Chapter 72 "Dear, I miss you."
Chu Yi raised his hand and rubbed the silver head that was rubbing against his neck, and said with indulgence: "Are you fighting with your brother again?"
"Who told him to say you have poor taste?" Zhou Ai raised her head confidently, her fingertips gently stroking the small light brown mole at the corner of Chu Yi's eye. "Our Doctor Chu clearly has a discerning eye."
"Mr. Zhou is right." Chu Yi closed the medical document and turned to face him. "My eyesight is really not good, otherwise why would I let you stay here?"
Zhou Ai’s eyes suddenly widened, like a cat whose tail was stepped on.
But before he could react, Chu Yi leaned in and gave him a light kiss on the lips.
"But I don't regret it."
The five light words instantly smoothed out Zhou Ai's ruffled hair.
His ears flushed red, and he took advantage of the situation and put his arms around Chu Yi's waist: "Say it again."
"No." Chu Yi pushed his face away. "I have to go prepare the consultation materials for next week."
Zhou Ai threw the phone in his hand away and leaned into Chu Yi's arms like a boneless person.
He looked up at Chu Yi's focused profile and suddenly remembered something: "Oh, by the way, we're recording next month, and the producer said we can bring family members to visit the set."
Chu Yi's hands kept typing on the keyboard: "Which family member are you?"
"You." Zhou Ai tugged at the straps of his sweatshirt confidently. "I've already told the producer that my boyfriend is a doctor and has a tight schedule. We have to make an appointment in advance."
Chu Yi finally raised his head from the documents, half-smiled, and asked, "Teacher Zhou, are you abusing your power for personal gain?"
"What kind of talk is that?" Zhou Ai argued confidently, "I'm just making good use of my artist privileges. Besides..."
His voice suddenly dropped, and his fingertips gently hooked Chu Yi's little finger, "Don't you want to come and see me work?"
"......"
Seeing Chu Yi remained silent, Zhou Ai approached him again, "Come on, I look so handsome in my recording session, I promise to show you the charm of a professional singer."
Zhou Ai was confident and self-assured. She lowered her head and bit the drawstring of his sweatshirt, then continued to ask, "So are you coming or not?"
"Check the schedule." Chu Yi saved the document and turned to look at him. "If I have time after the night shift, I'll go."
Zhou Ai's face lit up immediately, and he pulled out his phone to text his assistant to confirm the exact time. Chu Yi looked at his excited figure and shook his head slightly.
Poor vision indeed.
But when he met such a sincere and enthusiastic Zhou Ai, he was happy to do so.
After confirming that Chu Yi would come to visit the set, Zhou Ai continued to lie on Chu Yi's shoulder and browse his phone like a cute puppy wagging its tail.
"Look at this," Zhou Ai held the phone screen in front of him. "It's a fan-edited video of our first encounter in the emergency room. It's pretty realistic."
In the video, shots of Zhou Ai's damaged makeup and Chu Yi's white coat were cleverly edited together, accompanied by sentimental music, which really gave it a sense of fate.
Chu Yi glanced at it and asked, "How come they even have this?"
"It was a fan photo. I didn't even notice it at the time." Zhou Ai's tone suddenly became complacent. "But now I see, our Doctor Chu in a white coat is really...tsk."
Chu Yi raised her hand and pushed his face away, which was getting closer and closer: "Teacher Zhou, please be careful of your influence."
"What's the big deal?" Zhou Ai pressed back, "I can't even praise my boyfriend?"
Chu Yi's ears turned slightly red as he pushed him away and stood up to pour water. Zhou Ai followed him like a big tail, and when Chu Yi reached out to grab the water cup, he hugged him from behind.
"Actually, I was hurt quite a lot at the time," Zhou Ai buried her face in the crook of his shoulder, "but when I saw you coming over, it suddenly didn't hurt that much anymore."
Chu Yi paused. He remembered the hustle and bustle in the emergency room that day, and Zhou Ai sitting obediently in the wheelchair, sweating on her forehead despite the pain, yet pretending to be fine.
As a doctor, he had seen so much pain and suffering that he should have been accustomed to it.
But at that moment, he was inexplicably concerned about how deep the wound was, whether it would require delicate sutures, and whether it would leave a scar.
He even quickly reviewed the key points of plastic surgery suturing in his mind.
I also remembered that I actually cared about how serious his injury was, but I couldn't say it directly, or express my tacit concern.
"Zhou Ai." Chu Yi suddenly spoke.
"Hmm?" Zhou Ai still hugged him from behind, and her warm breath brushed past his ears.
Chu Yi turned around and gently stroked the faded scar on Zhou Ai's brow with his fingertips.
