Volume One, Chapter 14: Other Medical Instructions Remain Unchanged, Only Intimacy Requires Attention

In the side room, the servants each attended to their duties.

Li Shiyan sat by the table, while Lin Fangfei cheerfully extended her fair arm.

"Uncle, please take a look," she said with a smile.

Ning Yu watched nearby.

The man casually placed his fingertips on Lin Fangfei’s wrist. After just a few minutes, he withdrew his hand.

"Spleen deficiency, heavy dampness, excessive liver fire. Has someone upset you?"

Perhaps because she was a younger female relative, Li Shiyan’s tone toward Lin Fangfei was relatively reasonable.

Lin Fangfei seemed to recall something and hurriedly withdrew her hand, shaking her head. "No, who would dare to upset me?"

"Have the servants prepare some soup to dispel dampness and reduce fire. Drink it for a while."

"Got it," Lin Fangfei replied obediently, always well-behaved in front of him.

Li Shiyan’s gaze lingered on her face for two seconds before shifting to the person beside her. "What, waiting for me to treat you?"

Lin Fangfei’s eyes followed his gaze. "Aren’t you coming over? If it weren’t for my blessing, do you think Uncle would bother to check your pulse?"

Ning Yu inwardly grumbled, “Thanks a lot!” She looked up and met Li Shiyan’s eyes. "I just remembered, Lin Madam and Hao Yu are still talking nearby. Maybe we should leave it for today?"

"Why? Is there something you’re hiding?" His fingertips lightly tapped the table.

Lin Fangfei, not naïve, immediately scrutinized Ning Yu. "Don’t tell me you have some hidden illness and want to keep it from big brother?"

At that moment, a man’s smiling voice came from nearby. "Xiaoyu, Uncle, Fangfei, what are the three of you doing in the side room?"

Ning Yu’s eyes lit up. She hurried over and tried to pull Lin Haoyu away with a casual excuse.

Unexpectedly, Lin Fangfei’s suspicion of Ning Yu’s secret grew. She spoke first, "Big brother! I just wanted Uncle to check my pulse, and since Ning Yu was here, I thought he could check her too. You can’t neglect your health."

"Fangfei’s right," Lin Haoyu said, looking at Ning Yu and persuading her gently. "Xiaoyu, you don’t know, Uncle is skilled in Western medicine but even more so in traditional Chinese medicine. Many people outside would give anything to have Uncle examine them, but they can’t get an appointment!"

With that, Lin Haoyu pushed Ning Yu’s shoulder and sat her down, adding, "Then let Uncle carefully check on Xiaoyu. She mentioned her stomach has been hurting the past few days."

"Oh?" Li Shiyan raised an eyebrow. "What kind of pain?"

Ning Yu truly had no chance to refuse this time and could only glare at him.

What kind of pain?

Does he even have the right to ask?

Is that really stomach pain?

Wasn’t it all thanks to him?

"I don’t have any pain now. It’s nothing," Ning Yu smiled and could only stretch out her hand before him, biting her lip. "Thank you, Uncle."

The man didn’t even glance at her. "Sleeve."

Ning Yu was still wearing the pure black embroidered qipao with long sleeves. Even without rolling it up, he could have taken her pulse.

Clearly, the man was unwilling to let her off easily.

Ning Yu rolled up her sleeve just enough to expose her wrist but not her forearm.

He snorted. "So conservative?"

"Uncle, Xiaoyu is a bit conservative by nature. She’s gentle and reserved. Please don’t be angry," Lin Haoyu quickly explained, thinking that since Li Shiyan hadn’t even held her hand twice, he must believe what he said.

Li Shiyan wanted to laugh.

Conservative? She was quite the opposite when undressing him and clinging to his waist and abdomen, refusing to let go.

What a conservative fiancée.

Lin Haoyu rolled Ning Yu’s sleeve further to her elbow, revealing her slender, pale forearm.

A slightly swollen, bright red mark stood out glaringly.

"Xiaoyu, what’s this…" Lin Haoyu frowned, looking familiar, as if it was a bite?

Ning Yu wanted to curse, specifically at Li Shiyan.

Seeing his suspicion rise, she smiled gently. "Haoyu, you weren’t home last night. I accidentally bumped into something while getting water, and then a mosquito bit me, causing a swelling. It’s no big deal."

Mentioning last night, Lin Haoyu’s heart sank halfway and he lost any suspicion. "Blame that mosquito."

Ning Yu stared at Li Shiyan. "Yes, that mosquito really deserves to die."

Had he not bitten her last night, or at least bit more lightly, the mark wouldn’t still be on her arm now.

The culprit, with cold, narrow eyes and a tongue pressed to his cheek, said nothing but lifted his hand to check her pulse.

It seemed as if it had nothing to do with him.

His cold fingertips pressed onto her wrist, warmth slowly transferring, sometimes firm, sometimes light, as if playing on heartstrings.

Ning Yu instinctively held her breath.

Her gaze uncontrollably fell on his serious, sharp profile. Realizing it was inappropriate, she quickly looked away, focusing on his long fingers resting on her wrist.

She thought he had changed a lot since becoming a doctor, but hadn’t expected him to know traditional Chinese medicine as well. At least, watching him examine Lin Fangfei didn’t seem like a charade.

She recalled that over a decade ago, Li Shiyan first became a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine.

Though now practicing Western medicine, he had fulfilled that wish of his.

That was good. At least it proved that since their separation, he was doing better.

Ning Yu was lost in thought, unaware of the gaze he fixed on her.

The pure black embroidered qipao accentuated her delicate, snowy skin. Her slender arm revealed faintly blue veins beneath the thin skin.

The originally cold, pale arm was marked by that swollen, red bite, adding a touch of passionate entanglement.

That was his handiwork.

And these hands had been wrapped around his shoulders just three days ago.

The colder something is, once tainted by the mundane, makes one want to drag it into the secular world, plunging it into the deepest abyss of desire.

Li Shiyan thought so eight years ago, and eight years later, his feelings had not changed.

Only when he noticed her quickening pulse did he bring his thoughts back and look up at her.

"Your heart’s beating like a drum. Are you really that afraid of me?"

The two beside them watched as Ning Yu pursed her lips and smiled. "Mainly because I’m afraid Uncle will find something serious."

"Not likely," Li Shiyan withdrew his hand, his tone indifferent. "You’ve been staying up late, your qi and blood are deficient, and your meals are irregular."

Ning Yu breathed a sigh of relief and quickly withdrew her hand, subconsciously rubbing the wrist he had pressed.

Li Shiyan glanced at her gesture, his tone icy. "At most, you might have gastritis, ulcers, or even stomach cancer. At worst, you’re just at risk of sudden death."

Ning Yu: ……

Who is he trying to scare? He used that trick on her when she was a teenager refusing to eat. Does he really think she’s still so gullible?

"Xiaoyu! You must take care of your health. You’re already quite thin and can’t lose any more weight. You have to eat on time. Someone like Yunyun has just the right figure."

Lin Haoyu said this but seemed to realize it sounded off and quickly added, "Once we’re married, I’ll take care of you twenty-four hours a day, making sure you’re treated like a princess."

"I know, Haoyu," Ning Yu smiled, responding without much sincerity.

Suddenly, the man in front of her threw out a cold remark:

"The rest of the medical advice remains the same: pay special attention during intercourse."