Amnesiac Queen - Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Date — Good night, Dr. Ji!

♕

Because Doctor Ji’s lunch break was limited, they ended up deciding to eat at a Chinese restaurant close to the hospital.

This family restaurant was in a popular, prosperous district. The store had an ancient look and feel to it, and there was no empty place to be seen at noon. Furthermore, many of the doctors and nurses who hadn’t wanted to eat in the staff dining hall also came here to buy take out and bring it back to the hospital to eat.

Fortunately, it was close to 1:00PM. Even though there were still numerous people in the restaurant, it wasn’t so crowded to be without a single place to sit. With the problem of seating resolved, next came the question of who would order the dishes. Both of them modestly declined for quite a while as the waiter’s smile became more and more brittle. Ye Zhen Zhen finally made a move. “Dr. Ji, you are more familiar with this family restaurant. I don’t know which dishes are relatively delicious.”

Ji Zhe Yan didn’t decline again and ordered three dishes and one soup from the menu he was holding. The waiter, having his wish fulfilled, passed on their order. Ye Zhen Zhen saw the waiter leave, so in order to not have an awkward silence, she strived to look for a conversational topic. She once again took out that delicately wrapped box of macarons and pushed it over to Ji Zhe Yan. “Dr. Ji, now that I am not your patient, you can receive this as a friend, no?”

Ji Zhe Yan didn’t reply, but he also didn’t reject the box. Ye Zhen Zhen’s heart radiated joy. Not satisfied with this small victory, she said, “Since we are friends, then is it convenient for you to tell me your contact details? Don’t worry. I won’t call to disturb you.”

Ji Zhe Yan looked at the person sitting opposite him, his eyes—as usual—not showing any superfluous emotions. His gaze was as clear as a deep pond, and Ye Zhen Zhen was the person drowning in it. She tugged at the white tablecloth hanging down to her knees, somewhat ill at ease. She thought to herself, If Dr. Ji is unwilling to give me his phone number, then I will give him mine.

Ji Zhe Yan pulled a business card out from his bag and handed it to Ye Zhen Zhen. Ye Zhen Zhen accepted that card with piousness, as if she was accepting a khata.¹ After that, she heard Dr. Ji say from his seat across from her, “Doesn’t your aunt know my phone number?”

Ye Zhen Zhen: “…”

She…didn’t think of that! She nearly wept from her own stupidity.

“Yi, isn’t that Dr. Ji?”

“Where? Where? Ah, that’s Dr. Ji, but who is that person he is sitting with?”

“I don’t know, it’s not his girlfriend, right?”

Two nurses stood in the doorway, whispering. The word ‘girlfriend’ fell into Ye Zhen Zhen’s ear with an exceptionally sweet-sounding ring. Ji Zhe Yan nodded towards them slightly. The two small nurses closed their mouths, smiled, grabbed their take out, and left.

“Dr. Ji, they seemed to have mistaken me for your girlfriend. Don’t you need to explain?” Ye Zhen Zhen’s behavior was the perfect example of taking one’s undeserved gain for granted.

“It’s fine.” Ji Zhe Yan seemed to not mind. The waiter just happened to come over with their dishes at this moment, causing this subject to come to a close like this. Ye Zhen Zhen’s heart swelled with satisfaction. After those two nurses returned, they would certainly be a great help in spreading awareness of her ‘status.’ This way, there wouldn’t be so many jackals, wolves, tigers, and panthers lusting after her Dr. Ji.

Ye Zhen Zhen’s mood was great. The food was especially aromatic, and she was also sitting across from Dr. Ji. She felt that even without the dishes, Dr. Ji was worth two bowls of food.

“Zhe Yan, what a coincidence! You are also eating here?” A woman’s voice suddenly rang out from above her head. Ye Zhen Zhen raised her head and caught sight of a beautiful woman attired in a labcoat standing beside their table. Ji Zhe Yan nodded to her, and a smile burst forth onto the beautiful woman’s face. She casually turned her gaze to Ye Zhen Zhen, who was sitting across from him. “This person is a patient of yours, right? If my memory is correct, this is the eldest daughter of the Ye Family?”

Ye Zhen Zhen curled her lips invisibly. Just recently, I am his girlfriend, but her words turned me into an patient…you are a patient! You are a hospitalized patient!

#The Actual Facts#

Although Ye Zhen Zhen ridiculed her mentally, she nevertheless smiled courteously at her. “Hello, I am Ye Zhen Zhen.”

The beautiful woman looked at her, the corners of her lips slightly quirking up. “Do you mind if I sit together with you?”

The smile on Ye Zhen Zhen’s face didn’t waver. “I mind quite a lot.”

……

This time, not to mention the beautiful woman standing to the side, even Ji Zhe Yan glanced at her with some surprise. The beautiful woman’s curved lips collapsed. She didn’t expect that Ye Zhen Zhen would be so direct, but since she spoke like this, she would also find it embarrassing to shamelessly sit down.