"Actually, that day," Chu Yi looked into Zhou Ai's puzzled eyes, "I'm quite thankful that, thanks to my profession as a doctor, I was able to see your true injuries right away. Instead of just reading those false reports and speculating afterwards, I was left with nothing but false reports."
"Chu Yi..." Zhou Ai buried her face in his neck, her voice muffled, "Why didn't you say so earlier?"
Chu Yi gently hugged him back: "What did you say? You said that when the famous Zhou Ai was in the emergency room, I was actually very worried about him?"
Zhou Ai looked at him blankly, and suddenly laughed out loud.
"Chu Yi," he said word by word, pressing his hand against Chu Yi's forehead, "You're finished."
"Um?"
"You like me more than I thought." Zhou Ai raised his eyebrows proudly.
Chu Yi's ears turned slightly red, but he did not deny it.
He just stood on tiptoe and gently kissed the scar on Zhou Ai's brow, as if completing a belated ritual.
"Yes," he murmured, "so you see, I really have bad taste."
"Who said that!" Zhou Ai immediately retorted, "Our Doctor Chu has the best vision!"
Outside the window, the snow started falling again.
And this time, Chu Yi thought, he could finally express every bit of his love openly.
———
Chu Yi made special preparations on the first day of his official return to work at the hospital after his vacation.
He booked in advance various desserts from a top-notch dessert shop in Beijing that was extremely difficult to book and very expensive. He also packed the small Miao embroidered purses with ethnic characteristics that he had carefully selected in Guizhou - which even contained some local herbs that could calm the nerves and help with sleep - and planned to give them to his colleagues in the department.
He thought that his colleagues must have shared the workload during his absence, and he should express his gratitude. This gift was both respectable and thoughtful, showing great sincerity.
However, when Chu Yi walked into the department carrying large and small bags of desserts and gifts, he clearly felt that the atmosphere was a little strange.
At this time of day, everyone is either busy changing shifts or rushing to eat breakfast, making a lot of noise.
But today, as soon as he walked in, the originally noisy office suddenly became quiet. Countless eyes fell on him, full of curiosity, inquiry, and a kind of... indescribable ambiguity and smile.
Chu Yi remained calm, placing the dessert and purse on the table in the common area. He spoke in a normal tone, "Thank you all for your hard work. I brought some food and a few small gifts. Thank you for helping me share the workload during this time."
"Oh, Teacher Chu is so polite!"
"That's right, it's good that you're back. What else did you bring?"
Colleagues gathered around, saying polite words, but their eyes were like searchlights, scanning Chu Yi's face, and the corners of their mouths had an uncontrollable smile.
Chu Yi felt a little uncomfortable being stared at, so he coughed lightly and prepared to return to his workstation.
At this time, Nurse Kobayashi, who usually has the most lively personality and has a good relationship with Chu Yi, finally couldn't help it.
She clutched the delicate embroidered purse, moved closer to Chu Yi, and nudged him lightly with her shoulder. She winked and asked in a low voice, "Teacher Chu... you're so good! You quietly went out to film a variety show and came back, and your status has been upgraded to 'entertainment industry family member'?"
Although her voice was not loud, it was clearly audible in the quiet office.
In an instant, everyone stopped moving.
The hand that was about to open the dessert box paused, and the milk tea that was brought to his mouth no longer smelled fragrant. Everyone's eyes were focused on Chu Yi more intensely and more intently than before. The office was filled with an urgent atmosphere of "Hurry! We want to eat the freshest melon firsthand!"
Chu Yi: “…”
No matter how slow he was, he understood the origin of the strange atmosphere and those ambiguous looks.
It must be that variety show, and the commotion that Zhou Ai caused online...
After all, all my colleagues have become 5G surfers.
Facing more than a dozen pairs of eyes filled with "curiosity for knowledge", Chu Yi felt his ears getting hot.
He tried to maintain his usual cool composure, but the slightly red ears and a flash of embarrassment betrayed him.
He opened his mouth and wanted to explain something like "just ordinary friends" or "it's a show effect", but when the words came to his lips, they felt pale and powerless.
How can Zhou Ai's actions be explained by "ordinary friends" and "show effects"?
Seeing Chu Yi's rare, somewhat bewildered and embarrassed expression, his colleagues understood clearly. This wasn't a denial; it was clearly an acquiescence!
"Oh, Teacher Chu is blushing!"
"It seems to be true?"
"Tell me quickly, Dr. Chu, what's it like to date a celebrity?"
"Is Zhou Ai also privately that... 'peacock-spreading'?"
Chu Yi was instantly overwhelmed by the barrage of teasing and questions. He felt like he was being roasted on a fire. Faced with his colleagues' well-intentioned yet overwhelming gossip, for the first time in his life, he felt the urge to flee the department.
