Chapter 034: Elusive

After basking in Xiaojiu's embrace for a while, Jiner suddenly recalled the look of hatred in Qiner's eyes. She couldn't help but frown, then opened her eyes and gently pulled herself free from Xiaojiu's arms.

"I'm fine. You should go about your business," she said, turning her head away.

Xiaojiu froze for a moment, gazing at her indifferent profile. The little girl before him was truly inscrutable.

"Here, this is for you." Xiaojiu produced the items he had just bought, handing them to Jiner.

She turned to look and saw he was holding several steamed soup dumplings, neatly wrapped in paper. The enticing aroma was already wafting into her nose.

"One bowl of porridge isn’t enough to fill you. Eat these while they're hot."

Jiner pressed her lips together, reached out, and took them. "Thank you." Here, perhaps only he truly cared for her.

"No need to thank me. Take your time eating, I have to get back to work." With that, Xiaojiu smiled at her, then stood and left.

Watching his figure vanish at the doorway, Jiner lowered her head, staring blankly at the soup dumplings in her hands for a long time before finally lifting one to her lips.

As she ate, the image of a long-absent figure surfaced in her mind—so blurred as to be unrecognizable, yet etched deeply enough to never be wholly forgotten.

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Jiner was back at work after only two days in bed. No amount of persuasion from Xiaojiu could sway her, and in the end, he could only urge her to choose lighter, easier tasks. Whenever he found a spare moment, he would come by to help her.

Jiner told him not to bother, but Xiaojiu paid her no heed. So she could only bear Qiner’s resentful, glaring looks each day and keep her head down, focused on her work.

Fortunately, she no longer spent her nights with Xiaojiu in the study; otherwise, Qiner might have long since lost her temper.

Every night, Jiner would read until midnight or later. Sometimes, when drowsiness crept in, she would prick herself with a needle to stay awake and continue reading.

Xiaojiu, seeing her with dark circles under her eyes every day, constantly urged her to rest earlier. She would only verbally agree, but each night she still burned the midnight oil.

Though it was exhausting, Jiner was making remarkable progress. Recently, the shop had been quieter, with fewer matters to attend to, so when she had free time, Jiner would stand by Dr. Chen’s side, watching him treat patients and silently integrating all she had learned. Over time, she felt her medical skills had greatly improved; she was confident she could handle most illnesses now.

One day, a patient with an acute illness arrived at the shop. Dr. Chen happened to be out on a house call, and Xiaojiu had just stepped away. For the moment, there was no one available to see the patient.

Seeing how much pain the patient was in, Jiner calmly received him, and after swiftly observing, questioning, and taking his pulse, she began to write a prescription.

The patient, seeing how young she was, doubted her abilities. But Jiner’s calm composure, professional inquiries, and confident pulse-taking left him wanting to trust her, just this once.

Moreover, Jiner told him the doctor would be back soon, and he could confirm everything with him if he wished. At this, the patient finally relaxed.

"Jiner! What do you think you’re doing?! Do you think treating patients is a game?!" Qiner came in from the back courtyard and saw Jiner writing a prescription, immediately shouting in anger.

Jiner ignored her completely, continuing to write without so much as looking up.

The patient began to grow uneasy, and Qiner was nearly ready to snatch the pen from Jiner’s hand when Xiaojiu appeared in the nick of time.

After Xiaojiu’s examination, his diagnosis matched Jiner’s exactly. He took the prescription she had written, looked at her in surprise, then handed it to Qiner and said, "Prepare the medicine."

Hearing this, the patient finally relaxed and showered Jiner with praise for her skill.