Chapter 336: Not Enduring Hardship

Chapter 336: Not Enduring Hardship

People don't feel tired when they are working at high intensity and with high concentration.

This kind of fatigue often comes back with a fierce counterattack when you relax during your free time.

An Yu didn't eat much in the evening because she had to control her diet, but after leaving the restaurant, a feeling of fatigue washed over her.

The snow has completely stopped, and the cold wind is biting, making pedestrians hurry along outside, with white mist swirling around them with every breath.

An Yu's social energy was depleted, and she naturally felt a bit listless.

Her emotions were written all over her face, and Zhou Jichen's experience in comforting girls was really shallow.

Especially—

An Yu's behavior and thoughts are unconventional and novel, unlike any of the women he has ever met.

It turns out that even a word of concern requires careful wording.

This was an experience Zhou Jichen had never had before.

"are you tired?"

For some reason, a single sentence made An Yu burst out laughing.

Her makeup was light, and her long eyelashes were slightly frosted, making her eyes appear a bit sharp.

Zhou Jichen's Adam's apple bobbed. "What are you laughing at?"

An Yu still had a faint smile on her face. "I laugh at you for having brewed up such a long speech, only to come out with just four dry words."

Zhou Jichen suddenly realized, "How did you know I was thinking?"

“Dr. Zhou, you may not even realize it yourself, but when you hesitate to speak, you like to purse your lips. It seems to be a habit of yours when you are thinking.”

As an actress, she subconsciously observes the actions of those around her.

Zhou Jichen's mind was blank; he hadn't even realized this habit.

For the first time in my life, someone noticed and pointed it out directly.

His lips pursed up unconsciously again.

This time, even her own focus was on this, and she tried to cover it up by relaxing her lip muscles.

An Yu's eyes gleamed with an undisguised sly pride, revealing an excitement akin to discovering a new continent.

"So, even you didn't realize it? I was the first to notice?"

A soft spot in Zhou Jichen's heart crumbled.

A cold wind blew, and he repeated, "Yes, you are the first."

*

After dinner, An Yu got back into Zhou Jichen's car, naturally assuming that Zhou Jichen would take her home.

When fastening his seatbelt, he naturally gave his home address.

Zhou Jichen responded gently with an "okay," but the car was not heading towards An Yu's house.

Looking at the almost opposite distance, An Yu wanted to speak up to remind them.

But then I felt that Zhou Jichen wasn't the kind of person to act recklessly, so I raised a question rather abruptly, as if I were accusing him.

The words were on the tip of her tongue, but seeing his face illuminated by the neon lights, she swallowed them back and changed to a roundabout tactic.

"Dr. Zhou, is there something else you need to do by coming this way?"

He kept his gaze fixed ahead and asked An Yu an unexpected question.

"Can you endure hardship?"

An Yu was momentarily stunned, unable to immediately grasp the level of bitterness Zhou Jichen was referring to.

Does he have some difficult problem that requires help?

An Yu truthfully said, "Within my capacity to bear it, I will do my best to do what I want to do. I can endure hardship, but I won't force myself to. As for things I don't want to do, I'm afraid my tolerance for hardship is relatively low."

She paused, then added, "But Dr. Zhou, if there's anything you need me to do, you can just tell me. You've helped me so many times, and as long as it's within my willingness to do it, there's no question of whether it's difficult or not."

The red light is on.

He steadily pressed the brake on his G-Wagon, glanced at her helplessly, and said, "I mean, the bitterness of all the flavors."

And there's something sweet after the meal... oh no, something bitter?

An Yu wasn't quite sure why Zhou Jichen had suddenly become interested in this, but she still shook her head sincerely, "I can't eat it. When I was little, I would secretly pour the bitter melon my mom made into my brother's bowl."

Waste is shameful.

An Yu knew from a young age that uneaten food should be fed to the dogs.

Ankang is easy to raise; it accepts all comers.

Therefore, the siblings rarely had conflicts when it came to food.

"Okay, I understand."

An Yu was completely confused and wanted to ask something when Zhou Jichen's phone rang.

He casually held the phone in one hand, while skillfully maneuvering the steering wheel in his palm with the other, smoothly navigating through the bustling traffic.