In the end, he could only keep a straight face, trying to maintain the last bit of composure, and said: "...work hard and eat less melons."
Then he almost ran away as he walked quickly towards his office, and behind him he heard his colleagues' laughter that could no longer be suppressed.
After closing the door and blocking out the noise outside, Chu Yi leaned against the door panel and took a long breath, his face still flushed.
He rubbed his forehead helplessly, and in his heart he once again remembered Zhou Ai, who was far away in a foreign place but could still make him "socially dead" from a distance.
At this moment, Zhou Ai, who was shooting a commercial in a studio, sneezed several times for no apparent reason.
The photographer asked nervously, "Mr. Zhou, are you okay? Is the air conditioner too cold?"
Zhou Ai rubbed his nose and waved his hand, "It's okay, maybe... it's the cat at home that's talking about me."
Zhou Ai had received an announcement for a week-long business trip, and after much persuasion, she reluctantly went with Xu Yang. Meanwhile, Chu Yi was completely absorbed in his work.
However, he would occasionally receive video calls from Zhou Ai, who would schedule them during his rest time.
Chu Yi had just returned to the office and sat down when the video invitation notification on his mobile phone rang.
The video link connected, revealing Chu Yi's face, wearing a light blue medical mask, revealing only a pair of calm eyes and a smooth forehead. Behind him was the familiar white backdrop of a hospital office.
"Are you busy?" Zhou Ai's smiling voice came from the receiver, with a hint of laziness after work.
Before Chu Yi could reply, there was a knock on the office door and a colleague poked his head in. "Doctor Chu, the family of the patient in bed 3 would like to know more about the situation. Is it convenient for you now?"
"Okay, wait a moment." Chu Yi responded to the door, and when he turned to the mobile phone screen, his eyes instantly returned to the professional, calm and slightly distant state he was in when he was working.
He spoke steadily and clearly, explaining a few things about his work. Even through the screen, Dr. Chu's sense of reliability and distance came over me.
Zhou Ai looked at Chu Yi, whose state changed instantly on the screen, and his heart felt like it was gently bumped by something, making him feel numb and tingling.
How lucky he was to have such a calm and self-controlled person develop so many secret and gentle thoughts for him.
Chu Yi did not hang up the phone, and Zhou Ai was tactful enough not to say anything. He only heard Chu Yi quickly handling his colleague's questions on the other end through the current, and watched Chu Yi holding the camera of his mobile phone and walking towards the relatively quiet rest room.
After closing the door, Chu Yi took off his mask, revealing a slightly tired but still handsome appearance. He asked Zhou Ai on the other side of the camera, "Have you eaten?" His voice returned to its usual gentleness.
"Not yet. I just finished filming. I'll have dinner with the team later." Zhou Ai looked at the face on the screen that he missed, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously raised. "How about you? Are you tired from work?"
"Not bad," Chu Yi replied briefly, clearly not wanting to dwell on the hardships of his work. He walked over to the chair by the window and sat down, resting his phone against the glass of water on the table.
"Be good, hold your phone away from me." Zhou Ai instructed from the other side, "Let me take a good look at you."
Chu Yi followed his instructions and moved the phone further away so that he could see her whole body. Chu Yi also saw Zhou Ai's current appearance more clearly through the screen.
He seemed to be still on the set, and the background looked like a stylishly decorated studio.
The eye-catching silver hair before was gone. It was dyed back to pure black and permed into fluffy and lazy curls, and made into a 3:7 style. A few curls were casually draped in front of his forehead, making his eyebrows and eyes more clear and three-dimensional. He looked less flamboyant and more literary and calm.
He was wearing a soft lotus pink cardigan. This color is extremely picky, but it looked surprisingly harmonious on Zhou Ai, softening his slightly sharp outlines and making him look gentle and noble.
He placed his cell phone a little further away and sat casually on the ground, with one elbow resting on his raised knee, his posture relaxed yet handsome.
Just like that, he looked intently at the camera through the screen with his bright, smiling peach blossom eyes, and also at Chu Yi who was on the other side of the camera.
"New look?" Chu Yi looked at his outfit which was very different from his usual style and asked casually after taking a sip of water.
"Well, let's shoot a brand concept film." Zhou Ai shook her head, her curly hair bouncing slightly. "How is it? Is Dr. Chu satisfied with what you see?"
There was a hint of smugness in his tone, like a cocky puppy wagging its tail.
Chu Yi looked at him, looking like he was begging for praise. A faint smile appeared in his eyes, and he nodded politely: "It looks good."
These two simple words made Zhou Ai's heart blossom with joy, and she wanted to reach through the screen and kiss him.
"You look good in a white coat, too," Zhou Ai complimented him generously, her eyes lingering on him, "You look especially good."
