Chapter 8 Chapter 8 She raised the back of her warm hand and placed it against his forehead.

"That's great, we won't interfere with each other." Mi Yanyan said with a bright smile.

It was a very relaxed reply, almost blurted out, as if he had wanted to say it for a long time and finally had the chance to get it off his chest.

"Mi Yanyan." Shi Jingzhou called her name in a stern voice.

The only response he got was the car door closing gently. Uncle Wu slowly accelerated, and when the car was parallel to Jianuo Hospital, he lightly stepped on the brakes again.

The man in the rearview mirror frowned and glanced at the floor-to-ceiling window on the street. Mi Yanyan squatted and greeted the dog that was seeing the doctor. She raised her head to answer her owner's questions, with gentle concern in her eyes, and gestured with her hands when she was happy.

Shi Jingzhou turned his head and looked forward, "Let's go."

Mi Yanyan then raised her eyes, and the car window flashed by the door, vaguely showing the man's arrogant face disappearing from her sight. She patted the little Border Collie who was acting coquettishly towards her at her feet and joked, "Why are you greeting your sister with your butt? It's impolite."

The little Border Collie stretched out its front paw and she immediately grabbed it, patting its head affectionately. "Oh, I want a handshake."

A wailing sound came from the pharmacy, "Sister Yan, stop shaking hands. There are only three vaccines left."

"Out of stock again?" Mi Yanyan glanced at the last three vaccines on the plate. This year, imported vaccines were severely out of stock due to production capacity constraints and the pandemic. Other veterinary drugs and implantable medical devices that rely on imports also face rising prices and unstable supplies, increasing the financial burden on pet owners and further hindering pet healthcare.

Sun Siyuan nodded regretfully, "When domestic products can be widely used in animal medicines, we can stand up straight."

The two chatted as they finished injecting the kitten on the examination table when they saw Liu Xinyao coming down from upstairs, accompanied by Zheng Mingzhe. The two were partners of Jianuo. Another person, Li Xun, was attending a seminar in a neighboring city and was not with them.

The three of them sat down, all looking exhausted. Liu Xinyao spoke first, "Xiaomi is also out of stock. I asked the Ruimu agent, and they conservatively estimate that delivery won't take place until next week."

Zheng Mingzhe shook his phone and said, "I just asked Mande, and Dean Chen said he doesn't have much in stock and can't lend it out."

Two waves of patients came in for treatment, and the attending doctor was almost overwhelmed. He then said, "The new director will be selected in the next few days, so you can relax a little from now on."

"Who have you chosen?" Mi Yanyan was very concerned.

"It's not confirmed yet. Li Xun will make the final decision." When the four of them started the business together, Li Xun invested the most capital and held the largest stake, so he made the final decision on major decisions. Zheng Mingzhe changed the subject, "The candidates this time are all young men with considerable abilities. Xiaomi can consider this important matter of life while he's at it."

She unconsciously took a step back and said, "No, I really don't need it." Seeing that the two were still going to recommend her, she hesitated for a moment and decided to tell them. She pursed her lips and whispered, "I'm married."

The clinic fell into an unprecedented silence. Liu Xingyao jumped up from his chair, his surprise no less than the day Yu Wan heard the news. "Are you kidding? When did this happen?"

Zheng Mingzhe interrupted him, "Let me ask the key point. Who is it?"

During her four years at university, Mi Yanyan had been courted by a constant stream of boys, from all majors, popular and unpopular, at Nancheng Agricultural University. Countless men had confessed their love to her, but unfortunately, none of them caught her eye. Rumors circulated that she had a brief, secretive boyfriend, someone she'd only heard of but never seen. Now, a bombshell: they'd gotten married.

"Ex-boyfriend?" Zheng Mingzhe had met the mysterious man once by chance. They looked quite compatible, as they both came from medical families and were well-matched.

