Don't Look Back

The next day.

Ye Shuang did not update his novel today.

He felt that giving himself an occasional day off was quite necessary.

So in the morning, he drove Bai Yuyou and Keke to the academy in his car. Arriving at the familiar parking spot, Ye Shuang also noticed those two tiny electric cars, one white and one black, parked on either side like a pair of underworld enforcers.

Ye Shuang backed his SUV into the space. Since the SUV itself was quite large, parked between the two tiny cars, it looked like it had brought along two little babies.

A big fish leading little fish.

"Morning, School Doctor Ye."

"Morning."

"Good morning, Teacher Ye."

"Morning."

After parting ways with the two girls, Ye Shuang headed towards his school clinic. Along the way, he cheerfully greeted a few teachers and students he encountered.

Who knows what the people at the company would think if they saw Ye Shuang like this.

It's true, people always have several different faces.

"Ah, School Doctor Ye." Just as he was about to reach the clinic, Ye Shuang saw a familiar face.

Taozi.

Perhaps because he hadn't been at the academy for a few days, Ye Shuang noticed Taozi seemed to have matured a bit more. Her once plain ponytail had changed to long, straight hair similar to Bai Yuyou's—the only difference being that Ye Shuang would meticulously style Yuyou's hair into a princess-like long hairstyle.

"What are you doing here?" Ye Shuang asked curiously.

"I heard from Yuyou that you'd be at the academy today," Taozi said with a smile. "Was your work going smoothly?"

"So-so, not bad," Ye Shuang said, now noticing the bag in her hand with something resembling a lunchbox inside.

"This is...?"

"Ah, this is stewed noodles," Taozi seemed a bit embarrassed as she took out the box.

"I made them myself. Would you be willing to try them?"

Seeing the portion wasn't very large, Ye Shuang smiled. "Is that alright?"

"Yes, I made them for you."

"For me?" Ye Shuang was momentarily stunned, but still smiled and said, "Though I'm not sure why, thank you anyway..."

Ye Shuang took out his keys to unlock the school clinic door and let Taozi in first.

As expected, it was empty inside; An Shiyu wasn't there either.

"Why did you suddenly make noodles for me?" Ye Shuang asked after sitting down.

Taozi stood obediently to the side. "I've always wanted to thank you for your help. After thinking about it, I finally decided to make some food."

"You're too kind. What's this called?" Ye Shuang asked. "Braised noodles?"

"You can call them that. We call them 'lu mian' locally," Taozi said, still seeming a bit shy.

"Is it a bit too humble...? But this is what I'm best at. At first, I thought about using better ingredients..."

"Not at all," Ye Shuang said. He took a bite. Although the seasoning was ordinary, for some reason, he wanted a second bite, then a third. Soon, he had emptied the lunchbox, using action to show Taozi he really liked it.

"Green beans, pork, bean sprouts? Plus the noodles. Feels quite tasty made this way," Ye Shuang remarked. Indeed, ordinary ingredients don't necessarily mean you can't make something delicious.

"I'm so glad you liked it. I never knew what I could do to repay you," Taozi smiled.

"Repaying is too strong a word," Ye Shuang said, then asked about Taozi's recent situation.

But for some reason, Taozi seemed unwilling to talk about that, skillfully changing the subject instead.

"Can I come sit here occasionally in the future?" she asked.

"Of course, but I'll probably only be at the academy one or two days a week," Ye Shuang smiled, as the school clinic also doubled as a counseling office.

"Mm, that's enough."

Just as Taozi said, she had only come to sit for a while. Before long, she left, even carefully wiping Ye Shuang's desk clean with a tissue before going, as if afraid of leaving even a speck of grease.

"She's a good kid," Ye Shuang thought, watching her leave. Too sensible.

So sensible it was almost heartbreaking.

Time passed quickly, approaching lunch break. No one else came to the clinic, perhaps because people didn't know it was open again.

Ye Shuang was quite idle, and he even enjoyed this idleness. He actually started using An Shiyu's computer to write his novel.

"Gotta say, this sofa chair is pretty comfortable."

"Indeed, other people's stuff always seems nicer," a voice came from behind. Ye Shuang froze, turned his head, and found a short-haired girl standing behind the sofa, looking down at him with a disdainful expression.

"Sneakily using someone else's computer. What a lousy, perverted, shameless, despicable, degenerate, sleazy old man."

"You're piling on way too many insults there?!"

Ye Shuang cleared his throat and pointed at the computer screen. "I was just using your computer to write a novel. I absolutely did not touch any of your files."

"I saw. After all, you were agonizing for ages over whether to describe the chest in that character description just now. So weak," An Shiyu said. "If it were me, I'd write: super big, super soft, and then just stir-fry, stir-fry, stir-fry..."

Ye Shuang: "..."

That would get banned! And you watched for so long without saying anything?!

"Here, it's yours," Ye Shuang got up from the sofa. An Shiyu didn't sit down in it. Instead, she leaned lazily against the back of the sofa, propping her cheek with one hand. "Old man, actually, my D drive has lots of private selfies. It's a shame you didn't look."

"I didn't look."

"That's why it's a shame."

Ye Shuang: "..."

What are you implying?

Returning to his own seat, Ye Shuang asked, "Has your heart been feeling better lately? You look like you have more color."

"Well, it is a bit better," An Shiyu said. Truthfully, she hadn't expected to live this long either.

"I've submitted all the drug data to the research institute. Supplying you with stable medication shouldn't be a problem. Later, I'll also prepare some medicine to help restore your body," Ye Shuang said, taking out some documents from the drawer.

Although he had developed the drug that saved An Shiyu, it didn't mean he stopped researching afterward. Regulating her body was also very important.

"Oh, right, recently..." Ye Shuang's words were inevitably a bit long-winded, but they were all concerning her health.

Before he could finish, a pair of slender arms reached out from behind, gently wrapping around his neck.

Ye Shuang was startled for a moment before realizing An Shiyu behind him was hugging him.

"What's wrong?" Ye Shuang seemed to sense something and was about to turn his head, but her cheek pressed against his, stopping him.

"Don't turn around. I'm Bai Yuyou."

Ye Shuang: "???"

"Stop yapping. Let me hug you for a bit."

Hearing this, Ye Shuang quieted down, also noticing that An Shiyu seemed a bit more subdued than usual today.

The school clinic fell silent. After about a minute, the girl's voice came from behind.

"Thank you."

Ye Shuang smiled faintly. "You're welcome."

The arms loosened. An Shiyu, now with her hands in her pockets, said, "I'm hungry. Treat me to a big meal."

Ye Shuang: "..."

Doesn't something feel off here?