Especially when he thought of the familiar soft body under the cold and abstinent white coat, Zhou Ai felt a warm feeling in his heart.
The two of them just looked at each other quietly across the screen.
One is a short break in the hustle and bustle of work, and the other is a tiring moment after shooting in a different location. Just seeing each other's faces and hearing each other's voices through video can seem to wash away all the fatigue.
"Are you tired?" Chu Yi looked at the faint shadow under his eyes and asked softly.
"I'm not tired anymore when I see you." Zhou Ai smiled and leaned forward, almost putting her entire face in front of the camera. "Doctor Chu, did you miss me?"
Chu Yi looked at the face on the screen that was still handsome even though it was magnified. He didn't answer directly, but just slightly curled his eyes and asked, "When will you be back?"
Some answers are self-evident.
Chu Yi's calm "When will you come back?" was like a feather, gently landing on Zhou Ai's heart, tickling him.
His doctor, Dr. Chu, is like this. He never says "I miss you" directly, but behind every seemingly ordinary question, there is careful concern.
Zhou Ai understood and immediately replied, "The day after tomorrow."
He stared at Chu Yi's eyes on the screen, not wanting to miss any subtle changes in emotion.
Chu Yi lowered his eyes, his thick eyelashes casting a small shadow under his eyes, as if he was quickly calculating his schedule in his mind.
After a moment, he raised his eyes and nodded, his gaze sweeping across Zhou Ai's thin coat again. Even though he knew that the air conditioner in the studio must be turned on full blast, he still couldn't help but give another reminder.
"Yeah. Keep warm. Don't sacrifice warmth for style."
He remembered that Zhou Ai had a history of wearing only thin performance clothes in the cold winter for the sake of appearance.
Zhou Ai looked at him, who was obviously concerned but had to put on a stern face and lecture him, and her heart softened.
He suddenly moved closer to the camera, and his entire handsome face was magnified in front of Chu Yi, even his curled eyelashes were clearly visible.
He lowered his voice, with a bit of coquettishness and a bit of joking:
"My dear," he said with a smile in his voice, "you are so long-winded."
Chu Yi raised his eyebrows slightly and was about to speak, but Zhou Ai's tone changed. His voice became lower and softer, like a small hook:
"but……"
He deliberately dragged out his tone, his sparkling peach blossom eyes looking straight into Chu Yi's eyes through the screen, and said clearly and slowly:
"What should I do if I like it so much?"
“…”
Chu Yi's breathing stagnated, and he felt his ears suddenly burning.
Sometimes Zhou Ai's words were too blunt, and coupled with his striking face and affectionate, focused eyes, even the composed Chu Yi often couldn't handle it.
He subconsciously wanted to look away, but he was unable to move as if he was sucked by a magnet.
Zhou Ai looked at the blush spreading from his doctor Chu's ears to his neck, and his eyes that were trying to be calm but slightly flickering, and he chuckled triumphantly, his chest vibrating slightly. His laughter came through the receiver with a grainy and magnetic sound.
"Doctor Chu," he pressed on, "you're blushing."
Chu Yi was a little angry and reached out to hang up the video call, saying in a stern tone: "...It's okay, I'm hanging up. I still have to go to the ward for rounds."
"No, no, no!" Zhou Ai quickly begged for mercy, "I was wrong, I was wrong! I won't tease you anymore!"
He quickly sat down again, but the corners of his eyes and eyebrows still showed an unconcealable smile and doting, "Let me look at it for a while, just a little while."
Chu Yi looked at him acting like a spoiled brat and finally couldn't bear to hang up.
He pursed his lips and sat up straight again, but his slightly red cheeks and eyes that no longer met his gaze revealed that he was still not calm.
Zhou Ai stopped talking and just looked at him quietly. The noise of the studio seemed to be isolated outside. On both sides of the screen, there was only the quiet breathing and silent flow of thoughts between them.
After a long while, Chu Yi raised his eyes again, quickly glanced at the screen, and urged in a low voice: "...Hurry up and eat."
"Okay." Zhou Ai agreed obediently, knowing that his thin-skinned Dr. Chu was almost reaching his limit.
"Then I'll hang up? You... remember to eat on time and don't get too tired."
"Yeah." Chu Yi nodded.
Just before hanging up, Zhou Ai suddenly moved closer and whispered into the microphone:
"See you the day after tomorrow, darling. I missed you, too."
After saying that, he quickly ended the video call without waiting for Chu Yi's reaction.
Chu Yi looked at the phone screen that returned to the chat interface, and Zhou Ai's low and gentle words "I miss you too" seemed to still echo in his ears.
He raised his hand and touched his still hot earlobe with his fingertips. Finally, he couldn't help it and the corners of his lips curved up into a shallow and gentle arc.
This guy... there's really nothing you can do about him.
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