For a moment, she remembered Shi Jingzhou's words "It's good to be alive", and she shuddered all over for no reason. "How is it possible? It happened so many years ago, I have forgotten it long ago." Seeing the man opposite her was determined to ask questions, she made up her mind and told him everything.

"Shi Jingzhou."

Zheng Mingzhe stood up and stared at her in disbelief.

"Ruisi Biology Shi Jingzhou?"

He is responsible for all medicine purchases for Jianuo and is familiar with the leading pharmaceutical companies in Nancheng. In recent years, Ruisi's veterinary medicine market has gradually opened up, especially its antiparasitic products have been fully deployed, occupying the largest share of the domestic pet medical market.

Despite his abilities, rumors abounded about one of the future heirs of the Shi family, including his ruthless tactics against competitors and poaching rival R&D teams. Rumors of ruthlessness and decisiveness were the key words. The fact that their beloved daughter, whom they had protected so well, was being married off like this left them feeling shocked and a bit reluctant, like marrying off their own daughter.

Liu Xingyao suddenly felt that the 20-square-meter clinic was too small. The president's wife was right in front of him, wearing a white lab coat and surgical gown, ready to take the stage at any moment. He pondered for a long time and whispered, "Xiaomi, is this... a marriage?"

He could only think of this possibility. The brothers had to meet once a week. Shi Jingzhou must have appeared not long ago. Mi Yanyan worked overtime harder than any man, so she definitely had no time for a relationship.

"I guess so." Mi Yanyan was not sure how to define their marriage. If the premise of the marriage was that both parties had no feelings for each other, then it was indeed an arranged marriage.

"Does Mei Zi know?" Zheng Mingzhe asked.

Zhao Mei was his lover and Mi Yanyan's roommate in college. They had been inseparable until one of them stayed in Nancheng and the other was assigned to the Suzhou branch, and they switched from being together to communicating over the phone. He was about to send a message to question his wife when he heard Mi Yanyan's voice.

"I don't know. I haven't told Mei Zi."

Zheng Mingzhe sighed deeply. Even Mei Zi didn't tell him, which showed how deeply this matter was hidden.

He wanted to say a few words to her, but he was reluctant to let her go. He always treated Mi Yanyan as his own sister, but this brother-in-law was hard to describe. They were already married, so he just hoped Shi Jingzhou wouldn't bring his business tricks home.

Before leaving, Zheng Mingzhe glanced at the shelves in front of him. Ruisi Biological's veterinary anthelmintic drops and medicines occupied an entire shelf, squeezing out the foreign brands that had been flaunting their products for decades.

The list of candidates for dean sent by Li Xun was still warm in his hand. There was a name that had been shining brightly, but now it suddenly dimmed.

For seven consecutive days, Shi Jingzhou did not go home.

She learned from Aunt Chen that he had left Nancheng a long time ago and had moved to several cities.

Steam curled from the stove as Aunt Chen flipped the porcelain spoon and carefully skimmed off the golden oil on it. "I heard from Uncle Wu that the doctor has been running around the lab during the day and getting IV drips at night, but he's not getting any better."

Taking the soup from Aunt Chen, Mi Yanyan responded, "It was hard work."

It seems that his health is really not good. He needs to be given an IV drip after coughing a few times.

"It's hard work, but it's also strange that I could get sick in the middle of summer. The doctor came to see me and said it was caused by a cold."

Mi Yanyan replied in surprise: "He always turns off the air conditioner at night, how could he catch a cold?"

Aunt Chen slapped her thigh and asked, "Is the silk quilt too thin? Will Madam be cold when she sleeps at night?"

"I'm not cold." She wrapped herself up so tightly that she even woke up in the middle of the night because of the heat. Thinking of this, Mi Yanyan thought to herself that something was wrong. She used to like to get into her grandmother's bed, and the next day she would always nag her to roll up the quilt. "Auntie Chen, why don't you add another quilt? Maybe I like to grab the quilt when I sleep."

