Chapter 80: Are You Shy?
Chapter 80: Are You Shy?
This was perhaps the first time that Lu Chenzhou had ever asked about someone else’s emotions since she had met him.
Honestly, Cheng Xi was a little surprised. She wanted to support this sort of behavior from him, so she reached out and touched her facemask with her glove as she sighed and said, “You can tell even though I’m dressed up like this?”
Lu Chenzhou snorted lightly, and Cheng Xi decided to put down the bowl. The nurse came over to clean everything up, and once he was done, Cheng Xi propped her head on her hand and observed him carefully.
Her eyes were slightly curved up as her bright pupils stared straight into him, as if they were piercing through him and gazing upon his heart. Lu Chenzhou had once read in a sappy romance book that if she loves you, then her eyes would be filled with stars. He used to scoff at such sayings, but now, it really did seem like her eyes were filled with stars. He didn’t know why he felt this way; perhaps it was because of her gentleness and voice, her eyes that always held a smile no matter what she encountered, and her resolute will that never seemed to be afraid of anything.
Cheng Xi found that the Mr. Lu in front of her had suddenly taken on a serious expression, but his ears were flaming red. In the past, she probably would have assumed that she had somehow accidentally made him mad. But given Lu Chenzhou’s novel behavior, she was guessing… that he was probably embarrassed right now?
Upon realizing this, Cheng Xi… also became embarrassed. She wasn’t deliberately staring at him. My goodness, this guy wasn’t having any wild thoughts, was he? Cheng Xi quickly shifted her gaze away and changed conversation topics. “I’m not unhappy. It’s just that something happened to me recently, which made me suddenly understand something.
She spoke in a very vague fashion. Lu Chenzhou glanced at her briefly. “You’re hiding something.”
Cheng Xi laughed. “I’m a bit unsure of what to tell you.” After thinking about it a little, she asked, “Why did you want me to sign that contract in the beginning?”
After a period of silence, Lu Chenzhou noncomittaly replied, “Romance, marriage, isn’t it necessary?” He looked at her. “You’ve got guts.”
Actually, not only did she have guts, but she was also very calm and not at all annoying. He put on the pretense that they had had a one-night stand, but not only had she not made a fuss or cried about it, but she had even calmly investigated the situation on her own afterwards. And in the end, she didn’t mind letting him know that she knew everything.
At that time, he had felt that, if romance and marriage were indeed necessary, then he’d choose her to be his partner.
He didn’t speak very much, and because of his body’s condition, his words were spoken somewhat softly, but Cheng Xi understood him nonetheless.
It was just that the wise and strong Mr. Lu had gotten so sick of his grandparents insisting that he had to get into a relationship and get married that he had thought that he might as well choose a girl who he found pleasing.
Cheng Xi laughed when she heard this even though his answer didn’t surprise her at all. When Lu Chenzhou saw her stop talking, he frowned, looking at her.
Was he waiting for her to continue? This guy must be bored to death, languishing in here all day. Unfortunately, she couldn’t tell him that Lin Fan had proposed to her, so Cheng Xi instead found another reason to explain away her unhappiness. “I was scolded by my department head again.” She thought that she had stumbled upon a good excuse. “So much so that now, I understand that I can’t just butt my head into random affairs anymore.
Lu Chenzhou kept looking at her. After a while, he unexpectedly said, “Did that guy propose to you? And you don’t want to get married?”
…...Cheng Xi’s eyes widened involuntarily. She wanted to deny it, but the time had already passed. “It seems like that’s the case.”
Cheng Xi was once again rendered speechless. “If you’re this perceptive, then you’ll lose the rest of your friends.”
Lu Chenzhou started smiling, very faintly, but he was truly smiling now.
Cheng Xi asked, “How did you know?” But in her heart, she wondered if her hesitation was that obvious.
Lu Chenzhou must truly have been bored because he patiently explained, “It’s not your expression, but rather your words. If you had been scolded by your director, then why would you start off by asking me about our agreement? You clearly haven’t studied psychology properly.”
