Chapter Seventy-One: A Gentle Heart

“Mr. Ye is the younger brother of Dr. Xiao; of course, he doesn’t need to wait in line.”

“So what if he’s Dr. Xiao’s brother? Does that mean he gets to skip the queue?”

The woman stared at the receptionist with righteous indignation.

“Ma’am, we call numbers in order for everyone, but Mr. Ye is family to Dr. Xiao. Besides, if you put yourself in her position, you wouldn’t make your own family wait in line, would you? If you think this is unfair, I’m sorry, but you’re welcome to visit another hospital.”

In the past, cosmetic surgery clinics wouldn’t dream of turning away clients. The receptionists would spend the day watching dramas or gossiping, finding work even more relaxing than being off duty.

Now, the front desk had to handle hundreds, even thousands, of people daily—they felt like they were turning into robots themselves.

“Hmph.”

The woman snorted, but she sat back down.

She had no choice. After all, Xiao Yuru was now renowned enough, not only a direct disciple of three masters, but also possessing a status no one else could claim.

If she knew that the wildly popular intelligent surgical robots in the aesthetic medicine industry were invented by Ye Qiu himself, she probably wouldn’t just let him skip the queue—she’d be tripping over herself to curry favor.

Ye Qiu didn’t give any of this a second thought. As he reached the door of Xiao Yuru’s office, the previous client was just stepping out.

“Second Sister.”

“You rascal, you’re just in time. Now I can finally take a break.”

Xiao Yuru stretched luxuriantly. Back when she was unknown, she wanted to perform as many surgeries as possible to gain experience. Yet the field was so resistant to interns that, even with discounts, no one would let an intern operate.

Now, with a heavy surgery workload and theory combined with practice, her progress had been meteoric. But working over ten hours a day with no rest was beginning to trouble her anew.

Even so, Xiao Yuru spent nearly all her time at the plastic surgery clinic—operating or answering clients’ questions.

Perhaps her sense of accomplishment came from knowing every exquisite result was wrought by her own hands.

“Second Sister, let me tell you, technological progress is meant to free our hands. If you insist on doing everything yourself, you’ll work yourself to death and still achieve little.”

“Easy for you to say,” Xiao Yuru replied, dissatisfied. “You spend all day at Big Sis’s company as some big manager, you’ll forget you even have a second sister at this rate.”

“That’s a harsh accusation.” Ye Qiu couldn’t help but tease her. After a moment’s thought, he added, “Right now, Eleven only does facial contour analysis and makes some surgical molds. You could try training her to handle consultations—that’d free up more of your time.”

“You think I haven’t tried? Your technology is too advanced; everyone’s still getting used to it. Besides, unless someone’s actually present, do you think people will really feel at ease? Until Big Sis’s butler robots become more widespread, your second sister can forget about having any rest.”

“That actually makes sense.” Ye Qiu sat across from her. “So, Second Sister, what did you want me for?”

“I have a classmate who went abroad after graduation to be a private doctor. He’s just come back and opened a private clinic. One of his clients needs a reconstructive surgery, and I want you to come with me.”

That didn’t sound right.

He wasn’t an expert in this field. With Xiao Eleven around, most reconstructive surgeries had reference materials—there was no need for him.

“I’m not going.”

“Getting cocky, are you?” Xiao Yuru grabbed him by the ear. “You dare ignore your sister now?”

“Then tell me the truth—why do you need me there?”

“Hmph, you little fox.” Xiao Yuru shot him a glare, opened her mouth, then hesitated.

Ye Qiu grew more curious.

His second sister was always so forthright; how come she was being coy now?

“Well…” A flash of embarrassment crossed Xiao Yuru’s face. She turned away, unable to meet his eyes, fiddling with her desk as she tried to sound casual. “Back in school, this guy was such a pain—always staging ‘accidental’ encounters. After he went abroad, I lost contact. Now he’s back, and he just won’t leave me alone. I want you to go with me and put an end to it.”

“How, exactly? Bump him off?”

“Crazy!” Xiao Yuru rolled her eyes. “Just make him give up.”

“How am I supposed to do that?”

“You… pretend to be my boyfriend so he gives up.”

“Pfft—”

Ye Qiu spat out the mouthful of water he’d just drunk.

“Second Sister, maybe I should just take him out instead.”

“You rotten boy! What’s that supposed to mean? Your second sister’s got everything going for her—do you think being your girlfriend is beneath me?”

To prove her point, Xiao Yuru even puffed out her chest.

“Second Sister, this is too much… If Big Sis finds out you’re fooling around, she’ll have your hide.”

“Don’t use your big sister as a shield. Just answer me—will you help me or not?”

“Well…” Ye Qiu was still hesitating when Xiao Yuru started dabbing at her eyes. “I knew it. No matter how close siblings are, distance changes everything. Now you’re rich, worth billions, with robots like Cloud Smoke at your side. Surrounded by Hollywood stars and tycoons like Mary, I’m just a plastic surgeon—not good enough for you…”

“Alright, stop.” Ye Qiu surrendered hastily. If he let her go on, he’d look like the worst kind of ingrate.

“I’ll do it, okay? Is that good enough?”

Xiao Yuru broke into a smile through her feigned tears. “That’s better.”

She got a bit carried away, and in her haste, eyedrops slipped from her sleeve and fell to the floor.

“Second Sister, that was too much. You really set me up.”

Xiao Yuru immediately put on a stern face. “Cut the nonsense. You’ve already agreed. If you bail on me, you know the consequences.”

“Alright.” Ye Qiu nodded, resigned. “By the way, Second Sister, I’ve been back for a while now, and soon you’ll be off to the capital again. I was thinking we should make time to visit Third Sister.”

If not for his promise to go with Second Sister, Ye Qiu would already have flown to Jiangcheng.

“Since you’re helping me, once this is over, I’ll call Big Sis and we’ll all go to Jiangcheng to see your third sister.”

“Deal, then.”

“Deal, my foot! Listen, go put together a decent outfit and rent a nice car—don’t let me down at the crucial moment.”

With that, Xiao Yuru handed him a bank card. “There’s some money in here. Take it.”

“Sis, I have money.”

Xiao Yuru nodded, uncharacteristically gentle. “I know you do now. But this is from me. You were abroad so long, and I never got you anything. Now I’m so busy I can’t go shopping with you, so you’ll have to let the card stand in for me.”

“Second Sister…”

The softest part of Ye Qiu’s heart felt like a bell hanging at a temple gate; the breeze brushed by, and the delicate ringing, mingled with the gentle wind, made him feel that this journey through life was truly worth it.