Chapter 24: Chapter 23 Zhan Qipei’s Jealousy Completely Spills Over
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The next second, Qiao Jing, clad in a white coat, pushed the door open and walked in.

Disbelief filled Zhan Qipei’s eyes; he had never expected Qiao Jing to be the one entering.

As Zhan Qipei’s brain froze and he couldn’t react, the incredibly excited voice of Zhan Ruiting suddenly rang in his ears.

“Doctor Qiao! You’re finally here! I’ve been waiting for you for so long!”

Qiao Jing had no time for Zhan Ruiting; she was busy staring at Zhan Qipei with a look of utter surprise.

Why was Zhan Qipei here? Did he know this patient?

“Doctor Qiao? Qiao—” It was in the middle of his excitement that Zhan Ruiting realized something was off. His cousin and Doctor Qiao were looking at each other. What was going on?

“Cough cough—” Zhan Ruiting tugged on Zhan Qipei’s sleeve, “Cousin, this is Doctor Qiao I’ve been telling you about, my, that—”

Zhan Ruiting gestured enthusiastically with his eyebrows towards Zhan Qipei as he spoke, meaning to remind him that Qiao Jing was the girl who had made him fall in love at first sight, hinting that he should be a bit more considerate.

After reading Zhan Ruiting’s intention from his face, Zhan Qipei’s eyelids involuntarily twitched twice.

Remind him? You’re the one who needs reminding!

“Do you know him?” Qiao Jing walked over and asked Zhan Qipei.

“He’s my uncle’s son, my cousin. He’s been studying abroad and just came back yesterday.” Zhan Qipei explained with a dark face.

“Oh, no wonder he looks somewhat familiar to me,” Qiao Jing said after sweeping her gaze back and forth between Zhan Qipei and Zhan Ruiting. Although they didn’t look much alike, she could see there were similarities upon closer inspection.

“Weren’t you working as a janitor at the research institute? How did you become a doctor? Didn’t you say you had knowledge of medicine from being long sick, and only knew a little about medical skills? Just ‘a little,’ and you’re performing surgeries on patients?”

Zhan Qipei, grinding his teeth, stared at Qiao Jing, full of fiery questions in his gaze, wondering how she would explain all the times she’d fooled him.

At this moment, Zhan Qipei started to suspect once again that Qiao Jing was the girl who had saved him that day.

Qiao Jing had gone through this several times already, having long cultivated the ability to remain uninvolved and detached.

“What I did was just minor surgery for appendicitis, which is nowhere near the same level as the bullet removal surgery I mentioned to you last time. And according to your description, that woman performed your surgery in a rural area, a crude setting. The surgery I performed was in a top-tier hospital in the capital, with equipment worlds apart from there.”

After hearing Qiao Jing’s explanation, Zhan Qipei’s already wavering heart became even more uncertain.

Although he also felt it was too unlikely to be true, something still didn’t sit right with him.

Zhan Ruiting blinked several times as he listened to the conversation between Qiao Jing and Zhan Qipei.

“So, cousin, Doctor Qiao, you know each other?”

Qiao Jing turned her gaze to Zhan Ruiting, “My name is Qiao Jing.”

“Qiao Jing, which ‘jing’ is it?” Zhan Ruiting didn’t catch on to the name all at once.

“The ‘jing’ from ‘admiration.'”

“Admiration, Qiao Jing, what a nice sounding name!” Zhan Ruiting exclaimed and then suddenly stopped.

“Eh? Qiao Jing? Qiao Jing!” Zhan Ruiting’s eyes instantly widened as he turned to look at Zhan Qipei, “Co-, Cousin, she—she’s the one? From the countryside—that—”

Zhan Qipei responded with a faint “Hmm.”

Zhan Ruiting’s eyes grew even wider, and it took him over ten seconds to accept this reality.

At that moment, a young nurse appeared at the door.

“Doctor Qiao, do you have a moment? The director is looking for you.”

“Alright, I’ll be there right away.” Qiao Jing turned to Zhan Ruiting, “You’ve just had surgery, so don’t get too excited. I have to step out for a bit.”

“Okay, okay, go do your thing, I’ll just lie here,” Zhan Ruiting said, eager to show how obedient he was, promptly lying down and flashing a smile at Qiao Jing, waving his hand, “Take care, Doctor Qiao, and please come back later; I have a few more things about my condition I want to discuss with you.”

Qiao Jing nodded and turned to leave.

No sooner had Qiao Jing closed the door when Zhan Ruiting excitedly clutched at Zhan Qipei’s arm.

