Village Doctor's Women-Chapter 78 - 74 Self Test

"That girl..." Wang Jian frowned; she didn’t seem happy. "Could she still be mad that I was distracted during dinner? Is it just because I didn’t eat much?"

Wang Jian could only think of this reason. After all, there was no way Li Liping could be upset about Zhang Li’s potential recovery. Only this could explain the expression Li Liping had when she left... right?

It can’t be that she’s developed feelings for me, and now her heart is in turmoil? Pfft, that’s impossible.

No sooner had the thought emerged than Wang Jian dismissed it as unrealistic.

Their relationship was indeed strange, but it definitely hadn’t reached that stage yet. From being forced to meet and forced into that situation, to Li Liping’s personality turning darker and the two of them secretly seeking thrills, their dynamic had always been odd.

Wang Jian recalled what Li Liping had said before, which stopped him from considering the possibility of romantic feelings. Li Liping had poured her heart out to him once. From the very beginning, Wang Jian knew her actions toward him were about seeking excitement and a form of revenge. Li Liping had told him this herself.

Given her current reaction, he didn’t have the audacity to think otherwise; he wasn’t a narcissist. After all, the most frightening thing in life is a lack of self-awareness.

However, there was one thing Wang Jian hadn’t considered: whether, deep down, he was hoping Li Liping had indeed developed feelings for him.

Wang Jian watched Li Liping until she left, even following behind to see her to the courtyard gate. Only after she disappeared under the streetlight did he head back inside.

By the time he finished washing the dishes and returned to the living room, Ren Yu and Xu Qian were there. Seeing Ren Yu standing and politely telling Xu Qian she was about to head home, Wang Jian walked straight over.

Xu Qian was startled and glanced behind him. "Why are you alone? Where’s Liping?"

Wang Jian told her the truth. "She went home after she finished the dishes."

"What’s with you two..."

"Sigh, with no men in her house, it’s not safe for her to be home alone. Why did she even go back? She would have been better off staying here," Xu Qian said, not overthinking it. She had actually planned to chat more with Li Liping that night and tell her about the changes between her and Wang Jian, but she hadn’t expected Liping to go straight home.

"Mhm, I know." Hearing his sister-in-law’s words, Wang Jian didn’t argue, merely nodding in agreement before turning to Ren Yu. "Xiao Yu, are you planning to go home too?"

"Yes." Ren Yu smiled and nodded, her attention completely on Wang Jian. After hearing from Xu Qian that he had saved someone on the highway and been rewarded by the mayor, she was overjoyed, as if she were the one who had received the commendation.

Ren Yu’s thoughts were simple: the more impressive Wang Jian was, the happier she was.

"I’ve been out too long. I should get back, or my dad will definitely scold me."

"Alright, let me walk you out." Wang Jian made to walk her out. The recent incident had left him with a lingering sense of unease about Ren Yu going home alone.

"No need." Ren Yu laughed. "You should stay here and keep Sister Qian company. She’s injured. My house is just a few steps away, so you don’t need to worry."

With that, Ren Yu quickly ran out of the courtyard.

She was afraid that if she stayed any longer, she wouldn’t be able to resist letting Wang Jian walk her home. She was well aware of her own feelings and desperately wanted him to, but the Wang family had been through too much today, and Sister Qian was injured. She felt it wasn’t right to leave Xu Qian by herself. Most importantly, Ren Yu had noticed during dinner that Wang Jian was distracted, clearly with something on his mind. She decided to leave promptly so as not to bother him. The part about her dad scolding her was complete nonsense.

Watching Ren Yu leave, Xu Qian couldn’t help but laugh and chide, "Honestly, running so fast when it’s pitch black outside." She turned to Wang Jian. "Go lock the courtyard gate, and tidy up the house a bit. I didn’t shower yesterday, so I want to take one now. You don’t need to worry about me."

With everyone gone, Xu Qian stopped hiding her feelings. She hugged Wang Jian and then continued, "You have something on your mind, don’t you?"

"Hmm?" Wang Jian raised an eyebrow. "Because I was spacing out during dinner?"