The other person was probably an elder, as he used the respectful form of address "you" (您). His magnetic words flowed through the quiet and dim air.

"good."

"Wait for me a moment."

"You'll see when you see it."

"I understand, I'll be there in a bit."

An Yu couldn't piece together any useful information from those few bland sentences.

He listened furtively for a while, but couldn't glean any useful information, so he gave up.

I didn't even realize which sentence started making me lose focus.

But his gaze unconsciously fell on Zhou Jichen's hands holding the steering wheel.

For some inexplicable reason, I thought his hands were really beautiful.

When I went to see a doctor before, were the other doctors' hands this beautiful too?

An Yu diligently searched her memory.

The car slowly came to a stop in front of a traditional Chinese medicine clinic.

A detached house with a yard, located in the heart of the city where land is incredibly valuable, and with that familiar plaque.

An Yu recognized him immediately.

"Isn't this the TCM clinic opened by that particularly famous TCM professor?"

What was it called again?

Anyway, this place is considered a famous building in Jiangbei.

Patients from all over the country come here seeking treatment, and it is always difficult to get an appointment. Moreover, they do not accept people who try to get an appointment in advance.

He treats the rich and powerful and ordinary people equally.

I heard that just taking someone's pulse can take half an hour.

He is both highly skilled and responsible in his medical practice.

Zhou Jichen, unaware of An Yu's inner surprise, explained calmly, "You have time today, so come and take a look."

"Women with insufficient blood and qi are prone to many other physical ailments, so it's important to pay attention to it."

When did you register for the appointment?

And isn't this already past the consultation time?

Zhou Jichen: "Just now."

Night had fallen, but a rich aroma of medicine wafted from the quaint old building, through the slightly open windows, into the crisp air.

Zhou Jichen led An Yu upstairs.

It is said that a doctor cannot heal himself, but he was as familiar with the place as if he were in his own backyard.

He skillfully led An Yu through the campus and upstairs.

Then we arrived at a semi-open consultation room.

A traditional Chinese medicine doctor, well past fifty, sat in the center of a wooden table, wearing a spotless white coat. Behind his reading glasses, his steady gaze looked over.

In the instant the camera focused on the two figures, An Yu wondered if it was just her imagination, but something seemed to become amusing.

"You've arrived?" the TCM doctor's voice rose.

An Yu also saw his glittering personal profile on the wall.

Also surnamed Zhou.

Everyone knew from high school that Zhou Jichen came from a family of doctors.

My father's entire family are renowned medical giants.

My mother's family is in the pharmaceutical and medical device business.

Could it be someone from our own family?

Zhou Jichen grunted in agreement, making no attempt to introduce himself, but instead gestured for An Yu to sit down and said, "Let me take your pulse first."

An Yu felt extremely uneasy, fearing she might hear some bad news about her health.

"I……"

After she sat down, she looked up as if seeking help.

Zhou Jichen gently placed his hand on her slender shoulder. "Don't avoid seeking medical help. There's nothing seriously wrong with your health. You'll feel better after some rest and recuperation."

The voice was like broken jade, clear and melodious, with a soothing power.

Upon hearing this, the TCM doctor sitting opposite An Yu looked up at Zhou Jichen with a half-smile.

"Relax, I'm going to take your pulse."

...

A lengthy pulse diagnosis.

Frowning eyebrows, serious expression.

Even scarier than a high school dean of students.

An Yu has no serious illnesses, but she is constantly plagued by minor ailments.

"Besides what I mentioned above, are there any other physical discomforts you experience? Could you please add some details?"

An Yu shook her head.

That's enough.

She even mentioned that her yin and yang were imbalanced.

She might as well find a hole to crawl into.

But to the two doctors, these seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary.

As Mr. Zhou wrote out prescriptions with sharp strokes of his pen on the medical form, amidst the rustling sound of the pen nib scraping across the paper, Zhou Jichen suddenly spoke:

"She can't handle too much hardship, so we'll try to adjust the order as much as possible while ensuring the effectiveness."

Mr. Zhou glanced at Zhou Jichen meaningfully.