After Yu Tian won this “cake defense battle” and returned to the private room where her mother and Old Dai were seated, carrying the cake once again, she finally let out a long sigh of relief.

Today was Yan Ming’s birthday. If she hadn’t run into them, she could have pretended not to know, but since she did know and such an embarrassing scene had unfolded, she had already announced she would send a cake to Yan Ming’s private room. Not sending a cake now would make it very difficult to save face.

Yu Tian wasn’t a petty person either. After thinking it over, she opened her food delivery app.

Unfortunately, this restaurant was located in an area where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold. After searching around, she found that the nearby cake shops were all trendy internet-famous stores with excellent business. Without booking at least three days in advance, there was no possibility of buying a cake on the spot.

But the ones farther away were either outside the delivery range or couldn’t even find a delivery runner.

Yu Tian originally wanted to find a brand-name store, but unfortunately, after searching high and low, there was only one shop that had inventory ready for immediate delivery and had relatively high ratings.

There was no other choice; this would have to do.

The cake styles in the shop weren’t much to choose from. There was only one left in stock, and while the style was a bit dated, given the circumstances, she couldn’t be too demanding. Yu Tian could only choose this one.

This shop’s delivery was handled by the store’s staff, so Yu Tian specifically left a note asking the shop to help write a birthday card. She also specifically instructed the delivery person to tell the recipient that the cake had been pre-ordered, and only then did she submit the order, pay, and breathe a sigh of relief.

This way, both face and substance were preserved, and at least both sides could get by.

Letting Yan Ming know she had pre-ordered a birthday cake for him early would show that Yu Tian had indeed thought of him in her heart, making him feel somewhat respected, and also giving him face in front of Gao Mei and the others.

After Yu Tian urgently ordered Yan Ming’s cake, she completely threw herself into the dinner gathering with her mother’s new boyfriend’s family.

Old Dai and Dai Xin both seemed very easygoing. Although they were just chatting about everyday topics, and it was the first time Yu Tian had met both of them, surprisingly, there were no awkward moments. Yu Tian even had quite a lot to talk about with Dai Xin since they both had experience in the social media field.

However, most of the conversation during dinner focused on both sets of parents. After the meal, Dai Xin cut the cake and couldn’t stop praising Yu Tian’s culinary skills.

Dai Xin was more enthusiastic and genuine than Yu Tian had expected. Almost shortly after everyone had gone home separately, he did a live streaming session for product promotion, mentioning Yu Tian’s account multiple times during the stream and making a big effort to drive traffic her way.

Regarding Yu Tian’s gratitude, Dai Xin was very straightforward: “What’s there to thank me for? I’ve always hoped to have a little sister. We might all be family in the future, so don’t be so polite with your big brother.”

Yu Tian put down her phone, her heart still stirring with emotion.

Compared to Yan Ming, this big brother was so much better!

Down-to-earth! Enthusiastic! Proactive! Sunny!

How unlike Yan Ming, who was cold as ice and unpredictable in mood.

Yu Tian thought about how many times she had put her warm face against Yan Ming’s cold shoulder, and she still felt wronged and indignant.

How could the difference between people be so great?

What Yu Tian didn’t know was that while she had spent a fulfilling evening and was generally peaceful and happy, for Yan Ming, it couldn’t be called particularly pleasant.

He did indeed receive the cake Yu Tian sent, not long after she left.

The cake clearly wasn’t as exquisite as the one Yu Tian had made by hand. The style was even dated—a huge cake with a longevity peach in the center, decorated with the words “Fortune like the Eastern Sea, Longevity like the Southern Mountains,” looking so old-fashioned it seemed like something for an old matriarch’s eightieth birthday celebration.

But this wasn’t even the most outrageous part. The most outrageous part was the birthday card that came with the cake.

Before opening it, Yan Ming still held a thread of hope about Yu Tian’s humanity.

But when he opened it and saw the words clearly, that hope completely vanished into thin air.

Inside the simple card was a printed folded inner page with these words printed in black and white:

“Please write ‘Happy Birthday to Brother Yan Ming’ on the card, and when delivering, say the cake was pre-ordered, say it was ordered a month in advance, and don’t let them know it was just ordered at the last minute! Thank you!”

“…”

Yu Tian, very good, you’re something.

