“Don’t blame the butler. If he weren’t concerned, who would ask about your condition every day?” Zhou Ying said with a laugh.
Yue Linze looked at him calmly: “Has no one told you that you should get someone’s consent before visiting their home?”
“Really? Such a rule?” Zhou Ying looked surprised. “Sorry, I studied abroad in America, so I’m not familiar with these things. I’ll know next time.”
“You studied abroad eleven years ago,” Yue Linze expressionlessly exposed his lie.
Zhou Ying laughed, nudging Yue Linze with his uninjured left arm carelessly: “Okay, we just went out drinking and had a car accident. It’s not like only you got hurt. I wasn’t idle either. If rescue hadn’t been timely, I’d have been a corpse.”
“Since it was so serious, you should go back and rest. Butler, see the guest out,” Yue Linze, still thinking about the woman in the back garden who might be cheating on him, had no patience for Zhou Ying. After saying this, he strode past Zhou Ying without looking back.
Zhou Ying was stunned by being ignored, then chased after him shouting: “That’s enough, you petty person. Are you really angry? Believe me, I can get angry too. I’m really… I’m really angry…”
“Mr. Zhou, why don’t you rest a bit? My master doesn’t want you to follow. How about I make you some tea?” The butler kindly blocked him.
Zhou Ying glanced at him, seeing the determination on his face, knowing he wouldn’t easily follow. But drinking tea was better than being kicked out. Muttering, he pretended to compromise: “Fine, tea it is.”
He planned to slip away when the butler wasn’t paying attention. Having been friends with Yue Linze for so many years, he knew exactly what kind of person he was. Rushing to the backyard so urgently must mean he was up to something.
Not letting him follow only made him more determined to follow and see what bad thing Yue Linze was doing.
Yue Linze, walking quickly outside, unaware of Zhou Ying’s plans, walked coldly to the back garden. When he arrived, he found the chairs that previously had two people were now empty, and those two people had disappeared.
His gaze suddenly turned sharp. Just as he was about to call the bodyguards, he heard familiar, gentle footsteps from behind. Recognizing the footsteps, his tense body gradually relaxed. When he turned, his gaze became mild and harmless, completely different from moments ago.
Tao Yu was about to greet him when she approached, but unexpectedly, he suddenly turned back. She was so startled that she trembled, momentarily feeling like she saw the shadow of another personality, but upon clearly seeing his face, she realized it was just an illusion.
Hello, Mr. Yue.” Tao Yu quickly came to her senses, putting on a gentle smile.
Yue Linze stared at her for a while, then slowly said, “What are you doing here?”
“You were busy just now, so I came here for a walk with Dr. Wang,” Tao Yu said, then noticing his gaze scanning behind her, quickly added, “Dr. Wang was called back to the hospital for an emergency surgery.”
Yue Linze then shifted his gaze back to Tao Yu’s face, staring until she became somewhat uncomfortable, then let out a faint “Oh.”
Tao Yu smiled, and seeing him fall silent again, tried to make conversation: “Weren’t you handling official business? How do you have time to come down now?”
“Got tired from work, came down for a walk,” Yue Linze said, walking to a bench and sitting down, his well-defined fingers tapping the empty space beside him, “Dr. Tao, sit.”
Tao Yu responded and sat down next to him, her smile unchanged, inwardly thinking: He said he was going for a walk, but he’s already sitting down? This laziness doesn’t fit a big shot’s image at all.
In fact, she’d been feeling that Yue Linze had many traits that didn’t match a big shot’s image these past few days.
Every time she returned from the mental world, she could sense subtle changes in Yue Linze. Each resolved world deepened these changes, but they remained within an ignorable range. However, this time, after consecutively resolving two worlds and three personalities, Yue Linze seemed noticeably different upon waking.
Could there be some aftereffects? That shouldn’t be the case, Tao Yu thought worriedly, looking at Yue Linze’s side profile, then becoming slightly distracted, thinking that even his chin looked good.
“Looks good?” Yue Linze raised an eyebrow and asked.
“Goo-” Tao Yu’s words involuntarily twisted, “What do you mean?”
Yue Linze glanced at her without exposing her. Although their treatment time in reality was short, they had essentially lived several lifetimes together in the mental world. How could he not know about her fondness for good-looking faces?
But liking them was fine. At least occasionally, he could look forward to beauty clouding her judgment.
Tao Yu, seeing Yue Linze fall silent again, nervously interjected: “If you’re not busy now, perhaps we could do a final check-up. Although yesterday’s tests mostly confirmed your recovery, it’s better to be thorough just in case.”
She needed to finish quickly so she could take her money and leave. Those high-interest loan sharks were waiting for her.
Yue Linze gave her a sideways glance, somewhat displeased with her repeated mentions of a check-up: “You’re in a hurry?”
“…I’m doing this for your own good,” Tao Yu, not understanding his meaning, could only respond vaguely.
Yue Linze let out a light sneer, then after a while said: “But I don’t want to do a check-up now.”
“Why?” Tao Yu asked, surprised and anxious.
Yue Linze curved his lips: “I’ve been dealing with doctors these past few days and want to rest.”
“But the earlier the check-up, the better. I hope you’ll reconsider,” Tao Yu insisted. How could she wrap things up and get paid if he didn’t check?
Yue Linze, seeing her obvious anxiety, asked with mild surprise: “You’re worried about me?”
“Isn’t this natural! Mr. Yue, I’m truly concerned about you,” Tao Yu grabbed his hand earnestly, like comrades with a battle bond, “If you don’t want to check today, we can wait until tomorrow. The earlier we do it, the more accurate the results. I hope you’ll cooperate.”
Yue Linze’s thoughts had already wandered after she grabbed his hand. He heard her chattering but didn’t register what she said. When she finished, he absent-mindedly responded: “Then I’ll listen to Dr. Tao.”
Tao Yu immediately relaxed, releasing his hand and smiling: “It’s good that you agreed. I’ll prepare and do the check-up early tomorrow.”
The moment her hand released, Yue Linze regained his clarity, looking at Tao Yu with a hint of investigation: “We’ll see.”
“…?” What did ‘we’ll see’ mean? Was he changing his mind again? Tao Yu looked at him confusedly, about to ask, when she saw Yue Linze stand up.
“Walk with me,” Yue Linze said, walking ahead.
Tao Yu’s mouth twitched, deciding not to ask what he meant. She’d prepare the equipment tomorrow, and if he still refused to check, she’d say the equipment rental was expiring, and he’d be responsible for the consequences. She was definitely getting her money these days.
“Linze!”
The familiar voice exploded near his ear. Yue Linze frowned, looking at Zhou Ying who suddenly ran out, instinctively trying to block Tao Yu. For certain unspeakable reasons, he didn’t want Tao Yu to meet this bastard.
But it was too late. Tao Yu heard the voice and looked up, seeing Zhou Ying running towards them. Her mind momentarily flashed back to the mental world, and she didn’t notice a small stone under her foot, crying out as she began to fall backward.
Yue Linze quickly grabbed her collar, pulling her back. He would have steadied her, but someone behind him, not understanding the situation, rushed and hugged him, the 1.8-meter tall person pulling him back several steps.
