Zeng Xiaoya had put on her white doctor’s coat and was talking to the doctor on day shift when Zhan Yue came in, carrying a fruit basket on his forearm.
“Dr Zeng, my brother sent another basket today. There’s far too much. I can’t finish it all. I’m actually scared now whenever someone brings me another fruit basket,” he said with a smile.
“I brought one for you. Please help me eat some of it.”
“The rest I’ve asked the butler to share with the other medical staff.”
The day-shift doctor laughed. “Mr Zhan, since the day you were admitted, it’s as if our whole floor has opened a fruit shop. Thanks to you, everyone has been enjoying free fruit.”
And all of it high-end, too.
To avoid drawing attention, Zhan Yue had already given one basket to the day-shift doctor, so no one found it strange that he was now bringing another one specifically for Zeng Xiaoya.
Zeng Xiaoya quickly stepped forward, took the basket from his arm, and said, “A basket of fruit is very heavy. Mr Zhan’s hands aren’t completely healed yet. You shouldn’t carry heavy things.”
“I didn’t touch the wounds. Carrying it with my forearm is fine.”
All the same, her thoughtfulness and concern made sweetness spread through Zhan Yue’s heart, as though he had just drunk honey.
Zeng Xiaoya told herself this was simply a normal doctor’s reaction.
Zhan Yue was her patient. Of course she would help when she saw him, to prevent his injured hands from failing to recover properly.
“My brothers, colleagues, and clients, anyone who knows I’m in hospital, they all bring fruit baskets when they visit. I’ve told them to stop, but they say they don’t know what else to bring and don’t want to come empty-handed, so they keep sending fruit baskets.”
Each time they visited, they saw the baskets in his room disappearing quickly, so they carried on bringing more.
His ward was constantly full. As soon as Zhan Yue asked the butler to take the surplus away, it was all gone.
The patients and their families on the same floor had been enjoying good fortune lately. Every day they could eat the free fruit Zhan Yue shared with them.
Knowing he was the young master of the Zhan family and that money was no object, no one stood on ceremony with him.
Zhan Yue even had to thank them for helping him get rid of a whole roomful of fruit.
Zeng Xiaoya smiled. “Dr Jiang was right just now. Ever since you arrived, our floor has been like a fruit shop. Everyone has been enjoying the benefits and eating free fruit for days.”
“Actually, you could be discharged now… All right, you want to stay until your injuries are fully healed. That’s fine.”
Zeng Xiaoya had tried several times to persuade Zhan Yue to leave hospital, but he always refused, insisting he would only go once his hands were completely better.
She had never met a patient quite like Zhan Yue. His injuries were not serious and did not require such a long stay, yet he was determined to remain for ten days, half a month, even a whole month.
Weren’t the young masters of the Zhan family supposed to be extremely busy?
They had to manage the huge family business as well as their own personal companies. It was said every Zhan son had his own private business.
After giving the fruit basket to Zeng Xiaoya, Zhan Yue left her office.
Back in his ward, he had only just lain down on the bed when his phone rang.
Seeing the caller ID, Zhan Yue immediately sat up, answered the call while walking over to shut the ward door, and kept his eyes fixed on the doorway in case anyone came in.
“Eighth Young Master, there’s movement today.”
The caller was one of the Zhan family bodyguards. Zhan Yue had assigned him to protect Zeng Xiaoya in secret, or, to put it less politely, to keep tabs on her so that he could learn more about her life.
In particular, he knew she had two admirers: one was her former classmate, the other her senior colleague. Both were doctors, just like her.
Although he acted full of confidence in front of his brothers, Zhan Yue was still worried that Zeng Xiaoya might choose someone from the same profession.
