Changsheng: Peak at the Beginning

Chapter 1770 Ode to Joy + First Half of Life 34

A short while later, an orthopedic surgeon in surgical scrubs arrived. Qu Xinxin didn't notice him because he was wearing a mask, but he did see her and glanced at her a few more times. The gossipy Qu Xiaoxiao noticed the doctor's gaze and immediately realized that the doctor who had just gone in was treating Qu Xinxin differently. She then turned around, made an excuse to go to the restroom, and pulled Qu Xinxin aside to question her.

Qu Xinxin was still completely confused. "There are people in my circle of friends that you don't know?"

Qu Xiaoxiao argued confidently: "Of course he is! I've been abroad for several years now. During these years, which of your classmates do I even know? So, this male classmate is interested in you?"

Qu Xinxin was speechless. "You and I will be turning twenty-six after the New Year. The person who just performed the scaphoid fracture surgery is at least a head of orthopedics. Do you think he could be my classmate?"

Qu Xiaoxiao finally realized what was going on, but she wasn't going to admit defeat: "He must be your senior! You're a big shot at school, how could any of your seniors not know you? Anyway, I don't care, he definitely has feelings for you!"

Qu Xinxin understood what Qu Xiaoxiao meant, but she didn't intend to let Qu Xiaoxiao dwell on this matter. She made a direct conclusion: "Whether he knows me or not, I definitely don't know him and have no intention of contacting him. You can't use my name to contact people behind my back."

"I didn't pursue the matter with He Han because He Han and Tang Jing were relatively rational and didn't involve me. But what if the other party and his girlfriend aren't so easy to talk to? I don't want to be associated with any scandals at all!"

Qu Xinxin's eyes and tone were unquestionable, and Qu Xiaoxiao could only chuckle twice and give in, regretfully abandoning the gossip. But the doctor from earlier still left a mark on her heart.

Qu Xinxin's focus was only on Fan Shengmei's father's fracture. A scaphoid fracture is no small matter, with extremely high rates of nonunion and necrosis. If it does not heal, it can lead to progressive arthritis of the entire wrist.

However, Fan Shengmei's father is very likely to be hemiplegic, so arthritis is not a big deal.

The fracture was treated, and Fan Shengmei's father was finally sent to the ICU in the middle of the night. As Qu Xiaoxiao had expected, the doctor who rushed over to perform the fracture surgery stopped Qu Xinxin.

Zhao Qiping looked slightly tired, but it only added to his handsome face. He smiled and came over to Qu Xinxin, saying, "You, Qu Xinxin, back when we were both in the library, I didn't know you wouldn't recognize me after leaving school!"

Qu Xinxin only recognized Zhao Qiping after he took off his mask, but she wasn't embarrassed at all. Instead, she corrected the familiarity and ambiguity in Zhao Qiping's tone: "The library receives so many people every day. Even if you sit at the same table, you can't say that you arranged to meet. Senior, you're a talented person, can't you even explain this clearly?"

Qu Xiaoxiao was immediately drawn to Zhao Qiping. There was no other reason than that Zhao Qiping was exactly her ideal type: thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a well-defined jawline. He was a level of beauty that Yao Bin could not achieve even with surgery.

But when she heard Zhao Qiping trying so hard to get close to Qu Xinxin, the little flutter in her heart instantly died down. Instead, she started to worry that Zhao Qiping was using her to get close to Qu Xinxin, so she unusually refrained from taking the initiative to strike up a conversation.

Zhao Qiping naturally noticed the person linking arms with Qu Xinxin, so he took the opportunity to ask her, "Qu Xinxin, who is this—"

Qu Xinxin casually introduced, "This is my sister Qu Xiaoxiao, and this is Zhao Qiping, the director of the orthopedics department at the Fourth Hospital."

Zhao Qiping extended his hand to Qu Xiaoxiao and introduced himself: "Hello Qu Xiaoxiao, I'm Zhao Qiping. I was Qu Xinxin's library buddy back in school, and I often saved her a seat."

Qu Xiaoxiao demurely extended her finger and casually touched him, which was considered a handshake. Zhao Qiping immediately became wary of this, since Qu Xinxin had clearly stated that she was not familiar with him anymore and wanted to avoid suspicion as much as possible. Even if he wanted to see Qu Xinxin make a fool of herself, he would never watch such a spectacle.

On the way back, Andy was quite surprised and asked Qu Xiaoxiao directly, "You used to really like looking at handsome guys, right? That Dr. Zhao looks pretty good, so why do you seem to want to distance yourself from him immediately?"

Qu Xiaoxiao glanced at Qu Xinxin and explained to Andy, "That Dr. Zhao, well, he's definitely my type in terms of looks, but he's interested in Xinxin and seems to want to make things work out with me. Although I enjoy watching people have fun, I never thought of offering myself up to be someone else's entertainment."

Andy then looked at Qu Xinxin and felt that it must be because there was something about Zhao Qiping that Qu Xinxin couldn't accept, which was why Qu Xinxin wanted to avoid seeing him at all costs, which made Qu Xiaoxiao quite dissatisfied.

Seeing this, Qu Xinxin laughed and said, "You see, a person's reputation is like a tree's shadow. Because you are usually so unreliable, even Andy is inevitably affected."

Now that Qu Xiaoxiao thought of Zhao Qiping, she no longer thought of him as a rare handsome man; she only thought he was unlucky.

Back in Ode to Joy, Qiu Yingying and Guan Juer went to bed early, exhausted. The next morning, Qu Xiaoxiao quickly arranged for Qiu Yingying to start work at the company, which was a relief for her. However, Fan Shengmei had to take a leave of absence temporarily because her mother couldn't keep running between the hospital and home. After all, they had a young child named Lei Lei who needed care. Fan's mother was worried about leaving Lei Lei alone in the hospital all day, feeling that there were too many germs there and it wouldn't be good for the child.

From then on, Fan Shengmei stopped mentioning renting another place for her mother and nephew. She continued to sleep on the sofa every day, and her mother and nephew relied on ordering takeout for their meals.

Seeing her like this, Qu Xiaoxiao regretted giving Fan Shengmei a job, but now that things were settled, she couldn't find any excuse to fire Fan Shengmei, so she simply decided to avoid seeing her and not bothering her.

A week later, Fan Shengmei's father was discharged from the hospital. Although he was conscious, he had been delayed a little and was indeed paralyzed on one side. Fan Shengmei spent a lot of money to transfer him back to her hometown, where Fan's mother took care of the old man.

Fan's mother also knew that if she put too much pressure on Fan Shengmei, she would not be able to live a good life in her old age. She even dared to say more about Fan Shengmei's statement that she would not pay for her son's mortgage. In any case, Fan Shengmei said that the mortgage payment would be their retirement money. The only thing she cared about was her eldest grandson, Lei Lei.

So Fan Shengmei's mother forced her to use her connections to get her son out of detention. Fan Shengmei had no choice but to turn to Qu Xiaoxiao for help.