Chapter 29: Does Fifth Master Intend to Avenge Me?

Ning Yu clutched her wrist and didn't move. "Today... can we skip the pulse reading?"

The man's gaze finally landed on her face. "Reason."

"It's just a slight cold... I don't think we need the profound wisdom of Traditional Chinese Medicine for that, right?" Ning Yu felt incredibly guilty.

Last time, he had even pointed out her issues with staying up late; it was clear that in front of a TCM doctor, there were no secrets. If she let him take her pulse again, he wouldn't even need her to undress to see the injuries on her body.

Li Shiyan stared at her for two seconds, then stood up and took a digital thermometer from the cabinet. Without a word, he measured her temperature, looked at the reading, and fell silent.

Ning Yu was dumbfounded. *Seriously? Can't you just let me have a fever on the spot?*

There was no hiding it anymore.

He looked down at her from his height. "No fever. Hand."

There was truly no escaping it now. Ning Yu had no choice but to bite the bullet and hold out her hand, rolling up her sleeve just a little. When his cool, smooth fingertips touched her skin, her heart skipped a beat. He pressed lightly against her slender, fair wrist, moving his fingers slowly. It wasn't the first time he had taken her pulse, but it was the first time Ning Yu had felt this guilty.

As he held her pulse, her emotions became transparent to him. "Why are you feeling guilty?"

Ning Yu shook her head.

He continued, "Then why is your heart racing like that?"

"No stomach problems for now, no staying up late recently, though my sleep is still not great..." As the man reeled off the list, Ning Yu's heart, which had been suspended in mid-air, finally began to descend, only to drop back down again—

"No cold. You haven't had a cold in at least half a month." Li Shiyan stared straight at her, his tone sharp. "Have you improved your skills at lying?"

That one light, airy sentence made Ning Yu anticipate that Li Shiyan would only become more reckless in causing her trouble.

Ning Yu swallowed nervously. "It’s not a cold, but there are other reasons why I couldn't keep the appointment with Fifth Master."

"Oh?" He put the thermometer away.

Ning Yu explained, "It's just... it's not very convenient."

He sat down at the desk, his long legs crossed casually. "Lin Haoyu?"

Ning Yu shook her head. If she tried to provoke him with Lin Haoyu now, she would be throwing her life away. "My mother has a curfew for me."

His tone was aggressive. "Then why did you say you'd be available whenever I called? Was your language taught by your physics teacher? Or do you need to go to the hospital to have your brain checked?" He was clearly irritated by his unsatisfied curiosity.

"I just accidentally took a fall." Ning Yu tried to explain further, but he suddenly pressed her wrist against the edge of the desk. She was caught off guard. "Li Shiyan?"

He leaned in closer. "Take your time thinking of a reason, until you can't come up with any more and decide to tell the truth."

That one sentence trapped all the excuses she had prepared. Their gazes collided in the air.

"I should go; Lin Haoyu will get suspicious if I'm gone too long." With nothing left to say, Ning Yu stood up, looking for a way to escape.

As soon as she stood, he grabbed her wrist. His emotions were volatile, and he pulled with such force that it tugged at her shoulder, causing her to instinctively brace herself against the table in pain.

A burning, searing pain flared across her shoulder and back, and Ning Yu’s face turned deathly pale.

"So this is your 'I'm fine'?" The man’s voice was cold and hard, without a hint of surprise. "Did you really think I couldn't feel your external injuries? Your mouth is so stubborn, it’s a waste you aren't building aircraft carriers."

Ning Yu looked at him with reddened eyes, both furious and aggrieved. It was all because of this dog of a man, biting and gnawing on her; if he had been even a little gentler, no one would have noticed.

Li Shiyan was rendered speechless by her gaze, his anger mounting but turning into frustration.

Then, he felt a cool, damp sensation on the back of his hand. He looked down—a tear had slipped from the corner of her eye and landed on his skin.

He grabbed her with a cold expression and tossed her onto the examination bed behind the blue curtain. He wasn't exactly gentle, causing her to hit the bed with a jolt, but he did remember to have her lie on her stomach.

She laid there, unable to see what was happening behind her, hearing only the man's footsteps as he paced, seemingly looking for something. She was in pain and didn't want to talk to him, so she just laid there like a salted fish.

Soon, she felt a chill on her back, and her clothes were lifted.