Aunt Chen chuckled. It would be better if the young couple fought over the quilt. She couldn't interfere. Her previous feeling of sympathy for Shi Jingzhou instantly disappeared.

"Men don't mind heat. If you leave a corner of the quilt to cover their stomach, they won't get cold."

Mi Yanyan agreed, looking down to see another Eight Treasures Black Chicken Soup in the pot. She suppressed her pain and reluctantly drank a bowl. Aunt Chen had been making nourishing soup every meal this week, and she'd been drinking copious amounts. It was finally coming to an end, but she was afraid her period wouldn't leave her wanting more.

After dinner, he paced back and forth in the study with his cell phone, opening and closing the dialog box, and thought for an hour before sending a message.

Shi Jingzhou had just finished the dinner. After acquiring the Zhongpai supply chain platform, Ruisi’s veterinary medicine division will be able to cover 6,000 domestic pet hospitals and most pet medicine sales scenarios. It is an important part of promoting subsequent products to enter the market. The cost is high and the risk is high, and it must be foolproof.

Secretary Zhou asked the doctor to come in and quickly inserted an IV drip into the blood vessels on his hands and face. Looking at Shi Jingzhou's haggard face, which was completely different from the one he saw at the dinner an hour ago, he felt a little bit of pity in his heart. The process of acquiring Zhongpai was difficult, and the Ruisi board of directors was even more eager to see something go wrong.

He leaned over and placed the thermos cup on the table. "Mr. Shi, I've booked a flight for tomorrow morning. It will land in Nancheng at 12 noon."

Shi Jingzhou's schedule has been too full these days and he sleeps less than five hours a day. It's a rare opportunity that he doesn't have other plans tomorrow morning, so he booked his flight for a later time.

The person on the recliner opened his eyes, was silent for a moment, and asked, "Have you arranged the birthday gift for Mr. Mi?"

"It has been sent to the company, and Uncle Wu will deliver it tomorrow." Secretary Zhou did not dare to neglect it. This gift was obtained by Shi Jingzhou after he went to his house three times. There was only one pair, and he could not afford to make any mistakes.

After hearing this, he placed two fingers on his forehead, rubbed his eyebrows slowly, and said firmly: "The ticket will be changed to the first flight in the morning."

"Okay." Secretary Zhou closed the door and sat outside with the doctor waiting for the infusion to end. He heard intermittent coughing from inside and felt that Shi Jingzhou's body was made of iron, and so was the boss's wife's heart.

There was a buzzing sound in his pocket, and Shi Jingzhou opened his eyes from his nap. The needle pulled his moving hand, and he used his other hand to awkwardly pull out the phone.

When you open WeChat, the location where the red dot appears makes you instantly sober.

Xiaomila: [Is it feeling better?]

The message avatar was a cartoon of a girl, a cat on the left, and a dog on the right, all looking happy. Small characters were printed beneath the three heads: Chili Peppers, Peanuts, and Popcorn.

The name sounds like a snack shop, with too much white space and an unsaturated image.

I clicked into her Moments again. Without setting permissions, I could scroll back several years. It was all about cats and dogs. Sometimes she forwarded work posts, and occasionally sent pictures asking - who can buy this pair of shoes? I will reward you handsomely.

He called Secretary Zhou in and told him to arrange a meeting with the designer of Zhongshan Villa. Secretary Zhou made an appointment to check the remaining liquid in the IV drip, then lowered his head and looked at the boss's phone, where a colorful profile picture came into view.

I was delighted to see that the person in the dialog box was my wife.

There is a message on the left and the right is blank. It seems that the patient is still thinking about how to reply.

His thoughts changed a little. The boss's wife had a hard time too. She had to wait half an hour for a husband to reply to her messages. If it were his wife, she would have called him dozens of times to curse at him.

Isn't it obvious that he cares about your health? Hurry up and reply, what are you thinking about?

Secretary Zhou dared not think or speak, his eyes darting around, and finally he picked up the thermos, poured out the half-cold water, and replaced it with hot water.

