Chapter Eighty-Eight: An Unexpected Surge of Emotion

Lin Wanxi happened to be leaning on the balcony on the second floor, breathing in the fresh air. Hearing her grandfather and Qin Luo’s conversation, she finally couldn’t hold back and flung the cactus sitting on her windowsill out into the yard.

Those two were shameless beyond belief. Things weren’t at all as they said—she had clearly been—

Suddenly, a question leapt into Lin Wanxi’s mind.

If she had been forced, why hadn’t she resisted him right from the beginning? She wasn’t the type of lovesick girl who’d lose her head at a man’s slightest touch; she should have reacted swiftly, so why hadn’t she pushed him away immediately?

Hadn’t she already decided to give up on love?

But then, why had Qin Luo acted that way toward her so suddenly?

Could it mean he was interested in her?

If that were true, then what about him and Li Qingcheng—

Annoyed, Lin Wanxi ruffled her hair and pushed these thorny questions to the back of her mind.

Sitting in the front passenger seat, Qin Luo kept sneaking glances at Lin Wanxi’s expression. Unfortunately, she maintained a cold, expressionless face, leaving Qin Luo unable to guess her true thoughts.

Still, he knew that Lin Wanxi’s act of smashing the flowerpot proved she now harbored resentment or anger. Either way, it meant his unusual tactics were working.

For now, she would find it difficult to retreat to the emotionless, tranquil state demanded by her “emotional closure syndrome.” If given time, Qin Luo was confident he could cure her.

The car stopped at the school gate. Lin Wanxi sat upright in the passenger seat, not even glancing at Qin Luo.

“Do you have something you want to say to me?” Qin Luo asked, noticing her expression.

“Get out.”

—

So this woman wanted to drop him off at the school gate, avoiding the spectacle that would arise if he got out at the office building.

Qin Luo unbuckled his seatbelt and smiled, “Let’s have lunch together.”

“No need.”

“It’s fine. My treat.”

“No need.”

“Don’t worry about troubling me. I have to eat anyway.”

—

After Lin Wanxi’s BMW drove onto campus, Qin Luo strolled toward the Traditional Chinese Medicine College’s office building.

When Qin Luo arrived at the office, a group of teachers were enthusiastically discussing something. As always, Teacher Zhu was the center of attention, and everyone wore bright smiles when talking to him. Zhu had completely changed from his formerly unkempt appearance; his hair was freshly cut, he wore a crisp white shirt and black suit pants, his leather shoes shone, and he radiated the energy of a man in high spirits after good fortune.

Seeing Qin Luo enter, the laughter and chatter abruptly ceased. The group looked at him as if he were some strange creature, evidently seeing him as an outsider.

Qin Luo paid them no mind, grabbed his textbook from the desk, and headed out.

“Mr. Qin, you’re here,” said Xiaomin, the office clerk, as she bumped into him in the corridor. The young woman greeted him warmly—the only colleague in the office who was close to him.

“Yes, off to class,” Qin Luo replied with a smile.

“Mr. Qin, I told my classmates I work with the heir of the Taiyi Divine Needle, but they don’t believe me. It’s infuriating! They want me to invite you to dinner. When do you have time? Please, give me this chance to shine for once!” Xiaomin pleaded.

“Alright, we’ll see when I have time,” Qin Luo nodded, cherishing her repeated kindness in a city where he had few friends.

“Haha, it’s settled then! You mustn’t go back on your word, Mr. Qin!” Xiaomin said happily.

“Absolutely,” Qin Luo assured her.

When he entered the classroom, it was packed as usual. With his growing reputation, more and more students from other departments came to sit in on his lectures. The small classroom couldn’t meet the demand anymore. Qin Luo was considering requesting a medium-sized lecture hall from the department to accommodate all the students interested in traditional Chinese medicine.

He had never thought of keeping knowledge to himself; on the contrary, he hoped as many students as possible would love Chinese medicine—that way, it would become more widespread.

Anything they needed, he would provide—so long as they truly loved Chinese medicine. If they were just there for the spectacle, then it wasn’t worth it.

What pleased Qin Luo even more was seeing Wang Jiujiu in the front row again. It reassured him; clearly, she was fine, just skipping class now and then.

He smiled at her, and she returned a sweet smile.

It was as if a weight had lifted from Qin Luo’s heart, and he began his lecture.

After class, Wang Jiujiu once again chased after him.

“Mr. Qin, I prepared tea for you,” she said, pulling a water bottle from her bag with a smile.

“You actually did? That’s too much trouble,” Qin Luo responded.

“Of course I did. If you promise something, you can’t go back on your word,” Wang Jiujiu said with a smile. When she smiled, two adorable dimples appeared on her cheeks, and her long eyelashes fluttered, making her utterly charming.

Qin Luo thought, once Wang Jiujiu grew up, she would surely be as captivating as her mother—a woman who could make men lose their heads.

And their personalities were so similar, too.

“Thank you,” Qin Luo said, unable to refuse her kindness, and unscrewed the cap to drink.

“No need for thanks, we’re friends after all,” Wang Jiujiu shrugged casually.

“Oh, right—why didn’t you come to class yesterday?” Qin Luo asked, concerned.