Ning Yu instinctively reached toward her waist and grabbed his cold hand. "Li Shiyan, what are you trying to do now?"

"I have no interest in you as you are right now," he replied quickly, pulling his hand back.

Ning Yu, in the heat of the moment, scoffed, "We've slept together a few times even without interest."

Just as she finished, she felt a cool, damp sensation on her back. The burning pain was temporarily suppressed, and it felt surprisingly comfortable.

The man ignored her retort. "Who hit you?"

"It wasn't Lin Haoyu," Ning Yu said, turning her head to see his reaction. "Don't tell me, Fifth Master, you’re planning to seek revenge for your ex-girlfriend?"

Unfortunately, she couldn't see anything before his large palm firmly pressed her back down.

"Revenge?" Li Shiyan sneered. "You really have the nerve to say that. Ning Yu, you dumped me, and now you want me to seek revenge for you? Even a dog wouldn't be treated like that, would it?"

Ning Yu wasn't surprised by his answer. "Then that's that. It doesn't make a difference whether Fifth Master knows or not." Her voice sounded heartless, as if she no longer cared about any of it.

Ning Yu felt the room go quiet for two seconds, and the motion of him applying the medicine paused as well. No one spoke; the examination room was filled with a strange and subtle silence.

Outside the examination room, Cheng Xiuming and Lin Haoyu were chatting. "How is it I've never seen the second Miss Ning before?"

"Brother Cheng, that's something you wouldn't know. The Ning family originally only had one daughter. Eight years ago, they discovered there was a mix-up at birth, and that Yunyun wasn't their biological child. That’s how they found their biological daughter, Xiao Yu," Lin Haoyu explained.

"The Ning family as in-laws... would the old estate agree to that?" Cheng Xiuming sipped his tea.

Lin Haoyu waved his hand dismissively. "The Ning family is a bit of a mess and can't really break into the inner circle. But I fell in love with Xiao Yu at first sight. They weren't very satisfied with her, but they've agreed to the engagement now. And from what I see, my uncle is quite satisfied with Xiao Yu, and if my uncle is satisfied, it’s the same as the old estate being satisfied."

"Then I wish you a smooth engagement," Cheng Xiuming smiled.

*Dr. Li is certainly satisfied—he’s been remembering her for eight years, how could he not be? Not even the entire world combined could satisfy him more than Ning Yu.*

"Brother Cheng, since it's your lunch break, why don't I treat you and my uncle..." Lin Haoyu was very eager to please, wanting to treat Li Shiyan, with Cheng Xiuming as an afterthought.

Just as Cheng Xiuming was about to speak, the examination room door opened.

"The cafeteria. Eat or don't, I don't care."

With that, Li Shiyan walked past them and headed off alone. Cheng Xiuming smiled at Lin Haoyu and followed.

"Don't be like that, let's eat, we aren't picky, the cafeteria is fine!" Lin Haoyu said, grabbing Ning Yu and following them.

Li Shiyan got into the elevator first, and Cheng Xiuming followed. As the doors closed, Ning Yu and Lin Haoyu hadn't made it in, and no one held the door for them.

As the elevator moved, Cheng Xiuming raised an eyebrow and smiled. "So, it seems our Dr. Li is quite satisfied with his nephew's bride?"

Li Shiyan glanced at him sideways.

"I really didn't expect that after eight years, you've changed, and she has changed so much too. From an orphan in a welfare home to the Ning family's daughter, and now your nephew's fiancée. Tsk... this fate... it’s truly a twist of irony," Cheng Xiuming said with a hint of schadenfreude.

Li Shiyan replied, "If you're that bored, go back to your old job."

Cheng Xiuming became interested. "Which one?"

"The Ning Corporation."

After saying that, he stepped out of the elevator.

Cheng Xiuming chased after him. "That's not worth my time! Why don't you go yourself? It would only take one word from you!"

"I am not a dog!"

Cheng Xiuming: ??? *Who said the King of Hell was a dog? Who in the entire capital would dare to say that?*

Ning Yu thought the session in the examination room was agonizing enough, but she hadn't expected something even worse.

In the hospital cafeteria, the four of them sat facing each other. Cheng Xiuming had deliberately changed seats, leaving Ning Yu sitting directly across from Li Shiyan.

All around them, doctors and nurses were paying close attention to their table. There was no other reason than the fact that the "high-altitude flower" Li Shiyan was sitting at their table.