The next few days passed by in agony as Yibo wondered why time was ticking by so slowly. Before, Yibo was constantly checking his phone for messages from Xiao Zhan; now he was checking to see how much longer before the day was over. The only moments where the speed of life returned to normal was when Xiao Zhan distracted him with their regular messages and phone calls. It was quite clear that their relationship was no longer that of doctor and patient. If anything, they were using that as an excuse to remain in contact.
On the day of the follow-up, Yibo exited the house with a little spring in each step and a very obvious smile spread on his face. Zan Jin had to force back his laughter as he wondered if his dear husband acted the same before they started dating.
A few blocks away from the hospital, Yibo stopped by a bakery to pick up some gifts for his caring doctor. When he walked in the door, he covered his face with a mask and a hat so that no one would recognize him. The front staff felt suspicious towards Yibo and was hesitant to approach him. "H-hello sir, what can I help you with?"
Yibo gave her a quick glance and said, "Gift," while staring at the various cakes.
"Oh." The lady lost her words due to Yibo's blunt attitude. "Is it for a friend, family, o-or lover," she asked while wondering who was brave enough to date this weirdo.
Yibo was focused on evaluating the cakes when he heard the last word. Hearing it felt strange and made him feel like he needed to deny it like he usually does... but, he doesn't hate it?
"Sir? Sir!" The lady raised her voice when Yibo wasn't answering any of her questions. This person!
"I'll get these two cakes and a green tea latte," Yibo replied bluntly as if her outburst had nothing to do with him.
The lady prepared the orders with great speed in order to get his suspicious, weird, and rude man out of the shop. If only she realized who was hidden under the mask, then she would have locked Yibo in the shop and let him freeze her to death with his princely gaze.
~~~~~
Xiao Zhan has been busy the past few weeks since his patients had to reschedule from when he was covering the VIP floors. For him, there weren't enough hours in the day to finish his tasks. His peaceful moments have been the nightly conversations he would share with Yibo since it distracted his thoughts away from the medical world. Xiao Zhan rarely interacted with his patients beyond the hospital setting so it felt strange for him to realize that he was treating Yibo differently. As a matter of fact, this only dawned on him when he was reminded that Yibo (his patient) has a follow-up appointment. Though it has only been one month, it sure felt like they've known each other for a long time.
"Why daydream when the Wang-zi is coming," Zoey whispered into Xiao Zhan's ear. Seeing him startled back to reality and his ears turning bright red made Zoey laugh out loud in the peaceful office.
When Xiao Zhan saw the staff and patients looking in their direction, it made him feel more embarrassed. "It's only a follow-up," Xiao Zhan exclaimed quietly.
"I know. Why are you trying to justify it huh?" The mischievous Zoey replied, trying to turn the table on Xiao Zhan.
"I..." Xiao Zhan tried to argue back, but couldn't find the words so he just signed and walked away in defeat.
Zoey smiled proudly at her victory as Yu Bin gave her a thumb up.
When Yibo showed up with his gifts, Xiao Zhan was grateful that Zoey was with a patient... until he remembered that Yubin was his personal nurse. All Xiao Zhan could do was give Yubin a warning look that did nothing but urged Yubin to rat Xiao Zhan out even more. They may be brothers in arms, but Zoey was the general.
"Hello."
"Hello."
The two greeted in unison when Xiao Zhan entered the room. Yubin was no longer in the room since he was a smart man who learned from previous experiences: leave YiZhan to their own world.
After their greetings, there was an awkward pause since they didn't know what to ask or say. From their daily conversations, Xiao Zhan already knew what Yibo's health status was. Asides from the physical exam, there was really nothing else to this for a check-up. Reflectively rubbing their nose and avoiding eye contact, they pondered on how to break the silence.
Being the professional doctor that he was, Xiao Zhan mustered up the courage to approach Yibo and lay his hands on him.
Perhaps it was due to the silence, or maybe it was because they knew each other more now, but they each were more self-conscious about the physical contacts than before. With each touch, the tingling sensation intensified as well as the uncontrollable flush. By the time Xiao Zhan listened to Yibo's heart, he couldn't tell if Yibo's beat was getting faster and louder or if he was hearing his own heartbeat.
Yibo was getting more self-conscious with each passing second and couldn't handle the silence anymore so he blurted out, "A-are you available for dinner?"
While Yibo just realized what he just said, Xiao Zhan looked at him like a deer caught in the headlights. Since he still had his stethoscope on, he was debating whether to pretend that he didn't hear Yibo; or perhaps he did hear it wrong. I definitely heard it wrong!
Xiao Zhan slowly removed his stethoscope and asked slowly, "S-sorry... What did you ask?"
Yibo blinked a few times and looked away, feeling the pressure in the room increased. He repeated his question, enunciating each word but in a lower tone. "Are you available for dinner?" Finishing his sentence, Yibo looked back at Xiao Zhan and tried to justify his request. "As a thank you. I want to thank you for your assistance this month."
Xiao Zhan wanted to laugh at the obvious fake excuse but controlled himself since it lightened the mood. "But you already brought me some treats already..."
"That was on impulse," Yibo interrupted Xiao Zhan. "I was planning to treat you out for dinner before today so that still needs to be done. It's the proper thing for me to do." Yibo continued rewording his reasoning in order to persuade Xiao Zhan and himself. This was just a simple, professional dinner. That was it, nothing else... there was nothing else that it could be. Yes.
Since both parties knew how good Yibo's condition was even before today, the last few minutes of the visit was spent trying to justify their dinner "date". Once the time was set, Yibo left the office with a sense of accomplishment while Xiao Zhan remained, still in a daze at what had happened.
Zoey exited her patient's room and saw Xiao Zhan staring at the office door. The last she checked, he was evaluating Yibo so what was he daydreaming about now? "Are you missing him already," Zoey teased.
Xiao Zhan turned to Zoey with a stone face, ignoring her question, "He just asked me out for dinner." His tone portrayed a simple fact with a hint of questioning, perhaps hoping for Zoey to clarify the situation to him.
Zoey widened her eyes, "He WHAT?!"
"Dinner. Thank You dinner," Xiao Zhan replied unemotionally.
"'No different than my normal patient' my ass", Zoey mocked while eyeing Xiao Zhan from head to toes.
"He says it's only a Thank You dinner," Xiao Zhan reiterated.
"Yes. Thank You," Zoey slid her hand down Xiao Zhan's chest in a coquettish manner then laughed.
Xiao Zhan rolled his eyes and wanted to walk away from this crazy person, but stopped when Yu Bin approached them.
~~~~~
Yibo was heading to the car when he realized that they never set a location. He figured that since he was still in the building, he might as well asked Xiao Zhan in person. When he was near the Internal Medicine's office, he saw through the windows that Xiao Zhan was interacting with another lady in a white coat. He noticed that they were standing abnormally closed for colleagues and felt a sense of unease. The feeling intensified when he saw her intimately touch Xiao Zhan's chest and he didn't avoid her at all. Who is this woman?
Drowning in the feelings of uneasiness and a little of something else that he couldn't describe, Yibo turned around, forgetting why he returned to the hospital.