“Ah, Mr. Qin, you noticed?” Wang Jiujiu feigned a pout, though her heart was sweet with joy. So he had always been paying attention to her presence.

“Of course. Next time you skip class, you need to ask for leave from me, or I’ll deduct your points,” Qin Luo joked.

“Don’t worry, I’ll definitely ask for leave next time,” Wang Jiujiu promised. She could ignore other teachers, but never refused Qin Luo’s words.

As if she’d just remembered something, she said, “Oh, Mr. Qin—”

But just then, Qin Luo’s phone rang abruptly in his pocket.

“Go ahead and answer it,” Wang Jiujiu said, embarrassed, lamenting her bad luck—always interrupted at moments like this.

“You go ahead,” Qin Luo held the phone in his hand, not answering it immediately, and spoke to Wang Jiujiu.

“It’s fine, Mr. Qin, answer your call. Maybe it’s something important. I can wait,” Wang Jiujiu said understandingly.

Qin Luo nodded and answered the phone.

“Senior brother, it’s Yangxin. Are you busy today?” Wang Yangxin’s voice came through.

“Not really. Is something up?” Qin Luo asked, surprised that Wang Yangxin was calling him at this time.

“Of course! You haven’t forgotten, have you?” Wang Yangxin exclaimed.

“What is it?” Qin Luo asked. He didn’t recall forgetting anything important.

“Today is the day of the Chinese Medicine Symposium. You’re supposed to represent the expert group and give a speech at the conference. You haven’t prepared a speech, have you?”

“Nobody told me about it,” Qin Luo replied with a wry smile. Old Zhu had mentioned something like this, but no one had told him the exact date. The teachers in the office, Zhu included, weren’t close to him and never discussed such matters in front of him.

No wonder Zhu was so sharply dressed today, looking as if he’d regained his youth. He was off to attend this nationally significant conference.

“Nobody told you? My grandfather thought Old Zhu and the others had informed you. Maybe all those old men assumed someone else had. What should we do now? The conference starts at three this afternoon, and you haven’t prepared a speech. Will you make it?”

Qin Luo considered it and replied, “It shouldn’t be a problem. I’m not used to writing speeches.”

Hearing Qin Luo’s relaxed tone, Wang Yangxin became worried. “Senior brother, you must take this seriously. This symposium is high-profile—all the greats of Chinese medicine and famous professors from top universities will attend. There’ll also be senior officials from the Health Bureau and Ministry of Health—you really should prepare.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve been preparing for over twenty years,” Qin Luo said, not bothered, though he appreciated Wang Yangxin’s concern.

They had had their differences in the past, but now they were fellow disciples. Fate worked in mysterious ways.

“Alright then. I’ll pick you up at the medical university gate at two this afternoon and take you to the venue,” Wang Yangxin said.

“Okay, thank you.”

“No need for thanks—fellow disciples should help each other,” Wang Yangxin replied with a smile.

After hanging up, Qin Luo gave the girl in front of him an apologetic smile. “Jiujiu, you can tell me now—what did you want?”

During the call, Wang Jiujiu had kept her emotions in check. Now, she could speak without feeling nervous. “Mr. Qin, are you free tomorrow evening?”

“Hmm? Why?” Qin Luo asked.

“Well, if you’re free tomorrow night, my mom said—she’d like to invite you to dinner at our home.”

“To dinner at your home?” Qin Luo was startled. Going to the military district commander’s house—could anything go wrong?

If he said or did something inappropriate, would Wang Jiujiu’s father drag him outside to be executed?

“Yes,” Wang Jiujiu nodded.

“Why?”

“Because tomorrow is my mom’s birthday. She wants to have some people over to liven things up.”

“I see. That’s fine, I’ll definitely come tomorrow,” Qin Luo nodded. If it was a crowd, there shouldn’t be any trouble.

When the time came, speak less, don’t drink—then nothing dangerous should happen.

“Thank you, Mr. Qin! I’ll arrange a car to pick you up tomorrow night,” Wang Jiujiu said excitedly, seeing that Qin Luo had agreed.

“No need to thank me—I should be thanking you,” Qin Luo replied with a smile.

When Qin Luo had walked away, Wang Jiujiu pulled out her phone and called her mother, happily announcing, “Zhang Yiyi, hurry up and get ready! Mr. Qin has agreed to come to our house for dinner tomorrow night!”

“Really? Yay, that’s wonderful! I was saying that if this didn’t work, I’d postpone my birthday for two more days. I don’t believe that young man is always busy,” Zhang Yiyi cheered on the other end of the line.

Thinking about how her mother was willing to delay her birthday just for her sake, Wang Jiujiu felt a little warmth in her heart.

“Mom, thank you,” Wang Jiujiu said into the phone.

—

The line suddenly grew quiet.

“Hey, Zhang Yiyi, what’s wrong?” Wang Jiujiu asked, concerned.

“You brat, why are you suddenly getting so sentimental?” Zhang Yiyi sniffled. “You’re just an egg I laid. For you, I’d stab someone twice if I had to. Why be formal with your own mother? Brat, you just want to make me cry, don’t you? Annoying.”

—