The doctor came to remove the needle at the exact time and told me to press for at least five minutes.

Shi Jingzhou smiled and replied okay. After the doctor left, he stood up, tore off the tape, rubbed it with his fingers and threw it into the trash can.

"Go back and rest. I'll make a phone call."

After hearing this, Secretary Zhou quickly picked up his things and walked out. Mr. Shi is really great. It turns out that he didn't reply to the message because he was going to keep it to himself.

Shi Jingzhou walked to the window, then returned to the sofa and took a sip of water. Just as he was about to press the voice button, a new message popped up in the dialog box.

Xiaomila: [Grandpa's birthday party is tomorrow, please be on time.]

==

On Saturday at noon, Mi Zhenhua's birthday banquet was held at the Jinling Hotel in the south city. With more than 40 years of history, the old man particularly loved several classic Huaiyang cuisine styles in the "Meiyuan" restaurant. In Mi Yanyan's memory, whenever her grandfather passed by, he would pack up some food and take it back for her to satisfy her craving.

Unfortunately, Mi Yanyan had no time to pay attention to the food on the table today. Zhang Qiaoshu carefully adjusted her Su Mei dress and told her to quickly take off the large earring the size of a grain of rice from her ear, saying, "It's not decent. You'll make fun of your relatives later."

Mi Yanyan had no choice but to hide behind the screen in the private room, took off the cigarette and wrapped it in a tissue and stuffed it into her pocket. Her phone was silent, and the conversation with Shi Jingzhou stopped at a message he replied to late.

【I will attend on time.】

She was emotionless, concise with her words, and didn't even respond to any of her inquiries about her health. The banquet began at the auspicious hour of 11:58, and with just over ten minutes left, she returned to the table. Her aunt and father sat across from her, discussing Mingyuan Hospital's business strategy.

Mingyuan Hospital is a private hospital in Nancheng. My grandmother was the major shareholder when she was alive. The two children of the Mi family, their aunt and their father held different management positions and had long been alienated from each other. They had been fighting openly and secretly for many years, and their eyes were on the shares that their grandfather had taken over. But now they were chatting in harmony, as if they were working together to make selfless contributions to the hospital.

Mi Yanyan raised her watch from time to time and looked at the door of the private room quietly.

As her aunt spoke, she glanced at her sitting alone to the side. She deliberately raised her voice and said with an exaggerated expression, "Wenzhong, Yanyan married well. It's a pity that her son-in-law has a big family and is very busy, so he's often out of sight. I have to say this, but that Mr. Cao, the real estate agent who introduced Yanyan to her, is a henpecked man. He came to the hospital for a prenatal checkup yesterday, and she's already pregnant, just two months after getting married."

It would be fine if we didn't mention this Mr. Cao, but I was so uncomfortable hearing that Mi Wenzhong secretly arranged a dinner party to trick her into going.

Xiao Cao was less than 170cm tall and weighed over 170kg, with a large belly and waist. An hour into the meal, the distance between them grew increasingly smaller. Unable to bear it any longer, she moved her chair twice. Mi Wenzhong ignored her and even smiled, telling them to add each other's contact information.

The moment she scanned her friend's phone, she felt like she couldn't keep it anymore.

Zhang Qiaoshu looked unhappy, but due to her status, she only chuckled twice, then turned around and asked her what was going on and where Shi Jingzhou was. She was about to take out her phone when there was a commotion outside the door.

Turning around, I saw Shi Jingzhou in formal attire, followed by several business people, who seemed to have just finished a meeting nearby.

As they were about to enter the private room, Shi Jingzhou nodded slightly, said goodbye to the others, and said apologetically, "My lover's dinner, goodbye." After that, Secretary Zhou smiled and led the way, and the group went downstairs.

Their eyes met briefly, Shi Jingzhou raised the painting box in his hand, and Mi Yanyan stood up and walked over to stand in front of him.