Not only did you order a cake at the last minute to make up numbers, but you found a lazy shop owner who didn’t use their brain and directly printed the entire note as a greeting message inside the card.

Yan Ming felt his emotions had once again reached a peak.

A peak of anger.

Birthdays should be happy occasions, but Yan Ming felt he was about to die of anger on his birthday.

After the birthday party ended, Yu Tian quickly put that day’s episode behind her, as she needed to focus on work since the free clinic time was approaching.

What a coincidence—Qi Sihao happened to be assigned to distribute eye health pamphlets on the day of the free clinic and had agreed to help Yu Tian distribute survey questionnaires. With everything ready except the final step, Yu Tian was now working hard to perfect the questionnaires.

Early on the morning of the free clinic, Yu Tian urged Qi Sihao to get up and rush to the residential community where the event was being held.

Only when she arrived did she discover this event was bigger than she had imagined. Many departments from the First Affiliated Hospital had mobilized, and the ophthalmology department had brought quite a few people, including, to her surprise, Yan Ming.

A long queue had already formed in front of him, and several elderly ladies who had reached the front were sizing up Yan Ming and chatting with him enthusiastically.

Qi Sihao curled his lip in dissatisfaction: “It’s like this every year. As long as he comes, there are always elderly ladies asking for his contact information, planning to introduce him to their daughters or nieces.”

Yu Tian followed Qi Sihao’s gaze toward Yan Ming. Compared to his coldness toward her, Yan Ming was always patient and gentle with his patients. His handsome face wore a natural and appropriate smile that somehow inspired trust.

He was good to everyone else, just not to her.

Last time he ate her cake, he didn’t even say thank you!

Forget it, she wouldn’t think about it anymore.

Yu Tian shifted her gaze and began focusing on her interview and research work.

To avoid disturbing the free clinic work, Yu Tian went to the back of the queue and started asking questions to the elderly people waiting at the rear.

The weather was hot today. Although it was still early morning, there was no wind, and with so many elderly people gathered together, even Yu Tian felt somewhat stifled.

She had just collected over a dozen questionnaires when she suddenly heard commotion to her left.

“Someone’s collapsed!”

Although there were many doctors at the free clinic site, these doctors were now surrounded three layers deep at the front of the queue. Due to the long line and the sound of people chatting, the call for help couldn’t quickly reach the ears of the clinic doctors.

Yu Tian frowned slightly and pushed through the crowd to see an elderly man lying on the ground.

The person calling for help was also an elderly man of similar age, who kept clarifying: “I didn’t touch him! I just heard him complaining about feeling dizzy and coughing a few times, saying he couldn’t catch his breath. Before I could say anything, he suddenly collapsed.”

“Everyone move back, give the old gentleman some space.”

Just as Yu Tian finished dispersing some of the crowd, someone had already brought over a doctor participating in the free clinic—

“The doctor’s here! The doctor’s here!”

Yu Tian had originally been kneeling on the ground, checking the old man’s vital signs. Hearing this, she breathed a sigh of relief and looked up, only to be stunned.

The person who came was Zheng Tingfu.

He must have come to build his resume, as he had also come to participate in the free clinic.

When Zheng Tingfu saw Yu Tian, he was also stunned. He glanced at Yu Tian awkwardly, then quickly crouched down.

After briefly examining the patient’s condition and asking the patient’s friend about his usual medical history of high blood pressure and high cholesterol, Zheng Tingfu quickly made a diagnosis—

“This should be cardiac arrest caused by sudden myocardial infarction.”

He decisively began preparing to perform CPR.

Although there was a cardiac arrest, there was a professional doctor here to handle CPR, and someone had called 120 for an ambulance. This should be a reassuring rhythm.

Logically speaking, Yu Tian could also leave with peace of mind.

But she always felt something was wrong.

As Yu Tian walked away, she thought about it and pulled aside the friend of the collapsed elderly man who was walking beside her: “Uncle, did your friend say anything else before collapsing? Were there any other symptoms?”

“He told me he had just finished acupuncture, then I saw him start coughing, and his speech was a bit labored. Then he suddenly fainted.”

The uncle thought for a moment and added, “But he usually has a good temper. I don’t know if it was because of the heat today, but he was very irritable.”

Yu Tian had a suspicion: “Did he go to a regular hospital for acupuncture?”

