“What’s wrong with this? It’s delicious.” Li Shaobin picked up a bun on her plate and bit it unhappily. “I specifically got the kitchen staff at home to prepare two sets. You’ll eat whatever I eat. Look, aren’t I well and about? Let me tell you—you’re really lucky. I’ve never been so nice to a woman before.”
Ruan Yang rubbed her glabella and said, “You definitely never had a girlfriend.”
Li Shaobin swallowed the bun dryly. He was unhappy. Before she lost her memory, she thought he wasn’t popular among women, but he never thought that after she lost her memory, she could still hit the nail on the head. “Stop spouting nonsense. I’m a man who’s walked through flowers but never had a leaf stuck on me.”
Ruan Yang chuckled. “You’re a man who’s walked through flowers but not a leaf stuck on you.”
“What do you know?” Li Shaobin was angry. Preposterous. No one would dare to make a dig at him like that. “Let me tell you—there’s a woman who’s been actively chasing me lately. Heh. She even sent me a message of concern when she knew I was hospitalized. Look.”
He showed the message on his phone to her proudly.
Ruan Yang was slightly stunned. “This is a phone? The phones are so high-tech now?”
Li Shaobin was shocked. “Even if your memory stops at 18, how could your knowledge of phones stop at that time?”
“I was still using a Nokia.” Ruan Yang reached out her fair left hand. “Can I take a look?”
Li Shaobin blinked and watched those milky-white, long fingers for a few seconds before passing his phone over silently.
Ruan Yang wanted to study the phone for a while. In the end, when she touched it, she felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity and could somehow unlock the screen. The dim screen lit up and a row of text exchanges appeared. The messages were sent from a contact called “Female Cop”. She asked: What are you doing?
Li Shaobin: Lying in bed. Got into a car accident yesterday.
Female Cop: Ah, are you alright? Nothing major, right?
Li Shaobin: Of course. If I were dead, would I be chatting here with you? Don’t worry. I’ll be alive and kicking in no time at all.
Female Cop: Which hospital are you at? I’ll come over and visit you.
Li Shaobin: No need. You don’t have to visit me. I’ll be fine in a few days. Alright, we’ll chat later. I rarely send text messages and my fingers are already aching.
Ruan Yang passed the phone back. “You don’t like her?”
“How’s that possible? I think she’s not bad,” Li Shaobin said proudly. “I plan to hang out with her a few times to test things out. A woman like you who hasn’t had a man wouldn’t understand.”
“She sent you a text but you complained about your fingers aching after just a few texts. It looks like you’re not willing to text her.” Ruan Yang shook her head with a sigh. “At this time, if you want to hook up with her, you should’ve agreed to let her visit you at the hospital and showed her your weak side. Once she’s visited you a couple of times, the two of you would naturally get together. Women’s compassion comes out the most when men are injured. If you say stuff like this, she’ll think you’re not interested in her at all then she’ll just back out.”
Li Shaobin frowned. That seemed to make some sense. “But I look horrible right now. I have no image at all.”
Ruan Yang turned around to look at him. Although the gold necklace and diamond ear stud did make him look a little weird, his white patient uniform and the bandage around his head displayed his features perfectly. But they were long and dark. His eyes weren’t small either—they were black and clear. “No, I think you look pretty fine. You could be considered a handsome man.”
Handsome man…
Li Shaobin touched his face and was in disbelief. Other than those people who tried to curry his favor, he hadn’t heard a woman say he was a handsome man for a very long time.
Of course, he knew he was handsome. It was all Old Song and Old Yan’s fault for destroying his confidence.
“Then in your opinion… between me and the tall man who came this afternoon, who’s more handsome?” Li Shaobin stared at her with his bright, black eyes.
Ruan Yang felt a little speechless from his gaze. Which man wanted to compare himself to another man for looks? However, she still answered truthfully. “You’re a little more handsome. He’s too tall and too rough-looking. Not every woman has the same beauty standards. He’s more of the Western taste.”
“Not bad, not bad. You have good taste.” Li Shaobin smiled proudly, even tugging at his shirt and lifting his chest up. “Then in your opinion, should I really let the female cop visit me?”
“Mm.” Ruan Yang lay on her pillow comfortably. She had already seen through him. This man definitely had no dating experience. “Just pretend that your wound hurts and let her take care of you. I guarantee that the two of you will get together before you’re even discharged.”
Li Shaobin blinked. That’s fast. Is it really appropriate… for us to move so quickly?
He wasn’t mentally prepared.