“Then I won’t disturb you two. I also called take out, so I’ll see you later.” This line of ‘I’ll see you later’ was naturally directed to Ji Zhe Yan. As for this person called Ye Zhen Zhen, she really hoped that she would never see her again.

After the beautiful woman grabbed her take out and left the restaurant, Ye Zhen Zhen’s mood switched from a malicious woman to a pure flower. “I saw that she had ordered two take out containers. She must be ordering for someone else as well. If she had stayed here to eat with us, the other person will be left waiting; how cruel.”

Ji Zhe Yan nodded. “Mn, I didn’t expect you to be so attentive.”

Ye Zhen Zhen closed her mouth, revealing the standard smile of a rich heiress. “This person’s greatest attribute is considering other people’s needs.”

If the beautiful woman just now had still been here, she would definitely spray her salt soda water.

In short, this lunch shared with Dr. Ji ended delightfully. Ye Zhen Zhen called the waiter over to pay the bill, and the waiter informed them of the total. Just as Ye Zhen Zhen was about to fish out her money, Dr. Ji had already pulled out his. The waiter accepted the payment walked over to the front desk to get change. Ye Zhen Zhen’s hand had just made contact with her handbag but had no choice except to withdraw. “Dr. Ji, it was I who invited you to eat; how could I possibly make you pay.”

“It doesn’t matter. Just take this as a return gift for the macarons.”

Ye Zhen Zhen thought for a moment before saying, “Then next time, I’ll treat you to a meal.” She simply wanted to give herself a ‘like’ for being quick-witted!

“Mn.” Ji Zhe Yan nodded. The waiter gave him his change and the receipt.

Ji Zhe Yan walked Ye Zhen Zhen all the way back to her chauffeur’s car before turning round and heading to the hospital. Ye Zhen Zhen sat in the back seat and watched as Ji Zhe Yan’s figure gradually grew smaller from the window. Her heart indescribably felt sad. For her next appointment, she had to wait until Monday next week, it was at least… she didn’t know how many days!

♕

Ji Zhe Yan didn’t work very long in the afternoon, finishing his shift at 4:00PM. His home was a high-end apartment near the hospital. Every day after he finished work, he would first take a bath before beginning on making dinner. Today was just the same. He toweled dry his damp hair as he walked through the living room before catching sight of that delicate gift box on the coffee table.

Not knowing if it was stemming from something inside his heart, but he didn’t choose to go make dinner; instead, he chose to open the box first.

What was within the box was as Ye Zhen Zhen had described——regular macarons, 12 in total. There was no red pocket. There was no bank card either, but there was a small card taped to the side of the box.

Ji Zhe Yan opened the card and read it. On the top, written in small, neat and careful print——

『Dr. Ji, thank you for taking care of me at the hospital. ^_^』

Beside the smiley was a Q-version watercolor painting of himself in a white labcoat, a cool expression on its face. It was very lifelike, as he had recognized himself with one glance.

Ji Zhe Yan smiled invisibly. He picked up a macaron and bit into it. Although its flavor was sweet and unctuous, it also wasn’t as hard to swallow as he had imagined.

♕

Ye Zhen Zhen took a hot bath and lay down on her bed, slightly sleepy as she read a novel. Yesterday, she hadn’t sleep well, so she intended to sleep a bit earlier tonight. She beat back a yawn and sent a SMS to Ji Zhe Yan’s phone. 「 Good night, Dr. Ji! Don’t work too late~」

She originally didn’t expect Ji Zhe Yan to reply to her, but Ji Zhe Yan’s reply came unusually quick. 「Okay, good night.」

Ye Zhen Zhen’s face burned. This kind of ‘good night’ text truly gave the illusion that they were boyfriend-girlfriend.

She grabbed her pillow and covered her face, rolling back and forth on her bed several times. She felt that tonight, she would definitely have a good dream.

But she was mistaken.

♕

Tonight, she still had a nightmare, the contents more or less the same as the night before—a scene where a shadow pushed her down the stairs. This dream recurred for three nights in a row. Even though she still wasn’t able to clearly see that person’s face, the hand that pushed her down the stairs became clearer and clearer.

“Miss, your complexion has been poor these past few days. Do you want Dr. Zhang to take a look?” Housekeeper Zhou delivered breakfast to Ye Zhen Zhen’s room but didn’t leave immediately, a rare occurrence.

Ye Zhen Zhen was dressed in pyjamas, rubbing her hair into a mess. She shook her head. “I’m alright. I just didn’t sleep well last night. At tomorrow’s doctor appointment, I will talk with Dr. Ji.”

