"Tsk—" Chen Siyan turned his head and caught Song Xinya's gaze, saying, "It's broad daylight, mind your manners. A man's crotch isn't something you just stare at."
Song Xinya: "I was looking at your zipper. It's not done up."
Chen Siyan quickly looked down to zip up his pants, only to find the zipper was already done up properly.
Song Xinya had successfully tricked him and burst out laughing.
Chen Siyan grabbed the Natasha doll sitting on the desk and hurled it at her.
Song Xinya caught it easily and started squeezing and squishing the little black doll like putty.
Chen Siyan: "Be gentle with that. He's my son."
Song Xinya poked her index finger into the doll's belly button, pressing a dent into its stomach.
Chen Siyan winced in pain. "Song Laoshi, don't get me worked up. When you rile me, the wound from my circumcision starts hurting."
Song Xinya was skeptical. Seriously? A few days apart and this guy went to the hospital to get a little cosmetic work done down there—had the extra skin chopped off?
At that moment, in the livestream, viewers were asking the exact same question Song Xinya had.
[Did Teacher Chen really get circumcised? Does it hurt?]
Chen Siyan: "No-brainer. Cut a piece of skin off you and tell me if it hurts."
[Scary. Do they give you anesthesia for that or not?]
Chen Siyan: "They'd do it without anesthesia only if I had some kind of self-harm fetish. I don't."
[I heard that once a guy gets a girlfriend, he goes and gets circumcised. So does Teacher Chen have a girlfriend now?]
Chen Siyan: "The revolution isn't over yet. Teacher Chen is still working on it."
[Speaking from experience here—after you get it cut, the head gets super sensitive. You'll blow in three minutes flat.]
Chen Siyan: "Buddy, just because you can't last, don't assume every guy on earth is the same as you."
[Teacher Chen should go practice the Sunflower Manual next.]
Chen Siyan: "I got circumcised, not castrated. Why don't you go practice the Sunflower Manual yourself?"
The comments came thick and fast, endless.
[Teacher Chen, is it hard for you to walk these days? Do you waddle around like a duck?]
[Did a male doctor do it, or a female doctor?]
[You have to hold it with your hand during the procedure. If it's a female doctor, do you... you know, get a reaction?]
BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG—
Chen Siyan rapped his pointer stick hard against the blackboard. "Hey, hey, hey, folks, we can't keep going down this path. Keep it up and we're straying into NSFW territory—the whole stream will get shut down."
"It's my circumcision, not yours. Why are you all so worked up about it?"
"Back to business. I'll teach the lesson first, and you all study hard. If you're really that curious about Teacher Chen's circumcision, we can talk about it another time."
"OK, everyone perk up. Now we're officially starting the lesson."
Song Xinya walked over to Chen Siyan's side and craned her neck to look at the livestream.
She remembered that Chen Siyan used to have about ten thousand viewers per stream.
Today, his stream had thirty thousand!
Holy crap, that popularity was exploding!
Thirty thousand people watching his stream—even if just 10 percent converted, that's three thousand people coming to him for orders.
No wonder Zhao Yinian didn't dare fire him no matter how much attitude Chen Siyan gave him. This was his leverage.
Song Xinya returned to her desk and watched Chen Siyan's stream for a bit with a learning mindset.
Chen Siyan was usually easygoing and reckless, with a sort of devil-may-care vibe, but once he got to work, he was serious, professional, and eloquent. His speech was logical and organized, making every point clear and digestible.
On top of that, Chen Siyan's appearance was a major asset.
His hair was fine and fluffy, his nose high, his lips thin, his eyes dark as ink, his facial features sharp and clean. He had a slim build, a clean-cut aura, and an overall boyish energy that radiated youth.
If he hadn't said he was twenty-eight, you'd think he was some fresh-faced college student.
People gravitate toward things that please the eye. A handsome man versus an average-looking one—the handsome one always comes out on top.
Song Xinya watched one segment of Chen Siyan's stream, then logged off.
Her mind was now completely occupied with how to get close to Sheng Changpu, the burn specialist.
Until she sorted that out, she'd never be at peace.
Song Xinya stood up, walked outside the office, and made a phone call.
"Brother Jingyi, is this a good time to talk?"
Han Jingyi: "Give me half an hour. I have a patient to see right now."
Song Xinya hung up.
Half an hour later, Han Jingyi called back. "Xinxin, what's going on?"
Song Xinya: "Brother Jingyi, that International Medical Exchange Summit you mentioned—when is it happening?"
Han Jingyi: "It's this coming Saturday and Sunday."
A glimmer of hope and determination lit up Song Xinya's eyes. "That's soon!"
Han Jingyi: "Yeah, just a few days away."
Song Xinya: "Has Sheng Changpu agreed to come to Jingbei for it?"
Han Jingyi: "He has. I confirmed with him. He's definitely coming."
Song Xinya: "Brother Jingyi, when the time comes, I'll be counting on you."
At that moment, Han Jingyi stood in his hospital office, his white coat as pristine as snow, the eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses refined and noble, carrying a complex, hidden emotion.
"My PhD advisor knows Sheng Changpu. When the time comes, I'll ask my advisor to make an introduction so that Sheng Changpu can treat your... husband's... hands."
When he said "your husband," his throat tightened.
He had used his connections and relationships, owed his PhD advisor a favor, and was willing to help this much. Song Xinya was deeply grateful. She wanted to say, "I'll buy you dinner," but felt that a meal was too trivial compared to all the help he'd given.
"Brother Jingyi, is there anything you really want?"
A bitter smile crossed Han Jingyi's face. "The thing I want is something I'll never get in this lifetime."
Song Xinya: "What kind of treasure is so precious?"
It's not a thing. It's a person.
Han Jingyi didn't say it out loud.
Once some words are spoken, even a friendship can be lost.
If he couldn't be her lover, he'd be her brother.
Just watching her happiness from a distance was enough.
Han Jingyi: "Xinxin, that thing I said I'd never get—I was referring to the Nobel Prize in Medicine."
Song Xinya: "Oh, you meant the Nobel Prize in Medicine. That's not completely impossible, you know. Brother Jingyi, you're so brilliant and still so young. You've got a whole lifetime ahead of you. Maybe someday, you'll actually win the Nobel Prize in Medicine."
"Brother Jingyi, I believe you'll get what you want."
Han Jingyi: "Thanks for the encouragement."
Song Xinya: "It's not just encouragement. I have full confidence in your abilities."
Han Jingyi asked a question. "Xinxin, in your eyes, what kind of person am I?"
Song Xinya: "A good man."
Han Jingyi: "Are you giving me the 'good guy' pass?"
Song Xinya: "No, no, I genuinely mean it. I truly think you're a wonderful man—good character, good looks, comes from money. Any woman who married you would be incredibly lucky."
So why don't you want to marry me?
Am I really that great?
Han Jingyi thought that maybe he wasn't that great after all. She was just trying to comfort him.
