Chapter 181: [181] Where is the handkerchief?

Xie Wanying finally remembered the lecture her senior brother had given her the previous night and understood where she had gone wrong.

The two of them walked to the back alley next to the hospital, which was adjacent to their school.

Xie Wanying looked at the familiar streetscape and shops, recalling scenes from over three years ago.

Unexpectedly, they went to the same restaurant where she and her three senior brothers had dined over three years earlier.

As soon as they entered, the server immediately recognized her and said, “You saved an old man before. Our boss said that the next time you come in to eat, your meal would be on the house. You haven’t come back since. Is it because our beef noodles aren’t tasty?”

“It’s not that,” Xie Wanying shook her head. She simply couldn’t afford it.

Seeing the expression on her face, the server understood and went to tell the owner, “Boss, the customer you wanted to give a free meal to is here. Should I make her beef noodles?”

After Cao Yong sat down with her, he said, “Aside from beef noodles, what else do you like to eat? Tell the boss.”

“I’m good with anything,” Xie Wanying replied.

“Don’t be shy. They said you don’t have to pay.”

“That wouldn’t be right.”

“You don’t have to be so honest.”

“Senior brother—,” Xie Wanying searched for the right words but didn’t know what to say next.

Cao Yong, recalling how Mr. Wang from their department had taken advantage of her honesty last time, laughed once again.

As she watched him laugh, the handsome dimples on his face couldn’t have looked more charming, and Xie Wanying couldn’t help but wonder why such a handsome man had chosen to be a doctor.

Being handsome naturally comes with advantages, but being a surgeon is tiring, difficult, and dirty.

Catching her gaze, Cao Yong asked, “Is there something you want to ask me?”

After a moment’s thought, Xie Wanying decided to seek clarity from her senior, “Why did senior brother decide to become a doctor?”

“Medicine is very interesting,” Cao Yong answered, idly washing his chopsticks with hot water as they talked.

This answer was somewhat unexpected, Xie Wanying thought.

Noticing her expression, Cao Yong said, “What? You think when someone decides to become a doctor, their first thought should be to save lives and help the injured? Just saving lives and helping the injured is far from enough.” The only thing he left unsaid was “little junior sister.”

Indeed, she was a little junior sister. Even if the junior sister in front of him had shown excellent clinical skills that almost matched his own innate talent revealed years ago, it was clear that she was younger, less experienced in life, and a bit naïve.

Two steaming bowls of beef noodles were served, and the server announced, “The boss said to give you extra beef, free of charge.”

“Tell the boss we won’t be modest,” Cao Yong nodded to the server and said.

Sensing something, Xie Wanying asked him in a quiet voice, “Senior brother, are you very familiar with the owner of this restaurant?”

“The owner of this restaurant used to be a medical student,” Cao Yong said.

The owner was a medical student? Why did he open a restaurant? Was there a story? Xie Wanying was taken aback because this was a truth she had never considered.

“Eat up,” Cao Yong said, pushing the chopsticks into her palm and urging her.

Looking at the bowl of beef noodles, Xie Wanying remembered something important and said, “Senior brother, about the handkerchief you lent me—”

Ah, so she finally remembered? Cao Yong’s eyes crinkled with amusement, waiting for her to figure out what to say next.

“I soaked it in disinfectant,” Xie Wanying later thought that he hadn’t asked for it back, perhaps because of his fastidiousness. Most doctors have a fastidious nature, so he might have found it off-putting that someone else had used his handkerchief.

Upon hearing that she had soaked his handkerchief in disinfectant, Cao Yong almost choked on the broth.

“Senior brother, is it because the disinfectant smells bad? I later put the handkerchief under the sun for a while and let it air out—” Xie Wanying hurriedly explained, while offering him a tissue.