Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence-Chapter 31: You’re Not Clean, Don’t Come Over
On Saturday morning, Zheng Wenwen got up and started getting ready.
She chose a tight-fitting, V-neck dress that perfectly accentuated her slender waist and full bustline. She slipped on a pair of ten-centimeter heels, her hips swaying elegantly with every step.
"Are you going on a blind date or to a fashion show?" Wang Xiulan frowned.
"Mom, you don’t get it." Zheng Wenwen spritzed on some perfume. "This is exactly what men fall for."
She gave herself one last check in the mirror—her mascara made each eyelash distinct, her lip gloss was the trendiest "man-slayer" shade, and she had even deliberately applied highlighter to her collarbones.
’With a look like this, there’s no way that country doctor won’t be smitten.’
"Let’s go." She grabbed her purse, then suddenly coughed a few times and quickly dabbed on more foundation to cover the flush on her face.
On top of that, her stomach felt upset.
’Am I getting my period? The timing isn’t right...’
Zheng Wenwen grumbled internally but didn’t pay it much mind.
...
「Meanwhile, at Li’s Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic.」
After a wave of patients.
The entrance grew quiet.
Hu Qiming, bored out of his mind, had a nurse keep watch outside.
He walked into the consultation room to shoot the breeze with Li Xu.
"Why’d you take off your mask?"
Li Xu grabbed a new mask and handed it to him.
Hu Qiming waved it away. "There are no patients right now, so I’m not wearing it."
"You never know when one might show up."
Li Xu insisted Hu Qiming put it on.
"Xiao Xu!"
Aunt Li’s booming voice echoed from the entrance.
Li Xu looked up to see Aunt Li bustling in, followed by a tall, slender young woman.
"This is my grandniece, Zheng Wenwen! What do you think? Pretty, isn’t she?" Aunt Li said, her face beaming with pride.
Li Xu looked over. She was indeed very beautiful.
Delicate features, a fashionable outfit, an arrogant look in her eyes.
The very picture of a city socialite.
Li Xu had to admit, she was indeed better-looking than your average celebrity.
’Wait a minute...’
Li Xu froze. "What’s her name again?" 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮
"Zheng Wenwen."
"Huh?"
Li Xu subconsciously took half a step back—the intel from yesterday had described this very woman in detail.
He had assumed the Zheng Yuanyuan from the report was just an ordinary patient.
He never imagined she would turn out to be his blind date.
Zheng Yuanyuan’s history was very... ’eventful’.
Li Xu wouldn’t dare get involved with someone like that.
Meanwhile, Hu Qiming, who had been lazily leaning against a medicine cabinet and scrolling through his phone, straightened up the moment he saw Zheng Wenwen. His eyes lit up as he discreetly removed the mask he had just put on.
Li Xu nodded politely. "Hello."
At the same time, his mind was already racing, trying to figure out how to turn her down.
Zheng Wenwen’s gaze lingered on Li Xu for less than a second before sweeping across the clinic.
The humble environment clearly left her dissatisfied.
’This is it?’
’How much could he possibly make here?’
Then her eyes landed on Hu Qiming, who wore a white coat emblazoned with the logo of the City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
"And this is...?" She raised an eyebrow slightly, her voice softening without her realizing it.
"Oh, this is my classmate, Dr. Hu from the City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. He’s helping out at the clinic today," Li Xu explained.
Hu Qiming immediately straightened his posture and flashed a practiced smile. "Hello, I’m Hu Qiming, a physician in internal medicine at the City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine."
Zheng Wenwen’s eyes lit up noticeably.
’The City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine? A doctor with a permanent position?’
She quickly made a comparison in her head. ’Li Xu is handsome, sure, but he’s just a small business owner running a little clinic. This Dr. Hu, though... he’s young, good-looking, and a staff doctor at a major hospital. His future is boundless!’
"Hello, Dr. Hu." Zheng Wenwen’s voice instantly jumped an octave in sweetness as she extended her hand. "I haven’t been feeling well lately. Could you take a look at me?"