"Yes." Xu Qian smiled. "The way you’d take one bite of food and then zone out for ten seconds? Even a blind person could see it."

"Hahaha." Wang Jian rubbed his head, realizing he truly hadn’t noticed. "I just figured out a solution for a patient’s case and got a little too excited. I was completely lost in thought."

Xu Qian had never experienced anything like that and asked curiously, "Are you always like this in these situations?"

"Pretty much," Wang Jian explained. "It was even worse when I was in Beijing. If I came across a problem I couldn’t solve and suddenly found the answer, I might lock myself away for days just to study it. If it was an easy fix, I might figure it out overnight by reading some books. But for more troublesome issues, it could take several nights."

"But after I started working at the hospital, I didn’t have as much time. When I ran into problems like that, I mostly had to squeeze in time to look through medical texts whenever I was free."

"So, spacing out while eating like you did just now is actually one of the better scenarios?" Xu Qian licked her lips, surprised. "Are all medical students like you?"

"Of course not," Wang Jian replied with a wry smile. "My college roommates had it easy. While I was studying, they were playing games and going on dates. So no, not everyone is like this."

He glanced at Xu Qian and chuckled softly. "I’m just a bit obsessive-compulsive. If I don’t solve the problem, I can’t feel at ease doing anything else. It’s always in the back of my mind. That being the case, I’d rather focus on solving it completely before thinking about other things."

"It’s tiring, but the sense of accomplishment after solving a problem is incredibly satisfying."

Wang Jian’s smile came from the heart, and even Xu Qian could feel its sincerity.

Since Xu Qian couldn’t truly empathize, she simply stroked his face and said, "Don’t do this again in the future. You’ll ruin your health. You’re a doctor yourself, don’t you know how to take care of your own body?"

Then, she added with seeming casualness, "Liping went to the trouble of making a whole feast, and you just sat there daydreaming. If it were me, I’d have been furious with you."

Wang Jian gave a bitter laugh. Liping certainly had been.

After Xu Qian went to take her shower, Wang Jian kept busy, tidying up the house. Thanks to Li Liping and Ren Yu’s help, the areas damaged during the earlier incident were mostly cleaned up. All he had to do now was clean up the aftermath of dinner.

Once he finished, he went straight to his room, hurriedly placed the needle bag on his desk, and unfolded it to reveal a brand-new set of silver needles.

Wang Jian just sat there, staring at the silver needles, lost in thought for a long while.

This time, he wasn’t pondering the medical case. He was wrestling with a single question: whether or not to use the needles on himself.

Testing needles on oneself had a distinct advantage. He could feel the tangible changes in his body’s energy. He would have an immediate reaction to any effect, good or bad, which would be far more efficient. If he dared to use the needles on himself, he wouldn’t even need to wait a month for Zhang Li to return.

Wang Jian felt that familiar urge rising again, as if he wouldn’t feel right unless he tried a needle on himself. If he could solve this problem today, if he could verify his theory, it would bring him immense relief.

Gritting his teeth, Wang Jian made his decision.

His hand moved decisively toward the needle bag without hesitation, his grip perfectly steady. Once he made up his mind, he instantly entered the focused state of a doctor treating a patient. Under his master’s strict training, his needling technique had almost reached the selfless, subconscious state of a Martial Arts master. As soon as a needle was in his hand, he was steady.

In just a few moments, Wang Jian had inserted five needles into his own body.

The first few needles caused no reaction, but as the fifth one went in, his expression changed drastically.

Good lord. The active, warm current inside him suddenly surged downward.

This was actually what Wang Jian had expected. Normally, after these five needles and with his energy acting as a guide, a person’s own energy could be led to repair damaged areas.

But here was the problem: he never imagined that the energy in his body would rush down on its own, without any external catalyst. This hit him all at once, giving him no time to adjust.

He really shouldn’t have been so reckless...

The next second, however, Wang Jian was utterly stunned. His room door was pushed open, and Xu Qian walked in as she spoke.

"Xiao Jian, have you seen my phone charging cable?"

Their eyes met, and Xu Qian’s gaze froze.