Southwest Xingyun Primary School, the infirmary.
It was a newly built one-story room with whitewashed walls and neatly arranged furniture.
A whole row of large medicine cabinets stood against one wall, stocked with all kinds of commonly used medicines.
The cost of constructing the infirmary had been covered by a charitable foundation, while the medical supplies were sponsored by the Zhu family.
Zhu Liuyue wore a simple white short-sleeved shirt and jeans, with a white medical coat over them.
Her long black hair was tied up, giving her a more refined, professional air.
She was tending to one child after another, her expression patient and gentle.
“Hmm, your stomach hurts? You probably caught a chill. Stick out your tongue and let me take a look.”
She wrote a few notes on the form, then turned to the medicine cabinet and retrieved the appropriate medication before handing it over.
“Take two tablets after meals with warm water. If you feel fine tomorrow, then you’ll be all right.”
The child’s sun-reddened face lit up with gratitude, and he said in his young voice, “Thank you, Doctor Zhu.”
“Good boy. Here, have some candy.” Zhu Liuyue pulled a milk candy from her pocket and handed it to him.
The child left happily.
The next child pointed to his ear and said, “Doctor, I’ve been having trouble hearing lately.”
Ye Yunjin stood nearby, watching her.
A faint smile appeared at the corners of his lips before he knew it.
The principal, standing beside him, witnessed the scene as well. He smiled and said, “Mr. Ye, you’re truly blessed to have such a gentle and kind fiancée as Doctor Zhu.”
The engagement between the Ye and Zhu families had been reported in the newspapers and made the news headlines.
The principal had followed news about the Ye family online out of gratitude for the help provided by the Ye Foundation, so he had seen the reports.
Ye Yunjin nodded.
Then the principal added, “Although, you do seem a little different from the person in the photographs.”
The smile on Ye Yunjin’s lips stiffened.
“How so?”
The principal was perfectly frank. “In the photos, you look like a very cheerful person. But after meeting you in person, I’ve realized that you’re actually quite steady and mature.”
The man in the engagement ceremony photographs was not him.
It had been Ye Yunche!
Ye Yunjin tugged at the corners of his mouth and replied vaguely, “When I’m in a good mood, I can be quite cheerful too.”
The principal smiled and nodded in agreement.
After finishing with the children, Zhu Liuyue stretched lazily and realized she was thirsty.
Just then, a cup of warm water was handed to her.
Following its path, Zhu Liuyue looked up and met Ye Yunjin’s amber eyes. She curved her lips and asked in confusion, “I thought you had something important to take care of. Why have you been here the whole time?”
Ye Yunjin smiled. “This place is important too.”
Zhu Liuyue was taken aback for a moment before giving him a faint, amused smile and nodding.
She took a few sips of water, then set the cup down.
Suddenly, Ye Yunjin sat down in the examination chair and pointed at himself. “Doctor Zhu, I wonder if you could take a look at me.”
“What’s wrong? Where does it hurt?” Zhu Liuyue picked up her stethoscope.
“My heart.” Ye Yunjin pointed at his chest with a perfectly serious expression. “Sometimes it beats irregularly.”
A playful gleam flashed across Zhu Liuyue’s face.
“When does this symptom occur?”
Ye Yunjin stared straight at her. “It used to be perfectly normal, but lately, it’s been happening more and more often.” After a pause, he continued, “Especially these past two days.”
They were both intelligent people.
Zhu Liuyue lifted her lips in a smile.
Their eyes met, and the room filled with a subtly flirtatious atmosphere.
“Then lean closer, and I’ll examine you with the stethoscope,” she said.
One of them dared to say it, and the other dared to agree.
Ye Yunjin moved his chair closer. “All right.”
With that, he lifted his head, removed the black suit jacket he was wearing, and hung it neatly over the back of the chair.
This revealed the light blue shirt beneath it.
He undid the top button.
Then he stopped and asked, “Doctor Zhu, do I need to undo any more?”
Zhu Liuyue’s gaze fell on his prominent Adam’s apple and long, slender neck. Beneath the single open button, a hint of what lay beneath was visible.
Not bad.
He had even learned how to seduce her now.
The corners of her lips curled upward as she leaned forward, completely in control.
“Undo them.”
Ye Yunjin smiled as well. He undid the second button, then the third.
More and more of his fair skin was revealed.
The air in the room gradually grew hot.
Zhu Liuyue continued smiling, making no effort to avert her gaze as she openly admired the view before her.
By contrast, after undoing the third button, Ye Yunjin’s face turned as red as a sunset cloud. His entire body was burning hot and rigid.
His fingertips rested on the fourth button, but he hesitated for a long time.
“It’s fine. I can listen to your heartbeat like this.”
Zhu Liuyue took the initiative and pressed the other end of the stethoscope against his skin.
The metal’s cool touch met the warmth of his chest and moved up and down until she finally found his heart.
Thump, thump.
Ye Yunjin’s face turned completely crimson.
His heart began racing again, beyond his control.
A thin sheen of sweat appeared on his forehead.
Yet he continued trying to hold himself back.
No. He couldn’t let his younger brother, Yunche, sense what he was feeling through their empathic connection.
Zhu Liuyue raised her head and looked at him with an amused, knowing smile. In a soft voice, she asked, “Is this how fast it’s beating right now?”
…
Ye Yunche was sitting in the back of a tractor-pulled cart. At first, the jolting was so rough that he kept grumbling.
Three seconds later, he clutched the spot over his heart and suddenly fell silent.
A strange expression appeared on his face.
Bai Shurou was sitting diagonally across from him. Concern filled her voice as she asked, “What’s wrong, Yunche? I’ve never heard that you have a heart condition. Are you all right?”
Ye Yunche drew a deep breath.
Through gritted teeth, he said, “I don’t have a heart condition! I’m fine. My heart just started beating a little fast. I guess it’s because I stayed up too late.”
But inwardly, he was thinking:
Ye Yunjin, what the hell are you doing? Why is your heart beating so fast?
And Zhu Liuyue—you couldn’t wait for me? What’s so great about my older brother?
At that moment, Ye Yunche’s resentment was stronger than that of a ghost.
Sensing his mood, Bai Shurou shrank into the corner and didn’t dare say another word.
They had originally traveled separately from the airport to the county town. But who could have expected that the only way to enter the mountains from the county town was by tractor-pulled cart?
As a result, the two of them had run into each other again.
They had no choice but to share the ride for part of the journey.
When the tractor driver heard that Bai Shurou was a young teacher coming to work in the mountains, he became very enthusiastic.
“Teacher Bai, don’t worry. Our medical facilities here may not have been very good in the past, but I heard from the principal that an infirmary was recently built, and a doctor will be coming to the mountains.”
“From now on, if our children get headaches or fevers, or if any of you volunteer teachers fall ill, you’ll have somewhere to go for treatment.”
Bai Shurou was curious. “Was it also sponsored by the Ye Foundation?”
The driver scratched his head and gave a simple, honest smile.
“I’m not sure about that. But I heard that the doctor coming this time is a beautiful woman, and she seems to have arrived with Mr. Ye.”
Bai Shurou froze.
Then she glanced at Ye Yunche, whose expression was dark and unpleasant.
Suddenly, she understood.
Had Ye Yunche suddenly come all the way to this mountainous region because he was looking for Zhu Liuyue?
