"Mm~" On the bed, Chen Qin slowly opened her eyes. She reached out to tousle her slightly curled hair, stretching her body with a soft, indistinct murmur.
Her dazed gaze wandered around the room before she finally mumbled, "Make me a cup of coffee."
"Huh?" A few seconds later, Chen Qin snapped back to reality, realizing this was Ye Shuang’s apartment. She glanced at the bed and remembered she had slept with him the night before.
"Where’s my Ye Shuang?" Still groggy, she climbed out of bed and walked to the glass railing, where she spotted the man downstairs tidying up the dishes—water from the faucet trickled slowly as he washed the plates, while an orange tabby cat sat at his feet, tilting its head upward.
Leaning against the railing, Chen Qin propped her chin on one hand, a sleepy smile on her face. Perhaps not fully awake yet, her expression looked a little dopey. "Hehe, so nice… getting to see A-Ye first thing in the morning."
Ye Shuang, still scrubbing the dishes, seemed to sense her gaze and looked up. "You’re awake?"
Chen Qin remained lazily sprawled, her sleep dress slipping slightly to reveal a pale shoulder and the curve of a breast. Her voice was soft as she murmured, "Slept so well… you should stay with me every night from now on."
"Dream on. And no more three-person sleeping arrangements in the future," Ye Shuang replied.
"What’s wrong? Afraid you won’t be able to hold back?" Chen Qin twirled a lock of her hair, her eyes half-lidded. "I don’t mind, but you can’t lay a finger on Yu You… she’s still so naive."
Ye Shuang didn’t answer, merely glancing up and saying, "Come down and freshen up. We’re heading to the hospital soon."
"Okay~"
By the time Chen Qin finished her morning routine, half an hour had passed. Seeing her dewy, freshly moisturized face, Ye Shuang could guess what she’d been up to.
Still, he didn’t comment. Women taking their time to get ready was nothing unusual.
As she adjusted her clothes, Chen Qin turned to Ye Shuang and asked,
"Ye Shuang, which hospital did you book?"
"Zhongwu Hospital." In Haizhu City, there weren’t many hospitals to choose from. Aside from the People’s Hospital, Zhongwu was the closest with decent standards.
"Oh…" Chen Qin briefly considered booking an appointment with a specialist she knew but quickly dismissed the thought. It didn’t matter—this was just an excuse to spend time with Ye Shuang anyway.
It couldn’t be anything serious. At most, she’d been dealing with occasional stomach issues and loss of appetite. Besides, her family made sure she had an annual check-up, so she wasn’t too worried about her health.
After breakfast, Chen Qin changed into freshly dried clothes and followed Ye Shuang out the door.
"Do you really need to put on makeup to see a doctor?" Ye Shuang asked, glancing at her from the driver’s seat. Wasn’t it unnecessary for a hospital visit?
Chen Qin applied her lipstick using the sun visor mirror and smirked at his question. "You just don’t get it, do you? If I look pretty, doesn’t it make you proud to be seen with me?"
"Do what you like." Ye Shuang focused back on driving without another word.
About fifteen minutes later, they arrived at Zhongwu Hospital—officially known as the Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Zhongshan University. The line of cars waiting to enter the parking lot was so long that Ye Shuang had to park all the way down on the third basement level.
"Damn, it’s packed," Chen Qin muttered, checking the rearview mirror. Even the third basement level was full. "Isn’t it Monday? Don’t people have work?"
"Illness doesn’t check the calendar," Ye Shuang replied, just as he spotted a car pulling out and quickly took its spot.
"Let’s go."
"Okay."
After taking the elevator up to the outpatient clinic, they collected their registration slip and settled into the waiting room chairs until their number was called.
"Patient A017, Chen Qin, please proceed to Examination Room 5." The announcement echoed through the speakers. Ye Shuang glanced at the slip and nudged her. "Come on, stop spacing out."
"Don’t be so nervous. I’m fine."
Once inside the examination room, the doctor asked a few questions before scheduling Chen Qin for a gastroscopy. The mention of a tube being inserted down her throat didn’t sit well with her—nobody liked the idea of something that long snaking into their stomach.
"A-Ye, can’t I skip the gastroscopy? Just prescribe me some medicine?" Chen Qin clasped her hands together, swaying them cutely, a far cry from her usual assertive demeanor at work. "Please?"
"It’s painless. You won’t feel a thing, don’t worry." Ye Shuang remained expressionless as he dragged her off to pay.
"I’d rather eat a lump of lard than get a gastroscopy!"
"Shut it."
After a morning of tests, the gastroscopy results came in. Ye Shuang scanned the report, which mentioned something about gastric ulcers and a duodenal bulb ulcer (A1 stage), but he wasn’t well-versed enough to interpret it. They’d need the doctor’s input.
"You wanna take a look?" Ye Shuang held the report out to Chen Qin.
"No, it looks gross."
Ye Shuang: "…"
That’s your body, you know?
Back in the examination room, the doctor studied the report, his brow furrowing slightly. "From what I saw earlier, the ulcer isn’t large—about 0.2 by 0.5 cm…"
Ye Shuang asked, "Doctor, it’s nothing serious, right?"
"Hmm, seems manageable for now. I’ll prescribe some medication, but you must come back for a follow-up." The doctor continued, "If the ulcer doesn’t improve, we’ll need to do a biopsy."
"A biopsy…" Ye Shuang frowned slightly before glancing at Chen Qin. "Understood."
After collecting the medication downstairs, Chen Qin stood to the side, grinning. "See? The doctor said it’s nothing. You were overreacting."
"Don’t celebrate too soon." Ye Shuang thought back to the biopsy suggestion and double-checked Chen Qin’s system profile, confirming it listed "gastric ulcer" and not "gastric cancer." Only then did he relax slightly.
This wasn’t some melodramatic novel, and Ye Shuang had enough medical knowledge to take Chen Qin’s condition seriously.
"Take your meds on time." He tapped the pillbox with a fingernail.
"Okay."
"I’ll remind you. I know you’re busy, but if you skip doses and end up with stomach cancer, you’re done for."
"Wow, how cruel—wishing cancer on me." Though she pouted, Chen Qin secretly delighted in how much he cared.
"Let’s go. I’ll drop you at the office."
"Really?"
"Or you can take a cab."
"Ugh, why are you like this…"