“F*ck, Ruan Yang, when did you have your first love?” Li Shaobin stared wide-eyed at her suspiciously. “Don’t tell me you had already dated multiple times before reaching the age of 18.”
Ruan Yang knocked his head. “This is called high EQ, do you understand? Your EQ decides it all.”
Li Shaobin snorted. He didn’t think the 18-year-old Ruan Yang would be so conceited. “If you have a high EQ, why…”
He suddenly shut his mouth. He almost blabbered about her past with Xin Ziao.
“Why? What did you want to say?” Ruan Yang keenly detected something as she squinted and stared at him.
“Oh, what I meant was that if you had a high IQ, why haven’t I seen you with a boyfriend when I’ve known you for so long?” Li Shaobin said softly.
Ruan Yang glanced suspiciously at him. “How long have you known me?”
“Mm, since last year. It’s been more than a year, I think,” Li Shaobin muttered. “In any case, you’ve had quite a lot of scandals in the industry but I’ve never heard your best friends say anything about you having a boyfriend.”
“Really?” Ruan Yang found it weird. “That’s impossible. I haven’t had a boyfriend for eight years?”
“Maybe you did but you probably broke up for a long time. In any case, you haven’t had any in recent years.” Li Shaobin waved his hand. “You don’t have to think about it. I think you should just concentrate on getting better. I can introduce you to any kind of boyfriend anytime you want; they’re all available for you to choose.”
“There’s no need for that. I’m not interested in that for the time being,” Ruan Yang said lightly. “Besides, if I want to find a boyfriend, it should be very easy.”
The corners of Li Shaobin’s mouth twitched. Ruan Yang from the past was really oddly confident. “Since you don’t like snake meat buns, what do you like?”
Hearing the words “snake meat buns” made Ruan Yang shudder. “Please, don’t measure a woman based on what you like. Not every woman likes snake meat buns. You’ll scare them away that way. Make some spare rib soup or tofu soup—just some normal, light soup. Don’t get me stuff like crocodile soup or snake meat soup, thank you. Also, let me remind you—if the female cop comes and asks you what you like to eat, never tell her to make you snake meat buns. You just have to ask her what she likes to eat then agree with her. Just say you like whatever she likes. Also, no matter what she gets you, you have to say it’s good no matter how much you dislike it.”
Li Shaobin stared wide-eyed at her. “Why must I lie to her? What should I do if she says she likes pork belly? I hate pork belly. I just like snake meat and rabbit meat. I like game. I think we should be truthful and honest with each other right from the start.”
“A woman wouldn’t usually like pork belly.” Ruan Yang smirked. “Sir, you’ll never be able to find a solution to your singlehood this way. I think you’re pretty straightforward, but you can’t be so straightforward when you’re chasing a girl. Of course, you only need to be straight down there.”
Down there…
Li Shaobin took a look down there and blushed all of a sudden. “Ruan Yang, you’re so perverted. You’re a female gangster.”
Ruan Yang pressed her lips together and did feel a little awkward. Alright, that came out a little too naturally. She didn’t know how that happened.
“You don’t know anything. If I wanted to end my single life, I could do it any second.” Li Shaobin snorted before turning back to return to his ward.
After he left, Ruan Yang rested her hands behind her head. Had she really not had a boyfriend in eight years?
She even fell out with her family?
How did things get so sad?
…
Back in his ward, Li Shaobin called Yan Molun and said delightedly, “Let me tell you. I asked Ruan Yang just now and she said I’m way more handsome than you. She said you look too rough. She even said I’m handsome.”
“She isn’t my girlfriend, so why would I want her to admire me?” Yan Molun said nonchalantly.
“You’re just jealous and envious but you refuse to admit it.”
Yan Molun didn’t want to carry on the conversation.
…
After hanging up, Li Shaobin pondered over what to text the female cop. He ended up being more straightforward: Why don’t you come over and visit me?
The reply from the other side came very quickly. “Alright, I’ll come over tomorrow morning. What do you like to eat? I’ll bring you breakfast.”
Li Shaobin took a deep breath. F*ck, tomorrow morning? She really can’t wait. He thought for a while before replying: I’ll eat whatever you eat.
Female cop: Then don’t blame me if the food’s not good.
…
The next morning, while Li Shaobin was still deep asleep, someone knocked on the door. He sat up frustratedly and shouted, “It’s so early; cut the noise out.”
Hu Zhi opened the door awkwardly. “Young Master, Miss Luo is here to visit you.”
After he said that, a clean face peeked out uneasily. “Did I disturb your rest?”