“No, just in our residential community. There’s an elderly lady who taught herself acupuncture. It’s very cheap, and her technique is good. She can also do cupping. We all go to her.”

At that moment, Yu Tian had only one thought.

This is bad!

She couldn’t care about anything else and pushed through the crowd, rushing back toward Zheng Tingfu and the patient.

It wasn’t a heart attack—it was tension pneumothorax!

Both myocardial infarction and pneumothorax can present with chest tightness and chest pain, and both have the possibility of causing cardiac arrest. But the patient’s previous coughing suggested the possibility of pneumothorax, and having just received irregular acupuncture was highly likely to induce tension pneumothorax!

For patients with tension pneumothorax, CPR should not be performed first!

Decompression should be done first!

Every second counts in emergency treatment.

Yu Tian ran breathlessly to Zheng Tingfu’s side and stopped his compression: “It’s pneumothorax! Decompress quickly!”

Unfortunately, Zheng Tingfu didn’t listen. His excessive vanity and self-esteem prevented him from calmly accepting Yu Tian’s opinion. Instead, he pulled rank as a senior and doctor: “Yu Tian, I’m the doctor here, you…”

Saving lives was the priority.

Yu Tian couldn’t care about all that. She directly pulled Zheng Tingfu away and quickly grabbed a large needle from the emergency kit he had brought.

Second intercostal space, midclavicular line on the affected side.

Yu Tian had learned pneumothorax emergency treatment very well. She was confident she could handle and treat this patient.

Ignoring Zheng Tingfu’s nonsense, Yu Tian raised her hand, about to puncture.

However, at the critical moment, Yu Tian’s hand was stopped by someone.

She looked up to see that somehow, Yan Ming had rushed over.

He pulled Yu Tian away without question, his eyes stern.

“Move aside.”

Without giving Yu Tian a chance to speak, Yan Ming examined the patient and, without any hesitation, performed the decompression emergency treatment with clean, decisive movements.

Once Yan Ming arrived, other medical staff also rushed over. Soon, the ambulance arrived, and the emergency personnel lifted the old man onto a stretcher and put an oxygen mask on him.

With its distinctive siren, the ambulance sped away.

The old man should be fine now.

Yu Tian breathed a sigh of relief.

She felt somewhat gratified and somewhat proud, glancing at Yan Ming.

Although she didn’t want to admit it, performing professionally in front of Yan Ming still made Yu Tian’s heart flutter with pride.

In the past, she always seemed to make a fool of herself in front of him. She was reluctant to admit it, but she indeed expected Yan Ming’s praise or gratitude.

Especially with Zheng Tingfu standing awkwardly to the side, this was simply a highlight moment that slapped him in the face.

Yu Tian straightened her back, preparing to receive Yan Ming’s affirmation of her accurate judgment.

Yan Ming did indeed speak, but the content was completely different from what she had imagined.

“What were you doing just now?”

Yan Ming’s voice not only lacked affirmation and praise but was filled with anger: “Yu Tian, today is a free clinic, and there are plenty of doctors here. This kind of emergency treatment is not your place to handle.”

Yu Tian was stunned, then felt wronged and incredulous.

Yan Ming was scolding her in front of Zheng Tingfu.

She instinctively wanted to defend herself: “But there wasn’t enough time. I’m very confident in my pneumothorax emergency treatment. I knew I could save him…”

“Yu Tian, are you a doctor?”

Although Yan Ming usually wasn’t very warm toward her, this was the first time Yu Tian had encountered such a serious and reprimanding tone.

He hadn’t finished scolding her, but the long queue at the free clinic still needed him to handle. He glared at Yu Tian, then turned and walked away. Walking away with him was Zheng Tingfu, who had been standing awkwardly to the side.

Watching the two figures in white coats walking away, Yu Tian felt terrible.

Sour and bitter, like cotton cloth that had been soaked in water all night in summer, when pulled from the water, it carried the damp weight of being soaked, and that water that could never be wrung out completely, that heavy feeling in her hands.

Yu Tian felt tears were already swirling in her eyes. She tried very hard to suppress them and not let the tears roll down.

Her heart ached terribly.

Was it her fault for not being able to become a doctor?

Just because she wasn’t a doctor anymore, did what she had learned not count?

