Ch 1.

The weekend before that, I’d called an ambulance to take me to the hospital.

I never expected to run into my ex-husband, who happened to be on duty in the department.

Standing in front of me was a man in a white coat and gold-rimmed glasses, his expression so stern that even the muscles in his face seemed too lazy to move.

My heart gave an inexplicable pang.

We’d been divorced for three years.

And somehow, this was how we ended up meeting again.

Chu Yan lowered his head to examine my test results, barely sparing me a glance as he told me to lie down on the examination bed.

His long, slender fingers pressed gently against my lower abdomen.

“Does it hurt here? Anywhere else? Is it a sharp, cramping pain, or more of a dull ache?”

I turned my face away. I didn’t want to look him in the eye.

“Cramping.”

His voice sounded beneath the fluorescent lights, cold enough to chill the room without any air-conditioning.

“Could be appendicitis. You’ll need surgery. But there’s one problem…”

He looked up at me, his gaze landing on my pale face as his brows drew together slightly.

“Your condition isn’t good. The sooner we operate, the sooner we can relieve the pain.”

Then he asked the most unnecessary question imaginable.

“Where’s your husband?”

When I didn’t answer, he picked up his pen and made a note on my chart. Only then did he look directly at me, the sarcasm in his voice impossible to miss.

“Three years, and you still haven’t found a single man to come with you to the hospital?”

I remained silent. The pain was so intense that all I could do was stare at the ceiling, trying not to breathe too hard in case I wasted what little energy I had left.

He gave a humorless laugh.

“Don’t play the victim. I’m talking about your medical condition. Now call a family member. You need surgery.”

“And don’t come looking for me. We’re divorced.”

That finally got a reaction out of me.

“No, Chu Yan. We’ve been divorced for three years. Why are you still so full of yourself?”

“If I needed a man, you’d be the last person I’d look for, not some dried-up old gourd like you.”

After saying that, I didn’t even have the energy to check his expression.

A wave of excruciating pain crashed over me, and everything went black.

Appendicitis wasn’t exactly a major illness.

But when the pain hit, all I could think was that I’d rather die than endure another second of it.

When I woke up again, I’d already been transferred to the inpatient ward.

There were hushed voices drifting into my ears, except their idea of “hushed” apparently meant loud enough for the entire floor to hear.

“This patient still hasn’t been able to reach any family. Poor thing. She looks so young, too… She must have a family, right? I noticed she’s wearing a wedding ring. Where’s her husband?”

“Who knows? Even if she doesn’t have family, she should have friends, right? But no one’s come to visit her. She must live a pretty isolated life.”

“Hey, hey, I saw Dr. Chu handling her admission paperwork. Their relationship can’t be that simple. I even heard him asking where her husband was…”

“Ugh! What nonsense are you talking about? Dr. Chu? Seriously? His girlfriend is a wealthy heiress, and she has that kind of effortless elegance. She’s his first love, his one and only White Moonlight. They’re practically the perfect couple. Stop trying to pair him up with every woman you see!”

I nearly sat up and asked someone to hand me a microphone.

That wasn’t whispering.

They were practically shouting directly into my ear. Were they afraid I wouldn’t hear them?

I was just about to say something when Chu Yan’s cold voice cut through the room.

“Do not discuss patients while you’re in the ward.”

Oh.

So he was still here.

He’d heard everything from beginning to end.

He must have been feeling pretty good about himself, being praised as such a devoted and faithful man.

So after our divorce, he and that wealthy White Moonlight heiress were still happily in love?

Of course.

Why else had he gone through all that trouble to get divorced if not to return to his first love?

The memory of the two of them embracing outside my house on that rainy night made my stomach twist again.

Chu Yan walked over to my bed, his voice calm.

“If you’re uncomfortable with your family seeing me here, I can step away. There are other doctors in my department. All you have to do is—”

He didn’t get to finish.

The hospital room door suddenly swung open.

A man rushed inside. He was dressed impeccably, wearing a cap and a mask that covered most of his face.

If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought some idol had snuck out for a walk while hiding from his fans.

The moment he appeared, every pair of eyes in the room turned toward him.

“No need, Doctor.”

“I’m family. Could you tell me how my wife is doing?”

Chu Yan turned to look at the man, then looked back at me, suspicion written all over his face.

“You remarried? Is he really your husband?”

I was silent for a moment, tilting my head as if giving the question serious consideration.

“You could say that. We had a wedding ceremony on the beach once.”

The masked man stepped toward my bed, his almond-shaped eyes curving with amusement.

He looked Chu Yan up and down, openly sizing him up.

Then, with impeccable courtesy, he extended his hand.

“Nice to meet you, Dr. Chu. I’m her husband, Lu Xingyao. If there’s anything concerning the surgery, you can discuss it with me.”

Chu Yan looked at the man standing in front of him, who was roughly the same height.

Even with the mask covering most of his face, those eyes alone were enough to tell you he was exceptionally handsome.

His voice suddenly turned icy.

“You’re sure you’re her husband? She came to the hospital alone yesterday and even passed out. If you’re her boyfriend, why weren’t you with her?”

Before Lu Xingyao could answer, I spoke first.

“He was busy with work. His schedule is packed, so I didn’t tell him.”

Chu Yan pressed his lips together, his expression growing even darker.

“What kind of work keeps you so busy that you can’t even pay attention to your girlfriend’s health?”

Then he delivered his verdict coldly.

“Your taste in men is getting worse.”

I immediately cut him off.

“Dr. Chu.”

“You’re crossing a line.”

“Between us, there’s only one relationship that matters now, the doctor-patient relationship.”