Hearing her say this, housekeeper Zhou didn’t say anything else, merely saying that she could bring her a glass of milk before she sleeps. After housekeeper Zhou left, Ye Zhen Zhen silently ate her breakfast alone. These past two days, she had taken all of her meals in her room. Sun Qian had found excuses to come see her several times but was sent away on the grounds that her head was pained. Although Dr. Ji told her to go out for walks if she had the time, the nightmares that occured night after night made her dispirited and listless. She just wanted to spend the whole day laying in bed, simply not having any surplus energy to go out for a walk.

But tomorrow was the day of her long-awaited doctor appointment. If Dr. Ji saw her look like this, his favorable impression of her would definitely decrease. Thinking that she needed to make Dr. Ji’s impression of her increase, it absolutely couldn’t ruin the enterprise for the sake of one basketful like this!²Therefore, Ye Zhen Zhen kicked her spirit into gear, changed into something that wasn’t pajamas, and walked downstairs.

When she walked downstairs, Sun Qian and her husband were sitting in the dining hall, eating breakfast. She called out a greeting to them and walked directly outside. Spring was a season where numerous flowers were in full bloom, but the flowers in the garden and the bright, beautiful sunshine didn’t make Ye Zhen Zhen feel even slightly better.

That hand that had appeared within her dream seemed as if it was holding her by the throat, making her unable to breathe. Although, it wasn’t like she also didn’t reap benefits from this. If her dream was reliable, then according to her examination of that hand, the person who pushed her downstairs was a man.

Ye Zhen Zhen walked aimlessly. When she turned a corner, she caught sight of Wang Er Gou standing downstairs, holding a plastic water pipe. He was looking up at a window on the second floor. A lamplight seemed to be flickering in there. Ye Zhen Zhen followed his gaze. It should be, from the position of that window, her grandfather’s room.

Ye Zhen Zhen walked up to Wang Er Gou and greeted him, “Wang Er Gou.”

“Ah————!!”

“Ah————!!”

Two screams tore the sky asunder, the first coming from Wang Er Gou and the second from the one he had terrified——Ye Zhen Zhen.

“Miss, why did you walk so silently; you frightened me to death!” Because of the shriek just now, Wang Er Gou’s face was very red.

Ye Zhen Zhen patted her chest, gasping for breath as she said to Wang Er Gou, “It was clearly you who frightened me to death, okay? What was there to suddenly scream about? I have never heard of a frightened person frightening a frightened person to death!”

“Wasn’t it because you suddenly called out to me…?” Wang Er Gou hung his head, grumbling a line of complaint. Ye Zhen Zhen gasped for air. Just as she wanted to speak, she saw housekeeper Zhou, Sun Qian, and Ye Kang Ping hurriedly run from the villa.

“What happened?!”

Ye Zhen Zhen embarrassedly smiled. “It’s nothing. Just now, an extremely large rat ran through here, scaring the both of us.”

……

The false alarm scenario had the three of them quickly returning to the villa. Because she had recently screamed to the sky, Ye Zhen Zhen’s spirit seemingly improved a bit. She looked at Wang Er Gou, who was standing in front of her, and inquisitively said, “What were you looking at just now? You looked at it in a very enthralled manner.”

Wang Er Gou was silent for a moment. “Back when Master was still alive, he would frequently stand at his window and look out here, so  I took care of the flowers here meticulously.”

Ye Zhen Zhen nodded and didn’t speak. Wang Er Gou continued to talk, “Although Master has recently passed away, I have always felt…as if he was still frequently standing there.”

Ye Zhen Zhen: “…”

I’m already having nightmares; don’t escalate it to a haunted villa, okay!

She glanced at the honest and sincere youth before her and meaningfully spoke from her heart, “Er Gou Zi,³  there is an idiom in Chinese that says, ‘Only a thief feels guilt.’”

Wang Er Gou stared at her blankly before waving his hand frantically at Ye Zhen Zhen. “I didn’t kill Master! Miss, you need to believe me!”

Ye Zhen Zhen smiled faintly at him. “I know. I merely wanted to tell you this. Don’t think too much on it. If you haven’t done a shameful deed, then you don’t need to worry about a ghost knocking on your door.”

“Aaaaahhhhh, don’t say that word!” Wang Er Gou suddenly jumped and appeared very far away.

Ye Zhen Zhen’s smile stiffened. She turned around and walked away. This Wang Er Gou appeared to be docile, but when she had just called out to him just now, he unexpectedly had a frightened appearance. That notion of ‘only a thief feels guilt’ was slightly true.

♕

Author’s Note:

Thanks 【 Su Tan 】. Little angel threw a landmine! Muah~! Muah~! ╭(╯3╰)╮

Recently, I truly hadn’t played games. Believe me. _(:з」∠)_

Recently, I heard that editors do not approve of writing about a police officer as the lead of a novel. Choosing the doctor, I am really too quick-witted.