Chapter 142: A Physician's Instinct

Seeing the uncertainty and suspicion etched onto Shao Siming’s face as he suddenly fell silent, the unease in Shao Bin’s heart deepened. He hurriedly asked, "Dad, have you thought of something else?"

"I suddenly recalled something that could potentially link the Xie family to the Gu family. Back in the day, there was a marriage contract between Xie Wan and Gu Xiujin’s father," Shao Siming said, his face darkening with a shocking revelation.

This was a private matter from the past. Because Grandfather Xie and Gu Xiujin’s grandfather were close, they had naturally arranged a marriage for their children when Xie Wan and Gu Xiujin’s father were born. However, as they grew up, neither developed romantic feelings for the other. Xie Wan fell in love with the ambitious Shao Siming, while Gu Xiujin’s father fell in love with his own future wife. As neither the Gu nor the Xie families were bound by archaic traditions, they followed the wishes of their children and allowed them to marry others.

Initially, Shao Siming had felt quite smug about "winning" over the young master of the Gu family, but as time passed, he had completely forgotten about it. The recent agitation of his mind had suddenly brought the memory back to the surface; after all, defeating the young master of the Gu family had been the proudest achievement of his life.

"Dad, what does this have to do with Xie Qingtang? That was a marriage contract from the previous generation. Surely it can’t be inherited? It’s ridiculous to think it would fall onto Gu Xiujin and Xie Qingtang," Shao Bin said, mocking the idea.

Since the contract no longer existed, logically, there was no connection between the Xie and Gu families. Yet, Shao Siming felt something was amiss. "Perhaps this contract really can be inherited. After all, that old fossil of the Xie family is still under Xie Qingtang’s care. It seems if we want to understand the relationship between Xie Qingtang and Gu Xiujin, we really must go and ask that old fool."

At these words, Xiao Rou and Shao Bin stood frozen. If Shao Siming’s guess were true, would it not mean that Xie Qingtang was Gu Xiujin’s fiancée? If that were the case, Xie Qingtang’s status would be transformed like a sparrow turning into a phoenix, becoming unimaginably noble.

***

The turmoil within the Shao family was something Xie Qingtang was naturally unaware of. She was currently playing with her new treasure—a smartphone. After a period of learning, she had finally become proficient with its various applications. She had even become what Zhou Jinfan called a "phone addict," never letting the device leave her side. After all, Xie Qingtang had become a minor celebrity on Weibo, where she frequently shared medicinal diet recipes and health tips.

"A female celebrity is a female celebrity, indeed; she is just too beautiful," Zhou Jinfan said, standing behind the counter, clutching his phone with hearts in his eyes, lost in his own world.

Xie Qingtang walked over and glanced at him. Seeing no reaction, she became curious about what had him so mesmerized and took a peek at his screen. The screen appeared to be a live stream of an awards show red carpet, where two actresses were walking slowly. Zhou Jinfan was infatuated with one of them.

Xie Qingtang recognized these two; she had seen them on Weibo as the new rising starlets of the entertainment industry—Sun Ying and Sima Wei. The one Zhou Jinfan was fawning over was Sun Ying, who walked by in a tight-fitting black evening gown, a faint smile on her lips as she greeted the audience.

Just as he was completely absorbed, Xie Qingtang suddenly remarked, "It seems that even female celebrities are troubled by hair loss."

Zhou Jinfan’s expression froze. He turned his head stiffly and said, "Boss, what are you talking about? Who is losing hair? How could my goddess be losing hair? Don’t you see how thick her hair is?"

"Are you stupid? Celebrities wear hair extensions. Her hair is clearly fake, and I can conclude that she suffers from severe hair loss," Xie Qingtang stated with absolute certainty.

Zhou Jinfan could not believe that his goddess had such a problem, as her hairline and hair volume appeared perfectly healthy on camera.

Just as he was about to retort, Xie Qingtang pointed to the other starlet, Sima Wei, standing next to Sun Ying. "Oh my, it seems both of them suffer from severe hair loss. What a coincidence."

"Boss, do you realize that if you posted such comments online, you would be cyberbullied and mobbed by the fans of these two starlets?" Zhou Jinfan’s mouth twitched, shocked that she was doubling down.

Xie Qingtang looked at him calmly, took his phone, and placed it face down on the counter. "I said they have severe hair loss, so they have severe hair loss. How dare you question your boss? Go get the medicine, or I’ll dock your pay."

"You only know how to threaten me with pay cuts! But does my goddess really have severe hair loss?" Zhou Jinfan muttered to himself as he retrieved his phone, sneaking one last look at the two beautiful women on the live stream.

Xie Qingtang had intended for this to be a minor aside, but by the evening, she saw photos of Sun Ying and Sima Wei posted on Weibo. Although they had used makeup and photo editing to make their complexions look vibrant, Xie Qingtang frowned when she recalled their state during the live broadcast; both clearly showed symptoms of insufficient blood and energy. This was likely due to long-term irregular diet and sleep habits. Furthermore, their severe hair loss could lead to numerous complications if not treated promptly.

Guided by her principles as a doctor, Xie Qingtang bluntly stated on her Weibo that the two stars suffered from severe hair loss. She had intended it as a well-meaning reminder to check their health, but by the next morning, the post had been pushed to the top of the trending topics list by meddlesome netizens.