Chapter Forty-Six: Expelled

“So, it really was you who took off my clothes.” Gu Xiujin’s face had turned a shade of green as he spoke, and the atmosphere in the Hall of Benevolence instantly grew strange and awkward.

Xie Qingtang had been standing there with a clear conscience, discussing the matter, but somehow, under Gu Xiujin’s gaze, a ripple of uncertainty stirred in her heart.

Did this man think she’d used the excuse of treating him to deliberately strip him? Or was he embarrassed that she’d seen him naked?

The instant this possibility occurred to her, Xie Qingtang hurried over to Gu Xiujin, patted him comfortingly on the shoulder, and said, “Don’t worry, Mr. Gu. I’m a doctor—there’s no difference between male and female patients to me. In my eyes, you’re nothing more than a diagram of human acupoints. I only removed your clothes for ease of acupuncture.”

“A diagram of human acupoints.” Far from reassuring him, her words made Gu Xiujin’s expression even darker.

Li Zhao, standing behind them, wanted to laugh but dared not; he could only look at Xie Qingtang with sympathy.

They say a woman’s heart is like the bottom of the ocean, but when a man gets angry, he’s just as unfathomable. Right now, Xie Qingtang was filled with questions, unable to guess what exactly had provoked Gu Xiujin’s anger.

After all, it’s perfectly normal for a doctor to disrobe a patient. Though she had indeed taken off all his clothes, she could swear to the heavens it was just for the convenience of acupuncture—nothing more.

Was it perhaps that, being sickly for so long, he feared his frail body would make her look down on him? This thought flashed through her mind, and in the next second, she blurted out, “Don’t worry, Gu Xiujin, you have nothing to feel inferior about. Even though you’ve been sickly since childhood, you’ve developed well. You have an excellent physique, and—”

Before she could finish, Gu Xiujin coughed violently.

Once the cough subsided, he looked at Xie Qingtang, his brow tightly furrowed. “I hope this doesn’t happen again.”

“That’s what I should be saying to you, Gu Xiujin. Honestly, you’re plagued with disasters—you even managed to come into contact with something you’re allergic to, piling illness on top of illness. I worked so hard to nurse your vitality back, but one allergic reaction and all that effort was wasted.” Xie Qingtang sighed in exasperation.

At that, something unreadable flickered in Gu Xiujin’s eyes, while Xie Qingtang simply took his wrist and checked his pulse.

“The acupuncture was effective; your allergic reaction has been suppressed, but you’ll still need some medicine for further recovery.” Nodding as she spoke, Xie Qingtang finished feeling his pulse and went to fetch him some herbal medicine.

During this process, Gu Xiujin remained silent. After receiving the medicine, he gave Xie Qingtang a deep, inscrutable look before leaving directly.

Once he was gone, Xie Qingtang shivered, a chill running through her, and muttered in confusion, “That man is truly impossible to read. It’s better to keep my distance from him in the future.”

With that silent vow made, she yawned and returned to the rear courtyard.

By midday the next day, after Gu Xiujin had finished his bitter herbal concoction, he dabbed his lips elegantly with a napkin. Li Zhao hurried over and reported, “Sir, we’ve found out—the sudden bouquet of sunflowers at the company was related to Gu Fang.” Gu Fang was Gu Xiujin’s second uncle.

“Is the whole story clear?” Gu Xiujin’s expression didn’t change, as if he’d already anticipated the findings, and he spoke calmly to Li Zhao.

Li Zhao nodded and continued, “Gu Fang has always wanted his son, Gu Xiucheng, to marry the eldest daughter of Wang Pharmaceuticals, Wang Miao’er. But lately, Wang Miao’er seems to have taken a marked interest in you.”

At this, Gu Xiujin nodded slightly as he continued his lunch, signaling that he understood. Li Zhao did not linger to disturb his meal and withdrew quietly.

That afternoon, Wang Miao’er, bored out of her mind, fiddled with her phone in her consulting room. She was unwilling to fulfill her wager with Xie Qingtang, so she refused to see patients. Without patients, there was no need to refer them to the Hall of Benevolence, but this only made her even more restless. The messages she’d sent to Gu Xiujin had vanished without a trace, as if into a deep sea.

Meanwhile, Gu Xiucheng had taken to bombarding her with texts under the pretense of helping her get to know Gu Xiujin.

Frowning at her phone, Wang Miao’er felt only irritation. She tossed it aside, and just then, a knock sounded at her door. The department head entered, face stern. “Doctor Wang, Mr. Gu wants to see you.”

“Oh. All right, I understand.” Wang Miao’er pocketed her phone and made her way to the top floor office, where she knocked softly on the door.

But as she entered and saw the man sitting inside, she froze—for she’d thought it was Gu Fang who had called her, not Gu Xiujin.

This was an unexpected delight; her face immediately shifted from cold indifference to joy, and even her voice took on a hint of excitement. “Oh, it’s you, Mr. Gu.”

“From today on, you are dismissed.” Without expression, Gu Xiujin shot her a look and tossed a dismissal letter onto the desk in front of her.

The smile that had just bloomed on Wang Miao’er’s face froze instantly, rigid like a mask, making her look utterly out of place.

“Mr. Gu, what are you saying? You’re firing me?” She finally regained her senses and stared at Gu Xiujin in disbelief.

Gu Xiujin nodded. Thanks to Li Zhao’s investigation, he now knew Gu Fang was causing trouble because Wang Miao’er had developed feelings for him—and he loathed trouble more than anything.

He preferred to nip problems in the bud. Since Wang Miao’er liked him and sought to get close, he would simply dismiss her.

Wang Miao’er found this impossible to accept. She hurried to his side, voice urgent. “Mr. Gu, why are you firing me? What did I do wrong?”

“There is no reason. You are dismissed,” Gu Xiujin replied, his tone colder than ever.