Aunt Li froze, quickly tugging on her sleeve. "Wenwen, we’re here today to..."
"Grand-aunt," Zheng Wenwen cut her off, her tone sharp. "Dr. Li and I are not a good match."
The clinic fell silent instantly.
Song Sisi’s eyes widened, hungry for gossip.
Hu Qiming, however, was frozen in place. He shot a furtive glance at Li Xu, his eyes screaming, ’I didn’t know she was your blind date! I really wasn’t trying to move in on your territory!’
Li Xu, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. Far from feeling awkward, he actually breathed a sigh of relief.
’She’s absolutely right. We’re not a good match at all.’
"Um... Miss Zheng," Hu Qiming said, steeling himself. "I’m just here to assist, mostly doing health consultations. For a diagnosis, you should really see Doctor Li..."
"Dr. Hu," Zheng Wenwen interrupted, stepping closer and batting her eyelashes. "You’re a doctor from the City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. I have more faith in you. Won’t you please just take a look at me?"
Hu Qiming was caught between a rock and a hard place. As a doctor, he couldn’t refuse a patient actively seeking treatment. But as a friend, the situation was excruciatingly awkward.
Li Xu almost laughed out loud.
But remembering the information from the report, he couldn’t just stand by and watch his friend leap into a fiery pit.
However, Zheng Wenwen was Aunt Li’s relative, so he couldn’t be too blunt.
’What to do?’
Li Xu recalled the report from yesterday and quickly formed a plan.
He decided to point out a few of Zheng Wenwen’s ’minor issues’ to make her retreat on her own accord.
"Ahem."
Li Xu cleared his throat, drawing everyone’s attention.
"The two of you aren’t compatible."
"How are we not compatible?"
Zheng Wenwen whipped her head around to glare at Li Xu, not mincing her words. "What is wrong with you? Do you have to be so petty just because I’m not interested in you?"
Li Xu’s cheek twitched. He dropped a little bombshell. "My friend doesn’t like girlfriends who smoke. So, you two aren’t compatible."
"You... What are you talking about?"
Zheng Wenwen’s face fell, and she stammered, "Who says I smoke? I don’t smoke at all."
She cursed him in her head.
’How is his sense of smell so sharp? He actually smelled the smoke on me?’
’How infuriating!’
While it was common for women to smoke in major cities, in a small third- or fourth-tier city like this, a woman who smoked was still labeled as ’bad’.
Especially since her family was very traditional.
To keep her mother from finding out,
she hadn’t smoked at home once since returning from Shanghai.
She had even taken a long shower yesterday.
Changed into a fresh set of clothes.
And she’d even chewed gum today specifically for this.
Yet he still smelled it on her.
Although Zheng Wenwen denied it,
her flustered expression was a dead giveaway.
Aunt Li, Song Sisi, and Hu Qiming could all tell she was lying.
’Still won’t admit it?’
Li Xu sighed and continued, "My friend also doesn’t like women who drink. Especially women who can chug five bottles of beer, along with red wine and cocktails."
"What?"
Aunt Li was the first to react, both angry and anxious. "Wenwen, how could you drink that much?"
Hu Qiming was also stunned.
It was true he liked beautiful women.
But he preferred them to be pretty and gentle.
This woman smoked, drank, and could down five bottles in one go... She was way too damn wild.
"You’re lying!!"
Zheng Wenwen was panicking.
She had, in fact, been out drinking with her girlfriends last night.
But how could she possibly admit to that?
If she did, the perfect blind date she’d just found would be scared off.
"I’m not lying." Li Xu pointed to his own nose. "My sense of smell is quite sharp. Others might not be able to smell the alcohol you drank last night, but I can smell it perfectly. There was beer—Qingniao brand, I think—brandy..."
"I-I’m going to kill you..."
Zheng Wenwen’s composure completely shattered. She flashed her sparkling red nails and lunged to scratch Li Xu.
"Don’t, don’t..."
Li Xu jumped back in alarm. "You’re not clean! Don’t you come near me!"
