Chapter Six: The One Riding a White Horse Is Not Necessarily a Prince

Chapter Six: The One Riding a White Horse Is Not Necessarily a Prince!

The pale moon hung shrouded in gauze, lending a gentle grace to the night. A breeze brushed across Lin Wanxi’s cheek, lifting her long hair. Draped in the coat Qin Luo had fetched for her, she sat facing him in rattan chairs on the balcony.

She did not look at Qin Luo, who sat across from her; her gaze remained fixed on the hazy, golden moon suspended in the sky.

Lin Wanxi was breathtakingly beautiful. Her features were as finely drawn as a painting, her temperament cool and aloof. Yet those enticing almond eyes and her alluring, enchanting figure made her seem both bewitching and endlessly charming.

Radiant but never vulgar, voluptuous yet never heavyset. More importantly—she was five years older than he.

Such a woman was, in Qin Luo’s eyes, the very embodiment of the perfect mature goddess.

Yet, she suffered from that cursed and inexplicable phobia of men.

As a doctor, Qin Luo felt it was his responsibility to rescue this woman from her predicament, to help her once more embrace the arms of a man.

“After I graduated from university, the school recommended me to study pharmacology and immunology at Harvard Medical School,” Lin Wanxi suddenly spoke, breaking the long silence between them.

“Mmm. That proves you must be exceptionally talented,” Qin Luo replied with a smile. With such a face, capable of bringing cities to ruin, and a mind that matched, this woman would be the center of attention wherever she went.

These days, women of twenty-seven or twenty-eight who remained unmarried were hardly rare. The label of “leftover woman” had even become something of a trend.

Yet why did Lin Wanxi always draw such scrutiny and concern? Wasn’t it simply because of her beauty?

If she looked like the infamous Sister Feng, would anyone care so obsessively about whether she was married, or had a boyfriend?

If any man married Sister Feng at the age of eighty and discovered on their wedding night that she was a virgin, there would be no need for surprise—it would be only natural. Nor would there be any doubt that her hymen was the original, not a cheap rubber imitation bought for eighty yuan.

“When I first arrived there, life was peaceful and fulfilling. The academic atmosphere was intense; no one forced you to study, but you had to push yourself. It was as if I had stepped into a treasure trove—each moment brought new discoveries.”

A long silence followed.

Lin Wanxi’s face was clouded with sorrow and confusion, as if her soul had drifted to another plane, back to distant, bittersweet memories.

Qin Luo thought that, in these moments, Lin Wanxi was the most genuine. The cold, distant woman, who frowned when speaking, was just a mask.

Illness had forced her to don a mask she could not remove.

“He must have been very accomplished, too?” Qin Luo asked softly, guiding the conversation.

“He was also from Yanjing. Being far from home made our bond as compatriots all the more precious. And yes, he was outstanding. He entered Harvard Medical a year before me, but had already earned his PhD in immunology. He was also president of the local alumni association, very influential among the international students.”

Qin Luo nodded. Only such an extraordinary man could be a match for Lin Wanxi.

“He was always courteous, never overstepped boundaries. While we dated, he never made any demands. In fact, we never even held hands. It was for this very reason I felt he was a man I could entrust my life to.”

“What happened after that?” Qin Luo pressed gently.

“But—I was too naïve,” Lin Wanxi shook her head weakly. “By chance, I saw him driving away with an American girl from our school. She was infamous, a notorious socialite. I followed them by taxi. Before they even entered the house, they were already embracing in the car—”

Qin Luo nodded in understanding. “So after that, you began to loathe men?”

“Yes. I found them all so filthy. Even those who look decent on the outside are the same.”

“Then—what do you think of me?” Qin Luo leaned back, allowing her to better appraise his handsome face.

“You—you’re not so bad. Annoying—but not too much so,” Lin Wanxi said, looking at him, admitting her feelings.

At their first meeting, she’d found this man, dressed in a filthy black robe, utterly detestable. Worse, he had barged into her space without permission, more obnoxious than any man she had ever met.

But then her grandfather told her he had just rendered a great service, resolving a nationally publicized infant infection crisis and saving the hospital’s reputation—he had quietly offered tissues when she cried, and brought her a coat when she was cold—

He didn’t seem like a bad person, after all.

“This can’t go on,” Qin Luo said. “You’re still young, you’ll want to marry and have children someday. And your symptoms may worsen. Right now, when you see a man, do you feel your liver burning, a sense of inner oppression, intense anger, the urge to explode?”

“Yes,” Lin Wanxi nodded.

“Strictly speaking, you have a phobia of love, which then developed into a generalized aversion and fear of all men. Deep down, you believe every man who approaches you has ulterior motives. And you no longer trust in love—so you end up in this state,” Qin Luo explained, shifting to a psychological perspective.

There was no alternative; androphobia was fundamentally a psychological affliction. And such illnesses required a remedy of the mind.

