Due to work reasons, Shen Xifan spent most of her time at the hotel. Her office was always filled with the scent of Chinese herbs. Lin Yi Shen would often tease her when passing by, “Saint Shen, are you concocting elixirs again?”
Xu Xiangya was curious, “Xifan, why do you take Chinese medicine every day? Menopause?”
Shen Xifan frowned, “If I were going through menopause, you’d be at my funeral soon. I’m taking medicine for an external wind-cold.”
Xu Xiangya pretended to be amazed, “Wow, external wind-cold! You’re so professional!”
“It’s not me who’s professional, it’s that handsome doctor.” She muttered to herself, picturing He Su Ye’s smile with dimples on the right side of his face.
But Xu Xiangya had sharp ears and immediately started gossiping, “A handsome doctor? Who? Is Xifan in love? Wow, the uniform fantasy, doctor, white coat, so professional!”
Shen Xifan shot her a look, “Your fangirling skills are also quite professional!” She then took out a bag of Chinese herbs and waved it in front of Xu Xiangya, “The price of admiring a handsome doctor is quite heavy. It’s fleeting happiness followed by prolonged suffering!”
Xu Xiangya rolled her eyes, “It doesn’t matter. I’ll pretend to be sick, get my prescription, and throw it away after seeing the doctor. After all, the patient’s focus isn’t on the medicine, but on the handsome doctor!”
The head of guest services, Zhang Jie, called out, “Manager Shen, Mr. Ling is back. Do you want to go now?”
She shook her head, “He’s probably busy with a bath and dinner right now. Wait until 7 o’clock to come find me. By then, he’ll have finished dinner and won’t have started working, so we won’t be disturbing him.”
Suddenly, Xu Xiangya leaned in, “Xifan, Ling Huoshui is quite handsome too. But he doesn’t look like a decent person. Not as upright as Yan Heng. I’ve seen him in entertainment magazines more frequently than in business publications!”
Shen Xifan was curious, “Has that guy caused any trouble for you guys?”
“Not at all!” Xu Xiangya leaned in to smell the Chinese medicine cup. “This smells terrible! But Ling Huoshui isn’t as picky as Yan Heng. He often flirts with the girls in our department, making me feel a mix of love and hate!”
Shen Xifan felt annoyed, so she drank the medicine in one gulp, leaving Xu Xiangya dumbfounded, exclaiming, “Talent! Pure talent! Shen the Talent!” -_-!
In the afternoon, while she was resting, she received a call from her dad, which surprised her. As soon as she picked up, her dad’s voice sounded pitiful, “Fanfan, is your mom going through some phase? She’s been so difficult and stubborn lately.”
“The menopausal syndrome?”
Her dad eagerly nodded, “Yes, yes, that’s it! I feel like I’ve become a poor peasant at home, bullied by her every day. If I say something, she complains. I say one thing, and she retaliates with ten. Can’t I even speak anymore? She’s the one who talks the most!”
Shen Xifan could only comfort her dad, “Dad, you know her temper. It’s always been bad, but now, with the hormonal imbalance during menopause, she’s even more irritable. Just give her the silent treatment, passive resistance. Eight years of resistance during the Anti-Japanese War and three years of resistance between the Nationalists and Communists tell us—one must persevere for victory!”
“Will that work?” Her dad hesitated.
She solemnly assured him, “If it doesn’t work, I’ll take the brunt of it. Our family is known for our loud voices. I’ll talk to her when I go home, but work is really busy right now, and I’ve been staying at the hotel all this time. You just have to bear with it for now.”
Her dad reminded her a few more times before hanging up. She sighed. She also wanted to stop her mom’s bad temper and dispel the idea of arranging blind dates for her everywhere.
Seven o’clock came, and she went to find Ling Yufan. This time, she put on an extra layer of clothing, thinking, “It’s not worth catching another cold for you. If I’m going to feel anything, it’ll be for the handsome doctor this time.”
She knocked on the door for quite sometime before someone answered. Ling Yufan was wearing glasses and a thick sweater, speaking with some impatience, “Manager Shen, what’s the matter? Are you here to ‘personally’ compensate me this time?”
His face was somewhat pale but with a slight unhealthy flush. And his wire-rimmed glasses diminished his charisma by half. He didn’t look like a ladies’ man at all.
Ignoring Ling Yufan’s provocation completely, she explained her purpose formulaically. Before she could finish speaking, Ling Yufan suddenly grabbed her hand. Startled, she struggled to break free, then slightly bowed, “Mr. Ling, please behave yourself. I’ll take my leave.”
Ling Yufan chuckled, “Just teasing you. You haven’t reached the level where I can’t help myself yet!”
She shot him a glare, “Mr. Ling, goodnight!” Then she walked away without looking back, leaving behind Ling Yufan’s uncontrollable laughter.
