Chapter Sixty-One: Do I Know You?

“How could this happen? She’s my most important client this year,” Li Qingcheng groaned in agony.

Qin Luo, helpless, replied, “Other than calling her mentally unstable, I really can’t find another diagnosis for her.”

“What exactly happened?” Li Qingcheng slumped limply against the sofa, tilting her face up to look at Qin Luo.

“I’d never met her before, but she summoned me to treat her. After the four diagnostic methods—inspection, listening, questioning, and palpation—I found her body perfectly healthy. Not even minor sub-health symptoms appeared. Yet she insisted I perform a pathological deduction. How am I supposed to deduce a disease for someone without any illness?”

Li Qingcheng rubbed her brow and asked, “You think she’s deliberately toying with you?”

“I don’t understand the ways of the wealthy, nor do I want to know her purpose. What I am certain of is that my medical skills are reserved for those who truly need them. I won’t be someone’s plaything, nor will my medicine,” Qin Luo said with grave seriousness.

Li Qingcheng nodded inwardly. It was rare for a young man to hold such principles.

If another man had encountered a woman like that, he would have gone out of his way to please her. Not to mention deducing illnesses—he’d be delighted to “deduce” her body as well.

“Qin Luo is different from others. Perhaps that’s why I’m drawn to him,” Li Qingcheng thought to herself.

“She specifically asked for you after she arrived. I assumed she’d heard of your skills somewhere, so I called you over. Who could have guessed things would turn out so unpleasant?”

“But she’s a very clever woman. I have to be extremely careful in conversation with her, as if she could see right through me. If you meet her again in the future, be careful.”

“There won’t be another meeting,” Qin Luo answered, thinking that not only did he feel exposed before her, but even Li Qingcheng, a woman of extraordinary charm, admitted she was formidable. Clearly, the woman was shrewd to a frightening degree.

To have such a fiancée—is it a blessing, or perhaps a curse?

“But how could you treat such a stunning beauty that way, even calling her mentally unstable? How could you bear it?”

“I didn’t insult her,” Qin Luo replied. “Mental illness, or psychiatric disorder, is a disease. Those afflicted act in ways that most people can’t comprehend, seeming strange or unique. Under the influence of pathological psychology, they may have tendencies toward suicide or hurting others. Her symptoms are similar to those of such disorders. That’s just my diagnosis for her.”

Li Qingcheng giggled, pointing at Qin Luo, “You rascal! You insulted her and refuse to admit it, even twisting logic to cover yourself.”

“I only spoke the truth. Looks like I can’t be your cash cow anymore,” Qin Luo said with a smile.

Li Qingcheng shook her head, her alluring eyes wandering over Qin Luo’s face. “But she seemed satisfied with your medical skills. She said she hoped to continue treatment in the future. Looks like you hit the mark by accident.”

Qin Luo shook his head with a silent sigh.

Why go to such trouble?

“Oh, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you. I always forget.” Li Qingcheng sprang up from the sofa and looked at Qin Luo. “What’s your relationship with Lin Wanxi?”

“Friends,” he replied.

“What kind of friends?”

“Well... good friends, I suppose,” Qin Luo said. He couldn’t really define the nature of their friendship himself.

“Have you slept together?”

Qin Luo’s face flushed red, unable to respond for a long moment. Li Qingcheng burst into another fit of laughter, nearly convulsing with joy. “What’s wrong? Haven’t managed it yet? Blushing like that—don’t tell me you’re still a virgin?”

“So what if I am?” Qin Luo retorted stubbornly.

“Being a virgin is shameful. Haha, I never expected you to still be one! Qin Luo, you’re behind the times—middle schoolers these days are more experienced than you.”

“We’re not that kind of friends,” Qin Luo said, thoroughly embarrassed.

He thought, next time someone asks, he’ll just say he isn’t a virgin. After all, men don’t have a physical marker for it. Even if they strip him down to check, there’s no way to tell.

Li Qingcheng leaned in close, her soft chest heaving right under Qin Luo’s gaze. The expanse of creamy skin made him swallow several times in secret.

“Little brother, who do you think is prettier—me or Lin Wanxi?”

“Both are beautiful.”

“If you had to choose one to be your wife, who would you pick?”

“...Both are fine.”

“What do you mean ‘both are fine’? Little brother, you’re too greedy, aren’t you? Want us both? Two women sharing a husband?”

“No, no, I never thought that,” Qin Luo waved his hands quickly. Any normal man would entertain such thoughts. He did, but he knew it was impossible.

“Hmph, at least you know your place. If you do want to choose, pick me, alright?”

“I’ll think about it,” Qin Luo replied. “I have things to do this afternoon. I’ll be going now.”