She just wanted to help save the old man’s life out of goodwill.

Just because she hadn’t become a doctor, would even her qualification to save people be stripped away?

In the past, during clinical courses, she had been criticized by teachers for being clumsy, but somehow, Yu Tian felt that Yan Ming’s criticism had an especially big impact on her mood.

Was it because he wanted to maintain collegiality with Zheng Tingfu in front of him?

If he had praised her, it would have been equivalent to slapping Zheng Tingfu in the face, confirming the fact that his unprofessional judgment had nearly harmed the old man. Zheng Tingfu was a colleague Yan Ming saw regularly, while she was now a stranger to Yan Ming with no relationship, not even friends.

Which was more important—any normal person would know how to choose, and Yu Tian didn’t need to think deeply about it.

But her heart still ached, mixed with unwillingness.

Yu Tian unconsciously looked at her injured hand, and that sense of grievance, regret, and humiliation washed over her again.

She never wanted to be friends with Yan Ming again.

Fortunately, she hadn’t become family with Yan Ming. Fortunately, Yan Ming hadn’t become her brother.

Yu Tian kicked a pebble on the ground in frustration.

She was holding back her anger and had just finished collecting all the questionnaire surveys when she received a call from Dai Xin.

During the last family gathering, Yu Tian had told Dai Xin about the science education program she was preparing and mentioned she would be doing research in this area of old residential communities today. It was just casual conversation, but unexpectedly, Dai Xin had remembered.

“Xiao Yu, I happen to be near the residential community where you’re doing research, handling some business. I just finished, and it’s almost meal time. Let me pick you up, and we’ll have a meal together.”

Although she couldn’t see Dai Xin’s face, just hearing his voice, she could sense his enthusiastic and lively energy.

“Perfect, if the free clinic on your side isn’t over yet, I can help you film some footage of your research work. We might be able to use it when editing your program later. Anyway, it’s better to be prepared. Wait for me five minutes, I’ll start the navigation right away.”

Yu Tian hung up the phone, her gaze unconsciously glancing toward Yan Ming, who was still surrounded by elderly people doing consultations.

Indeed, people were revealed through comparison.

Yan Ming only had eyes for patients, not for any other female creatures, whether girlfriends or little sisters.

This new big brother, Dai Xin, was indeed much warmer and more cheerful than the old big brother, Yan Ming.

This was exactly what she had always hoped for in a big brother!

Not like Yan Ming, who was cold and didn’t give her a good face, and would even lecture her.

Dai Xin was true to his word. Three minutes later, he arrived at the residential community where the free clinic was held. He was sunny and energetic, waving at Yu Tian, his eyes and brows full of tolerance and warmth.

Soon, he took professional equipment from his car and immediately guided Yu Tian’s positioning, helping her film some video footage of her research work at the free clinic. When they finished filming and Yu Tian looked at the results, she had to admire Dai Xin’s professionalism as a major content creator. The framing, lighting, and angles were all handled very well.

“Mission accomplished. Let’s go eat, and I’ll tell you about the platform’s recent support plan for small and medium-sized content creators in the knowledge field. I think you should consider it.”

Yu Tian was naturally interested: “But wait a moment.”

She ran to Qi Sihao’s side: “Qi Sihao, my big brother came to pick me up for lunch. I won’t be eating with you at noon today.”

Qi Sihao was stunned. He had heard about Yu Tian’s mother’s new relationship and realized that the “big brother” Yu Tian mentioned was the son of her mother’s new boyfriend.

He quickly nodded and winked at Yu Tian: “Got it, go have lunch with your big brother. We doctors will eat together after the free clinic ends.”

Yan Ming was standing right beside Qi Sihao, but when Yu Tian ran to his side, he didn’t even give her a proper look, not even glancing over once. He just continued conversing with an elderly patient.

Yu Tian felt a bit disappointed. She didn’t know what she was expecting.

But Yan Ming’s behavior was also reasonable—after all, they really weren’t much better than strangers now.

Yu Tian was an optimistic person. She quickly threw this emotion behind her and bounced toward Dai Xin.

Her mother’s romance this time was much smoother than the last one. She and Old Dai were progressing rapidly, and she had even tactfully asked Yu Tian once about her thoughts on remarriage, showing clear signs of seriously starting a second spring.

