Chapter 36: The Truly Ill

The lake surface rippled at the touch of his index finger. Crouched inside the elevator, the man widened his eyes in curiosity, watching his own reflection shimmer like a mirror on the water. "This electronic display is simulated too realistically. Ah, the power of money..."

Just as he couldn't help but sigh, the elevator came to a halt. He immediately grabbed his medical kit, stood up, and tugged at the cuffs of his white lab coat. "You're decades old, have some dignity, don't be so easily amazed," he reminded himself internally, deliberately straightening his posture. Everyone gets sick; no matter how wealthy the person he was about to meet might be, they would still have to beg him to treat their child, wouldn't they?

Eight years of medical study, diligent research. Even after starting his career, he never stopped studying professional knowledge. Aside from seeing patients, he spent his days reading. In the blink of an eye, he had been working at the municipal hospital for over thirty years. He had finally reached this point, and this house call was an emergency mission assigned directly by the hospital's upper management. Accepting this mission meant he was recognized as the best pediatrician in the entire municipal hospital.

The elevator doors remained closed for a long time. He pressed the open button, telling himself again not to be so easily amazed—perhaps the elevators of the wealthy were simply designed to take a long time to open.

Even when he noticed that the screen above the buttons displayed "-18" instead of the 21st floor, he still thought: perhaps the wealthy, before going to the 21st floor, simply must visit the -18th floor first.

The elevator doors finally slid open. A pungent, familiar scent instantly transported him back to his high-spirited college days—back when countless girls would hide trembling behind him, while he alone remained calm and composed.

It was the smell of formalin. This time, there were no girls behind him, and he, unlike in his college days, was no longer composed.

In the darkness not far away, a pair of emerald-like eyes emitted a bone-chilling light, resembling two ghostly flames from hell.

"Ah... ah..." He let out only a faint groan. Those eyes, drawing closer and closer, made him forget how to scream.

Suddenly, the elevator flickered as if experiencing an electrical fault. The lights dimmed, flashed rapidly, and then returned to a steady glow.

Inside the elevator, only a medical kit remained, alongside the electronic lake surface that continued to ripple.

"Why isn't the doctor here yet? The house call speed of the municipal hospital is too slow." Shen Yi placed a glass of freshly pressed blueberry juice on the coffee table. "Fortunately, she took some fever reducer earlier; she's out of danger now."

"Maybe there's a traffic jam," the woman replied. Her voice sounded like that of a five or six-year-old girl. She gently covered the low-cut collar of her shirt and leaned forward to pick up the blueberry juice. As she drank, she looked up at Shen Yi, who was watching her. The latter quickly averted his gaze.

After a moment of silence, the woman placed the cup on the table. "Perhaps I should go first. It seems you aren't very convenient today."

"Convenient! It's perfectly convenient," Shen Yi hurriedly pulled a small stool to sit across from the coffee table and opened a folder. "Um... don't think too much of it. I just feel sorry for her, and she's only a high school student. I'm not that kind of person."

"What kind of person? I'm worried about the girl's condition. If she's not looked after carefully, it would be dangerous if something suddenly happened," the woman said, looking at him in confusion. "What am I thinking?"

"Ah... *cough*!" Shen Yi cleared his throat awkwardly, flipping through the documents distractedly. "She's fine, she... and, didn't I call a doctor? I expect..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he felt a warm breath very close to him. Looking up, he was startled to find the woman's face inches away, her peach-like eyes fixed on him with a mysterious, teasing glint.

Shen Yi instinctively tried to straighten up, but her warm breath brushed against the tip of his nose, blowing away any thought of pulling back. He felt a fire ignite within him, burning his face red and spreading to the roots of his ears.

They stayed like that for some time, and just as Shen Yi couldn't help but lean in, she suddenly leaned back and picked up the cup to drink the blueberry juice.

Shen Yi snapped back to reality. He blinked, sat up straight, and began to breathe rapidly, as if he had momentarily forgotten he needed to do so.

"You've become a famous small-scale stock market genius in the city; why do you still work?"

"Huh? I..." Shen Yi was about to recount his journey, but the woman had no intention of listening.

"This is the performance trend chart for the last quarter. Our company's stock dropped by 9 percent year-on-year. My analysis is as follows..." The woman turned a page, her slender fingers moving across the document. She spoke with serious, professional intent, analyzing the causes as if she had completely forgotten what had just happened.

She had also forgotten to cover her low-cut shirt.

Shen Yi wasn't looking on purpose, but just as he was about to avert his eyes, the woman, as if sensing it, looked up and caught his gaze.

She immediately covered her shirt and sat up straight.

Shen Yi stood up, looking around as if searching for something, though he didn't know what. "Right, um... I'll go check on the child's condition. Wait for me."

"Shen Yi." The woman called out to him. Her eyes returned to that teasing curve, as if she could see through everything.

Shen Yi stood there like a child who had done something wrong, catching the sweet scent of her breath again. He knew it was an illusion, but it still made his face flush red once more.

"It's nothing." The woman drank the juice, her tone casual, as if she were merely commenting on the taste of the drink. "I just think you're quite cute."

This remark left Shen Yi at a loss for how to react. He nodded, scratched his ear, and turned to check on Li Mengling in the bedroom. However, once inside, he didn't check on her at all, but immediately ducked behind the door and touched his face—it was as hot as a furnace.

He didn't know what was wrong with him. Though he had never been in a relationship, he didn't think he was the shy type. He had always poured his energy into study and his career; his indifference toward the opposite sex had become an subconscious habit. Was it truly that having money made him start thinking of things he never had before?

"No, it's not just about thoughts." In the confined space, he could clearly hear his own heartbeat. "Is this feeling... have I really fallen for someone? But it feels wrong somehow... why..."

"What are you muttering about in here?" The woman suddenly appeared before him, asking curiously. "Aren't you here to check on the patient? How is she?"

When his back hit the wall, Shen Yi realized he had nowhere left to retreat. The woman's face was pressed almost against his, and the scent of blueberries filled his lungs.

This time, it was definitely not an illusion.

The woman's eyes began to twinkle with mischief. She leaned her lips close to his burning ear and whispered, "The one who is sick... couldn't it be you?"

In the ensuing flustered panic, the bedroom door clicked shut. The sound was like the opening of a cage. The beast of desire, which he had kept locked away for so long, finally broke free. Shen Yi grabbed the woman's shoulders, spun her around, and pressed her against the wall, kissing her fervently. She did not resist; she embraced him, tilting her chin to let him kiss her neck and collarbone, a faint gasp escaping her lips.

Just as Shen Yi began to unbutton her shirt, a soft object flew through the air and struck his head.

Following the trajectory of the pillow, the two of them, still locked in an embrace, looked over in unison.

Li Mengling had woken up at some point and was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at them intensely. Her pupils, vibrating with fury, were like two loaded black bullets, and the white surrounding them was the chilling, icy murderous intent frozen in her heart.