As she left the C area, Shen Xifan felt annoyed, continuously rubbing her hands. Suddenly, she was surprised to realize that when Ling Yufan grabbed her just now, her palms felt hot. And thinking back, it seemed his complexion wasn’t quite normal today either. He probably caught a cold too.
She secretly felt pleased. Those who play with others will be played with. Turns out, fate is fair after all. Ling Yufan, you just calmly follow in my footsteps, Shen Xifan. Of course, she comforted herself with these wicked thoughts, this is also heaven punishing you for your frivolous behavior towards women. Ling Yufan, you should be content.
After a good night’s sleep, when she was preparing to work energetically, disaster struck. Her mom, from who knows where brought a “white knight” and asked her to evaluate him.
During the morning meeting, Shen Xifan was completely distracted, only jotting down a few words and then a whole page with the word “伯乐” (Bo Le), which means horse trainer in Chinese. Back in her office, she lamented, “Why isn’t there a prince here to appreciate me? It’s always either a dark horse or a white horse. If I don’t play the role of Bo Le, who will?”
She decided to sabotage her mom’s plan again. This time, this person seemed too pretentious, with eyes like Bai Yansong and a face like Wu Mengda. Her mom whispered on the side, “His advantage is that he’s a certified public accountant, very good at accounting!”
Shen Xifan thought to herself, “Actually, he’s here to spy on his daughter’s finances for you, you nosy busybody!” She didn’t discriminate against him based on appearance, but this successful man had extraordinary self-confidence, repeatedly boasting about how he could see through false accounts. She occasionally cooperated by exclaiming, “Wow, you’re amazing! I admire you so much!”
The man swelled even more, and finally, he dug out a heartfelt confession from the depths of his heart, “Actually, I just want to find someone who will treat my mom well. I’m too busy, and I don’t have time to take care of her.”
This time, Shen Xifan made an even more admiring and amazed expression. “Wow! You’re so clever. How did you know that this girl needed money and wanted to apply as a nanny? How much do you pay per month?…”
Sure enough, the blind date was a mess again!
Being scolded back to the hotel by her mother made her feel relieved inside, but she still had to pretend to look sorrowful on the surface. Shen’s mother scolded her from the restaurant back to her hotel. When she got upstairs and took out her phone, her mother continued scolding her until the phone ran out of battery. Shen Xifan now deeply felt how difficult her father’s situation was. So, the next afternoon, with a fervent desire to rescue menopausal women, she came to the hospital.
But her motives were not pure. It was just that she didn’t always see He Suye when she got medicine. She could only catch glimpses of him when she registered and waited in line for treatment. His dimples would surface when he smiled, and she could hear his gentle voice. Feeling somewhat foolish, she acknowledged that not all the reasons were her fault. At least fifty percent of the blame fell on that handsome doctor.
Facing Shen Xifan, He Suye had become accustomed to it. From insomnia to fever, if this girl made trouble resulting in stomach pain, bloating, edema, or fatigue, he could accept it calmly. And there was no need to hide his dimples in front of her, but it was still better to maintain some professionalism as a doctor.
However, Shen Xifan hesitated for a long time and couldn’t come up with a reason. He Suye was puzzled. What kind of illness was so difficult to talk about?
Finally, she blushed and asked, “How can menopausal syndrome be treated?”
He Suye widened his eyes and flipped back the cover of the medical record. “25 years old? Menopause ahead of time?”
She quickly waved her hand, “Not me, my mother.”
He Suye said, “Oh,” and asked, “Why not let your mother come and see herself?”
“I wouldn’t dare!” Shen Xifan felt a headache when it came to this. She completely forgot that she was talking to He Suye, “My father is now oppressed and can’t say a word. I’m harassed by noise pollution every day. Who in my family dares to mention this to her? It’s completely a feudal society. You tell me, if a woman keeps babbling in your ear for half a day, constantly calls until the phone runs out of battery, harasses you every other day with something, and meddles in everything… Um… Doctor He, am I talking too much?”
He Suye smiled, his eyes full of laughter. “No, no, I just feel very sorry for you. You’re so pitiful that you have nowhere to vent, so you came to the hospital to vent.”
She hesitated, “What should I do? Can you prescribe medicine now?”
He Suye shook his head, “I’m not very confident about this, but I can give you a few dietary therapy recipes to try at home. Lotus seeds, longan flesh, and rock sugar in appropriate amounts, boiled into porridge with boiling water, then add rock sugar before consuming. Or, black fungus and rice boiled into porridge, add jujube dice and mix in rock sugar. These two recipes have the effects of nourishing blood and lowering blood pressure, nourishing yin and tonifying the stomach, and invigorating the spleen, and replenishing qi.”
