Jian Mubai every day, and Jian Mubai no longer refused her.
However, after each meal, Jian Mubai would transfer money to Xie Fangfang, not for the food itself, but as a token of gratitude.
Lin Zhuyin was a little surprised when Jian Mubai told her not to send him food anymore.
It wasn't until she saw him eating the food sent by Xie Fangfang that she was shocked, followed by a hint of joy.
“That girl Xie Fangfang seems to like you a lot. If you were to…”
“I’m not interested in her.”
Jian Mubai’s expression was unreadable, and Lin Zhuyin was somewhat perplexed. “If you’re not interested in her, why accept her meals? Isn’t that giving the young lady false hope?”
After delivering lunch, Xie Fangfang went back to her work.
Jian Mubai pushed the food in front of Lin Zhuyin and handed her a pair of disposable chopsticks. “Try some.”
Lin Zhuyin picked up the chopsticks with suspicion and took a bite. Her body stiffened slightly. “This… this is Liu Ma’s cooking?”
Jian Mubai nodded. “Yes.”
“So… it was Qinyin who asked Xie Fangfang to bring it?”
Upon closer reflection, it made sense. Besides Shen Keqin, no one else would do such a thing.
Seeing that Jian Mubai was in a good mood, Lin Zhuyin couldn’t help but smile. “Qinyin is such a kind girl. We’ve wronged her.”
Jian Mubai remained silent.
“Mubai, Qinyin cares about you, and she must have feelings for you. If you truly like her, you can try to win her back.”
As soon as Lin Zhuyin finished speaking, Miao Ziai’s voice rang out, “Dr. Ye, you’re here.”
Shen Keqin was in the next room, and Jian Mubai’s brow furrowed tightly.
Seeing his handsome face immediately turn cold, Lin Zhuyin cleared her throat. “That Dr. Ye seems to be interested in Qinyin. They were even high school classmates. If you don’t hurry, Qinyin might end up with someone else.”
Lin Zhuyin recounted everything she had heard about Ye Jingqiu in the past few days to Jian Mubai. The more he listened, the tighter his brow became.
“Alright, I’ll be going now. You get some rest.”
After placing some daily necessities in the cabinet, Lin Zhuyin turned to leave.
“Ayin…”
Lin Zhuyin turned back and looked at him. “What is it?”
“How have you been lately? If the flower shop gets too busy, hire another person. There’s no need to exhaust yourself.”
Lin Zhuyin smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of myself.”
These past few evenings, the delivery guys had been helping her move flower pots, making her life much easier than before.
At this moment, in the room next door, Ye Jingqiu finished examining Miao Ziai and invited Shen Keqin out for a meal.
Last time he had to cancel due to surgery, so today he was determined not to miss it.
Shen Keqin couldn’t refuse and had no choice but to agree.
While Ye Jingqiu went to change, Miao Ziai leaned in conspiratorially and whispered to Shen Keqin, “Have you noticed that Dr. Ye has a nose like a bloodhound?”
Shen Keqin looked confused. “What do you mean?”
“When you’re not at the hospital, he rarely visits my room. But every time you come, he smells his way over.”
Shen Keqin: “…You’re overthinking it.”
“Overthinking what? My eyes are sharp, how could I not see that he’s pretending to care about me while actually coming to see you, and then using his position to ask you out for meals or coffee?”
Shen Keqin was somewhat speechless.
Soon, her phone rang. It was a WeChat message from Ye Jingqiu asking her to come downstairs.
After a period of recovery, Miao Ziai’s leg had not yet healed enough for discharge, but she could get out of bed.
She made a "good luck" gesture to Shen Keqin. “Darling, go get me Dr. Ye. That way, we can have special treatment when we need medical attention in the future.”
Shen Keqin, too lazy to humor Miao Ziai, quickly left the room.
However, she never expected Jian Mubai to be standing by the window in the corridor.
As soon as she stepped out, Jian Mubai looked over.
Their eyes met, and Shen Keqin’s heart inexplicably skipped a beat. Quickly, she averted her gaze and hurried across the corridor.
The sun was a bit strong outside today. As soon as Shen Keqin reached the ground floor, she saw Ye Jingqiu holding a parasol over her head.
“Thank you… I can do it myself.”
Shen Keqin reached out to take the umbrella, but Ye Jingqiu dodged it. “Let me do it. How can we let our little princess hold her own umbrella?”
Shen Keqin found it awkward to refuse and gave a dry laugh, letting him do as he pleased.
As they walked outside, Shen Keqin felt a sharp, icy gaze fixed on her. The feeling of being scrutinized made her very uncomfortable.
Thinking of Jian Mubai watching from upstairs, she didn't know why she did it, but she deliberately moved closer to Ye Jingqiu.
Jian Mubai watched the two figures standing close together with a cold and terrifying gaze. He gripped the window frame so tightly that his knuckles turned white.