Cheng Xi’s face was red from embarrassment.
She had actually been told by her own patient that she didn’t have a good grasp of psychology. How mortifying.
She clutched her face in mock shock. “No wonder I always end up kicking myself in the foot when I’m with you. It must be because you know more about psychology than I do.”
“Isn’t that to be expected? After all, you’re stupid.”
“Are you consoling me? What sort of response am I supposed to give if you talk to me like that?”
Mr. Lu didn’t care at all how she would respond, and just coolly grunted in response. However, his eyes subconsciously revealed a bit of mirth.
The two kept talking like this. When she confirmed that Lu Chenzhou seemed to be feeling better, Cheng Xi finally got up and left.
When she left, her head started hurting about the prospect of having to meet Lin Fan’s mother. At that time, she thought that Lin Fan had proposed out of the blue because he had been provoked by Lu Chenzhou. It was not until afterwards that she had found out that it actually had nothing to do with him.
Lin Fan worked quite quickly. A day later, he told Cheng Xi that he had arranged things with his mother. The appointed date was set for Christmas Eve; old folks here didn’t celebrate that sort of Western holiday, so Cheng Xi didn’t need to go home to be with her family. And because they had scheduled it beforehand, she couldn’t just push it off, either.
Cheng Xi didn’t want to push it off because she had thought it through very carefully. Although she felt that their relationship hadn’t reached the point of marriage, if the groom was to be Lin Fan, then it didn’t seem like a big problem…… They had known each other for so many years, so whether they got married first and then developed their romance later or vice versa, both were about the same to her; both required some commitment.
After preparing herself mentally, Cheng Xi waited to meet Lin Fan’s mother. She hadn’t mentioned this to anyone else, but Lu Chenzhou had noticed it when she went to see him—he really was a patient now, as his illness had scared the Lu family half to death. So, upon their request, the virology department had asked a doctor from the psychiatry department to meet him for a consultation.
Cheng Xi was that doctor, which meant that she would see him for a routine checkup and his daily treatments. When Lu Chenzhou was clearheaded, he didn't need any counselling, and she couldn’t do any physiological therapy either, as he was so bored from staying in the hospital that more often than not, Cheng Xi ended up being his research subject instead. He would always find some gap or loophole in her words, and then use it to analyze her feelings from that.
That day, he told Cheng Xi, “You’re very nervous.”
Cheng Xi was silent, now finally understanding the envy that her senior Ceng Xing must have felt towards her. “If you were to switch professions, then you would leave all of us with nowhere to go.”
Lu Chenzhou proudly raised his jaw.
Cheng Xi couldn’t help but laugh. “Then, great master, please help me understand why I’m nervous.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Chenzhou finally looked somewhat speechless, somewhat helplessly asking her, “Do you think of me as a fortune teller?”
Cheng Xi laughed.
This topic passed without any further comment. Cheng Xi didn’t explain why she was nervous, and neither did Lu Chenzhou ask. As he watched her leave, his gaze slowly became cold.
Perhaps it was because of him, but Cheng Xi’s feelings eventually calmed down at the final juncture.
But, that day she wasn’t able to meet up with Lin Fan on time because his mother had directly come to the hospital.
At that time, Cheng Xi still hadn’t gotten off of work. While she was arranging the last batch of medical records for her patients, she received a call from Lin Fan’s mother’s.
On the phone, her voice was superficially calm and gentle. “I’m sorry for the short notice, and I know we’ll see each other soon. However, before then, I’d like to meet you first. Is that fine?”
“Where?”
“I’m at the hospital.”
Cheng Xi went out, and indeed saw Lin Fan’s mother right outside. But she wasn’t alone; with her was another girl that Cheng Xi also recognized. That girl had a very youthful face and a delicate and charming look. Before she spoke, she was the epitome of grace and demure elegance.
Upon seeing Cheng Xi, she raised her eyes slightly. Within her gaze was an unsavory hint of provocation.
Before Lin Fan’s mother could speak, she said, “Dr. Cheng, we meet again.”