Shi Jingzhou's cheeks were a little thinner, making him look even more distant. She whispered, "Thank you for coming on time." Still feeling uneasy, she pleaded earnestly, "Please be cheerful later. It will be over soon. Please, please."

As Mi Yanyan spoke, her eyes were fixed on him, her eyelashes trembling slightly, her face, lightly made up, was delicate and pretty, and her lips were slightly pouting, giving the illusion of being completely obedient.

My heart and eyes are full of requests for his help to put on a good show in front of my family. I have been thinking about it since last night, and I am still worried now, so I came to ask for help.

I almost forgot how she would turn around and leave when things didn't go her way.

Shi Jingzhou chuckled imperceptibly, a sound only Mi Yanyan could hear. She could only continue blinking, trying to use her charming beauty to win over Shi Jingzhou and finish the meal with her in peace.

"Why are you panicking? It's not your first time attending an old man's birthday party." He said suddenly, but Mi Yanyan really didn't understand.

This is definitely not her first birthday party, Shi Jingzhou is.

His face was as cold as ice, and the temperature in the private room dropped by two degrees. How could he not be panicked?

Mi Zhenhua at the main table happened to see the two standing at the door and called out to Xiaoyan.

Shi Jingzhou walked over quickly and stood beside the old man respectfully to wish him a happy birthday. In his hand was a Huanghuali painting box, which was exquisitely crafted and had a mature skin. When it was unfolded, it revealed a detailed painting.

The painting showed a pine tree, vigorous and powerful, its spirit still etched, standing proudly above the heavens and earth. Mi Zhenhua took one look at it and grasped it firmly. His trembling hands reached for his reading glasses on the table, but Shi Jingzhou quickly grabbed them.

"Is this Mr. Yu's work?" Mi Zhenhua leaned over and carefully touched the seal in the corner.

Mi Yanyan was instantly overwhelmed with admiration for Shi Jingzhou. Yu Yanqiu was Mi Zhenhua's childhood friend. Old Yu had stopped writing for many years and lived in Beijing. He had wanted to come to Nancheng several times, but was unable to do so due to health reasons. He had never expected Shi Jingzhou to give him such a valuable gift. Not only was it a rare and exquisite painting, but it also touched the old man's heart. The old man shook his grandson-in-law's hand and exclaimed, "How thoughtful."

He deserves to be the leader in the business world and deserves to make money.

Mi Yanyan raised her eyes and seemed to see Shi Jingzhou smiling at her faintly, as if he wanted to take credit for it.

She curled her eyes and responded, "Okay, okay."

Mi Zhenhua was so happy that he didn't want to let go. When Zhang Qiao was feeling comfortable, he appeared and reminded her with a smile, "Dad, put it away. The meal is about to start."

Mi Yanyan had a peaceful meal. It had been a while since she'd been to Meiyuan, and the refreshing, delicious food she'd tasted brought back memories of her childhood. Occasionally, she glanced at Shi Jingzhou beside her. He hadn't eaten much and wasn't coughing anymore.

She changed her mind and realized that it had been nearly a week, and no matter how weak his body was, it should be better now, especially since he was a grown man.

Grandpa couldn't help but go behind the screen from time to time to look at the painting box, and she felt grateful.

As her husband in public, Shi Jingzhou's performance today deserved full marks. She turned the dinner plate around, picked up the unused soup bowl in front of her, filled it with hot soup and pushed it in front of him.

Shi Jingzhou didn't say anything, just picked up the spoon and drank. As he finally picked up the small bowl with two fingers, he suppressed a short, controlled cough. Mi Yanyan turned her head. His cold, pale hands were covered in light bruises, with tiny pinpricks in between, the marks left by the continuous infusion.

Mi Yanyan suddenly felt a little uneasy, so she raised the back of her warm hand and placed it against his forehead, then asked.

"Still having a fever?"

The author has something to say:

----------------------

I don’t know why, but I always feel that if you can’t tell the difference between flat and retroflex tongue, you can put it here (bushi)