He then took out a piece of white paper. “Let me write it down for you so you won’t forget again.”
After writing it down, He Suye handed it to her. She pondered for a moment before asking, “Dr. He, what should someone do if they catch a cold but don’t like injections or medicine?”
He thought for a moment. “They can drink cold relief tea. Do you want me to write down some recipes for you?”
She took advantage of the situation and nodded eagerly, looking like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He Suye found it amusing but restrained his laughter, and proceeded to prescribe for her.
Shen Xifan looked at He Suye, feeling somewhat absent-minded. She silently wondered why all the men she met through blind dates were such “special” individuals. Why hadn’t she encountered an outstanding man like He Suye, who seemed so amiable and gentle? Suddenly, she felt annoyed by these blind dates.
Then, she blurted out, “Dr. He, is there any medicine that can dispel my mother’s thoughts of arranging blind dates for me?”
He Suye was writing seriously when the pen slipped with a “whoosh,” leaving a faint mark.
Shen Xifan hastily explained, “I spoke out of turn, please don’t take it seriously!”
He Suye thought for a moment, his expression serious. “Miss Shen should go to a marriage agency. This hospital doesn’t provide such services. I’m only responsible for curing patients, not for treating healthy people.”
As she went out to pay, Shen Xifan felt secretly pleased. The service from the handsome doctor today was truly exceptional. If it weren’t for her unexpected behavior at the end, it would have been perfect.
She muttered to herself as she walked, “Five Divine Tea: 6 grams of tea leaves, 10 grams each of schizonepeta, perilla leaf, and ginger. Boil in water over low heat for 15 minutes, then add 30 grams of brown sugar and drink twice a day, as needed. It can dispel wind-cold, relieve pain, and is suitable for symptoms such as wind-cold colds, aversion to cold, body aches, and lack of sweating…”
She continued to laugh foolishly, “Five Divine Tea, with perilla leaves inside…” Lost in thought, she bumped into someone in front of her. When she looked up, she saw it was also a doctor, not tall, but with a very distinctive appearance, definitely unforgettable.
Feeling embarrassed, neither she nor the doctor knew what to say, so they just smiled at each other and went their separate ways.
Back at the hotel with the medicine, she instructed Xu Xiangya to take care of her mother, who was in a bad mood. Then, she endured until the end of her shift and carried a big bag of things home to take care of her menopausal mother.
Shen’s father was surprised to see his daughter back home. Shen Xifan explained, “Dad, I’m here to rescue you from the fire and water!”
She mentioned feeling anxious and experiencing night sweats the previous night, leading to a restless sleep. She nodded. “Dad, please go to your study first. I’ll prepare porridge for Mom. She woke up early and couldn’t fall back asleep until afternoon when I returned from school. Today, I’ll inquire with the doctor about some dietary therapy recipes. Perhaps they’ll be helpful.”
Lotus seeds nourish the heart and kidneys, invigorate the spleen and moisten the lungs, clear heat and calm the mind, and lower blood pressure. Longan is warm and sweet, nourishing the heart and spleen, and replenishing qi and blood. It is used for insomnia, forgetfulness, palpitations, dizziness caused by deficiency of the heart and spleen, and rock sugar supplements the middle burner and benefits qi, moistens the stomach, and moistens the lungs.
The kitchen was filled with the aroma of rice porridge, mixed with the faint medicinal scent of lotus seeds and longan. Finally, rock sugar was added. Suddenly, a sweet fragrance filled the air, and the slightly warm steam carried the sweet scent, spreading throughout the house.
At the dining table, Shen’s father passed his bowl over. “Fanfan, give me another bowl of porridge. It’s delicious.”
Shen Xifan looked at him incredulously. “Dad, this is for Mom to eat. It’s for treating menopausal syndrome!”
Shen’s father chuckled. “It’s okay. Your old man will be there soon too. It’s better to be prepared in advance.”
Shen’s mother glared at him, and Shen’s father quickly changed his tune. “Serve the rice, serve the rice. Porridge is not filling enough!”
She had to return to the hotel at night, but she promised herself she would stay at home for a while once this project was over. Shen’s father only let her leave after she made this promise.
Winter was undeniably frigid, with bone-chilling gusts of wind. Starting tomorrow, she intended to begin drinking Isatis Root and Lonicera Tea to ward off influenza.
A sweet and rich fragrance clung to her clothes, distinct from the coolness of licorice. Instead, it was reminiscent of the enduring sweetness of rock sugar—a comforting and lingering flavor that warmed the heart and lungs, mirroring her mood, which was sweet and carefree.
Suddenly, the image of He Suye’s deep dimple on his right cheek flashed through her mind, bringing a smile to her face. It resembled rock sugar, refreshing in summer and comforting in winter.