"My grandfather is the largest board member of Yinshan Academy, and he doesn’t even need to show up. I can just say a word to HR and get you this position."
An Shiyu strode forward with an almost exaggerated swagger, swaying slightly as she stopped in front of Ye Shuang. She rose onto her tiptoes, bringing their faces closer, her eyes glinting with mischief. "Well?"
Ye Shuang looked at her for a few seconds before suddenly smiling. "I refuse."
"Why?"
"I don’t want to work," Ye Shuang said earnestly.
An Shiyu burst into laughter. "Hahaha, that’s honestly the most straightforward answer I’ve heard." She seemed even more amused now. "The third infirmary is practically unused anyway. You could even just be a nominal school doctor—it’s just to give you a legitimate reason to be on campus and control over this infirmary."
"Besides, your job would just be taking students’ temperatures and handing out cold medicine."
"..." Ye Shuang studied the girl before him and asked, "Then what’s the catch?"
He didn’t consider himself close enough to An Shiyu to believe such a favor would come without strings attached. If she was offering this, there had to be something she wanted in return.
Every gift from fate comes with a hidden price tag.
"The catch?" An Shiyu tilted her head, as if genuinely pondering the question.
For a moment, it almost seemed like she was offering this out of pure goodwill.
But given how cunning she was, Ye Shuang wasn’t buying it.
"Because the infirmary has a bed," An Shiyu said, instantly throwing Ye Shuang off.
"A bed?"
"I need a place to slack off during class. If you’re ‘my person,’ then I can just lounge on the infirmary bed whenever I want."
Ye Shuang: "..."
Is there something wrong with this girl’s thought process?
If your grandfather is a board member, wouldn’t it be easy to just get you a private restroom somewhere on campus?
"No, no, that old man would never agree. He’s a stubborn, old-fashioned geezer. If someone tattled on me, I’d never hear the end of it," An Shiyu waved her hand dismissively, as if reading Ye Shuang’s mind.
She stuffed her hands into her pockets. "So? You should give it a try."
"It sounds tempting, but I don’t know how to treat illnesses," Ye Shuang replied seriously. "What if I misdiagnose someone? I can afford to be irresponsible with myself, but not with the students here."
"You really do have a strong sense of responsibility, huh?"
"Somehow, that doesn’t sound like a compliment coming from you."
"It wasn’t."
"..."
An Shiyu smirked. "If you don’t know how to diagnose illnesses, how did you figure out that teacher had a fracture?"
At her words, Ye Shuang slowly recalled his system’s ability to inspect others. If he used it well, it could have unexpected applications in many fields.
"My eyesight is good. I can diagnose things."
"Then diagnose me. What’s wrong with me?" An Shiyu challenged, her lips curling in amusement.
Ye Shuang already knew An Shiyu had hyperthymesia, but he also knew better than to casually mention it—after all, there were only a handful of documented cases worldwide.
"You look like you have a serious case of ‘something’s wrong with you,’" Ye Shuang deadpanned.
"You’re really mean with your words, huh?"
"Takes one to know one."
...
In the end, Ye Shuang agreed. He did need this kind of identity—one that would allow him to stay on campus with Bai Yuyou.
As An Shiyu had said, his ability should at least let him handle minor illnesses. The infirmary wasn’t equipped to handle serious cases anyway.
"Feels like I’m playing both dad and mom now," Ye Shuang thought to himself.
He hoped Bai Yuyou would grow up quickly—into a cheerful, optimistic girl.
But when he pictured her expressionless little face, he had a hard time imagining her ever being described as "sunny" or "upbeat."
An Shiyu worked fast—
By lunchtime, she had already gotten Ye Shuang the keys to the third infirmary, an ID card, and a brand-new white coat. The contract would take a bit longer.
Before Ye Shuang could even process it, he had become Yinshan Academy’s nominal school doctor—with no need to clock in or out.
The salary? About six thousand a month.
Though Ye Shuang had access to a considerable amount of money, most of it belonged to Bai Yuyou. Aside from the initial sum he’d taken, he had saved the rest for her.
Now, standing in the infirmary, he studied his reflection in the mirror.
The white coat and gold-rimmed glasses gave him a refined, scholarly look—with just a hint of weariness. He took off the glasses, deciding against using the plain lenses to alter his appearance. He preferred how he looked without them.
"I wonder how Bai Yuyou and the others are doing on their exams."
In the afternoon, Ye Shuang sat at the infirmary desk, legs crossed, flipping through a medical textbook.
He didn’t want to be a completely useless doctor, so he figured he should at least learn some basic pharmacology. At the very least, he needed to know what medicine to prescribe for a cold.
"Wait, this infirmary is open? Did the school hire a new doctor?"
"Yeah, it’s always been locked before."
"Nice! Now we don’t have to go all the way to the other one. That old lady doctor is the worst—last time I told her I wasn’t feeling well, she asked me what medicine I wanted!"
"Ugh, seriously."
The voices outside caught Ye Shuang’s attention. He turned just as two girls walked in. The moment they spotted him sitting there with his book, they froze.
This school doctor… was kind of handsome?
"Um, h-hello… are you the school doctor?" one of them stammered nervously.
"I think so," Ye Shuang gestured to his white coat, answering with a touch of humor.
The girl’s face instantly turned red.
"What seems to be the problem?" Ye Shuang asked, his gaze settling on one of the girls.
[Character: Xu Xiaoman
Attends Yinshan Academy, fourth-year Environmental Art Class 1. Currently three weeks pregnant.]
Ye Shuang: "..."
Huh?
Are you kids playing for keeps these days?
"What’s wrong?" the girl asked, unnerved by Ye Shuang’s intense stare.
"Nothing. What’s bothering you?"
"It’s not me—it’s her," the girl pointed to her friend.
Ye Shuang glanced at the other girl and immediately said, "Sore throat?"
"Wow, you could tell?"
"Your voice sounds a bit off," Ye Shuang replied, realizing he might have been too direct. He took out a thermometer and, for appearances’ sake, checked her temperature.
A mild fever. After prescribing some medicine, he asked to speak privately with the first girl.
"Could you stay behind for a moment? There’s something I need to tell you."
"Wh-what is it?" she asked nervously.
"You’re pregnant," Ye Shuang said bluntly, without any preamble.
The girl froze. Then, flustered, she blurted out—
"N-no way! He said he pulled out!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the girl immediately covered her mouth.