Qin Luo wasn’t good with these topics, desperate to escape.

“I wanted you to have lunch with me,” Li Qingcheng said regretfully. “But since you’re busy, I won’t force you.”

Previously, Qin Luo planned to head straight back to the Lin family villa by car. But as the vehicle passed the entrance to Capital Medical University, Qin Luo called out, “Master, stop here.”

After paying the fare, Qin Luo walked into the campus.

He’d intended to visit Wang Jiujiu and their classroom, but hesitated and decided against it.

Going there would only put the students in an awkward position.

He knew Lin Wanxi had two classes in the late morning. There were still over ten minutes before the end, so coming now would let him catch a ride home with her.

Just as Qin Luo reached the entrance of the Bioengineering College teaching building, a red Ferrari sports car brazenly stopped right beside him.

“It’s you?” The man in the car took off his sunglasses and looked at Qin Luo.

“Yes, it’s me.” Qin Luo nodded. If the other hadn’t spoken first, he would never have connected the suited, sunglass-wearing, sports-car-driving Wang Yangxin before him with the Wang Yangxin he’d seen at the Lin family residence.

Previously, he could only call him arrogant; now, he was downright audacious.

What was strange, though—what was he doing here?

“What are you here for? Didn’t I hear you were expelled from the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine?” Wang Yangxin picked up the large bouquet of roses from the passenger seat, stepped out, and sneered.

“Honestly, I do feel a bit sorry for you. Last time, old Wang said you knew the Supreme Needle technique and praised you like you were a marvel. I really thought you were something special. Remember what I told you then? A fake is always a fake—you can fool some for a while, but not forever. The college leaders have good judgment, kicking you out so quickly.”

Qin Luo frowned, “What are you getting at?”

“I want to ask—do you think you’re worthy of Wanxi? What method will you use to deceive her?”

“Whether I’m worthy is our business. How I deceive her is mine. What does it have to do with you?” Qin Luo said coldly.

Seems this guy had been busy lately, digging up all his background.

From their first meeting, Qin Luo sensed something off in Wang Yangxin’s gaze when he looked at Lin Wanxi. He hadn’t expected him to move so fast in pursuit.

No wonder people say: “He who acts fast gets the prize; he who hesitates gets nothing.” Good wives are won by the bold.

“We’re all smart people, so let’s cut the pretense. I know you like Lin Wanxi—and, not so coincidentally, so do I,” Wang Yangxin said, gesturing to the roses in his arms with a smile.

“That’s your business, not mine,” Qin Luo replied.

Plenty of men liked Lin Wanxi. There had been many before, and there would be many after. But so what? They’d all been summarily dismissed by her.

“I’m just advising you—not to overreach.”

“I’ll return the same advice to you.”

Both men smiled darkly, their gazes clashing in the air, sparks flying, tension thick.

When the bell rang for the end of class, they finally broke their stare and looked toward the glass atrium of the teaching building.

Like boiling water, the school roared to life from silence. There came the sound of moving desks and chairs, indistinct chatter, and the thudding of footsteps on the stairs.

Students coming down first were naturally drawn to the Ferrari parked at the entrance—girls squealed and took photos, while boys stared, faces aglow. Even those who pretended disdain secretly harbored envy.

What man wouldn’t want to drive a flashy sports car to pick up his beloved after class?

Wang Yangxin, handsome and debonair, shifted closer to the car with his roses, making it clear who the owner was.

Of course, his concern was unnecessary. No one would confuse the Ferrari’s owner with Qin Luo, dressed in his gray robe.

Still, Qin Luo drew plenty of attention.

“Hey, that guy looks familiar.”

“Are you dumb? Isn’t he the student rumored to be involved with Lin Wanxi? Even if you forget his face, you’d remember the robe he always wears.”

“Wasn’t he a teacher at the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine? I heard he got expelled recently—”

These murmurs naturally reached Qin Luo’s ears, but he only smiled.

Onlookers are always just enjoying the spectacle; the truth is known only to a select few.

When Lin Wanxi came downstairs, she spotted Qin Luo at the entrance immediately.

Her heart brimmed with joy, though she showed nothing on her face. Even so, she didn’t notice her stride quickening.

“What brings you here?” Lin Wanxi asked Qin Luo as she reached him.

“Just happened to pass by, thought I’d drop in,” Qin Luo replied with a smile.

“Alright. Let’s head home,” Lin Wanxi nodded, taking out her keys to unlock her Mustang.

“Wanxi!” Wang Yangxin rushed over, holding out the vibrant roses. “I know giving roses is cliché, but their fiery color expresses my feelings perfectly.”

Lin Wanxi did not reach for the bouquet. She frowned and asked, “Do I know you?”