This was what Yu Tian most wanted to see.

Her mother had worked hard enough in the first half of her life, raising her. Now she should have her own life and happiness.

Last time with Yan Wenhua, Yu Tian had been happy too early, but this time, judging from her mother’s interactions with Old Dai, it might work out!

Sitting in the restaurant and looking at Dai Xin browsing the menu across from her, Yu Tian found him more and more pleasing to the eye.

There weren’t many particularly good restaurants near this old residential community. The one Dai Xin chose was a home-style restaurant. While not very upscale, it was clean and cozy, with interesting decor. It also paid attention to privacy—each table had floor-length curtains, giving it the feel of an ancient inn.

Dai Xin ordered several dishes, then had Yu Tian order a few more. Then he started chatting with Yu Tian about how content creators could drive traffic and use platform promotion. He didn’t hold anything back, practically sharing everything he knew, giving Yu Tian an enlightening experience. She almost wanted to pull out a notebook to write everything down, truly benefiting greatly.

When she came back to her senses, she found the dishes had all been served, and the private dining areas around them were also filled with people, all chatting lively. Business was quite good, but Yu Tian had been so focused on learning that she hadn’t even noticed.

After talking for a while, Dai Xin scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly: “Am I being too familiar? You don’t think it’s strange, do you? I’ve wanted a little sister, so I unconsciously treat you like a real sister. I feel like we’re quite destined…”

Thinking that Dai Xin might be her future big brother, Yu Tian felt somewhat excited.

Since they might become family in the future, she needed to maintain good relations!

Flattery never fails to please—this has always been the way to win hearts.

“Not at all.” Yu Tian smiled. “I’ve also really wanted a big brother.”

Thanks to Dai Xin’s enthusiasm and sunny disposition, Yu Tian’s flattery flowed naturally: “I’ve been longing for years to have a big brother. I’ve even constructed an image of him in my mind.”

“My ideal big brother would be in the same trendy live streaming business as me, but not purely for product sales. He’d be a content creator with some social responsibility, tall, handsome, with a sunny and generous personality, enthusiastic and approachable, not cold at all, very easy to get close to, able to chat with anyone about anything, not like those aloof types who are hard to get along with, but the kind of warm, likeable guy.”

As Yu Tian spoke, she unconsciously thought of Yan Ming and his hateful way of lecturing her.

Dai Xin received Yu Tian’s goodwill and friendliness and couldn’t help but smile: “As long as you don’t think I talk too much.”

“Not at all! Some people think big brothers are handsome and find quiet men attractive, but I don’t think so. That kind of man, as a big brother, has no human warmth and is hard to approach. They’re moody and unpredictable—you never know what they’re thinking. I still prefer straightforward, cheerful personalities! Talkative ones are better! Easy to chat with!”

“And I especially admire people like you who are freelancers and can support themselves. This kind of big brother has both time and money, is a role model for me to learn from, and can often be available for meals and emotional bonding. That’s a hundred times better than those big brothers who work overtime all the time and have no time for communication, leading to cold family relationships!”

Yu Tian struck while the iron was hot: “Anyway, the sunny, cheerful type is the only kind of big brother I’ve ever imagined. Besides this type of big brother, I haven’t thought about letting any other type be my big brother, and I can’t accept any other type as my big brother.”

Yu Tian looked at Dai Xin seriously: “Only this kind of big brother is what I want and can accept. Other big brothers, honestly, I couldn’t mentally accept them as big brothers so quickly. After all, at my age, if it were any other type, they could only be familiar strangers.”

Having said similar words once before, Yu Tian now spoke them fluently and smoothly. She even felt a subtle gratitude toward Yan Ming.

Before meeting this new big brother Dai Xin, hadn’t she practiced her routine with that old big brother Yan Ming? Once familiar, twice easy—now speaking these flattering words to Dai Xin felt effortless.

And flattery had completely different effects on different people.

When she had buttered up Yan Ming with all sorts of compliments and shows of goodwill, he hadn’t given her much response. But Dai Xin was different—he graciously reciprocated:

“I’ve also really wanted a little sister, and you’re exactly the ideal image of a sister I’ve had in mind.”

See! How could Yan Ming compare to Dai Xin?

Yan Ming only gave her cold treatment, while Dai Xin was like a spring breeze.