CH 5

At this very moment, Doctor Ji found himself caught in a dilemma in the stairwell.

“I don’t understand, why do you suddenly want to break up with me?” A boy with a handsome face persisted in blocking Ji Yao’s way, frowning and asking, “We were perfectly fine together.”

Ji Yao avoided his hand, took two steps back, and leaned against the windowsill of the stairwell, looking rather displeased.

The stairwell was rarely used, and the landing had turned into a smoking area. Cigarette butts were densely pressed against the lid of the trash bin a few steps away, with tobacco oils seeping into the water, filling the corridor with a foul smell.

Ji Yao had a slight touch of cleanliness obsession, and he felt uncomfortable in such an environment. However, the boy in front of him seemed not to notice his aversion. He took a step forward and continued questioning, “Say something, please! You must say something!”

“What do you want me to say?” Ji Yao lowered his eyes and said calmly, “We broke up a week ago. There’s no ‘doing fine.'”

He had just come to work, barely warming the office chair, when his “ex-boyfriend” from a week ago showed up at the door. Ji Yao had scoffed in his mind at the time, thinking that it was quite annoying.

During that week, he had blocked at least six of the boy’s numbers, ignored over thirty text messages, and countless friend requests on WeChat. The past couple of days had been relatively quiet, and Ji Yao thought the boy had given up. However, he hadn’t expected him to come all the way to the hospital.

He thought to himself that he shouldn’t date university students anymore. They were too young to understand the dignity of adults.

If it were Jiang Heng, he wouldn’t be so persistent. He would have disappeared from Ji Yao’s sight after the breakup, as if he had vanished into thin air.

Ji Yao’s thoughts drifted aimlessly for a moment, and he even compared these two individuals.

After comparing them, he realized that he had been thinking about Jiang Heng quite a lot lately, more than usual. It didn’t seem like a good sign.

“There should be a reason for a breakup.” The boy continued questioning, “Breaking up out of nowhere, It’s not fair at all.”

“My feelings for you faded. Breaking up is the best choice,” Ji Yao said lightly. “We’re both adults now. Nobody promised to spend their entire life tied to the other.”

The boy seemed hurt by his words. He stood frozen in place, staring at Ji Yao disbelievingly, his eyes reddening.

Ji Yao wasn’t skilled at handling such situations. He awkwardly touched the back of his neck, instinctively trying to evade the topic.

“Alright, Xiaojin,” Ji Yao stepped forward and patted his shoulder, softening his tone, “I haven’t cheated on you nor have you done anything wrong to me. It’s a normal breakup. Don’t make it too ugly… Well, you’re great, it’s not you, it’s me. Can you feel a bit better if I put it that way?”

If he didn’t say anything, it would have been better. As soon as he spoke, the boy became even angrier. He pushed Ji Yao’s hand away, glared at him indignantly, and exclaimed, “Don’t think I don’t know. Is it because I mentioned wanting to introduce you to my parents? I’ve heard rumors about you. You’re indecisive with everyone. Whoever wants to bring you home, you’ll break up with them… I didn’t believe it at first, but now it seems I was blind.”

Ji Yao’s arm felt numb from being pushed. He avoided his gaze, refraining from arguing.

Seeing this, Xiaojin couldn’t bear it and paced back and forth on the spot, unable to suppress his grievances. He pointed at Ji Yao and shouted, “If you only wanted to mess around, you should have said so! I was blind to even think about spending my life with you!”

He seemed heartbroken by Ji Yao’s actions. He pushed Ji Yao away and angrily wiped his eyes before storming out through the partitioned door.

Ji Yao was struck by the mention of “spending a lifetime.” Without showing it on his face, he lowered his eyes and smoothed his wrinkled lab coat.

This was the second person to mention “a lifetime” to him, and both instances had ended the same way.

Before Ji Yao could even think about this connection, he heard Xiaojin’s footsteps suddenly stop outside the door.

“Who—who are you?”

Ji Yao was taken aback.

Someone outside had obviously said something, but the voice was too low. Through the steel partition door, Ji Yao couldn’t hear it clearly, but he heard Xiaojin’s angry voice clearly, “Who told you I’m a victim like you, you lunatic!”

Ji Yao: “…”

He seemed to know who was at the door.

And indeed, in the next moment, the fire exit door was pushed open from the outside. A mobile IV stand rolled in first, sliding through the gap in the door and stopping in front of Ji Yao.

Jiang Heng was wearing patient clothes. He struggled to stand upright due to his frail posture, so he leaned against the door frame, looking at Ji Yao with a smile that wasn’t quite straight.

Even when elites were hospitalized, they wouldn’t look too great. The same applied to Jiang Heng. He looked pale, his forehead was slightly sweaty and disheveled, but he still had good spirits. His eyes were bright and his smile was charming, so he didn’t appear depressed.

Ji Yao had long known that Jiang Heng was good looking and attractive—people were naturally shallow and conventional creatures, and without good looks, no matter how much someone claimed to be an “expert of love,” they wouldn’t have so many people rushing to them.

Jiang Heng’s gaze scanned Ji Yao from top to bottom in an easygoing manner. Eventually, he fixed his gaze on Ji Yao’s left hand. His look carried a certain implication as it lingered on Ji Yao’s empty ring finger for a couple of seconds before casually moving away.

“Cheating and casual relationships should be done more discreetly ,” Jiang Heng chuckled. “At least don’t let the person know your workplace and home address. Otherwise, it’ll be troublesome if it blows up.”

He seemed understanding, but his words, both directly and indirectly, were awkward to listen to.

Ji Yao only pretended not to notice the sarcasm in his words, and he didn’t want to engage in any more interactions with Jiang Heng. So, he didn’t take the bait and just retrieved his phone, adding a bit of medical advice as a bonus.

“If you want to recover, use your brain less and sleep more,” Ji Yao said sincerely.