“Then what should I do?”

“If you trust me, I have a way to cure you,” Qin Luo said confidently. He could tell Lin Wanxi didn’t want to remain trapped like this. She was simply too close to the problem to see a way out; she’d never found the right breakthrough.

As long as the patient was willing to cooperate, Qin Luo was eighty percent certain he could cure her.

“Thank you,” Lin Wanxi said softly.

“Mmm. That’s already a good start,” Qin Luo replied, his words carrying a double meaning. Her ability to thank a man, and no longer detest him, was a sign of recovery—

Of course, additional methods would be needed to assist in treatment.

“So what should I do now?” Lin Wanxi asked.

“Your condition has lasted too long, and the frequent anger has caused severe stagnation in your liver meridian. First, I need to help you clear your liver meridian,” Qin Luo said. “If you can keep your mood cheerful, the symptoms will naturally abate. If the liver meridian is blocked, the illness will recur.”

“How do you clear it?” Lin Wanxi asked.

“Acupuncture,” Qin Luo replied, taking out the silver case from his pocket once again.

“Acupuncture?”

“Yes. Acupuncture at the Great Surge, Xingjian, and Zu Wuli points,” Qin Luo specified.

“Right now?”

“If you have the time,” Qin Luo shrugged nonchalantly.

“Alright. Sorry for the trouble,” Lin Wanxi said. Anyone who learned their illness could be treated would long for relief as soon as possible.

Even the so-called “Iceberg Goddess” could not help but reveal a glimmer of longing in her eyes.

Qin Luo glanced around and said, “Let’s go back inside. It’s windy here, and after acupuncture you mustn’t catch a chill.”

“Alright,” Lin Wanxi obediently stood up, following Qin Luo into her boudoir.

“Sit on the bed,” Qin Luo instructed.

Lin Wanxi looked at him, then complied, sitting on her large bed and tugging at the hem of her nightgown. Sitting down pulled the fabric up, exposing a long stretch of snow-white thigh.

“Do you have any rubbing alcohol?” Qin Luo asked. His gaze inadvertently fell on her legs, and he couldn’t help but linger for a moment.

“It’s in the first aid kit in the cabinet,” Lin Wanxi replied, her cheeks tinged with pink. Qin Luo’s burning stare left her feeling uneasy.

Qin Luo found the first aid kit, disinfected the silver needles with alcohol, then knelt by Lin Wanxi’s calf, reaching to touch her delicate, lotus-like foot.

“Ah! What are you doing? Let go of me!” Lin Wanxi cried angrily, attempting to pull her foot from Qin Luo’s grasp.

She was furious. She hadn’t expected this man to be so brash.

“You teach at the traditional medicine hospital—you must know where the Great Surge and Xingjian points are, right?” Qin Luo asked with a smile.

Of course, Lin Wanxi knew. The Great Surge point was at the lateral side of the tip of the big toe, 0.1 cun from the corner of the nail; Xingjian was on the dorsum of the foot, between the first and second toes, just behind the web.

In other words, she would have to let a man handle feet that had never been touched by one before?

“I’m a doctor. Doctors are genderless,” Qin Luo delivered once again that most notorious of professional lies.

Looking into Qin Luo’s serious, earnest eyes, Lin Wanxi hesitated, then stopped struggling, letting him cradle her dainty foot in his almost feminine-looking hands.

A woman’s foot is her second face; a truly discerning man appreciates a woman from the ground up, foot to head.

The ideal beautiful foot must meet several criteria: distinct contour, slender shape, smooth lines, tender color, well-ordered toes, and a fresh scent.

Meeting three or more of these marks one as exceptional; meeting all makes one the ultimate prize for any foot aficionado.

Lin Wanxi’s feet were of the highest caliber.

“Can we begin?” Lin Wanxi, seeing Qin Luo cradling her foot with an expression of delight yet making no move to insert the needles, felt a peculiar sense of satisfaction. Yet, feminine reserve made her twitch her toes slightly, reminding him to proceed.

“Mm. I was just locating the points,” Qin Luo replied casually.

Fortunately, Lin Wanxi spared him the embarrassment of exposing his little white lie.

Once Qin Luo composed himself and adopted his doctor’s persona, he became all seriousness, professionalism, and efficiency. His needlework was precise and elegant, leaving no room for hesitation. The beauty of his movements was mesmerizing.

She had seen others perform acupuncture before, but never with such skill and grace.

Lin Wanxi thought, such a man, if he wished, would surely be adored by many women.

Qin Luo released her delicate foot. “Lift your nightgown a bit. We need to needle the Zu Wuli point.”

Zu Wuli is located on the inner thigh, three cun directly below the Qi Chong point at the root of the thigh, beneath the pubic tubercle, along the outer edge of the adductor longus muscle.

In other words, she would have to spread her thighs for him?

Lin Wanxi looked troubled, uncertain what to do.