CHAPTER 272: CHAPTER 269: CINDERELLA’S COMEBACK AGAINST THE ODDS 14

Anning led Xiao Yuan into the stairwell.

As they climbed, she warned, "Some of the handrails on the stairs are broken. Be careful, and some of the steps are a bit uneven..."

Xiao Yuan was walking up the narrow staircase, looking at the somewhat dirty and disordered surroundings, feeling a bit uncomfortable inside.

However, he wasn’t unaccustomed to such settings. Being a doctor who had also participated in medical teams and been to war-torn areas, environments like this were generally not a problem for him.

It was just that he didn’t want Anning to live in such a cluttered place.

He felt somewhat distressed for Anning.

When they reached the door of her home, Anning took out her keys to unlock it.

As she and Xiao Yuan entered, Mr. Gu and Mrs. Gu were just waking up, and Mrs. Gu was just finished washing up and about to start cooking.

Anning placed breakfast on the table: "Mom, I bought breakfast, so you don’t need to cook."

Mrs. Gu replied with a smile, and when she turned around, she saw Xiao Yuan.

"Who is this..."

Mrs. Gu sized up Xiao Yuan with a surprised and questioning look.

Anning invited Xiao Yuan to sit: "This is Dr. Xiao whom I met at the library the other day. My classmate said Dr. Xiao is exceptionally skilled in medicine, and since we met today coincidentally, I thought of inviting him to check on Dad."

Hearing that he was a doctor, Mrs. Gu immediately greeted Xiao Yuan with a smile: "I apologize for the trouble. Please, take a seat. Would you like something to drink?"

Xiao Yuan was a bit reserved at this moment, he stood up from the sofa, "No need to trouble yourself, let me examine uncle first."

Mrs. Gu hesitated for a brief second before hurrying to call for Mr. Gu.

Once Mr. Gu came out, Mrs. Gu introduced Xiao Yuan to him.

Anning pulled Mr. Gu to sit down, and Xiao Yuan asked him to stretch out his hand. After taking the pulse, he said, "Uncle’s illness is due to the depletion of Qi. Too much loss of Qi in the body leads to weakness and susceptibility to illnesses. I’ll prescribe some medicine for uncle to try first. If there’s improvement, I’ll adjust the prescription later."

Mr. Gu quickly smiled and said, "It’s so much trouble, thank you."

Anning had already prepared paper and pen.

Xiao Yuan took them to write down a prescription. After finishing, he explained in detail to Anning how to brew and take the medicine.

Anning nodded as she listened and memorized every word Xiao Yuan said.

Frankly speaking, the prescription Xiao Yuan wrote was indeed very good and aptly addressed Mr. Gu’s condition.

From this single prescription, Anning could tell that Xiao Yuan’s medical skills were truly profound.

She put away the prescription: "Thank you so much."

Mrs. Gu invited Xiao Yuan to join them for breakfast with a smile.

Xiao Yuan was keen to accept this opportunity and immediately agreed.

After the four of them finished breakfast, Anning had to go to school, and Xiao Yuan quickly made his leave.

He walked downstairs together with Anning.

Once outside, Anning thanked Xiao Yuan once more and said goodbye to him.

Xiao Yuan quickly caught up with Anning: "The hotel I’m staying in is not far from your school. Let’s walk together."

Huh?

Anning glanced at Xiao Yuan a few times, her face bursting with a radiant smile: "Okay."

When Anning hopped onto the bus, Xiao Yuan frowned at the sight of so many people.

Still, he followed her onto it.

The entirety of the journey was extremely uncomfortable for Xiao Yuan.

He had always enjoyed tranquility and disliked crowded places. Being among the crowd gave him a psychological aversion, making his whole body uncomfortable.

Halfway through the journey, Xiao Yuan felt dizzy and somewhat nauseous.

At this moment, Anning squeezed her way to Xiao Yuan’s side.

She was so close to Xiao Yuan that by simply lowering his head, he could smell the fresh scent from her hair.

The faint fragrance coming from Anning’s body quickly soothed Xiao Yuan, making the discomfort subside.

The bus neared a stop, and as it came to a halt, Anning, due to inertia, fell backward, leaning right into Xiao Yuan’s embrace.

As soon as the bus stabilized, Anning hurriedly stood up straight.

Although the contact was brief, Xiao Yuan was immensely pleased.

When Anning leaned against him, Xiao Yuan could feel her body warmth, and even though the clothes separated them, he could still feel the thrilling excitement of her soft body pressing close.

That near-blazing sensation was something he’d never experienced in his first twenty-plus years of life.

Xiao Yuan felt that as long as he was with Anning, even on this crowded bus, it seemed like happiness.

When the bus reached First Middle School, Xiao Yuan regretted that the journey was somewhat short.

He wished the ride would never end.

Xiao Yuan returned to his hotel, where his assistant Zhang Yongxing was searching everywhere for him.

Seeing him back, Zhang Yongxing let out a big sigh of relief.

"Teacher, you have a medical conference today at Qingcheng First Hospital, and you are to examine two important patients. Where... where did you go just now?"

Xiao Yuan walked into the room, poured himself a glass of water, and drank it: "Went for a run. Send me the schedule."

Zhang Yongxing quickly sent Xiao Yuan the arranged schedule.

Xiao Yuan looked at it for a while: "Arrange the upcoming schedule carefully. The patients I have already promised to see can remain as is, but don’t casually agree to appointments for me in the future. Set aside some time for me, I want to take a vacation."

"Huh?"

Zhang Yongxing gaped, looking at Xiao Yuan in surprise: "You, you’re saying you want to take a vacation?"

"Why?" Xiao Yuan glanced at Zhang Yongxing indifferently: "Can’t I take a vacation?"

"No, that’s not it."

Zhang Yongxing quickly waved his hand: "Didn’t you used to say you wouldn’t take vacations? You also said that life is a mere hundred years, and you wanted to do as much as possible within this limited time, dedicating your life to medical research, with vacations nonexistent for you."

Had he said that before?

Xiao Yuan wondered if he had been foolish before.

"I want to take a vacation now."

He thought, if he didn’t take a vacation, constantly traveling for consultations, how would he find the time to woo his wife?

Anning was so pretty; if he wasn’t careful, she might be snatched away by some wolf. He needed to guard her closely.

"Okay, I’ll arrange that."

Zhang Yongxing hastily agreed.

Xiao Yuan continued: "Help me buy an apartment in Qing City, just buy it in..."

He paused: "Wait until I have decided, then I’ll tell you where to buy."

"Alright."

Zhang Yongxing wiped his sweat, wondering how his teacher had changed so much just from a run.

When Anning arrived at school, she faced various peculiar glances.

She didn’t pay them any mind, entering the classroom and starting to read.

She was mainly focusing on literature and politics/history books.

Anning hardly needed to look at science books now, as mathematics and physics are the same in the modern dimension, but humanities were different—she needed to become familiar with each dimension’s history and cultural characteristics.

Lost in her books, reading a few poems, she heard a voice: "Gu, classmate Gu, hello."

Anning looked up to see a tall, skinny boy standing beside her desk.

The boy must have been shy, his face flush red as he handed Anning something: "This is for you."

Without waiting for Anning to accept or decline, he placed it on the desk and ran off.

Anning looked down to see a small, exquisite paper box on the desk, and upon opening it, found a few pieces of cake and a small note.

The note read three words: I like you.

Anning gave a wry smile, threw the note in the trash can, and placed the paper box on the teacher’s desk.