Chapter 271: Successfully Staying

Chapter 271: Staying On

Jiang Leyin heard voices inside and stepped in first.

"Dr. Jiang, you're here to..."

Yang Juan’s squinty eyes flew open when he saw Jiang Leyin.

But Jiang Leyin just gave him a polite nod before heading into the inner room to check on Zhou Shengyang's condition.

Yang Juan’s face fell.

Ye Xiaoxiao cocked her head. "Who’s that?"

Yang Juan: "An army medic. Way better than us."

Ye Xiaoxiao chuckled lightly. "Speak for yourself."

Yang Juan blinked. "Huh?"

Just then, there was movement at the door. Ye Xiaoxiao turned to look.

In his green army uniform, sharp-eyed and straight-backed, Lu Hanchuan suddenly appeared in front of her.

"You..."

......

In Ye Xiaoxiao’s dormitory, the neighboring courtyard.

Lu Hanchuan and Ye Xiaoxiao sat on small stools, sitting in awkward silence.

Li Zhen recognized Lu Hanchuan, but she had no idea what was going on between them. She made an excuse to leave, then eavesdropped on their conversation by the door.

Lu Hanchuan spoke first. "Why did you come here?"

His tone was so sharp, Ye Xiaoxiao almost felt scolded. She pursed her lips, refusing to answer.

Lu Hanchuan sighed, tugging Xiao Xiao toward him. "How long have you been here?"

Ye Xiaoxiao shook off his hand. "You didn’t even ask when I got back or how I was overseas—do you even care?"

Lu Hanchuan: "...”

Now she was mad.

Two years gone, and she’d gotten feistier.

Showing up out of nowhere—his heart nearly stopped when he spotted her.

Lu Hanchuan pulled her into his arms, his voice softening as he coaxed, "I’ve missed you every second I’ve been here. I knew you’d return soon, but finding you here—I can’t wrap my head around it."

Ye Xiaoxiao rested her chin on his shoulder. "I’m interning here. Leaving next April."

Lu Hanchuan’s head spun, but it quickly occurred to him that no way Xiao Xiao found this place alone.

So he asked, "Who set this up for you?"

His voice turned icy—someone was in trouble.

Ye Xiaoxiao thought for a moment, then firmly pushed Lu Hanchuan away. "Don’t try to pry info from me. You clearly don’t care about me at all."

Lu Hanchuan: "..."

Ye Xiaoxiao frowned, purposefully picking a fight. "Why aren’t you saying anything? Or is that really what you think?"

This was the first time he realized just how stubborn Xiao Xiao could be.

Now he was damned if he spoke and damned if he didn’t.

"If I didn’t care about you, I wouldn’t want you to go back. Even though it’s only a few months here, it’s worse than you’d think."

Lu Hanchuan said gently.

Ye Xiaoxiao wasn’t really mad—she was just afraid Lu Hanchuan would make her leave. "But my internship is already settled. You wouldn’t want me to be a quitter, would you? Besides, you’re here too. Have some faith in me."

Lu Hanchuan: "It’s fine for me to be here, but how could I not worry with you here?"

Ye Xiaoxiao pulled him inside to show him her dorm. "See? It’s actually pretty cozy. And I brought you a gift."

She opened her unopened suitcase and took out two boxes.

Inside were matching luxury watches—the only splurge she had made abroad.

The men’s watch had a larger dial, fit Lu Hanchuan just right.

Ye Xiaoxiao: "They match."

Lu Hanchuan finally accepted the fact that his girlfriend had returned to the country and come all the way to the northwest.

"I love them."

Lu Hanchuan slipped an arm around Xiao Xiao’s neck, pulling her close, and brushed a kiss to her forehead.

"I have a meeting soon. I’ll come see you tonight."

"Okay."

Lu Hanchuan now looked resigned, and Ye Xiaoxiao knew he wouldn’t send her away.

As soon as Lu Hanchuan left, Li Zhen immediately burst in.

"What’s going on? You know the Regiment Commander?"

Li Zhen trusted that the Regiment Commander wasn’t the type to lock a young intern doctor in a courtyard just on a whim.

Ye Xiaoxiao: "He’s my boyfriend."

Li Zhen: "No way?!"

Ye Xiaoxiao: "Otherwise, why would a Peking U student come here for an internship?"

The earlier confusion was cleared up, but Li Zhen was even more floored.

...

Meanwhile, after examining Zhou Shengyang’s stitched wound, Jiang Leyin was just as shocked.

Zhou Shengyang shifted under her stare. "Dr. Jiang, is there something wrong with my wound?"

Jiang Leyin: "No problem, the suturing is excellent."

Zhou Shengyang: "That's good to hear. It seems our new intern at the clinic has some real skills."

Jiang Leyin: "Intern? This level of skill is on par with my teacher."

Zhou Shengyang didn't know who Jiang Leyin's teacher was, but from her tone, he realized he had been incredibly lucky.

In this humble place, he had received the best treatment possible.

Zhou Shengyang only had a wound on his arm, and now that it was fine, he was eager to return to his unit for a meeting.

He needed to thoroughly summarize the lessons learned from this experience to prepare for the next operation.

When Jiang Leyin came out, she didn't see Lu Hanchuan and asked Yang Juan.

"Where's Commander Lu?"

Yang Juan: "He went out with Dr. Ye."

Jiang Leyin hadn't paid much attention to the other doctor earlier, so she asked, "Dr. Ye is the one who sutured Captain Zhou's wound?"

Yang Juan was happy to chat more with Jiang Leyin, "Yes, yes, I didn't expect that Dr. Ye, who hasn't even graduated and specializes in Traditional Chinese Medicine, would have such exceptional suturing skills."

If Jiang Leyin hadn't reacted before, hearing that Dr. Ye specialized in Traditional Chinese Medicine made her face change.

Others might not know that Lu Hanchuan had a fiancée who studied Traditional Chinese Medicine, but she did.

It was shortly after Lu Hanchuan arrived at Nalan Base, during a conversation with Jiang Leyin, that he mentioned it.

Dr. Jiang initially thought the so-called fiancée was just a joke to dismiss her, but now it seemed it might actually be true.

Her feminine intuition made Jiang Leyin particularly sharp.

"Dr. Jiang?"

Yang Juan waved his hand in front of her when she remained silent for a long time.

Jiang Leyin snapped out of it. "It's nothing. I should get going."

"I’ll walk you out."

Yang Juan looked at her eagerly.

Jiang Leyin declined, "No need. It's just a short distance."

Hearing this, Yang Juan could only watch her go, disappointed.

Though Zhou Shengyang was a bit oblivious, he could still sense Yang Juan's feelings.

"Dr. Yang’s really into you. He’s a great guy, Dr. Jiang. You should give him a chance."

Jiang Leyin's expression remained unamused. "We’re not right for each other."

Zhou Shengyang asked, "Is there someone else, Dr. Jiang?"

She didn’t answer, only saying, "Just focus on healing, Battalion Commander Zhou."

Zhou Shengyang fell silent.