Chapter 2- What is your relationship?

Emily thought their encounter last night was just a brief moment, but she saw Matt again at the hospital the next day. Emily had just finished a surgery, with transparent hand sanitizer still in her palm, when the head nurse rushed over, her tone anxious: "There's a patient in the outpatient department who stuck a light bulb in their mouth and can't get it out. Dr. Song is asking for you."

"Alright, I'll be right there." Emily quickly washed her hands under the tap and headed straight for the outpatient department.

Pushing open the office door, Emily walked in with her hands in her pockets. She immediately saw Matt and noticed that several nurses and doctors were gathered around the patient, looking helpless. The patient was a young girl, teary-eyed and making incoherent sounds.

Meanwhile, the accompanying man was teasing the girl in a familiar, cold voice: "Even the three-and-a-half-year-old kid downstairs, Xiao Ming, plays with this toy. You two should form a debut team together."

The girl couldn't speak, giving him a reproachful look.

The subtle intimacy between the two fell into Emily's eyes. She lowered her gaze, hiding her emotions.

Emily walked over, took the protective gloves handed by a nurse, and approached the patient. She lifted the girl's chin and examined her carefully. She found that the light bulb was perfectly wedged in her mouth, the size just right.

At that moment, Matt also noticed Emily. She deliberately ignored his gaze on her and turned to ask an intern doctor behind her: "Did you use paraffin oil?"

"Yes, but it didn't work," the doctor replied.

Emily lowered her head, noticing that the hair tie at the back of her head was a bit loose, a strand of her hair falling on her face. She observed the light bulb in the girl's mouth again and said: "Get a surgical bag."

Five minutes later, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Emily softly asked the patient to relax while slowly inserting a tube to place the surgical bag around the light bulb. When the surgical bag completely enveloped the bulb, Emily instructed: "Bite down hard."

The girl shook her head in terror, her eyes wide with fear. What if the bulb exploded when she bit down? Emily reassured her: "It'll be fine."

Despite Emily's gentle words, the girl was still too scared to comply. Her eyes were filled with tears, and she was extremely tense.

Emily glanced at the girl's earrings—silver leaves—and casually said: "Your earrings are beautiful."

The girl, distracted, took out her phone and opened an app. She tried to speak, though her words were choppy. Emily could piece together what she was trying to say—she was looking for the link to the earrings.

While the girl was focused on finding the link, Emily took advantage of her relaxed state, gripping her jaw and firmly pulling it down. There was a "crack" sound as the bulb shattered.

The girl was stunned for two seconds before she started screaming. Matt patted her head, laughing softly: "Alright, I'll take you for ice cream later."

The girl immediately calmed down, no longer distressed.

Matt rarely coaxed anyone, but when he did, just a few kind words were enough to make them surrender.

The rest was left to the outpatient doctors. Emily removed her protective gloves, threw them into the trash can, and walked out of the department with her hands in her white coat pockets.

The girl watched Dr. Emily's cool demeanour as she left, still shaken: "She's a soft-spoken tyrant. I was seriously trying to find the link for her, and she used such a gentle method to trick me."

Emily returned to her office and worked for another half hour. When she stepped out and passed the nurses' station, a young nurse called out to her: "Hey, Dr. Emily, someone was looking for you earlier! It was the relative of the patient with the light bulb. They left you something as a thank you."

Emily looked over. It was a row of lychee and white peach flavored milk and a blue hair tie. Her gaze lingered, not moving away. The nurses nearby teased: "Dr. Emily, that guy was really handsome. He smiled at Nurse Zhang just now, and she nearly lost her mind."

Matt indeed had that charm. Being a rogue, he didn't need to do much—just a beckoning finger or even just a look, and countless women would follow him eagerly.

Emily nodded, about to walk away. The nurse called out to her: "Dr. Emily, you haven't taken your things."

"You guys can share them," Emily said calmly.

Emily turned to walk away but saw Matt and the girl at a distance, near the corner.

The girl was dressed fashionably, with striking looks, bright red lips, and a curvy figure. Emily had already witnessed her flirtatious skills in the ward earlier.

Emily glanced over. The girl was clinging to Matt's arm, saying something coquettishly. Matt's face was expressionless, but his relaxed brows showed he appreciated her charms.

Emily's hands in her pockets clenched tightly, her fingertips turning white. The pain brought her back to reality. Wasn't he always like this? He liked bold, alluring types, while she had always been too well-behaved, too plain.

A good student was never on his list of choices.

Faced with such an encounter, Emily could only walk past them. They clearly saw her too, and the girl called out, smiling brightly: "Dr. Emily, thank you for earlier."

Emily shook her head: "You're welcome; it was my duty."

The girl, standing next to Matt, glanced at him. She could tell that after seeing Dr. Emily, her brother's mood had shifted.

There was definitely something going on between the two of them.

The girl's eyes sparkled with curiosity as she asked, "Dr. Emily, do you know my cousin? It seems like you two have quite a history together."

So, she was a cousin. But the girl's question was too bold and direct, leaving Emily flustered. She glanced at Matt, hoping he would intervene.

With one hand in his pocket, Matt saw Emily's discomfort and her cheeks flushing. Amused, he decided to tease her. He looked straight at Emily, chuckling softly as he pressed his tongue against his lower jaw. "Why don't you tell her what our relationship is?" he said, leaving the interpretation up to her.

Emily understood his playful demeanor. Men like him, blessed by fortune, probably never understood what it felt like to genuinely like someone. Perhaps, she thought, he never truly cared for her.

Matt had only intended to make a joke, but he regretted it immediately upon seeing the wetness forming in Emily's clear, bright eyes. A sense of panic spread through him, expanding infinitely. He cleared his throat, about to say something, but Emily blinked, her initial emotions dissipating into calm indifference.

"We don't know each other. We're not connected," she replied evenly.

Matt read the finality in her eyes, a resolute detachment. A string seemed to tighten around his heart, an emotion he couldn't quite grasp. It finally dawned on him: the person before him genuinely didn't like him anymore.