“Cousin, you should divorce her quickly! She’s not right for you!”

Seeing the earnest look in Zhan Ruiting’s eyes, Zhan Qipei couldn’t help his eyelids twitching fiercely.

Although he and Qiao Jing were only married in name, his cousin poaching within his own family felt like sprouting a head full of ‘greenery.’

“Cousin, please let me have her. You can’t thwart lovebirds or split up true love!” Zhan Ruiting cried out loudly.

Zhan Qipei, unable to contain his irritation, withdrew his arm from Zhan Ruiting’s grasp. If Zhan Ruiting hadn’t just had surgery, he would have kicked him off the bed.

“Get some rest, I’ll be out for a bit.”

His mind was in turmoil, although Qiao Jing’s explanations had always made sense, looking back on the past, the coincidences seemed a little too convenient.

As Zhan Qipei walked, he turned the corner and saw Qiao Jing, with a young man beside her.

It was him!

How could he have forgotten about this so quickly?

This hospital belonged to the Lu family.

The young man was the director of this hospital, Lu Zijiao’s elder brother, Lu Zijin.

Zhan Qipei didn’t go out but hid aside and watched them secretly. Although he couldn’t hear what they were saying, the two seemed to have a good rapport.

“Now that you’re here, don’t you plan to work at the hospital for a while?” Lu Zijin said this with gentle eyes fixed on Qiao Jing, the adoration in his gaze evident to anyone.

Zhan Qipei’s eyes darkened, he remembered the gossip Lu Zijiao had shared with him, saying his brother Lu Zijin had a crush on someone, and he guessed it was one of the medical staff at the hospital; he didn’t know who specifically, though.

At the thought, Zhan Qipei’s gaze fell upon Qiao Jing’s face: her complexion as smooth as ice and snow, lips red and teeth white, and her slightly upturned phoenix eyes seemed to have the power to enchant.

This woman always knew how to attract butterflies and bees!

Zhan Qipei gritted his teeth inwardly.

“Maybe sometime later, I’ve carved out some time in the next few days for the research institute,” Qiao Jing said.

“Have you made any progress?”

Smiling, Qiao Jing nodded, “Unless something unexpected happens, there should be groundbreaking news that will shake the entire empire soon.”

“Then let me say congratulations in advance,” Lu Zijiao sincerely expressed his happiness for Qiao Jing.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t be so formal with me, how about lunch together?” Lu Zijin invited.

“Are you treating?” Qiao Jing asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Fine, I’ll treat. Let’s go.”

Where were they going?

Zhan Qipei wondered and followed them, only to receive a call from Lu Zijiao just as he reached the entrance.

“Young Master Zhan, over here, over here!”

Hearing this, Zhan Qipei scanned his surroundings and then saw Lu Zijiao hiding behind the corner of the wall.

“What are you doing here?”

“I’m following my brother; I heard he’s finally found his crush, but I never imagined it would be – hiss – Qiao Jing!” Lu Zijiao looked at the retreating backs of Qiao Jing and Lu Zijin, shook his head, and couldn’t believe his own eyes.

“Hey? Young Master Zhan, what about you?”

Before Zhan Qipei could reply, Lu Zijiao said, “I get it, you might not like Qiao Jing, but legally she’s still your wife. Seeing her walk off with my brother, you’re probably worried about getting a green hat.”

Is that so? Perhaps it is… Zhan Qipei’s face showed a complex expression.

“Young Master Zhan, I think my brother truly likes Qiao Jing. In our family, we don’t concern ourselves with social status; marriages are free, and our parents don’t object. Why don’t you just do the noble thing and divorce Qiao Jing early, to let my brother and her be together?”

Another one urging him towards divorce!

Zhan Qipei’s face grew extremely dark.

Zhan Ruiting was one, Lu Zijin another, each and everyone – was he indebted to them for a wife?

“They’ve gone into the restaurant, let’s hurry up and follow.”

Qiao Jing and Lu Zijin chose a window-side table to sit down at.

Lu Zijin, ever the gentleman, poured Qiao Jing a glass of water and handed it over.

“Thank you.” Qiao Jing reached out to take it.

Unfortunately, she didn’t catch it properly, and the tea spilled over her with a splash.

“Sorry! Are you alright? Did it scald you?” Lu Zijin anxiously pulled out a tissue to wipe Qiao Jing off.

Just then, a hand reached over, and Qiao Jing’s body was suddenly enveloped in a black suit.